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SLIDESHOW: Douglas Day honours pioneers

Celebration by city and township held at the Langley Events Centre
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Pictured are brother and sister Eldy Johnston and Renny Rawlings


More than 200 pioneers attended the annual Douglas Day celebration on Saturday, Nov. 19.

The celebration of local pioneers is named in honour of Governor James Douglas, who brought the crown colony of British Columbia into being by his proclamation at the Big House in Fort Langley on November 19, 1858.

The annual banquet has been held for more than 60 years and in 1946, the celebration of Douglas Day was established by municipal bylaw.

The 2016 edition of Douglas Day was hosted by the Township of Langley and the City of Langley at the Langley Events Centre, where guests were treated to lunch, entertainment, special presentations, and tributes.

“Douglas Day is our opportunity to recognize the long-time Langley residents whose knowledge, ideas, and efforts helped forge our community,” said Township of Langley Mayor Jack Froese. “They laid the foundation for our way of life here, and we are grateful for all that our pioneers have done and continue to do.”

“Douglas Day has always been a day I look forward to, honouring the men and women who have devoted their lives to the Langleys,” said City of Langley Mayor Ted Schaffer. “I would like to thank all of the Langley pioneers for their service to our community, and am happy the Township and the City of Langley can celebrate these long-time residents year after year.”

The 2016 event also marked the 158th anniversary of the creation of BC.

To qualify as a pioneer, residents must be 70 years of age or older and have lived in Langley Township or City for at least 60 of those years.

This year, there were 18 new pioneers who met that criteria, bringing the total number of Langley pioneers to 346.

More than 210 of them were in attendance on Saturday.

The theme this year paid tribute to Langley’s historical country stores and pioneer merchants, the family-run businesses that acted as focal points for the community.

 

Pioneers honoured at the 2016 Douglas Day event included:

 

