I am walking through the silence of this cold and frosty night, I am treading on the diamonds that sparkle with the light. And the throbbing, beating pulses of the whispering cold night air, Have reached into my heart and found the memories lurking there. I can glimpse the roaring bonfire and the...
The Westbury Hotel, built in 1908, was one of two hotels in Okanagan Centre in the early 1900s. On Halloween day in 1947, fire broke out and the hotel burned to the ground. Although no one was injured, the guests and the seasonal packinghouse workers who boarded there lost all their possessions....
Applebox Belles presents the stories of the pioneers, the Summer Girls, and the champion Apple Wrapper Flappers of Lake Country’s early apple packing industry. These determined women quickly became the workforce of the packinghouses, sorting, wrapping, packing, and stamping, and they transformed a...
This post concludes the Camp Kopje reminiscences by Douglas Broome. “Back to camp. The buildings went down the bay from the Panabode. The beach was clear the entire distance, edged by a 20 foot wide green area of bushes, pines, and deciduous trees through whose whole length ran clear paths...
This post continues the Camp Kopje reminiscences by Douglas Broome. “The main body of camp was laid out along 1,200 feet of pebble beach. At the northern end was a modern PanAbode cedar log home with large verandah and a lawn down to the lake at a spot where a sandbar ran a hundred metres...
“Summer camp. The horse shivers to shake off the horseflies, snorts as girls handle tackle and Western saddles, old leather, hay and muck. A salt lick. The barn looks cool in the shadow of the cottonwoods and pines. Hot high sun. One girl goes into the orchard to cool off in the ka-chk’s of...
This song “Canada” was written by Jack Kenny. The song, an ode to Canada, was sung by Oyama Elementary School children in 1990.1 Happy Birthday Canada! 1 #2014.86.1. One Cassette and two compact disks; also available in WAV format. Lake Country Museum and...
The vision of a recreational corridor depends on residents digging deep. Fundraising for the Okanagan Rail Trail between Coldstream and Kelowna began Tuesday, May 17, 2016 with the launch of a $7.86 million campaign. “This is a lot of money. However, if we each give what we can and encourage...
A while back when I was “staffing” the Lake Country Museum & Archives one Saturday afternoon, a very pleasant couple entered the Museum. Upon greeting them I discovered that the lady had once taught school in this building when it was the Okanagan Centre Elementary School. The then...
One can see the progress — the Okanagan Rail Trail is happening! http://devsite.lakecountrymuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/IMG_6040.m4v After removing the tracks1 in January 2016, the Canadian National Railway (CNR) has now picked up the other metal — the spikes and plates....
Here are two pictures taken in Okanagan Centre Hall, probably early spring of 1947 or 1948. According to Eleanor (Brixton) Geen, who supplied the photos, there was a tradition of spring shows at the hall, with local ladies acting as models. The items they are wearing were borrowed from Kelowna...
The mayor of Lake Country says it’s something he was hoping for right from the start of the acquisition of the former CN Rail corridor. James Baker says it was a good news announcement from the Okanagan Indian Band that they are joining the inter-jurisdictional development team (IDT) that will...