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 consists of a letter from Mary-Anne Forman recounting the history of her family and their connection with Cortes Island along with copies of material from their family collection: 16 digital photograph prints (12 b&w; 4 col.), an account of Eric Collins, and a photocopy of a newspaper article about Sir Edmund Hillary. The photos are labelled on the back and depict Cortes Island people and locations, including the cabins at Manson's Spit and Manson's wharf. People depicted include Dan McIvor, Mrs. Lowe, Doris Hawkins, Rev. Rollo Boas, Elmer Ellingsen, Betty Jeffery, Nellie Jeffery, and Jack Summers. There is a photo of Sir Edmund Hillary on Manson's wharf.
Mary-Anne Forman is the daughter of Daniel Erskine McIvor (1911-2005). Her family has a summer cottage on Hague Lake on Cortes Island and has spent summers on the island since the 1950s. Dan McIvor and his wife Isobel are buried in the Manson's Landing Cemetery, which also holds a memorial bench for Eric Collins.
Dan McIvor joined the R.C.A.F. in 1941. After his discharge in 1945, he and his family moved to British Columbia where he flew the B.C. coast as one of the legendary "Bush Pilots." In the 1960s he found and arranged the purchase of four Martin Mars flying boats - the only ones of their kind in the world. Dan had always believed that the safest and most effective way to fight forest fires was from the air. His innovative ideas resulted in the conversion of the Martin Mars to the first modern water bomber, with each airplane able to carry 6 000 imperial gallons of water.
Custodial History
Mary-Anne Forman mailed the material in this file to Ian Disney in 2015; it was subsequently donated to CIMAS.
Scope and Content
File consists of a letter from Mary-Anne Forman recounting the history of her family and their connection with Cortes Island along with copies of material from their family collection: 16 digital photograph prints (12 b&w; 4 col.), an account of Eric Collins, and a photocopy of a newspaper article about Sir Edmund Hillary. The photos are labelled on the back and depict Cortes Island people and locations, including the cabins at Manson's Spit and Manson's wharf. People depicted include Dan McIvor, Mrs. Lowe, Doris Hawkins, Rev. Rollo Boas, Elmer Ellingsen, Betty Jeffery, Nellie Jeffery, and Jack Summers. There is a photo of Sir Edmund Hillary on Manson's wharf.
"Logging, 1903-1949":
The album contains reminiscences of Frank Gallinger's logging camp; a photograph of old-growth trees; logging camps (various locations) and group photos; photographs of hand logging with the use of springboards and logging with steam donkeys, tractors, power saws and horses (on the John Manson property); photographs of log booms (various locations), logging on Quadra and "haywire" logging on Hernando Island; and a newspaper clipping about horse logging (1984).
"Logging, 1903-1949":
The album contains reminiscences of Frank Gallinger's logging camp; a photograph of old-growth trees; logging camps (various locations) and group photos; photographs of hand logging with the use of springboards and logging with steam donkeys, tractors, power saws and horses (on the John Manson property); photographs of log booms (various locations), logging on Quadra and "haywire" logging on Hernando Island; and a newspaper clipping about horse logging (1984).
Album Seven: Mike and John Manson families, 1895-1957
Contains: an excerpt from a Victoria Colonist article about Mike Manson's steamship "Thistle" [1907]; log of the "Thistle" [1891; history of Mike Manson's steam tug "Stella"; log of the 'Stella' [1895]; excerpts from the diary of John Manson [1902]; an account of John Manson's funeral by Rev. Alan Greene [1957]; photographs of the Manson family at their home on Cortes Island (McKay, Herrewig, and more...
Album Seven: Mike and John Manson families, 1895-1957
Contains: an excerpt from a Victoria Colonist article about Mike Manson's steamship "Thistle" [1907]; log of the "Thistle" [1891; history of Mike Manson's steam tug "Stella"; log of the 'Stella' [1895]; excerpts from the diary of John Manson [1902]; an account of John Manson's funeral by Rev. Alan Greene [1957]; photographs of the Manson family at their home on Cortes Island (McKay, Herrewig, and more...
Album 8, "Harbours and Marinas on Cortes Island", contains photographs of wharves and their surroundings in Whaletown, Manson's Landing, Cortes Bay, Marina Island, Camp/Subtle Island, and other nearby coastal areas.
Album 8, "Harbours and Marinas on Cortes Island", contains photographs of wharves and their surroundings in Whaletown, Manson's Landing, Cortes Bay, Marina Island, Camp/Subtle Island, and other nearby coastal areas.
Album 9: Hernando Island and Squirrel Cove
a) Hernando Island: contains a hand-drawn map of Hernando Island, and photographs of the pier, the locomotive used to haul logs, the logging crew at Stag Bay, the George Freeman home at Stag Bay, the logging camp on Hernando Island, residents of Hernando, and the Manson family when they lived at the George Freeman house.
b) Squirrel Cove: contains photographs of the church, the First Nations reservation and residents including the Dominic family, the Forrest family and their store, the Cowan family, the boat shed, planer shed and sawmill which belonged to Val Nichols, the wharf, and the Squirrel Cove Community Hall.
Album 9: Hernando Island and Squirrel Cove
a) Hernando Island: contains a hand-drawn map of Hernando Island, and photographs of the pier, the locomotive used to haul logs, the logging crew at Stag Bay, the George Freeman home at Stag Bay, the logging camp on Hernando Island, residents of Hernando, and the Manson family when they lived at the George Freeman house.
b) Squirrel Cove: contains photographs of the church, the First Nations reservation and residents including the Dominic family, the Forrest family and their store, the Cowan family, the boat shed, planer shed and sawmill which belonged to Val Nichols, the wharf, and the Squirrel Cove Community Hall.
Series contains records related to work on the Manson's Landing Community Hall in the 1960s, a major expansion and renovation project completed in 1982, and an expansion to add a medical clinic in 1988. It includes plans, grant applications, payroll records, financial reports, receipts, and correspondence.
25 files of textual material
4 photographs : col. ;
2 architectural drawings
Scope and Content
Series contains records related to work on the Manson's Landing Community Hall in the 1960s, a major expansion and renovation project completed in 1982, and an expansion to add a medical clinic in 1988. It includes plans, grant applications, payroll records, financial reports, receipts, and correspondence.
John Manson (1868-1959) was born in the Shetland Islands and migrated to British Columbia in 1887, where he joined his brother Michael Manson on Cortes Island. He married Margaret Ellen Smith in 1894 and they had four children: Jack (born 1896), Anna (1898), Rose (1900) and Nicol (1906). The family lived at Sunny Brae Farm, on the south-east side of Cortes, across from Twin Islands.
Custodial History
Most of the files in this series were in an old wooden box when transferred to the archives, suggesting that they were collected from John Manson's house as a unit.
Scope and Content
Series consists of records created by John Manson of Sunny Brae farm, including legal documents, financial records, correspondence and ephemera.