The town of Penticton, British Columbia was a boaters’ haven in the early 1900s. On Lake Okanagan’s south end, in the Okanagan Valley, the city was perfectly situated – and not just for canoeists. The beautifully decorated, now-beached sternwheeler S.S. Sicamous, a visible tourist attraction today, symbolized the optimism of the era and the enthusiasm with which residents and visitors alike took to the water.

Born in England, Harold Birkett arrived in Canada in 1908 with his mind set on farming. Instead, he became the manager of Penticton’s boathouse. In 1912, Birkett married Muriel Pope, a tiny, athletic woman who raced in mixed regattas and held her own alongside male rowers. She also helped make and serve teas to boathouse patrons.

When war broke out in 1914, Birkett joined the Canadian army, as did the two boathouse patrons in uniform, faintly seen near the back of this photo. Sadly, Birkett was killed in action in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, along with over 24,000 other Canadians.

Muriel Birkett later remarried. Her daughter, Daphne Randall, sent in these photos, which show a time before Canada became immersed in the horrors of the First World War. Daphne resides in Westbury, Wiltshire, U.K.

Text by Danielle Conolly