Aqua Gulf Islands FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016
Living
Volume 11, Issue 1
Time Travelling Celebrating Salt Spring's rich rural past
GROOVIN' ON MAYNE a cool island eatery
after words Sandy Shreve's creative journey
art without labels Penny Prior of Gallery 33
Farms | food | People | books | Arts | community
Page 2 – AQUA – February/March 2016
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COVER STORY
Maple Terrace Farm, past and present, PAGE 10
contents
FEB/MAR 2016
TANTALIZERS!
8
PAGE 6
ISLAND INSTITUTIONS
Where would we be without Fulford Community Hall? PAGE 8
HISTORY
Vesuvius Dairy: family dedication and a unique way of life, PAGE 35
THE ARTS
Painter Penny Prior of Galiano Island, PAGE 16 Sandy Shreve flows between poetry and photography, PAGE 25
VENTURES
The Groove Island Kitchen, Mayne's newest restaurant in an historic building, PAGE 20
COMFORT FOOD
From Arcachon, France to Rendezvous Patisserie, PAGE 30
FESTIVALS
Salt Spring's first February Festival unfolds, PAGE 33
Q&A www.mouatsclothing.com 1-877-490-5593 106 Fulford-Ganges Rd. Page 4 – AQUA – February/March 2016
Usha Rautenbach, one playful historian, PAGE 38
16
35
Aqua
sean mcintyre photo
Editor’s Message
Historical perspective
I
2016
8
always come away from Salt Spring Literacy’s Giant Book Sale with some exciting finds, but my stack from last November’s event included a particular gem: Tennis Cow - A Tale of Salt Spring Island by Stephanie Stockley. It’s a novel that takes place on Salt Spring Island soon after the Second World War, depicting the adventures of a mother and daughter from England who inherit some south-end land. Islander Harry Burton already owned a copy but wanted another for lending, and insisted I borrow it from him, so it jumped from his box of book purchases into mine. While not Giller Prize material, the story is a fascinating snapshot of life on Salt Spring at the time. Two stories by Roger Brunt in this issue of Aqua also shed light on earlier eras. We visit Wilf and Jean Taylor at Maple Terrace Farm on Robinson Road, which was among the island’s first settled properties, and Marshall Heinekey shares memories of his family’s Vesuvius Dairy, which operated from 1948 to 1964.
Gulf Islands
Both the Stockley book and Roger’s two pieces make me wonder how our current period of time will be perceived and depicted in decades to come. History easily weaves its way into our other stories as well. The Groove Island Kitchen on Mayne Island, for example, is inside a 1910 building in Miners Bay, and sounds like a great new addition to the islands’ restaurant roster. From Galiano Island we have the story of artist Penny Prior, who has deep island roots. Poet Sandy Shreve of Pender Island is also profiled. Her work often includes historical elements, and her latest book, Waiting for the Albatross, mines a diary her father wrote while he toiled on a freighter in 1936. The always delightful Usha Rautenbach, who has a passion for local history, is our Q&A subject. Some years ago now, that same Harry Burton suggested we feature Salt Spring’s community halls in Aqua. It's finally happening as we kick things off with our grand matron, Fulford Community Hall. As time goes by, we will toast all of the halls on the Gulf Islands. — Gail Sjuberg
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Artfully uniting extraordinary properties with extraordinary lives
Living
This issue published Jan. 27, 2016 Publisher: Amber Ogilvie Editor: Gail Sjuberg Art Director & Production: Lorraine Sullivan Advertising: Jennifer Lannan, Daniel Ureta Aqua Writers: Elizabeth Nolan, Cherie Thiessen, Hans Tammemagi, Roger Brunt, Marcia Jansen Aqua Photographers: Jen MacLellan, Cherie Thiessen, Hans Tammemagi, Marcia Jansen Cover photo of wheel from Maple Terrace Farm by Jen MacLellan Aqua is published by Driftwood Publishing Ltd., 328 Lower Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 2V3 Phone: 250-537-9933 / Email: news@driftwoodgimedia.com Websites: www.driftwoodgimedia.com; www.gulfislandstourism.com; www.gulfislandsdriftwood.com Publications Mail Reg. #08149 Printed in Canada
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February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 5
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with the other award winners with dishes made especially for them by celebrity chefs. • If you haven’t made it to the Galiano Literary Festival in its previous six incarnations, this is the year to do it and join all those who love this amazing gathering of writers. For all the details about workshops, author talks and other happenings at the Feb. 19-21 festival, see www.galianoliteraryfestival.com. • On Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Salt Spring Public library and Transition Salt Spring will host Hans Tammemagi, the Pender Island-based author of 10 books and a former adjunct professor in environmental sciences at Brock and Victoria universities, for a presentation titled Our Crowded Planet – What is the Future? Hans is also an indispensable contributor to Aqua magazine.
jen maclel
• The Gulf Islands are in the news again. The New York Times listed the Southern Gulf Islands as one of the top 52 places in the world people should visit in 2016. We were at first amused to note that a photo of Cormorant Island, more than 300 kilometres north of our islands, was used to accompany the online piece. The image was later replaced with one from Prevost Island. • In November, Vancouver Magazine named the Garry Oaks Winery’s Pinot Noir + Zweigelt 2013 the Best Light Red Wine at its competition that saw some 1,000 wines tasted from around the world and winners named in only 10 categories. A Feb. 5 event at the Coast Coal Harbour called Big Night will see Garry Oaks’ wine featured along
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F
Community
Fulford Hall
Hub of vibrant south-end community BY ELIZABETH NOLAN
C SS ARCHIVES/ROGER KERKHAM photo
Photo by Jen MacLellan
Above: Fulford Hall in the 1950s. Top right: Newly painted Fulford Community Hall in 2016.
