An annual event held to thank Langley’s pioneers for all they have done for the community also celebrated an individual who was bestowed with a very special honour.
More than 200 Langley Township and City pioneers and dozens of guests attended the Douglas Day celebration at the Langley Events Centre on Nov. 19, where they enjoyed lunch, entertainment, and a unique presentation.
A Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was awarded to former Township of Langley staff member and mayor Kurt Alberts. Created to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne, the medal is presented to those who have demonstrated dedicated service to their peers, community, and to Canada.
As a member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Township was given a medal to present to a community builder, and Township Council chose Alberts as the well-deserved recipient.
“Whether guiding the evolution of our community as the Township’s Director of Community Development or demonstrating leadership and vision as our mayor, Kurt Alberts has helped create an exceptional quality of life for residents by advocating for improvements throughout the community,” said Langley Township Mayor Jack Froese, who presented the medal to Alberts.
After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Alberts started his career as a planner in Ontario before coming to B.C. In 1981, he and his wife Brenda moved to Fort Langley, where they operate the Birthplace of B.C. art gallery.
Alberts served as Langley Township’s Director of Community Development from 1981 to 1997, then took on a role as an elected official when he became mayor from 1999 to 2008.
During that time, he was instrumental in developing the community of Walnut Grove and the Township’s Rural Plan and worked to get the Greater Vancouver Regional District to recognize Langley as a Regional Town Centre in the Livable Region Strategy adopted in 1996.
With a passion for preserving green space, Alberts took on initiatives such as the Township’s Arbour Ribbon, the Fort-to-Fort Trail, and the expansion of Derby Reach. He helped develop the Hope Redwoods natural area and worked to secure significant areas of wildlife habitat in the West Creek Wetlands.
Alberts contributed to the Adopt-a-Street Program, helped create additional playing fields in Aldergrove, and worked to develop partnerships for the Langley Events Centre. He was also committed to the dredging of the Bedford channel and waterfront development in Fort Langley, and to the creation of Langley’s Gateway of Hope.
Alberts has been recognized for his dedication to heritage conservation and for his volunteer service as a Rotarian.
During the Douglas Day celebration, Langley residents who are at least 70 years of age and have lived in the Township or the City for more than 60 years also enjoyed musical entertainment by Mixed Company, shared stories and memories, and socialized.
The event is held each year to pay tribute to pioneering families whose hard work, values, and traditions helped shape our community. It commemorates the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in Fort Langley on Nov. 19, 1858, and recognizes the appointment of Sir James Douglas as the first Governor of B.C.
Douglas Day has been recognized in the Township of Langley since the 1920s and the banquet has been held annually for more than 60 years. In 1946, the celebration of Douglas Day was established by municipal bylaw. While many municipalities in the Lower Mainland celebrated Douglas Day in the past, Langley is one of the few to continue the tradition.
Douglas Day 2012: Official Pioneer List
The Township of Langley and City of Langley are proud of the contributions made by pioneering families. It is with much gratitude that we honour these pioneers for the dreams they have seen fulfilled, for the values they set, and for the traditions they established that we continue to value. The following is a listing of Langley’s current pioneers. We apologize for any inadvertent errors or omissions.
