The Lure and the Lore of the Local

Creston Museum, Creston Public Library, and Luanne Armstrong are teaming up to bring you a series of special presentations on local history! Creston is celebrating the hundredth anniversary of its incorporation this year, and that’s all the excuse we need!

The Creston Valley and Kootenay Lake are rich with stories: historical, prehistorical, and present day. Come and learn about where you live and how it became the place that it is. Geology, prehistory, the history of Kootenay Lake, stories of the Nasookin and other sternwheelers, the story of Creston becoming a town, are some of the topics that will be presented.

For the fourth instalment of this series, Michael Cone shares “The Canadian Pacific Railway’s Kootenay Landing Tug and Barge Service.” He will tell a story of hard-working tugs pushing railcar transfer barges between Kootenay Landing and Procter from 1898 until 1930. This daily service operated in all conditions despite the perils of ice, driftwood, low-water sandbars, blizzards and fog. In the wheelhouse, captains steered their course with little more than a compass, a clock, a few familiar landmarks, and most importantly their knowledge of the local terrains, winds, and currents.

Saturday, May 4, 1:00 PM in the Erickson Room at the Creston & District Community Complex

The line-up so far:

Saturday, February 3: Boom, Bust and Bar Rooms – the History of the Kokanee Inn with Tammy Bradford

Saturday, March 2: The History of Kootenay Lake with Luanne Armstrong

Saturday, April 6: The Bluebell Murder Trial with Louis Knafla.

Saturday, May 4: Kootenay Landing Tug and Barge Service with Michael Cone.

TBD: The Geology of the Valley with Wayne Choquette

TBD: The History, Culture and Stories of the Yaqan Nukiy with Chief Chris Luke Sr.

TBD: The Diking of the Creston Flats with Luanne Armstrong

TBD: Growing Up in Creston with a panel of long-time residents