Series consists of cassette tapes of interviews with residents of Cortes Island and nearby islands, of recordings of events which occurred on the island, and of musical performances by island artists and groups. Twenty-six of the tapes are interviews about the history of the island and early settler families done by Oonagh O'Connor for the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society in 1995. Other interviews were recorded by museum volunteers gathering information for exhibits.
In 2017 the 54 cassette tapes in the collection at that time (along with 21 cassette tapes from Fonds # 2007.001: May and Elmer Ellingsen, 1 VHS tape and 1 mini-DVD) were digitized with a $1,000 grant from the Terry Reksten Memorial Fund, administered by Friends of the BC Archives. There are three components to each item: the original cassette tape, an electronic .wav file preservation master made from the original tape, and an .mp3 access file. The electronic files are stored on archival quality CDs as well as on a dedicated hard drive and the .mp3 files are available on the Museum and the Archives computers.
Series consists of cassette tapes of interviews with residents of Cortes Island and nearby islands, of recordings of events which occurred on the island, and of musical performances by island artists and groups. Twenty-six of the tapes are interviews about the history of the island and early settler families done by Oonagh O'Connor for the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society in 1995. Other interviews were recorded by museum volunteers gathering information for exhibits.
In 2017 the 54 cassette tapes in the collection at that time (along with 21 cassette tapes from Fonds # 2007.001: May and Elmer Ellingsen, 1 VHS tape and 1 mini-DVD) were digitized with a $1,000 grant from the Terry Reksten Memorial Fund, administered by Friends of the BC Archives. There are three components to each item: the original cassette tape, an electronic .wav file preservation master made from the original tape, and an .mp3 access file. The electronic files are stored on archival quality CDs as well as on a dedicated hard drive and the .mp3 files are available on the Museum and the Archives computers.
Storage Location
Cassette tape boxes 1 and 2
Geographic Access
Cortes Island
Related Material
2007.001 - May and Elmer Ellingsen fonds
2009.001 - Island Women's Club
Interview of Trude Albright Sweeny by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Subjects covered include Trude's childhood in Austria; marriage and move to the US; Trude's brother Hans Dolezal (also known as Hans Croker); how she came to Cortes; her marriage to Sedley Sweeny; Trude's Cafe; Cortes projects. (28 minutes)
Interview of Trude Albright Sweeny by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Subjects covered include Trude's childhood in Austria; marriage and move to the US; Trude's brother Hans Dolezal (also known as Hans Croker); how she came to Cortes; her marriage to Sedley Sweeny; Trude's Cafe; Cortes projects. (28 minutes)
Interview of Brigid Weiler by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. The introduction to the interview is on File 1. In File 2 Brigid talks about growing up in Whaletown in the 1950s and 60s, the people who lived there and the location of their houses. (43 minutes)
Interview of Brigid Weiler by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. The introduction to the interview is on File 1. In File 2 Brigid talks about growing up in Whaletown in the 1950s and 60s, the people who lived there and the location of their houses. (43 minutes)
Interview of Emilie Hansen by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Emilie talks about moving to Canada with her husband Gunnar; moving to Cortes in 1961; different properties they lived on; making a living on the island. (41 minutes)
Interview of Emilie Hansen by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Emilie talks about moving to Canada with her husband Gunnar; moving to Cortes in 1961; different properties they lived on; making a living on the island. (41 minutes)
Interview of Jean Campbell by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Jean talks about growing up, meeting Dan Campbell, his political career, moving to Cortes in the 1960s, island life, people and events. (49 minutes)
Interview of Jean Campbell by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Jean talks about growing up, meeting Dan Campbell, his political career, moving to Cortes in the 1960s, island life, people and events. (49 minutes)
Recording of Norm and Lisa Gibbons talking about their experiences at Refuge Cove, recorded by Lisa Gibbons during a museum-sponsored trip to Refuge Cove on the "Misty Isles". See also the digitized photographs from Norm Gibbons' album which illustrate many of the stories in the recording. (Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society fonds, Series 5, File 2)
Recorded by Lisa Gibbons on her iPhone, July 15, 2023
Scope and Content
Recording of Norm and Lisa Gibbons talking about their experiences at Refuge Cove, recorded by Lisa Gibbons during a museum-sponsored trip to Refuge Cove on the "Misty Isles". See also the digitized photographs from Norm Gibbons' album which illustrate many of the stories in the recording. (Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society fonds, Series 5, File 2)
Interview of Dennis Newsham and Ann Dewar by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Frances Guthrie was also present. Dennis and Ann talk about their memories of growing up in Whaletown.
Interview of Dennis Newsham and Ann Dewar by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Frances Guthrie was also present. Dennis and Ann talk about their memories of growing up in Whaletown.
Interview of Julia Rendall by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Julia talks about moving to Canada from England; her experiences in BC and on Cortes Island including her involvement with Cortes ambulance service and aquaculture.
Interview of Julia Rendall by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Julia talks about moving to Canada from England; her experiences in BC and on Cortes Island including her involvement with Cortes ambulance service and aquaculture.
Interview of Paul Kirmmse by Bernice McGowan, Jill Milton and Monika Hoffman. Paul talks about moving to Cortes in 1971; various experiences on the island; the formation of the Redlands land cooperative.
