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).
"Logging, 1903-1949":
The album contains reminiscences of Frank Gallinger's logging camp; a photograph of old-growth trees; logging camps (various locations) and group photos; photographs of hand logging with the use of springboards and logging with steam donkeys, tractors, power saws and horses (on the John Manson property); photographs of log booms (various locations), logging on Quadra and "haywire" logging on Hernando Island; and a newspaper clipping about horse logging (1984).
"Logging, 1903-1949":
The album contains reminiscences of Frank Gallinger's logging camp; a photograph of old-growth trees; logging camps (various locations) and group photos; photographs of hand logging with the use of springboards and logging with steam donkeys, tractors, power saws and horses (on the John Manson property); photographs of log booms (various locations), logging on Quadra and "haywire" logging on Hernando Island; and a newspaper clipping about horse logging (1984).
Series consists of documents pertaining to a lawsuit between Chief Raymond Noble of Klahoose First Nation (suing on behalf of all members of the KFN) and the following plaintiffs: Cortes Ecoforestry Society, Linnaea Farm Society, certain members of the Klahoose First Nation, and members of the aforementioned organizations. The lawsuit concerned an alleged blockage, which barred access to Woodlot 009, thus interfering with Klahoose logging operations.
Series consists of documents pertaining to a lawsuit between Chief Raymond Noble of Klahoose First Nation (suing on behalf of all members of the KFN) and the following plaintiffs: Cortes Ecoforestry Society, Linnaea Farm Society, certain members of the Klahoose First Nation, and members of the aforementioned organizations. The lawsuit concerned an alleged blockage, which barred access to Woodlot 009, thus interfering with Klahoose logging operations.
File contains materials related to Raven Forest Products Ltd's proposal for logging in Section 38 on Cortes Island, including maps, correspondence, meeting transcripts, and newsletters.
File contains materials related to Raven Forest Products Ltd's proposal for logging in Section 38 on Cortes Island, including maps, correspondence, meeting transcripts, and newsletters.
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.
