Town hall, jail are partially destroyed in fire
(Photo courtesy PRIEST RIVER MUSEUM) The Priest River/Priest Lake Stage carried mail and passengers. It was robbed in 1914 and the robbers weren’t caught until 1917, when this photograph was taken.
100 Years Ago — 1919
Beardmore camp closes
The Beardmore camp at Hagman’s Corners closed down after one of its most successful seasons. Around 7 million feet of timber, mostly white pine, was put in the river and the drive is well advanced.
90 Years Ago — 1929
City hall burns
The town hall and jail were partially destroyed by fire Sunday about 4 a.m. When the fire department arrived, the building was a mass of flame, the entire contents of the building being burned, which included all the books and records of the village.
80 Years Ago — 1939
Dancing for baseball
This Saturday at Wright’s Hall Priest River people will be treated to a fine dance given by the joint town and high school baseball club. Priest River wants a baseball club and hopes not to be without one as they were last summer. A good baseball team helps to relieve one of those long monotonous summer weeks.
80 Years Ago — 1929
Timber cut providing jobs
Timber cut from the 17 National Forests in the Northern Region for the first quarter of 1939 amounted to 3,492,000 board feet. The forests having the largest cuts were the Kaniksu, Coeur D’ Alene, St. Joe, Flathead and Clearwater, in that order. According to Regional Forester Evan W. Kelley, removal and manufacture of commercial timber from the 17 forests in this region each year provides the equivalent of one year’s employment for 800-900 men.
Twenty-five percent of all revenue is returned to the counties for school funds and an addition 10 percent goes into construction and maintenance of forest roads and trails.
70 Years Ago — 1949
Hensley leases Union Oil
Alvin Hensley has leased the Lathrop Union Oil station and is now in possession. Elbert McWilliams has opened a welding and repair shop in connection with the service station.
60 Years Ago — 1959
Dinner-Dance opens season
Thirty members of the Priest River-Newport Rivercrest Golf Club and their guests enjoyed a semi-formal dinner dance at the Ranch Club Monday evening. The event marked the opening of the summer season on the 9-hole course adjacent to the Ranch Club.
50 Years Ago — 1969
Gates raised
Albeni Falls Dam gates will be raised to permit free flow on April 29. Inflow to Pend Oreille Lake has increased rapidly during the past week as a result of warm weather and heavy rain. Discharge with the gates raised will be about 68,000 cfs.
40 Years Ago — 1979
Anything goes
For a hilarious evening of fun, attend the “Anything Goes” night at the Priest Lake gym on Friday night, April 27. Last year’s event was riotously funny, and Mr. Gary Go, entrepreneur of the festivities, promises an even wilder evening this year. The faculty and staff of Priest Lake Elementary will defend their last-place position against the many community members who will participate. The McDonald Logging Company team will be fighting to win the first-place trophy again.
30 Years Ago — 1989
Fire at Merritts’
A fire at Merritt Bros. Lumber mill shut down logging operations early Sunday morning. The flames were contained to the hydraulic area in the basement area of the mill.
20 Years Ago — 1999
Still time to participate
Merchants, homeowners! It’s not too late for you to participate in Priest River’s First Annual May Day Sale.
10 Years Ago — 2009
Community Garden planned
There was a bright spot in the usual agenda items at the recent city council meeting. Discussion on a community garden had council members and the audience as well excited about the prospect of collaborating on this project.