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...
by lakecountry | May 19, 2014 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, This Day in History, Thomson, Carol
“Towering over a proud shipyard crew and some family members, the Sicamous is nearly ready for its launching at the Okanagan Landing shipyard on May 19, 1914.” “Okanagan Landing, just five miles (eight km) southwest of Vernon, developed into a...
by lakecountry | May 9, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
In 1924 the Dominion of Canada’s Department of Health published a handbook for Canadian mothers, The Canadian Mother’s Book, that provides one with an interesting look at practices of the past. The first page of the book is a quotation from Scripture:...
by lakecountry | May 2, 2014 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
Which bird might I see today? The Swallow Many people consider the return of the first swallow the first sign of spring. This year the first swallows were seen in Kelowna on March 9th and more will be arriving any day. Six swallow species return here from wintering in...
by lakecountry | Apr 25, 2014 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Ian Pooley
Note to Readers: We are so happy to have Ian Pooley join our ranks as a Guest Blogger. Ian, a local educator and historian, first wrote for us during Heritage Week when he submitted Heritage Afloat. Welcome Aboard, Ian, we hope to hear a lot from you in the future....
by lakecountry | Apr 18, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Just a word about Mom [Mrs. Hiro Kobayashi]. You know she was the best. She always said, “Don’t brag. Don’t be a smart guy.” She could do anything from juggling three oranges to delivering babies. The story I remember about Mom concerns her...
by lakecountry | Apr 11, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Over the years we have been so fortunate to have good volunteers at the Lake Country Museum and Archives. On the website longtime volunteers Harvey Lamont and Karen Gibbons have been featured and they still spend numerous hours volunteering for our Museum. There are,...
by lakecountry | Apr 11, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
Over the years we have been so fortunate to have good volunteers at the Lake Country Museum and Archives. On the website longtime volunteers Harvey Lamont and Karen Gibbons have been featured and they still spend numerous hours volunteering for our Museum. There are,...
by lakecountry | Apr 4, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
In the nineteenth and early twentieth century Canada it was common for children to live with their parents until age fourteen and then to live with an employer or surrogate parent where they could learn a trade or, at least, life experience. Girls, except those from...
by lakecountry | Mar 28, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol, Thomson, Duane
The British Columbia Ministry of Justice has proclaimed March 31 to April 6 “Make a Will Week” in the province, encouraging everyone to make a will or update wills already prepared. “People who don’t make a will lose the opportunity to choose their beneficiaries,”...
by lakecountry | Mar 21, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Allan Mills arrived in Sunnywold in 1909, joining his brother, William, who had been farming there since 1894. Allan and his wife added to their original Sunnywold pre-emption by purchasing their neighbours’ land, as it became available, from the Siddons, Whites and...
by lakecountry | Mar 14, 2014 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Pam Laing
We are so fortunate to have a new Guest Blogger for this site: Pam Laing, local birder and photographer, has agreed to share with us A Year of Okanagan Birds. For those of you who attended Pam’s lecture at Creekside Theatre in February, you’ll know...
by lakecountry | Mar 7, 2014 | Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Thomson, Carol
Have you heard of the Okanagan Rail Trail initiative? The railway line between Vernon and Kelowna recently ceased operations, and we now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn the old railway into a multi-purpose trail. It would stretch all the way from...
by lakecountry | Feb 28, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
The banner photograph on the Lake Country Museum and Archives website shows the starting line-up of fifteen cyclists about to begin a grueling thirty-five mile race from Vernon to Kelowna. Three young Lake Country men participated: Lawrence (Larry) Evans and Harold...
