The Thomson family moved from their east bench orchard to their new home on Kalamalka Lake in 1929. By this time the children were either teenagers or young adults. The location on the lake was ideal for boating, swimming and diving. In 1932 the boys built a diving tower at the end of their dock....
This is the third in a series of blogs exploring the logging history of Lake Country, this one focussing on transporting logs to the Munson and Simpson mill in Winfield in the 1927-9 period. Large logs were preferred because the end-use was to make knot-free Applebox shook. These large logs were...
The donation of historic photographs by Pete Simpson to the Lake Country Museum has led me to examine the circumstances behind the building of a sawmill in Winfield in 1927. These photographs were of the Munson and Simpson mill located on the Beaver Lake Road. For background, I consulted Sharron...
This is the first of a series of blogs relating to on my family’s settlement in Oyama. On July 10, 1919 the Vernon News noted the following event. “Mr. H. B. Thomson of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, with his family, arrived at Oyama last Friday, having motored the entire way, coming through the...
Economic activity in Oyama really increased with the opening of the navigation canal across the isthmus in Oyama in 1908. The first steamer, theCity of Vernon, passed through the canal on September 3, 1908, creating a water link to the north end of Kalamalka Lake. By 1909 the Wood Lake...
I have recently been in correspondence with Alan Aldred, a gentleman who was raised in Oyama and whose family history he is writing. The two photographs below are of stores run by his grandfather, Frederick Harry Aldred. The first photograph comes from Alan’s collection and the second from that of...
In 1922 seven young, tanned orchardists from Oyama visited the Summerland Experimental Station, presumably to learn some of the science behind growing apples. All were from England, some having arrived very recently. Thank you to Diane Eyles Turner for the photograph and identifications. They are,...
Oyama during World War II The final featured Heritage Marker will be placed where the Okanagan Rail Trail crosses Oyama Road. Like the other markers in the series, this one was prepared with the assistance of a Canada 150 grant. The crossroads of Highway 97 and Oyama Road was the commercial hub of...
A tin can from the large collection on display in the “general store” at the Lake Country Museum is an interesting artifact. This can was shipped from Spanish-speaking Argentina, under the label Flora De Lis. This packaging was commonly used from 1907 until 1942 when international...
The fourth heritage marker panel examined in this series is entitled “Water before Rail,” dealing with the transport of fruit and other goods by water, roughly between the opening of the canal connecting Kalamalka and Wood lakes in 1908 and the completion of the Canadian National Railway (CNR)...
This Heritage Marker, at the junction of Woodsdale and Lodge roads, is the third featured site along the Okanagan Rail Trail.1 The Thomas Wood Ranch dominated the flats at the south end of Pelmewash or Wood Lake until Wood retired to Victoria in 1903. He subdivided his land and sold it to...
The research, design and construction of five heritage markers along the Okanagan Rail Trail is a project of the Lake Country Museum & Archives. It is supported by the Province of British Columbia through the British Columbia | Canada 150: Celebrating B.C. Communities and their Contributions...