This fonds contains assorted material likely collected after 1983 and up until 2017 by the Museum that can not be reliably attributed to the Doras Kirk Collection fonds. In 2017 the Museum was reorganized as the Denman Museum and Archives run by the Museum and Archives Committee of the Denman Seniors and Museum Society. Up until 2017 there was no organized or documented archives.
MUSEUM RECORDS sous fonds – 1964-2014 – 6 cm. of textual records
(A.18.5.1-4) – Loc. A-H-8 – This sous fonds consists of 4 visitor books signed by guests of the Museum listing the date of the visit, where they were from and occasional remarks. The periods covered by each book are 1964-1984; 1984-1994; 2002-2014; 2014-2016.
REFERENCE – CLIPPINGS sous fonds – 1970’s -1990’s – 1.5 cm. of clippings in scrapbooks and 2,0 cm. of clippings in an album.
(A18.75.1-2) – Loc.A-B-2 – Two Scrapbooks contain clippings from local newspapers on events and history concerning Denman Island. Many focus on the arts. The first book covers the years 1978-1988, the second 1986-1997.
The scrapbooks are spiral bound, 36pp. and 28×35 cm.
They were originally held in the Denman Library.
(A.18.76) – Loc.A-B-2 – Album of Clippings is a collection of newspaper clippings and magazine articles on topics related to Denman Island. They appear to come mostly from the 1990’s.
The album is 20 pp. and 18x30cm.
Most of the pieces are about gardening or arts and crafts on Denman. Bylines include Jennie Carruthers, O.B.Cobb, Lynda Pesklevits, Lynn Thompson and Christine Wilson.
REFERENCE – PERIODICALS sous fonds – 1962-2000 – 2 cm. of textual records
This sous fonds contains 4 items. 1. (A.18.31) – Loc. A-H-10 – A commemorative centennial edition of the Comox Free Press Aug. 29, 1962 containing articles on Comox Valley history. 2. (A.18.19) – Loc.A-F-2 – Harrowsmith magazine #16, 1978 with an article on Denman Island hand built homes by Des Kennedy with photos by Paul Bailey. Also a clipped article from BC Outdoors (May 1981) on cycling Denman and Hornby Islands by Liz Pope. 3. (A.18.20) – Loc.A-F-2 – Western Living magazine July 1983 with an article on island homes by Carolann Rule. Includes Tom Burrows’s home on Hornby and Turid Olafson’s home on Denman. Also a clipped article from Sept. 1987 issue on Bruce Fairbairn’s home on Hornby. 4. (A.18.21) – Loc.A-F-2 – Gardening Life magazine 2000?, a clipped article by Des Kennedy, photos Allan Mandell on Des and Sandy’s garden. Also a short clipped article from Canadian Living Aug. 1993 by Des Kennedy on Sudasi Gardener’s garden.
REFERENCE – MUSEUMS sous fonds – 1963-2006 – 12.5cm. of textual and published material
(A.18.50) – Loc.A-H-5 – This sous fonds contains material pertaining to the creation, organization and management of small museums and archives. Both occasional papers and published works are included. Topics covered include care and preservation of materials, collections management, storage, museum layout, staff organization, education among other topics. Publications include Running a Museum Handbook and Training Guide, ICOM, 2006: Tales from the Attic, Colleen Wilson, 2002: Museum Management, CMA, 1969: Small Museum Design Manual, Lambur, Lee and Sano, 1974: A Manual for Small Archives, AABC, 1994. This last item is stored in the desk drawers as well as a binder of collected articles on museums.
REFERENCE – PUBLICATIONS sous fonds – 1882-2022 – 50.0cm. of published material
This sous fonds contains 22 items.
1. (A.18.56) – Loc.A-F-4 – Men and Trees by Renny Englbert, 1947, 40 pp. a soft cover booklet on the logging industry.
