The Steward of Copper Island

“I consider holding the title for God’s Property a very serious business.”

When Nelson Dunkin bought the property on Copper Island in 1958, it wasn't his purpose to further isolate himself and his family. They had been living in Kildonan, a small marine community, where less than 100 people remained of the hundreds that once lived and worked there when the fisheries were open. He viewed the purchase of 105 acres on Copper Island as a way to establish a new coastal community, one based on the Christian values and principles by which he lived.

In a letter to us that I rediscovered recently, Nelson wrote:

So far i have in mind 4 couples with their children for a start here. You two - Neil & Kathy - Don & Patty and Burnd & Sylvia. These are all Born Again Christians and not allergic to work. i think we must be very cautious not to get any deadbeats or Agitators.

Nelson had a deep distrust of government “interference” with Copper Island:

Some years ago, when the Regional Dictatorship was first brought out, i borrowed their manifesto and copied the whole foul thing. Not a square foot of BC was exempt from their mandatory rulings. When the house was burned, my copy was lost. Some character in Vancouver was paid to zone Bamfield and around Barkley Sound: either the man was mentally unbalanced or he had a depraved sense of humour. For example, one section about Bamfield was zoned for “Hog Farm.” Imagine hogs rooting big cedar stumps out and growing fat, and also the expense of shipping grain in to feed them. Another portion for mushroom growing. Very likely he never heard that mushrooms are commercially grown in closed buildings. Copper Island was zoned for Railroads, Airports, Trapping and portable sawmills. Now if Copper Island is still so zoned, would there be any sin if we put up a little sawmill (since we already have the timber)? Surely we would be allowed to stay here with the mill, and if we happen to be religious, should our home religion affect our zoning? And if Christians wish to come visit, without being advertised for or charged, should that have any bearing on zoning? i hope i am not offensive, but that is as i see the situation.

The principle of stewardship is a constant theme in the Bible, from Adam and Eve placed in the garden of Eden to Jesus' parable of the talents. The teaching is that everything we have was entrusted to us by God, and that we are responsible to manage it in a way that represents him well. We treat the stuff of God as he would treat it, as his representatives on earth. In a letter to Neil, Nelson wrote:

It is a terrible responsibility to be title holder to the Lord’s property. To select an heir is a very serious business, and most likely there is not a person walking this earth whom all would approve of.

• They would need a vision and a love for Copper Island and a realization that such a property to buy is almost non-existent.
• They would need a greater desire to serve Christ than some denomination.
• To log off or sell the property should never once enter their mind.
• They would need to exercise extreme caution, these evil days, as to whom they would invite to use the place.
• There should be no advertising by print or radio, but by word of mouth people would come to know where to come to find the Lord.
• Friends could do work and give gifts but never would they be asked to pay for the use of the facilities.
• They would come as friends of Jesus and depart the same way.

Continue in prayer to God to guide us, and soon, for the world is deteriorating by the hour and Christians need a refuge from the evil one.

I find it encouraging that these values are still largely honoured by the people who lead and serve Copper Island Camp today. As much as the future of Copper Island was a constant concern and sometimes an anxiety for Nelson, God has proved himself trustworthy. He protected the property from several interests that did not own these values, and has preserved Nelson's vision during the 35 years that Copper Island Camp has been operating. I am thankful for the faithfulness of God and the people of his choosing.

The camp fire circle, with Nelson's second house in the background. Only the smaller section of the house (to the right) is original; the left side was added on to preserve Nelson's home and provide housing for camp staff.

Dear Nelson...

I recently found the originals of all our letters from Nelson, and with them an envelope—with the name "BADKE" in his large lettering—containing all the letters we had sent to him. Many people saved up Nelson's precious letters to this day, and he in turn treasured the letters he received.

Our letters were often about our plans to go and visit Nelson. He always said to just show up, but we had seen his calendar on the wall and knew how much he anticipated the upcoming visitors that he penciled in.

Dear Nelson, (April 3, 1985)
I'm not sure if you will remember me. I’m the "Jim" who was with the Shantymen one summer at Pachena Bay and visited you a couple of times (I once carved a seal out of soapstone for you). My wife and I visited you near Christmas the year before your beautiful old place burned down. We had flown in with a Shantyman pilot from Campbell River. You gave us a brass candlestick (which we continue to use regularly!).

We would like to come and visit you. The last time we saw you, we had said that we hoped to spend a bit more time with you than the couple of hours we had then, sometime in the future. We would like to come on the Lady Rose probably on April 25th (three weeks from now) and leave the next Tuesday. We will bring food, and Brian Burkholder mentioned to us that you have a couple of cabins now for your visitors. It would be good to see you again, and we can't think of a better way to spend part of the break we have from college.

