Christmases Past

Posted on 20 December 202220 December 2022 by Vernon Museum

A black and white image of an old car with three occupants and some greenery attached to it on a snowy backroad. In the background is a mountain and trees. — A group out Christmas tree hunting near Vernon circa 1913.

An older woman seated in a chair with her hands folded over a blanket on her lap. Christmas Spirit

Wishing all who celebrate, a very Merry Christmas! While it goes without saying that some Christmas traditions have changed significantly since the early 20^th century, the spirit of the season has largely withstood the test of time.

In an interview from 1988, Jean (Crockard) Knight shared her childhood memories of Vernon at Christmas time. Jean and her family came to the area from Scotland in 1906, and moved in with her grandparents who owned a large home on 35^th Avenue. Jean was one of seven children, four of whom were born in Vernon.

Roast chicken and plum pudding

At first, Jean’s father William had some difficulty finding work in Vernon, which meant that the Christmas season was a time for ingenuity. The family made a lot of their own decorations, and Jean even recalled being taught how to do so in school. Eventually, William began working as a stonemason and was involved in the construction of the Vernon Courthouse.

The family later moved into their own cottage on 43^rdAvenue, and on Christmas Day, they would bundle up warmly to make the kilometer or so trek to visit their grandparents. Jean’s grandmother had a chicken coop, so Christmas dinner usually consisted of roast chicken with all the trimmings, followed by a rich fruit pudding (similar to an English plum pudding) which they called a “dumpling.”

A close-up of a green Christmas Tree with lights. A small red wooden rocking horse decoration in hanging in the foreground.

Gifts, sleigh rides, and skating

Presents were not plentiful; Jean recalled that she and her siblings would only receive one or two each, for which they were always grateful. When she was about 15, Jean’s father purchased a gramophone for the family, a gift that was thoroughly enjoyed by all of them. It was around this time that Jean began working at Olson’s Bakery, and always put some of her wage aside to purchase small gifts for her parents, while the rest went towards the family’s household expenses.

As a teenager, Jean loved going for sleigh rides with her friends, and while William could not afford his own sleigh, one year he decided to fix up his own. He fastened a box on bobsled runners, covered it with a quilt, and drove the family into town for Christmas concerts and other seasonal activities (Jean’s personal favourite was skating).

Jean married Harry Knight (the nephew of Vernon’s first butcher Henry Knight) in 1922, but always recalled her happy childhood traditions, some of which she passed down to her own children. “We always had good Christmases and plenty, too,” she said.

The Museum & Archives of Vernon would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday, and a wonderful 2023!

To explore more of Vernon’s history, check out our other blog posts!

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Jacques Jewellers

Posted on 16 December 2022 by Vernon Museum

A man is standing in a long room and leaning on a glass display case. All along the walls are tall wooden cabinets filled with silverware and porcelain. — Interior view of Jacques Jewellers, with proprietor F.B. Jacques at the counter, in 1907.

the front of a large brick building with a small balcony — Jacques Jewellers first store in Vernon circa 1890. GVMA #22704.

Pioneer Jeweller

“The Pioneer Jeweller of the Okanagan” is how F. B. Jacques is described in the Vernon News of 1912, which is hardly an overstatement considering that when it closed, Jacques Jewellers was the oldest store of its kind in the interior of B.C.

Frederick Bainton Jacques, the first jeweler and watchmaker in the Okanagan, was born in Ontario in 1865 and arrived in Vernon in 1891. After renting a storefront on Vernon’s main drag for a few years, his new location opened at 3122 30^th Avenue in 1894. Although he sold jewellery and giftware, most of Fred’s profit was actually made through watch repairs.

A crowd of people inside a shop. — Opening day crowds after the refurbishing of Jacques Jewellers in 1953. GVMA #22684.

Jacques & Son

Fred Jacques died in 1938 at the age of 73, and left the business to his son George. In 1953, George unveiled an “ultra-modern” remodeling of the store.

The second floor of the building was now used to display china, crystal and silver pieces. The mezzanine was renamed the Wedgwood room, and bore chesterfields, comfortable chairs, and desks for shoppers to rest between floors (the stairs, by the way, where decorated with a “luxurious mushroom pink carpet”). The diamond room on the main floor, meanwhile, was reserved for the jewellery and watches for which the Jacques family were best known.

The renovations were a great success, and led to the business being recognized as one of the finest jewellery and gift establishments in Western Canada. George ran the business until his own death in 1963, at which point it passed to Don Harwood.

