On October 8th 2003, to a full house at Central Hall, the Salt Spring Historical Society presented a fascinating and fun slide show and talk by Malcolm Bond, well known local veterinarian and famer of historic "BonAcres." (Yes, the same LePage Road, BonAcres, that produces delicious corn, pumpkins and other crops for local consumption.) Malcolm recalls the pioneer days of his father, Jesse Bond, a famous island farmer and photographer. Jesse's talent for exquisitely capturing the everyday life and people of Salt Spring in the early days, is a gift to today's and future generations of islanders. In the early 1900s, many of Jesse's photos were taken on a camera that utilized glass plate negatives to capture an image. Malcolm displayed a small selection of a collection of over 500 of Jesse's photos. Many of the prints made from the glass negatives are stored at the Salt Spring Archives and free to view online at: saltspringarchives.com
With gratitude to the SS Historical Society for organizing the event and to Malcolm Bond for sharing his family's life and times. He reminds us of the importance of history, community and family. Courtesy of the archives of Salt Spring Island filmmaker and musician, Peter Prince: peterprince.ca/