2. (A.18.55) – Loc.A-F-4 – The Company and the Coast ed. E. Blanche Norcross, 1983, 86 pp. a soft cover book on the history of the H.B.C. at Fort Langley and Fort Rupert, Vancouver Island coal production and James Douglas. This book was presented to the Denman Museum by the Nanaimo Historical Society June 3, 1989 and is inscribed as such.
3. (A.21.10) – Loc.A-H-11 – Denman Scenes – from here to there 1975-2014 by Paul Bailey, 70 pp. a soft cover book of photos of events and people of Denman Island taken by Paul between 1975 and 2014.
4. (A.22.06) – Loc.A-C-1 – Island Heritage Buildings by Thomas K. Ovanin, 161 pp. a soft cover book of photos and descriptions of heritage buildings from 12 Islands Trust islands publ. 1984.
5. (A.22.07) – Loc.A-C-2 – The Legacy Collection, 45 pp. a soft cover book showcasing 21 Denman artists on the 2008 studio tour.
6. (A.21.09) – Loc.A-C-2 – Rolling With the Times by Wallace Baikie, 192 pp. softcover book of Wallace Baikie’s life (b. 1902) on Denman and in the logging industry, publ. in 1985 and autographed, includes many photos.
7. (A21.2) – Loc.A-H-11 – Looking Backwards by Alan Corrigall, 70 pp. spiral bound self published autobiography with b/w and colour photos publ. about 2000. Alan grew up on Corrigall Road on Denman.
8. (A.21.3) – Loc.A-C-2 – Images and Voices of Lighthouse Country by Rita Levitz and Leah Willott, 200 pp. softcover book with b/w photos, publ. 1997 is an oral history of Bowser, Deep Bay, Qualicum Bay and Horne lake.
9. (A.21.4) – Loc.A-C-1 – The New Pioneers Handbook by James Bohlen, 275 pp. Hardback book with b/w photos, publ.1975, is a handbook for sustainable rural living. Jim Bohlen was a founder of Greenpeace.
10. (A.21.6) – Loc.A-H-11 – The Denman Island Seafood Cookbook – Vol. II, 8 pp. stapled, recipes from Denman Islanders, publ. 2000?
11. (A.21.7) – Loc.A-H-11 – Rancho Allegria Camp Songs, 20 pp. stapled, Rancho Allegria, a kids camp run by the Redferns on the old McFarlan property on East Road in the 1960s and 70s.
12. (A.21.8) – Loc.A-C-1 – Margaret Callahan – Mother of Northwest Art ed. By Brian Tobey Callahan, 430 pp. softcover book publ. 2009, the compiled writings of Margaret Callahan, mother nothwest school of painters.
13. (A.22.03) – Loc.A-H-11 – Bringing K’omoks to Comox by Jesse Morin 26 pp. a transcription of two presentations (one on Denman, the other on Hornby) by Jesse Morin, archaeologist, on the history of the K’omoks people given in 2018 and 2022. The transcriptions are by Tony Gregson.
14. (A.22.16) – Loc.A-C-2 – Salish Sea – Jewel of the Pacific Northwest by Audrey Benedict and Joseph Gaydos, 147 pp. softcover books with full colour photos of the natural history of the Salish Sea publ. by Sasquatch Books in Seattle in 2015. Donated by Peter Walford, dentist.
15. (A.20.21) – Loc. book table – Book – The Hymnary is a 850pp. hardback book of hymns published by The United Church in 1930, inscribed Mrs. Thomas Isbister from Mrs. F.R. Kelly.
16. (A.20.20) – Loc. book table – Book – Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Book 5 by Richard Hooker is a 550 pp. hardback book on aspects of Christianity. Inscribed “James Ormiston Jan. 1922”.
17. (A.20.19) – Loc. Book table – Book – The Science of Eating by Alfred McCann is a 400 pp. hardback book on nutrition publ. in 1919. It was given as first prize at the Flower Show at the Fall Fair in 1924 by the Women’s Institute.
