Apex Twin Lakes Kaleden East Skaha Vaseux

Meet Okanagan Falls and Area The southern interior of British Columbia is home to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. At the center is the Area D electoral district and Okanagan Falls. The area is bordered by Manning Park to the west, Peachland to the north, Anarchist Mountain to the east and the United States border to the south. At the heart of the district is Okanagan Falls and Area D as defined by the Canadian federal electoral ridings. The area covers over 900 square kilometers and is home to nearly 6,000 residents living in the communities of Okanagan Falls, Twin lakes and Kaleden as well as Marron Valley, Skaha Estates, Apex and St. Andrews.

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History Our region's history is filled with stories of heroism and resilience. The cast of characters includes cowboys, adventurers and eccentrics. Some of the more popular stories, legends and myths are included below. Throughout our town and neighboring communities, you will find publications by local authors sharing more of our colourful history. Okanagan Falls Bassett House - Okanagan Falls Heritage House and Museum Kenny Mclean Tribute United Church - "Blasted Church" Hotel Kaleden Apex Mountain Resort Twin Lakes     Okanagan Falls Located on the southern end of Skaha Lake in the Okanagan Valley, and known locally as OK Falls, the little community of Okanagan Falls was originally known as Dogtown, from the Okanagan Indian word Skaha (meaning dog), after which the nearby Skaha Lake was named. The actual Okanagan Falls were reduced to gentle rapids many years ago with the construction of the flood control dam in the 1950s to control the level of water flowing south in the Okanagan River. Thank you to Travel British Columbia for this story. www.travel-british-columbia.com [Top]     Basset House - Okanagan Falls Heritage House and Museum The little grey Bassett House, which today houses the Museum, was ordered from the T. Eaton and Company catalogue in 1909 by the pioneer Bassett family, which operated a freight and stagecoach company in the area. Arriving in prefabricated kit form at Okanagan Lake by rail, the house crossed the lake on a sternwheeler and was carried the rest of the way to Okanagan Falls by horse-drawn wagon. Thank you to Travel British Columbia for this story. www.travel-british-columbia.com [Top]     Kenny Mclean Tribute Kenny McLean was born May 17, 1939 in Penticton and resided in Okanagan Falls. He started breaking colts for his dad when he was just 12 years old and went on to rodeo competitions at the age of 17. He won 14 Canadian Championships and in 1962 was the World Saddle Bronc Champion He was inducted into the Canadian Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and was the only rodeo cowboy to be inducted in the BC Sports Hall of Fame. He also receive Canada's' highest honor, the Order of Canada, again the only cowboy to receive such an honor. During his life he sponsored and ran rodeo schools, particularly for the young, training many future champions and many champions returned time after time to improve their skills at the sport. He encouraged young competitor's right up until he passed away on July 13, 2002. The Kenny McLean project Committee has received approval from Centennial Park in Okanagan Falls, BC, to proudly install a life-size bronze sculpture of OK Fall's very own rodeo champion, Kenny McLean. The bronze sculpture is estimated to be 18' high once complete. Thank you to the Okanagan Archive Trust Society for this story. [Top]     United Church In 1929, a small crew from Okanagan Falls set off to a deserted mining camp some 16 miles away from home to dismantle an old wooden church and bring it back to Okanagan Falls. The plan called for a controlled blast of four dynamite sticks inside the church in order to "loosen the nails". Odd as it may seem, the explosion spared the wood from damage during dismantling. Save for losing the steeple, the plan succeeded. Now, the 108 year old wooden church stands proudly in its second home of Okanagan Falls. Thank you to Blasted Church Vineyards for this story. www.blastedchurch.com [Top]     Hotel Kaleden Two historic buildings, the General Store (which until recently housed the 1912 Restaurant) and neighboring Hotel Kaleden are found in Kaleden. Contrary to local rumor, the hotel never burnt down. Financial difficulties around the time of the First World War led to the closing of the hotel and subsequent salvage of all re-usable material. Only the concrete shell remains. Thank you to Travel British Columbia for this story. www.travel-british-columbia.com [Top]     Apex Mountain Resort The history of skiing on Apex Mountain dates to the 1940s when intrepid downhillers trekked in for winter camping and skiing holidays. A group of Penticton residents set about developing an easily accessible ski hill in the late 1950s and the decision was made to clear the runs on an adjacent shoulder, Beaconsfield Mountain. A single-lane road was pushed through to what is now the core village and Apex Alpine officially opened on December 10, 1961 with a poma lift. The poma is long gone. Over the decades lift capacity has steadily increased with each successive generation augmenting or replacing earlier facilities and alleviating congestion as traffic increased. Currently the mountain is serviced by a high-speed quad, triple chair and T-bar. A Magic Carpet has been added for beginners and tubers. Facilities at Apex include an aerial site and a mogul site of such high caliber that the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association has named it the national training centre for aerial competitors. Apex has hosted FIS Freestyle World Cup Competitions, NORAM Super G and Mars Cup Downhill and Super G races. The village centre and surrounding residential streets have a unified feel. Inns, lodges, condos, townhouses, vacation homes and chalets mostly stick to a western-style with cedar siding stained in a variety of colours. Thank you to Apex Mountain Resort for this story. www.apexresort.com [Top]     Twin Lakes The Twin Lake Area consists of two small lakes joined by a stream. The upper lake is called Horn Lake and the lower lake is called Twin Lake. The lakes originated from large outwash kettles resulting from pre-ice drainage basins. Because of the high groundwater absorption of the upper watershed, there are significant fluctuations in surface water levels of Twin Lake during wet and dry weather cycles. The land around Twin Lake used to support a dude ranch and beef cattle. Twin Lakes is now a destination for fishing enthusiasts. Thank you to BC Lake Stewardship and Monitoring Program for this story. [Top]

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