Lake a booming mecca for tourism around U.S.
Employees of the Beardmore Lumber Company in Priest River post for a photo in 1928.
(Photo courtesy PRIEST RIVER MUSEUM)
100 Years Ago — 1918
Over a
treacherous road
Hal Fremming has one of the most distinctive-looking ranches in the West Branch country. Broad meadows surrounded by timber-covered mountains make his ranch a picturesque spot. The roads between here and there are torturous, require great skill to navigate successfully, and the speedometer on a machine makes no record most of the time. But we liked Hal’s ranch after we got there. We wanted Dr. Getzlaff to go over the road and see the country so he could arrange a proper schedule of prices to cover all the ranches between here and the West Branch country when some one of the residents gets sick.
90 Years Ago — 1928
Priest Lake a
booming mecca
Priest Lake is again becoming the mecca for tourists from all parts of the country. Many tourists and the lovers of dancing from the towns of Newport, Sandpoint and more distant parts are taking advantage of the weekend dances being put on at the Paul-Jones pavilion at Coolin.
80 Years Ago — 1938
Old Red Bridge
collapses
The old red bridge across the Priest River a mile north of town collapsed Monday. Three boys, George Oldham, Lewis Frye and Rodney Larson were playing on it, heard it start to groan and creak, felt it sway, and made a dash for the west end approach. The span fell while they were still on the approach, but all escaped injury.
70 Years ago — 1948
Times moves to
Main Street
The Priest River Times has purchased a location on Main Street directly across from the Roxy Theater, and will start construction soon for a modern newspaper and printing plant. George J. Naccarato will have charge of construction.
60 Years Ago — 1958
An eighth was born
We shook hands with Jay Stratton VIII the other day, a fine fellow born June 16 to the Jay Strattons of Priest River. Jay VIII’s grandparents are the J.H. Strattons and the Huey Gaisers of Priest River. He has two great-grandmothers. The only other eighth we ever heard of was Henry VIII, who wore a beard, gnawed on bones and liked women. Jay the Eighth was busy the day we met him getting in a lot of sleep.
50 Years Ago — 1968
No more mail by train
Effective July 1, mail is no longer carried to Priest River by Great Northern trains, Postmaster Robert Krouse announced. Incoming mail arrives by Star Route truck.
40 Years Ago — 1978
Local wind storm
causes damage
Forty-mile-an-hour winds and a violent electrical storm on the night of June 27 proved frightening and damaging to a number of Priest River residents. Mrs. Margaret Benton was alarmed by the smell of burning insulation in her trailer home, caused by lightning short-circuiting the wires in the hot water heater. At about 8 p.m. gusty winds toppled a pine tree, damaging the roof of a mobile home belonging to Doug Wagner. Mrs. Charles Shirk had problems with a roll-up sun shade on her trailer in Evergreen Trailer Park.
30 Years Ago — 1988
DAW workers set to strike
About 130 local woodsworkers and hundreds more regional workers are set to walk the picket line Friday if their contract, which runs out at midnight, is not re-negotiated, International Woodsworkers Local 3-10 president Fred Bair.
20 Years Ago — 1998
New chief surprised by drug problem
What’s the biggest eye-opener Elaine Savage has encountered back home in Priest River? “The drug problem,” Savage shot back. “For a town this size I’m amazed at the drugs. I’m just shocked by it. You’d expect that in a big city.”
10 Years Ago — 2008
Parsons
memorialized
A large crowd gathered at the Priest River Yacht Club to pay tribute and honor a man who was set on progressing the community and was involved in boating and fishing in North Idaho for many years. The Bonner County Board of Commissioners approved a letter from the county Waterways Advisory Board and a recommendation from the Bonner Park West Committee to name the park’s public boat launch the Frank Parson Memorial Launch Ramp.