Charlie and Lorraine Allen

Benny and Penny Anderlini

Bob and Susan Anderlini

Albert and Dorothy Anderson

Gezina Anderson

Muriel Anderson

Harvey and Dianne Antonsen

Carol Armstrong

June Barichello

Del Barron

David and Lynda Beales

Roger Beaulieu

Elsie Beggs

Duane Benson

Bill Berry

William Betts

Ernie and Sharon Bird

Phyllis Bishop

Sven Bjorknas

Italo and Jackie Bonetti

Bruce and Karen Brandow

Frank and Chrissie Braun

Ed Bregg

Joe and Marie Breier

Jim and Margaret Brezden

Barrie and Beverley Brown

Fred Burgmann

Myrtle Burnell

Norma Carruthers

Margaret Carson

Allan Cartwright

Wilfred and Jeanette Cartwright

Bill and Hazel Casey

Dick and Betty-Lou Chell

Barbara Chiste

Ken and Lenore Christensen

Lucy Christianson

Terrence and Judy Christie

Irma Cockett

Walter Compton

Nadia Cooper

Mary Ann Corfe

Barbara Cornies

Thelma Coward

Lorne Dance

Hugh Davis

Jean Davis

Rodney and Ada Deans

George and Marge DeGianni

Alfred and Eleanor Deglan

Wilma Denbraber

Daroyl and Evi Dent

Alex and Lois Dickson

Evelyn Dornan

Dietrich and Nettie Driediger

Helmut and Karyn Dyck

Seward and Joy Easingwood

Effie Ebbeson

Richard and Lois Edwards

Roy English

Marilyn Farquhar

Dave and Elsa Faulkner

Dorothy Ferguson

Joe and Florence Fifer

Mary Foote

Keith and Janet Foss

Audree Foster

Patricia Frederick

Bernard and Dianne Froebel

Hilda Frosdorf

Roy Fuller

Charlie and Arlene Gandy

Helen Gardner

Peter and Rosemary Genberg

Bruno and Shirley Giacomazzi

Roy Giacomazzi

Jake and Helen Giesbrecht

Jarnail Gill

June Goin

Glen and Marlene Goldsack

Mary Gooden

Tom Goodyear

Victor Gorcak

Ethel Graham

Betty Granholm

Bruce and Nicole Granholm

Terry and Joyce Greenfield

Eunice Greenwood

Alan and Jean Gregson

Bob Griffiths

Wilfred and Barbara Haid

Paul and Joyce Hamilton

Hazel Harrower

Jackie Hauser

Cora Hayward

Verna Hickey

Gordon and Joan Hill

Jean Hope

Terry Horne

Robert and Maureen Humphrey

Wayne and Margaret Humphrey

Margaret Hunter

Charlie Iberg

Norma Jamieson

Alice Johnson

Eldon and Sandra Johnston

Gladys Johnston

Rodney and Dorothy Johnston

Carel and Lynda Jongs

Eugene and Shirley Kaetler

John Kelly

Alice Kennedy

Dan and Jan Kitsul

Edward Kosciuk

Mary Koziel

Helmut and Shirley Kramer

Joseph and Loretta Krentz

Barry and Marilyn Kristoff

Gerald and Anna Larsen

Marj Lee

Kay Lindquist

Hazel Lindstrom

John and Donna Linke

George Lockerby

Diane Logan

Percy and Kay Lotzer

Albert and Elsie Lundin

Gail Lynch

Victor and Sheila MacDonald

Walter and Jean Makela

Wayne and Lynda Markel

William Marr

Elsie Martin

John Masztalar

Roy and Vicky Matts

Joan Mayo

Ted and Marylee McCallum

Reid and Jenny McDonald

Peggy McGregor

Nora McKain

Edna McLeod

Donna McTaggart

Helen McTaggart

Genny Milligan

Alex and Lucille Minnis

Phillip Miskulin

Margaret Mitcham

Mary Mitchell

Diane Moffat

Doug and June Moore

Beryl Moore

Fay Morelli

George and Sheree Morelli

Vernon and Merrilyn Morelli

Margaret Mountain

Claud and Darlene Muench

Pat Muench

Dorothy "Dot" Mufford

Joyce Murchison

Lurene Music

Fred Mutch

Bonnie Nelson

Dorothy Newcomb

Monica Newman

Kathleen Nicholas

Robert and Melerly Norman

Don and Marion Nundal

Mary Olafson

Clarence and Edith Olson

George Omelaniec

Sam and Pam Omelaniec

Vera Omelaniec

David and Sheila Ormrod

Betty Oswald

Norman and Joyce Paterson

Fred and Maureen Pepin

Audrey Pihan

Barry and Eileen Pihan

Bill and Arlene Pike

Patrick and Annemarie Plumridge

Sue Plumridge

Robert and Sharon Poole

Edward Powroznik

Winnie Price

Mary Probert

David and Doreen Radtke

Jerry Radtke

Arlen and Marilyn Randen

Molly Reding

Dick Rees

Don and Lorraine Reimer

John and Doris Riedweg

Jack Roberts

Bernice Robinson

Marilyn Rockson

Jim and Dawn Ryan

Ron and Edna Sawatsky

Wilfried Schnabel

Roy and Grace Seifred

Diana Sendall

Norman Severide

Jean Seymour

Bill and Gail Shields

Marjorie Shiell

Mike and Betty Skwarok

Alfie Smaback

Jean Smith

George and Janet Southam

Wilma Stromsten

Doris Stroyan

Allen and Gwen Sturn

Gerald Tapp

Robert and Joan Tapp

Al and Marilyn Tecklenborg

Phyllis Thomas

Bryan and Joyce Trattle

Getrude "Toots" Tucker

Bill and Mary Twemlow

Barry and Susan Vaughan

Edward and Mildred Vaughan

Ernest Vaughan

Harold and Joanne Vaughan

Laverne Vaughan

Stan Warner

Anita Waska

Phyllis Waugh

Sharon Weatherly

Phyllis Wegesser

Marie Wenman

Wayne and Betty Westby

Ray Wiens

Fenn and Mary Williams

Doreen Willushaw

Grace Wilson

Lilian Witt

Ellen Worrell

Shirley Worrell

Joe Wrazy

Willie and Diane Wright

Don Wrightman

Ron Yates

John and Shirley Yeomans

Martha Zado

Hazel Zaklan

Frank and Leona Zoretic