Joan Skogan was one of a kind An obituary by Alan Twigg First published August 20, 2017 * Born in Comox on September 29, 1945, Joan Skogan knew joy and sorrow. An intrepid researcher and a conscientious writer, she will be much missed by those who knew her fascinating, passionate nature. Joan Skogan could be…
Read more #159 Joan Skogan was one of a kind
S.C. Heal (1925-2017) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published August 15, 2017 * “In my opinion there is no finer interpreter of the marine scene in British Columbia.” — John M. MacFarlane, nautical historian As a columnist and contributor to specialty shipping magazines, the writer-turned-publisher S.C. Heal made a major contribution to the maritime…
Read more #155 S.C. Heal (1925-2017)
Jim Wong-Chu (1949-2017) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published Aug. 15, 2017 * Chinese Canadians weren’t granted the federal vote in Canada until 1947 and they first voted provincially in 1949–the year Jim Wong-Chu was born in Hong Kong on January 28th. Jim Wong-Chu was brought to Canada, aged four, in 1953 where he…
Read more #154 Jim Wong-Chu (1949-2017)
David Watmough (1926-2017) An obituary by Alan Twigg First published August 14, 2017 * “I hope my work is myopically ‘westcoast’ and persistently graceful in language.” — David Watmough “That rarest of birds on the literary scene, the natural storyteller.” — Robert Fulford QUICK REFERENCE ENTRY: Homosexuals in British Columbia can now express themselves openly…
Read more #153 David Watmough (1926-2017)
A Great Old Tramp: Letters from a Canadian Sojourner in British Columbia, 1873-1875 by Greg Stott First published April 22, 2017 * Editor’s note, December 9, 2022: The SS Pacific, on which George Skippon met his death in November 1875, has been found! See this CTV news story and a CTV video here. Editor’s foreword:…
Read more #123 Out of this world: George Skippon in BC, 1873-1875
ESSAY: For Remembrance Day 2016, Michael Sasges has reconstructed the life of Nicola Valley rancher John Foster Paton Nash. First published Nov. 7, 2016 * Note to Ormsby readers: I have dusted off this essay by Mike Sasges for re-use on Remembrance Day, 2020. I have rewritten the introduction, re-sized and rearranged the photos, and…
Read more #39 From Quilchena Creek to Flanders
First Published: September 17th, 2016. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, on May 25, 1935, William Patrick (Bill) Kinsella invoked the assisted dying provisions of Bill C-14 and died at Hope, B.C. at 12:05 p.m. on September 16, 2016. He had been a type 2 diabetic for most of his adult life. W.P. Kinsella was born in…
Read more W.P. Kinsella (1935-2016)
Arthur Black was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in early January of 2018 and died at Lady Minto Hospital on Saltspring Island on February 21, 2018 at age 74. Typically, he made jokes about his illness in a series of blog posts, suggesting getting a terminal diagnosis was akin to being swatted by a…
Read more Arthur Black (1943-2018)