“Women's lives recounted in their own words are rare indeed. Women of Pender Harbour is a welcome exception, following forty remarkable everyday women across a century and more. These diverse women share their upbringing and first romances, their roles as wives, mothers, and fisherwomen, and their determination to build community. Through these women's recollections, we glimpse the coastal enclave of Pender Harbour. Once isolated and self-contained, it increasingly appealed to 'summer people,' some of them so entranced they became residents. Women of Pender Harbour is an important slice of British Columbia history.”
- Jean Barman, Professor Emeritus of Educational History at the University of British Columbia

Pender Harbour's first book of women's history - Women of Pender Harbour: Their Voices, Their History - goes on sale this May/June. Developed over a nine-year period, the book was written by Dorothy Faulkner, Elaine Park and Cathy Jenks with the assistance of many local volunteers.

Women of Pender Harbour: Their Voices, Their History preserves the memories of more than 40 early women settlers of the Pender Harbour area. Together, Faulkner, Park and Jenks have woven the women's voices into a tapestry of remembrance while telling the story of Pender Harbour's development from an isolated settlement of logging and fishing families into a vibrant modern-day community. It is a story that reflects the history of many of BC's coastal villages.

The book is a project of the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society, a voluntary non-profit group dedicated to preserving the history of the Pender Harbour area and protecting its historic sites and artifacts. Under the leadership of Faulkner, the project began as a dream of a few local women to honour the women pioneers of the area. Starting in 2001, a small army of volunteers conducted oral history interviews, and gathered information and photographs. The project culminated with the writing process undertaken by Faulkner and Park over the past two years.

Totaling 256 pages, the book features a fascinating historical narrative augmented by 230 heirloom photographs, biographical profiles of participating women, a Pender Harbour historical timeline, and genealogies of some of the area's founding families. The noted local suthors Edith Iglauer Daly and Theresa Kishkan, respectively, contributed a foreword and afterword. The full-colour dust jacket features a painting of early Irvines Landing created specially for the book by recognized artist Motoko, and the endpapers feature a historic map of the area. Book design was donated by Harbour Publishing.

Proceeds from sales of the book will support the collection and preservation of historical materials in Pender Harbour. For additional publication information, please contact Dorothy Faulkner, chair of the Archive Legacy Committee of the Pender Harbour Living Heritage Society.

ORDER YOUR BOOK NOW!