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Hubert Evans: The Man Behind the Boat

8/13/2016

2 Comments

 
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Fig. 1: An elderly Hubert Evans standing outside his home in Roberts Creek.
          While working in the Museum I often came across a certain name: Hubert Evans. As some of you may know, we host his boat here in the Museum, but we didn’t have much other information about him. After receiving a number of questions about the nature of the man who built the boat, I decided to find out. I have compiled my findings here for you to read as well: hopefully this will shine some light on the mystery that was Hubert Evans!

         Hubert Evans was born in 1892 in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, to William Edwin Evans and Frances Alberta Evans (nee Taylor). A year later they moved to Galt, Ontario, where Edwin took up a job as a schoolteacher at the Galt Collegiate Institute. All three of Hubert’s younger brothers – Charles, Gerald, and William – were born in Galt.

         In later interviews Hubert maintained that there were two main things that his parents instilled in him from a very young age: a love of nature and a love of literature. His father would often take the family on camping trips and outdoor explorations, collecting nature samples and observing wildlife. They were also often read to – Edwin would read from the King James Bible (as a devout member of the Galt Methodist Church that was not surprising), while Frances (their mother) would read from more fantastical works, most notably the popular children’s novel The Water Babies. This love of literature came to fruition for the first time when Hubert won a Lipton’s Tea limerick contest for $1 when he was nine years old. These two differing values created a lifestyle that Hubert followed his entire life: a careful balance between mental and physical exertion. For every written word came something done by hand.

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Fig. 2: An example of the outdoor work Evans enjoyed doing. Here he is pictured dredging out the mouth of Roberts Creek, with friend George Klein on the tractor.
          After dropping out twice, Hubert graduated from high school and enrolled in the University of Toronto’s forestry program, but never attended. He became the only one of his brothers to not attend University: Charles went on to be a geologist, William became a director of processing at an engineering company, and Gerald became the Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Minnesota. This lack of university education does not mean that Hubert was unsuccessful. He became a journalist at the age of eighteen, something that he always said was imperative in developing his writing style (succinct and to the point, but interesting and engaging). Journalism was something he greatly enjoyed, but after his time in the military in WW1 [as a signaler then a lieutenant of the Machine Gun Corps,] he found himself wanting something different. After a chance meeting with an old friend at a train station, Hubert found himself on his way to his new job and life in the fisheries of Lakelse, BC.

          The very next year Hubert married his high school sweetheart, Anna Emily Winter. They had been faithful pen pals ever since their initial meeting in Galt when they were thirteen, even as he journeyed through journalism and military service, and as she graduated from the University of Toronto. With a similar “…own only what you can carry on your back” attitude in addition to this long history, it was no surprise that they eventually married (pg 11) . The official ceremony took place on June 29, 1920, in front of ten witnesses, but the lovebirds had their own private ceremony a few days before.
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Fig. 3: An image of Anna from Alan Twigg's biography of Hubert Evans. Found on page 50.
​          Soon after the wedding Hubert became disillusioned with his increasingly bureaucratic fishery position. This prompted their decision to find somewhere to live along the Coast – from 1920 to 1927 they were on the move. They camped on the beach, stayed with friends, and lived in Cultus Lake and North Vancouver for a couple of years. Their first two children, Elizabeth and Joan, were born during this period. Their son Jonathan wasn’t born until 1930, three years after they had finally settled in Roberts Creek.

          Through the years of the Depression Hubert set writing aside to focus on providing for his family. 1932 was the year he began commercial fishing. He used a technique called ‘hand-trolling’ and fished out of his handmade double-ended handliner – the same one that is on display at the Museum. Contrary to popular belief he did not make the boat on his own. He had a close friend and fellow fisherman help him over the course of a winter. We all know that handtrolling was a huge part of life on the Coast – it was how many people survived through the tough times of the depression. Local researcher Larry Westlake is the leading man when it comes to information on hand-trolling traditions on the Coast. Not only does he have many first-hand accounts of Coast fisherfolk but he has also built a fully functional replica of Hubert’s handliner.
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Fig. 4: An image of Hubert Evans standing beside his handmade double-ended handliner after a fishing trip.
​             Eventually, Hubert was able to write as well as fish for a living. In 1949 he started publishing his writing again, writing everything from novels to newspaper serials. Most popular are his works Mist on the River and Son of the Salmon People, which address the struggle of First Nations youth as they try to balance traditional customs and values with the unyielding encroaching Western cultures. Lesser known, but just as impactful, are his works in poetry, plays, and newspaper serials.

