99_Joan-Ingram.mp3

otter.ai

20.01.2023

no

Unknown Speaker 0:01
To introduce our guest speaker, John Indra.

Unknown Speaker 0:14
I would like to introduce John and Grumman, whom I met back in the 70s when she was when she joined the local painters guild. And I know she's a good artist. And she probably won't tell you that, but I'll let her tell you about her family and everything else. Joanne she would like to get the last questions

Unknown Speaker 0:47
well, doesn't really matter. Maybe I'll sit. Thank you all. When I sat down to jot some notes, I didn't know where to begin. And I had pages and pages and pages. So I thought maybe I better read the notes home and just go from memory. But first of all, I'm going to send a little picture of my great grandmother. Who really is the reason I'm here today living on this paradise island. And she was a little song yeas native from Victoria Coast Salish tribe. And she brought my grandmother here as a small child. And from there the story goes, she's buried in the little cemetery and popery harbor. I don't even think there's a marker on it. But that's where she was buried, and I'll just pass it around your life

Unknown Speaker 1:55
she was a full blooded native. My grandmother was supposed to be half Siamese and half Irish, but we have nothing to confirm that. And she was brought here by her mother. As a very small child. And her mother married and Mr. King from Beaver point. And they had four or five children, maybe six, we know for three of that family went down with a sailing schooner and the Bering Sea. Three, she lost three of her sons. When the Triumph to sailing vessel, the sealer trial went down, which is part of our local history. The only thing I know about grandma's Her name was Emma. And when I look at in the the naval Museum in Victoria, see a ceiling ship or a transport ship. They're called the M. And I figured that so she got her name, maybe her father came from that vessel. We don't have much in the way of that history. My grandmother, and grandfather, she married a Greek here on Salt Spring, who was a friend of Mr. Kings, and he came to salt spring off his uncle sailing ship from Greece, when he was I don't know how old he was, was probably about 1880. And he and grandma had five sons and two daughters. My grandmother didn't stay with that marriage. She left when the youngest child was probably about two, maybe less. And she was very unhappy on the island living with a white man. It wasn't her thing. So she went back to her native family in Victoria, and married to a man more to her liking. It was hard as I say, to my friends, my grandfather never won any laurels. He lived to be 93 but he did raise a young family on his own and they were all fine people and two of them went to war. And my mother is 91 and she lives with me now. Most of them were had good long lives, happy lives. And grandma went on to have another complete family 15 children and all so and she died in her 100 tear so she's blessed us with longevity I hope. Life on salt spring when I was a child I happen to be here because my mother spent a lot of time here after her marriage. She married a fisherman from the Fraser River. And I was born March 4 1927, during the height of the Depression. So during the winter months, my father beach seine here on the Gulf fire Me and my uncle Andrew took the fish to Victoria to the fresh fish market. So they survived the depression. There never was a shortage of food. My mother was telling me this morning. I hadn't heard this story before. The day that she was married. She got up in the morning, of course, milked her cow. And then they got in a boat and went to Sydney to be married. And then came home back over to the island here all in the day. And I had a party and I'm going to pass around the wedding picture. Because no pictures were taken for anything very much back then. But Mr. Reckless happened to come over and took the wedding picture and he's in the in the that semester Mr. Grecco there and there's other salts for now and people but this was written up on my daughter's wedding in May of 1981.

