This recording is part of the Salt Spring Island Sound Archives Project.
Mrs. Gear talks about her father, Bill Evans, and his life on the Island since 1916, first as farm manager for Mr. Bullock, then as road foreman and vet. Mrs. Gear and her husband ran a turkey farm and butchering business in the Burgoyne Valley.
Accession Number | Interviewer | Ruth Sandwell | |
Date | July 25, 1990 | Location | Castle X Road |
Media | tape | Audio CD | mp3 |
ID | 71 | Topic |
71DaisyGear4.mp3
otter.ai
Summer 2021
yes
Riley Donovan
71DaisyGear4 - created 2015
Thu, 8/5 2:02PM • 1:00:36
This fascinating one-hour interview with Daisy Gear provides a lot of information about the Gear family and their time in Salt Spring. It also covers logging, tie mills, and Daisy’s time as a telephone operator in Ganges. Of particular interest in this interview is Daisy’s description of early Salt Spring culture, as well as her discussion of Harry Bullock, the Squire of Salt Spring, who she knew and who attended her wedding.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Bullock, Salt Spring Island, Fulford, dances, Daisy Gear, Rainbow Road, Gear, Ganges, tie mills, logging, Fulford Days, May Days, May Queen, Great Depression, entertainment, Squire of Salt Spring
SPEAKERS
Daisy Gear, Ruth Sandwell
Ruth Sandwell 00:02
Today's Wednesday, July 25, 1990, and today I'm talking to Mrs. Daisy gear at her home on Castle Cross road on Salt Spring Island. My name is Ruth Sandwell. Well, Mrs. Gear when, how, when and how did your family first come to the island?
Daisy Gear
Well, my dad lived in Bristol, England.
Ruth Sandwell 00:30
And what was his name?
Daisy Gear
He was known on the island as Bill Evans. He didn't get along very well with his stepfather. So, he decided he was going to immigrate to Canada. So, in 1912, he left England and sailed for Canada. He left behind his fiancée, who later became my mother. And on the way over, he got talking to some men and they said that there was an opportunity out on the west coast. He was going to stop on the prairies, but they said go to the west coast. So he went to the west, came to the west coast, and he came to Crofton and got a launch (?). Somebody had told him on the bus that Salt Spring was quite a place. So, he came and Mr. Gavin Mouat was on the dock when he arrived there, and he said he was looking for a job. And he said, oh, I know where what have you done and he said, I know where you get a job. He said Mr. Bullock is always looking for farm hands. So, he took him up to Mr. Bullock's. Mr. Bullock hired him. And he managed the farm for him.
Ruth Sandwell 02:17
Where did he live?
Daisy Gear
The Bullock estate.
Ruth Sandwell 02:22
I know but did he live on the estate? I know that there were a number of buildings there.
Daisy Gear
As you know, Mr. Bullock used to bring the orphan boys from Victorian and that. And he had built little cottages all around, like bunk houses. And the boys used to stay in these bunk houses and that was where they lived. Are, always pulling lots of pranks. Anyway, he developed the farm, managed the farm, and he, Mr. Bullock was very fond of Jersey cows. So, they have the little Jersey cows, and my dad developed the first, what they call, R.O.P Jersey herd on the island here. That was a registered herd and we had milk testers coming around every three months or so that would test the milk, and the butterfat on the milk. We had a very prized herd on the estate. He did.
Ruth Sandwell 03:34
Did he? What did he do with the did he sell the cream to the Creamery?
Daisy Gear
To the Creamery. Mr. Bullock had a Creamery at that time. And then later they moved the Creamery, which is the present day bakery, Embe bakery, that was the main Creamery there for all the farmers.
Ruth Sandwell 03:53
You don't know what happened to that Creamery do you? I've heard different rumours about Mr. Bullock's Creamery and why he that was only an operation for a few years.
Daisy Gear
Yes. I don't know just why, I think it was because the other Creamery started up and then he didn't have to sort of produce there so cause the farmers brought to the other creamery on the island.
Ruth Sandwell 04:19
Do you know who ran that Creamery in the old the old Creamery building there?
Daisy Gear
The present day one?
Ruth Sandwell 04:25
No in the old one.
Daisy Gear
Oh, Mr. Bullock's.
Ruth Sandwell 04:28
So, do you know that probably Mr. Bullock hired someone to do that?
Daisy Gear
It's the boys I think that did
Ruth Sandwell 04:34
Oh, yeah. So, it was just nobody separate or?
Daisy Gear
I don't think so. I won't be too sure of that, but I think so. So anyway, that's what, then they, their produce that they sold they shipped. Apples to Victoria, great cases, and cases of apples.
Ruth Sandwell 04:58
What other kind of fruit did they?
Daisy Gear
Cherries.
Ruth Sandwell 05:02
Cherries.
Daisy Gear
Yes. And as I say, Apples galore.
Ruth Sandwell 05:07
The old apple trees are still...
Daisy Gear
A lot of them I think (unintelligible) for quite a few years.
Ruth Sandwell 05:16
Oh, these are the crates of apples here in this picture. And who are the people here?
Daisy Gear
One's my dad one and one is one of the other farmhands.
Ruth Sandwell 05:24
Nobody there's still a couple on the island, right? Goody Goodman is still here.
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, and he was there in later years, way later years.
Ruth Sandwell 05:31
Did he? And Willie Palmer?
Daisy Gear
Yes. Well, Willy Palmer was on the farm and my dad came. His mother was the housekeeper for Mr. Bullock.
Ruth Sandwell 05:42
Mrs. Palmer.
Daisy Gear
Yes. And she was a widow with the one son. So, Willie used to help on the farm too.
Ruth Sandwell 05:52
Would he be about the same age as your dad?
Daisy Gear
No, he was younger.
Ruth Sandwell 05:56
Because he came just as a very small boy, didn't he with Mrs. Palmer.
Daisy Gear
Yes. Then, the war broke out, the First World War. In 1916, he sent for my mother to come out. And she came across the Atlantic, amongst all the U boats, everything.
Ruth Sandwell 06:21
Oh dear.
Daisy Gear
And apparently they had such a terrible storm coming across, all the life boats were washed out and all the wireless was washed over.
Ruth Sandwell 06:34
What was your mother's name?
Daisy Gear
Dowson. Ellen Dowson. Nellie Downson, they used to call her. Nellie Downson. And she landed in Halifax and came across by train. She never had her clothes off from the time she left England. Came across Canada in the train and arrived in Vancouver. Apparently, my dad went over and met her. And I guess it happened then as it does now, the luggage never arrived. And she had a new suit to be married in. So, what she did, she went downtown, and she bought a new blouse. They went to a church in North Vancouver. The minister married them there and then they came over to the island. That right back that day. So, Mr. Bullock said well I'll give you six months or a year and I'll build you a home on the estate and Mr. Bullock built the home which today (Recording stops here and starts again)
Ruth Sandwell 07:57
So, Mr. Bullock, built that house on the Bullock property. And what year would that be?
Daisy Gear
That would be in 1916. It was their home until 1923.
Ruth Sandwell 08:17
And what happened where did they go from there?
Daisy Gear
Dad decided he wanted to branch out. And there was a German lady in Duncan, a Mrs. Dorn ran a big dairy farm, and she was looking for a manager. So, he applied, and he went over there, we went over there. I was born like in 1919 in the old lady Minto hospital here. And we went over there, and it didn't work out, I guess being of German descent and that, she was quite hard to work for. So, they decided to come back to Salt Spring and he didn't want to go back to Mr. Bullock's. He wanted to be on his own. So, he bought on Rainbow Road, which now our son has and has just been bought by the school board to be put the new school on.
Ruth Sandwell 09:25
Whereabouts is it on Rainbow Road?
Daisy Gear
Just up from the, used to be the Japanese guy, the Murakami place. Close to five acres. They bought two sections there and Mrs. Gerards and our, my son's place, and it'll be the future high school.
Ruth Sandwell 09:46
Oh really.
