Bonner County History - Dec. 5, 2024
Brought to you by the
Bonner County Historical
Society and Museum
611 S. Ella Ave., Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864
208-263-2344
50 Years Ago
Sandpoint News-Bulletin
Dec. 5, 1974 – SANTA IS COMING TO TOWN
Christmas is creeping around the corner, and to help make it official, the Sandpoint Jaycees will once again bring Santa to town. According to Dave Self, the jolly old soul will arrive in downtown Sandpoint at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, riding a fire truck instead of reindeer. He will be at Community Hall from 11 to 2, and kids of all ages are invited to stop by, talk, and maybe get a special treat.
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NEW CHIEF TO ARRIVE TUESDAY
In a telephone interview, Sandpoint’s newly appointed Chief of Police Richard Abbott, 33, said that he and his family will be leaving California on Friday and should arrive in Sandpoint no later than Tuesday. “We can’t wait to get there,” Abbott said, adding that he and his family want to make Sandpoint their permanent home.
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KIWANIS NOTED FARM-CITY WEEK
Farm-City Week was observed by Sandpoint Kiwanis Monday. The meeting was one of the club’s largest, as most members brought a farmer guest to lunch. Floyd Irish, 1974 county grassman, was the guest of the club. Raynold Davis, county agent, led the program, and Merle Stucke, First Security Bank, talked on the relationships between agriculture and the rest of the community, the growing investment needed to run a farm, and the inroads of inflation.
75 Years Ago
Sandpoint News-Bulletin
Dec. 5, 1949 – MORE WORK AT CAMP
Plans are being discussed for re-activating Bonner Youth Camp, Inc. [Camp Stidwell] and continuing its development. Work at the 140-acre site on Mirror Lake near Talache has been at a standstill since the death of the acting board chairman Otto Greenhood. Progress at the camp includes a galley-mess hall and three cabins. A padlocked gate and new fencing will be installed to minimize damage by range cows and unauthorized persons using the property. Next spring the county will be asked to provide equipment to make the camp’s beach safe for small children.
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MILL SET TO HALT INROADS OF WINTER
You couldn’t ask for nicer fall weather. That’s the consensus among old Indians, young Indians, old residents and new residents in North Idaho. But – just in case nature goes as berserk as in 1948-49, Pack River Lumber company doesn’t intend to be caught with its long undies down. Last winter’s unprecedented stretch of below-freezing weather raised (four-letter word meaning you-know-what) at the Colburn sawmill by icing sawlogs solidly in the millpond. Production Supt. Jack Bopp revealed secret weapons now being readied. A ‘sea-mule’ will be installed to churn millpond waters faster than Ma Nature can freeze them. The cold waters of Colburn creek will also be cribbed in on one side of the millpond so they can’t mix with the gentle waves heated by the mill’s exhausts. So if you hear that beautiful bathing girls are lolling by the tepid water of North Idaho’s Riviera, you’ll know how come.
For more information, visit the museum online at bonnercountyhistory.org.