This week a representative of the Megalithic Portal offered to include the First Nations Burial Cairns at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve on their website. Below is a link to the entry.
Darcy Mathews explains his findings on the burial cairns to the Anthropology Class from Lester B.Pearson College
Students from the Anthropology class at Lester Pearson College accompanied Dr.Darcy Mathews on a field trip and received an explanation about the importance of these burial cairns in 2013.
The Times Colonist reported this week the 103rd birthday of Trev Anderson, former lightkeeper at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve who lives in Victoria, BC.
https://www.timescolonist.com/celebrations/birthday-trevor-anderson-7703934
The following note was published here in 2020
https://racerocks.ca/the-origins-of-an-ecological-reserve-trev-anderson-turns-100/
Trevor Anderson and Garry Fletcher in the dining hall at Lester B. Pearson United World College: September 21, 1998
The British Colonist Newspaper Archives 1859-1906
https://racerocks.ca/newspaper-archives-1859-1906/
Since the last time I looked at the digitized versions of the early newspaper of Victoria, further work has been done by the University of Victoria Archives in digitizing and more of the early Victoria Newspaper references to Race Rocks have been found. Here are some that I have come across to date..
1858/08/12 .. (page2 left column)Lighthouse Commissioners: HMS Plumper, Capt. Richards left Esquimalt Wednesday morning to select a site for a lighthouse on Race Rocks…
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist18590812uvic/mode/1up
1934/12/30 Historic Race Rocks Lighthouse (recounts construction of lighthouse as well as story of Davies and tragedy)
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19341230/page/n26/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks
1970/04/26 Californians Come for Good Life. (California Sea Lions)
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19700426/page/n70/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks
1070/06/07 In Stiff Wind off Race Rocks Yacht Mishap Kills Four
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19700607/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks+rock
1970/08/09 Unusual Homecoming .. ( Race Rocks Construction, light-keeper George Davies )
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19700809/page/n57/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks
1971/09/26 Dreaded Race Rocks : https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19710926/page/n75/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks+rock+race%E2%80%99s
1977/02/20 Race Rocks Treasure. ( Thomas Argyle)
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19770220/page/n71/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks
1977/10/02 Zone of Silence
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19771002/page/n80/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks
178/04/23 Sea Lions Transients of the Coast. ( Stellers sea lions)
https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist19780423/page/n82/mode/1up?view=theater&q=race+rocks
Trevor Anderson at age 100
On October 22nd we were invited to the 100th year birthday party for Trevor Anderson, the light keeper at Race Rocks when it became an Ecological Reserve. Trev and Flo Anderson had arrived at Race Rocks with their family in 1966, and served at the station until they had built a boat and left to sail across the Pacific Ocean in 1982. They had been married for 70 years in 2014 and Flo Anderson passed away in 1977.
I first met the Andersons in 1976 and the students from Lester Pearson College in the Diving Marine Science and Biology programs started coming out to the Islands for field trips and SCUBA diving, with some even spending their project weeks studying and working at the islands. Students in the Diving and Sea Rescue Services at Pearson College developed a close relationship with these neighbours 5 km out at sea. After many of our dive sessions whenour students were invited into their home for tea and cookies, the students would talk excitedly about the incredible sea-life they were seeing at under water. In the late 1970s we started to visit Race Rocks more frequently and the Andersons invited students to stay on project weeks.
Trev and Flo were the first to plant the seed of an idea urging us to see if we could get the government to do some formal recognition and protection of the Race Rocks Area. What they could see at low tide alone was impressive enough, but if the underwater life also could be protected, that would be ideal. In the years 1997 and 1998 we recorded the unique life underwater by logging dives from over 80 locations throughout the Race Rocks archipelago, and by February of 1979 a highly successful workshop took place, with officials invited from the Provincial Museum, the University of Victoria, and the Ministry of Parks who were all enthusiastic and supportive of our proposal.
Throughout that year we worked at the task of formalizing our proposal, presenting it to cabinet and lobbying to get action. Two students in diving and marine science, Johan Ashuvud from Sweden and Jens Jensen from Denmark were especially relentless in their pursuit of our goal. The proposal had to clear 11 agencies in the government bureaucracy and the cabinet before the Reserve could be proclaimed. These two students invited the Director of the Ecological reserves Branch Bristol Foster, and the Deputy Minister of Parks Tom Lee out to dive and then kept following it up with phone calls, even after hours! Their persistence finally paid off when after a year, the shortest time any reserve proposal has ever taken, the Minister of Parks was able to request Prince Charles on his visit to the college as international board president (April 1980) to make the formal announcement proclaiming Race Rocks the 97th Provincial Ecological Reserve.
The day we received the information that the reserve was proclaimed by the Ecological Reserves Branch of the Ministry of Lands Parks and Housing, The group of students who had worked so hard on the proposal went out to Race Rocks to give the news to Trev and Flo and present them with a very unofficial looking sign.
The next week Trev and Flo asked the group of students who had worked so hard to establish the Ecological Reserve to come out to the island one afternoon where they presented the students with medals and “The Order of Race Rocks” as recognition and appreciation for their work in creating the Ecological reserve.
