50 years ago: Identical twin pianists Jeffry and Ronald Marlowe entertained a capacity crowd at the Toby Theatre. Opening numbers included Sicilienne by J.S. Bach. As an encore, Yankee Doodle was played in the style of George Gershwin, which drew appreciative chuckles from the crowd.
45 years ago: Canada’s first inter-faith consultation for clergy and laymen was held in Invermere at the Christian Education Centre. The theme of the conference was, “Christians in a changing world,” and some 80 members of valley Anglican, Catholic and United churches were in attendance.
40 years ago: Two juveniles, aged 10 and 11 were charged with a number of break and enter offences. The glass window to Robinson Stores had been broken and a number of toy guns were taken, a money tree was stolen from Bond’s Hardware, and at Svendson’s Magazine shop cigarettes and candy were stolen following a break-in. Also linked to the juveniles was the theft of four rifles, which had since been recovered.
32 years ago: Area teachers and the local board reached an agreement to give teachers a 9.3 per cent pay increase and to provide dental benefits. As an example of the new salary agreement, a new teacher fresh from university would begin at $15,590 per year, while a teacher with 10 years experience would receive $32,377 per year.
25 years ago: The Black Forest Restaurant burned to the ground. The restaurant was well known for its collection of exotic birds and antique guns on display in the dining room. The owner placed the value of the guns, which were lost in the fire at $11,300, while the overall loss was estimated at $700,000. The cause of the fire was not known.
20 years ago: Tentative plans to move the Radium Hot Springs RCMP office to Invermere were met with protests from the village council. Amalgamation was not expected to occur until a new police station was built, said Radium mayor Greg Deck, and such a building was expected to be constructed between the two communities along Highway 95/93.
15 years ago: A sting operation by four David Thompson Secondary School reporters, aged 14 and 15, found that 40 per cent of area merchants who sold cigarettes did so illegally. The students sought to purchase cigarettes from 18 area vendors and were successful at seven different locations. Students also carried phoney notes saying the cigarettes were for parents, and when one student offered up such a note the vendor laughed and asked if the 14-year-old student wanted light or regular.
10 years ago: The Valley Echo, along with 190 other weekly newspapers across Canada scaled back the size of their newspapers by about 1.5 inches. As the price of newsprint was steadily rising, it was seen as a way to continue to provide excellent coverage without handing down increased advertising costs, as well reducing the environmental impact of a larger newspaper.
5 years ago: Fairmont Hot Springs was set once again to take a look at incorporation. RDEK board members noted that they had no objection to the incorporation study. Fairmont had initially conducted some studies in early 2000.