Glimpses of the Past: November 5, 2026

Larry Streeter putting up “Ride With Caution” sign for snowmobilers in caribou territory, ca. 1990. Revelstoke Museum & Archives Collection, P-9677.

By James Janzen, Museum Assistant, Revelstoke Museum & Archives

130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, November 7, 1896

Echoing the sentiment of a newspaper ten years later, from October 1906, this week’s editor reports that more than a half dozen new lamps were being requested for the railway station platform. The evenings were getting darker, and the extra light was much needed! The editor stated that the current inadequate illumination was making walking on the platform a dangerous activity.

120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, November 3, 1906

The Roscian Opera Company enacted their performance of the opera “Martha” at the Opera House this week. “Martha”, a romantic comedy in four acts, follows the capers of a lady and her maid as they disguise themselves as servants to escape court life for a time. The newspaper editor reported that the crowd’s favourite song of the opera was “The Last Rose of Summer”, an aria sung by Miss Lucia Nola as Lady Harriet.

110 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 2, 1916

The “Soldier’s Sock” tea, hosted by the Women’s Canadian club this week, was a resounding success. As a result of the tea, 250 socks, knitted by the members of the club, were filled with gifts and sent to the boys at the front, primarily those in the 72nd, 54th, and 7th battalions. The tea itself was hosted at a local home, accompanied by autumnal decoration and a musical program arranged by Mrs. Fleetham.

100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 3, 1926

A Halloween dance that took place in the Masonic Hall under the auspices of Naomi Rebekah Lodge No. 21 was reported as being “one of the most successful dances ever held in the city”. The event was held on the Friday before Halloween and boasted outstanding themed decorations, including a large and colourful “Ogopogo.” Hugh Barbour’s orchestra provided music for the dance and was highly enjoyed by attendants.

90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 6, 1936

A small audience beheld a recital given by Carl Horthy, internationally acclaimed lyric tenor, in St. Peter’s Hall. Guests at the event found Mr. Horthy’s tone and voice control to be quite delightful, and the program for the evening included many well-loved works of Italian, German, and Elizabethan composers. The editor’s favourite performance of the night was Mr. Horthy’s rendition of “Torna a Surriento” by Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis. Regardless of the small crowd, the singer was encored many times and responded by singing several requested numbers, including Schubert’s Serenade.

80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 7, 1946

The Revelstoke High School Newspaper Club held its seventh annual banquet in the Home Economics building last week. Guests of honour at the banquet included the president of the Rotary Club and the president of the Kinsmen Club, among others. The goal of the annual event was to welcome new members to the club and to show appreciation to people and organizations who had supported the club over the past year.

70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 1, 1956

Dr. J. H. Phillips, dental officer for the North Okanagan Health Unit, met with the Parent-Teacher Association for the Selkirk Elementary School this week to speak on the importance of dental hygiene. X-ray pictures had recently been taken for the grade one students at the school and only one of the 34 students was free of tooth decay. To prevent such decay, Dr. Phillips recommended that they should brush their teeth after meals and eat cleansing foods such as apples, raw carrots, or raw celery at the end of each meal.

60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 2, 1966

The Revelstoke School Board requested the appointment of a conciliator by the Minister of Education to assist in the negotiation of the 1967 salary agreement with the local Teachers’ Association. According to the chairman of the British Columbia School Trustees’ Labor Relations Committee, the Revelstoke high school teachers were asking for a 24% raise in salary, which would result in a salary range of $7800 to $12,400, based on years of experience teaching.

$7800 to $12,400 in 1966 is the equivalent of $75,771.43 to $120,457.14 in 2026.

50 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, November 3, 1976

The newspaper reported on Parks Canada’s plan to revitalize the Mount Revelstoke Summit, which was released a year prior and focused on transplanting new vegetation to the summit to restore the mountain’s “bald spots”. It was estimated that this work, including establishing trails and removing two parking lots, would take three years to complete. The transplants, taken from a mountain in the Sale Creek area with similar vegetation and altitude to Mount Revelstoke, was laid in place earlier this year.

40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, November 5, 1986

Queen Victoria Hospital, and its more than 80 full-time staff, gained a three-year accreditation with the Canadian Council of Hospital Accreditation for exceeding the Council’s high standards. Moberly Manor had also received a two-year accreditation by the same Council, which was especially impressive given that this was the facility’s first survey. Accreditation is a voluntary process, requested by each facility to have its standard of service compared to those outlined by the Council.

30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, November 6, 1996

Parks and Recreation coordinator Alan Chell reported to City Council that Revelstoke had more success than any other community in getting program funds approved for its fish and wildlife projects under the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation program. Revelstoke projects being undertaken under that program included a radio-telemetry tracking program for yellowfin, adopt-a-stream, removal of spawning course barriers in the Illecillewaet and Jordan Rivers, Bannock Creek spawning, studies on dike creation, Illecillewaet Greenbelt wetland creation, and bear awareness public education programs.

20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, November 1, 2006

Questions on mountain caribou conservation were answered at last week’s bear conference, including a push from some biologists for predator management to combat the decrease in caribou survival caused by climate change and caribou habitat changes. One biologist suggested that some predators, such as cougars, wolves, and bears, should be killed to protect the caribou herds, which had disappeared from half their historic territory at this point in time. Other arguments from environmentalists rather favour increased logging restrictions to protect the caribou’s natural habitats.