Son recalls father's Sandpoint dental practice

A few days ago I received a newspaper clipping from the Daily Bee, which included a bit on Bonner County history of 50 years ago, Feb. 5, 1959, in which my father announced that he was closing his dental practice and retiring.

As his son with a memory still working at almost 94, it might be of interest to relate how I grew up with my sister, Mary, with a father who was known as “the dentist with gentle hands.”

Dad was born in 1880 with a father from Cornwall, England, and a mother from Oban, Scotland. Thomas Guy Jr. was a successful cattle rancher in Oshawa, Ontario. Flora Douglas Guy was determined that her son was to follow a different career and dad graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a DDS degree. He traveled west and found a small town nestled in the panhandle of northern Idaho with towering mountains and a huge lake which suited his outdoor recreational interests. His new office in 1909 was established on the second floor of the Main Street building overlooking the Northern Pacific railroad and Lake Pend Oreille. Those many steps to his office provided good exercise for his family and patients.

Dad’s first dental drill was powered by his foot — this antique is now displayed in our son’s home in Machias, Maine. His office consisted of a chair with a spit basin, facing the lake and mountains, a small laboratory and a large desk for his records. He had a large waiting room and later he had a small darkroom put in for his X-ray processing — he was one of the first in town to have this machine.

I remember helping in his office while he made his own dentures, using rubber which was vulcanized right in his office. During depression years, I helped write dunning letters to his patients using my newfound typing skills from high school. Dad would often accept food or some product in trade for his work when money was tight but getting some of his patients to pay their bills was a trial. I think that when my mother was assisting in his office, she had a collection agency do some work, which was not too friendly but necessary.

Our home at 511 S. Huron Avenue in Sandpoint was within walking distance to the town and our schools. A recent picture provided by Hazel Hall shows 1907 at the roof peak. I well remember moving in around 1920 after Dad bought the house from the Swenson family. Fond memories of our growing-up years remain.

DOUG GUY JR.

Portland, Maine