Discover Peachland 2001

The Legend of Ogopogo: Peachland's most famous resident
By Ross McDermott

On any given day a person strolling down Beach Avenue in Peachland could happen to see something strange moving across the surface of the lake.

It's common to gaze out across the waters off Peachland, towards the familiar landscape that is Rattle Snake Island and see an unexplained ripple, a wake with no cause, or even the dark silhouette of what appears to be a large, rolling creature.

Many sightings are just that: something that seems out of place, intriguing or mysterious. Often dismissed, there are, without a doubt, more sightings than what are reported.

Ogopogo is her name and she has been discussed, written about and photographed since the mid-1800s.

The creature first appears in the native legends. N'ha-a-itk is the name given the lake monster by local, native people. Legend claims a kindly, old native who once lived by the lake was killed by an evil wanderer. This murder angered the gods and as redemption, they transformed the killer into a giant, lake serpent, sentenced to an eternity at the scene of the crime.

Foolish, it was thought, for a person to paddle near the lair of N'ha-a-itk (Squally Point/Rattle Snake Island), without a small animal to sacrifice to the legendary serpent. If not, it is said a storm would brew and out of the rolling, white-capped waves, the creature would rise, a fresh-water leviathan, and claim a life.

Area author and journalist, Arlene Gaal, an expert on the Ogopogo, is quick to point out that the Peachland area is a hotspot for creature sightings. She estimates a large majority of sightings ever reported occurred in and around Peachland. Recently, Gaal's newest book, the third she has written, In Search of Ogopogo, provides the most up-to-date record of eye-witness accounts and organized searches, of which there have been many. The book contains new revealing photos, sketches, video stills, as well as a complete chronology of sightings from 1860 to 2001.

One early sighting was reported in 1872 by a Mrs. Susan Allison. Gaal writes that Allison was the first settler to report an unusual animal swimming against the waves. She was gazing across the lake, waiting for her husband, John, to return from across the waters when she saw the creature. Familiar with the lake and the legends surrounding N'ha-a-itk, she feared her husband had fell victim to the monster. Of course, her husband returned safely and laughed off his wife's concerns, attributing her sighting to "a nip of two from the wine barrel," Gaal wrote.

Also according to Gaal's newest book, when the British Columbia government announced a ferry would run between Kelowna and Westbank in the summer of 1926, it was stated that, "the ship would be armed with devices designed to repel attacks from Ogopogo."

Today the creature is worth $2 million dollars if one is lucky enough to prove, beyond any doubt, its existence. This bounty is offerred by the City of Penticton's Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, the municipal council of the District of Peachland forwarded and passed a motion declaring Ogopogo an official resident of Peachland.

"The entire Okanagan claims Ogopogo. It's time to designate its actual place of domicile," said Peachland municipal councillor Jim Nielsen.

"Whereas: after exhaustive studies, meticulous research and a review of laws, customs, precedents, conventions, traditions, international treaties and common sense have determined with absolute certainty that the waters of Lake Okanagan, within the vicinity of the District of Peachland, are the non-disputable home of Ogopogo, the legendary lake creature," the motion read.

"Therefore: be it known by way of our certain knowledge and mere motion that from this day forth Peachland, B.C., is the home of Ogopogo. Other Okanagan communities, which share the lakeshore frontage, should correctly acknowledge that Ogopogo may occasionally visit their waters but the lake creature's place of domicile is within the waters off Peachland".

When asked if Peachland council anticipates any conflict with Kelowna, a city which proudly displays two statues of Ogopogo, and likenesses on Chamber of Commerce publications, Nielsen responded: "Why would a lake creature want to live in Kelowna there's too much traffic, it's noisy -obviously a lake creature wants much quieter surroundings. If Kelowna objects, I would recommend we just ignore them. I'm sure (Kelowna) Mayor Gray would see it my way," he added. Not quite.

"Well jeez, is my dander ever up. And I'm sure Ogopogo isn't too impressed either," said Gray with a tone of humour when informed about the motion. "Those people in Peachland... How dare they!"

Over the years various communities around Lake Okanagan have taken a "crack at Ogopogo ownership," Gray commented. "I see this as another frivolous attempt by outsiders trying to steal what is rightfully Kelowna's." He said Kelowna would never concede residency, as is requested in the Nielsen motion, "but we would surely be willing to sit down with (Peachland) Mayor Waldo and negotiate custody."

Claiming residency is not enough, he said, it must be proven. "And actually," Gray suddenly mentioned, "as I look out my office window during this interview, I see Ogopogo going by now. And interestingly enough, he's going north."

But proof of Ogopogo's residency, is, for some, a foregone conclusion. According to native legend the creature lives near Rattlesnake Island and Squally Point -both geographical locations lie within the waters of Peachland.

Coincidentally, the last sighting of the century occurred in Peachland waters in early December of 1999. Stan and Nellie Bayrack, a Westbank couple, were coming out of the Edgewater Inn on a cold December day, just after lunch. Nellie said it had just started to snow when, during a conversation with an unidentified vacuum-cleaner salesman, she noticed her husband staring out at the lake.

"I kept wondering what he was staring at," she said, and when she looked in the direction of her husband's gaze, she notice what appeared to be two humps of dirt moving and shifting near the rocks on the other side of the lake. "All of a sudden the two humps shifted and the thing came straight up out of the water."

She described a long neck and small head, with the two humps trailing behind. The head looked one way and then the other before it plunged back down beneath the surface leaving a foamy turbulence behind. The full-body, head and neck sighting lasted about five seconds, she estimated.

"Believe me, it's true. Absolutely," Nellie said. "We didn't know what colour it was, but it was Ogopogo. We were stunned. We were awed. It's something you'd never dream of seeing."