By Lexi McFarlane, Times Chronicle
A new home has been found for a significant amount of BC Tree Fruits artifacts preserved in Oliver since the cooperative filed for insolvency last year.
The Oliver and District Heritage Society (ODHS) held a large amount of materials from the BC Tree Fruits cooperative, obtained following their dissolution in 2024. For the past year and change, it had been stored in a temporary location, awaiting processing and inspection.
Now, with the help of the Regional District of Okanagan and Similkameen (RDOS), the items have been transferred to the Kelowna Museum, where they will be processed and preserved.
ODHS Executive Director Darren Halsted explained that the Kelowna Museum was really the only option that was viable to ensure the artifacts stayed close to home.
“They had the space ready to go,” Halsted said. “They (also) had a substantial collection of BC Tree Fruits heritage materials already having (been) recovered. They’d done the same thing, with the mirror operation from the Kelowna packing house.”
The RDOS had previously approved a one-year budget for the temporary storage of the materials. With that budget expiring, a new one would have had to be passed to further address the question of what to do with the artifacts if they could not be relocated.
One key aspect the Kelowna Museum could provide that Oliver could not was the personnel and hours devoted to properly documenting all the collection’s pieces. Having received BC Tree Fruits historical pieces of their own, the Kelowna Museum was already positioned to deal with the immense undertaking of processing and preserving every item saved for historic purposes.
The Kelowna Museum, while being a little further away than locales such as Osoyoos and Penticton, still ensures that the items of the BC Tree Fruits collection stay close to home.
Most importantly of all, the entirety of the artifact collection will be in one place, as opposed to being scattered. This is very important to archivists and historians who will want to document the entire over-80-year history of BC Tree Fruits.
“It’s always good practice to keep materials in one place, if possible, because researchers would find it much easier, if everything is together,” Halsted says.
“It’s a collection, and a collection should ideally come (all) together.”
The Oliver portion of the collection includes way more than just the signage and decorations that people might think of first when discussing preserved artifacts.
“It’s (including) ledger books, employment records, time sheets, financial records, accounting documents, building prints, meeting minute books, and packing labels,” Halsted listed. “It’s a lock-up full.
“It’s all removed and safely stored now, in appropriate conditions,” he added.
The storage and move was a collaborative effort between the ODHS and the new owners of the BC Tree Fruits branding, ensuring the best transition process as the artifacts are moved to the Kelowna Museum for enhancement and display.
The RDOS also indicated that they will continue to work with the ODHS, the Kelowna Museum, and the BC Tree Fruits brand owners to “communicate the successful transfer and ongoing preservation” of the items, including providing public updates on their website and messaging channels.
