Bob Akerman defined old-timer generation

In island history books, Bob Akerman is noted as a skilled sportsman and legendary islander, but to his son Pat he’ll always be remembered as a proud and loving father.

“He definitely taught me respect for elders, discipline and a strong work ethic,” said Pat, a few days after his father passed away at his home at the age of 96 on Nov. 7. “Everybody always had their row to hoe.”

Many islanders knew Bob as the caretaker of the Akerman museum or as the co-author of The Akerman Family: Growing up with Salt Spring Island, though a vast majority most likely knew him as a friend and neighbour.

In the book’s opening pages, Bob writes that living on an island “encourages us all to get to know each other a little better than we might have done otherwise” and, whether he was organizing a cross-island sports tournament or building up many of the Fulford landmarks that persist to this day, Bob certainly met a lot of people along the way.

Bob was born in the Fulford Valley in 1912 to Ted and Ellen Akerman. He and his wife Molly raised 11 children, many of whom remain on the island and are actively involved with the community. The family grew to include 30 grandchildren and 45 great grandchildren.

In a lifetime spent living off the land by farming, logging, ranching, fishing and hunting, Bob grew to symbolize what life in the south end was all about.

He began hunting when he was five, nabbing two pigeons in a nearby grain field with a 12-gauge Parker. Shortly after that early experience, his Grannie Gyves taught him how to rake herring in Fulford Harbour and collect clams off of what is now Isabella Point Road.

These skills served Bob and his family well during Salt Spring’s early days and the Great Depression. While many people in the country were lining up for bread, Bob recalled that life on the island proceeded as usual, largely because the early pioneers never had much money to begin with.

“We had to make do with whatever we could find, but we were far better off than a lot of other Canadians. We hunted for game, grew fruit and vegetables and raised a cow for milk, but that wasn’t any different from the way we had always lived — off the land,” he wrote. “When we got tired of hunting, we’d get fish, clams and crab. We always used to say, ‘when the tide’s out, the table is set.’”

Islander Marguerite Lee spent many an evening at Bob’s family home where she and the Akerman children enjoyed the family’s “open-door” policy.

Everyone was welcome to grab a chair at the Akerman table and, Lee recalled, Bob always carried a smile wherever he went.

“I will certainly miss him,” she said.

According to longtime island resident Bob Rush, “the valley won’t seem the same without him.”

Over the course of his life, Bob helped build, among other things, the Drummond Park children’s playground, the Fulford Ball Park and multiple renovations to Fulford Hall. He was a founding member of the Salt Spring Rotary Club and Salt Spring’s original Parks and Recreation Commission.

When it came to building community, Bob wrote that he was only repaying the favour made by the generations that preceded him.

“I’ve enjoyed many dances, ball tournaments and picnics, among other events that were organized by volunteers who put in many hours of hard work for the benefit of the entire community,” he wrote. “It was only natural that I’d pitch in my services when I could to return the favour and to ensure that the island remains an exciting and enjoyable place for us all to live.”

Though the days of cougar hunts and bucking big timber in the Fulford Valley may be a thing of the past, the story of Bob’s life can still remind us all about how things used to be, what remains important and what living on the island is all about.

It’s a sentiment well captured in a section of his book wherein he recalls dealing with all the city folk who happened by the Akerman family museum.

“Those city folks are real good people and I wouldn’t want to upset them, but when they can’t understand why people would want to live on Salt Spring Island, I think they’re just a little dumb in some ways.”

A celebration of Bob’s life will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16 at Fulford Community Hall starting at 1 p.m. All are welcome.