James Walker Ollivier first ran for Council in 1940 but was not successful. He was later elected Reeve of the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam in December of 1942 and served in this role until 1944. At the Council Meeting of December 5th, 1944 he tendered his resignation because he had disposed of his property and was therefore ineligible to be Reeve.
Terry O'Neill was born on July 13 1951 in St. Boniface, Manitoba. He graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1974, Bachelor of Arts (English major) and Graduated from Carleton University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Journalism (Honors). Terry is an award winning editor, writer, and communications specialist who combined journalistic endeavors with community activism. He was a founding member and past president of the Eagle Ridge Residents Association in Coquitlam and sat on the boards of the Coquitlam Foundation and Signal Hill. He served on City Council for two terms 2011 to 2018. Council Committee work included serving on the 3030 Gordon Emergency Shelter Task Force, Culture Services Advisory Committee, Multicultural Advisory Committee and the Sustainability and Environmental Advisory Committee. Since leaving Council O'Neill has dedicated his time to community service by continuing to work with the Talitha Koum Society and as a volunteer with Blooms into Rooms.
William Ostenstad grew up in Coquitlam, attending Como Lake Middle School and Centennial High School. As a young man he worked at Fraser Mills while also attending Simon Fraser University.
On November 17, 1946, Rev. Ovila Meunier, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate (OMI), met with a group living on the west side of Lebleu Street to plan a new parish that would honour Our Lady of Fatima. During this meeting, John Lambert was elected as the President of the new Parish Council. Five acres of land were purchased on Alderson Street, which included two small houses. On December 8, 1946, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the first Mass at Our Lady of Fatima was celebrated.
Pacific Survey Corporation was a mapping firm based in Vancouver. Its operations ceased prior to 1989.
Emeri Paré Sr. was born on April 8th, 1874 in Champlain in upper New York State. He became a Canadian citizen in 1895 while living in Sherbrooke, Québec. Circa 1910, he relocated to the District of Coquitlam with his wife Celina and family of seven children in order to work at the Fraser Mills as a blacksmith. It is known that his eldest son, Emeri Paré Jr. was born to his first wife, Elise Garneau. The mother(s) of his other six children is/are unknown. In January 1913, his wife Celina died and he married Lea Dault in June, 1913. On January 21st, 1911, the first Coquitlam Police Committee was struck in response to a complaint "that tramps and undesirables were being sent from Vancouver and Westminster to Coquitlam." Council moved that a committee be struck to "deal with the police question with power to appoint temporarily one or two men as constables to start their duties at once, and that the vagrants be severely dealt with and all possible means taken to protect citizens." (Council Minutes, January 21st, 1911) On February 11th, 1911, a call for applications for a police constable were sent out, promising a rate of pay of $80 per month. It noted that applicants were to state whether they were married or single. (Council Minutes, February 11th, 1911) There is no mention of a constable being hired folllowing this call, until September, when Council suggested that they "advertise in Columbian and Province for a constable at $75 per month." (Council Minutes, September 9th, 1911) Twenty applications were received and J.R. Edwards was elected at the September 18th meeting. An additional constable, J. (?) Wood was appointed on April 18th, 1912 but he was discharged on May 2nd, with PC Worrall being engaged as a replacement. A request was made on July 11th, 1912 to appoint a third constable, but no action was taken. On October 7th, 1912 Paré and a man by the name of Hunt were taken on retainer as special constables at a pay rate of $10 per month with an additional $.40 per hour when called for duty. In November, 1912 E.A. Round (likely Ernest Albert Round) was appointed as the first Chief Constable at a rate of $100 per month. In March, 1913, Paré was presumably appointed as a full-time constable as the Council Minutes for March 31st indicate his pay rate changed to $75 per month. In July of that same year, R.G. Marshall was appointed special constable at a retaining fee of $10 per month. In January, 1914, Paré was appointed Chief, though he continued to be paid at his same rate of $75 per month. In addition to his police work, Paré was charged with administering the volunteer fire brigade, and maintaining the jail, which was in the back of his house on Brunette St.. In 1927, the municipality contracted its policing services to the British Columbia Provincial Police, though Paré remained on the force until 1928, when he was transferred to the City of Mission detachment. He served in Mission until his retirement in 1933, when he returned to Maillardville and returned to his blacksmith trade. He died on September 3rd, 1952 at the age of 78.