Trev, Hans, Johan, Iina, Garry, Jens and Flo
FER Board member Garry Fletcher taught at Lester Pearson College from 1996 to 2004 and has been the ecological reserve warden for Race Rocks since 1980.
Trevor aAnderson, Air Force Veteran, lighthouse keeper, offshore sailor. an article in Pacific Yachting magazine of December.
See the pdf here: Anderson 
COASTAL CHARACTERS BY MARIANNE SCOTT
TREVOR ANDERSON
Air Force veteran, lighthouse keeper, offshore sailor
Only a few Second World War veterans remain with us today—Trevor Anderson is one of them. At age 99, he vividly recalls his war experiences, serving as a Morse code radio operator and doubling as gunner. “When the war broke out in 1939, I tried to enlist and finally made it in 1941,” he told me. He received his radio operator and gunner training in Calgary and Saskatchewan and eventually made it to England. “I was required to signal 16 words a minute in Morse code,” he recalls,“but it bumped up to 20 words in the UK. I’ve built a life-sized model Morse communication setup in the basement.”
After time in Scotland, he and 700 others boarded the SS Pasteur and spent two months sailing to the Cape of Good Hope, then to Aden.“Somebody goofed, ”Trevor says.“We were supposed to go to Burma but were dumped in Cairo.We had no notion we were going to North Africa.” He was attached to the British Royal Air Force with about 100 other Canadians, a few Australians and New Zealanders, but was scuttled all around the fighting between the Allies under Bernard Montgomery and the Germans under Erwin Rommel. “We moved continually,” he says.“It was a shemozzle.Tents, dust, sand, fleas and crickets. They assigned me to the American forces, who didn’t use Morse code. No keys in the planes to start with.Very insecure.” “The Americans wanted to fly at night,” he continued.“But their exhaust trails lit up like Vegas. So they changed their tactics.”
He spent 18 months in the desert, variously stationed in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and later, Sicily. Crouched in a small gun turret attached to the belly of American B-25 bombers, he handled two 50-calibre machine guns and the Morse code key.
On his fourth mission, January 2, 1943, his plane was hit and ditched in the Mediterranean while he signaled their location. Somehow, he escaped from the belly turret through a dinner plate-sized window and survived with six others in a dinghy for 30 hours.
Altogether, Trevor flew 55 missions— while the usual limit for gunners was 25-30 missions. During his 55th bombing run, an inexperienced colonel wanting flight pay missed the Italian target twice and then got lost. Trevor’s Morse code requests for help got them back to Sicily. The next morning, he visited the colonel. “Sir,” he said, “I’ve had enough.” (He tells me this story in his modest, understated way. Today, he’d be called a hero.) After flying to Cairo, he found the Canadians were clueless about what to do with him, but they released him from the combat area; Trevor went home to Victoria via West Africa, Brazil, Curacao, Miami and Ottawa.
WHILE IN NORTH Africa, Trevor, like all military men, thirsted for mail from home. Among the letter writers was Florence, aka Flo. “Our fathers were part of a small lending circle in Victoria and she wrote me regularly,” says Trevor, “mind you, it wasn’t romantic. But sometime during my desert sojourn, I asked her to marry me. She said yes.”
They married in 1944 after Flo finished her Victoria College studies; the marriage lasted 73 years. “When Hitler was defeated, we were released and every soldier was looking for work,” he recalled. “So after a few months, I went back into the Air Force and was posted in the Queen Charlotte Islands and Ottawa, teaching flight simulation for pilots.” Later, he and his growing family of two boys and two girls were stationed around Canada while Trevor flew all over the world in Dakotas and North Stars operating the radio while supplying the bases along the Alaska Highway and transporting dignitaries. He also served as radar fighter controller on several bases, retiring from the Air Force in 1960.
THE NEXT PHASES of Trevor’s life revolved around the sea. In 1961, he took the job of assistant lighthouse keeper and he, Flo and their four kids relocated to Lennard Island, near Tofino. Their government-issued home was on the verge of dereliction, cold and without running water. Electricity came on at night when the lighthouse operated and the Andersons turned night into day, with the children studying and Flo doing her household chores. In her autobiography Lighthouse Chronicles, Flo explained the senior keeper was a vicious drunk. Perhaps because Trevor had trained for lighthouse keeper duties, he’d become a threat to those without formal training; suddenly, the Department of Transport informed him he was fired. The noxious senior keeper had written a batch of letters reporting Trevor performed his duties badly.
Trevor journeyed to Victoria to protest his dismissal. After a lengthy investigation, he was reinstated, then promoted and appointed senior keeper at Barrett Rock. The family became rock hoppers, relocating to McInnes Island in Milbanke Sound, then to stormy Green Island, the northernmost-staffed lighthouse in Canada. They called it an “igloo” as the incessant tempests created rotund— and treacherous—ice pillows on the beaches. The Andersons lived through two ice-sprayed winters until July 1966, when they transferred to Race Rocks, which became a true home. They stayed 16 years.
