Enderby & District Museum & Archives

06/20/2026

This is a newspaper photo of Dianna and Donna Ring.
Anyone who lived in the Enderby area in 1960s will remember the murder of Dianna and Donna Ring on Oct. 7, 1963. The twin 14-year-old girls were beaten and stabbed after getting off the school bus to walk to their home at the Mabel Lake Resort owned by their parents. On March 6, 1964, Lawrence Herman Haase, 26, was found guilty of the murders and sentenced to hang, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1965.
We recently learned of the following podcast from Cascadia Crime & Cryptids that delves into the double murder. The podcaster has done quite a bit of digging so it is worth a listen.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QJUP715Gme1qs8PAnqRIX?si=67_ywxt1QFeym2mKQNSF8g&fbclid=IwY2xjawSg9gZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhcDQwaHNrR0p5YjlSQ1pRc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNTE0NzcxNTY5MjI4MDYxAAEeVdZ9UKitA-1iu5bA_8cF3cyZjlv75gKAXf17iKVvaz14TvgoYiWtWcy1rWM_aem_49Hi1PyXNDKOSwsjZL9-Yg&nd=1&dlsi=a076f564a54a447e

06/19/2026

This is a photo of Dorothy Harvey, ca. 1948. [edms 6642]
Oliver Edward Harvey married Eleanor Hamilton Thomson House from Vancouver at St. George’s Anglican Church in Enderby in 1928. Dorothy Marianne Jeanette Harvey was their only child, born in 1929 in Vancouver.
Dorothy remembered coming to Enderby as a young child to visit her grandmother, Elizabeth Harvey, known as Nel, and her uncle John Harvey, who lived on Belvedere Street, across from the creamery. She visited again when she was eight years old and spent summers at Mabel Lake, where her grandfather had property, and sometimes at Mara Lake. After WWII, her father returned to Enderby to operate the post office with his mother, whose health was failing. He stayed another year to run the post office until a permanent postmaster was hired. Dorothy had fond memories of attending Grade 11 and 12 in Enderby.
Dorothy married John Shannon in 1951 and they had one son, Sean. She enjoyed time in both BC and Toronto. Dorothy died in 2013.

06/18/2026

For history buffs....

06/18/2026

Research on another topic led to the discovery of the following article in the June 16, 1932 Enderby Commoner:
TWO ENDERBY RESIDENTS WIN CASH PRIZES IN VAN-KEL CLEANSER SLOGAN CONTEST
In a province-wide Slogan Contest which was recently sponsored by the Vancouver firm pf Geo. C. Elliott Ltd., manufacturers and distributors of Van-Kel Cleanser, Mrs. H.E. Aldin of Enderby, contributed the slogan that was awarded first prize. Mrs. G. Cunningham also shared in the prize-winning honors with a slogan that annexed fourth prize.
Van-Kel Cleanser is a 100 per cent Western Canadian product that is fast finding favor with B.C. housewives. Several hundred entries were submitted in the slogan contest, each one sincere in its praise of the merits of Van-Kel Cleanser. The general excellence of the slogans submitted, made it very difficult to choose the 18 cash prizewinners.
Geo. C. Elliott Ltd., with Head Offices and Factory at Vancouver, B.C., are manufacturing and distributing nearly a score of high quality chemical products for industrial, domestic and pharmaceutical use. There are some thirty employees on the patrol under the capable direction of Mr. Geo. C. Elliott, managing director; Mr. J.A. Robinson, in charge of manufacturing, packaging and sales; and Mr. J.C. Barr, B.Sc., A.I.C., who is in charge of chemical sales, laboratory and research activities.

The picture shown is an ad run in the same issue of the Commoner. The article does not divulge the winning slogan, so I am guessing that Mrs. Aldin’s winning slogan is on the container: “It’s Different.” She won $20, which is quite a bit in 1932 (equivalent to about $443.50 today).
Margaret Alice was born in England, where she married and was widowed with two daughters and a son. She came as Mrs. Cunningham to Canada in 1921, settling in Victoria, where she met Hudson E. Aldin. They married in 1925 and moved with her son and a daughter to Ashton Creek. The couple were known for doing comedic skits at community events. Margaret was involved in the IODE and Red Cross. The Aldins moved to Enderby in 1951 and Margaret died in 1964.

