By Cheryl Cruikshank
The City of Salmon Arm’s infrastructure project for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017 is the Montebello Block to be built at R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum.
The name is taken from a historic landmark – the Montebello Hotel. Built in 1908, the upscale hotel had indoor plumbing, a bar and pool tables.
The building stood at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Alexander Street and remained an iconic part of downtown Salmon Arm until it was consumed by fire in 1967, tragically claiming two lives, destroying several other businesses and changing the town’s landscape forever.
“Just as the original hotel was an architectural keystone in Salmon Arm’s downtown core, the Montebello Block is the architectural presence that will make R.J. Haney Heritage Village feel complete, as if it is densely populated like the core was more than 100 years ago,” says Haney general manager Susan Mackie, noting the Montebello Block will share the history of long-ago tenants.
The Salmon Arm Observer & Print Shop has a long history with Salmon Arm, being established just two years after the birth of the community.
The first owners, W. and H. Fraser, moved to Salmon Arm in 1907 and set up in temporary quarters provided by McCallum and Wilcox-furniture and harness dealers. In December 1907, The Observer acquired their own premises, publishing their 10th issue from a building that later housed the telephone exchange.
“Subscription rates were $1 a year, 50 cents, six months, 25 cents, 3 months, 5 cents a copy, payable in advance, otherwise $1.50 a year,” reported historian Ernest Doe in Centennial History of Salmon Arm.
The first editorial of Observations, as it was called, notes “In this, the first issue of the first paper published in Salmon Arm, it will be fitting, and no doubt looked for, by the good people of the district, that some declaration of policy be made by the publishers of the paper. It is not our desire to go into much detail or to make any extravagant claims on the district we hope to serve, but given adequate support, we hope to turn out as good a local paper as the field can reasonably expect.
“In this respect we think it will compare favourably with the other Interior weeklies but we will leave our readers to judge in the next few issues.”
After the sale of the paper in 1909, the name was changed to The Salmon Arm Observer and Shuswap Lake Recorder, and moved the paper to Alexander Avenue, where it remained for 35 years.
With each of several more changes in ownership, the paper grew and was able to include more world news.
In 1944, a family connection that was to last for 32 years began with the sale to Frank D. Marshall. In 1947 the paper was moved once again – this time to a newly constructed building on Hudson Street.
The acquisition of an automatic web press upgraded both the print shop and the paper.
Well-known to the community, Denis Marshall assumed the position of publisher following his father’s death in 1964.
Gordon Priestman, a well-respected journalist and astute follower of community affairs, joined the staff as editor in 1967 – a position he held for many years.
The growing array of technical printing equipment made it necessary to enlarge the premises and to move the stationery business to a separate building – also on Hudson Street.
Major technological changes came about in 1973 when the newspaper moved to offset printing made possible by the purchase of electronic typesetting equipment.
Ian and Lynne Wickett purchased the paper and commercial printing business in 1976, ending the 32-year tenure by the Marshall family. However, the Marshalls continued to operate the stationery business known as The Marker for a number of years.
In 1989, Hucul Printing Ltd. was formed when brothers and longtime Observer employees Bernie and Gary Hucul bought the commercial printing department of the Salmon Arm Observer from Cariboo Press. They have witnessed many changes in their industry and are enthusiastic about displaying the tools of their trade.
“The Salmon Arm Observer once again moved to new, larger premises on Shuswap Street April 1, 2008, and is an important employer in our community as well as being the cornerstone for distributing news and events from Salmon Arm and the surrounding area,” says Mackie. “It is only fitting that we recognize the importance of this historical and influential supporter of our community.”
For more information about the Montebello Block or to donate, contact the R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum at 250-832-5243.