By Roy L Hales
His first memory of Cortes Island is of the Ellingsen family moving their log float home to Von Donop Inlet in 1945. His stories go back decades further. Mike Manson, whose name is preserved in Mansons Landing, was his maternal great grandfather. What was life like in the 1940s and 50s? In this morning’s program we start a series in which Andy Ellingsen remembers Cortes Island past.
Continue reading Andy Ellingsen Remembers Cortes Island Past – Part One: 1940’s & 50’sBy Roy L Hales
What was life like in the era before cell phones, computers and televisions. Did British Columbians feel closer to nature when they worked outside in the elements rather than within the artificial confines of a building? In this mornings program I ask Mike Manson, a descendant of one of Cortes Island’s oldest European families, and Mike Moore, one of our better known eco-tour guides, how public attitudes towards nature changed since the first settlers arrived.
By Roy L Hales
British Columbia’s old growth forests fertilize themselves as efficiently as a farmer looking after his fields. The tree plantations that are fast replacing them lack this ability. If this trend continues, the province’s vast forests may be a memory in the next two or three centuries. The inhabitants of one tiny island are trying to change this. In this morning’s program one of the directors, Bruce Ellingsen, tells me about Cortes Community Forest’s first five years of operations.
Continue reading Cortes Community Forest’s First Five YearsBy Roy L Hales
Everyone was talking about the murals, when they were first unveiled. Thirty-seven years later, the image of three proud First Nations faces comes to many people’s minds when they hear the name Chemainus. Municipalities throughout British Columbia embraced this former logging town as a model for how communities can be reinvented after their principal industry collapses. There are still hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to see this Vancouver Island town every year. I recently dropped in to see how how Chemainus Transformed itself.
Continue reading How Chemainus Transformed ItselfBy Roy L Hales
There was a celebration on Cortes Island a little more than a week ago. Close to a hundred people came out in the rain to much on some of the goodies and listen to some of the communities elders. After more than a quarter of a century, Whaletown Commons became a park.
Continue reading Whaletown Commons Became a Park
