An archive photo of Haynes Ranch courtesy of the Oliver Archives, and a current photo of Haynes Ranch courtesy of John Chapman. The Oliver and District Heritage Society will discuss the famous landmark at its annual general meeting on April 16 at Quail’s Nest Arts Centre.
Can we still save some of the iconic Haynes Ranch buildings? Why should we go to the effort?
Join the Oliver and District Heritage Society at its 35th annual general meeting April 16 when historian Randy Manuel will recount the compelling story of this remarkable Haynes family and their legacy, one that began in the early colonial settlement period and is still with us today in government, in ranching and in land development.
The Haynes were more than just an ordinary family. Father, sons and daughters experienced not only great joys but also great sorrows in the years that followed their arrival with a loss of a mother, a child, a home and then an “empire.”
The shadow of that ranching empire is still evident today in the skeletal remains of the buildings perched on a sandy dune on Road 22.
These ruins hold a lifetime of memories and of times long past. Are any or all of the structures worth saving? Can they even be saved and, if so, what for?
Dave Mattes of the Haynes Ranch Preservation Committee will follow up Randy’s presentation with an update on efforts underway to try and save the mortise and tenon barn, possibly for wildlife habitat.
It is a fascinating proposal the working group is pursuing, a combination of historic and natural heritage preservation.
Randy is the 4th generation of the Manuel family to live in the Okanagan. His great-grandfather ran the Hotel Penticton and his grandfather was a railway engineer on the Kettle Valley Railway.
Given his strong personal connection to history shaping events in the region, Randy traded a career in the retail world for one in the heritage field.
For nearly 20 years he was the director/curator of the Penticton Museum and Archives and, in the process, established the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society, the Kettle Valley Steam Railway, the City of Penticton’s Heritage Committee and, following his retirement, he took a lead role in saving the 1921 three-storey Pen High brick school house as the home for the now successful Okanagan School of the Arts. Historic storytelling is in his blood.
The annual general meeting for the Oliver and District Heritage Society will take place Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. at Quail’s Nest Arts Centre located at 5840 Airport Street. Everyone is welcome but only those with current membership in the ODHS will be eligible to vote during the meeting.
Memberships will be available for purchase prior to the meeting, or can be purchased by visiting the Oliver Museum (474 School Avenue) or the Archives (430 Fairview Road) during open hours.
Please feel free to call 250-498-4027 or e-mail [email protected] with any questions.
(Pamela Woolner is community heritage manager for the Oliver and District Heritage Society.)
