Mary Davidson’s Island roots reach back to 1881 when her grandfather Alexander McLennan accepted Henry Ruckle’s invitation to take up farming at Beaver Point. The McLennan farm backs onto the property that is now Ruckle Park. It was home to eight children who all attended the Beaver Point School. Mary’s father grew up here and eventually married a Beaver Point school teacher Dorothy Dewar, from Victoria.
Although she was born in Vancouver, Mary moved back to the farm during the depression when her parents came to help her grandmother following the death of her grandfather. In 1936, the family moved to Duncan and rented out the farm which they eventually sold in 1944. Although Mary continued to visit the Island she did not again live here until after she retired from her teacher-librarian career in Delta.
A genealogist and historian, Mary was fascinated by researching her family’s and the Island’s history. She soon became involved in the Historical Society. The Island had no archive when Mary arrived and as the society received historical documents they needed a place to put them.
It was almost on a whim that Mary, then Chairman of the Historical Society, and her friend Peggy Tolson applied for a grant to build an archive. It was a huge surprise when the Society was granted money to build the facility. They never looked back. Using all her knowledge and skills she acquired as a teacher librarian Mary organized the archive by subject and began collecting history.
Mary participates in the work required to preserve the history of Salt Spring for future generations. She has been contacted by people from England and the USA and around the world. Many people come looking for their roots on Salt Spring. Frequently descendents of the Island's black community ask for information. Almost everyone who uses the archive for research gives back copies of their work. Mary considers the archive a service and she is happy to help any who want to research or build the history of this community.