Tag: Fish

Museum News & Events

Crafts in the Park is Back for 2019!Crafts in the Park is Back for 2019!

July 16, 2019 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

Crafts in the Park is back! Each week we partner with the Whistler Public Library to present a story and craft in Florence Petersen Park. This year’s theme is “When I Was In Whistler, I Saw…” and each week will feature a different animal, activity or object that could be seen in Whistler, either in the present or in the past!

Crafts in the Park runs on Wednesdays from 11am-noon. It is a drop-in program for all children ages 4-12, with a chaperone present.

Week 1: July 10

Have you ever seen a beaver in Whistler? In making their home in the valley, beavers made dams along waterways and changed the landscape for many years to come. Many of the rivers and streams in Whistler are still the way they are because of beavers. For our first craft, we’ll be creating cone beavers and paper bag dams.

Week 2: July 17

Traveling to Whistler became a lot easier in 1914 with the arrival of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Instead of 3 days, the trek from Vancouver now took about 9 hours (still a lot longer than we’re used to today). The railway had a major influence on making Whistler a popular resort destination, and we’ll be making our very own train engines in any colours you want.

Week 3: July 24

For this week, we’ll be collaborating with the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre to make animal headbands!

Week 4: July 31

Alta Lake became a popular fishing destination in 1914 and people caught many different kinds of fish. Just like those early visitors, we’ll be making our own mini fishing rods and fish. You’ll even be able to catch these fish with your rod, and fish can be designed however you want!

Week 5: August 7

Before the train came to Whistler, it took 3 days to reach Alta lake. The first day was spent on a steamboat from Vancouver to Squamish, and from there you would have to walk all the to Whistler, accompanied by a pack horse. When fishing lodges began opening on Alta Lake, some lodges kept stables and would take guests on rides around the valley. This week we’ll be making our very own horse, who can stand all by itself! For ambitious crafters, we’ll also be making clothespin riders.

Week 6: August 14

Sailing has been popular in Whistler for over 100 years and Alta Lake residents enjoyed taking all kids of boats out in the summer. We’ll be making our own sailboats out of sponges, corks and paper. Just like real boats, these really do float!

Week 7: August 21

While Whistler is very well known for its winter sports, in the summer mountain biking takes over the town. This week we’ll be making pipe-cleaner bikes and bikers!

Week 8: August 28

Downhill skiing came to Whistler in the 1960s and has been wildly popular ever since. Snowboarding was introduced to the hills in the 1980s, and now both sports are found on the mountains each winter. We’ll be making our very own skiers and snowboarders this week, as we look forward to another snowy winter!

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesdays!

The “Fishy” History of Rainbow Trout in WhistlerThe “Fishy” History of Rainbow Trout in Whistler

March 1, 2014 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is native to streams, rivers, and lakes along the west coast of North America from Alaska to northern Mexico. This fish can live its entire life in freshwater when confined to land-locked bodies of water, but it also has a migratory form, known as steelhead trout, which feeds at sea before returning to its birthplace to spawn. The rainbow trout is notable because it has been widely introduced throughout the world – non-native populations can now be found on every continent except Antarctica.

This beastie has made its mark on Whistler by way of a common misconception. Locals know that the name “Rainbow” can be found all over Whistler – Rainbow Mountain, Rainbow Lodge (now Rainbow Park), the Rainbow Building, and the new Rainbow subdivision. Many people (including the staff here at the museum!) believed until very recently that these places and landmarks were named after the rainbow trout, due to its natural abundance in our lakes and rivers. But early accounts of the area indicate that cutthroat trout (O. clarki) were the primary species being caught by early patrons of Rainbow Lodge, and that rainbow trout weren’t introduced to Alta Lake until the 1920s, nearly 10 years after the lodge was named!

Whistler has a long history with fishing, as the fishing industry was one of the first attractions to bring in tourists. Rainbow Lodge was the first and only holiday destination built in the valley before 1914, when the Pacific Great Eastern Railway was built. At this time, other entrepreneurs began building accommodations most notably for fishing holidays. Now, we know that fishing was a main attraction in early Whistler days and that Myrtle and her guests were catching trout; however, our archival photos are not clear enough to determine the species definitively.

Margaret Tapley, Edna, & her husband Don McRae with dog Ki, fishing from the log bridge to Tracks, Myrtle's tent house. 1915. Inscription reads: Rainbow 1915. Philip Collection. — Margaret Tapley, Edna, & her husband Don McRae with dog Ki, fishing from the log bridge to Tracks, Myrtle’s tent house. 1915. Inscription reads: Rainbow 1915.
Philip Collection.

One of Whistler’s earliest fishing enthusiasts, a Mr. Billy Bailiff, refers to “Kamloops trout” in his 1956 article, “History of Alta Lake.” This is a moniker given to rainbow trout found in the interior of British Columbia (particularly around Kamloops, believe it or not). Most introduced rainbow trout in B.C. are descended from the Pennask Lake strain, which is known for its ability to conserve fat, making these fish well suited for long winters and the low temperatures of high-elevation lakes – sound familiar? This strain is also notoriously “spirited,” meaning that they put up a good fight when hooked, much to the delight of the sport fisher.

Myrtle Philip and Grace Naismith with freshly-caught large fish, Mahood Lake. 1949 Philip Collection — Myrtle Philip and Grace Naismith with freshly-caught large fish, Mahood Lake. 1949.
Philip Collection.

So, then, how do we explain the ubiquity of the “Rainbow” label around town? It seems to have originated with the mountain, rather than the fish. How the mountain got its name is still uncertain. Perhaps the early settlers in the area were often treated to a rainbow arching over the mountain after a storm – sounds like a memorable sight!

– Written by guest blogger Jeanette Bruce