See how Vernon has changed over the past 33 years – Vernon News

Today’s trip down memory lane doesn’t go as far back as other adventures, but it still offers a glimpse into days gone by.

Vernon historian and videographer Francois Arsenault has footage in and around Vernon from 33 years ago.

Vernon’s population was about 23,000 in 1991, and Arsenault said that despite the relatively short time between the footage and today, there are still “a lot of changes to look out for.”

Some footage was shot at Cal Beach in Coldstream.

While the beach itself is much the same, the hillside above parts of Vestkal Road was still undeveloped and Okanagan College was much smaller.

Check out Camp Vernon, which has been hosting cadets since 1949.

Coming down the hill on Highway 97 into town, you can see how Vernon Jubilee Hospital didn’t yet have a second tower.

Arsenault had identical footage of the drive into the city from 1958 (episode 800 in his collection), showing how much this area of ​​the city had changed.

“Over this 33-year period, you can see significant changes. Those trees in Paulson Park were a little shorter. Highway 6 didn’t exist yet, just like the NOCA dairy building didn’t exist in 1991, the railroad tracks still crossed the highway on the way to Okanagan Landing and of course the Vernon Fruit packing plant was still standing,” Arsenault said of footage from 1958.

“The Texaco service station may not be familiar to some, as the brand has not been around since 1989. In 1958, the Sigalet brothers worked at the ESSO station, with so little traffic that it was still possible to park on the roadway.

And in 1991, when Vernon’s Fruit Union replaced a new strip mall, the Sigalet brothers’ Dodge dealership still had a residence, and the Schell’s Motel neon sign still stood.

“There was a banner at the main intersection announcing the annual Vernon Race Days at Keene Park. BC Transits’ Orion buses were still common, these Ontario-built buses were in service until the late 1990s. The colloquial name of “suicide hill” was now just to the east. “Many Vernonites remember their teenage years, traveling down 30th Avenue to Suicide Hill and back to the Safeway west of downtown on warm summer nights, and reliving the neon lights of the storefront lighting up the street,” Arsenault said.

Arsenault is always looking for more information on the vintage footage he digs up, and he encourages people to add their comments in the comments section on his Youtube page.

Arsenault has a large collection of vintage footage and is looking for more.

Anyone who may have old 16mm or 8mm film of the Vernon and Okanagan is invited to e-mail Arsen at (email protected).