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.
Photograph of John Manson, with his dog, standing in the doorway of his house at Sunny Brae. The house has cedar shingle siding and a covered porch entryway; a wooden wheelbarrow is in the foreground.
Photograph of John Manson, with his dog, standing in the doorway of his house at Sunny Brae. The house has cedar shingle siding and a covered porch entryway; a wooden wheelbarrow is in the foreground.
Photograph of a group of women gathered in a room at the Manson's store.
Back, L to R: (ID), Lottie McDevitt, Doreen Reedel, Nellie Jeffery, Jean McKenzie, (ID)
Middle: Mrs. Lowes, Ev Summers, Meg Shaw, Olga Hynek, Lillian Parry, Mary Martineau, (ID), Eva Freeman, (ID), (ID), Mrs. Jeffery
Front: May Ellingsen, Doris Hawkins, (ID), Peggy Pyner, (ID), Dolly Hansen
Photograph of a group of women gathered in a room at the Manson's store.
Back, L to R: (ID), Lottie McDevitt, Doreen Reedel, Nellie Jeffery, Jean McKenzie, (ID)
Middle: Mrs. Lowes, Ev Summers, Meg Shaw, Olga Hynek, Lillian Parry, Mary Martineau, (ID), Eva Freeman, (ID), (ID), Mrs. Jeffery
Front: May Ellingsen, Doris Hawkins, (ID), Peggy Pyner, (ID), Dolly Hansen
Photograph of Dennis Newsham (R) and David Ward, walking across the parking lot at the Manson's Landing wharf. Jack Summers' garage is behind and Mrs. Lowes' cafe to the left; the store was on the other side of the parking lot at the head of the wharf.
Photograph of Dennis Newsham (R) and David Ward, walking across the parking lot at the Manson's Landing wharf. Jack Summers' garage is behind and Mrs. Lowes' cafe to the left; the store was on the other side of the parking lot at the head of the wharf.
Photograph of a newly-wed Nick and Vera Manson, surrounded by students, holding a sign "Good Luck and Best Wishes - Our principal and primary teacher just married".
Photograph of a newly-wed Nick and Vera Manson, surrounded by students, holding a sign "Good Luck and Best Wishes - Our principal and primary teacher just married".
Photograph of Jack Manson and Barbara Duncan, taken at Courtenay. Labeled on the back of the print. (From an envelope labelled "Duncan family, Courtenay")
Photograph of Jack Manson and Barbara Duncan, taken at Courtenay. Labeled on the back of the print. (From an envelope labelled "Duncan family, Courtenay")
Photograph of Jack Manson (near log) and Jack Parry standing near a huge log and stump on the old road from Ken and Hazel Hansen's farm on Gunflint Lake to Cortes Bay.
Photograph of Jack Manson (near log) and Jack Parry standing near a huge log and stump on the old road from Ken and Hazel Hansen's farm on Gunflint Lake to Cortes Bay.
Photograph of the senior room at Manson's Landing school with students, including Patrick Lihou, Gary Burnett, Victor Laurentieff and Brig Weiler (back turned) seated at their desks. Photo has been cut.
Photograph of the senior room at Manson's Landing school with students, including Patrick Lihou, Gary Burnett, Victor Laurentieff and Brig Weiler (back turned) seated at their desks. Photo has been cut.
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