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| The oldest home on
Saltspring Island, similar to the Stark's first home there. 1947, A-08434 |
The Starks arrived at Vesuvius Bay in the summer of 1860, bringing fifteen dairy cows with them - the cows were lowered into the water by ropes and swam ashore! Their new home was a cabin without a roof or a door - so Louis built a roof with the help of neighbours, and Sylvia hung a quilt in the doorway for the first while. Louis cleared the land and planted a fruit orchard and some wheat. The Starks also raised chickens, turkeys, pigs - and, of course, cows.
The Starks survived the smallpox epidemic the following year, learned to live with their Cowichan Indian neighbours (who they were at first afraid of), and kept their children safe from cougars. For a few years the Starks moved to the Nanaimo area, but returned to Saltspring eventually. Sylvia continued to farm with her son Willis, growing and preserving her own vegetables, bringing food and herbs to neighbours who were ill, and living in her own home until her death at the age of one hundred and six.
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| Mrs. Sylvia Stark (aged 92) with apples from her orchard, Saltspring Island Detail of A-01726 |
