The past and present can be one and the same under the tree this Christmas with a new offering by the Sicamous and District Museum and Historical Society.
The book, Sicamous Then and Now, is now available at the museum. Printed by Inkx Design Solutions, the glossy volume features photographs of locations throughout the community, comparing what they looked like in the past to how they appear today.
The society’s Gordon Mackie said the book includes select images from the museum’s archives, with the modern comparisons photographed from approximately the same place as the original. Some of these include aerial photographs dating back as far as 1928.
We were fortunate to have a couple of aerials that had been done sometime back in 1928, so we got talking to our local guy (René St. Onge), and asked if he could maybe duplicate them, find a spot and do them all close to where the original was. My gosh, he did and did really well,” said Mackie.
Those aerial photos were the inspiration for another book the historical society is already in the process of putting together. This one will consist entirely of photos of the area from the air.
The historical society has also made its archival images available through the sale of prints on canvas (again done through Inkx). Several of these were on display at the historical society’s table at the recent Christmas Craft Fair.
“Anything that we have on file you can get,” said Mackie.
Sicamous Then and Now sells for $25, with the funds supporting the historical society and its efforts to inform and educate people about the area.