Besides staffing the lights, the Andersons worked with Pearson College students and their marine biology teacher Garry Fletcher (featured in PY October 2019) to investigate the nine Race Rocks isles, their unique ecology, the surrounding high-current waters and various forms of alternative electricity production. They helped Garry to establish Race Rocks as an Ecological Reserve—areas set aside to preserve exceptional natural features. At some time, Trev and Flo decided they needed a sailboat and vowed to build one themselves, despite their lack of boatbuilding knowledge and skills. They spent much time pouring over Chappelle’s Boatbuilding and reading books penned by such sailors as the Hiscocks. They also met renowned boat designer Bill Garden. Over seven years, they built their 56-foot ketch (42 feet without bowsprit and davits), Wawa the Wayward Goose, launching her in 1982. “I knew I’d figure out all the intricacies eventually,” Trev says. “Bill Garden was enthralled.” They learned sailing by doing, first cruising the Gulf Islands, and then circumnavigating Vancouver Island. In July 1985, they headed offshore to Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fanning Island and Pago Pago. After returning to Victoria in 1987, they continued to live on Wawa for another eight years before returning to life on solid land.
Flo died in 2017, at 93 years of age. Having had her companionship for nearly three-quarters of a century, Trevor misses her enormously. “Being alone is hard,” he says. He continues to live in the 100-plus year-old house in Victoria’s James Bay (Flo’s parents once owned it). Although he spent more than 20 years in military service, Canada denied him a pension, as “the service wasn’t continuous.” Consequently, he doesn’t have much use for Remembrance Days or other veteran recognitions.
How does one live until 99 and still be upright? “My philosophy of life is to take things as they come,” Trevor says. “Don’t do what you can’t do. I don’t think much about it, I’m just here. I’ve survived an airplane crash, a car crash and a mangled foot. I don’t drink, quit smoking more than 50 years ago. I just continue to live, day after day.”
GARRY FLETCHER
Marine science teacher and Race Rocks champion
BY MARIANNE SCOTT
To visit Garry Fletcher at his home requires a drive through the countryside of south Vancouver Island that seems hundreds of miles from the cities that house most of us. His house in Metchosin, near his son’s organic market farm, looks out over sheep trimming the meadow bordering the Juan de Fuca Strait. An espaliered kiwi vine hugs the deck, nectarine and peach trees provide fresh fruit, rhubarb thrives and herbs enliven meals. Garry grew up on a small Saskatchewan farm; it mixed growing food with raising cattle. Farm life inspired his interest in biology, which he studied at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. After earning a master’s degree in science curriculum, he taught in Swift Current where he met his wife Helen, who taught English. He was then invited to teach biology at the United Nations International School in New York.“They offer an internationally recognized baccalaureate degree,” he said.“But in 1976, after being mugged in the city, we accepted an offer to come to Pearson College, in Metchosin, thinking we’d be here for, maybe, four years.” But Pearson, its students, curriculum and nautical location ensnared him and he and his family have never left.
PEARSON COLLEGE is a special place. Located on south Vancouver Island’s Pedder Bay, it’s one of 18 United World Colleges and offers a two-year pre-university baccalaureate diploma that covers grade 12 and a gap year for up to 200 students.These students, who represent more than 150 countries, live, study and grow together. Pearson’s mission is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”
At Pearson, Garry began teaching biology, marine science and scuba diving. Jack Matthews, the then College head, gave teachers great freedom to develop their own sphere.“I was able to build an interdisciplinary marine science course that included chemistry, physics and biology,” Garry recalls.“We have this unique situation here at Pearson. Fresh and saltwater, marine ecosystems, forests. I took the class diving, 15 on a boat. We had substantial blocks of time.”
Meeting Trevor and Flo Anderson, lighthouse keepers at Race Rocks, further revolutionized his teaching and interests. Race Rocks, an archipelago of nine jagged islets lying eight miles from Victoria, is the southernmost point of Pacific Canada.The islands are the pinnacles of a large underwater mountain. The lighthouse was the second to operate in BC and was constructed of Scottish granite brought as ballast aboard British sailing ships.The Rocks are named after the passage separating it from Vancouver Island and has a tidal race reaching seven knots. When strong tides and winds oppose each other, standing waves can grow to 10 feet.The upwelling from the currents provides an exceptionally abundant environment for animal and plant life. Some of the islets are favourite perches for Steller and California sea lions, and elephant seals and harbour seals sunbathe here.
“My philosophy of teaching is to instill the concept of ecosystems’ integrity and sustainability,” Garry says.“I explain we’re not on a chain, we’re in a life web. I ask students to assess their project’s sustainability. Does it have biological integrity? Does it impact the food web or energy flows? What services do ecosystems provide? We must weigh what things will look like in 100 years, not just next year.”
THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS welcomed Garry and students to Race Rocks.“The Andersons knew the uniqueness of the region,”he says.“We dived near the rocks, although with the currents, it could be dangerous. We surveyed and created maps of underwater marine life and collected data on birds and marine wildlife.”
