Skip to content

Our Colored Past Showing Milton’s slideshow opens a window to the days of yore

I pose the question, what do you think you know about Nakusp?
97698nakuspcolored2
Presenting interesting facts about the history of Nakusp

Did you know the name for the back part of your hand is the opisthenard? Not many are aware of the proper term for the back, or dorsal part of the human appendage, which essentially negates the saying “I know it like the back of my hand” and makes a liar out of most of us who have uttered that idiom.

Now that I’ve put you in a state of doubt (and you are back to reading after a quick look at your own hands) I pose the question, what do you think you know about Nakusp?

Did you know that the cenotaph used to be located at the intersection of Broadway and (the previously named) Slocan street? Did you know that St. Mikes church was originally named St. John’s? Do you know about the sinkhole that ate the Nakusp Kal Tire?

Milton Parent was a well-known local historian who tenaciously and courageously fought to preserve Nakusp’s rich history for future generations. He personally complied and organized thousands of photographs, videos and documents in an effort to prevent Nakusp’s story from fading into the darkness of time.

After his passing, Milton’s quest for historical preservation has been continued on by the dedicated members and volunteers of the Arrow Lakes Historical Society.

In 2013 Kyle Kusch was hired by the ALHS to assist with the scanning of over 10 thousand of Parent’s photos, and charged with the task of organizing the collection into categories by assigning each picture with a database number.

During Kyle’s monumental task of sifting through the extensive collection of photos, he came across an old laptop of Parent’s in the back of the archives. On it were three slideshow presentations labeled “Our Colored Past.”

The previously unknown slideshows of over 150 pictures and several home video segments documenting Nakusp from 1940 to the 1980s were too good a find not to be shared, so the ALHS decided to showcase the collection to the community.

The ninety minute presentation commenced with an introduction by Rosemary Parent who informed the audience that “we will not be giving out copies without the correct information” citing the recent mistake of the B.C. archives who accidently labelled a picture of the S.S. Minto as a ship operating on the Kootenay Lake.

Parent also informed the gathered group that there is a third showing of “Our Colored Past” scheduled for June 27.

Kyle Kusch was then given the reigns of the presentation and acted as the guide for the journey down a clear and coloured memory lane. Kusch invited the group to participate in the experience by encouraging audience members to share information or questions as the slideshow carried on.

What ensued was an experience that took those in attendance along a rollercoaster ride of nostalgia. Explosions of excited chatter, as familiar images or scenes flashed across the screen, melted into humble and reverent moments of silent awe at the ability to conjure up a window into the past.

“That was my first boyfriend!” shouted out one member of the audience as a familiar face flashed onto the large flat screen T.V. being used to project the show.

Highlights included a number of pictures taken by the Spicer family, who Kusch tells us “hiked everywhere and covered a lot of wilderness” as well as short amateur film footage of water skiing on the Arrow Lakes, the last run of the Minto in 1952, and the last run of the train in 1988.

Near the end of the slideshow, a sequence showing a small group of tugboat workers feeding a black bear caused the biggest stir, as many gasps of disbelief and anxious giggles at the trusting exchange of the men and the bear on screen could be heard rippling through the audience.