Hitchcock’s Cafe

Posted on 9 June 2023 by Vernon Museum

Bessie and Henry Hitchcock

Did you know that Vernon’s first confectionary shop would be 115 years old if it were still around today?

An article in the 19^th report of the Okanagan Historical Society discusses the arrival of Bessie and Henry Ernest Hitchcock in the Okanagan in 1906. The couple emigrated from England and, in addition to boundless enthusiasm and an unfailing sense of humour, brought with them a recipe for a hard candy known as “bullseyes.” This peppermint-flavoured treat was well-loved in England, and the Hitchcocks found it also appealed to folks living in the Okanagan.

Bessie and Henry first opened a shop in Kelowna, specializing not just in bullseyes, but other delicacies such as Genoa cakes, Melton Mowbray pork pies, and pastries. No long after, in 1908, the couple moved to Vernon where they opened a shop in what is now the 3100 block of 30^th Avenue. It was called the Hitchcock’s Café.

Vernon’s 1st Confectionary shop

The café quickly built up a steady clientele; according to the OHS report, “many a young man would walk or ride horseback for miles on Saturday nights just to eat a dish of the Hitchcock’s ice cream.” This celebrated ice cream was also enjoyed by crowds who would turn up on Vernon’s main street to hear performances by the city’s first (and then, only) band, aptly named the Vernon City Band.

It wasn’t just ice cream that drew people to the Hitchcock’s Café; another equally popular option was their afternoon tea, served “English-style” with “plenty of water for the pot.” Bessie and Henry also catered several events, including one with over 300 attendees. Even so, the couple actually ended up cooking too much food and the left-over stuffed and roasted chickens were then sold for fifty cents each.

The Hitchcocks turned their business over to Walter Rolston in 1916, when they instead decide to venture into farming. Despite this change in lifestyle, Vernonites were not going to let their culinary talents go to waste, and the couple continued to make their famous bullseyes for appreciative friends.

Menu Plaque

While the Museum & Archives of Vernon sadly does not have a photo of the Hitchcock Café in their collection, they do have the ornate wood menu plaque picture above. It was carved by Jas Cantelain of Bath, England; Mr. Cantelain went on to earn various carving assignments for cathedrals in England.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Head of Archives

Vernon Women’s Transition House

Posted on 14 April 202314 April 2023 by Vernon Museum

Content warning: This blog post includes a general discussion of the abuse of women and children. Please proceed at your discretion.

A black-and-white image of a house, nearly complete, with three women standing at the top of a set of stairs. — The new Transition House in 1994, with Catherine Lord, Joan Jacobi, and Edna Austin on the steps. Because this facility still provides shelter to women and children fleeing abuse, the location remains private.

Archway Society for Domestic Peace

A plaque, located outside of the Vernon RCMP building, bears the names of those individuals and organizations involved in the 1993/1994 fundraiser that brought about the construction of the new facility. GVMA #17353.

In April of 1994, a new Transition House opened in Vernon; over several months, the Vernon Women’s Transition House Society (VWTHS) and the Greater Vernon community had managed to raise $750,000 to build an improved facility that would provide a safe shelter for women and children fleeing abuse.

The VWTHS, now known as the Archway Society for Domestic Peace, began in 1975 (International Women’s Year) when a group of impassioned women recognized a need in the community for women-centered support services. The first Transition House opened in 1976 in the United Church Manse on 27^th Street.

Increased Capacity

In the first year, 276 women and children sought refuge at the Transition House, although only 6 beds were available. In 1980, the Transition House moved to a new building, and while this particularly structure was already over 50 years old, it provided an increased capacity of 15 beds.

By the late 1980s, the age of the structure had begun to show, and in 1992 plans were in the wordks to demolish the old building and construct a new one on the same site. When it was unveiled, the new structure was able to house 25 women and children and continues to operate to this day. Meanwhile, the administration offices have been located elsewhere since the 2000s.

Against all odds

Nowadays, the Archway Society for Domestic Peace offers many vital counselling and justice-related services. Yet, when it first began operating in the 1970s, the community considered it with some skepticism, since Vernon was seen as a quiet community and the abuse of women and children, as is often the case, occurred behind closed doors. But thanks to a group of outspoken women, Vernonites began to realize, as Executive Director Joan Jacobi was quoted as saying in 1991, that “violence is happening, and it could be next door,” and rallied to see a new facility built.

Thank you to the Archway Society for Domestic Peace and Megan Hamilton for providing information on the historical background of the Transition House.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Head of Archives

3322 31st Avenue Businesses

Posted on 17 March 2023 by Vernon Museum

Clockwise from top left, the W.R. Megaw Motor Co. garage and machine shop circa 1914, the Community Bingo Hall circa 1988, the Valley First Credit Union in 2006, and the Dollarama in 2023.

