Fonds consists of materials created or collected by Directors of Cortes Electoral Area during their terms of office. Because outgoing Directors may turn their current files over to their successors, the papers of one Director may contain materials generated during a previous term.
Fonds includes minutes of Cortes Advisory Planning Commission meetings; minutes of Regional Board and committee meetings with related background material; records of public hearings; correspondence; community plans and by-laws with associated planning material; licenses for the use of foreshore and crown land; and materials relating to island issues such as parks, aquaculture, forestry, garbage disposal, recycling and water quality.
Fonds is arranged into sous-fonds based on accession of records and contains four sous-fonds: Linda Gagnon, Regional Director; Ralph Nursall, Regional Director; George Sirk, Regional Director; and Jeanette Hiebert, Regional Director.
The Regional Director of Electoral Area I (Cortes Island) was the elected representative to the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona (RDCS), one of 28 regional districts in British Columbia. The RDCS covered an area of North Vancouver Island and surrounding islands which included the municipalities of Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, Gold River, Sayward, Tahsis and Zeballos, and 10 rural Electoral Areas. Initially enabled by the Municipal Act of 1965, Regional Districts act as a regional government over issues affecting their entire region. In the absence of incorporated municipalities, they function as the "local" government for rural areas by providing planning and land use regulations, and facilitating the delivery of services such as garbage disposal, fire protection and house numbering. Cortes Island was designated Electoral Area I when the RDCS was formed in 1968, and was the smallest electoral area in both population and size. In 2008 the RDCS was split, and Cortes Island became Area B in the newly-formed Strathcona Regional District.
Cortes was represented on the RDCS by one Director, elected for a three year term, who appointed an Alternate Director and an Advisory Planning Commission (APC). From 1968 until 1984, the Cortes Island APC was formed by the elected executive of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association. The first Director of Area I was George Griffin (1968-1973), followed by Gilean Douglas (1973-1978), Irv Reedel (1978-1981), David Hansen (1981-1984), Bruce Ellingsen (1984-1987), Linda Gagnon (1987-1990), Ralph Nursall (1990-1996), George Sirk (1996-2005) and Jeanette (Jenny) Hiebert (2005-2008).
Custodial History
Material in the Linda Gagnon, Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2002.001) was passed on to her successor, Ralph Nursall, at the end of her term. It was donated to CIMAS in 2002 by Ralph Nursall. Material in the Ralph Nursall, Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2003.001) was donated to CIMAS by Nursall in 2003 and in 2008 (Accession 2008.001). Material in the George Sirk, Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2004.004) was donated to CIMAS by Sirk in 2004. Material in the Jeanette Hiebert Regional Director sous-fonds (Accession 2019.015) was donated to CIMAS by Hiebert in 2019.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of materials created or collected by Directors of Cortes Electoral Area during their terms of office. Because outgoing Directors may turn their current files over to their successors, the papers of one Director may contain materials generated during a previous term.
Fonds includes minutes of Cortes Advisory Planning Commission meetings; minutes of Regional Board and committee meetings with related background material; records of public hearings; correspondence; community plans and by-laws with associated planning material; licenses for the use of foreshore and crown land; and materials relating to island issues such as parks, aquaculture, forestry, garbage disposal, recycling and water quality.
Fonds is arranged into sous-fonds based on accession of records and contains four sous-fonds: Linda Gagnon, Regional Director; Ralph Nursall, Regional Director; George Sirk, Regional Director; and Jeanette Hiebert, Regional Director.
The Gilean Douglas fonds contains records from Douglas's term as Regional Director (1973 to 1978). The Cortes Island Ratepayers Association fonds contains material relating to Cortes' incorporation into the Regional District, and minutes, correspondence and other materials from the APC (1968-1984).
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.
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.
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "When Linnaea was established, Robert Cabot commissioned Cortes Cinema to produce a film abot the Turtle Island Land Steward Society. The day-to-day life of the farm is documented as is the Hansen's move across the road to their new property. Ken, Hazel and Flo (Hazel's mom) are all in the film helping to clear land on yet another farm! Using Bear Air (Barry Miles), aerial footage of the farm and the island is also in the film. A gliimpse into the past. With sound and narration. On 16mm.
Music: Glen Dias / Narration: Peter Gibson
Cast: Thousands of cows!"
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "When Linnaea was established, Robert Cabot commissioned Cortes Cinema to produce a film abot the Turtle Island Land Steward Society. The day-to-day life of the farm is documented as is the Hansen's move across the road to their new property. Ken, Hazel and Flo (Hazel's mom) are all in the film helping to clear land on yet another farm! Using Bear Air (Barry Miles), aerial footage of the farm and the island is also in the film. A gliimpse into the past. With sound and narration. On 16mm.
