A phony dentist in the Slocan Valley
In January 1910, a man posted a notice in Silverton that read: Mr. A.L. Pinchbeck, D.M.S. dental surgeon, has visited Silverton for two...
top of page
Search
Greg Nesteroff
Nov 22, 20184 min read
The hotel murals of Jack Lines
One of West Kootenay’s least known attractions is an amazing map of the Kootenays and Okanagan in the pub of the Salmo Hotel, created in...
857 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Nov 9, 201810 min read
The Slocan Park ferry and footbridge
Here’s something that seems completely lost from local memory: from at least 1922 to 1943, a ferry crossed the Slocan River at Slocan...
3,208 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 17, 20183 min read
Lester Patrick’s Slocan tryout
I recently came across a charming anecdote about hockey legend Lester Patrick in West Kootenay that I had never seen before — and in fact...
396 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Oct 17, 201821 min read
The Cornwall Cup
From 1909 until the early 1950s, the Cornwall Cup was awarded for the men’s hockey championship of the Slocan. Officially engraved as the...
764 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Aug 26, 20181 min read
Patrick Lumber Co.
I devoted an earlier post to West Kootenay sites associated with hockey’s Patrick family, including the Crescent Valley beach, where the...
570 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Aug 15, 201815 min read
When Slocan Lake freezes over
Slocan Lake never freezes, it is said. And while it’s true that it rarely happens, there have been several notable exceptions. I came...
1,711 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Aug 4, 20183 min read
Chinese chefs on Slocan Lake
I recently wrote about Holy Grail historical items — things I once saw somewhere and couldn’t find again. I’m pleased to report that I’ve...
585 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jul 30, 20182 min read
Hidden on the wall
This huge, colourful ad was rescued from the old hardware store at 216 6th Ave. (Block 13, Lot 6) in New Denver before it was was torn...
501 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
May 24, 20181 min read
Slocan dance card, 1897
This amazing little item is in the midst of being transferred from the Touchstones Nelson archives to the Slocan Valley Historical...
306 views1 comment
Greg Nesteroff
May 4, 201810 min read
M.D. Cryderman, scenic artist for hire
Painting signs by hand has largely gone out of style but was once a common vocation. The men (and I imagine a few women) who did it for a...
681 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Mar 29, 20187 min read
I was a Slocan Valley hippie for the FBI
In the spring of 1973, you might have met a guy in the Slocan Valley named Bill Lane, who was living in his van. He looked like many...
5,265 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 23, 20186 min read
Pioneer women of West Kootenay: Amy Carey
In Silverton’s early days, Amy Carey was among the community’s leading entrepreneurs. She owned hotels, a grocery store, livery stable,...
580 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 22, 20188 min read
The secret life of Eli Carpenter
West Kootenay prospector Eli Carpenter (?-1917) was chiefly famous for two things: co-locating the Payne mine, which started the Silvery...
519 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Feb 13, 20185 min read
Hills Community Hall
This little building in Hills, on the east side of Highway 6, began life in October 1934 as the Hunter Siding school. An earlier Hunter...
1,252 views5 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 26, 20186 min read
Slocan’s red light district
In the early 20th century, Slocan City’s brothels were on the west side of Block 36, at the south end of Main Street between Giffin and...
389 views2 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 26, 201813 min read
The Aylwin City story
In the summer of 2017, Dian Aylwin made a remarkable discovery in her father’s garage in New Denver: tacked to the wall was the townsite...
895 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 23, 20186 min read
A Slocan madam’s grave
There’s an oft-heard tale about the burial of a black brothel keeper in the Slocan cemetery. According to the Castlegar News of June 24,...
954 views3 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 3, 20182 min read
Japanese-Canadian pioneers of West Kootenay: George Motosawa
George Motosawa was a restaurateur and laundry owner in two West Kootenay ghost towns. We know he was born April 6, 1867 and immigrated...
164 views0 comments
Greg Nesteroff
Jan 2, 20183 min read
Japanese-Canadian pioneers of West Kootenay: Yodo Fujii
Long before Japanese Canadians were interned in the West Kootenay during the Second World War, a small number already lived here. They...
194 views0 comments
bottom of page