Glimpses of the Past: July 2, 2026
By Brennan Patry, Archival Assistant, Revelstoke Museum & Archives
Revelstoke City Band marching up Mackenzie Avenue, 1925. P-1913.
130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, July 4, 1896
Water levels in rivers and creeks had been rising considerably causing stress among the towns. High water levels had taken out bridges at Albert Canyon, Six Mile Creek, and Twin Butte. One family was forced to move after their house on the west side of the river flooded.
120 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 4, 1906
Members of the Revelstoke community travelled to Vernon for Dominion Day celebrations. The combined Revelstoke and Vernon float won first place in the parade. Revelstoke went on to beat Vernon 7-1 in the lacrosse match.
110 years ago: Revelstoke Review, June 29, 1916
Many young men were off fighting in the war. The Davenport family received the sad news that their son, James, had been killed in action. Davenport was well known in the community of Revelstoke. Mr. West was another young man from Revelstoke killed in action. West was fighting in the battle of Ypres when he passed; his parents resided in Quebec at the time.
100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, June 30, 1926
The Revelstoke Band performed at a wonderful concert a few days prior. Those who heard them believed Revelstoke’s band was far superior to other similar organizations in the interior. During the First World War from 1914 to 1918, military bands would play to keep the troops’ spirits as high as possible. The editor believed that if every town had a band like Revelstoke the mood and energy would stay a lot more cheerful.
90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 3, 1936
Almost every room for rent in Revelstoke was filled by members of the Gaumont British Picture Corporation who were in Revelstoke to film a movie called “The Great Barrier”. (It was later renamed “Silent Barriers.”) A large lighting power truck arrived from Hollywood to be used for filming. Crews spent time putting up fake signs over real businesses to create a movie set. Equipment from C.P.R in Calgary were also brought up to be used in the filming.
80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 4, 1946
Two young men from Spokane found themselves in Revelstoke during the cycling trip they began in Vancouver. The young men rode their bicycles on the Big Bend Highway to Jasper and Lake Louise. One of the young men said they were on this trip searching for paradise and nature's beauty and they found it here in Revelstoke.
70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, June 28, 1956
Harry McDonald retired as a hospital board trustee. McDonald was a past-president of the Revelstoke Hospital Society and the chairman of the fundraising campaigns. McDonald ran many of the fundraisers that resulted in the hospital getting a new ambulance and modern X-ray equipment.
60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, June 29, 1966
Three young dancers who went by “The Tarantella Trio” won a talent contest. The trio beat seven other finalists and advanced to the regional championship in Kelowna. The girls are students of the Revelstoke Branch of the Canadian School of Ballet. The girls danced in native Italian costumes. In addition to moving on to the provincial finals the girls also won a cash prize of $100 (around $900 in 2026).
50 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, June 30, 1976
A travelling exhibit titled “Sternwheelers - The Okanagan View” was at the Revelstoke Museum and Archives from June 29th to July 11th. The exhibit consisted of photographs and artifacts that were expected to be of interest to people from Revelstoke and the surrounding areas.
40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July 2, 1986
The graduating class of 1986 held their grad party at the KOA campground and cost the owner Hartmut Schulze $600-$900 in damages ($1560-$2300 in 2026). Schulze claimed that wild animals were more civilized than this graduating class. Eight to twelve picnic tables were burned. There were broken mirrors and showerheads in the bathrooms, and all but one tree in the field where the party was located had been damaged.
30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, July 3, 1996
In 1996 a prank was pulled on the whole town when someone stole the 370-pound Ronald McDonald statue that sat out front of the restaurant. The statue was placed on the lawn of then-Mayor Shelby Harvey. This prank turned into a fundraiser for a new rescue truck for the fire department: they raised around $1300 ($2400 in 2026) by June 26th. Ronald McDonald was bolted and glued down so the manager of McDonalds assumed it took quite a few people to pull this prank off.
20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, June 28, 2006
Brad Fox was announced to be the new head coach of the Revelstoke Grizzlies Junior B hockey team. Fox wanted the Grizzlies to be “recognized as the number one Junior hockey team in North America.” Fox said that he not only wanted his team to be the best at hockey but he also wanted them to be good people by learning good work habits, people skills and how to be accountable.