Music: Glen Dias / Narration: Peter Gibson
Cast: Thousands of cows!"
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "The diverse history of life on yet another island, Papua New Guinea, is revealed in this 40 minute feature documentary. Often wrongly portrayed as "primitive," George attempts to show that the Papuans are indeed modern in their culture and innovation as successfully brought them to the present. This documentary was shot in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea, in 1981. A hunting expedition is followed by rare candid footage of a celebratory "Sing-Sing". Permission to film these timeless momnts was acquired and gratefully acknowledged. Shot on Super 8 film with the assistance and perseverance of Isolde Rutheberg."
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "The diverse history of life on yet another island, Papua New Guinea, is revealed in this 40 minute feature documentary. Often wrongly portrayed as "primitive," George attempts to show that the Papuans are indeed modern in their culture and innovation as successfully brought them to the present. This documentary was shot in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea, in 1981. A hunting expedition is followed by rare candid footage of a celebratory "Sing-Sing". Permission to film these timeless momnts was acquired and gratefully acknowledged. Shot on Super 8 film with the assistance and perseverance of Isolde Rutheberg."
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "The Cortes Hippy Gen of the 70s were, amongst many odd things, frugulous. Homes were never done on credit, one just built with whatever one could find or demolish. "Scoring" was a good thing, the term "recycling" was not yet in the mainstream vernacular. Adaptability, innovation and just plain dumb luck helped to preserve this culture from going extinct. Named after a famed hallucinogen, the film was a victim of accidental deterioration; dyes melted and images appear distorted; a vitreous detachment from reality. The Hippy Gen in a nutshell. Shot on Super 8 / Cast of Hippies"
Scenes and people include: Jim Palmer (in boat), Alex Nichol (with windmill), Alex, George, Jim Palmer, Izzy ?? moving building materials across the Gorge and up to the building site, ??? constructing George & Izzy's cabin, George Sirk in boat, ?? throwing a fish which an eagle swoops down on, Jean Fontaine wrangling logs in the water.
1 moving image : 13 minutes ; with background music
Scope and Content
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "The Cortes Hippy Gen of the 70s were, amongst many odd things, frugulous. Homes were never done on credit, one just built with whatever one could find or demolish. "Scoring" was a good thing, the term "recycling" was not yet in the mainstream vernacular. Adaptability, innovation and just plain dumb luck helped to preserve this culture from going extinct. Named after a famed hallucinogen, the film was a victim of accidental deterioration; dyes melted and images appear distorted; a vitreous detachment from reality. The Hippy Gen in a nutshell. Shot on Super 8 / Cast of Hippies"
Scenes and people include: Jim Palmer (in boat), Alex Nichol (with windmill), Alex, George, Jim Palmer, Izzy ?? moving building materials across the Gorge and up to the building site, ??? constructing George & Izzy's cabin, George Sirk in boat, ?? throwing a fish which an eagle swoops down on, Jean Fontaine wrangling logs in the water.
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "First film shot on Super 8. The antics of some Gorge Harbout residents are madly depicted as the fruitlessly try to repair a flat tire at the Gorge Government dock. They are rescurd by none other than Yendor."
Cast: Gloria Jorg, Alex Nichols, Isolder Ruthenberg, Garth Walton and Yendor
Cinematography: George Sirk
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "First film shot on Super 8. The antics of some Gorge Harbout residents are madly depicted as the fruitlessly try to repair a flat tire at the Gorge Government dock. They are rescurd by none other than Yendor."
Cast: Gloria Jorg, Alex Nichols, Isolder Ruthenberg, Garth Walton and Yendor
Cinematography: George Sirk
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "Chickens are a large source of entertainment, remakable pets with personalities, and they give us eggs. But when it came to dinner time, they were sadly the main guest of honour. George wanted to immortalize, and thus keep his chickens alive forever. This film does just that. On 16mm, shot at George and Lauren Hay's homestead on Seascape Rd."
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "Chickens are a large source of entertainment, remakable pets with personalities, and they give us eggs. But when it came to dinner time, they were sadly the main guest of honour. George wanted to immortalize, and thus keep his chickens alive forever. This film does just that. On 16mm, shot at George and Lauren Hay's homestead on Seascape Rd."
In the realm of "home movies", the film contains vignettes of Cortes island life including Aislinn Sirk and Mayan Wooley bathing a remarkably patient cat and Jim Palmer using an Alaska mill.