           At the end of his career By the end of his career Hubert Evans had published 21+ works, and was the quintessential “Coast Man”. He could write, read, build, and fish with the best of them. In addition to this, he had educational achievements: in 1981 he was the recipient of an honorary doctorate by SFU. In true Hubert Evans fashion he refused to make the long trip to the SFU campus, so the committee went to his small home in Roberts Creek. There was also a literary prize named after him: the “Hubert Evans Prize”. It is awarded to the top British Columbian non-fiction writer of the year, every year, in Vancouver.
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Fig. 5: An image of Evans and friend Margaret Laurence at Evans' honorary doctorate ceremony in 1981. The picture can be found on pg 108 of Alan Twigg's biography.
​           If you have any questions about Hubert Evans, his boat, the handtrolling tradition, or his writing, please come into the Museum! We would be happy to answer your questions.

​

Works Referenced
​Twigg, Alan. Hubert Evans: The First 93 Years. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 1985. Print.
2 Comments

Social Media: What's the Deal?

8/4/2016

0 Comments

 
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Facebook Logo
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Instagram Logo
​          Social media outreach is a very important practice for the Museum, for a huge number of reasons. We use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. One of the main reasons we use social media is to keep you – our visitors – informed of daily happenings, events, and new discoveries within the Museum. It also allows us to connect with other museums to stay on top of the technology and techniques of the trade so we can present our collection in the best way we can.

          We also use social media in a way that helps us make discoveries about our collection. For example, just a couple weeks ago you helped us make a connection within an unmarked photo (link to original FB post) that led us to the discovery of the event it depicted: the 1957 opening of the new government wharf in Gibsons Landing. We also discovered accompanying photos from various perspectives through your help. This type of thing happens a lot. When we have a question, or interesting photo, we ask you for help. Just so you can see the progression, here is the initial post, the middle post where you helped us with your knowledge, and the post where we were able to tell you with certainty what conclusion we came to. Another exciting post was this class picture we posted on this year’s Elphinstone Secondary graduation day.

         The most popular of the social media platforms we use is Facebook. Facebook is very popular with our typical audience, who are usually around 45 to 65 years old. Interestingly, a number of those who regularly interact with us on Facebook also regularly come into the Museum to visit and walk through the exhibits. It is nice to have such a solid contact with this audience because they are our link to the past. Visitors such as local historian Dale Peterson help us with connections, events, and other happenings that may not necessarily be included in our collection. As a Summer Student from out of town, and also for the Museum, this connection is imperative because it helps us learn and document things about the community that otherwise may have been forgotten.
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Fig. 1: The Facebook post where we asked for your help figuring out what was going on in this photo.
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Fig. 2: Another popular post, this time a class photo that sparked a 60 year class reunion.
​          The newest addition to our Social Media outreach program is Instagram, which helps us reach a whole other demographic. This new audience, which includes teens and adults from their early twenties to thirties, is the one that will keep the history of the Sunshine Coast alive. Through social media we keep them interested and engaged with history and the artifacts in our collection, therefore ensuring the continued interest in the rich history of the Sunshine Coast.
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          But how do we add a new social media platform into our outreach program? It is not as simple as just making an account and starting to post. First, research needs to be done. To convince the Manager that Instagram was a beneficial program I did research on the benefits of Instagram to businesses and  museums, how Instagram works, and how we as a Museum would use it. After the initial green light I compiled lists of post templates, accounts to interact with, and how to ‘tag’ posts. (‘Tagging’ is the process through which posts are categorized within the social media platform so that they are easily accessible; this is commonly done through keywords and phrases.) This ensures that anyone will be able to efficiently run the account. Now that the report is complete we can start to post and interact with our new audience. As an added bonus Instagram is popular with small local businesses and other museums worldwide, allowing us create a great dialogue locally and around the world. Through this connection we learn from them, and are able to communicate with our visitors in new and exciting ways! 
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Fig. 3: A popular Instagram post featuring the contents of our Seaman's Chest in the Maritime Exhibit.
​          So, if you enjoy it, please keep interacting with us on social media! We love to hear back from you about your opinions, contributions, and memories. Keep up with us on our pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
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