Centennial Book by The Newport Miner

The Newport

Miner

YEARS of a NEWSPAPER and PEND OREILLE COUNTY Reprinted From

The Newport Miner

County Centennial Project, 2011

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Once upon a time, a great community newspaper was born… I

n 2010, when a few people in Pend Oreille County began talking about what could be done to commemorate the 100th birthday of Pend Oreille County, The Miner

staff started talking about what they could do. The county was formed 100 years ago, in 1911. Not to take away from the show, we noted that The Newport Miner started publishing in 1901, or 110 years ago. First there was a bar, then the newspaper and then the battle to form a new county government, we noted. There should be some meaning to that. After opening a few of the archived newspaper books, we also realized that the development of the county from idea to reality was covered in The Miner like every other major and minor part of life here. The link between the two institutions and the community was obvious. The only question to answer is: which came first the chicken or the egg? This was also our chance to tell the story of our profession – one that in the clouds of the digital revolution is often forgotten. It’s a story of how community newspapers have been the tapestry holding small town life together for more than 100 years and how we believe that will be the case in the future. Even the first publisher of The Miner, Fred Wolf, was involved in the push to form a new county and create other avenues for community prosperity. That’s why he is on our cover. The pages of The Miner show the major events as well as what life was like during the decades. Many of the history books written about the county and its cities rely on a heavy dose of Miner archives to carry them along in time. Our staff is proud of that fact and continues to shoulder that burden of recording for the future. So, when we finally decided what our contribution to the centennial would be, it was obvious. Our writers and editors would put together a light narrative of the county history and life by utilizing back issues of the newspaper. We would publish one page a month throughout the centennial year. At the end, the pages would be compiled into a book, a history book of the 100 years of Pend Oreille County and of a newspaper. Writing history isn’t easy. Everyone has a different view, and over time the past looks different. But we relied on what was printed in the newspapers. Our writers took time from their busy schedules to crawl up to the cold, dusty attic in The Miner building. That is where they found the yellowing pages of the newspaper and the wealth of information they molded into a slice of life here for more than 100 years. It was fun to imagine what life here was like in the early days, picturing the muddy streets of Newport like it was the set for a Hollywood Western. The picture was clearer when we came across familiar names and talk of buildings that still stand today. And as history began to unfold, the way things are today began to make more sense after seeing the path we’ve traveled to get here. What came of the research is the story not just of a rising county but also of the role of its community newspaper. Our staff believes our readers will enjoy reading about the events, both large and small, as well as about the people that have made this special community what it is today.

-Fred Willenbrock Publisher, 2011

Fred and Susan Willenbrock, 2011

Index: 1911 Beginning - Page 4 1910 - 1919 - Page 5 1920 - 1929 - Page 6 1930 - 1939 - Page 7 1940 - 1949 - Page 8 1950 - 1959 - Page 9 1960 - 1969 - Page 10 1970 - 1979 - Page 11 1980 - 1989 - Page 12 1990 - 1999 - Page 13 2000 - 2011 - Page 14 History of The Miner - Page 15-16

The Miner Newsroom Staff in 2011: Michelle Nedved, left, Don Gronning and Janelle Atyeo.

Pend Oreille Public Utility District - Page 18 Newport Hospital - Page 19 Vaagen - Page 20 Port of Pend Oreille - Page 21 Selkirk Ace Hardware - Page 22 Newport School District - Page 23 Kalispel Tribe of Indians - Page 24 Sherman Knapp Funeral Home - Page 25 Seattle City Light - Page 26 Pend Oreille Valley Network - Page 27 Ponderay Newsprint - Page 28 Pend Oreille County Centennial Committee - Page 29

Page 3

The county chronicles of 1911

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

A county is born 1910s a decade of growth for the region, birth of Pend Oreille County By Janelle atyeo Of The Miner

he Pend Oreille valley was growing rapidly

100 years ago, as the people of Washington’s northeast corner looked to break away from Stevens County and form their own government. Business was booming, with lumber mills working around the clock and a new cement plant in the new, new town of Metaline Falls (also established in 1911). Over the last 25 years, the Pend Fred Wolf Oreille valley had been homesteaded, and numerous little communities sprang up all along the river. Places like Blueslide and Jared that are all but wiped from the map today looked just as bustling as the established towns of Newport and Ione. Stevens County was all well and good with the division, so long as those Pend Oreille folks didn’t inch the boundary line any further west than was proposed. Stevens County had once encapsulated much of eastern Washington. For the last 40 years leading up to Pend Oreille’s split, 10 or so counties had been formed from its reach. Pend Oreille was the last to leave the nest. It’s the states youngest county.

Talk of taking Pend Oreille on its own had been going on for five or so years. The major players from King and Spokane counties didn’t take so warmly to the idea. Their major quarrel was with representation in the Legislature. At the time, each county had one rep. Giving lil’ ole Pend Oreille its own man would mean populous King County would have that much less of a say over things. King County’s delegate pointed out that representation would be 6,500 to 1 (Pend Oreille’s population) versus 15,000:1. We all know how much of a pull our rural counties have in Olympia today. I think King is doing just fine. The division’s major movers were Fred and Fred. Trumbull and Wolf, that is. Trumbull was an attorney from Ione who planned the town’s incorporation the year before, and Wolf was publisher of The Newport Miner. He was an all-around citizen activist since first coming to Newport to take the helm of the paper in 1907. The county division was his first major local cause. He also served three terms in the state House of Representatives, starting in 1919. He pushed for an improved highway through Newport, and all the way Fred into the 1950s, he Trumbull helped bring about the construction of Albeni Falls Dam. The two local men sent petitions around and lobbied for the division in Olympia. The reasons for splitting off from Stevens County had to do with transportation and population growth, but mostly – as in

most movements in history – it was money. Taxes from Pend Oreille citizens contributed $32,000 per year to the Stevens County general fund. They guessed they could run their own county government for $27,000 per year, and they’d be better off for it. The people felt under represented. The Pend Oreille side held only 17 of the county’s 77 voting precincts. They didn’t like all the new bridges and infrastructure they saw going up on the other side of the The first mountains. county officers, And there being appointed by no roads Gov. Hay, were across those sworn in at 2:10 Selkirks, the trip to p.m. on Colville was June 12, 1911. exhausting. For a local person wanting to conduct business with Stevens County, it was a three-day journey from Newport. The way the train schedules worked, a Pend Oreille resident would have to overnight in Spokane and in Colville, and again in Spokane on the homeward journey. Choosing a county seat was a hot issue. Newport was named as the temporary seat by the legislature’s bill. It would stand until the next general election in 1912, so that meant a lot of talk in each community’s newspapers about why they were the best. Cusick and Usk proclaimed their central locations as their claim for the title. Ione edged Newport on population (both were about 1,600) and infrastructure, but Newport had the link to the outside world with the railroad there connecting so readily to Spokane and Idaho. Ione

The New County From chinookers in the spokesman-review (prinTed in The newpOrT M iner feb. 23, 1911)

The people up to Metaline Exult in nature’s bounty, And know they’ve land enough in sign To continue a county; But how they groan and grouch and yell When people call it Penn Dorell. Ione, we know, has got the worth, Surrounding towns to dazzle; Her boosters say she has the earth All pounded to a frazzle; What boots it if competitors Are ground into a jelly, When rank outsiders call the place A name like Pan Dorelly?

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

Two loggers work in nearly perfect winter logging conditions – cold with moderate snow. They started a cut with a saw and axes on the left side and are about halfway through the trunk on the right.

There’s Newport, future county seat, A lively town, believe me; But what a wrench They give their French – Or do my ears deceive me? For even boosters proud as they Pronounce it blandly Ponderay. Small wonder that the senator Whose soul is steeped in history Should find the new-found title An Orthographic Mystery. But vain regrets would bow his head And salt tears drip a gallon Should he successfully impose The sainted name of Allen.

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

Haying operations are in progress at George Johnston’s “Sky Ranch,” located southwest of Newport in Spring Valley.

Accept we then this county new, And place the name on file Where every prospect please And only man is vile. But wish yourself in for Hawaii Before you call it Pon-Do-rye-ee!

FILE PHOTO

Traveling on Cusick streets was rough in 1910. The Wike family’s store was one of the town’s first businesses.

SEE 1911, 30

IONE DEPOT IN 1910 – COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

July 24

• Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas, rediscovered

March 25

• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory catches fire in New York City, 146 die

May 30

May 25

• Revolution in Mexico overthrows President Jose Porfirio Diaz

Page 4

Aug. 15

• King George V of England crowned

Nov. 27

• Audience throws vegetables at actors for first recorded time in U.S.

Aug. 22

• Mona Lisa stolen from the Louvre (Recovered 1913)

Sept. 17

• First Indianapolis 500 auto race

June 22

1911 at a Glance

• Proctor and Gamble unveils its Crisco shortening

• First transcontinental airplane flight, New York to Pasadena in 82 hours

Dec. 31

Sept. 29

• Italy declares war on Turkey

• French chemist Marie Curie receives her second Nobel Prize

The county chronicles of 1910 -1919

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

Rough and tumble Pend Oreille behavior. Joe Cusick, who founded the mid-county town, shot and killed a former employee of his who did him By Janelle aTyeo wrong. It took two trials to Of The Miner convict him, but he went to prison, serving four years hinking of life in early before the governor gave him a pardon. Still, he didn’t return Pend Oreille County, to Cusick. He lived out his it’s not a stretch to days in California. The county’s first homicide imagine settlers toiling away occurred when a man at Lost to raise a crop and feed their Creek came home drunk and families, or loggers with crude took to beating his wife and kids. As they ran away, he equipment bucking away in followed them, but not before the dense woods. getting in a tussle with the The 1910s weren’t easy. neighbor and threatening him But knife fights? Poisoning? with a knife. The neighbor Public officials ducking for fired four shots, leaving the cover from a hail of gunfire at notoriously bad man dead on a local train station? his cabin floor. The first Pend Oreille Alcohol was often the residents went through some incendiary factor when trying times. confrontations between People from all over the neighbors and partners turned U.S. and other countries violent. Prohibition didn’t take were settling in northeast effect in Washington until Washington in the early 1900s. 1916 (lasting what must have When neighbors bickered, been an agonizing 17 years), they preferred to take but controlling alcohol sales matters into their own hands. was one of the law’s major Several murders resulted tasks. Women and “lewd in the early days. A mining persons” were prohibited from man in Metaline Falls was loitering at the saloons. poisoned with strychnine in One Chinese immigrant, his coffee after an altercation Sam Lee, was suspected with a nearby homesteader. of selling liquor without a Neighbors at license, an article As the newly established Blueslide and in The Miner said. Ruby were Pend Oreille County The law set up a quarreling sting, sending in began to grow and in what was a couple of hoboes expand, it was called the to order a round. “Kentucky constantly defending That was at the Feud,” named itself and its worth to City Cafe, not to after the be confused with the state’s larger cities. state many the City Bar, which of them had advertised on the moved from. An ambush at same page of The Miner that the Blueslide train station it had a selection of fine beers: happened in 1915. Shots Gilt Top (brewed in Spokane), were meant for the county’s Schlitz, Budweiser, Olympia, prosecuting attorney, and the and Pabst Blue Ribbon in suspect wasn’t captured for pints and quarts. nearly two years. Along with that Even the founding fathers “unneighborly” conduct, the weren’t always on their best people of early Pend Oreille

The 1910s weren’t a walk along the Pend Oreille

County had plenty of other hazards to watch for. The area had in 1910 experienced one of the largest forest fires in recorded history. Structure fires weren’t uncommon. A mid-night blaze that started in

the back of T.J. Kelly’s general store (located at the present Club Energy building) burned so hot that it turned the butter on the store’s front shelves to creamy puddles on the floor. In 1914, a fire on Newport’s

Union Avenue leveled three buildings, two residences and outbuildings within an hour. The Calispell Valley flooded annually where there were no dams on the river. Logging accidents were frequent.

Businesses, particularly hardware stores, were victim to burglars, and bandits still held up the trains now and then. SEE 1910-1919, 30

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

Fid’s Bar was a popular watering hole in early day Newport. It operated on Union Avenue in a building that is no longer standing. Fid’s Opera House, built in 1911, brought live shows and movies to Newport. It survives today as the apartments behind Owen’s Grocery.

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM FILE PHOTO

A Kalispel Indian mother poses with her baby at Cusick in 1911. In those days, the tribe numbered fewer than 100 members and suffered from foreign disease brought by white settlers.

Smokes all around in Locke. This photo from the Ralph R. Isaacs album is one of several showing the pipe-smoking dog. Pictured here is possibly Isaacs and his son-in-law on the porch of the Isaacs cabin at Locke.