Unknown Speaker 6:16
I suppose most of us that lived on salt spring, when I was a child, life wouldn't have been any different than it was. For my grandmother, even her. Her mother was primitive. The water was still drawn from the well and the regular chores, chopping wood, milking a cow and feeding the chickens and the exciting card who their life was when the first lilies bloomed in the spring. That was a big to do when the lilies, the first Lily, and then the lady slippers. And it was the same for myself. We went gathering lilies, ladies slippers, then we waited for the wild strawberries and the blackberries and all these things were preserved. When I told my mother, we were coming back to Salt Spring to live, she was disappointed, she said, but life is so hard there. And it was for her. As a small child, the first memories I have are waking up in the morning and smelling fresh bread baking. And the sound of the birds in the sheep belts and the creek. It was such a happy time. And I don't remember it ever raining or any arguments or anything that was unhappy. And my brother didn't like it. He was 18 months younger than myself but he didn't like the Saltspring and he never came back very much. But I loved it. And I always knew that one day this is where I would I would come back and make my home here when my children were grown i i look back and I wonder how how people think about what was their fun and those days but they did have a lot of fun. And the most pleasant memories I have are in the evenings when my mother's great. Her uncle, which was my Mr. King Leon king would come over with his violin. And Uncle Andrew played the guitar and Uncle Peter the the mandolin and my mother sang beautifully. And they would sit around the fireplace and this is how the evening was put in. As the coals got dimmer and wasn't until the fire was out. And it was no more weird that they went to bed. Sometimes if there wasn't music, it was politics that they would be discussing. But I always sat on my grandfather's knee until I went to sleep and and my fondest fondest memories are that beautiful old man that was the precious grandfather that taught me many things. And one of the most important things he told me was invest in real estate. But he was a sailor, he come here as a very young fellow. So he wanted me to know about all the stars and the constellations. And he also taught me some Greek and songs and taught me how to make cottage cheese. And the everything that he taught me has remained with me and it's like it was yesterday and I I would wish that every child could have a grandfather such as this man. Life was hard for him raising his children. He made their clothes and He fed them the best way and taught them how to get along in life. They worked very hard together he and his sons. And the only thing that they did manage to do was buy land they bought land all over the Fraser Valley at the end of each fishing season. Michael grandmother did have a difficult life and I can appreciate it. through the winter months, she made nylon nets that they would fish, we still have a piece of an old net that she had made spent the long winter nights, making these besides having children about every two years. It wasn't the way the Indians lived. The Indians lived nomadically and ate very simply, mainly off the beach. The Disciplines of a white man's life were not for her. It was rather tragic that her early years she missed out so much on on the happiness that she could have had with her, her young family. Just kind of hopping around here. I'm going to pass another picture around my mother on her 16th birthday, which was a day she'll never forget, because she was alone on the property with my father, my grandfather, and she fell on the well. And I don't know if I brought the right one. Oh, this is it I brought to and this one, it shows the well, and even as a child that well never got repaired. But she was 16 she fell in the well. And grandfather, my grandfather was still in bed and he was deaf besides since she was alone. And I tell her today she's a survivor because someone else would have perished. But she was there for some time. And she kept calling and eventually he guessed he thought looking in the well and found her there got her out. But she looks kind of disgusted in that picture

Unknown Speaker 11:54
do you want to see these pictures? My mother spent time between her her mother and her father. She She stayed with her mother while she was a young girl and at 15 She moved back to her father and among all these strange brothers, which she didn't know. But for a short time she went to school in Victoria and this is a picture of the creek flower school which is the oldest British Columbia. She's in that picture. barely see her she's quite a remarkable woman, considering the the difficult life that she had. Growing up. She married a wonderful man and had two children and and she now has five grandchildren and she's very happy and that's the old home and was taken in 1955 I believe. So there's nothing left. There's not even a stick of wood left from it. Mr. Scooby, the courier owns the property now. It's down King road. They had a road that I think it's now called Stephens road that goes along the back of the property. But it was to be my mother's property but when he took Yellin at she signed her rights over to her brothers, it still remained on the island here. So that's why I had to buy land when I came. But I brought it there's another picture here. I think she's this is when Uncle Andrew and Uncle Peter they're the three youngest. Were living on the island here it gets a photographer must have come over here because I don't know how else these photographs would have been taken.

