COMPASS MAGZINE ISSUE 51 | SUMMER 2024 | MINDFULNESS

Direct to Kelowna

New route starting June 25th

WE ARE ART

New Totems Stand Tall at Tyee Spit

Melanie Ritchot 8

GROWING UP COASTAL

The Adventurous Ann Kask

Catherine M. Gilbert 12 ISLAND CHRONICLES

What To Do on the North Island This Summer

Melanie Ritchot 14

FEATURE ARTIST

Master Cedar Weaver Tiger Leonard Williams

Kealy Donaldson + K'omoks Festival 20

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

The Second Annual The Alchemy of Gathering Event 22

WALKING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

Camp Homewood: Miracles Do Happen

Catherine M. Gilbert 24

WELLNESS FEATURE

Comox Valley Writers Society Celebrates 60 Years!

Terrance James

STAY WELL

Mindfulness... the Gateway to Peace

Dana Mahon

Publisher's Note

Mindfulness

Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life – Buddha

I don’t know about you but I have always struggled putting myself first. I rarely slow down enough to ‘stop and smell the flowers’ and I’m finding that the rate of burnout is very high with this mentality.

Mindfulness is one way to rest yourself and bring ‘calm’ into your life. I’m working towards meditating daily – which I never thought I would do. It is truly helping, taking the time – just for me! 15 to 20 minutes in the morning to just adjust and make space for my body, health and mindset.

How do you accomplish this? Set your intention to spend a period of time bringing our attention back, over and over again to an anchor or object of

PUBLISHER

Kealy Donaldson

DESIGN + LAYOUT

Jessie Stones

The Compass Magazine is produced on Vancouver Island, printed on the West Coast of British Columbia and published on Vancouver Island paper by:

Kiki's Communications Inc.

ISSN# 2369-8063 101-1811 Comox Ave Comox, BC V9M 3L9 250.203.1880 compassmagazine@ourmail.com www.compassmagazine.ca

meditation (such as our breath). There are many ways you can meditate — such as a seated guided meditation, a visualization meditation, a walking meditation or an eating meditation.

It really is about taking a quiet focused time out for yourself ~ try it & enjoy letting your mind softly brake each day, for your health! Wishing you a healthy and happy summer season!

Gilakas’la, Emote, Marsii

Kealy Donaldson PUBLISHER

compassmagazine@ourmail.com www.compassmagazine.ca

COVER

Cedar Hat Leonard Williams

PHOTO: HEIDI HENDERSON

CONTRIBUTORS

Kealy Donaldson

Catherine Marie Gilbert

Heidi Henderson

Terrance James

Dana Mahon

Melanie Ritchot

Andrea Wagemaker

Jenna Walker

CONNECT WITH US

Kealy Donaldson

/ 2 1

Photos © Melanie Ritchot

WE ARE ART

Doors Swing Open for Totems to Stand Tall at Tyee Spit

MELANIE RITCHOT

A THREE-PIECE TOTEM POLE ARCHWAY now stands at ʔuxstalis (Tyee Spit) on the piece of coast traditionally used by We Wei Kum First Nation and other Indigenous groups in the Campbell River area.

The erection of the arch in early June represented the start of totem poles coming back into the area for Junior Henderson, a Kwakwaka’wakw carver who worked on the arch alongside K'ómoks carver, Karver Everson, and Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Ernest Puglas.

“There's this door open now,” says Henderson.

The two vertical figures represent close connections between the Kwakwaka’wakw and Salish Peoples, he explains, adding that he feels another layer of personal connection to them because of the cultural teachings he received from his father.

“My father really cherished those figures when we danced within the Potlatch,” he says.

The top piece of the arch, a sea worm, symbolizes the Lekwiltok Peoples and the origin story of the Kwakwaka’wakw.

Henderson says the unveiling of the arch at the spit felt very full circle, as he reflected on his 25-year chainsaw

carving career and is now mentoring a new generation of carvers—like Everson and Puglas.

The spit is currently municipal property, although the We Wei Kum challenge the validity an early 1900’s land sale and have stated a hope to have ʔuxstalis returned to them one day. In coming years, the totems will witness more Indigenous art, visual history, and languages be embraced in the area as it gets transformed into a community outdoor space, including interpretative signs describing First Nation history in the Liq’wala language.

Henderson says he hopes more totem poles can go up on the spit too, representing different families who come from ʔuxstalis.

Next, Henderson is working on another totem arch alongside his uncle, renowned Master Carver Bill Henderson, and his cousin, Greg Henderson.

The second arch will serve as an entrance to Baikie Island, or Raven Park, in Campbell River, and will depict the pre-settlement history of the land.

“That’s another place that really belongs to us and our people,” he says, “but I think the whole purpose is to show our connections and trying to work together.”

GROWING UP COASTAL

The Unstoppable Ann Kask: Is Adventure Her Middle Name?

CATHERINE M. GILBERT

ANN KASK HAS ALWAYS BEEN READY to take on a challenge. She is known in the Campbell River area as the owner of Kask Graphics with her husband Lorne. Ann enjoys working in their shop on 16th Ave with her two youngest daughters, Shannon and Alex, as well as Lorne; commenting that “It’s fun to go to work every day and hang out with your family.”

