Viewing Object

Object Description

Object ID

1981.001.029

Title

Letter to John F. Leonard signed by the cast and crew of "The Girl of the Bandolier."

Date

26 Feb. 1946.

Description

One framed letter to John F. Leonard from the cast and crew of "The Girl of the Bandolier," a production put on at Langley High School. The beginning of the letter is typed and reads: " 'The Girl of the Bandolier' / February 26, 1946 / Dear Mr. Leonard: / We have searched high and low for a suitable / gift that you would use -- (Since you have a piano) / and we could not find anything that would really / do, so we ask you to accept this gift and go out / and buy yourself something you really want, to / remind you of how much we appreciate all you / have done for us. / 'The Langley High School Philharmonic Society' "; the bottom portion of the letter contains signatures from the cast and crew of the production; there are two characters drawn on the letter, one on either side of the typed text; the letter is displayed in a silver-painted wooden frame with white matting on all sides.

People/Subject

Langley High School

In 1909 the first high school class was organized and held in rented quarters in Murrayville. From 1911-18, classes were held in Belmont Superior School (later Murrayville Elementary), but the school became overcrowded with elementary and high school students. The school board approached the Municipal Council, but their request for a new schol was turned down twice. The board resigned, but the next board was more successful and local contractor Owen Hughes was hired on a low bid of $11,900. The School Board temporarily found room for the overflow pupils from Murrayville in the downstairs portion of Milner Hall and by renting the Sharon Presbyterian Church Hall. In 1922, Langley High School moved from Murrayville to Milner School, where it remained until Langley High School was built on Yale Road in 1924. Langley High School opened in 1924 with two classrooms and one science room. It taught grades 9 to 12. Additional rooms were built in 1934. In roughly 1947 the new school on the current property (2005) was built, and it included Grades 11 and 12. In 1948, the old building on Fraser Highway became Langley Central Elementary, and the high school students moved to the current location (2006) at Langley SECONDARY School. In 1985 the school went from Grades 8-12.
See Also: Langley Secondary School
Term Source: History of Langley Schools" by Harry McTaggart, Maureen Pepin, and Norman Sherrit.

Leonard, John F., 1881-1967

Son of William Leonard. Husband of Isobella Leonard. John (Jack) Leonard was born in London, England on March 1, 1881 and arrived in Vancouver in 1899. In his early adult life, he worked in logging camps in the B.C. interior and as a contractor in Salmon Arm, B.C. After service in Europe during World War I, he returned to Canada and obtained a teacher's certificate. He began teaching in Cloverdale and later taught in Langley. He was a composer of operettas and conducted musical performances of his compositions at John Oliver High School (Vancouver) and Langley High School.

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