THE KÜTNE READER

I was surprised to seen an obituary for Emma Zahn. Surprised because she was born in Fife. I thought no native Fifers were left.

New discoveries reveal that Doukhobors were finding their way to British Columbia several years before a mass migration began in 1908.

An amazing envelope from Cascade City has sold on eBay.

In 1959, Joe and Freda Zimmerman opened the Swiss Inn and Motel at Kettle Valley, a little east of Rock Creek. It was quite a building,...

After writing about Chinese-indigenous births at Rock Creek , I received a message from Nelson’s Mona Smith, who noted that her mother, aunt, and uncles were born to Chinese-Canadian parents in Midway in the 1920s. She put me in touch with her uncle in Ontario, Johnnie Bing, and loaned me several volumes of family history he compiled. Therein lies a fascinating tale. This old truck from the 1940s or so sits on the Bing property at Willow Point. Johnnie’s dad, Soo Bing Quan, a

This is the story of a local woman’s search for the place where her father died more than 60 years ago. It begins with Donald Edward (Ted) West. He’s six feet tall, 170 pounds, and in great shape. He’s handsome, athletic, has a brilliant smile and fine social graces. Furthermore, he’s kind, reliable, and adventurous. He’s a strong leader who isn’t afraid to challenge authority. He’s also an avid golfer, prominent at Edmonton’s Mayfair Golf and Country Club, where in 1939, at

Betty Ridge, who died in Nelson on Dec. 23 at age 98, was probably the last surviving person born in the mining town of Phoenix, BC. She was already believed to be the last person born there (on April 14, 1920) before the city disincorporated. Phoenix, ca. 1900s. (Greg Nesteroff collection) Her parents, Russell and Maggie Macdonald, married in Greenwood in 1909. Her father was a crusher boss at the mines in Phoenix, where two of her brothers were also born: Roy, who died in 1

The postcard below of an old bridge across the Cascade canyon at Christina Lake sold online today. It’s a nice enough image, but it’s the message on the back that’s jaw dropping. It’s the first postcard I’ve seen used to deny involvement in a crime. The card was mailed on June 29, 1929 from Greenwood to Mr. W. Best, secretary of the Elks Club in Victoria. Here is the message flipped on its side: Earlier that month, Arthur Thomas, 19, held up the Grandview branch of the Royal

Between 1872 and 1923, at least 12 Chinese Canadian births occurred at Rock Creek. This was noteworthy for a few reasons. First, there was perhaps only one other such birth elsewhere in the Boundary during that time. Most of these births preceded the first Chinese Canadian births in West Kootenay (two in Nelson and five in Kaslo during the same period). But even more intriguing: all 12 people were actually of mixed ancestry, part Chinese and part Indigenous. Rock Creek is see