06/18/2026

These are some of the artifacts that have come into our museum via the Enderby Lions Club Garage Sale. This came in just yesterday – a satin baptism dress with an embroidered cap and a first communion ribbon and veil (with German writing) that apparently came from an estate sale. And the small ice cream churn and what could be a fuel container/lamp or smudge pot came to us last week.
Volunteers from Twice But Nice also make frequent visits to the museum with artifacts donated to their store.
We do not accept every item into our collection; some are held for our Christmas Silent Auction, others are used in the Whatsit?! Trunk at the museum, and some are tossed into the garbage.
It would be much better if people brought this kind of stuff to the museum first, so we can determine if it is appropriate for our collection. The added bonus of doing this, rather than donating it to the second-hand store or garage sale, is that we can, perhaps, get a bit of background information on the item and add to its story, which can then share with museum visitors when the items are displayed. Because, really, that is what museums are about – the stories. The story of your family, their way of life, the things they did and how they earned a living.
So, next time you have some old thing kicking around the house you no longer want, bring it by the museum to see if we might want it. If not, you can then take it to the Lions or Twice But Nice.

06/17/2026

06/17/2026

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄!
The first Enderby Craft Market will NOT be June 21 but July 5 and every second Sunday after that until the end of November. The market is at the Enderby Drill Hall and you can contact Sheryl at the email on the poster for more information.

06/17/2026

The History of the Kingfisher Jumble Dance
The Kingfisher Jumble Dance celebrates its 69th year on July 4. It began in the early to mid-1950s with the earliest known group photograph in 1955. The idea for the dance is credited to Eva New.
During that time, alcohol was not allowed in the hall, so the men often gathered outside for a drink. The tradition of cross-dressing began as a playful way to encourage more dancing—women, dressed as men, could approach the "men," who were dressed as women, to ask them to dance.
Except for one year during the pandemic, the Jumble Dance has continued ever since. This is tribute to community members who have continued the tradition for decades, preserving the spirit of fun and creativity
One memorable story from an early Jumble Dance, shared in Kingfisher Stories by Eva Monkhouse, goes like this:
“Russell Large, exceptional for his taste in feminine finery, caught the roving eye of George Cargill, who incidentally retained his masculine dress. George, who had been on the outs with Russell for many years but did not recognize him, asked him to dance. Russell, in true maidenly coyness graciously accepted. During the dance full realization came to George. ‘Hell,’ he said, ‘I don’t want to dance with you. You’re Russell Large!’ and left him in the middle of the floor.”
The 2026 Jumble Dance is Saturday, July 4 at Kingfisher Hall. Steve Brockley and bandmates will provide an eclectic mix of music to get the dance floor hopping. Tickets are $30 at Tony O’s Outfitter, at the door and via e-transfer to Kingfisher [email protected] (include “Jumble Dance” in the subject line).

06/13/2026

This is the house at 725 Knight St., circa 1965-70. [edms 6255]
This house was constructed prior to 1908, with the first resident identified through water records being H.F. Flewwelling in 1907-1910. It appears that Mr. Flewwelling sold the house and bought it back a few times, as water records show the house belonging to James Baird in 1909. But it was Mr. Flewwelling selling it to Mr. J.M. McColl in 1911, who added porches and cement walkways. Water records show Mr. Flewwelling as the owner in 1912-13. Water records then show Dr. Keith as the owner from 1913-15 but our archives also show that Rex Vogel purchased the lot between the Jeffers’ house and his from Dr. Keith for $25 and moved into the house that straddled both lots. Mrs. May Blanche Keith is identified as the owner in 1916 along with Gustav Adolf Vogel as the owner of Lot 3. Henri Vogel was in the house in 1940 but it sold to Mrs. E. Wert at some point, as she is the one who sold it for $73,000 to Jonathon Halper in 2000. The last listing for this house in our property index is Burt Cohen in 2009. The house was listed for $212,000 in 2012.

06/12/2026

Here is the Enderby High School graduating class of 1957 in a classic shot in front of the Enderby Cliffs. [edms 2458]
Shown are…
Front Row, l-r: June Borstel, Edna Eadie, Lenore Crouch, Shirley Hill, Blanche Stordahl, Patsy Teather, Juanita Sabulsky, Doreen Koenig, Dawn Girvin
Middle Row, l-r: Willie Feser, Jim Smith, Bayard Palmer, Dorothy Blackburn, Wilna Halvorson, Carol Baird, Louise Cook, Majorie Nelson, David Frederick, Koji Tokairin, Mervyn Olson
Back Row, l-r: Ron Samol, Jay Tuey, Myron Smaha, Vern Steele, Lars Pada, Tony Kohlman, Barry Gerlib, George Malpass
The 2026 A.L. Fortune Secondary graduating class from will be getting a similar photo taken today at 6:30 p.m. outside the high school, just prior to their graduation ceremony in the gym at 7 p.m.
Grads will get together for a barbecue at the school this afternoon then do some street painting at 1:30 p.m. Grads are expected at the high school, at 6 p.m. so they can don their caps and gowns for the photo and ceremony.
The community is welcome to come celebrate this special day with the graduates.