Two features reveal Vancouver’s early history

I researched and wrote two historical articles for The Greater Vancouver Book edited by Chuck Davis and published in 1997:
Early Coastal Explorers to Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest
Find out more about my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket

I researched and wrote two historical articles for The Greater Vancouver Book edited by Chuck Davis and published in 1997:
Early Coastal Explorers to Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest
It was a delight to interview shíshálh cedar weaver Shyanne (“Shy”) Watters for Sunshine Coast Life magazine. Shy’s unique cedar hats range from a sasquatch version with long black hair to a red-dress-themed one honouring Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. Shy is perhaps best known for her culturally modified graduation cap whose pattern reflects ocean…
I’m delighted to be part of the anthology honouring the Beachcombers 50th Anniversary. This collection, officially released on Oct. 1, 2022, marks a half-century after the iconic Canadian TV show, The Beachcombers, started. It contains poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from BC Sunshine Coast writers and a tribute to the show’s actor, the late Pat John,…
Most Canadians consider Sir John A. Macdonald, the nation’s first prime minister, as “the Father of Confederation.” But this crusty politician, an ancestor of mine on my mother’s side, might well be called “father of residential schools.” Want to learn how his policies launched aboriginal children into decades of forced assimilation and abuse? Read my opinion piece “Macdonald’s legacy not…
I’m delighted to present new literary material, inspired by a painting by Gibsons artist Paula O’Brien, at the inaugural Arts & Words event in Davis Bay on Aug. 12 and 13. My Aug. 12 reading, in the 10:30 to noon time slot, is generously sponsored by Canada Council through the Writers’ Union of Canada. The…
As part of BC Heritage Week, I enjoyed sharing readings from The Curve of Time on Feb. 25 and telling a Gibsons, BC audience about some of the eccentricities of author Muriel Wylie Blanchet. For instance, she had emphysema and defied her doctor, who wanted her to move out of her cold, drafty house near…
After graduating in History at the University of British Columbia, I worked as an oral historian in northern Ontario for the Ministry of Natural Resources.My job was to document the human history of Wakami Lake Provincial Park. It was wonderful to meet rugged men and women who had forged livelihoods in the challenging bush of…