Bob Vigne brought in something today that is a real reminder of the Depression era in the Creston Valley:
Yes, they're horsehoes. But you may have noticed that they don't have any holes in them for horsehoe nails: these are the kind of horsehoes you play horsehoes with.
There were three relief camps in the area: at Kitchener, Kingsgate, and Boulder Creek up Kootenay Lake. These were camps where, during the lean years of the 1930s, young, unemployed men could work, in exchange for room and board, medical care, and twenty cents a day.
One of the jobs they did at the local camps was clearing rocks out of the road - some of the piles of rocks can still be seen along the highway at Kingsgate.
These horseshoes formed some of the entertainment for the men in the evening.
When the relief camps were shut down, all the left-over equipment was hauled into Department of Highways works yards, like the one where Gleaners Too is located today in Creston. Bob's father worked for highways at the time, and the horseshoes were given to him.
They have been in the Vigne family ever since, and have seen many hours of use by Bob and his brother, and probably his children and grandchildren as well.
Tammy
Posts: 1073
Depression-Era Reminders - 29 June 2011
Yes, they're horsehoes. But you may have noticed that they don't have any holes in them for horsehoe nails: these are the kind of horsehoes you play horsehoes with.
There were three relief camps in the area: at Kitchener, Kingsgate, and Boulder Creek up Kootenay Lake. These were camps where, during the lean years of the 1930s, young, unemployed men could work, in exchange for room and board, medical care, and twenty cents a day.
One of the jobs they did at the local camps was clearing rocks out of the road - some of the piles of rocks can still be seen along the highway at Kingsgate.
These horseshoes formed some of the entertainment for the men in the evening.
When the relief camps were shut down, all the left-over equipment was hauled into Department of Highways works yards, like the one where Gleaners Too is located today in Creston. Bob's father worked for highways at the time, and the horseshoes were given to him.
They have been in the Vigne family ever since, and have seen many hours of use by Bob and his brother, and probably his children and grandchildren as well.
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