Much as she loves the business, you won’t always find Ann there. In fact, you will be lucky to catch her as she frequently travels and has been to Bermuda, Rome, Dublin, Amsterdam, Easter Island, Rio di Janiero, Reykjavik (Iceland), Grand Cayman Island, Barbados and Edinburgh. While Ann has derived pleasure from these trips, she travelled for the purpose of supporting those with diabetes by running marathons for Team Diabetes Canada. Ann joined the Team in 2002, inspired by her husband Lorne who has had Type One diabetes for 63 years. In addition she has taken part in significant Team Diabetes hikes at Machu Picchu in Peru, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Morocco, where the participants walked through the Sahara Desert.

Ann’s love of physical activity was part of her life early on. She graduated in the late 1960s from UBC with a Bachelor of Education, that equipped her to teach at the highschool level. Her first teaching job was in Burnaby teaching Physical Education. After three years she took a leave of absence to travel in Europe and study French in Paris. She had to cut her time there short when a she became very ill after a trip to Egypt. She returned to Vancouver to join what she calls the ‘UIC’ (unemployment insurance) ski team, in other words became a ski bum for a season. Later she took courses in publishing from Simon Fraser University.

In summers she enjoyed sailing and bought her own vessel in 1973, a 24 foot wooden Marconi rigged sailboat. That same year, she was encouraged to consider applying for a position in Campbell River at Carihi. It had a reputation at that time as the most innovative highschool in the province of British Columbia under the unorthodox leadership of principal John Young. Ann hitchhiked to Campbell River that June, spoke to staff at the school and was immediately hired. Her innovative approach to teaching Phys Ed incorporating what she calls ‘Lifetime Sports’ such as cycling, tennis, yoga and dance impressed her new employers.

On her way back to Vancouver, Ann joined Lorne in Nanaimo, who had sailed there from Vancouver with a lady friend who wasn’t a sailor. Ann and Lorne knew each other from the Lynwood Marina where they both kept their boats. While out on the water, they were caught in a storm and managed to make it to the opposite coast to Gibsons, where they dropped off the young lady passenger so that she could catch a ferry back to Vancouver. The two then carried on spending the rest of the long weekend together out on the water.

Ann on top of a mountain © Kask Family Collection

The next June, Ann and Lorne were married in Vancouver.

In keeping with her innovative approach, Ann took advantage of the outdoor education programs offered at Strathcona Park Lodge and took her students there, with Lorne often coming along. She and Lorne also enjoyed canoeing in Discovery Passage and while out on the water one day, struck up a conversation with Bill Budge, who was measuring water turbidity in the channel between Quadra and Gowland Islands. He told them he was planning to build a house on a small island he owned off Quadra, and at the same time Ann and Lorne were looking for a larger place to live with first child Jennifer coming along, where they could also moor their sailboat. They paddled to the island and as Ann remarked, “climbed up the beach, and stood on what would be the floor of the new house and fell in love with the place.”

Once the house was complete, they rented it from the Budges and stayed for 32 years. The island had no registered name beyond #1003 and since locals associated the Kasks with the island, it became known as ‘Kask Island’.

When the Kasks had an opportunity to acquire a printing press from Camp Homewood, one that was too large for the Camp’s needs, they hired a helicopter to bring it from the Camp to their island home. Because

the doors were open when the helicopter arrived, all the pictures were blown off the walls. Nonetheless, their wide back porch served as the ideal home for the press and Kask Graphics and Ptarmigan Press were born. They soon added a darkroom and acquired a typesetting machine.

Their first job was to produce a colouring book. Then came cookbooks, which have been a staple item produced by the company. The first one, Island Cookery, produced in 1981, is a collection of local recipes and sales from the books went to support Quadra Island Child Care Society. Thirty years later, Ann produced Salmon Cookery, from the salmon capital of the world containing exceptional recipes from local chefs. This has sold over 10,000 copies, and was followed by Shellfish Cookery, Fish Cookery, Blueberry Cookery and RIPE, all with proceeds going towards diabetes research and diabetic children’s camps.

In 1981, when Ann began to feel that she was uncomfortable with staff typesetting in her bedroom, the Kasks decided to move the business to Campbell River. By 1983, they had settled into their present location. So that they could bring their two young children to work, Jennifer and Byron, the Kasks created a nap loft in the building. Shannon and Alex were born after the move. They continued living on ‘Kask’ Island until 2008, commuting back and forth by small boat across Discovery Passage to Campbell River where they kept their boat first at the Sportfish Centre then the Discovery Harbour Marina.

Ann recently embarked on a new venture, and joined the Campbell River Community Band playing clarinet, an instrument she had more or less abandoned for 50 years. Last year she went to Santiago de Compestela in Spain to play with other clarinet players at a clarinet festival, and will be returning this year. Other travels include visiting numerous Asian destinations, going on annual adventure trips with friends such as horse back riding in the BC Interior, and this summer, taking a cruise to northern Norway and to Iceland with her husband Lorne to celebrate their 50 year wedding anniversary. In October, Ann will be running in the Chicago Marathon.

