Basil (1910-2012) and Jill Seaton, environmentalists and naturalists, lived on Cortes Island from 1982 to 1992.
Custodial History
The Seatons gave these records to Fred Zwickel when they moved from Cortes Island; they were subsequently given to Nancy Kendel for donation to the museum in 2012.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of correspondence, notes and maps relating to the establishment of Von Donop Marine Park (now known as Háthayim Marine Park).
Storage Location
Small fonds box
Oversize materials box
Storage Range
Small fonds box 1-14 to 1-17
Oversize materials box
File contains two letters, written in pencil, to "Mother and Dad" by "Freddie" (surname unknown) on July 9, 1942 (7 pages) and July 13, 1942 (5 pages). Freddie was aboard the mission ship "John Antle", based in Whaletown with Canon Alan Greene, and writes of his experiences as part of the mission patrol. Places visited include Redonda Bay, Alert Bay, Rock Bay, Surge Narrows and Cortes Island settlements.
Donated by Bill Bartlett, of the Gerald Wellburn Philatelic Foundation, Victoria BC, in 2021. The letters were part of a stamp collection given to the Foundation. Bartlett recognized the connection to Cortes Island and mailed the letters to the Museum.
Scope and Content
File contains two letters, written in pencil, to "Mother and Dad" by "Freddie" (surname unknown) on July 9, 1942 (7 pages) and July 13, 1942 (5 pages). Freddie was aboard the mission ship "John Antle", based in Whaletown with Canon Alan Greene, and writes of his experiences as part of the mission patrol. Places visited include Redonda Bay, Alert Bay, Rock Bay, Surge Narrows and Cortes Island settlements.
Fonds comprises records of the Cortes Community Health Association (CCHA) including financial records, correspondence (including print-outs of emails), board governance documents and photographs. Subjects include CCHA initiatives to secure funding for a physician and to build a Health Centre.
The Cortes Community Health Association is a registered Charity, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors elected by the membership. The CCHA owns and operates the Cortes Health Centre (945 Beasley Road, Manson's Landing, BC); acts as liaison between the community, the Ministry of Health and other branches of health care delivery, health education and administration in British Columbia; and provides a variety of community programs.
The CCHA was formed in 1993 by a group of local residents who wished to secure quality health care for Cortes Island. At that point, the only medical services available on the island were provided by the ambulance service and the fortnightly visits of a physician. The first initiatives of the CCHA were to establish a medical clinic and pharmacy in Manson's Hall, and to secure funding for a full-time family physician. When the two-room clinic in the Hall proved inadequate, CCHA undertook to raise funds for and build a clinic on land leased from the Cortes Island Seniors Building Society. Site preparation began in 2003 and the clinic opened in 2005.
Custodial History
Documents were handed over to the Archives by Bernice McGowan, secretary of the CCHA.
Scope and Content
Fonds comprises records of the Cortes Community Health Association (CCHA) including financial records, correspondence (including print-outs of emails), board governance documents and photographs. Subjects include CCHA initiatives to secure funding for a physician and to build a Health Centre.
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.
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 a summary of the results of a questionnaire regarding ferry service composed by the Transportation Committee and sent to Cortes Island residents; the original questionnaires returned by islanders; and notes on other transportation issues such as road pavement and boat launch sites.
A District of Campbell River meeting March 22, 1993 took place in the Campbell River Hall. Present at that meeting were the Chairman of the B.C. Ferry Corporation; Peter Hughes, Operations Manager BC Ferry Corporation for North Islands; representative of the Campbell River Council and Campbell River School District; Gretchen Brewin, Chair Community Relations Committee; Colin Gabelman and his Executive Assistant; various B.C. Ferry Corp personnel including the person responsible for docks and terminals; and Jim Abrams and Ralph Nursall representing the Regional District.
At that meeting Peter Hughes recommended that Cortes Islanders form a Transportation Committee to liaison with B.C. Ferry Corp.
When Ralph returned to Cortes Island he spoke with a number of people he thought might be interested in forming the backbone of such an Island Committee. Eight of the 20+ people Ralph had contacted attended an April 21, 1993 Cortes Island preliminary meeting--Joanne Weyler, Sabina Mense, Joan Bevington, Ken Ferguson, Herbert Havelaar, Norm Gibbons, Tom Bennet and Dick Teams. What was discussed was the convening of a Transportation Committee meeting to bring together all those Islanders interested in transportation issues on the island. No one at that meeting volunteered to convene such a meeting. Ralph contacted then acting Operation Manager for B.C. Ferry Corp., Capt. Norman Craddock, and made arrangements for a public meeting with Capt. Craddock in attendance to answer questions from the floor. Joanne Weyler advertised the event through the Cortes Classifieds.
