Everyone in the Village of Chase knows David Lepsoe.
He is the local historian who is always enthusiastic about sharing his historic knowledge with others.
June 22 was a warm but rather unsettled day weather wise. This didn’t stop a group of more than 40 people from going on a historic walk on Hillside Avenue in Chase. This is the area where the immigrants from Finland used to live in the early and mid 1900s. They worked mainly with the railroad and, coincidentally, on the afternoon of the tour there was a lot of maintenance activity going on along the rail tracks. As in keeping with Aboriginal Day, Lepsoe explained how the two cultures worked together back in the day. Whitfield Chase married the local chief’s eldest daughter as was the custom back then.
The tour included a large group of North Shuswap residents, including Loretta Greenough’s historic mystery tour, as well as people from Salmon Arm, Kamloops and even the U.S.
Everyone enjoyed Vic Skijie’s stories. For many years, Skijie has helped Lepsoe in his journey to deliver the history of the village to the people in the area.
Read more: Our history in pictures
Read more: Take a walk through Chase history
One of the stops of the tour was the sauna, a cultural staple for the Finnish immigrants. Now dilapidated, this building was a lively gathering place back then.
Lepsoe showcased valuable photographs from the era. Several of the attendees were descendants of the Monteith and the Currie families.
The tour ended at Chase Museum where MLA for Kamloops South-Thompson, Todd Stone was enjoying conversations with local residents. Everyone had a chance to look at the large photos at the Chase Museum and enjoy the Strawberry tea – a wonderful annual fundraiser at the museum.
Lepsoe thanked all attendees, including Loretta from the North Shuswap Historic mystery tour and Elena from Elite Events BC for creating a wonderfully successful historical event.
Submitted by Elena Markin.
@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net
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