A beautiful valley surrounded by towering mountains and rushing rivers was what initially attracted the Kalesnikoff’s to the Kootenay region of British Columbia in 1911. Moving from Russia with the anticipation of peace and prosperity, the family struggled through the Great Depression. The beauty and potential of their new homeland kept them motivated – and unknown to them at the time, would be what would ultimately become the key to their success.
In 1939, Koozma Kalesnikoff identified an opportunity in the healthy, green valley — softwood timber. He attained timber rights on an area known as China Creek, and with his two brothers began logging in the wilderness of BC, using nothing but axes, cross-cut saws and horses. By the summer of 1940 they had an established sawmill and the beginnings of what would eventually become the successful remanufacturing facility that exists today.
Maintaining the beauty of the valley was paramount to the Kalesnikoff’s.
From the beginning their guiding philosophy had been: “Take care of the land and the land will take care of you.” Before reforestation policies existed in BC, the Kalesnikoff family was performing sound forest practices, ensuring they could pass on a successful business and healthy land to their family for generations to come.
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