A Century In A Small Town: One Family's Stories Paperback - 2013

Born at New Westminster near Vancouver, British Columbia in 1934, Evelyn Benson is a member of the pioneer Sangster and Appleton families. Five generations of the continuing Appleton-Sangster-Benson family have lived in the same heritage house for more than a century - a rarity on the West Coast. Her father was New Westminster Mayor J. Lewis Sangster. In 1953, Evelyn married her high school sweetheart, Don Benson, who is today City Poet Laureate Emeritus and an accomplished Masters Pentathlete. Both Bensons are regular history contributors to local media and devoted community activists. The Bensons have five children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A trained vocalist and actress, Evelyn conceived and co-founded the highly successful Royal City Musical Theatre Company. She is a former Citizen of the Year and the only New Westminster recipient thus far of the coveted national Lescarbot Award for outstanding contributions to Canadian culture. An award-winning journalist and former high school teacher, Evelyn recognized over half a century ago that when pioneers passed on, their stories would be lost forever if they weren't recorded for posterity, so she began interviewing old-timers to make sure that didn't happen. She continues to preserve precious oral history.