Be recognized, but anony-moose, in Sandpoint
This is from my friend, Paul Flinn, Boundary County's official historian.
Mr. Flinn has written a history column for the Bonners Ferry Herald since the mid-1950s.
He also loves nothing more than to take jabs at all of the publicity Sandpoint receives in the national media.
I'm sure he looked long and hard for this snippet from the 1900 book titled: "Sport and Life in the Hunting Grounds of Western America and British Columbia."
On Page 245, he found this passage:
"After a month's solitude in the dense forest, or in the yet more dismal lake-side swamps in this part of northern Idaho, the average human nature to be found out West will invariably "blow in" the hard-won dollars as speedily as poisonous whiskey will do it.
"Hence it was quite an understood thing that pay-day was followed by a night or two of the rowdiest debauch. I had been a witness at different times of dozens of such pay-day pandemoniums in railway camps, and I knew Sandpoint — known also as Hangtown — could hold its own for depravity.
"But a few months before, during construction days, a pay-day "bust" had ended up in two men being lynched, who, it was afterwards found had nothing whatever to with the crime of which they had been accused, i.e., sand-bagging a contractor's paymaster. The only excuse, that the whole camp was "hanging drunk on X's poison, did not mend matters so far as the two victims were concerned, and, of course, no steps whatever were taken to punish the drunken crowd."
Let's see if the Chamber of Commerce will send this clipping out in the next relocation packet.
We had a local Realtor in the office who was unhappy the Daily Bee printed bad news, especially on Page 1. Seizing the moment, I grabbed the day's paper and asked her to point out any story that could be perceived as negative.
She couldn't find one.
That incident reminded me of another Bonners Ferry story. Monk Shelman and Bill Florea took turns running Shelman Realty. One certain edition of the Herald caught Florea's eye, and he came down to the Herald office and purchased 100 newspapers.
"What are you going to do with 100 papers?" I asked. Bill smiled and told me that the entire paper was void of bad news and he planned to send that copy out to anybody who wanted information about Bonners Ferry.
"How long will 100 papers last you?" I asked. "About two years," he answered. So for the next two years, anyone who wanted to learn about Bonners Ferry received a copy of the July 11, 1994, Bonners Ferry Herald — good news and all.
Last week I used every moose pun in the book and asked readers to submit anything moose. I received enough photos, poems, quips, etc. to fill a mooseuem.
Bill Holman offered up this definition: Sandpoint, a small town in North Idaho wanting to be recognized by everyone while still remaining anonymoose.
Shawn Morrenzin submitted the accompanying photograph. He said these warning signs are from the Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. Perhaps we could put these next to the "Sandpoint is a Walking Town" signs at the entrances to Sandpoint?
We'll include a few more next week and then I will reward the winning entry with a free drink of Moose Drool, a beer bottled in Mooseoula, Mont.
If you have a moose photo, quip, slogan etc., send it to me at dkeyes@bonnercountydailybee.com or just stop by the Bee at 310 Church St.
Speaking of a drink. I stopped by the Tam O'Shanter Friday night before the Mardi Gras parade with a few of the Bees from the hive. This tavern, or Tervan as it is spelled outside, is without a doubt the best "what Sandpoint was" establishment in the whole 83864 Zip code. If you haven't been there, stop by but make sure you don't order any fancy drinks.
It's a beer joint and proud of it.
? David Keyes is the publisher of the Bee. His column runs weekly.