THIRD AND WASHINGTON IN NEWPORT, JANUARY 1913 – COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The 1910s aT a glance

1916

• U.S. population is 92 million • Life expectancy is 48 for a male and 51 for a female • The average salary is $750 per year • Milk was 32 cents per gallon • Standard Oil • Whiskey was $3.50 per gallon Company broken up • Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Catches Fire in New York City

1913

1911

• Woodrow Wilson proceeds William Howard Taft as president • Income tax established in 16th amendment • Henry Ford creates the assembly line

1910

• Boy Scouts Established • Washington women get to vote Nov. 8 • The Great Fire roars through north Idaho, Montana and Washington, Aug. 20-21

1914

1912

• Titanic sinks • “Oliver Twist” is first U.S. feature film • Summer Olympics held in Stockholm

• Archduke Ferdinand assassinated • Charlie Chaplin debuts as the Little Tramp • Panama Canal completed • World War I begins in Europe

• Washington state prohibition takes effect • U.S. acquires Virgin Islands • Easter Rising leads to independence of Ireland

1917

• Russian Revolution • U.S. Enters World War I, April 6

1918

• Spanish flu pandemic • Russian Czar Nicholas II and family are killed

1919

• Treaty of Versailles ends World War I • Eighteenth amendment on prohibition passed

Page 5

The county chronicles of 1920-1929

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

Roaring 20s about roads, lumber mills, logging and mining No booze but lots construction in Pend Oreille Country By Fred WillenBrock Of The Miner

ransportation arteries from bridges to rail

were being built for people and natural resources to travel through or out of Pend Oreille County in the 1920s. They weren’t necessarily for the few folks that lived year around here. But these early Pend Oreille County residents would take the improvements any way they could get them as long as they didn’t have to pay. As horse use declined, trains were running all over as were a growing number of cars and a few steamboats. By the end of the decade airplanes were landing in Newport on a dirt strip. The year 1920 marked the fourth year Washington residents weren’t supposed to drink alcohol. The state had jumped the gun on this one in 1916. Prohibition for the entire nation took hold in 1919. Like the rest of the country, the fear of county jail time didn’t stop the celebration but made some lively stories in The Miner, documenting the ingenuity of the booze makers and their customers. One story in a 1922 edition states: “Occasionally the bootlegger finds that his path is not always rosy and it happens that he gets the worst of the deal.” Early one morning, a Great Northern freight train was standing on the siding at Penrith. While it was there, two men unloaded a number of cases of whiskey and cached them in the brush. Two local men came along and watched the proceedings. They seized the opportunity as the train pulled away and the owners of the whiskey turned. They grabbed a case each and a colt .45 on one of them and ran. The paper reported that they weren’t officers of the law and found a ready market for the booze. In another incident, a Priest River man bought two cases of whiskey and the seller headed out of town on the No. 43 train to Newport. The Priest River man got thirsty and sampled his purchase. He found only four quarts out of two cases were booze – the rest water. He got some friends and his car and burned up the road to Newport, taking the ferry across the river at Oldtown. They caught the villain at

the Great Northern depot in Newport as he waited for the No. 3 train to take him out of the county to Spokane. It didn’t seem like many went to jail in the 20s. The sheriff reported he had 71 prisoners during the entire year. He thought that was a lot and blamed it on the illegal liquor trade. Everyone seemed to be building the super highways of the day. The highway from Newport to the Canadian border was being built. Some were arguing for a short cut route from Usk to Spokane. Like always the sawmills were either running at capacity or shutdown for winter, depending on the economy and weather. In 1922 there were 742 cars registered in the county. A new two-passenger Buick Roadster was on sale for $895. A tire cost about $16. Europeans were bickering and Germany was flexing its muscles. In the early 20s Security State Bank of Newport published deposits at $488,946. The community wasn’t just focused on booze and getting someplace fast. It began plans for a new hospital in Newport. The Newport commercial club was a driving force for progress or more likely to make money for the merchants that were members. They had committees for roads and bridge construction with Miner Publisher Fred Wolfe as chairman. But they had housing, industry, agriculture and game/fish groups as well. They even talked about repainting signs at the train depot to advertise the town and surrounding county. Plans for the bridge over the Pend Oreille River began in the 20s. There was obvious interest from Newport to Priest River and Sandpoint. They were trying to find ways to get logs and lumber moved without the railroad. The famous silent movie star Nell Shipman, who filmed at Priest Lake, did some filming of “Grubstake” at Tiger in the county. During the early 20s, the new county leaders had to fight to keep what they had. At one point, big city legislators tried to realign districts to deny them their state Senator. In another attack, a plan was pushed to divert valuable water from the Pend Oreille River to Spokane. There were mines from Bead Lake to Metaline Falls. There were more people selling mining stock than actually mining though. Miners in the eastern coalmines were doing

1920s at a Glance • A dozen eggs was 47 cents in 1920, and 68 cents in 1925 • A gallon of milk was 56 cents • Steak was 40 cents a pound • The average annual salary was $1,236

1920

• Bubonic plague hits India • League of Nations established • Women granted the right to vote in U.S.

1921

• “Fatty” Arbuckle scandal • First Miss America pageant held • Irish Free State Proclaimed

Page 6

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

The old Interstate Bridge at Oldtown looked pretty nice rising above a layer of light snow, a few years after it was built. The bridge was opened in 1927, replacing a ferry boat operated by the Geary family. It was named the Interstate Bridge because both Idaho and Washington provided funding even though it was located entirely in Idaho. By the 1980s the two-lane bridge was too narrow, the surface was deteriorating and the top girders were repeatedly struck by high loads. With the bridge’s expected lifespan counting down to nearly zero, Congress and the state of Idaho finally funded the four-lane Oldtown Bridge, which now carries U.S. Highway 2 across the Pend Oreille River. The new bridge opened Nov. 16, 1988.

something new: striking. There were no stories on local strikes. Banks across the state were closing. Food for animals and people was still raised in the county instead of far off places and packaged like today. A story in a 1923 issue of The Miner told of excited county extension agents experimenting with new crops like varieties of corn suited to the climate – corn they hoped would be a supplement to sunflowers as silage. In 1923, the Pend Oreille Highway from Spokane to the border was officially established. The state legislature put some money aside to maintain it and upgrade to state standards. No fancy asphalt – just new gravel. It was noted that this was the first addition to the state highway system in eastern Washington since 1911. The local big shots were happy. They had been fighting for it; the horse owners didn’t care. People had another way to get through the county fast. The Canadians pushed their International Highway to the border to meet it. The Canadians across the boarder

were also growing and building power plants, sawmills and smelters. There was a bond between the county and the northern neighbors. One Miner story noted a bunch of county folks arrested for bringing booze across from Canada where it was legal. The feds took their cars. The county also began taking care of citizens. As mentioned, a new hospital was in the works in Newport and plans started to build a Newport-Idaho school building – estimated to cost $26,000 for 350 people. Changing technology was causing a stir among competitors. Railroad owners tried to get local support to stop stagecoach lines (powered buses) as they saw them take riders from Newport to Spokane. The road across the Idaho Panhandle was also improved. The local leaders got on the bandwagon to promote improvements to highways to our national parks. What they really wanted was more federal

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Ione Elementary School students perform a Grecian ball dance for a program on the front lawn of the school, along side the Congregational Church in about 1924-25. Left to right are: Viola Espe or Joyce Garske, Edna Crawford, Patricia Espe, Janet McCoy, Beth Garske and Aileen Hale.

SEE 1920-1929, 31

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

This farm crew poses with a device that unearthed potatoes. Crewmembers would knock the dirt off each potato and then throw it in a gunnysack. The date is 1920 and the location is possibly Spring Valley near Newport.

1922

• Insulin discovered • Mussolini marches on Rome • The Reader’s Digest published • Lincoln Memorial dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1924

1923

• President Warren G. Harding dies of illness, succeeded by Calvin Coolidge • The first sound on motion pictures starts with “Photofilm”

• First Olympic winter games held in French Alps • IBM corporation founded • V.I. Lenin dies • Coolidge retains the presidency in a Republican victory

1925

• Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes first woman governor in Wyoming • Hitler publishes “Mein Kampf” • The “Monkey Trial” begins over teaching evolution at a Tennessee high school

Today, climbing a railroad block signal post could get you arrested, but life was a little gentler when this picture was taken at Elk in the early 1920s. The picture is titled “The Thinker” and we believe the boy’s name is Scott Riley. This type of signal is known as a semaphore and only a few dozen of them remain in service across the country.

1926

• A.A. Milne publishes “Winnie-the-Pooh” • First assassination attempt on Mussolini • Robert Goddard fires his first liquid-fuel rocket • NBC Radio formed

1927

• Babe Ruth makes home-run record • Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic • Sacco and Venzetti executed

COURTESY PHOTO| PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A swimmer in 1920s beachwear stands on a timber piling in the water.

1928

• First Mickey Mouse cartoon • Amelia Earhart flies across the Atlantic Ocean • Construction of Hoover Dam approved • Penicillin discovered

1929

• Stock market crashes • Al Capone’s gang kills seven rivals in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago

The county chronicles of 1930-1939

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

County weathers the Depression, Prohibition By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner

he 1930s dawned in Pend Oreille County

with high hopes for the future. While the country was falling into the Great Depression, headlines in The Miner sang a different tune locally. “Year 1930 to see much progress in county,” boasted one headline. The following week, mine work in the Metaline District revealed immense ore resources of zinc and lead that were a surprise to the public. In February, a report was published by P.A. O’Farrell, a Canadian journalist and mining expert, who deemed the Pend Oreille Mines among the world’s greatest. “The discovery of this amazingly rich ore in the Josephine sets at rest all doubts as to the existence of continuous high grade ore shots in the Pend Oreille mines. No limit can be placed as yet to the extent, depth and value of the mines discovered in the Pend Oreille country,” he wrote. Prospectors of the day set up claims along the Metaline district in July 1930, as new lead and zinc sources were discovered on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border. In late January 1932, it was reported that Metaline district mining stocks held the center of attraction on the mining exchanges since the first of the year. But the boom couldn’t last.

The Depression caught up with Pend Oreille County and after operating steadily for a year and a half in the face of the lowest metal prices in 20 years, the mine and mill of the Pend Oreille Mines and Metals Company suspended operations for an indefinite period. Mines all over the country were shutting down and now 80 men were out of a job in Pend Oreille County. The shutdown lasted a year. Operation began again in June 1933, and with that, a raise, thanks to the National Recovery Act. Give an inch and they take a mile, though. In April 1934, employees at the Josephine Mine organized as a unit of the United Mine Workers of America, having voted to strike for higher wages. With notice of their intention to walk out at 1 p.m. Monday posted, president Larson closed down work at the mine and mill Sunday night, as reported in The Miner April 26, 1934. The mine workers were still on strike a year later, costing an estimated $10,000 a month in wages, which in turn hurt local business. By 1937, the strike was over and the Depression was waning. Nearly weekly headlines in the early part of the year spoke of soaring metal prices. In May, the Pend Oreille Mines and Metals Company and the American Zinc Company at Metaline Falls announced an increase of 4.5 cents an hour for all employees, making the

common labor pay in that region 58.5 cents an hour. This was the second raise by the mine companies since the first of the year. By September, the Pend Oreille company was increasing its zinc concentrator output from 5,000 to 20,000 tons annually and production hit a record high in January 1938. The tumultuous mining industry wasn’t out of the woods yet. An unexpected decrease on Canadian metal import duties caused a drop in the price of zinc and by June it was announced the mine would once again shut down. But, troubles in Europe saved the day. With shipments of metals to warring European nations not barred under the United States neutrality act, there were sensational advances in the prices of base metals in September 1939 and by October, Idaho and Washington members of Congress were holding conference with state department officials in an effort to obtain a higher import duty on Canadian and British zinc. The rumblings of the end of Prohibition showed up in the pages of The Miner in 1930. Two legislators in Olympia told state sheriffs in Seattle that they should, “Go home and tell your people that the dry laws can’t be enforced.” Pend Oreille County Sheriff Ben T. Fox didn’t agree, boasting in the newspaper that he had just busted a still and made a couple of dry arrests. “There will always be violators of this law, as there

are of most laws, but it’s nonsense to say this law or any law can’t be enforced,” he said. That kind of sentiment might account for another headline in the same issue: “Field day for divorces in Superior Court.” In November 1932, a state initiative passed by voters made it legal to get liquor from a drug store if you had a prescription signed by a physician. The limit of prescriptions to each physician was 100 pints of spirituous liquors or 100 quarts of wine each 90 days. It was the largest voter turnout in the county’s history. Congress passed and the president signed the bill making the sale of light wines and beer legal, as reported in The Miner on March 23, 1933. By April, a headline

announced “Newport ready for 3.2 percent beer Friday morning,” noting that with the publication in that issue of the newspaper of the ordinance as adopted by the town council, beer could be sold in Newport. There must have been high readership that week, as The Miner reported that 75 cases of beer were consumed in Newport on Friday. The supply was scarcely sufficient for the demand during the day, and by night many stores were sold out. In August, Washington became the 24th state to repeal Prohibition. The pages of The Miner were rife with car accidents in the 1930s as the public grew accustomed to vehicles, which lacked the safety features mandatory today. Fatal car

SOCIETY MUSEUM

May Day pageants used to be a big event in local schools. Here’s one at Newport in 1939. Now graduation is the “big thing.”

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The 1930s aT a glaNce:

1931

SEE 1930-1939, 30

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL

This photo is only designated “sewing class,” but the picture provides a few clues. From the door glass, we can determine that the location is the Jury Room in the Pend Oreille County Courthouse. The hairstyles may indicate this picture was taken in the 1930s. The new sewing machine and the cloth-insulated electric cord may also indicate 1930s. Betty Earl donated the picture.

• U.S. population is 123 million in 48 states • Life expectancy is 58 for a male and 62 for a female • The average salary is $1,368 per year • Milk cost 14 cents a quart • Bread was 9 cents a loaf • Round steak 42 cents a pound

accidents were nearly a weekly occurrence, and drownings were also common. Crime wasn’t rampant, but when it happened, it made a splash. In 1934, three men appearing in court for robbery of the Oberg poolroom and assault on Newport Marshal Ralph Johnson had “a sullen attitude.” You’d be sullen too if you were caught stripped naked and greased up by the marshal, the sheriff and a deputy. Fred Ruhl, Frank Allemond and Vernon Callaghan were a trio of ex-convicts. Realizing their desperate character, sheriff Fox held vigil at the jail during the night. During the day, the three men had tampered with jail locks

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

A lady from the Cusick area shows her bird hunting form along the Pend Oreille River. This photo is from the Wike albums in the museum’s collection and probably dates to the late 1930s.

