Friends of Fintry Provincial Park
The Octagon – September, 2018
The arrival of September has brought some decidedly cooler temperatures and thankfully some clearer skies. Kids are back to school and college and routines are back to a sense of normalcy once again!
As is normal for the Friends of Fintry, we are once again preparing for our last Fair of the year…..our Fintry Fall Fair…… which will be taking place on Sunday, September 16th with a wonderful new line-up of great musicians, some new vendors and the return of the Vikings as well as the Kalamalka Highlanders Pipe Band. Attached is the line-up of performers so you can gauge your visit according to what you want to see and hear! Of course Manor House tours will be running all day so if you haven’t visited lately this would be the day to come. Remember we now have a fantastic new ramp (thank you BC Parks) so the Manor House is wheelchair accessible.
In the middle of August we welcomed a group of seniors from a Kelowna Care Home. They were very grateful to have this ramp which enabled those with wheelchairs and walkers to come into the Manor House to view and learn the history of the Dun-Waters era. They enjoyed a picnic on the veranda before the tour and I know they enjoyed reminiscing over some of the artifacts from this bygone time, but which they remembered using as youngsters. We always enjoy hearing their stories!
As mentioned in the August Octagon, our very special guest from Fintry, Stirlingshire, Scotland came to “our” Fintry for a visit. He is a historian from the museum there and was very interested to make the connection and see what Dun-Waters had developed over here. Dun-Waters early years were spent in Fintry, Scotland and when he arrived here in 1909 and saw the delta and the surrounding hills it reminded him so much of his homeland that he called this place Fintry. It is wonderful to now have a contact in Scotland that we can share info with and ask questions of, to fill in the gaps of our Dun-Waters knowledge.
Following is an item of historical interest from our Curator, Dan Bruce:
Visitors to the Fall Fair on September 16th who take the tour of the Manor House will be able to see one of Fintry’s “hidden treasures”. This is a very good example of a Navajo blanket which was in fact a part of the original furnishing of the house. It came back to Fintry through the generosity of Rod and Karen Stuart, who have been diligent in assisting with the return of such Fintry items that they have inherited.
Travel brochures in the collection suggest that at some point, the Dun-Waters might have taken a trip to the south-western USA, where he could have purchased the blanket, but that is just a conjecture. Such things were available in a number of places, as they still are today. In any event, this blanket is in mint condition, and shows the deep red and purple colours that were used to dye the wool that the Navajo produced from their own breed of sheep. The blanket is normally kept in its own storage case, and will be exhibited for the first time on the day of the Fall Fair, in the bedroom beside Mrs. Dun-Waters’ sitting room.
We certainly hope you can come join us at the Fall Fair on Sunday, September 16th .
A special note…..if you renew your membership at the Fair it is valid until April 30, 2020!
Kathy Drew, President,
Friends of Fintry Provincial Park.