Remember when? (August 17)

A look back at what's happened in the Columbia Valley over the past 50 years for the week of August 17.

August 15

August 15

50 years ago: Three bands were announced to be leading the gala parade, which was to be the highlight of the Golden Jubilee Fall Fair.

The Cranbrook High School Girl’s Band, along with the Kimberley Pipe Band and Michel-Natal Band would be leading the march.

45 years ago: James Chabot received the Socred nomination by acclamation at the nominating convention in Edgewater.

Chabot announced that his campaign would be launched shortly, but did not reveal particulars about his platform.

40 years ago: A fire of undetermined origin ravaged more that 6,000 acres of forest land north of Dutch Creek and the west of Westside Road.

Despite the effort of the 90 firefighters on the scene to douse the flames, the fire raged on and did not diminish quickly.

35 years ago: The Junior Open Golf Tournament was held at the Radium Golf Course.

There were a total of 60 entrants from Kimberley, Cranbrook, Fernie, Canmore, Calgary, Penticton and Radium. Fifty-one players teed off on the opening day.

28 years ago: An aircraft crashed in the Finlay Creek area of Canal Flats over the weekend, critically injuring two firefighters and superficially injuring a Kootenay Airways pilot.

The firefighters suffered severe burns when their Aerostar twin-engine aircraft struck the ground and later caught fire.

25 years ago: The Invermere law firm Hubbard & Co., which had operated for several years beside the Radio Shack, moved one block south down 7th Avenue to their new quarters just across from the Invermere Inn.

The new building had been completely renovated within before the move.

20 years ago: Rural landowners from Canal Flats to north of Spillimacheen received new addresses for their homes.

The Regional District of East Kootenay had adopted a house numbering system, based on a 50 km grid system, for Electoral Areas F and G.

15 years ago: Invermere and Radium RCMP detachment members took no time in catching the youth who spray-painted the Roman Catholic Church of Canadian Martyrs in Radium with unpleasant graffiti.

10 years ago: The Communities in Bloom judges Gord Barstow and Geoff Mallory were in the Village of Radium Hot Springs to judge the eight criteria of their program.

A welcoming reception for the judges was held in the evening before the judging day, and the judges were very impressed with Radium’s display.

5 years ago: A forest fire was caused by lightning just 16 km south of Canal Flats in Island Pond. The flames covered around 62 hectares of land. This was just one of the 21 fires that ignited in the Valley interior over a short time. However, wet weather and heavy precipitation did manage to slow the fires spreading, and forest firefighters were quick on the scene.