Daisy Gear
And my mum had used to tell me that they walked and walked up Rainbow Road and it was absolutely forested, and dad went in and sort of walked over the property while we stayed out on the road. And anyway, they decided to buy it from the Scott brothers, they owned a lot of property all around on the island. And he started homesteading it. And in the meantime, we lived in a couple of places the one house, which is now the present sailing club house. We lived in that for six months. Well, they built a cabin on the place, which was very primitive. There was no water. No facilities at all. The first winter we were there, apparently it was very, very cold. I was crying at night. And in the morning, when mother got up, got me out of bed the stone hot water bottle was frozen.
Ruth Sandwell 11:08
Did you have brothers and sisters at that time?
Daisy Gear
No, I was an only child. So, they gradually cleared that property. And my dad did odd jobs when he left England, he used to always follow, he loved animals. And he used to follow the local vet around all the time as a child. He was everywhere he went; he was tagging along. So, he, of course with Mr. Bullock, he had to deal with animals there, calving problems and cuts and things like this. And he never had a day's education veterinary training. But if you ask anybody of the old timers, there was nobody like Bill Evans that did veterinary work on the island. He was the vet for years until the time he died. We had at that time an old Army veteran who had had his papers and everything that was a doctor. Captain Best. He never did any, people would never call him, they always called my dad. And I've seen him do some wonderful jobs. And it was nearly all if it was dogs, it was all performed on the kitchen table at home there, or he'd go to the people's places, especially at lambing time, the sheep were having problems and that he'd go any day or hour of the day or night, stitch up and everything.
Ruth Sandwell 12:47
Do everything.
Daisy Gear
Yes, everything. And then in the early '30s when all the tie mills, little tie mills came to the island. He worked for a while doing, working at the tie mills. And then as they moved on to another location, he bought up the slab piles and he used to cut the slab wood into wood stone links. And he sold slab wood. He had a small truck and he sold that, and he used to sell it for 75 cents a rake.
Ruth Sandwell 13:32
How much is that?
Daisy Gear
It takes three rakes to a cord, and if you wanted it stacked it was an extra 50 cents.
Ruth Sandwell 13:42
So, so those tie mills, they'd come they came over usually did they from, from Vancouver Island or Vancouver?
Daisy Gear
No, they were, there was a group of them that they lived here, built there houses here and but they'd move from one location on the island to another little stand of trees and that.
Ruth Sandwell 14:01
Would they buy the land, or would they just get it, you know?
Ruth Sandwell 14:03
No, they salvaged the timber and then they made ties which is railway ties. And they'd haul them down to the, they had a big dock which is now the Esso, Imperial Esso station there. That was a big, long dock and the scows would come in and load with ties
Ruth Sandwell 14:27
That's right into Ganges.
Daisy Gear
Right into Ganges and take them off and that was what they did.
Ruth Sandwell 14:34
So those people would live on the island, did they?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, there's a house on the canal road now that the Marshals lived at, that was built by one of the original tie men that came. Mr. McAfee, Bill McAfee. Can't think of any others with him. So anyway, he did that for quite a few years, and then
Ruth Sandwell 15:02
So, he just bought the wood?
Daisy Gear
He just bought the long links, and then cut it up. And then he became road foreman on the island and looked after all the roads, it was through the depression, and he'd have men, a lot of the people that were on relief and that they would be cleaning ditches and
Ruth Sandwell 15:32
Mhm. Were they people on relief from the island or would?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, all on the island here. And they used to be able to work their taxes out. And supposing their taxes was $100. Well, then they would put $100 worth of work on the road cleaning ditches and that.
Ruth Sandwell 15:51
Have you any idea how much they were paid? Or how that was worked? Do you think they had a set hourly rate?
Daisy Gear
Yes, they did, yeah. It was a daily rate, maybe $3 or $4 a day or something like that.
Ruth Sandwell 16:08
And so, your dad was in charge of hiring and allocating the work.
Daisy Gear
That's right. And he was on the island here for quite a few years. And then they appointed him to take care of all the Gulf Islands so that there was a local road foreman on each of the islands and he supervised the whole thing.
Ruth Sandwell 16:36
Did you stay on the island then?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, yeah we lived right there on Rainbow Road.
Ruth Sandwell 16:41
So, all this time was he also working clearing the property that you'd found?
Daisy Gear
Yes, mhm, he'd clear a bit more and a bit more until he got the whole thing cleared.
Ruth Sandwell 16:49
Did he do that work himself? Or did he hire people or get anybody to?
Daisy Gear
Yes, you couldn't hire, you didn't have the money to hire people.
Ruth Sandwell 16:55
Yeah, I guess that was through the, through the depression then.
Daisy Gear
No, you didn't have any money hire people. And I think they only paid about $500 for the property. But it took about 10 years to pay it, when they'd get an extra $25, they'd put it on the property. You know, until they got the clear title do it.
Ruth Sandwell 17:16
Yeah. Did you have when, when you were a girl? When, how old were you by the time the house was finished on that Rainbow Road property?
Daisy Gear
I don't think it was ever finished.
Ruth Sandwell 17:28
Oh, really? It was one of those.
Daisy Gear
No, it was never finished. And dad would always leave something more to be done like you know.
Ruth Sandwell 17:45
So, during those years, what, what was your mum? What would she do on the property?
Daisy Gear
She was just a homemaker.
Ruth Sandwell 17:53
It must have been a busy time then. Did you have any?
Daisy Gear
We always had a garden, and we had a cow. And when I got old enough, I milked the cow. And some chickens. You know, you had to be sort of self-supporting.
Ruth Sandwell 18:10
That's right. So, you had a garden with where you grow your own vegetables. And did you have a lot of trouble with deer?
Daisy Gear
No.
Ruth Sandwell 18:18
Isn't that funny now, I guess they were...
Daisy Gear
Because they've been, I guess disturbed. You know, the, their habitat has been disturbed with more houses and everything. There weren't the places then, and they could be in the wild.
Ruth Sandwell 18:37
That's right. And I guess the hunting people, hunted a lot of deer in those days.
Daisy Gear
Oh, yes. Yeah. Because I mean, you had meat, so that, you know. (Recording stops here and starts again)
Ruth Sandwell 18:57
So, during those days when your dad was the road foreman, was that right through the 30s that he did that?
Daisy Gear
Yes.
Ruth Sandwell 19:05
When did you move? Back to Salt Spring? What year was that?
Daisy Gear
In 1923.
Ruth Sandwell 19:11
1923. Okay.
Daisy Gear
Yep. I went to school, which is now the present Catholic Church, that was the big school on the island.
Ruth Sandwell 19:24
And where is that? Exactly?
19:25
On Drake Road. I think. Or do they call it? Yes, I think they call it Drake Road. And we used to have to walk to school all the way around, pack our lunch.
Ruth Sandwell 19:38
How long would that take you about?
Daisy Gear
Oh, half, three quarters, I guess how much we dawdled along the way. And there was the two rooms, the primary room and then the intermediate I guess you'd call it, it went up to grade eight.
Ruth Sandwell 20:01
Was it a one room school?
Daisy Gear
No. it was a two-room school. Where the which it it's the present Catholic Church now and where the priest home is at the back of it. And right up, it's all timbered now. And that was our playing field up there. We had about a three-acre playing field up there and it's all big trees now. And we had a basketball court down beside the school.
Ruth Sandwell 20:40
Did the girls play basketball then?
Daisy Gear
Oh, yes, yes, we all played basketball. The big thing was that Christmas was the Christmas concerts that were put on. And every school on the island put on a Christmas concert. We all tried to outdo the other, the other school and it was a week of going from one school to the next to the next to the Christmas concerts
Ruth Sandwell 21:09
Would you go as a class or was it in the evening?
Daisy Gear
No, they were in the evenings, all the parents and everybody went, the Beaver Point school would be held in the old Beaver Point Hall, which was a log hall and then Fulford would be held in the Fulford Hall. Up in the Cranberry, they used to hold it at the Divide school. And then there'll be Central would be the North End and the Vesuvius school.
Ruth Sandwell 21:37
So, you would have that at Central Hall?
