Whyte’s Bay Days is a photographic account of the lives of Jock and Mary Sutherland and daughters Mavis and Marguerite as they eked out a living on the shores of Comox Lake near Cumberland during the 1920s and '30s.
The story is essentially the memoirs of Mavis Wall (neé Sutherland) written by local historian Gwyn Sproule.
The community of Whyte’s Bay was situated at the northeast corner of Comox Lake, near Cumberland, close to the long-running and productive Number Four Mine. There used to be many families living there till the mid-1930s, when rising lake levels forced people to leave.
The book will appeal to amateur historians and those with a connection to the area. It is a fascinating story of the life of a family whose main fare was fish and game. They had adventures sailing and rowing to their various cabins around Comox Lake.
Sproule will sign her book this Saturday morning at the Cumberland Cultural Centre as part of the Cumberland Museum’s Community Art event. The event, called Cumberland as Muse, features paintings, photos, sculpture, cards, books, prints, music and other works of art inspired by the physical and cultural landscape of Cumberland.
— Gwyn Sproule