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 Feb. 7, 1962 edition of the Kelowna Capital News.
While 55 years have past, it may come as no surprise that a lot of the issues hitting the news in 1962 mirror news in 2017.
From a dysfunctional Rutland Park Society, to transit complaints and off-leash dog concerns, the news of 1962 has a very similar feel.
The top story featured a “well-attended sod-turning” of the Kelowna Civic Auditorium.
“The morning was bright and sunny causing the Mayor to observe that the auditorium will indeed be a bright spot in Kelowna’s progress,” reads the article.
The Kelowna Civic Auditorium, now called the Kelowna Community Theatre, finally opened later that year on Sept. 13, 1962.
The first person to perform there was Teresa Stratas – an up-and-coming 24-year-old Canadian soprano. She ended touring the world and had a long career with the Metropolitan Opera.
The Rutland Parks Society was as dysfunctional then as it appears to be now. While dozens of people turned out for the embattled meeting this week, eight people turned up to the one in 1962. Unlike this year though, the issue was the lack of community support versus the interpersonal issues of today.
Dog owners of 1962, like many dog owners of 2017 fight the on-leash bylaws. The on-leash bylaw that exists now had not yet been adopted and one dog owners was furious at the concept itself.
“It is manifestly impossible for anyone to adequately exercise, at the end of a leash, any dog larger than a Dachshund.”
In 2017, dog owners still constantly bicker with each other and the RDCO regarding bylaws in place, complaining about on-leash rules, dog license fees and everything in between.
Showing at the Paramount Theatre, Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn stared in The Guns of Navarone – a 1961 British-American war film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The film won an Oscar and two Golden Globes.
Fun fact: Two pounds of ‘weiners’ in 1962 were 75 cents. In 2017, depending on sales, a package of 12 hot dogs, or 375 g, is about $5.00. A pound of butter cost you 65 cents and 48 oz of Kelowna SunRype apple juice in a tin cost you just $1.00. A pound of butter now is about $5.00 and 38 oz of SunRype apple juice costs about $2.00.
Check out our previous throwbacks here: 1936, 1960, 1941 and 1985.
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.