The May 12, 1993 Transportation Committee consisted of all those who attended that public meeting held at the Gorge Hall. The high turnout (50+) indicated an intense interest in transportation issues on the Island and there was a spirited exchange of questions and answers. Before this meeting, Dennis Mense had agreed to act as convener for an Executive of the Transportation Committee and Ralph Nursall asked for volunteers to serve on the Executive. Volunteers included Harry Breurkens, Glen Carleton, Norm Gibbons, Bertha Jeffery, Ted Pudden, Carol Reese and Joanne Weyler. [ . . . ]
The "mandate" for the Committee and its Executive, as expressed by Ralph Nursall, as as follows: "[I]t is intended that the Transportation Committee be an independent, community committee operating as it sees fit to collect opinions of Islanders to transport to the B.C. Ferry Corp. and getting information from the Corporation for Islanders. [ . . . ] the Committee will also interest itself in Highways and other transportation matters of the Island."
(From "Cortes Island Transportation Committee Background Information," in Regional Director fonds)
Custodial History
The material was compiled by the Cortes Island Transportation Committee. It was made available to islanders at the Manson's Landing library, and later transferred to CIMAS.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a summary of the results of a questionnaire regarding ferry service composed by the Transportation Committee and sent to Cortes Island residents; the original questionnaires returned by islanders; and notes on other transportation issues such as road pavement and boat launch sites.
Fonds consists of photographs and records of the Cortes Walking Group. Photographs depict walks and social activities and are arranged in two albums and one printed photo book. Textual records include two small notebooks with notes of walk routes, times and participants; membership lists; and accounts of activities with associated photographs, including a history of the Walking Group. A copy of the cerlox-bound "Listings of the Cortes Island Cemeteries" contains annotations up to 2020, mostly concerning the Mansons Landing cemetery.
The Cortes Walking Group was started in September of 2000 when Ann Dewar and Gail Ringwood decided to meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 9 AM to walk and put up a sign announcing their intention. The days were changed to Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and soon incorporated a visit to a coffee shop following the outings.
Walking Group activities are ongoing (2024). Walks leave from the parking lot at Manson's Hall at 9 AM sharp and are open to everyone. The route is decided just before the walks, which last anywhere from 45 minutes to 4 hours, but are usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Custodial History
The photo albums were mostly assembled by Gail Ringwood using photographs taken by Richard Trueman, Jurek and Gina Trzesicka and other group members. They were kept in the Pioneer Room at Manson's Hall and then at the Co-op Cafe. They were donated to the Museum by Sue Ellingsen and Myrna Kerr, members of the Walking Group, in 2022.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of photographs and records of the Cortes Walking Group. Photographs depict walks and social activities and are arranged in two albums and one printed photo book. Textual records include two small notebooks with notes of walk routes, times and participants; membership lists; and accounts of activities with associated photographs, including a history of the Walking Group. A copy of the cerlox-bound "Listings of the Cortes Island Cemeteries" contains annotations up to 2020, mostly concerning the Mansons Landing cemetery.
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.
Fonds consists of records of Friends of Cortes Island Society and includes meeting minutes, administrative documents, correspondence, notes, and publications created by FOCI between 1996 and 2001. It comprises 15 files arranged into 9 series; original order has been maintained.
Friends of Cortes Island Society, also known as FOCI, registered as a society in 1990, with the mandate of protecting the physical environment of Cortes Island and adjacent land in the context of ongoing and proposed residential and industrial development.
FOCI "exists to monitor and preserve the health of local ecosystems, and to provide educational programs that foster a greater understanding of the natural environment". Their purposes are as follows:
To identify environmentally sensitive areas, particularly on Cortes and neighbouring islands.
To monitor and protect wildlife and the safeguarding of its natural habitat.
To promote the protection of the forests, lakes, streams and critical watersheds and the enhancement of fish stocks where appropriate.
To promote the study and preservation of the cultural heritage and historical landmarks of the area.
To provide educational programs that relate to ecological understanding and appreciation of the environment.
