Showing 89 results

The Mission and District Garden Club was established in 1965 to provide education in horticulture and to exhibit garden produce.

Carl Klenk was born and raised on a farm in Saskatchewan. In 1946, at the age of 17, he moved to Mission with his family and lived on the south side of Main Street at the foot of Stave Lake Road. At this time he developed his life-long interest in collecting postcards.

After working for various logging companies in the area he started his own business in 1954. Shortly after that he married (1955) Iris Boyd and they moved to the Caribou where he continued to operate his business and start a family. Following several other moves, they came back to Mission in 1964 and Carl retired six years later.

In 1979, Carl and his wife moved to Seattle where he lived for the next 15 years. While there, he began to earnestly collect old postcards and photographs. He joined the Seattle Postcard Club and the Vancouver Postcard Club where he both purchased and sold postcards. He also acquired postcards at old antique stores, photographic club shows and swap meets.

In 1995, Carl moved back to Mission where he continued to add to his collection over the next twenty years and in 2006, met with the Archivist to discuss arrangements to preserve them. In 2016, he received a Special Heritage Award from the Mission Community Heritage Commission in recognition for his substantial contribution to Mission’s heritage by collecting and preserving his postcards in the Mission Community Archives to ensure their accessibility for present and future generations. He died on January 29, 2020.

Mary Bryant (1959- ), a native of Mission, was raised on a dairy farm in Hatzic. The second of three children, she became actively involved in 4-H at age 6 and raised Ayrshire dairy cows. At age 15, Mary was introduced to the idea of flying during Career Days at school and with the support of her family, she started her training. In 1977, prior to graduating from high school, she obtained a private pilot license and the following year, a commercial one. Mary joined the military in 1981 and became one of the ten women selected over a 3-year period for a new program to train pilots. Earning her wings in 1983, she became the second woman in Canada to fly helicopters. Over the next 9 years, her assignments included search and rescue operations in Ontario and British Columbia and a peacekeeping tour in the Sinai Desert, Egypt. She retired from the military in 1991 and flew the air ambulance in southern Alberta. In 1993 Mary moved back to B.C., returning to her roots and family farm, and began flying for Interfor helilogging. She retired from flying permanently in 1995 and pursued a career as a business manager and consultant until 1997 when her two daughters were born.

Patricia Mantle (1911-1998), former primary school teacher, started St. Michael’s Children’s Centre in 1957 after gathering a group of children together to serve as companions for a friend’s son she was providing respite care for a couple of days a week. After outgrowing her living-room, in 1960 she leased a building to operate the pre-school on land owned by the District of Mission located on Ruskin Crescent. For the next three decades, she both managed and taught at the pre-school five days a week, offering an educational program for three to five year olds designed to help their emotional, social and personal growth and development. Attended by multiple generations of local families, the school was phased out in 1987 following a building inspection in 1986 deeming the structure unsafe for occupation and a recommendation for its demolition. It was believed to be the oldest pre-school in the Fraser Valley.

For all records pertaining to the "Fraser Valley Record" SEE under current name "Mission City Record."

The Fraser Valley Record was first published in 1908 in Mission City. The newspaper served the interests of Agassiz, Harrison, Harrison Mills, Hatzic, Mission City, Matsqui, Langley, Haney, Hammond, Coquitlam, Port Moody and the surrounding areas. The paper covered news of local, provincial and national importance. Under the new managing editor Lang Sands, the newspaper changed its focus in 1944 to Mission and immediately adjacent communities of Hatzic Island, Hatzic Prairie, Dewdney, Deroche, Nicomen Island, Lake Errock, and McConnell Creek.

In 1996, the newspaper was renamed The Mission City Record and became tabloid in size.

The "Fraser Valley Record" was renamed the "Mission City Record" in 1996, and became tabloid in size.

The Fraser Valley Record was first published in 1908 in Mission City. The newspaper served the interests of Agassiz, Harrison, Harrison Mills, Hatzic, Mission City, Matsqui, Langley, Haney, Hammond, Coquitlam, Port Moody and the surrounding areas. The paper covered news of local, provincial and national importance. Under the new managing editor Lang Sands, the newspaper changed its focus in 1944 to Mission and immediately adjacent communities of Hatzic Island, Hatzic Prairie, Dewdney, Deroche, Nicomen Island, Lake Errock, and McConnell Creek.

Doris Hills (nee Grinsted) was born in England and moved to Cedar Valley near Mission, B.C., in 1929. Hills worked for the Chilliwack Progress newspaper, taking leave during World War II to serve in the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division.

