Historic mill digging into the past
With tourists temporarily out of the business equation, a heritage attraction near Keremeos is going back to its root cellar for ideas to stay alive.
The Grist Mill and Gardens at Keremeos features the only working, water-powered flour mill left in Western Canada. The site, which is a popular place for weddings, also has acres of orchards and gardens, plus a general store, other buildings and even a campground.
Built in 1877 on Keremeos Creek, the mill was sited there because of the favourable conditions for agriculture in the Similkameen Valley.
With the prospect of visitors dim at the moment, operator Chris Mathieson is turning to the land to keep things going with the new Pantry Share program.
Customers pay between $200 and $500 in advance, and in return receive monthly deliveries of preserves like pickles, jams, jellies, mustards and more, all made by hand, on site.
“The idea being is that people are putting their investment in ahead of time, which makes a huge difference for farmers,” explained Mathieson. “We don’t make our money when we need to be spending it.”
Once signed up, customers can expect to be surprised.
“We grows hundreds of things at the grist mill. We’ve got heritage apples, all sorts of vegetables – both common and unusual,” said Mathieson.
Those rarities, combined with old recipes, have resulted in the past in unusual creations like tomato jam, pumpkin chutney and garlicscape relish.
Mathieson said approximately 75 people have already signed up from Vernon to Osoyoos, and even in the Lower Mainland, where the first deliveries of asparagus and rhubarb went this week.
“Like everybody else, (COIVD-19) is something that’s going to affect the hell out of us,” said Mathieson.
“We don’t have any tourists. Say goodbye to 12,000 to 15,000 visitors. We need to find another way to make some money.”
Mathieson was awarded a 10-year contract in 2017 to manage the historic site on behalf of the B.C. government.
The oldest surviving grist mill in B.C. is in Kelowna and just six years older than the one in Keremeos. Brent’s Grist Mill was built in 1871 on what came to be known as Mill Creek at the corner of what is now Leckie Place and Dilworth Avenue.
For more information on Pantry Share, visit www.oldgristmill.ca.