Voices from the Sound : Chronicles of Clayoquot Sound and Tofino, 1899-1929

by Margaret Horsfield

Book by Margaret Horsfield

365 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thematically organized and constructed on the back of original archival material (principally: the records of Walter Dawley, the long-suffering local shopkeeper, as well as the immense personal diary of Fr. Charles Moser written over thirty years), in "Voices of the Sound" Margaret Horsfield paints an entertaining and informative picture of what daily life was like on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island at the beginning of the twentieth century. At times both hilarious and heart breaking, we are invited into a world which is just emerging into some kind of "civilized" life and the reader gets a first hand look at the terrors of the unpredictable Pacific ocean and everyone's total reliance on water transportation, the realities of the first Indian Residential Schools, the flood of immigrants to the area, the scourge of tuberculosis, the ongoing battles to convert the aboriginals to Religion, modern medicine, the rise and fall of the whaling and sealing industry. With many early pictures and facsimiles of original documentation, Horsfield deftly immerses the reader into life in Clayoquot Sound (1899-1929) and it is an enjoyable dip.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book!

It's always fascinating to learn about the history of a place, and Tofino is one interesting place... especially her early citizens. An amazing collection of stories– The personal struggles and triumphs of the many pioneers - cougar Annie, Fred Tibbs and others. Equally intriguing were the many stories of the native peoples of Clayoquot. The only thing I wish more coverage on, was on the early Japanese-Canadian families who made Clayoquot/ Tofino their home.