"CONTENTdm"@en . "Annual report of the Okanagan Historical and Natural History Society"@en . "Report of the Okanagan Historical Society"@en . "Annual report of the Okanagan Historical Society"@en . "Okanagan history"@en . "Stories of Okanagan history"@en . "Okanagan Historical Society Annual Reports"@en . "Okanagan Historical Society"@en . "2013-06"@en . "1986"@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/ohs/items/1.0132221/source.json"@en . "212 pages"@en . "application/pdf"@en . " Okanagan History 50th Report of the Okanagan Historical Society Okanagan History FIFTIETH REPORT ISSN-0830-0739 ISBN-0-921241-00-3 of the OKANAGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOUNDED SEPTEMBER 4, 1925 COVER PHOTO Naramata Mural designed by Frances Hatfield (see story in this Report) \u00C2\u00A9 1986 Printed in Canada, Wayside Press Ltd., Vernon, B C FIFTIETH REPORT OF THE OKANAGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY EDITOR Jean Webber ASSISTANT EDITOR Dorothy Zoellner PRODUCTION MANAGER Ron Robey EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Aileen Porteous, Oliver and Osoyoos Angeline Waterman, Penticton Hume Powley, Kelowna Beryl Wamboldt, Vernon Ruby Lidstone, Armstrong and Enderby Membership The recipient of this Fiftieth Report is entitled to register his or her membership in the Fifty- first Report which will be issued November 1, 1987. For Membership Registration and Membership Certificate forms see the insert in this book. Buying Reports Reports of the Okanagan Historical Society are available from the Treasurer of the Parent Body (Box 313, Vernon), from Branches of OHS and, as well, from most museums and book stores in the Okanagan. For availability and prices of back numbers see order form on insert. OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF THE PARENT BODY PRESIDENT Ermie Iceton VICE-PRESIDENT Dorothy Zoellner SECRETARY Robert Marriage TREASURER James W. Green PAST PRESIDENT Mary Gartrell Orr BRANCH DIRECTORS TO PARENT BODY Oliver & Osoyoos: Don Corbishley, Carleton MacNaughton, Harry Weatherill (rep. Branch President) Penticton: Mollie Broderick, Angeline Waterman Kelowna: Gifford Thomson, Hume Powley Vernon: Robert dePfyffer, Lucy McCormick Salmon Arm: Jim Shaver, Mac Drage Armstrong & Enderby: Jessie Ann Gamble, Robert Nitchie DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Walter Anderson (Pandosy Mission) A. Juergen Hansen (Historic Trails) GUY BAGNALL FUND Don Weatherill, Jack Armstrong, Frank Pells, Dorothy Zoellner, Bernard Webber OHS LOCAL BRANCH OFFICERS 1986 - 1987 OLIVER AND OSOYOOS PRESIDENT: Ermie Iceton; VICE-PRESIDENT: Harry Weatherill; PAST PRESIDENT: Carleton MacNaughton; RECORDING SECRETARY: Nan Mabee; TREASURER: Frances Mitchell; CORRESPONDENCE & PUBLICITY: Elaine Shannon; EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Aileen Porteous; DIRECTORS: Ivan Hunter (OHS Reports), Connie Cumine (Social), Peggy Driver, Joan Wight; DIRECTORS OF PARENT BODY: Don Corbishley, Carleton MacNaughton, Harry Weatherill (rep. Branch President). PENTICTON HONORARY PRESIDENT: Harley Hatfield; PRESIDENT: Dave MacDonald; SECRETARY: Olive Evans; TREASURER: Jack Riley; PAST PRESIDENT: Victor Wilson; DIRECTORS: Jessie Allen, Joe Biollo, Elizabeth Bork, Molly Broderick, Hugh Cleland, Doug Cox, Bob Gibbard, Pat Gwyer, Allan Hyndman, Mary Orr, Phil Stannard, Polly Stapleton, Jim Strachan, Angie Waterman, J. W. (Pete) Watson; EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Angie Waterman, Evelyn Lun- dy; AUDITOR: Fred Arnot; DIRECTORS TO PARENT BODY: Molly Broderick, Angeline Waterman; REFRESHMENTS: Pat Cripps, Polly Stapleton. KELOWNA PRESIDENT: Dorothy Zoellner; VICE-PRESIDENT: Frank Pells; SECRETARY: Alice Neave; TREASURER: Gifford Thomson; DIRECTORS: W. F. Anderson, Cedric Boyer, Mary Bull, Wm. Cameron, Eric Chapman, Fred Coe, Joan Chamberlain, Dick Hall, Robert Hayes, Robert Hobson, James Horn, Robert Marriage, Tilman Nahm, Duane Thomson, Ursula Surtees, Marie Wostradowski; EDITORIAL CHAIRMAN: Hume Powley; DIRECTORS TO PARENT BODY: Sheilagh M. Jackson; Gifford Thomson, Hume Powley; Auditor: Willie Dorssers, I/C ACCT. FOR OGOPOGO'S VIGIL: Rosemary King. VERNON HONORARY PRESIDENT: Mrs. A. E. Berry; PRESIDENT: Hugh Caley; VICE- PRESIDENT: Robert dePfyffer; SECRETARY: Lucy McCormick; TREASURER: Don Weatherill; PAST PRESIDENT: Doug Scott; DIRECTORS: Bud Anderson, Pat Bell, Pat Collins, Jean Humphries, Phyllis McKay, Margaret Ormsby, Libby Tassie; EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Beryl Wamboldt; DIRECTORS TO PARENT BODY: Robert dePfyffer, Lucy McCormick: BAGNALL FUND: Don Weatherill; AUDITOR: Jack Hairsine. ARMSTRONG AND ENDERBY PRESIDENT: Jack Armstrong; VICE-PRESIDENT: Betty Johnson; SECRETARY- TREASURER: Ruby Lidstone; PAST PRESIDENT: W. Whitehead; DIRECTORS: Mel Johnston; DIRECTORS TO PARENT BODY: Jessie Ann Gamble, Robert Nitchie; EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Ruby Lidstone (chairman), Gertrude Peel, Jean Schubert. SALMON ARM (MUSEUM EXECUTIVE) PRESIDENT: Don Byers; VICE-PRESIDENT: Errol Tomyn; SECRETARY: Irene Olson; COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE: G. Roy; DIRECTORS: Jim Shaver, Mac Drage. PAST PRESIDENT HONOURED Mary Gartrell Orr, Past President of the Okanagan Historical Society, was honoured September 9, 1985 by the American Association for State and Local History when the Association, at its annual meeting in Topeka, Kansas, conferred upon her one of its Certificates of Commendation. The citation reads: \"For Dedicated Support of the Okanagan Historical Society and the Museum Community of British Columbia. Mrs. Orr was one of two B.C.-Yukon recipients who were chosen from a group of 138 nominees. The other recipient was fack Rippengale of Victoria. OKANAGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY EDITORS JAMES C. AGNEW MARGARET A. ORMSBY G. C. TASSIE J. C. GOODFELLOW F. T. MARRIAGE H. A. PORTEOUS D. A. ROSS G. J. ROWLAND E. D. SISMEY J. E. FRY D. THOMSON CAROL ABERNATHY JEAN WEBBER 1926-1931, 1937 1935, 1939, 1948-1953 1941-1945 1954-1957 1958-1960 1961-1968 1969 1970 1971-1973 1974-1976 1977-1978 1979-1982 1983-1986 Reports 1-5, 7 Reports 6, 8, 12-18 Reports 9-11 Reports 18-21 Reports 22-24 Reports 25-32 Report 33 Report 34 Reports 35-37 Reports 38-40 Reports 41, 42 Reports 43-46 Reports 47-50 Reports have been published in the years 1926, 1927, 1929-1931, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1945, 1948-1985. The Sixth Report includes many articles originally printed in the first five Reports. The Seventeenth Report is really a reprint of the First and Second Reports as the original runs for these were small, 100 or 200 copies. (For a few years we printed as many as 3,000 books, but in 1984 this number was cut back to 2,000). In the Foreword of the Seventeenth Report tribute is paid to Leonard Norris and Frank M. Buckland for launching \"a vigorous historical society,\" for serving as \"chief officers of the Society\", and for being \"the main contributors to its first two publications.\" Since 1953 Reports 1 - 12 have all been reprinted. Many of the later Reports are now collectors' items. The Thirty-ninth Report, published in OHS's fiftieth anniversary year, honours the first ten editors by having photos of each on its cover. In 1982 the American Association for State and Local History presented the Okanagan Historical Society with one of its Awards of Merit for \"more than 50 years of publishing Okanagan history and stimulating heritage preservation.\" In 1985 the Heritage Society of British Columbia presented our Society with one of its Annual Awards for Significant Contribution to the Conservation ofB.C.'s Heritage, citing our \"60 years of preserving written local history.\" EDITOR'S FOREWORD We've achieved our Fiftieth Report. That is quite an accomplishment as anyone associated with the production of these volumes knows right well. In celebration we list, on page six, all those who have served as Editor, remembering always that behind each one stands a host who have assisted. Among the biographies you will find the story of James C. Agnew, our first Editor, and of Hugh Porteous who holds the record for the longest period of continuous service as Editor. Nor should we forget on this special anniversary the contribution made to our Reports by Dr. Margaret Ormsby. Readers of Okanagan History look forward to another kind of celebration, too \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the publication of a comprehensive index to our first fifty Reports. As I write, this enormous task is now nearing completion under the able and dedicated chairmanship of Dave MacDonald. With the new index researchers will be able easily to lay hands on treasure buried in old reports. The complete sets held in various libraries and museums will, from now on, be truly accessible. Congratulations to Past President Mary Orr for the prestigious award conferred upon her by the American Association for State and Local History. The citation draws public attention to the importance of local history; recognizes the Okanagan Historical Society; and, in particular, acknowledges a person who has devoted herself to our Society and to the museums of the Valley. As in former years, I wish to thank those who have made this volume possible: the writers of the articles appearing here; the Branch Editorial Committees, especially their Chairmen; and Beryl Wamboldt, Dorothy Zoellner, and Ann Wight who have done special service in preparing copy for the printer and in proofreading. Jean Webber As we go to press members of the Okanagan Historical Society are shocked and saddened by the dreadful accident of June 15 which took the lives of three valued members: Merle Armstrong, Enderby Helenita Harvey, Salmon Arm Ethel Blackburn, Salmon Arm Our sympathy goes out to the bereaved families. Jean Webber CONTENTS HISTORICAL PAPERS AND DOCUMENTS WATER, LIFE BLOOD OF THE OKANAGAN (D. A. Dobson, P.Eng.) 11 WATER QUALITY IN THE OKANAGAN BASIN (Jean Webber) 13 WASTE MANAGEMENT AT VERNON (Doug Kermode) 18 EARLY HISTORY OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON TROUT CREEK (Mary Gartrell Orr) 19 OSOYOOS ORCHARDS LTD. (Douglas Fraser) 21 TRUCKING ON THE OLIVER-OSOYOOS IRRIGATION PROJECT (Joe Biollo) 24 LINES FROM ' 'A POET VISITS THE OKANAGAN'' (Clem Battye) 24 DOCUMENTS RE IRRIGATION: HOLDINGS OF THE KELOWNA MUSEUM (Wayne Wilson) 25 LINES FOR GOING AWAY (Isabel Christie MacNaughton) 26 EARLY IRRIGATION DITCHES IN KELOWNA (Bill Knowles) 27 THE OLD BLACK IRON STOVE (Magda Rice) 31 THE GUISACHAN WATER USERS' COMMUNITY (Tilman E. Nahm) 32 A NOTE THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL 34 BOYHOOD MEMORIES OF THE UPPER BANKHEAD WATER USERS' COMMUNITY (Tilman E. Nahm) 35 IRRIGATION IN THE ELLISON AREA (J. H. Hayes) 39 TWENTY STICKS OF POWDER (Sheila Paynter) 44 GREEN PASTURES (Beryl Wamboldt) 48 THE STEPNEY (W.J. Whitehead) 49 CONSTRUCTION IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY (Paul Koroscil) 53 NEW ZEALAND TO THE OKANAGAN (Cedric M. Boyer) 58 THE ORDERLY MARKETING SYSTEM (Arthur Garrish) 60 THE NARAMATA MURAL (A. Waterman) 66 MAY DAY IN NARAMATA (S. J. Barry) 68 THERE'S A \"LINO\" IN MY BASEMENT (Bernie Hucul) 68 THE KINGFISHER KITCHEN BAND (Isobel Simard) 71 GLASSROOTS RECYCLING IN THE NORTH OKANAGAN (Rita Campbell) 74 SACRILEGE (Dr. John C. Dubeta) 77 MEMORIES OF TRINITY CREEK AREA IN THE 1920s (Stan Wejr) 78 CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ARMSTRONG AND ENDERBY AREA (O. B. Carlson) 80 EARLY SCHOOL DAYS IN OSOYOOS (Douglas P. Fraser and Margaret A. Driver) 81 SUNSET OF AUTUMN STORM (Guy V. Waterman) 87 SOME HISTORICAL NOTES ON 1st SUMMERLAND SCOUT TROOP (D. V. Fisher) 88 STUDENT ESSAYS THE COQUIHALLA SUB-DIVISION (Tracy St. Claire) 99 EARLY SCHOOL BUSES AND THEIR DRIVERS (Owen Romaine) 102 BOOK REVIEWS SLASH (Frances Knapp) 107 THE HISTORY OF VERNON (B. Wamboldt) 107 THE DITCH: LIFELINE OF A COMMUNITY (Karen Bruder) 108 TWISTED TALES OF NORTHERN TRAILS (J.W.) 109 CHURCH OF CHRIST THE KING PARISH (J.W.) 109 SUMMERLAND IN THE BEGINNING AND PIONEERS BEFORE 1905 (J.W.) 110 SITTIN' PRETTY: OSOYOOS THROUGH THE YEARS (J.W.) 110 A WILD FLIGHT OF GORDONS (J.W.) Ill MY AMERICAN COUSIN (Bernard Webber) 112 THE CRANES HERALD SPRING (Isabel Christie MacNaughton) 114 TRIBUTES AND BIOGRAPHIES JAMES C. AGNEW (Stuart Fleming) 115 \"THE UNFORGOTTEN YEARS\" A TRIBUTE TO MAJOR HUGH PORTEOUS (Elizabeth Kangyal) 116 EXCERPTS FROM \"OLIVER PEPYS' DIARY\" (Hugh Porteous) 120 CAPTAIN EDWARD ARTHUR TITCHMARSH (Elizabeth Slingsby) 122 TRIBUTE TO JIM LAIDLAW, SCOUTER (Harley Hatfield) 123 GARNET EDWARD WILLIS (Grant Willis) 124 DON MacKENZIE \u00E2\u0080\u0094 AS I REMEMBER HIM (Alice Neave) 125 THE REVEREND AND MRS. W. S. BEAMES (T. B. Beames and A. Waterman) 127 DOLLY WATERMAN: A LIFETIME LOVE OF GUIDING (N. J. Newman) .... 137 THE BIRD CARVINGS OF JOHN GERVERS (Muriel DuFeu) 139 WILLIAM JAMES WILCOX OF SALMON ARM (Jack Wilcox) 142 HILDA CRYDERMAN (Nancy Jermyn) 146 THE WILLIAM BEADLE STORY (Rudy Lidstone for Charlie Carey) 149 MRS. W. BEADLE (Gertrude Peel) 151 WILLIAM AND CATHERINE MIDDLETON, 1849-1936 and 1855-1924 (R. M. Middleton) 152 TALES AND REMINISCENCES A KALEDEN BOYHOOD (Fred King, M.P.) 158 FIRE (Don Corbishley) 163 OKANAGAN TIDAL WAVE (Olive Evans) 164 FLASH FLOOD AT PARADISE RANCH - 1941 (A. Waterman) 166 A LITTLE NEIL STORY (Harley Hatfield) 167 LITTLE NEIL GOES CANOEING (Harley Hatfield) 168 LITTLE NEIL'S RETRIEVER (Allan Roadhouse & Harley Hatfield) 168 SABOTAGE (Don Corbishley) 169 \"STRETCHING THE WALLET NOT THE DOLLAR\" A DITCH RIDER'S EXPERIENCE Qim Gould) 170 LETTER FROM JERRY ENEAS 171 BUSINESS & ACTIVITIES OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF O.H.S. 1987 172 MINUTES OF THE 61st ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF O.H.S. 1986 173 PRESIDENT'S REPORT 175 EDITOR'S REPORT 177 SECRETARY'S REPORT 178 AUDITOR'S REPORT 179 REPORTS OF THE BRANCHES SALMON ARM 182 ARMSTRONG/ENDERBY 182 VERNON 183 KELOWNA 184 PENTICTON 185 OLIVER/OSOYOOS : 185 REPORT OF FATHER PANDOSY MISSION COMMITTEE - 1985 186 FATHER PANDOSY MISSION COMMITTEE: FINANCIAL STATEMENT 187 REPORT OF INDEX COMMITTEE 188 PROMOTION COMMITTEE REPORT 189 OBITUARIES WE SHALL MISS THEM 191 WHEN I NO LONGER LABOUR (Guy V. Waterman) 198 MEMBERSHIP LIST 1986 199 ERRATA AND ADDENDA 208 10 HISTORICAL PAPERS AND DOCUMENTS Inkameep Corn Field. A portion of the 520 acres of Inkameep Indian lands broken for the first time in 1984. The irrigation project was financed with $430,000 from A.R.D.S.A., $60,000 from A.R.D.A., $100,000 from Osoyoos Band Funds, and a loan of $329,000 at 13 percent from Department of Indian Affairs. The land is under a 15-year lease to Southern Interior Beef Corporation for growing silage crops. Photo by courtesy of Oliver Chronicle 11 WATER, LIFE BLOOD OF THE OKANAGAN by D. A. Dobson, P.Eng. After the glaciers retreated following the last Ice Age a large lake remained, stretching from the present City of Kamloops to the north to Mclntyre Bluff, a few kilometers south of the City of Penticton. Gradually, the barriers at either end of this huge lake were worn down and the water drained away leaving a number of smaller lakes connected by a meandering river along the valley floor. Remnants of the ancient lakeshore can still be seen in the form of terraced benches along the valley walls. The lakes as we know them today start at Wood Lake-Kalamalka Lake in the north, Okanagan Lake, Skaha Lake, Vaseux Lake and ending with Osoyoos Lake in the south. Water to feed the lakes is supplied primarily from the melting of the winter snow in the surrounding hills. The change from winter temperatures of as low as - 25 \u00C2\u00AC\u00E2\u0088\u009EC to a summer high of + 30 \u00C2\u00AC\u00E2\u0088\u009EC can occur very quickly resulting in a rapid melt in the mountain snow packs. Under these circumstances the valley lakes would fill and flooding occur to adjacent lowlands. Due to an annual precipitation in the valley bottom of only 25 centimeters, as the valley became settled, water was soon recognized as the \"life blood of the Okanagan.\" The flooding in the spring was soon forgotten when replaced by the hot, arid days of July and August. These seasonal fluctuations are compounded by the annual variations. Too much water one year may be followed by too little water the next. In 1942, as a result of agitation by the towns and municipalities throughout the valley, a Joint Board of Engineers was formed by the governments of Canada and British Columbia. The task confronting this Board was to study and report on flood control measures for the Okanagan Valley. The Board determined that the natural river system was not able to handle the peak spring flows and therefore flooding was an annual occurrence. They also determined that, as a result of no storage capacity in the main stem lakes, there was a shortage of water for irrigation purposes during July and August when water was sorely needed. The Board recommended that the following measures be implemented to overcome the shortcomings in the system: 1. a control dam be constructed on the Okanagan River at Penticton to provide a control range for Okanagan Lake of 1.2 meters and storage capacity of 270,000,000 cubic meters; 2. a control dam be constructed on the Okanagan River at Okanagan Falls to provide a control range on Skaha Lake of 0.6 meters and a storage capacity of 8,000,000 cubic meters; 3. a control dam be constructed on the Okanagan River at Mclntyre Bluff to provide a control for the diversion of water for the South Okanagan Lands Project; 4. the Okanagan River between Okanagan Lake and Osoyoos Lake be contained within a properly designed channel with adequate dykes to safely pass the high spring flows. 12 The difference in elevation between Okanagan Lake and Osoyoos Lake is 64 meters. The new straight channel which replaced the old meandering river was found to be 23 kilometers shorter and therefore had too steep a gradient. To maintain the original water surface gradient over this shorter, steeper channel required the integration of seventeen smaller structures known as vertical drop structures, between Okanagan Falls and Osoyoos Lake. It was also recognized that the Okanagan River is an important spawning stream for sockeye salmon that migrate up the Columbia River. To protect this salmon run a 2,700 meter section of river north of the Village of Oliver extending to the Mclntyre Dam was left in its natural state to provide spawning and rearing habitat. With all the facts collected the final report by the Board was submitted and accepted by the two governments in 1950. The first construction contract was called in September of 1952 and the final phase was completed to Osoyoos Lake in 1958. The results of this work have been a flattening of the spring freshet peaks through better flow and storage control and through the ability to manipulate the various lakes, individual peaks can be managed to advantage. Downstream of Osoyoos Lake, in Washington State there is another small dam on the Okanagan River known as the Zosel Dam. This dam, constructed in 1927 to provide a log sorting pond for the Zosel Lumber Company created an artifical level on Osoyoos Lake. In 1945 the International Joint Commission issued an order to affect control of Osoyoos Lake levels since the lake is an international water body. The control level is 277.66 meters at the dam forebay. However, this level is complicated by a backwater condition when the Similkameen River is in flood. The Similkameen River joins the Okanagan River 5 kilometers downstream of the Zosel dam, south of Oroville. When this backwater condition occurs water cannot drain from Osoyoos Lake and flooding may occur around the lake. The primary function of the Okanagan Flood Control System is to minimize flooding throughout the Okanagan Valley. Therefore when Osoyoos Lake levels near the flood stage for example, the flow can be dramatically reduced by minimizing the outflow of the Okanagan River from Okanagan Lake at Penticton. By storing water in Okanagan Lake it may be possible to prevent major flooding on Osoyoos Lake and wait for the Similkameen River flows to recede. During extreme events such as those that occurred in 1972 this is not possible because there is just too much water available. It should be noted that the old wooden Zosel Dam is being replaced by a new structure immediately upstream. Construction commenced in April of this year and should be completed by early 1987. The new dam will not eliminate the problems associated with the Similkameen River but will help to minimize their effect. When the new dam is operational it will conclude the work on the flood control system for the Okanagan Valley that began 35 years ago. Flood control is not flood elimination; it is a practical approach to minimize the undesirable effects of our climate. The quality of life in this valley as a result of the Okanagan Flood Control Project attests to its source. 13 WATER QUALITY IN THE OKANAGAN BASIN by Jean Webber (Prepared from reports of the Ministry of the Environment and in consultation with Dick Nickel, Okanagan Water Quality Project Manager.) In a news release dated September 23, 1985 the Government of British Columbia announced that the Okanagan Basin had been declared an environmentally sensitive area and eligible for special funding to assist with capital costs of controlling sewage discharges into area lakes. The Minister of Environment Austin Pelton stated: \"Under the terms of this new designation, cities like Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna and other Okanagan Communities will be required to develop waste management plans . . . The plan includes public participation, and in this case provides for a valley-wide approach to phosphorus controls through co-ordinating individual municipal and regional district waste management plans.\" Consumer and Corporate Affairs Minister Jim Hewitt announced: \"The province will pay 75 per cent of the capital costs for advanced waste treatment facilities for the Okanagan under the special environment designation. This will amount to about $26 million over the next three years.\" Official concern for water quality in the Okanagan Basin on a valley-wide basis goes back at least to 1969 when a federal-provincial study was initiated. In a report, dated May 1985 and released by the Ministry of the Environment in September 1985, entitled Phosphorus in the Okanagan Valley Lakes: Sources, Water Quality Objectives and Control Possibilities we find the following: Of all of the regions of the province, the Okanagan has probably been the most intensively studied with regard to water resources. There have been three major studies. The Okanagan Basin Study, a federal-provincial study, was done in 1969-1974. The data gathered in this study provided the first basic technical information on the lakes. Next a provincial study of the Wood-Kalamalka Basin was carried out in 1971-1974. Finally the federal-provincial Okanagan Basin Implementation Study (1977-1982) was undertaken to implement the recommendations of the Basin Study. Changes in water quality, which had taken place as a consequence of sewage treatment improvement at Penticton and Vernon, have been monitored. Numerous other studies have been carried out and the Waste Management Branch Regional Office in Penticton has continued to monitor water quality at numerous sites on a routine basis. (Page 1) As in all government reports not only do the individuals of the highly trained technical staff remain faceless, but also those dedicated members of our communities who sounded the first warnings of a problem and worked through municipal governments and other organizations concerned with the quality of life in the Okanagan. Without such citizens senior governments would never become interested. The stories of these men and women of the Okanagan and their efforts are fitting stuff for future Okanagan Historical Society reports. In November 1980 the Okanagan Basin Implementation Agreement Public Task Force submitted their final report to the Okanagan Basin Implementation Board. The following excerpts have been taken from that report.1 1. Report on the Okanagan Basin Implementation Agreement Appendices, Vol. 1, pp. 113-118. 14 LAND USE AND WATER QUALITY There has been much attention paid to nutrient loading to the main- stem lakes from macro sources (i.e. municipal outfalls and industrial pollution). However, when we consider nutrient loadings from all diffuse sources (e.g. septic tanks, forestry, agriculture, urban development) these could be significant even though any one has generally been considered insignificant in the overall picture. The correction or improvement in the amount of nutrients from diffuse sources may often entail only administrative corrections avoiding large capital costs. It would appear that direct sources are now well on the road to implementation, and that attention should now be directed toward improving the amount of loading from diffuse sources, with not only the view to improving water quality, but also the aesthetic conditions in and around water courses . . . 1. Forestry Practices . . . Formal infield guidelines need to be developed and circulated to all practising Forest Service and industrial personnel. Such guidelines should consider location of roads and skid trails, drainage, slope logging, and barring of roads no longer in use . . . Monitoring of streams for siltation and erosion caused through poor forestry practices has not been done effectively . . . The Ministry of Forests should be more active and knowledgeable in their administration role in reporting on detrimental practices to the watersheds, and to be aware of and practice high standards of watershed management. 2. Agricultural Practices Improvement of pollution from agricultural sources is also largely a matter of administration and education. The main sources of nutrients appear to be from feedlots, faulty practices in and around stream banks (including diversions and minor works, as well as allowing cattle and other livestock in watercourses), stream bank denudation, irrigation and runoff, uses of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides . . . More effective guidelines (re pesticides and herbicides) thanpresently exist, should be developed and put into practice. The policing of such policies is essential. 3. Urbanization . . . Construction is often in process near streams and lakes. Associated with construction are streambank destabilization, debris washed into storm sewers, and excessive drainage into streams. There is virtually no policing of these practices, as the building inspectors do not monitor these practices. Urbanization also brings pollution from other diffuse sources such as street washing and bacterial contamination fed through storm sewers into nearest stream or lake . . . WATER QUALITY FOR CONSUMPTIVE AND NON-CONSUMPTIVE USES There appear to be no decisive answers regarding the overall status (improvement or degradation) of the water quality of the Okanagan 15 watershed system. Nutrient loading from all sources have been contributory to increasing changes in the limnology of various receiving waters. It is imperative that water quality standards (with particular emphasis on Health Standards) be enforced throughout the Okanagan system. Such standards apply not only to drinking water but to the fecal coliform levels at public swimming beaches . . . Enforcement of standards also begins with the education of all water users within the Valley. Among the specific recommendations of the Task Force is the following: Resource courses in both high schools and colleges should include curriculum data in various aspects of water quality and the overall management of parameters affecting same. Although there are a number of quality characteristics which may be of concern such as bacteriological count, suspended sediment, aquatic weeds, the present thrust for maintaining and improving water quality has to do with the control of phosphorus levels. On page 1 oi Phosphorus in the Okanagan Valley Lakes the report states: The primary water quality concern is phosphorus inputs into the lakes, since phosphorus is the key nutrient controlling the amount of algae. Algal growth directly determines important aspects of the lakes such as water clarity, aesthetic attractiveness, recreational suitability, amount of drinking-water treatment, and aspects of fisheries production and habitat suitability. However, a reduction in phosphorus concentration is unlikely to affect nuisance weed growth. In explanation of Nitrogen: Phosphorus ratios we find on page 40 of the same report: The ratio of the concentration of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (N:P) can indicate which of these nutrients is the limiting factor in algal production. Ratios greater than 10:1 or 12:1 generally indicate a phosphorus limited system, while ratios of less than 5:1 indicate a nitrogen limitation. When nitrogen is limiting, decreasing the phosphorus level increases the N:P ratio and causes phosphorus to become the limiting nutrient again. For this reason, and because of the difficulty in controlling nitrogen loading, phosphorus levels rather than nitrogen levels are always managed in the lakes. Of all the treatment plants in the Valley only that at Kelowna removes nitrogen as well as phosphorus. This plant represents new technology and is proving highly effective. The section on \"Waste Discharges\" in the report Phosphorus in the Okanagan Valley Lakes advances the following conclusions: 16 1. Loading from direct discharge by municipal sewage treatment plants in 1984, when compared to 1970 loadings, have been reduced 70% to Okanagan Lake, 80% to Skaha Lake and 100% to Osoyoos Lake. No direct discharges exist to Ellison, Wood and Kalamalka Lakes. 