In this presentation to the BC Historical Federation conference in Princeton last year, Lydia Kinasewich presented on her prize winning essay entitled: "Nature's Health Giving Waters: Promoting Health and Pleasure Tourism at Harrison HotSprings, 1920-1930."

The initial bathhouses and hotel built on the shore of Harrison lake in 1886 were designed for elite health-seekers, and early promotions focused on how the mineral waters could cure various ailments. However, after this first hotel was lost to a fire in 1920, Harrison Hot Springs was recast in the tourist gaze.

The new Harrison Hot Springs Hotel was completed in 1926 and this talk demonstrates how the owners of the resort attempted to retain the appeal of the healing environment while also promoting the modern luxuries that tourists increasingly expected in British Columbia during the interwar years.

Kinasewich recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in history from UNBC.