Glimpses of the Past: September 10, 2026
By Brennan Patry, Archival Assistant, Revelstoke Museum & Archives
130 years ago: Kootenay Mail, September 12, 1896
The Fraser Dramatic Company put on a series of different plays throughout the week. Residents had nothing but good things to say about each play. Revelstoke was always pleased with plays put on by this company. That night, Fraser Dramatic was putting on a play called “Queens Evidence”, a comedy.
120 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, September 8, 1906
Revelstoke’s reputation was growing among tourists. A steady increase of visitors had been noted. It was expected that visitors heard about the town mostly through word of mouth. A story about Revelstoke’s ever growing population was recently published in a newspaper called “The Week” from Victoria and Vancouver.
Ad from the Revelstoke Review, September 11th, 1936
110 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 7, 1916
Mr. Calder wrote a note to the Revelstoke Review with his “rules” that people must follow to fish near Tonka Farm. The letter said that people can fish on the property as long as it was not a Sunday because it is the Lord’s day. He also mentioned at the very bottom that there was a bull loose on the property and he would not be held responsible for any injuries to the public. No comment was made on whether the fishing was good enough to be worth becoming a rodeo attraction…
100 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 9, 1926
A.P. Levesque transferred management of the Union Hotel to George Demore and Tangres Gallicano. Demore and Galliano were planning to make some alterations, mainly focusing on the restaurant. Both men had considerable experience with the food industry. Demore said his plan was to make this restaurant the best in the province.
90 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 11, 1936
September 12 - 19 was Lamb Week in B.C., and newspapers had posted many different recipes for lamb. Most of the recipes were for a lamb roast, including a shoulder roast and a leg roast. The newspaper ads pushed housewives to go to the store and buy lamb.
80 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 12, 1946
Even through it was approaching mid-September, many tourists were still passing through Revelstoke. People were travelling from all provinces and even some people from the United States, and travellers’ vehicles lined the streets. There were also a lot of people travelling on the railway.
70 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 6, 1956
Queen Victoria Hospital had just installed a vegetable bin. This was to hold vegetables donated from local suppliers when they had a surplus of veggies. Local vendors were instructed to call the hospital when they had an excess of veggies to plan a pickup or dropoff time.
60 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 7, 1966
There was an incident with three men driving a gravel truck down Mount Revelstoke. When the men were about ½ mile away from their destination the driver noticed that the truck had no brakes. When they noticed this, they were nearing a sharp right turn, and the driver attempted to slow the vehicle with the hand brake. They turned the vehicle to head towards a nearby meadow instead. All three men were thrown from the vehicle and taken to Queen Victoria Hospital where they were later discharged with minor injuries.
Time capsule ceremony at Rogers Pass celebrating the 100th anniversary of Glacier National Park, 1986. Revelstoke Museum & Archives Collection, P-9779.
50 years ago: Revelstoke Mail-Herald, September 8, 1976
People could send in their ideas for the name of the new senior citizen’s apartments. The apartments would officially open on October 10, 1976. There were cash prizes of $5-$20 for the final name selections.
40 years ago: Revelstoke Review, September 10, 1986
Glacier National Park was coming up on their 100th anniversary. To celebrate this, the Park was going to host a ceremony. At this ceremony they were going to place a time capsule at the Summit Monument at Rogers Pass. A reception would follow at Glacier Park Lodge.
30 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, September 11, 1996
Revelstoke had gotten a lot of rain, though it would not last. The rain was supposed to clear within the next few days, perfect timing for the start of the second annual Mountain Arts Festival. The list of entertainments for the festival continued to grow as the festival creeped closer.
20 years ago: Revelstoke Times Review, September 6, 2006
A fire had started on Boulder Mountain. The fire was believed to be human caused. It was around .2 hectares and was being contained by an Initial Attack crew. Another fire was currently burning on Mount Macpherson. 35 wildfire fighters were working on getting the fire under control. The fire had grown to 100 hectares, but it was not a threat to infrastructure or homes.