2. Loading from agriculture and septic tanks are the most significant sources of controllable phosphorus to Wood, Kalamalka and Osoyoos Lakes. They are more significant than municipal sources in Okanagan and Skaha Lakes. 3. The reliability of estimated loadings is best for municipal sources, followed by agriculture and septic tanks. Prior to any action being undertaken to reduce loadings from diffuse sources, more accurate estimates of these and of natural loadings will be required. The appropriate sources and locations of nutrient inputs can then be prioriz- ed for corrective action, (page 17.) It is necessary to ensure that all treatment and disposal works for the various municipalities have capacity for future community demands and function consistently over the long run. The next major thrust for improvement must be with respect to those parts of cities not served by sewers and to urbanized areas adjacent to cities or between them. Control strategies must be developed also to reduce nutrients entering the system from agricultural operations and forestry as well as from septic tanks. The respective contributions of phosphorus to the Okanagan Lake Basin are as follows (estimated values in kg/year): 1970 1984 Municipal discharges 54,500 19,000 Indirect controllable (diffuse sources) 11,130 30,180 Indirect non-controllable (diffuse sources) 45,900 38,100 TOTALS 111,530 87,000 17 Lake Ellison (Duck) Lake Wood Lake Kalamalka Lake Limnology of Okanagan Lakes Concentration of Total P 0.040 to 0.080 mg/L 0.040 to 0.080 mg/L 0.010 mg/L Okanagan Lake (except Armstrong Arm) 0.010 mg/L Armstrong Arm (North Arm) 0.025 mg/L Skaha Lake 0.025 mg/L Osoyoos Lake 0.025 mg/L Classification Eutrophic Eutrophic Oligotrophic Oligotrophic Mesotrophic Mesotrophic Mesotrophic A comparison of the total phosphorus values in Okanagan Lake with values in other large lakes in British Columbia puts these values into perspective. Buttle and Adams Lakes have concentrations from 0.004 to 0.005 mg/L, Cowichan Lake is in the 0.005 to 0.006 mg/L range, Kootenay Lake is in the 0.007 to 0.008 mg/L range, while Quesnel Lake has only about 0.003 mg/L. Thus, for a lake of its size Okanagan Lake has a relatively high total phosphorus concentration. (Phosphorus 1983. p. 33) LIST OF OKANAGAN BASIN IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT PUBLIC TASK FORCE MEMBERS Doug Fraser, Osoyoos; Harry Sheardown, Osoyoos; Dave Evans, Oliver; Art Garrish, Oliver; George Creighton, Okanagan Falls; Ted Swales, Kaleden; Chris Bull, Penticton; Dr. John Gibson, Penticton; Harold Thomson, Penticton; Ivan Cumming, Naramata; Dr. Dave Stevenson, Summerland; Sheila White, Summerland; John Woodworth, Kelowna; Gary Huva, Kelowna; Dave Lovdahl, Kelowna; Bill Parchomchuk, Kelowna; Lorna Young, Kelowna; Bob Harrison, Kelowna; Shelley Hansen, Kelowna; Garth Maguire, Vernon; Bert Nilsson, Vernon; Albert Saddleman, Vernon; Dr. Max Smart, Vernon; Agnes Sovereign, Vernon; Olive Woodley, Vernon; Bob Graham, Armstrong. WASTE MANAGEMENT AT VERNON by Doug Kermode In keeping with the problems that numerous communities had in responding to Waste Management (or Sewage Disposal) requirements, Vernon was no exception. The original system appears to have comprised a septic tank constructed in 1909. Shortly after a rock filter, using a system of troughs and perforated trays, was added to improve the plant, or so it was hoped. The early engineering records describe constantly \"clogged filters\" and open pits that were \"better imagined than experienced.\" The building of a cannery in 1926 made matters worse, so in 1929 an additional settling tank with a capacity of 150,000 gallons was installed. A chlorina- tion system, to offset the fouling of Kalamalka Creek and Okanagan Lake beaches was considered and rejected. Finally, with the ever increasing number of new sewer lines, it was essential a new plant be constructed. The technical description of the layout dealing with a digestor, clarifiers, sludge pumps, underdrains, etc. just meant one important thing to the layman. It was an efficient method and had gravity feed advantages with its location at the west end of the city. Operations started in November 1939. Probably these facilities would have taken care of the city's growth for some years but the development of the big army camp in the early 1940s necessitated the doubling of its capacity. These needs were provided by the army during the early war years. Improved facilities have been constructed in stages following the war period, leading eventually to the spray irrigation system advocated by then City Engineer, Dave MacKay. In 1971 the Vernon waste disposal plant had a capacity of 2.3 million gallons per day. A pilot system to study the spray irrigation method was put into operation. One of the requirements for this system was a large winter storage basin. Vernon was in the fortunate position of being able to develop such a retaining reservoir on the Commonage area to the south of the city. Then, in 1976, two factors demanded urgent attention. Firstly, the capacity of 2.3 million gallons had been reached; and secondly, tertiary treatment of disposal was required in the Okanagan Valley. The six-year pilot project had shown that treated effluent formerly discharged into Okanagan Lake could be utilized for irrigation purposes. As a result over 1,600 acres of relatively barren land now yields high quality pasture acreage and grassland that is regularly cut. Vernon's project has been studied by many communities. Basically the system is composed of two main parts: the supply lines and reservoir with a capacity of 7,000 acre feet for winter storage, and the mobile sprinkler irrigation units. The city has produced an excellent brochure that outlines in detail how this project operates. Vernon has successfully incorporated its spray irrigation system into the first long-range management plan to be approved in British Columbia. The plan's office is appropriately named the David S. MacKay Environmental Centre, in memory of the City Engineer who devoted so much time and effort to put this scheme into effect. 19 EARLY HISTORY OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON TROUT CREEK by Mary Gartrell Orr Water has been the life-blood of the Okanagan Valley \u00E2\u0080\u0094 first for transportation then for colonization. The first settlers at Trout Creek (Summerland) lost no time in arranging for water for domestic and agricultural use. Many references to the coming of the James and Mary Gartrell family are to be found in the Okanagan Historical Society's annual books of Okanagan history. While spending two years on the Ellis cattle ranch at what was to become Penticton, Mr. Gartrell looked around for a large tract of land which could become his own. His preference to get into fruit-growing rather than cattle ranching was evident. The wooded delta at the mouth of Trout Creek Canyon influenced him to leave the Ellis Ranch in 1887. The timing was right. The Provincial Government recognized the petitions sent in regarding grazing rights and was preparing to change the status of the land between Trepanier Creek (River) and Trout Creek (River) from common pasturage for stock belonging to white settlers and Indians, to pre-emptions. Tom Ellis had a strip of twenty-nine acres on the north to allow his cattle access to water at Okanagan Lake. Duncan Woods and James Gartrell acquired the remaining land on what is now known as Trout Creek Point, Woods taking the southern portion and Gartrell the northern portion, the dividing line running east and west. Woods gradually subdivided his portion but much of the Gartrell land is still possessed and lived on by descendants of James and Mary Gartrell. 320 acres was the size of the Gartrell pre-emption. James Gartrell is considered to be the first to irrigate a fruit orchard in the Okanagan Valley and the first to have a commercial orchard. Many records of Water Rights on Government of B.C. letterhead among the archival treasures of the Gartrell family give historical details and establish the fact that Duncan Woods and James Gartrell were the first to hold Water Records on Trout Creek, at the mouth of the canyon. One document is dated 18th December 1888, notified by W. Dewdney, Government Agent, signed by L. Norris, Government Agent, Vernon. Woods and Gartrell Water Records were updated and additional water approved 9th April 1890. The next to receive Water Rights on Trout Creek were: Arthur Day, 20th December 1890 George N. Barclay, 11th December 1891 Okanagan Tribe of Indians, Penticton Band, 20th January 1897. The water was in all cases for irrigation and domestic purposes for a period of 99 years and each document listed the number of inches to be drawn. James Gartrell then proceeded to apply from the Headwaters area twenty miles west of Peachland and, on 29th October 1906, obtained the first Water Record on Headwaters Lake. This water emptied at the foot of the lake by a natural water course running into Trout Creek, according to the document signed by L. Norris, Commissioner. The waters of Trout Creek rushed from the hills unobstructed through the Trout Creek canyon to the delta of Trout Creek Point. In order to harness this resource the settlers had much work to do. The first efforts of Woods and Gar- 20 Photo of James Gartrell's pond west of their home, taken about 1908. The orchard was fully bearing. Note the pair of swans. The ice-house is at the extreme left of the photo. trell at damming the creek were probably the forerunners of dams as we know them today. Their method was to create a crude dam by the use of logs, sticks, boulders and dirt to hold back the water until time to release it into ditches to flood the lands. My brother, Lloyd, remembers the stories the men told of their rough dam being washed out every year by the Spring freshet and they had to work up to their waists in the ice cold water to replace the dam. At the mouth of the canyon, Trout Creek separated into the main stream as we know its direction still and the north fork which cut off in a north-easterly direction through the Gartrell property where there were two ponds in hollow spots connected by a small creek which flowed for quite a distance before reaching the lake. My youthful recollections include skating with friends on Grandad's pond west of the house. Ice was harvested in the winter and stored in sawdust in the nearby ice house. Over the years silt filled the ponds and irrigation practices changed. I wish my Grandmother was here to tell me if barrels were filled with water and brought to her for household use. Water management will never be the same again in this district. 21 OSOYOOS ORCHARDS LTD. by Douglas Fraser Osoyoos Orchards Ltd. was formed in 1919, but to put things in perspective we have to go back to 1905. In that year, Leslie Hill, a civil engineer from Nelson, visited the Okanagan. Like many others he fell in love with the valley, and saw its future as a fruit-growing area, rather than the cattle range it then was. Accordingly he went to Penticton and obtained an option to purchase the Ellis cattle ranch. Tom Ellis had bought the Haynes ranch in the 1890s and had added it to his own extensive holdings until he was \"monarch of all he surveyed\" from Naramata to the border. Hill then went to England to raise the rest of the required capital, but by the time he returned the option had expired, and Ellis had sold most of his land to the brothers L. W. Shatford of Fairview and W. T. Shatford of Vernon, who carried on cattle ranching under the name of South Okanagan Land Cattle Company. Val Haynes, son of the original settler, \"Judge\" Haynes, was for many years their ranch manager. But what of Leslie Hill? Ellis, to make up to Hill for what had been lost on the option, let him have land which Ellis had retained on the east side of Osoyoos Lake. This consisted of about 1200 acres between present Highway 3 and the border, and went back from Osoyoos Lake to the base of the mountains. In 1907 Hill planted 40 acres of what was to be a model orchard on the delta of Haynes Creek. The land was irrigated with spring water from the creek and later in the season with water pumped from the lake. The house built by Haynes in 1878-1882 was on the 1200 acres, and Hill with his three daughters came from Nelson to spend the summers in Osoyoos. When not supervising the developing orchard, Hill lived the life of a country gentleman \u00E2\u0080\u0094 riding, fishing and boating. A boathouse contained a motor launch and a beautiful 4-oared clinker-built rowboat, with a steering rudder and corduroy cushions. He left behind such luxury items as Hardy fishing rods. Hill died in 1916, and in 1917, my father, George J. Fraser, leased the Hill ranch for three years. In March 1917 we moved down from Penticton to the Hill (Haynes) house. In 1919, my father got together a group of men to form Osoyoos Orchards Ltd. in order to purchase the Hill estate, with the plan of putting in an irrigation system to cover the possible orchard land fringing the lake. The cost of the estate was $50,000. The members were: G.J. Fraser, Osoyoos; R. H. Helmer, Summerland Experimental Station; D. E. Burpee, Penticton; R. H. Plaskett, Alberta; R. D. Fraser, Alberta; Rev. J. F. Millar, Penticton; C. L. Carless, Penticton; Leo Hayes, Kelowna; E. R. Dawson, Penticton; W. T. Hunter, Summerland Experimental Station; W. McConnachie, Penticton. Later arrivals were Harry Martin, Rev. Arthur Elliott from England, F. L. Goodman who took over from Elliott, and Ad vena Hearle who bought from Plaskett. The system of distribution of lots, which had been surveyed by Dufresne, was unusual. Each applicant put in a bid for each of the lots, and the highest bid for each was accepted. By mutual agreement, members made low bids for the Haynes house lot so that George Fraser might retain it. 22 My father acquired 28 acres, but deciding that 28 acres were too much, he sold 14 acres to R. H. Plaskett who had decided to give up cattle ranching in Alberta for fruit ranching in B.C. R. H. (Bert) Plaskett duly planted his 14 acres, but after a year became impatient with the slow progress of fruit trees and sold his lot to Mrs. Hearle. R. H. Plaskett then bought a part of the already planted Hill orchard which had been acquired by Leo Hayes (an absentee owner), and became an \"instant\" fruit-grower. Another member of Osoyoos Orchards was the Rev. J. F. Millar, who drew the lot now occupied by Mountain View campsite. As he was an absentee owner too, my father undertook to look after the young orchard, and I was frequently given the chore of irrigating it. The land was fairly level at the top, then descended steeply to flatter land below. The soil was very light and within a short time the water in the irrigation furrows dug miniature Grand Canyons and the soil came down and filled the lower furrows. I spent my time frantically hoeing out these lower furrows in a crying rage against hopeless odds. The planting was soon abandoned and only re-established when sprinklers made irrigation possible on steep slopes. In 1920 the irrigation system was installed. Its heart was a single-cylinder gasoline engine of 10-inch bore, located on the lakeshore near the present East Osoyoos Irrigation pumphouse. This engine, with 6-foot flywheels on either side powered a belt-driven centrifugal pump. The water was pumped through a 12-inch wood stave pipe up to an elevation of 50 feet. Here it went into a big square wooden box. From this tank wooden flumes carried the precious water north to present Highway 3, and south to the lot now fronted by Brookvale campsite. The spring run-off from Haynes Creek was used for early irrigation, a wooden flume bringing this water to the distribution box. The main flume, as I remember, was 16 inches wide, with the junction of the two 8-inch wide planks covered by a 1x4 batten. Each section was 16 feet long, on a 4x4 junction base, and the side walls were supported by 2x4 braces. Each grower had a connecting flume to bring the water to his land. The lumber came from a mill on Anarchist Mountain near the Kehoe Ranch. As a boy of 12, I once accompanied my cousin Ken Plaskett, then 17, on one of these trips. We left early in the morning with team and wagon, and got to the mill in time for a late lunch. This gave the cook time to talk, and she commiserated with us for having to live in the valley. She herself had been to Oroville the year before for the Fourth of July celebrations, and \"it was so hot I was sick to my stummick.\" I remember thinking that that was not how a lady would describe what had happened. On our way back we pulled off to the side of the road at a crossing of Haynes Creek to water the horses. While they were drinking, the wagon wheels sank into the looser gravel of the road shoulder. To get underway again, we had to unload half the heavy planks, get the wagon back on the firmer centre, and re-load. As soon as the spring flow from Haynes Creek diminished, the pumping plant had to be started up. This required two men to stand on the spokes of the flywheels to generate sufficient compression for the engine to fire. Once started, it went bang, bang, bang, all summer at about 15 second intervals. The ear became accustomed to the regular bangs, and it was said you never heard it till it stopped. 23 Mark Bain, who had been Leslie Hill's steady man, had remained to work for G. J. Fraser, and now took over the role of engineer. The gasoline engine had to be fueled at intervals, and there were oil reservoir cups of shining brass to be filled, and grease cups to be attended to. Mark fixed himself a bed and a kitchen under the engine's roof. Why he didn't become completely deaf in a couple of years is a miracle. One problem with this length of wooden flume was, of course, leaks along the way, so that often the grower at the far end found himself short of the needed water. He usually prepared for this by collecting a couple of gunny sacks of horse manure from the hillside above the flume. Pulverised, this material did an excellent job of stopping small leaks till the next time around. Contrasting personalities among early east-side orchardists were E. W. Dawson and Bill McConnachie. During the winter, Dawson was out pruning with the first light, and did without lunch to make the most of the short winter day. McConnachie by contrast was very much the casual fruit-grower. If spring overtook him before he'd finished pruning, it is said that he would hang up his pruning shears in a tree to indicate where to start again the next year. Another pair of contrasting growers were my father and D. E. Burpee, our next door neighbour. My father believed in feeding the land to make it produce, and was always scouring the country for sources of manure. Burpee could not see the point of growing extra wood all summer just in order to cut it out in the winter's pruning. Our neighbour on the other side, Mrs. Hearle, had her own theory of irrigation. Once she had conducted water down a furrow to the end of the row, she decided that the row was now irrigated, and shut it off. As a consequence, a tree row looked like a large family of children, the trees diminishing in size from those nearest the flume to those at the end of the furrow. F. L. Goodman, a trained horticulturist, and a man of broad interests, first of all looked after W. T. Hunter's fruit-tree nursery, then took over the land of the Rev. Arthur Elliott when Elliott returned to England in 1922. All the farm operations were done with horses, but in 1924 Goodman was the first person to obtain a caterpillar tractor, which incidentally was still in use twenty years later. Dawson, Fraser and Hearle descendants still farm the original lots, and it is not long since Plaskett and Goodman descendants sold their holdings. 24 TRUCKING ON THE OLIVER-OSOYOOS IRRIGATION PROJECT by Joe Biollo After WWI in the early 1920s the Soldiers' Settlement Board started an irrigation project for the Oliver-Osoyoos area for returning war veterans. The project started at Mclntyre's Bluff west of Highway 97 south \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the south end of Vaseux Lake. This was a concrete water canal which was about 5 feet deep by 12 feet across that continued past Oliver and on to Osoyoos. Even in the early days we called that area a desert because of the heat in the summer and the difficulty in getting water onto the land and benches. Now it is known as the Osoyoos Arid Biotic Zone.1 Cement and supplies for the various campsites along the way were hauled by Penticton contracting firms: Robert Parmley's Penticton Dray and Express, Hatfield's Interior Contracting Company, Brophy Bros, and others. The supplies were loaded from the south Penticton railroad sidetrack on Hastings Avenue. All the trucks hauling cement had hard rubber tires. Travelling on rough gravelled roads they got up to 10 and 15 miles per hour on the level. Loading of the trucks would start at 5 or 6 a.m. although some drivers preferred to load the night before and jack up the back of the truck so that the weight would not be too hard on the back springs overnight. Loading and unloading of the cement was done by hand: 85 lbs. per paper sack. Sometimes the men would show off their strength by carrying two sacks at once. But that bravado would not last very long because heaving the cement out of the box cars and on to the flat deck trucks was a tough job in itself. On Saturday or Sunday when I could get off work at Ma Sheridan's I would go along with one of the truck drivers as company on that slow, rough ride to Oliver. A five or six hour trip like that over rocky roads and through choking dust was an adventure; it was something to boast about to your friends when you got back. LINES FROM \"A POET VISITS THE OKANAGAN\" / stopped at Oliver village, to have a cup of tea, namedfor Honest fohn Oliver, once Premier of B.C. I was told of the early twenties, the area's arid soil, redeemed by ample water, brave and honest toil. The Premier of our Province, ready with helping hand, perceived the need for Veterans, to settle on the land. In the year of nineteen twenty, a plan would then unfold, a vision of arable acres, a source of wealth untold. A dam on Okanagan river, ditch and flume of ample size, to irrigate this fertile valley, was feasible and wise. Our brave lads were returning. From overseas they came. They 'd fought for home and freedom, these men of worth and fame. For them the fertile acres, available at cost, a chance to rehabilitate, regain the youth they 'd lost. Clem Battye '. OHS Report #47, p. 34: Okanagan and Similkameen Ecological Reserves. 25 DOCUMENTS RE IRRIGATION: HOLDINGS OF THE KELOWNA MUSEUM by Wayne Wilson In the summer of 1983 I was hired by the Kelowna Museum, through the B.C. Heritage Trust Student Employment Program, to examine the development of irrigation systems in the Okanagan Valley. From the outset, the project was clearly archival in nature \u00E2\u0080\u0094 equally evident was the lack of any overall understanding of the significance of irrigation to the historical development of the region. Given these circumstances, the project became one of collecting any and all available material that related to Okanagan irrigation. The results of the summer's work are now housed in the archives of the Kelowna Museum under four main headings: Photographs, Maps/Draft Plans/ Elevations, Library and Archival Files. Outside of, perhaps, the historic records of the Registrar of Companies in Victoria, the Kelowna Museum's collection certainly constitutes the largest holdings of such material in the province. This collection is growing continually and, even now, demands the attention of all creditable research on the topic. Following is a brief outline of those holdings: Photograph File The photo file was established to collect and catalogue irrigation photographs from the entire Okanagan Valley. Hence, the various Irrigation Districts, Museums and Water Management organizations were approached and asked to allow the museum to acquire prints of their photo collections. At present the file holds over 500 photographs. These range in subject, from dams to distribution works; in area, from Vernon to Oliver; in time, from the turn of the century to the 1960s. While the cataloguing of the file is not yet complete, the collection is open to researchers. Maps/Draft Plans/Elevations This collection holds almost two hundred irrigation related documents. Included are: i) Maps in various formats (blueprint, office survey originals and a few original field survey maps on linen); ii) Draft Plans of a wide variety of irrigation hardware such as dam sections, trestles, flumes, headgates and syphons; iii) Elevations (or, \"grade\" change records) of conveyance and distribution rights-of-way for a few of the Valley's Irrigation Districts. Library The Library consists of a series of published and unpublished works of both a technical and historic nature, and the majority of these relate directly to irrigation in the Okanagan Valley. In all there are well over 100 books, articles, academic papers, government publications and unpublished documents. Archival Files Some of the material collected under the project would not fit readily under any of the above headings. Hence, a series of Archival Files was generated with headings that include most of the Valley's Irrigation Districts and its major land development companies from the pre-World War I era. 26 This set of files contains a hodge-podge of written material that is generally historic in content. A file at random may contain sheets of historic notes, reprints of technical or popular articles or photocopies of old newspaper articles. For obtaining an outline history of many of the Valley's Irrigation Districts, these files are the best and quickest source. One tangible outcome of the project was the publication, in 1984, of a Bibliography of Okanagan Irrigation. This 27 page booklet, available through the Kelowna Museum, contains a listing of most material in the Irrigation Library. The booklet is indexed and, in addition, carries a list of all of the topic headings outlined above. The Kelowna Museum has taken a great step and a great responsibility in venturing into the subject of Okanagan Irrigation. But this is a valley-wide topic, and sensitivity to that context, by all Valley Museums and Historical Societies, is the real key to a continually improving and useful collection. LINES FOR GOING AWAY / sit and embroider wild flowers on pillowslips for my youngest daughter, buttercups and forget-me-nots like the pattern on my Spode china \u00E2\u0080\u0094 and a line of sand rose beige for the Okanagan hills. She has grown up on these flower-strewn buttercup hills \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the yellow bells, star flowers, bluebells have been a springtime carpet under her eager feet. With gentle and careful stitches I weave in my prayers with each petal that the lines fall unto her always in just such pleasant places, and the springtime carpet be ever beautiful, under her going-aw ay feet. Isabel Christie MacNaughton 27 EARLY IRRIGATION DITCHES IN KELOWNA by Bill Knowles How many of you readers can remember when there were apple trees growing on the corner of Bernard Avenue and Ellis Street, where the Credit Foncier Trust building is now? Or do you remember Rembler Paul's pear orchard on the site of part of the Woolworth store, the Christian Science Church and almost up to the new Credit Union building? Do you remember tomatoes, onions or tobacco being grown in the vicinity of the Hospital? When I was a youngster nearly all of Kelowna from Knox Mountain to the Golf Course, to the Parkinson Centre and Sutherland Avenue and west to the lake, was either raw land or orchards or vegetable and hay fields. The few houses and stores were mostly on Bernard Avenue from Ethel Street to the lake, with many vacant fields in between, with wild flowers growing on them. A few houses were scattered about on farms on Richter Street, Ethel Street, Glenmore Street and Pandosy Street. Naturally, the need arose that water, and lots of it, was required for irrigation. Pumps were in their infancy so it had to be by gravity from Mill Creek. Actually, there was no water system in Kelowna at that time, and where we lived on Bernard Avenue near Ethel Street, we had a hand pump in the backyard. Mother said she could always tell who got up first by the squeak of their pump. Everyone had a different tune. I remember a lot of ditches and wooden flumes around town and will pass their locations on to you. The large ditch that served the town came from what was known as the \"town dam,\" located on Mike Johnson's farm, now the Parkinson Recreation Centre. Fortunately, the old concrete walls have been preserved and are still in place behind the recreation hall. It has a foot bridge built over it. The large ditch from that dam ran through the football field, then through the present Four Seasons Racquet Club, across Burtch Road and around the hill opposite Hambleton Galleries. A large portion of the hill was removed when they built Highway 97 and the sand used to fill in a pond on Burtch Road by the 3 Links Manor. About where Highway 97 goes by Hambleton Galleries was a diversion gate to divert the water to different locations. One ditch served the Pridham orchard between Highway 97 and Sutherland Avenue. More was sent down the Pridham orchard (Shops Capri) across Gordon Drive and down Laurier Avenue. More on that later. Rod Pridham was telling me he still holds the original water rights certificate that his grandfather took out on the creek for their orchard. Another line followed the hill through the Ferrier (Mary Robertson) property, crossing Bernard Avenue by the First Baptist Church on Bernard and Richmond. That went into a reservoir known as Bankhead or Stirling pond. It has since been filled in and subdivided. Its location was across from Lawson and Richmond. A branch line went down Bernard Avenue from about Richmond to the present 7 Eleven store opposite People's Market. It served the orchards on the south side of Bernard Avenue. The only remaining piece of ditch on the whole system that I was able to locate is on the lane between the Full Gospel Church and Mary Robertson's house. It is still visible but fast being filled with brush and debris. 