Glimpses of the Past: April 9, 2026
By Laura VanZant, Assistant Curator, Revelstoke Museum & Archives
Tea House at Nakimu Caves in Glacier National park, 1932. Revelstoke Museum & Archives, P-2003.
130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, April 11th, 1896
Brakeman Joseph Lucere was killed in snowshed 15, between Bear Creek and Rogers Pass, when he fell off the train “in some mysterious way” and was struck by the cars. He was brought to Donald by his fellow trainmen, where he unfortunately passed away shortly after.
120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, April 11th, 1906
Halcyon Hot Springs was under new management, having recently been taken over by Harry McIntosh of Rossland. The medicinal waters were lauded as the “most curative in the world” and were a perfect natural remedy for a plethora of ailments, including “That Tired Feeling.” Patients could travel to the hot springs by train or by boat several times per day, and stay for a mere $12 to $18 per week!
$12 to $18 in 1906 is the equivalent of $432 to $648 in 2026.
110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, April 8th, 1916
A fire broke out at Rogers Pass on Thursday night, destroying the store and dwelling house owned by W. B. Morris. The only item saved was the cash register, so Mr. Morris was able to get back to regular operations shortly.
100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 7th, 1926
In the prior week’s edition, the paper noted that local boxer “Scotty” Inkster was getting attention on the coast as a boxer of outstanding ability. The article stated, “The Revelstoke boy made a chopping block of [Harry Whybrow] throughout the piece, hitting him with everything but the ring post.” This week, Inkster was back with more victory and notoriety, having bested another opponent, Dummy Burns, in a fight in Washington.
90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 9th, 1936
A list of new books that were added to the library shelves was published in the newspaper this week. Notable titles include “100,000 Guinea Pigs” by Kaller and Schlink, “Romance For Sale” and “Women are Difficult” by M. Grieg, “Janet of Kootenay” by McKowan, “The Great Divide” by A. Sullivan, and “Are Parents People?” by A. D. Mullar. It was a light news week, be grateful I didn’t just retype the recipe for Asparagus Shortcake on page 7.
80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 11th, 1946
Public subscriptions were proving unsatisfactory in raising the funds for a new Memorial Arena in Revelstoke, and a delegation to City Council proposed new measures that would funnel $75,000 to the project. In the article, Mayor Walter Hardman is quoted as saying that he was dubious of the proposal to erect an arena, as he believed the population of the city and surrounding territory was not large enough to support it.
70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 12th, 1956
The Tournament of Chumps played to a laughing, cheering crowd on the Big Bend Highway at Hans Gunnarsen Hill on Sunday afternoon! It was one of the largest crowds in the history of the event, with cars parked almost to the Courthouse. The “gaily attired jumpers, most of them decked out in mock imitation of feminine finery” (a.k.a. drag) took their leaps off the jump to the commentary of Bernard Nelson. The comedic event was a general success, although the article notes that “the only disappointing feature of the whole affair was the failure of the CBC television camera to show up.”
60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 6th, 1966
A rather amusing anecdote from Douglas Abrahamson was published in the paper. Mr. Abrahamson was the first salaried fireman in Revelstoke, and the first driver for the ‘old truck’ that was acquired in the early 1920s. He recalls that, upon delivery of the new truck, Charlie Kolofsky decided to test its efficacy. He set fire to the previously-burnt ruins of Georgie Hinds’s house, which stood beside Alice Langford’s ‘house of ill-repute’ (brothel). When the blaze was nice and involved, he called in the alarm. The new truck raced to the scene, where it found not only the intentional blaze crackling away, but also that the flames had spread to Ms. Langford’s house! As one can imagine, Ms. Langford was not pleased and gave anyone who would listen a good ‘bawling out.’ It turns out Ms. Langford was noted for her temper, and had allegedly bombed the house of one of her competitors in town. An interesting inauguration for the new truck!
50 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 7th, 1976
Bad news, the Columbia Village project was indefinitely postponed. After being ‘in progress’ for over a decade, the project was postponed indefinitely after changes were made in the Parks Branch of the provincial Department of Recreation and Conservation. City Council and the Revelstoke & District Historical Society strongly objected to this decision, citing a ‘firm commitment’ that the Department should be ‘held to.’ As we know, the project never went forward and now many objects collected for the site are housed in Revelstoke Museum & Archives.
40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, April 9th, 1986
Front page breaking news: Revelstoke Secondary School math students were given a difficult choice. They could do math, or pick up garbage on the school property. Many abandoned algebra for a chance to enjoy the sunshine and make the campus more beautiful.
Revelstoke Times Review, April 5th, 2006.
30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, April 10th, 1996
Parks Canada was instituting a lottery system to allow select visitors into the Nakimu Caves in Glacier National Park. The caves had been closed to the public due to their fragility, but a lottery system in 1995 proved successful. All trips would be guided by experienced cavers.
20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, April 5th, 2006
Universal Footwear had a door-breaking deal for the Home & Garden Show! A mere $19.95 could get you a pair of Holey Soles (think off-brand Crocs). A steal!