Page 8 – AQUA – February/March 2016
ommunity halls play host to any number of events that require lots of room and affordable rates, so you might think that any large venue would be more or less interchangeable. But whether because of the individual quirks of architecture, the setting, or other associations, each hall seems to infuse the events it hosts with some of its own unique character. At the same time, what makes a hall special is not its shows or craft fairs, but the cumulative effect of all those occasions of neighbours spending time together. Often, those neighbours are also the people who ensure the venue stays in good shape and continues to be available for the next generation by taking an active part on the governing committee or board. If every community hall has its own flavour, Fulford’s might comes from its ability to accommodate such a wide slice of community interests. “A sound engineer once called it ‘gymnatorium’ because it hosts such a wide variety of events, ranging from floor hockey and pickleball to memorial services, from craft fairs and flea markets to hip hop and classical music concerts, from fitness classes and gymnastics to religious gatherings and barbecues,” says Brian Finnemore, who has looked after bookings for over 20 years. “It is surely a place where different segments of the Salt Spring community are welcomed to gather. And the hall is in use almost every day of the year.” Such has been the case for the hall’s entire history, which is now creeping up to a century of use. Despite its venerability, though, the present building is actually the third edition in the series. The very first Fulford Hall was established through the good work of the South Salt Spring Women’s Institute and opened in 1921. It was destroyed by fire a short four years later, but was soon replaced by a bigger building. Then in 1936 an arsonist set a fire that consumed the hall a second time. (Arson was also responsible for destroying the first Beaver Point Hall that same year.) Born in 1912, the late Bob Akerman spent a lot of time in Fulford Hall as a child, where he enjoyed everything from community picnics and dances to basketball and even boxing. Opponents were brought in from Victoria and Vancouver to fight a card of locals, with Fulford Hall crowded with ringside spectators. Akerman’s teen boxing career ended in 1934 when he lost the B.C. championships, which is probably for the best because he became an important leader in the community as an adult. Akerman’s aunt Caroline Gyves was the chief fundraiser for the original hall, and she enlisted his help with the building committee for the
third edition when community relations were getting rocky. Akerman became chair of the committee and stayed an active participant long after Jack Graham completed construction in 1948. Akerman spent the next decade overseeing improvements such as
floor replacement, added seating and the addition that would become the front entrance hall and balcony space. “It was very satisfying to work with so many people who had the good of the community in mind,” Akerman wrote in a memoir published in 2005. “I hope that Fulford Hall will continue to provide young people with the same sort of enjoyable memories that it gave me and my friends while we were growing up.” The hall also plays a large role in the memories of Akerman’s daughter Darlene O’Donnell, who was around eight years old when the third building was completed. While hockey games have shifted from roller skates to blades, and pickleball enthusiasts have supplanted the badminton craze of her day, many aspects remain the same. “Fulford Hall has been quite an asset to the community and the island, without a lot of funds from the outside,” O’Donnell observes. A highly successful Christmas craft fair is one of the hall’s major fundraisers, along with the Robbie Burns Night the committee caters each year for the Scottish Country Dance Club, and Jan Jang’s Fabulous Flea Market held twice a year. Several island institutions that draw residents from all quarters are also centred at the hall. The Salt Spring Folk Club is one of the best attended: founded by Valdy, Bill Henderson and other local artists, it draws top-name musical acts from fall to spring and rarely sees a nonsell-out night. The hall’s annex is home to the South Salt Spring Seniors (BCOAPO Branch #170), with regular activities taking place there too. “I think the Fulford Hall committee just wants this to be a multipurpose facility that anyone can come into and feel comfortable in with their street shoes on,” Finnemore says.
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Cover Story
Maple Terrace Farm A visit with Wilf and Jean Taylor at The Big Dip By ROGER BRUNT Photos by Jen MacLellan
Page 10 – AQUA – February/March 2016
A
lmost everywhere in the world when you head out for a “Big Dip” it means you’re going to get an ice cream cone with a chocolate coating. Head for the Big Dip on Salt Spring Island, however, and it means you’re travelling on Robinson Road. Just before getting to the Stark Road cut-off, you swoop down into a giant swale, and here, tucked away in its own little valley (the Dip), is Maple Terrace Farm. The farm has been home to Wilf and Jean Taylor for 53 years. The farm’s 46 acres include the rich bottom-lands where Mansell Creek and hillside springs provide water for their home, pastures and hay fields, and the deer that always seem to be there at the far end of the valley. In the fall, when the evening light floods down across the ridge-tops, it glints off the antlers of the bucks as if from the armour of ancient gladiators. More than once I have stopped to watch from the roadside while shivers ran up and down my spine. The rest of the farm is heavily forested. For years, Wilf cut and milled timber for the farm’s needs and to supply Salt Spring Islanders with lumber for their
various projects. Because Wilf ’s occupation all these years, as well as farming, has been building houses, more than a few of the 50-or-so homes he and his partner Ben Greenhough have built around the island contain his own milled lumber from this land. Maple Terrace Farm has been much more than just a place to cut lumber, grow a little hay and run a few sheep. It is where Jean raised champion thoroughbred horses, some of the best in B.C. “If we didn’t have this big an acreage,” Wilf and Jean agree, “we could never have led the kind of life we’ve enjoyed.” “I remember I felt a little nervous when we first considered buying this property,” Jean says. “I had a new baby and, with only one car, the valley felt somewhat isolated, but I could see its potential.” Wilf ’s father was curious when Wilf announced they were moving to a farm on Salt Spring (where Wilf ’s grandfather had lived since 1941). “How big is the farm?” his Dad asked. Wilf replied, “It’s 46 acres, all fenced.” His father said, “Why would you want to buy that?” Wilf replied, “Because it’s there.” February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 11
Coastal
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O N - L I N E :
G U L F I S L A N D S D R I F T W O O D . C O M
But of course, there was much more to it than that. Ever since she was a girl, Jean loved horses. “My father used to take me to the race track,” she told me. “We’d spend hours looking at all the thoroughbreds. I knew they would play a big part in my life.” Jean was certainly right about that. A 1970s Driftwood article entitled Jean Taylor Knows Horses lists her accomplishments. In just the first 13 years she and Wilf owned the farm, her first horse, an Anglo-American mare named Lady Correct, produced three champion foals. At the Vancouver Island All Arabian Horse Show in 1976, five-year-old Happiness Is was a champion receiving two reserve points; three-year-old Impeccable Lady was judged reserve champion; and Theme Song won the
Anglo-Arabian award for two-year-olds. Happiness Is and Impeccable Lady also won the Best Couples Category for horses sired by the same stallion. Winning these awards, and many more, was no coincidence. The purchase of Lady Correct had been no accident. “As a 20-year-old I had pretty firm ideas about things, especially horses,” says Jean. “I’d been advised that Lady Correct was an excellent horse and, just by looking at her, I could tell she was a winner. She was just lovely, perfect in every way.” The farm was also a winner, with a long pedigree of its own. “We bought the farm from Adam Barrick, whose wife was part of the Robinson family. The Robinsons were among the first pioneers from the United States who pioneered Salt Spring Island. This property was among the original pre-emptions drawn up by Governor James Douglas in the mid-1800s. Robinson Road is named after this old family.” From information gleaned from the Historical Society’s archives by long-time Salt Springer Bob Rush, H.W. Robinson was a respected citizen. Among other things, he was a school trustee in 1878, and was elected to the board of the Islands’ Agricultural and Fruit Growers’ Association in 1899. Those early days were not for the faint of heart. Clearing the heavily forested land with oxen, axe and fire was back-breaking work, and there were stories that a man was shot through a window of one of the old cabins here. Moving to the farm was also not without a few hiccups along the way for Wilf and Jean. “After we bought the place and were loading up the Barricks’ livestock there were two stubborn sheep we couldn’t catch. I paid Adam an
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•
• • •
• • •
“The sheep are fine, but for me this farm has always been about horses.” — JEAN TAYLOR
Above: Wilf and Jean Taylor. At top: Entrance to Maple Terrace Farm. Next page: A couple of the dozen ewes still kept on the farm; a sign noting the family's favourite dog breed. Page 13: Portable mill on the Taylors' property. Page 10: Entrance to Maple Terrace Farm. Page 11: Taylor family photos. Unfortunately, older photos were lost in a fire in the 1970s.
