August 11, 1967
The 12-year-old son of the former Anglican Dean of the Kootenays was seriously burned when a boat’s gas tank blew up in his hands Thursday. Graeme Leadbeater was rushed to hospital in Nelson after the accident which destroyed a boathouse on the North Shore. His father, Rev. Dr. Thomas Leadbeater of Edmonton, said that his son was transferring marine gasoline from a small can into a tank when the explosion occurred. Graeme fled from the boathouse and jumped into the lake as flames licked around him. Graeme has burns to his feet, legs, stomach, chest and arms and at no time did he lose consciousness during the ride into Nelson with a police car escort. Last night a spokesman at Kootenay Lake General Hospital said Graeme was “seriously burned.”
August 14, 1967
Sunday, August 13 may go down on record as Black Sunday of the 1967 Kootenay forest fire crisis. After a week of progress, weary forest fire fighters were hurled into an even grimmer battle against the destructive fires, Sunday. One hundred and fifty five were raging in the tinder dry Nelson Forest District - and most of them were in West Kootenay. “Things are just exploding,” said a B.C. Forest Service official. Most of the fires were started by lightning. Seventy three outbreaks were counted Saturday and 26 on Sunday. At least four of the fires in the water starved forests north of Nelson were “major” and they will have to be doused by hand as no machinery can get into the rugged, almost impenetrable area, and water bombers would have no effect on the blazes. And the weather forecast gives no indication of hope for the firefighters. The heat wave is going to go on — conditions lethal — and temperatures of 100 degrees have been predicted for today. It has been one of the worst weeks for B.C. forests in history with a total of 324 fires burning — bringing the number for the year to 2,054.
August 14, 1967
Wrapped in eight shiny packages, the Confederation Caravan, Canada’s 100th birthday present, rolled into Nelson Sunday. There to greet it were government and business leaders, the 65 voice Doukhobor Choir, the Nelson City Band, about 2000 men, women and children, and - in an extra-special blinding blue effort - a 98 degree day. The caravan, described as a blend of time machine, museum and history a-go-go will be here until 11 p.m. Thursday. The caravan will visit 93 communities in B.C. before it’s finished, mainly 2-3 day stops.
August 18, 1967
Describing it as a great monument to show the entire world the accomplishments that can be made by two great and friendly nations joining in peaceful efforts, Premier W.A.C. Bennett Thursday officially opened the Duncan, the first of the Columbia Treaty Dams to reach completion. Gazing over the clear blue waters of the 29 mile long reservoir created by the project, the Premier pulled a golden silk cord to remove the royal purple cloak and unveil the historical monument denoting the completion of the project. Mr. Bennett noted in his speech that the dam would provide tremendous flood control benefits which were felt this year when serious flooding was averted during run-off preventing an additional foot of water in the lower reaches of Kootenay Lake and in the Columbia.
August 21, 1967
The flavor of Centennial year finally came to Nelson Saturday. After squabbles, rows and controversy, the City’s salute to Confederation went through without a hitch. It was greeted with a good old fashioned scorcher of a summer day, top hats, and waistcoats, high spirits and a parade that would even have made John A. Macdonald blush with pride. The hour long parade provided the high point, starting from Second Street and winding through the City before thousands of people who lined the streets. At its head clomped Century Sam, complete with burro, beard and mining equipment. Evidence of the number of people, was that some of them stood ten deep on downtown sidewalks watching the colorful procession. Watchers lined the streets from Fairview to town. Organizers declared that the parade was the best that Nelson has had for the past 10 or 20 years. After the parade was over there was still plenty for people to do. A gymkhana was held at the Civic Centre grounds and in the evening, the beat of hooves was replaced by the beat of pop music. The open air dance went on till midnight in the Civic Centre grounds.