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Here are a couple of stories from Revelstoke Mail-Herald issues from December 1909.
December 15, 1909:
"Mrs. T. Kilpatrick, President of the Revelstoke branch of the BC Anti-Tuberculosis Society, just received usual supply of 2000 Christmas and New Year stamps issued by the Society. Sales will support indigent patients at Tranquille Sanitorium, Kamloops. Price is one cent per stamp. The idea originated, under royal patronage, and was developed by the National Red Cross Society during the Boer War. “It is felt that it will give pleasure to many when sending Christmas greetings to friends, to feel that they are at the same time contributing in a small way to a national cause.” Stamps available for sale in the drug stores and post office. “If the public as a whole buy these stamps, and attach them to their Christmas parcels, the idea of this, the chief festive season of the year, of good will, of charity and brotherly love, will be made doubly strong, and by giving pleasure to a friend, a great cause will be held and valuable lives saved that must otherwise be lost to the province."
I found it interesting that Christmas Seals had originated during the Boer War!
December 29, 1909:
"Christmas at the Edison: Management of Edison Parlor Theatre reports large houses on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and excellent programmes were provided on each occasion. The S.R.O. sign was conspicuous on Christmas night and the matinee that day was well attended. The picture illustrating whale fishing was particularly good and instructive, and the scenes in the Civil War of America showing “Brother against Brother” were stirring and realistic. Several high class comedies made up a good programme."
Didn't those people have Christmas dinners to go to?
However you are spending your holiday time, we at Revelstoke Museum and Archives hope that is a happy one for you. We wish all of you the very best for the coming year.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Masquerade Ball
On Wednesday, December 8, 1909, the Revelstoke No. 1 Fire Brigade held their second annual Masquerade Ball at the Opera House on Second Street West. The Revelstoke Mail-Herald newspaper of December 11, 1909, said, "Seldom has there been witnessed such a gala scene as that portrayed in the elegantly decorated hall. Several new ideas in decorative schemes were carried out, the whole being tastefully lavish and artistic. Bunting and flags were used ad libitum while ropes of colored electric lamps gleaming like gigantic pearls among the gracefull festoons of variegated streamers gave a bright and flashy appearance to the hall. An enormous electric sign suspended over the stage bearing the letters 'R.F.B. No 1' caught the eye on entering the ballroom, while trophies of firemen's apparatus added to the business side of the fireman's calling."
The newspaper reported that over 90 couples in fancy dress were present, and began dancing after a Grand March headed by Fire Chief Charles Abrahamson. The reporter continues, "The conglomeration of color was seen to advantage in the many intricacies of the fascinating circle, the general effect being superb. It is safe to say that such an exhibition of art, taste and decorative skill and variety in the many new and original costumes worn, that mingled together blending in an ever changing kaleidoscopic galaxy, has rarely been witnessed in Revelstoke."
The music was supplied by Revelstoke's Independent Band, led by Richard Sawyer, and the Revelstoke Symphony Orchestra , dressed as pierrots, also provided several dance numbers.
Costumes were judged by all of the participants, and the winners were as follows:
Best Lady - Mrs. C. Holten, dressed as "Egypt". Prize: a garnet and gold sunburst brooch.
Best Gentleman - Mr. E.S. Butler, dressed as "Viking Chief". Prize: Briar pipe.
Best Comic - Guy Barber, dressed as "Babe". Prize: Silver Mounted Clock. (This is a little bit funny, as he was the local jeweller, and sold clocks in his store!)
Special - Mrs. T. Lawrence, dressed as "No. 1 Fire Brigade". (I'd love to have seen that costume!) Prize: Pair of Tiffany Glass Vases.
The newspaper reported that over 90 couples in fancy dress were present, and began dancing after a Grand March headed by Fire Chief Charles Abrahamson. The reporter continues, "The conglomeration of color was seen to advantage in the many intricacies of the fascinating circle, the general effect being superb. It is safe to say that such an exhibition of art, taste and decorative skill and variety in the many new and original costumes worn, that mingled together blending in an ever changing kaleidoscopic galaxy, has rarely been witnessed in Revelstoke."
The music was supplied by Revelstoke's Independent Band, led by Richard Sawyer, and the Revelstoke Symphony Orchestra , dressed as pierrots, also provided several dance numbers.
Costumes were judged by all of the participants, and the winners were as follows:
Best Lady - Mrs. C. Holten, dressed as "Egypt". Prize: a garnet and gold sunburst brooch.
Best Gentleman - Mr. E.S. Butler, dressed as "Viking Chief". Prize: Briar pipe.
Best Comic - Guy Barber, dressed as "Babe". Prize: Silver Mounted Clock. (This is a little bit funny, as he was the local jeweller, and sold clocks in his store!)
Special - Mrs. T. Lawrence, dressed as "No. 1 Fire Brigade". (I'd love to have seen that costume!) Prize: Pair of Tiffany Glass Vases.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
From the CPR Accident Files
In the archives, we have about 40 file boxes full of Canadian Pacific Railway Accident Reports from the Revelstoke Division from 1909 to 1935. Every single accident had to be reported, even if someone got a boo-boo on their finger, so there are hundreds of reports about minor accidents as well as a smaller percentage of major accidents, including fatalities. The March 4th, 1910 Rogers Pass Snowslide was the largest loss of life in any accident on the Revelstoke Division, with 58 men killed. The file for that event alone comprises about 600 pages of letters, memos, invoices and telegrams.
At tomorrow's Brown Bag History talk, I will be sharing some of the stories from the files. Obviously, there were some terrible tragedies. In 1919, two brakemen were knocked off the top of a train by a derrick on a spur line to the sawmill. One of the men, Thomas Ernest Root, died of a fractured skull, and the other, William Clay, survived, but died nine years later in an engine boiler explosion at Glacier. The story was very tragic, but there was one item in the file that made me smile. When Thomas MacNabb, Superintendent at Revelstoke sent a memo to Mr. Cotterell, the Assistant General Manager of CPR at Vancouver, the agent who sent it left out a crucial period. This incorrect punctuation caused Mr. Cotterell to call the local office for clarification, and he was so annoyed that he asked the local superintendent to discipline the agent who sent the memo. The unfortunate man was given two demerit marks for "using incorrect punctuation and altering the meaning of a memo."
At tomorrow's Brown Bag History talk, I will be sharing some of the stories from the files. Obviously, there were some terrible tragedies. In 1919, two brakemen were knocked off the top of a train by a derrick on a spur line to the sawmill. One of the men, Thomas Ernest Root, died of a fractured skull, and the other, William Clay, survived, but died nine years later in an engine boiler explosion at Glacier. The story was very tragic, but there was one item in the file that made me smile. When Thomas MacNabb, Superintendent at Revelstoke sent a memo to Mr. Cotterell, the Assistant General Manager of CPR at Vancouver, the agent who sent it left out a crucial period. This incorrect punctuation caused Mr. Cotterell to call the local office for clarification, and he was so annoyed that he asked the local superintendent to discipline the agent who sent the memo. The unfortunate man was given two demerit marks for "using incorrect punctuation and altering the meaning of a memo."
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