I was recently contributing photos to Tourism Surrey’s Flickr Group and selected several of the images I took while on a photowalk in Whalley with my sister and my nephews. The boys were in Little League and so we had walked around the ballparks and then over to the recreation centre.
I started a Surrey File profile about five years ago and it’s hardly used so I thought Chuck would be a good reason to bring the series back:
Bailey spent most of his adult life involved in Little League Baseball, teaming up with Orest Springenatic to build a Whalley program that is famous as one of this country’s perennial powerhouses. Bailey and Springenatic coached two Whalley teams to the fabled Little League World Series and freely passed that knowledge on to other organizations in the area in an effort to build the game in British Columbia.
“The thing was, Chuck and Orest didn’t just develop some system in Whalley and keep it hidden,” recalled Little League Canada president Roy Bergerman, who served as president of Kennedy Surrey Little League when Bailey was the District 3 co-ordinator for the game.
“They took it out to other leagues and told people, ‘This is how you have to do it.’ Chuck was not shy about sharing his knowledge across the province. His attitude was to build up all of the leagues to be as strong as they possibly could because competition makes everybody better.” [Surrey Now]
Chuck Bailey passed away in 2008 after suffering with leukemia for more than a decade. He changed the little league program in Whalley, putting the Surrey neighbourhood on the map in the baseball world.
Originally from Saskatchewan, Bailey moved to Surrey in the early 1960s and spent 11 years coaching Surrey East Little League before that organization dissolved in 1973.
Knowing of Bailey’s abilities from playing against him over the years, Whalley coach Springenatic invited his rival to cross the street and work with him. Together the two men would become known as the “grandfathers of baseball” in the Lower Mainland.
In addition to his time spent as a coach, Bailey also served in administrative capacities, including long stretches of time as Whalley Little League president, District 3 co-ordinator and B.C. Little League president. Even as he was battling the effects of leukemia, Bailey spent as many as 15 hours each day in the summer months at the ballpark.
“I love the game,” Bailey said in a 2003 interview with the Now. “It’s nice to see the smiles on the kids faces. And when you see their tears you feel like crying too because they try so hard. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing these young children play baseball and have fun. It makes all the years you spend at this worthwhile.” [Surrey Now]
By 2005, the Whalley baseball teams had won 153 titles in four age categories, including 59 district pennants, 60 provincial championships, and 34 national crowns. Whalley Little League has also represented Canada at the Little League World Series in Williamsport in 1973, 1978, 1997, and 2005.
Should you have a suggestion for another Surrey File profile – of a person who has made a significant contribution to the community over the years – please feel free to leave a comment.
The Package Tour is a boy-band extravaganza that will be making its way to Vancouver on Wednesday, July 10th, 2013 with New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, and Boys II Men. These “boys” have all grown up with mature looks and lyrics but they’re bound to instill a sense of nostalgia as they play the chart-topping favourites that many of us grew up with.
Multi-platinum selling artists 98 Degrees and Grammy Award winning Boyz II Men (the best-selling R&B group of all time) will be opening for the multi-platinum selling New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) who will be releasing their new album on April 2, 2013. Their first single Remix (I Like The) came out in January.
Tickets for this blockbuster concert, at Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena, go on sale Monday, February 18, 2013 at 10:00am. Charge by phone 1-855-985-5000 or get your tickets online through Ticketmaster for $25, $45, $65, $85 (including HST, plus fees).
If you would like to beat the box office and scoop up some of these hot tickets right away, I have a pair to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment with your favourite song by New Kids on the Block, 98 Degrees, or Boys II Men (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win tickets to @ThePackageTour from @LiveNationWest & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/hILps
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.
Neil O’Brien, host of “Neil With The B-Movie Reel” on CKNW Newstalk 980 forwarded me event information about his B-Movie Night event at the Collingwood Cinema (formerly the Raja Theatre) on Kingsway.
As he puts it, “featuring the fun schlocky big bugs destroying cities, aliens invading earth in flying saucers attached to strings and aliens in rubber suits B-Movies Double Features from The Atomic Age. They’re a fun throw back to yester-year that is fun for anyone!”
The shows on March 2nd will begin at 9:00pm and 11:00pm and tickets are $10 for both movies or $7 for just one. Reservations are not being taken so just show up to enjoy all of the classic cinematic goodness.
I have to admit that most of the B-Movies I’ve seen have been during episodes of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, although that has actually led to an appreciation for the genre. If you would like to see this event turn into a monthly series be sure to let Neil know and get your tickets for this upcoming double feature.
Vancouver has a few triangle-shaped buildings but none are as prominent and photographed as the Hotel Europe across from Maple Tree Square in Gastown making it today’s Vancouver Icon photo feature.
(Left) 1908 – Completed Hotel Europe. Archives #HotP17. (Right) 1910s – Archives #M-11-32.
1960s – Archives #CVA 1135-57.
1970s – Arhives #CVA 780-508.
Our very own Flatiron Building was commissioned by hotelier Angelo Calori and completed in 1909 – Manhattan’s was complete in 1902.
“In 1886 he started construction of the Europe Hotel and built a large addition in 1890. In 1908 he added another section—the first concrete building in Vancouver.” These dates are at odds with the generally accepted date of construction: 1908-09. The building still stands in Gastown, with fine stonework, glass and a marble main floor. [Vancouver History]
Designed by Parr and Fee (probably Vancouver’s most prolific architects), it displays almost none of their trademarks. Instead it borrows from Daniel Burnham’s Flatiron Building in Manhattan, completed in 1902. This is particularly true in the twin column window design on the ‘point’ of the building. It was built by the Ferro-Concrete Construction Company who were brought in from Cincinnati. They had built the first tall reinforced concrete building in 1902, and the hotel is among the first reinforced concrete buildings in the city (and possibly the oldest). [Changing Vancouver]
Dress for Success Vancouver will be hosting IMPACT: An Event for Change on March 7th, 2013. This annual fundraiser mixes philanthropy with entertainment, wines and hor d’oeuvres, along with inspirational stories from the women of Dress for Success Vancouver.
When Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 6:00pm Where Spanish Ballroom at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia Tickets A tax receipt of $75 for each ticket sold will be provided to the contact name provided (tickets are $125 each).
Dress for Success® Vancouver is a registered Canadian Charity that helps low and no income women to transition into the workforce by providing professional attire. Each Dress for Success client receives a suit for her interviews and a small working wardrobe when she gets her job. The suits we give symbolize our faith in every woman’s ability to succeed. Dress for Success Vancouver was the first international agency of Dress for Success Worldwide.
Neil is organizing 
