Eighty Years Ago

February 4, 1932

- J.A- Nash was elected president by the Egg Pool's 41 Fort Langley members.

Seventy Years Ago

February 5, 1942

- War measures put all Langley schools on Daylight Saving Time.

- Langley's Victory Loan Campaign quota was $160,000.

- The new Langley Post Office opened on Douglas Crescent.

Sixty Years Ago

February 7, 1952

- Langley schools closed to mark King George VI's death.

- Alex Hope asked the Fort Langley Board of Trade to help pressure the provincial government to redistribute electoral districts, and to have the Delta riding (which included all of Langley) cut into three.

Fifty Years Ago

February 8, 1962

- Construction in the Township was doing well, but Langley City building starts were at their lowest since incorporation- The only two permits issued in the City in January had been for two commercial signs.

- Half of Langley City residents appealing the assessment rolls were successful, for a total reduction of $6,000.

Forty Years Ago

February 3, 1972

- The Township revived the Advisory Planning Committee, and plans were made to introduce a temporary overall zoning bylaw for the entire municipality.

- A 2,500-gallon tanker truck was purchased for the Aldergrove fire department at a cost of $28,000- At the same time, the City and Township were considering appointing a joint fire prevention officer.

Thirty Years Ago

February 3, 1982

- Proponents and opponents of the proposed Gloucester industrial park in north Aldergrove went head to head at a public Land Commission hearing at the Aldergrove Legion- At issue was whether or not the property in question could be viable as farmland.

- A five-part waste management program was announced, including plans for a major GVRD landfill at Derby Reach in Langley (which was outside of the GVRD at that time).

- A curfew bylaw with teeth was needed to keep young troublemakers off the streets at night, Langley City council decided.

Twenty Years Ago

February 5, 1992

- The federal Reform Party's racist tag was undeserved, party leader Preston Manning told a press conference in Langley- He said that, in business terms, his group was taking a "15 per cent market share" from traditional political parties, adding "I think that's enough to more than get their attention."

- A $50,000 gift from the Order of St- John kick-started Langley Stepping Stone Rehabilitative Society's drive for a new building.

Ten Years Ago

February 5, 2002

- Liberal MLAs, including Langley's Rich Coleman and Lynn Stephens, accepted a five per cent cut in their base pay, along with a wage freeze to 2005.

February 8, 2002

- Gregory Thomas was awarded $70,000 plus court costs by B.C- Supreme Court, which ruled that he had been defamed by former Township councillor and mayoralty candidate Heather McMullan, and that she had aggravated the libel by refusing to apologize and claiming that she had further information about Thomas that she intended to take to police.

McMullan's initial accusations against Thomas came out over the course of hotly contested mayoralty race against incumbent John Scholtens, with whom Thomas was politically connected- Both Scholtens and McMullan ended up on the losing end of the ballot, as Kurt Alberts, a former Township planning director, was victorious by a modest margin- The Alberts-led Township council funded McMullan's libel defence - at an eventual cost of about $650,000 to taxpayers.

- A legislated settlement for B.C- teachers left Langley School District scrambling to find $2 million to pay for increased wages and benefits- The BC Liberal government that imposed the settlement told school boards they would not receive any extra money from the province.

Langley Centennial Museum Photo, Langley Advance Collection