Digitized by Doug McCaffry, ScanLab, 2022
In the realm of "home movies", the film contains vignettes of Cortes island life including Aislinn Sirk and Mayan Wooley bathing a remarkably patient cat and Jim Palmer using an Alaska mill.
Digitized by Doug McCaffry, ScanLab, 2022
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "In the 70s many bathtubs were outside and heated by wood fires. This amusing (and smoky!), satisfying way of having a nice long bath, in the great outdoors, inspired making this short on 16mm film. There was a twist to the scenario of course. Why not make soup while having a bath? Shot at John and Anna Gregg's home on Beasley Road. Cast: George /Cinematography : Anna Sirk ??"
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "In the 70s many bathtubs were outside and heated by wood fires. This amusing (and smoky!), satisfying way of having a nice long bath, in the great outdoors, inspired making this short on 16mm film. There was a twist to the scenario of course. Why not make soup while having a bath? Shot at John and Anna Gregg's home on Beasley Road. Cast: George /Cinematography : Anna Sirk ??"
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "This extravaganza marked the peak of Cortes Cinema's (CC) exploits in madness. Inspired by Saturday being the day that Cortes's gravel roads were littered in paper garbage (it flew off the dump truck). The script was a collaboration of some of the most unstable minds at CC's arsenal. The plot is, like the scriptwriters' minds, simple, but the late Al Murray's acting as the Lone Ranger left eceryone in the dust. The film is a tribute to Al, the funniest man that stepped in front of the CC's lens. Shot on Super 8 on location at the Cortes Island Dump."
Cast: Al Murray, Pierre & Wendy deTrey, Jean Fontaine, Jim Palmer, Isolde Ruthenberg
Cameos: Gary Bergman, the Reverand Rollo Boas, Wlmer Ellingsen, Jo-Ann Green, Peggy (the Queen of Cortes) Newsham, George Sirk
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "This extravaganza marked the peak of Cortes Cinema's (CC) exploits in madness. Inspired by Saturday being the day that Cortes's gravel roads were littered in paper garbage (it flew off the dump truck). The script was a collaboration of some of the most unstable minds at CC's arsenal. The plot is, like the scriptwriters' minds, simple, but the late Al Murray's acting as the Lone Ranger left eceryone in the dust. The film is a tribute to Al, the funniest man that stepped in front of the CC's lens. Shot on Super 8 on location at the Cortes Island Dump."
Cast: Al Murray, Pierre & Wendy deTrey, Jean Fontaine, Jim Palmer, Isolde Ruthenberg
Cameos: Gary Bergman, the Reverand Rollo Boas, Wlmer Ellingsen, Jo-Ann Green, Peggy (the Queen of Cortes) Newsham, George Sirk
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "In this documentary a rag-tag team of Cortes wreckers demolish a giant warehouse in James Bay, Victoria. The remove 100-year old maple flooring, which is bound for Cortes, while the building falls down around them. They have to get the flooring out before the bulldozers arrive! Shot on 16 mm film."
Cast: Pierre deTrey, Stephen Foster, Al Murray, John Wasyliw
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "In this documentary a rag-tag team of Cortes wreckers demolish a giant warehouse in James Bay, Victoria. The remove 100-year old maple flooring, which is bound for Cortes, while the building falls down around them. They have to get the flooring out before the bulldozers arrive! Shot on 16 mm film."
Cast: Pierre deTrey, Stephen Foster, Al Murray, John Wasyliw
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "A play on the work "divot" - "a piece of turf cut out of the ground by a golf club in making a stroke." The golfer who does this, according to George, is a "divotee" and this silly game needed a large dose of extra silliness doused on it. The attempt to just shoot one hole takes George and his caddy more on a cross-country steeplechase that a casual day on the course. Puns abound and the Voice of Doom, played by John Gregg, gets it in the end Watch for it! Shot at Gorge Harbour on 16mm."
Cast: Jon Gregg, Leon, George and a horse
Stagehand/Props: Jim Palmer
Cinematography: John Gregg
From the "Out of the Archives" program: "A play on the work "divot" - "a piece of turf cut out of the ground by a golf club in making a stroke." The golfer who does this, according to George, is a "divotee" and this silly game needed a large dose of extra silliness doused on it. The attempt to just shoot one hole takes George and his caddy more on a cross-country steeplechase that a casual day on the course. Puns abound and the Voice of Doom, played by John Gregg, gets it in the end Watch for it! Shot at Gorge Harbour on 16mm."
Cast: Jon Gregg, Leon, George and a horse
Stagehand/Props: Jim Palmer
Cinematography: John Gregg
