history

A steel drum band was part of the Douglas Day activities at historic Fort Langley on Saturday, Nov. 19, which focussed in part on the personal history of B.C. founder Sir James Douglas, born in Guyana. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

VIDEO: Douglas Day looks at the human side of historical figure

Sir James Douglas had a ‘complicated legacy’

 

226 pioneers and spouses, along with 115 dignitaries and invited guests attended the Douglas Day 2022 pioneers banquet on Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Langley Events Centre. It was the first in-person version of the annual event since 2019. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

VIDEO: A return to an in-person celebration of pioneers draws more than 300 to Langley banquet

Douglas Day celebration the first since 2019

 

John Swityk at age 97 in 2018 at a Langley Remembrance Day event. The D-Day veteran turned 100 last year. (Langley Advance Times files)

In Our View: From memory into history

We need new ways to mark the great wars as many veterans die of old age

  • Nov 10, 2022

 

Cassandra Hatton, senior vice president, global head of department, Science & Popular Culture at Sotheby’s, touches the tooth of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull excavated from Harding County, South Dakota, in 2020-2021, in New York City on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. When auctioned in December, the auction house expects the dinosaur skull to sell for $15 to $25 million. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

VIDEO: T rex skull unearthed in South Dakota to be auctioned in NY

Skull expected to go for at least $15 million

Cassandra Hatton, senior vice president, global head of department, Science & Popular Culture at Sotheby’s, touches the tooth of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull excavated from Harding County, South Dakota, in 2020-2021, in New York City on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. When auctioned in December, the auction house expects the dinosaur skull to sell for $15 to $25 million. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Robert Friedman plays a Steinway grand piano once owned by Thomas Edison, with possible bite marks from the inventor visible, on Sept. 28, 2022, in Woodstock, N.Y. Edison, who was hard of hearing, bit into phonographs and pianos to help him better experience music. Friedman purchased the piano last year and hopes to find a home for it where it can be seen by the public. (AP Photo/Michael Hill)

VIDEO: Thomas Edison may have left his mark on piano

Famed inventor left ‘toothy signatures’ on piano

Robert Friedman plays a Steinway grand piano once owned by Thomas Edison, with possible bite marks from the inventor visible, on Sept. 28, 2022, in Woodstock, N.Y. Edison, who was hard of hearing, bit into phonographs and pianos to help him better experience music. Friedman purchased the piano last year and hopes to find a home for it where it can be seen by the public. (AP Photo/Michael Hill)
A person poses for a photo in front a large replica of National Geographic’s Sept. 2010 magazine cover at the Beyond King Tut Immersive Experience, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in New York. The exhibition will open to the public on Friday, in commemoration of the the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb on Nov. 4, 1922. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

King Tut and his treasures to come alive for a high-def age in Vancouver

B.C. among the stops planned for immersive digital display of the Egyptian boy king

A person poses for a photo in front a large replica of National Geographic’s Sept. 2010 magazine cover at the Beyond King Tut Immersive Experience, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in New York. The exhibition will open to the public on Friday, in commemoration of the the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb on Nov. 4, 1922. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
This early photo of the GN Aldergrove railway station shows the building in a darker paint scheme than later photos, which show it in a much lighter appearance. This photo was likely taken around 1910. (Alder Grove Heritage Society/Special to The Star)

Aldergrove railway integral to early local transport

Great Northern rail through Aldergrove was part of much bigger plan to link resource communities

  • Oct 22, 2022
This early photo of the GN Aldergrove railway station shows the building in a darker paint scheme than later photos, which show it in a much lighter appearance. This photo was likely taken around 1910. (Alder Grove Heritage Society/Special to The Star)
Princess Margaret helped open Langley Centennial Museum at 9135 King St. back in 1958. The museum will close its doors on Friday, Sept. 30, in preparation for its move across the street to new Salishan Place by the River currently under construction. (Langley Centennial Museum archives/Special to Langley Advance Times)

Langley Centennial Museum closes on Friday

It’s soon to be replaced by larger and more modern space in the Salishan Place by the River

Princess Margaret helped open Langley Centennial Museum at 9135 King St. back in 1958. The museum will close its doors on Friday, Sept. 30, in preparation for its move across the street to new Salishan Place by the River currently under construction. (Langley Centennial Museum archives/Special to Langley Advance Times)
On Sept. 12, Fiona Chesterton finally got to see the gravestone she commissioned for her distant cousin Jessie Heading Underwood. The British journalist and writer documented her research into the Langley branch of her family in a book, Secrets Never to be Told. (Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times)

Mystery inheritance led U.K. author to history of Langley family

Fiona Chesterton has written a book about her pioneer cousin, Jessie Heading Underwood

On Sept. 12, Fiona Chesterton finally got to see the gravestone she commissioned for her distant cousin Jessie Heading Underwood. The British journalist and writer documented her research into the Langley branch of her family in a book, Secrets Never to be Told. (Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times)
Krystal Janicki (left) and Tiare Boyes pose for a photo with a lobster during a dive in the waters of Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of Newfoundland. (Russell Clark/RCGS)

B.C. divers help uncover Newfoundland’s lost Liberator, ending 80-year search

International team of researchers, divers confirm discovery of crashed Second World War bomber

Krystal Janicki (left) and Tiare Boyes pose for a photo with a lobster during a dive in the waters of Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of Newfoundland. (Russell Clark/RCGS)
Prince Philip and then-Princess Elizabeth waved from their train car in Fort Langley in 1951 on a cross-country royal tour. (Langley Centennial Museum Collection/Special to the Langley Advance Times)

Crowds of thousands gathered to meet Queen Elizabeth in Fort Langley in 1971

The visit was part of the late monarch’s tour of B.C.

