DAVID CONOVER SR.
My father was a dreamer at heart and my mother was more of a realist. I don't know if that is a good combination or not, but their relationship lasted over 28 years, and most of that time was spent on Wallace Island.
After the resort sold, my father built his new home on the acreage he retained on Wallace Island. He wrote several books (listed below) all but one of which are about his experiences on Wallace Island and Salt Spring Island. My father had a problem keeping a wife on the island. After Jeanne, my mother, there was Kathy, the professional student who attended university in Victoria. Then there was Peggy; Peggy owned a Boutique in Victoria. I called them "weekend wives". Finally, there was Barbara. She had been living on Jackscrew Island (which is just north of Wallace) with the island's caretaker. One day, Peggy left with the Jackscrew Caretaker and never returned. That left Barbara available. To make a long story short, Barbara was married to my father for about three years when he died.
My father's life on Wallace Island began in July 1946. He remained on the island until his death in December of 1983. He was 64 years old.
Books by David Conover Sr:
All the books are out of print except "Once Upon an Island" has just been republish and is available.
After the resort sold in the mid-60's, Jeanne took up residence in Victoria, British Columbia, while I attended high school. She found out what suburban life was like, and she never returned to Wallace. After my parents' divorce, my mother married Norm, a fine gentleman. They lived in Phoenix, Arizona until her passing in May 2003.
Jeanne has visited the island over the years; the last time being a day trip in the spring of 1999, when Norm and I accompanied her. She remarked, "This all happened so long ago." I think she would rather remember the island the way it was. I know I do.
People have said to me, "You must have had a great childhood, growing up in a resort business on your own island." I look at them and think, "You have no idea what life is like for an only child to live on a private island." Yes, summers were like a childhood dream come true, but the dream ended in September. As a child, with no brothers or sisters, those long, cold, isolated winters seemed to stretch into eternity. You would think my parents would have had more children! I guess I was a real handful!
Then there was school, to which I had to commute by private boat. The events of my childhood are recorded in a book my father wrote called, Sitting on a Salt Spring.
I took up the Nursing profession to travel but never did travel. Instead, I married, had three children, divorced, and now I am happily remarried again. In 1994, I left the nursing profession after twenty-six years to open a year-round Bed and Breakfast called, Father's Country Inn. It is located in the interior of British Columbia near a ski resort. Yes, it is named after my father, with pictures and articles displayed on the walls with respect to Wallace Island, my parents, and Marilyn Monroe.
Dora is my father's mother - my grandmother. My father never gave any credit or recognition to his mother for all the tens of thousand of dollars that went into Wallace Island and the Resort over the years. My grandmother also paid for my education. She visited the island several times over the years. Dora was a great sport, from camping out in tents, to riding the rough waters in "Bertha," (the old lifeboat) with waves spraying over the boat.
She lived in Kansas City, Missouri for many years. In her later years, she moved to California to be near her eldest son, Austin Conover. She died in 1983.
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