Although she also continues working, Ann sees no reason to stop, that is, unless Lorne did. “Anyway,” she says, “What else would I be doing… maybe playing clarinet more?” Lovely and lively and in her 70s, Ann’s fearless attitude is an inspiration and joy to all who know her.

Kask Family on Gowlland Island; Ann at Mt Kilimanjaro; Ann today © Kask Family Collection

ISLAND CHRONICLES

Things to do and see on the North Island this summer

AS A YOUNG GIRL GROWING UP IN MANITOBA, THRIFT

shopping and travel magazines took up a chunk of my time. I often bought old copies of National Geographic at our local second-hand store—usually on a Tuesday, when they had just put out the new items—and excitedly flip through them on the car ride home. I pictured myself as the journalist behind the stories, and once we got home, I’d cut out photos of the places I dreamt of going one day, telling myself that making lists and collages, and circling new-to-me location names in the magazines was how to make it all come true. On my running list of places to go and things to do, was “see the ocean.” It felt so far, having never really left the prairies. I first came to Vancouver Island in 2020; my partner worked at Mt. Washington, and I reported for an Arctic newspaper, going back and forth between Nunavut and the Island for a couple of years. We couldn’t stay away, and now live in Campbell River full-time. It’s not lost on me that I now live in a place that’s featured in those travel magazines I grew up reading, and that not only have I seen the ocean, but

I can walk down to the water form my front door—I hope that novelty doesn’t wear off. As a Vancouver Island visitor-turned-resident who still has so much to explore, here are a few of my favourite stops and activities on the North Island, from Mt. Washington to Port Hardy—they should be on your list, too:

Music in the Mountains, Mt. Washington Alpine Resort

I learned to ski at Mt. Washington—another item on my younger self’s list. But in the summer, there’s a ton to do at the mountain whether you’re a mountain biker or want to lounge on a patio with a view. Fly down Vancouver Island’s largest zipline, set out on a hike, or play a round of disc golf. The mountain also hosts events, like Music in the Mountains; live music by local bands and drinks from local breweries and wineries, every Saturday afternoon July through August.

Campbell River Art Gallery, Campbell River

The Campbell River Art Gallery’s permanent collection and contemporary art exhibitions are a must-see.

MELANIE RITCHOT

© Urupong

Until mid-July, visit the Processes of Remediation: Art, relationships, nature exhibition by artist Alana Bartol, which examines the impacts of coal mining on wildlife, watersheds, ecosystems, and plants on the North Island, with a focus on the Quinsam Coal Mine. The gallery also runs programs worth looking into, like a botanical journaling workshop.

The Narrows Floating Restaurant, Brown’s Bay Marina

Just north of Campbell River, you’ll find this floating eatery on the Brown’s Bay Marina. Stop in for some fish tacos on the dock and take in the scenery (and maybe some whales passing by!).

The Whale Interpretive Centre Telegraph Cove

Grab a coffee at Cove Coffee Company and walk Telegraph Cove’s historic boardwalk over to the Whale Interpretive Centre to see B.C.’s largest collections of marine mammal skeletons. You’ll learn about all the marine mammals in the area, including how orcas can be identified by their dorsal fins, saddle patches and eye patches. The Saltery Pub is conveniently next door, so enjoy some local seafood overlooking the marina after your visit, or head up the road to the Telegraph Cove Art Gallery.

Port McNeill Farmers and Artisans Market

Port McNeill

Support local and browse handmade, homegrown and homemade items at this market every Saturday on Port McNeill’s waterfront. Sourdough bagels, handpoured candles, and pickled carrots are some of the goods you can pick up from these North Island farmers and makers.

Café Guido & Company, Port Hardy

I’ll be driving up to Port Hardy this summer just to pay a visit to Café Guido & Co. The café, bookstore and craft shop combo is an idyllic way to spend a Sunday morning. Sip on a Port Hardy Fog at the café, then mosey on downstairs to browse their beautifully curated book selection. Pick up a copy of Island Eats: Signature Chefs’ Recipes from Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea, if you’re keen to test some local chef’s recipes using local ingredients. Third stop: Drift, a clothing boutique on the second floor. (Quick tip: Island Link Bus just expanded its route into Port Hardy, so it’s easier to pay a visit without a vehicle this summer!)

The renowned Island activities like whale watching, kayaking, and hiking are well worth the trip, of course, but while playing tourist in a place I now call home, it’s the local galleries, markets and coffee shops where I look forward to spending my time between the outdoor adventures this summer.

TIGER LEONARD WILLIAMS, A MEMBER OF THE QUATSINO FIRST NATION,

every piece clearly has a song deep in traditional values and process.

IS AN ACCOMPLISHED,

SELF-TAUGHT CEDAR BARK ARTIST OF 25 YEARS.