FOCI has worked with many local and provincial organisations, most notably Cortes Ecoforestry Society (CES). Other colleagues include Linnaea Farm Society, Southern Cortes Community Association, Whaletown Community Club, BC Parks, Environmental Youth Team, the Cortes Island Museum & Archives Association, and EcoAction Community Funding Program.
Custodial History
Records were donated by Sarah Downey, on behalf of FOCI, on 27 August 2013.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records of Friends of Cortes Island Society and includes meeting minutes, administrative documents, correspondence, notes, and publications created by FOCI between 1996 and 2001. It comprises 15 files arranged into 9 series; original order has been maintained.
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 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 consists of records of the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island and includes meeting minutes, financial statements, administrative documents, correspondence, leases and newsletters. Original order has been maintained.
In 1995, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was directed to divest all its recreational harbours managed under the Small Craft Harbours program. In the following years, the DFO launched a program to encourage local non-profit groups to assume day-to-day management and operation of fishing harbours.
The Harbour Authority of Cortes Island was formed in 1998 or 1999 to "[r]epresent the community of Cortes Island to preserve and promote the present and future marine infrastructure and maritime transportation links, including wharves; docking launch and moorage facilities until being replaced by a suitable public representative or government agency".
The Harbour Authority of Cortes Island manages five locations, Cortes Bay, Squirrel Cove Dock, Gorge Harbour Government Dock, Manson’s Landing Dock and Whaletown Dock. All provide safe well-maintained moorage facilities for a wide-ranging group of marine users year round.
Custodial History
Records were donated to CIMAS by Lynne Jordan in 2012.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records of the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island and includes meeting minutes, financial statements, administrative documents, correspondence, leases and newsletters. Original order has been maintained.
This fonds comprises records of four Cortes Island women's service organizations, including minutes, financial records, administrative records, correspondence, photographs, ephemera and artifacts. It is arranged in four sous-fonds according to the creator of the records: Whaletown Women's Institute (2009.001.1); Whaletown Women's Auxiliary of the Anglican Church (2009.001.2); Cortes Island Women's Institute (2009.001.3); and Island Women's Club (2009.001.3). Related material in CIMAS archives may be found in the Whaletown Women's Institute fonds (1999.002), the Gilean Douglas fonds (1999.001), and the May and Elmer Ellingsen fonds (2007.001).
The Island Women's Club was formed in 2000, when the members of the Cortes Island Women's Institute withdrew from the British Columbia Women's Institute in order to focus their efforts locally. It was the successor to previous women's service organizations on Cortes, local branches of the Women's Institute and the Anglican Church Women's Auxiliary. Activities included awarding bursaries to graduating high school students, contributing to school projects such as printing yearbooks, sponsoring sports teams and building playground equipment, supporting the community halls and organizing memorial teas on behalf of bereaved families. They disbanded in 2016.
Custodial History
After they disbanded, records of the Whaletown Women's Institute and the Whaletown Women's Auxiliary passed into the hands of the Cortes Island Women's Institute and its successor, Island Women's Club, who donated them to CIMAS in 2009. The organizational records created by the Island Women's Club were donated to CIMAS in 2018.
Scope and Content
This fonds comprises records of four Cortes Island women's service organizations, including minutes, financial records, administrative records, correspondence, photographs, ephemera and artifacts. It is arranged in four sous-fonds according to the creator of the records: Whaletown Women's Institute (2009.001.1); Whaletown Women's Auxiliary of the Anglican Church (2009.001.2); Cortes Island Women's Institute (2009.001.3); and Island Women's Club (2009.001.3). Related material in CIMAS archives may be found in the Whaletown Women's Institute fonds (1999.002), the Gilean Douglas fonds (1999.001), and the May and Elmer Ellingsen fonds (2007.001).
Fonds consists of ten diaries kept by James Layton, covering the years 1948-1981, and a Time Book. (Years 1967-1971 are missing.) Layton made brief daily entries in the diaries, noting the weather, activities, social interactions and, occasionally, notable external events. Typical activities included logging, fishing, working on an oyster lease, digging clams, gardening, visiting, reading and writing letters. Times of planting and harvesting the garden, sightings of wildlife, and names of people living nearby or visiting on boats are recorded.