Ruth Sandwell 21:39
Central Hall, yeah. And Ganges used to have the, we'd have it in the Mahon Hall, we were the biggest school then. And I know they used to, where they got the money from, I think they went around collecting but Santa would come, and we all got a gift. And it was a, it was a real happy time. And then, at closing every June when we closed for the summer holidays, it was always a picnic out to Vesuvius, the whole school, our school, and dad had the big wood truck at that time. So, he used to haul us all out to Vesuvius. And pick us up at night. After we had a day at the beach, that was a big thing then. And under the Christmas tree every Christmas was always a parcel for dad. Could have been a pair of work socks or a pair of gloves or something like that. But there was always a parcel under the tree for him because he used to haul us out there. And our entertainment was, I can remember going to the dances with my mom and dad and they put you on the side on the bench and you went to sleep while they danced and all the children because there was no babysitters. They didn't have any babysitters.
Ruth Sandwell 23:03
They'd just bring you along.
Daisy Gear
Bring you, wrap you up, put you on the bench and that was it.
Ruth Sandwell 23:08
Where would they have the dances here?
Daisy Gear
Mostly at Fulford and at Ganges in the Mahon Hall.
Ruth Sandwell 23:16
Would they be for, for special occasions or?
Daisy Gear
Yes, the one big dance was the Boxing Day dance which the hospital used to hold, raise funds. That was the big event of the year sort of thing, and then there'd be other ones during, if anybody wanted to raise some money or something.
Ruth Sandwell 23:41
Can I take you back a little bit further to the days when, when your dad worked for Mr. Bullock?
Daisy Gear
Yeah.
Ruth Sandwell 23:48
And I was. Do you have any memories yourself of Mr. Bullock? I guess you were pretty young.
Daisy Gear
Oh, not on the farm actually, but I remember him when I was a teenager, and he was at our wedding even. But as everybody knows Mr. Bullock was, he was a lovely old gentleman. He was a bit eccentric but, having his big dinner parties. Always wanted the girls to have their ears pierced and wear long gloves and high heels.
Ruth Sandwell 24:27
Oh yeah, he had his own ideas.
Daisy Gear
But he was a lovely old gentleman. He was a real, real nice old gentleman.
Ruth Sandwell 24:32
Did you ever go to visit him?
Daisy Gear
Yes, I've been to some of his dinner parties? And as I say he was at our wedding.
Ruth Sandwell 24:43
So, your dad continued even though he left and went his own way there was no hard feelings.
Daisy Gear
Oh no, no, no, none whatsoever.
Ruth Sandwell 24:48
No problems there.
Daisy Gear
Of course, the big thing when Mr. Bullock got, he was the first one to have a car on the island and the first time he went down to Ganges the ladies were out driving in their democrats with the horses and he (unintelligible). Everybody on the island aghast him because the horses were so scared of this automobile that they were shying and they started a petition for him to only drive certain days so they could, people go out with their horse and buggy.
Ruth Sandwell 25:24
And how did he take that, do you remember?
Daisy Gear
Oh he, I don't know whether he, he liked it very much. But he, they sort of got along afterwards.
Ruth Sandwell 25:33
And I guess then after that they were more, more cars came to the island
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, more came all the time, yeah. Dad used to have to Saturday morning go and polish all, well he and Willie Palmer used to have to polish all the brass lights and everything before he went to church on Sunday morning.
Ruth Sandwell 25:54
And what do you, did Mr. Bullock drive himself or?
Daisy Gear
Yes, and sometimes later on, he used to get one of the boys to drive him when he began first. Get the boys to drive.
Ruth Sandwell 26:06
Yeah. So, getting back to your life in the '30s, sorry for that little digression there. Did your, did your, parents belong to any kind of social organizations?
Daisy Gear
I guess dad belonged to what was the old Farmer's Institute. And then they have, they tried to start here a jam factory
Ruth Sandwell 26:34
That the Institute did?
Daisy Gear
Yes. And it was where the present-day Joyce Boughton owns an apartment there on (unintelligible) etc. And that was the original jam factory. And everybody bought shares in it I think they were 25 cents a share, I have some somewhere. And it worked for a few years.
Ruth Sandwell 27:01
Where did you sell the jam?
Daisy Gear
I think they shipped it off island. Yeah, they shipped it off island, in the four-pound cans. Anyway, it collapsed after a few years. They just couldn't make it go.
Ruth Sandwell 27:18
I guess, thinking. I've heard that in British Columbia, and I'm not sure if this was in the first war or the second that they asked people from these islands and from Victoria and all over, to it was through the Women's Institute, which was part of the Agricultural Institutes to can and preserve food to send overseas. That wasn't part of that, I guess.
Daisy Gear
No, it wasn't part of that. No, no, that wasn't part of it.
Ruth Sandwell 27:48
Do you remember anything like that in either of the wars?
Daisy Gear
Not the first war.
Ruth Sandwell 27:54
You wouldn't, well you weren't born.
Daisy Gear
I wasn't born.
Ruth Sandwell 27:54
And the jam factory was certainly after that.
Daisy Gear
Yes, yeah.
Ruth Sandwell 28:02
Okay. What about was your mom involved with anything like the IODE or?
Daisy Gear
No. She wouldn't join any, she was a very homebody, she wouldn't go to any social things or anything like that. She'd rather just stay home. And anybody was always welcome to come for a cup of tea or anything things but she
Ruth Sandwell 28:24
She didn't want to get into the different organizations. How do you how many people were there in your area in around Ganges? Have you any idea, like how many people would there have been in your in your school class?
Daisy Gear
(Shows a picture of the school class) That's the first one.
Ruth Sandwell 28:46
Oh, isn't that nice. That's your school photograph I see there quite a few Japanese children here.
Daisy Gear
Yes, there were a lot of farmhands, here on the island.
Ruth Sandwell 29:03
And were the Murakamis, were they here then or?
Daisy Gear
Uh, the Okanos.
Ruth Sandwell 29:09
Right.
Daisy Gear
Yes, the Okanos, and the Makados, Iwasakis. There was quite a few families.
Ruth Sandwell 29:21
So were those families who lived here permanently.
Daisy Gear
Yes.
Ruth Sandwell 29:27
And they, the fathers would work or the?
Daisy Gear
Yes. They had little market gardens and that and in later years the Okano family had big greenhouses down on Canal Road down in the valley there, and they had greenhouses and grew tomatoes and that, just prior to the war, the Second World War.
Ruth Sandwell 29:50
So would you say that you mentioned the relief, people on relief on the island. Did you get the feeling that there was a lot of hardship because of the depression?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, yes, very much so, yeah. but everybody helped one another.
Ruth Sandwell 30:05
Did they, like, what would? What would they do?
Daisy Gear
They'd make $1 wherever they could, make $1 wherever they could they keep sort of body and soul together as they say. I can remember if mother and I went to town when before ferries we used to go what they called a jitney boat.
Ruth Sandwell 30:28
Oh, what was that?
Daisy Gear
Well, it was a somebody had a, the Lasseters at Fulford had a little cruising boat, you know, and they leave early in the morning from Fulford, and you go to Sydney, and then you get a bus in or there used to be a train running years ago. And you get that and go into Victoria for the day. And we'd go in for, well, maybe I needed shoes or something or something like that. And dad would give us $5 and that was a big amount of money for the day to go in, you know, to spend.
Ruth Sandwell 31:09
So, Mr. Lasseter just he ran it as a more or less a private concern and he'd just charge
Daisy Gear
Yes, he'd charge to in and that was a way he made money. Everybody had some little way of and of course, the Creamery was a big thing. Everybody had mixed farming. And sold their produce
Ruth Sandwell 31:29
Would you sell any, you just had the (recording stops) How, but a lot of people would sell their cream if they had a larger herd?
Daisy Gear
Yes, if they had a herd yes, and they'd. In later years, they'd bring the Creamery truck used to make the rounds say twice a week or something like that. Go to Fulford. And everybody put there, there was a stand outside their gate, and they'd have their cream cans there. And they'd pick up their cream cans.
Ruth Sandwell 32:01
Was that Ted Akerman?