Lea Dault was born on March 13, 1883 in Quebec. She married Emeri Paré on June 21, 1913 in Maillardville. She died on March 25, 1963.
Peregrine Photographics was a photo studio at 35-Sixth St., New Westminster, British Columbia.
C.W. Philp was elected to Council for the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam in 1915. He became the acting Reeve on May 3rd, 1916, when Reeve Marmont temporarily returned to England and served in this capacity until August when he became the Reeve, a position he held until January, 1918. Philp was born in St Thomas, Ontario but by 1897 he was in Seattle and then followed the Klondike Gold Rush to Dawson City. He tried his hand at gold mining until 1904, then returned to St Thomas before buying a plot of land along Marmont Road around 1910. He was a building contractor by trade and he re-built the Vancouver Golf Club several times after fire repeatedly claimed the buildings.
On May 25, 1987, Alderman Ray Mitchuk proposed a motion to Council to create a publication to celebrate Coquitlam’s Centennial. The motion read as follows:
“Inasmuch as the District of Coquitlam will be 100 years old in 1991,
And Inasmuch as an integral part of the celebration of such an anniversary is often the publication of a special book containing pictures and entertaining and nostalgic and informative data and history of a community,
Therefore Be It Resolved that Council appoint a committee of lay people, Fine Arts Council, professionals and members of the Public Library, to begin laying the groundwork for such a publication, to be funded by an advance of say $5,000 to meet initial expenses, and thereafter be marketed, and excess funds from sales be earmarked for a charitable purpose, or to meet library operating costs. The book will augment or replace the only written history of Coquitlam and Fraser Mills written by Harry Monk and John Stewart, and permission to use excerpts from that publication be sought. The published books will remain the property of the District of Coquitlam.”
The Committee members included: Ted Nikiforuk (chairman), Kathy Bach, Pat Cooper, Craig Hodge, Charlotte Lonneberg, Stan Pukesh, Larry Rose. The committee members served on a volunteer basis and meetings were conducted on a consensus basis. Originally, the concept for the book involved having Centennial High School students conduct the interviews; however, this proved too challenging to organize so reporters from the Coquitlam Now (including Hazel Postma) did the interviewing, transcription, and editing. Craig Hodge coordinated the collection of photographs, which were gathered from a variety of sources including archives, businesses, public and religious institutions, and members of the public.
6900 copies of the publication were printed by Hemlock Printers Company in 1990.
George Hector Proulx arrived in Coquitlam in 1910 with his family. Shortly after their arrival, the Proulx family bought a store which was the first in the small village that became Maillardville. He was elected Reeve in 1923, but was defeated the following year. He died on May 9th, 1934 and was buried in Saint Peter's Roman Catholic Cemetery in New Westminster, British Columbia.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) is a member-based professional association of nearly 14,000 Realtors. REBGV is one of Vancouver’s earliest professional associations. It was originally formed in 1888, and known as the Vancouver Real Estate Board. Representatives from 25 companies created and signed a formal constitution and bylaws in 1888. However, the Board collapsed after three months and 24 meetings.
In 1919, 10 local real estate brokers formed the Vancouver Real Estate Exchange Ltd. Prompted by the Real Estate Exchange, a Real Estate Agents’ Licensing Act was proclaimed by the provincial government in 1920. Two years later, the first real estate license law was established to set minimum standards of practice expected of those licensed under that act. In 1948, the Vancouver Real Estate Exchange Ltd. was renamed the Vancouver Real Estate Board. In 1970, the Board was renamed the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. In 1977, the REBGV launched the first computerized Multiple Listing Service and launched two websites in 1996 for commercial and residential property listings. The Board received the 2010-2012 Canada Awards for Excellence Order of Excellence-Quality, the highest award presented by Excellence Canada.
