My family will be marking the anniversary of our move to Pender Island in a few short months and it has me pondering the notion of home. Will the milestone officially make me a Pender Islander? And if not, what is it that makes someone a Penderite?
Perhaps I became one last summer when – while still living in Toronto but already anticipating the move west – I slapped next to our Ontario licence plate a Pender Island bumper sticker.
Maybe it was the first time I knew the answer when someone asked if “The Dip” was open. Or when the rush of frantic ferry traffic elicited its first earnest grumbling as I walked my dog along the narrow shoulders of Pirates Road.
Joking aside, I recall one of my earliest moments of feeling connected to this community was when I recognized a name. I was settling into my new role at The Pender Post by reading through some weathered documents from our archives. There were some hand-typed minutes from a meeting in 1971, when our founders gathered to bring the newsletter to life.
The notes begin with a sombre-enough tone, listing those in attendance and then getting down to business at hand. As the meeting adjourned, the note states, “…Jean Bradley served excellent refreshments.”
Jean Bradley was a founding member, and long-time volunteer, of The Pender Post Society. She is also the namesake for the scholastic gift this publication offers to one worthy resident each year. Her name lived in my memory, as I had seen announcements for the gift every time I picked up a copy of The Post during previous summer visits.
The $500 grant is given each year to a Pender Island resident who is going into studies related to healthcare. While many successful applicants have been straight out of high school, the gift is not limited to students. Rather, any Pender Islander who is expanding their education into the health field is eligible.
Bradley lived a life full of community service, even beyond her work editing and proofreading The Pender Post. She helped get halls built and ensured the new school had facilities, like a gym and kitchen, that would be useful to the community.
She helped found the Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary, worked with the Farmers’ Institute, and the Fall Fair. She was a board member of the Pender Island Health Care Society for many years. Jean passed away in 2021, though her legacy remains alive on the island to this day. Without doubt, Jean Bradley was a Pender Islander, through and through.
Is that what makes a resident – a commitment and service to one’s neighbours and community at large? Giving what they can, and probably a little more than that?
I suppose there is no right answer; each person’s journey is their own. But with July upon us, I am about to have my first summer experience as a local, while our island home plays host to crowds of lucky summer visitors.
For my part, I can’t wait to welcome them. Though, may I urge them to relax a bit while on the roads? There’s no hurry. After all, once you’re here, you’re on Pender time.