Prince Philip and then-Princess Elizabeth waved from their train car in Fort Langley in 1951 on a cross-country royal tour. (Langley Centennial Museum Collection/Special to the Langley Advance Times)
Writer-producer Kraig Wenman in a set representing a Canadian bank constructed in Georgia for the film Bandit. Contributed photo

New feature film by B.C. writer tells true story of Canada’s ‘Flying Bandit’

Project a labour of love for White Rock screenwriter Kraig Wenman

Writer-producer Kraig Wenman in a set representing a Canadian bank constructed in Georgia for the film Bandit. Contributed photo
A man walks past a mural of Elvis Presley on the outside of a liquor store, in Merritt, B.C., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

When Elvis was King of Spokane: remembering Aug. 27, 1957

Listening, seeing and touching Elvis when the King played Spokane’s Memorial Stadium in August 1957

A man walks past a mural of Elvis Presley on the outside of a liquor store, in Merritt, B.C., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
(Black Press Media Creative)

This Day in History: Hurricane Katrina

The Category 4 hurricane became the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.…

(Black Press Media Creative)
FILE - Georgia Jackson, center, accompanied by the Rev. Cecil Williams, right, of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, arrive at the Hall of Justice on Aug. 24, 1971, for a court appearance of two surviving Soledad Brothers - John Clutchette and Fleeta Drumgo. Jackson’s son, George Jackson, was killed on Saturday, Aug. 21, 1971, at San Quentin prison. First celebrated in 1979, Black August was originally created to commemorate Jackson’s fight for Black liberation. Fifty one years since his death, Black August is now a month-long awareness campaign and celebration dedicated to Black American freedom fighters, revolutionaries, radicals and political prisoners, both living and deceased. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

VIDEO: Black August uplifted as alternative Black History Month

The month celebrates Black freedom fighters, revolutionaries, radicals and political prisoners

FILE - Georgia Jackson, center, accompanied by the Rev. Cecil Williams, right, of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, arrive at the Hall of Justice on Aug. 24, 1971, for a court appearance of two surviving Soledad Brothers - John Clutchette and Fleeta Drumgo. Jackson’s son, George Jackson, was killed on Saturday, Aug. 21, 1971, at San Quentin prison. First celebrated in 1979, Black August was originally created to commemorate Jackson’s fight for Black liberation. Fifty one years since his death, Black August is now a month-long awareness campaign and celebration dedicated to Black American freedom fighters, revolutionaries, radicals and political prisoners, both living and deceased. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
The Quebec flag flies on a flag pole near a church, Tuesday, August 16, 2022 in Gatineau, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Who ‘discovered Canada’? Quebec says French explorer over Indigenous people: survey

B.C. residents lead the country in saying they lived on unceded Indigenous territory

The Quebec flag flies on a flag pole near a church, Tuesday, August 16, 2022 in Gatineau, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Victor Smith said it was a “privilege” to restore the iconic Pete Ryan statues in Langley City. On Wednesday, Aug. 17, he started working on the two Ryan statues of a fur trader and First Nations chief at Innes Corners. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

VIDEO: Restoration work underway on Langley City’s historic wooden statues

Some ‘were showing signs of disrepair and rotting’

Victor Smith said it was a “privilege” to restore the iconic Pete Ryan statues in Langley City. On Wednesday, Aug. 17, he started working on the two Ryan statues of a fur trader and First Nations chief at Innes Corners. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Alder Grove Heritage Society president Tami Quiring stands with a story boards showing information about the first two fairs held by Aldergrove Agricultural Association, in 1912 and 1913. The association records were donated to the heritage group earlier this year by the estate of former president Tina Nikkel. (Frank Buckholtz/Special to The Star)

Lots of people stop by Aldergrove’s museum during Heritage Day

New artifacts displayed during special open house

  • Aug 19, 2022
Alder Grove Heritage Society president Tami Quiring stands with a story boards showing information about the first two fairs held by Aldergrove Agricultural Association, in 1912 and 1913. The association records were donated to the heritage group earlier this year by the estate of former president Tina Nikkel. (Frank Buckholtz/Special to The Star)
At the historic picnic at Michaud House in Langley City on Sunday, July 31, Réjean Bussières and Joanne Plourde performed in character as French Voyageurs from early history. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

VIDEO: Langley City heritage picnic shines a light on the almost-forgotten history of the Voyageurs

Before Davy Crockett, before Daniel Boone, French-Canadian explorers journeyed west

At the historic picnic at Michaud House in Langley City on Sunday, July 31, Réjean Bussières and Joanne Plourde performed in character as French Voyageurs from early history. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Kwantlen First Nation Chief Marilyn Gabriel was among the politicians at Friday’s announcement of $777,000 in federal funding for green energy systems for the Salishan Place by the River building, now under construction. (Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times)

Ottawa pays for green heating systems at new Fort Langley museum

Salishan Place by the River will be heated by geothermal energy and heat pumps

Kwantlen First Nation Chief Marilyn Gabriel was among the politicians at Friday’s announcement of $777,000 in federal funding for green energy systems for the Salishan Place by the River building, now under construction. (Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance Times)