FOLLOWING A BELL TO KELOWNA, BC

by Julie H. Ferguson

All the new construction in Kelowna today might give visitors the impression that this city in BC's Okanagan is relatively new. They'd be woefully wrong.

Pandosy Mission, 2010

Kelowna boasts the first European settlement in the Okanagan Valley, dating back to 1859 when Father Pandosy, OMI, an Oblate priest, built a mission. It still stands and has been superbly restored by the Okanagan Historical Society and the Catholic Church. The mission is well worth prowling around to get a feel for the times and what the settlers had to endure. The site is at 3685 Benvoulin by the junction with Casorsa and is open dawn to dusk from Easter to Canadian Thanksgiving.

In their later years

The mission's original bell led me to another Kelowna story of courage and success.  The bell acted as Rosa Casorso's traveling companion and compass in 1884 when she left Italy with three small kids to join her husband who was working for – you guessed it – Pandosy. She spoke not one word of English when her ship docked in San Francisco having sailed round Cape Horn; all she had was a scrap of paper with the address "Father Pandosy, Okanagan Mission." So did the bell ....  Rosa followed the bell on horseback, in canoes and wagons, and on foot, and eventually was reunited with her husband Giovanni, whom Pandosy renamed John.

The couple went on to establish the biggest agricultural and horticultural empire in BC's interior and the family still operates it today.

Pioneer Market in 2013

Next door to Pandosy Mission at 1405 Pioneer Road is a unremarkable building called Pioneer Market. It houses the Casorsa's history, a café, a wine tasting room, a local produce store, and a museum.

Jams, jellies, and honeys

Before I opened the door I could smell delicious aromas of homemade soup, coffee, and fresh bread. Here visitors can stock up on cakes, muffins, pies of all sorts, and comfort food. No doubt, in the harvest season, there are all the fruits from the orchards for sale too. There's also jams and jellies, honey, pickles, etc—all made in house, and perhaps to Rosa's recipes. Scattered through the downstairs are artifacts: an old stove, two ancient Singer sewing machines, and other bits and pieces from the family's past. Upstairs is the museum, though it felt more like exploring a family's attic.

Tucked behind the  market is the tasting room of Sperling Wines, formerly Calona Wines, another of the Casorso's enterprises dating from 1925 when Giovanni's son, Charles, planted the first vineyard in the Kelowna region. It still exists and produces several varieties of wine.  We tried a few, but I didn't care much for the pinot gris or chard. My husband liked the old vines Maréchal Foch and bought two bottles.

Life was tough homesteading in the late 1800s, and Rosa made it work; she not only founded a family firm but also raised nine children and cooked meals for them and twelve farmhands. I could scarcely imagine her daily life standing looking at the farm and vineyards, to say nothing of her journey from the Old World.


ALL IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2010-13. All rights reserved.

DRIVING A FUR TRADE ROUTE TO KELOWNA

by Julie H. Ferguson

I hate driving the Coquihalla (Hwy 5) from Vancouver to either Kamloops or Kelowna. I hate the changeable, sometimes hazardous, weather conditions and the thundering semis all around me. (Furthermore I always want to avoid the risk of snow in early spring and, sure enough, there was slush on the Connector the day I traveled and none on the more southerly route.)

So, I choose to go the long way into the Okanagan, following the fur traders' routes; so many of the present highways in the province follow the brigade routes of the mid-1800s. Often they are the most picturesque ways to travel and this one only takes about an hour and a bit longer to drive than the Coq.

Driving up last Saturday morning, I followed Hwy 3 from Hope to Manning Park and Princeton. No traffic along here in April. Weather varied from fog, heavy showers to sunshine, conditions the HBC surveyors must have suffered too (they did not pursue this brigade route). Manning Park Lodge where I like to breakfast was closed, as I expected, but with its recent sale should open before Victoria Day.

The Similkameen River near Keremeos
 (Photo: Wikipedia)

After Allison Pass I was on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in the rain shadow and it dried out completely all the way into Princeton. Ate brunch just off the highway at Co Co's Bistro (aka Cowboy Coffee), a tiny, funky cafe with home-cooked food in large quantities for a low price. Friendly, too.

As always the stretch from Princeton, through Hedley, to Keremeos was gorgeous: rugged mountains, the rushing Similkameen River, and a wide, fertile valley where the road travels. I'm certain the fur traders loved this stretch for its water and fodder for horses. It's very photogenic and, on the way home, I plan to spend some time in Hedley where you can take a fascinating tour of the mine high above and eat at a good resto. (More later.) I've decided to divide the return journey in two, staying the night in Princeton so I can enjoy Hedley without rushing.

Manteo Resort
© Photos by Pharos 2013

Hwy 3A from Keremeos to Penticton winds north up through a valley till it meets Hwy 97. There's an emu farm somewhere here, but I missed it. Chose not to stop in Penticton this time and pushed on to Kelowna another 60kms north in heavy traffic, the first of the trip. The road today lies slightly below where the fur traders rode with their pack trains on the west side of Okanagan Lake. It was raining when I arrived – hard!

I'm staying at the Manteo Beach Resort, thanks to exchanging one of our timeshares. My two-bedroomed unit is big, clean, and on the lakeshore. While not in the heart of Kelowna, it it lies south of the city in a quiet residential neighbourhood, which is close to everything and quiet. Since I was last here, there is a new and excellent Save-on-Foods one kilometre away, farmers' markets, and several vineyards including Tantalus and Cedar Creek.