A Year in the Garden

  Sandra Reams is our long time tenant at historic Michaud House (built 1886) in Langley City who spends lots of time caring for the gardens. Langley Heritage Society president Fred Pepin (second on the left) built her a sturdy, raised garden bed in the spring.  It took four people to help move it to the backyard. This is what it looked like after Sandra weaved her magic.   Below: a clever trellis fashioned from used garden tools. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Rose is a rose is a rose. You never know what you'll find underfoot at historic Michaud House. This brick was manufactured by Clayburn Bricks in the Abbotsford area (there was a plant in Clayburn Village and later in Abbotsford itself). These bricks were used all over the world, including the Marine Building in Vancouver and parts of the Empress Hotel in Victoria. And during the summer [...]

2021-10-21T03:05:09+00:00October 20th, 2021|

Valley Voices for September

Valley Voices journeys to historic Clayburn, B.C.'s first company town built in 1905. Bricks baked from clay that was mined at nearby Sumas Mountain were shipped around the world. The Clayburn Village Community Society is keeping the story alive at its museum, housed in the basement of the old school house. Also, an excerpt from Langley Heritage Society's "Wheels of Time" -- a short play presented by Creative Compass Society at the 1915 CNR Station in Fort Langley. Listen HERE.

2020-05-27T05:59:41+00:00September 2nd, 2019|

History on the beach

I recently stumbled across some B.C. history on the beach at Matsqui. Red bricks like these are found in some of B.C.'s most famous landmarks: the Sun Tower, St Paul's Hospital, the Marine Building and Empress Hotel. These Clayburn Brick fragments were clustered on the shore where we pulled our kayaks out of the water, likely eroded from the nearby dike where they were once used as fill. They're also found in local driveways, walls and gardens. Drive east through tiny Clayburn village to see homes, a church & school, built 100 years ago from Clayburn Bricks, fashioned from Sumas Mountain clay. (There's also a fine British sweets & tea shop that's worth a detour.) Charles Maclure built the company, his brother Sam became a famous BC architect (Hatley Castle/Royal Roads) and their older sister Sara was B.C.'s first female newspaper publisher at Vancouver's Daily World. - Mark Forsythe 

2020-05-27T05:59:49+00:00March 21st, 2019|

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