Unknown Speaker 14:01
everywhere they went was by boat because they were fishermen. And there was always a boat in the family. And roads were not used the road to Beaver point. We're pretty terrible. Your McLennan? Yes, well, you would know that. And I have a little verse with that which your Jesse sent my mother that she had had for years and it was written by my mother's older sister, and it's about the lady slippers. And it's really quite beautiful. It was written in 1910. And also, my aunt's late she wrote poetry and we have quite a lot of it and it's really quite beautiful. But she would have been about 15 at the time. I think she wrote this and I wish to return to read it but I don't think there is so I read a little of it. Read it all Lady slippers. Are people here familiar with the little lady slipper? I have a lovely patch of them that I nurture and look after and I looked in the patch today for one to bring but I was not in bloom yet. I wandered in a woodland theme park from the sun's bright glare and rested on a mossy bank to breathe. Breathe the perfume there. And then the moss is it might be in sweet profusion spread a host of tiny flower it's all pink and white and red, and more than silver colored stood bravely in the bloom while a breath of haunting fragrance and mysterious perfume. Like a whisper fairy. Incense seemed to hover in the air as they swayed to fragrant breezes these tiny blossoms fare who are you? I asked him wonder in my amazement group, as I saw each tiny flower it shaped like a little shoe. Did some fairy Cinderella let her Silver Slipper fall when she heard the midnight churning at the fairy princess ball. Perhaps a Nelson Carmen, a red rose in her hair, and crimson slippers on her feet danced in the moonlight. There are a lily put in lady, a stately measure trod in a courtly gown of moving gold with orchids slippers shot, maybe an Indian made in velvet toe skin dress, stealing out to meet her lover against her father's wish Express shooting from her father's anger. Her young lover closely pressed, dropped her beaded moccasins when the arrow found her breasts. Tell me that the gentle heiress by love some mortal power, change that little dose skin slipper to the small and fragrant flower. What's it so? I asked and wonder, and with walked sweet perfume came to me a silent dancer, as they nodded in the gloom. Snap pretty. It's It almost brings tears to my eyes because I think of this young girl living in such isolation. She left the island when she was 16 to teach school in some islands isolated one room schoolhouse in the interior. She studied by candlelight in the cold attic because she wanted to get off the island. She didn't want any part of this stunted type of life I guess. But my mother on the other hand stayed as long as she couldn't kept coming back

Unknown Speaker 17:43
I have a few things. I think of the things that remind me of salt spring when I was away and had to live away while I was raising my children and the aromas of the sun on the forest floor. There is no scent in the world that can compare with that. Or the wild strawberries blossoms in this with the proof on them out of this world. And the apple peelings on the hearts This are my family sat around the fireplace they were always peeling apples all winter there was stacks of after separate these apples got peeled and long peelings and they were thrown on the hearth, to sort of roast and they smelled great. The waxy surface of the Gravenstein apples we grew apples in Ladner, in the Fraser River and they didn't have any perfume. They didn't wear any wax on them, but it's all to bring apples did have the orchard in bloom from the upstairs windows and you would just a humming with bees all like a cloud. The creek that was bubbling by down at the foot of where that little house was the music conversation. The cold sheets night, like climbing into two sheets of ice. The blackberries my mother would the minute the little weak, tiny blackberries would show my mother pick. hubs have them. And these were preserved for the winter jam and preserved. She worked very very hard. For first thing in the morning when she usually grew the water she were alone there. Cleaning the lamps doing the laundry by hand for four men baking all the bread doing all the cooking with pretty simple, fair beans. They always had a garden, split pea soup, baked beans, chicken fish, rice flowers, everything came by the sack. And I think it must have been about the same she said it was very much the same when she was a child Things haven't changed.

Unknown Speaker 20:06
I know that each time my mother did the laundry, my grandfather did his he always looked after his own. And he did all his own mandate. This was part of the sailors training. There's never seem to be a shortage of food. I think places if you lived in the city, possibly during the Depression, people did suffer this way. But everyone seemed to be healthy and happy and contented. There seem to be a lot of contentment. There they seem to be happy with what, what their life was. There's a little picture here, my brother and I are just outside the kitchen. Well, it's near the the woodpile. I'm five and he's about three. And I had been taught to knit. So this is what I'm doing. I'm knitting

Unknown Speaker 21:11
this is my grandpa. But the last picture of my grandfather that was taken here with the horse. This other one is my mother bringing me home from the hospital. I was born and resting in hospital at open that year over in the Saanich Peninsula. She wouldn't. It was easier to go to Sydney to help me than it was to take the road and go to Ganges. I guess the hospital was here, but she went over there. I think she thought it would be better and there was only one other baby born then I think either the baby or the mother died. So she was quite anxious about that. 50 years to the day I think practically that they tore a rest Haven down. I went over to see if I could get a remnant of brick or stone or something. But there was nothing left nothing.

