In the summer of 1986 a casual glance out to the beautiful waters off Okanagan Centre just might reveal the unmistakable profile of a submarine conning tower. No mere illusion brought on by sun and beer this was the Henry D. Redecopp, pride of the Okanagan Centre Navy and the brainchild of a...
Bernau is one of the many great family names of Lake Country. When Hugh Bernau was young it was expected he would follow in his father’s footsteps, however, he had his own plans in life. In 1929, Hugh made his way to Winfield, BC, after spending two years in Monte Creek. He worked on an orchard...
By Margaret Carruthers1 First established in the 1950s, Gable Road begins at Carr’s Landing Road and ends at Gable Beach on Okanagan Lake. The road is named for the Gabel family, [but] as you can see the spelling is incorrect, the result of a slight pronunciation (or spelling) problem at the...
Reminiscences of Clara Hallam (née Bailey) continued Hallam reminiscences 2 (pp. 27-30) Some stylistic changes have been made in the text to reflect modern usage. 1907 – 1909 “… There was to be a big skating party on Duck Lake one night so brother Bill, Phoebe and I were going down...
‘Tis hard to believe that it’s been twenty years since the District of Lake Country was incorporated. In 1995 the four communities of Carr’s Landing, Okanagan Centre, Oyama and Winfield incorporated to form the municipality of Lake Country. It is interesting to look back at the...
“Colonel” John Brixton, an English man, lived across the lake before moving to [Okanagan] Centre where Dick Ash now lives. He took care of the lighthouse on the island in Carr’s Landing. Although a veteran of both the Boer and World War I he was not a real Colonel. That was a...
My grandfather1, John Brixton, was called The Colonel. No one really knows why, but it is likely because he resembled the picture of the sailor on “Players Tobacco” tins. Actually, the Colonel’s birth name was Mark Joseph Ellis. He was born in Islington, Middlesex, England in...
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...
“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...
The second Monday of February is Family Day in British Columbia. It is a time to celebrate family members and remind ourselves of those who preceded us. Museums and archives are wonderful repositories for family histories. Here one can find photographs and histories that document family life in...
On page five of the Thursday, November 16, 1911 edition of The Kelowna Courier and Okanagan Orchardist appeared the following article: DIED – At the Hospital, on Monday, Nov. 13th, Frank Reiner, Okanagan Centre, aged 52. Mr. Reiner had been ailing several weeks, but the immediate cause of death...
How did one travel from the Okanagan to the coast in the first decades of the twentieth century? Crossing the coastal mountains was no easy task. The Dewdney Trail, connecting the South Okanagan to Hope, had been built during the Gold Rush, and for years supplies came into the Valley by pack train...