Bill and Blanche Ainsworth
Charlie and Lorraine Allen
Benny and Penny Anderlini
Bob and Susan Anderlini
Mario and Karen Anderlini
Ray Anderlini
Albert and Dorothy Anderson
Gezina Anderson
Muriel Anderson
Harvey and Dianne Antonsen
Malcolm and Lorna Arkinstall
Jean Bachen
Dick and June Barichello
Del Barron
Walt Barron
Elsie Beggs
Katie Beier
Myrna Bellamy
Bill and Mildred Berry
Ernie and Sharon Bird
Phyllis Bishop
Sven Bjorknas
Doris Blair
Italo and Jackie Bonetti
Bruce and Karen Brandow
Doris Braun
Frank and Chrissie Braun
Martha Braun
Ed Bregg
Joe and Marie Breier
Barrie and Beverley Brown
Myrtle (Walli) Burnell
Norma Carruthers
Queenie Carson
Allan Cartwright
Wilfred and Jeanette Cartwright
Dick and Betty-Lou Chell
Barbara Chiste
Ken and Lenore Christensen
Irma Cockett
Walter Compton
Nadia Cooper
Barbara Cornies
Thelma Coward
Betty Cox
Marshall and Jennifer Cronkhite
Hugh Davis
Jean Davis
Rodney and Ada Deans
George and Marge DeGianni
Alfred and Eleanor Deglan
Daroyl and Evi Dent
Alex and Lois Dickson
Dietrich and Nettie Driediger
Kaye Easingwood
Seward and Joy Easingwood
Effie Ebbeson
Roy English
Ruth Erickson
Helen Fast
Jim and Dorothy Ferguson
Joe and Florence Fifer
Barney Flowerdew
Audree Foster
Hilda Frosdorf
Mona Fruno
Charlie and Arlene Gandy
Helen Gardner
Peter and Rosemary Genberg
Bruno and Shirley Giacomazzi
Roy Giacomazzi
Jake and Helen Giesbrecht
Jarnail Gill
Annie Goddard
Tom Goodyear
Victor Gorcak
Ethel Graham
Lillian Graham
Betty Granholm
Bruce and Nicole Granholm
Maxine Grant
Terry and Joyce Greenfield
Eunice Greenwood
Ben Greer
Bob and Helen Griffiths
Wilfred and Barbara Haid
Paul and Joyce Hamilton
Marguerite Hanson
Hazel Harrower
Gordon and Cora Hayward
Verna Hickey
Gordon and Joan Hill
Jean Hope
Mervyn and Margaret Hunter
Tom Hunter
Charlie Iberg
Norma Jamieson
Alice Johnson
Rodney and Dorothy Johnston
Dick Jones
Carel and Lynda Jongs
Eugene (Gene) and Shirley Kaetler
Alice Kennedy
Edward (Ed) Kosciuk
Walt and Mary Koziel
Helmut and Shirley Kramer
Alica Kuhar
Gerald and Anna Larsen
Don and Gwen Lee
Marj Lee
Kay Lindquist
Diane Logan
Percy and Kay Lotzer
Albert and Elsie Lundin
Freda Lynch
Gail Lynch
Walter and Jean Makela
William and Etta Marr
Elsie Martin
John Masztalar
Mike Masztalar
Roy and Vicky Matts
Joan Mayo
Peggy McGregor
Nora McKain
Edna McLeod
Donna McTaggart
Genny Milligan
Phillip and Judith Miskulin
Margaret Mitcham
Mary Mitchell
Dave and Diane Moffat
Iris Mooney
Doug and June Moore
Roy and Beryl Moore
Fay Morelli
Grace Morelli
Vernon and Merrilyn Morelli
Madge Mowles
Claud and Darlene Muench
Jack Muench
Pat Muench
Pat Mufford
Joyce Murchison
Lurene Music
Fred and Frances Mutch
Frank and Eva Napier
Bonnie Nelson
Ruth Nelson
Don and Marion Nundal
Mary Olafson
Sam and Pam Omelaniec
Vera Omelaniec
David and Sheila Ormrod
Betty Oswald
Eleanor Packard
Eileen Palmer
Norman and Joyce Paterson
Cully Penzer
Fred and Maureen Pepin
Gladys Peterson
Bill Pidruczny
George and Audrey Pihan
Sue Plumridge
Edward Powroznik
Mary Probert
Jerry and Bev Radtke
Arlen and Marilyn Randen
Max and Molly Reding
Dick Rees
Charlie and Doreen Reid
Don and Bernice Reid
Don and Lorraine Reimer
Ann Renfors
John and Doris Riedweg
Jack Roberts
Bernice Robinson
Marilyn Rockson
Ellen Rooke
Mary Sanderson
Wilfried and Ida Schnabel
Roy and Grace Seifred
Diana Sendall
Jean Seymour
Norman Severide
Norman and Mabel Sherritt
Bill and Gail Shields
Marjorie Shiell
Ted and Alfie Smaback
Charlie Smith
Ron and Jean Smith
Wilma Stromsten
Doris Stroyan
Allen and Gwen Sturn
Jean Synge
Gerald Tapp
Robert and Joan Tapp
Al and Marilyn Tecklenborg
Phyllis Thomas
Lillian Thomson
Bryan and Joyce Trattle
Bill and Mary Twemlow
Barry and Susan Vaughan
Ernest Vaughan
Harold and Joanne Vaughan
Laverne and Elaine Vaughan
Stan Warner
Anita Waska
Phyllis Waugh
Phyllis Wegesser
Wayne and Betty Westby
Irene Western
Fenn and Mary Williams
Doreen Willushaw
Grace Wilson
Lilian Witt
Leonard Woods
Jack and Ellen Worrell
Shirley (Sally) Worrell
Joe and Carol Wrazy
Don Wrightman
Ron and Marilyn Yates
John and Shirley Yeomans