Recording is an oral history interview of Duncan Robertson by Oonagh O'Connor at his home in Whaletown (Part 1 of 2). Topics covered include some family history; people and customs of the early days on the island; logging; fishing; hunting; cougars; Cortes in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Duncan Robertson by Oonagh O'Connor at his home in Whaletown (Part 1 of 2). Topics covered include some family history; people and customs of the early days on the island; logging; fishing; hunting; cougars; Cortes in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Item consists of the continuation of an interview with Etta and Clarence Byers by Oonagh O'Connor. On Side A, Etta Byers talks about her childhood on Cortes, how she met Clarence and her married life in Seaford, Von Donop, Powell River and Courtenay. On Side B, Clarence talks about when his family moved to Cortes Island, and his experiences logging, starting at age thirteen. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Item consists of the continuation of an interview with Etta and Clarence Byers by Oonagh O'Connor. On Side A, Etta Byers talks about her childhood on Cortes, how she met Clarence and her married life in Seaford, Von Donop, Powell River and Courtenay. On Side B, Clarence talks about when his family moved to Cortes Island, and his experiences logging, starting at age thirteen. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Files include APC Agenda and Minutes, Director's Reports (published in the Discovery Islander and the Howling Wolf) and a Gunflint/Hague Lake sampling report.
The CD is stored in the CD Album and there is a print-out of the directory file in Folder 7-31.
Files include APC Agenda and Minutes, Director's Reports (published in the Discovery Islander and the Howling Wolf) and a Gunflint/Hague Lake sampling report.
The CD is stored in the CD Album and there is a print-out of the directory file in Folder 7-31.
Fonds comprises material created or collected by Wilfred (Wilf) Freeman in the course of his work as a logger and during his community activities. It includes correspondence, logging records, maps, minutes of committee meetings, financial records, ephemera and clippings. It is arranged in four series: Logging; Centennial Committee; Ephemera; and Cortez Grapevine Telephone Association.
Wilfred (Wilf) Michael Freeman was born October 21, 1917 in Vancouver B.C. and died December 23, 2012. He was the son of William George Freeman and Robina Steel (Manson) Freeman and brother to Elizabeth Jane May (Freeman) Ellingsen (born March 13, 1914). His grandparents were Michael and Jane Manson. Wilf grew up on Hernando Island until 1926 when the family moved to Vancouver. One of his first jobs in the early 1930s was in Powell River where, among other things, he was hand digging basements under some of the original Powell River townsite homes.
He gravitated to the logging industry, working for Sigurd Ellingsen and Eric Flescher in Phillips Arm through the late ’30’s and into the 1950’s. He was an excellent worker; strong, resourceful, thoughtful, humorous and thorough, and, as well, he enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Wilf and his wife, May (Spence; died 1970) moved down to Smelt Bay on Cortes in the early 1950s from Phillips Arm. He logged with Bill Mathews between 1954 and 1965 in the Von Donop Creek areas. As well, they both crewed on the seine boat “Courtenay Maid” with Pat Andrews for a few summers.
When the ferry came to Cortes Island, both Wilf and Bill worked as deckhands, always cheerful and busy throughout the trips, often chipping and repainting rust spots on the ship.
Wilf was active in many community affairs over all the years living on Cortes: among them the Ratepayers Association, the 1958 Centennial Committee, the Cortes Grapevine Telephone Assoc. (a local telephone system, 1959 - 1966), Cortes Days summer celebrations, Cortes Island Firefighters Assoc., Cortes Rod and Gun Club.
Wilf and his second wife, Nora, lived on in Smelt Bay until they moved to Willow Point, South of Campbell River, in 2002. There they lived until, on December 23, 2102, he passed away while shovelling snow in their back yard.
Custodial History
Accession 2001.001 was donated to CIMAS by Wilfred Freeman on June 16, 2001. Accession 2002.002 was gathered at Wilf Freeman's garage sale by Bonnie MacDonald and donated to the museum in June of 2002. Accession 2017.006 was donated to CIMAS by Bruce Ellingsen, Freeman's nephew, in July of 2017.