The Riverview Hospital Historical Society was incorporated on December 17, 1997 and was registered with as having charitable status on April 1, 1998. Its structure included a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and two Directors. The Society's mandate was to document the history of psychiatric care in BC and specifically Riverview Hospital and to preserve specialized equipment, furniture, artefacts, textiles, etc. relevant to the daily life of patients and staff at Riverview. The Society established and maintained a museum, which was accessible to the general public and the academic community, as well as staff, patients, and family members. The museum closed in 2012 when the hospital itself was closed down. At this time, ownership of the collection was transferred to City of Coquitlam. The Society continues to serve as an historical resource through lectures, displays and presentations under the direction of President, Anna Tremere.
Road & Motor Sport Magazine reported on races held at Westwood Racing Circuit.
Gordy Robson served as the Mayor of Maple Ridge between 2005 and 2008 and has served as a Councillor for Maple Ridge since 2014.
Gordy and his wife Mary Robson founded the "Maple Ridge News" in late 1984. When the Columbian Newspaper folded in 1985, staff started the Now group of newspapers and Robson decided to expand the News offerings into the Tri-Cities with "The Sunday News" to compete with the Now. About a year later, he started a Tri-City specific edition issued on Wednesdays, which later became the Tri-City News and was expanded to two editions per week. The newspapers were printed by Hacker Press in Abbotsford.
Around 1988, UK company Trinity purchased the Maple Ridge News and the Tri-City News. The collection of "News" papers became known as the News Group, which was eventually purchased by Black Press in 1997.
Donna Rodman is a registered landscape architect. Rodman is the founding principal of Our Designs Inc., established in 1992. Rodman holds a Diploma in Nursing (The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.), a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Geography (The University of British Columbia), a Certificate in Building (British Columbia Institute of Technology), and a Master in Landscape Architecture (The University of British Columbia).
The Royal Canadian Air Cadets is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 19. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian Forces and funded through the Department of National Defence.
The first squadrons were established in 1941 to train young men for duties during World War II. The purpose has since changed to focus on citizenship, leadership, physical fitness, general aviation and stimulating an interest in the activities of the Canadian Forces.
Russell Photo Studio was run by Vincent Calhoun Russell. It was located on Columbia St., Smith Block, New Westminster, British Columbia.
School District No. 43 (Coquitlam) or SD43 is one of the sixty school districts in British Columbia. The district is the third-largest in British Columbia with 45 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, and 11 secondary schools. School District No. 43 (Coquitlam) serves the Tri-Cities, including the cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, and the villages of Anmore and Belcarra.
The original school district of "Junction" was created on April 8, 1891, "commencing at the north-east corner of Lot 385, Group 1, Block 6 North, Range I. West, New Westminster District; thence due east to the Pitt River; thence south-westerly, following the shore line to the mouth of the Coquiltam River; thence in adiret line north to the point of commencement."
Louis (Lou) Sekora was born in Hafford, Saskatchewan in 1931. He served as Mayor of Coquitlam from 1984 to 1998 and as a Coquitlam city councillor from 1973 to 1983 and 2005 to 2013. In 2014 he ran for Mayor again, but lost to incumbent Richard Stewart. He ran successfully for a seat in the House of Commons as the Liberal candidate representing the riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam, holding his seat from 1998 to 2000. Following his time in federal politics he held the position of citizenship judge from 2001 to 2004. As part of Coquitlam City Council, he served served as Chair of the Land Use and Economic Development Standing Committee, Alternate Director to the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors, Vice Chair of the Riverview Committee, Member of the Strategic Priorities, Administration and Protective Services Standing Committee, Member of the Recreation, Sports and Culture Standing Committee, Member of the Engineering, Utilities and Environment Standing Committee, Alternate Member of the Lower Mainland Treaty Advisory Committee (LMTAC), Vice Chair of the Multiculturalism Advisory Committee, and Vice Chair of the Disability Issues Advisory Committee.
Selkirk Remote Sensing Ltd. was an aerial survey and mapping firm based in Richmond, British Columbia.