28 A JtH^iiiAi Bankhead or Stirling Pond in Bankhead - 1909. Bankhead Pond served as a reservoir for the Bankhead Orchards and part of the north end. The Bankhead Orchards ran from Bernard Avenue almost to Knox Mountain and from Gordon Drive to the pond which was a swimming hole in the summer and a skating rink in the winter. Henry Burtch cut ice from the pond in winter, stored it in sawdust in ice sheds, and delivered it around town in the summer to those who were fortunate enough to own an ice box. A branch from the reservoir came through the Bankhead Orchards, crossed Gordon Drive by the Patterson House (now Pius X Church). Pattersons owned 10 acres. The line then went to the 10 acre Glenn orchard and hay field on Ethel Street by Stockwell Avenue. I remember the orchard well. A lot of that area was very wet and swampy. If you stand on Gordon Drive by Laurier Avenue, you will notice the road slopes both ways from that spot. A large ditch came through the Pridham Orchard (Shops Capri), crossed Gordon Drive and ran down Laurier a few hundred yards, crossed behind the present motels and under Harvey Avenue (Highway 97) to Glenn Avenue (now Lawrence). It ran about halfway to Ethel Street, branched off and crossed Bernard Avenue through the present Vista Manor by the David Lloyd-Jones Home to Billy Lloyd-Jones' house and crossed Ethel Street near Martin Avenue. That watered the Lloyd-Jones fields, the Tucker orchard and several tomato fields. We kids used to lie in the ditches to keep cool in the summer. One of my favourite fishing spots was where the big ditch crossed Gordon Drive by Laurier Avenue. Another line took off from Harvey to Ethel and along Ethel to Lawrence, down Lawrence to the Glenn Avenue School on Richter Street, crossed in front of the Armory and United Church, across Bernard Avenue, and went almost to Knox Mountain to water Ernie Hill's orchard. One line branched off in front of 29 Irrigation flume and syphon at corner of Glenn Avenue (now Lawrence) and Richter St. Present Armory shown in background was one of the early schools in Kelowna. Circa 1910. the Armory (see picture), crossed Richter and ran down behind Safeway to water the fields and orchards in that area. Another line served Rembler Paul's orchards and another line served the McMillan 10 acres. The McMillan house was located about where Doyle runs into Richter. A lot of hay was grown there. Dan McMillan was telling me that his parents came to Peachland in 1898 and in 1906 to Kelowna. When his dad built their first house, just behind the present Royal Bank, he would row up from Peachland, work on the house for the week and then row back for the weekend till the house was ready for occupancy. That concrete block house and the old Baptist Church were torn down a few years ago. When I showed Charlie Pettman, the former fire chief, a picture of the flume running in front of the Armory and United Church, he said that his dad was coming down the lane between the two buildings in his horse and buggy and the buggy wheels broke through the underground flume or syphon, throwing his dad out of the buggy. He never regained consciousness. Rembler Paul owned a lot of acreage in Kelowna from Bernard Avenue to Knox Mountain, and in a 1915 paper there is a rather interesting note, \"Rembler Paul offers 160 acres of land a few miles north of Kelowna with lakeshore, as a site for a home for disabled veterans.\" He had made a previous offer of this property for use as a site for a home for the aged, but received no reply. That area includes Paul's tomb where he and his wife are buried. Just to divert, I will say a little about \"Rembler's Tomb.\" Jim Patterson was telling me that when his dad built the tomb and had it almost completed he was putting the steel door in place. In securing the door, wet concrete was poured between the frame and the concrete opening. He went inside to put on 30 Early irrigation ditches in Kelowna. Circa 1910. the finishing touches and closed the door behind him. It locked and, as he was all alone, he had no choice but to push out the whole frame and start over again. Our house on Lawrence between Gordon and Ethel was on a half acre lot. A 1909 advertisement said, \"Why pay $400.00 for a 50 foot building lot when you can buy a half acre lot on Glenn Avenue (Lawrence) for only $800.00. These lots are planted in fruit trees which should be bearing nicely this year.\" These lots ran back to the centre of Leon Avenue which was non-existent in those days. Our irrigation came from the ditch on Harvey Avenue, and as we had a large garden and lots of water, one of the packing house men suggested I grow cucumbers. I planted, watered, weeded and nursed them all summer, and in the fall lugged them to the packing house. In the spring I received a cheque for $4.44. I've hated cucumbers ever since. During irrigation season we always had a flooded basement. We always knew when they started irrigating the Pridham orchard and filled the ditches on Glenn Avenue and Harvey. First we would see little seams of moisture in the concrete and a week later there would be 12 to 15 inches of water. That would last all summer. For those of you that are interested in following some of the old ditches I will mention a few. In the flat part of town they are all gone. East of Spall Road by the railway crossing, a ditch can be seen going towards the city public works. The dam site is covered with the public works buildings. Above the railroad on Spall Road can be seen a large pipe. If you follow it and the ditch along the bank below the cemetery and past the city public works, and almost up to Dilworth Drive where it crosses the railway, its source is opposite the Westwood 31 Manufacturing and Seven-Up buildings on Leckie place. The old concrete headgate is still there. This ditch served the upper Bankhead area. In closing I would like to say that most of the area south of Highway 97 was under irrigation, but as I was not conversant with it someone else will have to write that story. I would like to thank Dan McMillan, Ernie and Winnie Hill, Mary Robertson, Jim Patterson, Rod Pridham, Charlie Pettman and Tilman Nahm for the help they gave me in rounding out this story. THE OLD BLACK IRON STOVE The black iron stove in our kitchen It truly was wondrous to see, Its top was so clean and so polished Our faces we almost could see. Our lives were all centered 'round it, We fed it the very best wood So that mother could do all the cooking And bake our bread yummy and good. And sometimes in Spring for some reason, On a shelf right behind its warm charm In an old granite pan lined with flannel Were wee downy chicks keeping warm. I must not forget the dear kettle That bubbled and sang all the day And the old coffee pot full of welcome For travellers who might come our way. Our mother would bathe a wee baby On her lap by the wide oven door Where a wee shirt and diaper hung warming While she lingered to play and adore. I loved that old stove in the kitchen How at night when the lamps were all out, It signalled its place in the darkness With lights here and there twinkling out. Magda Rice 32 THE GUISACHAN WATER USERS' COMMUNITY by Tilman E. Nahm The Guisachan Water Users' Community and its predecessor 'The Guisachan Ditch', as it \"was called, has been in the irrigation water distribution business in the Kelowna area since 1892. From the community's old files it is interesting to note the changes that have taken place over the years in a geographic area that has seen tremendous growth and change, from farms and agriculture to that of subdivision and urban development. The area served by the G.W.U.C. comprised most of District Lot 136 in the City of Kelowna, bounded by Richter Street on the west, Glenwood Avenue and Mill Creek on the north, Burtch Road on the east and Wardlaw Avenue on the south. An assessment for raising money for work to be done in 1913 shows 419 acres of land on the roll. A water licence issued by the Provincial Government in 1933 records 332.5 acres of land under irrigation with approximately 21 members. A Water Rights Branch map drawn in 1959 shows in excess of 250 acres still being irrigated by the community. Soon after this, rapid urban intrusion into the area served by the community chipped away at the farmland until today there are only 60 or 70 acres being watered by two users, one being the author. The original water licences on Kelowna (Mill) Creek take precedence from the 6th of July 1892, which is probably when the Earl of Aberdeen, who owned the Guisachan Ranch, took out a licence and built the original ditches and flumes to convey water to his estate. It appears that the Earl subdivided his Guisachan estate about 1902 or 1903 into four parcels. Parcel A was the land to the south of a right-of-way called Rosedale Avenue, subsequently and presently called Guisachan Road. In 1903 parcel A was sold to William C. Cameron, father of the late W. A. (Alister) Cameron and the late G. D. (Paddy) Cameron, well known pioneer farmers and members of the Okanagan Historical Society. The eastern portion of this land is presently still in agriculture, being a purebred Limousin cattle and hay operation run by Ray Nicholls of Kelowna. The three lots north of Guisachan Road, parcels B, C and D were sold to Messrs. Rowcliffe and Stillingfleet and others. These parcels were quickly subdivided and resubdivided during the course of the next few years to form smaller homesites and farming units. The first written records of the water users appear in the form of a Bank of Montreal Kelowna Branch savings account book commencing in November 1912, under the name of'H. B. D. Lysons Flume Account'. Mr. Lysons owned a 13 acre farm and greenhouse business on Ethel Street, between Glenwood Avenue and Guisachan Road, where the Cottonwoods Extended Care Hospital is now located. The first entry of minutes of a meeting appear dated 7 April 1916. At this meeting it was decided to make repairs to the ditches and flumes. According to bank records and minute books, Mr. Lysons appears to have been the unpaid Secretary-Treasurer of the 'ditch holders' and subsequent Gui- saschan Water Users' Community from 1912 until his retirement from the greenhouse business in 1947 \u00E2\u0080\u0094 certainly an outstanding record of community service. After the retirement of Mr. Lysons, Paddy Cameron undertook the Secretary-Treasurer duties which he carried on until 1978. It must be noted that Pad- 33 dy was also water bailiff and manager for many years, being responsible for the operations of the system. There are many entries in the minutes over the years, \"Mr. Cameron to take charge of the work,\" \u00E2\u0080\u0094 another example of many years of dedication to the community. For almost 80 years the main source of water supply was Mill Creek. The community also held an excess or floodwater licence on Mission Creek dated May 5th, 1920. The point of diversion for this licence was the Smithson Alphonse Water Users' Community dam on Mission Creek. Water was diverted via the Smithson Alphonse ditch to Dilworth Creek or, as it was more commonly called, 'Dry Creek' which flowed along where Canadian Tire Store is now, crossing the Vernon Road (Highway 97 North) at the Kelowna Toyota sales lot and entering Mill Creek near the present site of Okanagan Beverages, at Leckie Place and Dilworth Drive. This was used when there was excess water available in Mission Creek in order to augment the Mill Creek supply. At Mill Creek a wing dam constructed from rocks and boulders, probably dredged from the creek bed, diverted water through a headgate located on Mike Johnson's 'Willowbrook Farm', now the Parkinson Recreation Centre. The intake structures were located a few feet from where the present footbridge crosses the creek just northeast of the recreation centre building. The ditch ran through the farm parallel to Mill Creek, crossing the 'Vernon Road', now Highway 97 North, just west of the present day Mervyn Motors Volkswagen dealership, and winding through the fields back of the present Copytron building. Behind Dayton Street, where the Trans Canada Glass now is, was the point of diversion where the Ritchie Brook intake was located. Ritchie Brook was a secondary licence obtained by the community in 1949. This brook is fed from Allan's Spring, located underneath the parking lot of Orchard Park Shopping Centre. The brook is now piped underground through various subdivisions and developed areas until it surfaces at the present point of diversion just east of Burtch Road. From Burtch Road the water was diverted west and south through various main ditches and laterals to the members of the community. The entire system utilized ditches and flumes laid to grade to provide the users with water by gravity. The members distributed the water by small ditches in the case of row crops and orchards and by flooding pastures and hayfields. In August 1953 a special meeting was held to consider an application by one member to use sprinkler irrigation, which was approved. In succeeding years more users installed electric or gasoline pumps along the ditch and commenced using portable sprinkler systems. This new technology made the work of irrigation much easier and more efficient resulting in greater crop yields. During the 1950s and 1960s considerable subdivision began in the area north of Guisachan Road. This was due to the natural expansion of the city of Kelowna and affected water users served by the north lateral ditch. The lack of legal right-of-way easements through the lands being subdivided caused many problems for affected members downstream. It was just too costly for the financial resources of the small group of users to expropriate lands for easements. Some of the affected users along Mill Creek installed pumps utilizing water directly from the creek. Others dug wells and used groundwater pumping systems as their source of water until the demise of their own farms by development and subdivision. 34 In 1971 construction of the Parkinson Recreation Centre commenced and as the water users' community did not have easements on this property they were forced to abandon the intake and ditch there, and with it the licence that had been held on Mill Creek for almost 80 years. By this time the community's acreage and water use had shrunk to the point where the secondary source, Ritchie Brook, was sufficient to maintain an adequate supply to the remaining users. The present remaining works of the community are, fortunately, on dedicated rights-of-way and easements, creating a stabilizing effect for the small area that is left under irrigation. During the last few years the two or three remaining water users have been plagued with problems arising from the inevitable conflict of land use that comes about from intensive urbanization intruding into agricultural areas. On the one hand, urban residents view the ditch as unsightly and aesthetically displeasing, whereas the water users become upset with certain actions and activities of city dwellers. Such is the price of progress in a rapidly growing and changing community. In reading through old minute books, files and letters one begins to realize and appreciate the extraordinary amount of work and effort that was expended by many individuals in order to obtain and utilize the water resource that was required in the Guisachan area to make agriculture viable. This short history of the Guisachan Water Users' Community is dedicated to the recognition of their efforts and perserverence. A NOTE from The Agricultural fournal, Dept. of Agriculture, Victoria, B.C. V7 n. 10, December 1922. p. 232. The following is among the resolutions presented by the Advisory Board of Farmers' Institutes and the Legislative Committee of the United Farmers of British Columbia to the Agricultural Committee of the Provincial Legislature on November 3rd, at 8 p.m., in the Members' Room: Irrigation \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Whereas farmers in the Province who rely on water as a means of carrying on their operations are seriously hampered by the difficulties arising and the uncertainty of their position under the present laws: Therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Government be asked to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire and report as to the whole question of water- supply and irrigation in the Province with a view to placing the law on a staple and satisfactory basis; and, further, that we are of the opinion that the Commission should comprise two farmers who have a practical, thorough experience of the subject, a financier, an engineer, and a lawyer. 35 BOYHOOD MEMORIES OF THE UPPER BANKHEAD WATER USERS' COMMUNITY by Tilman E. Nahm I have many fond memories of the Bankhead ditch from the days of my youth in the 1930s and '40s. It was an exciting and wonderful place for a young growing boy to play. As a pre-schooler I would explore and play along it close to our home property, a small farm and orchard located in the present Bernard Avenue, Braemar Street, Cherry Crescent area. As I grew older and bolder in my explorations I would venture further afield discovering new areas, eventually covering most of the system. When I became a schoolboy I went to the source and discovered Mill Creek and fishing in those long, lazy, hot summer days of the early 1940s. The Upper Bankhead Water Users' Community irrigated the Bankhead Farm as well as several other farms and orchards in the Bankhead area, including my father's place. A qLl afi ml J& - \u00E2\u0096\u00A0nA.'rr istM-f <&J^sS7SVM//wJ/4mM/JL ftiLl %,Li,L i n.> ijl* /iaaum*..^/ \u00C2\u00AB/}.<\u00E2\u0096\u00A0 id fhrK. ffyv 0Q- (j Onm / ftf )t Cu.fKn. )'> J. * &.,Lj .*_ u Q 9 * ij n \u00E2\u0096\u00A0a ,itUi,{i.L f_ * ri uo (*h n . \u00C2\u00A3_\u00C2\u00AB\u00C2\u00AB\u00C2\u00A3_\u00C2\u00BBA~_4&>.J/!r 11. -J 10 i 10 '!' *: u MlTM .it - J !,t, cm t/n t(\ .n 60 f \u00C2\u00BBj\u00C2\u00A3. rJ i _ s 'k 4\" 1 'SJj.ld S.ftL^J. Ll - o nfffff 60 1 1 to lleXe^^A i\u00C2\u00B0n:i lors ewl- ClLkJu /J '' M xi*. auLft\u00C2\u00AB*fci\u00C2\u00ABJl \u00E2\u0096\u00A0juAk '' a L.r^JL: a.., J 04,'i rf< &> ULtJl/rCLfrJ Kjj^AlM^L. l(r C C I I 1 1 The Bankhead Farm was sold during the war to provide small acreage holdings with homes on them for the veterans returning from the services. Eventually these V.L.A. holdings were further subdivided into city lots creating the residential area as we see it today. On the flat lands west of the Bankhead farm was the Bankhead Orchard Company with a large pear and apple planting which eventually became Lom- bardy Park Subdivision. The Upper Bankhead Water Users' Community was a gravity system utilizing ditches, flumes and inverted syphons to deliver water to its users. The water intake was located on Kelowna (Mill) Creek across from the present Westwood Manufacturing plant on Leckie Place. A rock wing dam diverted the 36 water into the headgate and ditch. The old abandoned concrete headgate works are still there today. From there the ditch crossed under the C.N.R. tracks following a grade at the base of the clay banks below the city of Kelowna cemetery through Archie Hardy's farm, now the city of Kelowna works yard. On the big sand bank just east of the Spall Road railway crossing you can still see remnants of the old corrugated steel culvert that had to be installed when the C.N.R. made the cut in the bank to bring the tracks into town in 1925. The ditch and flumes wound along Spall Road and the south side of Bernard Avenue to a point just east of the overhead railway bridge where it crossed by culvert beneath Bernard Avenue to water the S. C. Cosens orchard, now Petretta's farm, and the Dilworth Crescent subdivision. Along the north side of Bernard Avenue part of the old ditch is still in evidence today, including the concrete catch basin for the inverted steel syphon which went under the railway tracks at this point. After exiting the syphon at the west end of the bridge, the ditch again crossed beneath Bernard Avenue to the south side following the grade on the hill above the present Apple Bowl and Dr. Knox schoolyard, again crossing to the north side by culvert to where Cherry Crescent East intersects Bernard. Here there was a headgate controlling the west lateral going due west to the Bankhead Farm barns and bunkhouse in the vicinity of the Highland Drive South and Edgewood Drive intersection. The north lateral went along the present route of Cherry Crescent East on a long wooden flume mounted on a trestle to where Cherry Crescent intersects Vineland. Here it split, one branch going north and again crossing the railway tracks through an inverted steel syphon. This line watered the Bankhead Farm lands north of the railway tracks. The old concrete pylon on the north side of the right of way which is still standing today supported the steel pipe. The second branch, another wooden flume built on a very high trestle, carried the water westwards until it again hit high ground and became a ditch to water land in the vicinity of Highland Drive South. Ditch and syphon irrigation, Cosens orchard. Photo courtesy Kelowna Museum 37 The Bankhead Farm grew hay and forage for their livestock and milk cows as well as raising vegetable crops grown on a share crop basis by Japanese families. The Bankhead area in its original, natural state was much more hilly than now, with numerous ponds and marshes in the low spots. The coming of the bulldozer age has changed the topography considerably since the 1940s knocking off many high spots and filling in the low spots. Because of the hilly and sandy nature of the farmland, the fields were small and inefficient and it was an arduous and difficult task to water the crops adequately, all irrigation being done by gravity and furrows. Nevertheless, heat loving crops such as canteloupe, tomatoes and peppers did well in the warm light soil during those hot summers of the 1930s. The Cosens Ranch was a cherry orchard until the 1930s when a series of cold winters killed the trees. It was then replanted to grapes which were themselves subsequently removed during the 1950s and 1960s. The remaining unsubdivided farmland is now devoted to vegetables and hay crops. Mr. Henry Snowsell was the conscientious secretary manager and water bailiff of the water users. A friendly man of smallish stature, I can still see him in my mind's eye, wearing his felt fedora hat, a perennial cigarette with a long ash in his mouth and the ever present long handled round-point shovel slung over his shoulder. He often walked the ditch once, sometimes twice a day, checking for blockages, or leaks from muskrat holes in the ditch or opened seams in the wood flumes. It was his job to adjust headgates, allocate water to the various users, settle disputes and keep everybody happy. He had to make sure everything was in good working order from the intake at the dam to the very end of the system which was the tailwater ditch carrying surplus water into a handy slough or pond. As mentioned before, on a gravity system in a hilly area there were many wood flumes connecting the ditches through the low spots and breaks in the topography. The flumes varied in size according to the volume of water they were required to move and were carried on trestles made from 4\" by 4\" rough sawn timber. Good rough and dressed lumber for flume construction was plentiful and cheap until the 1940s. The large old growth Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine growing at the lower elevations in the valley had long branchless trunks and clear knot-free lumber was cut in widths up to 16 inches or more and lengths up to 20 feet, making excellent fluming material. Labour to erect the trestles and flumes was very cheap, a journeyman carpenter's wa^es amounting to a few dollars per day. However, during the mid 1940s lumber and labour became more expensive, and because of the short lifespan and high leakage rates from the untreated wood flumes, the community began renewal with prefabricated concrete flumes. My younger brother and I had a lot of fun cooling off on those hot summer days by playing in the ditch. Mr. Snowsell, being a very kindly man, didn't seem to object just as long as we didn't create blockages or upset the regulation of the water. I can well recall when I was 9 or 10 years old, creating a naval task force of battleships and cruisers using lengths of spruce 2 by 4's for hulls, with gun turrets carved from wood blocks and finishing nail gun barrels. Two by fours with a veneer deck made model aircraft carriers and I cut and bent little toy airplanes with tinsnips from old tomato cans to create a large fleet air arm. My brother and I fought many a fierce naval battle within the confines of the Bankhead irrigation ditch. 38 If there was a cool rainy spell during the summer, Mr. Snowsell would shut down the ditch for a couple of days and put in a crew of men to cut the grass and weeds to prevent blockages and increase water flow. If you went along the ditch just after the shutdown you could often catch a few nice trout, marooned in the receding waters. You could also take your fishing pole along and catch some more trout in the tailrace of the dam on Mill Creek. That would make my mother happy and we would have a great supper that evening. It was sure a terrific way for a young boy to spend a summer afternoon. One thing you had to be very careful of was to avoid the patches of Poison Ivy that grew in the damp spots along the ditch or underneath the flumes. The flumes being nailed together and often not well caulked would invariably leak and create a moist environment beneath. This promoted the growth of an abundance of moisture loving wild shrubs and flowers such as wild roses, red dogwood, solomon's seal, milkweed, fleabane and goldenrod which brightened the countryside. By 1944 my boyhood days were ending, I was becoming a teenager, and had already started working in orchards during the summer holidays. The Bankhead Farm was being subdivided into veterans holdings and roads were being built through it using some of the first bulldozers operating in the Kelowna area. After the war ended and the returning veterans took up the land it became evident that the Upper Bankhead Water Users' Community system was totally inadequate for the newly subdivided lands. The new owners had a lot of difficulty trying to utilize what was by then essentially an obsolete and outmoded system, and something had to be done. By 1951 the newly incorporated Bankhead Irrigation District took over the water distribution in the Bankhead area. Securing P.F.R.A. (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act) assistance they had installed a pressurized pipe system using an electric pump located at the 'Old Town Dam' on Mike Johnson's Willow- brook Farm, now the Parkinson Recreation Centre. This system is still in use today serving mostly urban dwellers in the Bankhead area as well as City of Kelowna parks properties and Petretta's farm, the last remaining agricultural enterprise in Bankhead. The old ditches have been covered in over the years, the flumes torn down and burned and so the era of the Upper Bankhead Water Users' Community came to a close. 