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Some of the History of Armstrong BC
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Armstrong is a rural community and commercial center in the North Okanagan, with agriculture, grain farming of alfalfa and wheat,[1] logging, and ranching being traditional economic activities.It is located amidst the dairy and farmlands of the Spallumcheen Valley (a name derived from a Shuswap language word with multiple meanings: "beautiful valley","flat meadow,""meeting of the waters" and "prairie-banked river").
Armstrong was named after E.C. Heaton Armstrong, a London banker who helped finance the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway in 1892 and local development at the turn of the century,[4] relocating the townsite originally at Landsdowne to the confluence of the Valley's rail lines, and the City's current site.
The influence of Dutch immigrants settling in the valley after the Second World War is represented by their cheese-making knowledge, allowing Armstrong to become well known for the cheese it produced.
The city is also well known for hosting the Interior Provincial Exhibition and Stampede, which has been in annual operation since 1899. The "IPE" is not just a midway and popular retail show, but very much still a country fair, with contests being held to judge animals, cooking, sewing, hobbies and other items. Additionally, the exhibition offers a variety of entertainment options ranging from concerts, competitions, and the famous mini-chuckwagon races.
Armstrong is a corporation operated by a seven-member city council headed by the Mayor, with meetings being held the second and fourth Mondays of every month. The Mayor is Chris Pieper, currently in his second term as mayor.
Armstrong has four public education facilities; two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Armstrong Elementary School was initially known as the “Armstrong Spallumcheen Consolidated School”. When it was built in 1921, it was the first school in the Province to be constructed as a central school into which were consolidated approximately thirteen small country or one-room schools. Len Wood Middle school and Pleasant Valley Secondary were later added to suit the growing region, with Highland Park Elementary opening in 1983 to satisfy increasing demand and lack of suitable expansion capacity at Armstrong Elementary. There is also a store-front style facility, Gateway Continuing Education Centre, operated by School District 83.