If for some reason if isn't possible for you to have us stay with you at the time I mentioned, it will probably be too late to send us a letter to tell us. We will just come, hoping things will work out. If nothing else, we could catch the boat again on Its way back and have at least a few hours with you. We're looking forward to seeing you. I think it was the Lord who put you on our minds again. We pray that this time will be encouraging for both you and us.

That was our first longer visit, and it was wonderful. On June 17th, we wrote, "When we were watching your place disappear as we headed for Port Alberni, we were thinking how that while we at your place time stood still, and it was like we were going back on the same day that we had arrived. I’m sure the Lord will direct us to you again." Sarah and I didn't know during our visit that we were expecting, so in that same letter, Sarah broke the news: "We are going to be parents!! Our little bundle from the Lord is supposed to arrive sometime in middle of December. When I think of the little miracle growing inside of me, I wonder how anyone can say there is no God."

So when we made plans to visit again the next summer, it would be an even greater adventure:

Dear Nelson, (July 23, 1986)

Just a quick note to say that, if you will have us, we would like to come and stay with you for a few days in August. We would be arriving I think on Tuesday, Aug. 5 and leaving either on the following Sunday or the 8th. That doesn't give you much notice—sorry about that. We were writing you a longer letter, but then decided it would be better to “mail” ourselves to you instead. If that isn't a good time for you, you could do as you did once before and have Mary call us (I’ve enclosed a dollar), but otherwise we’ll just arrive on the Lady Rose: baby and all. And as usual, we will observe your rates: we'll bring our nose-bag and sleeping bags. We’re looking forward to another good time with you, and especially the opportunity to introduce you to Benjamin James, now 6½ months. P.S. - hope this reaches you before we do! 

Another common topic in our letters to Nelson was his hope to begin a Christian community on the island. We were one of four couples that he invited to come and live there. This was our response to his offer:

Dear Nelson (October 3, 1986) 

As you may have guessed, your invitation to us weighs heavily on our minds. My excuses for not packing up tomorrow and moving to Sunrise Cove are not very weatherproof—because surely the Lord would provide for our needs and Benji would be fine and so on—and yet it seems like such a big step that it makes all our other options seem like standing still. I can imagine how impatient you must feel waiting for young whippersnappers like us to make up our minds—you have been waiting a long time. But please bear with us and please keep praying for us. We will keep you posted.

Nelson received a similar response from another couple at about the same time:

Nov 16, 1986
Dear Nelson, how I would love to give my unreserved “yes” to your offer at this time, indeed your kindness and generosity have deeply impressed me and my heart wants to respond by embracing your generous offer and committing myself to serving our mutual Lord Jesus Christ together with you on this land which God has given you to use for his great purposes. Yet, as our dear friends [one of the other couples] know so well, only with the Lord's own approval would such a commitment be truly honoring to him and beneficial to others in His name. Such divine approval I must wait for before I can give you my firm commitment.

To that other couple's response, Nelson replied:

Feb 5, 1987
Your letter at hand and i fully agree with everything you say about the wisdom of having the title to this property secured by a will; in fact, for months i have prayed both night and day for a solution to the problem. It is a terrible responsibility to be title holder to the Lord’s property.

How patient Nelson was as he waited on God and on his people to fulfill the vision he had for Copper Island! Long nights of sitting by his kerosene lamp, reading our letters, praying for us and wondering what to write back.

Other correspondence was with people he tapped for their expertise on projects he had in mind (or on the go). He once thought of adding a steam engine to his boat so he wouldn't have to rely on diesel fuel. This was part of a reply he received:

Aug 6, 1964
I imagine you’ll be wanting to burn driftwood, in which case a large firebox is required. Do not attempt any welding of the pressure parts of a boiler yourself. We must never have an accident with any of these steamboats or the boom will get lowered. The little steam engines and boilers we build (to order only) take such a long time to build, four sets a year is about the limit, and we could sell more if we could build them faster. But we can’t so we have to turn fellows down right along. It’s too bad. The big trouble is I can’t get anything done for myself, nor have I had my own steam boat out for 6 years as a result. Well, I'll close now wishing you the best.

Finally, here is a postscript that I added to the end of one of my letters. My suggestion is one that you and I wish Nelson had heeded: 

PS. The enclosed pad of paper isn’t just for letter-writing this winter. You have a knack for writing. Why not write down some of the stories that you've told, especially about your own experiences? We, if not most people, would be most interested in reading them!!

 Nelson and Snuggles walking back from the float after saying goodbye until next time.

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Delayed But Coming Up: A photo essay by Margaret Stewart—from the 

Isle of Lewis off the coast of Scotland—on Mina and her homeland and background.