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Tom W. Parkin of Nanaimo (b. 1951) and Parks Canada naturalist Dennis Horwood co-wrote a natural history guide to the Queen Charlotte Islands entitled Islands for Discovery (Orca, 1989) that was later republished as Haida Gwaii: Islands of Discovery (Heritage House, 2000), which was still in print as of 2021. Parkin has also collected uniquely British Columbian words and phrases for a small dictionary, WetCoast Words (Orca, 1989), and prepared an educational book for children, Green Giants, Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest (Earth Care Books, D&M, 1992).
Green Giants won an Award of Merit from the Outdoor Writers of Canada in 1993. Two other writers have included Parkin’s work in their own books including Judith Barker-Sandbrook in her anthology Thinking Through Your Writing Process (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1989).
He is currently preparing a historical novel set in the Selkirk Mountains during the Edwardian period.
[BCBW 2021] "Environment"
Green Giants won an Award of Merit from the Outdoor Writers of Canada in 1993. Two other writers have included Parkin’s work in their own books including Judith Barker-Sandbrook in her anthology Thinking Through Your Writing Process (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1989).
He is currently preparing a historical novel set in the Selkirk Mountains during the Edwardian period.
[BCBW 2021] "Environment"
Articles: 1 Article for this author
WetCoast Words
Info
British Columbian terms:
Queen Charlotte Island tuxedo -- in the days when real men were loggers, standard dress was a heavy grey Stanfield's undershirt, preferably worn for weeks without washing, and stained to suit the inhabitant's habits.
Mile House -- Along the road constructed to the Cariboo gold fields in the early 1860's, road houses were located at 12 to 14 mile intervals as rest points. These depots became towns, some still bearing the distance from Lillooet in their names, such as 100 Mile House.
hyack -- Chinook jargon for 'hurry up' or 'go fast'. It's rarely used in speech today except as the name for a killer whale at the Vancouver aquarium. It's also used by' a swim club and volunteer fire brigade in New Westminster (also spelled hyak).
Kanaka -- An Hawaiian Islander brought to B.C. as labourers or servants by the Hudson's Bay Co. between 1830 and 1860. The majority of Kanakas married native women and became integrated into native society. There is no trace of them today.
Century Sam -- Sid Williams of Comox was the model for a cartoon prospector character for the province's 1958 centennial. Williams owned a small claim and is commemorated by Century Sam Lake at the headwaters of Comox Creek.
Davis raft -- In 1913 a man called Davis from Port Renfrew invented a method of towing logs within a log framework to form rafts of massive volume but with negligible losses.
[Samples from Tom Parkin's WetCoast Words: A Dictionary of British Columbia Words and Phrases (Orca $9.95)]
