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A group of journalists gather around a campfire outside the John Murray Gibbon home in 1923. Bliss Carman is pictured at far right, with Frederick Niven peeking out from behind Mr. Carman. Nothing else is known about the photograph. Do you know why these journalists gathered in Invermere? Email us with more info: news@cv-pioneer.com.

Gathering of journalists

Posted on February 3rd, 2012 by


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In this image, dated 1921, a road crew works with horse teams pulling scoop slips to level the Banff-Windermere Highway through Kootenay National Park, now known as Highway 93. If you have any more information about this photograph, email us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A889 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Horsepower

Posted on January 27th, 2012 by


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Three men sit with Gladys Pitts on the porch steps of Mountain Valley Ranch in 1904. The names of the men are unknown. Mountain Valley Ranch was located on Horsethief Creek, 20 kilometres west of Wilmer. If you have any more information or memories about this photo, email us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A830 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Porch step conversation

Posted on January 20th, 2012 by


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In this image, dated 1924, a small class of children stand with their teacher, Miss Smith, in front of Edgewater’s first schoolhouse, built on the Smith’s property by Larmour Creek. Back row: Geoff Smith, Bill Gaddes, Miss Smith (teacher), Boyce Gaddes. Front row: Amy Nixon, Dorothy Smith, Ted Smith, Jock Blakely, Dorothy Lansburg. If you have any more information, email us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A772 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

School days

Posted on January 13th, 2012 by


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In this image, dated 1922, people flock to Invermere’s Fort Point for the grand opening of the David Thompson Fort. The fort is visible in the background behind the teepees, which were referred to as the “Kootenay Indians’ Camp.” Robert Randolph Bruce, miner, prospector, and advocate of the Columbia Valley (who became the Lieutenant Governor of B.C. four years after this photo was taken), is standing next to the woman wearing a white skirt (at left of photo). If you have any more information about this photograph, email us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A1183 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Grand Opening

Posted on January 6th, 2012 by


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In this photo, taken sometime after 1912, Norman Marples pulls blocks of ice at Lake Lillian with a pair of tongs. The ice blocks were used for refrigeration in the ice boxes of people’s homes. Norman Marples was the father of Mollie Laird. Mollie’s husband was J.A. Laird, after whom J.A. Laird Elementary School is named. If you have any more information or memories of this photograph, email us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo C911 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Ice cutter

Posted on December 30th, 2011 by


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Delores Arcand works binding Christmas trees sometime during the 1950s. After the trees were bound, they were shipped on the railway for transport. If you have any more information or memories about this photograph, email news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A1041 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Christmas tree time

Posted on December 23rd, 2011 by


Delores Arcand works binding Christmas trees sometime during the 1950s. After the trees were bound, they were shipped on the railway for transport. If you have any more information or memories about this photograph, email news@cv-pioneer.com.

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In this image, taken sometime during the early 1900s, a young William Taynton (who went by the name Sinclair Taynton), poses with his rifle and dog in the snow outside a small cabin. Sinclair was the son of Jack and Lydia Taynton. If you have any more information or memories about this photo, e-mail us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A1237 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Never too young to learn

Posted on December 16th, 2011 by


In this image, taken sometime during the early 1900s, a young William Taynton (who went by the name Sinclair Taynton), poses with his rifle and dog in the snow outside a small cabin. Sinclair was the son of Jack and Lydia Taynton. If you have any more information or memories about this photo, e-mail us at news@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A1237 courtesy
of the Windermere District Historical Society

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In this photograph, two of the Gaddes boys and three young daughters of Vancover surgeon J.W. Thomson enjoy a buggy ride in Edgewater in front of the Columbia Valley Ranches Ltd. office. If you have any more information or memories about this photograph, email us at info@cv-pioneer.com. Photo A769 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Horse power, 1925

Posted on December 9th, 2011 by


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Five members of the Walker Tegart family pose for a portrait during the 1890s. If you have any more information or memories about the people in this photograph, email news@cv-pioneer.com Photo A872 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Family portrait

Posted on December 2nd, 2011 by


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In the spirit of Movember, the moustache-growing month of November that raises awareness for prostate cancer, we selected this photo of three coiffed cuties as this week’s Historical Lens image. The photo, believed to be from the 1920s is of James L. McKay (left), Will Wickwire (middle), and an unknown gentleman (right). If you have any more information or memories about this photo, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com.

