THE KÜTNE READER

Second of five parts In 2016, John Mackie of The Vancouver Sun wrote an interesting story about early electric vehicles, and called Nelson “a hotbed of electric cars,” because it had its own power plant. He quoted one old car expert as saying “Nelson was the greatest place on Earth for electric cars. The city had plug-ins all around town.” Indeed, the Calgary Herald of Oct. 12, 1912, noted Nelson’s “public services and institutions, including electric cars, electric light,

First of five parts Was the first automobile ever seen in this region electric? With the current push to better accommodate electric vehicles in our area, it’s an interesting question. The Grand Forks Evening Sun reported on March 3, 1905: Grand Forks citizens will have an opportunity of seeing an automobile spinning along the thoroughfares of this city during the coming summer, for it is stated that Superintendent Hodges of the Granby company has ordered a machine, which wi

Like anything else, phone books and civic directories are obviously prone to mistakes. Still, I wonder how some of the following anomalies made it past quality control. Waterloo’s godfather Occupations in early directories were rarely more descriptive than farmer, rancher, miner, or storekeeper, but this one snuck into the 1897-98 Williams listings for Waterloo (now lower Ootischenia): “Landis H B, the original inhabitant and godfather to the town.” Hiram Benjamin Landis (18

Is Trail missing a manhole cover? If so, public works might want to call their counterparts in Nelson, because there’s one in Railtown clearly marked “City of Trail.” It’s near the corner of Railway and Silica, across from the Selkirk Veterinary Hospital. No idea how long it’s been there, although I first noticed it around 2010. It turns out this is not the only instance of a wandering manhole cover in our area. In the Walmart parking lot in Trail, you will find this one. And

At a presentation on the history of Slocan Valley sawmills in November 2016, a forester suggested the poles for the original light stands at Yankee stadium came out of the Lardeau. I had never heard this before, but discovered something else in Salmo Stories , p. 197. It’s a quote from a 2010 interview with Les Jensen, who was born in 1942: When I was a kid, we took poles and fence posts down on sleds equipped with steel runners … We took out poles that were sent to Yankee St

Hand-painted signs on the north and south sides of the Grand Forks Gazette building at 7330 2nd St. advertise both its current and former use. Erected in 1903 as the Club Saloon, the building later became a garage. A badly faded sign on the south side says “City Garage/Premier Gasoline.” (The garage’s bay doors were where the glass tiles are now on the front of the building.) The newspaper moved into the building in 1931. The yellow and black sign on the north side reads “Th

Sundown Slim was the champion liar of the Lardeau. The king of whoppers. A master fibber without peer. He had a fabrication for every occasion and was literally a tall tale teller — for he stood 6'3½". Sundown Slim seen at Lardeau, ca. 1951. (Jeanne McCartney photo, courtesy Paul Jeffrey) One of his best and most oft-told stories was how he had been a sheriff for a day in Tombstone, Arizona. He couldn’t remember the year, but said he read an ad for a man to be marshal of Tom

One of the most venerable and unique made-in-BC business names ceased to exist on March 22, 2018 after 103 years. The last Overwaitea...

The Big Orange Bridge will soon be the Big Green Bridge. The new private owner of the span across Kootenay Lake’s West Arm in Nelson plans a major paint job, transforming the local landmark’s longtime hue. BC’s Ministry of Transportation sold the bridge last September to Shanghai-based Wifulyu Corp. for $11.8 million. Although company spokeswoman Lirpa Loof insists tolls are “not under active consideration,” she said the company will immediately paint the bridge to cover the

In 1940, Nelson city council was planning to build a new city hall next door to its existing one at the foot of Ward Street. Local architect Bill Williams drew up a modernist design that looked a bit like the current Vancouver city hall on a smaller scale. I don’t know why the proposal failed, but as a result, the city spent another 20 years in its existing building before deciding, amid much controversy, to move to the former post office at the corner of Ward and Vernon. Th

Sometime after the Silver King Hotel in Nelson was demolished in 1947, a sign (seen below, circa 1960s) was painted on the side of KWC block advertising “Hume Hotel — 1 block to fine food and accommodation.” (Ellis Anderson photo) It became a phantom sign of sorts in 1980, when the Hume Hotel was renamed the Heritage Inn. New proprietors Dave and Sheila Martin were trying to escape the stigma attached to the old name due to the dodgy reputation of previous owners. This photo