39 IRRIGATION IN THE ELLISON AREA by J. H. Hayes Some pioneer orchardists and farmers in the Okanagan have been known to compare 'irrigation' with 'gold' in value. It is therefore very evident how important this utility has been to the agricultural and horticultural industry. I submit far too little recognition has been bestowed upon those orchardists and farmers who, over the years, had the foresight to realize if the land was adequately watered, crops could be grown in the Okanagan Valley second to none in quality and quantity. Until recent years, a trustee elected to the board of an irrigation district, particularly the smaller ones, had to be a 'jack-of-all-trades'. He was a quasi- engineer, good with tools to effect repairs, a financier and diplomat. Those dedicated persons in the Ellison area, who, over the years, allowed their names to stand were certainly no exception. Being on the board of trustees involved much more than attending a couple of meetings a year to set irrigation rates. There were no maintenance staffs on the payroll. If there was a break in a flume or pipe, a clogged ditch or screen, etc. a trustee was expected to immediately leave his orchard or farm to attend to the necessary repairs. There was no thought of remuneration for time spent on repairs, or mileage for personal vehicle use. It was indeed a \"labour of love\"! For many years the Ellison area was served by two separate irrigation districts: 'Scotty Creek Irrigation District' and 'Ellison Irrigation District', each with its own autonomy through Letters Patent issued by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council for British Columbia. Realizing crop returns were not keeping pace with the cost of production, the trustees of both irrigation districts through careful budgeting managed to keep rates at an absolute minimum; in fact in the 1950s and 1960s the charges per acre were among the lowest in British Columbia. It was not until about 1952 that a jointly funded water bailiff was engaged to serve both irrigation districts on a seasonal basis. (E. Bielert faithfully served in this capacity for 25 years.) It is also interesting to note as late as 1965 the labour rate paid for casual help working on the distribution works was in the area of $1.50 to $2.00 per hour. In general terms the boundaries of Scotty Creek Irrigation District may be defined as follows: the northwest boundary Ellison Park; northeast boundary 'Scotty Creek'; southwest boundary the 'Simpson Ranch'; southeast boundary part of Latta Road. Also included was the extreme northeasterly property known as the 'Sunset Ranch'. Ellison Irrigation District boundaries may be defined as follows: the southerly boundary 'Scotty Creek'; the westerly boundary Old Vernon Road north to 'Mill Creek'; the northerly boundary 'Mill Creek'; and the easterly boundary adjacent to Postill Lake and Anderson Road. It should be also noted historical sketches of these two irrigation districts including their activities etc. in the earlier days of existence were previously written and included The History of Ellison District \u00E2\u0080\u0094 1858 to 1958 published by the Ellison Centennial Committee to commemorate our province's centennary. The late J. J. Conroy, a trustee for many years, whose family came to the Okanagan in 1884 wrote a comprehensive history of Scotty Creek Irrigation District. The late W. T. J. Bulman with lengthy service on the board of Ellison Ir- 40 rigation District, whose father bought the George Whelan Cloverdale Ranch in 1907, has recorded in detail the early history of that district. It would be both unethical and inappropriate for me to 'steal their thunder' by incorporating in this treatise even excerpts from their chronicles. However, I shall try and outline the highlights of both irrigation districts between 1947 and 1976 during which time I was actively involved in their deliberations. A word concerning how my involvement came about. Being a transplanted easterner I scarcely knew an apple from a pear and had absolutely no knowledge of irrigation, but like 'Topsy', my knowledge sort of 'Growed'! The late D. McDougall, B.C.L.S. who was secretary-treasurer of both districts had to resign due to ill health. The respective boards were faced with the problem of securing a replacement, which was only a part time appointment. About May 1947 the late R. D. Booth, Ellison Irrigation District trustee, asked me if I would write a 'couple of letters' for them. Those couple of letters increased to several more. Other administrative duties were added. Before I realized it, in 1948 I was officially appointed secretary-treasurer, assessor, and collector for Ellison Irrigation District. Not to be outdone, my brother-in-law, C. D. Clement, a trustee of Scotty Creek Irrigation District, pointed out that since I was helping out Ellison Irrigation District, why couldn't I do the same for his district? (Believe me a brother-in-law can be very persuasive at times!) In 1948 I was appointed secretary-treasurer, assessor, and collector for Scotty Creek Irrigation District. My initial stipend was $15.00 per month from Ellison Irrigation District and $20.00 per month from Scotty Creek Irrigation District. I had to use my home and personal telephone in performing official business. Scotty Creek Irrigation District Water for the district still comes from Trapper or James Lake as it is sometimes known. However, at one time, to augment the supply, water was also diverted from Twin or Green Lake as it is also called. The dam at Trapper /James Lake has been raised twice at considerable expense to provide a greater storage capacity. A regulating reservoir was later built as well as a chlorinator to purify the irrigation water when a domestic system finally became a reality. The distribution was originally open ditch with some concrete fluming. This was later succeeded by wooden flume and ultimately by partial underground pipe with some metal flume above ground. One of the first tasks confronting the trustees each spring was to visit Trapper Lake to determine its level. Thus they would know if there would be a sufficient supply of irrigation for the ensuing season. If the run-off and rains were light the trustees had much 'soul searching' to do to ensure a sufficient supply for the needs of all water users. In 1971 the level of Trapper Lake was very low following a poor run-off. Fortunately for all water users in the district, Clement Farms Ltd. had sunk a well on their property capable of producing 800 G.P.M. to service their land not under irrigation. An arrangement was concluded whereby water from this well was diverted into the district's distribution system utilizing some 3,500 feet of pipe. Thanks to the co-operation of Clement Farms Ltd. the water users were able to irrigate all summer, thereby eliminating the hazard of reduced crops due to inadequate moisture in the soil. In 1973 another potential water shortage was circumvented when a supplementary supply was diverted from Black Mountain Irrigation District. The 41 district's minute book covering the period 1947 to 1976 name the following Ellison residents as serving on the board of trustees: the late J. F. Bell; the late R. W. Berry; and the late J. J. Conroy. Those still alive at time of writing were E.J. Bornais; C. D. Clement; R. Herding; G. F. Klein; R. Sali; A. Schock; and S. C. Tower. The following is a comparison of rates charged over a 25 year period: 1949: Grade 'A' $4.50 per acre (724 acres) Grade 'B' $0.25 per acre (120 acres) Land irrigated but not through the district's distribution works) 1955 Grade 'A' $4.00 per acre (second lowest in B.C.) Grade'B' $0.25 per acre 1965: Grade'A'$10.00 per acre 1974: Grade'A'$15.00 per acre In 1949 approval was granted for each trustee to be paid a stipend of $25.00 per annum (to cover all duties), and in 1960 it was increased to $50.00 per annum. In 1971 the water users approved a rate of $20.00 for each meeting attended. In 1959 remuneration for the secretary-treasurer was authorized at $25.00 per month, and in 1968 an office and car allowance was granted. Ellison Irrigation District In 1946 the water users applied to the Comptroller of Water Rights for B.C. to incorporate a Water District pursuant to the Water Act. The Letters Patent issued designated this improvement district as 'Ellison Irrigation District', with the late J. F. Anderson, R. D. Booth, and A. H. Green appointed trustees. (The original Ellison Irrigation District was actually a private system built by the late Thomas Bulman. Pertinent details are found in The History of Ellison District \u00E2\u0080\u0094 1858 to 1958.) Irrigation is currently supplied in co-operation with Glenmore Irrigation District. Both improvement districts hold water rights on Postill, South, and Bulman Lakes. By mutual agreement the water therefrom is shared on the basis of 75% for Glenmore Irrigation District and 25% for Ellison Irrigation District. Improvements to the Ellison Irrigation District's distribution system slowly but steadily evolved with only minimal increases in irrigation rates. The district changed from a flume and ditch distribution system to a closed pipe gravity system. Later a chlorinator was installed preparatory to irrigation water being used for domestic purposes. In co-operation with Glenmore Irrigation District an automatic revolving screening system at the headgate to clean the water was installed. Many well known Ellison residents at some time sat on the board of this irrigation district. The official minute book for the period 1947 to 1976 includes the following: the late J. F. Anderson, the late R. D. Booth, the late W. T. J. Bulman, the late A. H. Green, and the late A. L. Green. Those still living include D. R. Booth (who succeeded his father in 1963), H. Buchenauer, B. A. Clement, M. C.Jennings, H. Krause, F. RiegerandJ. F. Stewart. 42 Prudent budgeting resulted in increases in irrigation rates being kept to a minimum. The following is a comparison of rates charged over a 22 year period: 1952: Grade 'A' $8.00 per acre (472 acres) Grade 'B' $7.05 per acre (190 acres) 1962: Grade 'A' $10.30 per acre (470 acres) Grade'B'$ 7.95 per acre (190 acres) 1972: Grade 'A' $18.00 per acre (542 acres) Grade 'B' $45.00 minimum per parcel (4 parcels totalling 7 acres) 1974: Grade 'A' $21.00 per acre (711 acres) Grade 'B' $45.00 minimum per parcel (6 parcels totalling 11 acres) In 1965 a regrade fee of $150.00 per acre to change land classification from 'C to 'A' was introduced. Regrading was limited to the availability of irrigation. In 1970 approval was granted by the water users for each trustee to be paid an honorarium of $12.00 for each meeting attended. That same year the trustees set up a committee to study the basis of remuneration paid the secretary-treasurer, and in 1971 the stipend was set at $25.00 per annum plus a car and office rental allowance. Domestic Water for the Ellison Area It is traditional that those who derive their livelihood from the soil are not particularly interested in improvement frills such as sidewalks, or street lights. Their main requirements are reasonably decent roads on which to transport their crops or produce, and an adequate supply of irrigation and domestic water. For years farmers, orchardists, and their employees had to rely upon wells for year round domestic water, a situation which in some years was very unsatisfactory. Alternatives were cisterns or storage tanks filled periodically with irrigation water. To utilize untreated irrigation as a permanent source of domestic water would, for obvious reasons, have been an unhealthful move. As the postwar population density increased in Ellison the problem became more acute. In 1971 the boards of trustees of Ellison Irrigation District and Scotty Creek Irrigation District convened a joint meeting to address this problem. One alternative worthy of investigation was the feasibility of purchasing water in bulk from Clement Farms Ltd., who proposed the sinking of a second well on their property. A hydrographic study indicated a virtually unlimited supply from an underground river. The well would be capable of pumping a minimum of 1,000 G.P.M. However, a joint engineering report recommended to both boards that the well be purchased outright rather than just buying the water in bulk. This recommendation Clement Farms Ltd. were not prepared to agree to, so the idea was scrapped. (It will be noted this 'second well' would have been in addition to that noted herein under Scotty Creek Irrigation District.) 43 In 1972 a development company that was creating a subdivision of some 300 lots in the Ellison area offered to sell a well located on its property, purported to be capable of serving not only the water users in both irrigation districts, but the development with domestic water. However, engineering reports could not confirm there was an adequate supply to serve these requirements, and as the purchase price was considered excessive this idea was also dropped. Following numerous joint meetings with officials of the Water Rights Branch and recommendations from consulting engineers, it was resolved that each irrigation district would individually apply for A.R.D.A. (Agricultural Rehabilitation Development Act) financing to help defray the capital cost of installing separate domestic water systems, utilizing chlorinated irrigation water. Following lengthy negotiations with the two senior levels of government, approval was finally received, and in 1974 the water users of each irrigation district overwhelmingly approved the construction of separate domestic water systems as A.R.D.A. projects. One cannot comment too strongly on the untiring effort put forth by both boards of trustees in seeing this difficult undertaking come to a successful conclusion. What is the status of these two irrigation districts today? Ellison Irrigation District still operates as a separate entity. At time of writing veteran trustee D. R. Booth is still on the board. His service together with that of his father, the late R. D. Booth, total over 40 years. The other encumbent trustees are K. Bielert, and H. Krause. R. Scott, C.A., is secretary- treasurer. It is interesting to note the installation of master flow control valves at the irrigation outlet of each property eliminated the need for a water bailiff on a continuing basis. Scotty Creek Irrigation District, however, surrendered its Letters Patent to the Comptroller of Water Rights in 1979 and amalgamated with Black Mountain Irrigation District, following an 80% favourable vote by the water users. At time of dissolution the trustees were K. C. Clement, G. F. Klein, and R. Sali. Mrs. C. Bielert was secretary-treasurer. An accolade is certainly in order to long-time trustee C. D. Clement who contributed 32 years of faithful service \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a record of achievement difficult to emulate! Due to the pressure of administrative duties at Kelowna City Hall, I regretfully retired in 1976 after 29 years of service as secretary-treasurer to both irrigation districts. While never owning property in Ellison, I nevertheless always felt I was an integral part of the community served by these irrigation districts and experienced a sense of satisfaction in the knowledge I had been part of their growth and development. 44 TWENTY STICKS OF POWDER by Sheila Paynter Westbank Irrigation District in the Central Okanagan has taken its water from Powers and Bear Creek watersheds for over sixty years. When the first trustees held their inaugural meeting on July 10th, 1922 the Okanagan Valley was in a cycle of hot, dry summers and low winter snow pack. The minutes of early meetings are similar to modern ones in many ways. Six main concerns are on the agenda in every decade, the question of providing water to the Indian Reserve, wage settlements, cemetery care, stolen tools, complaints of high taxes, and, most important of all, threats of water shortage. The first water rights on Powers Creek were held by the Gellatly family who had an acre of greenhouses and a box factory on the delta land at the mouth of this creek. Directly west, on a flat above Gellatly Point, land was owned by Leonard Featherstonhaugh, R. A. Pritchard, Henry Holmberg, Martin Lund- in and Herbert Thacker. They used water from Jackpine and Gellatly Lakes. 1922 was an important year for Westbank residents who managed their water supply from Horseshoe Lake. They formed a Westbank Irrigation District. The first trustees were George Mackintosh, Washington Brown, Jack Jones and Ira Howlett, with H. B. Ewer hired as secretary at $10.00 per month. At that time there were 600 acres of domestic and arable land to supply. Today there are 1,125 acres under irrigation alone. Eligibility of voters has changed with the years. At the end of the 1920s. Clause 17 of their Letters Patent stated that: \"The persons entitled to vote at a meeting are those who are British subjects, the full age of 21 years and are owners of land within the district, and are not of Chinese, Japanese, or other Asiatic or Indian race.\"1 In 1986, in order to vote, you must be an owner of land within the District, 19 years of age or older and entitled to be registered as a voter under the Election Act. The first by-laws passed were to establish the District legally but the main business was to get more water. The first work crew went up to Horseshoe Lake to build a crib dam at the end of July, 1922. Ira Howlett was the foreman. The men in this first work party were B. Lyon, Albert Drought, C. Mackay, E. C. Paynter, Bert Robinson, E. H. Smith and Thomas Wells. The consulting engineer was Mr. Norrington of Kelowna. He favoured a concrete dam as it would be more permanent, but the trustees decided on a wooden one for reasons of economy. At a meeting held in the schoolhouse in June 1923 it was moved and seconded by trustees C. Mackay and G. Mackintosh that storage licences be applied for, covering all lakes at the headwaters of Powers Creek. In August, the same year, they hired Mr. J. Moffat at $4.00 per day to be the first bailiff to let down storage water from the lakes. The District would pay to have him packed in and out by members of the McDougall family. Water has always been a contentious matter in this part of the country. At a December meeting in 1923 By-law No. 20 was passed. It allowed the District 1 Minutes A.G.M. 1930. 45 to collect tolls from water-users who carried their water supply from neighbours' taps. At an annual general meeting the following month Chairman Grieve Elliot asked that, \"Discussion be maintained along constructive lines, the practice of indulging in aimless criticism being strongly deprecated.\"2 Shades of the 1980s when the Community Hall fills up with several hundred concerned and lively voters. In February 1924 the District applied for a license on a tributary of the Nicola River. The Douglas Lake Cattle Company objected. There was a hearing in Victoria attended by Mr. Ewer. The dispute was settled in favour of Westbank. Cabin and dam-site at Paynter Lake. In July of the same year E. C. Paynter reported finding another lake 2 Vi miles south of Horseshoe. It was full of water due to a beaver dam on the north end. The trustees quickly applied for a water licence on it. Two years later the fruit-growers were faced with an unusually hot, dry summer. On June 9th, 1926 the worried trustees passed the following resolution: \"Moved by Washington Brown, seconded by Charlie Butt, \"that we get a pair of rubber boots, a bucksaw and twenty sticks of powder for Mr. Paynter. Carried.\"3 By mid-August the main water supply had dried up so the gun-powder was used to blow up the beaver dam. A two-weeks' water supply kept the orchards alive and the harvest secure for that year. This water from Paynter Lake helped but did not cure Westbank's water shortage. At the same time there was a deficit of funds in their accounts. They ruled that no more land could be supplied with water without further storage facilities. There was talk of using Shannon Lake as a reservoir. There was help in sight. One was a grant from the government and the other was the result of E. C. Paynter's practical experience and foresight during his early years exploring the watersheds. 2 Minutes A.G.M., Jan. 19th, 1924. 3 MinutesJune9th, 1926, W.I.D. p. 21. 46 o\u00C2\u00AC\u00C2\u00B1J& Bailiff's cabin at Paynter Lake in the 1930s. On June 4th, 1930 the secretary received a letter from the Hon. J. W. Jones in Victoria with news of an $11,000 grant from the Conservation Board to construct Paynter Lake dam. Hewlett Brothers received the contract to do the work and T. B. Reece to supply materials. In 1931 E. C. Paynter, representing W.I.D. as bailiff, requested permission from Water Rights in Kelowna to make a diversion ditch from Bear Lake to Powers Creek. He was told, \"Yes, you may do it, but it is impossible!\" Mr. Paynter had faith in his dream and in his own capabilities. With a hand-held level, and pick and shovel he diverted Bear Lake into Powers Creek. His son John remembers helping him during the summer holidays. By late spring, 1932 there was great enthusiasm over plans for a Bear Lake dam and application for 250 acre feet storage and 700 acre feet diversion. But the local board was still having money problems. In May 1932 they reduced the secretary's salary from $30.00 per month to $26.25. The incumbent, J. Oliver, promptly resigned and was replaced on a month's trial basis by H. O. Paynter who kept the position for the next ten years. (L. to R.) Matt Hicks, Dorothy Hicks, Lily Hewlett, Pat Hewlett, E. C. Paynter in mid 1930s while building the Northend dam at Bear Lake. 47 Those ten years were exciting ones. They included enlarging the Bear Lake Diversion ditch and the building of two dams on Bear Lake. This solved Westbank's water supply problems for many, many years. A few more sticks of powder and modern machinery rather than one man with a shovel were used to achieve that 'impossible' dream of obtaining water from Bear Lake. The orchards and gardens of the community of Westbank blossomed and bore fruit again. Acknowlegement: My thanks to Pat Poulin and staff, Westbank Irrig. Dist. Files\u00E2\u0080\u00941922-1932. Glazed Pipe Cement Co., Trepanier Bay, circa 1912. See story by S. Paynter in 47th O.H.S. Report. 48 GREEN PASTURES by Beryl Wamboldt Rural irrigation is a familiar sight today to tourists and our younger generation but this was not always so. Vernon and the Coldstream area had the Vernon Irrigation System and the Oliver area in the south had a large irrigation project but in 1944 only 20% of the Okanagan farmers had electricity. 1,415 farms were without any form of electric power. Following the end of World War II and beginning in 1947-48 practically all rural districts in the North Okanagan became electrified under the B.C. Power Corporation. Electricity brought modernization to both the farm home and to the farm buildings. A great deal of the modern equipment had to deal with the water supply, water systems for the home brought modern bathrooms and household appliances and, for the barn water bowls, hot and cold water for the dairy. Probably the biggest impact for rural farms with an ample supply of water available was the sprinkler irrigation system. In 1948 the Dominion Range Experimental Station pastures project was set up six miles out of Kamloops on the road to Tranquille. The main purpose of the station was to find ways and means to improve grazing for sheep and cattle and still conserve range lands. Okanagan dairymen visited this project in August of 1952 when NOCA Dairy sponsored a tour to the station. When the dairymen viewed the permanent pastures that had been developed and heard how grassland management had produced amazing results, and dividends in greater meat production per acre, it did not take them long to translate it into milk production. NOCA wanted to increase fluid milk sales so needed more milk and dairymen wanted to produce more milk to sell. Both meant financial returns would be increased. The following February (1953) a \"Green Pastures Program\" meeting was organized by T. E. Clarke of NOCA and chaired by G. (Gabe) A. Luyat, Supervisor of District Agriculturists, Kamloops, B.C., the district designated to be the area between Kamloops and Kelowna. Participating were Dr. J. Wilcox of Summerland Research Station and R. G. Garry, Soils and Irrigation Specialist, Kelowna, B.C. A big boost to the new program came in July 1953, when the Honorable Kenneth Kiernan, Minister of Agriculture for B.C., turned the valve sending gallons of water through 8,000 feet of aluminum pipe and 200 sprinkler heads to irrigate 200 acres of Tierney O'Keefe's historic O'Keefe Ranch. By 1965 B.C. Hydro's Richard Collins reported B.C. Hydro had 3,000 farms on rural electrification and nearly 1,500 horse power pumping water in summer months to North Okanagan pastures and orchards; 1,000 h/p of this was made up of 1 h/p to 15 h/p bracket, proving a small unit could be preferable for farm use. Dairymen found more irrigated pastures produced better grazing, healthier animals and greater milk production which in turn brought higher monthly milk cheques. Along with green pastures control, came more grass silage and green chop feed. A \"Green Pastures Competition\" became an annual event co-sponsored by the Dept. of Agriculture and NOCA. A field tour was held and field crops judged with prizes presented. This is still an annual event and keenly contested, last year being the 32nd annual \"Green Pastures\" competition and field day. Excellent judges from Agriculture Departments throughout Western Canada have participated and added much knowledge and advice over the years. 49 Percy and Beryl Wamboldt farmed for many years at Enderby. With respect to water on their property Beryl has written the following note: Note: As we had no large amount of available water essential for sprinkler irrigation we had to depend on nature's basic source, subterranean watershed from our timbered hill on the west side of the farm. The timber gave us a good watershed and grew good crops. Any timber cut through the years of family ownership 1897 to 1967 was cut carefully to preserve that watershed. This provided us with three good wells that never went dry in our farming days. In the past few years houses have been built on part of our hill and artesian wells have been found by drilling, a water source that both government water experts and water witchers failed to find. THE STEPNEY by W.J. Whitehead A solitary road marker is the only visible reference to the location of a property which, in earlier days, was recognized as one of the largest farms in the North Okanagan. Stepney Ranch, beginning on the southern fringe of the Spallumcheen Indian Reserve, then stretching up the valley toward the district later to be known as Lansdowne, included some 1,600 acres in all. From its beginning in 1869, until the final subdivision of the property in the late 1920s, this farming enterprise produced superior crops of hay, grain and cattle. There was also an interval of fruit production beginning in the late 1890s that was brought to an abrupt end with the killing frosts during the winter of 1915. The eventual subdivision of the ranch into smaller farms has not taken away from the ability to produce from the rich acres. Grain, hay and dairying are still the main industry of this part of the Okanagan Valley. The initial development of this farm began in 1869, when Moses Lumby in company with the brothers Preston and Fred Bennett, and encouraged by the suggestion of a friend, Mr. A. L. Fortune, came to the valley of the Spallumcheen in search of opportunity. Mr. Fortune will be remembered as the first white settler in the North Okanagan. One of the famous Overlanders, and inclined to Christian as well as farming pioneering, he had settled near the banks of the Spallumcheen (Shuswap) River in 1866. Lumby arrived in the west in 1861. He tried mining in the Stikine and the Cariboo districts, but, meeting with little success, he returned to Victoria, formed a partnership with his old school mate, Preston Bennett and his brother Fred Bennett, and took up farming some twenty miles up the South Thompson River from the Hudson Bay Co. trading post at Kamloops. Preston Bennett came to the Cariboo in 1862, met with little success as a miner, then for a period worked as a clerk for the H.B.C. in Kamloops. Looking for a more lucrative return for his labour, he and his brother joined with Lumby in the development of the aforementioned farm at Ducks, now better known as Monte Creek. Preston Bennett married a daughter of Donald McLean, a one time Hudson Bay trader, and father of the infamous McLean brothers who were hanged for the murder of Constable Usher. Fred Bennett has 50 left little imprint on historical records apart from one or two merger references in early records, and seems to have quietly faded away. In the fall of 1869, Lumby and the Bennetts began their move to the Okanagan, Preston travelling overland by way of Grande Prairie (Westwold) and into the district through the upper Salmon River valley and thence into the Spallumcheen. Moses Lumby and Fred Bennett chose to travel the water route. Paddling a canoe, they worked their way up the Thompson River, into the Shuswap Lake, and camped at the mouth of the Spallumcheen (Shuswap) River. For reasons not recorded, Fred Bennett chose to camp there, while Moses Lumby decided to travel by land to Fortune's. This decision proved to be much more difficult than he had anticipated and because of his unfamiliarity with the route, he spent two nights and three days without food, before arriving at his journey's end. The next few years were spent in pioneering the establishment of the farm, the laying out and then increasing of the boundaries of a farm that would grow and develop into a holding of some 1,600 acres. These years were difficult and slow, and progress was not as evident as might be desired. However, through the application of hard work and perseverance, they were able in 1877, to acquire better machinery and thus attain a higher degree of proficiency in farming. The development of the trans-country railway was in the early stages in eastern Canada at this time, and the future effects of such a system of transport was not lost on Lumby and Bennett. When the C.P.R. was completed in 1885, a connecting link to the Okanagan Valley was high in the priorities of Moses Lumby. In 1882, Preston Bennett died rather suddenly from a tubercular hemorrhage. He was forty-one years of age and had just recently been re-elected as M.P. It is of interest to note that following his death, his properties were awarded to his brother rather than to his widow. No further record of Fred Bennett seems to be available and it would appear that Lumby became principal owner of the farm. Preston's widow later married Vic Guilloune of Kamloops, his daughter Caroline married George Loney, and his son Vic Bennett became active in prospecting and other business ventures in the Kamloops district. The star of Moses Lumby continued to rise in the financial and political heavens of the province. He was a prime supporter of the construction of the rail line from Sicamous into the valley and subsequently was appointed vice- president of the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway Company. This branch line was completed to Okanagan Landing in 1892 and then leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1884 