Moustached men

Posted on November 25th, 2011 by


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Athalmer’s bustling business core, 1914 This crumpled and creased image captures the wooden boardwalks and buildings of downtown Athalmer in 1914. The Coronation Hotel, built in 1908, is visible on the left, and the Windsor Hotel, built in 1904, can be seen on the far right. The Canadian Pacific Railway station and the storefronts of F. Richardson General Merchant and Columbia Valley Supply Co. are between the two hotels. If you have any more information or memories about this photo, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com.

Athalmer’s bustling business core, 1914

Posted on November 18th, 2011 by


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In this image, taken during the Second World War, Sandy Dobbie poses proudly in his military uniform. If you have any more information about this or any other Historical Lens photo, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com. Photo (C1026) courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Remembering those who served

Posted on November 11th, 2011 by


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In this image, taken on Invermere’s Fort Point in 1922, three traditional First Nations teepees shine brightly through the darkness, lit up by the fires inside. If you have any more information on this or any Historical Lens photo, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com. Photo (A1200) courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Teepees by moonlight

Posted on November 4th, 2011 by


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In this image, thought to have been taken in the early 1920s, a vehicle makes its way along the newly-finished road through Sinclair Canyon. At the bottom of the picture the wooden retaining structure for the road can be spotted. The Banff-Windermere highway, the first road through the Rockies, was officially opened in 1923 making Sinclair Canyon the western entrance to the newly-created Kootenay National Park. If you have any more information about this or any Historical Lens photograph, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com. Photo (A189) courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Cruising through the canyon

Posted on October 28th, 2011 by


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In this photo, thought to have been taken during the 1920s or 30s near Brisco, an unknown man stands with the remains of a Chinook salmon, a species which used to spawn in the upper Columbia River, prior to the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam in 1942. This is the only known photograph of a Chinook salmon taken in the Upper Columbia Valley. The salmon weighed up to 40 pounds and were a valuable source of food for the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc people. The photo may have been taken by valley photographer A.E. Fisher, who documented much of life in the valley during the early 20th century. If you have any more information about this or any other Historical Lens photo please contact info@cv-pioneer.com. Photo courtesy of Robert Ede

Historical Lens

Posted on October 21st, 2011 by


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In this image from 1970, a ski racer carves through the final gates of a race at the Panorama ski hill, now Panorama Mountain Village. The A-frame building at the bottom of the hill is the former day lodge. Photo C1028 courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Get ready for ski season

Posted on October 14th, 2011 by


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A team of horses help a farming family bring in their wheat during the autumn harvest. If you have any further information about this photo, please email us at info@cv-pioneer.com

Fall harvest

Posted on October 7th, 2011 by


A team of horses help a farming family bring in their wheat during the autumn harvest. If you have any further information about this photo, please email us at info@cv-pioneer.com  Photo courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

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In this image, dated 1914, several Ktunaxa women and children enjoy the sun outside the home of Dominic Nicholas, near Fairmont Hot Springs. If you have any more information, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com.

Mum’s the word

Posted on September 30th, 2011 by


In this image, dated 1914, several Ktunaxa women and children enjoy the sun outside the home of Dominic Nicholas, near Fairmont Hot Springs. If you have any more information, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com.
Photo (A168) courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

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In this image, circa 1910, the Barbour boys — Bert, Harry, George and Ed — pick apples from the trees at harvest time in Wilmer. The four boys were named after the sons of King George V and Queen Mary. If you have any more information on this or any other Historical Lens photo, e-mail us at info@cv-pioneer.com. Photo (A252) courtesy of the Windermere District Historical Society

Hand-picked

Posted on September 23rd, 2011 by


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