Daisy Gear
Uh, Ted's uncle.
Ruth Sandwell 32:07
Oh, yeah.
Daisy Gear
Present Ted (unintelligible) Jimmy
Ruth Sandwell 32:09
Jimmy.
Daisy Gear
And bring it in. And then the farmers used to come in a couple of days afterwards, and they'd pick up all the buttermilk in cans, and take it home to feed their pigs. So, there was nothing wasted. Nothing wasted at all. Take it all home. As I say, you could sell eggs like at the store. At Mouat's store. They used to have a man there that used can all the eggs. And they'd bring their eggs in. And pork went into the butcher shop. And beef. Of course, it, it wasn't beef cattle like it is now, it was sort of milk cows
Ruth Sandwell 32:56
Right, right.
Daisy Gear
You'd get a tough one and you'd get a good one.
Ruth Sandwell 33:01
When, when did the fruit start? You know what you showed me the photograph of those tremendous number of, of apples being shipped, shipped off? Was there still a lot of fruit growing through the '30s? Or had that began to decline?
Daisy Gear
No, no, there was a lot. Yes, there was a lot, there were a lot of orchards here.
Ruth Sandwell 33:22
So, there were apples and
Daisy Gear
Apples and pears, plums. Where Swanson is, Church Road now up behind the school, that was all orchard.
Ruth Sandwell 33:36
Who would pick?
Daisy Gear
They'd get, hire people, like maybe the Japanese or something like that.
Ruth Sandwell 33:43
Would local people do that?
Daisy Gear
Oh, yes, yeah.
Ruth Sandwell 33:46
And they didn't, they didn't need to bring people off island, did they? It's not like now where they have the migrating farmworkers.
Daisy Gear
Oh no, no, no, no.
Ruth Sandwell 33:55
And sheep, were there many sheep?
Daisy Gear
Yes, lots of sheep. And then they'd sell their wool, like they do today.
Ruth Sandwell 34:05
I guess, I guess during the Depression, having that, that kind of non-money like you know, like being able to raise your own produce must have been a big help for people.
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, yes. All you had to do was practically buy your staples, you were self-supporting.
Ruth Sandwell 34:21
Where did you, where did you buy things from when you were down on Rainbow Road?
Daisy Gear
Well, we bought either at, which was the Salt Spring Trading Company which is now the (unintelligible) I think, or Mouat's store.
Ruth Sandwell 34:36
That trading company was started by Mr. Bullock, was it?
Daisy Gear
He had a share in it, the Scott brothers and he bought it, started it up.
Ruth Sandwell 34:46
Were the Scott brothers, did they live on the island?
Daisy Gear
Yes, they had all of the Scott Point.
Ruth Sandwell 34:53
Okay, so that's where that comes from. What, was religion a really big part of people's lives then like in your, you and your friends, and?
Daisy Gear
Well, there was United or Methodist I guess, and Catholics and Anglicans, that was the three main ones, which some of the churches are still going today, most of them.
Ruth Sandwell 35:22
That's right. Were a lot of people active in?
Daisy Gear
Yes, quite active in their churches.
Ruth Sandwell 35:29
And they were, what kinds of things would they, would they do?
Daisy Gear
In what way?
Ruth Sandwell 35:35
Like would they have some churches hold church bazaars and they do things to?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, yes, they'd have to have that to, you know, raise there. For years, the Anglican Church had a yearly garden party, which was always held at Harbour House. They'd open their grounds to that for the day, and that was a real big affair.
Ruth Sandwell 35:56
Would everybody go?
Daisy Gear
Oh, yes, yes.
Ruth Sandwell 35:59
And what would there be there?
Daisy Gear
Or there would be home bake stalls and there would be coconut shies and any of that type of thing, a fishpond for the kids. And then there was a big tea served and then there would be a tennis tournament held too, at the same time.
Ruth Sandwell 36:27
Did they have their tennis courts there?
Daisy Gear
Yes, they had beautiful tennis courts there, in the old days, and they used to hold big tournaments, they used to come from Vancouver and all over for the tournaments.
Ruth Sandwell 36:38
Really. So, I guess Ganges has seen quite a few changes since those days
Daisy Gear
Oh, my goodness yes, yes. Terrible.
Ruth Sandwell 36:50
But I've only learned recently that the shoreline used to be quite different. Where was the water?
Daisy Gear
Where the park is now it was all water. It's just a little peninsula that used to go out there.
Ruth Sandwell 37:04
So, it used to come in the other side.
Daisy Gear
Yes, right where the fire hall is now.
Ruth Sandwell 37:10
Was that all...
Daisy Gear
That was all water. It's all reclaimed land. The Cenotaph used to sit right out in the centre where that island is where you go around the drugstore now. The Cenotaph used to sit right out in the centre there.
Ruth Sandwell 37:45
Well, it sure was different. When you were young were the roads paved or not, there was still the dirt...
Daisy Gear
No, there was still the dirt roads.
Ruth Sandwell 37:52
Must have been pretty dusty, in the summer.
Daisy Gear
Oh, it was. But there was no traffic. (unintelligible) traffic, so it wouldn't be dusty.
Ruth Sandwell 38:00
That's right. So how many people do you think in this school photograph here? Let's see. 23 children and were these the children in the whole school?
Daisy Gear
No. That would be our room.
Ruth Sandwell 38:16
So, it was quite big, wasn't it?
Daisy Gear
So, it would be about 50, 50-60 kiddies in that school then.
Ruth Sandwell 38:23
So that was by far the biggest school?
Daisy Gear
Oh, yes. The others would have 8 and 10 and 12. And sometimes they'd have to close down the Divide school they had to close down because there wasn't enough children to go to warrant a teacher.
Ruth Sandwell 38:38
Did you have much to do with the people from the other areas at the south end and Cranberry?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, you visited. When you went to the dances down at Fulford like you know, you mixed with friends down there. And then there was always great competition with football. I guess you'd call it soccer now. They had teams, real rival teams, between Fulford and Ganges for years.
Ruth Sandwell 39:06
Who would win?
Daisy Gear
Well, it all depends who wins but the worst part was that the, the wives and women would get in such hassles because, rooting for their team and first thing you know, there would be blows and there'd be free for alls.
Ruth Sandwell 39:31
When you look back on those days, in the '20s and '30s. Were there any? Well, you know, now, all you hear about in the newspaper or all you hear about are like all the social problems and poverty and crime and things do but did you have any sense of that when you were living on the island in those days?
Daisy Gear
No, you didn't, right up until the '60s you never, when we were at the farm at Fulford you could go out, you never locked your doors and you'd come home sometimes you see a note by the telephone. I came in and used your phone or ran out of gas or something like that. You never thought anything about it.
Ruth Sandwell 40:19
I guess it was in the 60s that the BC ferries took over. Do you think that made a big difference?
Daisy Gear
They took over long before that. They were, when did the first ferry start?
Ruth Sandwell 40:31
But there were the, there was the ferry owned by the Mouat’s.
Daisy Gear
The Cy Peck.
Ruth Sandwell 40:36
That's right.
Daisy Gear
That was before the Mr. Gavin Mouat owned it. But the yearly thing was the Fall Fair. And then they and later, then they had started the sheep days.
Ruth Sandwell 41:01
I have a photograph here; this wonderful picture of a big crowd and they're shearing a sheep here. 1933.
Daisy Gear
Yes, that's my dad doing it there. There's Mr. Bullock in the background.
Ruth Sandwell 41:17
Oh, I see with his white beard.
Daisy Gear
Yes, yeah. It was a big day that was.
Ruth Sandwell 41:24
Was that where, where was that held?
Daisy Gear
Well, in the school grounds. And right from the beginning of Rainbow Road up to Kanaka Road used to be a long white shed with stalls. And that's where all the cattle were held, and sheep and goats and things for the fair day they put all their, their, animals in there. They were all undercover. And that was a long, long shed.
Ruth Sandwell 41:55
So, I guess there's lots of activity. Was it held in September?
Daisy Gear
Yes, I think it was when the, you know, after the produce, and then what we used to call the old chicken house. The old school, which I went to in high school.
