This is a copy of a recording made by Imbert Orchard as part of a "People in Landscape" series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In this program, some of the people who grew up on Cortes Island recall how the settlement began, and discuss the quality of life there -- as it is today, and as it used to be. Voices heard include: Otto and Mary Weiler, Elmer and May Ellingsen, Rose (Manson) MacKay, Allen Robertson, and Duncan Robertson.
Tape was found at the Cortes Island Recycling Center and donated to the museum by Gail Ringwood on Oct. 3, 2004. Original owner is unknown.
Scope and Content
This is a copy of a recording made by Imbert Orchard as part of a "People in Landscape" series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In this program, some of the people who grew up on Cortes Island recall how the settlement began, and discuss the quality of life there -- as it is today, and as it used to be. Voices heard include: Otto and Mary Weiler, Elmer and May Ellingsen, Rose (Manson) MacKay, Allen Robertson, and Duncan Robertson.
Sous-fonds consists of records of the Cortes Island Women's Institute. It is arranged in nine series: Minutes, Reports, Financial, Administrative Records, Correspondence, Subject Files, Ephemera, Photographs and Artifacts.
The Cortes Island Women's institute was formed in 1984. Although Cortes Island had historically been difficult to traverse, and the communities consequently insular, by the 1980s the road systems were such that "a Women's Institute for the whole of Cortes Island" seemed to make sense.
CIWI was founded with the bank balance of a Manson's Landing service group called the Ladies Guild, which was founded in the 1940s. When membership and activity in the guild declined in the 1970s, the focus was shifted to a renovation and addition to Manson's Hall. Once the Hall had been sufficiently updated, it was thought that the remaining funds might be put to use "creating an instrument for better communication between all our women and a chance to work together in the community".
Charter members of the CIWI were Heather Berry, Peggy Newsham, Maryann McCoy, Linda Hendricks, and Mary Block.
Custodial History
Records were donated to CIMAS by the Island Women's Club in 2009.
Scope and Content
Sous-fonds consists of records of the Cortes Island Women's Institute. It is arranged in nine series: Minutes, Reports, Financial, Administrative Records, Correspondence, Subject Files, Ephemera, Photographs and Artifacts.
This fonds contains textual records, photographs and other archival material relating to the history and functions of the Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society. It includes material created for exhibits and research on Cortes social and natural history.
This fonds contains textual records, photographs and other archival material relating to the history and functions of the Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society. It includes material created for exhibits and research on Cortes social and natural history.
"Granite and Fossils" is a compilation of informatioin about Cortes Island fossils created by Christian Gronau for the Cortes Island Museum in 2002 and updated in 2016 and 2023. It has been digitized as Volume 1 and Volume 2.
Christian Gronau studied palaeontology and geology in Germany. He came to Canada in 1972 and
worked in the mining sector in the N.W.T. (among other places), where he met Aileen.
Christian and Aileen (C&A) moved together to Cortes Island in 1978, where they lived for 34 years on a
water-access-only property, without hydro or telephone (Swamp’s Edge), supporting themselves as beach-
only shellfish farmers (Last Farm Oysters). Throughout, C&A have been avid naturalists, continuing this
tradition from their present home at the south-end of Cortes Island (Tanglebank).
Scope and Content
"Granite and Fossils" is a compilation of informatioin about Cortes Island fossils created by Christian Gronau for the Cortes Island Museum in 2002 and updated in 2016 and 2023. It has been digitized as Volume 1 and Volume 2.
Series consists of family trees of Cortes Island settler families, with notes on related people and events. These trees are intended to help identify links between families on Cortes. Sources include online databases (e.g. Family Search.org, Ancestry.com and Canada Archives), CIMAS Archives and Information files, interviews and correspondence with family members.
Families researched include: Aldrich; Barrett; Borden; Byers; Cafferata; Froud; Hawkins; Hayes, Ashford and Griffin; Heay; Manson; Marquette; Middleton; Nichols; Percival and Saunders; Petznick; Pickles; Smith; (Carr) Smith& Marflett; Tiber; Tooker; Valley.The family trees and notes are kept in a binder labelled "Cortes Family Trees Project", located above the public access computer in the May Ellingsen Archives Room. Files are not available online due to privacy concerns.
We acknowledge that these trees are of white settler families and reflect colonization of ancestral homelands and displacement of the Indigenous Peoples who have thrived here for generations. We would welcome the opportunity to add those families to our records.
Family trees were researched by Bernice McGowan (1387 Bodington Rd, Whaletown, BC) in 2022. The Manson family tree was provided to CIMAS by Greg Johnson (2837 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 1X2; phone # 604 897 5925) in 2022.
Scope and Content
Series consists of family trees of Cortes Island settler families, with notes on related people and events. These trees are intended to help identify links between families on Cortes. Sources include online databases (e.g. Family Search.org, Ancestry.com and Canada Archives), CIMAS Archives and Information files, interviews and correspondence with family members.
Families researched include: Aldrich; Barrett; Borden; Byers; Cafferata; Froud; Hawkins; Hayes, Ashford and Griffin; Heay; Manson; Marquette; Middleton; Nichols; Percival and Saunders; Petznick; Pickles; Smith; (Carr) Smith& Marflett; Tiber; Tooker; Valley.The family trees and notes are kept in a binder labelled "Cortes Family Trees Project", located above the public access computer in the May Ellingsen Archives Room. Files are not available online due to privacy concerns.
We acknowledge that these trees are of white settler families and reflect colonization of ancestral homelands and displacement of the Indigenous Peoples who have thrived here for generations. We would welcome the opportunity to add those families to our records.
