Cathy English, and all of the staff at Revelstoke Museum and Archives, would like to extend their best wishes to all this holiday season, with hopes for a better year for everyone in 2021. This column looks back at the history of the community, but this year, we have all been living through significant historic events, and what we are living through now will be marked as part of the historic record. We can imagine the Glimpses of the Past columns in 20, 30, 50, and 100 years from now being filled with news of the pandemic. Let’s hope that the coming year will see a time of recovery, and sustainability for all in our community.
120 years ago: Revelstoke Herald, December 21, 1900
The mayor called a public meeting for December 27, 1900 to discuss the viability of establishing a general hospital in Revelstoke. The newspaper editor expected a society to form as a result of the upcoming meeting, and that was the case. The Revelstoke Hospital Society formed in 1901 and the first Queen Victoria Hospital opened in 1902.
110 years ago: Mail-Herald, December 21, 1910
A major event in Revelstoke’s history took place with the opening of the new power unit at the city hydro-electric power house on the Illecillewaet River. A tribute speech was given by Mayor Hamilton for William Cowan. Mr. Cowan has spearheaded light and power development in this town since the first oil burning lamps were installed on First Street back in 1894.
100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 23, 1920
The YMCA discussion club held their weekly meeting. This week’s discussion was on the subject of the recently formed “League of Nations.” Mr. John Carmichael opened the discussion stating that nations could not successfully band together on account of the selfishness of the individual. His position was quickly challenged by various members of the gathering.
90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 23, 1930
Nels Nelsen, the famous local skier and former amateur ski jumping champion of the world has left Revelstoke, having accepted the position of chief ski instructor for the CPR at Montreal. He will supervise skiing activities for various CPR owned resorts across the country.
80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 23, 1940
Once again, Manning’s Limited has provided Revelstoke with widespread publicity. The attractive boxes of candy and chocolates have been stacked high day after day prior to being taken to the post office for mailing to all parts of the world. The company was also kept busy with wholesale orders to all parts of western Canada.
70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 21, 1950
Once again a large evergreen sends its rays of coloured lights over a considerable section of the city from its vantage point on Third Street and Mackenzie Avenue. The slight incline at this point makes the tree visible for most of Third Street East and West and the length of Mackenzie Avenue. Trains passing on the CPR main line have an excellent view of it.
60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 22, 1960
Once again St. Francis of Assisi Chapter, Knights of Columbus was being congratulated for its nativity scene at the city hall entrance. The figures were valued at $480. Christmas shoppers were stopping in large numbers to admire the scene.
50 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 24, 1970
An historic flight was scheduled to pass over Revelstoke on January 1, 1971. Two Canadian Armed Forces F-104 Starfighter jets were travelling from Cold Lake, Alberta, and were part of a special CBC radio program saluting the 100th anniversary of B.C.’s entry into Confederation.
The special 70-minute radio program was to feature reports from the two pilots as they followed the historic CP railway route through the rocky mountains, Rogers Pass, and other spots.
40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, December 24, 1980
Revelstoke School Board was planning to approve extra services including a special counsellor and speech pathologist, and spent considerable time discussing the recommendation that a full-time secretary be employed to support these additional positions. Superintendent David Lynn argued that professional people should not be doing clerical work, and that staff were frustrated at the lack of clerical staff. An agreement could not be reached and the proposal was tabled.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com
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