During some particularly cold winters Kalamalka Lake freezes over. Harold Thomson, who was raised in Oyama, said that in his experience Kalamalka Lake froze once every ten years and the adjoining Wood Lake froze nine out of ten years. Hauling freight on the lake was not very common. However, the...
Transportation historians like to highlight the big CPR sternwheelers, and the role they played in the development of the Kootenays and Okanagan during the influx of settler populations in the years leading up to the First World War. The smaller CPR freight boats, less glamorous, often get left...
In the days before good road and rail communication serviced Oyama orchardists, the most efficient way to move fruit to market was via steamer to the north end of Kalamalka Lake where it was transferred to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) station at Vernon. This photograph, part of the George...
“For many years the picturesque sterwheeler passenger ships which travelled up and down Okanagan Lake played a large part in the life of their time. They are still fondly remembered for their fine meals and comfortable accommodation. At first the people on the shores of the beautiful lake...
“Towering over a proud shipyard crew and some family members, the Sicamous is nearly ready for its launching at the Okanagan Landing shipyard on May 19, 1914.” “Okanagan Landing, just five miles (eight km) southwest of Vernon, developed into a bustling community as the...
The Era when Okanagan Centre sent passengers, mail and fruit by the Lake Back at the beginning of the 20th century, the farmers and ranchers in the Winfield-Ellison area faced a dilemma – south of Wood Lake the only way to move hay and fruit was by wagon road. When Price Ellison, the Vernon MP,...