James (Jimmy) George Layton (1897-1990) was born in Camberwell, England. He fought in World War I, was severely wounded when he flung himself on a grenade which had landed in his foxhole, and received a medal for his bravery. In 1920, Layton emigrated to Canada, where he found work in coastal logging camps. Other members of the family, including his parents and seven of his ten siblings, also moved to Canada. At the time of his father's death in 1939, Layton, his parents and three of his brothers were living on Thurlow Island. In the 1940s he moved to the head of Von Donop Inlet on Cortes Island. His float house was drawn up on the beach next to a little islet that was joined to the shore at low tide, where he cultivated a garden and orchard. Layton found work logging and caretaking for local camps active in Von Donop, and helping his brother on his oyster lease. He moved to Lund in 1972, where he passed away at the age of 92.
Custodial History
Diaries were given to Joan Bevington by her cousin Capt. Harrison Layton, the nephew of James Layton, for donation to CIMAS.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of ten diaries kept by James Layton, covering the years 1948-1981, and a Time Book. (Years 1967-1971 are missing.) Layton made brief daily entries in the diaries, noting the weather, activities, social interactions and, occasionally, notable external events. Typical activities included logging, fishing, working on an oyster lease, digging clams, gardening, visiting, reading and writing letters. Times of planting and harvesting the garden, sightings of wildlife, and names of people living nearby or visiting on boats are recorded.
Fonds contains material relating to the Cortes Island Shellfish Growers Coop and the Bee Islets Growers Corp, of which Jordan was a member, and other documents relating to aquaculture.
Joseph (Joe) John Jordan (May 21, 1936 – January 6, 2019) was raised in the Tsawwassen/Point Roberts area. He attended technical college in California, and worked for Monroe Lytton Industries repairing machines and early computers. After returning to BC he became a commercial fisherman, and after moving to Cortes Island in 1976, an oyster grower as well. (See Information files for an obituary).
Custodial History
Records were kept by Joe Jordan and donated to the Museum in 2019 by his wife (and CIMAS president) Lynne Jordan.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains material relating to the Cortes Island Shellfish Growers Coop and the Bee Islets Growers Corp, of which Jordan was a member, and other documents relating to aquaculture.
Fonds contains six oversize photograph albums, CDs, administrative documents, ephemera, newsletters, yearbooks, and articles created by Linnaea School. It is arranged in eight series: Administrative records; Creative projects; Linnaea Learner; Yearbooks; Publicity materials; School photo descriptions; Linnaea School photograph albums; and CDs. Electronic records include an overview of Linnaea; Linnaea philosophy and curriculum, and class and attendance lists.
Linnaea School was a small independent school located on Linnaea Farm, a land trust with 315 acres of forests, fields, organic gardens and lake-front which is governed by The Linnaea Farm Society, a registered non-profit. Linnaea School offered its holistic, community-based approach to education for 23 years, from 1987 until its closing in 2010.
The school was founded by Donna Bracewell in 1987. It expanded from a first-year enrollment of eleven students to take in close to half of the island's school-age children. Linnaea offered a program of creative, nature-based, alternative learning for Kindergarten to Grade 6. Strong academics were enhanced by farm classes, environmental and outdoor education, mentorship programmes, music classes and service projects. A notable project was the annual spring musical play. Bracewell left in June, 2009 to take a teaching position in Vietnam and the school closed a year later.
Custodial History
Records were donated to CIMAS on 22 October 2014 by a representative of Linnaea Education Centre/Linnaea Farm Society. An accrual of electronic records was donated by Donna Bracewell in 2019. A sticky note attached to the CD file box said they were brought to the Museum in 2017 by Miensje Vlaming.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains six oversize photograph albums, CDs, administrative documents, ephemera, newsletters, yearbooks, and articles created by Linnaea School. It is arranged in eight series: Administrative records; Creative projects; Linnaea Learner; Yearbooks; Publicity materials; School photo descriptions; Linnaea School photograph albums; and CDs. Electronic records include an overview of Linnaea; Linnaea philosophy and curriculum, and class and attendance lists.
Fonds consists primarily of photographs and slides taken by Mary Weiler. Textual records include correspondence, several issues of the "Log" of the Columbia Coast Mission, and material about Victor Von Donop, for whom Von Donop Inlet is named.
Fonds is arranged in five series: 1: Photographs, 2: Correspondence, 3: Von Donop, 4: Ephemera, and 5: Books.
