Summerland museum shares a throwback to snowy one horse open sleigh travel in 1927

Snowy sleigh travel in 1927

Photo: Summerland Museum & Archives Society

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh!

The Summerland Museum & Archives Society shared a look back at a very snowy Summerland almost 100 years ago.

The photo captures two ladies travelling through a blizzard on a December day in 1927.

"Despite the cold and falling snow, the ladies are smiling broadly. They certainly look cozy, wrapped in their furs in their one-horse open sleigh," the museum shared in the post.

The lady seated on the left is Margaret Ritchie (nee Findlay), who was born in Manitou, Manitoba, and came to Summerland in the early 1900s.

According to the museum, Margaret would go onto marry James Ritchie on April 20, 1905, who was Summerland’s reeve, councillor, postmaster, property developer, and president of the Garnet Valley Land Company.

"The couple moved into his home, the former Barclay Ranch, on South Victoria Road, with Margaret renaming the house "Parkdale". This iconic yellow house is still there today and is one of Summerland's oldest buildings."

Museum records tell that the couple had four children at Parkdale; William, Margaret, Catherine, and James, although James sadly died aged only 16 months.

James died in 1939 and Margaret went on to remarry in 1957, before passing away on Oct. 25, 1970.

While some may be hoping for some snow to come down for the upcoming holiday season, it is too soon to predict whether Summerland will see a white Christmas this year.

The Summerland Museum & Archives Society shares photos and information from their archives every week for Throwback Thursday on their social media, which can be found online here.