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1945: 1949 - Riemche Road

Reimche Road was established in 1949 starting at Bottom Wood Lake Road and it was, and is, a dead end road. Reimche Road was first paved in 1982.

Herb and Dorthea Riemche began married life living in a small house in Winfield. In 1941 they purchased property close to Wood Lake at Woodsdale Road and later in 1946 they built Winfield Farm on that property. Here they raised their family and Herb started his own dairy.

Herb and his brother, along with the Brummett family, bought more land across Vernon Creek where they built a road as well as a bridge across the creek leading to their new property. The road they built is named Reimche Road, which is west of Winfield Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church which Herb helped build and where both he and Dorthea were very active members.

During the fall months Herb worked for Sun Rype’s Woodsdale plant, where he worked the press for making apple juice. As well as these two jobs he also worked part-time for Lloyd Duggan, driving the milk truck. During the 1960’s Herb saw a drastic turn in terms of downsizing in the dairy industry. As a result he sold his dairy cows and milk quota.

It was at this time that Riemche decided to work in the health sector and he spent two years training to become a nursing orderly in Vancouver. On his return to the Okanagan he went to work at the Kelowna General Hospital where he worked for the next eighteen years.

In 1980 Herb and Dorthea built a new home on their Winfield farm property. Herb retired in 1982 but still worked at KGH as a volunteer.

Source: The Calendar, November 1, 2000; Lake Country Road Registry; Lake Country Museum archives.