Okanagan Historical Society: Oliver-Osoyoos Branch Meeting
On Sunday April 3rd the Oliver-Osoyoos Branch of the Okanagan Historical Society held its Annual General Meeting.
The Guest Speaker was Mr. Walter Lemke past fire chief of the Osoyoos Fire Department. The Osoyoos Fire Department was established in 1947. It is funded by the Town of Osoyoos and a Rural Fire Protections District. Over the years the fire hall location, equipment and call out procedure have changed and evolved with the growth of Osoyoos and improvement in technology. Recently a referendum was passed and construction of a new fire hall has begun. The Department has had many long term volunteers including one member who has served for 50 years! Walter answered many questions and recalled some of the major structural fires. The burning of the Osoyoos Sawmill in 1958 resulted in that business never rebuilding and lost jobs to the community. One of the most dangerous fire situations occurred when the roof of the old Super Value Store collapsed while the firefighters were on the site. However a member of the Department has never been seriously injured while on duty. Motor vehicle accidents have contributed to frequent call outs for the Osoyoos Fire Department. Since the Anarchist Mt. Fire Department has been established the call outs on Hwy 3, east of Osoyoos have decreased. The meeting recognized the importance of the service and sacrifice to the community by volunteers of the Osoyoos Fire Department. Walter was thanked by Gayle Cornish for his interesting presentation.
One of the main objectives of the Branch is to contribute articles to the annual Okanagan Historical Society Report. The 80th Report will be published this year. The Oliver-Osoyoos Branch is hoping to find someone that that is interested in local history and is able to work with other writers to encourage, edit and help submit articles to the Report. We know that as people retire or relocate to the area they would enjoy getting involved in our communities and use their writing and editing skills. If you are interested in finding out more information about the Branch Editor position please contact Larry Shannon at 250-498-2452 or Gayle Cornish at 250-495-7715
Janet Shannon