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... [Continue Reading]
Lake Country is aptly named. Its four wards – Winfield, Okanagan Centre, Carr’s Landing and Oyama – have access to three major Lakes: Okanagan, Kalamalka, and Wood. The latter lake was named for pioneers Thomas (1841 – 1931) and Ellen... [Continue Reading]
The fourth heritage marker panel examined in this series is entitled “Water before Rail,” dealing with the transport of fruit and other goods by water, roughly between the opening of the canal connecting Kalamalka and Wood lakes in 1908 and... [Continue Reading]
“The Railroad” was the name used on the earliest colonial maps, before the settlement in Lake Country, to refer to the isthmus at Oyama. The term certainly did not refer to any European-made feature; it had to refer to either... [Continue Reading]
We read in the newspaper that the current flood conditions are a “once in two hundred year” event. How would we know that? We have no written records for Lake Country before settlement, which began with Tom Wood’s pre-emption of... [Continue Reading]
October 1 marks the beginning of a 31-day opportunity to match donations, and add up to $1 million to the rail trail development fund! Donations will be matched up to a total of $500,000 by seven anonymous trail supporters –... [Continue Reading]
“Everyone should believe in something; I believe I’ll go fishing.” (H.D. Thoreau) Our particular part of the Okanagan Valley affords myriad opportunities for recreation. One of the most pleasant, enjoyable and affordable, enjoyed by residents and visitors alike, is fishing. We live... [Continue Reading]
On last week’s blog the mention of the possible origin of the name Kalamalka was interesting but it left the impression that there is agreement on the derivation of the name. Carmen Weld suggests that Kalamalka may be a form of the name Kenamaska,... [Continue Reading]
Adventureland, the first park of its kind in the Okanagan, was the brainchild of two local residents Sam and Dorothy Pestes. Dorothy, a talented artist and Sam, a teacher with remarkable talents for innovation and building, created a perfect team.... [Continue Reading]
Lake Country is not only all about our beautiful lakes, orchards and vineyards, but also that craggy promontory that overlooks us called Spion Kop. Don’t take issue with this spelling as officially this name didn’t even exist until recently. This... [Continue Reading]
