Historic racism persists
Gateway, MT Railway Depot, Customs and Immigration Office: #0436.0001 - Image courtesy of Cranbrook Archives and the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History The question is always, "what can we learn from history?" And more often than not, "nothing" is the reply. At the Columbia Basin Institute, we would argue that history...
Captain Francis Armstrong
The SS Marion and the SS Duchess dock on the Kootenay River near Creston #0015.0019 - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History Captain Armstrong, the brother of the early gold commissioner and government agent J.F. Armstrong, was born in Sorel, Quebec, in 1861. He was an immigrant to East Kootenay,...
Women and Society
Canadian Women's Press ca. 1915. Collection #0119.0102 An excerpt from the Cranbrook Herald of 100 years ago Jan. 17, 1907, supports the continuing national debate on the health of the family, "the glass ceiling," and the general valuation of women's labour in contemporary society. As we often say, by looking back, we move ...
Fur farming in the Basin
Queen Brothers, Fort Steele Trappers #0015.0005 ca.1910The Queen Brothers of Fort Steele showcase a piece of a winter's harvest at their cabin on Riverside Avenue. The fur industry was booming in the early 1920s, and by 1923 the market in British Columbia was worth an estimated $5,000,000. B.C. was climatically ideal for...
Rossland Women's Hockey Team
In 1900 a women's hockey team was created as a "novelty" for Rossland's 3rd Winter Carnival. All Rossland women were invited to join for a fee of 50 cents each, a considerable price for the time. Interest increased, and two teams, the Crescents, and the Stars resulted. Rossland Ladies Hockey Team c. 1912 Collection # 2285.0004...