Unknown Speaker 22:21
This is my mother to date, her 80th birthday. And that's my brother and I there's been a new calf in the family there. When when I was six, my mother decided that I would leave they would have to stay on the mainland. So I could attend school regularly because the first year No, I was seven the first year I put in half the year here in the little red schoolhouse at the south end, and half on the mainland, and it wasn't working out. And then my brother was going to be attending school too. So then we had to stay there year round. But we came to the island for every holiday and throughout the summer. And through the the years I spent a month every summer with my grandmother in Patricia Bay, just across here. And the other half was my grandfather and Saltspring I didn't want to be in the Delta tall like every excuse I could we got away from there. And I was telling my mom the other day I said we've come a long way. We're nowadays well back then the children were so happy just to see the first flowers blooming and the first fruit coming and now they're not satisfied unless they've got to drugs and alcohol and pornography and we were so happy with so little

Unknown Speaker 24:01
and the dances if there was a dance they built to Beaver point halls, in my memory not far from where the one is standing now. And I remember when that went up. I don't know how old I was. But I remember going to serve sandwiches. Things to the men that were putting the hall up

Unknown Speaker 24:31
first, it doesn't really know where to begin. This is my mother and her uncle Andrew and Peter. Uncle George. He died at 35 He had a beautiful voice and he's saying for all the dues. That's grandpa in the end

Unknown Speaker 25:01
where the where your ancestors came

Unknown Speaker 25:05
from? Yes, an uncle Andrew did manage to get back their little island called Sahra, just off the coast of Turkey. And they, the family had sailing ships. His father had sailing ships and his brothers. That's all there was, was the sailing. And that's how we happen to get on. And his uncle was terribly hard on him. So at 15, he jumped ship after coming around the tip of Africa in the Rio de Janeiro. And he used to tell me about it. It was dreadful. There was a play, I believe in Africa at the time. And they were burying, they were throwing the bodies into pits, line pits. And, of course, he saw he would tell us about that terrible voyage across the Atlantic. I've not been back. Other members of the family have been and I hope to go. I just don't like to leave my mother for that length of time. That

Unknown Speaker 26:19
I'm not sure I, I think because Mr. King was agreed. And Mr. King got here before he did. And there was arrangements made. Brahma was going to marry a childhood sweetheart. But I think her parents thought that possibly grandpa being a white man had some money, which he didn't have. So they arranged for her to have this man as her husband, and they gave them acreage as a wedding gift. And their property was adjacent. The creek divided the king property from our family home. We still have the papers that showed this and they're so simple, they're all handwritten and it was a man I believe called Mr. tradie. That looked after the papers.

Unknown Speaker 27:24
The poppin Berg family were very close friends. Mary Poppins Berg was poppin burger, I guess. It's how you say it was my mother's maid of honor in that picture. She was the bridesmaid. And they were very good friends. They had lots of fun. They would put a sail upon and all canoes and sail all through the Gulf Islands for weeks on end. Nobody knew where they were or nobody seemed to care. And they had a good time. They had lots of fun. Anyhow, she was telling me some of the history the folks that trade these theater Craigie. Are you people familiar with his name? Well, he was a horticulturist and he circumnavigated Salt Spring Island and said that where we are living right now was was the prime location on the island. It was the warmest area and that anything that we anyone wanted to grow with grow there. And I believe it's true. They brought an orchard. The Bridgman had the first orchard in the area. And I think this was about eight p Yes, it said they brought in the fruit stock in 1854. And they had some crown grants 1960 here on the island. I'd like to find out more about that, because I don't really know anything. It says here that Mr. tradie gave 4040 acres to each one of his three daughters when they married. And one of the daughters was Mrs. George Williams. Is she related to anybody here? And this is Dave Maxwell. and Mrs. Deacon. I don't I know. I knew Mrs. Dave Maxwell. And Mr. Spiekermann is his name in the archives. Spike Herman. Yes, yeah. So I got that. And they they donated the land, the little school fever point. And I finally found out who built the house we're in and it's about 100 years old. Longstaff. Does that name familiar with no. Maybe he wasn't You're very low

