Mike Wigley - Tales from a Splitboarder: Walking to Glory
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Mike Wigley - Tales from a Splitboarder: Walking to Glory

Mike Wigley, splitboarder extraordinaire, was the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre's December Speaker Series presenter. It was a spirited kick-off to winter in Rossland! Mike regaled us with tales from his adventures skiing Old Glory Mountain and wove in some of the history of Old Glory and his journeys along the historic routes for accessing that area from Rossland.

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Harry Measure: "Mountain Resorts & Resort Communities: Origins & Future Opportunities."
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Harry Measure: "Mountain Resorts & Resort Communities: Origins & Future Opportunities."

Harry Measure, an Urban Designer + Historian, shared a presentation entitled "Mountain Resorts & Resort Communities: Origins & Future Opportunities" for the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre’s October Speaker Series, Harry shared his extensive research and lived experience from designing, planning, and living in mountain resort communities all over the world. In this presentation, he analysed the mountain resorts of the Columbia Basin, shared some of the insights he’s acquired from his work all over the world, and considered possible futures and opportunities for our Golden City.

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The "Spanish Flu" in Rossland
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The "Spanish Flu" in Rossland

With Germany’s surrender to the Allied Powers, World War I finally ended on November 11, 1918, but the flu was just getting going in Rossland. From late October 1918 until February of 1919, nearly everyone got the flu. Almost 50 people died in five weeks - five weeks of absolute hell. Those that could continued to help, just as Rosslanders always do. From October 25 until the end of November, 47 people died. The last three people died in January and February. The majority of victims who were in their prime, between 20-35 years of age. Everyone who had it either recovered completely, experienced cognitive, respiratory effects or died, but ultimately herd immunity was achieved probably in February 1919 when the virus appears to have dissipated.

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Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross
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Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross

Called “Miss Serene Efficiency” and “The Lady with the Facts,” Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross was a great contributor to Canadian political, social, and cultural life. To date, Phyllis is most well-known as the mother of John Napier Turner, who in 1972 became Minister of Finance under Pierre Trudeau, and had a brief, three-month stint as Prime Minister of Canada in 1984. She was an incredible woman in her own right and we’re pleased to highlight her personal legacy!

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Alice Jesse Weber - "Old Lady Jess"
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Alice Jesse Weber - "Old Lady Jess"

Alice Jesse Weber found herself in Rossland in the boomtown days of the late 1890s. She was raised in Kansas, and set off on her own as soon as she could. She headed west and rode the wave of gold rushes from California to Alaska. She married a Mr. Weber in Seattle and had a beautiful daughter; a picture of her daughter was one of her greatest treasures. According to Jess, her husband had not treated her well, and she left her family and drifted across the border to British Columbia, eventually settling in Rossland.

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The Flying Steamshovel
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The Flying Steamshovel

How Could They Forget the Flying Steamshovel?

There has been, and still is, considerable controversy surrounding this peculiar story. As you read on, just keep in mind:

  • The Wright Brothers’ first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flights took place in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; and

  • Paul Cornu is credited with the first free vertical ascent in a helicopter in 1907, France

Meanwhile, the Flying Steamshovel is reported to have flown in 1901! SO, should the Golden City be acknowledged as the true birthplace of man’s conquering of gravity?

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Quarantine and Isolation in Early Rossland
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Quarantine and Isolation in Early Rossland

Caught up in the restrictions imposed in the attempt to control the covid-19 pandemic, it is interesting to look back at Rossland’s first attempt to contain an epidemic imported from abroad - in this case, a smallpox epidemic in 1900. The parallels with today are striking.

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British Columbia Firefighters’ Museum
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British Columbia Firefighters’ Museum

A short-lived, well-loved memory from Rossland’s past, the BC Provincial Firefighters’ Museum in Rossland’s heritage firehall garnered positive thoughts from visiting volunteer firefighters and families interested in the art of firefighting, who were delighted with the wealth of information, stories, and objects on display.

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Music City: The Rossland City Band
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Music City: The Rossland City Band

Rossland has been home to many bands over the past 120 years. In 1898, Canada's Governor-General, Lord Aberdeen was welcomed into Rossland by a group of a hundred miners and a brass band. Parades in early Rossland almost always included more than one marching band. Individual groups and communities in Rossland like the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, Miner's Union and the Italian community had bands. However, the Rossland City Band was one of the community's longest-running groups.

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Ross Thompson
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Ross Thompson

For someone widely revered as the father of Rossland, surprisingly little is known about Ross Thompson. The published commentaries on his life of which I am aware repeat the same few stories and are almost silent on the later years of his life. This is my attempt to enrich -- but, unfortunately, not complete -- the narrative. Because of the scarcity of reliable information, what follows is rife with unanswered questions and speculations. The questions must remain unanswered unless further evidence is discovered, but I propose the speculations as plausible in the circumstances and not pure fantasy. In any case, they are clearly identified and can be rejected or ignored.

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