April 2, 2013
1. When did minor hockey start in Kimberley? Who was the first president?1. The first president of Kimberley Minor Hockey was Stan Norton, a bookkeeper and accountant for Mr. Lloyd Crowe. Mr. Norton passed away in 1952. Minor hockey started here in Kimberley on November 25, 1933. The organization is 80 years old.
2. what teachers were the most feared at the infamous A.A. Watkins School?
2. The most feared by students at A.A. Watkins were the teachers Buckle and Moser. They both occupied the same classroom on the second floor. I will say "unbelieveable".
3. What year did the Green Cup, the symbol of East Kootenay High School hockey supremacy start?
3. The Green Cup started back in 1934. I have recollections of it being played for many years, including 1962 and 1977.
4. Down in Lower Blarchmont there was a hog farm. What was its nickname?
4. The hog farm was known, in later years, as Pig Pen Alley Marsden Ave. Ed London had a ranch there. The North Star people bought it in 1910. In 1922 the company or Cominco used it for a hog pen where up to 50 pigs were penned for pork consumption whle building the Concentrator in 1928.
5. What were 12 things you could do up at the North Star Resort back in the day?
5. a) you could take an Alpine Slide of 2700 feet.
b) play tennis on five courts.
c) have a great game of mini-golf.
d) go for a swin in a couple of pools.
e) enjoy a game of racquetball.
f) get on a horse for a trail ride.
g) power up a bumper boat.
h) enjoy Martin's School of Hang Gliding.
i) do a pub crawl
j) dance to live music at the lodge
k) ride in a go cart on a race track
l) have a campfire at the infamous campground. (It was first dug in May of 1973. It opened that same year in July) This was family!6. What year did the Hudsons Bay Company come to Kimberley?
6. The Hudson's Bay Co. came to Kimberley in 1952, formerly the Mark Creek store at 196 Spokane Street. The Bay operated for 17 years in Kimberley. Fields Stores Ltd. would take over in April of 1969 until 1990. In 1994, it turned into Mark Creek Mall. Field's came back and left again after 7 or so years until 2012.
7. In what year did the Skookumchick Crestbrook mill first produce pulp?
7. The Pulp Mill near the Kootenay River would start producing in November of 1968. It was 45 years ago. In 1969, they had a strike that lasted four weeks with 165 workers out of work.
8. As many a worker went to Fording Coal townsite, what year did that community get its name?
8. Fording Coal townsite became Elkford back in 1970. Many a worker from Elkford came to Kimberley, and many a worker goes to the coal mines in the Elk Valley from Kimberley.