GARAGES AND AUCTIONEERS

How many different businesses can occupy a building over the years? If 3322 31^st Avenue is any example, the answer is “many.”

Thanks to city assessment records and directories held in the Vernon Archives, we can trace this address and its corresponding businesses back as far as 1906. At that time, the property was owned by shopkeeper W. R. Megaw. A few years later, in 1910, he built a garage on the property and named it the W.R. Megaw Motor Co. garage and machine shop. This was the first of its kind in Vernon.

By 1931, the business was known under the name Okanagan Motors Ltd. In 1936, the property was sold to Frank Boyne, who used the building as a salesroom for his auctioneering business. In the 1940s and 50s, Kineshanko Motors operated on the spot.

A shopping centre, a bingo Hall, A thrift store, and More!

In 1964 and 1965, the building belonged to the City of Vernon, and from the late 1960s to early 1980s housed the MacLeods Family Shopping Centre. In the mid-1980s, the building started to be used as a Community Bingo Centre.

In 1999, the business of the day was the Valley First Credit Union. The Kindale Thrift Store later occupied the building, and most recently it has opened as a Dollarama. Such variety!

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

Gwyneth Evans, Head of Archives

The Vernon Hotel

Posted on 24 February 20233 March 2023 by Vernon Museum

Vernon’s First Hotel

Don’t worry, you’re not seeing double. There was a point in Vernon’s history when the Vernon Hotel and the Hotel Vernon stood side-by-side on 30^th Avenue. The taller Hotel Vernon was an extension of the original Vernon Hotel, which was built way back in 1885.

A black and white image of a large bar room. A dark bar is set against the far wall, and three men in white uniforms are standing behind it. A number of men are standing in front of the bar. — The Vernon Hotel bar room circa 1895. The hotel was known as a “working man’s hotel.”

GVMA #184.

The Vernon Hotel was the first hotel in the city, but even as early as 1889, it had earned somewhat of an infamous reputation; in his book “The Valley of Youth,” Charles Holliday describes it as “a pretty tough sort of place” after witnessing a crowd of men fighting in the hotel’s front yard. It was said, however, to boast the finest watermelon vines in town, so that is something!

A black and white image of the Hotel Vernon, from which large clouds of smoke are billowing out of. — Views of the Hotel Vernon fire in 1950. GVMA #9492 and #5134.

The Hotel is expanded

In 1908, a large addition to the Vernon Hotel was completed just next door, and the name Hotel Vernon was attached to it. The hotel’s owner at the time was Doctor Hugh Cox. The expansion consisted of a three-story building, and added an additional 44 bedrooms, as well as sitting rooms, a barber shop, a pool room with pool and billiard tables, a bar, and three separate cellars. The old building, meanwhile, included 14 bedrooms, a dining room, and a kitchen. But even with this growth, the hotel was often at capacity, and sometimes in the summer months, staff would have to put out cots on the verandah for surplus guests.

The Vernon Hotel Company and The fire of 1950

In 1913, the Vernon Hotel Company was formed with the object of purchasing the Hotel Vernon. They had plans to remove the old structure, build another addition and increase the hotel’s rate from $1.00 to $2.00 per day. While the old Vernon Hotel structure was demolished in 1927 so that the lumber could be reused, the Vernon Hotel Company did not actually come in to possession of the Hotel Vernon (are you confused yet?) until 1943, when it was sold by the wife of the hotel’s late owner, George H. Dobie.

Unfortunately, the company’s time with the hotel was short-lived, as it was destroyed in a fire in January of 1950 that forced the hotel’s manager, William Petruk, to evacuate his wife and two small children from the second-story balcony. While all the hotel’s guests were able to escape safely with only a few minor injuries, all that remained of the building after the flames were extinguished was a single wall.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Head of Archives

Vernon’s Barnard Avenue in 1894

Posted on 17 February 202317 February 2023 by Vernon Museum

A black-and-white image of a muddy streetscape, with buildings lining the side. Along the top of the image is printed the text "2309 Main Street, Vernon, B.C." — Vernon’s Barnard Avenue, now known as 30th, looking east, taking around the time the following observations were recorded in the Vernon News of December 1894.

Take a stroll back in time

If you were to take a walk down Vernon’s 30^th Avenue today in 2023, which shops would you see? You might notice the grandiose columns of the Nixon Wenger building, the bright red sign of the Curry Pot, or the many shiny windows of the CIBC Banking Centre. You might even observe some remnants of bygone eras, such as pale orange letters above the Bean Scene Coffee House that read “Land and Agricultural Company of Canada.”

