Tress

Oscar Tress was a homesteader and trapper. His property was obtained by him as a Crown Grant in 1913, and he sold it to William Glenn in 1915. Glenn built the log house and barn. The property was later purchased by the Macks who sold it to Weddells who still have it.

 

Uppenborns

The Uppenborns lived with the Hockeys on what is now called the Brewer property. They moved there when Hockeys bought the place in 1951. They had two small buildings moved onto the property’s north end on the east side of Joe Rich Creek. They joined these two buildings together and used one as their kitchen and the other as living quarters. Later, they moved these to their property up Tress Creek.

Wilfred Fredrick Uppenborn’s wife, Iris (Hockey) Uppenborn was a sister of Mrs. Thelma Feniak. Mr. Uppenborn was from Prussia and had been a boxer and a wrestler in Germany. He was an inventive man who loved and took well to the backwoods life in the most isolated part of Joe Rich. For a while, Wilfred worked with Harry Gibbons at the small mill he had set up on what is now the Serwa property.

Iris Uppenborn lived much of her life in very rural settings. She loved horses and was a very good rider. She worked as a rider for both the Bowman and Casorso cattle ranches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1978 Iris Uppenborn & Snort

The Uppenborns had two boys, Melvin born in 1939 and Ivan born in 1941. When Iris Uppenborn’s parents, the Hockeys became too old to care for themselves, they moved in with and were cared for by the Uppenborns.

In the mid 1960s, the Uppenborns bought property high up Tress Creek on the northeast side of the upper end of the valley. They called their property ‘Hill Top Ranch’ although the name which has stuck with it is ‘Uppenborns’ property. It was isolated and beautiful with several springs on it. They lived there in a small house with a large garden which they tilled with a big Belgian strawberry roan horse named “Snort”. They had an old truck which they used to go to town. They were friendly people well-liked by everyone. Mr. Uppenborn hoped to open a gas station and a little store at the corner of Big White Road and Highway 33, but was never able to do it. In May of 1990, a group of Kelowna business men had the same idea and obtained a crown grant of five hectares there. However, their plan never materialized either.

The Uppenborn’s driveway from Highway 33 to their property was over a kilometre long and steep in places. Snow removal was a problem and so they would place a flag at the downhill end of their drive and the highway grader would plough out their road when he was passing. It cost a bit, but the grader did a good job.

When Mr. Uppenborn died, Mrs. Uppenborn continued to live alone on the property for short periods until about 1980. She then moved into Kelowna and lived with Melvin. Ivan took over the property and lived there for a while, but eventually sold it to the Lehays from North Vancouver. The shooting range is now located on the property.

The property has some unusual rock on it which was possibly used by native people for the production of tools. However, since no archaeological work has been done there almost nothing is known about this.

Melvin now works for the post office, and Ivan is a grader operator in Kamloops.

The Uppenborns like Iris’ parents, the Hockeys, were Seventh Day Adventists. Dave Weddell remembers that, “Mrs. Uppenborn was always trying to convert me. I guess it didn’t do me any harm”.

 

Vanderwerf

Fred Vanderwerf bought Reno Culos’s property in 1977. Culos had purchased it from R.C. Parkes. Fred subdivided the property and sold half of it.

When he first moved onto the property there was a collapsing old cabin on it close to Joe Rich Creek. In the cabin was copper tubing which appeared to be part of an old still. Dave Weddell suggests that this was probably where Mr. Giesa made his fortified and very tasty wine. Giesa was a Hungarian refugee who had come here in 1956 at the time of the Hungarian Revolution.