Glimpses of the Past: May 28, 2026
By Jaimie Reynolds, Revelstoke Museum & Archives
Central Hotel, ca. 1910. Revelstoke Museum & Archives Collection, P-562.
130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, May 23, 1896
A new bus imported by the owners of the Central Hotel in Revelstoke was proving quite efficient. It could comfortably hold up to 14 passengers. It was also very well upholstered and fitted throughout and was an exciting new purchase for the hotel.
120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, May 26, 1906
Residents of the upper end of Mackenzie Avenue were improving the outside appearance of their homes. They were doing so by fixing up the boulevards. For two blocks this had been done, and when the whole street was graded, it would present a very pleasing effect.
110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, May 27, 1916
A public meeting was going to be held at City Hall on May 29th, for the purpose of deciding if a creamery could be organized in the Revelstoke district. All information and particulars gathered from all sources would be presented at the meeting.
100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 27, 1926
The concept of muskrat farming was swirling around Revelstoke. An advertisement in the Revelstoke Review mentioned that it was much cheaper to raise the animal for its fur then to trap it in the wild and maintain fur trading posts. Curious locals were asked to come down to the British Columbia Muskrat Fur Farms Syndicate on Second Street for more information.
90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 22, 1936
Three grizzlies were spotted in Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks. Park Wardens W. Hartley and R. H. Mann spent a night at Flat Creek cabin and walked back to Glacier over the old trail. The following day, they walked over Rogers Pass from the Bear Creek side, seeing three massive grizzly bears at the foot of Mount Avalanche. Talk about a hair-raising sight!
80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 23, 1946
Mount Revelstoke was famous! A picture of the stunning mountain was the only Canadian scene in a series of 25 beautiful prints which would be given away each week for 25 weeks by the Standard Oil Company of British Columbia in their 1946 “See Your West” pictures.
70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 24, 1956
Terry Keough, a native of Revelstoke, won the Flying Officer Wallace MacDonald Memorial prize at St. Francis Xavier University. Accounts of Terry’s achievement were carried in daily papers across Canada the previous weekend. Terry came from a family who had amassed many honours in the field of education.
60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 25, 1966
A tree planting ceremony took place at Farwell School. The special ceremony took place to mark the BC Centennial. Every school in British Columbia planted a seedling to celebrate this event. The chosen seedling in Revelstoke was the Douglas fir.
50 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 26, 1976
The rejuvenated Campbell Avenue was improved even more with the removal of poles. The avenue with a boulevard down the centre had been originally revitalized the previous summer. A long railway spur had previously connected the mainline to a smelter, which had fallen into the river due to erosion decades prior.
40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, May 28, 1986
Revelstoke was the first stop the Red Rooster mascot made on his summer tour of all Red Rooster convenience stores in BC and Alberta. The Red Rooster was going to be touring around BC, offering prizes and giving away seven trips to guest ranches in Alberta.
30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, May 22, 1996
The fifth annual Children’s Festival was taking place on May 25th at Queen Elizabeth Park. Some of the exciting activities that were going to be included were a fishpond with prizes, facepainting, a petting zoo, puppet making and a science centre. The entertainers were Revelstoke’s own Highland Dancers, and a selection of jugglers and clowns. This year’s theme was Wild West.
20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, May 24, 2006
A bat-house making workshop was going to take place at the Chickadee Nature Festival. During the previous year’s festival, about 60 people turned out for a bat-spotting event by Bridge Creek and it was hoped that this year’s workshop would attract even more of a turnout. The workshop was geared as a family group activity for everyone.