By Cathy English, Revelstoke Museum & Archives
125 Years Ago: Jan. 14, 1893, Kootenay Star
The fire brigade, formed in July of 1892, received their new horse-drawn chemical fire engine from Toronto. It had the name “Revelstoke” in silver letters on a red background, and came with about 400 feet of hose, fire axe, crowbar, and full directions for working it. The door of the fire hall on Front Street had to be widened to nearly seven feet before the new engine could be housed. The fire brigade planned to hold a practice with the engine as soon as the snow permitted.
90 Years Ago: Jan. 11, 1928, Revelstoke Review
J.H. Munro, local fur dealer and president of the Board of Trade, announced that he would award a new car to any skijumper who could exceed the present world’s record of 240 feet, held by Nels Nelsen of Revelstoke. The car would be on offer at the upcoming ski tournament planned for Mount Revelstoke in February. Munro stipulated that at least three outside jumpers must compete in order to make the offer valid. Two jumpers from Chicago indicated that they planned to attend, and former world’s title holder, Henry Hall just announced that he would attend as well. Spoiler alert: Munro did not have to give away the car.
75 Years Ago: Jan. 14, 1943, Revelstoke Review
J.H. Armstrong retired as chief dispatcher of the Revelstoke Division. His brother, W.J. Armstrong retired at the end of October, 1942 as a conductor on this division, and his sister, Mrs. George Miller worked for the CPR for many years as a telegrapher. Between the three siblings, they spent more than 100 years in the employ of the CPR.
60 Years Ago: Jan. 9, 1958, Revelstoke Review
1958 was a Centennial Year in British Columbia, marking the creation of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in 1858. The Revelstoke Ski Club’s International Invitational Ski Jumping Tournament scheduled for March 6 to 9 was being planned as Revelstoke’s first centennial event of the year. Skiers from the USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Finland had already indicated that they would attend.
50 Years Ago: Jan. 11, 1968, Revelstoke Review
Revelstoke’s annual Open Slalom Derby was held on Mount Revelstoke last weekend. The overall winner was 19 year old Dave Bruneau of Montreal, a member of the Canadian National Ski Team. The overall winner in the women’s events was 16 year old Pam Aiken from Rossland. The best was result by a Revelstoke skier was a 4th place overall finish by Greg Humphries.
40 Years Ago: Jan. 11, 1978, Revelstoke Review
City council members voted to give themselves a 6 per cent increase, the maximum allowed under the guidelines. This gave Mayor Al McAskill a monthly amount of $758, and $382 per month for each of the six aldermen. This was the third increase in just over two years.
30 Years Ago: Jan. 13, 1988, Revelstoke Review
The City of Revelstoke was in preliminary discussions with Per Val Investments Ltd. for the purchase of Mt. Mackenzie Ski Hill. Alderman Fred Beruschi had met with Mr. Paul Hughes, one of the project partners, to review plans for the resort.
20 Years Ago: Jan, 14, 1998, Revelstoke Times Review
The local branch of the provincial emergency program and the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club joined forces to present an avalanche awareness workshop. Snowmobile Club president Ron LaRoy estimated that between 30 and 40 people turned out for the course.
