Pot-Hole Kellie

Here's a bit of Revelstoke history trivia to start off the New Year.

Revelstoke's first Member of Provincial Parliament was James M. Kellie, first elected in 1890. He came out to B.C. from Ontario and tried his hand at mining near Golden, B.C. He had the idea that if he could divert a creek bed, he would find gold in the rock pot-holes of the bed. He spent one spring working on this plan, and twice lost his wooden flumes to wash-outs. Finally, he succeeded in diverting the creek and cleared the pot-holes, only to find the bone of a mountain goat and nothing else. However, he did end up with the nickname Pot-Hole Kellie as a result of his endeavours.

In 1890, the Provincial Government passed some legislation that made it very expensive and difficult for miners operating along the Canadian Pacific Railway right of way. The local miners wanted to discuss this with Premier John Robson, so when he was passing through Revelstoke on a campaign trip, they asked him to meet with them to discuss the legislation. The miners made sure that he missed his train, then took him to a meeting on Front Street in Revelstoke, where they spoke against the legislation. Nobody but the men who had "kidnapped" Robson knew that he was there. Robson was finally invited to speak, and claimed that he had seen the error of his ways, and would rescind the legislation. He suggested that they elect a miner to sit in the legislature and represent their interests. J.M. Kellie, the ringleader of the "kidnapping" plot, was persuaded to run and won by one vote over W.M. Brown.

Kellie held his position as M.P.P. for 10 years, and became well-known for his outspoken views and his unwavering support for the riding of West Kootenay. Revelstoke Museum and Archives holds a typed manuscript by J.M. Kellie detailing his life and political career. It is one of the many historically significant and fascinating items in Revelstoke Museum and Archives.

Brown Bag History will resume for the new year on Wednesday, January 21st at 12:15. The topic will be "Revelstoke in 1909."

Christmas Hours

The staff at the Revelstoke Museum & Archives extends a Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

We will be closed from December 25th until January 5th with the exception of Hogmanay of course!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Celebrate Hogmanay with us!

Our annual Scottish New Year's Open House will be held on:

Tuesday December 30

4pm-6pm

(Hogmanay Raffle will be drawn at 5:30pm)

The tradition of Hogmanay is believed to have been started as a Norse winter solstice celebration. There are many customs associated with Hogamany - join us on the 30th to learn more!

50 Years of Preserving Our History

The Revelstoke Museum and Archives Association turned 50 years old on November 23, 2008. For an entire year, we will be celebrating this occasion with a series of special events and programs. Our kick-off for our Golden Anniversary celebrations will begin on Friday, November 28th at 7:00 pm during Moonlight Madness. Join us for cake and tea and special displays and presentations. And while you're there, check out our new Gift Shop.

When the Association was formed in the B.C. Centennial year of 1958, there was an awareness that, although the community was relatively young, the history was already starting to be forgotten. Thanks to the foresight of local citizens such as Ruby Nobbs, Dr. Hugh McKay, Estelle Dickey, George Laforme and others, much of our history has been preserved for future generations. The first museum was opened in 1963, in the basement of the former Health Unit building, and in 1974, the collection was moved into our current location, the 1926 Post Office building. Since then, our collection has grown to over 5,000 artifacts, over 5,000 photographs, and dozens of boxes of archival material. We invite you to come in and experience our rich and colourful history.

All the News that's Fit to Print

This was the title of the last Brown Bag History presentation. We looked at the history of newspapers in Revelstoke. The first newspaper published in Revelstoke was The Kootenay Star, and it made its appearance on June 22, 1889. The museum has an original copy of the first edition and it is in remarkably good condition. We also have microfilm copies of most of the Revelstoke newspapers published between 1890 and 1964, as well as some hard copies of more recent newspapers, particularly the Revelstoke Herald of the 1970s and 1980s and the Revelstoke Unique from the 1990s.

My favourite local newspaper was the Observer, published between December of 1908 and August of 1909. The editor was E.A. Haggen, who also worked as a Mining Engineer, a Stock Broker, a Real Estate Agent, and an Insurance Agent. His ads for his other businesses were prominent throughout his paper, and some of the articles were also thinly-disguised advertising for himself. Haggen also used the paper to carry out some of his personal battles with other citizens, especially local lawyer George McCarter, and the local police commissioner and MLA. The paper thinly skirted the edges of libel, and sometimes crossed over the line, but it makes for entertaining reading.

The Observer published this rather lofty motto as its reason for being:
For the cause that lacks assistance;
For the wrong that needs resistance;
For the future in the distance;
And the good that we can do.

The first issue of the Observer featured a bit of local humour:
A Careful Man: “Have you noticed,” asked a neighbour, “that Mackenzie avenue sidewalks are laid so that there is a slant toward the curbstone? If you have not thought of it, there is a man in Revelstoke who has, and to save shoeleather he walks on different sides of the street on alternate days to make sure that his shoes will be worn off evenly.”

The newspapers are available for anyone looking for information from the past, or if you're just looking for an entertaining way to pass the time.

FYI ~ The Revelstoke Museum & Archives is currently hosting the Free Spirit Conservation Tour - a travelling exhibit by the Royal BC Museum & BC Hydro. It will run until Saturday, October 24th at 2pm. Along with the exhibit, we are privilaged to have a guest curator share his knowledge with two free public lectures:

1.Dr. Ken Marr (botany curator) will be giving a free public lecture at the Community Centre Thursday, October 23rd entitled "Did Parts of Northern BC Miss the Last Ice Age?"

2.Dr. Ken Marr will be holding a flower pressing/identification demonstration Friday, October 24th at 10am at the Revelstoke Museum & Archives.

~ The Museum will be open to the public extended hours -

• Wed, Oct 22nd 2:30pm-5:00pm
• Thurs, Oct 23rd 2:30pm-8:30pm
• Fri, Oct 24th, 9:00am-8:30pm
• Sat, Oct 25th, 9am-2pm

Questions??? Give us a call - 250-837-3067

Celebrate BC's past and help sustain its future.

The Free Spirit Conservation Tour is coming to Revelstoke Museum & Archives October 22 - 25, 2008

Open to the public:
Wed., Oct. 22: 2:30 pm to 5 pm
Thurs., Oct. 23: 2:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Fri., Oct. 24: 9:00 am to 8:30 pm
Sat., Oct. 25: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Admission: Adults: $4.00 Seniors $3.00 Children and youth (under 18) free

This one-of-a-kind travelling exhibition combines elements from Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC, regional content, interpretive theatre, and a conservation theme into an interactive and educational experience that will appeal to adults and youth of all ages.

A Royal BC Museum and BC Hydro Project

Other Free Spirit Conservation Tour Events:

Did Parts of Northern BC Miss the Last Ice Age?
Learn about collecting plants in the alpine of northern British Columbia and what analyzing their DNA tells us about the last ice age.
Please join Botany Curator Dr. Ken Marr from the Royal BC Museum on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 7:00 pm at Revelstoke Community Centre. Free Admission.

Pressing Flowers & Plants, and Basic Plant Identification
http://www.freespiritbc.ca/conservationtour/Learn techniques for pressing plant materials, and identification of common B.C. plant families at a special workshop led by Botany Curator Dr. Ken Marr from the Royal B.C. Museum on Friday, October 24, 2008 at Revelstoke Museum & Archives, upstairs, at 10:00 am. Free Admission.