Glimpses of the Past: July 17th, 2025
Compiled by Adam Carter, Collections Assistant, Revelstoke Museum and Archives
No. 1 Fire Brigade, 1892. Revelstoke Museum & Archives, P-660.
130 years ago: The Kootenay Mail, July 13, 1895
Mr. McKay’s little daughter, Crissy, was met with a painful mishap when she drank concentrated lye—a cleaning product—mistaking it for condensed milk. She was promptly given medical assistance and over the next few days, the girl had almost fully recovered.
120 years ago: Revelstoke Herald, July 13, 1905
A fire completely destroyed the Revelstoke Lumber Co.’s Saw and Planning Mill in the Big Eddy. The fire began in the boiler room and it spread so rapidly that by the time firemen arrived, it was clear that the mill was doomed. The firemen were able to save the huge piles of lumber worth thousands of dollars though.
110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, July 14, 1915
The citizens of Revelstoke began fundraising to purchase a machine gun. The gun cost $1000 and $200 had already been raised towards the weapon, with twenty citizens each contributing $10. Once purchased, the machine gun would be presented to the 54th Kootenay Battalion for usage in the war.
100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 15, 1925
The newspaper advertised the sale of a “few good old potatoes; also second-hand mower” and a milch cow which I at first assumed was a typo until I learned that the phrases ‘milch cow’ and ‘milk cow’ can be used interchangeably. This would have been very disappointing news for anyone who bought the cow hoping to find out what a fresh glass of milch tastes like.
90 years ago: The Revelstoke Review, July 19, 1935
Hal B. Wallis—best known as the producer of Casablanca—and his wife, the actress Louise Fazenda, passed through Revelstoke on their way back to Los Angeles after a trip to Banff. Also, the second lunar eclipse that year occurred when the moon hid from the sun for two hours between 7 and 9 o’clock. These two stories were most likely unrelated.
80 years ago: The Revelstoke Review, July 19, 1945
Eight large poplar trees on the property of Lloyd Bennison, on the corner of 3rd Street and Charles, were cut down. They had to be removed because their size interfered with wires and presented a public safety hazard. The trees ranged from 90 to 100 feet and were planted 49 years prior. A large crowd had gathered to watch the trees come down.
70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 14, 1955
Somehow, pigeons returned. Years earlier, the birds had a large population in town but all were either exterminated or had moved, and for years, not a pigeon was seen. They made a comeback though and were spotted throughout the week, perched on downtown buildings. The theory as to why they suddenly arrived was that they were trapped in an empty train car from the coast and released when the doors opened in the CPR yards.
60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 15, 1965
The Revelstoke Fire Brigade threatened to disband on August 14th as a result of a dispute with City Council regarding the hiring of two new drivers. The firefighters were heated over the fact that Council appointed two men from outside the district without the input of the Brigade. If the firefighters went through with their plan, Revelstokians could only hope there would never be a fire in town again.
50 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 17, 1975
The Frontier Motel caught on fire, resulting in about $50,000 worth of damage. The fire started when fat ignited itself and quickly spread to the wall of the kitchen. From there, the fire spread, destroying the restaurant and the office of the motel. Firefighters quickly arrived and, in about fifteen minutes, they had the blaze under control. No people were hurt.
40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 17, 1985
Pilot J. Paul Levesque made an expensive mistake when he crashed his plane into Mara Lake, near Sicamous. He was flying to a business meeting from Revelstoke and he decided to land on the lake but he had not realized that his wheels were still down. The plane flipped when it hit the water and Levesque was left unconscious for a few minutes. He managed to wake up and escape in time though and a crew arrived to pull his plane to shore.
30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 14, 1995
The city of Revelstoke and B.C. Hydro were caught in a bird dispute. The city claimed that rising water levels flooded the wetlands near the airport, destroying bird’s nests and eggs which wiped out an entire year’s population of water fowl and shore birds. BC Hydro claimed there was no fowl play; they had brought in specialists who found that the majority of eggs had hatched already before the water level rose.
20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 13, 2005
Eighty-one year old George Sawczuk was named the year’s Pioneer Logger at the Timber Days event. Sawczuk was born on a sternwheeler boat, felled his first tree at 12, worked in the Vancouver shipyards at 16, was a tail-gunner in a Lancaster bomber over Europe at 19, and, by 1960, had a logging camp that employed thirty men. Due to ill health, Sawczuk was not able to accept the award in person.