Fonds consists of ten photographs (nine black and white; 1 coloured) depicting members of the extended Byers/ Manson families, logging at Seaford and Von Donop Inlet, and the Union Steamship Chelohsin.
Henry and Ruth Byers, Ervin and Florence (Manson) McKay, Clarence and Etta (McKay) Byers, Ken and Hazel (McKay) Hansen, Scotty and Amy (Byers) McKenzie moved to Von Donop Inlet in 1939, where they ran a logging operation.
Custodial History
Found in Information Files folder (Byers family), August 1, 2020 and transferred to Archives.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of ten photographs (nine black and white; 1 coloured) depicting members of the extended Byers/ Manson families, logging at Seaford and Von Donop Inlet, and the Union Steamship Chelohsin.
Fonds consists of photographs of the Gorge Harbour Lodge and Lodge activities, the Corneille and Ballantyne families, and Gladys Ballantyne's house, Gypsy Hill.
Bobby (Elizabeth) Corneille Ballantyne (1914-2009) was born in Vancouver and moved to Cortes Island as a young child. She was 4 years old when her father died suddenly on Marina Island in 1919; she remembers that they had to wait 3 days for a Union Steamship to get the body. Her mother Tena (Sarah Christena) Corneille (1877-1949) bought a tourist lodge at the east end of Gorge Harbour in 1929, and ran it until 1936 with the help of her two teen-age daughters. Gorge Harbour Lodge offered accommodations in the main building or in tents, tennis and badminton courts, and excellent boating, bathing and fishing. Vacationers came up from Vancouver on the Union Steamships for a round-trip ticket price of $6.65. The annual Regatta was the main social event of the season, with people arriving by boat from Cortes and the surrounding islands. It featured boat and swimming races, and a dance in the evening.
Gladys Georgeson Ballantyne (1882-1964), first came to Cortes in about 1910. In about 1920 she bought a property in Whaletown (now 640 Whaletown Rd.) that she called "Gypsy Hill". She was one of the original members of the Whaletown Friendly Circle, later the Whaletown Women's Institute. Gladys, her son Bill, daughter Valerie and her fiance were all on Cortes building a summer cottage when the Depression suddenly hit. Their off-island jobs fell through, and they remained at "Gypsy Hill" for the duration.
Bill Ballantyne (1908-1993) was in the Merchant Marine from 1924-1929. When he was unable to find work on ships during the Depression, he took whatever jobs he could find hand-logging and fishing. Bill and Bobby Corneille were married in 1937. They and other young Whaletown residents formed the Gorge Harbour Dramatic Society to help raise funds to build a community hall, and Bill was the work boss of the building crew for the Gorge Hall. In 1941 they moved to Victoria, and after the war settled in Courtenay with their two sons Peter and Ross. In the late 1950s they returned to Whaletown on Cortes Island where they fished for many years on the gulf troller “Viking”. During that time many young “deckhands” spent time aboard during summer vacations. On retirement, Campbell River became their home.
Custodial History
Electronic records were downloaded in 2012 from an internet address provided by Peter Ballantyne. One photograph was scanned from a photograph temporarily loaned by John and De Clarke.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of photographs of the Gorge Harbour Lodge and Lodge activities, the Corneille and Ballantyne families, and Gladys Ballantyne's house, Gypsy Hill.
File contains material relating to Michael Manson: a manifest of the "Cardena" (undated); a typed copy of the 1891 log of the schooner "Thistle"; a typed copy of Manson's diary of a trip to Washington DC in 1923; a family tree of the Bain family of Shetland ca. 1983; typed copies of various newspaper stories about John and Michael Manson; photocopied diary pages; a printed story of the steam donkey explosion on Gunflint Lake.
File contains material relating to Michael Manson: a manifest of the "Cardena" (undated); a typed copy of the 1891 log of the schooner "Thistle"; a typed copy of Manson's diary of a trip to Washington DC in 1923; a family tree of the Bain family of Shetland ca. 1983; typed copies of various newspaper stories about John and Michael Manson; photocopied diary pages; a printed story of the steam donkey explosion on Gunflint Lake.
Photograph of two women and a man standing on the deck of a floathouse, part of a float logging camp in Seymour Inlet. A group of five children is standing on a small float in front of the bigger floats.
Photograph of two women and a man standing on the deck of a floathouse, part of a float logging camp in Seymour Inlet. A group of five children is standing on a small float in front of the bigger floats.