Page 14 – AQUA – February/March 2016
extra $15 for those two. They became the first of the many sheep we raised here, hundreds of them over the years,” Wilf says. “At one time we kept a small herd of cattle too, which included a Holstein milk cow. Jean trained her to accept riders — she didn’t mind. If Jean didn’t lead her up to the barn when she tended the horses or went riding, the cow would jump the fence to come along.” It was the horses and sheep that have always been the mainstay of the farm. “We kept up to 30 ewes, and still run a dozen or so,” Wilf told me. “We have a ready market for their wool. We have a man who comes in to do the shearing. Jean sends the fleece to Carstairs, Alta. for processing and a long-time customer in California takes all we can supply for spinning and weaving." “The sheep are fine,” Jean says, “but for me this farm has always been about horses. That was the original dream I had about this place.” After so many years, the farm holds many rich memories. The steep hills on both sides of the little valley have always been a tobogganer’s dream come true. When it snowed, Wilf and Jean would make a party of it. Sledding parties were treated to hot chocolate and home-baked goodies, like the skating parties on Swanson’s Pond in Ganges. They remember Wilf ’s work-mate, Ben, careening down the hill with a load of kids on his back, usually ending up buried to his chin in a drift.
Among Jean’s fond memories are riding with Barbara Hastings, of the world-famous Hastings House hotel family. “It was grand,” recalls Jean. “There were footmen to open the gates; I felt like royalty, and Barbara was just like Santa Claus.” “Because she was wealthy and generous?” I ask. “No,” Jean replies with a chuckle, “because she was rotund!” As much as the raising of champion horses satisfied a life-long ambition for Jean, the friendships that developed with people along the way were also important. “There were folks who raised hunters and jumpers, and others who raised Arabians and warmbloods. They were all fine people who became part of our island family as much as our own relatives.” Jean had a similar experience in her work at Lady Minto Hospital, where she advanced to the position of head lab technician. “I didn’t know which I loved more, working with my horses or working at Lady Minto.” In fact, Jean is still very active in regional health care. She sits on the board of directors at Greenwoods and the Southern Gulf Islands Community Health Advisory Committee, as well as the Salt Spring Health Committee, which helps integrate all the various health services and levels of care available to islanders.
“The people I worked with, then and now, are wonderful,” Jean says. “They have made me feel like a vital member of our community.” And community it is. When fire destroyed their first home, which Wilf replaced in three months, including all of the interior finishing, the community rallied to help. They even supplied a rider for Happiness Is because the Taylors' riding gear had been lost in the flames. More recently, when Wilf became ill this past year, Andrew Bond took it upon himself to help out with the farm’s four butcher lambs. One problem with raising champion horses is deciding what to do with all the ribbons they win — two enormous boxes of them. Jean decided to donate them to the Greenwoods Senior Olympics. It seemed fitting to her to imagine the residents galloping around the building with First Place ribbons pinned to their sweaters, champions each in their own right. “We have never regretted moving to Salt Spring for a minute,” says Wilf. “When the wheels of the pick-up truck roll onto the deck of the ferry and we are heading home, we feel happy.”
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Island Artists
A Sense of Play Galiano Island artist Penny Prior Story and photos by Cherie Thiessen
“I feel excited by the surprises and ever curious about where the creativity comes from and where it all ends up. I love to do
things like pour water on the canvas and then mix in colours and swirl them about and then see how it appears when dry, things like that.” Galiano artist Penny Prior is delighted by the gifts her curiosity unearths: animated and bold, one of her new large acrylic canvases shows a blue dog at the base of a red arbutus, above it a pileated woodpecker and above that a belted kingfisher. An owl slumbers in the opposite fir while the ferry sails below the cliff, and just when you think you’ve got it, a fish or two seem to be swimming beside the owl. Marc Chagall’s unique blend of Cubism and Fauvism’s robust colours swirled in with his folk-art style influenced the young artist from an early age, and you can clearly see it: the blending of the real with the fantastic, the ebullience of the colours. In another, entitled Birds, Birds, Birds, Some Fish and a Dog, a seagull, a crow and a kingfisher share the foreground while the red-outlined mountains and the sea lie beyond. The seagull is gigantic and while all three seem be looking away from each other, to the side, disconcertingly, they seem to be also staring out at the viewer with huge menacing eyes. (Where’s the dog?) Another large influence in the fledgling artist’s life was her Aunt Elizabeth Steward. “My aunt was living here also and loved painting. Her work was ‘out there’ and always intrigued me. From an early age I loved to draw and was en-
Page 16 – AQUA – February/March 2016
couraged by my mother and would go to the painters’ group with my aunt. I’ve also been influenced by Eskimo art, as well as Miro, Shadbolt and Molly Bobak (the first Canadian woman sent overseas as a war artist). I never wanted to be anything but a painter. It wasn’t very practical, but I never thought about that.” A third-generation Galiano Islander, Prior returned to the island in the early ‘80s, after studying fine art at Langara College and at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, then working and travelling. She came to be with her ailing father, but subsequently met her life partner and stayed. They built a little cottage on the family property and raised their two daughters there. When her partner got itchy feet and her daughters left home, Prior remained, claiming she never “escaped” from Galiano, although it’s clear she’s where she wants to be. After all, the artist has put down deep roots here. In 2005 she went into partnership with her brother and his wife to buy the last remaining commercial land in Sturdies Bay and build a 6,000-square-foot complex called Manzanitaville. It contains 10
shops on two levels. One is her gallery — Gallery 33 — and above it all, her expansive airy apartment. How does being an artist and a landlady sit with her? Just fine, she says. “I spend half a day on the building and then another half in my gallery painting. The business side is kind of fun too.” She has just been downstairs working on her laundromat’s washing machines. Not too many people would have considered that fun, but I’m thinking that gleeful sense of play found in so much of this artist’s work is probably an intrinsic part of who she is. Although Prior has shown her work on Salt Spring Island and in former Galiano galleries like The Dandelion Co-op Gallery, Island Edge, and Art and Soul Craft Gallery, most of her art is sold from her studio. Her works, which range from microscopic (2”x3”) to macro (46”x60”), are hard to resist when meeting them face-toface. Her cards and prints are also available from local shops like Ixchel Galiano Craft Shop and Twirly Tree Shop. I ask how her work has changed over the years and she tells me: “My painting
February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 17
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“I never wanted to be anything but a painter. It wasn’t very practical, but I never thought about that.” — PENNY PRIOR
Above: Penny Prior looks at her painting called Facebook Friends. Bottom left: One of Prior's Wedding Series paintings. Page 16: Prior works on Blue Dog Day. Page 17: The artist with Winter Berry Birds and folk art creations.
