On January 3, 1998, three avalanches in southeastern British Columbia resulted in the tragic deaths of nine people. These historical events were captured in a photo of a RCMP helicopter assisting in the recovery of the victims’ bodies.
Throughout history, there have been various significant events in different parts of the world. In 1661, female actors made their first appearance on an English stage. Later, in 1777, the United States officially adopted the Stars and Stripes as its national flag. In a momentous 1793 development, slavery was abolished in Canada. Furthermore, in 1800, John White, Upper Canada’s Attorney-General, was killed in a duel with John Small over derogatory remarks about Small’s wife.
Letitia Youmans, the founder of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union in Canada, was born in 1827. In 1833, Britain took control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, and in 1863, Canada’s first covered skating rink opened in Halifax. The Meiji Restoration in 1868 re-established the authority of Japan’s emperor, marking the end of the rule of the military rulers known as shoguns. In addition, in 1871, the patent for oleomargarine was granted to Hentry Bradley of Binghamton, N.Y. As time progressed, waxed paper straws were patented in the U.S. in 1888, and in 1892, J.R.R. Tolkein, the author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
As the years passed, historical events such as Winnipeg’s Royals defeating Victoria’s Aristocrats in the first Canadian hockey game played on artificial ice in 1912, the unveiling of Canada’s first five-cent pieces in 1922, and the inaugural broadcast of U.S. congressional proceedings on television took place in 1947.
In 1998, another significant event occurred in Canadian history with the tragic loss of nine lives in avalanches in southeastern British Columbia. The ramifications of this event have continued to shape the region to this day.