Fonds consists of photographs of the Gorge Harbour Lodge and Lodge activities, the Corneille and Ballantyne families, and Gladys Ballantyne's house, Gypsy Hill.
Bobby (Elizabeth) Corneille Ballantyne (1914-2009) was born in Vancouver and moved to Cortes Island as a young child. She was 4 years old when her father died suddenly on Marina Island in 1919; she remembers that they had to wait 3 days for a Union Steamship to get the body. Her mother Tena (Sarah Christena) Corneille (1877-1949) bought a tourist lodge at the east end of Gorge Harbour in 1929, and ran it until 1936 with the help of her two teen-age daughters. Gorge Harbour Lodge offered accommodations in the main building or in tents, tennis and badminton courts, and excellent boating, bathing and fishing. Vacationers came up from Vancouver on the Union Steamships for a round-trip ticket price of $6.65. The annual Regatta was the main social event of the season, with people arriving by boat from Cortes and the surrounding islands. It featured boat and swimming races, and a dance in the evening.
Gladys Georgeson Ballantyne (1882-1964), first came to Cortes in about 1910. In about 1920 she bought a property in Whaletown (now 640 Whaletown Rd.) that she called "Gypsy Hill". She was one of the original members of the Whaletown Friendly Circle, later the Whaletown Women's Institute. Gladys, her son Bill, daughter Valerie and her fiance were all on Cortes building a summer cottage when the Depression suddenly hit. Their off-island jobs fell through, and they remained at "Gypsy Hill" for the duration.
Bill Ballantyne (1908-1993) was in the Merchant Marine from 1924-1929. When he was unable to find work on ships during the Depression, he took whatever jobs he could find hand-logging and fishing. Bill and Bobby Corneille were married in 1937. They and other young Whaletown residents formed the Gorge Harbour Dramatic Society to help raise funds to build a community hall, and Bill was the work boss of the building crew for the Gorge Hall. In 1941 they moved to Victoria, and after the war settled in Courtenay with their two sons Peter and Ross. In the late 1950s they returned to Whaletown on Cortes Island where they fished for many years on the gulf troller “Viking”. During that time many young “deckhands” spent time aboard during summer vacations. On retirement, Campbell River became their home.
Custodial History
Electronic records were downloaded in 2012 from an internet address provided by Peter Ballantyne. One photograph was scanned from a photograph temporarily loaned by John and De Clarke.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of photographs of the Gorge Harbour Lodge and Lodge activities, the Corneille and Ballantyne families, and Gladys Ballantyne's house, Gypsy Hill.
The photograph shows a boatload of visitors going to Stag Bay, transport provided by the small gasboat in the background. During George Freeman's years at Stag Bay, he used this '"little green boat" for necessary commuting between Stag Bay and Lund, not only for personal needs but also for logging camp needs for repairs, medical emergencies, etc.
Wilfred Manson is standing on the gasboat in the back.
In the rowboat, L to R: Colin Campbell, Fraser Campbell (brothers), Jean Manson and Dorothy, Florence McKay with oar, Gwen Campbell and Thelma, Mrs. Colin Campbell behind Hazel McKay, Etta McKay.
The photograph shows a boatload of visitors going to Stag Bay, transport provided by the small gasboat in the background. During George Freeman's years at Stag Bay, he used this '"little green boat" for necessary commuting between Stag Bay and Lund, not only for personal needs but also for logging camp needs for repairs, medical emergencies, etc.
Wilfred Manson is standing on the gasboat in the back.
In the rowboat, L to R: Colin Campbell, Fraser Campbell (brothers), Jean Manson and Dorothy, Florence McKay with oar, Gwen Campbell and Thelma, Mrs. Colin Campbell behind Hazel McKay, Etta McKay.
Series consists of CIRA general correspondence and APC general correspondence, as well as CIRA correspondence on specific issues, including ferry service, electrical and telephone service, the Regional District system of government, medical services, parks, wharves, environmental concerns, tax assessments, log dump and beach salvage, predators (wolves and cougars), oyster poaching, the road network, garbage collection and disposal, historic sites, library services, emergency response and policing, and the Raven Lumber subdivision proposal and ensuing court case.
Series consists of CIRA general correspondence and APC general correspondence, as well as CIRA correspondence on specific issues, including ferry service, electrical and telephone service, the Regional District system of government, medical services, parks, wharves, environmental concerns, tax assessments, log dump and beach salvage, predators (wolves and cougars), oyster poaching, the road network, garbage collection and disposal, historic sites, library services, emergency response and policing, and the Raven Lumber subdivision proposal and ensuing court case.
File contains ephemera from a global warming seminar, "First Aid for a Scorched Planet" by Basil Seaton, materials from the Linnaea Seed Project and the Cortes Island Co-operative Self-Sufficiency initiative.
File contains ephemera from a global warming seminar, "First Aid for a Scorched Planet" by Basil Seaton, materials from the Linnaea Seed Project and the Cortes Island Co-operative Self-Sufficiency initiative.
Fonds consists of material generated by the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society and includes meeting minutes, administrative records, research materials, correspondence, ephemera, maps, plans, and publications of the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society, as well as some records of the Cortes Island Old Age Pensioners' Organization. Fonds is arranged into twelve series, following the original order of the records.
An accrual in 2023, described as Series 12, contains meeting minutes, correspondence, etc; arranged in chronological order (original order).
In 1987, members of the Cortes Island Old Age Pensioners' Organization incorporated the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society (currently known as the Cortes Island Senior's Society) with the following stated purposes:
(a) to operate a facility where persons aged 65 years or older, or persons between 55 and 65 years of age who are in need, can improve their health through physical and other acitivity;
(b) to operate a residential housing facility for such persons;
(c) to carry on social activities incidental to the above purposes, but not to own, operate or manage a social club.
The records of the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society provide useful insight into their process of envisioning the future of seniors' housing on Cortes Island.
Custodial History
Donated by Ruth Zwickel on behalf of the Cortes Island Senior's Society in 2013. An accrual was donated by Elinor Harwood on behalf of the Cortes Island Seniors' Society in 2021.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of material generated by the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society and includes meeting minutes, administrative records, research materials, correspondence, ephemera, maps, plans, and publications of the Cortes Island Seniors' Building Society, as well as some records of the Cortes Island Old Age Pensioners' Organization. Fonds is arranged into twelve series, following the original order of the records.
An accrual in 2023, described as Series 12, contains meeting minutes, correspondence, etc; arranged in chronological order (original order).
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 shows a man and a woman, both holding a fish, standing in one of the row boats from the Cortes Lodge. Another man on shore is also holding a fish, while a man behind him (likely Jack Summers) pulls the boat in.
Photograph shows a man and a woman, both holding a fish, standing in one of the row boats from the Cortes Lodge. Another man on shore is also holding a fish, while a man behind him (likely Jack Summers) pulls the boat in.
