John Ashdown enjoyed sitting down and having a little heart to heart with a woman with a long history of volunteerism in the Royal City.
While attending this year’s Festival of Volunteers,
Ashdown, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #20 New Westminster, first met and chatted with Valentine Drayton at this year’s Festival of Volunteers.
“Valentine joined the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie #20 at the young age of 18,” Ashdown wrote in a submission to The Record. “As a child, and at a time when the New Westminster Eagles were located above the now-known Heritage Grill, she recalls going to the Columbia Theatre for a movie while her mother attended regular meetings.”
Drayton was born Feb. 14, 1928, to Katina and Sam Daniels – and was appropriately named Valentine.
“She recalls huge family picnics in Queen’s Park, and when the downtown was vibrant and full of activity, a time when the Fraternal Order of Eagles were the predominate service club,” Ashdown writes. “She attributes the decrease in downtown activity to shopping malls and a trend to business development uptown.”
Drayton, who turns 86 today, continues to volunteer in the community decades after those early efforts with the Eagles. She’s a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Royal Canadian Legion #2 Ladies Auxiliary (where she received her 50-year award), and has volunteered at George Derby Hospital since it opened. She’s also a volunteer at the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary’s New to You thrift store in Sapperton.
“Valentine is an extreme example of volunteerism in New Westminster, and we all wish her a Happy Valentine’s Day and a very Happy Birthday,” Ashdown says. “We are sure there will be many more to come.”
