Over the years we have been so fortunate to have good volunteers at the Lake Country Museum and Archives. On the website longtime volunteers Harvey Lamont and Karen Gibbons have been featured and they still spend numerous hours volunteering for our Museum. There are, of course, many other...
Over the years we have been so fortunate to have good volunteers at the Lake Country Museum and Archives. On the website longtime volunteers Harvey Lamont and Karen Gibbons have been featured and they still spend numerous hours volunteering for our Museum. There are, of course, many other...
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century Canada it was common for children to live with their parents until age fourteen and then to live with an employer or surrogate parent where they could learn a trade or, at least, life experience. Girls, except those from upper class homes, generally...
The British Columbia Ministry of Justice has proclaimed March 31 to April 6 “Make a Will Week” in the province, encouraging everyone to make a will or update wills already prepared. “People who don’t make a will lose the opportunity to choose their beneficiaries,” said Vernon lawyer Rob Culos,...
Allan Mills arrived in Sunnywold in 1909, joining his brother, William, who had been farming there since 1894. Allan and his wife added to their original Sunnywold pre-emption by purchasing their neighbours’ land, as it became available, from the Siddons, Whites and McLounies. The Mills’ 1340-acre...
Have you heard of the Okanagan Rail Trail initiative? The railway line between Vernon and Kelowna recently ceased operations, and we now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn the old railway into a multi-purpose trail. It would stretch all the way from Coldstream (next to Vernon),...
The banner photograph on the Lake Country Museum and Archives website shows the starting line-up of fifteen cyclists about to begin a grueling thirty-five mile race from Vernon to Kelowna. Three young Lake Country men participated: Lawrence (Larry) Evans and Harold Thomson of Oyama and Hugh Bernau...
Summerland’s ‘Cannonballs’ When the widening of Highway 97 was initially studied, efforts were made to preserve a section of rock that contained numerous ‘cannonballs’. These volcanic rocks are quite unique. Only one other location, the Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala,...
Next week is Heritage Week. Take the following quiz to test your local historical knowledge. 1. What year did the Oyama canal open? 2. What was the name of the first post office in Winfield? 3. Which brothers developed the town site of Okanagan Centre? 4. Who ran “The Store” in Okanagan Centre...
The second Monday of February is Family Day in British Columbia. It is a time to celebrate family members and remind ourselves of those who preceded us. Museums and archives are wonderful repositories for family histories. Here one can find photographs and histories that document family life in...
On Saturday morning Mrs. Nellie McClung1 arrived at Oyama, and was the guest of Dr Irvine and the Misses Irvine. We are indebted to the Misses Irving for their kindness in giving an “at home” and allowing all who wished to, to meet Mrs. McClung, our celebrated Canadian writer and...
“Symbolic in both Native and modern cultures, Bald Eagles are one of the most majestic birds in British Columbia. Each autumn and winter, thousands of eagles gather at spawning sites to feast on spawned-out salmon ….” Although “[e]agles mate for life and can live up to 40...