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.
Fonds consists of textual records generated by the Whaletown Women's Institute organized into seven series: Minutes, Financial Records, Administrative Records, Reports, Projects, Correspondence and Notes.
The Whaletown Women's Institute (WWI) began in 1920 as the Friendship Circle. In 1923 it became a branch of the Women's Institute, a community service organization for women with the goals of fostering the skills of rural women, improving their lives and works, and celebrating their achievements. During its years of activity, the WWI was very active in working for local improvement. Some of their projects included initiating a library service, donating books to the school, arranging for regular visits of a doctor and dentist, hosting an annual Christmas party and providing gifts for all the Whaletown children, maintaining the cemetery, fund-raising for a school playground, financing firefighting equipment and installing an emergency telephone network. The WWI was disbanded in 1963.
Custodial History
These records of the Whaletown Women's Institute were held by Gilean Douglas, a past officer in the WWI and author of a history of the Women's Institutes in Canada. Upon her death, they went into the possession of her literary executer, Gillian Milton, who turned them over to the Cortes Island Women's Institute. They were subsequently returned to her custody, and donated to CIMAS.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of textual records generated by the Whaletown Women's Institute organized into seven series: Minutes, Financial Records, Administrative Records, Reports, Projects, Correspondence and Notes.
Fonds consists of records of the Gorge Harbour Community Hall Society, including minutes of meetings, financial statements and administrative records and correspondence. It is arranged into five series: Minutes, Financial, Administrative Records, Correspondence and Programs.
The Gorge Harbour Community Hall Society was formed in 1930, when residents decided to build a community hall. The young people of the area formed the Gorge Harbour Dramatic Society and put on plays and dances to raise funds. The Hall was built on land donated by George Beattie. Volunteers split shakes for the roof and did all the building, with Charlie Allen as supervisor and Bill Ballantyne as work boss. The Hall opened on Nov. 11, 1933, with an Armistice dance.
The Gorge Harbour Hall Society disbanded in 1952 and handed responsibility for the Gorge Hall over to the Whaletown Community Club. From this time, the Gorge Hall replaced the Church Hall as the main venue for weddings, dances, meetings and parties for both the Whaletown and Gorge Harbour communities.
Custodial History
Records of the Gorge Harbour Community Hall Society were turned over to CIMAS by Gillian Milton, who collected them from the home of Gilean Douglas in 1993. Douglas' husband, Philip Major Douglas, was president of the Whaletown Community Club when it took over the Gorge Harbour Community Hall and presumably had the records in his possession at that time.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records of the Gorge Harbour Community Hall Society, including minutes of meetings, financial statements and administrative records and correspondence. It is arranged into five series: Minutes, Financial, Administrative Records, Correspondence and Programs.
Fonds comprises records of the Southern Cortes Community Association. It includes minutes and agendas of meetings, correspondence, financial records, administrative and legal documents, and reports on projects and activities.
Original groupings of documents in files have been maintained with the exception of general correspondence, which has been grouped by date.
Files have been arranged into eleven series: Minutes; Financial records; Administrative records; Correspondence; Events; Newsletters; Dental clinic project; Show Business; Manson's Hall renovation; Ephemera; and Committee minutes and reports.
The Southern Cortes Community Association (formerly known as the Manson's Landing Community Club) is a Registered Charity incorporated in 1956 under the Societies Act. The object of the society is to promote services and programs of a recreational and/or educational purpose within the community.
A primary responsibility is operating and maintaining Manson's Hall, a center for Cortes community activities. The original Hall was built in 1922 on land donated by Frederick Froud. A major expansion and renovation project completed in 1980 added space for the post office, playschool, cafe, offices, a pottery studio and a library to the original hall. A further expansion in 1986 added space for a medical clinic.
Programs include sponsoring a licensed playschool, a Parents & Tots program, a Summer Youth Recreation Program, a thrift store, and the annual Cortes Day at Smelt Bay. Manson's Hall is a venue for the Cortes Seniors Society's programs, and for group meetings, entertainment events and a variety of regular wellness and exercise activities led by local residents. The Hall houses the post office, a community kitchen, a thrift store, and a playschool. Over the years, it has provided space for many services to start, such as the Cortes Health Centre, North Island College and Cortes Community Radio. The SCCA also owns and manages the Manson's Landing cemetery, and provides space for the Strathcona Regional District's skate park.
Custodial History
Records in Accession 2001.001 were kept at their homes by various Board members. When an office was opened in Manson's Hall, the records were consolidated and then donated to CIMAS by Cathy Cambridge on behalf of the SCCA.
Records in Accession 2007.001 were in the possession of May Ellingsen and were donated to CIMAS in 2007 by Andy and Susan Ellingsen.
Scope and Content
Fonds comprises records of the Southern Cortes Community Association. It includes minutes and agendas of meetings, correspondence, financial records, administrative and legal documents, and reports on projects and activities.
Original groupings of documents in files have been maintained with the exception of general correspondence, which has been grouped by date.
