Glimpses of the Past: November 13, 2025

Compiled by Benjamin Smith, Collection Manager, Revelstoke Museum and Archives

130 years ago: The Kootenay Mail - November 16, 1895

Four tons of hay belonging to  Frank Julian, was set ablaze overnight with incendiaries. The motive was unclear, but people at the time believed that tension between the Italian colony across the Illecillewaet may have motivated someone to act out with arson. In 1910, Frank Julian was murdered in what was believed to have been a mafia slaying.

120 years ago: The Kootenay Mail - November 11, 1905

J.A Kernaghan was awarded the contract for the Y.M.C.A building. After more than $36,000 had been offered as a tender to maintain the project’s momentum, the building committee saw little reason to intervene with its development. The building boasted a gymnasium, an indoor pool, and a bowling alley, and stood at First Street  East and McArthur Avenue  until 1979.

110 years ago: The Mail Herald - November 13, 1915

Sentryman fabricates a story of his assault at the Thompson river bridge east of Kamloops. Claims from the rifleman state that an unknown, stealthy, aggressor snuck up from behind, and rendered him unconscious using a club. In the very same paper, the soldier was outed for producing a story that was false, “to escape trouble”, the severity of which remains unknown.

100 years ago: Revelstoke Review - November 12, 1925

Kenny got a goat, but how..,and where? One Sunday afternoon, local businessman Kenny McCrae and company clambered out of their truck to chase down a goat that only lingered long enough to taunt them. The chase was taken afoot, and only after McCrae landed a shot from roughly 300 yards away, did it become a matter of scaling the mountain to retrieve the trophy.

90 years ago: The Revelstoke Review -  November 15, 1935

A new flume and surge tank at the hydro power plant were brought into service following completion of the project. A derrick was mounted on the Illecillewaet Dam to complete further repairs. These tanks effectively upgraded how the dam generates power by stabilizing the intake to the hydro generator.

80 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 15, 1945

People using the Arrow Lakes service were highly dissatisfied with the replacement steamer that was substituting for the “Minto” sternwheeler, as it underwent repairs. Heated criticism was inflicted on the C.P.R for knowingly relying on a steamer that had outlived its normal life, rather than introducing a newer model.

70 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 10, 1955

On this day, the Revelstoke Health Centre was officially opened! Eric Martin, Provincial Minister of Health and Welfare addressed a gathering of citizens, where he stressed how integral the centre was to the community. Martin was ecstatic about having the honour of leading the ceremony, stating he “drove, hitch-hiked a plane, and caught a train” in order to be there.

60 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 11, 1965

You’re going to want to be seated for this one!  In this edition of the review, an ad was posted for houses that were on the market. A 4 bedroom home on a 110 ft lot, $4000 down, $12,600 in full. 95 Acres of land, and a large 4 bedroom house close to town, $43,000 full price. What a time we live in.

50 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 14, 1975

An announcement for the opening of Columbia Park Elementary School occupies an entire page, accompanied by an invitation to attend the opening ceremony on the 19th of November.

40 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 14, 1985

Layoff notices were served to all Downie St. Sawmill employees last week, and a closure of the mill was expected by the end of the month. The Sawmill was a source of income for over 265 workers, but its performance was struggling to keep it afloat. C.F. McCarthy, Senior VP of Federated Co-Op Forest Products was eager to do whatever was needed to avert a closure; lo and behold it still exists today. The Sawmill closed for 3 years, and reopened in 1988.

30 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 10, 1995

A man recalls an absurd experience with a malevolent driver, “It was a true Mexican stand-off as the driver, who was wearing what seemed to be a mask of President Nixon, was hunkered over his steering wheel, frothing at the mouth…He swerved toward me in his hurtling ball of death, then ran headlong into a snowpile in the middle of the street”. A reminder to be safe out there!

20 years ago: The Revelstoke Review - November 16, 2005

Shelley Irish, a writer for the review shared her thoughts on an all too relevant struggle for youth and adults alike in the contemporary, joblessness. There’s something about reading a relatable issue in dated writing that offers some kind of comfort. Is joblessness a rite of passage? Is it inevitable at some point in our lives? Probably.

Photo: A dredging apparatus at the Illecillewaet Dam, circa 1935, with an engine approaching on the CPR mainline next to the River. Earle Dickey photo. Revelstoke Museum and Archives photo 8422.