Joan Atkinson’s father, Leo Chaplin, came to Salt Spring Island in 1908 as a young boy. He fought in World War I and returned in 1918 with his English bride Peggy. They operated a farm in Vesuvius, shown in the middle photo, in the 1920’s, raising thousands of birds as breeding stock for sale on- and off-island. One of their Barred Rocks, shown in the third postcard, was Canada’s champion producer in 1924. In 1927, they won awards at the World Poultry Congress in Ottawa and exhibited prize birds as far afield as London and Tokyo. The family left Salt Spring Island during the Depression.

2007041001.jpg 2007041001 (reverse) 2007041002.jpg 2007041002 (reverse)

2007041003.jpg 2007041003 (reverse)

Letter from Joan Atkinson 2007