Scope and Content
Fonds comprises material created or collected by Wilfred (Wilf) Freeman in the course of his work as a logger and during his community activities. It includes correspondence, logging records, maps, minutes of committee meetings, financial records, ephemera and clippings. It is arranged in four series: Logging; Centennial Committee; Ephemera; and Cortez Grapevine Telephone Association.
Fonds consists of the personal, business and research records of May and Elmer Ellingsen. Textual records include personal and business correspondence; financial and legal records; information about local history; records and newsletters of various community organizations; records created by John Manson and by the St. James Ladies' Guild; maps; ephemera; and clippings about Cortes Island people and events. Fonds also includes photographs of the Manson family and other island people and places, and cassette tapes of oral history and music.
Fonds is arranged in 14 series: Correspondence; Financial records; Elmer Ellingsen records (business and personal); May Ellingsen personal records; Local history subject files; John Manson records; St. James Ladies' Guild records; Community organizations and services records; Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society records; Maps; Ephemera; Clippings; Photographs and Audio tapes.
Records from Accessions 2017.003 and 2019.002, which were processed after the other material had been arranged, have been interfiled.
3 meters of textual records
726 photographs
21 audio cassette tapes
Extent
252 cm
History / Biographical
Elmer Ellingsen (1913-2002) was born in North Vancouver to Sigurd and Gladys Ellingsen. After graduating from high school, he took a short course in business at Sprott Shaw College. In the early 1930s Elmer worked in logging and became a strong supporter of the trade union movement. He also had classical piano training in school, later turning to popular music; he played for many dances and parties until well into his eighties.
May Ellingsen (1914-2012) was born in Vancouver to George and Robina Freeman. Her maternal grandfather, Michael Manson, was the first person to pre-empt land on Cortes Island, in 1886. May grew up on Cortes and Hernando Islands until grade six, then moved to Vancouver with her family to finish her schooling.
May and Elmer met on Cortes in 1935 and were married on August 1, 1936. They built a float house and spent the next ten years in the Loughborough Inlet/Phillips Arm area where Elmer worked in his father's logging operations. While there, their children Shirley (1939), Bruce (1940) and Andy (1941) were born. In 1946 they moved to Von Donop Creek, where Elmer formed a logging partnership with Mike Herrewig and Scotty McKenzie. In 1950, he formed a new partnership with Erne Anderson for logging in the Whaletown area, and moved the floathouse to Manson's Landing lagoon. Two years later their floathouse was moved to its present location on Hague Lake.
After travelling from home to various logging operations, Elmer retired from logging. He bought a D8 Caterpillar tractor, backhoe and gravel truck and worked for the next forty years excavating, delivering gravel and moving things. He often worked with BC Hydro and BC Tel on pole installation, repair and maintenance.
Both Elmer and May were very active in community life. They sponsored weekly movie nights through the 1950s and square dancing in the sixties. May's many involvements included the Ladies' Guild, Women's Institute, Ratepayers Association, Post Office, Vancouver Regional Library development and Cortes Island Days. Elmer was a leading promoter of bringing ferry and hydro service to the island; he helped renovate Manson's Hall in the late 1970s, lobbied for road paving and helped initiate the Cortes Island Firefighters Assoc. in the 1980s. Both were founding members of the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society.
Custodial History
Records were collected from the home of May and Elmer Ellingsen by Andy and Susan Ellingsen and by Bruce Ellingsen and donated to CIMAS. There are eight accessions in this fonds: 2007.001, 2007.002, 2007.003, 2007.005, 2008.002 and 2010.001, 2018.002 and 2019.002.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the personal, business and research records of May and Elmer Ellingsen. Textual records include personal and business correspondence; financial and legal records; information about local history; records and newsletters of various community organizations; records created by John Manson and by the St. James Ladies' Guild; maps; ephemera; and clippings about Cortes Island people and events. Fonds also includes photographs of the Manson family and other island people and places, and cassette tapes of oral history and music.
Fonds is arranged in 14 series: Correspondence; Financial records; Elmer Ellingsen records (business and personal); May Ellingsen personal records; Local history subject files; John Manson records; St. James Ladies' Guild records; Community organizations and services records; Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society records; Maps; Ephemera; Clippings; Photographs and Audio tapes.
Records from Accessions 2017.003 and 2019.002, which were processed after the other material had been arranged, have been interfiled.
