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Powell Lake was named in 1881 after Dr. Israel Wood Powell, a medical doctor from Ontario who worked for the British Columbia government during the 1800s.  A fiord lake, it spans some 50km in length and is 24km wide.  In 1924, when the Powell River Company raised it's dam on the Powell River for a second time, the lake level rose to 56m above sea level.  Although a fresh-water lake, a 1961 study by the University of British Columbia proved the existence of salt water at the bottom of the lake.
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Giuseppe Gagliardi (1886-1947) was from the Calabria area of Italy.  It appears that upon his arrival, sometime before 1914, he took this property as half a pre-emption (80 acres). It was then called Powell Lake Farm. He grew a fabulous garden and sold his produce to markets in Powell River. Also helping him were John Minichelli and his wife as well as Dominic Diana. Minichelli and Gagliardi worked two homesteads. John's homestead was on Frog Lake. Upon Gagliardi's death, the land remained vacant for many years.
In the 1960's, young Americans, disillusioned by the Vietnam War, came to live there. However, after disbanding a few years later, they didn't sell the land, determined to save it from developers.
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In 1975, the Scheibers, urged by a former commune member, took a job from Total Education, an alternate school, and started an out-door program. After Total Education, they started their own school which ran until 1985.
The farm hosted Katimivik programs and it was about the time of Peter Scheibers death in 1985 that the named changed to Fiddle Head Farm. The farm evolved to become an International Hostel site, retreat centre and a holiday destination for families. In recent years the land where the farm once thrived has been sold and logged, but the area remains one of significance in the memories of longtime Powell Riverites.
Thanks to the P.R. Forestry Museum for the photo and to Mrs. Scheiber for the information.