In April of 1947 Otto and Mary Weiler were recently returned from London, and they were war weary---Mary was recovering from tuberculosis, and Otto from injuries sustained in the army, and like most people in those days, they were left strapped by the Depression and the War--- but they had a dream. They chartered a boat, and traveled up the BC coast, seeking a place where they could live---in their words---"a happy, romantic, bohemian life".
Otto John—always known affectionately as Ottie---was born in Victoria, BC on March 27, 1903, to a well-to-do mercantile family. His grandparents, John and Christiana Weiler, arrive in Fort Victoria in the early 1850's from Germany by way of San Francisco, where they established a successful furniture factory and other businesses. Reminders of the Weiler family still exist in Victoria, most notably the six-story Weiler Building at the corner of Broad and Government streets, originally a grandly-appointed department store, and the Weiler cenotaph in Ross Bay cemetery.
Mary was born Mary Agnes Campbell on March 13, 1915, in Enderby, BC. Her grandparents were pioneers who arrived in the North Okanogan to farm in the 1880's. The family moved to New Westminster in 1921. After high school Mary studied nursing at the Royal Jubilee hospital in Victoria, and then departed for France, having decided to work her way around the world. When war broke out, however, she was evacuated from France at Dunkirk, and immediately joined the British army. She served a nurse in London for the duration of the war, and here she met Ottie, a major with the Canadian Scottish regiment. There were married in 1943, and both went back to their respective postings with the army, looking forward to the day when they could live together.
When Ottie and Mary sailed into Whaletown Bay, they were immediately enchanted by the house on the point, half-built and occupying 5 rocky acres of waterfront. They were urban and idealistic, and ready to throw themselves into life on a remote island. At first they turned their hand to fishing commercially. Their boat was twelve-foot clinker built inboard; a salmon license cost a dollar. In 1949 they were hired by Cece Stubbs to manage the Whaletown Store. When Gary and Velma Bergman bought the store in 1956, Ottie was offered the position of Whaletown postmaster, a job he held until a few months before his death.
Mary was an artist—a talented and serious one. In spite of the isolation of Cortes Island in those days, she made a name for herself as a British Columbia artist of note, showing her work widely and selling internationally. Her studio was the dining-room table, surrounded by a swirl of children, and her paintings and prints were created in the midst of the gardening, fishing and canning necessary to country survival.
Ottie was a writer---he had been a journalist before the war---and was a passionate gardener, fisherman, hunter and forager who tirelessly explored the trails and homesteads on the north end of Cortes, and beachcombed all his firewood.
They were both dedicated to community service. Ottie was Justice of the Peace, a thoughtful counselor once famously referred to by Gilean Douglas as 'a Justice who really practiced peace' and he also served on the boards of the Whaletown Community Club and other organizations for many years. Mary acted as a community nurse, as well as teaching First Aid classes, holding monthly clinics, and canvassing for the Canadian cancer society. She taught annual art classes and workshops for adults and children, and in the late '60s, she and Ottie opened a summer art gallery in their Whaletown home---the Garden Gallery---as a showcase for local artists and craftspeople.
Ottie and Mary had four daughters---Christina, born March 23rd, 1951; Brigid, born June 6th, 1953; Alexandra (who, however, has always gone by the nickname “Johnny”) born May 5th, 1955; and Sarah, born September 27th, 1958.
In 1973 Ottie died after a short illness, and Mary didn't want to stay in their dream home without him. In 1974 she sold the house and said farewell to Whaletown. Mary Weiler went on to many more adventures—studying, travelling, and always making art---and died in Victoria in1999.
[by Brigid Weiler, March 10, 2016]
Custodial History
This material was created or collected by Mary and Otto Weiler and donated to CIMAS by their daughter Brigid Weiler. The first accession was in 2003 (Accession #2003.002). There are two accruals: #2009.002 and #2017.001.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists primarily of photographs and slides taken by Mary Weiler. Textual records include correspondence, several issues of the "Log" of the Columbia Coast Mission, and material about Victor Von Donop, for whom Von Donop Inlet is named.
Fonds is arranged in five series: 1: Photographs, 2: Correspondence, 3: Von Donop, 4: Ephemera, and 5: Books.
Fonds consists of the personal, business and research records of May and Elmer Ellingsen. Textual records include personal and business correspondence; financial and legal records; information about local history; records and newsletters of various community organizations; records created by John Manson and by the St. James Ladies' Guild; maps; ephemera; and clippings about Cortes Island people and events. Fonds also includes photographs of the Manson family and other island people and places, and cassette tapes of oral history and music.