Files have been arranged into eleven series: Minutes; Financial records; Administrative records; Correspondence; Events; Newsletters; Dental clinic project; Show Business; Manson's Hall renovation; Ephemera; and Committee minutes and reports.
Fonds consists of the records of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association, an organization of the property owners and residents of Cortes Island from 1963 to 1984. They include administrative documents such as the constitution and membership lists, minutes of CIRA meetings, annual reports, newsletters to members, correspondence and materials related to the provision of services, land use planning and other issues of island concern.
The fonds is composed of the following series: Administrative Documents; Minutes; Financial; Newsletters and Notices; Correspondence; Subject; Community Planning and Land Use (Advisory Planning Commission); Clippings; and Maps and Plans.
The Cortes Island Ratepayers Association (CIRA) was an association of property owners and residents formed in 1963 to "further the development of the island and to have a representative body in dealing with the Provincial government."
The first activity initiated by CIRA was to lobby the provincial government for the provision of electricity and ferry service to Cortes Island. Their efforts met with success. Electricity was brought to the island in 1970 and ferry service from Quadra Island to Cortes Island began in 1969. CIRA also became an important forum for the discussion of other important services on Cortes Island, including roads, fire protection, garbage disposal, water quality, rural mail delivery and library facilities.
As a result of CIRA's efforts to bring electricity to Cortes Island, in 1967 the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Dan Campbell, designated Cortes Island a Local Improvement District. This made Cortes Island into a legal entity for the purpose of negotiating with the province for electrical power. In that same year, Minister Campbell invited CIRA to participate in discussions and committee work on the formation of a regional district level of government.
In 1968, Cortes Island was designated 'Electoral Area I' in the Regional District of Comox-Strathcona (RDCS) with an elected director. Under this system, a Regional Director is elected who in turn sits on the Board of the RDCS. Each Regional Director appoints an Advisory Planning Commission (APC), a committee of island residents who advise the Director on matters of island concern. In 1968, CIRA determined that the elected members of the executive of CIRA would form the APC for Cortes Island. This arrangement lasted until the dissolution of CIRA in 1984. The first zoning by-law was completed in 1970 and an Official Settlement Plan and zoning by-law in 1979.
In 1982, CIRA initiated a court case against Raven Lumber for non-compliance with the Cortes Island Official Settlement Plan and zoning by-law. CIRA won the case upon appeal, but in 1984 an Order in Council allowed Raven Lumber to proceed with their development. The court case had absorbed a great deal of CIRA energy and fund raising effort over a four year period. At the General Meeting in November, 1984 there were no candidates willing to stand for the executive. CIRA was declared inactive at that meeting and was never reactivated.
Custodial History
During the term of the last president of CIRA, the records were kept in the Gorge Harbour Community Hall on Cortes Island. After the dissolution of the CIRA in 1984, the records continued to be stored in the hall. The records were transferred to the Cortes Island Museum and Archives by the Whaletown Community Club (owner of the hall) in 2000.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records of the Cortes Island Ratepayers Association, an organization of the property owners and residents of Cortes Island from 1963 to 1984. They include administrative documents such as the constitution and membership lists, minutes of CIRA meetings, annual reports, newsletters to members, correspondence and materials related to the provision of services, land use planning and other issues of island concern.
The fonds is composed of the following series: Administrative Documents; Minutes; Financial; Newsletters and Notices; Correspondence; Subject; Community Planning and Land Use (Advisory Planning Commission); Clippings; and Maps and Plans.
Regional Director of Electoral Area I (Cortes Island) fonds
Gilean Douglas fonds
Finding Aid
File list available
Arrangement
Materials were received in their original file folders, however the files were not in any discernible order. In the absence of original order, materials were arranged by function and subject at the series level and chronologically within series.
Fonds consists of the records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1951 to 2016. The first accession (2003.003) consists of records from 1951 to 1985 and includes minutes of general and executive meetings, correspondence, administrative records including the original constitution and bylaws, financial records and reports on projects and functions sponsored by the organization. Files from Accession 2003.003 are described in five series: 1) Minutes; 2) Correspondence; 3) Financial; 4) Administrative Records; 5) Subject Files.
Accruals in 2017 (#2017.009) and in 2023 (#2023.008) comprise records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1985 to 2018, including minutes of executive and general meetings, financial statements, correspondence, and records of projects and programs. The material was kept in binders; it has been placed in folders maintaining original order, and described using the above five series.
The beginning of the Whaletown Community Club is unclear as almost all the Club's records were destroyed in a fire in 1950; the earliest records still existing date from 1948. (See Gilean Douglas fonds, Series 8). The WCC became a registered society in 1953 when the Gorge Harbour Community Hall Society disbanded and turned ownership of the Gorge Hall over to the Whaletown Community Club.
The activities of the Club are carried on chiefly within the Whaletown postal area, and are intended to promote the interests of the community in matters of general welfare, to sponsor recreational and sports activities, and to hold land and premises necessary for Club activities. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the Club was a channel through which Whaletown residents organized health and educational services and lobbied for better roads, hydro and ferry service, as well as sponsoring social events. From 1978 until 2010 it sponsored the Whaletown National Enquirer, a monthly community newspaper.
