Those Island People

Those Island People (2014))

            While researching and writing six books of popular history, Lynne has had the good fortune to meet many Vancouver Islanders, some face to face and others through documents and oral history.

Those Island People,began with a series of articles in the Times-Colonist about interesting and often unknown Islanders: gold seekers and gamblers, former slaves and veteran soldiers, missionaries and rabble rousers. Some of their forebears had been on the Island for thousands of years, but most of them came from somewhere else to make their lives on Vancouver Island.

Those Island People involved more than the usual amount of detective work. I was determined to have a photograph for every chapter, but photographs of some subjects had eluded me for years. Consequently, I was thrilled when, after many unsuccessful attempts I was able to find photographs for the following:


Mabel Jones

Because she was so young when she died and so little known, there didnʼt seem to be
any photos of Mabel either in any of the Cowichan Valley archives or in the old
newspapers from Cumberland, where she spent her childhood. Imagine my delight
when I was working yet again at the Kaatza Museum in Lake Cowichan and the curator, Barbara Simkins, happened upon the graduation photo from Mabelʼs Normal School class. Kaatza Station Museum

Susie Simpson

Susieʼs story has been one that I have known for many years. There was no shortage of
interviews and letters that provided plenty of information about her remarkable life, but
almost no photos that were clear enough to see what she looked like. Then through a
series of contacts and good friends I came upon this photo. I can show it on my website
but it was not available for publication in Those Island People. Private Collection
Those Island People can be found at:

Nanaimo Museum

Munro's Books Victoria