used to be more visual, all those wonderful little island birds. I’d see something and think, ‘That’s kind of cool. I think I could do something with that.’ Then I had a period of introspection, painting rather gestalt-like images that no one really understood except me. They were colourful at least. Also, at first I painted with watercolour: it’s simple and direct and one needs a definite plan for that because mistakes are there to stay. “When I changed to acrylics, the barriers were down. I could paint over, change plans, obliterate and reinvent, pour, wash, drip, change intensities, tones and hues and add layers. Of course I needed to try them all, which resulted in about three years of experimentation. I dream of returning to watercolour but I can’t let go of the diversity offered by the New Age medium.” Prior has always been clear why she paints: it’s about painting as discovery and communication. “They just blend together. Painting is my passion and curiosity is essential to me. I love the challenge of a blank canvas, of mixing intellect, creativity and curiosity with a bit of paint to wind up with an exhilarating, intriguing and pleasing image. I feel I have recently opened a
new door and stepped into a world less restricted where there are no mistakes. It’s a more fluid process that allows lines, images and layers without the extreme boundaries set by realistic portrayal. I want the concept of time moving within the piece to be apparent in the abstraction, and the content to be cheerful with a touch of the sense of the impending unknown.” Doesn’t sound too much like “whimsical,” does it? Or folk art. And yet those are the common adjectives used to describe her work. Unfortunately, as is common with so many artists “on the edge” there just isn’t one adjective that gets the work quite right! The interview is over, but Prior leaves me with one final comment to ponder: “I work on one piece until I get the main content down and, as I finish up for the day, take any leftover paint from my palette and transfer it to the next canvas to create a beginning and maintain a connection between all my work.” I leave envisioning a necklace of paintings stretching from one end of Galiano to the other. See more at www.pennyprior.ca. February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 19
“Global Flavours, Local Ingredients” is part of the magic formula.
Restaurants
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should really be on my business card. Lured by the Mayne Island buzz about a new restaurant opening in what was formerly the Greenhouse Grill in Miners Bay — The Groove Island Kitchen — I rounded up my partner and good friends with gourmet smarts, Don and Therese, and then rolled onto the late afternoon ferry over from Pender Island, on a mission. Originally built in 1910, “our mission,” was bought by a successful Japanese entrepreneur raising strawberries and tomatoes in 1921, Kumazo Nagata. He enlarged the building in 1937, but after the Japanese were evacuated from the coast in the Second World War, the home was sold. (It’s featured in Michael Kluckner’s popular Vanishing British Columbia.) It probably began its career as a restaurant in 1970, when The Five Roosters opened their doors, according to the new owners, and then became the Mayne Mast in the ‘90s. By 2007 it was up for sale again, eventually purchased and opening its doors as the Greenhouse Grill. Page 20 – AQUA – February/March 2016
Fresh Mayne Island eatery in historic building Story and photos by CHERIE THIESSEN
After sitting empty for about two years, the building is enjoying new life once again because an enterprising young couple with their eye on the Mayne lifestyle, Andrew Smith and Sherrie McDonald, fell in love with the property and the heritage house. They had worked in the food business for years, knew what needed to be done, and proceeded to do it. “Global Flavours, Local Ingredients” is part of the magic formula. “We buy local produce from the farmers whenever we can," says chef McDonald. "We put a lot of love and care into food sourcing and preparing. On our shopping day we make up to 16 stops at the farms and suppliers so the ingredients are as local as we can get them. The beef is from Mayne, the lamb is from Saturna.” And Smith adds: “The Groove is owner operated. We’re into this full time. There’s no other way to do it when you’re in a rural community. You can’t run it remotely.” They’ve only been operating since June of 2015 but are already a thriving part of the community, with social media spreading the word way beyond.
And the old Nagata residence, under its new Groove moniker, is also enjoying a bright new facelift. The kitchen emits appetizing aromas, musical instruments decorate the walls, and both decks are festooned with tables and umbrellas, with happy diners like ourselves sitting under them. In keeping with the second part of their motto, “global flavours,” culinary trends soon become quickly apparent when looking at the menu. It Above: Smoked salmon pizza. would be easy to be seduced by soda, for example. Tonight’s offering was a real temptress: Guava At right: Delicious paella. Previous page: Instruments on the Italian. wall and beverage menu at The Groove David and Don settle for Slipstream Ale from Island Kitchen. Phillips Brewery, while Therese and I move on to glasses of Pentage Winery’s Sémillon, going perfectly with our tapas choices: paella and an herb salad with local shoots, cilantro and basil. David tucks into a butter chicken pizza while Don savours his smoked salmon pizza choice. Our wry and efficient server, who turns out to be Andrew’s uncle, pressed into service immediately upon his visit, tells us the pizza is a big favourite and that, not surprisingly, the dough is all hand rolled. When I refuse to share my perfect crème brûlée with David, Uncle Benjamin returns to hand David a serving spoon larger than my precious dessert! Who doesn’t love a server with a sense of humour? We were dismayed to hear he’s trying to go home soon but happy to discover that the kaleidoscope of dishes constantly changes with the availability of seasonal ingredients and the chef ’s global views. That means we can return soon to try new dishes.
Getting here:
B.C. Ferries schedules are at www.bcferries.com Check out The Groove Island Kitchen on Facebook. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday, but open otherwise for lunch and dinner. Check Facebook page for seasonal changes and hours, or call them at 250-539-0776. And yes — they do takeout!
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For whatever reason, the New Year propels most of us to get our house and everything else in order. Whether it’s sorting out our finances, writing a new will, getting our teeth or hearing checked, losing 10 pounds, or making good use of a spa gift card, one way or another, most of us need a professional to help us achieve our goals. Not sure where to find the one that’s right for you? Try Sidney. Residents and visitors alike flock to Sidney knowing full well what to expect: quality professional services, affordable prices, and free parking! Sidney offers a wide range of qualified, experienced professionals who stand ready to provide advice, guidance and unique services designed to meet or exceed your expectations. Sidney’s diverse range of health and wellness services, for example, is well known in the Capital Region and features traditional medical practitioners such as doctors, dentists, optometrists and physical therapists, and wide range of complimentary practices such naturopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and counsellors. Sidney’s services also include denturists and audiologists, and others who provide highly specialized, unique personal services to meet the growing needs of folks who want hassle-free easy-toget-to experiences. Sidney spas offer a full range of services for relaxation and restoration of body, mind and soul. Hair stylists and barbers
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Page 22 – AQUA – February/March 2016
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provide top notch personalized services, always geared to the unique needs of each client. Personal trainers, yoga instructors, and teachers of everything from art to math to weaving add to the rich mix of services available in Sidney. For legal, financial and other business needs, Sidney professionals also stand ready to serve. Lawyers – many with specialty practices – accountants, notaries, financial planners and insurance brokers, provide knowledgeable, current and reliable information to help you address some of life’s most challenging issues. Sidney is also home to five major banks and a credit union, all located within easy walking distance of the downtown core. Sidney’s pedestrian-friendly streets and free on-street parking make getting around a breeze and take the worry out of driving to and from different professional service providers. Many residents live close enough to walk to their appointments. Four-legged friends will appreciate the multiple pet grooming and veterinarian services in Sidney too. Whether it’s your health, wellness, personal or business needs, find the qualified, experienced professional best suited to meet your needs in Sidney. So enter into the spirit of the New Year and get started with your own personalized 2016 renewal plan! Visit distinctlysidney.ca for a list of Downtown Sidney businesses.
