by lakecountry | Oct 3, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
“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...
by lakecountry | Sep 26, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
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...
by lakecountry | Sep 19, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
December 12, 1918. Vernon News A rather unfortunate accident happened on “The Railroad” last Saturday. Rev. Mr. Cassidy was driving and his team of horses became frightened and ran away throwing Mr. Cassidy out of the rig. Mr. Henry Irving who had just been offered a...
by lakecountry | Sep 12, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
The earliest domestic cattle in the interior arrived from the Columbia Valley in the 1840s, trailed in by the Hudson’s Bay Company and traded among the Okanagan Indians. By 1850, Okanagan Chief Nicola owned a large number of horses and “a good many cattle.”...
by lakecountry | Sep 5, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
July 10, 1919 The Vernon News “Mr. H. B. Thomson of Indian Head, Saskatchewan, with his family arrived in Oyama last Friday, having motored the entire way, coming through the States. Mr. Thomson has bought the Nelson Ranch and will make his home there. We are...
by lakecountry | Aug 22, 2014 | Bloggers, Hayes, Bob, History of Lake Country
1960s Memories of our Wood Lake Cabin1 For many years, in the 1950s through to the early 1970s, my family had a small cabin on Clement Road, at the south end of Wood Lake. Actually, we shared this cabin with my mum’s two brothers, Les and Cliff Clement, and their...
by lakecountry | Aug 15, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
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...
by lakecountry | Aug 8, 2014 | Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
“1917: Bras get a boost from the U.S. government’s decision to ration metal for domestic use during the First World War. Bras used less metal than corsets so they became the undergarment of choice.” Source: “Real Life talking point.”...
by lakecountry | Aug 4, 2014 | Bloggers, This Day in History, Thomson, Carol
August 4, 1914: Germany invades Belgium, beginning World War I. “In Flanders Fields the poppies grow and remains of an inordinate number of Okanagan soldiers lie buried. Many believe the Okanagan Valley lost more men per capita in the First World War than any...
by lakecountry | Aug 1, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
“Q’sapi is a phrase in the Okanagan language that means ‘long time ago.’ It is an expression often heard among the Okanagan people to introduce a story.”1 So begins the Introduction to the book Q’sapi. A History of Okanagan People...
by lakecountry | Jul 18, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
In 1896 an elderly French cook by the name of Frank “Frenchy” Stevens, who often stayed with Northcote Caesar, was fishing off the Island* when he saw a sea serpent very close to the boat. He described it as being about 20 feet long with a head like a...
by lakecountry | Jul 17, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Laura Neame
Lake Country Museum and Archives recently received class photos dating from the 1970s. These are for Winfield Elementary, Wood Lake Elementary and Okanagan Centre schools. While only one of the photos appears here, more are available for examination at the Museum on...
by lakecountry | Jul 11, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
“The island [in Okanagan Lake] that many still call Whiskey Island has a colourful history. Legend has it that Interior Salish stored food and supplies on the Island in order to keep it safe from bears. Squaws who were left in charge were sometimes abducted by...
by lakecountry | Jul 4, 2014 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
Which birds might I see today? Hummingbirds Perhaps the reason I love hummingbirds so much is that I grew up in England where there aren’t any. I never tire of watching them seek out nectar from our feeders or the flowers and shrubs in the garden. Four species of...
by lakecountry | Jun 27, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Oyama, or Island Lake was originally stocked under the initiative of the Kelowna Rod and Gun Club in about 1931, using fingerlings from the Summerland Fish Hatchery. Jack Trewhitt and Ron Allingham packed in two cream cans full of fry on Allingham’s workhorse,...
by lakecountry | Jun 20, 2014 | Announcements, Bloggers, Community Events, Hayes, Bob, History of Lake Country, Lecture Series
World War I, also known as the Great War, started on July 28, 1914 and finally dragged to a conclusion on November 11, 1918. In those four years, more than nine million men and women worldwide were killed, including more than 60,000 Canadians. Canadians, including...
by lakecountry | Jun 13, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Lake Country Museum and Archives has received a donation of McCarthy family photographs from Donna Day of Winfield. Her late husband, Max Day, found a package of family photographs in the old McCarthy barn, which was an iconic historical building situated on Bottom...
by lakecountry | Jun 6, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Charlie and Harold Thomson constructed a diving tower in front of the family home on the shore of Kalamalka Lake in the summer of 1933. As can be seen from the photograph of the tower under construction, it was made of poles and boards lashed and nailed together. The...
by lakecountry | May 30, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
“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...
by lakecountry | May 24, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
[On May 24, 1918] the “Act to Confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women” was passed in Canada. All of the provinces followed in quick order except for Quebec which did not give women the vote until 1940. Women who are British subjects, 21 years of age, and...