1933

1937

• Congress passes The New Deal • Star-Spangled Banner • World’s Fair opens in becomes the national Chicago anthem • Nevada legalizes gambling • Prohibition ends • Construction is completed on the Empire State Building

• Hindenburg bursts into flames while mooring • Golden Gate Bridge opens • Appalachian Trail completed

1938

• The National Minimum Wage is enacted • Orson Welles broadcasts “War of the Worlds”

1934

1932

1930

• Pluto discovered • Congress passes $150 million public works project • Analog computer invented

• Unemployment reaches 12 million • Lindbergh baby kidnapped • FDR defeats Hoover

• U.S. pulls troops from Haiti • The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission established

1939

1935

• Babe Ruth retires from MLB • Congress passes Social Security Act • Hoover Dam dedicated

1936

• The Summer Olympics open in Hitler’s Germany • “Gone with the Wind” published

• Baseball Hall of Fame opens • U.S. declares neutrality in the European war after Germany invades Poland

Page 7

The county chronicles of 1940-1949

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

The World at War … Again War affects everything at start of decade By Don gronning

Of The Miner hen the 1940s started,

much of the world was already involved in what would become World War II. Germany had already marched into Poland and Czechoslovakia. In a few short years Germany and Italy had conquered most of continental Europe. Japan had been at war with China for years and was on its way to conquering most of the Pacific. The pages of The Newport Miner had world news and a lot of it had to do with war. Front page exhortations to buy war bonds were in nearly every paper. The paper wasn’t called The Miner for nothing and news of gold, lead and zinc mining activities got front page play. The demand for ore had brought up both prices and wages in 1940, with miners paid $6.15 a day plus overtime in 1940, The Miner reported. That same year gold was discovered at Tiger and in 1942 the Pend Oreille Mines and Metals Company paid a 6 cents per share dividend to its 4,000 shareholders. The dairy industry was coming into its own. A 1941 story reported that “Income to dairymen from butterfat and milk passing through Farmers State Bank of Newport for the first 14 days of June was $7,611.92,” which didn’t include cash payments or payments by checks from other banks. The paper was full of information. Lists of people and their auto license plates, draftees and their draft lottery number and full page, detailed county budgets were published. The business of electing politicians was taken seriously, with 82 percent of the voters turning out for the 1940 general election. The county voted heavily for the Democrats in the state election. At the county level, a new jail was being built, at a cost of $20,000. The county had no real debt in 1941. Although the jail construction was financed with bonds, there was enough set aside in reserves to pay them off. In the city of Newport, several areas were asking to be annexed into the city, where they would get streetlights, more fire hydrants and lower insurance rates. In 1941, Martin’s, Laurelhurst,

1940s at a glance

• Population of Washington was 1.7 million • By the end of the decade, the state had grown to 2.2 Million • Pend Oreille County had 8,050 • Life expectancy: 68.2 female, 60.8 male • Minimum Wage: 43 cents per hour

Halford’s and Blackwell additions were annexed in an election. The 1941 county fair broke all attendance records, with more than 2,000 paying to attend. The rodeo was one of the big attractions. But war clouds were looming and it was on people’s minds. More than 400 people turned out to a PTA meeting to hear a talk by an eyewitness to the blitzkrieg in France, where German bombs killed civilians and armed forces alike. When war finally broke out in December 1941, with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, followed by the U.S. also joining in the war against Germany and Italy, the county sprung into action. Armed guards were posted on the bridges, the county had the power to enforce blackouts. Enemy aliens – citizens from the countries we were fighting – were not allowed into Newport. It was the start to what would consume people for the next four years. Rationing of a range of goods went into effect, with canned goods, gas, coffee, sugar, tires and other items carefully rationed. The rationing was no doubt inconvenient but people didn’t seem to complain, except where it came to the rationing of liquor. A resolution was discussed in the state senate to “ ... investigate the members of the liquor board, who had been accused of being all dries, and had presumably withheld the brew that cheers from the thirsty imbibers,” Sen. B.J. Dahl wrote in a front page story in 1943. The Miner reported that George Kubota returned to Metaline Falls after being taken to Spokane by the FBI in 1942. “People of Newport and Metaline Falls who have known George for many years have always found him a good citizen, interested in civic and patriotic causes, and have had full confidence in his loyalty to his adopted country,” reported The Miner in a front page brief. German nationals were interned during the war. A 1944 Miner story explained that the Germans working in the woods for the Forest Service were not prisoners of war, but were internees who would otherwise be living in internment camps. For their work, they were paid $55 a month, plus board. “Priest River blames Newport for Juvenile

FILE PHOTO

The biggest flood since 1894 struck the mid-county June 1, 1948, leaving residential sections of Cusick under 6 to 8 feet of water when the Pend Oreille River rose and broke through earthen dikes. Here a young oarsman rows through Cusick.

Delinquency,” a front page Indian people, including people headline read in 1943. from visiting tribes, attended According to the marshal, the celebration. youths were going to Newport The war finally ended in and returning to Priest River 1945. The county immediately in the early morning, “some of started looking forward to the them in a more or less state of post war world. intoxication,” according to the Completing work on county story. SEE 1940-1949, 32 That led to an area wide curfew for youths. A centenary held to commemorate 100 years since the founding of the St. Ignatius Mission by Catholic missionaries on what was to become the Kalispel Indian Reservation was the topic of long stories in 1944. The first story told of the planning for the three-day celebration. Kalispel tribal leaders had a great deal of input, but some of the patriarchs COURTESY PHOTO|LEONA VANDERHOLM COLLECTION weren’t This is an old view of what was known as a “Virginia comfortable rail fence.” These were quite common in the Pend speaking English, Oreille country in the early years because the crissso spoke in cross pattern avoided the need for fence posts and Kalispel, with the small-diameter wood that made up the rails was interpreters, plentiful in most areas. Pictured from left are Alfio according to the Sandona, Joyce Vanderholm (Guscott) and Leona newspaper report. Vanderholm. This is from a Vanderholm family About 300-400 album, loaned by Lindsay and Jeanne Guscott.

1941

• The movie “Citizen Kane” released • Japanese attack Pearl Harbor Dec. 7 • Average cost of a new home $4,075

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A Milwaukee Road steam-powered freight train chugs through Lost Creek, which is located between Cusick and Ione. The view is in color – a rarity for 1947 – but there wasn’t a lot of color, mostly a blueish ski obscured by smoke and steam. The locomotive is shiny black. Photographer Paul Meier wrote, “It was 20 below the day I took this picture. I had skied across the river which was frozen over that winter. I lived at Lost Creek from 1929-1952.”

1947

1945

• First commercial microwave oven hits market, costs $2,000, weighs 700 pounds • Jackie Robinson becomes the first black person to play in Major League Baseball

• Nazi Germany surrenders • Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima

1943

• The Great Depression ends • Silly putty was invented • Nobel Peace Prize not awarded

1948

• The television show Candid Camera debuts • U.S. Supreme Court rules religious instruction in public schools unconstitutional • State of Israel is formed

1949

1940

• World’s first helicopter takes flight • The movie “Gone With The Wind” wins eight Oscars • McDonald’s opens first restaurant in San Bernadino, Calif. • General Motors produces its 25 millionth vehicle, a Chevy.

Page 8

1942

• Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” was the top selling song • The movie “Cassablanca,” released • Average cost of a new car $920

1944

• Franklin Roosevelt signs GI Bill of Rights • The St. Louis Cardinals beat the St. Louis Browns in the World Series • The Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants to win NFL championship

1946

• First bikini makes appearance in France • The ENIAC, the first functional digital computer was invented

• First Polaroid camera sold for $89.95 • Hank Williams releases “I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry” • Peoples Republic of China was established

The county chronicles of 1950-1959

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

Building our Pend Oreille By Janelle atyeo Of The Miner

he 1950s in Pend Oreille County brought a building boom. Towns were growing with new residences, new school buildings were put to use, and the Newport Hospital got an upgraded addition. All those improvements went on in the shadow of some of the biggest construction projects the area has seen. Two dams were built on the Pend Oreille River and a third was in the works, changing the look of the Pend Oreille River Valley to how we see it today. Throughout the decade, the nation was engaged in the Cold War standoff with Soviet Nations. The U.S. fought against Communism in Korea from 1950 to 53 and began occupation of Vietnam in 1955. Newport neighborhoods organized a watch for enemy flyovers. High school students Phil Howe and Gale Larson took up a civilian defense effort headquartered at the Lars Larson house. They kept watch on the skies from their front porch. Army authorities issued warnings against giving out sensitive information on industrial processes, formulas or communication systems. The miners of Pend Oreille County were doing their part to support the county by digging for uranium. The U.S.

government paid bonuses for discoveries of the element used in atomic bombs. The county auditor saw 150 mining claims a week in 1955, though no big strikes were made. With patriotism, the 1950s cultivated a crop of community activities that were as wholesome as apple pie – or cherry pie, as was the feature of a 1950 baking contest. Kids had plenty to keep them entertained. Newport boys built a new youth center at First and Washington. A new skating rink was another draw. And each year the Kiwanis Club put on a Kids Day with a parade, pet show and flapjack feed. Sacheen Lake had a popular ski hill, and in the summer the Sacheen Lake water carnival included fly fishing contests, a swimming race and a bathing beauty contest, won by 16-yearold Luella Lear. The completion of Box Canyon Dam in July 1956 was marked with the first annual Down River Days celebration. The 1920s Metaline Falls Bridge was replaced with a new steel structure in 1952. Sally Jo Olson was crowned Bridge Queen to preside over the dedication that drew a crowd of 2,500. With the building boom, it seemed like this or that was being dedicated every weekend, and there seemed to be a “queen” for everything. Miss Albeni Falls reigned at the mud pouring ceremonies as the first bucket of concrete was poured into the spillway forms at Albeni Falls Dam in 1951. May of 1958 brought a new hospital to Newport, a $450,000 project. The addition to the south of the previous hospital added 20 beds, emergency surgery, a delivery room and nursery plus an X-ray lab. The previous hospital became a nursing home. The influx of activity with the

MINER FILE PHOTO

This Ross Hall photo shows the first blast, clearing rocks at the Albeni Falls Dam site. Construction started in early 1951. Albeni predates Box Canyon Dam and Boundary Dam on the Pend Oreille River. Left: The June 23, 1955, issue of The Newport Miner announces the completion of Albeni Falls Dam. Box Canyon Dam was underway up north, and Seattle City Light was filing an application for Boundary in the 1950s.

construction of the dams brought a residential building boom. Within five years, 45 new residences and 15 new businesses were built in Newport, The Miner reported in August 1950. Houses were moved to the area from the Farragut Naval Base in Idaho and converted to apartment buildings. Newport got a new sewer plant in 1951, newly repaved streets in 1958, and was in talks with Oldtown over a joint water system. School buildings were improved to serve the growing communities. Cusick was the first to build a new grade school facility in 1950. It was named for the late teacher Bess Herian. Soon, Newport began talk of needing a new elementary building. The community didn’t like the idea of using airport land for a new school, but a 1952 vote resulted in using 10 acres of airport land at Fourth and Calispel as school grounds. Parents worried about

sending their children across town to school, but an article in The Miner assured that in-town buses would be available. Ione got a new elementary in 1954, costing $148,000, but by 1957, Ione and Metaline Falls were talking of consolidating high schools. Cusick – which had the only State B boys’ basketball team that was undefeated during the 1953 season – one-upped the others

by building a new gym with seating for 750 in 1956. That same year, Newport voters rejected a plea for a new gym for the Grizzlies. That’s not to say Newport

athletes weren’t appreciated. The community rallied around a local football hero – Don Ellersick. During his 1955 senior year at Newport, he SEE 1950-1959, 31

MINER FILE PHOTO

A barrel racer makes the rounds. In the 1950s, the Pend Oreille County rodeo was moved from Cusick to Newport.

MINER FILE

A Standard Oil advertisement in a classic 1950s style ran in a 1952 edition of The Newport Miner.

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

MINER FILE PHOTO

Charlie Fiedler Jr. (“our faithful mailman”) and Henry Hiebert, back from a fishing trip in January 1955, show off their catch. The picture is titled, “Vot luck!”

The Buster Morris Shell station is pictured here. Newport had several car dealerships and service stations as family autos became more common.

1950s at a glance

• U.S. population 151,684,000 • Life expectancy: Women 71.1, Men 65.6 • Car sales: 6,665,800 • Average salary: $3,216 • Cost of a loaf of bread: 14 cents • Cost of a gallon of milk: 84 cents • Cost of a gallon of gas: 18-25 cents

1951

1954

• Color T.V. introduced • Truman signs peace treaty with Japan, officially ending World War II

• First atomic submarine launched • Report says cigarettes cause cancer • Segregation ruled illegal in U.S.

1957

1955

• Disneyland opens • James Dean dies in car accident • McDonald’s Corporation founded • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus • Warsaw Pact signed

• Soviet satellite Sputnik launches space age

1958

• Hula-hoops become popular • LEGO toy bricks first introduced • NASA founded • Peace Symbol created

1959

1950

• First modern credit card introduced • First organ transplant • First “Peanuts” cartoon strip • Korean War begins • Senator Joseph McCarthy begins Communist hunt

• Castro takes power in Cuba • Barbie dolls invented • U.S. quiz shows found to be fixed

1952

• Car seat belts introduced • Polio vaccine created

1953

• DNA discovered • First Playboy magazine • Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage

1956

• Elvis gyrates on Ed Sullivan’s Show • Suez crisis • T.V. remote control invented • Velcro introduced

Page 9

The county chronicles of 1960-1969

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

Pend Oreille County fares well in turbulent 1960s By Michelle nedved Of The Miner

cross the United States the 1960s were a time of much turmoil. The U.S. sent troops to Vietnam and the country lost its leader when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. In Pend Oreille County, the atmosphere shifted a bit over the decade, from the fresh-faced optimism of the 1950s transforming with the progression of technology, large construction projects and soldiers sent overseas. Locals kicked off the year 1960 around the television when Newport’s own Don Ellersick played for the West in the annual Shrine Benefit game in San Francisco. Ellersick caught six passes to gain 68 yards for his team and played right half and flankback, running for 23 yards in five tries. The West won 21-14. The community celebrated the pigskin superstar with Don Ellersick Day, as announced in the Jan. 28, 1960, issue of The Miner, planned by the local chamber of commerce. A number of newspapermen and sports writers attended the event. Ellersick’s engagement to Sandra Lee Dyke was announced in February. The couple planned to marry in June and live in Los Angeles, as Ellersick received a bid to play with the L.A. Rams.

