Vintage Flatbed!

A 1947 (COE) Ford 3 ton Flatbed truck - with semi cab-over - Westbank Museum 2736 Lower Glenrosa Road in West Kelowna BC - February 15, 2011.

This old piece of orchard equipment once belonged to T.R. Reece of Westbank. It is all original with 100hp flat head engine V8 dual speed rear end (vacuum shift) This and many other larger items will be moved to the new location in downtown Westbank this spring.

REECE, Thomas Adrian William 1920 - 2007: Adrian passed away on Saturday, August 25th, after a four-year battle with cancer. Survived by his loving family, son Gary (Jennifer), daugher Jeanette Bosch, son Colin (Jeannette), daughter Kathleen Reece (Claude Drought), and Eleanor Glaser, longtime friend and companion; seven grandchidlren, Eleanor Bosch, Kathrine (Warren) Saari, Koreen Reece, Adrian Bosch, Daryn Reece, Carly Drought, Hannah Drought as well as two great-grandchildren, Quinten and Brianna Saari. Also surviving are Adrian’s brothers Nelson (Pat) and Milton (Esther) and his sisters Gwen (Ken) Harding and Elizabeth Weddell, and his first wife Jean Irvine. He was predeceased by his sister Temi Stafford and brothers-in-law Herb Stafford and Phil Weddell. Adrian was a long-time resident of Westbank and Lakeview Heights, moving from Manitoba in 1922. Before the war he drove logging trucks and hauled fruit for the family’s Westbank Packing House. Adrian served with the RCAF in WWII as an aircraft mechanic. After the war, he continued to work in the family orchards and in the early 1950’s started his own orchard in Lakeview Heights, which he was still actively farming until a few months ago. Adrian also ran a backhoe business for many years. A Celebration of Life will be held at the United Church in Westbank on Monday, September 17th at 1:00 P.M. with a reception to follow at the Westbank Commnity Hall. The family would like to thank the staff and doctors of Kelowna General Hospital and the Cancer Clinic for their care of Adrian over the past two months. In lieu of flowers, a gift in memory of Adrian can be made to the Cancer Centre for the Southern Interior, 399 Royal Avenue, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 5L3. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.firstmemorialfuneral.com

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The War Production Board allowed the automobile companies to produce more vehicles for the civilian market starting in early 1945. Ford took this cue to boost production of its heavy-duty trucks, which were introduced in May of that year. Though they looked like Ford's 1942 models, they were treated to a number of modifications, including an improved V-8 engine.

In September 1945, Henry Ford finally stepped down from leading the company that bore his name. As expected, he was succeeded in the presidency by his grandson, Henry Ford II.

What Henry II inherited was a company in rather dire straits. Ford Motor Company had been on unsteady financial footing before the war, and didn't emerge from it in any better shape. It would prove a formidable challenge to turn the company around, but its new president succeeded.

Ford's Cab-Over-Engine models returned to the lineup in 1946, and were joined by some heavier-duty two-ton models. These "Ford Heavies" featured reinforced frames, two-speed rear axles, heavier-duty springs, and larger tires.

On April 7, 1947, the Ford company -- and indeed, the country -- mourned the loss of one of the automotive industry's great pioneers when Henry Ford died at his home. He was 83.

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Cabover trucks (from Ehow.com) -- also identified as Cab Over Engine (or COE), cab forwards and forward control -- are typically tractor-trailer rigs in which the cab is located directly above the engine and the driver is either sitting atop the front wheels or slightly behind. Many small commercial trucks and passenger vehicles (buses and RVs) also use the cabover configuration.
The first mass-produced cabover truck was manufactured by the Sternberg Company, later called Sterling, of Wisconsin. It produced a seven-ton COE from 1907-1914. In 1933, Sterling developed the "Camel Back" COE, so named for the slight hump on the nose of the cab. The cab of the Camel Back could be tilted for access to the engine compartment, according to coachbuilt.com.

The White Motor Company developed the modern cabover in 1932 to conform to the 42-foot truck length limit imposed by the U.S. government. The COE design also featured White's "pancake engine," a horizontally-opposed-cylinder engine installed under the floorboards. The 1959-1962 White COE 5000 series featured a cab made of fiberglass to reduce weight, according to the book "Kings of the Road."