Recording is an oral history interview of May Ellingsen by Oonagh O'Connor. May traces her family history and then talks about her childhood on Cortes and Hernando Islands; meeting and marrying Elmer; living in a float house at logging camps in Loughborough Inlet, Phillips Arm and Von Donop Inlet; and moving the house to Hague Lake in 1952. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of May Ellingsen by Oonagh O'Connor. May traces her family history and then talks about her childhood on Cortes and Hernando Islands; meeting and marrying Elmer; living in a float house at logging camps in Loughborough Inlet, Phillips Arm and Von Donop Inlet; and moving the house to Hague Lake in 1952. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of May and Elmer Ellingsen by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered include how Elmer came to the island and met May; logging experiences; Cortes roads and telephone system; and living at Von Donop Inlet. Several humorous stories are related. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of May and Elmer Ellingsen by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered include how Elmer came to the island and met May; logging experiences; Cortes roads and telephone system; and living at Von Donop Inlet. Several humorous stories are related. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Dolly (Jeffery) and Harold Hansen by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered include the Jeffery family history; how Harold came to Cortes; logging; picking salal; and raising eight foster children. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Dolly (Jeffery) and Harold Hansen by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered include the Jeffery family history; how Harold came to Cortes; logging; picking salal; and raising eight foster children. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
This is the continuation (Part 3) of an interview of Etta and Clarence Byers by Oonagh O'Connor. Clarence talks about his family history; moving to Cortes Island, logging on Cortes in the Von Donop/Blue Jay Lake/Carrington Bay area; road-building; and the arrival of Japanese oysters to Cortes beaches in ca. 1938. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
This is the continuation (Part 3) of an interview of Etta and Clarence Byers by Oonagh O'Connor. Clarence talks about his family history; moving to Cortes Island, logging on Cortes in the Von Donop/Blue Jay Lake/Carrington Bay area; road-building; and the arrival of Japanese oysters to Cortes beaches in ca. 1938. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Robbie Graham and Ann (Robertson) Dewar by Oonagh O'Connor. Robbie talks about how his father, Hector Graham, moved to Cortes Island in the 1920s; early days on Cortes; schools and teachers; fishing. Ann talks about schools; her aunt Meg Shaw; her experiences logging, starting at age twelve. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Robbie Graham and Ann (Robertson) Dewar by Oonagh O'Connor. Robbie talks about how his father, Hector Graham, moved to Cortes Island in the 1920s; early days on Cortes; schools and teachers; fishing. Ann talks about schools; her aunt Meg Shaw; her experiences logging, starting at age twelve. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
File consists of two CDs containing .pdf and .doc files. Subjects include: aquaculture; Director's Reports; Ferry Advisory Committee; SMT (Senior Management Team) meetings; Whaletown Creek; Advisory Planning Committee minutes, RDCS restructuring, and other RDCS business.
The CDs are stored in the CD Album and there is a print-out of the directory files in Folder 7-31.
Files in .doc format have been migrated to PDF files for purposes of preservation and access.
File consists of two CDs containing .pdf and .doc files. Subjects include: aquaculture; Director's Reports; Ferry Advisory Committee; SMT (Senior Management Team) meetings; Whaletown Creek; Advisory Planning Committee minutes, RDCS restructuring, and other RDCS business.
The CDs are stored in the CD Album and there is a print-out of the directory files in Folder 7-31.
Files in .doc format have been migrated to PDF files for purposes of preservation and access.
Files are organized into the following folders: Aquaculture; Director's Reports (published in the Discovery Islander and the Howling Wolf); Ferry Advisory Committee; Island Sea Farms; Letter of Support; Restructuring; SMT (Senior Management Team) Agendas and Notes; and Whaletown Creek. There are also files relating to RDCS restructuring, APC minutes, and other RDCS business. The CD is stored in the CD Album and there is a print-out of the directory file in Folder 7-31.
Files are organized into the following folders: Aquaculture; Director's Reports (published in the Discovery Islander and the Howling Wolf); Ferry Advisory Committee; Island Sea Farms; Letter of Support; Restructuring; SMT (Senior Management Team) Agendas and Notes; and Whaletown Creek. There are also files relating to RDCS restructuring, APC minutes, and other RDCS business. The CD is stored in the CD Album and there is a print-out of the directory file in Folder 7-31.
