The Queen's Birthday

Make sure to do something special on May 24th to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. The early residents of Revelstoke always made the Queen's Birthday a reason for a fun community celebration.

The Kootenay Star of May 30, 1891 reported on a picnic held by the Independent Order of Grand Templars to celebrate the 72nd Birthday of Queen Victoria. They held the picnic on the banks of the Illecillewaet River, and arranged for horse-drawn buses to transport those who attended. The paper reported that "Queen’s Weather’ prevailed, the day being bright and warm, with probably an accent on warm.” Swings were set up in the trees, and baseball and other games were held. Ten women participated in the ladies' race, with Mrs. Coursier coming in first. Mrs. Coursier daughter, Isabel, later became the world champion women's ski jumper.

One of the highlights of the picnic was a tug of war between the men and the women. As the newspaper reported, “It remained, however, for the ladies to humble them in the dust, and this they did with the grace of polished dissemblers. Seven of the stronger sex thought they had a soft thing to outpull fourteen of the ladies. The pull began and thirteen ladies looked anxiously toward their Captain at the end of the line. She was equal to the occasion and puckered her lips to whistle. That was all that was necessary, and the twenty-eight fair hands let go as one, and seven men rolled over in the dust amid the derisive cheers of the assembled crowd.”

The crowd then enjoyed their picnic supper, "...after which the picnicers wended their way homeward, evidently pretty tired but serenely satisfied with the days outing.”

However you celebrate the Queen's Birthday, I hope that you have a lovely day. The museum will be open this Saturday, May 22nd but closed on the 23rd and 24th.