Unknown Speaker 30:11
teachers

Unknown Speaker 30:13
just had one. This one Mr. Ballard. I don't think he was here that long. But I was very, I was the only one in grade one. And it was it was a nice experience I I was frightened to walk to school by myself. It was probably about a mile and a half from our home. And someone had to walk with me, my grandfather mostly, and come and get me when it was over and we had a terrible storm was like a tornado or hurricane and the young leaking, who was only about 1819 at the time of logging. And Mr. Bao wouldn't leave the children out of the school until the wind had gone down. It was a south west wind that came very violently and uprooted a lot of trees. didn't take me long to decide that a little girl had to be picked up at the school. And of course, I was the last one it was beginning to get dark. And I wasn't concerned. I just seem to know somebody would come for me, but it was Lee. And he came in and I was scared to leave in a way because the trees were still swaying and wind was howling, and he packed me under his arm like a sack of flour, and he just got limbs and trees. And at one at one point, a tree went right up the roots and everything right near where we were crouching. And he just kept laughing. He says don't worry, don't worry, you're going to be home in a minute, which we were home safe and sound. But my mother held a grudge against the men in the house for many many years and said all they cared about was the boats in the Bay they weren't carrying boat would happen to me. That wasn't the way it was. I think their main concern certainly would be the boat. Know that we're their property. It's just maybe two bays around from where we live. It's the, I'd say the south end of Russell Island and I'm about midway it's closer to reco park

Unknown Speaker 32:32
they well they didn't have much land farm but they they always kept a few sheep and a few pigs occasionally.

Unknown Speaker 32:42
Chickens, but it was mainly for their own consumption. Uncle Leon king, he logged he did a lot of logging. And he also farmed he had a dairy herd and I think

Unknown Speaker 32:59
when the cream when they were making butter on the Aqua they make butter on the island. Well, he can he sold his cream to the dairy. He was a wonderful soul. He was beautiful man that was kind and when we would get up in the morning, my brother and I often there'd be a couple of chocolate bars hanging on the kitchen door. And the grocery store and the and the mail came from Beaver point. The Pattersons had a store in Beaver point and the ferry also came into beaver point to a dog. So it was a great outing for me if Uncle Leon would take me in his vehicle is Ford, with no windows or whatnot, and we'd go to Beaver point for the morning, pick up groceries in the mail. It was just a happy time, a good time. And it still is. There's no place in the world. I can feel as happy as I do on Saltspring. And I hope everybody that comes here feels the same way. I just hope to many don't. There's too many changes taking place. I don't know what more I can tell you if anyone has any questions. I'll send one one more picture around of my grandmother

Unknown Speaker 34:31
other brothers that they all have families.

Unknown Speaker 34:36
No and the only other descendant is Uncle Peters boy, Dimitri. And he's very much younger than I am. But he's the same generation. I think he's about three for my son lives on the island on our property with us and he would be the fifth generation here. So that that's a long time. I just feel very fortunate that my uncle, my grandfather, I think he came to Salt Spring and wanted to live here because it reminded him of his island in Greece why?

Unknown Speaker 35:19
Why they bought the old McLennan property, they brought the know they brought and then they sold 100 acres to Saltspring lands I believe and know that just in the last since about 1970 or something like

Unknown Speaker 35:55
that no no Demetri I don't know who named the roads may be inclined to ask to have them often wanted to be things like that. I don't know how they when I first came here, after the land had been subdivided, there were no names on the roads that I can remember that

Unknown Speaker 36:23
was that your home? In the house that's not there. The one up on the rise? Oh, I see. Our property went to

Unknown Speaker 36:43
I don't know whether they bought more land. Beyond the your farm or not, I'm not sure how much they had there. I think that was about 1970. We purchased our place in 1974. But we were over here a lot looking. We kept looking for the place that we have we kept it was Solimar resort. And we were here it was for sale and we'd come over full speed and then we find that it wasn't for sale. And we hit back home again. I didn't really want to be any place other than the south end. And then after we bought Solimar Landrieu said my gosh, if I thought you wanted to live here that that I would have given you the old place they had sold it for $30,000 or something like that, before the land prices began to go up.

