Religious life in the Okanagan once required both clergymen and churchgoers to heavily rely on crude transportation systems into their worship.

Once Thomas Shorts introduced the first steamboat on the lake, there was a steady rotation of new and better commercial vessels in the Okanagan, continuing until the mid 20th century. Each of these ships, however small, seemed to achieve a personality of their own, solidifying themselves into the collective memory of the community. In the Okanagan valley, each of these distinctive personalities helped to establish and provide for the settler communities in a myriad of ways.

ESTABROOK, Otto Ludlow (1889–1978) Otto Ludlow Estabrook followed in the footsteps of his father, George Ludlow Estabrook, even to the extent of being for a short while the Master of the SS Sicamous, the second person to hold that position. Born on 20 December 1889 at Upper Gagetown, New Brunswick, Otto was the first of three children of George and his second wife, Sarah Brown[1]. At the time Otto was born, George was already a Captain. He was only about three when his fathe

Old Kelowna, Capt. Thomas Shorts. ca. 1890 In 1882 Thomas Shorts arrived in the Okanagan valley via the old Fur Brigade Trail after...

Sister ship of the S.S Bonnington and S.S Nasookin, the Sicamous combined features of older CPR ships from the 1890s, with modern design.

Riding the steamships on Okanagan Lake was not always smooth sailing. From collisions to freak weather events to homicide, the S.S....

In 1904, it became obvious that the demand for passenger and freight services was beyond the capacity of the S.S. Aberdeen - the first...

Western Dry Dock And Shipping Company was founded in 1909 by a man named James Whalen. James Whalen was a Canadian businessperson and...

On the S.S Naramata dual cylinder steam winches, like that of the historical Lidgerwood winch, were used to haul barges across Okanagan Lake

Canadian Pacific Railway owned and operated trains and hotels across Canada, built to encourage people to travel and see the country.

The popularity of luggage trunks skyrocketed during the Victorian era, perfectly timed with the golden age of railroad and ship transportati

Tracing the origins of the steel in the S.S Sicamous, through steel markings.

cooks would have no option but to pack lightly, meaning crews would have to acquire provisions somewhere in the remote back country

While much of the CPR was built by Chinese immigrants, Penticton’s local branch, the KVR, was an exception. Immigration policies were...

Many people don't know that cowboys were a necessity to people and towns. The main thing they are known for is herding cattle, but they...

There were a number of men who Captained this ship, but the longest serving was Joseph Weeks. The SS Sicamous left Penticton about 6:20...

There are no dredges that worked the Okanagan existing anymore, and few photographs to show. The photo below shows us what the Okanagan...

Following numerous negotiations with the provincial governments of the day, and a decade after the first surveys, construction finally...

A general description of the mail delivery challenges of the early 1900's in rural areas.

The Jingle and Gong system between the Captain and the Engine Room