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.

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

Front Street is one of the original streets in Penticton and as such has a distinct history. The beginnings of Front Street date back to...

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

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...

In 1871 the Provincial Government of British Columbia decided that providing a free and basic education for white children should be a...

Lumb Stocks and his son Jack were very well known photographers in Penticton.