Agnes Cunningham has been a member of the Salt Spring Historical Society and a staunch supporter of the Archives since they were founded. A cousin of Director, Mary Davidson, Agnes traces her island roots to a shared grandfather, Alexander McLennan who moved to Beaver Point in 1881, to farm and raise his family there.
Agnes’ mother Anne Elizabeth McLennan, was born in 1894 and attended the Little Red Schoolhouse. She left the island when she married a Victoria businessman who worked in his family’s Stewart Shoe Store. Agnes spent many happy childhood holidays with Grandma and Grandpa at the Beaver Point farm. In 1974 the family helped Agnes’ mother find a house in Fulford Harbour. When Agnes and her husband were both retired in 1981, they joined her mother on Salt Spring and still live in that same house.
Agnes has been a tireless worker at the Archives using her professional secretarial skills to organize, list, catalogue, type and assist in any and every capacity possible. Every week Mary and Agnes drive together to the archives and spend the morning working there. They are familiar faces to those who use the Archives.
Agnes is fascinated with the historical research of which she is a part. When people come in to talk or share pictures she enjoys hearing their stories. Although she spent 27 years as a secretary at BC Hydro ending up as head secretary to the Legal Division manager she never used a computer. Now she is learning a new skill and moving ahead with the Archives.