Viewing Object

Object Description

Object Name

Oral History

Recording

Object ID

SR-254

Title

Interview of Margaret Hunter conducted by Warren Sommer.

Extent

2 audio cassettes and 2 CDs (SR-254.1-254.2)

Date

28 Dec. 2010.

Description

Interview of Margaret Hunter (nee Greenfield) conducted by Warren Sommer. Interview was conducted on 28 December 2010. 2 cassettes were donated. 2 preservation and 2 research CDs were made.

CD 1 (SR-254.1):
Track 1: Margaret talks about the origin of her name (the queen) and a bit about her family life. She talks about her parents and their origin (Ireland). She also talks about her father's businesses (garage's). Imperial Garage, and Anderson garage are mentioned.

Track 2: Margaret talks about her house and the amenities it had when she was a child. She also discusses food and the methods of preserving fish her mother used.

Track 3: The school situation in Langley when Margaret was a child. She talks about school mates (Margaret Brown and Helen Annand) as well as the protest for new facilities the students held.

Track 4: Various clubs and groups that Margaret was involved in. CGIT, church, chicken club and 4-H.

Track 5: Tramps and the depression. The living situation during these times.

Track 6: Recreational activities around Langley when Margaret was young. Swimming, skating on Briden's field.

Track 7: What Margaret wore when she was young. Whether her mother made or bought clothes. Margaret also discusses her involvement with the thimble club and it's role with the hospital.

Track 8: Discusses her father's car dealership. Austin Cars.

Track 9: How her family got their news. Radio, newsreels, newspapers. CKNW, The Province, CJJC.

Track 10: Margaret discusses to what extent her family was Irish. Or Irishness.

Track 11: Margaret discusses life during the second world war. Blackouts and how life changed in Langley during this time. She also discusses how Langley airport was used to train pilots and events that happened surrounding the airport.

Track 12: High school events and graduation. Events at the community centres and dances. pop Leonards orchestra.

Track 13: Places children weren't allowed to go in Langley. Sam Brown's billiard hall. What happened at the Langley Hotel and Alcohol in the home.

Track 14: Margaret tells the story of her brother Garry's dirty face.

Track 15: Community events. May Day, Harvest Queen, she was princes in grade 7, operatic park.

Track 16: Sports in Langley and the Athletic Hall. She discusses baseball and organized sports in Langley.

CD 2 (SR-254.2)

Track 1: Life after school and what career options were available for women. Talks about graduation rates. Her education at Normal School and what teaching was like back then.

Track 2: Life after she marries Merv Hunter. Teaching and having two kids. She also talks about how her and Merv were heavily involved in Langley Baseball.

Track 3: How life changed after WWll and life in the 50s. Langley beginning to grow.

Track 4: Margaret discusses her involvement in various community and charitable groups. She also describes how Langley began to grow and develop.

People/Subject

Douglas, Helen (nee Annand)

Helen was born on May 21, 1909. Her full name at birth was Elizabeth Helen Annand. She was a CGIT leader at Langley United church during the 1930s. She died April 17, 1999.

Hunter, Margaret

Margaret Greenfield was born in 1926 in Langley Prairie. She married Merv Hunter. Marg was a teacher at the Langley High School. She helped many students pass their Red Cross and Royal Life Saving Society Tests. She was a long-time volunteer for the Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary - Penny Pinchers and the Hospital Gift Shop. She was a member of the Cloverdale and Langley Curling Clubs, and the Langley Golf Centre, and Langley Lawn Bowlers Club. She was an active member of the Langley United Church. Margaret passed away on November 22, 2018 at the age of 92.

Hunter, Merv

Merv Hunter started his own sheet metal business in 1970, and was also the volunteer chief of the Langley City Fire Department. He was a Langley City Alderman in 1972, and again in 1974. He married Margaret Greenfield.

Langley Hotel

In 1920, John S. Donnelly opened a boarding house in Langley Prairie (this original location is unclear). By 1921, he was running the Station Hotel, a two-storey building just west of the railway station. Early in the same year it was renamed the Langley Prairie Hotel, and became the Half-Way Hotel later that year. In 1926 Conrad Traversy started running the business, and renamed it the Langley Hotel. The next year Ralph Godall and his wife took over the hotel, and on May 21, 1928, while they were away and a Mr. and Mrs. Rolph were looking after the hotel for them, a fire broke out at the rear of the hotel. Within a few minutes the whole hotel was on fire, starting the Langley Prairie Fire. The fire spread to Sam Brown's Barber Shop, Mclean's Dry Goods, the Interurban Station, and then across the road to Alf Warman's Bakery. From there it spread to the Hilton Brothers Garage, the Fraser Motors' storage shed, Wilfred DesRochers' tire sop, Fred Pollard's tinsmith shop, Jim Morris's grocery store, and Pete Prytherch's shoe repair shop. The Langley Hotel was not rebuilt on this site.

May Day celebrations

Fort Langley established its May Day in 1922, and it continues to be an annual tradition (2003). In Langley, May Day refers to the 24 of May, the date of the birth of Queen Victoria. The first May Day was held in Fort Langley, then the event moved to Langley Prairie from 1923-1957. In 1958 the Langley Kinsmen gave up the event, and it returned to Fort Langley where it was organized by the Community Improvement Society and the Fort Langley Lions club, and finally a community committee. May Day celebrations include the crowning of the May Queen and the May pole dancing.

Superbase See Also: May Day Celebrations - Langley Prairie
Term Source: Warren Sommer's "From Prairie to City", p. 154.

World War, 1939-1945

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