In 1980, this work led to connections with the predecessor to the Ministry of Environment. That ministry managed the “Ecological Reserves” program—areas set aside because of their exceptional natural features, and for their scientific and educational significance. Garry and his students asked the Ministry to add Race Rocks to the list of protected areas.
“Remarkably,”says Garry, grinning,“Prince Charles, the United World Colleges’ chair, came here for a board meeting. We told the ministry the Prince might announce that Race Rocks had become an ecological reserve. Our proposal was approved in record time.”Garry began serving as the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve warden and reported on the Pearson team’s ongoing research. He urges others to propose ecological reserves and has developed an“adopt an ecosystem”template to develop proposals, which can be found online.
MEANWHILE, A MICROWAVE tower delivering live video of island life was built.Two cameras still run today.
Race Rocks Lighthouse was one of the first two built in BC. Race Rocks Lighthouse was one of the first two built in BC. islands are too small for visitors,” says Garry.“So Pearson grad Ken Dunham developed the network that allowed live- streaming internet video—one of the first such projects in North America. During an Apple conference in New York, I was in a boat off Race Rocks live webcasting with a diver filming underwater (Apple later provided access to live streaming on their network). Our students were very hands-on and we delivered other live webcasts of Race Rocks’ intertidal and subtidal zones to schools. It was new and exciting at the time.”
IN THE ‘90S, David Scott (disclosure—my husband) and Ged McLean and grad students from the University of Victoria’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems took on separate research studies on the feasibility of obtaining electricity from solar, wind and tidal energy at Race Rocks.“These were tests to determine if any of these alternative energy sources were feasible in this natural laboratory,” says Garry.
A BC ministry funded the solar panels and, with an array of batteries, provided the electricity to help power the islands, thereby reducing the diesel needed to run generators. With additional collectors, they still function today. “The 40 solar panels generate enough power in the summer to make the islands energy self-sufficient,” explains Garry. Solar was judged to be more practical than wind and no windmills were built.
THE CLEAN Current Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks was the first such project in Canada and the sponsor, EnCana, wanted to assess if the turbine placed in Race Passage could produce electricity during both ebb and flood currents. UVic and Pearson students collaborated on the project.“This was a case study,” says Garry. “Our students dove often to apply coatings that might prevent fouling of the turbine’s blades.”
Alas, the experiment was discontinued after six years. Photos show that giant barnacles and other ocean life had colonized the turbine. “It was just too expensive to maintain,” says Garry.
Pearson continues its protection of Race Rocks. After the federal government destaffed the lighthouse, the College signed a long-term lease and pays for an eco-guardian to provide a constant human presence on the island.
GARRY, now retired, has been recognized for his imaginative and enthusiastic use of technology in the classroom. He’s active in environmental issues. He condemns the doubling of the Trans Mountain Pipeline and has been an intervenor at the National Energy Board hearings. He cultivates and sells mason bees to augment the population of pollinating insects. He’s analyzed the Race Rocks’ water temperature and salinity data collected since 1921.
“Every month, the median temperature is at least one degree Celsius higher than in 1921,” he warns. As a part of a UVic research program, he’s installed malaise traps on his property to help establish baseline data on insect biomass.
Further reading:
metchosinmarine.ca
ecoreserves.bc.ca
racerocks.ca
gfletcher.ca
THE 13 MOONS of the WSANEC (Saanich people)- Now a JASON PROJECT Curriculum Lesson:Teacher Instructions
To order books contact :
Saanich Indian School Board,
7449 W.Saanich Road,
P.O. Box 368, Brentwood Bay, B.C.
V0S 1A0
Telephone 250-652-2313
Note – accurate spelling of the names is available in the calendar,(top left below) These images have been scanned with permission from the booklet ” The Saanich Year” Author Earle Claxton, Author/Illustrator: John Elliott. Published by the Saanich School Board #63 1993 ISBN 1-55036-366-2
NINENE-Moon of the Child (Jan.)
NINENE – MOON OF THE CHILD (Mid December to Mid January)
The face of the young man represents youth, a new beginning, the rebirth of the animal world, and the new edible shoots. This is the Saanich New Year. The moon’s yellow hair is the returning light to the world.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Winter Solstice (December 20/21) is the point at which the sun is farthest from the Equator, thus it is the darkest day of the year, and at this “turning point” the days will become longer. As with the Summer Solstice, the shortest day of the year holds great importance in many cultures.
WEATHER
This is the time that the Northern Hemisphere starts to move closer to the Sun once again. All things begin to warm up; everything in nature is being reborn. Although it is cold and there are Winter rains, there are some good days and this is the first sign that a new year has begun.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Some of the twine that had been made from nettles was now woven for reef net fishing. Each family group had a responsibility to produce a certain amount of net or the fishery and these parts would later be assembled. Because there was no hunting or fishing going on, people relied mainly on the fish and game that had been stored for the Winter. For those who would risk the rough seas, there was halibut fishing as the fish returned to their spawning grounds. This was also the season when fawns were born, so the new moon signaled the time to stop deer hunting.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The instruction of the children through telling of tales helped to pass the long Winter nights. The longhouse ceremonial dances continued.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Why do so many cultures celebrate New Year’s at this time of year?
