Central Okanagan Heritage Society

Courtesy of Old Kelowna. Thank You

Black Mountain/sntsk’il’ntn Regional Park fun facts The park is 640 hectares, the largest in the Regional District, begun in 2014 It is a partnership bet...ween the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) and the Westbank First Nations (WFN) It is considered to be the place where flint is found by the Syilx people and was an important site including several sacred mounds and other places of significance. Ecosystems in the park include: grasslands, Ponderosa Pine and Douglas fir open forest, riparian areas and talus slopes. 5 species of plants and animals in the park are Red or Blue listed (Grizzly Bear, American Badger, Monarch Butterfly, Western Rattlesnake and Slender Hawksbeard) The land is shaped by volcanoes and glaciers Eli Lequime, an early rancher, took advantage of the opening up of the government land reserve in 1879 to purchase land circling a good part of the mountain, from Scotty Creek to the south slopes of Black Mountain. These slopes became the location of the Pyman horse ranch in 1911. Pyman did well with his ranch but joined up during WW1 and was later killed in the trenches. Pyman had no successors to take up his endeavors. Sam Long who moved to the East Kelowna benches in 1902 had more success, putting in the first apple orchard on the bench lands Before Big White opened, there was skiing at a ski bowl up on the mountain with a rope tow and chalet, the remains of which can still be detected. See more

Check out this photo of the MV Pentowna. This boat transported passengers (and later freight) across Okanagan Lake from 1926 to 1973. The name "Pentowna" is a p...ortmanteau of "Penticton" and "Kelowna." This boat paved the way for future vessels in a number of ways. It was the first boat to be owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CNR) on Okanagan Lake. It was also the first diesel-powered boat on the lake. The Pentowna took two daily round-trips between Kelowna and Penticton, Monday to Saturday. Fun fact! The Pentowna's vibration was so strong that "ketchup would shoot out of uncapped bottles in the dining room." Info from: Cox, Doug. "S.S. Sicamous: Queen of Okanagan Lake."

Thank you INFOnews Kelowna. By Rob Munro The MV Pendozi a misspelling of Father Pandosy was one of three government-run ferries plying the Narrows between Kelowna and Westbank....Continue reading

Thank you Old Kelowna.

Thank You once again Old Kelowna.

Thank you Old Kelowna. This is Incredible!

Glad we had so much help at our Fall garden work bee. #okanagan #beautifulbc #kelowna #benvoulinchurch #gardening #centralokanaganheritagesociety #okanaganheritage #kelownaheritage #oldkelowna #historicalkelowna #weddingvenuekelowna #gardens #kelownahistorydka #downtownkelownaassociation #tourismkelowna

Thank you Fintry Estate.

Thank you Old Kelowna

Had fun putting the garden to bed for the winter.... but still so many leaves left to fall . #okanagan #beautifulbc #kelowna #benvoulinchurch #gardening #centralokanaganheritagesociety #okanaganheritage #kelownaheritage #oldkelowna #historicalkelowna #weddingvenuekelowna #gardens #kelownahistorydka #downtownkelownaassociation #tourismkelowna

#ThrowbackThursday is this view of Kelowna's Bernard Avenue looking west. Postcard from the mid 1920's with a postmark of 1928 available on ebay.ca 2015. Kindly shared by Fred Fleck.

Here's a #throwbackthursday for you all! Check out this photo of main street, circa 1938. Sure looks a bit different now!