Month: August 2026

Some candid scans from our archival files - Bill and Wilson Kennedy were the sons of Ernest and Levita Kennedy of Otter Community. We haven't done any research to find out more about Clem and Margaret yet.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #ourcommunity

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I ran out of 'characters' for my earlier post, as Instagram only allows for 2200. So...to continue with my thank you acknowledgements, Jasmine from the Aldergrove Elks once again ran a fun photo booth for attendees, but I think she needs more telephone props. I bet we could find some for her. 😉

Last but definitely not least, to our chili teams - thank you for taking the time to participate in our community heritage event. Your dedication and support is very much appreciated. Thank you also to June Speedie from the Aldergrove Legion for setting up an information table.

As already noted today, the Aldergrove Legion Live @ 265 team took first place in both the Judge's Choice and the People's Choice categories. The enthusiastic (and way too energetic, lol) Langley Strong team served up both a meat lovers chili and a vegetarian chili. They took second place in …

Thank you to all who came out & supported our Community Heritage Day, including the small band of AGHS volunteers - Scott, Brenda, Teresa & Andrew - you too are appreciated, but the day wasn't about us, it was about the legacy that the Langmann family gave our community.

Few people realize that when the Langmann family generously entrusted AGHS with decades of newspapers & photographs that they were gifting the archives with a living, breathing encyclopedia of our community's history.

That generosity didn't stop when they sold the paper to Black Press. Kurt continued on as editor of the paper, faithfully documenting events big & small for posterity. When Kurt retired, it was the end of an era for Aldergrove; we were losing a dedicated newspaperman who put his commitment to community first, quite often ahead of the needs of his family.

This dedication to journalism & community that …

Did your classes use the SRA Reading Laboratory?

Did it turn you into a life-long reader?

The programme is now owned by McGraw-Hill and is still available in either digital or print formats:

https://www.mheducation.com/ca/en/prek-12/program/microsites/MKTSP-UEC12M0

#NotAnAd #storiesmatter #raiseareader #schooldays

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Lots to keep you busy this weekend! We hope to see you at our Community Heritage Day on Saturday (tomorrow), where the focus will be on the important role our local newspaper has played in our community's history.

PLEASE NOTE: due to being open on Saturday for Community Heritage Day, the Aldergrove Community Museum & Archives will be CLOSED on Sunday so that we can put everything away in its proper place. Regular hours will resume in September.

#supportlocal #ourcommunity #storiesmatter #communitynewspapers #localhistory

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Here is another page from the 1960-1961 Aldergrove High School scrapbook with many familiar family names.

#youthactivities #schooldays #SD35 #localhistory #storiesmatter #ourcommunity

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Very sad news - we have received word from someone that the McIver house in Glen Valley was the victim of fire last evening.

#heritagelost #oldplacesmatter

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Many thanks to Wendy McCubbin Lee for donating this programme for the Aldergrove High School's May 1969 production of The Wizard of Oz. =)

#storiesmatter #localhistory #schooldays #SD35

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Audience Participation Time: The theme of this year's Community Heritage Day is the importance of community newspapers, especially our own. We are looking for short comments from you, our readers. Let us know if you believe community newspapers are important and why, or if you have a story about how the Aldergrove Star had effect on something in your life, an ancestor's life, etc. Your comment may end up in our exhibit this Saturday, attributed by first name only.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #communitynewspapers

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Following along the lines of "news where you don't expect it" I came across another article about our Navy base, this time involving a canine recruit.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #ourcommunity #seadogs #royalcanadiannavy #militarymascots

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The only name we have for this 1918-1919 photo of schoolgirls is for the teacher, Nellie Green...and we're not sure if she is the young lady in the white shirt and black skirt or one of the ladies in the back row. Some of the faces look familiar from family photos in our collection so maybe with some investigation (and time) we'll be able to identify more girls.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #schooldays

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Another candid shot from our historic photo collection. The photographer is standing on the lawn to the west of the FJ Hart building (now our museum) which originally sat on the southwest corner of Fraser & 272nd. The buildings in the background are part of the Smith & Parr General Merchants store.

We aren't 100% certain yet, but the little girl could be Iona Smith, and the man could be her father, Charles Byron Smith, owner of the store. The sign we see on the side of the building would have been advertising FJ Hart's real estate and insurance business. If the little girl is indeed Iona, then this photo could have been taken around 1912 or 1913, as she was born in 1910. The building was sold to the BC Telephone Company at the close of 1916 and FJ Hart constructed the building in 1910.

