Over the last 86 years the Kelowna Capital News has served the Central Okanagan – and over the last 86 years it has printed a whole lot of papers.
A conservative estimate puts it at about 8,000 editions.
The new Black Press Okanagan digital team, based right here in Kelowna, wanted to utilize this amazing treasure trove of pieces of our history and share it with you.
Each Thursday we will present Cap News Throwback Thursday for a fun little peak into the past, and a chance for the digital team to climb through the records room.
Today we present the Wednesday Jan. 13, 1960 edition of the Kelowna Capital News.
Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest was playing in VistaVision Technicolour at the Paramount Theatre, bacon was 27 cents a pound, a man’s suit was $39.50 and a 27-acre property was up for sale for – under $15,000.
Much like 2017, the Cap News top story was about the spike in property values. Residents were concerned that assessed property values had shown a sharp increase over 1959.
“The 1960 assessed values total $28,935,070. This is an increase of $868,667 over last year.”
In comparison the total assessed value for properties within the city of Kelowna is now $34,093,426,685, jumping 12 per cent over 2016 or nearly $4 billion.
Staring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, North by Northwest is often listed as one of the greatest films of all time. In 1995, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress, as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. .
Movie tickets in 1960 averaged about 75 cents. A ticket today can cost anywhere from $5 to $20 depending on the day, discount and type of theatre (3D etc.).
Finally, that price reduced ‘first-class young orchard real estate’ ad on the front page showcased a 27-acre property with hundreds of planted apple trees. The property was on sale for just $14,700.
In 2017, any planted orchard with similar acreage is listed for well over $2 million.
Fun fact: In this edition the RCMP also let residents know that police were busy in December 1959 handing out 32 convictions for “no left turn” infractions and six convictions for driving vehicles “with noisy mufflers”.
Last week we featured Jan. 8, 1936.
The Cap News is now owned by Black Press Community Media. Founded in 1975, Black Press now publishes more than 170 titles in British Columbia, Alberta, Washington state, Hawaii, Ohio and California.
Do you have an important date or piece of history you hope we can find in our historical editions?! Let us know at okanagan@bpdigital.ca.