Fonds is arranged in 14 series: Correspondence; Financial records; Elmer Ellingsen records (business and personal); May Ellingsen personal records; Local history subject files; John Manson records; St. James Ladies' Guild records; Community organizations and services records; Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society records; Maps; Ephemera; Clippings; Photographs and Audio tapes.
Records from Accessions 2017.003 and 2019.002, which were processed after the other material had been arranged, have been interfiled.
3 meters of textual records
726 photographs
21 audio cassette tapes
Extent
252 cm
History / Biographical
Elmer Ellingsen (1913-2002) was born in North Vancouver to Sigurd and Gladys Ellingsen. After graduating from high school, he took a short course in business at Sprott Shaw College. In the early 1930s Elmer worked in logging and became a strong supporter of the trade union movement. He also had classical piano training in school, later turning to popular music; he played for many dances and parties until well into his eighties.
May Ellingsen (1914-2012) was born in Vancouver to George and Robina Freeman. Her maternal grandfather, Michael Manson, was the first person to pre-empt land on Cortes Island, in 1886. May grew up on Cortes and Hernando Islands until grade six, then moved to Vancouver with her family to finish her schooling.
May and Elmer met on Cortes in 1935 and were married on August 1, 1936. They built a float house and spent the next ten years in the Loughborough Inlet/Phillips Arm area where Elmer worked in his father's logging operations. While there, their children Shirley (1939), Bruce (1940) and Andy (1941) were born. In 1946 they moved to Von Donop Creek, where Elmer formed a logging partnership with Mike Herrewig and Scotty McKenzie. In 1950, he formed a new partnership with Erne Anderson for logging in the Whaletown area, and moved the floathouse to Manson's Landing lagoon. Two years later their floathouse was moved to its present location on Hague Lake.
After travelling from home to various logging operations, Elmer retired from logging. He bought a D8 Caterpillar tractor, backhoe and gravel truck and worked for the next forty years excavating, delivering gravel and moving things. He often worked with BC Hydro and BC Tel on pole installation, repair and maintenance.
Both Elmer and May were very active in community life. They sponsored weekly movie nights through the 1950s and square dancing in the sixties. May's many involvements included the Ladies' Guild, Women's Institute, Ratepayers Association, Post Office, Vancouver Regional Library development and Cortes Island Days. Elmer was a leading promoter of bringing ferry and hydro service to the island; he helped renovate Manson's Hall in the late 1970s, lobbied for road paving and helped initiate the Cortes Island Firefighters Assoc. in the 1980s. Both were founding members of the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society.
Custodial History
Records were collected from the home of May and Elmer Ellingsen by Andy and Susan Ellingsen and by Bruce Ellingsen and donated to CIMAS. There are eight accessions in this fonds: 2007.001, 2007.002, 2007.003, 2007.005, 2008.002 and 2010.001, 2018.002 and 2019.002.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the personal, business and research records of May and Elmer Ellingsen. Textual records include personal and business correspondence; financial and legal records; information about local history; records and newsletters of various community organizations; records created by John Manson and by the St. James Ladies' Guild; maps; ephemera; and clippings about Cortes Island people and events. Fonds also includes photographs of the Manson family and other island people and places, and cassette tapes of oral history and music.
Fonds is arranged in 14 series: Correspondence; Financial records; Elmer Ellingsen records (business and personal); May Ellingsen personal records; Local history subject files; John Manson records; St. James Ladies' Guild records; Community organizations and services records; Cortes Island Museum & Archives Society records; Maps; Ephemera; Clippings; Photographs and Audio tapes.
Records from Accessions 2017.003 and 2019.002, which were processed after the other material had been arranged, have been interfiled.
This collection consists of ten photograph albums (binders) compiled and annotated by May Ellingsen. The albums contain both original and reproduced photographs of Cortes Island and nearby islands, including Twin Islands and Hernando Island. They are accompanied by captions and additional textual information such as pre-emption records, reminiscences and newspaper clippings. Most of the photographs date from the early decades of the 20th century, depicting homes and buildings, pioneer families, community activities, schools, wharves, boats, logging and marine activity. Fonds consists of two series: Series 1 (The May Ellingsen Historic Photograph Collection, Vol. 1-9, Accession 2004.003) and Series 2 (The Manson Family Album, Accession 2004.002).