He was born in Alert Bay in 1960 and is of the Quatsino and Tlowitsi ancestry. Williams was raised by both his grandmother and great grandmother, who encouraged him to pursue his interests for studying the natural world. His parents were survivors from St. Michael’s Residential School in Alert Bay; in separate incidents both of Williams’ parents drowned.

Williams hasn’t had the chance to visit Turnour Island but he notes there are some residential houses still standing on the island. “My family lived close to the centre of the village in the 9th house; I hope I can return one day while the buildings still stand,” he says.

Throughout the years, he has watched addiction take over his family members. He is now the oldest member of his family. Williams battled his own issues with alcohol and was able to overcome it, with his health as his priority. He will be ten years sober as of this August and it has brought many things to light including his dedication to the art of weaving.

With a background in Culturally Modified Trees and Traditional Use Studies, Williams' opportunity to learn about the ecological growing conditions of various cedar species would eventually evolve into a harmonious relationship from start to finish of every piece of work he does. Williams shares how his rich cultural knowledge started. “An Archeologist knocked on my door in 1994 and asked me if I wanted to work. I thought ‘why not’ and asked when would we be starting. The Archeologist responded ‘in an hour’. Williams laughs a bit, and notes it must have been meant to be. Williams has visited and documented thousands of First Nations historic sites through this work and attributes his cultural knowledge to this opportunity.

His artistry with cedar bark weaving is a result of the many different perspectives from which he studies his subject. His work is informed by his study of Quatsino ethnographic objects held in museums around the world. In learning their forms, styles and weaving patterns, he repatriates lost knowledge for return to his people. From gathering and harvesting his cedar, visualization and implementing skill and technique,

Williams shares that he will go where he can to find cedar trees for bark stripping, with permissions. Sometimes the process can take days, back and forth from one or several locations in the forest. “The best time to dye cedar is when it is fresh, and you get the most vibrant colours when it's done then," he says. "It is hang-dried for five days and then stored.”

An Archeologist knocked on my door in 1994 and asked if I wanted to work. I thought ‘why not,’ and asked when I'd start. They said, ‘in an hour’. I guess it was meant to be.

Williams is preparing for the K’omoks Festival on June 21st, joining many other upcoming workshops and conferences.

Williams has learned the fine art of peeling cedar logs through much practice via trial and error. He has gotten better at not creating waste with his cedar strips as it is such a big process prepping the cedar.

Williams also finds the time to teach in various community outlets such as Culture Saves Lives, Victoria Coalition for the Homeless, various First Nation B.C. Elementary Schools and Universities and currently offers workshops to the public at the Vancouver Community Campus, Van Dusen Botanical Garden and the Association of Neighbourhood Houses in Vancouver, British Columbia to encourage cultural appreciation for First Nation peoples. Williams shares that the opportunity to teach is wonderful and he truly enjoys engaging others. His most memorable group teaching was a conference where he taught how to weave bracelets to almost 100 people in one day; at a separate engagement, he taught a group of 67 students in a one hour session.

FEATURE ARTIST

TIGER LEONARD WILLIAMS CEDAR CUFFS

PHOTO © HEIDI HENDERSON

When asked about his future endeavors and ideas, Williams shares that he would love to host a Weavers’ Conference, with Vancouver as the host destination. “There is quite a bit of interest from other neighbouring regions like Washington State," he says. "I’ve also been invited to participate in an upcoming documentary ‘Spirit of the North’ which is focused on the process of weaving.”

Williams had to travel to Rivers Inlet for an Elders’ Conference a little while ago, and brought 70 headband kits to gift all the Elders. William Wasden was drumming as the headbands were being weaved together, and Williams decided to dance. He felt called to dance, without really having the knowledge of the music or dance. Later Willliams was told that Wasden’s drumming song that he danced was known as the Spirit of the Cedar.

Williams will back be in Rivers Inlet again this July teaching and is currently booking more workshops and preparing custom orders. To connect with him and view his work, visit Facebook @TigerLeonardWilliams and check out his teaching videos on Youtube under his name.

Traditional Cedar Hat Weaving Workshop Kwakwaka'wakw Master Cedar Weaver

Tiger Leonard Williams

K'ómoks Festival 2024 | June 21st

This will be a chance to sit with a Master Weaver with everything prepared for you to Begin, Learn, Laugh and Finish a Cedar Hat following Kwakwaka'wakw Tradition. Traditional Weavers of the Northwest Coast each have their own style, weaving techniques, designs and practice. It is a skill passed down through generations and Tiger Leonard Williams honours us with this gift.

Learn about the cultural and material significance of Cedar and learn-by-doing. It is a long workshop and runs 6 hours from 10AM to 5PM with a Lunch Break Noon to 1PM.

Tiger Leonard Williams has kindly offered to give a Cedar Bracelet Weaving Workshop from Noon to 1PM for those unable to attend the Cedar Hat Weaving Workshop.

Registration is required. Find the EventBrite link at KomoksFestival.com

Photos, from top: © Heidi Henderson; © Tiger Leonard Williams; © Tiger Leonard Williams

Discover the beauty of Vancouver Island’s seastars without disturbing nature! �� Take home a piece of stunning seastar art from Island Pacific Art Designs or an exquisite glass seastar fromThe Glass Foundry that shimmer and shine, capturing the ocean's magic in every piece.