A man wearing a white shirt and a stripped tie smiling at the camera. — Don Harwood in 1958. GVMA #22927.

The Business changes Hands

By this time, Don had worked at the business for 30 years, ever since he had graduated from high school. He purchased Jacques Jewellers with Charles Troyer, and the two were determined to avoid stocking it with mass-produced products. They instead filled their shelves with a variety of gift items from companies such as Wedgwood, Royal Doulton, Spode, and Royal Crown Derby.

Ownership later passed to Don’s daughter Kath Harwood and George’s nephew Michael Gorman, who ran the store as partners for five years. In 2002, Kath purchased Jacques outright. She ran the business until 2007, when this landmark downtown business closed its doors after more than a century of business.

The building now houses Victoria Lane Brides.

To explore more of Vernon’s history, check out our other blog posts!

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Kalamalka Weavers and Spinners

Posted on 9 December 2022 by Vernon Museum

An Ancient Craft

One local organization that is keeping an ancient tradition alive is the Kalamalka Weavers and Spinners.

The guild was formed in Vernon in 1972 with the goal of promoting weaving and spinning, crafts which are acknowledged as among the oldest in the world. They can be traced back to the Neolithic Period, when plant fibers where twisted together to create string. This progressed to the use of stones and sticks to wind the twine, and then to the first spindles roughly 7000 years ago.

Branching off

While the Kalamalka Weavers and Spinners mainly focus on fiber creations, including those produced through knitting, crocheting, dying, and felting, in the 1970s some members were also avid basket weavers.

The baskets were made from locally-harvested ponderosa pine needles that were bunched together and held together with raffia from Madagascar. One former president of the guild, Bea Sworder, described basketry as “one of nature’s gifts to mankind.”

The members of the guild who took up this craft were modeling their creations off of the traditions of Indigenous communities in B.C., who created—and continue to create—baskets using a variety of natural materials, including pine needles, birch bark, and cedar roots.

In fact, it was a Secwepemc Elder, Dr. Mary Thomas, who first taught the group how to basket weave in the mid-1970s. Thomas was a celebrated ethnobotanist, and an advocate for the protection and promotion of Indigenous language, culture, and traditions. She hosted several workshops for the guild, and was selfless in her willingness to share the teachings of her own Elders.

Passion, success, and Artsolutely

The more recent history of the Kalamalka Weavers and Spinners is one of ongoing passion and success. In September of this year, a team from the guild placed second at the Sheep to Shawl competition of the Salmon Arm Fall Fair, and they are aiming for first place in next year’s event. You can find some of their beautiful creations, alongside those of other talented local artisans, at the Vernon Community Art Centre’s Artsolutely. You can also keep up with the activities of the group on Facebook.

To explore more of Vernon’s history, check out our other blog posts!

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Silver Star Mining Company

Posted on 2 December 20229 December 2022 by Vernon Museum

International Mountain Day

Today is International Mountain Day! Did you know that Vernon’s own mountain, SilverStar, was once the site of a promising but ultimately unsuccessful mining operation?

However, long before this, the mountain was used for generations by the Syilx People of the Okanagan Nation, with foot trails providing access to the mountain’s rich hunting and foraging grounds. Once settlers arrived in the region, the peak became known as Aberdeen Mountain after Lord Aberdeen, Canada’s governor general from 1893 to 1898.

Silver Star Mining Company

The mountain’s earliest claim was staked in 1896 by the Silver Star Mining Company, of which rancher Cornelius O’Keefe was the president. Shafts were dug near the mountain’s submit by pick and shovel, while black powder was used to break up larger pieces. The raw ore was loaded into buckets, and then transported down the mountain on pack horses.

Trace amounts of silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum and copper were quickly found in the ore, which lead miners to believe they had found their own Montezuma’s treasure. Mining fever was spreading all across the province at this time, and reports by the Vernon News of the “magnificent specimens” coming down from the mine only served to generate more excitement. Several well-known Vernonites invested dozens of shares in the company, which were sold at a cost of $1.00 each.

Moving forward

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for the enthusiasm to fade, as prospectors quickly realized that the ores were too low a grade to be worked at a profit. The mountain’s mining era quietly ended in disappointment around 1926. But a handful of intrepid skiers were waiting in the wings for their turn to explore the mountain…

To explore more of Vernon’s history, check out our other blog posts!

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Sharing History Through Community

Christmases Past

Jacques Jewellers

Kalamalka Weavers and Spinners

Silver Star Mining Company

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