Nearly 130 years ago, one local editor did just this (although, during his time, 30^th Avenue was known as Barnard Avenue), and relayed his observations in the Vernon News of December 20, 1894. His account is as follows:

Cameron and Hudson’s Bay Co. Stores

“Starting at the west end of Barnard Avenue, the first store is that of W. F. Cameron, one of the pioneer merchants of the Okanagan … The handsome wooden building is … packed from cellar to roof with one of the largest and most varied stocks of general merchandise to be found in the interior.”

“The next business establishment is the Hudson Bay store, a handsome brick structure, with an entrance on two streets. Hats, caps, and fur goods fill one of the large show windows, while the other contains a tempting display of dried fruits and groceries.”

Megaw and Armstrong shops

“Situated in a splendid business position at the corner of Mission [now 34^th] Street and Barnard Avenue is the large brick block of W. R. Megaw, whose stock of general goods embraces almost everything … a show case near the front entrance, filled with a rich selection of silk handkerchiefs and ladies’ ties, is sure to attract attention, and on the opposite side an almost endless variety of shirts and underwear invite the male visitor to loosen up the strings of his pocket-book.”

“One block above, on the corner of Coldstream Avenue and Vance [now 33^rd] Street, Mr. W. J. Armstrong hangs out his sign as ‘The Hardware, Tin, and Stove Man’ … Scattered through the building may be found cook-stoves, ranges, and parlor stoves in all designs, shapes, and sizes; granite-ware, chocolate-ware, shelf and heavy hardware, and tin goods, cover the counters, fill the shelves to overflowing, or hang suspended from the ceiling.”

Epicurean delights and more

“On the north side of Barnard Avenue at the corner of Vance Street, Mr. A. C. Fuller conducts business in the grocery and liquor lines … There is no old or shelf-worn stock in his store, and the groceries present a fresh and inviting appearance.” Meanwhile, an “abundant supply of poultry of all kinds may be found at the establishment of Knight & Co., purveyors of meats … and the array of beef, pork, sausages, head cheese, etc., which are to be here found are displayed in a manner to delight epicurean eyes.”

The article traces its way down the remainder of 30^th Avenue, describing the many confectionary, stationery, drug, and jewelry stores along the way. While we unfortunately cannot travel back in time, it is almost possible to imagine yourself in 1894, walking down Vernon’s unpaved main street, with such descriptive writing.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Head of Archives

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

Winter Funeral Parlors

Posted on 25 August 202225 August 2022 by Vernon Museum

Undated view of the Campbell and Winter Funeral Home at 3007 28th St.; this facility was one of the first in the area to have a chapel attached.

a paved pathway leads to an entry way of a blue house with white trim under an arched verandah. To the left, a large, free-standing sign, painted yellow, reads "Sultenfuss Parlor." — 𝘔𝘺 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭’𝘴 Sultenfuss Funeral Parlor.

Funeral Homes on the Big Screen

Much of the film My Girl, which will be the feature piece at a movie night in Polson Park on September 2, hosted by the Vernon Museum and the Polson Artisan Night Market, is set in a Pennsylvania funeral home; 11-year-old protagonist Vada is the daughter of a funeral director.

William George Winter

William George Winter, a funeral director born in Birmingham, England, came to Vernon in 1936, when he was 63-years-old. He had previously operated a funeral parlor in Drumheller, but responded to a callout from Vernon City Council for someone to direct ambulance services in the area.

As well as taking on this task, William opened a funeral home on 31^st Street, just across from the Campbell Brothers’ joint mercantile and undertaking business. By then, the Campbell Brothers had been attending to the community’s funeral needs for almost 40 years, but William was not daunted by this competition.

Winter and Winter ➜ Winter and Campbell

William ran the Winter and Winter funeral parlor with his daughter Ivy until 1943, when he decided to join forces with Douglas Campbell to form Campbell and Winter Ltd. Together, the new merger was able to design and build a brand new facility on 28^th Street, where the Vernon Funeral Home is located today. A large, free-standing black sign with white lettering reads "Vernon Funeral Home - Funerals - Cremations - Monuments." It is standing next to a beige building, and the sky is a pale blue in the background.

William Winter used to say that embalming was a lost art with ancient roots. He practiced his art until 1953, when he passed away at the age 79.