While now a-days, the rivalry between Priest River and Newport is most often fought on the gridiron or hardwood, back in the 1960s the youth of the border towns were a bit rougher. A gang fight broke out near the drive-in theater on a Friday night in April 1960, a continuation of the long-standing feud between teenagers of the border towns. Pend Oreille County sheriff William Giles said two groups of boys met at the concession stand during intermission at the theater, had some words and were told to go outside if they wanted to fight. Some of the boys went through the fence to the north, had a short-lived fight and then returned to their cars to see the rest of the show. Afterward, three Priest River boys, some of whom were suspected of having been drinking, jerked a Newport boy out of his car and one Ralph M. Brooks, 19, of Priest River beat the Newport lad up. Brooks was lodged in the Priest River jail. While the boys of Priest River and Newport continued to feud, so did the men of Pend Oreille County’s public utility district and the city of Seattle throughout the 1960s, over the construction of Boundary Dam. In September 1960, press articles concerning power development on the Pend Oreille River stated that applications for a dam construction license between Box Canyon and the Canadian border should be rejected, as stated by Fred G. Aandahl,

the assistant secretary of the interior at the time. Local press felt that statement was directed specifically at the application of Seattle City Light for a high dam at the Boundary site. The battle was far from over in 1961, despite the fact the Federal Power Commission’s examiner recommended that Seattle be granted the license to build a dam north of Metaline Falls. The PUD owned the riverbed and shorelines for both the Z Canyon and the Boundary sites and had no intention of yielding this “last great resource of the county to the big city on the coast,” as reported in the March 16, 1961, issue of The Miner. In July of that year it was reported that only one of the original five commissioners remained on the Federal Power Commission that had heard the entire arguments of the PUD and Seattle City Light. Attorneys for the PUD and the Metaline’s district mining companies prepared petitions for a rehearing before the new FPC board. That same week, the Northwest Mining Association asked for a congressional investigation on whether a proposed dam on the Pend Oreille River at the Boundary site would endanger the vast reserves of strategic lead-zinc ore. In December, the PUD filed a complaint against the city of Seattle, charging that the defendant was trespassing on shorelands owned by the district. Court actions continued

MINER FILE PHOTO

This was the scene when the city of Seattle turned over a check in the amount of $155,000 to Pend Oreille County and three north county towns, as reported in The Miner Dec. 12, 1963. The county got $125,000 and the towns of Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls each received $10,000 as “impact” funds related to the building of Boundary Dam. Pictured left to right: commissioner Glenn Earl, treasurer Edgar Arman, Seattle city councilman Paul Alexander, superintendent of Seattle City Light John Nelson, and commissioners Joe Berendt and Cliff Bockman. Present but not shown in the picture was Boundary project manager R. E. Brown. Half the county’s $125,000 share went into the county road fund and the other half into the current expense fund.

through much of the early 1960s until finally, contractors on Seattle City Light’s Boundary Dam project began excavating for the foundation of the dam in 1965. The river was diverted through a 2,000-foot long, 42-foot diameter tunnel on the left bank. Approximately 900 people were put to work on the project, which was scheduled to go into operation in the fall of 1967. The dam had its last pouring of concrete June 14, 1967, and was dedicated by Seattle’s mayor J.D. Brahman at a 1 p.m. ceremony in the dam’s giant underground powerhouse. Until the dedication, the spillway gates were open, creating a spectacular cascade of water in the narrow canyon of the Pend Oreille River. A subtle, but poignant, transition evident in the pages of The Miner throughout the 1960s was that from grim warnings of communism taking over the world, to hometown tales of local boys surviving Vietnam. One advertisement in a

MINER FILE PHOTO

Not quite a year after it opened, the Paul Bunyan Lanes bowling alley was completely destroyed by fire, which started shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, Aug. 9, as reported in the Aug. 11, 1960, issue of The Miner. G. G. Hill, patrolling north Newport during the night, turned on the alarm about 2:20 a.m. with the Newport fire truck on scene at 2:30 a.m. just as flames licked under the eaves. Shortly thereafter, fire burst through the roof. Within an hour the roof caved in, the plate glass windows of the restaurant, bulging with the heat and pressure, burst out and the fire raged through the alleys.

campaign of many by the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge, Pa., shows a photo of a child’s face with the message, “Up for grabs. This child – your child – will

live under communism. Mr. Krushchev said so. He and communists around the world are determined to destroy freedom and the

SEE 1960-1969, 30

MINER FILE PHOTO

Englom Brothers of Priest River, house movers, cleared the former Pearsall property of the last structure to make way for the new Federal Building at the corner of First and Washington streets in downtown Newport, as shown in this Dec. 23, 1965, photo from The Miner. The former Ralph Miller house on Union Avenue, also on land purchased by the government, was being used as an office for the contractor during the cold months.

1960s at a glance

• U.S. population 177,830,000 • Life expectancy: Women 73.1, Men 66.6 • Car sales: 6,665,800 • Average salary: $4,743 • Cost of a dozen eggs: 62 cents • Cost of a gallon of milk: 99 cents • Cost of a gallon of gas: 31 cents

1960

• Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho released • First televised presidential debates

Page 10

1961

• Bay of Pigs invasion • Berlin Wall built • Soviets launch first man in space

1962

• Cuban Missile Crisis • Marilyn Monroe found dead

1965

1963

1967

• New York City great blackout • U.S. sends troops to Vietnam • Malcolm X assassinated

• JFK assassinated • Martin Luther King Jr. makes his “I have a dream” speech

1964

• Beatles become popular in U.S. • Civil Rights Act passes in U.S. • Nelson Mandela sentenced to life in prison

• First heart transplant • First Super Bowl • Che Guevara killed

1966

• Mass draft protests in U.S. • “Star Trek” T.V. series airs

1968

1969

• Neil Armstrong walks on the moon • Woodstock • “Sesame Street” first airs

• Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated • Robert F. Kennedy assassinated • My Lai massacre

The county chronicles of 1970-1979

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

People from today would recognize 1970s Taxes, economic development on people’s minds By Don gronning Of the Miner

EWPORT – In many ways, Pend Oreille County was like the rest of the country in the 1970s as it was coming to grips with the result of the tumultuous 1960s. At the start of the decade, the Vietnam war was still raging, with the nation divided. But many of the things that are in the local news today showed up in a look through issues of The Miner. Take the Shoreline Management Act of 1973. “Diamond Lake Shore Claimed by State: Legislators and State Agencies Clash” was the headline for a 1973 story. As a result of the Shoreline Management Act, about 300 owners of lots received notice that they did not own the shoreline but could rent their shoreline from the state for $15 a year. Only about 100 people on the lake owned the shoreline. Frank Yuse, a board member of the Diamond Lake Improvement Association was quoted as saying, “It appears to me this is just another way for the state to collect money and discourage private ownership of lake property.” Then, as now, county commissioners were targets for criticism. A front-page editorial in the Sept. 2, 1974, Miner blasted county commissioners for seeking a $2,000 a year pay raise – a 25 percent increase. Their annual salaries would jump from $9,130 to $11,130. “How does that compare with other county employees or employees in private industry? Private industry can’t afford that type of salary increases and neither can the taxpayers of Pend Oreille County,” the editorial concluded.

About that same time, sheriff deputies were also seeking a pay increase. Sheriff deputies’ representatives picketed the county courthouse seeking a 27 percent pay raise. They wanted $200 added to the deputy’s base pay of $767 a month. The county was offering 8 percent. The feeling of being overtaxed isn’t a new phenomenon. In 1971, the Pend Oreille County Taxpayers Association filed a lawsuit against the state, the county and individual county commissioners for placing “excessive” values on property when it was reassessed. The suit alleged the county leaders were “arbitrary and malicious” when property values were increased 138 to 600 percent. The state was saying it was strapped for money then, too. In 1971 the state announced that Pend Oreille State Park would be closed because of a lack of state funds. But the state legislature did find money for Gardener Caves, which received $90,000 for roads, trail comfort stations and utilities, including parking. Schools also had a hard time convincing taxpayers to pony up for special levies, especially since a 60 percent approval was needed in those days. In early 1971, the Cusick School board was desperately trying to get voters to approve a levy. Because of past levy failures, the district had to lay off two teachers and cut 10 upper level classes, of which only three were picked up by the remaining staff. That year the levy failed for the fourth time, although more than half the voters approved it. The district kept at it, though. The levy failed again in the primary election in 1972 before finally passing in the general, receiving 61 percent of the vote. The Newport School District had mixed success with its

levies. In 1973, voters passed a special levy with a 76 percent approval. But towards the end of the decade, voters weren’t quite as supportive of the special levies. The Newport School levy failed for the third time by a narrow margin in 1978. It got 58.8 percent approval, but needed 60 percent. Right after the election, district officials uncovered an $80,000 budgeting oversight, giving them more money than originally thought. The district superintendent resigned a few weeks later. The levy failed four more times before a $300,000 maintenance and operations levy finally passed. Voters turned down a bond to build a new high school and by the end of the decade the district condemned the old high school. In the 1970s the state was pushing consolidation of government services. The Miner warned about county consolidation in the first paper of the decade. The legislature was considering a constitutional amendment that would enable the state to mandate consolidation of counties by electing common county leaders. “The bill states that it would enable lightly populated counties to have full time officers. Is this needed?” the Miner asked in the front-page editorial. By the middle of the decade, the state was encouraging school consolidation. The Newport and Cusick school districts were considering it in 1975. One of the benefits would be that the state would pay for 90 percent of the cost of new school construction if the districts consolidated, but only 65 percent if they didn’t. The Kalispell Tribe was in the news in 1977. The tribe was exploring the idea of adding 8,000 acres of Forest Service and state Department of Natural

Resources land to the reservation along the east bank of the Pend Oreille River. The tribe wanted to develop recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat. The plan was met with protests at the county commissioners’ meeting in March of 1977. “We gave the Indians a hard time 100 years ago, sure, but now we’re saying let’s give ’em everything,” Clarence Davis, a retired rancher, told the commissioners. He objected because of the loss of tax revenue and control of the land and presented a petition with 130 signatures against the move. A letter to the editor signed by four people in that issue objected to the proposed expansion, including the tribe’s offer to help non Indian communities with economic development. “We do not want or do we need help from the Kalispel Tribe,” the letter read in part. In the next issue of the paper, Kalispel leaders said they

SEE 1970-1979, 32

MINER PHOTO

This happy couple is cutting their wedding cake at the Pend Oreille County Jail in 1979. After the ceremony, they were returned to separate jail cells. “After all, this is a jail,” Sheriff Tony Bamonte said, almost apologetically, according to the story. The two were facing charges of assault, felony possession of marijuana and reckless driving.

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

About 65 people from Newport decided to mark the end of regular passenger train service through Newport and Priest River on May 1, 1971, with a “last train” ride from Newport to Troy, Montana. About 65 passengers were greeted by Earl Hupp of the historical society and Bob Owen Sr., grinding on his hand organ.

MINER PHOTO

Chester Proctor, left, steers a load of cattle across the river from Furport Island back to the mainland. This was the first load of cattle from the family’s annual roundup. His wife, Wilda, powers the ferry with the skiff at right.

1970s at a glance

1975

1973

• Microsoft started • Vietnam War ends • Saturday Night Live premiers

• Watergate break in • Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case overturns abortion prohibition • OPEC doubles the price of oil

• The price of a first class stamp was 6 cents • In 1970 the average price of a gallon of regular gas was 36 cents • In 1979 the average price of a gallon of regular gas was 86 cents • Washington’s minimum hourly wage at the start of the decade was $1.60, by the end of the decade it was $2. • Star Wars was the top grossing film of the decade, followed by Jaws.

1977

• Elvis dies at age 42 • President Jimmy Carter pardons 10,000 draft evaders

1979

• Three Mile Island nuclear accident • Iran takes 63 American hostages • The $1.5 billion Chrysler bailout is approved by the federal government • Sold 1st Sony Walkman

1971

1970

• Kent State shootings • First Earth Day celebrated • Environmental Protection Agency formed

• 18-year-olds get vote • Apollo 11 becomes last manned flight to the moon • Television cigarette advertising banned

1972

• Gold standard stops • The Godfather wins best picture Academy Award • Nixon becomes first president to visit communist China

1974

• President Nixon resigns in disgrace • Patty Hearst kidnapped • Expo ‘74 held in Spokane

1976

• First Rocky film wins Academy Award as best picture • Nadia Comaneci, 14, receives seven 10s at Montreal Olympics, winning three gold medals for Romania

1978

• Ford full sized truck becomes best selling vehicle on planet • First test tube baby born • Nine hundred people commit suicide at Peoples Temple in Jonestown Guyana by drinking poison Kool-Aid

Page 11

The county chronicles of 1980-1989

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

1980s were the best of times, worst of times

Decade of newsprint mill; high unemployment By Fred WillenBrock

Of The Miner he 1980s was a decade

of great advances and great disappointments. Like the national scene, the economy in Pend Oreille County rolled from good to bad to good. The absence of a major war didn’t mean that violence and hardship were a thing of the past as well; acts of inhumanity against man shot through the headlines from Newport to New York City. Men’s hair was still long and music loud, but the 60s and 70s youth were taking jobs, settling down and creating families. Miner Publisher Jim Hubbart summed up the early 80s in a front-page review of the year story. “A lot of yapping and snapping” was the headline. He was referring to the “continued economic recession and its accompanying uncertainty and discontent.” He also was referring to the local government investigations and the first recall in the county’s 71-year history. Dogfights were common in the county courthouse in the 1980s and they often made headlines in The Miner. The

friction between sheriff Tony Bamonte and the rest of the judicial system and government officials was weekly. But there were some people focused on one thing: improving the sick economy. During the 80s they were proactive and often only the surface work and accomplishments were in the newspaper. Small stories began appearing about a possible pulp and paper mill in the county. This small story that many ignored like all the other tall tales – remember, the timber-based economy was in the ditch – would grow to the biggest event since Box Canyon Dam was built. But more on that later. Budget cuts were headlines for all governments. The Newport School District cut sports programs and citizens stepped up to fund them. There may not be jobs but the kids will play. Long time advocate of Pend Oreille County, Congressman Tom Foley, who was then majority whip in the House, came to the county regularly to listen to problems. Behind the scenes his soft spot for the county’s long running economic woes and his growing power were critical to future successes in the 80s. Safeway announced they will build a super store. They know people will always need to eat.

MINER PHOTO|FILE

Miner publisher Fred Willenbrock accepts the first roll of newsprint from Ponderay Newsprint manager Bill Meany. Willenbrock loaded the newsprint in the company van, drove it to the press and had The Newport Miner printed on it that week.

