Crew of the S.S. Penticton

Captain Thomas Dolman Shorts, known as the High Admiral of the Okanagan Ocean, started a transport service with a rowboat named after his mother, Ruth Shorts. In 1889 he sold land he owned to raise money to build a ship called the S.S. Penticton, which is shown in this mural with its crew. The S.S. Penticton was a steam powered vessel – a typical example of lake transportation at the time. Captain Shorts had an endless repertoire of stories detailing many adventures, and he often shared these with his passengers while cruising around the lake