Unknown Speaker 37:54
Well, they grew up in the fishing they spent this fishing season which would have probably been from the first of March around to November, they spent over on the Fraser River at a place called these islands which was the Greek settlement and they lived in skull houses on the river was quite a big community. So they and they also went to school at Crescent island. They would cross a little body of water and go to school in Crescent Island. Then they would come back to the island here and spend the winter beach sailing mainly. Or they even they dug for clams. They talked about dragging the pitch pans all over the beaches, trying to make enough money with the game clams. Uncle Uncle Peter was the youngest of the family and he acquired a boat very early, he was

Unknown Speaker 38:53
very able and very determined to nap after Peter has Dimitris father. Uncle Peter and mom are the only two that are left

Unknown Speaker 39:09
as always speaking,

Unknown Speaker 39:11
yes, he's my mother's oldest brother's son. Of all the descendants that grandma had, or my great grandmother had they all have an Aryan look about them except myself and Homer and we carry our native coloring. But the rest were all fair hair with curly hair and blue eyes. We didn't dominate and my children tour tour brunettes and tour blondes, so yes, and I thought when my grandmother was young, she she looked very native, very, very native and she wanted to be native. She didn't want To live among the white people, the Indians, she wanted to be Indian. She didn't want to live among the white people. But she lost her her status by living with a white man. And she would live as close to reserve as she could. But she didn't live on a reserve after. When she left grandpa and went back to Victoria, they there had been a chief, that was her grandfather, I believe, Chief Cish. I haven't found out too much about him. But I believe he was her grandfather. So she, they took her in and helped her. But she didn't have the status. When I was growing up, and would spend a month with her, in the summer, we would visit all the different reserves. And they didn't really want to see her come I don't think, you know, and, but she does. She wants to be among them. She liked that light. She didn't like the white people's food. She wanted to be fish and clams. And she liked to move a lot. But she was a great person to and she had a great sense of humor. When I stayed with her once and Patricia bass, she said, We're going camping, and she's the boat getting on to at then. And she called the she was right near the water. And she called a canoe off the beach. And she says we're taking the dog and the cat and three chickens and two bananas in the package of cornflakes and not much of anything else. And I said where are we going? And she says we're going to Brentwood. Well, that's quite a long haul. We were all day getting to Brentwood, and we were paddling. Well, we laughed so hard all the way to Brentwood, because the chickens were getting out of their, their cartons and running around the boat and the cat didn't like the duck. So we got to Brent with says where are we going to stay and she says we're going to find an empty house on the reserve, which we did. There was dreadful. But we stayed there for a week and then headed home. That was quite an experience. My mother's half sister out of out of the second family, they all died as youngsters. They were not strong and healthy. Like the first family she had. man she married was half English and half Indian. A lovely man to very, very is another grandfather that I had that I just worship was kind and very, very good to my mother. That's unusual nowadays when you hear so many children going through a lot of misery with you know so much of everything that isn't nice. She had it very nice with with this second stepfather. She had a set of twins. And pneumonia seemed to be a weakness among them. One girl, at one point they took these children, the two oldest girls and put them I don't know who was responsible for it put them in a school in the Fraser Valley. I think it was a religious school. Grandma told me that they just come in and said the two girls must go. And the youngest. The oldest of those two girls died up there. And when she asked what happened, they said she died of a broken heart. To see she didn't want to be away from home. And then of course that's goodness knows whatever happened to her no one ever knew. And the other one who was next. She would have been younger than that girl. She died here in Duncan about five years ago. But she always kept a close association with my mother. But the families didn't didn't fraternize. Once grandma left the island. She came back a few times because she her and Mrs. King were very close, but was Mississippi. She was part. She was a fisher and George Fisher owned wrestle Island. And he was from the Fisher family from England who were the body by Fisher. And he was the one son that came out to this country and he had a large family on Russell Island and Mrs. King was his half sister. There were lots of mixed families the tree ag and Mr. Craigie and the