Ruth Sandwell 42:09
Oh, you did go there.
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, yes. That was where the fowl and rabbits and all that were displayed. And then the Mahon Hall had only crafts like home baking, the fruits, the needle work that the ladies did and knitting and all that, that was in there. So, it was a real sort...
Ruth Sandwell 42:37
...very big event. That must've been wonderful. Um, so you went to high school in the chicken house? And then what happened to you after that? Did you get married right out of high school?
Daisy Gear
No. I worked in the telephone office, which is the little building beside (unintelligible) right now. I think it's a bicycle shop.
Ruth Sandwell 43:03
Oh, really?
Daisy Gear
That was our telephone office. And you had you didn't work on all night. There was no night service. You went to work at seven o'clock in the morning and you closed it down. We closed it down at midnight. That was longer hours than when it did first start. I can't just remember what the hours in the early years were but
Ruth Sandwell 43:35
When did you start working there? What year would that have been?
Daisy Gear
37, I guess. Yeah, 37. I worked for about 25 cents an hour; I think. And at night when you close down at midnight, you had to plug in like, say, Mrs. Jones was not very well. And she might have to have the doctor in the night. So, you plug in Mrs. Jones's line with Dr. Lawson's line. And then Mrs. Brown was going to have a baby maybe any day. So, you're Mrs. Brown in with her doctor. And by the time you left at night, you had the switchboard all plugged in so that...
Ruth Sandwell 44:28
You could leave it safely for the night.
Daisy Gear
They were safe for the night that they could call if they wanted to. And it was quite the thing to somebody would call in and say have you heard Mrs. so and so talking on the phone today? Yeah, I heard her this morning. Oh, I can't get her now. We were sort of like a public information centre.
Ruth Sandwell 44:50
Oh really? That must have been fun. You must have learned a lot about what was going on. So, everyone had they had those old phones, and they'd dial Central or whatever.
Daisy Gear
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we, when we plugged in to their, your line, we had to sort of if it was the your ring was too long and a short, we'd have to sort of dot too long and a short
Ruth Sandwell 45:17
Oh really?
Daisy Gear
Yes.
Ruth Sandwell 45:19
Oh, my goodness. Do you know when the phone was first when the first phones came to the island?
Daisy Gear
I'm not too sure. I wouldn't like to state a date on that I know who the first operator was, it was Kitty Allan. And then from then on Frieda Aikens took over her. Her dad was the minister, the Anglican minister on the island. She took over for years. In fact, she was on still when I went to work,
Ruth Sandwell 45:49
How many people were working there when you were working?
Daisy Gear
There'd only be one on at a time.
Ruth Sandwell 45:53
Then there must have been two shifts at least for those long hours?
Daisy Gear
Oh yes, two or three shifts, you'd work four or five hours and somebody else would come in. And I was the young one on the block sort of thing. And I'd get all the late hours because the young girls all wanted to go off dancing or something. So, I'd get stuck.
Ruth Sandwell 46:16
So how long did you work there?
Daisy Gear
I worked there for about a year, year, year and a half. And then I got married, got married in 1940.
Ruth Sandwell 46:31
And where did you move to after you were married?
Daisy Gear
My husband, Ted was working on, at Galiano, North Galiano, they had the marine station. He and his mother had a marine station there. So, I went up to live there for nine years. And then we moved back to Salt Spring in 1949.
Ruth Sandwell 46:51
And so, do you have any? Yeah, you do have children? Did they go to school here on the island?
Daisy Gear
Yes. My daughter Marguerite started school at North Galiano. We were right on the water. In fact, our house was built on the water, and it was no place to bring up children. We were on an Indian reserve. And by this time Allan had come along and, and, he was more boisterous, and it was a fisherman's dock, like all the fishermen, and it was mostly Japanese fishermen. And one time he fell over and was nearly, nearly drowned. So, we decided it was time to get out of there. And we came back to Salt Spring. So, they both went through school here. Marguerite went on to University in Victoria and became a teacher. She taught in Victoria and Vancouver, and she taught back here, and Allan he graduated from here and worked in the pulp mill in Crofton. And then he went to for a very good friend of ours, Captain Coxwell, asked him to go mate on his boat up in Kitimat. And so, he went up there and worked with him and became mate on that for quite a while about a year. And then Captain Coxwell had another boat down on the coast here, Allan didn't like the cold weather up in Kitimat. Anyway, he came down went on a boat down here the Burny Caul (?), which was a coastal freighter, taking boom chains up and down the coast to the loggers. And, when he got his sea time in he studied and got his Captain's papers, and he was the youngest captain on the BC coast at the time. He was just 21, not quite 21 when he got it. So, he stayed with that for quite a few years. And then he got married. Oh, they didn't like Vancouver, out of Vancouver and that, so they decided to move back to the island. And he had a couple, he bought two tugs and he did towing around, he's a seaman sort of thing. And then he got a contract for BC Hydro taking the workmen out to the islands. He was doing that for seven years. Until 89. And he's sold out because he found that it was a 24-hour job seven days a week. And the two small children he never was home. He had to go out in the worst weather. So, he decided to sell it. So, he's carpentering right now and enjoying it very much.
Ruth Sandwell 49:51
What was your, what did your husband, where did he work after he came back to Salt Spring?
Daisy Gear
Oh, he did a bit of logging for a while and then we bought the farm the Ferns (?) farm at Fulford which is right at the bottom of Lee's Hill. We had 150 acres. And we started in with turkeys and we used to raise 10,000 turkeys. We did that 'til 1970. And we also had sheep and cattle too.
Ruth Sandwell 50:23
Where would you sell the turkeys?
Daisy Gear
We have the island trade here, which wasn't that much, you know, because the population wasn't that big. But we used to ship wholesale to Vancouver and Victoria. Big trucks would come over from Vancouver and load live turkeys and take them back to the plants in Vancouver.
Ruth Sandwell 50:48
So, did you, and you had sheep and cattle at the same time?
Daisy Gear
Yeah, and I took a meat cutting course and I had a butcher shop down on the farm. And I used to do all custom cutting for people that have their own meat, raised their own beef and they bring their animal in after they'd killed it. And I'd cut and wrap it, for freezers. And then we used to do that with our own, people put orders in.
Ruth Sandwell 51:21
So that must have been quite a big business.
Daisy Gear
It was a hard job (unintelligible)
Ruth Sandwell 51:28
So, you did that till 1970?
Daisy Gear
72. We decided to sell out, the family didn't want the farm, we offered it and no. And so, we decided to sell out. We bought this place here where we are now. There was just that, we were the only house here.
Ruth Sandwell 51:52
Oh, it's changed hasn't it?
Daisy Gear
There was no houses at all (unintelligible). We built here. They sold, we sold the farm and they made it into hobby farms, so 10 acres.
Ruth Sandwell 52:05
Oh, it's all been subdivided.
Daisy Gear
Yeah, it was subdivided.
Ruth Sandwell 52:15
Why don't you tell me a little bit more about what you did for entertainment back in the in the 30s?
Daisy Gear
Well, fancy dress balls, I guess you'd call it were quite the thing. Everybody got really dressed up and went to masquerade.
Ruth Sandwell 52:34
What kind of costumes would you see?
Daisy Gear
Oh, there would be all kinds. There would be Indian princesses. Clowns, what do you call them (unintelligible)? And another great thing was the 80 Club which was formed there was a lot of the old timers Willie Palmer and Tweed Hope, the policeman, and many others and we had eight sets of square dancing. And that was every Saturday night. We went to the Mahon Hall and had square dancing, we used to have a wonderful time.
Ruth Sandwell 53:33
How old would you have been then?
Daisy Gear
Oh, teenager? We used to sometimes go to some of the other islands and
Ruth Sandwell 53:46
How would you go?
Daisy Gear
By a launch boat at night, and you'd come back at night. One other great thing in my school days was the old village Mac, the blacksmith, where the Petrocan station is now, was the village blacksmith who used to shoe all the horses and everything. And when we were coming down the hill from school every night, we all called him Uncle Mac would be standing outside his door of his shop and he would be greeting us all as we came by. So, we'd go in and see what horses he was shoeing, and he'd always have a jar on a shelf amongst all his tools and horseshoes and everything that was full of candy, and he'd give us a candy as we went by, he was smoking his pipe.