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gulfislands
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Visitor information for Salt Spring, Gabriola, Galiano, Mayne and Pender, including accommodations, restaurants, things to do, attractions, events information and maps can all be found on:
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Come find out why we like to live and play on the Gulf Islands! Page 24 – AQUA – February/March 2016
Writers
Word Flow
Poet Sandy Shreve expands artistic explorations STORY AND PHOTOS BY HANS TAMMEMAGI
S
andy Shreve of Pender Island is a poet, community stalwart and photographer — although she prefers the term “visual artist.” She blends these talents like a fine vintage. Shreve grew up in New Brunswick and remembers how she was drawn to poetry from an early age. When we spoke at her Ridgeview Studio, tucked away near Pender Island’s disc golf park and with a sweeping view over Swanson Channel, she said, “I love the flow of words and have been writing poetry forever.” Chuckling, she added, “One of my first poems was in Grade 2 when I composed a little rhyming ditty about Dr. Hirtle, our family doctor, and my pet turtle named Myrtle.” In 1971 Shreve moved to B.C. and took up residence in Vancouver. Her love of poetry continued and, encouraged by her involvement with, and support from, fellow poets, her work flourished.
The Speed of the Wheel is up to the Potter appeared in 1990. It includes a long poem about the expulsion of the Acadians from the Maritimes, showing her fascination with Canadian history, in which she received her university degree. In 1997, she published Belonging, which explores the connections with women that are meaningful to her: mother, sisters, great-aunts, and an astonishing historical figure, Sara Emma Edmonds Seeley, who during the American Civil War was a nurse and spy, disguised as a young man. At the end, Seeley laments:
If this is so then let these pages, these inadequate fragments fall to dust at their touch In the name of Heaven let me rest Although working full time at Simon Fraser University providing administrative support for the Women’s Studies department and then as communication manager at Legal Aid, Vancouver, Shreve February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 25
found time to compose poetry, edit poetry books and to participate in the writing community. Her contributions include founding and coordinating B.C.’s Poetry in Transit program. A long-time member of the Vancouver Industrial Writers’ Union, she also helped organize the first Mayworks festivals in Vancouver. In 2005, Shreve published Suddenly So Much, which is dedicated to Bill, her husband of 36 years. Her poems look at the world and the environment and how there is too much to be appreciated, yet so much to worry about. Cedar Cottage Suite followed in 2010, a collection of haiku sequences about the East Vancouver neighbourhood of Cedar Cottage. In 2012 came Level Crossing, a collection of triolets (a stanza poem of eight lines with the rhyme scheme ABaAabAB) that look at everyday lives.
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Her work has received recognition and praise in literary circles. Her verses are widely anthologized, and she received the Earle Birney Prize for Poetry, the Milton Acorn People’s Poetry Prize, and she was short-listed for a national magazine poetry award. Shreve has also been busy compiling and editing poetry books. In 1988, Working for a Living appeared, which looks at work and how it dominates one’s life. It was part of a movement of writing about work from inside the job. In 2005, she co-edited In Fine Form with Kate Braid. This book of Canadian form poetry contains works by such luminaries as Margaret Atwood, Al Purdy and, of course, Shreve herself. On her retirement in 2012, Shreve moved to Pender Island and looked for new challenges. She began to experiment with visual art, something she had wanted to try since her youth. “I love to watch artists painting,” she said, “and I just inhale the smell of the oils.” She has taken art lessons and is dabbling in abstract acrylics. But her main focus is photographic art, a passion that began when Bill gave her a digital camera as a retirement gift.
“I love to watch artists painting and I just inhale the smell of the oils.” — SANDY SHREVE Although she has published five poetry collections, Shreve remains largely unknown outside of poetry circles. But her latest book, Waiting for the Albatross, is starting to take wing and may change all that. As she described at a recent reading, the poems are drawn from the diary of her father, Jack Shreve, during his five-month stint in 1936 at age 21 aboard a tramp freighter. Sandy Shreve drops us into a world of Depression-era hard labour, with fist fights, exotic ports-of-call and day-to-day drudgery. We get a vivid glimpse into a rough, hard-scrabble, masculine world of yesteryear, but softened with Shreve’s lyrical, feminine touch. The combination of rough and tender works well, making the book an enjoyable and moving read. Waiting for the Albatross connects in many ways, but perhaps the best is the touching coming together of father and daughter. Furthermore, the book is attractively illustrated with photographs taken by Jack during the voyage. There are good reasons Vancouver-Kingsway MLA Adrian Dix included it on his 2015 Christmas Book List for Huffington Post B.C. And, yes, Jack does get to see an albatross — actually, many of them. In the last few years, Shreve has combined poetry and visual art by making cards with photo images and matching poems. She also makes a calendar every year. “It’s tough to sell these commercially,” she said, “so I make them for my own pleasure. I don’t want to be a Fuller Brush salesperson for poetry.” She explained that she has become increasingly focussed on the visual. “I particularly enjoy looking for the unusual in the usual — and this can result in anything from abstracts to more traditional images.”
Above: Some of Sandy Shreve's photographic images. At top: Shreve with her father Jack's diary, and her latest book, Waiting for the Abatross, which used excerpts from that diary. Previous page: Shreve with Ridgeview Studio sign. Page 25: Shreve in her studio; and at a Talisman Books and Gallery reading in 2015.
The walls of her Ridgeview Studio are lined with framed photos showing pleasing whorls, colourful shapes and dream-like images, which she creates using computer processing techniques. Naturally, Shreve is closely entwined with the community and is one of the coordinators of the Pender Island Photo Club. She frequently gives poetry readings. Her photographic art can be viewed at her Ridgeview Studio. She will hold an art show at Sea Star Vineyards on Aug. 5 to 7, 2016 with felt artist Monica Bennett and ceramic artist Nancy Silo entitled Triple Intent – Three Artists, Three Mediums, Three Interpretations. What lies in the future for this artist whose work is so rich in verbal and visual imagery? She recently finished Lost in a Maze, a collection of poems that explore emotions, and is seeking a publisher. She and Kate Braid are compiling a second edition of In Fine Form. “I still love poetry,” she explains, holding her digital camera close, “but my passion right now is photographic art.” February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 27
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Comfort Food
Rendezvous
Macaroons and cannelés most popular STORY and PHOTOS BY MARCIA JANSEN
You’d be surprised by how many different nationalities live on Salt Spring Island, and each one has their own comfort food.
