Just in time for Remembrance Day, the Cortes Island Museum’s Artifact Committee received the poignant donation of several war medals awarded to Basil Whiting. The Whiting family were Cortes Island’s residents during the Second World War (WWII) living on what is now Robertson Road. The following information is taken from the Campbell River Genealogy Society […]
Tag Archives | Cortes Island
Wrapping Up “From the Archives”
— Valerie Wernet, Cortes Island Museum The summer season is coming to a close, and the archives team at the Cortes Island Museum is wrapping up our summer photo-sharing campaign, “From the Archives.” The course of the summer brought twelve weeks of hand-selected photos, each with a unique theme, and it was a great […]
ABUZZ with Gratitude
“ABUZZ” with GRATITUDE! A big thank-you to Cortes beekeeper, Jenny Hartwick, for bringing her demonstration hive to the Museum’s Listening to Bees exhibit. It was fascinating to watch the worker bees attending their queen and to see brand-new bees emerging from their cells. Everyone present, particularly the kids (future beekeepers?), enjoyed listening to Jenny’s experiences […]
Peter Police
As someone who has always been fascinated by pioneer life, I have spent much of my time on Cortes exploring old homesteads – digging up old bottles from the roots of trees, trying to determine what sort of structure a couple of old mossy planks once formed, and writing stories about the lives I imagined […]
Mrs. Tooker’s Legacy
As I was born and raised on Cortes Island, I am familiar with the now-blue building on the way to the Whaletown public docks. When I was little, I would pass the Louisa Tooker Library when I went with my mother to get the mail. It never seemed to be open (you can currently visit […]
Western Pine Elfin
Western Pine Elfin (Callophrys eryphon), spotted by Melanie Boyle in Cortes Bay on May 13, 2021. The Western Pine Elfin (Callophrys eryphon) is a North American butterfly that ranges from British Columbia east to Maine and south to southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Males are brown and females are orange-brown, with both having bold patterned hind wings. The top of the wings have dark bars […]
Red Admiral
Red Admiral ((Vanessa atalanta), first reported on our butterfly page by Barry Saxifrage, and spotted on Cortes Island near Salmonberry Lane in June 2021. The distinctive black, orange and white red admiral is one of the most commonly seen butterflies, with a range extending from New Zealand to North America. It is a mid-sized butterfly […]
Living History – Old Roses
OLD ROSES – LIVING HISTORY – The Heritage Garden at the Cortes Island Museum Here are the seven Old Roses in the Heritage Garden. Moss Rose Most different varieties of this type of rose were introduced in France and were popular in the 1800s. They bloom once in June and the shrub in the Heritage Garden […]
Twin Islands
Thank you, Jeanette! All of us at the Cortes Island Museum and Archives want to give Jeanette Taylor a standing ovation for Saturday’s (January 30, 2021) wonderful online presentation about Twin Islands history and her newest book, Twin Islands, History and Legacy on the BC Coast. More than 50 people attended the talk and slide […]
“F” Stands for Fossil
The capital “F” in a circle is a symbol only rarely encountered on the Bute Inlet Geology map (National Topographic System reference 92 K). One can be found adorning the southern end of the Twin Islands, which are tucked in close to the southeast coast of Cortes Island. Quite remarkable, really. The literature accompanying the […]
Murray Was Large For His Age – From Gloria Morrisette Family History
Gloria Morrisette née Clemantine Godkin (1908–2013) emigrated to Canada from Tacoma with her parents and siblings in 1915. They settled on Hornby Island and later moved to Shusharte, a small settlement at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. There, she met her husband, a fisheries patrol officer. They married in 1928 and their first home was […]
Western Branded Skipper
Western branded skipper (Hesperia colorado oregonia), July 30, 2020, Gary Fast Western Branded Skipper Western branded skipper (Hesperia colorado oregonia), spotted by Gary Fast, July 30, 2020, Whaletown, B.C. From Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: This skipper is similar to Common Branded Skipper (Hesperia comma) and generally looks like a larger (wingspan: 25 to 32 mm), paler, washed-out version of […]