Keytronic, the computer keyboard maker, was being wooed by local leaders in the early 1980s. The first site was in Cusick. A young Arlin Beehler came to Newport for Keytronic owner Lou Zerkle and built a plant, but it closed its doors before the close of the decade, having employed up to 600. The ups and downs continued through the early 80s with

locally owned Pend Oreille Bank opening and Chevrolet closing. The Albeni sawmill announced its closure in the early 80s. In 1982, Louisiana-Pacific Corp. put its idle sawmill in Ione up for sale. It was bought by Vaagen Brothers Lumber Co. of Colville a year later, but like Keytronics, it closed before it saw the 1990s. Later in the decade, a strike at DAW Forest Products sawmill at Albeni Falls had company officials fly into the mill in a big orange helicopter, negotiate, and fly away in dust storm. Union leaders headed to The Miner office to tell their story. After 56 days the strike ended. Pend Oreille Mine was poised to open and Lafarge bought Lehigh Portland Cement plant in Metaline Falls. Mt. Linton hospital was closed in Metaline Falls. Newport Community Hospital was in the news as well. It struggled

MINER PHOTO|FILE

The Ironworkers Union held a ceremony Feb. 11, 1989, as the last steel beam was placed on the structure that would become the Ponderay Newsprint plant. The pine tree symbolized growth, and the flag symbolized the country and the people.

financially and the local doctors decided not to run the emergency room. Behind the scenes the economic develop folks began to get involved realizing without a hospital and doctors everything stops. As the leaders struggled to gain traction to drag the sick economy out many bizarre ideas surfaced. A front-page headline declares rich clay discovered in mid-county and the get-rich-quick ideas sprouted. The claim: clay worth

$19 million. The Kalispel Tribe proposed expanding the reservation by more than 8,000 acres to develop recreational uses for everyone and the county commissioners jumped up with questions. The Kalispels supported the local economy through the late 1980s as aluminum boats were made by a company at the Kalispel industrial. Funds were wrestled by

MINER PHOTO|FILE

This photograph appeared in The Newport Miner January 1989. The crew of C.E. Kramer Crane and Construction were taking apart the old Oldtown Interstate Bridge. The metal structure had been hit by log and chip trucks because of its low clearance. The new bridge started in this picture would not need the overhead structure. Later the old pilings were blown up.

1980s at a Glance

1982

• A gallon of gas cost $1.25 • A gallon of milk cost $2.16 • Cost of a new home $76,400 • Postage stamp cost 15 cents • Median household income $17,710

• “E.T.” released • Falkland Islands invaded by Argentina • Michael Jackson releases “Thriller” • The Tylenol scare erupts when seven die after taking poisoned medicine • Liposuction is introduced

1980

• Failed U.S. rescue attempt to save hostages in Tehran • John Lennon assassinated • Mount St. Helens erupts • Rubik’s Cube becomes popular • Ted Turner establishes CNN • Who Shot JR? is talked about heavily from the TV show “Dallas”

1981

• Assassination attempt on the pope • Assassination attempt on President Reagan • Sandra Day O’Connor becomes first woman appointed to U.S. Supreme Court • Millions watch royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diane Spencer on T.V. • New plague identified as AIDS • Personal computers introduced by IBM • MTV is launched

Page 12

1983

• Cabbage Patch kids are popular • U.S. embassy in Beirut bombed • “Just Say No” is the new tool to combat drug use • Final episode of M*A*S*H airs

SEE 1980-1989, 32

Jim and Sherry Hubbart were co-publishers of The Miner until September 1986, after nine years. They sold the business to Fred and Susan Willenbrock.

1984

• “The Cosby Show” premiers • Stonewashed jeans are introduced • First megabit chip is made at Bell Labs • Gymnast Mary Lou Retton wins two golds, two silvers, two bronzes • Run-D.M.C. have first gold rap album • Apple releases Macintosh personal computer

1985

• Hole in the ozone layer, first detected in 1977, now indisputable • Mikhail Gorbachev calls for Glasnost and Perestroika • Wreck of the Titanic found • Nintendo video game system introduced

1986

• Challenger space shuttle explodes • Chernobyl nuclear disaster • Iran Contra scandal unfolds • U.S. bombs Libya • U.S.S.R. launches Mir space station

1987

• DNA first used to convict criminals • New York Stock Exchange suffers 22 percent drop on Black Monday • Baby Jessica falls down a well and is later rescued • “Les Miserables” wins eight Tony Awards

1988

• Pan Am Flight 103 is bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland • U.S. shoots down Iranian airliner • CDs outsell vinyl for the first time • Prozac is introduced as an antidepressant • Fire breaks out in Yellowstone

1989

• Berlin Wall falls • Exxon Valdez spills millions of gallons of oil on the coastline • Students massacred in China’s Tiananmen Square

The county chronicles of 1990-1999

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

Pend Oreille in the Hollywood spotlight County got its 15 minutes of fame in the 1990s By Janelle atyeo Of The Miner

ollywood shined a spotlight on Pend

Oreille County in the 1990s. A red Pend Oreille Valley Authority engine emerging through the Blueslide tunnel made the opening scene of the Johnny Depp film “Benny & Joon.” About 150 local residents spent the wee hours of a summer Sunday in 1992 posing as train passengers. Through most of 1997, Metaline Falls became a postnuclear holocaust town of the future for Kevin Costner’s “The Postman,” about reestablishing the U.S. Postal Service in the ruins of a disaster. Sets were built in town, at Boundary Dam and the Pend Oreille Mine, and several hundred people from the area were hired as extras. Eva Gayle Six and a 5-year-old Neal Coon were the only locals with speaking parts. Coon made the final scene, where Costner rides by and takes a letter out of his hands. His line: “What’s a postman?”

The film opened Christmas Day to sold out crowds at the Clark Fork Theater in Metaline Falls and the Newport Roxy. Several people said it was an average movie, but nothing spectacular. Pend Oreille also had its shadowy areas in the 90s. Sheriff’s deputies had their hands full investigating a handful of murders over the decade; there was a large puppy mill raid, and they were keeping their eyes on the growing militia movement. Cougar sightings were on the rise, prompting local hunters to ask legislators to lift the ban on hunting the big cats with hounds. There were marijuana grow operations busted almost monthly, and meth labs were starting to spring up. But in schools, the D.A.R.E. program was in full swing to help prevent drug use. The city of Newport opened a youth center at Spruce and Union to keep kids busy and out of trouble. It offered video games, ping-pong, pool and music. Most towns in the county had a curfew, and in 1995, Newport cops saddled up onto bicycles to help enforce it. A 1991 poll taken on the streets of Newport asked if the U.S. should be in the Persian Gulf for Operation

Desert Storm. Most said “yes,” and felt we had to defend our country. Yellow ribbons adorned the trees, there were vigils and a campaign to send letters to the troops. The Flag Day celebration in Newport featured a U.S.A. vs. Iraq arm wrestling contest. The war was over by 1993, but in light of President Bill Clinton’s campaign promise to lift the ban on homosexuals serving in the military, The Miner did a feature on gays in the service, with locals giving their views. Those in support said the government doesn’t have a right to discriminate. The 1992 race for county commissioner was a hot one with seven people filing for the south county seat and six candidates seeking the seat up north. Mike Hanson and Karl McKenzie were elected. The area saw a bit of a boom in the early 1990s. There was a big jump in real estate sales and construction. The county’s comprehensive land use plan for managing growth was in the works. Newport got a McDonald’s, a Pizza Factory, and when the Grizzly Drivein became Rancho Alegre, the town saw its first Mexican restaurant. The boom fizzled out by the end of the decade. In 1997, Pend Oreille County had the highest unemployment rate in the state, 19.6 percent. The average income was $15,000 per year. After 90 years of operation, the cement plant

in Metaline Falls closed in 1990 and Vaagens mill in Ione shut down, but new owners announced the Pend Oreille Mine would re-open. Exploratory drilling had showed resources of zinc, and the mine was given a nineyear life span once it opened in ‘93. The county’s largest private employer, the Ponderay Newsprint paper mill was officially dedicated in June 1990 with Speaker of the House Tom Foley and Gov. Booth Gardner in attendance. In response, Ponderay Valley Fibre’s Usk chip mill doubled its production to keep up with demands. Timber prices were up in 1993, but profits remained low, prompting Ponderay Newsprint to pursue a lower property tax valuation. The dispute between the company and the county lasted more than two years and was settled in court. Voters were tight with their tax dollars too. After rejecting the idea four times, voters finally approved building a new elementary school in Newport. Two years later, in 1995, Stratton Elementary opened its doors to students. It was named in honor of Lloyd “Lefty” Stratton, who was a member of the school board at the time, and had been for more than 30 years. Cusick schools got an

MINER PHOTO|FILE

There were several marijuana busts during the 1990s, here deputy Thad Schultz hauls away some of the 300 plants discovered off of Deer Valley Road in 1994.

MINER PHOTO|FILE

While actor Kevin Costner was in town filming “The Postman” in 1997, he played the Serendipity Golf Course almost every day. He’s pictured here with course owner Karin Cox and groundskeeper David Cox.

SEE 1990-1999 PAGE 31

MINER PHOTO|FILE

The Kalispel Tribe breaks ground for a casino in Airway Heights in September 1999. Council chairman Glen Nenema is pictured in the center. The casino was set to open in the fall of 2000.

MINER PHOTO|FILE MINER PHOTO|FILE

Coach Mike Frederick clips the net for the 1999 State Championship team.

Kyle Groom, son of Steve and Michele Groom, plays outside of Newport Ambulance/Glen’s Towing on Newport’s Washington Avenue in 1998. That was the year Washington and Union avenues became one-way streets, and the sidewalks got their old time charm with stylized lampposts, brick edging and park benches.

1990s at a glance

• A gallon of gas cost $1.15 • A gallon of milk cost $2.96 • The cost of a new home was $158,700 • A stamp was 32 cents • The median household income was $34,076

1990

• The Gulf War begins after Saddam Hussein accuses Kuwait of stealing oil from Iraq. • South African antiapartheid activist Nelson Mandela is freed after spending 27 years as a political prisoner.

1991

• The Soviet Union is dissolved into 15 republics, including Russia. Seattle’s grunge scene goes mainstream with the release of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Pear Jam’s “Ten.” Operation Desert Storm coalition forces liberate Kuwait, ending the Gulf War. Cannibal serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested.

1992

1995

• Riots erupt in L.A. after acquittal of four white police officers accused of • OJ Simpson trial begins. He’s beating speeding suspect Rodney King. During the riots, 55 people were later acquitted for charges of killed, 2,300 were injured and 1,100 buildings were destroyed. murdering his ex-wife and her • Bill Clinton is elected president. friend. • The Oklahoma City federal building is bombed, killing 168 people. • Yahoo! and eBay come into existence. • Boy band New Kids on the Block break up • The World Wide Web goes public. • A standoff occurs in Waco, Texas, • Gary Kasparov faces off in a series of chess with a religious cult. matches with an IBM computer. The man won 4-2.

1993

1996

1994

• Rwandan genocide begins in Africa. Close to 1 million people are slaughtered in 100 days. • Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed in the knee one month before the winter Olympics in an attack organized by rival skater Tonya Harding. Kerrigan won silver despite the incident. • “Friends” begins its 10-year run.

• Spice Girls promote “Girl Power!” • The Menendez brothers are convicted of killing their parents. • Clinton elected to a second term as president, defeating Bob Dole. • A devastating ice storm brings Spokane area to a standstill.

1997

• Dolly the sheep becomes the first cloned animal. • Golfer Tiger Woods quickly climbs to No. 1. • Comet Hale-Bop prompted 39 from the Heaven’s Gate cult to commit suicide. • People contract mad cow disease. • Princess Diana is killed in a car accident while fleeing paparazzi.

1998

• President Clinton embroiled in a sex scandal involving a White House intern. • Google is founded in California. • Pop music has a resurgence with the likes of *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. • Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire are in the running for a home run record, but McGwire gets the prize with 70 home runs in a season.

1999

• The Euro becomes the new European currency • Students go on a killing spree at Columbine High School. • Fear of the Y2K bug erupts.

Page 13

The county chronicles of 2000-2011 |

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

Pend Oreille County enters new millennium By Michelle Nedved Of The Miner

s Pend Oreille County ushered in the new millennium, technology moved the community forward. Fiber optics continues to this day to be the next frontier. New employment opportunities opened in the county, but have since been curtailed because of national trends. The economy took a dive in 2008 and affected operations at the Pend Oreille Mine in the northern end of the county, and the facility is still waiting for an upturn to start operations again. In February 2000, local aeronautics manufacturer Aerocell began production in Newport’s former Keytronics building. The company builds products for the aerospace industry and its opening meant an increase in jobs for the area. As 2001 dawned, the company quietly, but steadily, moved into production of both raw and finished composite components for airplanes. At the time, it employed 29 people. However, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which stinted productivity by large manufacturers like Boeing, seven employees were laid off. Aerocell officials said then they did intend to stay in Newport. In March 2000, the Pend Oreille PUD got into the telecommunications business with the passage of Gov. Gary Locke’s

FILE PHOTO

After nearly 50 years standing, Newport’s Sadie Halstead Middle School caught fire in a middayblaze in October 2002. The school’s multipurpose room and several adjoining rooms were destroyed or severely damaged. No one was injured in the blaze, which occurred on a Saturday.

telecommunications bill that enabled rural public utility districts to lease wholesale fiber optics. In February of the following year, the PUD for the first time sent light through its fiber optic lines to Spokane, as the second step toward realizing the goal of connecting Pend Oreille County to the world at hyper speed. The energy crisis of 2001, which affected most of the U.S. and Bonner County, didn’t leave its mark on Pend Oreille County at first. While electricity costs were on the rise because of demand in California, PUD managers

said there were no rate hikes expected in Pend Oreille. That sentiment changed later that year when in September, commissioners explored a rate hike while they tried to balance the budget. In June 2001, they voted to raise rates for the second year in a row. Along with the energy crisis, for the first time since the Box Canyon Dam was built, the PUD renewed its license during the early part of the 2000s. The process wasn’t so smooth. After nearly nine months of confidential meetings, negotiations between the PUD and stakeholders broke down. It was at first unclear whether the process was any further along than it was when agencies began negotiating. The PUD was posturing itself for a possible appeal in federal court to the mandatory conditions being set by federal agencies. The district estimated costs to be between $11.5 and $12 million per year over the life of a new license. Finally, in July 2005, after nearly a decade of planning, a 50-year license was issued for Box Canyon Dam. Part of the license requirements were the replacement of the dam’s four turbines, a project that would cost the PUD’s biggest customer, Ponderay Newsprint Company, a chunk of change. PNC challenged the PUD, questioning the need for a turbine upgrade. It went to court, but the newsprint company eventually dropped the challenge. The first turbine upgrade was completed

in 2011, a year behind schedule. In April 2009, the parties involved in mediation over other licensing issues came together for a formal signing ceremony at the Camas Center for Community Wellness on the Kalispel Tribe’s reservation. The tribe’s Wellness Center became a reality when work began in March 2006. The estimated cost was about $20 million and it was completed in early 2008. The center is home to medical and dental clinics, recreation facilities, three swimming pools, basketball courts, learning centers, daycare, a cafe, exercise facilities, meeting rooms and saunas. An array of events have been hosted there, including the county’s centennial dinner. Aside from its lawsuit with the PUD and weathering a shrinking newspaper industry, Ponderay Newsprint employees made the news again in 2008 when production workers formed the first union at the mill. Fifty-three percent of those workers voted in favor of organizing under the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers. As of late 2011, the margin of approval has grown over the past two years, as a contract has yet to be agreed upon between the union and management. Medical facilities in Pend Oreille County also changed over the past decade. In June 2001, River Mountain Village

FILE PHOTO

The flags at Centennial Plaza were lowered to half staff in memory of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Assisted Living opened its doors in Newport. Early on it saw low occupancy numbers and was a financial burden for the Pend Oreille Public Hospital No. 1, which operates the Newport Hospital. Newport Family Medicine, one of two clinics in Newport, was purchased by the hospital district that same year, although it remained at the same location on the corner of First and Scott, and its former owners, Drs. Al Peter Weir and Clayton Kersting remained on staff. Kersting is still practicing at the clinic.

