50 years ago: RCMP and the Village Council were gearing up for Halloween, and seemed determined to halt any and all vandalism in its tracks. For one, special citizens patrols had been set up that had the power to arrest anyone they suspected on vandalism, and the village chairman wrote an open letter to The Echo, decrying the amount of vandalism in recent years. “Quite obviously persons whose ideas of celebration consist of such acts are mentally delinquent,” he wrote. “They are a menace to any society and they have turned Halloween from a night of rejoicing for the kiddies into a nightmare for everyone.”

45 years ago: The “Centennial Caravan” visited the Columbia Valley, and while the village chairman welcomed the caravan by saying they had left the best part of Canada for last, caravan officials “shivering in the bleak, frost filled air might not have agreed with him.” Schoolchildren from across the region were bussed to the eight-tractor trailer caravan during its stay in the Columbia Valley to take in all the educational displays they had on offer

35 years ago: The Harlem Clowns, a basketball team with a large helping of showmanship were set to entertain Invermere at the DTSS gym. Owner Al Pullins had coined the term “clownball” to refer to his teams style of play, as they promised to dazzle with their array of trick shots, fancy dribbling and zany antics. They would also regularly mix comedy routines into their act.

25 years ago: Nominations for civic, regional district and school boards seats had closed, and as it turned out, no election would be necessary. In fact, in the case of one school board seat, no one at all came forward to challenge for the seat, which meant that it would need to be filled by appointment. Meanwhile, in regional district “G” only the incumbent had stepped forward, and in Invermere, the one empty town council seat would be filled by the only person to apply.

20 years ago: Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) directors were skeptical of a plan by the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE) to study the entire Kootenay region, east and west, as a single land-use planning area. RDEK directors instead wanted the planning area to be split into distinct East and West Kootenay areas as they felt that the proposed area was too massive to ensure equal representation by all interest groups.