Fonds contains administrative records, minutes, and correspondence (including print-outs of emails) of the SHS steering committee, and monthly newsletters of the Cortes Island Seniors Society. Original order has been maintained.
Seniors Helping Seniors was an initiative of the Cortes Island Seniors Society, started and administered in 2003 by a dedicated subcommittee with a hired coordinator. Volunteers of the project, seniors themselves, provided company, transportation, and practical assistance to Cortes Island seniors. The coordinator managed volunteers and arranged social events, which included weekly lunches, trips off-island to Quadra craft studios and to the pool in Campbell River, rides to appointments, memoir writing, and eventually the Literary Afternoons.
With rising costs and the focus of the Seniors' Society board turning more to the ongoing operation of the Seniors' Village cottages, the SHS program was replaced by a new grant-funded initiative in March 2023. Volunteers have largely been replaced by paid employees who are overseen by a new board renamed "Support Our Seniors."
Custodial History
Donated to CIMAS by Elinore Harwood on behalf of the Cortes Island Seniors Society in 2023.
Scope and Content
Fonds contains administrative records, minutes, and correspondence (including print-outs of emails) of the SHS steering committee, and monthly newsletters of the Cortes Island Seniors Society. Original order has been maintained.
Fonds consists of the records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1951 to 2016. The first accession (2003.003) consists of records from 1951 to 1985 and includes minutes of general and executive meetings, correspondence, administrative records including the original constitution and bylaws, financial records and reports on projects and functions sponsored by the organization. Files from Accession 2003.003 are described in five series: 1) Minutes; 2) Correspondence; 3) Financial; 4) Administrative Records; 5) Subject Files.
Accruals in 2017 (#2017.009) and in 2023 (#2023.008) comprise records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1985 to 2018, including minutes of executive and general meetings, financial statements, correspondence, and records of projects and programs. The material was kept in binders; it has been placed in folders maintaining original order, and described using the above five series.
The beginning of the Whaletown Community Club is unclear as almost all the Club's records were destroyed in a fire in 1950; the earliest records still existing date from 1948. (See Gilean Douglas fonds, Series 8). The WCC became a registered society in 1953 when the Gorge Harbour Community Hall Society disbanded and turned ownership of the Gorge Hall over to the Whaletown Community Club.
The activities of the Club are carried on chiefly within the Whaletown postal area, and are intended to promote the interests of the community in matters of general welfare, to sponsor recreational and sports activities, and to hold land and premises necessary for Club activities. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the Club was a channel through which Whaletown residents organized health and educational services and lobbied for better roads, hydro and ferry service, as well as sponsoring social events. From 1978 until 2010 it sponsored the Whaletown National Enquirer, a monthly community newspaper.
A main function of the Whaletown Community Club is the maintenance of the Gorge Harbour Community Hall. Originally built in 1933, it has been renovated several times and serves as the main venue for community functions in the Whaletown area. Until 1953, when the lease was turned over to the Whaletown Women's Institute, the Club maintained the Church Hall, which was owned by the Columbia Coast Mission and stood at the corner of Carrington Bay and Harbour roads. Before 1958 the Club held most of its meetings in the Church Hall.
Since 1958, when the Whaletown Women's Institute disbanded, the WCC has maintained the library in Whaletown (originally the Farmer's Institute building; now the Louisa Tooker Library) and the old and new Whaletown cemeteries. The Anglican Diocese transferred the title of the two Whaletown cemeteries to the WCC in 2012. In 1964 they acquired the lease for the last remaining piece of Crown land with access to Gorge Harbour, to preserve it as a park. They have leased the former Whaletown school property from the School Board since the school was closed in 1973, and purchased the schoolhouse for the sum of $1.00 in 2010.
Custodial History
Records were acquired directly from the Whaletown Community Club in 2003 (Accession 2003.003), 2017 (Accession 2017.009) and 2023 (Accession 2023.008). A few records were separated from the Cortes Island Ratepayers Assn. fonds in 2004 (records for both organizations had been kept in the same filing cabinet in the Gorge Hall).
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of the records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1951 to 2016. The first accession (2003.003) consists of records from 1951 to 1985 and includes minutes of general and executive meetings, correspondence, administrative records including the original constitution and bylaws, financial records and reports on projects and functions sponsored by the organization. Files from Accession 2003.003 are described in five series: 1) Minutes; 2) Correspondence; 3) Financial; 4) Administrative Records; 5) Subject Files.
Accruals in 2017 (#2017.009) and in 2023 (#2023.008) comprise records of the Whaletown Community Club from 1985 to 2018, including minutes of executive and general meetings, financial statements, correspondence, and records of projects and programs. The material was kept in binders; it has been placed in folders maintaining original order, and described using the above five series.
Fonds consists of a minute book and an accounts book of the Whaletown Church Hall Building Fund Committee, documents written by Canon Alan Greene setting out the history, responsibility and terms of use for the Church Hall, and a cover letter for the Certificate of Title from the Land Registry Office.
In 1919, the settlers of Whaletown decided to raise the funds necessary to erect a combined church and hall, to be used for both secular and religious purposes. The new building was attached to the first Whaletown school building, which was then used as a kitchen and dressing room. At this time, the parcel of land on which the school stood, at the corner of present-day Carrington Bay and Harbour Rd. in Whaletown, was deeded to the Diocese of Columbia by Mrs. Alice Robertson, and part of the property was set aside for a cemetery.
