Elida Peers | Contributed
If anyone doubted the prosperity of the village of Jordan River in its heyday, they need only look at this photo of the town’s schoolchildren.
How beautifully dressed the youngsters were, having their year-end photo taken in 1923 – the girls resplendent in lovely white gowns and even headdresses; the boys in white shirts and mostly sporting bow ties.
Perhaps it was the management of Vancouver Island Power Company that presented teacher Rita Maloney (at right) with her bouquet in acknowledgement of her work with the youngsters.
In 1923 Jordan River was a bustling community, with most householders employed by V.I. Power Co. (a subsidiary of B.C. Electric) and the balance employed by Canadian Puget Sound Lumber and Timber Company and other logging firms.
It was because of the watershed of the Jordan, its rainforest and the torrents of water, that this village existed.
At that time the original powerhouse on the east side of the river (its forlorn shell still stands) was the centerpiece of the community, supplying power to the city of Victoria.
The community of Jordan River enjoyed a nine-piece orchestra, tennis and badminton courts, a basketball team and more.
While the parents of the children pictured mostly lived in substantial homes, the only one still standing is the two-storey structure at the bottom of the hill as you drive into Jordan River. Built in 1914 it was called the Superintendent’s House.
Standing in the photo are Marta Martinson, Doris Johnson, Ruth Sorenson, Claudine Hunt, Alvin King, Helen Anderson. Seated: Gilbert Hunt, Evelyn Johnson, Robert (Buzz) Walker, Randy Sorenson, Albert (Bunny) Walker. Front: Adelaide Walker, unid, Peggy Walker, Willie Sorenson, Jack Walker, unid, unid.
The Sorenson youngsters were children of Charles Sorenson, who, partnered with Ted Cathels, operated logging outfits in Jordan River and later Port Renfrew for several decades.
The Walker youngsters were children of Jordan River’s leading citizen D. I. Walker who was in charge of the power company, and his wife, Katherine, daughter of pioneer B.C. photographer Hannah Maynard. The source of our photo was Peggy Walker, their daughter, who became Mrs. Gordie Willoughby. Some will remember Gordie tearing into town on his motorcycle.
Another note of interest: Rita Maloney had a sister Nettie, who had taught previously, and who had married Frank Rumsby, a powerhouse worker who later became a Sooke electrician.
The young couple’s first home was in the Superintendent’s House, where their first son Larry was born. Frank and Nettie Rumsby left a legacy of two more generations of Rumsby family electricians.
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Elida Peers is the historian of the Sooke Region Museum.