This story was first published in 2016 KAMLOOPS - When people look for naval bunkers, Kamloops might not be their first stop. And it probably shouldn’t be, as the city’s 22 historic Second World War era structures are a little hidden and mostly used for storage now. What they are, though, is a unique reminder of Kamloops’s history, says museum interpreter Sylvia Gropp The 22 bunkers that still stand are located throughout the Public Works Centre on Concordia Way, amongst city buildings and properties like the Kamloops Fire Rescue training centre and winter salt storage. However, the bunkers predate almost everything in the area. Built in 1944 and 1945, they were part of an inland port concept for Kamloops, Gropp says. However, the project never actually reached its full potential; the war ended before manufacturing plans were put into place.
Photograph By Michele Young
The big-busted sex worker who carried a Chihuahua in her cleavage when shopping; the jailer with a heart of gold who in winter arrested First Nations women with nowhere to go so they d have shelter and food; the American thief and murderer who was angry he was caught by ranchers near Penticton who s said to haunt the old courthouse.
Meet some of the characters of Kamloops s past; people who Sylvia Gropp tries to bring to life when she gives her historic walking tours for the Kamloops Museum and Archives.
Gropp is a native Kamloopsian with a bachelor s degree in archeology and geology, but even she has been surprised at some of the stories and people that have come to light as the museum has set up walking tours of varied themes.