“Rte ‘Hon. Louis:S. ‘St. Laurent. following congratulatory - message” has” been: received “from . ‘the: Rt. ‘Hon. Louis: S.St Latrent, Prime. Minister of: Canada, on. the occasion .of ‘the. Saanich, Penin-._ ula’s 100th birthday : Gulf’ Islands is. being dnsula and which ; od before. met “tunity to contribute a message to the special ‘edition’ of the Saanich Pen- Review. published to~ mark 100 vgurs of progress in: that district. ; of “Sidney and the surrounding. area “Icam: pleased’ to: havé an’ “oppor: will, T-:am sure, continue :to enjoy SAANICH. PENINSULA AND. GULF ISLANDS REVIEW - jthe ‘pro ogress which is “inet of call tof Canada, and visitars: will. continue. to take away with them friendly: and pleasant: -memories:: of: “British. Gon lumbia, ‘to. all readers ‘of ‘the SaanichPenin- hest “wishes for: the future: oo ‘LOUIS’ S. ST. LAURENT, Prime: Minister. : | They Retired - -—|To Home Where They Had Wed Mr. .and Mrs. J." Ww, Thonisen spent the latter years of their lives ‘in. the Brentwood area.’ Mrs. Thom- son had first seen. light of day in that same area. She was the former Miss: Annie-Sluggett,. daughter of a notable. pioneer’. family of West Saanich, During their}. retirement they -occenpied the house. in) which they had? been. “married many. years Mr. Thomson‘ was-2 native of. On- tario,; where his parents, had settled after leaving, Glasgow many years, His. family ,.and “he. moved. before. west. to: Chilliwack in 1875. Their journey west: was made across ‘the'| United States to San F: rancisco from which port they saiied. for. Victoria. They spent a few weeks in Victoria and: Saanich before setting out for Chilliwack, TAUGHT AT SUMAS Mr. Thomson taught at'Sumas for OTARAING Tuesday - Wednesday, JUNE 28 - 29 - 30. M. GM relays : ; - MANCEROUS a ase er - FERNANDO LLAMAS" wck CARSON . coor oe FECHINICOLOR “yy ; fe “Teshould: like -to “extend. precinws sula: and: Gulf “Islands” Review" ane _Early Pupil _ — Rapid Peninsula.” ; Keating. exchange wa “ estabiished in 1910, with PL Young sin: charge of. the-operating. and business. mat= ters concerned with the 35 ‘phones. * The-exchange was*known I then as’ Keatings, ‘but.’ in subse- » the “s”.’: In.1913, about three years after the Keating exchange was opened, an item appeared in “Tele- phone Talk”, the B.C. Telephone Comp: any’s house organ, as follows: , oA record was made on January 21 in transferring Keatings ex- ‘change from the office of F. Young to the office of M.° Richardson. , Miss M. Richardson has been ap- WM. ROBERTS pointed agent at Keatings, mepine ing. F. Young, resigned.” In his. comprehensive story on|SUBMARINE CABLE the development of the Saanich edu- |” -In the same article, in°the. Feb- cational, system over a period . of truary; 1913 issue of the magazine, many decades, A. E.. Vogee. refers | i was reported that “submarine to the school attendance here of |cable “had -been laid across ‘Tod William Roberts, member of a Pion- soe... eer. Sidney family. Mr.: Roberts. is | ried in 1879. Until 1884 he. taught in still hale and hearty: He continues | the Victoria area. -At that time he to enjoy life thoroughly. qualified-as a notary public and: re- | turned’ to. Chilliwack. Once ‘again several’ weeks until a flood caused | he was flooded out und took up his . departure. : Mosquitoes. which j.teaching again. followed the flood drove him back His final venture took hint to to Victoria.. While teaching at Royal | ‘Thomson's Landing, which was later Oak in 1877, he took a 10-mile walk j | renamed Beaton, in honor. of. his out to the farm of the pioneer Wil-! partner. He farmed and taught in liam Bannockburn. It was,there he{ the area until 1907, when he retired met Miss Sluggett, ‘vhom he mar-| in Brentwood. a chorea eyo .The telephone has played and will continue to play an ‘December: of 1912, when /2- wew iniportant: part. in ‘the ‘lives of the residents of the Saanich tele-. quent years, the ‘name has dropped. “Since the: Keating and Sidney exchanges were - opened, | they shave grown at a spectacular rate. Inlet ty -conneeting othe: Cement - Construction » Company's plant’ and the Keatings exchange. “Burther details concerning: Keat-:; ings’ (or. KReating’s)* early..growth is evidenced by the announcement in 1917, that anew building was to! be constructed. In August of the magazine that year (1917) reported that the telephone office had been moved | Kichardson . from the home of M, to its new location at the Junction of Central and East - Saanich Roads. Miss Margaret Richardson local representative and chief op- erator, who ‘took charge of the office in 1942, has.a staff of 11° operators who provide service -to 714 telephones. There are now four ; positions of switchboard in service. FIRST AGENT The Sidney. office came into ex- istence in 1910, with 53 telephones serving the district. Miss J. Me-; Naught was the. first nt, who . remained in. that capacity until | age ‘ We deied cg petites only % few pert ee by. irate Telephone iSidney’ [xchange as being" “p artland | lon the: ‘Peninsula’, : i toria. Wednesday, June 238, 1954. ° patie: was opened. and. Migs Sewell, took. charge. . An-vitem- in Lelephone- Talle’s | first: issue. January, 1911,: described Tocated Tancouver iss: Hand, about 16 miles north:of Vie- It is: surrounded by a splen- did agricultural... district «thar. sup- | ports a. thriving little town, .There: pwill beca substantial growth here.” Telephone’ Talk’s writer « was !quite a prophet—from the $83 tele- ‘phones which were first installed, the exchange has grown to a total of 1,758. Prom the one operator who served the exchange at that ‘time, the staff has grown to 20. ‘Vive ie of switchboard pro- vide service, where only one did at Lk . fee remained as agent, and her sister, | frst. Miss Helen Richardson, wus the | Miss Mary Enos, present jocal S&S, only other’ operator. rrepresentative. and chief operator, At that time there were 89 tele- took over that position in “4926, phones— more than deuble- the , When there were 244 telephones in ’ ues rere S a 7a + Sere oT 7 number with which the exchange ; service, She has jseen it grow chad started out just. seven years irom: that number «to its present before. . . | size, ee, at Today,. Miss Violet MeX Sally, t Alex MeCormick, district repair- [n ain, looks after. the plant work in Teonneetion with Sidney and Keat- 1 OLDEST..ROAD | Oldest road from Victoria to Saasi- ich is the. West. Saanich Road. Al- | though that highway no longer fol- j lows its original path throughout ‘its length, it is largely the route fol- " towed by the majority of the .early : settlers. yervice | @)