Fonds consists of the records of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association, an organization of the property owners and residents of Cortes Island from 1963 to 1984. They include administrative documents such as the constitution and membership lists, minutes of CIRA meetings, annual reports, newsletters to members, correspondence and materials related to the provision of services, land use planning and other issues of island concern.
The fonds is composed of the following series: Administrative Documents; Minutes; Financial; Newsletters and Notices; Correspondence; Subject; Community Planning and Land Use (Advisory Planning Commission); Clippings; and Maps and Plans.
The Cortes Island Ratepayers Association (CIRA) was an association of property owners and residents formed in 1963 to "further the development of the island and to have a representative body in dealing with the Provincial government."
The first activity initiated by CIRA was to lobby the provincial government for the provision of electricity and ferry service to Cortes Island. Their efforts met with success. Electricity was brought to the island in 1970 and ferry service from Quadra Island to Cortes Island began in 1969. CIRA also became an important forum for the discussion of other important services on Cortes Island, including roads, fire protection, garbage disposal, water quality, rural mail delivery and library facilities.
As a result of CIRA's efforts to bring electricity to Cortes Island, in 1967 the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Dan Campbell, designated Cortes Island a Local Improvement District. This made Cortes Island into a legal entity for the purpose of negotiating with the province for electrical power. In that same year, Minister Campbell invited CIRA to participate in discussions and committee work on the formation of a regional district level of government.
In 1968, Cortes Island was designated 'Electoral Area I' in the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona (RDCS) with an elected director. Under this system, a Regional Director is elected who in turn sits on the Board of the RDCS. Each Regional Director appoints an Advisory Planning Commission (APC), a committee of island residents who advise the Director on matters of island concern. In 1968, CIRA determined that the elected members of the executive of CIRA would form the APC for Cortes Island. This arrangement lasted until the dissolution of CIRA in 1984. The first zoning by-law was completed in 1970 and an Official Settlement Plan and zoning by-law in 1979.
In 1982, CIRA initiated a court case against Raven Lumber for non-compliance with the Cortes Island Official Settlement Plan and zoning by-law. CIRA won the case upon appeal, but in 1984 an Order in Council allowed Raven Lumber to proceed with their development. The court case had absorbed a great deal of CIRA energy and fund raising effort over a four year period. At the General Meeting in November, 1984 there were no candidates willing to stand for the executive. CIRA was declared inactive at that meeting and was never reactivated.
Custodial History
During the term of the last president of CIRA, the records were kept in the Gorge Harbour Community Hall on Cortes Island. After the dissolution of the CIRA in 1984, the records continued to be stored in the hall. The records were transferred to the Cortes Island Museum and Archives by the Whaletown Community Club (owner of the hall) in 2000.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association, an organization of the property owners and residents of Cortes Island from 1963 to 1984. They include administrative documents such as the constitution and membership lists, minutes of CIRA meetings, annual reports, newsletters to members, correspondence and materials related to the provision of services, land use planning and other issues of island concern.
The fonds is composed of the following series: Administrative Documents; Minutes; Financial; Newsletters and Notices; Correspondence; Subject; Community Planning and Land Use (Advisory Planning Commission); Clippings; and Maps and Plans.
Regional Director of Electoral Area I (Cortes Island) fonds
Gilean Douglas fonds
Finding Aid
File list available
Arrangement
Materials were received in their original file folders, however the files were not in any discernible order. In the absence of original order, materials were arranged by function and subject at the series level and chronologically within series.
Wilfred and Jean Manson's nearly completed home at Stag Bay, Hernando Island. The former logging camp cookhouse can be seen to the left. At this time it was used as a storage building for hay.
Wilfred and Jean Manson's nearly completed home at Stag Bay, Hernando Island. The former logging camp cookhouse can be seen to the left. At this time it was used as a storage building for hay.
Recording consists of a round-table discussion, held to gather information for the "The Von Donop Creek Story" exhibit. Participants were [CHECK] (See 1999.004.048 for Part 3)
Recording consists of a round-table discussion, held to gather information for the "The Von Donop Creek Story" exhibit. Participants were [CHECK] (See 1999.004.048 for Part 3)