Fonds consists of photographs of Cortes Island people and events, and one file of textual records, which includes a 13 verse poem by Mabel Christensen, "Picnic", about Cortes Island Day.
Peggy Newsham (1907-1999) was born in Belfast, Ireland. At the age of 16, she emigrated to Vancouver, Canada. In 1937, Peggy met Doll (Jeffery) Hansen and together they traveled on the Union Steamship to Cortes Island. She worked for Alice Robertson at Burnside in Whaletown, helping with the gardening, livestock and household chores. Peggy moved to Manson's Landing in the late 1960s, where she was active in the Community Club and took part in many social activities. She was crowned "Queen of Cortes" by acclamation at Cortes Day in 1979. There is a memorial to Peggy in the garden of the Cortes Island Museum.
Custodial History
Donated by Dennis Newsham and Frances Guthrie.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of photographs of Cortes Island people and events, and one file of textual records, which includes a 13 verse poem by Mabel Christensen, "Picnic", about Cortes Island Day.
File contains records relating to the Whiting's egg business: feed orders and price lists, bills, receipts for eggs sold and Union Steamship bills of lading.
File contains records relating to the Whiting's egg business: feed orders and price lists, bills, receipts for eggs sold and Union Steamship bills of lading.
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.
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.
Fonds consists of the personal records of Gilean Douglas which were produced and received during her personal and literary activities. There is some material dating from Douglas's early life, but the bulk of it dates from 1948 to 1993 and directly concerns her life on Cortes Island. Because of Douglas's involvement in the public life of the island, and her interest in local history, her papers contain a great deal of information about the political, community and social life of Cortes Island, particularly the Whaletown area. Fonds is composed of eighteen series: Manuscripts; Correspondence; Literary Records; Regional Director for Area I (Cortes Island); Women's Institute; Women's Auxiliary of the Anglican Church; School District #72; Whaletown Community Club; Channel Rock; Research; "The Log" of the Columbia Coast Mission; Journals and Notebooks; Illustrations and Sketches; Ephemera; Clippings; Maps; Albums; Photographs.
1.9 m of textual records; ca. 2,352 photographic records (1147 prints : b&w and col. - ca. 560 negatives : b&w and col. negatives ; 35 mm and 14 x 11 cm or smaller - 645 slides : col. slides ; 35 mm); 1 cm of graphic material; 8 maps.
Extent
1.9
History / Biographical
Gilean Douglas was born in Toronto, Ont. In 1900. Orphaned at the age of 16, she began to work as a free-lance writer and photographer. Over her lifetime her work appeared in more than 200 publications, often published under pseudonyms (Grant Madison, Armoral Kent and Jill MacLean). Douglas published eight books of poetry and three books of non-fiction, and, from 1961 to 1992, wrote a regular column, “Nature Rambles”, for the Victoria Times-Colonist.
In 1939, following the collapse of her third marriage, Douglas moved from Ontario to an isolated cabin in the mountains near Hope, B.C. Her first two books of nature writing (one published under the name Grant Madison) document her life there. Her cabin was destroyed by fire in 1947 and two years later she moved to a 138-acre waterfront homestead on Cortes Island with her fourth husband, Philip Douglas, (née Major). Her marriage ended in 1953, but she remained there until her death in 1993. Her home at Channel Rock was isolated, with no road access and no electricity. Douglas had a large garden, and supplemented her writing income by selling produce and plants. She was a volunteer Weather Observer for Environment Canada for 33 years, receiving several awards for her service. Starting in the 1960s, her writing centered increasingly on her life at Channel Rock. Her "Nature Rambles" columns and book "The Protected Place" reflect her life on the island.
During her years on Cortes Island, Douglas took a leading role in community affairs and local politics. She held office in several community organizations and acted as a school trustee. As a member of the Women's Institute, she held local, district, provincial and national office, edited a book on its history, and was awarded a Life Membership in 1989. Douglas was a member of the first Cortes Island Advisory Planning Commission and represented Cortes on the Regional Board of Comox-Strathcona as Alternate Director from 1968 to 1973 and as Director from 1973 until 1977.
List of Book Publications:
