Month: June 2025

Coghlan community in 1945. The Chinese Auction is an interesting bit - this fundraising activity is still in practice today, although it now goes by different names. The auction requires participants to buy a number of tickets, sometimes the type used in 50/50 draws, sometimes ones on which the participant puts his or her contact information, then places a ticket in a jar in front of the items they would like to win. The auction winners are then decided by ticket draw.

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The advancement of entertainment technology pre-WW2 and the invasion of what would, in current times, be referred to as "screen time". Did anyone else's Mom say "you'll end up with square eyes if you keep watching that thing." No? Just me?

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A 3 robbery crime wave in our commercial core, December 1952

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Lots of great events coming up in #ourcommunity and many of them involve food. =)

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From the front page of the New Westminster Pacific Canadian newspaper for 17 March 1894 comes news of the Otter Literary And Debating Society, which covered many of the controversial topics of the day, including Chinese immigration. As we see in the article, despite the enthusiasm of its members, the debates had to be put aside indefinitely ("sine die") due to people moving away and the start of planting season for the farms.

While community debate groups seem to have fallen by the wayside, debates are still prevalent in many educational institutions, which operate under the auspices of the Debate and Speech Association of BC.

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Checking in on the County Line and Jackman Road social circles to see what was going on in 1932.

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That time when George McAdam went hunting up at Harrison....luckily he made it back.

(there is a typo in the date on the photo - it should be 1959 not 1859)

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A small look at what (and who) was making the news in the early decades of the 20th century, along with a snippet from the Victoria Daily Times, whose reporter apparently did not know the distance between Langley and Aldergrove, although with all of the road construction, it can certainly feel like 70 miles. 😉

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1962 - When the Aldergrove Building Supplies property was sold to become the new Super Valu store at 3111 272 Street.

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October 1976 - Breaking ground for the new mall.

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Upcoming Community Events

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Fair time is fast approaching, so here's a look back our agricultural fair history from 1924.

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Yesterday we shared news about fires in the downtown core, but earlier in 1924, the Aldergrove and Otter communities suffered the loss of two lumber mills. The Otter Shingle Mill was located beside the Salmon River where it crosses what is now 248th Street. The AA Rerrie Mill was at the time of the fire located on the southwest corner of what is now 264th Street and Robertson Crescent, which was once the route of the GNR rail service.

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The second week of November 1924 was a bad week for Aldergrove residents. Two fires on two consecutive days did a fair bit of damage to a home and businesses in the downtown core. Note that Mr. Hamre's name is incorrect in the first story. From stories in The Place Between Volume 1, the Hamre house was the one to the east of the hotel. The butcher shop is seen to the west of what at the time of the fire was the telephone office, but when this photo was taken (1910), it was FJ Hart's Real Estate & Insurance office. It is now your #communitymuseum. The hotel in this photo burned down on 2 May 1929.

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Along with family's arriving and leaving, this week's HMCS Aldergrove news has the base's basketball team looking for some opponents.

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The Gillett family came to Aldergrove in 1909 and owned a town lot on what is now 272 Street, immediately north of the now demolished 1912 Presbyterian church (later the United Church and then Technocracy). You can learn more about them by searching "Gillett" on this page. James' daughter Nan was the first telephone agent/operator in Aldergrove.

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The challenges of a small town - roads and utilities.

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A little bit of fun at the border in 1924-25.

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If you're out and about this afternoon, check out North Otter's Year End Bash as well as lots of other great activities this weekend and in the coming weeks. Remember to check if there's a preregistration or ticket requirement.

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The beginning of the end of commuter rail through the Aldergrove town core.

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We haven't done an "Our Neighbour" feature in a few weeks, so for those who don't know about this young lady and her many achievements, meet Debbie Brill.

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#CanadaDay2025 in Aldergrove

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