Viewing Object

Object Description

Object ID

0943

Title

Crowd gathers during the May Day holiday celebrations.

Date

1925.

Description

Crowd gathering during the May Day celebrations in Fort Langley. (The building across the street might be the house of George and Christina Carter, later the Reid and Gardner house. If that is the case, these people are assembled beside the old town hall, to the south). The man in the back row with the brim of his hat up (in front of the house's end verandah post) is William Morrison. The hatless woman just in front of him is Janet Morrison.

People/Subject

Fort Langley (village)

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.

Morrison, Janet Spalding

Janet Spalding (Spaulding?) Wilkie was born in 1869 at Bellgrave House, Monkstown, Dublin, Ireland. She came to Fort Langley with her family in 1887. She married Billy (William) Morrison. The couple had seven children: Irene, Kenneth (Jerry), Janet (Bunny), Alice (Tucker), Joseph (Rorry), Violet (Tooty), and Henry (King). She took an active part in community affairs: she was the Secretary of the Fort Langley Women's Auxiliary of the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League, and was the first female school trustee in Langley. She supported St. George's Anglican Church and was a member of the Delta-Surrey-Langley Pioneers' Association. She died on February 1, 1951, at the age of 82, after a stroke, and was buried in the Fort Langley Cemetery.

Morrison, William (Billy)

William (Billy) Morrison was born on October 15, 1871 in Fort Langley to parents Kenneth and Lucy (nee Allard) Morrison. Kenneth was a Hudson Bay employee at the Fort, and Billy ended up staying in Fort Langley his whole life. He married Janet Spalding Wilkie, and the couple had 7 children : Irene, Kenneth (Jerry), Janet (Bunny), Alice (Tucker), Joseph (Rorry), Violet (Tooty), and Henry (King). Billy spent many years working for the CNR, and served with the Canadian Armed Forces during WWI. Billy passed away June 3, 1959, and is buried in the Fort Langley Cemetery.

Argus v4.3.6.40 - Langley Centennial Museum