What are New Year’s celebrations like in other cultures?
Are other culture’s New Year’s celebrations in and around the winter solstice?
If you were to develop your own New Year’s celebration, how would you organize it?
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WEXWS-Moon of the Frog (Mid Feb. to Mid March)
WEXES – MOON OF THE FROG (Mid February to Mid March)
The frog on the face of the moon represents DOLUANW – the Keeper of the Sacred Season. It is time to gather foods and medicine. The Saanich People place cedar boughs in the water close to the shore, so that the herring will lay roe on them.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
February derives its name from the Latin word ‘februarius’ which means to purify. The Saanich People, like the Romans, designated this month to sacredness and purification. March derives its name from Mars, the Roman god of War. The Anglo Saxons called it the ‘Hlyd Monath – the loud and stormy month’.
For the Saanich Peoples, this moon in particular was significant because the frog acts as a witness and a messenger to them. The frog announced the Sacred Season of Plenty. Because the frog was honoured as the Keeper of the Sacred Season, it was often presented on totem poles and in artwork to show that an important event had occurred.
During this moon, the wonder of nature repeats an amazing process: Mother Earth warms up and the hibernating frog wakes from its winter sleep, announcing the coming of spring.
WEATHER
As the Northern Hemisphere moves closer to the Sun, the more the Earth warms. Rains diminish and more sunshine is evident.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
This moon was especially welcomed because it signalled that the ocean had become safer to travel on and it was time to put the canoes back into the water. Herring and herring roe, a source of food, were collected by placing cedar branches along the shore for the herring to lay their eggs upon. Herring was also dried into a delicacy called QELEJ and stored for future use. The earliest runs of herring were into Fulford Harbour on Saltspring Island.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The appearance of the frog was a sign to end the activities of Winter ceremonial dances and move outdoors to prepare for the season when the Salmon people would return.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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PEKSISEN-The Moon of the Opening hands the blossoming out Moon (Mid-March to Mid April)
PEXSISEN – THE MOON OF OPENING HANDS THE BLOSSOMING OUT MOON (Mid March to Mid April)
All the plants and trees are opening up their hands again and the moon meets their welcome. All of nature is blooming. At this time the Brant Geese are dried. The Earth renews its strength.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
April derives it name from the Latin word “Aprilis”, the Roman goddess Aphrodite and the Greek word “to open”. It should be noted that most countries in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate the arrival of Spring. At this time of year, the trees open their leaves in welcome, just as the Saanich People open their hands to show thanks.
WEATHER
There is less rain than previous months and it is warmer. This helps dry out the land and enables the drying and preservation of food.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
During this time, the Saanich Peoples hunted and dried XELXELJ (Brant Geese) for future use. Float nets were placed where the XELXELJ would feed along the tide line to capture the geese. Clams, Oysters and mussels were at their best that this time of year, too.
Cedar trees were fallen at this time of year to make boats, among other things. The warmer weather also caused the tree sap to run up the trees, making it easier to strip the bark. The fallen trees were then left to cure and the bark was saved for weaving into mats and clothing.
Before the Saanich People started to raise sheep, they would use goat and dog hair for spinning yarn and knitting. Their primary wool source was a breed of dog that was small, white and woolly. The warmer weather caused the dogs to shed and their hair would be gathered for carding and later, knitting.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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SXANEL- The Bullhead Moon (April-May)
SXÁNEL – BULLHEAD MOON (April – May)
This moon represents the visibility of SXÁNEL or what westerners call Orion’s Belt. The moon’s hair represents a strong wind that comes at this time and the swallows that arrive with the wind.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In this moon, the PIOTEL (a group of three starts in Orion’s belt called the Duck Hunters) appears on the horizon. During the SXÁNEL there are strong winds, the bullhead (a type of sculpin) appear on the shore and the swallows arrive.
WEATHER
This is the season where good weather is the norm. However, these days can bring sudden thunder and lightning storms.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
People spent more time on and around the water. During the moon the Elder women knew how to take their baskets to the beach and gather bullheads from under the rocks. The women would pole sticks under the rocks and big bullheads would say “SKA”, which is their name. The bullhead was deemed a great delicacy.
This was also a great time for harvesting seaweed LEKES).
