55 YEARS AGO:
Sweden was the destination for 6,000 bushels of fir cones gathered by 300 workers from Clearwater and district. Mr. and Mrs. Bill Barnes were in charge of the project. The cones were taken from squirrel dens.
Tony Rudlang was building a Tasti-Freeze on Swanson Road, a move seen as a step of progress for Clearwater. New businesses started in the previous five years included two beauty parlors, Farnsworth Clinic, Credit Union, Royal Bank, The Times, B.C. Telephone, B.C. Hydro, Jasper Place Motel, RCMP barracks, new post office and additions to the schools.
50 YEARS AGO:
A Walkathon of 110 Clearwater Secondary School students and teachers raised $1,600 for the school. The participants trekked a total of 12 miles, from the secondary school to the school board offices in Birch Island and back. First to complete were Allan Ethier, Ron Van Buren and John McMann, who took two hours and 15 minutes for the journey.
45 YEARS AGO:
The speed limit on the highway from Little Fort to Kamloops was reduced to 50 miles per hour (80 km/hr) by Highways Minister Graham Lea. The move was one of a series of speed reductions being made across the province. Traffic deaths had been reduced by as much as 25 per cent by lowering the speed limit.
A memoir by Susan Neal reviewed the history of Roundtop. The area had been logged in the early 1900s, with the logs floated down the river to a sawmill at Rayleigh.
https://www.clearwatertimes.com/news/back-in-time-101/
40 YEARS AGO:
Karl Simmerling announced that he was leaving the area and so would be stepping down as Area A (Clearwater-Vavenby) TNRD director. He had held the position for four years, and had been manager of Weyerhaeuser’s Vavenby operation for eight.
Figure skating and hockey were in full swing after the start of operations at the North Thompson Sportsplex on Oct. 15. Len Heigh was once again to manage the facility.
35 YEARS AGO:
Hospital board chairman Ken Kjenstad introduced the guest speakers at the opening of an addition to Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital. Cutting the ribbon were hospital administrator Lorraine Ritchie, Clearwater princess Domini Smith, and MLA Claude Richmond.
Clearwater Chamber of Commerce apologized at a public meeting for a letter sent to the TNRD that had accused the Area A TV committee of “skullduggery.”
30 YEARS AGO:
North Thompson School District’s adult education PASS (Provincial Alternate Secondary School) was a whopping success, said school superintendent Don Handfield. Total enrollment was 73 and inquires had been received from Barriere in the Kamloops school district.
A volcano could erupt at any time in Wells Gray Park, said geologist Cathie Hickson. Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Friends of Wells Gray Park, she noted that the youngest of the 14 volcanoes in the park, Kostal Cone, last erupted as little as 400 years ago.
25 YEARS AGO:
A steering committee of local residents proposed the establishment of a community skills center for the valley under the provincial government’s Skills Now! initiative. Members of the committee included Chuck Emery, Vern Salden, John Harwood, Terry Rogers, Ken Smith, Sylvia Arduini, Carla Svendsen, Susan Murray and Michael Loseth.
20 YEARS AGO:
The CID connected its new 300,000-gallon concrete reservoir to the rest of the water system. Residents along Archibald Road had previously had no pressure at all during summer evening sprinkling hours. Tenders for construction of a masonry pumphouse for Clearwater’s well number two were to close shortly.
The chance to look at aspects of motor vehicle collisions on gravel roads brought 35 police traffic analysts to Clearwater. “I wasn’t expecting a turnout like this,” said Const. Paul Brisson.
15 YEARS AGO:
A provincial Foundation Skills Assessment showed great improvement for the Raft River Elementary school students. The number of students who met expectations in reading comprehension jumped by 22 per cent.
10 YEARS AGO:
Dr. Spiros Theocharous started work in the community. The new doctor came from one of the larger centers in South Africa. Theocharous planned to remain in Clearwater for a couple of years before eventually training in a specialty.
Work to upgrade Clearwater’s sewage lagoons was behind schedule as a large amount of sawdust was found buried under the infiltration gallery site.
Several reports of water clarity problems were received from residents of the Sunshine Valley area. The turbidity was believed to have been manganese and posed no health risk.
5 YEARS AGO:
Clearwater town council issued a development permit for a credit union building to be built as part of the new shopping center being developed by Buy-Low Foods. Permits for the Buy-Low store then under construction plus a second building, which was to contain a Pharmasave, had been issued earlier.
1 YEAR AGO:
During Clearwater’s All Candidates Forum the two candidates for Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) director Area A, Tim Pennell and Carol Schaffer, took questions from local residents on everything from the number of dwellings allowed on an acreage to road maintenance in Wells Gray Park. The first question posed was whether either candidate would support a second dwelling on acreages of more than 10 to 20 acres, as there are current regulations on this issue.
