You’d really have to watch “Oklahoma!” to get the full impact of what a box social could be like, but since that would take quite a chunk of time out of your day I’ll do my best to describe it. First you need a basket or a box, all dressed up with ribbons, bows, flowers and the like. Then, traditionally, there would be a homemade meal, wrapped up in pretty tea towels, smelling fresh and savory. Unfortunately, health regulations have changed a lot. Okay that’s not really unfortunate, but it makes putting a Box Social together properly difficult. Then, when the box is all packed with delicious goodies, the boxes would be collected in one place and the men folk, as the women made the baskets/boxes, would bid on them as the hosting organization auctioned them off. The money raised would then go to the hosting organization and the men would get to sit down and share their meals with the maker of the basket. Now technically the men wouldn’t know which basket belonged to which woman, but that never really worked, as the women would always whisper in the ear of their sweethearts what basket to bid on.

Anyway, since we now know the basics of the whole Box Social event, it’s about time I tell you my reason for mentioning it, and that is because the Creston Museum has got it’s very own Box Social all organized. Now I’m not sure how traditional it will be, but the details are as follows. The event will take place on Friday, September 3rd, from 5-8. The admission is free, but since health regulations have limited what kinds of foods you can put in the basket, there will also be a barbeque and ice cream available. But the same concept applies, fancy containers (not necessarily a box or basket) filled with non-perishable type edibles and gift items.

So bring your baskets, bring your pals, hey, you could even dress up like the cast of “Oklahoma!” if you want. All are welcome and it’s a great chance to get out into the community.

221 Baker Street NW1 is probably the most famous address of Baker Street, as it was the home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. But I know for a fact that there is more than one Baker Street in this world and they each have a history of their own. London’s Baker Street North West was the home of a hero, but here in Cranbrook BC, Baker Street was a little less exciting, though not by much. Cranbrook’s Baker Street provided the route for a variable number of circus pachyderms to run free.

On the morning of August the 6th, 1926 I imagine Cranbrook residents awoke buzzing with excitement. The Circus was coming to town! What joy! What fun! Young and old could barely contain their glee as the circus train lumbered into town, coming to a steady halt at the Cranbrook train station. When I think about that day I can just image the children straining to get closer to the track as their fretful mothers held their hands and pulled them back to safety. I image a cheer would ring out as the first wave of circus folk stepped off the train, stretching their limbs to shake the exhaustion of travel. Then the crowd would go positively wild as the doors were hauled open and the droves of animals would be led out of their confinements and into the glorious morning air.

Children’s eyes must have been as wide as saucers as they took in the site of not one, but three herds of grey giants! Those who were young enough that this was their first circus experience would be amazed and entranced as the elephants, horses, exotic cats and camels stepped out of the train cars. Can you imagine what you would think of a circus if your first experience of the circus was a group of startled and crazed elephants breaking away from their handlers and barreling in all directions, down Baker Street and other side streets? The crowd parted like the red sea as they stampeded through town. Personally I think that would have been quite something to see.

In August of 1926 Cranbrookians were given the pleasure of looking out their window and perhaps catching a glimpse of an elephant moseying on through their back yard, now in 2010 we have to travel to places like the Calgary Zoo to get that kind of experience.

The hunt that followed the Elephant stampede lasted until September 14th, 1926 when Charlie Ed, the last remaining of the rouge elephants, was finally captured. He was led down Baker Street and was renamed Cranbrook Ed.

As you can see, we may not have been host to Sherlock Holmes’ living quarters, but I think in a way an actual elephant walking down Baker Street is better than a fictional character living there.

Cranbrook and other little communities of the area are nicely situated in a region that is abundant in many things, but the most exciting of these resources in the lakes and waterways. Have you ever noticed how many lakes there are around Cranbrook? Wasa, Jim Smith, Elizabeth, Premier, and Moyie are just a few of the lakes that people travel to on hot summer days to have a good time. Personally, I love swimming, that feeling of being graceful and just gliding is a feeling I cherish every time I dive in. Whether it is lakes or pools, swimming is swimming and the only thing that really changes is the temperature of the water.

When I was a kid I used to be able to run full tilt into freezing cold water, barely even pausing to blink and I splashed and dove. Now, getting into a cold lake is a process that can take up to fifteen minutes. My goodness I miss the fearlessness of childhood. Anyway, back in the late 1930’s a group of Cranbrook citizens that called themselves the Gyros noticed how people (who could) would flock out of town for a weekend at the lake, and they thought, “why don’t we build a pool so people don’t have to leave to cool down?” Okay, they probably didn’t think those exact words, but you get the point. So in 1930 after a long and grueling fundraising process, the Gyros had made enough money to construct an outdoor swimming pool that would keep Cranbrookians cool during those sweltering summer months. Instead of having to load up the family car with enough supplies to last the weekend, the people of Cranbrook had a place to go right in town, but the pool was more for the kids and families who didn’t have a way to get out to a lake. So kids and adults alike utilized the pool and word went around about the new attraction. The only downside to this outdoor pool was that it was creek fed, and was therefore very, very cold. This may have been a bit of a deterrent in the beginning, but when you are so hot all you can think about it cooling down, glacial water isn’t such a bad thing.

