Glimpses of the Past: July 16, 2026

By Brennan Patry, Archival Assistant, Revelstoke Museum & Archives

130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, July 18, 1896

Residents of Revelstoke and the surrounding area were quite excited with the potential find of gold quartz in the hills nearby. Around 17 local people had made claims about finding gold quartz and a few people who lived across the river also claimed to have found some. They were hoping to make a trial shipment to verify its authenticity.

120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, July 14, 1906

A fire at Arrowhead broke out at the Reid & Young store. Coal oil was being stored in the alley and caught fire, which proceeded to spread to the City Hotel. The fire hydrants unfortunately were not attached to the water supply, as it had just been installed, meaning all people could do was watch as the fire burnt down building after building until the whole block was destroyed.

110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, July 15, 1916

Hon. R.F. Green passed through Revelstoke on his way to Victoria. Green told a representative of the newspaper that he just returned from England and was happy to be back in British Columbia. Green also said that the Kootenay boys were ‘having a good time’ but were anxious for the conclusion of the war so they could return home to Canada.

100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 14, 1926

Forest fires were going through the province but luckily Revelstoke reported no fires at the time. Several small fires up the Jordan River had been extinguished. Though there were no fires in the Revelstoke area, there was a large amount of smoke coming from large fires in surrounding areas, including the Eagle Valley.

Wildflower meadow at the summit of Mount Revelstoke. P-8170.

90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 17, 1936

Mount Revelstoke had many flowers blooming along the highway and looked better than it had in previous years. Due to the vast number of bright flowers blooming from the highway all the way to the top of the mountain there were more visitors entering the park.

80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 18, 1946

Three slabs of sandstone with fossils in them were found on Mount Revelstoke. They were found in a location where it is expected that they could have been moved by the glacier. The fossils showed carbonized remains of bugs and beetles up to three inches in size.

70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 12, 1956

Revelstoke Co-op was selling Blouses for $2.00; cotton and nylon dresses were priced $3.95-$5.95. Pedal Pushers (described as a calf length trouser) were $4.75 and sleeveless jackets made to match the pants were $4.95.

60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 13, 1966

The Frontier Motel had just opened and quickly was labeled as “Revelstoke’s first instant motel” because they served instant coffee, tea and potatoes. At the time the Frontier was the most modern motel in Revelstoke offering rooms with birch walls and double windows, and the kitchenettes and bathrooms had all the latest facilities.

50 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, July 14, 1976

Vandalism was a big concern in Revelstoke. City Council had discussed this issue at their meeting after they received a report of broken beer bottles and switchblade knives being found in the city pool. Four people had been caught at the pool, two being underage. The police said they were unable to charge any of the four because the pool was not private property.

40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 16, 1986

Dave White, the former vice principal of Revelstoke Secondary School, became the new principal. White stated he wanted to carry on with how Clyde Woolman left things. One area White did want to see improvement in was non-athletic courses to give students who are not particularly athletic or interested in athletics an alternative. White said the school board was looking for someone who could continue with the way things were already happening and that gave him an advantage over the other applicants.

30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 17, 1996

16 men and women from Revelstoke qualified for the B.C. Seniors Games that were to be held in early September. The categories 16 Revelstoke seniors competed in were carpet bowling, men’s golf, swimming, cribbage, and track and field. The track and field events included a 10-km road walk and road race. The Revelstoke seniors competed in five out of the twenty sports at the games.

20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 12, 2006

75 cyclists travelled through Revelstoke on their journey from Victoria, BC to St John’s, Newfoundland. The cyclists were to cover more than 7800 kilometers over the summer. The ride was called The Bike for Bibles Centennial Ride. It was an event to help commemorate the 100th birthday of the Canadian Bible Society (CBS). The Canadian Bible Society is one of the oldest and most diverse Christian organizations in Canada.