John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!

I do a lot of thinking about everything to do with my column which is now twenty-five years old, and as I get older I think of so many things from the past that were good. Like the Cuban Lunch chocolate bar. It was made by Paulin’s in Winnipeg and was mostly a Western Canadian thing. They were a bakery making things like soup crackers. They came up with the chocolate bar idea. It was difficult to buy because the store keepers would put the box out and they would be gone very soon. I always bought them by the box, the family liked that better. These were difficult to ship in summer time.

Or, new stuff like both McDonalds and Tim Horton’s remodelling their stores across the country. Tims has 3400 stores and the Big Mac people have 1400 stores. The designs look terrific and I showed them to the Mrs. and her first thought was that they want people to stay longer. 

When we moved here thirty-five years ago I had to put a deposit down for $12.50 to get our power hooked up by West Kootenay Power. I wonder what happened to that money? 

Do you remember your first trip to Las Vegas? I sure do. I was in California on business and the Mrs. was with me and we scooted over to Vegas for a look-see. We only had a couple of days. We stayed at Bugsy Segal’s Flamingo. That has to be the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in even though we were never in it for much time. 

A shout out to contractor CGL Contracting of Vernon. They are the company that is doing a wonderful job of remaking the downtown of Kelowna. It is amazing how this group are on schedule and have done a superb job with just weeks to go before the entire downtown proper opens for business with a new face and excitement. It has amazed this writer how organized they have been and under control. They are good at what they do.

Did the big rise in gasoline prices throw you off?  Is it because it was going to be a warm weekend and the gasoline giants in Calgary just said let's go ten cents?  It occurred at the same time oil was going down in price!

Here is another good food item from years ago. The Bun’s Master bakery moved into town and they were the first bakery to make Kaiser buns and Bagels the right way and I am not sure people knew exactly what to do with them. Coming from Toronto those two items were part of our menu. Bagels and cream cheese and Kaisers for the barbeque. Whatever happened to that bakery?  They always seemed to be so busy when I was in there.

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Colin, a member of the Krieg family at Re/Max Kelowna, sends us this information every month:

 

Kelowna and Area Single Family Dwellings Activity

Sales in the Single Family Dwellings reached 216 in April which is 20% above April 2012 and just below our 21 year average, of 220 sales. The number of active listings is 1,587 virtually the same as last year. Year-To-Date the total listings taken is 3.5% lower than the same period last year.

Percentage of Listings vs. Sales

We are still in a buyer’s market with 13.6% of the listing inventory selling last month, which is the highest since 2008. March was the lowest since 2009.

Average Price is down

The average price here in Kelowna was $460,351 last month which is still below last year’s April by 4.5%. Year-to-Date, we are at $441,182, slightly lower by 2.5% than 2012.

Million $ Plus

The MLS system shows that 9 residential properties sold in April over $1 Million. These were: 3 Acreages, 1 Lakefront home, 1 Large Lot and 4 Single Family Dwellings.

Conclusion

Our average price bounced back up since we had more activity in the upper price range. Sales are up and the percentage of sales to listing ratio is climbing. This is very encouraging, but at the same time, we have to be careful, as one month does not indicate a trend.

People just want to live here. That’s for sure.

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On Thursday, May 23rd, CAFE Okanagan will celebrate the founding of the chapter and the visionaries who brought the not-for-profit to our city. The dinner will be hosted at the historic Hotel Eldorado, located in the heart of the Mission, on the sunny shores of Okanagan Lake. They are pleased to welcome Nick Arkle, Chief Forester of Gorman Bros. Lumber, as the Keynote Speaker.

CAFE, as a result, is the voice of family business in Canada. For more information, visit cafecanada.ca.

The Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE) is Canada’s only national not-for-profit that celebrates and supports family business. Founded in 1983, it has grown to include 14 chapters from Vancouver Island to Nova Scotia. The organization facilitates peer interaction, allowing family business members to share experiences and learn from each other. CAFE also creates a community of families and professionals who can provide technical solutions and expertise to help families in business succeed.

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I sent Dominic Ramponi an email asking about his new home in Saskatchewan where the family has a number of Budget Blind stores. His family live in Yorkton and he is always really involved in the community.

The job situation is something out here.  On a website called saskjobs.ca there are 12,000 unfilled jobs in the province of Saskatchewan.  One farm equipment dealer in Yorkton is offering a $5000 signing bonus for a mechanic. If not for people from the Philippines, India and Mexico some of the fast food places would have to close.

A 2000 sq.ft. house brand new is selling for around the $500,000.00 mark and some of the old people cannot believe it. Things are going well here.  With diamonds, potash, oil and uranium what else does a person want?

A Hutterite colony from Alberta just bought 20,000 acres about an hour from here. Chinese investment companies are also buying up farm land and a lot of the hotels in Sask. are owned by Korean investment companies.

It is truly refreshing when I attend any function with the Premier of Sask., MLA., MP, or the Mayor of Yorkton.  The first things out of their mouths is something about Agriculture.  The elected officials in BC should take a lesson from the counterparts out here.

No food, no life.  Why do people move to the Okanagan?   It is because of the orchards, vineyards, fresh produce and grand open spaces on our land and our hillsides.

When you where talking about bacon, if you ever get a chance try Harvest meats bacon from Yorkton. The best bacon ever!  A bit expensive but worth it - so are their wieners. A huge operation.

A company called T & A Foods is exporting flax oil to China and around the world. A good success story.

 

Note: We have been eating Harvest bacon and wieners for years. Coopers brought them into the marketplace.