by lakecountry | Dec 30, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Owen Dickie
If you can identify this object, your age may be showing! And that’s a good thing. I know what it is! It is a coal stoker! At least that was what I always called it. You, or should I say “I” would fill the bin with coal and an auger ran through...
by lakecountry | Dec 23, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Holiday Greetings to all of you from all of us at the Lake Country Museum and Archives. Ryan Donn is Lake Country’s very talented Cultural Development Co-ordinator and a Councillor on the Kelowna City Council. Ryan offers free downloads of this...
by lakecountry | Dec 16, 2016 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
I am walking through the silence of this cold and frosty night, I am treading on the diamonds that sparkle with the light. And the throbbing, beating pulses of the whispering cold night air, Have reached into my heart and found the memories lurking there. I can...
by lakecountry | Dec 9, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
If you have a few more items to purchase for Christmas gift-giving you may want to consider Okanagan History. The 80th Report of the Okanagan Historical Society. This publication, which includes sections on Natural History, First Nations, Featured Artists, People and...
by lakecountry | Dec 2, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
After reading Jim Taylor’s delightful blog post last week (Details) I was reminded of an old poem entitled The Strangers in the Box. This poem, which I read after my mother’s death, made me feel remiss that I hadn’t spent time with my Mom identifying...
by lakecountry | Nov 25, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Jim Taylor
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...
by lakecountry | Nov 18, 2016 | Guest Bloggers
Just south of the old pilings for Carr’s Landing stands a heritage home known as Okanagan House. It was built in 1909 by H. R. Raymer of Kelowna for a young English adventurer Sir Edward Simons Ward and his wife Lois. Edward was educated at Eton and then...
by lakecountry | Nov 4, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
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...
by lakecountry | Oct 31, 2016 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Shannon Jorgenson, This Day in History
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...
by lakecountry | Oct 14, 2016 | Announcements, Bloggers, Community Events, Exhibitions, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
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...
by lakecountry | Oct 7, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Jim Taylor
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...
by lakecountry | Sep 30, 2016 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
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...
by lakecountry | Sep 23, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Shannon Jorgenson
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...
by lakecountry | Sep 9, 2016 | Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
Tom [Carney] was always generous in allowing recreational use of the land. In the past it was used by horseback riders, cross-country skiers and others. Rutland Senior High School’s auto shop classes held auto rallies there and the natural amphitheatre below the...
by lakecountry | Sep 2, 2016 | Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
At one time, the TC Ranch range land extended from what is now the Pier Mac gravel pit and Highway 97 on the east, to Okanagan College1 on the south, the Tutt Ranch on the west and Dry Valley Road on the north. The land upon which Quail Ridge now stands, was sold to...
by lakecountry | Aug 26, 2016 | Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
One of my most memorable and nostalgic games of golf was played last fall1 at Quail Ridge. The land on which the Quail Ridge course has been so carefully and skillfully sculpted was previously owned by my father, Tom Carney. He was a pioneer of the Ellison district,...
by lakecountry | Aug 19, 2016 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
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,...
by navigator | Aug 5, 2016 | Community Events, Douglas Broome, Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country
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...
by navigator | Jul 29, 2016 | Community Events, Douglas Broome, Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country
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...
by navigator | Jul 22, 2016 | Community Events, Douglas Broome, Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country
“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...