Ten photograph albums (binders) containing 152 original photographs and 482 reproductions.
History / Biographical
May Ellingsen was born on March 13, 1914 to George and Robina Freeman. Her maternal grandfather, Michael Manson, was the first person to pre-empt land on Cortes Island, claiming a quarter section on Gunflint Lake in 1886. May spent her childhood on Hernando Island, where her family homesteaded and logged, and on Cortes Island, where she attended the log school at Manson's Landing.
In 1936 May married Elmer Ellingsen. They spent the next ten years in the Loughborough Inlet/Phillips Arm area while Elmer worked for his father's logging operations. During those years their children, Shirley, Bruce and Andy, were born. In 1946 the family moved to Von Donop Creek, where Elmer was logging. In 1950 they moved their float house, built at the time of their marriage, to Manson's Landing Lagoon and two years later, to its present permanent location on Hague Lake.
May and Elmer devoted much time and energy to building their community. Amongst her many community activities, May ran the library at Manson's Hall. She had a strong interest in local history, researching the history of land pre-emptions on the island, collecting and annotating photographs from pioneer families and recording interviews with old timers. She was a founder of the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society; the archives reading room is named in her honor. Historical materials and artifacts gathered by May formed the kernel of the museum's collections and archives.
Custodial History
May Ellingsen created the albums in the 1980s, and kept adding to them throughout the 1990s. She kept them at the Manson's Landing library and then at the museum from 1999. She officially donated them to CIMAS in 2004.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of ten photograph albums (binders) compiled and annotated by May Ellingsen. The albums contain both original and reproduced photographs of Cortes Island and nearby islands, including Twin Islands and Hernando Island. They are accompanied by captions and additional textual information such as pre-emption records, reminiscences and newspaper clippings. Most of the photographs date from the early decades of the 20th century, depicting homes and buildings, pioneer families, community activities, schools, wharves, boats, logging and marine activity. Fonds consists of two series: Series 1 (The May Ellingsen Historic Photograph Collection, Vol. 1-9, Accession 2004.003) and Series 2 (The Manson Family Album, Accession 2004.002).
File consists of a letter from Mary-Anne Forman recounting the history of her family and their connection with Cortes Island along with copies of material from their family collection: 16 digital photograph prints (12 b&w; 4 col.), an account of Eric Collins, and a photocopy of a newspaper article about Sir Edmund Hillary. The photos are labelled on the back and depict Cortes Island people and locations, including the cabins at Manson's Spit and Manson's wharf. People depicted include Dan McIvor, Mrs. Lowe, Doris Hawkins, Rev. Rollo Boas, Elmer Ellingsen, Betty Jeffery, Nellie Jeffery, and Jack Summers. There is a photo of Sir Edmund Hillary on Manson's wharf.
Mary-Anne Forman is the daughter of Daniel Erskine McIvor (1911-2005). Her family has a summer cottage on Hague Lake on Cortes Island and has spent summers on the island since the 1950s. Dan McIvor and his wife Isobel are buried in the Manson's Landing Cemetery, which also holds a memorial bench for Eric Collins.
Dan McIvor joined the R.C.A.F. in 1941. After his discharge in 1945, he and his family moved to British Columbia where he flew the B.C. coast as one of the legendary "Bush Pilots." In the 1960s he found and arranged the purchase of four Martin Mars flying boats - the only ones of their kind in the world. Dan had always believed that the safest and most effective way to fight forest fires was from the air. His innovative ideas resulted in the conversion of the Martin Mars to the first modern water bomber, with each airplane able to carry 6 000 imperial gallons of water.
Custodial History
Mary-Anne Forman mailed the material in this file to Ian Disney in 2015; it was subsequently donated to CIMAS.
Scope and Content
File consists of a letter from Mary-Anne Forman recounting the history of her family and their connection with Cortes Island along with copies of material from their family collection: 16 digital photograph prints (12 b&w; 4 col.), an account of Eric Collins, and a photocopy of a newspaper article about Sir Edmund Hillary. The photos are labelled on the back and depict Cortes Island people and locations, including the cabins at Manson's Spit and Manson's wharf. People depicted include Dan McIvor, Mrs. Lowe, Doris Hawkins, Rev. Rollo Boas, Elmer Ellingsen, Betty Jeffery, Nellie Jeffery, and Jack Summers. There is a photo of Sir Edmund Hillary on Manson's wharf.
