With a military background himself, Francois Arseneault has numerous reels of military footage from the Okanagan and beyond.

The Vernon-based historian and videographer has thousands of videos in his possession, some of which he shot himself.

Arseneault was in Bosnia some 29 years ago when NATO took over operations in the beleaguered country from the United Nations and has numerous videos of his time with NATO troops.

He also has vintage military videos, such as today's episode that harkens back to 1959.

The footage shows Canadian First and Second World War veterans marching through downtown Vernon before attending a ceremony at the cenotaph.

Leading the former troops was the Vernon Girls Trumpet Band. Founded in 1947, the band represented Vernon at events across Canada and beyond.

The group disbanded in 2009, but was reformed in 2020.

Following the cenotaph ceremony, the video then shifts to an event that was held for decades at Polson Park.

The free fishing event would see 2,000 trout placed in the Polson Park pond where hundreds of children would have a chance to catch a fish, for many of the youths it was the first fish they ever caught.

The Kalamalka Fly Fishers have continued the tradition for decades, but 2024 may have been the last time the event was held at the park due to City of Vernon changes to the Vernon Creek and the pond.

Arseneault is always looking for more information on the vintage footage he digs up, and he encourages people to add their input in the comments section on his Youtube page.

Arseneault has an extensive collection of vintage footage, and he is looking for more.

Anyone who may have old 16 mm or 8 mm film footage of the Vernon and Okanagan area is invited to email Arseneault at [email protected].