Month: December 2024

We're sending 2024 out with the big gun himself, George McAdam. George was a huge part of the Aldergrove community, always volunteering wherever and whenever he could, and he made our town that much better for it.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #CommunityImpact

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The L. K. Sully office was at 27243 Fraser Highway, but according to assessment records, that block of buildings wasn't constructed until 1954 and was known as the Marr Block. I'm not sure where the 1948 Marr Block was located, unless there was initially one building and it was extended to include two more units.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #supportlocal

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Two teachers for all of those students! This photo, which unfortunately wasn't included in The Place Between Volume 1 was, luckily for us, published in the Aldergrove News for 4th September 1958. I wish that they had identified which children had been named and which hadn't.

I'm almost certain that I should have a grand aunt in this photo, she would have been 7 at the time and I'm fairly sure that she went to Aldergrove Elementary, not Otter, as they lived a teeny bit closer to the Aldergrove school. I will have to do some careful photo comparisons to see if she is indeed in this photo.

Most of the children seen in this photo came from settler families who had lived in the district for many years and several still have descendants living either in Aldergrove or nearby in the valley. Phyllis Cuffley became an Aldergrove telephone operator, …

I love these business features that were on the #shoplocal pages of the Aldergrove News because they let readers get to know a bit about the business owner's history as well as their community involvement.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #supportlocalbusiness

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We have very few Coghlan School photos, so I was happy to find this 'under construction' photo from 1959. In the top photo we see Mrs. Davidson and Mrs. Craig receiving awards for their many years of volunteer service to the Beaver Women's Institute.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #SD35 #communityvolunteers

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45 years ago, in June 1979, the Aldergrove branch of Buckerfield's was destroyed by fire, along with an empty house to the east of the building. It took five teams of volunteer firefighters from Halls 3, 6 and 7, the City of Langley and HMCS Aldergrove almost two hours to get the fire under control. The City of Langley had brought its aerial truck to add extra coverage. The possibility of a massive explosion from the paint and possibly dynamite stored in the building thankfully did not come to fruition. It was believed that an arsonist had set fire to the abandoned house with the flames quickly spreading to the Buckerfield's building, which had been constructed during the winter of 1949-1950. The estimated loss to Buckerfield's was set at approximately $250,000.00.

#storiesmatter #localhistory

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Merry Christmas to you and yours from all of us at the Alder Grove Heritage Society.

#makesomememories #takelotsofphotos #localhistory #storiesmatter

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Don't forget to follow NORAD Tracks Santa tonight. In the meantime, here's a look back at Christmas Eve 1973.

The photo caption reads "Ho, ho, ho, that photographer...I knew him when he was a little boy ... and he was a bad one. And the young 'uns take it all in.

#makesomememories #takelotsofphotos #besafe #storiesmatter #localhistory

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Here is a photo of HMCS Aldergrove's award winning float, featured on page 1 of the 11 September 1958 Aldergrove News. The Navy Wives also had a float in the parade but we don't seem to have a photo of it. The ladies' float placed third in its division. Also included in the article is all of the base news for the week.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #royalcanadiannavy

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Christmas 1959, when Aldergrove still had an RBC which was situated in the building at 27257. The bank constructed the building in 1951.

#storiesmatter #localhistory

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In the spring of 1959, two enterprising young ladies opened a riding academy at 650 272 Street. The property is now part of Aldergrove Regional Park.

#storiesmatter #localhistory

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Just to the west of Dr. Findlay's Medical Clinic was the Kyle Block, which was opened in 1959. Today it's known as the Alder Block. You can see the reflection of the Aldergrove Agricultural Hall in the windows.

#storiesmatter #localhistory

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Here's a nice photo from the Aldergrove News of Dr. Stanley P. Findlay standing in front of his medical clinic, which was located at 27124 Fraser Highway. The clinic was built by JE Willson, who also built the original Royal Bank (27257 Fraser Hwy), the original Super-Valu (27185 Fraser Hwy) and Buckerfield's (27252 Fraser Hwy).

The Royal Bank and Super-Valu buildings are still standing, but Buckerfield's burned in 1979 and was replaced with a 'pseudo look alike' building. The former location of Dr. Findlay's medical clinic is now home to the Kick It Up A Notch Academy of Dance.

Dr. Findlay and his wife Audrey were very active in Aldergrove community groups. They were married in 1941 in Vancouver and moved to Aldergrove from Fraser Lake in 1952, when Dr. Findlay established his medical practice in Aldergrove. Sadly, their house was demolished some time after 1994 and is now a …

As the story headline says - History of Aldergrove Customs Told, from the Aldergrove News for 11 September 1958. This story not only shares information about our first Customs & Immigration officer William Vanetta and our Canada Border Services Agency crossing, it also gives a few other important history nuggets - such as the Vanetta farm being sold to Al Hays in 1944, and how Jackman Road was apparently often traversed by Billy Miner. It's wonderful how many small tidbits of our history can be found in our old newspapers. =)

#localhistory #storiesmatter #canadaborderservicesagency

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We're always happy to find photos of Aldergrove's past business owners and their company vehicles, this one for Aldergrove Plumbing is no different, and it's always a bonus when we find out they were part of the community's volunteer force that helped build the fire hall.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #communityvolunteers

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Santa made time to make a special visit at HMCS Aldergrove to hand out some gifts to the children of RCN personnel just in time for Christmas.

#localhistory #storiesmatter #royalcanadiannavy

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The industrious First County Line Brownies made stuffies to sell at their bazaar, donating the unsold toys to Langley and MSA hospitals.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #browniesandguides

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Aldergrove High School students were avid participants in many knowledge-based TV shows. One of these was Around The World Press Conference, where students acted as interviewers of foreign Pacific Northwest college and university students. The show aired on KVOS-TV every Saturday evening, and the student who was deemed the winner for each season went on an expenses-paid world wide trip.

#SD35 #localhistory #storiesmatter #seetheworld

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Otter Community Hall was built in 1889, moved a number of feet south when the Trans Canada went in, rebuilt in 1948-49 and sold in 1959.

#localhistory #storiesmatter

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There is a lot going on in and around our community, get out and #makesomememories

#storiesmatter #takelotsofphotos

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School District 35 Elementary School principals. This photo was take for Education Week 1959 and appeared on page 6 of the Aldergrove News for 26 February 1959.

#SD35 #schooldays #localhistory #storiesmatter

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UPDATED: Confirmed both online here and offline, the house on the right was Mr. & Mrs. Wilson's house. The middle house was Jesse Boston's house, and as we already knew, the house on the left was Mr. Larson's. Thank you for being such awesome history fans. =)

We need your help =) This photo was taken in the parking lot of the original Super Valu, which later became the Royal Bank and is now a daycare, on the northwest corner of Fraser & Jackman.

The photographer is looking to the northeast, where the little strip mall is, and where the Aldergrove Mall once was, so the building on the left would have been the post office (later the Aldergrove Star office, now Abby Pizza).

The larger house in the back would have been the Lars Nelson/Anna Larson-Hayes house (the chimney matches another photo of the house). The house in the …

Are you in this photo? Aldergrove Elementary students learning about fire prevention at the Aldergrove Fire Hall in October 1960.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #schooldays #SD35

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The founding members of Aldergrove's Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Columbia.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #royalcanadiannavy #seacadets

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