Okanagan Lake froze over in 1929. Temperatures remained consistently below zero long enough that serious concern over food supplies were quite real. This meant that the paddle wheelers had to break their way through the ice to reach their docking points. Local inhabitants took the opportunity to cut blocks of ice to store for use in the preservation of food in the summer to come.
I am enjoying this website so much!
I remember, I think or perhaps it was a story I heard, about a cold winter, perhaps 1948-49? when the south end of Kalamalka Lake froze.
Apparently a teamster who was logging on the east side of the lake lost his team of horses through the ice… True or false, I wonder?
I think the picture shown in this post is, perhaps, a tug and barge, not a paddle wheeler.
Thanks for your comments, Susan.
I believe the incident you mention is the one which was written about on one of the earlier blogs. See http://lakecountrymuseum.com/this-day-in-history-hauling-logs-on-long-kalamalka-lake/#top