Who on earth was Sam Steele?
This was a question I asked myself a few years ago when my daughter's middle school band was invited to participate in the Sam Steele Days parade in Cranbrook British Columbia.
I now live not thirty minutes from Cranbrook and have attended many Sam Steele Days since that time. I discovered that Sam Steele has kept quite a name for himself - for a person who was not in the area very long.
Gold was discovered on Wild Horse Creek in the 1860's bringing pioneers and fortune hunters to the area. Sam Steele was an RCMP officer from Ontario who was sent to the Kootenays in 1887 with 3 officers and 75 men, to form the North West Mountain Police division at what was then, Galbraith Ferry. Disputes had arisen between the Ktunaxa Indians and the white settlers. (In the forest area of Cranbrook, archaeological sites from the first Nations people have been discovered, dating back 5,000 years!) Within the year, Sam Steele apparently sorted the dispute and then left the area in 1888. He had quite the impact on the local white population who then renamed Galbraith Ferry to Fort Steele.
Now, the city of Cranbrook celebrates the infamous officer by holding a series of events and parades in June each year. Cranbrook, which was originally the ranch of retired Colonel James Baker, was named after Cranbrook (in the county of Kent, England), Colonel Baker's ancestral home. When the Canadian Pacific Railway bypassed Fort Steele in 1898, Cranbrook became the foremost community of the area.
Cranbrook BC, is situated in the East Kootenay region of south-eastern British Columbia. Half an hour from Kimberley and forty-five minutes from Fort Steele, Cranbrook makes an interesting stop on a Kootenay Tour. Cranbrook is also very close to the Idaho border- crossing at Kingsgate.
Sam Steele Days in Cranbrook this year take place from June 13th to June 16th with the annual parade taking place on Saturday June 15th. Colourful floats come from many regions of Canada and the US.
For those who love horses, you will be rewarded as there are many that take part in the parade, including Fort Steele's famous Clydesdale's.
If you attend the parade, be prepared for the crazy cavemen who run around in sackcloth demanding change to be placed in their tin cans attached to sticks! They are quite persuasive and everything they collect goes to a local good cause!
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