Interview of Brigid Weiler by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. The introduction to the interview is on File 1. In File 2 Brigid talks about growing up in Whaletown in the 1950s and 60s, the people who lived there and the location of their houses. (43 minutes)
Interview of Brigid Weiler by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. The introduction to the interview is on File 1. In File 2 Brigid talks about growing up in Whaletown in the 1950s and 60s, the people who lived there and the location of their houses. (43 minutes)
Interview of Dennis Newsham and Ann Dewar by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Frances Guthrie was also present. Dennis and Ann talk about their memories of growing up in Whaletown.
Interview of Dennis Newsham and Ann Dewar by Bernice McGowan and Jill Milton. Frances Guthrie was also present. Dennis and Ann talk about their memories of growing up in Whaletown.
Recording is an oral history interview of Dolly (Jeffery) and Harold Hansen by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered include the Jeffery family history; how Harold came to Cortes; logging; picking salal; and raising eight foster children. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Dolly (Jeffery) and Harold Hansen by Oonagh O'Connor. Topics covered include the Jeffery family history; how Harold came to Cortes; logging; picking salal; and raising eight foster children. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
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.
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.
Recording is an oral history interview of Dorothea Carter, daughter of Alan and Dorothy Robertson, by Oonagh O'Connor. She tells about her grandparents settling at "Burnside" in Whaletown in the late 1800s; some family history; and incidents from her life. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Dorothea Carter, daughter of Alan and Dorothy Robertson, by Oonagh O'Connor. She tells about her grandparents settling at "Burnside" in Whaletown in the late 1800s; some family history; and incidents from her life. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Duncan Robertson by Oonagh O'Connor at his home in Whaletown (Part 1 of 2). Topics covered include some family history; people and customs of the early days on the island; logging; fishing; hunting; cougars; Cortes in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Duncan Robertson by Oonagh O'Connor at his home in Whaletown (Part 1 of 2). Topics covered include some family history; people and customs of the early days on the island; logging; fishing; hunting; cougars; Cortes in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Duncan Robertson by Oonagh O'Connor (Part 2 of 2). Topics covered include Dunc's children Ann (Dewar) and Lynn (Summers); oysters; the Whaletown store; early telephone system; mining; the Robertson family; the ferry; changes in wildlife population he has observe over the years; and logging practices. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording is an oral history interview of Duncan Robertson by Oonagh O'Connor (Part 2 of 2). Topics covered include Dunc's children Ann (Dewar) and Lynn (Summers); oysters; the Whaletown store; early telephone system; mining; the Robertson family; the ferry; changes in wildlife population he has observe over the years; and logging practices. There is a short summary of the interview, written by May Ellingsen, in the cassette case.
Recording consists of interviews of Elmo Murray Morrisette by his grandchildren Michelle and Murray Villiers, about his experience in World War I and his life on Cortes Island.
Recording consists of interviews of Elmo Murray Morrisette by his grandchildren Michelle and Murray Villiers, about his experience in World War I and his life on Cortes Island.
