Glimpses of the Past: October 1, 2026

By James Janzen, Museum Assistant, Revelstoke Museum & Archives

130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, October 3, 1896

Telegraph operators, dispatchers, and agents over the entire Canadian Pacific Railway system walked out at midnight on Monday, causing a complete stop to all traffic. They went on strike to demand a schedule, a minimum wage of $50 per month, and 12 hours to constitute a day, with pay for overtime. Although no disturbances had occurred, police were posted at the Revelstoke and Arrowhead stations as a precautionary measure.

$50 in 1896 is the equivalent of $1,725 in 2026.

120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, September 22, 1906

Working men from every branch of trade met at Selkirk Hall on Saturday night to hear out the organizer of the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada. The speaker expressed his pleasure at the large turnout and explained the potential benefits of different unions uniting in a Trades and Labor Council for Revelstoke. A meeting at Queen’s Hotel two days later saw the motion to establish such a council unanimously carried.

110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, September 30, 1916

The Revelstoke branch Red Cross society had decided to raffle off several articles that they received throughout the summer. Some of the items: a sofa and cushion, two sets of bound books, a tea cozy, and a doll set. Two pages later, there is mention of a visit from County Constable Ward of Wiarton, ON, who gave a kindly warning about the seriousness of holding and attending a raffle, and the hefty fine attached to this violation of the law.

110 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 28, 1916

A group of Australian and New Zealand Parliamentarians passed through Revelstoke and were met by members of the Woman’s Canadian Club, who presented them with flowers and locally grown fruit baskets. The South Sea Parliamentarians confirmed that the vote for women was a success in their countries! They heartily congratulated the women of British Columbia on obtaining the vote, and advised them to never rest until the women of the whole Dominion of Canada enjoyed the same right.

100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 29, 1926

A large asbestos deposit south of Revelstoke underwent geological survey and showed great promise for development. Samples from this deposit on Mount Sproat, three miles north of Arrowhead, were shown at the provincial fair in New Westminster and declared nearly superior to the current popular stock from South Africa.

Ninety-two years later, asbestos was banned nation-wide in Canada due to its carcinogenic properties.

90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, October 2, 1936

The mayor of Revelstoke received a telegram from the assistant producer of “The Great Barrier” once again thanking the citizens of Revelstoke for their hospitality and helpfulness making the film. Later renamed “Silent Barriers”, the screen story follows the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and was produced in Revelstoke by the Gaumont British Picture Corporation of London, England.

A film screening of “Silent Barriers” is also part of the Fall 2026 Brown Bag History program! See the museum’s website for more details.

80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, October 3, 1946

The editor of the Vancouver News-Herald visited Revelstoke and thought that the Trans-Canada Highway here needed much improvement. More than once, he feared he had left the main highway for a backwoods trail. Given that the president of the Revelstoke Board of Trade spent 20 minutes this same week explaining the necessity of federal assistance for the Big Bend section of the Trans-Canada Highway to the Minister of Public Works, it is safe to say that many locals agreed.

70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 27, 1956

The changing Canadian Pacific Railway timetable for the winter months made for terrible postal service between Revelstoke and Vancouver. The new timetable’s lack of passenger service west in the morning, and a midnight service east, led to the newspaper editor advising the citizens of Revelstoke to urge the postal department to provide a trucking service between Revelstoke and Salmon Arm to make up for the shifting schedule.

Carlings Baseball Team. Revelstoke Museum & Archives Collection, P-5111.

60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 28, 1966

The Revelstoke baseball team, the Carlings, beat the Kamloops Colts 6 to 2. This victory was the Carlings’ tenth in a row and won them the North Okanagan Baseball League Championship. This was the second straight year that the team had won the NOBL championship; a win that the opposing team’s catcher credited to “that damn Douglas”, the Carlings’ most valuable player.

50 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, September 29, 1976

Grizzly bear controversy from the past week continued. This week’s letter to the editor on the matter discussed the positive impacts of grizzly bears and the bears’ own rights to exist on the land they occupied before the citizens of Revelstoke. One man injured by a grizzly bear said that he does not fault the bear and that it will not deter him from hiking in the backcountry again.

40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, October 1, 1986

Negotiations between the locked-out Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Okanagan Mainline Municipal Labour Relations Associations resumed after a rejected offer. As the 12-week lockout throughout the Okanagan continued, locals were concerned about winterization processes not being followed quickly and properly without CUPE workers. Hockey clubs and figure skating clubs who could not operate without the arena and curling rink also met with civic workers to see if they could help end the lockout and get the kids back on the ice as soon as possible.

30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, October 2, 1996

A supplement to this week’s paper gave a salute to Revelstoke’s firefighters, highlighting the firefighters’ museum in Revelstoke, the firefighters’ annual garage sale and their monetary contributions to muscular dystrophy research, and the Revelstoke Firefighters hockey team. A short biography about each volunteer firefighter of the time was also published, describing each team member’s history and hobbies.

20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, September 27, 2006

“The Women’s Show”, a fundraiser for the Revelstoke Women’s Shelter with the theme of Women Helping Women, was set to take place at the Hillcrest Hotel in November. The event was to serve as an opportunity for women to network and collectively showcase their many talents. As the editor wrote then, the fundraiser was sure “to entice the heart and soul of any woman.”