50 years ago: Calgary fun addicts invaded Windermere. The groups, consisting of a number of happy square dancers from Calgary who came to the Columbia Valley each year included the Sunalta Ramblers and the Queens and Jacks.
45 years ago: Miss Windermere. Miss Edgewater, Miss Invermere and Miss Brisco were set to compete for the title of Fall Fair Queen. Other visiting queens attending the competition included the Snow Fiesta Queen on Kimberley and Kelowna’s Lady of the Lake. The winning contestant, the new Miss Windermere Valley and her princess attendants were set to recieve a powerboat trip across the lake to attend a fundraiser fore the Invermere Hospital Aid.
35 years ago: A 13-year old Calgary boy took heroic action to save four younger children from a fire. The boy, Kurt Wood was awoken by the smell of fire, and after exiting the house went back inside to rescue the four children sleeping in upstairs bedrooms. As he went upstairs, fire closed off the staircase forcing Wood to take the children to an upstairs balcony. Quick thinking neighbours then moved a motorhome beneath them so that they could jump to safety.
20 years ago: Panorama Resort was preparing for a three-month shutdown. Some 128 layoff notices were handed out to Panorama employees for what management called a “shutdown mode for the off season.” The goal was to cut costs to the bare minimum as management said they were only operating at three per cent capacity. The owner was said to have injected two million dollars a year to keep the resort alive at the time.
15 years ago: The owners of the Lakeside Inn were hoping to rebuild from the ashes of their devastated business. The building was destroyed in a fire by what police called a case of arson, and had been closed since 1996 after the owners failed to resolve a dispute over sewage with the District of Invermere. In light of the potential rebuild, the Columbia Valley Figure Skating Club renamed their Farewell to Lakeside Garden fundraiser to better reflect the current situation.
5 years ago: Valley tourism was unfazed by rising gasoline prices, as Invermere business owners reported similar numbers to past years. A then recent BCAA survey reported that nearly 60 per cent were planning on reducing their travel time over the summer.