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20 YEARS AGO: Waterfall named after pioneering Clearwater family

Back in time
29888828_web1_FireTour9142ColdTrailUnderRock
Colby Olsen checks for hot spots under a rock as he cold-trails the perimeter of the Thuya Lake fire. This image originally appeared in the July 27, 2017, issue of the Times.

35 YEARS AGO: Members of the Clearwater Aquatic Centre subcommittee under chairman Dr. Bob Woollard at their meeting decided to form a registered society to better pursue their objective of obtaining a quality swimming pool for the residents Clearwater. The chairman displayed an up-to-date layout of the pool complex following revisions made by the committee at the previous meeting and approval was expressed by members. Theme for the pool will be based around Jerry the Moose.

30 YEARS AGO: A total of 101 of Isabel Zral’s descendants (by her first husband, David Pelton) and their relation held a reunion at the home of Joe Pelton. Four generations, some from as far away as Yorkton, Sask., took part. Zral had eight children — Dave, Mike, Joe, Butch, Tim, Steve and Peter Pelton, and Marilee Brkich. All still lived in Clearwater area except for Dave, who lived in Kamloops; Marilee a resident of Barriere; and Steve, who made his home in Castlegar. Born 81 years ago in southern Saskatchewan near Weyburn, she and David homesteaded in the northeast part of that province for ten years.

25 YEARS AGO: Local businesses and the Barriere RCMP teamed up again to help create and promote a safer environment for the residents of Barriere. Members of the RCMP stopped bicyclists who were demonstrating safe bicycle habits, specifically, wearing bike helmets, and issuing coupons that could be redeemed in various businesses. The coupons came in the form of a RCMP business card containing a written message by the owners of the various businesses. The bicyclists who received the cards could redeem them for ice cream, movie rentals, food or beverages in restaurants, chocolate bars, etc.

20 YEARS AGO: A waterfall in Wells Gray Park was officially named for a pioneering Clearwater family. McDiarmid Falls is located on Grouse Creek just before it flows into the Clearwater River and a short distance downstream from Moul Falls. The 10-metre high waterfall is named for Mac and Cecile McDiarmid, who moved to Upper Clearwater in 1944 and purchased 160 acres of land just south of Grouse Creek. In the late 1940s, the McDiarmid established several cabins along the Clearwater River and their guiding business attracted many guests to the fabulous river fishing. In 1950, the McDiarmids started construction of Trophies Lodge and it opened to business in 1953.

15 YEARS AGO: A group of Clearwater residents tried to get Wells Gray Park recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site, something they believed would give the local tourism industry a shot in the arm for decades to come. The group was spearheaded by Trevor Goward, who served as the park’s naturalist for 13 years and wrote the definitive book on the park’s history, Nature Wells Gray. Goward saw the future economic prosperity of the region as being inextricably tied to Wells Gray Park. For Goward, world heritage status would be the ultimate feather in Clearwater’s cap and cement the town’s reputation as a worldwide tourism destination.



newsroom@clearwatertimes.com

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