That extends back to the late 1800s
Ushering in a new year at the museum is curator Dennis Oomen, who took over for Peter Ord on Nov. 18. Ord recently moved on to the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria.
The first exhibit rotating under the helm of Oomen will revolve around the Kettle Valley Railway, starting off a year of steam-based exhibits entitled Steamfest.
Steam has a history in the Okanagan that extends back to the late 1800s.
“The Kettle Valley Railway was very important to the development of Penticton and southern B.C. in general. We’ll be dealing with that history and showing how the railway came about and how it was built,” Oomen said.
Initially conceived as an extension of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the KVR became an integral part of connecting the mining deposits in the south Okanagan to the rest of the province and the country.
“When the Kettle Valley Railway was made, all locomotives were all steam locomotives running on coal for the most part,” Oomen said.
He added the SS Sicamous, the five-decked sternwheeler which was another lifeline for the South Okanagan, was also steam powered.
“The early economic history of the region was pretty much powered by steam, so we are having a bunch of events that speak to that role,” Oomen said.
With a degree in history and years of museum work under his belt, Oomen’s fascination with who we are and how we got here is evident, but he prefers the history that breaks through the ages to today.