1952 Now the Green Word (Wings Press, Mill Valley, Ca.)
1953 Poetic Plush (The Story Book Press, Dallas, Texas)
1953 River For My Sidewalk (by “Grant Madison”; J. M. Dent & Sons, Toronto, Ont.)
1954 The Pattern Set (Quality Press, Montreal, Quebec)
1959 Modern Pioneers (a history of the Women's Institute, ed. by Douglas; Evergreen Press)
1967 Seascape With Figures (Prairie Press, Iowa City, Iowa)
1973 Now In This Night (Harlo Press, Detroit, Mi.)
1978 Silence Is My Homeland (Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pa.)
1979 The Protected Place (Gray’s Publishing, Sidney, B.C.)
1982 Prodigal (Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, B.C.)
1984 River For My Sidewalk (by Gilean Douglas; Sono Nis Press)
1985 Kodachromes at Midday (Sono Nis Press)
1992 Seascape With Figures - Poems Selected and New (Sono Nis Press)
Custodial History
Upon Douglas’ death in 1993 her papers were gathered from her house by her literary executor, Gillian Milton. Douglas’ will directed that her papers and photographs be turned over to the University of British Columbia (Douglas’ primary beneficiary), after being examined and used for literary purposes including publication or biography. Accordingly, Milton inventoried the records, and with Andrea Lebowitz made use of them for a biography and anthology of the writings of Douglas, "Gilean Douglas: Writing Nature, Finding Home" (Lebowitz and Milton, Sono Nis Press, 1999). The textual records were turned over to University of British Columbia Library Rare Books and Special Collections in December 1999; the photographic records in 2002. By agreement with UBC, the records and photographs which have to do primarily with Cortes Island were turned over to the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society (Manson's Landing, B.C.) in 1999.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the personal records of Gilean Douglas which were produced and received during her personal and literary activities. There is some material dating from Douglas's early life, but the bulk of it dates from 1948 to 1993 and directly concerns her life on Cortes Island. Because of Douglas's involvement in the public life of the island, and her interest in local history, her papers contain a great deal of information about the political, community and social life of Cortes Island, particularly the Whaletown area. Fonds is composed of eighteen series: Manuscripts; Correspondence; Literary Records; Regional Director for Area I (Cortes Island); Women's Institute; Women's Auxiliary of the Anglican Church; School District #72; Whaletown Community Club; Channel Rock; Research; "The Log" of the Columbia Coast Mission; Journals and Notebooks; Illustrations and Sketches; Ephemera; Clippings; Maps; Albums; Photographs.
Gilean Douglas fonds at the University of British Columbia Library (Special Collections)
Cortes Island Ratepayers Association fonds
Gorge Harbour Community Hall fonds
Whaletown Community Club fonds
Whaletown Women's Institute fonds
Regional Director of Electoral Area I (Cortes Island) fonds
Copyright
Copyright for Douglas's published writings is held by the University of British Columbia. Permission to use Douglas's manuscripts for publication purposes must be obtained from the University of British Columbia or from Gillian Milton, literary executor for the estate of Gilean Douglas.
Arrangement
Wherever possible, Douglas’ system of arrangement has been retained, and original groupings of material have been maintained. Other material has been arranged according to type.
Photograph shows an old car parked beside the freight shed on the Whaletown wharf. Beside it a man is pushing the freight cart; a freight boat is alongside the wharf at back.
Photograph shows an old car parked beside the freight shed on the Whaletown wharf. Beside it a man is pushing the freight cart; a freight boat is alongside the wharf at back.
Photograph of a white house with rock-walled terraces to its right. This was Amy and Scotty McKenzie's float house, moved from Von Donop Inlet in 1951. Amy was daughter of Ruth and Henry Byers, who lived in the “Grey House” west of the ferry landing. (The "Grey House" was later moved to Squirrel Cove next to the Store.) The McKenzie house was between the Grey House and the ferry landing; it was torn down ca. 1974. The terraces may still be seen in the small park next to the ferry landing.
Photograph of a white house with rock-walled terraces to its right. This was Amy and Scotty McKenzie's float house, moved from Von Donop Inlet in 1951. Amy was daughter of Ruth and Henry Byers, who lived in the “Grey House” west of the ferry landing. (The "Grey House" was later moved to Squirrel Cove next to the Store.) The McKenzie house was between the Grey House and the ferry landing; it was torn down ca. 1974. The terraces may still be seen in the small park next to the ferry landing.
File consists of correspondence re establishing a ferry service to the island, reports of joint meetings between the SCCA, the Whaletown Community Club and a Quadra Island group to explore the possibility and freight rates of Coast Ferries Ltd. The meeting reports also include discussion on forming a Ratepayers Association.
File consists of correspondence re establishing a ferry service to the island, reports of joint meetings between the SCCA, the Whaletown Community Club and a Quadra Island group to explore the possibility and freight rates of Coast Ferries Ltd. The meeting reports also include discussion on forming a Ratepayers Association.
File contains: ferry ticket book covers (1980); SCCA dance tickets, Cortes Island Day supper tickets and five prize ribbons (all ca. 1980); a small scheduling calendar for Hall events (1982); and a newsprint pamphlet "Yuletide Favorites" with recipes and carols (1970); notebook with mysterious tallies (1962), blank dance poster, poem by Dick Reekie, 1938; a Centennial poster (1967). Note - move poster to Ledger box)
File contains: ferry ticket book covers (1980); SCCA dance tickets, Cortes Island Day supper tickets and five prize ribbons (all ca. 1980); a small scheduling calendar for Hall events (1982); and a newsprint pamphlet "Yuletide Favorites" with recipes and carols (1970); notebook with mysterious tallies (1962), blank dance poster, poem by Dick Reekie, 1938; a Centennial poster (1967). Note - move poster to Ledger box)
File consists of the Transportation Committee's interpretive report and summary of responses to their survey of island residents regarding the Cortes Island ferry service.
File consists of the Transportation Committee's interpretive report and summary of responses to their survey of island residents regarding the Cortes Island ferry service.
File contains a Cortes Island Visitor's Information hand-out with a map of the island and lists of businesses and services, published by the Whaletown Community Club; and a set of ticket book backs for the Cortes-Quadra and Quadra-Campbell River ferries.
File contains a Cortes Island Visitor's Information hand-out with a map of the island and lists of businesses and services, published by the Whaletown Community Club; and a set of ticket book backs for the Cortes-Quadra and Quadra-Campbell River ferries.
