Mrs. Lynda Finch

Lydia Catherine Waldon was born in England in 1882. She graduated piano and organ from the Royal College of Music in London. In 1910 she came to Victoria, some time later she met and married Lewis Howard Finch. They moved to Cumberland in 1918.

She began educating the Chinese about 1931. During the '30s and '40s Mr. George Apps (principal of Cumberland Elementary School) and Mrs. Finch went to the mission every week to teach Sunday school to the children and teenagers. "Aunt Kay", as the children referred to her, taught English, piano, needle arts, and painting daily from 3:30 to 5:30. There is mention of Mrs. Finch being the Superintendent of the Anglican (Chinese) Mission of Cumberland. Some of the fondest memories of the children are of Christmas and other holiday preparations.

Her name often appeared on the working committees to make the Cumberland Folk Festival a Success, an annual event lasting from 1949 to 1958. A highlight of the 1953 Folk Festival was a 30 voice Chinese choir from Vancouver, arranged under the care of Mrs. Finch.

Lewis Finch added his touches to Cumberland. In 1923 he prepared plans and specifications for the remodelling of the firehall. In 1930, he was the contractor to turn the old jail/courthouse into a residence for the courthouse clerk. Lewis also sang bass for the Comox District Men's Choir, for many years his wife Lydia accompanied the choir on the piano.

Lydia Catherine (Waldon) Finch was also involved with the Holy Trinity Anglican Church (2732 Penrith). She became organist and choir mistress in 1924 and continued until 1959 when, at age 77, her knees were bad and she could no longer pump the bellows.

"Aunt Kay" passed away in 1983 after a long life of kindness and caring at age 101.

Diana Day Piket

In 1882, Diana and husband John Henry Piket immigrated from Nottingham, England, to Denman Island where John took up farming. 1885 brought the birth of son Leonard, he was the first white child born on Denman Island.

By 1889 Diana had moved to then called Union (Cumberland) and was running one of the company boarding houses with her own brand of loving care and strong discipline. She would go by horse and buggy to Union Bay, row across to Denman Island and load up with meats, vegetables and dairy products from her husband's farm, row back, load the supplies into the carriage and ride back to her boarding house. By the 1891 Canada Census, she was running the largest boarding house in Union, housing Gertrude and Cecil, her daughters and 16 lodgers, all of British stock, all miners or laborers except for a WCR foreman and a locomotive engineer.

The Pikets held the third public dance at their boarding house in August, 1889.

The Cumberland Hotel was built by John "Jack" Bruce and George Grant MacDonald and was open for business January 1, 1894. Six months later Diana and husband John bought it. Jack stayed on at the hotel to help Diana run things. Almost immediately Diana and John built the Cumberland Hall right next to the hotel, it was used for larger social events, entertainments, theatricals, hospital fundraisers, and church bizarrs.

Diana and John were soon separated and by 1896 John bought the Spring Inn. According to the Cumberland News, the Inn was opened for business the week of May 5, 1896. It was halfway between Cumberland and Courtenay on the Cumberland road, and thus, was nicknamed the Halfway House. According to legend the watering hole was "a notorious brothel and den of iniquity" and was set on fire by a hord of angry women. But that was sometime after 1911, when John Piket lost it at a Sheriff's sale to Simon Leiser and Company of Victoria who held a heavy claim against the property in the amount of $425.00.

Diana was a colorful character, she was renowned for her parties. She and Jack ran the hotel and hall for 15 years. At the time of sale, Diana was listed as proprietor and Jack as manager. She also owned a small candy and fruit business (originally located in a small 1908 building, left of the Davis block).

In 1909 Diana bought the house at 3312 Fifth and named it Belvoir Villa. She took in boarders and gave splendid garden parties. It has been said that children would look forward to spending the weekends at her house. Out of a group of them she would pick one to be treated like a prince/princess for the weekend and the rest of the kids would work, the kids would always come in hopes that they would be the chosen child for that weekend.
She was an active member of Harmony Rebekah Lodge, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and UCDH, then the CGH Ladies' Auxilliary.

John Piket died in 1914. In 1916, Diana married longtime friend and business associate Jack Bruce, but their marriage would not last long; Jack passed away the following year in 1917.

In 1925 Diana tried to sell the house, but rented it out instead. She moved into the "little red house" at 3322 Fifth.

Diana died in 1934, she was living with son Leonard Day "Len" Piket and wife Jean (Henderson) in Comox.


Information taken from:
Mrs. Finch- Cumberland Heritage; pages 26/85/103/112
A Spirited 100 Years; pages137/138/212/190/31

Mrs. Piket-Cumberland Heritage; pages14/16/35/38/39/41/57
63/67/139/168/171/178
A Spirited 100 Years; pages13/16/64/179/115/15/58