The halibut fishery ended because the halibut spawned during this moon. The grouse hatched and the larger/older grouse could easily be snared in the woods.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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 PENAWEN-Moon of the Camas Harvest (May) PENAWEN – MOON OF THE CAMAS HARVEST (May) This moon is the moon of the camas harvest. It is time to dig KLO,EL (camas). The earth is warming. The camas bulb illustration is shown on the cheek of the moon and in the palm of his hand. The blue plant with the bulb underneath the ground is the whole camas plant. CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION May derives its name from Majores, the Roman goddess of Spring. This is also the ‘month of Mary’ for those of the Roman Catholic Faith. During the PEN’AWEN moon the Saanich Peoples travelled to family locations to harvest camas bulbs (KLO,EL), which were the source of starch in their diet. This was a cherished time for the people of Saanich – it marked the time when they could begin travelling through their territory again. WEATHER Days are evenings are warm and rain is less frequent. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Saanich families had traditional territorial grounds (land and water), which were used at various times of the year. Most families left their Winter villages for Spring camps. Visits to the camas plots served two purposes: (1) to harvest the blue camas bulb; and (2) to gather the fresh gull eggs found in the camas fields. White camas is poisonous and was not harvested. In this season both XIWE (purple sea urchins) and SQITI (green sea urchins) were collected and eaten as well. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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 CENTEKI- The Sockeye moon (May-June) CENTEKI – THE SOCKEYE MOON (June) This moon is the same colour as the pale grey sockeye salmon. The sockeye returns during this moon. The Salish art design represents the tide running swiftly through the reef net which is tied to the two canoes (SXELSCET). CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION There are two western legends to how this moon was named. First, is that it derives its name from the Roman goddess of woman and marriage (Juno) and second, that the name is derived from Juniores, the name for the lower branch of the Roman senate and/or connected with the Roman consulate, Junius Brutus. It is interesting to note that June is in mnay cultures, the wedding month, and there are festivals of flowers around the world. The Saanich Peoples history says that the people were once very poor. However, the Salmon people took pity on them and saved them by showing them how to fish and honour the salmon. At the beginning of the CENTEKI moon, a special salmon ceremony was performed before the net anchors were dropped at the ancestors hereditary family locations. The special ceremony started when the medicine man (SNAEM) paddled to the furthest point east and called on ancient relatives (the salmon) to let themselves be caught to feed the WSANEC people. His songs and prayers mentioned all of the family reef net locations that the salmon would pass through. Fishing continued throughout the four salmon months. WEATHER Warm summer breezes and dry weather were most evident during the CENTEKI season. The WEWELES (Swansen’s Thrush) – the ripener of the summer berries, arrived. His song put colour into the berries. The DILEK (wild strawberries) and ELI,LE (salmon berries) began to ripen. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Trading catches from the salmon runs began. As the Saanich Peoples were the first to catch salmon in the Straits because other tribes were waiting for river runs, they were able to catch a higher quality of bright salmon, thus giving them a full month of trading advantage. CULTURAL ACTIVITIES The Saanich People paid homage to the salmon with a very special song and ceremony to honour the salmon and show respect to its new generation. After the first sockeye salmon (known as the S,HIWEK leader) was caught, all fishing would cease and the ceremony of prayer and feast would begin. As part of the salmon ceremony, children would walk with a limp to show humbleness and to look pitiful in the eyes of the honoured salmon. They would also carry the hook nose salmon as one would carry a baby. Only the children would eat this salmon. Later, the adults could then feast on the Sockeye. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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CENHENEN-Humpback salmon return to earth (June-July)
CENHENEN – HUMPBACK SALMON RETURN TO EARTH (July)
The Humpback salmon return to the earth during this moon. The illustration is half salmon and half human. The darts show the tidal waters that are used to catch salmon. The child carrying the salmon represents the first salmon ceremony in honour of the salmon. Saanich People humble themselves to the salmon.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
July derives its name from Julius Caesar, who was born during this month. This month is important in Spain (bull fights) and Japan (animal festivals). Actual jousting and other medieval-type activities take place for three days during the Japanese Horse festival.
This moon marks the arrival of the Humpback salmon.
WEATHER
This was the dry weather season, drier than the interior of Canada. Although it was a good season for drying Salmon (SDÁL), the grass and forest was parched and everyone guarded against starting grass and bush fires.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
This was the season for Humpback salmon fishing. Fishing caused First Nations peoples to extend catchment areas to areas as far away as Tsawassen and Point Roberts where they maintained shore camps.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The success of the salmon fishery caused those most fortunate to celebrate and share their success with others. This season was especially marked by large family, village and neighbouring village gatherings, including gatherings where traditional sports were held. This was a time to reaffirm family ties and history and hold other gatherings. These included STÁNEK (memorial potlatches), namings (giving of a name ceremonies), weddings and societal ceremonies (e.g. blessings).
Potlaches enabled the more fortunate to share and distribute goods with those less fortunate than themselves. To become wealthy was honourable and to share one’s wealth with one’s neighbours was a traditional expression of Saanich values.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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CENTAWEN- The Coho Salmon return to earth (August)
CENTÁWEN – THE COHO SALMON RETURN TO EARTH (August)
The Coho Salmon returns to the Earth. The illustration shows the face of the Coho and the human together. The face of the Coho/human is to remind the Saanich Peoples that the salmon were human at one time. The swift running tide picture illustrates where the salmon travel. The camp is the home away from permanent home for the Saanich Peoples.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
August derives its name from the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar. In most northern countries this is the time for summer holidays, fairs, fetes and festivals. The moon marks the arrival of the Coho Salmon.