Ruth Sandwell 54:46
That's Bill McAfee?
Daisy Gear
Yes, yeah. Everybody knew him as Uncle Mac. He was the kindest old man; he was a bachelor.
Ruth Sandwell 54:56
Do you know anything about the land that he donated? I've heard that the land that's called Mouat's park.
Daisy Gear
Yes. But he didn't donate it.
Ruth Sandwell 55:08
Really? What, what, do you know the story there?
Daisy Gear
Well, he owned it. And then I think Mouat's bought it from him. And then they donated it. Yes, I think that was the way it went.
Ruth Sandwell 55:23
Well, that's wonderful. Are there any of these other photographs you'd like to tell me about?
Daisy Gear
Oh, the 24th of May Day the Fulford, that was always Fulford's Day, when they had a big parade, floats, and a May Queen, all the island participated in putting up a delegate for a May Queen and whoever got the most votes, they became May Queen. That is a Fall Fair day. There's a registered Jersey herd. There's the old chicken house up in the back.
Ruth Sandwell 56:00
Is that where you went to school?
Daisy Gear
That's where I went to high school, yes. These were some of the ladies that were at Bullock's ranch, and on the island that used to get together.
Ruth Sandwell 56:17
For tennis?
Ruth Sandwell 56:18
Yes, some of them played tennis and that.
Ruth Sandwell 56:21
Because this is right by the tennis courts.
Daisy Gear
And this year is the old which they called the White House, the Fulford Inn, present day Fulford Inn. And we'd had a terrible storm this winter. You can see the bridge there.
Ruth Sandwell 56:38
This is the bridge that's not there now. Is it the old one?
Daisy Gear
It well it's pretty well in the same place. But there was such a sea. These are logs and came right up across the road and right up to the...
Ruth Sandwell 56:53
Oh, you're kidding. Oh, my goodness. Who's this a picture of here?
Daisy Gear
That's my dad. There's my dad and mother on their fiftieth anniversary. That's the old village merchant when, the Golf Club, my 12th birthday present was a membership into this present-day Golf Club.
Ruth Sandwell 57:22
Was Barnsbury still there?
Daisy Gear
Yes, Barnsbury was there. Everybody put money in so then they all we all joined the golf club and of course, all the old farmers in the blacksmith that was quite a thing and they had to buy their plus fours. We never had a lesson or anything we all learned on our own. That was my confirmation.
Ruth Sandwell 57:51
Here's some more that's the same one.
Daisy Gear
In later years, my dad imported Border Collies he took to training Border Collies for sheep training. He became very good at it. He used to sell the pups. He got many trophies where he won championships, BC championships and that.
Ruth Sandwell 58:18
Really, I've just seen these dogs on some of the farms around here.
Ruth Sandwell 58:23
On the sheep farms. Do they still use them?
Daisy Gear
Yeah.
Daisy Gear
Yes, they use them. And they have the, when dad died, mom and I put a big trophy up in memory of him. And every year at the fall fair at the Farmer's Institute, they have the dog trials and they come from Vancouver and up the valley and up Vancouver Island to compete in it, and to win to the trophy.
Ruth Sandwell 58:47
Isn't that wonderful. And it's quite, was it called the Bill Evans trophy?
Daisy Gear
Yeah, yeah.
Ruth Sandwell 58:57
And is this your mom?
Daisy Gear
Mhm. That's our school the present Catholic Church, and of course the outhouses. So, there's one of my fancy dresses, an Indian, I think.
Ruth Sandwell 59:17
Yeah, your face is all, kind of dark there. That must've been fun.
Daisy Gear
That was another one where we were dressed, kitties, that's myself and another little girl. The old Mahon Hall still got the entrance the same as it is. That's my mom's diary when she came up from England.
Ruth Sandwell 59:43
February, is that what is says, February 25th 1916 for Canada, left England for Canada. That's wonderful.
Daisy Gear
She's though she'd never see land again and she would be the only one down in the dining room, she never missed a meal for her.
Ruth Sandwell 1:00:02
Oh, good for her.
Daisy Gear
And they said that's the only saving over but she'd never missed a meal, but she lost it afterwards, but the rest of them no way did they go down there and eat. Well, okay.
71_Daisy-Gear_Family-History.mp3
otter.ai
21.01.2023
no
Unknown Speaker 0:00
Today is Wednesday July 25 1990. And today I'm talking to Mrs. Daisy gear at her home on Castle crossroad on Salt Spring Island. My name is Ruth Sandwell.
Unknown Speaker 0:15
Where Mr. Scare wind how When and how did your family first come to the island?
Unknown Speaker 0:20
Well, my dad slept in Bristol, England. And what was his name? William Evans. He was known on the island as Bill Evans. He didn't get along very well with his stepfather. And so he decided he was going to emigrate to Canada. So in 1912, he left England and sailed for Canada. He left behind his fiancee, who later became my mother. And on the way over, he got talking to his man and they said that there was an opportunity out on the West Coast, he was going to stop on the prairies, but is it go to the West Coast, so he went to the west came to the West Coast, and he came to Croft and and got a launch. Somebody had told him on the bus that Saltspring was quite a place. So he came and Mr. Gavin Lord was on the dock when he arrived there and he said he was looking for a job. And he said, Oh, I know where What have you done? And he said, I know where you get a job. You said Mr. Bullock is always looking for foreign hands. So he took him up to Mr. Bullock's. And Mr. Bullock hired him. And he managed the farm for him. And where did he live? The blanket state?
Unknown Speaker 2:18
No, but did he live on the estate? I know that there were a number of buildings.
Unknown Speaker 2:23
As you know, Mr. Pollack used to bring the orphan boys right from Victorian that and he had built little cottages all around and like bunk houses. And the boys used to stay in these bunk houses and that's where they lived. And always pulling lots of pranks. Anyway, he, he developed the farm manage the farm, and he Mr. Bullock was very fond of Jersey cows. So they had the little Jersey cows and my dad developed the first what they call ROP Jersey herd on the island here. That was a registered herd and we had milk testers coming around every three months or so that would test the milk and the butterfat on the milk. We had a very prized herd on the estate he did.
Unknown Speaker 3:30
Did he? What did he do with the did he sell the cream to the cream and the creamery.
Unknown Speaker 3:34
Mr. Bullock had a creamery at that time. And then later they moved the creamery, which is the present day bakery Emery bakery. That was the main Creamery there for all the farmers.
Unknown Speaker 3:48
You don't know what happened to that Creamery. Do you have heard different rumors about Mr. Bullock's Creamery and why he that was only an operation for a few years?
Unknown Speaker 3:56
Yes. I don't know just why I think it was because the other Creamery started up and then he didn't have to sort of produce there so because the farm was brought to the other day on the Island, you
Unknown Speaker 4:14
know who ran that Creamery in the old? The old Creamery building there?
Unknown Speaker 4:19
The present day one No, in the old one.
Unknown Speaker 4:23
So do you know that probably Mr. Bullock hired someone?
Unknown Speaker 4:27
The boys I think that did Oh, yeah. So it was just me. Yeah, nobody said anything. So I won't be too sure of that. But I think so. So, anyway, that's what then they produce that they sold they ship apples to Victoria that free cases in cases of apples. What are the kinds of cherries cherry? Yes. And as I say Apples
Unknown Speaker 5:02
build up trees are still
Unknown Speaker 5:04
love and quite a few years
Unknown Speaker 5:09
but to Oh, these are the crates of apples here in this picture. Yes. And who are the people here once
Unknown Speaker 5:15
my dad and one is one of the other farm hands?
Unknown Speaker 5:19
Nobody there still a couple on the island right to goodie Goodman is still here.
Unknown Speaker 5:24
Yes. And he later years way later did he yeah and Willie Palmer Yes. Well, Willie Palmer was on the farm. My dad came his mother was housekeeper for Mr.