A few months ago I was forwarded this tattered but terrific photo, previously unseen (at least by me). It shows the Silver King Hotel and Hyde, Titsworth & Co. grocery in Nelson, sometime between 1896 and 1900. The building stood on Baker Street near Ward, next to the KWC block (although this photo was taken before the latter was built). It’s now the site of Still Eagle, Phoenix Computers, and until recently, Sandrella’s Boutique. I’ve included another image at bottom that pl

In the spring of 1973, you might have met a guy in the Slocan Valley named Bill Lane, who was living in his van. He looked like many other young Americans who came north during that era, either escaping the Vietnam War or joining the back-to-the-land movement, or both. But he was actually FBI special agent Cril Payne on a dubious — and completely illegal — mission. Six years later wrote a book that was part mea culpa, condemning his former agency and the tactics it used. Deep

These Art Deco masterpieces, held by the City of Vancouver Archives , were drawn by the firm of Townley and Matheson , who designed Vancouver city hall, among many other buildings in that city. The first set is of a four-storey hotel intended for Trail, dated Dec. 30, 1927, followed by a three-storey version apparently intended for the same place. City of Vancouver Archives AM1399-S3---: CVA 1399-573 City of Vancouver Archives AM1399-S3---: CVA 1399-575 City of Vancouver Arch

Second in a series on signs that outlived the businesses they advertised. This one is on the back of the building at 607 Front St. in Nelson and is visible from Lakeside Ave. According to BC Assessment, the building was put up in 1910. J.Y. Griffin & Co. Ltd. of Winnipeg operated a meat packing business there. W.M. McGillis was listed in the civic directory as the local manager. In 1914, the directory shows that Swift Canadian Co. was now at that location, with T.E. Lavasseur

The photo below is probably the second most-reproduced image ever taken in West Kootenay (next to R.H. Trueman’s vertigo-inducing shot of a train stopped at Payne Bluff on the Kaslo and Slocan Railway). This early selfie shows photographer Mattie Gunterman being punished for some transgression at the Nettie L cookhouse near Ferguson by sisters Annie and Rose Williams, ca. 1903. It has appeared in numerous books and magazines since it was first published in Bruce Ramsey’s Gho

There is a space between Vernon and Lake streets in Nelson that, near as I can tell, has always been vacant. Several buildings have been proposed, but none ever built. The area is seen below in a ca. 1899-1900 photo that belongs to Doug Jones, and extends between the Lakeview Hotel seen at left and the Kootenay Supply Co. at right. By 1945, the City of Nelson owned the property. Nelson Auto Wrecking had previously expressed interest in the seven lots (Block 67, Lots 18-24). N

Last September, a group including scuba diver Brian Nadwidny went looking for a Caterpillar tractor supposedly lost in Kootenay Lake at Garland Bay, north of Riondel. Instead they found what appears to be a grapple loader, in 120 feet of water. They think it’s from the 1950s or ‘60s. Brian notes that the engine, batteries, and hydraulic hoses have all been removed. A sign on the back of the truck cab appears to read “TIDL*** Contractors.” Do you know when, how, or why it ende

This is the first in a series looking at phantom signs of West Kootenay/Boundary. I thought I would start with a Nelson building that has two of them: 524 Vernon Street, now home to Jackson’s Hole restaurant. The more obvious sign, which was touched up perhaps 20 years ago, is for Algernon Sidney Horswill, who operated his wholesale business here from the 1910s until 1929 in what was previously known as the McDonald block. (Prior to that Horswill was at 420 Baker St.) Horswil

Notorious train robber Bill Miner had a lookalike in Nelson. This story appeared in the Nelson Daily News on Nov. 16, 1911 and was located by former Castlegar-area resident Byng Giraud. It was published shortly after Miner was nabbed for one of his many prison escapes. WILLIAM NOBLE, NELSON MAN, INTRODUCED AS BILL MINER Mistaken for the notorious train robber “Bill” Miner, followed by amateur sleuths for days, questioned by regular detectives, and finally introduced by his fr