WEATHER
The first rains begin and break the drought of the summer. Water flow in the streams, rivers and creeks increases. This enables the salmon that have gathered in the inlets, to begin their spawning journey.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
This was a good moon for cod fishing. Traditionally the sea urchins were used as bait for Tommy Cod and the Tommy Cod was used as bait for the larger Ling Cod. Ling Cod could be lured to the surface with bait alone and speared since they were so anxious to protect their nests, that they would take a hook without the bait. As the weather cooled, the rains came and the forest was renewed once again. Deer Hunting began. This was also a good month to harvest the Hog Fennel (KEXMIN) which was used in a variety of First Nations medicines.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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 CENQOLEW-The Dog Salmon return to Earth ( Sept) CENQOLEW – THE DOG SALMON RETURN TO EARTH (September) The Dog Salmon return to the Earth Moon at this time. The colours are Dog Salmon (ochre red). The men are returning the bones of the salmon to the sea, with thanks, in the belief that the bones will come to life and replenish the salmon stocks. The man raises his oar to show honour and respect to our relative, the salmon, who helps us survive. CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION September derives its name from the Latin word ‘septem’, meaning seven. This was the seventh month in the Roman calendar when the year began in March. This moon marks the arrival of the Dog Salmon. WEATHER The rainy weather continues and the winds have become unpredicatable. The creeks and rivers rise enough for the Dog Salmon to spawn. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES Hunting for deer and groups was still ongoing. This was also the best season and weather conditions for cod fishing. Dog Salmon were the last of the salmon runs to return and the Saanich Peoples carried out this fishery at Goldstream. Dog Salmon was easily dried or smoked and was the last of the preserves to be stored away. The Langford area was excellent for cranberries, blueberries and grouse hunting. CULTURAL ACTIVITIES If the salmon run was late, the SNAM (spiritual leader or priest) was brought in to hold a ceremony to call the salmon. The SNAM would also advise the family captains of the correct protocol to adopt so that they would not offend the Salmon Peoples and thus ensure that the salmon returned to the rivers. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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PEKELANEW-Moon that turns the leaves white(Oct.)
PEKELANEW – The Moon That Turns the Leaves White (October)
This is the moon of the turning white season (frost). This moon brings the first frost. The leaves lose their colours and turn pale. Deer hunting is the activity during this moon. The earth is cooling down and the people turn their efforts to hunting.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
October derives its name from the Latin word ‘octo’ meaning eight. It was the eighth month of the Roman year. The moon marks the end of summer (snails) and the beginning of cooler weather.
WEATHER
The longer, cooler nights can lead to frost on the leaves and the ground in higher country.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
The WSANEC people began splitting the cedar logs they had felled in the Spring. The completion of the canoes was Winter work. They would rough out their canoes in the forest making them easier to carry and move them to the villages.
Seals and Sea Lions were hunted in the San Juan Islands. Cod fishing tapered off toward the end of this moon and grouse hunting ceased. Preparations were made for the Fall hunt of the deer and elk. Deer were in their rutting season and easily fooled because they were not as cautious as normal.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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WESELANEW Moon of the shaker leaves -(Oct.-Nov.)
WESELÁNEW – MOON OF THE SHAKER LEAVES (November)
The leaves are ready to fall. The wind comes. Turbulence is felt in the waters and the skies. The earth is cooling down.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
November derives its name from the Latin word ‘Novem’ meaning nine, and was the ninth moon in the Roman year. This marked the beginning of Winter. Traditionally, the Anglo Saxons did their slaughtering now (letting blood) because the cold weather was conducive to preserving the meat of the animal/bird. In the WESELÁNEW moon, fishing was undertaken mostly in the safety of local waters. This was the time when big winds come and changed the season to Winter.
WEATHER
The days became cooler and travelling in food gathering territory was limited. The winds that came with this moon were a signal to move to the winter village as the open sea became dangerous for movement in open boats.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Most foods were now in storage for the Winter and fishing was done only close to the village sites. The Saanich Peoples formed hunting parties and moved West into the mountains to hunt elk. Elk were only hunted after the first snowfall as it was easier to track an elk if it was wounded. This way no meat would be wasted.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Winter fires were lit and this was the beginning of Winter gatherings.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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SJELCASEN- The Moon of putting your paddle away in the bush (Nov.-Dec.)
SJELCASEN – THE MOON OF PUTTING YOUR PADDLE AWAY IN THE BUSH (November).
This moon is the season of strong winds. The weather is unpredictable, making it unsafe to travel. It is time to put the big sea canoes and paddles away. It is time to honour the paddle for carrying one safely all season long. Snow is possible at this time of year. The long house activities start.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
November derives its name from the Latin word ‘novem’ meaning ‘nine’. It was the nineth month of the Roman year. With the coming of this moon, it was time for the people to thank their paddle for taking them to gather foods, see loved ones and guide them to special ceremonies.
WEATHER
Strong and sudden winds are now common on the open sea and it has become unsafe to travel. Squalls and heavy rains can appear suddenly and without warning. South-easterlies are SKANET and south-westerlies are SCES.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Food gathering takes less time. The winter night tides were low enough for clam digging. Winter clothing was needed. There was now more time to weave mats and capes and to knit wool into clothing. Some items that were stored for Winter included:
Red cedar logs felled earlier in the year were now split into planks which were used as portable roofing and building material (S,ILETEW).
