RECORDED: [location unknown], 1981-03 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Elsie Sisson and her husband Wilfrid came to North Saanich in 1920 and, for a few years, enjoyed a life of "leisure and pleasure". When their financial circumstances changed, they started breeding Chinchilla rabbits. They were able to sell most of their stock for breeding purposes for several years. When this market was reduced and it was necessary to sell pelts, they found the work distasteful. Mr. Sisson became associated with Mr. Singleton-Wise at the North Saanich Golf Club. Later, the Sissons rented fifty acres from Ardmore Farm and built the Ardmore Golf Course, which is now (1981) owned by the DuTemple family. [TRACK 2: blank.]

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Rural life in Canada -- 1895 on RECORDED: Saanichton (B.C.), 1982-04-10 SUMMARY: From 1922 until his retirement in 1955, Ernest Hall was assistant to the superintendent at the Experimental Farm in Saanichton, B.C. TRACK 1: Family background. Life in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Father moved the family west to Manville, Alberta, in 1906. TRACK 2: Homesteading in Alberta; high school in Edmonton; agricultural college at Guelph; University of Toronto. Overseas service, marriage, employment in Morden, Manitoba. His life and work in Saanichton.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Ardmore and life in North Saanich, 1920-1940 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1981-03 SUMMARY: Miss Gwynne's parents, General and Mrs. R.J. Gwynne, purchased nine acres of land, part of Ardmore Farm, in 1920. Miss Gwynne still resided on the same property in 1981. The Gwynnes were well-known and active members of the community, particularly in the activities of the Anglican Church, and were especially concerned with the welfare of the Indians on the nearby Pauquachin Reserve. Miss Gwynne ran a chicken farm. During the period discussed in this interview, she also found time for a very active social life centered around riding, tennis, swimming and golf.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Sidney and area, from 1910 onward RECORDED: Sidney (B.C.), 1981-07 SUMMARY: TRACK 1 & 2: Mrs. Gert Mitchell discusses her recollections of life in the Sidney area. She was born Emily Fanny Gertrude Harrison in the Harrison family home on East Saanich Road in 1901, the youngest of four children. In 1923, she married Joseph Mitchell of Vancouver, who later started a retail lumber business on Beacon Avenue in Sidney, in partnership with Jock Anderson.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): A lady from London becomes a dairy farmer in North Saanich RECORDED: Saanichton (B.C.), 1982-01-28 SUMMARY: Miss Hilda Pearkes was a well-known dairy farmer in North Saanich. Her 40-acre farm adjoined Glamorgan Farm, a showplace owned by J.S.H. Matson on Mills Road. She still refers to England as "home", although she left that country 70 years ago. She speaks of her comfortable life in England; of emigrating to Canada (at age 17) with her mother and brothers in 1912; and of her mother's difficulty in adjusting to life in Canada. They moved to Victoria when her brothers went overseas during World War One. As a contribution to the war effort, Miss Pearkes purchased a cow, learned to milk, and gradually built up a small herd of dairy cattle. After the move to North Saanich, the herd eventually grew to 200 head of Jerseys, and she employed eight families, four of whom lived on the farm.

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Growing up in Sidney, 1899-1918 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1981-07 SUMMARY: Marjorie Smith's father, John Brethour, was born in Ontario in 1847 and came to Vancouver with his parents, five brothers and three sisters in 1873. John's father, Samuel Brethour Sr., purchased 500 acres of land in North Saanich, most of which is now occupied by the town of Sidney and by Victoria International Airport. By 1899, when Marjorie was born, Samuel Brethour Sr. had died, and his land had been divided among his surviving sons, all of whom remained in the area until their deaths. According to interviewer Priscilla Jay, the story of the Brethour family is very much the story of Sidney.