Lumby was appointed chief commissioner of Yale District and in 1886 was granted a requisition to represent that district in the Provincial Legislature, but withdrew in favour of Hon. F. G. Vernon. About 1888, Lumby's interests became so diversified he decided to dispose of his holdings in the ranch to Leonard Norris. Norris was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1865. He came as a child of nine years to Langley Prairie, and as a youth of seventeen to the Okanagan Valley in 1882. It had not been his intention to settle here, but he so admired the qualities of the pioneer settlers, and formed such a deep appreciation for the hospitality found with them, that he changed his plans and took up a pre-emption of 640 51 acres near Round Lake, just off the Vernon-Kamloops road. Soon after coming to Round Lake, Norris received an appointment as Provincial Police Constable at Lansdowne, followed by a further appointment as collector of Provincial Revenue Tax. These appointments led to an association with Mr. Robert Wood, storekeeper and landowner at Lansdowne. Following the death of Mr. Hermen Wit- cher, prominent landowner and farmer at Lansdowne, Norris and Wood became holders of the Witcher Estate. In this same year, 1890, Norris disposed of his interest in the Lumby holdings to Sir Arthur Stepney. Stepney, a wealthy individual from Scotland, held a variety of land investments throughout Canada and the United States, and travelled extensively, looking after the management of his many holdings. Norris removed his interests to the more prominent centre of Vernon, where he became the new Government Agent, a position he held until his retirement. This post had been held by Lumby from the death of Mr. Dewdney in February, 1892 until his own death in the Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, Thursday, Oct. 26th, 1893. Among his many contributions to the valley, Mr. Norris is remembered most as a founding father of the Okanagan Historical Society. Financial means was not a problem for the new owner. Arthur Stepney set about improving the ranch with stock and modern implements, and at this point in time the name Stepney was affixed. Although the ranch has long ceased to exist as one complete holding, the district still retains his name, as does the railway siding that bordered the eastern limits of the ranch. Also, the road traversing the broad acres of this once noted farming empire is now called Stepney Cross Road. The ranch buildings, residence, and the tower supporting the large cast bell that called the men to meals fronted on this road. These have long disappeared and today the site is occupied by the modern home of Mr. and Mrs. Graham. Stepney remained owner of the ranch for twenty years. He passed away suddenly one summer morning in 1910, while sitting on a bench in front of a railway station down in Texas. With his passing, the control of the estate ended in the hands of a syndicate and these principals continued to operate the ranch for the next decade and a half until the ultimate subdivision took place and was completed. Up to this point we have reported on the various owners and developers of Stepney, and while the ranch itself has no great historical significance to cause it to be remembered for all time, the men who passed through and departed its portals have contributed more than just a little to the shaping and development of our valley. Bennett, Lumby, Norris and Stepney, all should be remembered for their place in our local history, but just as important and perhaps more so, the men who did the work and managed the operation for those many years should not be forgotten. We do not have a register of all their names, but many have been recalled to mind and their names will stand not only as a monument to their own efforts and success, but also to those who go unrecorded. Almost from the beginning the work was carried out under a system of managers, hired men and casual help. Mat Russel managed from 1869 to 1876. His brother George Russel then held the position for the next eleven years. George Hutchinson was next in line, 52 continuing until 1894; during this period he entered into a partial rental agreement for some of the years he spent there. Following this venture, he ran a produce store in the new village of Armstrong for a short time. The next to hold the position of manager was a Mr. Palmer, but his tenancy was rather short. It seems Sir Arthur held a great fear for the possibility of fire that he did not share and this lead to the departure of Mr. Palmer. Mr. George Heggie, another Scot, and a young man of 23 summers was the next manager hired. He held the position until 1912, and then became manager of the L. & A. Ranch at Larkin, where he continued until his retirement. The list continues through the years, Harding, Skyrme, Holliday, Hardy, Plumbly, McCallum, all well known in the district, the majority for their contribution and ability as farmers. Add to this list the many who worked as farm hands, many of whom were immigrants from the British Isles and Europe. One of the early ones was Tom Williams, a young lad from Wales without previous farming experience. He stayed at Stepney from 1895-1905, then settled in the Edmonton area, where he married and raised his family. He died in the early \"thirties,\" but his daughter tells of how he used to reminisce about his days in the Okanagan and how he would like to have retired here. Another name recalled is that of a Mr. Ham- shaw, who worked at the ranch the same time as Williams. Other names included Gillick, Tompkinson, Blackburn, Murray; these and many others whose identities have been lost, provided the manual power so necessary to the success of the operation. In addition, a large contingent of casual labour was needed during the harvest months. The men from the neighbouring Indian reserve usually filled this need, and in return Stepney Ranch provided for their necessity, through the provision of an opportunity to work. Wages for work in those days were not great when compared to present- day salaries, and while it is often offered in rebuttal to this opinion that you could buy so much more for your money, it could also be said that they produced a lot more in labour. Twelve hour days and more were not unheard of, and six day working weeks were the normal measure of employment. Forty to fifty dollars a month was considered good pay, and less than half of that was quite common. With the ending of the Great War in 1918, it soon became evident to the shareholders of the syndicate, that further operation of the farm would not furnish the returns desired. Subsequently the land was put up for subdivision and sold off through the next few years to an influx of new settlers. For the most part these were farmers from Saskatchewan of Ukrainian origin. They were receptive to hard work, good agriculturists, and their efforts are reflected in the fine farms and buildings that dot the former fields of Stepney. Sources of information: Kamloops, the History of Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum collected notes Okanagan Historical Society Reports 'Grassroots of Lumby', Edited by Mr. & Mrs. L. Gamble. 53 CONSTRUCTION IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY by Paul Koroscil Apart from the establishment of the orchard economy, the one industry that was extremely important in the growth of the Okanagan was the construction industry. On the orchards, houses, storage facilities, barns and other outbuildings needed to be built while in the towns, hotels, stores, government buildings and other structures were required for the growing population. To meet their requirements individual settlers were constantly concerned about good architects, building materials, labour costs and problems of building in the dry belt. These concerns of the settlers not only occurred during the boom period of growth from the 1890s to the Great War but they were also discussed by residents after the war. Two such individuals who were faced with these kinds of construction problems were J. C. Dun-Waters of Fintry and A. Har- man of Kelowna. James Cameron Dun-Waters arrived in the Okanagan in 1909 and purchased 1,174 acres at Shorts Point on Okanagan Lake, from Sara Boyd Audain and Major Guy Mortimer Audain, for $22,500. The Audains had acquired the property in 1908 from Sara's parents, the Dunsmuirs. Her father James Dunsmuir, the Scottish coal baron and former premier, had purchased the property as an investment in 1907 when he was the Lieutenant-Governor of the province. Prior to emigrating to the Okanagan, Dun-Waters resided in Scotland and England. In Scotland he inherited his wealth from his family's business and land investments. He was the major shareholder in the Glasgow Herald and he owned the Culcreuch and Craighton Estates, which comprised over 6,000 acres at Fintry, Stirlingshire. The farms on his estates were basically involved in sheep and cattle raising. Dun-Waters took a particularly keen interest in the Ayrshires that were being raised on his estates and the knowledge that he gained about these animals proved beneficial to him when he settled in the Okanagan where his Ayrshire herds were often prize-winners at the agricultural exhibitions. Aside from the agricultural economics of his estates the one occupation to which he devoted a great deal of time during his entire life was sport, particularly hunting. The land on his estates was ideal for shooting grouse, partridges, snipe, woodcock, hares, rabbits, pheasants and roe deer. His organized hunting parties were well known throughout the area. In 1901 he sold his estates and moved to Plaich Hall, Church Stretton, Shropshire, where he spent the next eight years refining his sporting activities which culminated in his appointment as an M.F.H. (Master of Fox Hounds). After visiting the Okanagan in 1909, he was not only impressed with the development of the orchard industry but he was overwhelmed with the potential that the Okanagan offered for the devoted sportsman. The opportunity to hunt big and small game animals immediately convinced him to settle in the Valley. Apart from the interruption of the Great War, Dun-Waters spent the next thirty years of his life enjoying the pleasures derived from his sporting activities and overseeing the development of his Canadian Fintry Estate which grew to 2,500 acres. From 1909 to 1914, the development of the estate included the planting of a hundred acre apple orchard, the construction of his manor house, packing 54 Manager's Tudor house, designed by Honeyman, Fintry, Okanagan. house and a number of small cottages. After the war Dun-Waters continued the expansion of his estate. He engaged J. Honeyman, a Cambridge classmate, who had an architectural firm in Vancouver, to design a large tudor house which was to be used as one of the manager's residences and a unique octagonal dairy barn to house his prize Ayrshire cattle. In 1924 Dun-Waters commissioned Honeyman to design an additional room for his manor house that would accommodate his sporting trophies. In late June, while the tradesmen were working on the new addition, a fire occurred which gutted the entire house. Honeyman had to redesign the entire house. On July 15, Dun-Waters visited an ex-military friend, A. Harman of Kelowna. During the Great War both Dun-Waters and Harman were commissioned as captains. In the course of their conversation that evening Dun-Waters and Harman discussed the problems of construction in the Okanagan. At the end of the discussion, Dun-Waters asked Harman if he would convey the experiences that he encountered in building his home to Honeyman. The following letter written by Harman to Honeyman provides a vivid account of construction problems in the Okanagan such as labour, material costs, and building in the dry belt. The irony of the contents of the letter is that sixty- one years later, many of the same construction problems exist in the Okanagan Valley today. Unique octagonal barn designed by Honeyman, Fintry, Okanagan 55 TUMHULA, R.R. 1, Kelowna, B.C. 16th. July, 1924 J.J. Honeyman, Esq. 850 Hastings Street West Vancouver, B.C. Dear Mr. Honeyman, I am writing to you at the request of Captain Dun-Waters, who was staying with me the night before last. Whilst here he cross-examined me on how I set about building my house, where I got my labour, material and so on, and asked me to jot down on paper what I had told him and to send you a copy of it. I feel somewhat diffident writing to you on what you might call hints on house building in the Okanagan but very often even the amateur can give the professional an occasional hint. As soon as my architect had got out the plans and specifications I called for tenders locally, I had a price limit of $6,000.00, also a time limit of three months since I wanted to be installed before the cold weather set in. I then saw my architect and asked him if it would not be possible for him to get me a man in Vancouver who would undertake the job, bring up all his own men, pay their own fare both ways and I would arrange for their board and lodging, board to be at the rate of 40c a meal. A foreman builder (?) was found, I had two interviews with him and eventually he agreed to do the work, I was to pay his men Union wages, but I was not to insist on Union hours, I agreed to this so long as there was no overtime to be paid, that suited him too, his object being to get through the job as quick as possible and get back to the coast. I called for tenders in Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton for lumber, hardware, plastering work, bricklaying, etc. I also got my architect to do the same at the coast. I built in July 1920 just the same time as the Godwin's house was being built, everything was I think at the time at the peak of all prices. The only local tender I accepted was the plumbing that went to J. Galbraith of Kelowna, who gave an excellent job. The whole of the lumber was bought at the coast from Robertson and Hackett, their tender was such that I got all the lumber laid down in Kelowna for about 35% less than the local mills would supply, in addition to this I got excellent lumber, all of which was cut square and to length which the local mills do not do as a rule. Hardware I got from Mc. and Mc. (McLennan, McFeely and Prior) and thereby saved nearly 40% on the local prices. Paints and stains and varnishes I called for tenders for and gave that to Ayres of Vancouver again saving about the same on local prices. 56 All my windows, doors, mosquito blinds, the verandah mosquito frames, etc. were made for me in Vancouver and sent up with the lumber, not a thing was broken. I made one bad mistake and that was importing a painter from the coast, he was far too expensive as for so many days there was nothing for him to do, and there are some good local men to be had. The plasterer was a Penticton man who had worked for the foreman before and did good work and very cheap compared to tenders I had got elsewhere. I have had all my windows and doors fitted with Chamberlin's weather stripping which can be bought from Ashdowns at Calgary, a friend of mine here who built at the same time and a house just about the same size did not use this metal stripping, on comparing costs of a furnace for heating the house I was a good five ton to the good of him and found absolutely no difficulty in keeping the house even at 20 below at an even 65 degrees. Here again I made a mistake I tried letting the contractor put in the weather stripping for me, Ashdowns having advised to let them send their own man. The contractor and a mate at the end of one day had put in only two windows and not well at that. Ashdowns' man came in and did the whole house including the doors in about 14 working hours, so in spite of having to pay the man's fare and time I was a long way ahead by getting him to come and do the work. The greatest difficulty we all have in this dry belt is the matter of ventilation, I have only seen one house where it is really good and they attribute their success to having ventilators in their chimney stacks in the attic, these ventilators open and shut and have, I believe, a fine wire screen on the inside to prevent sparks, etc. from the chimney blowing into the attic, it is also, I maintain, essential that there be a through current of air in the attic, the attic is kept as cool as possible, if a one storey house it will always be too hot in summer and if a two storey house the upstairs will be too hot in summer, this I know from bitter experience, and it is only when one has lived in this dry belt that one appreciates how essential it is to have the very best of ventilation in the attic. I strongly advocate no built-in pipes in this country, in my old house the water pipes etc. were all built in and out of sight, it was a mistake for frost etc., in my present house they are all exposed, ugly as it may be at first, one soon gets used to it and the advantages I need not mention. Another thing I have realized is that the water system should be fed from below, I wonder will you understand what I mean? If you get your water out of a cistern in the attic there should only be the one main downpipe and all the wash basins, baths, toilets, etc. are then fed from the cellar up, again the convenience of this is great, should you ever want to leave your house empty in the winter you can drain the whole system out and be sure it is drained, this I have also learnt to my cost. Dun-Waters also asked me to tell the size of our doors, they are 57 six foot ten by two foot six, also he was much taken with the small medicine cupboards I have let into the wall over each washbasin. These little cupboards are 18 x 25 inches and have a mirror in the door, the shelves are 3-1/2 inches wide. When it comes to the plastering there are some excellent Italians in Kelowna who are artists at putting on laths, I paid them so much a thousand, I believe there is a union price for this work. My architect personally supervised the loading of the materials at the coast, the foreman rechecked everything both at rail head and again when delivered on the proposed house site, the estimates were, I thought, pretty accurate when I only had to buy about two hundred feet of tongue and groove and a few pieces of shiplap, and with the oddments that were left over I was able to put up a small ice house, this building is very much of the Heath Robinson type as only any odd bit of lumber was used for it. I hope I have covered all the points I was asked to and that I have made myself moderately clear. We are very badly off for finishing carpenters in the valley, they are very slow and consequently very expensive. I hate not recommending local firms and builders, but I fail to see why one should pay more and get worse work done just for the sake of employing local talent, I never have been a philanthropist and after being burnt out and losing everything I was a perfect Jew. I had the pleasure of meeting your daughters at lunch on the boat yesterday. Yours sincerely, \"A. Harman\" Sources: 1 Authors own research on Dun-Waters in Scotland and communication with Douglas S. Wilson, Croftinstilly, Fintry, Stirlingshire. 2 Letter uncovered in box of papers from Stuart estate, Catherine Stuart, secretary to Dun-Waters and her brother, Geordie Stuart, Dun-Waters Fintry estate accountant. 3 David Falconer, \"Dun-Waters of Fintry,\" 38th Annual Report of the Okanagan Historical Society, 1974, pp. 96-100. 4 Ursula Surtees, Curator, Kelowna Museum. 5 Annette Wruth, Land Titles Office, Kamloops. 58 NEW ZEALAND TO THE OKANAGAN by Cedric M. Boyer In the middle fifties, Dr. James Marshall was invited to New Zealand by the N.Z. government to explain the principle of low volume spraying as it applied to orchards. While there, he heard of, and went to see an apple orchard operation where the grower was using a novel idea for harvesting his crop and delivering it to his orchard packing house. This consisted of a 4 foot x 8 foot rectangular box lined with linoleum. It carried about one ton of apples and was mounted on large surplus bomber wheels. On arrival at the warehouse, a gate at the rear of the container was opened, and the fruit rolled out onto a belt that carried it to the sorters and packers. He was so impressed with the ease of handling and the minimum amount of bruising, that, on his return to the Okanagan, he made a tour of all the grower organizations to report on his findings. He found it very difficult to convince others, partly because of their inventory of thousands of bushel boxes that they would have to scrap, and the money involved in re-tooling for the new type container. After a couple of years of frustration, he began to get results. To check further, it was decided to send to New Zealand two growers from the B.C.F.G.A. or B.C.T.F., one observer from the Provincial government and one from the federal government. Dr. Marshall had requested that an agricultural engineer should be one of the investigators sent down. This did not take place, but upon their return, the tone of their report being one of extreme optimism, the ideas were put in the very capable hands of a qualified engineer, Al McMechan of the Summerland Experimental Station. After a couple of years of experimentation, he and his assistant came up with two containers that from now on will be called bins. They were built of lumber and plywood. The one for apples and pears held 900 to 1000 pounds. The one designed for soft fruits was the same square size but one half the depth. Each of these proto-types had a hinged gate on one end. This was subsequently done away with, because a better method was later devised to get the fruit to the sorting tables, namely flotation. The bin was to be, from an economic standpoint, one that would give the maximum volume for the least expenditure. Also, it must be of a size that could be handled manually, or with available machinery. Plywood is manufactured in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets. By sawing a panel in four equal pieces, each 2 feet x 4 feet, the sides and ends of the bin were formed without waste. They were glued and nailed together, using triangular corner posts. A four foot square piece of plywood was the bottom. This box then had to be put together and supported in such a manner as to be lifted when filled with a half ton of fruit. This was accomplished by mounting the box on two lumber skids, each 3 inches x 4 inches x 48 inches long. Glue, nails, rivets and some metal straps and brackets were used to fabricate the entire unit. The plywood that was chosen was spruce. It is a tough-fibred, resilient wood that is lighter and less brittle than fir, cheaper and available in unlimited quantities. The logs were steam heated before peeling. By keeping the knives on the veneer cutting lathe very sharp, the plywood face was smooth enough that 59 sanding was not necessary. Thickness was a consideration. After the trial and error process, Vi inch was to be used for the sides and ends and % inch for the bottom. The first bins had % inch x 12 inch slots cut out of the bottom edge of the sides and ends. This was to create free passage of air through the fruits and for drainage of excess moisture. Later experiments proved that these slots or vents were better located on four sides of the % inch bottom. The packing houses, at this time, were using fork-lift trucks for the palletization of boxes of apples etc. Forks could be attached to the orchard tractors, making the entire operation mechanized and feasible. Two important changes were made to the original four foot square trial model. Because of the large bulk of the empty bin, they realized that, instead of being 48 inches x 48 inches square, if it was made to a measurement of 43 inches x 48 inches, one bin would nest within two, thus saving one third of the storage space. The solid 3 inch x 4 inch lumber skids only permitted two-way entry by the fork lifts. Four-way entry would make it much more versatile, so they devised skids that were each formed of one piece of lumber 15/16 inch thick glue-nailed to three blocks each approximately 3 inches x 3 inches x 6 inches long. After a great deal of discussion and experimentation, this design was adopted and the S.M. Simpson Company, under the capable direction of its president, Horace Simpson, began producing the lumber and plywood parts, all cut to size. These were delivered to the various packing houses with the glue, nails, and hardware to be assembled by the employees during the off-season. For several reasons, the assembly procedure did not always result in a uniform product. The people were not accustomed to this type of work. Specially built steel jigs were required to hold some of the component parts in place, while they were glued and nailed. Adequate space to work was sometimes a factor. Cold conditions at that time of year combined to make the assembly more costly than had been projected. I had first-hand knowledge of this, for I was a foreman in charge of assembly at one of the larger warehouses. Horace Simpson, through specially assigned people, worked hand in glove with Al McMechan and all of the innovators, packing plants and growers. It became a pet project of his, to the extent that his engineers and staff came up with a much simplified bin, using fewer component parts. They saw the great potential for the new bin and immediately had it patented. It was about then, the early sixties, that Horace was asked if he would consider selling the bin fully assembled. He agreed to do this and a bin shop was set up in the premises the company owned on Smith Avenue, hehind the Kelowna Community Theatre. I was asked in 1963 to become the foreman in charge of production in this shop, under Len Smith, the manager of the newly-formed bin and pallet department. This started 10 years of happy employment in a new venture. One of my first tasks was to create realistic piece-work rates for all the various jobs that were involved in the assembly. Most of these required two man crews. I chose a pair of average steady workers and put them on one given operation. After a few days, I had a good idea of the number of items that could be produced in an hour. By dividing this into the average going rate for hourly mill workers, a piece work rate for each job was set and duly posted. This worked out to benefit all. The 60 men soon realized that if they wanted to put out a little extra effort, they could make a better than average wage. The company also knew exactly what it was costing to fabricate the bin. An additional job performed by us was the dipping of the containers in a preservative solution which was a mixture of Monsanto Rez and varsol. This penetrated the surface for about 1/8 inch and acted as a barrier to the sun's ultra-violet rays and helped preserve the wood against weathering. When the customers learned that this dip came in many colours, they each chose a different one as a good way of identifying their own. This created a big problem. After each order, the dip tank had to be drained and thoroughly cleaned before a new order could be processed. This made an increase in the cost. The firm's answer was to dip all bins the same colour but to print in large black letters the packing house logo and year of manufacture. Under the capable management of Len Smith, the bin and pallet division prospered. I spent about three years as foreman of the plant and then went into the office, where I was pricing and designing. Selling and trouble shooting were added to my job. This made it very interesting because it put me in direct touch with the customers for whom I had helped to fill orders in the past. We branched out, making plywood and lumber pallets and containers for every conceivable product from large furniture vaults to small crates holding specific motor parts. The backbone of the business always remained the fruit harvesting bin. Thousands of these were made for the United States market. I think it was about 1970 when we made and sold our one millionth bin. It went to Lake Chelan Fruit Growers Inc. in Chelan, Washington. Those made for the U.S.A., and all distant markets, were partly assembled and dipped, requiring a small amount of final assembly at destination. This cut down on the freight costs. We could ship 440 of these on a flat deck truck, as opposed to about 40 to 50 fully assembled. Horace Simpson was right to have faith in his \"baby\". Through the changes in ownership from S.M. Simpson Ltd. to Crown Zellerbach to the New Zealand owned Crown Forest Co. the bin shop still operates successfully on Smith Avenue in Kelowna. The following is the essence of a talk given by Art Garrish to the semi-annual meeting of the Oliver-Osoyoos Branch of the Okanagan Historical Society held in the old C.P.R. Station in Oliver the afternoon of November 4, 1984. THE ORDERLY MARKETING SYSTEM by Arthur Garrish (President, B.C. Fruit Growers' Association 1951-1966) It is many years since anyone has asked me to speak on anything to do with the fruit industry. The story of the Three Wise Men, Haskins, Barrett and Hembling, and the tremendous contribution of A.K. Loyd was the stock routine of any previous speeches or talks, and nothing much had changed in the fruit industry and nothing much looked like it would change. The orderly marketing system which had been the product of so much blood, sweat, toil and tears in the 61 thirties seemed to be so firmly established as to be irreplaceable. But changes have taken place, and for over ten years we have had our share of coverage in the news media on the issue of pedlars, fruitleggers, and so on. In addition, charges have been laid under the Combines Act against