Another economic driving force in Pend Oreille County, the Pend Oreille Mine, had a tumultuous decade. In January 2004, Teck Cominco American crews closed in on a full reopening of the mine, which had been shut down for more than 25 years. Located 3 miles north of Metaline Falls along the Pend Oreille River, the mine furnished a portion of the zinc and lead processed at the Teck Cominco Limited plants at Trail B.C., Canada. After operating for

SEE 2000s, 33

FILE PHOTO

Above: Box Canyon Dam, operated by the Pend Oreille Public Utility District, received its 50-year license after years of planning and negotiating. The federal government officially issued the new license in July 2005. FILE PHOTO

Left: Pend Oreille County held its first Lavender Festival in 2004 at the Kapelke Lavender farm on LeClerc Road. The festival continues every year but is now held at the Newport City Park the second weekend of July.

2000s at a glaNce • A gallon of gas in 2004 cost $1.85 • A new home cost $134,150 • A postage stamp cost 33 cents in 2000 • In 2009, a stamp cost 44 cents • The median household income was $40,343

2000

• The final Peanuts comic strip is published Feb. 13 following the death of its creator, Charles M. Schulz. • Napster becomes a popular site for music sharing. • Federal agents seize 6-year-old Elián González and he returns home to Cuba with his father, ending one of the most publicized custody battles. • Reality TV show “Survivor” debuts. • The USS Cole is damaged by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers in Yemen, killing 17 crew members. • No clear winner is declared in the close presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and Texas governor George W. Bush.

Page 14

Bush takes the majority in the electoral college but not the majority of the popular vote. • California experiences an energy crisis with a shortage of electricity caused by market manipulations and illegal shutdowns.

2001

• Seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt dies after an accident in the last turn of the Daytona 500. • Two hijacked jetliners collide with the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, killing nearly 3,000. • Envelopes containing anthrax are mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic U.S. Senators, killing five people. • The U.S. invades Afghanistan on Oct. 7. • The U.S. Patriot Act is signed into law. • The iPod is released, changing media consumption and the music industry. • ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ is released in theaters, starting a series of successful films. • Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and a criminal

investigation follows.

2002

• The No Child Left Behind education act is signed into law. • NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe maps the surface of Mars and finds large ice deposits. • Serena Williams defeats her sister Venus Williams in the French Open. • Beltway snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo are arrested. • The Homeland Security Act is signed.

2003

• Space Shuttle Columbia explodes on reentry to Earth’s atmosphere. • The Iraq War begins on March 19. • The Human Genome Project is completed. • The MySpace social networking site is launched. • Martha Stewart is indicted for using privileged investment information. • “The Green River Killer” Gary Ridgway confesses to murdering 48 women in the 1980s and 90s. • There is a mad cow disease outbreak in Washington state.

2004

• Facebook is launched, eventually taking over as the most popular social networking site, attracting more than 800 million users within seven years.

•

Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse in Iraq is revealed. • States begin to legalize same-sex marriage, other states ban it. • Lance Armstrong wins an unprecedented sixth consecutive Tour de France cycling title.

2005

• YouTube is founded for online videos. • Pole John Paul II dies with Pope Benedict XVI succeeding him. • Hurricane Katrina devastates Louisiana and Mississippi; 80 percent of New Orleans floods.

2006

• There is a scare around bird flu. • Ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. • The easy-to-use Nintendo Wii creates a whole new gaming demographic.

2007

• The iPhone hits streets. • A student shoots and kills more than 30 students at Virginia Tech before taking his own life. • Film and television writers go on strike.

2008

• Stock markets plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the subprime mortgage crisis. • Fidel Castro resigns as president of

Cuba. • Barack Obama is elected America’s first African-American president. • America goes crazy for teenage vampires as the first “Twilight” movie is released.

2009

• Twitter becomes the social networking place to follow celebrities. • Grassroots Tea Party rallies spring up nationwide with people upset over taxes. • The swine flu is a global pandemic. • Economic recession continues despite the federal government’s $780 billion stimulus plan.

2010

• A 7-magnitude earthquake hits Haiti. It’s one of the deadliest quakes on record. A month later, an 8.8 quake hits Chile, one of the largest quakes in history. • Apple releases the iPad, and several similar tablet computers follow from other companies. • An oil platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the Horizon oil spill, one of the largest in history.

2011

• The Arab Spring uprising occurs with protests in Egypt, Libya and other countries. • A 9.1-magnitued earthquake and a tsunami devastate Japan. • An estimated 2 billion people watch the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. • Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden is killed by American military in Pakistan.

The Newport Miner Chronicles

A Monthly Publication of The Miner Celebrating 100 years of Pend Oreille County

THE VOICE OF PEND OREILLE COUNT Y SINCE 1901

Newspaper arrives before most institutions By Fred WillenBrock Of The Miner

efore most businesses (except the tavern) or organized government,

printers looking to make a buck out West packed a press on a wagon to the center of any growing group of pilgrims. They made money printing advertising, legal notices and announcements with some news slipping in. Community newspapers evolved both in content and technology over the decades. The Newport Miner followed the mold in the 1800s and throughout history to what it is today.

The Newport Miner is believed to have started as the Newport Pilot in 1897. Some historical writers say these were the same publication, but others – noting the change in numbering – think not. If the 1898 issues were not missing, we would probably have the answer. M. P. Stevens was the editor/publisher of The Pilot in 1897 and 1898. W. R. Herbert was the editor/publisher of The Miner from 1899 to July 30, 1900, when he took a position with a job printing house in Spokane. The Miner on July 7, 1900, announced that the Talmadge Brothers had taken charge of the paper and would continue its publication. Warren E. Talmadge was listed as editor. During these early days, the newspaper was printed by a few people on a letter press. Simply put, type was hand gathered one letter at a time with wood engraving for art. With ink rolled on, it was pressed onto one sheet of paper at a time. There were various sizes and types of presses but the principal was the same. It was a slow and labor-intensive process. But one of these presses and someone who knew how to use them provided the only mass communication for the region. The magic of this seemed to lure individuals to The Miner as it changed hands many times, or more likely was the fact that there were easier ways to make money in the growing town. Brothers Warren and Charles Talmadge bought four large parcels of land, known as government lots, from the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1898 and proceeded to plat “Talmadge’s Addition to the Town of

Newport, Idaho,” which essentially was all of downtown Newport, Wash. They operated the Newport, Wash., Land Company in a small building near the Great Northern Railway tracks. The building also housed The Miner for a time. Talmadge relinquished the position of editor to E. W. Burrows on Feb. 12, 1901, but a month later, on Feb. 9, 1901, H. S. Swenson became editor. Swenson and Clyde C. Henton were copublishers from Aug. 10, 1901 until June 20, 1907. Hal Talmadge was the editor from June 20, 1907, to Sept. 21, 1907. An old article states that Henton planned to install a second-hand press he had purchased in 1905, but he died before the project was completed. In 1907, to make way for the new Idaho & Washington Northern Railroad, The Miner built a new office further north on Washington Avenue. A few weeks earlier, on Sept. 21, 1907, Fred L. Wolf from Elkader, Iowa, had taken over as publisher, a position he would hold for 38 years. Wolf would prove to be one of Pend Oreille County’s best promoters and benefactors. Sometime in the 1950s the first big innovation in printing arrived in most print shops like The Miner. Before that, some changes in the way type was set occurred. Instead of gathering it by hand, a machine would put the lead letters into the form for printing, following a crude typewriter. Linotype made the job faster, but by today’s standards it was like a telegraph to an iPhone. Back in Wolf’s day, since it was so time consuming for a few people, including the publisher himself, to set the type, they worked with what news they had each day and printed it. So

FILE PHOTO

Newport Miner publisher Fred Wolf operates a linotype machine in The Miner office in the early 1900s.

sometimes a story about a social event would end up on the front page while a big news story was found inside. For most of his tenure, The Miner was a black and white sea of words with little art or pictures. Many of his personal crusades made the front page of The Miner. Wolf has been called the “Father of Pend Oreille County.” He was an all-around citizen activist since first coming to Newport to take the helm of the paper. The county division was his first major local cause. He also served three terms in the state House of Representatives, starting in 1919.

FILE PHOTO

Above: Newport Miner Publisher Hal Talmadge is pictured in the Miner Office. FILE PHOTO

Left: The Miner staff and customers pose in front of The Miner office on Washington Avenue next to the current library.

History oF tHe Miner • 1897 - The Newport Pilot begins its run with M. P. Stevens as editor • 1899 - Aug. 19, The first issue of The Newport Miner is published with W. R. Herbert as publisher • 1900 - July 7, the Talmadge brothers take the helm of the paper • 1901 - Feb. 12, E. W. Burrows takes over • 1901 - Feb. 9, H. S. Swenson buys the paper with Clyde C. Henton helping out • 1907 - June 20, Hal Talmadge is publisher • 1907 - Sept. 21, Fred Wolf begins his 38-year career of running The Miner • 1945 - Dec. 1, Freeman Frost takes over • 1964 - Oct. 1, Gerald E. Carpenter buys the paper • 1977 - Jim and Sherry Hubbart are co-publishers • 1986 - September, Fred and Susan Willenbrock buy the paper

Page 15

He pushed for an improved highway through Newport including a bridge over the river, and all the way into the 1950s, he set off the first blast to build Albeni Falls Dam and lived to see its completion. Wolf passed away Oct. 29, 1957, at Sacred Heart hospital in Spokane at the age of 80. “Fred Wolf had done more for this town and county than any other individual in its history, and the list of his achievements for the community will probably never be equaled,” wrote 1950s Miner publisher Freeman Frost. Wolf had sold The Miner at the end of 1945 ending a 38year career with The Miner. The new owner, Freeman S. Frost, was from Gooding, Idaho. Local pictures started appearing more often with the change of ownership and the end of the war. The change was noted a couple months into Frost’s ownership. Offset printing became the most dominant form of commercial printing in the

1950s. This was in part due to industry improvements in paper, inks and plates. These improvements allowed for greater speed and plate durability. The majority of modern day printing is still done using the offset printing process. A cylinder was wrapped with a metal plate that was pressed against ink and water rollers. Just below the metal plate cylinder was a blanket cylinder. Below that was an impression cylinder, which fed the paper against the blanket cylinder so that the image could be transferred. While the basic process in offset printing has remained the same, some modern innovations include twosided printing and using large rolls of paper fed into the machines. Also direct to plate from computer technology is now used. Freeman S. Frost was editor/ publisher from Dec. 1. 1945, to Oct. 1, 1964. Featured in the book “Pend Oreille Profiles” by Lee Taylor, Frost said during the Depression

when he was forced to leave college and go back to work, he sold newspaper subscriptions part time. “Customers paid for subscriptions with chickens, vegetables, old roosters and beetle-stung potatoes. I did my own cooking and never asked for any pay as long as I had enough to get by. “Mostly women subscribed to the weekly papers. I’ll never forget the husband who phoned and said, ‘my wife has a subscription with your paper, but she died last week and won’t be needing it any longer.” Gerald and Beverly Carpenter purchased The Miner from Frost in 1965. They cited pressure from other interests as a chief reason for their decision to end their 12year proprietorship in 1977. Carpenter had been active in real estate development and taught full time at Spokane Community College. Co-publishers Jim and Sherry Hubbart from California took over from the Carpenters in 1977. Jim, 50 at the time, was

Long-time empLoyee worked through changes in technoLogy, pubLishers by don gronning Of The Miner

n 1961, Lee Smith was just out of high school when he heard about an opening

at The Miner. “I was working at Pat’s Picture shop at the time,” Smith remembers. The ad salesman for The Miner came by and suggested that Smith go down and apply for a job. So Smith did. That began a career in printing that lasted more than four decades, all at The Newport Miner. Smith saw the newspaper industry change dramatically in the time that he was at The Miner. He worked for four different publishers. “When I first started, I was a printer’s devil,” Smith said. A printer’s devil was an apprentice who did a variety of tasks, from mixing ink to taking out the trash. Building a newspaper was far different in those days. Individual letters were cast in metal and arranged in lines. The lines were adjusted for space and then put into a rack that made up the page. The letter-filled rack would weigh as much as 50 pounds. Ink was rolled over the top and the page was printed on newsprint. “We printed our own paper in those days,” Smith said. They would hand feed the pages into the printer, one sheet at a time. Then they would turn the page over and print the other side. “Most of the time we printed eight-page papers,” Smith said. Adding more pages meant quite a bit of work, involving two extra people. Reporters and correspondents would hand write their stories. They would then go to the typesetter, who would type the stories on a linotype machine. The linotype machine was 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Typists would type on a keyboard that bore little resemblance to today’s keyboard. The top three rows were for lowercase letters, with the next three rows for capitals and another row for dingbats, the ornamental characters that were used for spacing and decoration. The letters were grouped so that commonly used words could be easily typed, such as the word “the,” which could be typed with one movement. By the time Smith retired in 2003, printing of the newspaper bore little resemblance to the way it was made four decades earlier. A few years after Smith started, reporters started writing with manual typewriters. Each desk had a bottle of rubber cement and reporters would cut and paste their stories together, handing off to the typesetter, who typed them again. Jump forward to the early 1990s, when reporters and editors moved to McIntosh computers. The paper was first laid out electronically, using a page layout program, although in the end the page was pasted onto layout sheets and a negative was shot of the whole page. Digital cameras replaced the film cameras and eventually the whole paper was laid out and electronically transmitted to the printer.

