by lakecountry | Apr 8, 2019 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Economic activity in Oyama really increased with the opening of the navigation canal across the isthmus in Oyama in 1908. The first steamer, theCity of Vernon, passed through the canal on September 3, 1908, creating a water link to the north end of Kalamalka...
by lakecountry | Mar 8, 2019 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
I have recently been in correspondence with Alan Aldred, a gentleman who was raised in Oyama and whose family history he is writing. The two photographs below are of stores run by his grandfather, Frederick Harry Aldred. The first photograph comes from Alan’s...
by lakecountry | Jan 30, 2019 | History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
In 1922 seven young, tanned orchardists from Oyama visited the Summerland Experimental Station, presumably to learn some of the science behind growing apples. All were from England, some having arrived very recently. Thank you to Diane Eyles Turner for the photograph...
by lakecountry | Sep 8, 2017 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
John (Jack) Trewhitt was born in Sunderland, England, in 1890 and at the age of 16 he immigrated to Canada. He worked in Manitoba and later bought a homestead in Alberta. In 1914 Trewhitt joined the Army and went overseas. He became a Lieutenant and was presented with...
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 lakecountry | Jan 23, 2015 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol
‘Tis hard to believe that it’s been twenty years since the District of Lake Country was incorporated. In 1995 the four communities of Carr’s Landing, Okanagan Centre, Oyama and Winfield incorporated to form the municipality of Lake Country. It is...
by lakecountry | Nov 28, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Carol, Thomson, Duane
Fourteen years ago (2000) Ken Ellison published a book, Irrigation is King: A Century of Water in Oyama, BC. 1892-2000. This work exhaustively examined and interpreted the land, water and irrigation records of Oyama, BC. Now, a complementary video, Flume. The story of...
by lakecountry | Jan 3, 2014 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Before the navigation canal was built in 1908, a creek drained Wood Lake into Long (Kalamalka) Lake. Wood Lake was initially four feet higher than Kalamalka, perhaps five or six feet higher during the spring freshet. In some years the water gushed down the creek...
by lakecountry | Nov 29, 2013 | Bloggers, Community Events, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Oyama was a wonderful place to grow up during the Depression. This dance troupe performed at a Kalamalka Women’s Institute garden party held on the grounds of the Prickards about 1939. By all reports it was a wonderful setting, featuring an amazing peony hedge...
by lakecountry | Aug 16, 2013 | Bloggers, History of Lake Country, Thomson, Duane
Soccer was a popular sport in the Central Okanagan while Claude Bissell was teacher and coach, first at Oyama High School and later in Rutland. This photograph of the Okanagan Zone Soccer Champions shows the Rutland team about to leave by bus for Penticton where they...
