Hello, It's 2018 and I have stumbled upon this thread via Ancestry.ca. Robert McLean was my great-grandfather, and I am so pleased to read so much about him! I realize the thread is old but in the event someone checks it, I wanted to confirm that Bob did indeed run a mink farm in the Ladysmith area of BC on Vancouver Island (the unincorporated district area is actually called "Saltair"). It is my understanding that he took over running the farm after my grandmother Margaret "Jean" McLean (Robert's daughter) was widowed. It was originally her husband's idea to start a mink farm (husband was James Arthur Maddin) but he was struck by a tree while working as a logger in the bush and died leaving their three children aged 5 and under. Bob looked after his daughter and three grandchildren and ran the mink farm for some time, with the assistance of his young grandchildren. My father was in charge of preparing the mink food using a grinder at the age of 7-8, and my uncle was the one who put the cyanide in the cages at the age of 6! Bob was also an excellent curler and I think he won the Canadian Championships around 1914. He moved from Winnipeg with his wife to live in a small cabin in Ladysmith, beside his daughter, and lived there until the age of about 91. If KatieKazoo would like to contact me, I would be interested in your relation to him. I didn't know anything about his family or place of origin, would be nice to fill in the gaps. From what I can see, all the information that people in the thread uncovered is true, at least with family names, etc. Real detective work there, I am super impressed. And thankful for the information. Regards, Kim Maddin