36 YEARS AGO (1985): The 100 Mile Lioness Club decided to begin Operation Family Identification Program. In partnership with the RCMP, the Lionesses planned to go around and fingerprint students at local schools, to provide an extra option of identification in an emergency. Lioness Elsie Buck, who was instrumental in organizing the program, said that emergencies could include car accidents, abductions or sexual abuse. As an example, Buck pointed to a case in Vancouver where a girl hit by a car was so disfigured she was only identifiable by her fingerprints.
24 YEARS AGO (1997): A change to Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School’s curriculum to a modular course timetable led to a spirited debate. Close to 70 concerned parents attended a Parents’ Advisory Council meeting to voice their concerns as they felt the current tight schedules were stressing their children out. They were disappointed however when PSO principal Gary Fukushima gave them a lengthy talk instead about the options the school faced. Some of PSO’s own students, meanwhile, said they liked the new modular system.
12 YEARS AGO (2009): The first mayor of 100 Mile House Ross Marks died following a battle with cancer. Marks, born in 1927 in Toronto, moved to 100 Mile House in 1948 as a young college graduate to work with Lord Martin Cecil. After marrying his wife, Marcia, Marks climbed the ladder of the company that would become Bridge Creek Companies, playing a major role in planning the development and infrastructure of the community. In 1968, when 100 Mile House was incorporated, he became its first mayor. He was described as a pillar of the community.
6 YEARS AGO (2015): The Ford Mustang of two Top Gear Magazine journalists became one of the herd after receiving the Spring Lake Ranch brand. Charlie Turner and Tom Ford, of the BBC, spent 16 days and 220 hours behind the wheel of their Mustang as they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the famous vehicle touring 49 of the U.S.’s 50 states. On the way to Alaska via B.C., the two journalists stopped off at Spring Lake Ranch in search of a little refuge. The two described the ranch as “a little slice of heaven down a dirt road” and swore its owners, John and Myrna Barkowsky, to secrecy about their article.