�� Island Pacific Art Designs brings you delicate and detailed seastar designs that evoke the serene beauty of the island’s shorelines. These gorgeous additions to your decor are also available as ornaments and magnets!

Hurry, these treasures are flying off the shelves! Visit Compass Art Gallery at YQQ to bring home the next best thing to nature. �� Thank you so much for supporting our gallery, local Vancouver Island art and artisans! We appreciate it!

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

The Second Annual Alchemy of Gathering

PLANS ARE COMPLETE for the second outdoor Alchemy of Gathering: Wellness – Community – Creativity event. Set in the beautiful and tranquil atmosphere of the Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens, this wellness festival will focus on gathering in community to share ideas on wellness, connection, identity, creativity, healing modalities, and more.

Inspired by her book A Guide to the Collective Awakening: Advice, Tools & Art Projects, local author and artist Jenna Walker had the idea to bring this festival to life— and it continues to grow. "I wanted to create an open space for community to come together and explore wellness, diversity, nature, connection and healing techniques for both mental and physical concerns,” she says.

This outdoor gathering is a chance for community to come explore different techniques and tools available that may offer support, guidance or relief for the human journey.

Let’s face it, many people are struggling with their mental and physical health these days. And, at the same time, there are many who are finding, or re-discovering, natural remedies and alternative practices to bring health back into their lives. In this outdoor space, there will be the prospect to bring many of these natural and alternative ideas and the community together.

Another huge focus of the outdoor Alchemy of Gathering is the opportunity to immerse oneself in Nature to support and further the healing journeys we find ourselves on. The Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens stretches over 24 acres of majestic forested private property. While the main hub of the gathering takes place in the Sunset Gardens and barn located near the entrance, the rest of the gardens are left empty. Attendees can wander the many walking trails surrounded by an abundance of trees and plants. Throughout the trails, discover fountains, ponds, rustic hand-built seating, wildlife and the Ocean Stone Labyrinth.

Throughout the two day gathering, live music and sound healing performances by local musicians will transpire on stage in the Sunset Gardens. As sound and movement can be extremely help ful in the process and flow of stagnant energy, a space will be available for dancing, as well as some seating provided. Lo cal talent includes Luke Blu Guthrie & Anela Kahia moe, The Awakeneers, Jesse Epp, Anand David, DJ Mr. Berg-E, and more.

There will also be a variety of interactive stations ar ranged around the Sunset Gardens. These include ac cess to various meditation and grounding techniques, collaborative drawing, sacred smoke clearing and more. Over 50 local business offering products and services to help expand and support the healing jour ney will be set up in the Sunset gardens.

Finally, in the barn, near the entrance, Wellness Work shops take place both days at 12pm. Learn about various techniques and modalities to improve healing on the emotional, physical and spiritual plane. Such as releas ing emotional pain through the creative process, connecting to the Elements, advice on adrenal fatigue and burnout, micro-dosing for mental health, and more.

For more information visit: www.changesbyjenna.com/ the-outdooralchemy-of-gathering

The event takes place on Saturday, June 29th from 11 to 6 and Sunday, June 30th from 11 to 4 at the Kitty Coleman Woodland gardens in Courtenay. Tickets are $25 for day passes and $40 for weekend passes. Kids 12 and under are free with ticketed adult. Dogs welcome. 10% of ticket sales will be donated to the Wachiay Friendship Centre in Courtenay (www.wachiay. org). Tickets are available at tidemarktheatre.com and at the gate.

TBIRDATTYEESPIT

VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC

WALKING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

Camp Homewood: Miracles Do Happen

CATHERINE M. GILBERT

Summer camp is often a place of happy memories where new friends and adventures are found, and when you talk with people who have stayed at Camp Homewood, they will tell you what a wonderful experience it was. The camp is located on Quadra Island in Discovery Passage just a ten minute ferry ride from Campbell River (Vancouver Island) and has been operational for 75 years.

Camp Homewood is a faith based camp that employs Christian ethics as its guiding principle. Although campers come from a variety of faith traditions and may not practise Christian teachings in their everyday lives, the good fellowship found at Camp Homewood and emphasis on learning about the natural world work their magic on youth and participants of all ages.

The founders Alf and Margaret Bayne did not begin their life’s work intending to develop a camp, but a set of circumstances would eventually lead them to embody

and formalize their teachings in a camp atmosphere. The couple’s original ministry under the auspices of the Pacific Coast Children’s Mission (PCCM) took place on a lovely 36 foot wooden vessel they named Goforth, that took them along the British Columbia coast from 1944 to the mid 1960s, cruising as far north as Haida Gwaii. While their focus was on delivering Christian teachings to isolated communities, floating logging camps and lighthouses, as became the case with the crew members of the Columbia Coast Mission vessels, their visits became important as a means of providing connectivity to the many people they encountered. In a world where few coastal dwellers had telephone communication and prior to ferry services, were reliant on goods being delivered by Union Steamships from Vancouver, the Bayne family visits were very welcome.