Unknown Speaker 45:22
they both married native women marry Breton's you probably all know Mary Brenton her her mother was a native lady that raised a family here on the island also any other questions or visiting here? We would pretty poor job rarely know I don't know how they survived tell you the truth. There didn't seem to be too many things they needed. They had dairy products. They made their own butter. They made the headaches. We had cream. They had the chickens of course which we ate. Can venison always had a big garden where they grew their own potatoes, strawberries through wood. And when they went they usually bought things but sack like rice and flour and anything else that could come in, in a sack. But beaver point had a store when I was small. And that's mainly where they shop. Patterson's and there they went into corporate occasionally. And I remember I think there was a meat market and Fulford Mr. Cudmore had a meat market. Is that does anybody? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 47:13
Oh, really? Well, he probably didn't get down that. Did he? Well, I think I think my mother's family were pretty thrifty people. And if they didn't have to buy it, they didn't. You know, anything that they could manage to make or bake or grow, they did. And fish, of course, was always one of their name. They had salt fish, and smoked fish and canned fish. My mother hates fish, photos, my applicator. She won't eat any. I keep telling it's good for I love it. I can eat. I could eat it every day. But I guess that's my native background. But I know my grandmother, when we would have fish, she didn't want any part of it except the head. And that part is one part I couldn't do.

Unknown Speaker 48:15
When I married my husband, he was just out of the services. And he planned on making a career out of flying. And I wouldn't hear of it. My dad was a fisherman and my dad says, Well, you can fish for a while. And of course, that's what he did. And he retired two years ago, but almost 50 years of fishing. So it was time he did he fish through the school years. And when he was on the services for three years, they would allow him home in the summer to fish because I guess they needed the food supply. A lot of fishermen were exempt from the services because they needed the fish. They'd gone. So they Yeah. So he he continued to fish and raised. We raised four children. The youngest daughter, the one that was married here, we brought her we finally had to move here. We couldn't stay away any longer and she was 16 at the time. And I'm glad that she did have those few years here because of of my children. She's the one that loves it the most and she lives in California now just breaks her heart. She has to breathe that foul air when she says Oh, if I could just get home to smell that beautiful air Well, my husband was a trawler. He trolled and he saved my uncle saying I would say yes my dad fish for bass BC packers all the years that I can Remember, my Uncle Nick, who was my mother's oldest brother. That was his livelihood. He was a fish buyer. Later on, we got a better deal from Canadian fish. So that's where we ended up with Canadian fish. But it's my husband just spends his time gardening now. He says all the years I missed out on all all these good things, because a fisherman if you trawl all winter and you st all summer, you don't have any time at home

Unknown Speaker 50:37
I cook computers he had the new Liverpool I believe was the he was taking votes out from the time it was a very young fellow he and Uncle George. But he bought the new Liverpool and then he sold that I think the boat is still around somewhere. And he bought the Margaret bee. And that was the end of this fishing. I think so

Unknown Speaker 51:10
I wouldn't be here if he didn't. He just loves it. He was born in Port Alberni. So, whenever we had a chance, we would come here. And I'd say I you know, I'd like to move here someday. And he says we will. But we kept coming back trying to get this piece of property because it was as close to the old home as we could get. And finally when they came to be and I'm just so grateful. I've gone on a long time here now did I get all my photos back?

Unknown Speaker 51:46
No questions. I just like to thank you gentlemen, so much for sharing with us this afternoon. wonderful memories. No matter is pretty similar to whatever is going on with wildflowers, digital fragrances, mossy woods, doing chores. Finding ethical all my memories, just the sunshine.

Unknown Speaker 52:12
Always never rain will never rain.

Unknown Speaker 52:19
God growing up was proven. Those days pretty old work

Unknown Speaker 52:35
well, I'm glad to know there was a man enjoyed. Same thing. I when I talked to my children about it, they say I wonder what your uncles thought about it. Well, they loved it too. And I had a picture here I was going to send around my uncles and I um, when I had turned 15 And I came here and they had such a beautiful garden and we had our picture taken in the alfalfa patch because the growth was so extraordinary that year, but they were happy here. They loved it. Thank you so much.