Website designed and maintained by Microport © 2010 -20
MONICA’S WAY (J4x32) 3s&4s on opposite sides
Gail Sibley RSCDS Book 48
1- 2
1s+4s cross RH whilst 2s+3s set
3- 8
1s+2s, 3s+4s dance ¾ double fig. of 8, 1s & 4s cast to start whilst
2s & 3s cross down/up 2 1(4)(3)
9-16
1s+4s Set&Rotate, finish 4M+1L (in tandem) facing down on Ladies’
side, 1L+4M facing up on Men’s side
17-20
2L, 4L+1M, 1L+4M, & 3M dance ½ alternating tandem reel of 4 on
2
nd
corner diagonal
21-24
2M, 1M+4L, 4M+1L, & 3L dance ½ alternating tandem reel of 4 on
1
st
corner diagonal, finishing with 1L+4M in centre facing up,
1M+4L facing down
25-28
1s+4s, passing partner RSh dance out through sidelines & curve
into place 3 1(4)(2)
29-32
3s+1s+4s+2s Advance&Retire
This dance was devised for Monica Roots on her retirement on 23 April 2007 after six years of teaching members
of the Salt Spring Island Scottish Country Dance Club, British Columbia.
Saltspring Island (also known as Salt Spring Island) is the largest, most populous, and most frequently visited of
the Southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. The
island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled in 1858 by ex-slaves from Missouri
who travelled to California, and then north to British Columbia at the invitation of Governor James Douglas,
himself a Guyanese man of multiethnic birth.
The island became a refuge from racism for African Americans and was not only the first of the Gulf Islands to be
settled, but also the first agricultural settlement established anywhere in the Colony of Vancouver Island not
owned by the Hudson's Bay Company or its subsidiary the Pugets Sound Agricultural Company. Settlers were
allowed to acquire land through pre-emption (settlers could occupy and improve the land before purchase, being
permitted to buy it at a cost per acre of one dollar after proving they had done so.) Before 1881 virtually all
property acquired on Salt Spring Island was purchased in this way; as a result, the history of early settlers on
Saltspring Island is unusually detailed. Demographically, early settlers included not only African Americans, but
also (largely) English and European, as well as Irish, Scottish, aboriginal and Hawaiian. The method of land
purchase helped to ensure that the land was used for agricultural purposes and that the settlers were mainly
families.
The island was known as "Chuan" or "Chouan" Island in 1854, but it was also called "Saltspring" as early as 1855, in
honour of the island's salt springs. In 1859, it was officially named "Admiralty Island" in honour of Rear-Admiral
Robert Lambert Baynes by surveyor Captain Richards, who named various points of the island in honour of the
Rear-Admiral and his flagship, HMS Ganges. (The largest village on the island is Ganges.) The island was officially
retitled Saltspring on March 1, 1910. According to the Integrated Land Management Bureau of British Columbia,
locals incline equally to Saltspring and Salt Spring for current use. The official chamber of commerce website for
the island, which gives a date of 1906 for the renaming, adopts the two word title, stating that the Geographic
Board of Canada, in choosing the one word name, "cared nothing for local opinion or Island tradition."
The island is known for its artists and, interestingly, has its own currency, the Salt Spring dollar, which is issued
by the Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation to promote local history, art and goodwill on Salt Spring Island. The
Sustainable Salt Spring Island Coalition examined the possible establishment of a local currency in the fall of
2000, with the first issuance of the currency taking place a year later. In 2006, the Spring Island Monetary
Foundation began planning their first silver coin edition, with the first coins issued in December 2007.
Salt Spring Dollar is exchanged at par with the Canadian dollar, and used
at most businesses throughout the island. They were given the distinct
symbol $$, to denote Salt Spring Island Issued. The Salt Spring Island
Monetary Foundation backs the currency with Canadian dollars. Bills are
issued in $$1, $$2, $$5, $$10, $$20, $$50, and $$100 denominations.
Each bears the image of a distinct figure from Salt Spring history, such as
Henry Wright Bullock ($$1 bill), Matilda Naukana Harris ($$2 bill), or
Sylvia Stark ($$5 bill). Along with the figure is a quote by Albert Einstein:
"How I wish that somewhere there existed an Island for those who are wise and of good will! In such a place
even I would be an ardent patriot."
In the centre is a landscape shot of select locations on the island and the reverse feature paintings from local
artists including Robert Bateman.