Latest News
Lecture: Joseph William McKay: A Métis Business Leader in Colonial British Columbia
When examining the history of British Columbia, one would be hard-pressed to find an Indigenous person who so successfully navigated the echelons of colonial power as did Joseph William McKay (1829–1900).
Car Rally Wrap Up
The Crown Isle 2021 Hot August Nights Car Show August 14-15 was a big success with proceeds going to the Comox Valley Child Development Association. For those who want a bird’s eye view of this event, here is drone footage provided courtesy of BlueForce UAV Consulting. And here's video of the cars rolling out for the two-hour Sunday Cruise. People throughout Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland, Royston, Union Bay and everywhere in-between, set out folding chairs and umbrellas in front of their homes to enjoy the cars driven by local enthusiasts as well as by people from all points on the island and lower [...]
Courtenay “Civic Centre” turns the big 5-0
Several hundred citizens were on hand to watch ceremonies marking the official opening of Courtenay’s Civic Centre complex by Premier W.A.C. Bennett. Bill Smith photo. Comox District Free Press Collection, September 15, 1971. Around 1889-1890, the Riverside Hotel was constructed at the corner of 5th Street and Cliffe Avenue. Right next to it on Cliffe, entrepreneur E.W. Bickle designed the Bickle Theatre which opened on June 20, 1935 with the movie Babes in Toyland. The Riverside Hotel continued as a well-known landmark in the area, but after Bickle's death in 1961, the theatre struggled and eventually fell vacant for several years. On [...]
September 2021 Stepping into Wilderness
Here now is an image from the museum's newest award-winning book Step into Wilderness – A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in and around the Comox Valley. Photo credit: Katherine Capes, Ruth Masters and Peggy Sillence en route to Comox Glacier in September 1938. Photo: CDM Masters Collection. Page 102.
It’s All There in Black and White: Courtenay Elementary School 1947
Back to school in 1947 had a new look for some grade one and two students. Courtenay Elementary School, located on England Avenue between 6th and 8th Streets, had more students than space. Army hut to the rescue as seen in this August 7, 1947 Comox District Free Press article. With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
World Rivers Day
September 26, 2021 On the fourth Sunday of every September, World Rivers Day celebrates waterways around the world and close to home. Waterways face a number of threats such as pollution and urban development, but through active involvement, our community can help boost their health for the future. Through public awareness and volunteer action, World Rivers Day encourages people to take an active role in river stewardship. In the Comox Valley, our main waterways are the Courtenay River, the Tsolum River, and the Puntledge River, but there are hundreds of small creeks and streams that are important to environmental health, too. These rivers [...]
Lecture: A Journey Back to Nature
The fascinating story of the century-long effort to define, access, preserve, develop, and exploit the uniquely beautiful Strathcona area of rugged wilderness in the centre of Vancouver Island.
Discoveries Happen with You
A Team Effort for Discovery of Juvenile Elasmosaur Fossil discoveries in the Comox Valley usually occur with help from river erosion and from observation by amateur palaeontologists and people who take fossil tours to find out more about the Comox Valley's natural history and ancient life on Vancouver Island. The discovery of "Baby E" the museum’s juvenile elasmosaur, required some time to explore further, and then, "all hands on deck". A spectacular summer 2020 juvenile elasmosaur discovery was a direct result of the museum’s guided fossil tours over the years as Natural History Curator, Pat Trask, and museum visitors continued to find [...]
It’s All There in Black and White: New Street Signs for Comox
Can you believe it? Thirty years since the town of Comox adopted this "snazzy" street sign design! Photo from the August 14, 1991 Comox District Free Press. With legacy support from the Bickle Family and the Comox Valley Echo.
St. Peter’s Comox Celebration
Postmark indicates mailing August 27, 1915 from Point Grey. CDM 989.96.8. Save the date! September 11-12, 2021 There is a site that reaches back to the earliest days of European settlement in the Comox Valley. St. Peter’s Church on Church Street in Comox, built in 1891, celebrates its 130th anniversary this September 11th and 12th. Hundreds of families across the Valley over those decades have worshipped, socialized, sung, danced, eaten and been baptized, married or buried within its walls. All the activities of the weekend at 218 Church Street are open to the whole Comox Valley community. Saturday, September 11 The [...]
August 2021 Stepping into Wilderness
Here now is an image from the museum's newest award-winning book Step into Wilderness – A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in and around the Comox Valley. Photo credit: Community organizations would often organize picnics at which sports were a feature. At this 1926 board of trade picnic, Dorothy Hames, Nora Lloyd, Daisy Kerton and Gwen Fairbairn race on the sand. Photo: CDM Stubbs Collection. Inside cover.
Queen of the Fair
Jemima Isbister and Lena Cairns in historical dress, c. 1970. CDM 998.219.51. Since the 1890s, the Comox Valley Fall Fair has showcased the gardens, livestock and crafts of local farmers and agriculturists, celebrating the bounty of the harvest. Over the years, women competed in homemaking skills such as knitting, canning, pickling, bread making, quilting, handwriting, and floral arranging. (Some years there was even a category for 'Best Baby'!) They nurtured friendly rivalries as they exhibited their work, but one woman in particular made a name for herself with the remarkably high quality of her entries: Lena Cairns. Lena Rebecca Farmer was born [...]
Climbing Higher with the CDMC
Sunbathing in hiking boots, Marjorie Biscoe strikes a pose beside the Mount Becher Cabin still buried in snow in June 1948. Photo from Step into Wilderness page 101, CDM Capes Collection. If you live in the Comox Valley, then you're probably familiar with the beautiful mountain peaks that surround us. The Comox District Mountaineering Club (CDMC) provides over 150 members with opportunities to explore this wilderness. But how did this diverse club, ranging in age from young adults to 80+ years, come to be? In 1927 a small group formed of people interested in exploring Forbidden Plateau. They blazed trails and explored the [...]