Kamloops amalgamation: 50 years later and the vibes stay the same

KAMLOOPS – Fifty years ago this week, on May 1, 1973, the amalgamation of Kamloops took place. Communities including Brocklehurst, Westsyde and Valleyview — each with their own municipalities — joined the City of Kamloops.

Much like the meetings of rivers, Kamloops became one.

For many, amalgamation seemed like a natural step. It was difficult for each community to provide their own services and fire protection when they were supported by a much smaller tax base.

“It was a pretty chaotic time,” Mel Rothenburger, a newspaper journalist at the time, recalled. “The community of Kamloops had divided it up into so many different municipalities and communities — had not yet incorporated but were considering incorporating — that it was really difficult to get any sort of cohesive strategy or long-term plan for Kamloops as a whole.”

After consolidation was mandated by the provincial government, council members from each of the surrounding communities got together. One of them was Al Thompson, who was then the mayor of Brocklehurst.

“To their surprise, at the first meeting that was held, I was elected mayor. One Kamloops alderman voted for me,” Thompson told CFJC Today.

The next day, he called the school board where he worked, and told them he would be leaving his post to take the job as mayor.

Thompson said he held the city council meetings at different communities in the city, in hopes of easing the newly-joined communities into one.

Though they are now all a part of one city, many of the communities still boast different aesthetics and stay true to their neighbourhood pride.

“What makes Kamloops a great city is the diversity — the difference in the communities, because to some extent they all still have their own characteristics, their own personalities,” Rothenburger said.

According to Rothenburger, that personality wasn’t lost when the current version of the city took hold. Instead, residents found a greater sense of community.

Half a century later, while municipal boundaries have changed, the vibe has stayed the same.

“The people of Kamloops are still great, just great, and I think there’s still that real good feeling about the city and the surrounding cities,” Thompson said.