If you are interested in learning more about the Winter Family, we invite you to listen to this oral history interview with Arlene (Kermode) Smith, William Winter’s granddaughter, which is part of our archival collection.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

The Okanagan Spring Brewery

Posted on 4 August 202217 August 2022 by Vernon Museum

This past Friday, August 5, was International Beer Day! While our city’s first brewery, the Vernon Spring Brewery, is now long gone, Vernon’s experience with brewing continues under the direction of the Okanagan Spring Brewery.

The brewery opened in 1985 in a former B.C. Packers warehouse in downtown Vernon. Most of the equipment and materials needed to supply the $1-million-dollar facility were made in the Okanagan, with some supplies brought over from Europe. Fermenting and aging tanks were installed in the warehouse’s basement, since the thick walls of the building provided the beer with protection from temperature changes. This was all overseen by the company’s co-founder, Jakob Tobler, whose son Stefan continues as brewmaster today.

When the brewery first opened, however, the brewmaster was Raimund Kalinoswki, trained in Germany. Kalinoswki was tasked with producing a premium lager similar to that of the Granville Island Brewing Company, using only Canadian ingredients. Thus, the celebrated 1516 lager was born.

This particular brew was (and is) made with only four ingredients, a fact reflected in its name; “1516” is the year that the Bavarian Purity Law, which limited the ingredients of beer to barley, hops, yeast and water, was adopted.

The output of the brewery in the first few years was 5,000 hectolitres—approximately 300 bottles. It was sold directly from the brewery, and at hotels, restaurants, and liquor stores around the Okanagan. To promote their product, the brewery took on the phone number 542-2337, with the last four digits corresponding with the dial letters B, E, E, and R.

The Okanagan Spring Brewery is now in its 37^th year of successful operation.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Post Office Clock

Posted on 1 April 20221 April 2022 by Vernon Museum

A Post office clock

In 1912, Vernon opened a beautiful new post office complete with a British-made clock tower on 30^th Avenue. The building and its clock graced the city for decades until the structure was partially torn down in 1959.

Luckily, the clock itself was rescued by the owners of the former Allison Hotel in Vernon, who recognized its historic value and stored it in their basement until 1971.

The Clock is restored

That year, the clock was acquired by the Vernon Centennial Committee with intentions to restore it to its former grandeur. While its inner workings were stored at the Historic O’Keefe Ranch, the clock faces were installed in a new centennial tower located outside the Vernon Museum.

The Vernon Museum’s role

Forty years later, in 2011, the clock faces were removed from the centennial tower, and alongside the inner mechanisms, were installed in the Vernon Museum.

Thanks largely to the efforts of local inventor Garry Garbutt, and dozens of generous supporters, the clock was restored to working condition. This former post office clock uses a pendulum to keep time, and has to be wound every few days (although the museum staff usually keep it unwound unless they wish to be startled by an impressively-loud chime once an hour).

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

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Vernon in Spring

Posted on 18 March 202218 March 2022 by Vernon Museum

Spring of 1925

Today is the first day of spring (finally, some might add). Spring has long been a time for new life and fresh starts.

In March of 1925, the coming of the new season was celebrated in Vernon with “Spring Sewing Week” at the Hudson’s Bay Company, in which “thousands of yards of spring fabrics” were put on sale. Notices also began to appear in the Vernon News reminding readers to put in their orders for baby chicks and hatching eggs.

The district’s horticulturalist, M. S. Middleton, provided the British Columbia Fruit Growers’ Association with tips on how to treat winter injury (a type of plant damage) at a public presentation. The city also began its summer tourism campaign, describing Vernon as “the center of the apple-growing industry where the finest, rosiest, and sweetest apples in the world grow.”

The fashionable style for women that spring included long tunics and blouses, chamoisette gloves, and kid-leather heels, while men were encouraged to buy knitted or crepe ties with matching shirts in Spring patterns.

As the last of the snow melted from Vernon’s road, bikes went on sale at Okanagan Saddlery for $40, and the fishing season began (much to the delight of local anglers). MacDonald’s Pharmacy advertised “a splendid assortment of Easter greeting cards and chocolate novelties,” while several local drycleaners recommended giving one’s Easter wardrobe a refresh in the lead up to the holiday.

The city was caught up in the excitement of the new season, another winter behind them.

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

Gwyneth Evans, Research and Communications Coordinator

Sharing History Through Community

Hitchcock’s Cafe

Vernon Women’s Transition House

3322 31st Avenue Businesses

The Vernon Hotel

Vernon’s Barnard Avenue in 1894

Jacques Jewellers

Winter Funeral Parlors

The Okanagan Spring Brewery

Post Office Clock

A Post office clock

The Clock is restored

The Vernon Museum’s role

Vernon in Spring

Spring of 1925

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