A main function of the Whaletown Community Club is the maintenance of the Gorge Harbour Community Hall. Originally built in 1933, it has been renovated several times and serves as the main venue for community functions in the Whaletown area. Until 1953, when the lease was turned over to the Whaletown Women's Institute, the Club maintained the Church Hall, which was owned by the Columbia Coast Mission and stood at the corner of Carrington Bay and Harbour roads. Before 1958 the Club held most of its meetings in the Church Hall.
Since 1958, when the Whaletown Women's Institute disbanded, the WCC has maintained the library in Whaletown (originally the Farmer's Institute building; now the Louisa Tooker Library) and the old and new Whaletown cemeteries. The Anglican Diocese transferred the title of the two Whaletown cemeteries to the WCC in 2012. In 1964 they acquired the lease for the last remaining piece of Crown land with access to Gorge Harbour, to preserve it as a park. They have leased the former Whaletown school property from the School Board since the school was closed in 1973, and purchased the schoolhouse for the sum of $1.00 in 2010.
Custodial History
Records were acquired directly from the Whaletown Community Club in 2003 (Accession 2003.003), 2017 (Accession 2017.009) and 2023 (Accession 2023.008). A few records were separated from the Cortes Island Ratepayers Assn. fonds in 2004 (records for both organizations had been kept in the same filing cabinet in the Gorge Hall).
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1951 to 2016. The first accession (2003.003) consists of records from 1951 to 1985 and includes minutes of general and executive meetings, correspondence, administrative records including the original constitution and bylaws, financial records and reports on projects and functions sponsored by the organization. Files from Accession 2003.003 are described in five series: 1) Minutes; 2) Correspondence; 3) Financial; 4) Administrative Records; 5) Subject Files.
Accruals in 2017 (#2017.009) and in 2023 (#2023.008) comprise records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1985 to 2018, including minutes of executive and general meetings, financial statements, correspondence, and records of projects and programs. The material was kept in binders; it has been placed in folders maintaining original order, and described using the above five series.
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.
The Cortez Bay Women's Auxiliary (of the Anglican Church) was founded in November, 1951, around the same time that chapters were formed in Whaletown and Manson's Landing.
Custodial History
Donated in 1990 by Sheila Stoppa, the daughter of Ellen Musclow, who was the secretary/treasurer of the organization.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one minute book containing minutes of meetings of the Cortez Bay Womens' Auxiliary.
Photograph of a crowd of people on the government dock at Manson's Landing, likely waiting for the arrival of a Union Steamship. They are standing in front of a building sided with vertical shake boards, with "Cortes Island" and "Telegraph Office" signs on its side. View is looking along the Spit.
Photograph of a crowd of people on the government dock at Manson's Landing, likely waiting for the arrival of a Union Steamship. They are standing in front of a building sided with vertical shake boards, with "Cortes Island" and "Telegraph Office" signs on its side. View is looking along the Spit.
A description of the event may be found in “Whistle Up the Inlet,” by G.A. Rushton (J.J. Douglas Ltd., Vancouver BC,1974; p 50):
"Good teamwork in the handling of the ships by the Union Company’s marine department was evidenced when, on September 19, 1907, at 4:30 a.m., the Comox, running in a heavy fog, went aground on Cortez Island reef. All passengers were landed safely in small boats, then picked up by the Cassiar and taken to Heriot Bay for transfer to their destination aboard the Coquitlam. The Comox was pulled from her rocky perch at high water the following day and beached at Mansons, where a three-foot hole between the boiler and starboard bunker were patched. The vessel was towed back to Vancouver on September 22 by the tug Tartar.”
A description of the event may be found in “Whistle Up the Inlet,” by G.A. Rushton (J.J. Douglas Ltd., Vancouver BC,1974; p 50):
"Good teamwork in the handling of the ships by the Union Company’s marine department was evidenced when, on September 19, 1907, at 4:30 a.m., the Comox, running in a heavy fog, went aground on Cortez Island reef. All passengers were landed safely in small boats, then picked up by the Cassiar and taken to Heriot Bay for transfer to their destination aboard the Coquitlam. The Comox was pulled from her rocky perch at high water the following day and beached at Mansons, where a three-foot hole between the boiler and starboard bunker were patched. The vessel was towed back to Vancouver on September 22 by the tug Tartar.”
Note wagon wheel showing by wharf shed. Could be Mission boat beside wharf. Looks like bank beside Whaletown wharf in early days group picture which includes Rev. Antle
Note wagon wheel showing by wharf shed. Could be Mission boat beside wharf. Looks like bank beside Whaletown wharf in early days group picture which includes Rev. Antle
.jpg?width=1200&404=no-img.jpg&watermark=wmk)
.jpg?width=1200&404=no-img.jpg&watermark=wmk)
.jpg?width=180&404=no-img.jpg)
.jpg?width=1200&404=no-img.jpg&watermark=wmk)
.jpg?width=1200&404=no-img.jpg&watermark=wmk)
.jpg?width=180&404=no-img.jpg)
