Residents seek straight road
100 Years Ago — 1919
Might happen 100 Years later
Residents from both sides of Fourth Street petitioned the Village Council to straighten their street to run along the same line as Wisconsin Street.
Team looking good
The Priest River Pirates look good for the State baseball games this year and are a tough lot of boys to beat.
90 Years Ago — 1929
Fires burning
A fire is raging along Caribou Creek on the Kaniksu National Forest. Dry conditions and high winds add to the destructive potential of the fire, which has been burning for several days now.
A fire of undetermined origin destroyed the summer logging camp of J. E. Schaefer at the upper end of Priest Lake. Damages are in the thousands of dollars.
80 Years Ago — 1939
Consolidation vote a winner
The school consolidation election in three school districts carried by a wide margin. In Dist. No. 9, Settlement, the vote was 51-5; Hagman District 33-16, Priest River, No. 13, 58-3.
70 Years Ago — 1949
Streets to be resurfaced
Work will start next week on resurfacing the entire business district of Priest River with a 2-inch matting of crushed rock and seal-coating. The coating will cover the full 44-foot width of the streets and the work will be done by the Joe Hanson Co. of Spokane.
60 Years Ago — 1959
New Dodge wrecked
Mr. and Mrs. John Krizenesky , who were driving a new car home from Detroit, Mich., hit a calf on the high east of Billings, Mont., and damaged the car to the extent of about $700. Neither of the Krizeneskys was injured. They left the car at Billings and continued on home by bus.
50 Years Ago — 1969
Holds on to her berries
It has been reported that Marie Duncan “fell down the mountain” while huckleberrying. Although she has numerous bumps, bruises and abrasions, she has been quoted as saying that she didn’t spill a single berry.
40 Years Ago — 1979
Fire has no chance
A forest fire has no chance in the Priest Lake Ranger District. A blaze sprang up within 150 feet of a bus loading up with firefighters at the Falls Inn, eight miles north of town on Highway 57. The bus was headed for a large blaze in the St. Maries area and several local fire fighters missed the bus to quench it. The fire at the Falls was caused by a downed power line Saturday afternoon from the bluff above the Falls. A Northern Lights power line had fallen when a tree fell against it, and shorts along the line ignited tinder dry forest material when the line was reenergized from a remote location.
30 Years Ago — 1989
Priest Lake area storm-damaged
The Priest Lake area suffered extensive storm damage in the wake of a storm that roared through Saturday evening. Reports of at least three storm-related injuries have been received by the Priest River Times. Bill Olmo of the Priest Lake EMTs said the ambulance service was called on at least four runs. High velocity south winds sheared off or uprooted hundreds of trees and knocked out power around most of Priest Lake.
20 Years Ago — 1999
Honored at the library
Pat Moriniti, Jan Nelson, and Mary Will have received the first three personal library cards ever issued by the Priest River Library: numbered 1, Will; 2, Nelson; and 3, Moriniti.
10 Years Ago — 2009
Church to celebrate 50th
Fifty years ago the church of St. Blanche was planted at Priest Lake. The theme for a celebration at the Tamrak on Aug. 23 is “This fiftieth year you shall make sacred, it shall be a Jubilee year.”