Fonds consists of material that was gathered by Thompson as she researched island history for museum exhibits and local history albums. It includes land title information about Cortes Island properties going back to the original Crown Grants, correspondence and notes about Cortes Island history, photographs, maps and ephemera.
Fonds is arranged in five series: Land Titles Research; Historical Information; Maps; Photographs; and Ephemera.
30 cm of textual records
40 photographs
12 maps
2 CDs
History / Biographical
Doreen (Huck) Thompson, 1944-2006:
Doreen’s grandparents, William Edward Huck and Mabel Wells Huck, arrived on Cortes Island in 1915. Widowed in WWI, Mabel and her four children left Cortes for Vancouver in 1923. Her son Harry, Doreen’s father, returned to Cortes in the 1930s. He married Edith Launchbury in 1937 and had two children, Doreen (b.1944) and Ed (b.1945, d.1993). Doreen and Ed were raised in Whaletown and attended school there and at Manson’s Landing.
Doreen graduated from Vic High in Victoria before marrying Bob Thompson in 1962. From 1961 to 1963, Doreen lived in Teakerne Arm in a floathouse Bob had built on the shore of the Whaletown Lagoon and then moved to the shores of Heriot Bay on Quadra Island. Her children were born in 1964 (Janny) and 1965 (Debby). In 1970 the family and the house moved to Cortes Island where both daughters attended school to Grade 10.
Doreen spent a few years living in Alberta and Victoria in the early 1980s and then returned to Cortes Island. Doreen developed a deep knowledge of the history of the island and she devoted considerable time to preserving, gathering and sharing her own and others knowledge of the island through her volunteer work at the Cortes Island Museum and Archives.
Doreen was one of the founders of the Cortes Island Museum. She curated four exhibits at the Museum, including “Windows on Whaletown” in 1999, “Von Donop Inlet”, the commercial fishing portion of “Celebrating Wild Salmon”, and “Memories of Manson’s Landing”. She researched and created albums which combine photographs, reminiscences and clippings to document the history of various island areas, such as Green Valley and Whaletown. The Doreen Thompson Exhibit Gallery at the Museum commemorates her contributions.
Doreen was making a fourth cross-Canada road trip from Cortes to Newfoundland when she was killed in a car accident near Fort McLeod, Alberta on August 1, 2006.
Custodial History
Material was stored at the museum or collected from Doreen Thomas' house.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of material that was gathered by Thompson as she researched island history for museum exhibits and local history albums. It includes land title information about Cortes Island properties going back to the original Crown Grants, correspondence and notes about Cortes Island history, photographs, maps and ephemera.
Fonds is arranged in five series: Land Titles Research; Historical Information; Maps; Photographs; and Ephemera.
Info and photographs scanned from CIMAS albums, Doreen Thompson and family, 1930s-2000s. Newsletters and articles written by and featuring Doreen & family (specifically daughters Debby & Janny Thompson), 1988-2007. Info on The History of Von Donop Creek exhibit and interviews by Doreen and Dianne Hentschel, 2000-2001. Memorial handout for Doreen, 2006. CIMAS letters from Lynne Jordan regarding Manson's Landing exhibit, Doreen's passing, and donations, 2006-2007. Donation notes, 2006. Printed search list of related items in museum fonds. Keywords: WNE
Info and photographs scanned from CIMAS albums, Doreen Thompson and family, 1930s-2000s. Newsletters and articles written by and featuring Doreen & family (specifically daughters Debby & Janny Thompson), 1988-2007. Info on The History of Von Donop Creek exhibit and interviews by Doreen and Dianne Hentschel, 2000-2001. Memorial handout for Doreen, 2006. CIMAS letters from Lynne Jordan regarding Manson's Landing exhibit, Doreen's passing, and donations, 2006-2007. Donation notes, 2006. Printed search list of related items in museum fonds. Keywords: WNE
Recording consists of oral history interviews of Doreen (Huck) Thompson and Wilfed Freeman by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered in Thompson's interview include Huck family history on Cortes; medical emergencies; gardening; fishing; hunting; logging. Topics covered in Freeman's interview include reminiscences of the island in 1927; roads; transportation. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording consists of oral history interviews of Doreen (Huck) Thompson and Wilfed Freeman by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered in Thompson's interview include Huck family history on Cortes; medical emergencies; gardening; fishing; hunting; logging. Topics covered in Freeman's interview include reminiscences of the island in 1927; roads; transportation. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Photograph is cut from a larger original with a label pasted to the bottom. Verso says "Dedication of school swing in memory of Don McDevitt, June 1971. Mrs. McDevitt & School Board [missing text] Phil Sampson. Children seen are Christine [missing text] ?racy, Jean & Ernie and wee Freddy [missing text]." School is the Whaletown school".
Identified by Janice Maclean Kerr as:
Front: Lottie McDevitt and Phil Sampson
Children: Back L, Jeannie Halliday, Phillip Bergman, Tracy Prestley with Christine Froese standing in front of her, Johnnie Prestley (behind Lottie's shoulder); the little boy in the front L is Ernie Halliday.
Photograph is cut from a larger original with a label pasted to the bottom. Verso says "Dedication of school swing in memory of Don McDevitt, June 1971. Mrs. McDevitt & School Board [missing text] Phil Sampson. Children seen are Christine [missing text] ?racy, Jean & Ernie and wee Freddy [missing text]." School is the Whaletown school".
Identified by Janice Maclean Kerr as:
Front: Lottie McDevitt and Phil Sampson
Children: Back L, Jeannie Halliday, Phillip Bergman, Tracy Prestley with Christine Froese standing in front of her, Johnnie Prestley (behind Lottie's shoulder); the little boy in the front L is Ernie Halliday.
Genealogical research from ancestry.com on Samuel Thompson; Nicholas Thompson and family, notably mentioning wife Mary McLeod and sons Leonard and Lethaniel; Nathaniel Ferguson Taggart (foster son of Nicholas & Mary) and the Vancouver Children's Home; and Miner Ira Farry/Furry/Ferry, friend of Thompson family, results from 1800s to 1900s. Excerpts from Alice Robertson's diary re: Robertson and Thompson properties, 1906. Emails regarding Nick Thompson family research, 2016
Genealogical research from ancestry.com on Samuel Thompson; Nicholas Thompson and family, notably mentioning wife Mary McLeod and sons Leonard and Lethaniel; Nathaniel Ferguson Taggart (foster son of Nicholas & Mary) and the Vancouver Children's Home; and Miner Ira Farry/Furry/Ferry, friend of Thompson family, results from 1800s to 1900s. Excerpts from Alice Robertson's diary re: Robertson and Thompson properties, 1906. Emails regarding Nick Thompson family research, 2016
Map of the British Empire, drawn by Eric Dinickel for publication in the June, 1953 issue of Maclean’s (the month of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II). Printed in full colour.
Map of the British Empire, drawn by Eric Dinickel for publication in the June, 1953 issue of Maclean’s (the month of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II). Printed in full colour.