Natural splitting of logs was accomplished by inserting round stones as wedges into the cracks of the drying logs. The Winter winds hastened the drying and splitting process.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
It was a time for storytelling and Winter ceremonies. People settled down for Winter and enjoyed the food they had gathered and stored earlier.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
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SIS,ET- The ELder Moon (Dec)
SIS,ET – THE ELDER MOON (December)
The Elder’s hair holds and shields the elderly people who share the teachings, the beliefs, the history and the culture with the children who are gathered in the warmth of the firelight.
CONNECTIONS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This is the oldest of the moon family and means the elder. It is also the time when teaching occurs. In reality this is not the first month but the last in the yearly cycle of the moons. It is at this time of year when the earth is at its farthest point from the sun and the Winter Solstice occurs (December 20/21). As with the Summer Solstice, this day holds great importance in many cultures.
WEATHER
Days are short and storms and heavy rainfalls made sea travel unpredictable and unsafe. Therefore much more time was spent indoors. The sloughs in and around Saanich filled with water and provided a wintering place for visiting ducks and geese.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
The Saanich people had abundant stored food and therefore had time to prepare for future harvests. Wood pitch was gathered for torches and fires. Torches were used to collect shellfish during the night tides, which were common at this time of year. Ducks and geese were netted or speared on the sloughs and in protected inlets. People only ventured into the protected inlets for ocean fishing. Nettles, gathered earlier in the year, were stripped and twisted into twine to make nets, ropes and cables. Roughed out canoes were brought into the longhouse to be finished.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
This is the most important time of the year for spiritual and cultural activities. The Saanich Peoples were involved in Winter ceremonies and the Elders told legends and stories to educate the children about the right way to live. The Saanich Peoples gathered in the longhouse for Winter ceremonial dances. New dancers were initiated and the dances witnessed.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
ANDERSON, Florence (Zita) Belle On March 30, 2017 Florence (Zita) Belle Anderson, quietly slipped away at home, while laying next to her beloved husband of seventy-three years, Trevor. Born December 30th, 1924 in Victoria at the family home on Midgard Ave., Flo went to Mount View high school and then onto Victoria College in the historic Craigdarroch Castle. She fondly remembered daydreaming about the formal dances held at the castle. After completion of her college exams, she married Trev (May 20th, 1944, Grace Lutheran Church) on his return from serving in the Canadian Airforce, World War II, North Africa. The newlyweds moved to Boundary Bay where they had their first son Garry. Back and forth across Canada four times, the Anderson family moved to different Airforce stations and radar bases adding Stan, Beth and Adrienne to the family along the way. After Trev left the Airforce in 1960, they lived at Miracle Beach for several years. Then the family moved on to their next adventure – twenty years on five West Coast Lighthouses. Flo’s ingenuity led her to achieve any task that she set her mind to and thrive in new situations. During their last seven years on the lighthouse, she and Trev took on a massive undertaking; building their fifty-six foot sailboat Wawa the Wayward Goose. They launched the two-masted ketch from Race Rocks, February 7th, 1982 and headed off for thirteen years of sailing trips. First they sailed locally amongst the Gulf Islands. Then they circumnavigated Vancouver Island. In July 1985, they headed offshore to Hawaii and onto New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Fanning Islands, Pago Pago, returning to Victoria July 1987. Florence had prepared herself by completing a Celestial Navigation course, getting her HAM radio license and joining the Blue Water Cruising Association. They sold Wawa in 1995 settling in Sidney and then in her parents last house in James Bay. Travel has always been a part of Flo’s life. On holidays away from the lighthouse, she and the family travelled on many road trips across North America and an excursion to Portugal and Spain. Flo’s artistic skills started early. She learned to sew, leather work, crochet, tat, spin wool, knit, quilt, draw and paint. While on the lighthouses she taught herself to oil paint and created realistically beautiful wave seascapes. At age seventy, she taught herself to use the computer, wrote a book (Lighthouse Chronicles), found a publisher and went on a book tour around BC. She is predeceased by her parents, Bert and Ida Drader (Victoria), her sisters Nellie Marshall (Niagara Falls, ON) and Eileen Odowichuk (Campbell River) and her brother Bill Drader (Edmonton, AB). She is survived by her husband Trev, sister Julia Guilbault (Victoria), her children Garry Anderson (Phyllis), Stan Anderson (Janet), Beth Cruise, Adrienne Lowden (Jeff); six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild and two dear life-long friends Kay Johnson and Arlene Bryan We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Flo’s Caregivers extraordinaire, Lesley, Joanne, Hughette, Michelle and Wendy. And a special thank you to Dr. Rosenberg and Associates for their compasionate and excellent care. There will be a Celebration of Life June 30th , 1:00 – 3:00 pm at 576 Niagara Street. Flo will be dearly missed by all
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Visitors
Courtney providing the transportation, along with Garry Fletcher took two sets of lighthouse keeper’s family members, the Robert Lundy Family and a branch of the (first light keeper ) George N.Davies family for a prearranged visit to Race Rocks today. They left archival documents and photos; and are sending more to add to the web pages;