#storiematter #localhistory #ourcommunity

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We have many, many photos in our collection of Aldergrove groups - community groups, church groups, family groups. Some have no names, some like this one have a few names, most have no names. We use clues in the photos to try to date them and ultimately identify the people.

We know that Mrs. Williams became Mrs. Williams on 10 August 1912. Clara Nascou was married on 15 September 1915, giving us our outer time frame parametres from which to work. These are the kinds of projects that are constantly underway at your community museum & archives, along with researching the pre-settler days to better understand the history and heritage of #ourcommunity.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #youcandothistoo #volunteeropportunities

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I was going to post the story to go with this photo of George Locke, but there seem to be a few contradictions between the family story submitted for inclusion in The Place Between Volume 2 and available research documents, so the research is taking longer than expected. Even the date on the photo seems a contradiction, because George didn't own the garage in 1954, he was the Home Oil representative. Verifying the facts doesn't matter just in today's world, it's also very important in yesterday's world.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #ourcommunity #verifythefacts

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Upcoming activities in #ourcommunity - tomorrow afternoon is a big event as The Rolling Barrage rides into town, and we hope that you will all be out there to welcome them as the 10th annual ride comes to a close. The riders are scheduled to leave Hope at about 1:45pm and follow Highway 1 to 264th, south to 32nd, east on 32nd to the Aldergrove Legion, arriving at approximately 3pm.

#ptsdawareness #endthestigma #makesomememories #takelotsofphotos #storiesmatter #localhistory

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As mentioned yesterday, the Craig & Taylor lumber mill was almost lost in 1915. We've seen in several groups and on many pages that the Langley area doesn't really need to worry about wildfire and we're sure the residents of many communities over the past few years felt they didn't need to worry, either.

1915 saw the entire Lower Mainland endangered by wildfires, and many people lost homes, barns and businesses across what was then called the New Westminster and Central Fraser Valley Districts. For those interested, we did post a few stories back in 2023 about the 1915 fires. They can be found by searching "fire" in our posts.

Sadly, 1915 wasn't the first documented wildfire in this area, and we're sure there were many more fires pre-colonization, but it has been noted in written records that an out of control slash and burn had gone through this region …

Can you imagine 52000 feet of lumber being cut in an Aldergrove-area mill in just one day? In a story that we're posting tomorrow, you'll see that just one year earlier, the Craig & Taylor Mill was almost lost.

In other, much earlier news, we were happy to be able to find out when the shingle mill just to the east of Aldergrove's downtown core received electrical power. The power from the mill later provided power to the town until BC Electric expanded its service area.

#localhistory #storiesmatter #ourcommunity

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When the 'new' Bradner School opened in 1915, the festivities included a midnight dinner followed by a dance that went until 2am.

I say 'new' because the school itself wasn't new, the celebration was actually for the opening of an additional classroom put on the building, effectively mirroring the building. The original one room school actually opened in 1913. Even this wasn't the original Bradner School, it was the second. This school would later burn down in December 1924, the same day that the school's Christmas programme was to have been presented.

#schooldays #storiesmatter #localhistory #ourcommunity

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Sometimes I find news for the Aldergrove base in unexpected places. This story is from the Montreal Star for 12 May 1949.

#storiesmatter #localnews #ourcommunity #royalcanadiannavy

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Did you know that in 1916, you could buy a motor wheel attachment for your bicycle?

Cost conversion. Your top-end 50.00 bicycle in 1916 would in 2026 cost approximately $1,237.41, while if you purchased the $95.00 motor wheel it would set you back and additional $2,406.

#storiesmatter #localhistory #cycletowork #ourcommunity

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We would like to extend a huge "thank you" to Kevin Shebib @kxid (and to his wife @jeanetteshebib for volunteering him) for our brand new back stairs.

A thank you is also due to all of you who donated to our May fundraiser to purchase the materials with which to build them.

#volunteerappreciation #ourcommunity #nomorerottingstairs

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Does anyone remember the old Grovette student newsletter? Here's the June 1960 edition.

#SD35 #schooldays #storiesmatter #localhistory #ourcommunity

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Aldergrove's boxing boys brought back 7 trophies from the 1959 Valley-Gateway Bronze Gloves Tournament.

#SD35 #schooldays #youthsports #storiesmatter #localhistory #ourcommunity

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This week's local events calendar.

#supportlocal #ourcommunity #makesomememories #takelotsofphotos #storiesmatter

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Flashback Friday - the first awards night for our new high school was held on 2 October 1958.

#SD35 #schooldays #ourcommunity #storiesmatter #localhistory

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