Thursday, November 22, 2012

Revelstoke in 1912

Much of Revelstoke’s historic downtown was constructed by 1913. Revelstoke shared in the general economic boom that took place in Canada in the early 1900s, and this can be seen in some of the commercial and government buildings that were constructed during that time. In 1912, Revelstoke saw the completion or at least the start of construction of several of our prominent heritage buildings. McKinnon’s pool room and cigar store and Bourne Brothers General Store were both opened in February of 1912. They are now operating as Nickelodeon Museum and Style Trend Clothiers respectively. They are both beautiful buildings and both have restored parts of their original pressed tin ceilings. C.R. Macdonald opened his drugstore on Mackenzie Avenue in March and that building now houses Isabella’s Restaurant. Our beautiful brick Courthouse was being constructed by contractors Foote and Pradolini. The cornerstone was laid on May 2, 1912 and the building was completed in October of 1913. Horace Manning arranged for the construction of his new candy factory in the fall of 1912 and it was completed the following year. The building retains the original name of Manning’s although it is now a Chinese Restaurant rather than a candy factory. There are residents who still remember the delicious Manning’s Broadway Chocolates made there. Another beautiful building that began construction in 1912 was the Queen Victoria Hospital. Revelstoke’s first public hospital had been constructed in 1902 on the site where Cooper’s is now located, and a brick annex was added to it in 1910. In 1912, the original cottage hospital was moved to the next lot where it eventually became the first Legion building. A new brick hospital was built up against the brick annex to create the new Queen Victoria Hospital that remained in use until the end of 1970. Sadly, the brick hospital was torn down in the early 1970s. The bricks in the posts at the back end of our Heritage Garden came from this building. In 1912, Revelstoke was one of the largest centers in the interior of the province, third in size after Kamloops and Nelson. Kelowna, Vernon and Salmon Arm were still fairly small farming communities at that time. The CB Hume Department Store in Revelstoke was the largest of its kind in the interior. Revelstoke boasted a large YMCA building equipped with a full gymnasium, bowling alley and indoor pool. There was also an Opera House where local and travelling performers could stage shows. A local group known as the Progress Club was negotiating with the federal government to have Mount Revelstoke declared a National Park and construction of the auto road to the summit began in the summer of 1912. The CPR was the major employer and operated a branch line to Arrowhead, south of Revelstoke, with steamer traffic from Arrowhead to West Robson. This growth continued up until the outbreak of war in August of 1914, which changed Revelstoke irrevocably.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Revelstoke Remembers

Revelstoke residents have been gathering each November 11 at the cenotaph since it was first erected in 1923. The marker was created by the Great War Veterans Association, the forerunner to the Royal Canadian Legion. The plaque on the cenotaph listed the names of 91 men from this district who gave their lives during World War I. A second plaque was added after World War II with the names of another 32 men. Revelstoke Museum & Archives created memorial books with a profile on each of the World War I soldiers and we are currently doing the same for the men who gave their lives in World War II. It is important for future generations that the memories of these men are not lost. Ken English researched and wrote the profiles of the World War I soldiers, and he created a summary profile. Here are some of the facts that he discovered. About half of the men who died were born in England and Scotland. Another quarter were born in Eastern Canada and thirteen were born in British Columbia, seven of those in Revelstoke. The average height of the men was 5’8” with the shortest recruits John Henry and Stanley Janes at 5’3” and the tallest Daniel Montgomery at 6’2”. The average age of the men at the time of death was 28. The oldest was Andrew Lee at 44, and there were six other men over the age of 40. The youngest was Charles Hanbury who was a 16 year old sailor on the HMCS Galiano when it sank off the Queen Charlotte Islands on October 29, 1918. There were four other soldiers who were under the age of 20 when they died. There were several sets of brothers who served overseas, but the only family that lost two sons was the Robinson family. John Robinson was the brother of pioneer sawmill owners Fred and Dan Robinson. John’s three sons Arthur, Walter and Victor all served overseas and only Victor returned home. Walter died on April 22, 1915 during the battle of Ypres at the age of 21. Arthur died on August 11, 1918 at the age of 20. The stories of the men who died are endless and we have only fragments of them. We welcome any additional information and photographs on the soldiers from the two world wars. Any family members of Revelstoke’s fallen soldiers are encouraged to contact us – we would be happy to share whatever information we have as well. The photograph shows a group of Bridge Guards in Rogers Pass. The man at the left is John Collia, who was born in Italy in 1893 and came to Canada around 1907. John died at the age of 24 on April 19, 1917 at the battle for Vimy Ridge. John has many family members still living in Revelstoke.