I Brigitte Gonzalez with a charlotte du chocolat at her Rendezvous bakery in Ganges.
“After my dad died I finally felt free to leave. Nothing was holding us back anymore,” adds Bruno. “We were so ready for a change. In France they look down on people who are self-employed, only a job in an office gives you status. In Canada we can do what we want. We have no family here, no boss, we are free.” Bruno first came to Canada in 2002 with his oldest son to explore their opportunities on Vancouver Island. “There was a fishing resort for sale in Bamfield. We drove for two hours on logging roads and we had to call a water taxi to get to the resort. It was foggy and when we finally got there, there was nothing. It was depressing. So we sped back to civilization, through Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Duncan — those places didn’t lift our spirits either — and ended up in Crofton
t’s a busy day at Rendezvous, the French patisserie across from Moby’s on Upper Ganges Road. People come in for freshly made quiches, macaroons, meringues, tartes and tartelettes. The owners, Bruno and Brigitte Gonzalez, moved to Salt Spring Island from Arcachon — a one-hour drive from Bordeaux — in 2004. “It’s always been a dream for us to move to Canada,” says Brigitte. “We love the nature and wildlife in Canada and the fact that there is so much space here. Arcachon is beautiful too, the weather is great and it has beautiful beaches, but it became too crowded for us.” Brigitte, 57, and Bruno, 58, were already in their late 40s when they finally made the move to Canada with their three sons Nicolas, now 32, Paul, 30, and Louis, 20.
COVERI NG THE ISLANDS
Join us for the new February Festival on Salt Spring Island - a month long mid-winter celebration of arts, culture, music, food, drink and fun! Highlights: • • • • •
Family Weekend Events Indoor Saturday Market Seedy Saturday First Nations Cultural Day Live Music with Special Concerts!
artcraft showcase exhibit
Learn more at www.saltspringtourism.com salt spring arts council chamber of commerce
S EA F I R ST I N S U RA NC E B ROK E R S Suite 1103 - 115 Fulford-Ganges Rd., SSI, BC V8K 2T9 Ph: 250-537-5527 • Fax: 250-537-9700 Website: seafirstinsurance.com
Page 30 – AQUA – February/March 2016
salt spring arts council
where we took the ferry to Salt Spring Island. It was sunny, we walked through Ganges, stayed at the Fulford Inn and I called Brigitte. I knew right away that this was the only place that could work for us.” They started their new life on Salt Spring, before they got their PR-cards, as tourists. “So we couldn’t officially work,” explains Brigitte. “And because I baked every day, a neighbour suggested that I should sell my French patisserie at the market. I started baking when I was 10 and I never stopped. I learned it from cookbooks, watching TV shows and by sharing food and recipes with others. Back home we used to have tea parties every Saturday. Everyone brought something you made from scratch, no processed food! And with the best ingredients you could find, which was not a problem in Arcachon, because there is a daily market with fresh vegetables, fruit and cheeses. I am never homesick, but that is what I miss most from France.” Brigitte’s pastries were an instant success at the Saturday market and in 2008 she opened her own French patisserie: Rendezvous. The number-one selling pastries are the Cannelés de Bordeaux, a specialty from Bordeaux. “But I actually made them for the first time in Canada. A friend gave me the recipe and the special molds you need to make them. The recipe has only five ingredients, but it is not that easy to make them. Before I took them to the market I made them every day for two months straight. Practice makes perfect!”
Cannelés de Bordeaux recipe For 24 cannelés: 1L milk, 4 eggs (3 yolks, one whole), 450 g sugar, 300 g flour, 1 Tbsp. pure extract vanilla flavour. Boil 1 litre of milk with the vanilla extract and 300 g sugar. Meanwhile, beat 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg with 150 g sugar until it is white and smooth. When the milk is boiling, add the eggsugar mixture and wait until it is boiling again. Boil for one minute. Put aside to cool. When cool, add 300 g of flour. Put in the fridge for one night. Next day: Preheat the convection oven at 435 degrees. Put your cannelés molds on a tray with edges. Butter the cannelés molds using one tsp. of melted butter. You don’t need to brush the sides of the molds. Pour the batter into each mold to just below the top. Bake 35 minutes, remove the tray and use tongs to press the edges of the cannelés that may have ballooned during baking. Pressing the edges lets air bubbles escape. Do this quickly, then put them back in the oven for 10 more minutes until they are brown. If you bake more than 24 cannelés at the same time, you will need to increase the baking time. For example, baking 36 cannelés requires 40 mins., followed by 15 mins. See Brigitte making this recipe at:
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Fabulous February
Arts & Culture
Arts and culture are all the rage at the Salt Spring Island February Festival, which includes concerts, workshops, guest speakers and more being presented by various island groups. Some event details were still being firmed up as Aqua went to press in mid-January, but the following are so far included under the February Fest umbrella: Feb. 8: The Kerplunks give a by-donation concert for all ages at Mahon Hall at 2 p.m. It’s Family Day in B.C., and the Salt Spring Arts Council is sponsoring the visit by the high-energy, family-friendly band. Crafts and more fun for kids follow the music. Feb. 12: Seeds of Assam documentary film. Upstairs at the Farmers’ Institute. 6 p.m. Feb. 12-14: Love Scallop: the Magical Musical. An original mini-musical from Newman Family Productions and Tickle Trunk Productions. Mahon Hall. 7:30 p.m. all three nights plus a 2 p.m. matinee on the 14th. Feb. 13: Seedy Saturday at the Salt Spring Farmers’ Institute. Seed exchange, vendors, pancake breakfast, workshops, kids’ activities and more. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 13: Swing Shift Big Band Valentine’s dance. Fulford Hall.