In 1946, fortuitous circumstances united the Baynes with R.J. Walker, a former lay preacher and his wife Theodora, who owned a piece of property

First Homewood VW bus, 1957 © Camp Homewood Collection

(Homewood) on Quadra Island that looked promising as the site for a bible camp.

“Endowed with natural beauty, with a southern exposure on the shores of a sheltered bay, and strategic in its location relative to the coast, Homewood was ideal for our purposes.” Alf wrote in his book, Candle on the Coast. Two years later, the Baynes stayed with the Walkers when they first arrived in the fall of that year or on the Goforth anchored off the coast. The first camp was held in July of 1949, and the first building, the Homestead, that housed the kitchen was built. The Goforth was frequently utilized to bring supplies and people to Homewood at a time when the ferry still did not service Quadra Island. The wharf was completed in 1956. An exciting addition to the office arrived in 1959, when the Baynes procured a printing press so that they could print their own literature more conveniently and at a lower cost. In the 1960s, as coastal residents left small communities at remote locations and moved into towns such as Campbell River, the Goforth was used less to conduct missionary services and the focus became expanding on what programs Camp Homewood could offer. In this decade, a sailing program, horse back riding and outdoor adventure program were added. The size of the camp expanded from the original 12 acres to 200 acres. The addition of Rivendell Lodge in 1978 and the sewage treatment plant significantly increased Homewood’s ability to accommodate larger groups.

Alf notes in his book that whenever they needed anything for the camp, and especially when funds were low, their prayers were always answered and there are many instances where the necessary article, the money and the right people would appear as needed. The structural developed and athough important, in reality has formed the backdrop for the many people who would work, volunteer and participate in programs, and experience the camp’s natural and revitalizing beauty.

In “The Short History of Camp Homewood”, the author notes that “…people and relationships are the most integral part of Camp Homewood’s history and ministry.” Camp Homewood has played host to thousands of people from all over the world.

The list of activities offered over the camp’s history includes Fireside, where campers enjoy group singing, rowing, canoeing, water skiing, kayaking, archery, rock climbing and many crafts. Joyce Fodor, who first

worked as a counsellor in 1957 and ‘58, and later had been trained as a nurse, eventually became Craft Supervisor. Her late husband Les operated the saw mill, the printing press and for years managed the bookstore. Joyce continues to live at the property and participates in activities and with guests. She feels that Camp Homewood “is a place where you can feel rejuevenated, find the meaning of life.” She witnessed many young people find something in their lives through the camp experience including stability. “Life Changes Here” is one of the camp mottoes.

The success of Camp Homewood is a testament to Alf and Margaret Bayne’s belief that they were doing the work they were intended to do, and as a result, kept faith that all would transpire as it was meant to; witnessing over the years that miracles do indeed happen. Margaret passed away in 2013 in her 97th year and Alf lived to be 100, passing away in 2018.

Catherine Marie Gilbert is an award-winning, best selling author and Vancouver Island historian with a passion for uncovering unknown stories of British Columbia’s past. She is currently writing the life story of Eco Warrior David (Walrus) Garrick from 1970s Greenpeace to his ground-breaking study of culturally modified trees on Hanson Island, BC.

Aerial View of Camp Homewood circa late 1950s © Camp Homewood Collection

Margaret and Alf Bayne

© Camp Homewood Collection

WELLNESS FEATURE

Comox Valley Writers Society Celebrates 60!

TERRANCE JAMES

ON APRIL 8, 1964, the Recreation Director from the Town of Comox placed an ad in the Comox District Free Press inviting “anyone with a genuine interest in writing” to attend a meeting in the Municipal Hall in Comox. Nine people attended that first meeting and subsequently formed the Comox Valley Writers Club (CVWC). The club registered under the Society Act in 2006 as the Comox Valley Writers Society (CVWS) and now has 107 members.

Through the first few decades members wrote primarily for newspapers and magazines. Book publishing with trade publishers was difficult then, as it is today. The change from manual type setting to computer word processing opened new opportunities for writers. Digital printing became faster and cheaper and led to the rise of self-publishing, and an array of services to assist writers through the self-publishing process.

In 2013 the CVWS made a decision to foster a higher community profile for literary arts. Since then, the group has sponsored publishing workshops, poetry contests in schools, monthly reading of prose and poetry at the Courtenay library, publication of Writers & Books: Comox Valley 1865-2015, the annual North Island Writers Conference, and special events.

Speaking of special events, were you there? On June 2, the CVWS hosted Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood at a sold-out special event at the Filberg Centre. Ms. Atwood, author of more than 60 books, has received two Governor General’s Literary Awards, two Booker Prizes, a Giller prize and numerous honours and accolades. She was enthusiastically received by valley residents and some out-of-towners who came for the privilege of seeing her.

