Do you have a faded sign in your garage or attic proclaiming your desire to “Keep Willoughby Rural” or “Let Willoughby Grow”?
If so, the Langley Centennial Museum would like to ask about adding it to their upcoming exhibit.
“We’re having an exhibit that opens on March 10, ‘Langley in Transition: Portraits of a Changing Community,’” said Kobi Christian, a curator at the museum.
Langley has grown quickly over the last few years, and this exhibit will be dedicated to charting those changes, said Christian.
Exhibits will include historical and modern photos of Langley streets and buildings. Aerial photos of then and now will show the spread of growth and the change in the way the community has used its land.
“We’re trying to look at all of Langley’s communities,” said Christian, from Aldergrove to Walnut Grove. But particular attention will be paid to areas that have radically transformed, including Fort Langley, Willoughby, Murrayville, and Langley City, formerly known as Langley Prairie.
Before the exhibit opens, Christian also said she hopes to find more “middle” photos.
For some neighbourhoods, like Aldergrove, the museum has a significant collection of photos from the early days of pioneer settlement.
But they don’t necessarily have a lot of photos from the 1980s or 1960s, for example.
Artifacts that show a community debating its future – like those duelling Willoughby signs from the mid and late 1990s – would be great additions to the show, Christian said.
She hopes the show leads to discussion and reflection on how change happens in our communities.
Anyone who has an artifact about Langley’s changing neighbourhoods, or unique photos that show local regions from decades in the past, can contact the museum at 604-532-3536.