the British Columbia Fruit Growers' Association, British Columbia Tree Fruits, and almost all the packing houses and leading industry officials of conspiring to control the marketing of fruit and restricting the use of industry facilities. The alleged practices had been carried on since the start of Central Selling under the Natural Products Marketing Act of 1936 which exempted the Marketing Boards from the provisions of the Combines Act. What they are being charged with under the Combines Act is conspiring to combine to set prices and that is exactly what the organization was set up to do and had been doing. I have pointed out to some of those charged that the best thing they can do is plead guilty and throw themselves on the mercy of the Court if the Natural Products Marketing Act no longer provides an exemption from the Combines Act. Combining to set prices is the whole story of the Fruit Board, B.C. Tree Fruits, and the organization that was built up by the B.C.F.G.A. That's what it was all about, for setting prices was the only way to protect the position of the producer. I know that most of you, if not all, are as familiar as you probably want to be with the story of the organization that took place in the thirties, and how the Fruit Board finally survived the many tests in court, and out of that came B.C. Tree Fruits, the sole selling agency, all of which was run by the B.C.F.G.A. Many growers have never understood how the set-up was organized or how it operated: that the whole thing has come to pieces at the seams in the last ten or twelve years is, I suspect, not fully recognized even yet by the bulk of the growers who are involved and whose livelihood is at stake. There are those who are still thinking of one monolithic authoritative organization such as existed until 1974. That was the B.C.F.G.A. controlling B.C. Tree Fruits, Sun-Rype Products Limited, and also having control over the B.C. Fruit Board. It was a monolithic organization for the purpose of running the show, and it ran the show, I thought, very efficiently. Some growers differed occasionally, but that was beside the point. The main point was that it was being run for the benefit of the whole industry, and allowing for a few who endeavoured from time to time to run a little fruit out and avoid the controls, it worked. The sixties by everybody's standards was a relatively affluent period. It came to an abrupt end for the fruit industry in the 1969-70 crop year. The 1969-70 crop was the signal that something was awry, and the wonderful days of prosperity were not going on the way they should. The advances were made in the fall of 1969 until early December, but from that point on the money flow into the industry dried up and nothing came through to the growers. By February and March we had gone for quite some time with no sizable amount of money coming down to the packing house level to distribute to the growers. The three houses that existed in this end of the valley \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Oliver-Osoyoos, Monashee and Haynes \u00E2\u0080\u0094 sent a message out to their growers pointing out that we were aware of this situation but we had been unable to get any satisfactory explanation of what was going on. Clearly the growers were becoming very restless because 62 they were used to having regular amounts of money sent out to them and nothing was coming. What had happened, of course, was that we had a sizable crop, the market had turned down, and competition from other areas had pretty well shut us out of certain of our normal outlets. The money simply wasn't coming in. This was an unthinkable situation for an industry that had been doing very nicely for the last eight or ten years. From that period \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the 1969-70 crop \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a time of unrest developed. Some of the growers literally were out of business. They didn't have any reserves and they found the going very heavy. They started the one tactic which in all the years that the control system had been in effect, I think we had all recognized was the area in which the scheme was most vulnerable, i.e. to defy the Fruit Board controls publicly and openly. Those growers who felt that they had little to lose set out to defy the whole structure. By 1972-73 the movement was gaining considerable ground and in 1973 a caravan was loaded up with fruit and dispatched to the coast. This move received excellent TV coverage and the defiance of the whole regulated system under the Fruit Board was now a public fact and was being done in broad daylight. This put the newly elected Provincial Government squarely on the spot because it now had to support the Fruit Board in the enforcement of the regulations or see the controlled marketing scheme destroyed. The Government declined to come down with a heavy hand. It was a situation which nobody enjoyed; certainly the Fruit Board had avoided this sort of confrontation situation as far as it possibly could over the years that it had been in operation. It was now being publicly defied and it was up to the Government, through the Attorney General, to decide whether or not it was going to support the Fruit Board in enforcing the regulations. The issue was the right to stop vehicles and search them on the public highway. There was a legal question involved and the Attorney General was not anxious to get into the middle of it. The result of this confrontation and of other activities was resolved only in the summer of 1974 by a deal which was made whereby the Provincial Government went into the field of Income Assurance. We had had Crop Insurance for a number of years, but the Government went into the field of actually insuring the grower's income. It set up a program of Income Assurance and in exchange for this the B.C.F.G.A., while not agreeing to throwing the Fruit Board out as such, did agree that it would no longer enforce the regulations of the Fruit Board, providing it had an Income Assurance scheme in place of it, and providing that the Income Assurance scheme only applied to those who stayed with the organization and supported it. Now this raised some very big questions. The biggest one was always the question of how to decide who supported the organization and who didn't: but this was the deal that was made. It was made with the active participation of the Minister of Agriculture who was striving to put together a whole farm program. I don't think the Minister fully understood the ramifications of what we were getting into. At a special meeting in June of 1974 in Penticton the industry (whether it really understood what it was doing or not) did ratify this deal, whereby in exchange for an Income Assurance scheme that would be confined to members of the B.C.F.G.A. \u00E2\u0080\u0094 those who were prepared to stay with and support the marketing program \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the Fruit Board would cease to enforce Controlled Marketing. Where it was a little naive, was in assuming the growers 63 would declare which position they were taking, i.e. to be in the deal or outside it. Growers were told over and over again that under the deal, they couldn't have it both ways, \u00E2\u0080\u0094 that they couldn't play the free deal to whatever extent it suited them, and then play the organized side of the deal whenever that suited them. Charlie Bernhard, President of the B.C.F.G.A., repeated it so often that it became known as the Bernhard Doctrine, but he never said (and I don't suppose he knew) how to make it stick. And of the growers who were told \"You can't have it both ways\", there was a high percentage that said \"Who said so?\" And that is the situation we moved into, one parallel to the early days of the Associated Growers back in the 1920's where those who supported the deal found themselves carrying the umbrella for those who either were entirely outside \u00E2\u0080\u0094 which was legitimate and accepted \u00E2\u0080\u0094 but also for a much larger number who were half in and half out. These people had one foot in the organized deal to whatever extent it suited them and one foot in the free deal to whatever extent that suited them. They played it from day to day whichever way was to their best interest. From that day to this, nobody has yet found a way of controlling this situation, and it is still racking every organization in this industry either at the packing level or the marketing level in a whip-sawing effect. This is the situation as it stands today and it will continue to stand: that anybody who wishes to do so (providing he has no ethics) can play both sides of the deal to whatever extent he wants. Now the industry is still struggling with the problem of how it is going to stop this, and how it is going to insist that the growers do one or the other, but as of this moment nobody has come up with a better answer than the one brought up in the last ten years, which if it is as serious as they say it is, then the industry had better go back and ask the Government for full authority and co-operation to reinstitute the Fruit Board because nothing else works. The only reason we went to the Fruit Board in the first place was because nobody knew how to cope with this fifteen or twenty per cent who wouldn't co-operate voluntarily. That's what the Fruit Board was all about. We still have the Fruit Board, a Chairman and two members and they presumably hold meetings and I'm told they even designate B.C. Tree Fruits as the sole selling agents, knowing full well that there are at least twenty others operating right here in the industry, buying fruit, taking it on consignment or doing whatever they want with it. I thought that it might be of interest just to explain to people that the Fruit Board still exists and the B.C.F.G.A. still holds its annual conventions and B.C. Tree Fruits gets its name in the papers from time to time even if only in connection with this Combines case. It really is a shell game; all that is left is the shell. The facade is there, the names are all still there but somebody took all the guts right out of the thing about ten years ago, and it has been trying to operate that way since, and it hasn't been doing it too well. You may say \"The growers haven't suffered too greatly.\" True, some haven't. The ones who have played it both ways have done very nicely. Even the ones who have had an ethical problem and have stayed with the deal and have lived up to its terms, in due course, under the slow workings of the Income Assurance Program have, by and large, received enough to keep them reasonably solvent. In fact, a side effect that is most interesting is that it has brought into the picture the Federal Government to a degree which it never would have done before. Until the Pro- 64 vincial Government definitely went into the field of what boils down to Price Support, the Federal Government had no great interest in price stabilization in horticulture. It is a redistribution of funds that is all part of the social structure that we have today. The Provincial Income Assurance Programs, where they were instituted \u00E2\u0080\u0094 and British Columbia was in the forefront \u00E2\u0080\u0094 forced the Federal Government to reconsider its position and to participate much more directly and much more actively than it had been prepared to do. Gene Whelan wasn't terribly happy about this and we have yet to find out what the new Minister of Agriculture will think about it. That is one of the problems he has inherited from these changes, which are not confined to the fruit industry. The role of marketing boards in society is being given another look and many think the whole issue will be reopened. In connection with this reexamination, they can re-examine us all they like; there is nothing left to change. The valid question is, how long is the Government going to be prepared to use the institution of the Income Assurance Scheme in lieu of a regulated marketing program. Both levels of Government may find it far more convenient or cheaper to go back to regulated marketing than to support the industry through an Income Assurance Program. These are issues that are going to have to be resolved over the next four or five years. As we stand at the moment, and to summarize the whole controlled marketing scheme that we were so proud of (and I make no bones about that), I think the industry as a whole was very proud of the set-up. I think the industry took a lot of credit for something that was possibly largely due to a combination of geography and history. It took credit for having accomplished things that other people hadn't been able to do. But then not everybody lived as far away from their markets as we did, and had as few methods of getting their fruit to market as we had. In fact, this historic building (the restored C.P.R. Station in Oliver) we are in at the moment has as its main claim to fame the fact it was one of the key points for the enforcement of Fruit Board regulations, because anybody at this end of the valley who attempted to ship fruit out independently in defiance of the regulations was only able to do so through the C.P.R. All the Fruit Board Inspector had to do was to go down each day and see who was doing what. He had the whole record right there. This fact of geography had much to do with the ability of this industry to obtain control of and to regulate our affairs to the degree that it did. The end was in sight when the Hope-Princeton Highway was opened and the truckers could run back and forth at will, and certainly the one thing that really tore the whole deal wide open was the opening of the Trans-Canada Highway. There was a great influx of Alberta and Saskatchewan people in here to see what we had, and there was a tremendously improved ability for people to get back and forth in all manner of vehicles \u00E2\u0080\u0094 trucks, campers, trailers and everything else \u00E2\u0080\u0094 all of which could carry fruit. Possibly all that happened was that we anticipated the inevitable. As of this time we are in a situation where we have the form, and we still go through the rituals of a system that is almost totally gutted. What is going to be the outcome of the Combines investigation time alone will tell, because it will be next spring when this matter will formally come to trial. For thirty odd years it was accepted that a scheme such as the one operated in the fruit industry or in the egg deal or wherever, was specifically by law ex- 65 empted from the provisions of the Combines Investigation Act. It was recognized when both the Acts were passed, back in the thirties, that the two principles were in conflict. The principle of the Combines Investigation Act was very simple \u00E2\u0080\u0094 it was to stop people entering into a combine to gouge the public, whereas the other principle was that the state of unregulated marketing in farm products was proving so disastrous and so impossible to live with, that the only solution was to embark on a program of regulation under legislation. Of course the two were incompatible, and were not applicable to each other. Now we have the situation where, in fact, charges are laid and the case is pending. If it goes against the industry then, of course, it will have its application to other forms of marketing control in other industries. I hope that my message is not entirely negative, but having extolled the virtues of the Orderly Marketing System built up by the fruit industry in British Columbia to many groups over the years, maybe it is time to get up and admit that the system is not here anymore. Editor's note: Hope-Princeton Highway opened 1949. Rogers Pass opened 1962. (The following article appeared in THE OLIVER CHRONICLE on November 14, 1985, and gives the result of the trial.) OLIVER CHRONICLE - Nov. 14, 1985 COMBINES CHARGES COST INDUSTRY $250,000 It cost the Okanagan tree fruit industry about $250,000 to defend itself against charges levelled under the federal Combines Investigation Act, BCFGA executive member Ken Ziebart told Oliver growers last week. A B.C. Supreme Court decision found the BCFGA and its affiliated packinghouses not guilty of the charges, and federal Crown prosecutors recently dropped their appeal against the decision. The accused had been charged with conspiring to limit or deal in tree fruit storage facilities from 1975 to 1980. Despite the verdict, the $250,000 cost to the industry in legal and other expenses is not recoverable. 66 THE NARAMATA MURAL by A. Waterman When the Naramata Co-operative Growers decided to add a cold storage plant to their fruit packing complex, they chose the most convenient site. Unfortunately when they prepared the site in 1981 the pioneer Methodist church had to be razed and a fine grove of mature maples felled. These radical changes in the heart of the village of Naramata resulted in an uneasy stir and caused local artist, Frances Hatfield1 to conceive the idea of a mural on the 100' side of the cold storage plant. This could transform the starkness of the new facility to beauty, record history and mobilize community effort in this village work. The executive and management of the Naramata Co-op were informed and permission was granted for her to do the mural; the Naramata Citizens' Association agreed to support it. In December 1982 Frances asked the Canada Council \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Exploration Division \u00E2\u0080\u0094 for part of the funding of this project. In May 1983 the entire amount specified was granted. But this did not obviate the necessity for fund-raising by the Naramata Citizens' Association. Letters requesting donations raised sufficient money to pay for all paints and varnish for the mural. Frances said it was all very well to be struck by the inspiration that you could design a mural but the technique and know-how posed a problem. After asking several American muralists for work as an apprentice or helper, it was Judy Baca of Los Angeles who invited her to work on a church mural with her. Judy Baca is best known for creating a mural with the help of young people on the subject of ethnic minorities in California. Painted in the Tujunga Wash in North Los Angeles, this work is now almost half a mile long. Frances Hatfield is Okanagan-born and a graduate of the Vancouver School of Art. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and has taught at Kootenay School of Art and in other parts of B.C. and Ontario. She lives high above Naramata in her studio/home \"Stonecrop\". 67 The rest of the winter was spent in studying murals in Mexico and Frances returned to Naramata in the spring with a number of designs which she discussed with the Co-op and the Naramata Citizens' Association. After some public in-put the present design was prepared. Cartoons of the design had to be drawn and divided into squares (2040 of them). Orchardist-house-painter, Horst Franz prepared the wall with a ground coat. Scaffolding was erected and plumb lines dropped vertically and placed horizontally on the wall surface to reproduce the grid of the cartoons. Then the design could be accurately transferred to the wall. Wet days were a loss and the too hot sun was a problem but the mural was painted in two months by three people: Frances Hatfield, Betty Warnock and Robert Magenis with some local volunteer helpers who needed steady heads for working on scaffolding up to thirty feet from the ground. The 34' x 60' mural is painted with acrylic paint on the south wall of the cold storage plant. It depicts a pioneer fruit grower planting an apple tree; women bench-packing in the old way; dry cultivation by harrowing the good Okanagan soil; the seasonal changes from stark leafless trees in snow through blossom to harvest. The pioneer Methodist church commemorates the past while children dance around the Maypole celebrating youth and spring. It is designed to be seen from a distance since it is more practical for the public to view it from outside the gate of the Co-op property. However, a legend of the parts that make up the mural is lettered on it for those interested. A section of the mural was given a protective coat of acrylic varnish which is being given time to demonstrate its qualities before being applied to the entire surface. On August 21, 1983 the Naramata Village Mural was dedicated. Mr. Duncan McDougall, Chairman of the South Okanagan Regional District Board spoke and introduced the Board member of the Canada Council, Mrs. Ruth Schiller. She dedicated the mural and spoke of the part art plays in the life of the community. Mr. Bernard Webber of Osoyoos read from the Apocrypha: \"All these (craftsmen) rely upon their hands, and each is skilful at his own craft. Without them a city would have no inhabitants; no settlers or travellers would come to it. ... But they maintain the fabric of this world, and their prayers are about their daily work.\"2 And Frances, herself, closed the dedication ceremony. Approximately 200 people attended the dedication. As well as Naramatians other interested people from Kelowna, Penticton, Summerland and Osoyoos attended the ceremony. They chatted and photographed the brilliant mural and enjoyed the chilled apple juice and cookies so hospitably offered by the Naramata Packing House and ladies of the village. Ecclesiasticus, Chap. 38, verses 31-34. 68 MAY DAY IN NARAMATA From Mrs. S.J. Berry, Naramata to A. Waterman, Penticton Since 1923 the celebration of May Day rites has demonstrated the strong community spirit of the people of Naramata. Elementary school children select candidates for the May Queen and her princesses. On May Day the retiring Queen and her entourage parade into Manitou Park where she crowns the newly elected Queen. The ceremony is celebrated by school children dancing around May poles. Great credit is due to dedicated teachers who, year after year, teach May pole dancing. Without doubt some Naramatians are watching their grandchildren dance. After lunch games are played and races run. In the evening the May Day dance is opened by a grand march of children and their parents. This charming and simple celebration is one of the few surviving in B.C. THERE'S A \"LINO\" IN MY BASEMENT by Bernie Hucul It was during the late months of winter in 1970, while delivering freight to the Salmon Arm Observer, that Denis Marshall, then publisher of the newspaper, called me aside. \"Going to haul freight all your life?\" \"Not sure,\" I replied, \"Not a bad job but I guess there's not much future in it.\" \"We're looking for an apprentice printer. Why not give it a try?\" Well, why not I thought, and the following day Marshall took me back to the composing room and introduced me to the foreman, Floyd Cary, and the rest of the printers. That was it, sounded like a job with a good future, a chance to pick up a trade while learning to be a journeyman. The Observer was still making up the paper by the \"hot metal\" process and the first few months were literally hot. The apprentice found his first job was to \"kill\" the previous week's edition. That meant lugging heavy chases of type onto the composing stones, ditching all the lead type, and saving the spacing material and various cuts or ads for a future date. Then the lead had to be melted down in the melting pot and new \"pigs\" were poured for use in the production of next week's edition. On a 90-degree day in July, pouring molten lead, which comes from the melting pot at about 500-600 degrees Fahrenheit, made one wonder just what kind of trade this really was. But the apprentice had to learn all of the trade, so I made my way around the various facets of the industry. As time went on I found myself learning to cast national ads into lead from mats in a casting box; setting headlines and ads on a Ludlow, a linecasting machine used to set larger sizes of type; \"learning the case\", as the Observer still used some handset type; tailing the press on Wednesday and stuffing papers, along with delivering them around town and to the post office. And, of course, I was introduced to the Observer's two linotype machines. Like nearly everyone who sees one of these typesetting marvels in operation, I became fascinated with all of its moving gears and cams and the whirring, clicking, jingling sounds. 69 LINOTYPE The advent of the hot-lead typesetting machinery in the newspaper industry could be compared to the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Hand-setting type was just that: picking up each piece of type one at a time, inserting it in its row in a hand-held form called a stick and spacing the line between the words. Every single letter had to be returned to its case (correctly) so that the type could be used in the next week's edition. Sometimes type faces were very similar in face and size and, even with printers who knew their type, often there were mix-ups with wrong type getting into the wrong place in the cases, a circumstance which lead to the arduous work of re-sorting the type, not to mention the possibility of making typographical errors. Then came the invention of the famous Mergenthaller hot-lead typesetter, the Linotype. This machine was a marvel in its day. It lead directly to the growth of weekly and daily papers around the world, and here in the Okanagan- Shuswap areas. The main reason was that with handset type a printer could only set perhaps three columns of type per day and thus it just wasn't possible to produce a very large newspaper. By comparison the new machine could spew out hot slugs of lead. A whole line of reading matter was set at once, and the machine was capable of producing six lines per minute. Thus one operator could set three columns in about two hours. These lines of type did not need to be re-distributed one letter at a time. The lines of type were just melted down and the lead used again and again. The printer had new type to work with every week; no more worn battered type. There was no shortage of type: sore fingers were a thing of the past, and many of the type cabinets disappeared. As the linecasters were not very efficient for large type sizes and matrices (molds for the letters) were costly, for most small offices, like those throughout the valley, handsetting of large type did not 70 disappear until the offset process became common during the late 1960's. More prosperous shops purchased a Ludlow typecaster, which could efficiently set the larger type-sizes for headlines and display advertisements. Of course, with the new production possible from printers, newspaper editors could up their output of news. As a result, from the turn of the century until the late sixties, papers grew quickly in size. MECHANICAL WONDER The linotype keyboard bore no resemblance to the typewriter. It was divided into three sections of thirty keys each. The left side held all the lower case (small letters) arranged so that the most-used letters of the alphabet were closest to the operator's flying left hand. At the right were the capital letters, while the centre section held punctuation marks, spaces and numerals. One slight touch of a key brought down from a series of channels a brass matrix (mat) with the required tiny mold of that letter. These molds were contained in a magazine located directly above the keyboard. The operator selected the width of line desired. When he had keyed a full line of type, he would lift up a handle which elevated the line of matrices into a mold. Automatically the machine would pump molten lead into a mold containing the mats where the lead froze, immediately forming a lead slug. At the same time the slug was being ejected from the mold by an ejector blade which pushed the slug out onto a pan. Thus the lines of type were assembled. While the slug was being ejected, a second elevator dropped down to pick up the mats from the finished line. All the matrices passed through a distributor box and a- long a matched-keyed bar then dropped into their respective channels, ready to be recalled by the typesetter. Of course, it was not as easy as it sounds. A linotype operator was more than just a typesetter; he had to know all the idiosyncracies of the machine. If the line was not filled out enough, hot lead would squirt between the letters, and literally had to be chipped off. If the line was filled too much the machine would jam and had to be backed up to the starting point. Those squirts of molten lead realy kept the operator awake, as a shot of hot lead on the foot was pretty painful. The lines of linotype slugs were justified (spaced so letters were flush with the margin on both sides of the column) by means of a spaceband. The space- band was a wedge-shaped device which was keyed in between the words formed by the mats. As the line was being sent to the mold a bar pushed up on the bottom of the bands forcing the words apart and thus filling the lines flush left and right. The temperature of the molten lead was crucial to the production of a good \"slug\" and the operator was constantly keeping an eye on the slugs for indications that the machine was running either too hot or too cold. As well as temperature, the composition of the lead was important. With linotype lead being composed of lead, tin and antimony, thus making it much harder than straight lead, shops had to monitor their lead to the right consistency or a resulting softer slug would mean disaster when the type reached the pounding of the press. For an apprentice printer learning to run a linotype was an exciting experience. Unlike today's computers and photo or laser typesetters where flash- 71 ing lights and beeping tones tell the operator when he has keyed the wrong information into the machine, a linotype operator's first indication of a wrong line measure or a tight or loose line was a splash of hot lead which brought him back to reality. The apprentice, too, had to keep an eye out for pranksters bent on initiating greenhorns. One day while completely engrossed in setting a galley of type I was just about to send a line into the machine, when an object shot out from deep in the bowels of the monstrosity, passing within inches of my face. I leaped from my chair expecting to feel a splash of hot lead sear my body. And then I heard a roar of laughter from one of the journeymen who had crept up behind the linotype and shoved a long cleaning brush through the frame of the machine just to see if I was awake. The era of the linotype died out with the advent of offset printing. It was several years after beginning my apprenticeship that the Observer began talking about going over to the new method. No one was happier than the apprentice. It meant no longer having to melt lead, to kill heavy inky type forms or to perform all the drudgery of the hot metal process. But of course it meant a lot of the heavy old machinery, including the linotype, would have to go to make way for the new. As in many industries which have undergone technological change, a lot of romance went along with the old hot-lead process. At this time the Observer decided it would retain one of its two linotypes for commercial printing purposes, a task it still performs today. The other machine, a Model L, had to go. It was discovered that selling it for scrap would bring a meagre $35.00, and as no one wanted to buy the thing, what to do? Well, the apprentice and his brother, who was to follow in apprenticing, having a strange attachment to these old machines, made an offer. \"We'll pay you $35.00 for it and move it out of the way for you.'' That was all it took! A few days later we had disassembled the ton-or-so of cast iron and reassembled it in the basement of my home. Yes, much to my wife's chagrin, I have a LINO IN MY BASEMENT. THE KINGFISHER KITCHEN BAND by Isobel Simard It all started twenty-two years ago after reading an article in the Free Press Prairie Farmer about a group of ladies who formed a kitchen band and enjoyed travelling here and there on the Prairies playing for conventions, at carnivals, concerts, and dances. At that time we were having problems finding good music at a reasonable price for our dances at Kingfisher Hall, so at one of our meetings I suggested we try to form some sort of similar band to supply our own music, and invited several members to my home to see what we could do about it. Each one chose a kitchen utensil, such as a rolling pin, scrub board, wash tub, wooden spoons, fridge rack, ancient dinner gong, funnels with kazoos attached, many of which came from my husband's museum. With these in hand we commenced to beat an accompaniment to the selections our talented pianist, Joyce Potrie, chose to play by ear on our ancient piano. Every Monday morning we 72 The Kingfisher Kitchen Band met here to practise the old familiar tunes as well as the new, and soon we were going here and there to provide something different in the way of entertainment at Senior Citizen homes, conventions, parades, and dances. We all wore similar old-fashioned dresses in different colors, complete with white aprons, and hats made of kitchen gadgets. The \"Kingfisher Kitchen Band\" is named after the community where we all live, twenty miles east of Enderby near Mabel Lake. There are often embarrassing moments upon arrival at a hall where we've been asked to play. One evening as we carried our ancient-looking kitchen paraphernalia towards the stage a man remarked to his friend, \"I shall not be staying here long!