by lakecountry | Jun 26, 2015 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
Which bird might I see today? Warblers As the days lengthen and warmer temperatures creep northward over the North American continent, deciduous leaves unfold, insects emerge – and the warblers return from wintering in the south to nest and raise young. These little...
by lakecountry | Jun 19, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
From 1860 a steady settlement of the Valley took place and among the first four cattle men who came in was Thomas Wood. He first had a cattle ranch with Connie (Cornelius) O’Keefe, north of Vernon but soon moved to the Pelmewash lake, now known as Wood Lake,...
by lakecountry | Jun 12, 2015 | Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Following an earlier blog post on Spion Kop I received an e-mail from Vancouver resident Douglas Broome1. He sent such an interesting followup to the post about Spion Kop that I asked if I could share it with our readers. It follows below: “My parents [Ernie and...
by lakecountry | May 22, 2015 | Bloggers, Hayes, Bob, History of Lake Country
Within the boundaries of the District of Lake Country, there are several cemeteries: Oyama Community Cemetery, on Oyama Road; Winfield Cemetery, on Newene Road; Old Winfield / Okanagan Centre Cemetery, on Cemetery Road; and two First Nations burials in a small...
by lakecountry | May 2, 2015 | Announcements, Bloggers, History of Lake Country, This Day in History, Thomson, Carol
Twenty years ago, on May 2, 1995, the District of Lake Country was incorporated. Local orchardist Bob McCoubrey was installed as the first mayor. McCoubrey served as mayor from 1995 to 1999. He was followed in the mayor’s chair by Rolly Hein (1999 to 2005), who...
by lakecountry | Apr 24, 2015 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
As you might expect from a 100-year-old, Anne Land1 takes the long view on certain things. And one of them is the railway referendum now underway in Lake Country, where she has lived virtually her entire life. The centenarian, who turns 101 next month, is among the 27...
by lakecountry | Mar 20, 2015 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
Which birds might I see today? Migrating ducks Did you know that about 30 different species of ducks can be seen in our valley sometime during the year? Like the ever-present Mallard, which everyone recognizes, about half of these species stay here throughout the...
by lakecountry | Mar 6, 2015 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Laura Neame
The first Women’s Institute was founded in 1897 in Stoney Creek, Ontario and by 1913 institutes were established in all the provinces with the motto “For Home and Country.” Often responsible for much of their farm’s economic success, the Institute...
by lakecountry | Feb 27, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
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...
by lakecountry | Feb 20, 2015 | Bob McCoubrey, Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country
Main Street: at the heart of our community is the theme of 2015 Heritage Week in Canada. This theme is very timely in Lake Country where the District is celebrating its 20th anniversary of incorporation. It seems fitting to present comments from the District of Lake...
by lakecountry | Feb 6, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Record of a Life — Northcote H. Caesar “The earliest memories that I can remember, at probably 5 or 6 years Whilst sitting on a hassock in front of the nursery fire With a nice clean white pinafore on about half a dozen shot fell in my lap Making long...
by lakecountry | Jan 30, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Before the coming of the white man, the fertile bottom land of Winfield was dense forest, with occasional oases of small natural meadows, while the present orchard benchlands were covered with pine trees, etc. Large herds of deer roamed the ranges and bunch grass was...