18. (A.20.18.) – Loc. Book table – Book – Dry Fly Entomology by F.M. Halford is a 320 pp. hardback book publ. 1902 on the development of fly fishing with over 100 illus. Inscription “ George from your loving father, July 14, 1908”
19. (A.20.7) or 84.1.1 – Loc. Book table – Williams B.C. Directory 1899 is a 980 pp. hardback book publ. in 18899. It is an index of residents in all BC communities listing names and occupations.
20. (A.20.9) or 84.1.3 – Loc. Book table – Book – Royal Photograph Gallery is a 465 pp. hardback book publ. in 1893 in U.S.A. of black and white photos of scenes from around the world.
21. (A.20.13) or 84.1.4 – Loc. Book table – Book – Sessional Papers B.C. 1882 is a 500 pp. hardback book publ. by vital statistics BC. It contains pop. of places. births, deaths, accounts, public works, mines, prisons, etc. for the years !880 -81.
22. (A.20.14) or 83.44.7 – Loc. Book table – Book – The Life of Our Lord is an 80 pp. hardback book of bible stories for children with colour illustrations, presented to Willis Piercy in 1926 for Sunday School attendance.
UNIDENTIFIED RECORDS sous fonds – early 20th cent. – 2.0 cm. photo album
(A-.18.13) – Loc.A-F-4 – This is a 15 x20 cm. photo album of black and white photos of approx.. 100 pp. Only a few photos are identified. People identified are Jack Howe, Mrs. Howe, May Pickles, Gilbert Franklin, Jessie Fisher, Alf Randall, Theodore Nelson. Mr. McMillan.
Photos are of people, landscape, boats (The Rex), livestock and probably date from 1900 to 1920.
TAXATION RECORDS sous fonds – (1910-1918) Incomplete – 1.0 cm. of textual records
(A.18.15) – Loc.A-F-5 – Land and School Tax Assessment Records – Comox Valley, Hornby and Denman Islands contain the handwritten tax assessments for properties on Denman Island. They appear to be incomplete.
The records are on approx. 70 large 40 x 50 cm. loose sheets that have been torn from the original binding.
CLIMATE RECORDS sous fonds – Mar.1993-May 1996 – 1.0 cm. of textual records
99.3.1-3 – Loc.A-F-2 – Climatological Register – Denman Island contains three 28 x 43 cm. books of Environment Canada climate records taken on Pickles Road on Denman Island by Jennifer Inderwick. One booklet also contains records for the month, Apr. 93 taken on Lacon Road and includes the instructions from Environment Canada on the method of collecting data.
These items were donated from the estate of Jennifer Indermick.
MAPS sous fonds – 1860’s -2010 – 3 air photos and 3 photos of maps, drawings, blueprint and map
(A.18.22) – Loc.A-F-5 – Maps contains 3 airphotos of Denman Island from 1950-51, and 3 photos of Admiralty Survey Charts of Denman from the 1860’s produced by Chuck Russell and Brian Grogan. Also a photocopy of a tourist map of Denman from 1999.
The airphotos are of standard size (24×24 cm.) from the BC Prov. Gov’t, Lands and Forests. The 1860 reproductions are 10 x15 cm.
(A.18.121) – Loc.A-H-9 – Green Cemetery Drawings is 4 20×25 cm. copies of landscape architectural plans for the Green Cemetery drawn up by Community Studio. There is also a flash drive with more digital data. Pat Kelly copied and printed them from information given to her by Jane Lighthall.
(A.20.16) – Loc.A-F-5 – Map – Plan of Canadian Collieries Land 1920 is a blueprint (25×46 cm.) of the land owned by Canadian Collieries Dunsmuir on Denman in 1920 with acreages. It was donated to the Denman Archives by the Hornby Archives.
(A.21.1) – Loc.A-F-5 – Map of Denman Crown Grants is a (1.1M. x 0.4M.) paper map of Denman properties with names and dates of original crown grants written in ballpoint ink. Some properties also have dates and names of other owners. The map was donated by Pete Piercy
PIONEERS sous fonds – 1885-1989 – 1 book, 1 CD, 15 cassettes, 8 photos, and 1 photo album
This sous fonds contains seven items.
