Glimpses of the Past: July 10th, 2025

Compiled by Adam Carter, Collections Assistant, Revelstoke Museum and Archives

Steamships SS Trail, SS Rossland, and SS Minto at Arrowhead, circa 1900. Revelstoke Museum & Archives, P-745.

130 years ago: The Kootenay Mail, July 6, 1895

Meetings were held to discuss the formation of the Revelstoke Board of Trade. The creation of the group was urged by many leading local merchants and businessman, especially J.D. Sibbald who would go on to be the board’s first president. The Revelstoke Board of Trade was officially formed later that same year and it still exists today as the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce.

120 years ago: Revelstoke Herald, July 7, 1905

The crew of the SS Minto shot a giant eagle out of the sky. The animal was spotted near the narrows of Upper and Lower Arrow Lake and many of the ship’s crew took turns trying to take it down but it was Captain Fraser who made the successful shot. The bird was seven feet six inches measured from tip to tip, the biggest reported in the Kootenay. After it was killed, it was mounted to adorn the cabin of the Minto.

110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, July 7, 1915

A special train was run from Revelstoke to Vernon so that loved ones could visit Revelstoke soldiers at Vernon’s military camp. There, citizens would spend the day with soldiers before they were to be sent off to war. The Revelstoke recruits at the camp applied for leave that day as well so they could enjoy the visit to the fullest extent.

100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 8, 1925

The chief of police sent out a notice saying that the dog tax was due and had to be paid by the end of the month. Any person who was in possession of a dog and had not paid the tax by the due date was liable to prosecution. Luckily, the dogs themselves did not have to pay any taxes because their lives were already ruff enough.

90 years ago: The Revelstoke Review, July 12, 1935

A country fair was held and it was a great success, involving many events such as wrestling, tap dancing, and trapeze acts. Perhaps the most impressive performance was done by fourteen year old trapezist, Betty Parkin, and her partner Bob Watson. Together they performed many mid-air daredevil stunts in an act that took an entire year of careful practice for the two performers to master.

80 years ago: The Revelstoke Review, July 12, 1945

Lewis Catlin was fined $65 for fishy behaviour. He was caught selling canned salmon at prices higher than the fixed price imposed by the Wartime Prices and Trade Board. The accused was unable to explain how the prices got on the salmon cans and he claimed he never sold salmon at the high prices marked on the tins.

70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 7, 1955

The Revelstoke Scouts, under Scoutmaster Bernard Nelson, took a trip to Mara Lake. There, they were able to put to practical use the many things they had learned in scout training about setting up campsites and surviving in the wilderness. Commissioner Ralph Stanbridge paid the Scouts a visit during their trip and praised their work, saying that ingenuity, morale, and interest were notably high among the group.

60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 8, 1965

Bert Bradstock was flown to hospital in Vancouver after being badly burned in an explosion. He, along with other firemen, was responding to a call about a car on fire on the underpass to Mount Revelstoke National Park. When he reached the car, there were two small explosions and then one large one which knocked him back and burned off most of his clothes. He died of his injuries on July 10th.

50 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 10, 1975

A search was under way to find Sonja Dmitriew, an eighteen year old from Thunder Bay, who was believed to have fallen in Silver Creek, 34 kilometres east of Revelstoke. She was with two other travel companions when she went to the creek to wash dishes and fell into the creek. Her remains were discovered on October 31, 1975, at a point 15 miles downstream.

40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 10, 1985

104 firefighters were hard at work fighting forest blazes around Revelstoke. The ten active fires had all been caused by lightning and had destroyed between 250 and 275 acres of forest. During just three weeks, the fires had destroyed more forest land than the entire previous fire season. Despite the severity, none of the fires posed a threat to Revelstoke residents.

30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 8, 1995

Police continued to investigate attacks by the Earth Liberation Army, who had claimed responsibility for a fire-bombing on cabins as a protest against trophy hunting the week earlier. In the time since the attack, the Times Review received a call from a man claiming to represent the ELA about bombs planted at an unspecified sawmill. A search was conducted but no bombs were found.

20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 6, 2005

One hundred and twelve bicyclists rolled through Revelstoke in one of the largest ever cross-Canada bike tours. The cyclists were athletes from the Christian Reformed Church and they called their tour ‘Sea to Sea with the CRC’ because they intended to bike 7,125 km from Vancouver to Halifax over the span of ten weeks. While in Revelstoke, they camped at the Revelstoke Community Centre.