Salt Spring Island Archives
Paul Bion was born September 24, 1874, in Montigny sur Arne, France. He married Maria Alphonsine Chantelu in 1900. They moved to Salt Spring in 1910 and bought their property from Mr. Epron. Their farm on Epron was 160 acres, and there the Bion's and Chantelu’s started a poultry farm (Dogwood Farm).
When WW1 broke out in 1914, Paul Bion was recalled back to France to serve, having previously been a part of the French military when he was stationed in Saigon as the head of the electrical department. He was a trained observer and photographer. There was evidence that pointed towards Paul being a part of military intelligence. He was an expert in using carrier pigeons and designed the procedures of interrogating POW before transferring them over enemy lines. When the Americans joined the war, Paul was tasked with preparing them for trench warfare. When he was demobilized from the French army in 1923, he ended up with seven medals for his service, including the “Legion of Honour,” the highest award in the French military. Upon his arrival home, Paul taught French on the island.
Paul’s in-laws (Maria’s brother Francois Chantelu) moved to the island alongside the Bion’s, and they all lived on the same farm. Francois and his wife Palmyre had three kids: Simone, her twin sister Paulette, and their older brother Jean. Palmyre passed away from tuberculosis in 1911 and soon after Francois moved away from the island - first to Vancouver, then settled down in San Francisco - leaving their kids with Paul and Maria. Paulette contracted polio in 1918, leaving her wheelchair bound. The Bion’s had a son named Pierre in 1913, who later served in WWII in the RCAF.
Jean moved to San Francisco with his father when he was a teenager, leaving the farm with Simone, Paulette and Maria. Paul passed away in 1938, Maria in 1943, leaving the farm to be run by Simone and Paulette. Their brother Jean passed away in 1969, and Paulette in 1985. Simone died in 2003 at 96, and Dogwood farm ran until 2002 (92 years).
