THE KÜTNE READER

What happened to the bars from the Reco, Sandon, and Hume hotels?

You'd never guess it today, but from 1950 to the mid-1970s, the corner of Davies and Seventh in Nelson was a busy commercial crossroads.

Trail and Butte share certain nomenclature. The same guy built both of their smelters. And they have other ties too.

The singer-songwriter behind Don’t Worry Be Happy spent at least one month of his youth in Nelson.

When was the Salmo bridge built? When was Rivervale named? Why doesn’t Nelson have a Robert Hampton Gray school? At last we have answers.

The Chad Mitchell Trio, who counted Trail native Mike Kobluk as a member, performed in Trail on Feb. 19, 1962.

Wherein we use a photo of a long-lost building in Kaslo as a jumping-off point looking at the history of Burns & Co. and Eric’s Meat Market.

I had the privilege of reading the guest book of a famous New Denver hotel from 1897 to 1899 that was rescued from a landfill.

What is the origin of a concrete ruin at Ainsworth Hot Springs across from the Fletcher store?

Intrigued by a photo of the charred remains of boathouses in Nelson, Michael Cone tracks down what happened.

Exactly when did Nelson’s iconic coffee shop and newsstand open? And when did it move to its longtime location?

For a few years, the largest library in Nelson was in the courthouse basement. Where did it go?

While James W. Troup was renowned for building sternwheelers in the West Kootenay, Michael Cone recounts three steam launches he owned.

A large building across from Butler Park in Trail is a little-known legacy of the city’s Jewish community.

Michael Cone writes of a forgotten picnic mecca and home of world champions across the lake from Nelson.

Presenting six rare or never-before-seen postcards of Waneta recently sold online and probably dating to the 1910s.

Another in a series of negatives I bought a few years ago showing Trail in 1953 or so.

Wherein I try to figure out more about a woman depicted on a postcard — and reveal some puzzling findings about a murdered brothel keeper.

The cachet associated with the ghost town of Sandon probably drove up the auction price of a trade token from the Hotel Reco.

A stone and mortar structure sits beneath Trail’s Victoria Street bridge. What the heck is it?