Stewart Goodings (host) and Margaret Atwood © Brie McInnes

On June 8 the CVWS hosted a family-friendly public 60th anniversary celebration at The Gardens on Anderton. Kay Kennedy introduced Dave Stephenson and students, who entertained with Celtic music on stage. President Sharon McInnes formally opened the event with a land acknowledgement, recognizing the privilege we have of living, recreating and writing on the traditional territories of the K’omoks people. Greetings were brought from Courtenay City Council, North Island College, and the Federation of BC Writers. Leslie Cox, secretary, membership liaison, and webmaster, was recognized for 25 years of membership in the CVWS.

Terrance James, Past-President, honoured Phyllis Long, the last member of the original 1964 group. Phyllis, a school librarian and member of the group for 30 years, established and maintained a scrap book of the Writers Club activities that is now in the Courtenay archives. An historical overview of the growth of the Comox Valley Writers Club and evolution to the Comox Valley Writers Society was given. An exciting part of the celebration was the launch of History of the Comox Valley Writers Society. Highlights of group activities and member successes were shared by decade. A greeting was read from Matt Hughes, a former President of the group, and member of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame who reminded those gathered that “the most important quality for success as a writer is persistence.”

MC Rolston (aka Fairy Dazzle) directed guests to refreshments, book tables where they could purchase CVWS member books, and to the four areas of the gardens where they could hear 20 local authors read from their works—poetry, fiction, non-fiction and children’s stories. Since the beginning of 2020, thirty member’s books have been published, both trade and self-published. However, not everyone writes books. In the same period many short stories, magazine articles, poems, blogs and newspaper columns have also been produced.

The CVWS supports new, emerging, and established writers, particularly through small writing groups which offer critiquing, encouragement and assistance to individuals in reaching their writing goals. If you have a serious interest in writing, consider the camaraderie of fellow writers and check out our website at cvwriterssociety.ca or find us on Facebook.

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SHIFT HAPPENS

Your Personal Light Show

ANDREA WAGEMAKER

EVER WONDERED WHY strobing lights at concerts can make you feel entranced? Enter the world of photic driving, a specific kind of BWE that leverages the power of flickering lights. Like a hypnotic strobe light on the dance floor, the brain's visual cortex syncs its moves with the pulsating rhythm, altering the dominant brain wave frequency in tune with the light.

Beyond the dance floor, photic driving can have more serious applications. In clinical and research settings, it's used as a diagnostic tool in electroencephalograms (EEGs) to explore neurological conditions like epilepsy. But it can also serve more common purposes, like guiding your brain into a state of relaxation or alertness, depending on the flicker's frequency.

Harmonic Brain Waves: The Full Orchestra

In the realm of brainwaves, there's another layer of complexity that's recently begun to intrigue neuroscientists: the idea of harmonic brain waves. Harmonic brain waves suggest that our brain's frequencies aren't

just plucking strings individually, but playing together to create a harmonious symphony.

What's fascinating about this is that the relationship between different brain waves could be the secret conductor coordinating large-scale brain networks. For instance, the slow-moving theta waves and the highspeed gamma waves might work in harmony during cognitive tasks, like a bass line and melody creating a complex musical piece. Lucia N°03 - Inviting Coherence and Harmonics

If you're a musician, you know how everything can feel off when one note is out of key, or if the main rhythm is not steady. The brain is like a full orchestra, each instrument playing an important piece. Each person's brain is incredibly complex, and the scientific community is in a continuous evolution in terms of how we can understand all the intricacies.

The neurologist and inventor of the Lucia N°03, Dr. Dirk Proeckl, designed the Lucia N°03 with the

concept of coherence in mind. Just as pieces of music can touch many layers of our system and therefore create waves of emotion, Lucia N°03 sessions are designed to take you on a journey toward coherence in your brain, a type of gentle entrainment in certain brainwave parameters, yet also the spaciousness for your brain to find it's own realignment.

EEG readings from Dr. Proeckl's practice have demonstrated waves of harmonic entrainment, where there is a beautiful synchronized dance of the brainwaves together. A prolonged period of flickering light (photic driving) allows the body to start deeply relaxing at the same time, which provides a simultaneous stimulus and relaxation, creating a similar space in the nervous system to repattern.

Pop-science likes to focus on simplified concepts around brain-wave entrainment, and on some level it makes sense to focus on a singular brainwave. Howev er, the approach of the Lucia N°03 is really to get the full orchestra playing, rather than ignite one player in the orchestra to solo for the entire time.

So, there you have it - our brain isn't a one-band show but a dynamic ensemble performance. We're not sim ply "in" a brain wave state, but rather, our brain is con ducting a complex symphony of frequencies, turning up the volume on certain tunes when needed, with the potential to re-align into unique masterpieces. From the rhythm-setting techniques of brain wave entrain ment and photic driving to the harmonic synchrony of multiple brainwaves, we're beginning to appreciate the complexity and beauty of this neural concert hap pening in our heads.