Page 16

Smith also worked for four of The Miner’s publishers. “All the owners were funny,” Smith said. He started out working for Freeman Frost. “He took a lot of photos,” Smith said. He remembers the annual Christmas pictures of the Frost beagle, with its long ears. Frost was just an ordinary person, Smith said. “He really wasn’t like a boss,” he said. Frost would take a month off in the summer. “He’d just tell us to make sure the paper got out,” Smith said. Frost sold the paper to Jerry Carpenter in the mid 1960s. “He was into real estate,” Smith remembers. “He would sell five-acre parcels for $25 a month.” Carpenter also taught community college courses, including FILE PHOTO courses in Lee Smith worked at The Miner for journalism. 40 years. Since he was away so much, his wife and son handled much of the newspaper business, Smith said. “One day I took off my apron and told him, ‘you try this on, I quit,’” Smith said. “He asked why. I told him I had too many bosses.” In the end, Smith didn’t quit. The paper was sold to Jim and Sherry Hubbart in 1977. Hubbart was a big city newspaper and ad man from California. He wasn’t afraid of controversy, and the stories reflected it. He wasn’t always beloved by some of the subjects of his stories. That didn’t bother him much, though, Smith said. “He always said, ‘if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen,’” Smith remembers. “He would say, ‘this is my paper and I’ll run it the way I want to.’” The current publisher, Fred Willenbrock, took over in 1986. Smith said the first time he met Willenbrock, he thought he was a new reporter. Smith didn’t know the paper was for sale. In fact, every time the paper changed hands, the staff was among the last to know, he said. “It was always a shock to the employees,” he said. But Willenbrock was indeed the new publisher, Smith’s fourth. “He was the best editorial writer of all of them,” Smith said. No matter whose name was on the masthead as publisher, Smith said the paper was really owned by the community. “The Newport Miner belongs to Pend Oreille County,” Smith said.

A ‘Miner’ mix up More than 112 years ago, the first issue of The Newport Miner appeared on the streets of Newport and around Stevens County. (There was still no Pend Oreille County at the time.) Or at least that is the indication from early copies of The Miner and other early historical writings. There are no known remaining copies of the first issue. Writings at the Pend Oreille County Historical Museum in Newport state that the first issue was dated Aug. 19, 1899. The first issues that are known to exist are both at the museum – June 30, 1900, and July 7, 1900. These are the last two issues of the first year of publication. The second year of publication began on July 14, 1900, making one question the authenticity of the August startup date. An article published in The Miner back in 1945 stated that the first year of publication was 1902, and that apparently has been accepted as the actual date, even though published information showed otherwise. Most weekly newspapers are numbered by the year, with the first issue known as Volume 1, No. 1 and the second issue a veteran daily newspaper reporter with an eye for news and photography. He had been director of creative services for an advertising agency before bringing the family to Newport. Sherry, then 36, had a background in retailing, sales and business administration. They also took over The Gem State Miner, which circulates in West Bonner County, Idaho. It was started by Carpenter’s 21-year-old son Eric. They continued the tradition of Miner publishers, pushing their adopted communities toward better economic days. Both were involved behind the scenes from recruiting a newsprint mill to the community to filling the empty keyboard manufacturing building in Newport. Community newspaper technology was really starting to evolve. Most of it was in the “pre-press” work. Primitive computers were used to make type on photosensitive paper, replacing the hot metal. Stories at The Miner were first typed on manual Royal typewriters and someone would then enter the words on film. It was pasted on paper and photographed by a giant camera. The negative made the plate for the press. This meant that better quality and timeliness of news was increasing in rural communities The Miner covered. Jim Hubbart, who also

being Volume 1, No. 2, on through issue 52. The Miner uses a slight variation, going with “First Year” instead of Volume 1. This is possibly a chicken versus the egg situation, since most of The Miner’s numbering errors occurred in the first seven or eight years. Assuming the July date is correct, what should be the Tenth Year, No. 1, is actually listed as the Eighth Year. An exhaustive study as to where the errors were made has not been done because of the fragile condition of those early publications, but this accounts for the lost years on The Newport Miner’s nameplate. But actually, there is still another error. The Miner “Year” now flips over in late February, instead of in July or August. This is because publishers faithfully have included 52 weekly issues in each year of publication. But every two to four years, one of the publication dates falls on a “Fifth Wednesday.” When that happened, there should have been 53 issues for that year. Over the better part of a century, The Miner’s new year has backed up nearly five months.

served as editor, was not afraid of controversy or covering hot stories. In a note to Hubbart, Robert Mathews, the infamous leader of a white supremacist group,

Hubbart wrote: “1985 was a year that began in anticipation and ended in apprehension.” When Fred and Susan Willenbrock, both 34 at the time, arrived in Newport

FILE PHOTO

Freeman Frost became publisher of The Miner in 1945.

The Order, killed by FBI agents, wrote: “Over the past several years you have shown journalistic integrity and courage through your willingness to treat my letters fairly and impartially even though they were extremely controversial …” The Miner staff had earned awards during the decade. One judge wrote: “It is obvious J. E. Hubbart is not afraid of controversy.” In what was his last “Year in Review,” column before retiring in January 1986,

FILE PHOTO

Beverly and Gerald Carpenter purchased The Miner from Freeman Frost in 1965.

to take the reins of The Newport Miner, they didn’t know if they were in their new community’s low point or high point. The couple from the Seattle area was about to own their first newspaper. They officially took over the business in September 1986. Around them, Keytronic was selling their building, the paper mill was on hold, Albeni’s sawmill was on strike, federal agents were still chasing white supremacists around and unemployment was in double digits. Willenbrock was a University of Washington journalism graduate who had managed newspapers in the Seattle area. He said Hubbart told him this was the newsiest place he had ever worked. Susan had worked in education and youth programs and was only planning to help out part time at The Miner. She has never given up full time work in most departments. Husband and wife teams were once common in all community newspapers, including The Miner. When the Willenbrocks took over, Hubbart had been SEE MINER PAGE 33

Local businesses and organizations tell their stories

Page 17

Owned by the people of Pend Oreille County I

n 2006, the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Box Canyon Dam on the north flowing Pend Oreille River was celebrated. Although the hydroelectric project represents the largest accomplishment to date for the Pend Oreille Public Utility District, their have been many more in the past, present and to come in the future. The PUD officially is Public Utility District No. 1 of Pend Oreille County. The PUD was formed in 1936, when public power was still controversial, by a vote of the citizens of Pend Oreille County. Many people could not see the need for a locally-owned public power company, but a few of the leaders who promoted PUD’s formation believed that it eventually would produce strong economic benefits for the county. V.P. Campbell, one of the PUD’s original directors, was an especially strong advocate of public power. Action was taken to extend electric service throughout the county, but it became evident that obtaining a loan from the new Rural

Feb. 1, 1952. upgraded it. Harza was the design consultant, The PUD then attempted to purwith H.A. Sewell and his son, J.A. chase all the other power systems in Sewell, of Newport, as the resident the county. Mountain States Electric engineers for the PUD. C.K. Willey sold its systems at Newport, Dalkena from Harza was the project engineer and Diamond Lake in 1949. These and J.A. (Jim) Sewell was the assislines were soon modernized and tant project engineer. extended. The City of Ione sold its Construction bids were opened generation plant and distribution on March 27, 1952. Contracts for system to the PUD in 1948, and the turbines, generators and transformPUD purchased the Metaline Falls ers were set on July 21, 1952, and Light and Water Co. in 1948. the construcWashtion contract ington “PUD’s organizers took a chance was awarded to Water and it really paid off for the people Pacific BridgePower General-Shea on sold its of Pend Oreille County.” Aug. 11, 1952. Usk and In all, about 25 Cusick Bob Geddes contracts were generatPUD manager awarded. ing plant J. M. Fountain, and F. R. Jordan and F. W. Schwab were distribution lines in 1953. the PUD commissioners when the Because the PUD had formerly dam was constructed. Dedication took acquired all properties and rights on place on Saturday, July 21, 1956, in the Pend Oreille River between Box conjunction with the Ione Downriver Canyon and the Canadian border, Days celebration. Campbell became locked in a battle The Box Canyon project is owned by with Seattle City Light, which had laid the people of Pend Oreille County and claim to the future site of Boundoperated by Pend Oreille Public Utility ary Dam. A decade long court case

COURTESY PHOTO/PEND OREILLE PUD

Linemen truck, Circa 1940s Electrification Administration would be easier as a cooperative than as a PUD. So Campbell and other PUD members organized the Pend Oreille Electric Cooperative, which operated independent of the PUD. The two companies worked together to bring electricity to all of Pend Oreille County. In 1955, the Pend Oreille Electric Cooperative merged with Inland Power & Light, which continued operations in the county until 1991, when the PUD purchased all of Inland’s electric service systems in the county. Campbell, who left the PUD board in 1939 to become manager of the cooperative, returned to the Pend Oreille PUD in late 1947 and within a year, PUD was buying existing systems and building new power lines. In 1948, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was persuaded to build a power line to the north end of the county to serve the mines and the towns, where the cooperative, which was only allowed to serve rural areas, could not provide electricity. The PUD and the cooperative worked together, and the PUD carried power on their lines from the BPA substation in the north end of the county to the cooperative’s lines in that area. The PUD purchased the existing Sullivan Creek and Metaline Falls systems which supplied the cement plant and the mines, with any excess power sold for use in the town. New lines were built to the Canadian border, Sullivan Lake and Ione. Jim Sewell said PUD purchased the Ione Municipal system and vastly

COURTESY PHOTO/PEND OREILLE PUD

Railroad crossing over Pend Oreille River at the future site of Box Canyon Dam

District. No local, state, or federal tax dollars were used in the dam’s construction. The PUD issued construction bonds that were paid off in 1995. Box Canyon now produces approximately 453,000 megawatt-hours per year. Most of the Box Canyon’s low-cost power goes to Ponderay Newsprint. PUD’s general service load of 258,906 mwh (for all customers except Ponderay Newsprint), is supplied primarily by Boundary Dam. Under the terms of Boundary’s license, PUD has the right to purchase up to 48 megawatts of power for local usage at cost. The cost of Boundary power is much less than the smaller Box Canyon project. Box Canyon is currently undergoing a major turbinegenerator upgrade, which will increase the power generation and hydraulic capacity of the dam, as well as provide fish friendly features. The PUD is dedicated to its stewardship of the Pend Oreille River and its tributaries. The District’s Natural Resources Department, in collaboration with other agencies, oversees a wide variety of studies and improvement projects for the improvement of wildlife and fish habitat. Fisheries and flow studies are ongoing to select the best location for fish passage facilities.

COURTESY PHOTO/PEND OREILLE PUD

Looking over the Box Canyon site before the start of construction were Jim Sewell, left, H.A. Sewell, and V.P. Campbell.

ensued, and was finally settled by the United States Supreme Court in favor of Seattle City Light. However, the PUD was granted, under the terms of the Boundary license, the right to purchase up to 48 megawatts of power at cost. Boundary Dam began generating electricity in 1967. PUD’s next major expansion was construction of its own electrical transmission line between Box Canyon and Newport, connecting to the BPA at the Pine Street Substation in Oldtown, completed in 1995. PUD’s current general manager, Bob Geddes, said the original organizers, “showed great foresight” in forming the district. Geddes said, “They took a chance and it really paid off for the people of Pend Oreille County.” There have been six PUD managers: Henry Sudhoff (August 1946 to October 1947), V.P. Campbell (1947-1967), George Kennett (1967-1982), James McCampbell (1983-1990), Larry Weis (1990-2000) and Robert Geddes (2000-present). Constructed from 1952 to 1956 by the Pend Oreille PUD, Box Canyon was the first major dam constructed by a public utility district in the nation. The dam cost $20,326,180.22 to construct. In 1950, the PUD applied to what was then known as the Federal Power Commission for a preliminary permit for the Box Canyon site. A court decision affirmed that local PUDs could build major dams and sell the power that was excess to their needs. The commission granted a license for the Box Canyon project COURTESY PHOTO/PEND OREILLE PUD

Original PUD office in Newport. Although several additions have been made, the building is still used today

P Page 18

end Oreille Public Utility District

(509) 447-3137 • (509) 446-3137 • (509) 242-3137 www.popud.com N. 130 Washington, Newport, WA

Newport Hospital and Health Services advances from 1921 1921 - 30 families agreed to form an organization to be known as the Newport Community Hospital Association 1923 - The original Newport Community Hospital was a frame building. Total construction costs were about $11,500 1955 - A proposition was placed before the voters of County Commissioner District No. 1 and No. 2 that created a hospital district

he Newport Community Hospital was founded in 1921 through the efforts of many public-spirited Citizens. The hospital site was donated by the Panhandle Lumber Company. Mrs Agnes Presnell Eddy operated the hospital on a lease-rental arrangement until 1947 when the association itself took over. In November, 1954, Pend Oreille Public Hospital District No. 1 was formed with the backing of the directors of the hospital for the purpose of building a new community hospital. A new 22-bed hospital is under construction, financed by a bond issue and by a Hill, Burton grant When the new hospital is completed next February, It Will be leased by the district to the hospital association for operation. The existing hospital will be converted to a nursing home. Commissioners of the hospital district are John Duncan, chairman, a farmer; Miss Sadie Halstead, secretary-treasurer, school teacher, and A. V. Shanks, banker.

