Collections - Township of Langley

salishan Place

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salishan Place by the River currently maintains a collection of over 9000 photographs, 2000 archival documents, 9000 objects, 500 works of art, and 300 oral history recordings. This collection, spanning hundreds of years, is a wonderful window on the past and present life of our community.

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File: '20111720'

Object Description

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Object Name

Notebook

Object ID

2011.017.020

Title

Green Notebook: Weather in Willoughby 1998 - 2000.

Date

1998 - 2000.

Description

Green coil bound notebook; brand is Hilroy; written on front in black marker is "weather/1998-2000"; 80 pages; blue stamp with Richard Straws name and address; 3 hole punched; each page is lined; there is a grid drawn on each page; grid includes information: snow, rain, weather, day, date and temperature; inside is a blue piece of paper which is an invitation.

A: Green notebook.

B: Blue invitation to the Inaugural Service for St. Andrew's in the Grove; has writing on the back regarding the occurance of an earthquake.

Dimensions

(DepthFt, 0.02 ft, 0.6096 cm)

,

(DepthIn, 0.236 in, 0.5994 cm)

,

(LengthFt, 0.873 ft, 26.6090 cm)

,

(LengthIn, 10.472 in, 26.5989 cm)

,

(WidthFt, 0.689 ft, 21.0007 cm)

,

(WidthIn, 8.268 in, 21.0007 cm)

People/Subject

Straw Family

William Henry and Elizabeth Straw (nee Payne) settled in the Willoughby area. They had three children : Kathleen (b. 1913), Richard (Dick), and Wilfred. The family lived at 20819 85th Avenue in Willoughby, where the overpass now is (2004). Kathleen married John Ellens. William Henry Straw died January 9, 1960, at the age of 78, in Murrayville. Elizabeth also died in Murrayville September 17, 1972, at the age of 89. Kathleen died in Murrayville on November 20, 1976, at the age of 61. As of 2005, Richard is still living in Langley, and Wilfred lives in the Valley as well.

Straw, Richard (Dick)

Richard (Dick) Straw was born in Saskatchewan in 1915 to parents Elizabeth and William Straw. The family moved to Willoughby in 1918 and established a chicken farm. The later address for the property was 20819 85th Avenue (roughly where the south-east side of the overpass is today). Dick's siblings were Kathleen (b. 1913) and Wilfred. Dick attended West Langley School.

Dick received a letter of conscription in the mail in 1942. He trained in Vernon, Vedder Crossing (Chilliwack), and Calgary before sailing to England in December 1942. Dick was trained with the Lee-Enfield rifle, bayonet, and Bren light machine gun once he arrived, and was ordered to join the Canadian Scottish Regiment where he received grenade, tank, and gas chamber training. Dick was a “batman,” or “runner,” who would maintain officer’s equipment, relay orders and messages, and fulfill other various tasks.

Dick Straw served in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. He was wounded on the third day of the invasion by two mortar explosions. Shrapnel from the first mortar hit him in the leg, and the second mortar exploded in the air and caused shrapnel to hit him behind the shoulder blade. This piece of shrapnel broke one of Dick’s ribs and lodged in his breastbone. He survived by mustering up enough strength to wander to a nearby medic. He was transferred back to England for operation.

Dick was taken back to Halifax on a hospital ship called the HMCS Lady Nelson in January 1945. From there he took the train to Vancouver and returned home to work on the family farm. Dick worked for the Seal-Kap Farm (where Trinity Western University is now located) for 13 years, but due to his injuries he had to eventually find other work.

Richard Straw joined the local Legion and lived in Walnut Grove before moving to Langley Gardens. He passed away in Langley in 2010 at the age of 94.

Willoughby

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