The Kerplunks
Feb. 14: Seedy Saturday workshops. Farmers’ Institute. Feb. 19: Stephen Fearing performs at ArtSpring. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20: Indoor Saturday Market. The famous Salt Spring Island Market goes indoors! Farmers’ Institute. Feb. 20: SAORI weaving workshop with Terri Bibby. Ages 6 to adult. Two sessions at Mahon Hall. 10 a.m. to noon or 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 21: First Nations Cultural Day. Details TBA. Feb. 21: Workshop: Copyright for Artists. Mahon Hall. 7 p.m. Feb. 22: Lynn Miles performs at Salt Spring Folk Club. Fulford Hall. 7 p.m. (doors at 6:15 p.m.) Feb. 24: Artist talk with Salt Spring National Art Prize winner and visiting artist Corrie Peters from Winnipeg. Salt Spring Library Program Room. 7 p.m. Feb. 25: Author and Performer Ivan E. Coyote. SIMS gym. 7 p.m. Besides the Chamber of Commerce, Salt Spring Island February Festival is presented by Mouat’s Trading, with support from the Salt Spring Arts Council and Tourism Vancouver Island. Stephen Fearing
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5:12 PM
Vesuvius Dairy - 1948 to 1964
History
The Home of Good Rich Milk By ROGER BRUNT | Heinekey family photos, except as credited
and Goodrich families T hecameHeinekey to Salt Spring in 1919.
“Jock Goodrich was my granddad,“ says Marshall Heinekey, who is best known to Salt Spring Islanders today as chair of the North Salt Spring Waterworks District and the former vice president of education at British Columbia Institute of Technology. “When I was a boy the big barn on our Vesuvius Bay farm was still there. It had been built in the early 1920s, as well as various outbuildings and sheds. Granddad kept horses, goats, sheep, cows and chickens. Like most of the old-time pioneers, he had a little bit of everything and, as a boy, it seemed to me, each had its own little house. “I remember the discussion my parents had in 1948, whether they should go into chickens or dairy,” he says. “Dad thought we might go into chickens but there was lots of competition and the price was always fluctuating. When the price was high, everybody would shift into poultry, so the price would drop. We decided to go into dairy. We had five jersey cows and Granddad’s big barn.” As a boy, life on the Vesuvius Dairy Farm was all-encompassing for Marsh and his brother, Shane. “We worked from dawn ‘til dusk, seven days a week, from the time I was 11 years old,” he says. “Of course, boys being boys, it wasn’t all work all
From top: The main house on the Goodrich/Heinekey property in Vesuvius, sometime before 1940. It started out as a one-room house that grew along with the number of family members; the Heinekeys' Vesuvius Bay farm, photographed by Marshall Sharp in 1960 (SS ARCHIVES/BETTY TAYLOR collection); Marshall Heinekey in 1949 with milk pails and the 1948 Ford pick-up truck behind him. February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 35
“All the Goodrich family was used to hard work.”
jen maclellan photo
— MARSHall HEINEKEY
Above: Marshall and Rose Heinekey on their Vesuvius property, part of the original Heinekey dairy farm.
of the time. When it was hot we loved swimming in the bay; our folks could hardly keep us out of the water. It was a great improvement over baling hay, we had discovered! If our friends were coming over and we could talk them into throwing a few bales onto the hay wagon on the way to a swim, so much the better.” In 1954, when Marsh was 12 years old, his family pastured 12 cows. They would come into the barn, which was built four years earlier, to be milked. “The first milking was at 4:30 a.m. Every morning I milked five cows by hand, then went in for breakfast. Mom was the family’s best milker. She wasn’t as strong as Dad, of course, but she was the best. All the Goodrich family was used to hard work. “Initially, the cows were milked by hand. The cows were bred so they didn’t all calve at once. I remember Dad taking the cows to a bull in Central when they came into heat.” In 1956, his father, George Heinekey, applied for a loan from the Department of Veterans Affairs and built a milking parlour complex. "From then on our dairy really started to take off. The milking parlour included the dairy, two birthing stalls, a loafing area and a bunker silo. The cows were free to go outside if they wanted to. Cows have quite a pecking order — each knew its place and what it had to do. Woe betide any cow that stepped out of line. We didn’t discipline the cows, we didn’t have to. The other cows did that!” The milking parlour allowed the family to milk three cows at a time, while three more were being prepped. Surge milking machines were used and the herd was increased to 25 and eventually 50 cows. “Each cow was led into its stall, then we would close a rear stanchion. Each cow got a half-barrel of feed. One turn of the handle on our feed Page 36 – AQUA – February/March 2016
dispenser let down one pound of feed. They would eat as they were milked. “We delivered milk all over our end of Salt Spring Island. When my brother and I were small, Mom would drive the truck. This was before we were old enough to be left alone on the farm. We were the ‘jumpers;’ it was our job to hop off the truck and run the bottles of milk to each customer’s door. Later on, I would drive and Shane was my jumper. I was two years older. With the milk run finished, we would catch the bus to school at 8:15; we never missed that bus. “When we were on a milk run, Dad would continue bottling milk, or preparing for the next milk run into Ganges. All the regular farm work had to be done between noon and 4:30 p.m., the time of the next milking. We fenced pastures, picked rocks and grew hay for winter feed, as well as Bloody Butcher corn (the kernels were red). The cows loved it. We planted alfalfa with the corn — corn was an annual, alfalfa was high in nitrogen. “Dad did milk runs too. There were up to three a day, six days a week. Dad’s run was from our farm in Vesuvius up Sunset Road to North End Road, then back down along St. Mary Lake. In the summertime, Vesuvius and St. Mary Lake supplied a great many customers, both at the resorts where the tourists stayed and to the 'summer people' who were here on vacation. People had begun holidaying on Salt Spring by the 1930s. The third run, Dad went up Rainbow Road and up Ganges Hill. There was no Brinkworthy in those days." George Heinekey quite enjoyed the milk runs, according to his son. "He was a social guy and loved to talk with customers all along the way, catching up on the news." With no jumper on board, the milk was hand delivered to each customer, including many of the stores and restaurants in Ganges. The cap on each Vesuvius Dairy milk bottle had a logo that showed the butterfat content (up to 5.6 per cent) and the statement 'Home of Good Rich Milk.' This was a play on words, since Marshall’s mother Ruth's maiden name was Goodrich. Later on, the milk caps had to reflect that they were selling raw (unpasteurized) milk. “Mom had good penmanship," Marshall recalls. “At the end of the month each customer got a hand-written bill. At home, these would be entered into the farm’s milk book, which was a high school scribbler. There was a retail and wholesale price, depending if milk was sold to an individual customer or to a store. As I recall, the price for a quart of milk was 25 cents for at least 15 years.” The lay-out of the milking operation in the new milking parlour was straightforward and well organized. Each cow was milked with a Surge milker that hung from a strap over the cow’s hips. Each milking machine would be emptied into a milk pail; the pails of milk would be emptied into a chiller, a water-cooled reservoir. From there, the milk went into a hand-operated bottling machine, which held six quart bottles on a tray. The machine filled three bottles at a time while putting the lids on three more. Each bottle was washed by hand in a sterilizing solution with a brush powered by an electric motor. “Every spring when the grass was good there would be a surplus of milk,” Marshall continues. “Mom would make and sell butter. This was