The Gyro Pool was open from 1930 to 1969 and was boasted as being the “largest pool in Western Canada.” Go Cranbrook! The Gyros hard work paid off and if the cost of upkeep and keeping up with the new government regulations hadn’t gotten so outrageously high, Cranbrookians of today might have been able to share in that ice cold swimming goodness.

When it is so cold outside the only thing you can think about is snuggling up with a warm drink, the whole situation is made so much better by the addition of a cozy, made-with-love quilt. But how many of us have the pleasure of having someone make us a quilt just because they love us? Well, I hope there are a lot considering the amount of quilters there are out there. But for those of us who are not blessed with a quilter in the family, we have to be content with production line bed-in-a-bag quilts that don’t have the same feel as those made by mother, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and possibly the male equivalents of all these, I am not sure of the quilting community among men.

Anyway, for those of us who are no longer content to use store bought quilts, and who are lucky enough to live in the Columbia Basin close Creston, the Creston Museum will be hosting a Quilt Show and Sale on Saturday, September 18th, between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm. Antique, modern and all forms of quilts and needle work in between will be on display, and some quilters may be more than willing to sell you their made-with-love quilts to adorn your beds with.

If you are a quilter and would like to place something in the show or sell a piece of your work, the Creston Museum would be more than happy to receive your call. For those of you just wanting to take a gander at the collection, admission will be $2 per person. Admire, shop, and get your quilt on!

If you have been to the Cranbrook Public Library lately then you should have noticed the display window. Not only does the library have its always expanding collection of books, but for the month of July it is also hosted the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History’s photo exhibit on auto tourism on the Columbia Basin entitled “Fast Cars and Fancy Free”, a somewhat ironic title as the cars would not have been fast by today’s standard of speed. The collection, besides being an interesting display of old photographs, it also shows how well the photos from the Columbia Basin Image Bank enlarge for residential or commercial display.

The exhibit has now moved from the comfort of the library display case to a new home at the Kootenay Roasting Company coffee house on Baker Street where it will stay for the month of August.

The exhibit is simply a very small example of what is available on the Columbia Basin Image Bank at http://basininstitute.org/home/search/?txtKeyword=auto

If you would be interested in housing the exhibit, or know of a venue, contact us via email at info@basininstitute.org or call us at 250-489-9150.

With the FIFA 2010 World Cup wrapping up on Sunday, July 11th, we at the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History felt it only right to show our respect to the mighty sport of Football/Soccer. We have taken a gander through our collection and came up with two team photos, one of the Kimberley and one of the Moyie soccer teams. Though hockey is the much loved sport of the Canadians, we still show support for the endeavors of the footballers who play throughout the world. Canada may have been eliminated, but Canadians are still cheering as loud as any other fans, choosing one of the remaining teams to support and asking ourselves who will go face to face for the final showdown. Will it be Spain or Germany versus the Netherlands for the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

Kimberley Soccer Team

Moyie Soccer Team

For more pictures of soccer and other sports teams of the Columbia Basin, the Image Bank holds many more. Searching “soccer” or “sports” will yield a number of results.

Various blacksmiths tools, gold pan, glass bottle, pick-axe head, wall sconse.

Prepare to be amazed as we see what area artists can create in the Creston Museum’s Found Art Challenge. On Friday, July 9^th, the Found Art Challenge begins with the distribution of the objects that the museum deemed suitable for art- everything from feathers to flat irons. The duty of the artists is to take their box of artifacts and use up everything. Come out between the hours of 10 and 5 and see what the competitors are devising!

On July 10^th the artists will be given a few hours to finish up their wondrous creations before the afternoon art show. Visitors will be able to vote for their favourite piece to win the Viewers’ Choice award, and jurors will be circulating to award other prizes.

The Arts Council’s “Salad Days” also gets underway that Saturday afternoon. This is your chance to go back sixty years to the idyllic days of the 1950s. There will be live performances of musicians, artists, and actors. There will be food as well, so bring an appetite.

Don’t miss Creston’s historic return to the fifties and the Found Art Challenge, beginning at 10:00am on Friday, July 9th.

Everyone looks for the Sweethearts’ float as the parade marches along the parade route. We also listen for the music that precedes the bands marching in the parade line, creating the air of fun with the playful music they release. We at the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History have a particular interest in one band at the moment: The Cranbrook Girls’ Bugle Band. We are searching for any information, pictures, names, photos, etc. that people pf the community are willing to load us for scanning. We would appreciate anything anyone can provide for this future site.

Cranbrook High School GirlsSweethearts outside the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel

These are two projects that the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History is planning for 2011. We will begin breaking ground on them very soon. If anyone recognizes the women in either of these photos and can provide us with names, please email us. We are also searching for partners at this time to help us take on the task soon to be at hand.

The Columbia Basin Institute is very pleased with this new site as it presents a wide array of new texts and photographs pertaining to the 1926 escape of a large elephant herd into the wilds around Cranbrook.  We were happy to find people such as Ed Reynolds who still recalled the event, and to uncover photos that many may never have seen before.  “The Great Cranbrook Elephant Hunt” is accessible from the Home Page of the Columbia Basin Institute’s web site.

Much thanks is due to our financial partners in this project, the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, the City of Cranbrook and the Columbia Basin Trust.  As well, we could not have put together as comprehensive a site without the ongoing support of Chris Eimer and the Cranbrook Archives, Museum and Landmarks Foundation.