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Entry Date
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Nick Name
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Location
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Thursday, March 26, 2026
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Gardeneer-in-Training
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Sunny Okanagan
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Entry 7 of 7 |
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The University of British Columbia has an extensive archive of historical newspapers that have been digitized and are searchable. I've used them for genealogical research purposes, but I'd never thought to search for giant pumpkins. Based on the era that the photograph in my previous entry was taken and knowing the nature of small town newspapers, I imagined that I might try searching for context to that photograph in the historical newspapers collection. It only took a little over an hour of searching, and I found the following paragraph (clipping of the original attached) in the Hedley Gazette, dated October 10th, 1907:
"The arrival of the first passenger train is always an important event in the history of a town. Keremeos passed that milestone on Oct. 5th at noon. The station platform was crowded with deeply interested spectators to witness that event. At the east end of the station on a raised stand there was a fine display of fruit and vegetables. The MacIntosh red and Gravenstein by Mrs. Daly; an equally fine assortment of apples and a cluster of four large apples by the Beautiful Valley Land Company ; a box of very tempting grapes by Mr. F. Richter; a giant pumpkin weighing 125 lbs. and measuring 8 ft. 7 in. in circumference, with several of 100 lbs., a potato vine 7 ft. and a tomato vine 8 ft. in length, by Messrs. Mattice and sons, told the story in a most eloquent and convincing way of the productiveness of the Similkameen. In a few years the Similkameen will be the glory of British Columbia for grapes, peaches, figs etc. Station agent McDaniels and conductor Brown made things as easy as possible for the kodak fiends and some good views were obtained by them."
I was able to confirm that the building in the photograph was the newly constructed train station in the town of Keremeos, and there was indeed a Central Hotel that was evidently eager to capitalize on the passengers arriving on that first passenger train.
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