\" As it happened he was one of our most enthusiastic listeners that evening and stayed right to the end! Another day at an opening of a drop-in centre, we heard a lady say to her husband, \"Oh, I didn't know there was to be a sale here today!\" We really were stared at when we entered the Calgary Inn with our antique instruments refusing the help of the hotel's attendants who came to meet us, and again at the Calgary television station where someone said, \"What has W.O. Mitchell got us into this time?\" Our band is so different that it is no wonder they stare! There are seven of us in the band: our pianist, Joyce Potrie, for whom there is no substitute; Mary Dale, a vivacious washboard artist; Dorothy Clark, our unique drummer lady; Nada Potrie, accomplished fridge rack strummer; Barbara Ramsey, bass fiddle thumper; with Jacky Clark, our most recent addition, and myself blowing the \"trumpets\" (funnels with kazoos attached) and shaking the rolling pin and saucepan. Former members and substitutes in our band over the years have been: Mary Boots, Betty Dack, Barbara McLuchlin, Akka Zijlstra, Rusty Jones, Cora Prevost, Nadine Old, Irma Gillard, Grace Lundquist, Elsie Warren, Bonnie Potrie, Vi Heyland, Doreen Cawley, Dora Chantler, Maxine Dale, Marian Dale, Vera Mazer, Nina Boulter, Muriel Fast who was with us until recently from the very beginning, and, last but not least, Jack Dugdale. 73 Over the years we have entertained at many affairs, including appearances on TV at Kelowna and at Calgary. And now, believe it or not, we've been chosen to play at Expo! Never did we think those many years ago that we'd ever be playing anywhere else but at Kingfisher. Excerpts from \"Our Trip to Calgary to Appear on TV, January 1977\" Now that we are back to earth again from cloud nine and our trip but a wonderful memory, we can realize that it was all made possible by a chain of events resulting from a visit here back in the fall by W.O. Mitchell1 and Sid Adelman, a Toronto Star reporter. When I happened to remark about the Kingfisher Kitchen Band, Sid said something about appearing on the television show \"Ninety Minutes Live.\" Nothing more was said at that time but around the beginning of December a telephone call came from a lady, Celena Dack of the CBC at Toronto, asking if we would like to appear on a show being televised live at Calgary, January 17th. Needless to say we were really excited, and we all agreed that we should accept the invitation. We asked Wayne McLeod to come out here to make a 45-minute tape of our music which I promptly sent to Celena a week or so before Christmas. As we didn't hear anything more until well into January we thought it was all off, but finally word came from Celena at Edmonton that indeed we would be on! Next I contacted our son David at Vernon, asking if he could rent a van to take us to Calgary, and the following Sunday he and June arrived and we were on our way. We arrived at the television station at the dot of two for our audition, carrying our band dresses, hats, and instruments. After signing the register at the desk amid surprised stares from the attendants we were conducted to the dressing room where we hung up our things to be worn for the evening performance. Next we were taken to the television room where we took up our positions in front of a grand piano ready to play. Cameras were directed towards us from everywhere it seemed and we were to \"freeze\" as if in a picture and upon a certain signal to start playing our two selections, \"Anytime\" and \"Shanty Town\". Then we were finished, with instructions to return at seven that evening. From there David took us to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell's home where we'd been invited for tea. We were all interested in viewing his collection of exotic plants including his orchids \u00E2\u0080\u0094 his specialty. One of those to be interviewed was Calgary's mayor who shook hands with each in turn before sitting down beside W.O. Mitchell to await his turn. First on the programme was a folk singer Ruzicka and his band from Edmonton. At last our turn came to go on stage. We took our positions, \"froze\" as instructed, then played our pieces. Mr. Mitchell who had been interviewed by the host of the show, Peter Gzowski, just before we went on then introduced us in turn presenting each of us with one of his orchids as he did so. Mary got her \"wee kiss\" (totally unrehearsed) also Joyce, then off the stage and back to the green room we went to watch the rest of the programme. W.O. Mitchell had a summer home at Mabel Lake. 74 GLASSROOTS RECYCLING IN THE NORTH OKANAGAN by Rita Campbell Community service recycling in the North Okanagan Valley is the story of community spirit at its best, a story well worth recording, for its development did much to change local attitudes towards the disposal of solid wastes. A gradual change towards waste disposal had begun in the 60's throughout North America. Re-use became a new concept for some \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a renewal for others. Many survivors of the Great Depression and World War II, when everything was reused until no longer usable, began to see that built-in obsolescence and throw- away attitudes of post-war years had to end. They believed recycling was one way to further this idea. Whatever the catalyst may have been, community recycling began in Vernon in 1971. The local branch of the Society for Pollution and Environmental Control (SPEC) did a pilot study to see if residents would support a recycling program. The answer was 'yes'. A director was given the task of setting up a committee to find a warehouse and to secure government support. The Vernon recycling program was fortunate in that a commercial glass manufacturing plant was located in nearby Lavington. This meant low haulage costs of used glass (cullet). Another advantage was the generous offer made by the Bulman family of free space in their former cannery. The city's contribution was removal of cullet to the glass plant. Dave MacKay, city engineer in those days, and a visionary in matters of waste disposal, was a constant supporter of the fledgling recycling effort. Much of its early success is attributed to his foresightedness. But above all were the innumerable volunteers, mostly housewives and teenagers, who gave so generously of their time. One example was that of a young man, Bill MacAllister, who spent much of his limited holiday weekends breaking bottles at the depot. Early primitive methods to break bottles would have made a doctor cringe. The bottles after being carefully cleaned of contaminants were thrown into 45 gallon metal drums donated by Sun-Rype, Kelowna. Then with an iron rod welded to a car wheel hub, volunteers smashed bottles into finer particles. Luckily minor cuts and ringing ears were the only results of this form of Russian roulette. Youth groups from Guides, Scouts, school bands, churches and sports were the main source of cullet. They were paid on a sliding scale, dependent on how much they did to 'clean' the bottles. Every bit of metal, foil or heavy plastic had to be removed from each and every bottle. Though removal of paper labels was not required, many enthusiastic contributors gave sparkling, de-labelled bottles. Other bottles came in encrusted with chicken droppings and dust, or with indecipherable evil-smelling contaminants; but then there is always some foul with the good. Some ardent recyclers brought in empty liquor bottles in brown paper bags which they insisted had been salvaged from their neighbours' garbage cans. Committee members in those early days often made housecalls to those with no means of transport. This had to be discontinued as volumes increased, but by that time there were weekly bottle drives and convenient drop-off centers in rural and city locations. After glass recycling was well underway, salvage of paper wastes from the 75 commercial areas was started. This required more than volunteer labour. The John Howard Society was approached. Since the project was mutually beneficial, the two groups became co-operators in a depot. Through federal labour grants Howard Industries supplied a small truck and a few labourers. SPEC provided the depot supervisor, a volunteer housewife, Rita Campbell, who acted as Chairman and later as Secretary of the Vernon Recycling Committee. Accounting expertise was provided by Mel Garbutt of the Howard Industries' staff. Perhaps the most vital contribution to this cause was the large stationary paper-baler donated by Vernon Rotary. Custom-made from reclaimed steel at a cost of $6,000 it put in ten valiant years. First it was used for cardboard until volumes exceeded its capacity and age, then later for shredded-paper baling only. The BAY provided on loan a smaller mobile baler which was used for many years for baling 'ledger' or bond-paper waste. As the years passed it seemed to the volunteer directors that, despite such generous community support, one step forward often meant two backward. Costs began to escalate. The Bulman warehouse, prior to final sale and demolition, had to charge $500 monthly rent. Transport costs rose as products were shipped to Vancouver for local or overseas markets. Always the constant need was there to change public and private attitudes toward recycling. The committee, now chaired by Ross K. Whitney, former Howard Society Director and a bulk-oil businessman, was faced, as was most of the western world, with rising energy costs. Market demand was increasing as industries perceived the economy of re-use. Despite this, many still believed recycling to be an unrealistic 'motherhood' idea doomed to failure. In 1981 a hallmark was struck when Vernon was chosen as the western city in a Federal Energy Conservation Program (NRS ACTION). Vernon, it was said, had been chosen because of the conservation interests of its people, as exemplified by the Dave MacKay spray irrigation method for disposal of liquid wastes and the actively supported recycling program. This federal recognition and the constant lobbying by recyclers to all levels of government gradually changed the political will. The City of Vernon and, later, the Regional District government paid a sum somewhat less than the amount required to bury equivalent tonnages into fast-diminishing landfills. These 'diverted credits' were increased by 10% after the first decade while volume of salvage rose nearly 10% annually. Between 1972 and 1975 the provincial government established a province- wide recycling fund of $100,000. This allowed a limit of $10,000 annually to any local government sponsoring non-commercial recycling. This funding continued until the mid-eighties. The Vernon area received this annual grant from 1974 to 1981 in diminishing amounts, until by 1983 the funding ceased. Federal labour grants were received now and then through the years but due to their short time- span were not relied on for day-to-day operation but rather as a means to expand programs and increase public awareness. Through all of recycling's development, the media gave excellent free support. Growing public participation was due in large measure to this continuing support. In December 1975 the Bulman property was sold. Frantic efforts were made to find another location or money to build on land hopefully to be provid- 76 ed by government. After seven months' shut-down, another depot was found. This facility, set in a sea of mud or dust as weather dictated, was cold, windy and too small. Under the competent management of Phyllis de Boice, a former director, the dedicated staff ignored it all as they strove to increase productivity. The now autonomous and newly constituted Vernon Community Recycling Society continued to look for a permanent site, one free from escalating rents and designed for recycling. Proposals to senior governments proved fruitless, although several government studies on recycling were initiated. Much of the acquired knowledge of the Vernon experiment was central to these studies, but no direct benefit to Vernon resulted, other than perhaps greater recognition. The search for a depot was unsuccessful and once again the local government was approached. In 1981 the city agreed to erect a pre-fabricated aluminum warehouse on land adjacent to the regional landfill. Interior finishing, furnishing and some landscaping was to be done by the Society. THEN THE AXE FELL! The equipment, much of it secondhand, all of it requiring expensive overhaul, succumbed to aging and over-use. Recycling seemed to be doomed. Money for capital costs had never been accessible to the Society nor was it at this critical time, despite innumerable petitions to governments, benevolent foundations and corporate citizens. The Board of Directors knew they could no longer continue to fight the good fight. Ten years of struggle against odds faced by few comparable businesses, at a time when product was in demand and success near at hand made the apparent apathy discouraging to say the least. BUT A MIRACLE HAPPENED! Colleen Pringle, a former teacher, called together 35 people to form the Committee to 'Save Recycling'. The most astonishing fund-raising in the region's history began. The local cablevision owner, George Galbraith, volunteered to put on a TELETHON \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the first in the Interior. From this $26,000 was garnered. It involved hundreds of participants. Other fund-raising events such as raffles, craft sales, barbecues, and penny carnivals involved school children, housewives, businesses, entertainers and as always, the media. This paid for a $36,000 KILSON automatic baler. Volunteers finished the building with materials donated by other ardent recyclers. Vernon Rotary once again contributed a vital piece of equipment \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a $30,000 forklift at a dollar-a-year rental. Personal donations of as much as $1,000 each flowed in. It is estimated nearly $200,000 was given directly in free labour and in kind, or through taxes by the people of the North Okanagan area. The newly-named society, NORTH OKANAGAN RECYCLING, contracted with Vernon City at $1,000 per month to repay the city's borrowing costs for the building's purchase. When repaid, the depot will officially belong to those who built it, the people of the region who so obviously believed in recycling. A new decade began with a directorship of 18, chaired by Gerard A. Landers, an Armstrong teacher. The Board included a broad cross-section of committed recyclers. One of the former directors, who had done so much fine work as Publicity Chairman for the mammoth fund-raising, Ann Clarke, became a member of the Vernon City Council in 1983 and acted as liaison to the Recycling Society. Mr. James Foord represented the Regional District Board. In 1983 an Environmental Award was received from the provincial government. The depot had become a stop of interest for recyclers from the States and 77 throughout Canada. Many communities emulated its methods. Although obvious benefits of the recycling program were preservation of landfill space and resources in general, its auxiliary programs were valuable components. Many mentally and physically disabled persons assisted as volunteers from 1976 on. Young offenders worked off their community service hours at the depot. The Society also initiated an active in-school recycling program throughout the school districts of Armstrong and Vernon in 1975. Not only through this avenue did young people become more aware of the need to recycle but also through their involvement with weekly drives. These latter provided funding for the groups' own community service work. A large group could net as much as $2,000 or more in one day's collection. Once 'cleaned' the product was purchased by the depot at fair brokerage prices. After 15 years the recycling depot with its many convenient drop-off bins and sub-depots plus its unique social services was one in which residents could take pride. They began it, they worked for it and they could say without immodesty, 'It's the best in the west' . . . and the story was just beginning. Addenda: The depot was sold to a Hong-Kong based paper company, International Paper Co., as of Jan. 1, 1986. This company has a recycling operation in Vancouver and also is a buyer for interior paper wastes and our biggest buyer. The monies for our equipment came to about $62,000 and we have put it in a trust account under the care of the N.O.R.D. Other monies made from sale of product will be kept in term deposits and used for research and p.r. as the three years pass which are the term of contract between N.O.R.D. and International Paper. Ironically, after years of having governments refer to any money paid to us as \"diverted credit monies\", \"grants\", or \"subsidies\" all of which we denied it to be, now such money paid to a private business is being called \"a fee for service\", terminology which we ourselves always used. R.C. SACRILEGE / have seen God's gifts to man despoiled, His bounties hurled back in His face; Wanton destruction of Earth's Gardens of Eden Question Man's sanity, and add to the disgrace For building factories, banks and warehouses Where luscious peaches and apricots once grew; For uprooting cherry and citrus orchards, To provide some housing for the few Who could find love of home, tranquility Where Heavenly fruits can never grow; And thus preserve the Manafor our children And protect the gifts that Gods bestow. Dr. John C. Dubeta 78 MEMORIES OF TRINITY CREEK AREA IN THE 1920'S by Stan Wejr When we were small, Ashton Creek district seemed very far away (about 2 Vi miles from our house) so we as kids knew very little about this far away place. I was born 3 miles east of Enderby at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stamberg. There being no hospital available in those days, Mrs. Stamberg helped bring many of us into this world. Prior to my mother and I being loaded into a wagon to come home to Trinity Creek a young lady used to wheel me around in a baby buggy. That same lady (Mrs. Charlie Carey) lives at Swan Lake near Vernon. When my father first came to live on the land he purchased from a Mr. Goodchap, there was no road east of Enderby and no bridge across the river so his mode of travel was by canoe on the Shuswap River. All the early farms had river frontage and the houses were along its banks so the supplies would not have to be carried very far. By 1920 the community was getting filled up mostly by people of Czech origin. Most of them were people who worked in the coal mines in the Crows Nest Pass and after a series of explosions in the mines in which quite a number of the miners lost their lives, the ones who were spared decided they would go farming in British Columbia. Some bought out trappers' homesteads and some homesteaded Crown land. There were about 15 families who came and settled south of the Shuswap River. Most of these settlers had families. Quite a number were of school age but there was no school nearby. These people petitioned the government for assistance to build a small school. This was done in the summer of 1920. The area was inspected by a school inspector and the local M.L.A. These men saw there was a strong need for a school and in the winter my dad received a letter from Victoria saying the government was willing to assist with a donation of $150.00 for the building of the school and after the building was completed that it would furnish half the monies needed for books, desks and any other items that were absolutely needed. I know the strap must have been one of the items as I saw and felt it used on several occasions. In the spring of 1921 a work crew of six men went out and cut the logs for a log building. These were cut and peeled nearby then skidded with horses to the chosen site. A big cedar tree stood near by and it supplied all the shakes for the roof. The rafters were made of poles. It was then the carpenters took over and built the log building. The boards for the floor, the windows, nails, bricks and doors came out of that $150.00. By June the school was completed. A school district was formed east from Baxter bridge to the extent of private property along what is now known as Hidden Lake Road and south along the Trinity Creek-Lumby Road to the railway belt. Each home owner in this district was assessed $10.00 to help with the initial expenses. A teacher was advertised for and our first one was a Miss Houston from Victoria whose English accent was far stronger than any Englishman's in England. Now the Czech people would always speak their language at home, the result being that when some of the first graders went to school they did not know a word of English. The only words of English that I knew were some choice ones I learned as I followed the teamsters driving their horses. Most parents knew 79 how to speak English but there were a few women who did not. My dad was the secretary of the school board for many years and he kept two sets of minutes, one in English and one in Czech, the latter being for the ones who could not read English. The Czech customs were kept up at home until all the old timers passed away and the youngsters grew up and intermarried with boys and girls of English, Scottish or Irish origin. After the first year of school the youngsters always spoke English amongst themselves and some, which was a pity, forgot their mother tongue altogether. The first day of school, 21 pupils attended all the way from six years to sixteen years of age and with grades from one to eight. The teacher's salary started at $600.00 per year and out of that she had to pay room and board. Believe me that teacher earned her salary. Some of the children walked 2 V2 miles to school and in those days the roads were never plowed in winter and in the summer the mosquitoes were so bad one had to run to school to keep ahead of them. There were no screens on the windows the first year at school and they got really thick inside. The favourite pastime was to see who could fill up their inkwell with dead mosquitoes first, with ones that were killed while feasting on hands, legs and face. The old school still stands and is used for a storage shed by Mr. Van Dalfson who acquired the property from the school district. We had a tough time getting a dollar or two in those days but we always had lots to eat as everybody had a large garden, their own animals to butcher and lots of cream, butter, eggs, hams, bacon and some farmers had their own wheat made into flour at the mill in Armstrong. The main source of a few dollars was the monthly cream cheque plus selling some logs, poles, cordwood or fence posts. We had no TVs and very few people had a radio so we made our own fun. We played cards in the evenings and on Saturday nights there was always a house party or a dance in the school. We were very fortunate in having some good musicians in our district who not only played at dances but would put on concerts which were held in the school in the winter and, in the summer, on somebody's lawn. I still consider myself very lucky to have grown up in the Trinity Creek district in the early part of the twentieth century. 