Bridge drives memories of growing up in area

(On Jan. 26, 2001, Erik Daarstad and I were at the home of Jane and Frank Evans doing an interview for the “Sandpoint Centennial” movie. Today, I want to share with you some excerpts of the interview with Jane. If you have been in the area for some time, her words will bring back many memories. If you are new in town, 40-50 years, then sit back and let Jane tell you, in her own words, about her Sandpoint.)

Jane: We moved here in 1925. All I know about coming to Sandpoint is I dragged my feet all the way; I didn’t want to leave my friends in Libby. I don’t remember much about the trip up here. Dad had the Ford dealership in Libby and he moved it up here, it was called Cady & Pier Incorporated. Mr. Cady didn’t stay with it very long, he retired, but the name stuck for 60-70 years. It was one of the few businesses that survived the depression.

Dad’s motto was “We never close.” He would come home for dinner, and then he would go back to work until 8 o’clock and then he had a night man come in. Daddy slept with his clothes piled in order, so if the night man had a wrecker call or something, dad could be down there in just a few minutes. Cady and Pier was located on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Cedar Street.

Question: Jane, what do you remember about the first “Long Bridge,” the wagon bridge?

Jane: The floor of the old bridge was laid with big planks probably 12 feet long, maybe a foot and half wide, end to end. When I was a little girl in the summer evenings when the windows were open, I went to sleep to this ker-plunk, ker-plunk, ker-plunk — because the big old spikes in those boards would gradually get loose so the ends would flap. Every time a car went over it, you would get this “ker-plunk” sound. I missed that sound when they put in another bridge, because I had always gone to sleep with it.

The bridge had a little outhouse at each end for travelers, little one holers hanging out over the railing. In the spring before the dams went in, the water got so high it would come up under the floorboards of the bridge and slosh between the cracks.

Then the driftwood would come down, pile up against the bridge, and make the bridge lean. The highway department had to come along and take out chunks of the bridge in three places. Then they would build a ramp with big planks that went up over the holes, the big holes, and across the hole and down on the other side. Then there were men who would stand there with pike poles pushing the debris and driftwood on through so it would not lean on the bridge.

People would come to Sandpoint from Coeur d’Alene and Spokane, they would see those big yawning holes with the ramps up over it, and they wouldn’t go over them. They would turn around and go back home.

We had a little cabin across the lake and my mother would take us kids over the ramps. She would put her two wheels on those two ramps and go up, over, and down the other side. She never said a word about being scared, but I think she must have been terrified. It was quite low to the water and the new bridge was much higher. So, that old bridge is strong in my memories.

Question: Before the bridge, how did the people get across to Sagle? How did they go to Coeur d’Alene?

Jane: Oh, they had to go down to the Laclede ferry or the Thama ferry and go that way. Some people used a rowboat and some would walk across the railroad bridge, which was a bit dangerous, but a lot of people did it.

Question: Were there any fatalities or accidents in walking the trestle?

Jane: I don’t remember that there were, there was a fatality on the ferry and that is how Frank’s dad got here. Dr. Jackson was making a house call on the other side of the river, his car somehow rolled off into the water, and he was drowned. That is when Frank’s dad was called in from Southern Idaho to take his place

Question: You mentioned the depression, what was it like for you and your family?

Jane: The depression was one of the reasons dad stayed open 24 hours, to sell every nickel and every quarter he could. Of course, he had to let help go. I remember in those days you did not have wash and wear clothes and you had to do some dry cleaning at home. Dad would bring gasoline home from the garage and dip the clothes in the gasoline. One time, because of static electricity, the gas caught on fire, he had to carry it outside, and it burned both his hands. We darned our stockings, and we fed people that came to the door. Mother always had something for people that got off the freight trains and were hungry. She would let them work a little and then feed them. These people were not crooks they were just hungry people. We didn’t worry about them, they weren’t threatening in any way. Back then, you were very careful with everything. It wasn’t a throw away society then.

Question: How did the depression affect Sandpoint, as a whole, do you recall?

Jane: I guess it was hard times for everybody; we were all in the same boat. Frank’s dad was a doctor during this time and he never got paid in cash, he was paid with potatoes, apples, carrots, or a chicken or two. It was hard for them; the doctor worked very, very hard and didn’t get cash for anything.

To be continued