by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jun 29, 2022 | Pam Laing
In our spring posting we took a close look at the three species of Grebe that spend their entire year here, changing plumage into breeding ‘duds’ each spring. Today we’ll focus on the two species that migrate here to breed during our summer. These are the Western...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | May 26, 2022 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Natural History, Uncategorized
Here are some pictures of one of the oldest and original houses in Okanagan Centre still in existence. This home at the bottom of Camp Road was built by a German immigrant builder in 1889, so we were told, who shortly thereafter returned back to the old country....
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | May 19, 2022 | Exhibitions, Uncategorized
Please note: Scott is referring to an amazing glass column soil sample that is located on display at the Museum. Stop by the Museum to view the sample and experience an informative tour on Lake Country’s Wine Culture. The soil in the glass column was collected...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Apr 21, 2022 | History of Lake Country, Natural History
Three Grebes In past postings we’ve looked at many of the ducks that can be seen in our valley annually. Today let’s look at another family of diving birds, the grebes. Five species of grebe come to the Okanagan annually, plus one more occasionally, but only three...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jan 25, 2022 | History of Lake Country, Natural History
Four Owls Winter is undoubtedly the best season in which to see owls. This is partly because many trees are bare, enabling better sightings, if you are lucky. But it’s also because in winter some of the owls that usually breed and hunt in the upper forests come...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Dec 11, 2021 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country
Nancy Josland Dalsin In 2018 I was working as a volunteer at Mackie Lake House in Coldstream researching some of the artifacts. One of the artifacts that I was researching and trying to provenance was a beautiful, wall mounted artists jewel case designed by the...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Oct 3, 2021 | Natural History, Pam Laing
Two small falcons – Merlin and American Kestrel Peregrine falcons are probably the best-known of all falcons and we do see them occasionally in our valley. But we are much more likely to see one of the smaller falcons, Merlins and American Kestrels, especially in...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Sep 11, 2021 | History of Lake Country
Don Arnold, the younger son of Nelson and May Arnold, and grandson of Mr. and Mrs. John Arnold and Wayne Pretty, the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Pretty, both from Winfield qualified for the 1956 Olympics. Don Arnold along with teammates Walter d’Hondt, Lorne Loomer and...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jul 3, 2021 | Natural History, Pam Laing
More Icterids – Bullock’s Oriole and Western Meadowlark In the spring posting we looked at three of the family known as Icterids. Those three were Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird and Yellow-headed Blackbird. Today let’s turn our attention to two more...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jun 19, 2021 | History of Lake Country
Joseph Hayton was the third owner of the V Bar V ranch in Oyama. Hayton Creek and Hayton Road are named after him. He was born near Ventnor, Isle of Wight to George Hayton, Rector of Niton, and his wife Ellen Louisa (Chadwick) Hayton. He immigrated to Canada from...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jun 5, 2021 | History of Lake Country
A Railway Runs Through It: The Okanagan Railways Today (June 30, 2005). By David Madison The locomotive feels like a living thing as it rolls from side to side over the weed-covered rail bed. “That’s just the harmonic roll,” says engineer Dean...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | May 22, 2021 | Uncategorized
William Furniss, a 57-year old English-born farmer from Vernon was the second owner of the V Bar V. He married a widow, Almira McCluskey on 30 November 1898 and acquired an instant family. Almira and her husband William McCluskey had been married in Argenteuil,...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Apr 1, 2021 | History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Richard and Arthur Chatterton were part of an aspiring, middle class, English family. Their parents, George Joseph and Jane Edwards Chatterton and family appear in the 1891 UK census in Alvaston, Derbyshire, Herts, England. Their father was a metal tube manufacturer...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Mar 20, 2021 | Pam Laing
Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Brewer’s Blackbird One and perhaps two of today’s birds are probably familiar to you, the other might not be. They are all blackbirds, members of the Icterid family, a group comprising (in our valley) these two, as...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Mar 13, 2021 | Thomson, Duane
A new two-room school was built in 1917 and in 1921 a third room was added for the new Oyama High School. The catchment area included Winfield and those students arrived by car or bus. The accompanying photograph was taken of the senior class in about 1926. They are...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jan 24, 2021 | Pam Laing
You might suppose that wintertime is not a good time for a bird that spends its life near running water, but in fact this species is able to survive in icy cold water, and manages to feed even under riverside ice. The rather nondescript appearance of the American...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Jan 9, 2021 | Gibbons, Richard, Uncategorized
In the summer of 1986 a casual glance out to the beautiful waters off Okanagan Centre just might reveal the unmistakable profile of a submarine conning tower. No mere illusion brought on by sun and beer this was the Henry D. Redecopp, pride of the Okanagan Centre...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Dec 4, 2020 | Thomson, Duane, Uncategorized
Thomas Wood, cattle rancher and Justice of the Peace from Lake Country, wrote three letters from Vernon to Frederick Hussey, Superintendent of Provincial Police in Victoria requesting his assistance with a rustling case 1 . Hussey replied to these. Some excerpts are...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Oct 4, 2020 | Pam Laing
At this time of year, when so many of our colourful summer breeding birds are winging their way southwards for the colder months, it is a pleasure to turn our attention to birds that stay here year round. This time let’s focus on our three species of nuthatch,...
by lcmuseum@shaw.ca | Aug 31, 2020 | Guest Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Tiana Langedyk
Figure 1:Warf at Okanagan Centre in early Days. Packing house to right. For the first three decades of the twentieth century, Okanagan Centre was the commercial hub of the area. From the late 1800s to the 1930s, Okanagan Centre was one of the main...
