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authority records
Mussallem Family
CA MRM MUF · Family · 1881 - Present

The Mussallems were a large family settled in Haney, British Columbia since the early 1900s. Lebanese immigrants Solomon and Annie Mussallem moved to Haney ca. 1919 with their five children: George (1908-2007), Nicholas (1910-1979), Mary (1912-1979), Helen (1915-2012), and Peter (1916-2010). A sixth child, Lily, was born in 1922 (d. 2012).

Solomon started Haney Garage (later Mussallem Motors) in 1919 and ran it until the late 1940s, when George took over the business. Solomon was Reeve of Maple Ridge for 23 years and Mayor for a total of 18 years.

George was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge, Masonic Lodge, Lions, and Shriners and entered politics himself as a member of the Social Credit Party. He was the party whip multiple times and held a seat as MLA for Dewdney from 1966 to 1972 and from 1975-1983.

Helen went on to become a nurse at VGH, serving in WWII as a battlefield hospital operating room nurse. She later became director of the VGH School of Nursing and Executive director of the Canadian Nurse's Association. The first Canadian nurse to receive a PhD (earned at Columbia University), she was a reformer of nursing training and triage, working around the world to develop new systems of health care.

The descendants of the Mussallem family have since left Maple Ridge and settled in various parts of Canada.

Haney Brick & Tile Limited
CA MRM HBT · Corporate body · 1907 - 1977

The Port Haney Brick & Tile Company Limited was established in 1907 by Harold Burnet, Edward G. Baynes, and William M. Horie to take advantage of a growing market for brick downriver in Vancouver. The operation was located on a rich deposit of clean clay along the banks of the Fraser River, making it ideal for the creation and distribution of their product. The success of the company was augmented by the availability of inexpensive labour using migrants from India and China. The company specialized in facing bricks, drainage tiles, and, after WWII, consumer-oriented garden tiles.

The name was changed to Haney Brick & Tile Limited ca. 1947 when river traffic had reduced to the point that "Port" was no longer relevant in the name of the town. The company closed in 1977 when the operations of the kilns were no longer as profitable as they had once been.

Haney Brick & Tile Limited was managed by three individuals over the course of its existence: Harold Burnet from 1907-1946, Jim Hadgkiss 1946-1970, and Alan Findlay 1970-1977.

Some of the structures built by the company for its use remain as heritage pieces in the municipality of Maple Ridge.