Photograph of three loggers from the Dot logging camp in Knight Inlet, standing among the giants of a first-growth forest in Knight Inlet. Another print of this photograph is labelled "Douglas Fir in the Klinaklini country.
One of a series of photographs taken at Clarence and Doug Boardman's Dot Logging Co. camp in Knight Inlet.
3 photograph prints: b&w ; 15 x 10 cm, 21.5 x 16.5 cm & 25 x 20 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of three loggers from the Dot logging camp in Knight Inlet, standing among the giants of a first-growth forest in Knight Inlet. Another print of this photograph is labelled "Douglas Fir in the Klinaklini country.
One of a series of photographs taken at Clarence and Doug Boardman's Dot Logging Co. camp in Knight Inlet.
The photograph shows a boatload of visitors going to Stag Bay, transport provided by the small gasboat in the background. During George Freeman's years at Stag Bay, he used this '"little green boat" for necessary commuting between Stag Bay and Lund, not only for personal needs but also for logging camp needs for repairs, medical emergencies, etc.
Wilfred Manson is standing on the gasboat in the back.
In the rowboat, L to R: Colin Campbell, Fraser Campbell (brothers), Jean Manson and Dorothy, Florence McKay with oar, Gwen Campbell and Thelma, Mrs. Colin Campbell behind Hazel McKay, Etta McKay.
The photograph shows a boatload of visitors going to Stag Bay, transport provided by the small gasboat in the background. During George Freeman's years at Stag Bay, he used this '"little green boat" for necessary commuting between Stag Bay and Lund, not only for personal needs but also for logging camp needs for repairs, medical emergencies, etc.
Wilfred Manson is standing on the gasboat in the back.
In the rowboat, L to R: Colin Campbell, Fraser Campbell (brothers), Jean Manson and Dorothy, Florence McKay with oar, Gwen Campbell and Thelma, Mrs. Colin Campbell behind Hazel McKay, Etta McKay.
Photograph of a group of people, including a woman and child, standing beside an old Ford car in the valley at Knight Inlet. Buildings may be seen in the background.
One of a series of photographs taken at Clarence and Doug Boardman's Dot Logging Co. camp in Knight Inlet.
2 photograph prints: b&w ; 15 x 10 cm & 21.5 x 16.5 cm
Scope and Content
Photograph of a group of people, including a woman and child, standing beside an old Ford car in the valley at Knight Inlet. Buildings may be seen in the background.
One of a series of photographs taken at Clarence and Doug Boardman's Dot Logging Co. camp in Knight Inlet.
Photo depicts a group of people who lived at the Von Donop creek logging camp (buildings not shown).
Back: Scotty McKenzie, Clarence Byers, Henry Byers, Ken Hansen
Seated: Ervin McKay, Florence McKay, Ruth Byers
End at right: Hazel Hansen, Amy McKenzie
Babies: Irene and Lorraine Byers
Photo depicts a group of people who lived at the Von Donop creek logging camp (buildings not shown).
Back: Scotty McKenzie, Clarence Byers, Henry Byers, Ken Hansen
Seated: Ervin McKay, Florence McKay, Ruth Byers
End at right: Hazel Hansen, Amy McKenzie
Babies: Irene and Lorraine Byers
Donkey logging at Haywire Point, Hernando Island.
Standing on the logs are (L to R): Ervie McKay; Hazel McKay standing beside her mother Florence McKay; Wilfred Freeman beside his mother Robina Freeman.
Buildings on the beach in the background are three individual family cabins and the cookhouse. The steam donkey is on the extreme right of the photo.
Donkey logging at Haywire Point, Hernando Island.
Standing on the logs are (L to R): Ervie McKay; Hazel McKay standing beside her mother Florence McKay; Wilfred Freeman beside his mother Robina Freeman.
Buildings on the beach in the background are three individual family cabins and the cookhouse. The steam donkey is on the extreme right of the photo.
Part of a series of photographs taken by Don Maclean at a logging camp at the Quatam River in Ramsey Arm, BC. The camp was likely one of the stops on his patrol for the Columbia Coast Mission.
Slides were taken by Don Maclean and donated by Janice Kerr Maclean, Sept. 9, 2021.
Scope and Content
Part of a series of photographs taken by Don Maclean at a logging camp at the Quatam River in Ramsey Arm, BC. The camp was likely one of the stops on his patrol for the Columbia Coast Mission.