even more labour intensive than the milking and the bottling. Butter was made from the cream, which was separated from the milk in a cream separator. The cream then went into a hand-operated churn with big paddles. To make sure all the milk had been removed, the butter was washed by hand in cold water. My brother and I weren’t too good at this — we always wanted to rush — it was a job that had to be done slowly and carefully with lots of patience. Each pound of butter was wrapped by hand, since Mother never used a mould, and was sold for 50 cents. The skim milk was sold and the excess made into cottage cheese.” As Marshall and Shane grew older, they were able to take over more and more chores on the farm. “I remember when Dad left the island for a week to take the course for artificial insemination.” (After this course the boys called their dad ‘The Cow Puncher’.) “Frozen semen would arrive on the float plane. It was in test tubes sorted by colour to indicate which breed it was for. Pink was for Jersey, blue was for Aryshire, etc. We would store it in our milk cooler. Dad got $7 for inseminating a cow; $1 for repeats.” Then life delivered one of those unforeseeable twists of fate, and Marshall’s life was changed forever. When Marshall was 16 years old, he had to go to Vancouver for a series of operations that would keep him in a hospital bed for four months. The outcome was uncertain. He was told he had a 50/50 chance of pulling through. “I had lots of time to think as I lay there,” he says. “Up until then I hadn’t given a lot of thought to my future, but when I thought about the type of life I wanted I realized that life on our dairy farm meant unending heavy work with almost no time off. I realized I wanted
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three things: I wanted to see my province; I wanted to see my country; and I wanted to see the world.” When Marsh got out of the hospital, he asked his father if he could get paid for the work he did on the farm. “He agreed to pay me $20 per month. If I thought I had been busy before, now, as an employee, Dad saw to it that I worked twice as hard!” Even if Marshall would occasionally argue with his dad, he says he had tremendous respect for him. “He gave me this parting advice: 1.) If you know how to use a shovel you will never want for work. 2) Never work your last shift (a throwback to his mining days). 3.) Get a lawyer as a friend.” When Marshall left the farm, followed by Shane a few years later, the farm’s labour force was reduced by 50 per cent. It was never replaced. In the early 1960s, the Heinekeys sold the land that had supported the herd and the dairy quota that went with it, and became an agent for Northwest Dairy, which later became Island Farms Dairies. The family bought a refrigerated truck and walk-in cooler. They would go into Victoria three times a week to load up, no longer delivering milk door-to-door, but delivering ice cream, milk, cheese and butter to the restaurants and stores on the island. Marshall reflects on his days on the family’s dairy farm. “The farm was more of a way of life than a viable business,” he says. “People weren’t concerned about making big money, it was a completely different mind-set.” Marshall is now retired and lives on Salt Spring Island with wife Rose on part of the original farm. As he had planned at age 16, he worked and travelled all over his province, his country and the world.
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Usha Rautenbach with murals depicting Salt Spring history created by Alfred Temmel, now restored and at the Bittancourt Museum on the Farmers' Institute grounds.
Keep Digging Usha Rautenbach’s infectious love of history, learning and teaching How long have you lived on Salt Spring and what brought you here? A. I first came every weekend from 1981, with the Salt Spring Centre; I moved permanently to start the Centre School in 1983. This island community gave me a sense of “home at last”; I grew up in farmers institutes in South Africa and New Zealand. Q. Did you always have a love of history? Is there something about Salt Spring’s history that makes it especially interesting to you? A. I have always had a love of connecting with history. The history of the Salt Spring community is especially interesting because it is finite, “a difference of opinion surrounded by water,” attracting people who stay for such varying reasons. But it also has the best little archives. And Salt Spring is a microcosm of my chosen country, Canada, because its history is so multicultural. Q. Tell us about one (or two) favourite local history projects you have explored. A. The first local history I explored was the early schools of Salt Spring Island, consisting of eight school districts, separated by geographic obstacles. I love how the schoolhouses created community for pioneers struggling alone. We had a number of outstanding teachers teaching eight grades alone in those one-room schoolhouses, starting with John Craven Jones (see www.saltspringarchives.com/education/usha/JCJonesU.htm), and were so lucky to have a succession of long-staying teachers thereafter, in an era of one-per-term at times. To learn about the schools, I had to delve into finding out about the families, so that’s where my knowledge of the island comes from. More recently I have been immersed in Reverend E.F. Wilson (another favourite, for his record-keeping and community-building), but Page 38 – AQUA – February/March 2016
jen maclellan photo
Q&A
this time ferreting out why he left the life he lived before he came here, his intensifying qualms about the residential schools he started urging him to battle for First Nations rights, even to the point of suggesting they run their own country, dealing with Canada as an equal. Having no success, he had a breakdown and came here to “retire,” which is surprisingly far from what he proceeded to do! Q. Do you have a new historical project on the go? A. Oh, a few, as usual! Farms, Farmers and Farming - Salt Spring’s Agricultural History, written by Mort Stratton and soon to be published by the Farmers’ Institute; but also the history of the Blackburn Valley and its watershed, drained for farming. A new project is tracking history in the making: I am transcribing First Nations Keepers of Knowledge, as an aid in their process of passing on that knowledge to youth in a new era of decolonization. Q. Your teaching at Salt Spring Centre School was legendary. Can you describe your teaching philosophy more or less in a nutshell? A. Kids Come First: watch them, listen to them, get to know them, love each child for their individuality. Everyone has their own way of learning, so respect and use that to learn about the universe and our planet, find out about Salt Spring Island (place-based learning they call it now) and multicultural Canada. Multi-age groups help each other learn, as does teaching all the subjects together pursuing whatever theme the children’s interests lead you into, including art, music, dance and drama, even in academic learning (make a song and dance about everything!). Get them writing journals to read later, so they notice how they’ve been learning; set out next-step goals for them to choose which to achieve when. I discovered that little ones thrive on living up to high expectations, have profound thoughts and inner questions and feelings well worth listening to and responding to. They come to school to make friends and to learn how to keep them, so group conflict resolution, making rules to re-evaluate on a regular basis, is key: we can all make peace within us, to spread all around us. Be honest with each other, take time alone every day, face fears to overcome obstacles — and play.
Be Water Savvy Use Only What You Need
Water is one of Salt Spring Island’s most precious resources. Please join islanders as we work together to ensure we use this limited resource wisely, and that we respect and protect our island watersheds. Try these handy water saving tips: Run only full loads in dishwashers and washing machines. Shut off the tap while brushing teeth, shaving, or washing up hands or dishes. Use low-flush toilets. Flush less often. Keep showers short. Use low-flow shower heads. If bathing, try a 1/4 tub only. Use a bucket to capture and reuse shower, bath and dishwater in your garden. Inform guests from the mainland about our islands’ limited water supply, and ask them to be please be aware of keeping consumption down.
Together EVERY water saver makes a difference.
North Salt Spring Waterworks District www.northsaltspringwaterworks.ca February/March 2016 – AQUA – Page 39
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