For the 26th year the Central Okanagan Heritage Society presented awards last night to a number of those in the community who have been instrumental in preservation of heritage homes, buildings and areas.
The community of Joe Rich was recognized in the preservation of a neighourbood or area, with an award presented to the Roe Rich Ratepayers and Tenants Society and the Joe Rich Historical Committee.
“Joe Rich is a tightly-knit community that is striving to preserve its rich agricultural heritage,” commented Lorainne McLarty, past president of the COHS.
It was first settled in 1895 by Joe Rich and was very isolated at the time. By 1930, there were about 35 people living there and population growth was slow until power and telephone arrived.
Few other local areas have such an active community and continue to speak out to protect their agricultural heritage, commented McLarty. Situated along Mission Creek and along Three Forks and Philpott Roads, many of the original families still live in the area.
Letter of Congratulations from Mayor Sharon Shepherd of Kelowna -Click Here
Congratulations to the Historical Committee
Vanda Mallinson with notes from Ann Morrison
The Joe Rich Historical Committee was given an award for its work in preserving a part of our local history. Ann Morrison and Trudy Philpott accepted
the award on behalf of the Committee and the Joe Rich Ratepayers and Tenants Society and in memory of Mrs. Gert Weddell.
Ann Morrison made the acceptance speech which started, “In 2004, Mrs. Weddell hosted Wednesday afternoons of tea, coffee, cookies and memories with the committee and a surprise guest or two. John Birch brought two tape machines and a large notebook and so began the recording and preserving of the history
of our unique community. The History Committee was born! We were especially fortunate as wonderful records had been kept of the early days.”
Ann continued to tell about the earliest settlers in the area, mentioning Joe Rich himself and Mr. Charles Philpott. She talked about the original school, built by volunteer labour of many residents in 1921 and opened in 1922 and the creativity of the residents for keeping the minimum of 8 students registered in order to keep it open. It closed in 1957 and the building was used as a church every 5th Sunday and as a Community Hall for dances and gatherings etc. “Everyone attended!”,
she said. Ann then went on to tell us how power and telephone service came to Joe Rich by reading an article she had written several years ago. She told about
the grit and determination of the locals to get power here at a reasonable cost by doing a lot of the work themselves. It was another bureaucratic fight to get the phone lines installed on the same poles and to keep the cost manageable, the residents agreed to 8 party phone lines! Power and phone lines were in service by Christmas of 1965.
This effort inspired people in the Main Kettle River area and Anarchist Mountain Region to do the same community effort tobring these improvements to their neighbourhoods. Mr. McMynn, Rate and Contract Engineer, West Kootenay Power and Light Company Limited is quoted, “I think it is wonderful that these people have the ambition to do things for themselves”