Unknown Speaker 5:36
Mrs. Palmer.
Unknown Speaker 5:37
Yes. And she was a widow with the one son. So Willie used to help
Unknown Speaker 5:45
on the farm too. Would he be about the same age as your as I was younger? Because he came just as a very small boy didn't eat with Palmer right?
Unknown Speaker 5:54
Yes, yeah. Then then then the war broke out First World War. And in 1916 he set for my mother to come out. And she came across the Atlantic amongst all the U boats, everything. And apparently they had such a terrible storm coming across all the light bulbs were washed up normally. Wireless was washed over
Unknown Speaker 6:28
what was your mother's name?
Unknown Speaker 6:30
Dowson, Ellen Delson Nelly dosa. And she landed in Halifax came across by train, she never had her clothes off from the time she left England, came across Canada in the train and arrived in Vancouver. And apparently my dad went over and matter. And I guess it happened there's a dozen now the luggage never arrived. She got a new suit to be married in. And so what she did, she went downtown and she bought a new blouse. And they went to church in North Vancouver and the minister married them there and then they came over to the island. That right back that day. So Mr. Bullock said well give you six months or a year and I'll build you the home on this date. And Mr. Robot Bill Hall which today
Unknown Speaker 7:50
so Mr. Bullock built that house on the on the boat property? And And what year would that be?
Unknown Speaker 7:57
That would be a 1916. Was their home until 1923.
Unknown Speaker 8:10
And what happened where did they go from from their
Unknown Speaker 8:13
dad decided he wanted to branch out. And there was a German lady in Denton and Mrs. Doren who ran a big dairy farm and she was looking for a manager. So he applied and he went over there we went over there. I was born like a 1919 on in the old lady mental hospital here. And we went over there and it didn't work out I guess being of German descent and that she was quite hard to work for. So they decided to come back to Salt Spring and he didn't want to go back to Mr. Bullock's. You want to be on his own. So he bought Rainbow Road, which now have our son has and has just been bought by the school board to be put a new school on
Unknown Speaker 9:17
we're about cystagon Rainbow Road
Unknown Speaker 9:20
just up from the used to be the Japanese bear the mirror Academy place close to five acres. They bought two sections there and Mrs. Gerards and our son's place and it'll be the future High School. Oh really. And I mum had used to tell me that. They walked and walked up Rainbow Road and it was absolutely forested. And dad went in and sort of walked over the property while we stayed out on the road. And anyway they decided Just to buy it from Scott brothers they own a lot of property all round on the island and he started homesteading it and in the meantime we lived in a couple of places the one house which is now the President's sailing club house. We lived in that for six months and and well they built a cabin on the plains which was very primitive there was no water no facilities at all. The first winter we were there preparing apparently is very very cold and my I was crying at night in the morning and mother got up, got me out of bed stone hot water bottle was frozen. That was cool. Did you have brothers and sisters at that time and only child so they gradually cleared that property and my dad did on jobs. When he left England, he used to always follow up the loved animals and he used to follow the local vet around all the time as a child was everywhere he went he was tagging along so he of course with Mr. Bullock he had to deal with animals there a calving problems and cuts and things like this. And he never had a days education, veterinary training. But if you ask anybody have the old timers on there was nobody like Bill Evans that did February work on the he was the vet for years until the time he died. We had a that time. An old Army veteran who had had his papers and everything that was there a doctor, Captain best. He never did any people wouldn't ever call him they always called my dad. And I've seen him do some wonderful jobs. And it was nearly all if it was dogs, it was all performed on the kitchen table at home and there or he'd go to the people's places, especially at lambing time, unless you are having problems so that you go any day or hour of the day or night, stitch up everything to everything is everything I say and then in the early 30s, when all the time ELLs little tiny girls came to the island. He worked for a while doing working at the time else. And then as they moved on to another location, he bought up the slab piles and he used to cut the slab wood into wood stove lengths. And he sold slab wood. He had a small truck and he sold that and he used to sell it for 75 cents or Rick, how much is that? That takes three weeks to record. And if you wanted it stacked it was an extra 50 cents.
Unknown Speaker 13:31
So so he those time else they'd come they came over usually did they from from Vancouver Island or Vancouver.
Unknown Speaker 13:39
They were there was a group of them that they lived here built their houses here and they've moved from one location on the island to another little stand of trees.
Unknown Speaker 13:51
Would they buy the land or would they just get it you know, the stumpage
Unknown Speaker 13:54
timber and then they made ties which is railway ties. And they'd hold them down to the they had a big dock which is now the so Imperial vessel station there. That was a big long dock and the scows would come in and load with ties that's ready to Ganges right in the Ganges take them off and that was what they did.
Unknown Speaker 14:23
So those people would live on the
Unknown Speaker 14:26
house on rain. There's a house on the canal road now that the marshals live in. That was built by one of the original tight time in the came Mr. McAfee the McAfee Oh, and many others. So anyway, he did that for quite a few years and then so he just bought the wood just bought the long wings right and then and then cut it up and then Then he became road foreman on the island
Unknown Speaker 15:06
looked after all the roads they through the depression a lot of the people that were on relief and that they would be cleaning that juice and
Unknown Speaker 15:22
with it with a people on relief from the island are we as
Unknown Speaker 15:26
good as they used to be able to work their taxes out? And suppose their taxes was $100 Well then they would put $100 were worth the work on the road cleaning
Unknown Speaker 15:40
any idea how much they were paid? Or how that was worked? Oh do you think they had a set hourly rate?
Unknown Speaker 15:48
Yeah, yeah. It was a daily rate maybe three or $4 a day or something?
Unknown Speaker 15:56
So your dad was in charge of hiring and allocating the work that's right.
Unknown Speaker 16:02
And he was on the out of here for quite a few years and then they appointed him to take care of all the Gulf Islands so that there was a local road for each of the islands and he supervised the whole whole thing.
Unknown Speaker 16:24
Did you stay on the island
Unknown Speaker 16:26
right there on River Road?
Unknown Speaker 16:28
So all this time it was he also working clearing the property that yes,
Unknown Speaker 16:34
yeah, you care a bit more and a bit more until I got the whole thing clear.
Unknown Speaker 16:37
Did he do that work himself or did he hire people or get anybody to hire you?
Unknown Speaker 16:41
You didn't have the money to hire? Yeah, I
Unknown Speaker 16:43
guess that was through the through the Depression then you didn't have
Unknown Speaker 16:47
to hire people and I think they only paid about $500 for the property. But it took about 10 years to pay it when they get an extra $25 That put it on the property and until they got the third title do it.
Unknown Speaker 17:04
Did you have when when you were a girl when How old were you by the time the house was finished on that Rainbow Road property?
Unknown Speaker 17:14
I don't think it was ever finished No, it was never finished. It would always leave something more to be done like you know.
Unknown Speaker 17:32
So during those years what what was your mom? And what would she do and
Unknown Speaker 17:37
then to just the homemaker.
Unknown Speaker 17:40
Must have been a busy time. And did you have any
Unknown Speaker 17:43
category garden and we had a cow. When I got old enough I milked the cow some chickens, you know, you had to be sort of self supporting.
Unknown Speaker 17:57
That's right. So you had a garden we prepare you grow your own vegetables. And did you have a lot of trouble with deer? No. It's not funny now. I guess they were
Unknown Speaker 18:07
because they've been I guess disturbed. You know, the their habitat has been disturbed with more houses and everything. Were the places that they could be in the wild
Unknown Speaker 18:24
and trade and I guess the hunting people hunted a lot of deer. Oh,
Unknown Speaker 18:28
yes. Yeah. Because I mean, you went you had meat
Unknown Speaker 18:44
so during those days when you're when your dad was the road foreman, was that right through the 30s? He did that. When When did you move back to Saltspring?
Unknown Speaker 18:55
What you lose in 2319 23? Okay, yeah. school I went to school, which is now the present Catholic Church. That was the big School on the island.
Unknown Speaker 19:10
And where is that? Exactly?
