by lakecountry | Jan 8, 2016 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
Which birds might I see today? Bald Eagles In our valley, winter is one of the best times to see Bald Eagles but did you know that the Kelowna landfill is one of the best places to see them? Every January members of the Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club conduct a...
by lakecountry | Jan 2, 2016 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Curling became popular in Eastern Canada in the early nineteenth century and as the West opened up, the game found a natural home – long cold winters and idle time for prairie farmers. Clubs were formed in Winnipeg, Calgary and other western cites in the 1880s. The...
by lakecountry | Dec 25, 2015 | Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
Merry Christmas from the Staff, Directors and Volunteers of the Lake Country Museum and Archives This greeting card was designed by Donna Hunter of Campbell River, BC. Donna is the wife of Don Hunter who lived in Oyama with his parents Roma (Thomson) and Elwood...
by lakecountry | Dec 18, 2015 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Memories of the Okanagan – one invariably thinks of sunshine, the lake, fruit – in one word, summer. As a child growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, the winter season also had its charm and delights which remain etched in my memory. The first sign of winter was a visit...
by lakecountry | Nov 27, 2015 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Ian Pooley
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,...
by lakecountry | Nov 20, 2015 | Bloggers, Hayes, Bob, History of Lake Country
Recently, I was going through some of my papers when I came across my late mother’s autograph book. The first poem in this small leather-bound book, was written by Annie Stolz, on January 22, 1935. Numerous other short poems and thoughts and reflections about life and...
by lakecountry | Nov 13, 2015 | Announcements, Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Thomson, Carol
Ducks Unlimited: A longtime Okanagan family has donated two parcels of marshland to Ducks Unlimited Canada, ensuring the wetlands will be maintained for wildlife in perpetuity. The Young and Lloyd families, which settled in Oyama more than a century ago, were granted...
by lakecountry | Nov 6, 2015 | Bloggers, Jim Taylor
As far as I know, only one member of my extended family has ever served in military forces. I’m not proud of that fact – I suspect it’s pure chance that prevented some male members from enlisting. But I am proud of my Uncle Andy. Dr. Andrew Taylor went out to Central...
by lakecountry | Oct 23, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Shannon Jorgenson
Syilx people (Okanagan), traditionally used these tule mat teepees for summertime housing. The mats are constructed of tule mats that could be rolled up for easy and light travel. During the spring, summer, and into the fall, Syilx people would dig, gather, hunt and...
by lakecountry | Oct 16, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Occasionally local residents bring scrapbooks containing non-family items of local interest to the Lake Country Museum and Archives and such was the case when Dick Heddle delivered his mother’s collection. Among the papers was a page entitled “Rural Preliminary List...
by lakecountry | Oct 9, 2015 | Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
The first Thanksgiving Day after Canadian Confederation was observed as a civic holiday on April 5, 1872, to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious illness. For many years before it was declared a national holiday in 1879,...
by lakecountry | Oct 2, 2015 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
Which birds might I see today? Finches It is quite likely that you already know the birds I’m going to show you this time around. They are colourful, plentiful in numbers, sing beautifully and will come to feeders readily. They are the familiar finches, House Finches...
by lakecountry | Sep 11, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
from Slates to Blackboards to Computers. A History of Public Schools in the Central Okanagan. Kelowna, BC: The Educational Heritage Committee of the Central Okanagan Retired Teachers’ Association. 1999. Back cover.
by lakecountry | Sep 4, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
A response to last week’s blog post, Write in on the Heart: The sentiment behind this little poem [Fur Traders by Harry Robinson] is that the terms of trade between the fur traders (North West Company or Hudson’s Bay Company) and Indians were manipulated...
by lakecountry | Aug 28, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Fur Traders They tell the Indian to get fur. Put it in a trap and get fur. Then they buy that and trade ’em. They trade, you know. They cheating the Indian at that time. See the gun? See this gun here? See? They put this gun, they stand ’em on the...
by lakecountry | Aug 21, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
On last week’s blog the mention of the possible origin of the name Kalamalka was interesting but it left the impression that there is agreement on the derivation of the name. Carmen Weld suggests that Kalamalka may be a form of the name Kenamaska, the name of the...
by lakecountry | Aug 14, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Thomson, Carol
Every resident and tourist alike will agree that one of the jewels of the Okanagan is Kalamalka Lake – but what is it that gives the lake that alluring blue-green colour? As it turns out, Kal Lake is one of only a handful of very special “marl lakes” that...
by lakecountry | Aug 7, 2015 | Guest Bloggers, Hailey Causton, History of Lake Country
Cedar root baskets are used by many different tribes in various regions. Cedar is popular among the Coastal Salish but also with the Interior Salish. Cedar root baskets are valued not only for the aesthetic appeal but for the many uses that they provide. These baskets...
by lakecountry | Jul 17, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
A Post Office at Okanagan Mission was opened in 1872 and mails came from Kamloops to O’Keefe’s, a few miles north of Vernon. From there they were taken to the Mission post office by a rancher of Swan Lake named Charles Lawson, on horseback. …...
by lakecountry | Jul 10, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
In 1921 the Okanagan Centre Women’s Institute decided to open a small library for residents. To become of a registered member of the library, people would have to pay an annual fee of $1.00. The librarian was appointed solely by the Institute and funds were...
