Dozens of relatives born from a Maillardville pioneering family will descend on their old French-Canadian stomping grounds tomorrow (Saturday) to mark 100 years since their ancestors chugged into town.
The descendants of George and Fabiana Proulx will hold a reunion at Coquitlam's Place Maillardville, some of whom are travelling as far afield as Alberta to attend the historic event.
George Hector Proulx was the eldest of six children from Aime Proulx and his wife, Elodie, who arrived via train in 1910 from Stoke, Quebec during the Fraser Mills heydays. Other Maillardville settlers that came that year included the Bedard, Girard and Pare families.
According to the Maillardville Residents' Association, the Proulx family started the Proulx Store and George managed the business at the corner of Laval Street and Pitt River Road, which in 1913 became the post office. It burned down around 1929 and was rebuilt; the post office - and its post mark - remained in the store until 1972 when new owners took over.
George and Fabiana Proulx had eight children: Rose "Alma" and her twin "Rose" Alba; Gerry; Georgette; Frances; Alice; Aime (who died at 18 in a car crash); and Edward (who died at 10 in a snow sledding accident). George Proulx also built a home on Brunette Avenue.
City records show George Proulx was named reeve of the district of Coquitlam in 1923, succeeding L.E. Marmont who had served since 1918; R.C. MacDonald took over the top job the following year and served for 17 years.
Proulx died in 1937.
Barbara Bettles, the eldest daughter of Rose Alma and John Foster, and sister to Yvonne, Edward, Joan and Dennis, said 22 first cousins will be at the reunion - many of whom she hasn't seen for about 40 years.
Some relatives have sent photos of the family, which will be part of a DVD compilation that will be donated to the Mackin House Museum in Coquitlam. Relatives have also drawn family trees for the reunion to trace the ancestry for the younger generations, said Bettles, whose family moved from Stewart Avenue to Burnaby when she was seven.
The reunion will also feature stories, a skit, French-Canadian music and walking tours of Maillardville, Bettles said.
