THE KÜTNE READER

Five envelopes mailed in 1885 by a CPR camp cook working near present-day Revelstoke have sold at auction for nearly $7,000.

Keep your head down and you might spot the handiwork of an iron foundry that went out of business 80 years ago.

Here are two photos of the old Yahk police station/lock-up that I took on Aug. 11, 2004. This building has long since disappeared.

A derelict gas station at Wynndel has a fully-restored twin in Newtonville, Ont.

Long before Photoshop, postcard publishers were using airbrushes and other tools to alter images.

A Kootenay teacher was once offered a small fortune by a bride-to-be in Minnesota, sight unseen. Who was he and what happened?

The first purpose-built courthouses in Nelson and Revelstoke looked nearly identical, a matter of some architectural intrigue.

The 1918 and 1919 civic directories listed a Doukhobor beekeeping colony at Procter. Who were they?

A terrific, rare postcard of Ainsworth sold last month on eBay. Here’s a closer look at some of the buildings depicted.

A walk down some Trail and Nelson alleys reveals surprises in brick.

Concrete ruins adjacent to the Springer Creek campground in Slocan are from an unusual intersection of mining and Japanese-Canadian history.

Martha Collins was a pioneer prospector and hotel keeper whose name was once known in every mining camp in the west.

The search for Beavervale, Kelleys school, and the Warfield Police Department.

Photos of the destruction caused by the Nelson fire bug of 1911-12 have improbably turned up.

Several envelopes that sold at auction have intriguing connections to West Kootenay Japanese-Canadian, Chinese Canadian, and mining history.

I was surprised to seen an obituary for Emma Zahn. Surprised because she was born in Fife. I thought no native Fifers were left.

What is a Kootenay Avenue doing in Southampton, England? I have a theory.

Most West Kootenay/Boundary towns have an obvious primary commercial thoroughfare. However, it’s not always the one originally intended.

The two things Tom Murphy was best known for happened within three months of each other: fighting Nelson’s deadliest fire and an epic swim.

Three spectacular slides give us a glimpse of downtown Trail buildings and businesses more than 60 years ago.