(A.18.32) – Loc.A-F-4 – Pioneer Photos is a CD of photos of Denman pioneers, principally of the Graham and McMillan families.
(A.18.58) – Loc.A-F-4 – Bible – Alf Randall is a small (10×15 cm.) bible owned by Alf Randall, inscribed by him in 1913 given to him by his mother. Alf Randall owned Lone Pine Farm on Northwest Road.
The bible appears to have been given to the museum by Joanne Foster of Comox.
(A.18.60) – Loc.A-F-2 – Three Corners Photos are 2 original photos (15×22 cm.) of three corners or Wilson’s corner (Northwest and Lake) probably from before WWII. This was the Baikie farm. The logging railroad crossing sign is still visible. The photos came from Jean (Baikie) Feely.
(A.18.61) – Loc.A-H-10 – Logging Photos are 5 photos of varying sizes (10×15 cm. to 20×25 cm.) of logging on Denman in the early 20th century. One of the photos is original, the others are reprints from the Prov. Archives. Some are of logging at Henry Bay with Frank and Eddie Stewart, Jobe Daye, George Wood, Joe Fitzgerald, Howard McFarlan, Stanley Piercy, Albert Graham, Mrs. Albert Graham, Mrs. Monty Wade, Irene Roe, Swede Hansen, Jimmie Graham, Jack Wood, Johnny McKenzie (ex-mayor of Courtenay), George Cliff, Mac Donald, Nick Baylow. Most of these names are on the back of a photo of the first donkey engine on Denman in 1912.
(A.18.79), 84.3.2 – Loc.A-B-1 – John and Margery Corrigall Album is a photo album (25×30 cm.) of 18pp. containing both original and reproduced photos of Denman pioneers from 1885 to 1918. Many have titles with individuals identified. There are some missing photos. There are one and a half pages of historical notes at the end of the album.
The album was donated to the museum by John and Margery Corrigall and the pictures were sent to them by Stan Dean, one time storekeeper on Denman.
The album was originally accessioned to the museum as 84.3.2.
(A.18.90) – Loc.tape box on shelf – Audio Interviews are 15 cassette tapes of interviews made between 1987 and 1996 with Walter Millard, Penny Burd, Celina Piercy, Jim Kirk, Marcus Isbister, Betty Schmidt on logging, the school, farming, and recollections in general. Memories go back to the 1920’s. Some of the tapes have somewhat poor audio quality.
(A.18.99) – Loc.photo box – John Kennedy photo is an original photo from about 1900 (20×25 cm. mounted) of John Kennedy of Apple Hill Ont. It is assumed he lived on Denman.
ART sous fonds – 1954 – 1970’s – one silkscreen print, 3 watercolour paintings
(A.18.59) – Loc.A-F-5 – Denman’s Gate is a silkscreen print, matted to 40 x 50 cm. of the old Denman Dock and ferry hill. The museum copy is #6 of 33. The signature is unreadable.
(A.18.113) – Loc.A-H-9 – Watercolour Paintings are 3 watercolours made by Will Stone of Denman Island in 1954 and 1956. The titles are “Denman Village”, Village Point”, and “Oyster Beach”. They are 25 x 30 cm.
PHOTOS sous fonds – 1994 – 5 photos
(A.18.86) – Loc.A-F-2 – False Killer Whale is a 27 x 42 cm. sheet with five 9×12 cm. colour photos attached of a false killer whale which was stranded on the beach on the east side of Denman. It appears the photos may have been taken sometime in the 1990’s.
EVENTS sous fonds – April 2017 – 4 ephemera (posters)
(A.18.104) – Loc.A-F-5 – “Looking Back” posters is a series of 4 different posters produced for the screening of the video “Looking Back”, a 50 min. documentary of interviews with Denman residents remembering life on Denman in the 1920’s to the 1950’s. The video was made by Claire King and Stewart Goodings in 2017. The posters were designed and printed by Pat Kelly.
The posters are 30 x42 cm. with colour.