Unknown Speaker 19:12
Drink room. Oh, I think pretty they call it? Yes, I think yeah. And we used to have to walk to school all the way around Packer lunch.
Unknown Speaker 19:24
How long would that take you about?
Unknown Speaker 19:27
have three grand I guess how much we dawdled along the way. And there was the two rooms the primary room and then the intermediate I guess you call it went up to grade eight said one room school no was a term school and were the witches. It's the prevalent Catholic church now and I'm where the priest home is at the back of it. And right up, it's all timbered now. And that was our playing field up there. We had about a three acre playing field up there and it's all big trees and everything now. And we had a basketball court down beside this
Unknown Speaker 20:26
did the girls play basketball then? Oh,
Unknown Speaker 20:27
yes, yes, we all play basketball. The big thing was that Christmas was the Christmas concerts that were put on. And every school on the island put on a Christmas concert. We all tried to outdo the other, the other school and it was a week of going from one school to the next to the next to the Christmas concert
Unknown Speaker 20:53
without would you go with the class or was it in the evening? No,
Unknown Speaker 20:56
we're in the evenings all the parents and everybody went to the beaver point school would be held in the old beaver point Hall, which was a long call Hall. And then Fulford would be held in the forefront Hall and up in the cranberry, they used to hold it at the divide school. And then there'll be central would be the North End and the Vesuvius school.
Unknown Speaker 21:21
So you would have that at Central Hall Central Hall.
Unknown Speaker 21:26
And Ganges used to have the we'd have it and the man home. We were the biggest school. And I know they used to where they got the money from I think they went around collecting But Santa would come and we all got a gift. And it was a it was a real happy time. And then, at closing every June when we closed for the summer holidays, there was always a picnic up to the zoo Vyas the whole school, our school. And dad had the big wood truck at that time. So he used to haul us all out to the service to pick us up at night. After we'd had a day at the beach, that was a big thing. And under the Christmas tree every Christmas was all was a parcel for dad could have been a pair of work socks or a pair of gloves or something like that. But there was always a parcel under the tree for him because he used to
Unknown Speaker 22:29
and our entertainment was I can remember going to the dances with my mom and dad and then they put you on the side on the bench and you got to sleep while they danced and all the children because there was no babysitters. You didn't have any babies. They just bring you along, bring you on wrap you up but you're on the bench now.
Unknown Speaker 22:52
Where would they have the dances here? Mostly at Fulford
Unknown Speaker 22:55
and Ganges. And
Unknown Speaker 23:00
would they be for for special occasions or?
Unknown Speaker 23:05
Yes, the one big dance was the Boxing Day dance which the hospital used to hold raise funds that's the big get them to the years then there'd be other ones during anybody wants to raise some money or something.
Unknown Speaker 23:25
Can I take you back a little bit further to the days when when your dad worked for Mr. Bullock? Yeah. And I was Do you have any memories yourself with Mr. Bullock? I guess you were pretty young.
Unknown Speaker 23:36
Not on the farm actually. But I remember him when I was a teenager and he was at our wedding even. But as everybody knows, Mr. Bullock was he was at a lovely old gentleman. And he was a bit eccentric, but having his big dinner parties always wanted the girls to have their ears pierced and were long gloves and high heels. And yeah, he had his own idea. It was a lovely old gentleman. It was a real
Unknown Speaker 24:15
Did you ever go to guess it him
Unknown Speaker 24:17
being too selfish dinner parties. And as I say he was at her wedding.
Unknown Speaker 24:26
So your dad continued even though he left and went his own way. There was no hard feelings. No, no problems.
Unknown Speaker 24:35
Of course the big thing when Mr. Bullock got he was the first one to have a car on the island. And the first time he went down to Ganges the ladies were out driving in there Democrats with horses in the Brittany area. Everybody on the island aghast and because the horses move she was so scared of this automobile that they were shutting and they It started petition for him to only drive certain days on their horse and buggy. And
Unknown Speaker 25:07
how did you take that? Do
Unknown Speaker 25:08
you mean? Oh, we didn't know whether you liked it very much. But he they sort of got along afterwards.
Unknown Speaker 25:16
And I guess then after that they were more workers came to the
Unknown Speaker 25:20
game all the time. Yeah. Dad used to have to Saturday morning, go and polish all him with a Palmer used to have to polish all the brass lights and everything before he went to church on Sunday morning.
Unknown Speaker 25:36
And when he did Mr. Bullock
Unknown Speaker 25:38
drive himself or yes, some sometimes later on, he used to get one of the boys to drive him when he began first. Get the boys to drive.
Unknown Speaker 25:50
So getting back to your life in the 30s Sorry for that little digression there. Did you? Did your parents belong to any kind of social organizations?
Unknown Speaker 26:07
I guess that belong to what was the old farmers Institute? And then they have they tried to start here a jam factory that the Institute did. Yes. And it was where the present day Joyce Bowden holds an apartment there on the side, the etc. That was the original jam factory. And everybody bought shares in it. I think were 25 cents a share. I have some somewhere. And it worked for a few years.
Unknown Speaker 26:43
Where did you sell the jam?
Unknown Speaker 26:45
I think they shipped it off on. Yeah, they shipped in the four pound cans. Anyway, it collapsed after a few years. I just couldn't make it go.
Unknown Speaker 27:00
I guess I'm thinking. I've heard that in British Columbia. And I'm not sure if this was in the First War or the second that they asked people from these islands. And from Victoria and all over to it was through the Women's Institute, which was part of the agricultural Institute's to can and preserve food to send overseas. That wasn't part of that, I guess.
Unknown Speaker 27:26
No, it wasn't part of that. No, no, that wasn't part of it.
Unknown Speaker 27:29
Do you remember anything like that in either of the wars or not the first one you wouldn't you wouldn't send a jam factory was certainly after that. Yeah. Okay. What about what's your mom involved with anything like the IoD II
Unknown Speaker 27:48
know she wouldn't join na she was a very homebody she wouldn't go to any social things that you'd rather just stay home anybody was always welcome to come for a cup of tea here and like that. She didn't know she didn't
Unknown Speaker 28:05
want to get into the different organizations how do you how many people were there are in your area and around Ganges. Have you any idea like how many people would there have been in your in your school class?
Unknown Speaker 28:25
Oh, let's first listen that is your school photograph. I see there quite a few Japanese children here.
Unknown Speaker 28:36
Yeah, so farmhands, deputies farm hands, here.
Unknown Speaker 28:44
And with a the American armies. Are they here then?
Unknown Speaker 28:48
The Okeanos. Right. The Okeanos mercados. I was sockies. There's quite a few families.
Unknown Speaker 29:01
So were those families who who lived here permanently? Yes. And they the fathers would work or the
Unknown Speaker 29:10
Yes. And they had little market gardens and that the later years the Ocana family had big greenhouses down on Canal road down in the valley. Their greenhouses grew tomatoes, just prior to the War, Second World War.
Unknown Speaker 29:30
So would you say that? You mentioned the relief people on relief on the island? Did you get the feeling that there was a lot of hardship because of the Depression?
Unknown Speaker 29:40
Oh, yes, yes, very much. So how did everybody helped one another?
Unknown Speaker 29:45
Did that what would what would they do?
Unknown Speaker 29:49
They make $1 wherever they could make $1 wherever they could to keep sort of body and soul together as they say. I can remember or if Mother and I went to town when before ferries we used to go what they called it. Gemini boat. Oh, what was that? Well, it was a somebody had the last centuries at Fulford had a little cruising boat, you know, and they leave early in the morning from Fulford and you'd go to Sydney, and then you get a bus in or there used to be a train running years ago. And you'd get that and go into Victoria for the day. And we'd go in for, well, maybe I needed shoes or something or something like that. And that would give us $5 And that was a big amount of money for the day to go in. To spend.
Unknown Speaker 30:48
So Mr. Lassiter just rounded as a more or less private concern and he just charged by
Unknown Speaker 30:55
her to go in and that was where he made money like, you know, everybody had some little way of and of course the cream was a big thing. Everybody had mixed farming and sold their produce.
Unknown Speaker 31:08
Would you sell any you just had the