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Category: The 1950s

Ikue Kobayashi, 1956

Ikue Kobayashi, 1956

Ikue Kobayashi was just nineteen years old when she moved to Okanagan Centre with her new husband. For the first few years, Ikue worked for the Okanagan Valley […]
Handipak boxes

Handipak boxes

The cardboard Handipak boxes changed the role of the packers and eliminated the work of the box makers.
Winfield packinghouse

Winfield packinghouse

The staff of the Vernon Fruit Union, Winfield, October 20th, 1955.
Doukhobor Girls, 1957

Doukhobor Girls, 1957

Five of the summer girls at the Woodsdale packinghouse, October 9th, 1957.
Bea Smorden Taiji

Bea Smorden Taiji

Bea Smorden Taiji Interview September 29th, 2015 Bea Smorden Taiji was born in Slocan Park, BC in 1930, the daughter of a Doukhobor family. Bea began coming to […]
Square dancing party near the Woodsdale packinghouse, 1950s

Square dancing party near the Woodsdale packinghouse, 1950s

The packinghouses fostered this camaraderie by holding dances each harvest season for the workers and their families, and in later years, dinners.
The first bulk bin in the Okanagan, 1957

The first bulk bin in the Okanagan, 1957

Gordon Shaw, Manager of the Vernon Fruit Union’s Winfield packinghouse developed a new method of handling apples and with a crew of men, built the first five hundred […]
Bernice Gunn, 1956

Bernice Gunn, 1956

Bernice Gunn packed at the Winoka Cooperative Exchange packinghouse in Okanagan Centre for thirty five years until its closure in 1974. Bernice mentored many of the younger belles, […]
The floating picket line

The floating picket line

The floating picket line of Okanagan Centre packinghouse workers, 1955.
Apple Packing Championships, 1952

Apple Packing Championships, 1952

The fourth annual apple packing competition for the Canadian championship was held at Oliver, BC, November 3rd, 1952. Mrs. Anne Peterman of Oliver won the 1952 competition, with […]
Okanagan Centre packinghouse, 1950

Okanagan Centre packinghouse, 1950

The Okanagan Centre packinghouse extended on pilings over Okanagan Lake, where apples were loaded directly onto barges.
Winsome Winnie Winfield

Winsome Winnie Winfield

Winnie Draper Heyworth Interview September 21st, 2015. Winnie Draper was born in Glenella, Manitoba July 27th, 1916. Her family moved to Winfield, British Columbia in 1926. Winnie began […]