As Dr. Engelbert Winkler, one of the creators of the Lucia N°03 likes to remind everyone, the Lucia N°03 is beyond science, in the sense that our understanding of the brain is at the edge of new frontiers. What science has said from ancient times to the modern day is con sistent - taking time to relax the nervous system and allow for brainwave harmonics, coherence and re-pat terning is a gift that keeps on giving. Stay tuned, as this performance is ongoing and the encore promises to be even more fascinating. For more information on Lucia Light No. 3 call Andrea at 250-338-3401.

STAY WELL

Mindfulness, the Gateway to Peace

DANA MAHON

AWARENESS. ATTENTION. INTENTION. Engagement. Awakeness. Presence. Non-judgment. Acceptance. What do all of these practices have in common? They are all integral to a mindfulness practice.

Like most things in life, with practice comes more ease, more softness, perhaps less effort or grasping. The practice of mindfulness is similar to meditation in that they are both rooted in awareness. They are both states of being and can become the way we move through life. The main distinction between the two is that meditation is the vehicle for mindfulness, it helps us achieve that state of awareness. By quieting the mind consistently, we create space

to observe and to be in the moment, where we can then become more aware, present and awake. The more often we are in a state of awareness, the more easily we can recognize when we aren’t, and then we can gently guide ourselves back. Meditation, contrary to common beliefs, is not emptying the mind, but rather taming it, quieting it enough to hear, see, feel, experience, the present moment. Mindfulness and presence are beautiful ways to draw us back to now, again and again and again.

Life is made up of a series of “nows”, so if we aren’t noticing them we are essentially missing out on life! Noticing the “good” or the “bad” moments is all

© Lolostock

part of the practice. The tricky part comes with the non-judgment, the non-attachment to what we are noticing. It can be easy to enjoy the great moments and cling to them, or to dread the less than great moments and want them to pass or end. Our work is to notice, be present, be aware and observe it all, from somewhat of a distance.

At first this can feel overwhelming; being in the present moment ALL THE TIME!? Detaching from thought… The good news is that unless we are enlightened and are extremely devoted practitioners i.e. spend every moment of every day (aside from eating and sleeping) in meditation, we are likely not present ALL THE TIME, so don’t fret, there are breaks! But, our ultimate “goal” as humans is to experience love and to be free and liberated, something that non-attachment offers.

When we are noticing the colour of a flower, the sound of a bird chirping, the comfort of our clothing against our skin, the complex tastes of our food, the sweet smell of the air after a rainfall… these are all awareness practices in which we often engage simply by living. The difference between these and a true mindfulness practice is the intention to be aware and the continuous commitment to spend as much time there as possible, which is what makes it a practice. What we choose to focus on becomes the meditation and the gifts of life. The beautiful thing about a mindfulness practice is that once we start to notice things in this way, there is this natural desire that arises to experience more of it. Our mind starts to yearn for the ease that ensues.

The true magic of mindfulness is noticing all of them, and essentially treating them the same, for what they are, a series of nows.

We are so blessed here on Vancouver Island where our oceans, rivers and lakes, beaches, forests, farmlands, mountains and valleys all provide unique and exquisite backdrops and settings for a mindfulness practice. Head outside, sit with nature, listen, watch, smell, feel and taste all of her magic. This is mindfulness. As a new resident of Vancouver Island North, I am continually in awe of the raw beauty, the pristine land and the secluded sacred spots. Wherever you call home, there are sacred spots just waiting to be appreciated and honoured.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

VIU Library is the New Home of Large Comic Book Collection

VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY'S LIBRARY is now home to one of the largest comic and graphic narrative collections found at any university library.

Dr. Marni Stanley, former dean of VIU's Arts and Humanities Faculty, has donated her collection of graphic novels and comics, which she has been collecting for decades, to the library. The collection can be found on the main floor of the library just past the service desk.

"This is an important, progressive and relatively rare corpus of material within the academic library context and is one of the most valuable in-kind donations ever received by VIU library," said University Librarian David Alexander. "Access is fundamental to the values of the library, we are so grateful to Dr. Stanley for sharing this significant collection with students, faculty and the community."

Stanley's collection goes well beyond the DC and Marvel universes—you won't find those comics here. In her years of collecting, Stanley focused on female authors, indie comics, autobiographies, graphic journalism and LGBTQ+ comics, all from a variety of countries.

Stanley, who also taught English and Studies in Women and Gender at VIU, has researched and published on comic books, graphic novels, manga, graphic memoir and other forms of sequential art for years. She started getting into comics as a kid and developed a passion for the genre while in grad school at Oxford University in the 1980s. During that time, comics such as The Dark Knight, Watchmen and Maus started appearing and her interest was reignited.

"In the past, people dismissed graphic narrative as pulp fiction for the barely literate," she says. "However, in the last 30 years comic art has moved from a problem in the critical hinterland to a major genre with its own well-developed critical practice. It's a growing area of study and it's become very interdisciplinary."

"And there's some wonderful and weird formats," she said. "Some of them come folded up in little envelopes. One is in a box and comes with maps and cards, but it's a single comic. And there's also some history of comics in the collection – a history of women in comics, Black women in comics – and comic theory, or how to make comics."

Dr. Marni Stanley © Vancouver Island University