After a church was built in Whaletown in 1950, the Church Hall continued to be used for social events. In 1952 the Whaletown Community Club took over responsibility for the Gorge Hall, which then replaced the Church Hall as the main venue for weddings, dances, meetings and parties for both the Whaletown and Gorge Harbour communities. In 1953, the Whaletown Women's Institute signed agreements with both the Whaletown Community Club and the Columbia Coast Mission to assume responsibility for the use and upkeep of the Church Hall and cemetery. The Church Hall was used for a few more years. It was decommissioned in about 1957 and later dismantled.
Custodial History
Canon Alan Greene of the Columbia Coast Mission was involved in the project to build a new Church Hall, and wrote the document setting forth its history and terms of use; envelopes indicate the material was in his possession. Found in a box on the archives shelves; provenance unknown.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of a minute book and an accounts book of the Whaletown Church Hall Building Fund Committee, documents written by Canon Alan Greene setting out the history, responsibility and terms of use for the Church Hall, and a cover letter for the Certificate of Title from the Land Registry Office.
1999.002 Whaletown Women's Institute fonds
2003.003 Whaletown Community Club fonds
2009.001 Island Women's Club fonds
2011.001 Dorothy Huck Whalley fonds
Fonds consists of records created by Muriel and William Whiting and includes correspondence, official documents, business records, recipes, notes and ephemera. It is arranged in three series: Correspondence; Documents; and Subject files.
Muriel Horner Whiting (1882-1977) and William Henry Evans Whiting (1853-1927) settled on Cortes in about 1918, having purchased 58 acres of land in Whaletown (present-day 1474 and 1416 Robertson Rd.) from Charles Allen. Their son Basil Evans Whiting was born in 1923.
William Whiting was considerably older than Muriel; he died in 1927 and is buried in the old Whaletown cemetery. After his death, Muriel supported herself by raising poultry and eggs for sale and by taking in boarders. Her only son, Basil, joined the Royal Canadian Navy just before the outbreak of World War II. He lost his life at the age of 19, when the destroyer HMCS "Ottawa" was torpedoed and sunk on Sept. 13,1942. His war medals are in the Cortes Island Museum Artifacts Collection.
Muriel remained on Cortes until the late 1960s; she died in Whiterock in 1977. Although the Whiting house burned down in 1982, remnants of the homestead remain: a tumble-down barn built of hand-split cedar boards, a few old apple trees and some hardy garden survivors such as japonica, mock orange, and St. Johnswort. The yellow primroses in the Museum garden are descendents of her flowers.
Custodial History
This material was found stored in the barn on the former Whiting property in 1971. It was passed down through several owners of the property before being donated to the museum by Sabina Leader-Mense in 2018.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of records created by Muriel and William Whiting and includes correspondence, official documents, business records, recipes, notes and ephemera. It is arranged in three series: Correspondence; Documents; and Subject files.
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.
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.
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 textual records generated by the Whaletown Women's Institute organized into seven series: Minutes, Financial Records, Administrative Records, Reports, Projects, Correspondence and Notes.
The Whaletown Women's Institute (WWI) began in 1920 as the Friendship Circle. In 1923 it became a branch of the Women's Institute, a community service organization for women with the goals of fostering the skills of rural women, improving their lives and works, and celebrating their achievements. During its years of activity, the WWI was very active in working for local improvement. Some of their projects included initiating a library service, donating books to the school, arranging for regular visits of a doctor and dentist, hosting an annual Christmas party and providing gifts for all the Whaletown children, maintaining the cemetery, fund-raising for a school playground, financing firefighting equipment and installing an emergency telephone network. The WWI was disbanded in 1963.
Custodial History
These records of the Whaletown Women's Institute were held by Gilean Douglas, a past officer in the WWI and author of a history of the Women's Institutes in Canada. Upon her death, they went into the possession of her literary executer, Gillian Milton, who turned them over to the Cortes Island Women's Institute. They were subsequently returned to her custody, and donated to CIMAS.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of textual records generated by the Whaletown Women's Institute organized into seven series: Minutes, Financial Records, Administrative Records, Reports, Projects, Correspondence and Notes.
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.
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
The Cortez Bay Women's Auxiliary (of the Anglican Church) was founded in November, 1951, around the same time that chapters were formed in Whaletown and Manson's Landing.
Custodial History
Donated in 1990 by Sheila Stoppa, the daughter of Ellen Musclow, who was the secretary/treasurer of the organization.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one minute book containing minutes of meetings of the Cortez Bay Womens' Auxiliary.
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 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 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 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.
"Cortes Island Workbook: A guide to Business and Employment Opportunities in Rural and Remote Communities" is a 130 page resource manual. Researched and written in 1984 by a group of eight island women, it contains a description of the the community, economy and rural lifestyle on Cortes, and ideas for finding or creating a business. Each chapter divider page has an illustration by Brigid Weiler.
Binder #2 also contains a letter announcing the end of the project with list of contributors.
This Resource Manual is the result of a Canada Works project grant, and was researched and written by a group of eight Cortes Island women over a five month period.
Custodial History
This binder is one of two copies of the Workbook kept at the Louisa Tooker Library in Whaletown. It was donated to CIMAS by Brigid Weiler, librarian and president of the Whaletown Community Club.
The second binder was donated to CIMAS in 2023 by Bernice McGowan, librarian of the Louisa Tooker Library for the Whaletown Community Club.
Scope and Content
"Cortes Island Workbook: A guide to Business and Employment Opportunities in Rural and Remote Communities" is a 130 page resource manual. Researched and written in 1984 by a group of eight island women, it contains a description of the the community, economy and rural lifestyle on Cortes, and ideas for finding or creating a business. Each chapter divider page has an illustration by Brigid Weiler.
Binder #2 also contains a letter announcing the end of the project with list of contributors.