Anthony Samuel Taulbut was a native of Fareham, Hampshire England who settled in Mission with his wife Rozina and two children, Walter and Amy in 1908. He established a real estate and insurance business and soon became actively involved in the community, serving as the municipal and school district assessor (1917-1939), School Board secretary (1920-1946), and Mission correspondent to the Vancouver Province (1922-1949).

An avid collector with a keen interest in history, Anthony established a museum and archives in part of his house, serving as Mission’s first de facto curator and archivist. As his enthusiasm spread throughout the community, many people from the area contributed local artifacts and archival items to his collection. In later years, began work on a history of Mission, which was never completed due to his untimely death on August 16th, 1949.

Vic Hollister is a long-time resident of Mission who was a member of the District of Mission Library Committee.

William Alphonse Slack (1856-1902) and his wife, Mary Anne (1865-1931) were pioneers of Hatzic in the District of Mission. Originally from Hagersville, Ontario, they arrived in December of 1898 with four of their five children: Delbert (1888-1917), Gladys (1889-?), Clifford (1890-1941), Geraldine (1892-1981), and Grace (1895-1967). Their eldest daughter Irene (1886-1963) remained in Ontario with her grandmother, Elizabeth (nee Walton) Slack, to complete her schooling.

The family rented and farmed property on the banks of the Hatzic slough. In July 1901, their seventh child, Lloyd, was born and in 1902, Alphonso died suddenly from pneumonia. Left a widow with seven children to raise, Mrs. Slack sent for Irene from Ontario and set forth to provide for her family. In 1903, Mary Anne purchased an acre of land in Hatzic and built the Slack family home. In 1908, she went into partnership with a Mr. A.B. Catherwood and began operating the Hatzic General Store and Post Office. She held the position of post mistress until shortly before her death in 1931. Mary Anne was able to supplement the income for her growing family by providing lodging on the upper floors of the store for men and in her family home for women. She also sold farm and dairy products including: fruit, cheese, and butter. Mary Anne's eldest son, Del, was killed in World War I on March 13, 1917. Her remaining sons, Cliff and Lloyd, married and settled in Hatzic. Cliff managed the store with his mother. Following her death, he carried on as postmaster until just before he died in 1941. Lloyd, nicknamed "Duke", became the proprietor of the Hatzic Home Service which he operated until his retirement in 1957. He and his wife, Christine (nee Davidson) had five children. With the exception of Gladys who moved away following her marriage to Don McGillvray of Nanaimo, Mary Anne's daughters remained in the area. Geraldine settled in Dewdney with her husband Gibson Morrison and raised their three children. Grace resided on Hatzic Island where she and her husband, Howard Hall, operated a fruit farm. Irene got engaged to a Mr. Parker, a CPR employee, who was fatally injured by a horse. She subsequently married James ("Jay") Michie (1873-1946) in 1913. Mr. Michie settled in Hatzic in 1906, where he operated one of the earliest sawmills in the area with a Mr. C. Manual. It was eventually sold and in 1910, Mr. Michie became the Dominion Express Agent at Hatzic. In 1912, he purchased property on Hatzic Island and began to cultivate fruit trees. Following Mr. Michie's appointment as the "Provincial Liquor Vender" in 1920, the Michie's moved to Mission City where there three daughters, Helen (1913- ), Edna ("Eddie") (1916-1940) and Mary Ellen ("Mary") (1920-1990) lived to adulthood. Two of their daughters, Helen and Edna, were May Queens. Mr. Michie was a member of the Canadian Legion Branch 57 (Mission City), the BPO Elks Lodge No. 30, Mission City and District Board of Trade, the Pioneers' Association, the Caledonian Society (a charter member) and the Mission and District Agricultural Association. Irene was a member of the Hatzic Women's Institute and, after 1920, the Mission City Women's Institute.

When plans were initiated to construct the first community hall in Hatzic, Irene travelled the district by horseback to collect donations of money and labour for the project. She was also an active member of the Anglican Church and, in the early 1900s, received a camera in recognition of her outstanding service. She became an avid photographer and developed most of her own film. In October of 1940, their eldest daughter, Edna, died. Edna's husband, Gordon Topham, a naval officier, was serving on the HMCS Prince Rupert and so Irene and Jay raised their infant grandson, Garry James (1939- ) for the next several years. In October of 1946, Mr. Michie retired as the Provincial Liquor Vendor and a month later died suddenly at seventy-three years of age. Mrs. Michie continued to live in the family home in Mission City until her death in 1963.