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. The best players were chosen for the Winter…
Where’s Waldo??
You know Waldo, of course, hiding in the crowd as a comic character, unseen but there. A whole cult of searchers, kids, and adults, have formed around him. But what about the other Waldo (B.C.), also hiding in plain view? Situated on the Kootenay River, just upriver from where the Elk River flows into the…
Nurse Helen
Of 209 graduates from the St. Eugene School of Nursing, Helen Faulkner was one of the first from Cranbrook. Born in 1916, Helen moved to Cranbrook at the age of six months with her parents, Marion and Cornelius VanBraam. When Helen turned eighteen, her wish was to go to University. Limited finances influenced her decision…
How a swamp was transformed
George John Spreull graduated Law at Glasgow University, Scotland, and arrived in Cranbrook in 1918. He set up a legal practice with Alan Graham that lasted until 1945, with Mr. Spreull becoming part of the King’s Council in 1936. Withdrawing socially, Spreull kept an interest in environmental issues, focusing on the skating slough near the…
Spirit Wrestlers
Spirit Wrestler is the original meaning of the term Doukhobor – one who wrestles with the spirit. It depicts one who stands to account in the face of temptation, material corruption, and military power. One cannot read or research the Basin records without encountering statements and articles that vilify the Doukhobors. They were seen as…
Frederick Elwell Biography
Rumours surrounding photographs of the construction of the Upper Bonnington Falls powerhouse on the Kootenay River between Castlegar and Nelson resulted in the procurement of 208 photographic prints and negatives dating back to 1906. Frederick Elwell was the man responsible for the photographs. He was born in England on Feb. 14, 1874, and came to…
Pandemic kills on par with WWI
In 1911, Cranbrook had a population of 4,000 people. During World War I, from August 1914 to November 1918, Cranbrook lost 115 men, either killed-in-action or while on duty. The number of men who died was significant, but the war was not the only event to take human lives in 1918. The first case of…
The Women’s Institute of Renata
The Women’s Institute (W.I.) movement began in Ontario in 1897 and has grown to be a global movement that is still active today. The goal of the organization is to provide women with educational opportunities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities. The Women’s Institute of Renata (W.I.) was founded…
Kimberley Flood 1948, Mark Creek Rampage
A devastating flood struck the Town of Kimberley in May of 1948. Mark Creek overflowed its bank due to the melting of a heavy snowpack that year. Excess water flooded the community, and many streets and homes were swept away. Dynamite used by the townsfolk cleared a path for the raging force. Total damages in…
The Farron Explosion
In the early morning hours of October 30, 1924, an explosion shattered a first-class passenger car on the Columbia and Western section of the C.P.R. near Farron, B.C. Farron was the remote summit station for crew changes between Castlegar and Christina Lake. Who blew up the train? And why? The mystery continues to fascinate, and…
B.C.’s first registered female trapper
Ella Bronson Frye arrived in Red Deer, Alberta, in 1907. She was one of nine children born to Fred and Edith Frye. In 1911 the Frye’s moved to Tete Jaune Cache, B.C., and in 1916 Ella attended school but only for a short time. At age seven, Ella’s grandfather Julius Bronson started taking little Ella…