Glimpses of the Past: August 6, 2026

By Brennan Patry, Archival Assistant, Revelstoke Museum & Archives

Planting of post by Duke of Connaught on Mount Revelstoke, 1916. P-831.

130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, August 1, 1896

Residents believed it was time for Revelstoke to get a bank. They thought that having a bank would show that having enough business to need a bank would in turn prove that there is enough business for people to move to Revelstoke. They also thought that a bank would make business transactions much simpler.

120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, August 4, 1906

 A tourist from Vancouver said that Revelstoke should create a park and call it “Mountain Park”. He hoped it would be like Stanley Park in Vancouver, providing people a nice place to spend time in the summer. The tourist wanted the park to be located up towards Eight Mile.

110 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, August 5, 1916

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and his daughter Princess Patricia, made a visit to Revelstoke. They requested that the visit be informal, and so a committee made on behalf of the Women’s Canadian Club toured the two around town, including up Mount Revelstoke. The Royals were gifted with books filled with photos of Revelstoke’s best views.

100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, July August 4, 1926

A house fire broke out in Chinatown on First Street East. The firefighters managed to contain the fire and keep it from spreading down the block. The house that was burned was being used as a store by Kwong Sang, and the rooms upstairs were home to several Chinese residents.

90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, August 7, 1936

 It was announced that for the 1936-1937 school year they would test out having the school day be 30 minutes shorter than in previous years. The announcement came from S.J. Willis who was the superintendent of education in Victoria. This was going to be a test year, and they would re-evaluate how it went before the following school year.

80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, August 8, 1946

Pilot Fred Gilbert from Calgary was flying over Revelstoke on his way to Prince George when he started experiencing engine troubles. The city had just purchased land for an air strip but it was not open for planes to land on, forcing Gilbert to land his plane in a plowed field at McKinnon’s Dairy. Gilbert suggested having a landing strip as well as a person qualified to take signals from pilots would be helpful.

70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, August 2, 1956

Construction started on the new school being built in Farwell, the school was going to have six classrooms and one activity room. The location for the school was on the corner of First Street West and Hanson Street. It was expected that a new school in Farwell would result in more houses being built in the area.

60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, August 3, 1966

A blood drive was being held in Revelstoke. The Rotary Club of Revelstoke, along with other clubs, had created a challenge to see which club could have more people donate. To participate, members would wear their club pin while donating blood to keep track of who was from which club. The winning club would receive “suitable acknowledgement” from the other clubs later in the year at a gathering.

50 years ago: Revelstoke Review, August 4, 1976

A man claimed to have seen a flying saucer just south of Revelstoke. He claimed that around 3000 to 4000 feet off the ground a silver disc was flying through the air. He said the disc was travelling very fast and had a diameter of around 30 feet. The man stated that he wasn’t usually one to believe in the supernatural, until the night he claimed to have seen the flying saucer.

40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, August 7, 1986

Multiple residents of Revelstoke were experiencing a caterpillar infestation. A type of caterpillar nobody could recognize had infested almost every garden in Revelstoke destroying all kind of flowers and vegetables. People in Kamloops had reported a similar issue.

30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, August 7, 1996

After a slow start to summer in Revelstoke the heat finally picked up in July. Weather statistics had shown that temperatures in July were above average and there was less than half the average rainfall. Within the first four days of August the rain had returned with nearly 28mm of rain, when the average for the month was 60mm.

20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, August 2, 2006

The Revelstoke Museum and Archives was to hold a beer tasting event in the Heritage Garden. People could come taste “controlled, sample size amounts of beer.”  There would also be locally made bread, and regional and international cheeses to snack on.