December 12, 1918. Vernon News A rather unfortunate accident happened on “The Railroad” last Saturday. Rev. Mr. Cassidy was driving and his team of horses became frightened and ran away throwing Mr. Cassidy out of the rig. Mr. Henry Irving who had just been offered a lift made a jump out and cut...
The earliest domestic cattle in the interior arrived from the Columbia Valley in the 1840s, trailed in by the Hudson’s Bay Company and traded among the Okanagan Indians. By 1850, Okanagan Chief Nicola owned a large number of horses and “a good many cattle.” During the Gold Rush, large herds...
July 10, 1919 The Vernon News “Mr. H. B. Thomson of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, with his family arrived in Oyama last Friday, having motored the entire way, coming through the States. Mr. Thomson has bought the Nelson Ranch and will make his home there. We are very pleased to extend a...
1960s Memories of our Wood Lake Cabin1 For many years, in the 1950s through to the early 1970s, my family had a small cabin on Clement Road, at the south end of Wood Lake. Actually, we shared this cabin with my mum’s two brothers, Les and Cliff Clement, and their families. To say that our cabin...
The first organized ministry of the Anglican Church began in Okanagan Centre in 1909 with the arrival of Rev. Owen Bulkeley. The Synod of the Dioceses of New Westminster of that same year had reported that two clergymen were needed immediately in the Keremeos and Okanagan districts. Okanagan...
“Q’sapi is a phrase in the Okanagan language that means ‘long time ago.’ It is an expression often heard among the Okanagan people to introduce a story.”1 So begins the Introduction to the book Q’sapi. A History of Okanagan People as Told by Okanagan Families,...
In 1896 an elderly French cook by the name of Frank “Frenchy” Stevens, who often stayed with Northcote Caesar, was fishing off the Island* when he saw a sea serpent very close to the boat. He described it as being about 20 feet long with a head like a sheep. Caesar wrote “we did...
Lake Country Museum and Archives recently received class photos dating from the 1970s. These are for Winfield Elementary, Wood Lake Elementary and Okanagan Centre schools. While only one of the photos appears here, more are available for examination at the Museum on Okanagan Centre Road West....
“The island [in Okanagan Lake] that many still call Whiskey Island has a colourful history. Legend has it that Interior Salish stored food and supplies on the Island in order to keep it safe from bears. Squaws who were left in charge were sometimes abducted by raiding Shuswap Indians, so it...
Which birds might I see today? Hummingbirds Perhaps the reason I love hummingbirds so much is that I grew up in England where there aren’t any. I never tire of watching them seek out nectar from our feeders or the flowers and shrubs in the garden. Four species of hummingbird can be seen here...
Oyama, or Island Lake was originally stocked under the initiative of the Kelowna Rod and Gun Club in about 1931, using fingerlings from the Summerland Fish Hatchery. Jack Trewhitt and Ron Allingham packed in two cream cans full of fry on Allingham’s workhorse, stopping once on the way up to...
World War I, also known as the Great War, started on July 28, 1914 and finally dragged to a conclusion on November 11, 1918. In those four years, more than nine million men and women worldwide were killed, including more than 60,000 Canadians. Canadians, including those living in the Okanagan...