The Rainbow Ranche Collection was donated to the Lake Country Museum and Archives by the family of James Goldie.
James Goldie (1877-1971) was an owner and resident manager of Rainbow Ranche. Goldie was very engaged in the fruit industry, promoting the concept of central selling. For several years, he was part of the board for the Vernon Fruit Union, the B.C. Fruit Growers Association, B.C. Tree Fruits and the Winfield Okanagan Centre Irrigation District.
As one of the first independent fruit ranches in the Okanagan, Rainbow Ranche played an important role in the community. Before ending up in the hands of James Goldie, J. E. McAllister, and Robert Stanhope Dormer, who were partners for almost forty years, the Rainbow Ranche had a few different owners. But it was the first owners, the Barr Brothers, who named Rainbow Ranche in homage of the frequent rainbows that would appear on their land.
Correspondence and ledgers make up the majority of the Rainbow Ranche Collection, in which it is possible to see details from the first planting and other orchard operations. This collection also provides an idea of how work and life were in Okanagan in the early 1900s.
Take a look at some of the materials from the Rainbow Ranche Collection:
Advertisement for “Canada Empire Apples” from the Associated Growers of B.C.
Letter to “Sirs” [J.E. McAllister and Robert Stanhope Dormer] from[James Goldie], March 21, 1931
Newspaper Clipping from The Globe, August 01, [1913]
Inventory [of Rainbow Ranche] taken January 1938
Map of Lots on Barnard Ave. and Tronson Street, [1911]
Have these images got you interested? If so, check out more items in the Rainbow Ranche Collection.
Sources:
James Goldie obituary, June 1971 (UBC Open Collections)
The history of Rainbow Ranche (Lake Country Museum and Archives)
The Rainbow Ranche Collection (Lake Country Museum and Archives)
