Category Archives: History

November 2018 Watershed Moments

Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image and quote from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District.

Photo credit: A tranquil view of the Courtenay River, ca. 1900. CDM 972.235.9. Pages 22-23.

Photo caption: “The Courtenay River, one of the shortest navigable rivers in Canada, runs through today’s downtown Courtenay. The Puntledge, Browns and Tsolum Rivers empty into it. Settlers’ homes and farms stretched along the shorelines and on to the rivers’ upper and lower prairies.” Page 23.

Periodical Wisdom: November 2018

Women’s magazines and periodicals from the past offer some great advice on things like how to economize in the home or care for your baby’s teeth.

This month’s sampling is from Farm & Home, The Magazine of rural British Columbia published November 15, 1930. This particular article provides some tips for the gardener – you’d get all that and more for the grand price of 5 cents per issue back in the day.

It’s All There in Black and White: Grey Cup in the Comox Valley

Grey Cup coming up! Courtenay entered a float in the 1963 Vancouver Grey Cup parade. Our float was described as the biggest in the procession and was truly a community effort to produce. All in the name of showing support for the BC Lions who held training camps here (on and off) starting in 1961. Check out this article from the Comox District Free Press of November 27, 1963.

Bonus! Click here Click here to see photos including one of the Comox Valley float.

With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.

Remembrance Day Reminder

A look back through an excerpt from The Courtenaian, Journal of the Courtenay Public Schools, Vancouver Island, B.C.

Vol. 1. No. 2. November, 1914

“On Monday, Nov. 2nd, the pupils of Divisions I and II went up to the station to say good-bye and give three cheers to the men who are going to the front. The platform was well crowded with people, and we had to wait quite a while before the train started. As the train pulled out we gave three hearty cheers to the Courtenay men who are answering the call of duty.”

Periodical Wisdom: October 2018

We’ve scoured the archives for women’s magazines and periodicals to share some advice from the good old days.

This month’s feature provides some unusual recipes to help combat the ever increasing cost of living.

That peanut butter sausage recipe that just became your family’s new favourite? You can thank The Christmas People’s Home Journal of 1917.

As always, we’ve sourced the info from our stash of women’s magazines and periodicals in the archives.

Click for Larger Image

Click for Larger Image

October 2018 Watershed Moments

Here is the latest newsletter installment of an image and quote from the museum’s award-winning book Watershed Moments – A Pictorial History of Courtenay and District.

Photo credit: Comox Landing, ca. 1910, with the HMS Egeria and the HMS Algerine visible in the harbour. Walter Gage photograph. Photo: CDM 979.3.3. Pages 48-49.

Photo caption: “Before, and after, construction of the Comox Wharf in 1874, Comox was the main transportation link to points north and south. Comox Landing, with its gentle slope sheltered by Goose Spit and expansive view of the Beaufort Range and Baynes Sound, made it a perfect gathering place.” Page 53.

Periodical Wisdom: September 2018

We’ve scoured the archives for women’s magazines and periodicals to share some advice from the good old days.

So now that you’ve completed your back to school shopping you might want to arrange a children’s tea party. This write-up from The Lady of December 8, 1938 gives some wonderful foodie tips for a Downton Abbey style bash perfect for the little ones.

Click for Larger Image

Click for Larger Image

Roman Catholic Church of the Canadian Martyrs Dedication

The original dedication gathering of the Roman Catholic Church of the Canadian Martyrs in Courtenay, BC on September 25, 1938.

Seen in the crowd on the right hand side of the photo are Courtenay Mayor M.S. Stephens and Aldermen Theed Pearse and Perry Hanson.

Photo from Stubbs Collection, Courtenay and District Museum.

It’s All There in Black and White: Old Church Theatre 80th Birthday

September marks the 80th birthday of the building known today as the Old Church Theatre on Harmston Avenue in Courtenay.

It was originally the Roman Catholic Church of the Canadian Martyrs and its official dedication made front page news in the Comox District Free Press of September 29, 1938.

Bonus!
Click here for a photograph of the original dedication gathering September 25, 1938.

With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.