80 CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ARMSTRONG AND ENDERBY AREA by O.B. Carlson Armstrong made educational history in British Columbia in 1922 when the consolidated Armstrong Elementary School was opened. All the rural schools in the farming area surrounding Armstrong were closed and the pupils from these schools, all in Spallumcheen Municipality, were bused into the Armstrong Schools, and have been ever since. I have a personal interest in this change that took place in 1922 since my sister, Agnes, who was teaching at Otter Lake School, was one of the teachers transferred to the new school. I was reminded of this by the photo of that first teaching staff of the consolidated school that used to hang in the hallway. There were several hundred School Boards in B.C. in those days and when Trustees on a Board could not agree among themselves or with the Department of Education, the Department often appointed an Official Trustee to run the school or schools as the case might be. There were great differences in the school buildings and equipment, and in the quality of teaching, due to a great extent to the vast difference in the availability of funds to the School Boards scattered over our far flung province. To improve this situation, the Department of Education adopted the recommendations of the Cameron Report which came into effect April 1st, 1946. It created over 70 large school districts in the province, each of which had at least one high school. In 1946 School District No. 21 included Armstrong City, Spallumcheen Municipality, Enderby City, seven rural schools north and east of Enderby, and the Indian Reserve south and east of Enderby. The first Secretary-Treasurer for School District No. 21 was Mr. Reg Ecclestone, a retired bank manager, who took the job pro tern. Wanting a change from teaching, I applied and was fortunate to receive the appointment from March 1st, 1947. The School Board's major concern was a building program as the old high school in Armstrong was a fire trap and was eventually condemned. A site was purchased west of the present Highland Park Elementary, but it was discarded as too small and too swampy for a high school. As years passed without any building being started, the feeling grew that District No. 21 would get farther ahead if it were split, with Enderby and the Rural Area going its own way. To achieve this a referendum was drawn up with a large high school planned to be situated between Armstrong and Enderby plus some building in Enderby and the Rural Area around Enderby. The total cost, of which Victoria would pay approximately half, was turned down very decidedly by the ratepayers of the whole District in 1952. This gave the School Board the excuse it needed to have District No. 21 split and, under Inspector Towell's guidance, this was done. School District No. 78 (Enderby) was created as from January 1st, 1953 and Armstrong- Spallumcheen School District reverted to its original borders. Mrs. Vera Hiles, who had been my assistant, became Secretary-Treasurer of District No. 21, and I assumed that position for the Enderby District. Now it became the immediate goal of the Armstrong School Board to draw up a much reduced referendum to get a new high school for Armstrong and 81 Spallumcheen. By including the purchase price of the Armstrong Recreation Hall in the referendum, they avoided having to include a gymnasium in their plans, and by obtaining permission to use the fair grounds for playground purposes they were able to avoid having to purchase more land for the school playground. Armstrong's referendum passed easily in 1953, and building the new high school was started as soon as the legal waiting period had passed. (This is the school that was torn down in 1984.) Enderby's problem was not as simple as they had to acquire more property to the north for a new 6-room elementary school with gymnasium attached, the gymnasium to serve the high school in the brick building as well as the new elementary. They also had to build three one room schools in the Rural Area as well as make improvements to the other schools. There was a considerable amount of opposition to the cost. The night of the vote on the referendum was an anxious one and got more so as the votes came in. With all polls reported in, except Grandview Bench, the vote was 59% for the referendum, but 60% was needed to pass it. There was no telephone at Grandview Bench then so we had to wait until the Deputy Returning Officer returned to her own home to phone in the results: 18 votes \u00E2\u0080\u0094 18 in favour. The referendum had passed. What was in the referendum for the one-room Grandview Bench School? $1,000 for improvements \u00E2\u0080\u0094 linoleum for the floor, a new chimney, new heater and complete redecoration. In closing I would like to pay tribute to the School Inspectors, or District Superintendents as they are now called, for their patience and much valued assistance. I particularly like to remember Mr. Towell and Mr. W. Mouat with whom it was a pleasure to work. I would also like to remember all the school Trustees for whom I worked. They served faithfully because they felt it was their duty. For those early Trustees there was no monetary return. EARLY SCHOOL DAYS IN OSOYOOS by Douglas P. Fraser and Margaret A. Driver We begin with a word picture of the Osoyoos of 1917. Above the bridge, about where the Liquor Store is, was the Customs Office with living quarters, where lived the Dr. G.S. Jermyn family. A hundred yards away, above the island, the William (Billy) Richter family lived in the large house built by Theodore Kruger in 1887. A mile away, on the east side of the lake, was the third habitation, the house built by J.C. Haynes in 1878. In it lived the G.J. Fraser and E.A. Helps families. Completing the infrastructure, so to speak, was the empty government building on the site of the present elementary school. The most serious problem confronting the few residents that made up the population of Osoyoos in 1917 was that of education. Ten children of school age, resident in the district, was required before the Department of Education would sanction the establishment of a school. We could muster five only and as there was no prospect in sight of additional settlers in the immediate future the chances of getting a school in Osoyoos in 1917 were anything but rosy. (Fraser, p. 148) 82 The five of school age were Grace, Chester, George and Verda Jermyn and Douglas Fraser. The Richter children were under six, as was Peggy Fraser, and Katie Helps was of marriageable rather than school age, and was soon to be married to handsome Ed Lacey of Kruger Mountain. The possibility of having children from Kruger Mountain attend school at Osoyoos was thoroughly canvassed and abandoned because of the difficulty of transportation. During the summer a family by the name of Hobbs with ten children, five of them of school age, moved from their ranch on Fairview Mountain to the Richter Pass district. This gave Osoyoos new hope and no time was lost in interviewing Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs who reacted favorably to a suggestion that they move to Osoyoos where living quarters would be found for them and thus the possibility of a school at Osoyoos to start at the beginning of the fall term seemed well within reach. (Fraser, p. 148) Fairview Mountain was an area of settlement on the south slope of Mt. Kobau, where several families had homesteaded in the early 1900's. A school for this settlement was named Boundary Valley, and it will be less confusing if the area is referred to as Boundary Valley rather than Fairview Mountain. Mr. Anstey, school inspector for the Okanagan was sent in by the superintendent of education to investigate and report on the advisability of establishing a school at Osoyoos. Mr. Anstey was impressed with the future possibilities of the district and reported favorably. The department he said would pay the teacher's salary and he would recommend a grant of one hundred dollars to be used for such furnishings as seats and blackboards. The settlers would have to provide suitable quarters, supply fuel and meet other sundry expenses. (Fraser, pp. 148-149) Following Mr. Anstey's visit, a public meeting was called on July 30th, 1917, for the purpose of electing a board of trustees. \"Osoyoos July 30, 1917. A Public meeting of the residents of Osoyoos Lake District was held at the Customs Office, Osoyoos on above date for the purpose of electing a Board of School Trustees and transacting any other business relative thereto. A letter from Dr. Alexander Robinson authorizing the formation of a School District and the election of School Board was read. Dr. G.S. Jermyn was elected Chairman and G.J. Fraser Secretary of meeting. Moved by George J. Fraser and seconded by Wm. Richter that Dr. Jermyn, Wm. Richter and Geo. J. Fraser be elected Trustees of School Board to serve until the first regular annual meeting. Carried. Meeting adjourned. A meeting of the School Board was at once convened. Dr. Jermyn was elected Chairman and Geo. J. Fraser Secretary. 83 On Motion of Dr. Jermyn and W. Richter the Secretary was instructed to advertise for a teacher. Meeting adjourned. (Minutes, July 30, 1917) There was luck for the board in the matter of finding quarters for the school. The old government building, prominently located on the bench above the road leading south from the town was taken possession of without any questions being asked. A further bit of luck for the new school was in getting a blackboard and some seating from the abandoned school on Fairview Mountain, the first school the Hobbs family had been instrumental in getting started. This pioneer building, erected in 1892, was designed to serve as residence and office for the Provincial Government Agent, plus a section for a two-cell jail. The walls, including an inner one between the jail and office were of heavy log construction. Entrance to the jail was from an outside door opening into a hall from which there was entrance to the cells. There was a small window in each cell protected with iron bars set in the heavy logs. There were stout locks on the heavy cell doors and the doors when closed were further secured by a heavy iron plate across them about midway up. The floor of the jail was made of two by four scantlings on edge and well nailed together. The board decided on converting the jail into the school room and renovating the rest of the building for living quarters for the Hobbs family. (Fraser, 149) Actually, only five school age children of the Hobbs family came to live at the school with the eldest, Wave, a Grade Eight pupil, in charge of the four younger brothers and sisters, Glen, Ernestine, Smith and Edward. Boundary Valley must have had pleasant memories for the Hobbs, as twice in recent years various members have made a pilgrimage to the area of their childhood home. The last visit was made last year, 1972, and they also visited the museum where part of the Osoyoos school building is preserved. One of them was Wave, and I was dumbfounded to find that the big Grade Eight girl of 1917 was a little bit of a thing who hardly came to my shoulder. Owing to there being no other possible help in the district the three trustees had to do all the work involved in the remodelling and the job was hardly complete when school started. The first teacher was Miss Dorothy Evans of Kelowna and it was her first school. The board made no mistake in the choice of Miss Evans. She proved an excellent teacher and was very popular with both scholars and parents. A new door had been procured to replace the heavy jail door but it was not in place on opening day and Miss Evans tells that when some range cattle came browsing around the building she had her table placed across the doorway lest any of them should take a notion to walk in. (Fraser, p. 150) 84 Many present will recall the Valley Historical Annual Meeting held here in the Community Hall seven years ago, when Dorothy Evans Crawford was a guest speaker. During the second half yearly term, the Hobbs family who had come to B.C. from Washington state returned there and the school board was faced with the problem of maintaining the average attendance of six which was essential to ensure the Government's payment of the teacher's salary. The immediate difficulty was met with the importation of a scholar from the coast and the starting of (Peggy) Fraser, who was then just five years old. On one occasion the monthly report forwarded to the Department of Education showed the average attendance slightly below the required minimum of six and the Board forthwith received notice that cancellation of the grant would follow should the minimum requirement not be maintained. Needless to say it never again fell below figure six. There was no financial problem to worry the school board in those good old pioneer days. The Department of Education paid the teacher, a bee would be organized to cut the season's fuel, the teacher and the scholars did the janitor work, while the odd chalk box would be a gift from whoever happened to be going to town when chalk was needed. It would be a good guess that the teacher bought most of the chalk. (Fraser, pp. 150-151) It is interesting to note that school was carried on on the same basis of voluntary support for the next eleven years. I can remember being on a woodcutting bee on Anarchist, I think in 1927 \u00E2\u0080\u0094 at any rate I was big enough to take one end of a crosscut. Two small items give an idea of how the Board got along without cash. A second blackboard was needed. A sheet of heavy building board and some black enamel appeared, and the school had another blackboard. The curriculum required models of a cube, a cylinder and a cone for still life drawings. Dad put in a few evenings with saw, spokeshave and wood rasp, and the school had the necessary models. The era of getting along without money ended in 1928. From the minutes of July 12th, 1928: The annual meeting of Osoyoos School District was held in Mr. C.L. Carless' car at the School Ground on above date. Mr. C.L. Carless was appointed Chairman and Geo. J. Fraser Secretary of the meeting. The Secretary reported that the boundaries of Osoyoos School District had been defined by the Department of Education and that we were now constituted as an organized school district with the privilege of making assessments for school purposes. A letter was read from Inspector Hall advising that we make an assessment beyond what was needed for ordinary expenditures and the surplus used to start a fund for a new school. The matter of improvements to the present school was discussed. It was felt that the present building could be improved and made 85 suitable to meet requirements for a few years. On a motion of Messrs. Fraser and Burpee the sum of $400.00 was the amount fixed to be raised by local assessment. On motion of Messrs. Fraser and Carless, Mr. Burpee was elected to succeed himself as Trustee. It was pointed out that election of an auditor would be necessary now that we were an organized district and raising funds by assessment. On motion of Messrs. Burpee and Fraser, Mr. D. Barnes was appointed auditor without remuneration. (Minutes July 12, 1928) Of interest is this item from the Minutes of July 9, 1921. A motion by G.J. Fraser seconded by William Richter was carried that a levy of $1.25 per scholar be made to meet the deficit in operating costs for the year passed. (Minutes July 9, 1921) The old building continued to meet the needs of the district until 1932, when a modern one-roomed school was built on Main Street. By 1934, the increasing population necessitated the addition of a second room, and the days of the one-roomed school passed into history. Before closing the story, mention should be made of the many other ways the old school building served the community. It was used for church services by the United, Lutheran and Pentecostal denominations, as a Scout Hall, on occasions as a polling station and as a residence. Part of it, the log structure in the Museum, helps us to picture life of pioneer days. Among early teachers were Miss Dorothy Evans, Miss Anna McKenzie, Miss Mona Mude, Miss Annie McLaughlin, Miss Emma Parkins, Miss Carol Mason, Miss Stewart, Mr. G. Hunter, Miss Rena Dawson. The last to teach in the one-room school was Miss Winnie Lynds. Compiled from memory, the list is not necessarily complete, nor in chronological order. Among very early pupils, in addition to those already mentioned, were Billy, Ella and Lucille Richter, Crae Dawson, Dennis Elliott, Bob Lang, Pat Fraser, Elsie, Molly and Billy Sim, Dorothy Fraser. Among early trustees, in addition to those already mentioned, were R.D. Fraser, Mrs. Jermyn, A.S. Elliott, F.W. Fraser, F.L. Goodman, Dr. Coristine, R.A. Lewis. Sources: Story of Osoyoos by G.J. Fraser and School District Minutes 1917-1929. Reminiscences \u00E2\u0080\u0094 D. P. Fraser The last day of the school year was a very important one, being the day on which one learned whether or not one had passed. Also, on this day, three Honour Rolls were presented \u00E2\u0080\u0094 for Proficiency, Deportment, and Attendance. These were accepted with mixed feelings, as outside the classroom the Proficiency recipient would be labelled Teacher's Pet and the Deportment recipient, Sissy. 86 When not in class we played passionately, at recess and noon hour, year in and year out, a game we called \"Sticks\" \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a variation of \"Prisoner's Base.\" A quick and nimble six-year-old girl could be as valuable a member of a team as the biggest boy in the school, so everyone had a role and a place. A day that stands out in memory is November 11, 1918. Dr. Jermyn brought word to the school of the signing of the Armistice. In the hollow below the school, about where the Jack Shaw Gardens are, was camped a homesteader family on their way north. The teacher, Miss Anna McKenzie, sent us down to spread the news and we tore down the hill yelling \"The War is over, The War is over.\" One's progress through Public (Elementary) School in those days was marked by the succession of Primers and Readers. One was in the Third Reader, etc. The last year of Public School was known as \"Entrance.\" If one's education was to be carried further, one had to write government exams in five subjects for entrance to High School. My teacher in \"Entrance\" was a Miss Stewart, a typical spinster schoolmarm of uncertain age \u00E2\u0080\u0094 and a product of a rigorous Ontario school system. Nothing less than perfection was acceptable to Miss Stewart. Sensing I would have trouble with the Grammar Exam, she put me through the hoops, in class and after school, and she piled on the homework. When the Entrance results came out in the Penticton Herald a great weight was lifted from my shoulders. I had not disgraced Miss Stewart, my family, or myself. One is amazed, in looking over the text-books of that period, at how much was demanded of elementary school pupils. My \"Public School Grammar\" by S. E. Land, M.A., authorized for use in the Province of B.C., required, for example, in the study of verbs, a knowledge of transitive and intransitive verbs, strong and weak ones, active and passive voice, mood, tenses, agreement, gerunds and infinitives, auxiliary verbs and participles. Obviously in those days, no one worried about overloading the young mind. Reminiscences \u00E2\u0080\u0094 Margaret A. Driver Going to and from school in those early years was in itself an adventure and an education. Mustering your courage to pass a herd of range cattle grazing in your path, or a party of revellers escaping from prohibition which was then in force in the United States. Sliding on the ponds along the roadside as the first ice formed and watching the flocks of geese and ducks in migration. Skating to school when the lake was frozen and, if you were lucky enough to have a strong wind in your back, opening your coat as a sail and gliding all the way like an ice-boat. Pausing on the bridge, both going and coming, to watch the fish in the crystal clear water below. In the afternoons inspecting the corrals behind the Customs to see what stock was awaiting clearance. In the spring, discovering the first tadpoles in the ponds along the way and 87 monitoring their development. When the spring floods arrived, the road on both sides of the bridge would be under water. We had to remove shoes and stockings, wade to the bridge, put them on again to cross the splintery planks, then remove them once more to negotiate the water on the other side. Great fun, especially if the teacher had to do it too! Education after Grade Eight required leaving home or studying in the local school with the teacher helping when she could spare the time. I remember Elsie Sim and myself taking all our Grade Ten Physics experiments one Saturday at the Oliver School, under the supervision of my brother, and with Carleton MacNaughton bouncing a basketball up and down the aisle while waiting for us to finish. SUNSET OF AUTUMN STORM Here we have watched the wheeling ranks of grey Marshalled and ordered and as quickly thrown To wild confusion, heard the green pines moan The brilliant loss of autumn with this day. Bright gold the banners of the poplars stay A challenge to these winds, with comrades flown The rear guard still is battling for its own Throwing brave colours in the darkening fray. Here must we chastened feel that we allowed A summer's joy to careless slip away. This last of rosy sunsets on the screens Will, ere the morning, to the winds have bowed: We may go down in gold where poplars stay Or face cold winter with the evergreens. Guy V. Waterman Greenwood, B.C., 1934 SOME HISTORICAL NOTES ON 1st SUMMERLAND SCOUT TROOP D. V. Fisher (former Scoutmaster) Recently, on July 6, 1985, the 1st Summerland Scout Troop celebrated its 75th (really 76th) anniversary at a reunion held at Camp Boyle west of Summerland. A special surprise on that occasion was the attendance of one of the original 1909 Troop members, Mr. Gordon Ritchie. (See photo No. 1). The Scout Movement was founded by Lord Baden-Powell in 1907 and 1908 in England, and spread rapidly overseas. In 1909, three troops were formed in B.C., one of them in Summerland. I do not know where the other two were located, but one of the original Scoutmasters, Mr. John Tait, told me one was in the Kootenays and the other the Lower Mainland. 1st Summerland Troop started in the fall of 1909 with 30 boys meeting on Friday nights at 8:00 p.m. in the Empire Hall, Lower Summerland. The original Group Committee consisted of Dr. F. W. Andrew, Rev. J. Hood, Adam Stark, Rev. H. A. Solly and others. The Scoutmaster was Mr. Cliff Bor- ton with Mr. John Tait as his assistant. The following year, Mr. Tait became Scoutmaster, a position he held for the next nine years. In a letter dated May 20, 1957, Mr. Tait named a number of Scouts he remembered. This letter, together with conversation with Mr. Gordon Ritchie, identifies a number of names of those enrolled in the original Troop. Besides Mr. Ritchie, those included Clarence Adams, Douglas, Frank and Roy Steuart, John and Leighton McLeod, John Mclntyre, Harvey Phinney, George Dale, Levi Johnson and Ted Logie. It was a number of years later that the B.C. Provincial Council, Boy Scouts of Canada was formed and formal data for Scouting in B.C. thus placed Photo No. 1 Former Scoutmaster Al Landriault greets original 1909 Scout Gordon Ritchie at celebration of 76th year of 1st Summerland Troop. Photo taken at Okanagan South District Campsite, Camp Boyle, 13 miles west of Summerland, July 6, 1985. 89 on record. Prior to that time scouting was operated on a local basis by Boy Scout Associations sponsored by parent/community groups or other organizations. After a short period of inactivity in the 1930s, it was at the suggestion of the Rev. H. Pearson in March 1938, that Summerland Branch No. 22, Royal Canadian Legion sponsor the Scout Troop. Shortly after, a Group Committee of five Legion members took office, namely H. Pearson, W. R. Boyd, T. Charity, C. A. Gayton with H. Clough as Chairman. The Group Committee proceeded to re-establish the Boy Scout Association, and the Legion donated $50.00 as start-up money. It cost a dollar to belong to the Association and Legion minutes of March, 1941, indicate that Mr. Ned Bentley was given one dollar by the Legion to join the Association and be its official representative. The Association proceeded to raise funds by various means and in short order the $50.00 was repaid. Legion minutes also record a summer camp of 25 or more boys was held the same summer, 1938, at Miller's Point. Since 1938 and up to the present, the 1st Summerland Scout Group has been sponsored by Branch 22, Royal Canadian Legion. However, even after 1938, for many years, it was called the Boy Scout Association. This sponsorship represents a noteworthy record of almost 50 years, for which 1st Summerland is most grateful. We are fortunate in having a record of the Scoutmasters who served from 1909 to the present time, and also names of many, but not all Assistant Scoutmasters. In fact, many Assistant Scoutmasters, in time, graduated to the position of Scoutmaster. Photo No. 2 1957 marked the 100 year anniversary of the birth of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement. Here is pictured one of the two original Troop Scoutmasters, Mr. John Tait, 2nd from right. In honor of his visit a number of former Scoutmasters of the Troop are shown. L to R: Gordon W. Blewett, 1945-47; Earle B. Wilson, 1926; David M. Munn, 1952-54; Cecil Cope, 1928; John Tait, 1910-19; D. V. Fisher, 1948 -52, 1954-57, 1960-65, 1967-70. Photo May 14, 1957. 90 In 1957 Scouting celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. In recognition of the occasion, the Troop was favored by a visit from Mr. John Tait, Scoutmaster from 1910 to 1919. Former Scoutmasters were invited to attend the Scout meeting, greet Mr. Tait, and hear him reminisce with the boys. Photograph No. 2 shows Mr. Tait with some of those leaders. The Cub Pack was started in 1921 by present Penticton resident, Mr. Carlyle E. Clay, assisted by Mr. Bernard Taylor of Vancouver, but there seems to have been a gap between that year and 1942 when Mr. Art Advocaat (resident of Keremeos) re-formed the Pack. Under the new Scout program (1968), Venturers (age 14-17) was formed and we also have a record of their advisors. Beavers (age 5 - 7) was started in 1974 under auspices of the Summerland St. Andrews United Church, and were united with 1st Summerland in 1980. Their leaders are also on record. No attempt is made here to depict the fine record and activities of the Beaver, Cub and Venturer sections. This may be dealt with in another story. In addition, a record of 2nd Summerland and the Trout Creek Troops also should be recorded as well as a presentation of the role of' 'Cubbing.'' The following is a chronological list of Scoutmasters from 1909, Cub- masters from 1921, Venturer Advisors from 1970 and Beaver Leaders from 1975 to 1985. Scoutmasters, Cubmasters, Beaver Leaders, Venturer Advisors in 1st Summerland Scout Troop Scoutmasters 1909 Clifford Borton* 1946 G. W. Blewett* 1910 John Tait* 1948 D. V. Fisher 1919 Otto Zimmerman* 1952 D. M. Munn 1921 Percy Tees* 1957 G. M. Weiss 1923 Capt. H. H. Creese* 1958 R. B. Towgood 1925 J. G. Struthers* 1960 D. V. Fisher 1926 Earle B. Wilson* 1966 T. P. Decie 1928 Cecil Cope* 1967 D. V. Fisher 1929 Tom E. Harris 1970 D. H. Wright 1930 J. H. Clarke 1972 Victor Smith Troop Lapsed 1974 A. A. Landriault 1938 J. H. Clarke 1978 E. R. Osborne 1940 G. C. G. Flamank 1981 Thomas Maye 1941 W. R. Boyd* 1983-86 Terry Sabourin Cubmasters 1921 C. E. Clay 1956 Dr. J. M. McArthur 1942 Arthur Advocaat (later Trout Creek 1949 J. F. Bowen Group) 1951 Mrs. Isabel McCargar 1958 F. M. Trussell* (previously 2nd 1959 Colin J. McKenzie Summerland 1965 E. Sandback Group) 1967 Mrs. D. Rolston 'deceased 1973 David Smith 1980 Frank Miletto 1975 C. R. Hart 1981 George Sutton 1976 Mrs. Carol Maye 1982 Clinton Jones 1978 D. Christie 1985 Terry Sabourin 91 Beaver Leaders Under United Church Sponsorship 1974 Mrs. J. Lavery 1975 Mrs. B.Johnson 1976 Mrs. Mavis Dunn 1977 Mrs. Marlene Hikitchi Venturer Advisors 1970-72 N. Abernethy 1978 Al Landriault 1979-81 J. Kane 1983-85 Sgt. M. McCague Under 1st Summerland Sponsorship 1978 Mrs. B. W. Hoven 1979 Mrs. Emmy Lakatos 1982 Mrs. Clinton Jones 1984-85 Mrs. Margaret Wilson Unfortunately I have no record of all Assistant Scoutmasters but am aware of the following names: J. Allen Harris, A. (Doney) Wilson, A. Williams, D. Orr, J. Buck, J. E. Beech, J. May, Bill Barkwill, R. Howe, J. Charity, J. E. Miltimore, R. Walsh, H. A. McCargar, F. E. Brinton, J. H. Bennest, A. Elliott, Art Jacques, Harold Wiens, Howard Wiens, Gunther John. Photo No. 3 Scout Concert, 1921, at Okanagan College Gym (now Youth Centre). R. Purvis J. Smith Moe Saycox Ivor Harris E. Hobbs Chick Chisholm Mel Munro R. Reid A. Marshall A. Smith B. Munn W. Gayton J. Gayton J. Marshall A. Harris 92 Over the years the Troop met successively at: Empire Hall (Lower Summerland), Okanagan College Gym (now Summerland Youth Centre), Ellison Hall, Royal Canadian Legion, Old High School Gymnasium, and since 1949 at the Summerland Youth Centre. Photo No. 3 shows a pyramid of boys at a concert in Okanagan College Gym in 1921. Names are given and age of boys is obviously older than that of present Scouts. Important features of scouting in Summerland have been camps, especially summer camps, which, in the early days, were at Miller's Point between Summerland and Peachland (now Okanagan Camp Picnic Site), Osoyoos, Trout Creek Point, Okanagan Falls and Brent Lake. Photo No. 4, taken at summer camp in 1913, shows Scoutmaster John Tait, Rev. H. A. Solly and 22 boys. The names of most of those in the picture were identified recently by former 1909 Scout Gordon Ritchie. Photo No. 4 Scout Camp, 1913, located along Trout Creek, Summerland, end of present Nixon Road. Back row, L to R: Scoutmaster John Tait, ?? Bill Angove, Gordon Ritchie, Rev. H. A. Solly, Jimmy Kean, Howell Harris, ???. Second row, L to R: Roy Elsey, ?? Leighton McLeod, John Pierre, Dwight Ritchie, Harvey Phinney, ???. Front row, L to R: Ted Logie, J. Allen Harris, Bernard Taylor, ???. Later summer camps were held near the mouth of Peachland Creek, Fish Lake, Headwaters No. 1 Lake, Osprey Lake, Chute Lake, Brenda Lake, Nickel Plate Lake and Cathedral Lakes. These summer camps represented the culmination of the scouting year and usually involved around 20 boys and several leaders. Boys camped by patrols in canvas 9x12 foot tents, built their own camp facilities and sometimes had a camp cook. For a number of years the Troop benefitted from the services of Mr. Jack Ellis (along with his two chihuahua dogs in the side pockets of his coat) who cooked dinner while the boys cooked their own patrol breakfast and lunch. This was Jack's big event of the year and he did it until almost age 90. Fall, winter and spring camps also were popular and well attended. I remember in 1949 taking the whole Troop of 32 boys for a weekend camp in 93 October to Kelly's Mine back of Summerland, leaving after school on Friday and arriving at the campsite after dark. Fortunately the Patrol Leaders had reconnoitred the site previously for their tent sites. Winter camps were a 3-day event held between Christmas and New Year's which no boy ever missed except for very pressing reasons. These camps were held somewhere in the general Headwaters area at elevations of 4,000 to 5,000 feet where everything was transported by backpack except food supplies, tents and tarps which were hauled on toboggans. Needless to say everyone wore snowshoes. The boys learned how to set up camp by tramping down a tent area in the snow, and how to light a fire on top of the snow, cook meals and keep warm. Camps always were located near a cabin which was used for evening get-togethers and in case of illness, but everyone including leaders slept outside at temperatures as low as 0\u00C2\u00B0 - 15\u00C2\u00B0F. ( - 18\u00C2\u00B0 to - 27 \u00C2\u00B0C.) Ice fishing and tobogganing, and later, snowmobiling were favourite occupations. Summer camps involved swimming, fishing, canoeing, rowing, wide games, and earning such badges as Swimmers', Rescuers' and Athletes'. Patrol competitions were very keen and the Pat Nisbet trophy for the winning patrol was much prized. Cost of the summer camp including a dollar for canteen (pop 10