Mike Wigley - Tales from a Splitboarder: Walking to Glory
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Mike Wigley - Tales from a Splitboarder: Walking to Glory

Mike Wigley, splitboarder extraordinaire, was the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre's December Speaker Series presenter. It was a spirited kick-off to winter in Rossland! Mike regaled us with tales from his adventures skiing Old Glory Mountain and wove in some of the history of Old Glory and his journeys along the historic routes for accessing that area from Rossland.

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Harry Measure: "Mountain Resorts & Resort Communities: Origins & Future Opportunities."
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Harry Measure: "Mountain Resorts & Resort Communities: Origins & Future Opportunities."

Harry Measure, an Urban Designer + Historian, shared a presentation entitled "Mountain Resorts & Resort Communities: Origins & Future Opportunities" for the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre’s October Speaker Series, Harry shared his extensive research and lived experience from designing, planning, and living in mountain resort communities all over the world. In this presentation, he analysed the mountain resorts of the Columbia Basin, shared some of the insights he’s acquired from his work all over the world, and considered possible futures and opportunities for our Golden City.

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Adrian Leslie: Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Restoration
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Adrian Leslie: Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Restoration

The Rossland Museum’s June Speaker Series branched out from our usual topics. On June 23rd, 2021, Adrian Leslie from the Nature Conservancy of Canada came to the Rossland Museum to talk about whitebark pine ecosystem restoration! Adrian Leslie is a biologist with a focus on high elevation whitebark pine ecosystem restoration, and is the manager of the Darkwoods Conservation Area with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Adrian discussed whitebark pine ecology and restoration in the West Kootenays.

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Cindy Devine: "Ticket to Ride" - Cultivation of a Champion
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Cindy Devine: "Ticket to Ride" - Cultivation of a Champion

Cindy recalls how her active childhood set her up so well to become a world champion, the ways that mountain biking has changed over her years in the sport, and her experience of being a female racer in the early mountain biking scene throughout North America. Cindy is a living legend, and we're lucky that she's chosen Rossland as her home!

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The Miners’ Union Hall (circa 1898) + The Rossland Provincial Courthouse (circa 1900)"
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The Miners’ Union Hall (circa 1898) + The Rossland Provincial Courthouse (circa 1900)"

‘Metaphors of Conflict: The Miners’ Union Hall (circa 1898) + The Rossland Provincial Courthouse (circa 1900)’ will discuss the origins and evolution of the miners’ labor movement in the North American Inter-mountain west, and its conflict with industrial capitalism and government during the second half of the 19th century’.

The spread of organized labor to Rossland, BC during the final years of the 19th century will also be discussed to better understand Rossland’s international significance as a major venue in this heritage of conflict. Through careful analysis of the architectural styles and decorative elements exhibited in Rossland’s Western Federation of Miners’ Union Hall and the BC Provincial Courthouse, this conflict will be interpreted and will further establish the unique significance of these two cultural resources as visual metaphors of this socio-political conflict. This analysis of architectural styles as metaphors of this conflict has not been addressed in any previous research.

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The "Spanish Flu" in Rossland
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The "Spanish Flu" in Rossland

With Germany’s surrender to the Allied Powers, World War I finally ended on November 11, 1918, but the flu was just getting going in Rossland. From late October 1918 until February of 1919, nearly everyone got the flu. Almost 50 people died in five weeks - five weeks of absolute hell. Those that could continued to help, just as Rosslanders always do. From October 25 until the end of November, 47 people died. The last three people died in January and February. The majority of victims who were in their prime, between 20-35 years of age. Everyone who had it either recovered completely, experienced cognitive, respiratory effects or died, but ultimately herd immunity was achieved probably in February 1919 when the virus appears to have dissipated.

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The Rebekahs
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The Rebekahs

The Deborah Rebekah Lodge #13, a fraternal order and service organization associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), was instituted in Rossland on April 12, 1899. Over their 121 years of service in Rossland, the Lodge has made numerous contributions to the community, supporting local, provincial, national, and international causes such as health care, the war effort, the 1908 Fernie fire survivors, the 1948 Trail flood cleanup, and a local scholarship program. In the late 1970s, members of the Lodge started what would become the legendary Rebekah Rhythms, or the "Granny Band," which brought smiles and laughter to countless Rosslanders for over 30 years.

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Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross
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Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross

Called “Miss Serene Efficiency” and “The Lady with the Facts,” Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross was a great contributor to Canadian political, social, and cultural life. To date, Phyllis is most well-known as the mother of John Napier Turner, who in 1972 became Minister of Finance under Pierre Trudeau, and had a brief, three-month stint as Prime Minister of Canada in 1984. She was an incredible woman in her own right and we’re pleased to highlight her personal legacy!

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Alice Jesse Weber
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Alice Jesse Weber

Alice Jesse Weber found herself in Rossland in the boomtown days of the late 1890s. She was raised in Kansas, and set off on her own as soon as she could. She headed west and rode the wave of gold rushes from California to Alaska. She married a Mr. Weber in Seattle and had a beautiful daughter; a picture of her daughter was one of her greatest treasures. According to Jess, her husband had not treated her well, and she left her family and drifted across the border to British Columbia, eventually settling in Rossland.

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"The Girl" - A Memoir by Susie McClung Inghram (1936)
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"The Girl" - A Memoir by Susie McClung Inghram (1936)

In 1964, the Rossland Museum received a copy of Susie McClung Inghram’s memoirs published in 1936. Susie wrote her memoirs over the course of her time in British Columbia (Rossland, Midway) and northern Washington state (Spokane) from 1893-1897. The Girl, as Susie calls herself throughout the booklet, vividly describes the realities of life in boomtown Rossland from her perspective as a rare female in that setting.

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The Flying Steamshovel
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The Flying Steamshovel

How Could They Forget the Flying Steamshovel?

There has been, and still is, considerable controversy surrounding this peculiar story. As you read on, just keep in mind:

  • The Wright Brothers’ first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flights took place in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; and

  • Paul Cornu is credited with the first free vertical ascent in a helicopter in 1907, France

Meanwhile, the Flying Steamshovel is reported to have flown in 1901! SO, should the Golden City be acknowledged as the true birthplace of man’s conquering of gravity?

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Quarantine and Isolation in Early Rossland
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Quarantine and Isolation in Early Rossland

Caught up in the restrictions imposed in the attempt to control the covid-19 pandemic, it is interesting to look back at Rossland’s first attempt to contain an epidemic imported from abroad - in this case, a smallpox epidemic in 1900. The parallels with today are striking.

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British Columbia Firefighters’ Museum
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British Columbia Firefighters’ Museum

A short-lived, well-loved memory from Rossland’s past, the BC Provincial Firefighters’ Museum in Rossland’s heritage firehall garnered positive thoughts from visiting volunteer firefighters and families interested in the art of firefighting, who were delighted with the wealth of information, stories, and objects on display.

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