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Water sports in Lake Country during the Depression

Building diving stand

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 first platform was at the three-meter level and the high diving platform was approximately seven meters above the water. Malcolm “Mac” Dewar remembers as a young lad standing on the upper platform for a long time before summoning the courage to jump.

Diving tower on Kalamalka Lake
Completed diving stand

The second photograph shows the completed diving tower with a fully clothed Charlie surveying his handiwork.

2 Comments

  • I was so glad to hear of this. Somewhere in my distant memory I remember hearing about this tower but like many things it is only a dim recollection. I know Dad continued to be interested in diving and passed that endeavor on to his children–we all learned to dive with varying degrees of success. Sheron

  • Those are great photos – I am going to pass them on to our children.

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