THE KÜTNE READER

In 1923, Frances West (also known as Florence), the six-year-old daughter of Edbert West, manager of the Ogilvie elevator in Taber, Alberta, spent the summer in Nelson with her mother Addie. Frances took her first swimming lesson from J.B.B. Smith at Lakeside Park. She showed promise, to say the least. Within weeks, she swam without help across Kootenay Lake, about three quarters of a mile. The Vancouver Sun of Aug. 27 called her an “aquatic prodigy.” There was some skeptic

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

One oft-asked historical question is exactly when Nelson’s Big Orange Bridge was painted orange. It was originally silver when built in 1957 although the date of its hue conversion was unclear. We knew, however, who decided on the colour: Jack Kelsall (1924-2009), a Silverton native who worked as a traffic engineer in Prince George, New Denver, Grand Forks, and Revelstoke, then as provincial bridge inspection engineer in Victoria before settling in Nelson in 1969. His obitua

Fifty-five years ago today, the Ainsworth post office ceased to exist. The following day, it was reborn as Ainsworth Hot Springs. The envelopes pictured below, which sold on eBay recently, were postmarked Jan. 10 and 11, 1964 as the change took effect. The explanation for the change is found in a letter to the postal inspector of Oct. 3, 1963 from A.E. Catterall, district director of postal service (held in the place names duotang of the Martin and Jane Lynch fonds at the Koo

Helena White’s 1984 booklet, Sixty Bloomin’ Years: A History of Creston, British Columbia contains this statement on page 21: “Moviegoers were thrilled to learn that Clark Gable had been recognized in the area. The actor was on holiday at Kootenay Cottages on the lake.” Intrigued, I asked Creston Museum manager Tammy Bradford about it. She quickly found the source, an item in the Creston Review of Aug. 11, 1939. Bradford adds: “I took a quick look at the local and personal

One of West Kootenay’s best bits of folklore is the Flying Steamshovel , the story of an amateur aviation enthusiast who apparently built and flew a homemade helicopter in Rossland that crashed on its maiden voyage in 1902. (Since 1990, it has also been the name of a Rossland pub.) Historians Valerie Patanella and Ron Welwood have looked into it — both the tale itself and the man who popularized it, Father Thomas Freney. He collected affidavits from witnesses for a story publ

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 rush collection being auctioned by All Nations Stamp and Coin . The envelope is addressed: “Mr. James Cooke, Fort Shepherd, near the mouth of Pond [sic] Oreille River in Vicinity of Colville Mines on Columbia River British Columbia North America.” It bears a London postmark of Jan. 2, 1862 as well as Port Townsend, Washington Territory. U

Betty Ridge, who died in Nelson on Dec. 23, 2018 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 die

The following story is completely fabricated. The names and circumstances were made up but passed off as genuine. It says something — though am I not sure exactly what — about the dissemination of tall tales by newspapers in the late 19th century. The version I have assembled combines several, sometimes contradictory accounts. August Methfessel illustration from the San Francisco Call , June 25, 1899 In June 1899 (and for the several months afterward), papers around the world

Of the 100 or so cemeteries in West Kootenay/Boundary, two dozen can no longer be visited because they were either flooded out, exhumed, ploughed over, covered by slides, or simply lost. In addition, five cemeteries never actually existed. Three were proposed but didn’t happen and two others entered the historical record in error. These phantom graveyards are detailed below. PASSMORE The Passmore notes of the Slocan Enterprise of July 13, 1927 read: “The Farmers Institute he

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 concerned pioneer prospector Eli Carpenter , who co-discovered the claim that started the Silvery Slocan mining rush and once walked a tightrope over Slocan City’s Main Street. Although it was rumoured Carpenter came to BC after his wife was unfaithful, I was dismayed to discover he tried to kill her and her paramour. His drunken stupor pre

Curious thing: this ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on March 26, 1911 and subsequent issues. Koch Siding is a nearly-obsolete name for the area of Slocan Park that’s on the flats across from the cemetery. It was the site of a sawmill built by William Koch that operated from 1906 into the 1920s. Lawrence Twoaxe was a Mohawk from the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec, born in 1885 in Cornwall, Ont. to Thomas Twoaxe and Margaret Hill. In 1935, while living in Oakland, he e

Robert Main was sometimes referred to as the poet laureate of the Kootenays. In the 1920s, he ran a small roadside stand at Beasley called the Pop Inn, which sold, well, pop, plus chocolates, cigarettes, and fruit from local orchards. For 10 cents you could also buy his publication, The Pop Inn Annual, filled with poems, ads, and nonsense. Robert Main (left) is seen offering refreshments at the Pop Inn at Beasley, 1927, the same year he issued the publication seen below. At r

I’m not sure who the first woman to work for a West Kootenay/Boundary newspaper was, but one early example was Harriet Haire Smith, a daughter of C. Dell Smith, proprietor of the Ymir Mirror . The paper’s Jan. 30, 1904 edition noted: “Miss Smith of the Mirror business staff is visiting her friend, Miss Adie at Waneta.” I presume she was Dell’s daughter, but can’t say for sure. At the time, Harriet was not yet 16. The family moved to Victoria after the newspaper folded a few

Having examined births, marriages, and deaths aboard sternwheelers on local lakes, we turn our attention to West Kootenay–related births involving other forms of transportation. Plane In August 1959, Betty Ector of Argenta went in to labour ten days ahead of her due date, aboard a Delta Airlines flight, 9,000 feet over Malden, Missouri. Baby Suzanne was born in a compartment at the end of the plane, with two flight attendants and two passengers as midwives. The plane continu

In January 1910, a man posted a notice in Silverton that read: Mr. A.L. Pinchbeck, D.M.S. dental surgeon, has visited Silverton for two weeks only. All who want teeth seen to either crowning bridging or stopping. Set and false teeth a specialty. Honorary certificate for above work guaranteed and done $1 less than in Nelson or any other town in British Columbia. His typewritten diploma, however, was made out in a different name: This is to certify that Arthur L. Stanger is now

On Sept. 29, 1958, CJAT Trail opened a new studio in the former post office at 1300 Cedar Ave. They also marked their 25th anniversary as a commercial station (they first went on air on Christmas Day 1931 as an amateur station known as 10AT). To commemorate the occasion, several Capitol Records artists and others recorded greetings to air on the station between music and commercials. CJAT broadcast centre, 1958 (Greg Nesteroff collection) Ken Hughes, who worked at CJAT, kept

An amazing cabinet card sold on eBay last week for $181.50 US ($240 Cdn), showing two First Nations people in a studio portrait by Rossland photographer Thomas Henry Gowman. I don’t know for sure if these were Sinixt people, but their name for Rossland was kEluwi’sst or kmar k n, the former a generic name for “up in the hills” and the latter a term for “smooth top,” referring to Red Mountain. They knew it as a good area for huckleberries. While we do don’t know the names of

It may be in Washington state, but I regard Northport as an honourary West Kootenay town, given that its existence from 1898 to 1921 was largely due to a smelter built to treat ore from Rossland’s LeRoi mine. Most people from Rossland and Trail are extremely familiar with Northport and vice versa. On top of that, at least four or five of Northport’s mayors were Canadian born. Can any other US town make a similar claim? I have no idea, as it doesn’t seem to be the subject of i