The Thetis Island Quarterly

The Quarterly is published by the Thetis Island Community Association around the 1st of March, June, September and December of each year, to highlight the people and activities of Thetis Island.

A link to the new digital Quarterly is sent out to all TICA members , while print versions may be obtained by subscription at $30 per year. Subscriptions to the print version may be purchased at the time of joining the Thetis Island Community Association, or separately by completing the order form & payment following.

Started in late 1990 by Ann Dickie, then president of the Thetis Island Community Association, the first issue of the Quarterly came out in the fall of 1990. In its simpler, original form, it served to keep the community updated about events and activities of various community services and organizations, with a bit of local news thrown in. More than 30 years later, it has evolved through various editors and changing formats into its current magazine. A history of that evolution, through the eyes of its various editors, was published on its 20th anniversary, in the Fall 2010 edition. That article is linked here.

Below is an excerpt from another article noting its 30th anniversary in 2020:

“30 years of the Thetis Island Quarterly” by Veronica Shelford

30 years. Seems like it went by in a heartbeat...

The thing is, the “Q” is a living history. The notion of a “genius loci” - the spirit of place - applies here as much or more than anywhere. Living in a place without engaging with its past is like living in a train station or airport. Lots of coming and going but no connection, no meaning - just busy. The Q has been one place where bits and pieces of individual memories can be fixed, different facets, different perspectives, different priorities that make up this “village” life. Like fairy lights in a tree, however small the items, they gently illuminate the whole. More than a catch-up on the news, it’s a gift to our future selves and those who come after.

Journalism has come generally to mean reporting the news, or the background stories to the news. But keeping a journal has long been a more intimate and thoughtful project, recording the big and little things that catch our notice or trip our memory “on the day”. And the collection of those “noticings” are the very soul of history, the stories of our lives.

I guess I wax sentimental about this, because the older I get, the more I realize how very alive history actually is. It’s not what’s gone - it’s what runs in our veins, unnoticed life blood.

Just for fun, here’s a few memorable covers from the last 30 years.

And a special thanks to all the editors and team members and contributors and advertisers and helpers and pickers-up who have kept the Q going....Here’s raising a glass to our own island journal, our letters home!

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