THE KÜTNE READER

A copy of a short-lived and long-lost Nelson newspaper has surfaced: it’s the Sept. 20, 1913 edition of The Independent, whose existence...

I bought the photo below about eight years ago. It shows a group on the lawn of the Outlet Hotel in Procter, long a popular spot for...

Nelson’s first fire chief following the city’s incorporation in 1897 was also the youngest chief ever — and the shortest serving. But for...

After writing about Chinese-indigenous births at Rock Creek , I received a message from Nelson’s Mona Smith, who noted that her mother,...

Here’s a list of local historical questions I wish I could answer and some others I have recently been able to find answers to. 1) What...

In 2019, I wrote here about some long-lost footage showing survivors of the Empress of Ireland disaster of May 29, 1914 that claimed more...

Grand Forks police chief Harry Sheads was involved in shootouts in 1899 and 1900. What happened before and after was incredibly weird.

Despite being such an historic and picturesque site, little has been written about the history of New Denver’s cemetery — until now. This...

In 1923, Frances West (also known as Florence), the six-year-old daughter of Edbert West, manager of the Ogilvie elevator in Taber,...

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...

One oft-asked historical question is exactly when Nelson’s Big Orange Bridge was painted orange. It was originally silver when built in...

Fifty-five years ago today, the Ainsworth post office ceased to exist. The following day, it was reborn as Ainsworth Hot Springs. The...

Helena White’s 1984 booklet, Sixty Bloomin’ Years: A History of Creston, British Columbia contains this statement on page 21: “Moviegoers...

One of West Kootenay’s best bits of folklore is the Flying Steamshovel, the story of an amateur aviation enthusiast who apparently built...

An envelope mailed from London to Fort Shepherd in January 1862 sold today for $1,600 Cdn. The piece was part of the Gerald Wellburn gold...

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...

The following story is completely fabricated. The names and circumstances were made up but passed off as genuine. It says something...

Of the 100 or so cemeteries in West Kootenay/Boundary, two dozen can no longer be visited because they were either flooded out, exhumed,...

A terrific cover from Silverton, postmarked July 28, 1894, sold for $192.50 Cdn yesterday on eBay. It was sent from Hunter & McKinnon,...

Twice this year I’ve learned secret details about someone that made me re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about them. The first case...