Details make a difference. We got out some old pictures a while ago. Like so many old pictures, the prints had no date, no captions. A picnic table, with a broad river in the background; beyond it, a range of snow-capped peaks. Two young children, so swaddled in their bulky sweaters that it was...
In these days of modern secondary education it’s almost impossible to visualize a high school with all grades in one room. It’s equally difficult to imagine one teacher instructing about 25 students in every subject in that classroom. Such was the situation in Oyama when a group of...
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...
Long before electric carving knives and boneless pre-stuffed turkeys, carving was an art form. My mother would call us into the dining room. The turkey, golden brown and aromatic, steamed on its platter at the head of the table. We sat at our places, unfolded our napkins, and watched as my father...
Which birds might I see today? Loons There is very little common about the Common Loon! This iconic bird of northern lakes is remarkable, supremely adapted to living on and in water. They are large, fish-eating birds that capture their prey by diving and chasing them underwater. Watching a loon...
If you’re looking for an interesting way to spend an hour in Lake Country try taking the Heritage Driving Tour. The tour features thirteen heritage locations as well as optional stops at wineries and points of interest. The tour can be accessed online at www.historypin.org, followed by a search...
Oft on a clear, fresh summer morn I’ve stood as one deep-rooted to the ground And gazed and gazed upon its loveliness; Taking a deep draught to my thirsty soul. It was the lake of many colors and I thought No man can rob me of this gem – all else may go; Sports, pleasures pastimes – but this will...
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 DAY IN HISTORY – 60 years “Don Arnold and Wayne Pretty went east to St. Catharines to the Olympic Trials in July 1956. Don stroked a crew of four, to break the world record by 30 seconds, and the Eight[s] broke the record and qualified them both to enter the Olympic Games. In November,...