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What’s Trout Lake’s second-oldest building?
There is no doubt what Trout Lake’s oldest building is. But what about the runner-up?

Greg Nesteroff
Jul 7, 20249 min read


A Trout Lake fish story
How a set of lost keys were found inside a fish and returned to their owner.

Greg Nesteroff
Jul 5, 20242 min read


Then & Now: Ainsworth community hall
A rare photo shows us one of the West Kootenay’s oldest buildings when it was brand new.

Greg Nesteroff
Jun 29, 20246 min read


Guilty or innocent: The fate of Charles Bodman
Was a respected chief engineer on an Arrow Lakes sternwheeler also an opium smuggler?
Michael A. Cone
Jun 22, 202411 min read


Gerrard’s 1909 football team
I bought this photo of the 1909 Gerrard football (soccer) team on eBay last month for a song. (One song = $8 US.) The seller was in...

Greg Nesteroff
May 29, 20244 min read


Then & Now: The Kootenay Hotel and the Gulch billboard
Can a billboard be considered a heritage site? There’s been one at the same location in Trail for over 80 years.

Greg Nesteroff
May 22, 20243 min read


Crawford Bay Canning and Preserving
The story of a rare jam tin from an obscure company that operated on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake in 1909.

Greg Nesteroff
May 13, 20243 min read


New Denver envelope fetches $1,046
An envelope that sold on eBay for an eye-popping price has a connection to a man convicted of bank robbery and embezzlement.

Greg Nesteroff
Apr 15, 20243 min read


Lost Arrow Lakes lighthouses
Lighthouses on the Arrow Lakes? Yes, they existed! But nothing has been written about them until now. This post illuminates the subject.

Greg Nesteroff
Apr 4, 20249 min read


Chinese-Canadian, Black, and Indigenous players of the WKHL and WIHL
Larry Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play senior hockey in the Kootenays. But he was not the only one.

Greg Nesteroff
Apr 2, 20248 min read


The carriages of Peter (Lordly) Verigin
Peter V. Verigin often travelled between Doukhobor settlements on horse-drawn carriages, carts, and sleighs. But whatever became of them?
Jonathan Kalmakoff and Greg Nesteroff
Mar 18, 202419 min read


Greenwood and Phoenix, August 1958
Rare slides reveal some interesting views of the Boundary on a summer’s day. With a digression about the Grand Forks-Bossburg stage lines.

Greg Nesteroff
Mar 10, 20244 min read


The Nelson-Fredericton connection
Intriguing links exist between Nelson and New Brunswick, involving some of its most prominent early settlers.
Frances Welwood
Mar 8, 20248 min read


The legendary Jack Lloyd: Effective, controversial, and enduring
The West Kootenay connection to a famous but divisive fishing lure.
Michael A. Cone
Mar 5, 202410 min read


Castlegar and Robson by train, plane, auto, and ferry
Three images sold online tell the story of transportation in the area.

Greg Nesteroff
Mar 3, 20244 min read


South Slocan heritage sites
South Slocan has taken it on the chin in the last 20 years, having lost 10 heritage buildings, although an equal number still stand.

Greg Nesteroff
Feb 26, 202450 min read


Lost buildings: South Slocan schoolhouse
South Slocan’s biggest heritage building was torn down in December. Part of it dated to 1918.

Greg Nesteroff
Jan 27, 202420 min read


Evel Knievel’s Kootenay connection
Before Evel Knievel was a motorcycle stuntman, he was Bob Knievel, hockey player.

Greg Nesteroff
Dec 17, 202311 min read


4 streets in Trail named Nelson
Nelson has but one street named after itself, Nelson Avenue. But Trail has had four different streets and avenues named Nelson.

Greg Nesteroff
Nov 27, 20232 min read


Ainsworth’s helpful ghost
A ghost story from 1911 that has never been reprinted: how a phantom helped a prospector discover a valuable nugget.

Greg Nesteroff
Oct 29, 20232 min read
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