Interview of Paul Kirmmse by Bernice McGowan, Jill Milton and Monika Hoffman. Paul talks about moving to Cortes in 1971; various experiences on the island; the formation of the Redlands land cooperative.
Fonds contains six oversize photograph albums, CDs, administrative documents, ephemera, newsletters, yearbooks, and articles created by Linnaea School. It is arranged in eight series: Administrative records; Creative projects; Linnaea Learner; Yearbooks; Publicity materials; School photo descriptions; Linnaea School photograph albums; and CDs. Electronic records include an overview of Linnaea; Linnaea philosophy and curriculum, and class and attendance lists.
Linnaea School was a small independent school located on Linnaea Farm, a land trust with 315 acres of forests, fields, organic gardens and lake-front which is governed by The Linnaea Farm Society, a registered non-profit. Linnaea School offered its holistic, community-based approach to education for 23 years, from 1987 until its closing in 2010.
The school was founded by Donna Bracewell in 1987. It expanded from a first-year enrollment of eleven students to take in close to half of the island's school-age children. Linnaea offered a program of creative, nature-based, alternative learning for Kindergarten to Grade 6. Strong academics were enhanced by farm classes, environmental and outdoor education, mentorship programmes, music classes and service projects. A notable project was the annual spring musical play. Bracewell left in June, 2009 to take a teaching position in Vietnam and the school closed a year later.
Custodial History
Records were donated to CIMAS on 22 October 2014 by a representative of Linnaea Education Centre/Linnaea Farm Society. An accrual of electronic records was donated by Donna Bracewell in 2019. A sticky note attached to the CD file box said they were brought to the Museum in 2017 by Miensje Vlaming.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains six oversize photograph albums, CDs, administrative documents, ephemera, newsletters, yearbooks, and articles created by Linnaea School. It is arranged in eight series: Administrative records; Creative projects; Linnaea Learner; Yearbooks; Publicity materials; School photo descriptions; Linnaea School photograph albums; and CDs. Electronic records include an overview of Linnaea; Linnaea philosophy and curriculum, and class and attendance lists.
Fonds consists of documents created and accrued by CES between 1988 and 2006, including financial statements, correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, maps, reports, legal documents, and publications. It includes 62 files arranged in thirteen series following the original order of the material.
.6 m of textual records (2 boxes)
29 photographs : col.
Extent
0.6
History / Biographical
The Cortes Ecoforestry Society (CES) was incorporated in March 1999, under the following mission statement:
"To work in partnership with the Klahoose First Nation, to gain community stewardship of the working forest lands on Cortes to create perpetual ecological and economic benefits for the entire community, and to serve as a model for sustainable ecoforestry."
Preceding names for the organization include Cortes Island Forestry Committee (ca. 1988-1990), Cortes Island Forest Resource Committee (c. 1990) and Cortes Island Forest Committee (ca. 1991-1999). A draft document from October 1991 states that,
"[T]he Cortes Island Forest Committee (CIFC) was formed in 1988. The purposes of the CIFC are to develop ecologically responsible and balanced forest use of Cortes Island forests, to develop a sustainable forest-based economy, to educate ourselves and the public regarding appropriate use of Cortes Island forests, and to work towards a broad based public consensus for the use of these forests."
In July 1999 Klahoose First Nation and CES signed an unprecedented Memorandum of Understanding, stating that the two parties would work together to create a community forest that used eco-system forestry. In 1999 and 2000 the Cortes Ecoforestry Society began planning and preparing a community forest proposal. In 2003, volume was made available for small community tenures, including Woodlot Licences and Community Forest Agreements (CFAs). Klahoose supported the efforts to revitalize the community forest proposal and a small, voluntary advisory group was formed (Bruce Ellingsen, Chief Kathy Francis, Liz Richardson and Ron Wolda). To ensure the proposal was seen to be inclusive of all islanders, the proponent name was changed to the Cortes Island Community Forest advisory group. The community forest proposal stalled, and CES, which at one point had a membership of 400 residents supporting their goals, became less active.
In May of 2011, the Cortes Community Forest Advisory Group was invited to apply for a Community Forest Agreement (CFA) by the Minister of Forests, and in September 2013 the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations issued a Community Forest Agreement to the Cortes Forestry General Partnership, which was established on June 2012.
The Cortes Forestry General Partnership is managed and governed equally by two partners, the Klahoose Forestry No. 2 Limited Partnership (KF2LP) and the Cortes Community Forest Co-operative. The tenure agreement lasts for 25 years and encompasses 3,869 hectares of crown land, about 35% of the island. The Klahoose Nation holds ancestral tenure over Cortes Island. They are currently at stage 4 in the process of negotiating a treaty agreement with the province of British Columbia and Canadian government.
Custodial History
Donated to CIMAS on Dec. 16, 2017 by David Shipway.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of documents created and accrued by CES between 1988 and 2006, including financial statements, correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, maps, reports, legal documents, and publications. It includes 62 files arranged in thirteen series following the original order of the material.
Item consists of an interview of Shirley Beaulieu by Oonagh O'Connor. Subjects covered include how her family (the Guthrie family) came to Cortes in 1940 and reminiscences of life on the island, community activities and island personalities. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Item consists of an interview of Shirley Beaulieu by Oonagh O'Connor. Subjects covered include how her family (the Guthrie family) came to Cortes in 1940 and reminiscences of life on the island, community activities and island personalities. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.