Denise Wolda: Coming home to Cortes
Cortes Currents
English - August 16, 2023 21:55 - 24 minutes - 55.3 MBNews cortes island discovery islands quadra food security energy indigenous nations Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The course of Denise Larson’s life took a radical change in 1983, when she and two of her band members came to Merville. They were professional musicians promoting her third record. It was nice to get out of Vancouver, but Denise did not have any expectations of a small dance in the Merville Hall. Then Ron Wolda walked into her life. She had actually met him two years earlier in Courtenay, but at that time they both had other partners. Now they were single. Ron sat himself down beside her at the dinner being given for the musicians. The next morning, Ron took her out to see the home he built beside the ocean.
“We're married three months later and I haven't had to pay rent since. I'm very happy for many reasons, not just that one,” she said.
“ He was a great fan right from day one. He has always supported me to keep it up. So I continued to write, and when I moved to Cortes, you can imagine how totally inspiring Cortes Island is to a singer, to a songwriter. I don't have to make my living at it anymore,. I have the luxury of playing for fundraisers , for the joy of it and hopefully for the appreciation of people, and without worrying about that.”
“Ron is a phenomenon really. I'm not the only one who would say that. He's just endless energy. I'm 76, he's 75: his energy is still just remarkable, as is his strength. That said, he agrees that it's time to slow down a little and think a little more about other things like sailboats, but we would not be on Cortes Island and we would not live in a nice big house that he's built were it not for Ron and his hard work ethic. He's from Holland. It's got something to do with it. He's a great fellow, and I certainly never regretted that he asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
“He has made a good life for us, and I've certainly done my part, but together we've made a good team.”
CC: How does music fit into your new life? Is Ron supportive?
“ He was a great fan right from day one. He has always supported me to keep it up. So I continued to write, and when I moved to Cortes, you can imagine how totally inspiring Cortes Island is to a singer, to a songwriter. I don't have to make my living at it anymore. I have the luxury of playing for fundraisers, for the joy of it and hopefully for the appreciation of people, and without worrying about that.”