Cabovers enjoyed immense popularity because federal and state governments imposed severe restrictions on the length of tractor-trailer rigs. Until 1956, laws limited trucks to 42 feet. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 increased the maximum length to 65 feet. After 1976, federal and state laws changed to increase the maximum length to 75 feet, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

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Westbank was originally established as a small post office in 1902, and has since blossomed into one of B.C.'s fastest growing communities. It is located on the west side of Okanagan Lake. Overlooking? Okanagan Lake, the slopes of this spacious settlement grow apples for which the Okanagan valley has become famous as well as many other fruits and vegetables. The Okanagan is the best wine producing region in BC and home to numerous award-winning wineries . Westbank is also the original hitching post site where traders met on the Old Cariboo Trail.

The Hudson's Bay Trail was abandoned in 1846 but it soon saw use again in the gold rush in 1856. In 1859-60, the Roman Catholic Mission, was established by Father Charles Pandosy and Father Pierre Richard, this was the beginning of settlement in the Okanagan.

Ten years later, 1870, the Allison Family, the first to live on the west side of the lake, traveled by pack-train from Princeton to "Sunnyside", the old name for the Okanagan. John Fall Allison, a young medical student from Leeds Infirmary, England, answered the call of the west by traveling out to the California gold rush. From California he made his way to British Columbia, and in 1858, he was sent by Governor Douglas to locate a trail from Fort Hope into Similkameen.? Mr. and Mrs. John Fall Allison were the first white settlers to make their home at Westbank, or "Sunnyside", of whom we have any record.

The Allison home, sturdily built of hewn logs by John McDougall, still stands on the bench overlooking Okanagan lake although it is now occupied by Quail's Gate Winery. As one gazes over the broad expanse of water toward the brooding mountains beyond, one cannot fail to appreciate Mrs. Allison's love of the beautiful Okanagan, and her deep affection for her Sunnyside home.

Today, Westbank is over 100 years old. The population is around 35,000. Much has changed since the Allison's arrival in Westbank. Tourists flock to this area to experience the beaches, rocky mountains, golf courses, ski hills, and vineyards that Westbank/Westside has to offer. Kelowna International Airport, only a short drive, offers direct daily flights to Calgary, Toronto, Seattle and Vancouver.

Glenrosa 1892-1969

(For more information, referring to Irene Morrison's Glenrosa 1892-1969)

This beautiful area near Westbank and Kelowna, British Columbia had settlers as early as 1892.

Mr. David Strang and his mother, Mrs. Mary Strang, each preempted land and lived on this land near what later was known to most as Carre's Meadow. It wasn't too many years later that more settlers moved into the area, some of the earlier ones being Lewis and Curtis Hitchner in 1903, followed by Mt. Archie Murchie also in 1903.

The Hitchner had also pre-empted land and some of this land had been divided into town lots and soon became known as the "townsite area." Before too long there were enough settlers that wanted mail delivery. This means that a registered name had to be given to the district and Mr. Murchie decided to call the area Glencoe, only to dins that this name had already been registered elsewhere in the Province. He then decided on the name Glenrosa, which was the name of his home town on the Isle of Aaron in Scotland. Glenrosa, valley of the roses, has been its name ever since.

The townsite area known as the flats, had a Post Office, store, blacksmiths shop and a licensed slaughter house which the Hitchners built out of cement. There was also a Church, known as the Gospel Hall or the Meeting House. This was later used as the Glenrosa School while also still being used for church services, and still later it became the Glenrosa Gym. There was and still a cemetery Cemetery in the townsite area.

Throughout Glenrosa's early history, water shortages have been a constant problem to some of the properties. Wells were often dug but even these went dry on some long and hot summers.

Much of Glenrosa was bush and large trees when the first settlers came to the area. This meant a lot of land clearing and hard work before the land was good for farming of any kind. The winter ice supply was often cut from sloughs and loaded onto stone boats and then taken home for winter and summer use. Meadow grasses were cut in the Carre and Hitchner Meadows areas to be used for everything from bedding for horses and cattle, feed for some of the animals, and stuffing for mattresses and pillows for the settlers' beds.

Since the earliest days, logging has been an industry of importance to the Westbank District. The Manning Sawmill was running as early as 1907 and the Hitchners also ran a mill. Sawmills were among the first industries in the area. This meant people were needed to work in the mills and more and more people were moving into the area. In later years, after the Hitchner Mill closed, many people left the area. However, as years went by the residents became farmers and made their living off farming or took jobs in Westbank and Kelowna.

Fruit growers and orchardists made up the largest part of the population. Westbank Orchards, the firm established by T.B. Reece and later operated by his sons, was among the first in the Okanagan to pioneer the bulk handling of apples in 1957.

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