General hospital Established 1921

1955 - Dr. Morrow opens practice in downtown Newport

26 beds 5 bassinets Operated by a charitable, non-profit organization President: Lloyd A. Eyrich, lawyer Vice-pres: Clarence Sherman, mortician Sec’y-treas: Ted Vanairsdale, hardware merchant Manager: Kathryn V. Bush, R.N.

1958 - Federal grants and district general obligation bonds financed the construction of a new hospital, which was operational in May 1964 - The Newport Community Hospital Association turned the management of the hospital and nursing home over to District Commissioners 1968 - A 36 bed nursing home was constructed and the old hospital building was demolished after 45 years of faithful service

1921

1972 - Ed Brown joined Dr. Morrow’s practice, New clinic building erected at the Scott Street location

1977 - Pend Oreille Pines Nursing Home became licensed as a separate entity from Newport Community Hospital, Dr. Weir joins the practice

1987 - Dr. Morrow retires

1858 St. Joseph Hospital established in Vancouver, Washington Territory, by the Sisters of Charity of Providence from Montreal First permanent hospital In the Pacific Northwest. 1863 First hospital in King County opened by Dr. David S Maynard in Seattle and operated by him until his death in 1873. 1886 Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane, founded by Sisters of Charity of Providence. 1889 City County Hospital established in Tacoma; in 1897 became the Pierce County Hospital. 1891 Eastern State Hospital, Medical Lake, opened with transfer of 20 patients from Western State Hospital 1908 The Pulmonary Hospital of the City of Seattle, first tuberculosis hospital in the Pacific Northwest, was established by endowment by the pioneer Denny family. Since 1921 the hospital has been known as Riverton Hospital. 1914 Edgecliff Sanatorium established in Spokane for care of Eastern Washington tuberculosis patients. 1921 Auburn General Hospital was opened by Dr. Owen Taylor. Newport Community Hospital opened in Newport.

1976 - Fourteen beds were added to the nursing home

1982 - A 2,400 square foot addition to Newport Community Hospital was completed to provide better facilities for laboratory, respiratory therapy, physical therapy and EKG services

Washington Hospitals First 100 Years 1858-1958

1923 Omak Memorial Hospital was started by Dr. Lorenzo S. Dewey 1940 Mount Carmel Hospital. Colville, opened by Dominican Sisters of Washington

1958

1945 Legislature passed law governing formation and functions of public hospital districts. 1945 Other hospitals opened: Grays Harbor Community Hospital, Aberdeen; Columbia Basin Hospital, Ephrata; New Riverview Hospital, Raymond; Ferry County Hospital, Republic.

1990 - Dr. Kersting joins practice, Dr. Benson - General Surgeon opens practice 1994 - Dr. Smith joins to cover ER 1996 - Drs. Weir & Kersting purchased the clinic

1946 State’s first medical school established at University of Washington. Dr. Edward L. Turner, first dean.

1997 - The District occupied a newly constructed addition acute care hospital building and remodeled Long Term Care, Dr. Benko hired to replace Dr. Smith

1946 The post-war expansion started: Doctors Hospital, Tacoma; Valley Memorial Hospital. SunnySide

2001 - The District acquired Family Medicine Newport rural health clinic

1984

2002 - Dr. Radke, Dr. Jones and Dr. Lewis join the practice

1948 A big year for new hospitals in small communities: Lake Chelan Community Hospital, Chelan; Garfield County Memorial Hospital, Pomeroy; Nelems Memorial Hospital, Snoqualmie 1949 State legislature passed law for licensure of practical nurses.

2003 - The District purchased River Mountain Village, a 42 bed Assisted Living facility

1951 Legislature passed laws requiring licensing of maternity homes, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes

2005 - Dr. Kraus, joins the practice 2006 - Dr. Weir retires

1955 LegiSlature passed general hospital licensing law.

2008 - Dr. Ragsdale joins clinic practice 2009 - Dr. Chavis, General Surgeon joins the medical staff

Today

1957 Tri-County Community Hospital, Deer Park, opened With basic support from family membership in a Cooperative. 1957 Under construction: public-hospital district hospitals in Newport, Metaline Falls, Mount Vernon and Othello; University of Washington teaching and research hospital, Seattle.

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

(509) 447-2441

VISIT US ON THE WEB! WWW.PHD1.ORG

NEWPORT HOSPITAL & HEALTH SERVICES DELIVERING EXCELLENCE IN HEALTHCARE. . . A TRADITION OF QUALITY AND COMMITMENT

Page 19

From humble beginnings to state-of-the-art operations 1950’s

Bert Vaagen with Dean Vaagen

1960’s

Site of Planer

1980’s

1970’s

1990 to today

uring our recent history, the company has had to close some mills but also opened some. We have also continued to modernize and develop state of the art operations. In May of 1995 the Ione sawmill was closed and in the Spring of 2003 the Republic mill was closed.

Squaw Creek Mill leveled by weekend fire

In 2006 the Usk chip mill was purchased and a small-log sawmill added. Our state of the art HewSaw for our small log processing was purchased in 1988. We ran both small and large logs until 1989 at the Colville mill. The revolutionary crane to move logs at the Colville mill was purchased in 1993. Today the Usk mill employs 38 and the Colville mill 124.

“Thinning the forest for future forest health,” – President Duane Vaagen, about his vision of the future of the company in this region.

Usk Mill

Colville Mill

Usk Office • 888 445-1732 Colville Office • 509-684-5071

Page 20

100 years of railroad in Pend Oreille

n 2009, the Port of Pend Oreille owned by the people of Pend Oreille County celebrated 30 years of service.

It also celebrated the 100th anniversary of its railroad line between Newport and Metaline Falls, which is still in use. This is also a great accomplishment in light of all the small railroad shutdowns around the country. They also represent the backbone of the county’s economy during this long history. The railroad line, originally known as the Idaho and Washington Northern (I&WN), was the “single most important factor in the early development of Pend Oreille County, according to John M. Finney’s article in the 1986 “Big Smoke” publication. Economic hard times have been a plague to the rail line since the early days but it always survives to move vast amounts of materials from this rural region to markets. It’s changed hands twice since Frederick Albert Blackwell built the line. Now in the

publically owned Port’s hands, the major shipments in Pend Oreille County go to and from the Ponderay Newsprint Co. paper mill in Usk. They also operate the railroad between Newport and Sandpoint to service the lumber mills along the way and maintain the connection between Pend Oreille County and the world.

Laying the line

The track was laid while Newport was still part of Stevens County and Colville was the center of local government. A

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

An I&WN train waits at the depot in Newport. The line from Newport to Ione was built in 1909, and POVA trains still use the route today. This photo dates from after 1910, when the depot building, left, was built.

expensive one. The 9.5-mile route from Ione to Metaline Falls cost $1 million. Two tunnels were required – a 660-foot cut through the rock at Vail, and another 150 feet at Wolf Creek – as were bridges and trestles that required stabilizing the steep clay hillsides. Blackwell’s major plans for the final portion of the track fell in line with plans to build a cement plant in Metaline Falls, a project announced in the spring of 1909 by the Inland Empire Portland Cement Co. At the same time, plans were announced to dam Sullivan Lake in order to power the cement plant. The railroad never extend-

ed into Canada although some dreamed of it happening.

Rail changes hands From the beginning, there were rumor’s that Blackwell’s I&WN would sell to the Milwaukee Railroad, according to Finney’s article. After just a few years in operation, Blackwell sold. He was unable to make interest payments on construction bonds due to a continued slump in the lumber market and a four-month delay of getting the cement plant up and running. Blackwell stepped down as president and sold his stocks in 1913, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad took over operations. The Milwaukee Railroad bought the property in a 1916 auction and continued

operating the line until 1979 when managers decided it was no longer economically feasible. They sold it to the citizens of Pend Oreille County, who had voted to create the Port of Pend Oreille that would operate what is now known as the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA). Port districts were created by Washington state lawmakers to help with economic development where private enterprise wasn’t sufficient. In the early days, the port continued operating the line to serve the Metaline Falls cement plant – which became the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. – and the Louisiana Pacific Corp. lumber mill at Ione – which was later purchased and operated

COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

Last train ride from Newport. COURTESY PHOTO|PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

Crews work on the I&WN rail line from Newport to Metaline Falls. The area swelled as more then 2,000 workers, most of them foreign laborers, came to work on the $3.5 million project 100 years ago.

well-respected businessman, F.A. Blackwell, who had financial backing from the east coast took initiative to build the 60-mile rail line to the far northern reaches of the county. The Newport to Metaline Falls line was an expansion of Blackwell’s rail from Grand Junction, Idaho, to Newport, which he built to haul logs from his North Idaho timber lands. Phase 2 of the line was a 51-mile stretch from Newport to Ione. The $2.5 million project included major work such as a high piling trestle across Ashenfelter Bay north of Newport – which has since been torn down – and a 1,141-foot tunnel at Blueslide – through which the trains still pass today thanks to some major renovation over the years. Steamboats carried construction supplies for the railroad construction project down the Pend Oreille River. By spring, there were 2,200 workers assigned to the project, Finney’s article said. Many of them were foreign laborers who slept on the floor of the Brink Saloon when they arrived in Newport. Blackwell treated his employees well, but one incident resulted in 56 Bulgarian workers losing their jobs. Sept. 30, 1909, the crew refused to begin work. When management demonstrated power by firing their interpreter, the workers attacked. Two men, plus the interpreter were fined for the disturbance. Phase 3 of the project was an

by Vaagen Brothers Lumber in the 1980s. The mill closed and since has been torn down. Cement shipments went to Spokane, Pasco and Missoula, and the lumber was shipped nationwide during the glory days of the railroad. For the first five years, the port leased the line to Kyle Railways before taking over operations itself. The cement plant has closed, and the mill in Ione was torn down. Now the northern-most stretch of the POVA line is generally used only for the Lions scenic train rides. On a few occasions in recent years, cement shipments have been delivered for storage at the old plant. With the lone shipper in Pend Oreille County being the Ponderay Newsprint Company in Usk, the Port expanded its service by leasing a small section of Burlington Northern Santa Fe track from Newport to Dover. The line gives the port the ability to ship for lumber mills along the route. It also gets Ponderay Newsprint’s cargo – newsprint going out and recycled papers and sometimes chemicals going in to the plant. The rail traffic must go through Sandpoint to connect with the national rail system since the tracks to Spokane were taken out. The Port has also added some other endeavors including rebuilding locomotives and freight cars. The Port is proud to continue its important role as the engine of industry in the county, without ever using tax revenue from the citizens of Pend Oreille County.

Modern train makes journey of 1909 BELOW: A PEND OREILLE VALLEY RAILROAD (POVA) TRAIN PULLED ALONG THE ROUTE CARVED OUT 100 YEARS AGO IN AN ANNIVERSARY TRIP FROM IONE TO METALINE FALLS JULY 10, 2009. PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND OTHERS JOINED FOR THE RIDE, THEN PARTOOK IN A LUNCHEON AT THE PORT OF PEND OREILLE OFFICE IN CELEBRATION OF THE PORT’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY. THE TRAIN WAS PULLED BY POVA 8310, A 1957 DIESEL ENGINE THAT WAS REBUILT IN 1977. IT WAS REPAINTED WITH LOGOS OF THE IW&N AND MILWAUKEE ROAD, THAT PREVIOUSLY OPERATED THE LINE.

MINER PHOTO|JANELLE ATYEO

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

Port of Pend oreille

PEND OREILLE VALLEY RAILROAD

1981 Black Road Usk, WA 99180

(509) 445-1090

Page 21

Selkirk Supply owners throughout long history are proud of service to community

his region has had many small business

owners that worked hard and long to serve their community. Without them the quality of life would have been much worse during the past 100 years. There is one that started in Newport but is now across the bridge in Oldtown that is just such an example. Like many of these businesses, it has usually taken a husband and wife team to keep them going. And several of those teams over the years.

Today Jim & Patty Perry purchased Selkirk Ace in November of 2005 from Leslie Allen-Litton. They said it was a great opportunity for them to “come home to Pend Oreille County”. Patty was raised north of Cusick where her great grandparents homesteaded in the 1890’s and some of her family lives today. She noted being told by these homesteading relatives that their place was the stop over for those traveling from Ione to Newport. Jim retired after 38 years in the timber industry to bring his management and love of working with people to Selkirk. Patty works as the Administrative Director for the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho but still spends every chance she can at the store. Jim’s the guy with the reins. He said, “We’re excited to have a business of our own. It allows us the opportunity to support small town America. Recognizing the strength in a well-established business, our goal is to go from good to great! It’s what our community deserves and offers the opportunity to meet folks needs locally”. With great employees who are well trained and ready to help, lots of improvements are in place. An electronic sign board for advertising went up – it also allows recognition of birthdays, anniversaries,

Jim & Bobbie Ward started Selkirk Supply

and community events, inventory has doubled --- and offers an enlarged & enhanced sporting goods department, & more recently Selkirk has added a craftsman tool line and Husqvarna lawnmowers, chainsaws, weed trimmers & other power tools. To make life easier for our customers, new services include selling hunting & fishing licenses for both Washington & Idaho, and invasive species stickers for boats using Idaho waters. The 20-year-old computer system was replaced with a new system, allowing faster checkout for customers, easier ordering, and better inventory control – to keep items fully stocked. The Perry’s have also addressed long-time environmental issues by installing regulatory compliant sewer & water systems, and added a new coat of paint to the store. Growing Pend Oreille County and knitting us together is so important; the next steps have added weekly delivery to Ione & Metaline Falls and a focused outreach to other businesses serving their needs as we can. Selkirk has been recognized as a “Vision 21 Platinum” achieving Ace store two years running. According to Kane Calamari, Ace’s VP of Retail Operations – “these stores really represent our best retailers…. we are proud to say they are part of the Ace family”. For Jim & Patty, it’s about being “part of the Pend Oreille County family….our friends and neighbors”. Doing our best for our customers…..it’s all about them!

Selkirk Ace Today

How a great business started Nobody would argue that the unique concept of Selkirk Supply was created by Jim and Bobbie Ward 38 years ago in Newport. Jim said to keep in mind when they purchased the business neither he or Bobbie had any experience in retail business, or as a purchasing agent, which became very important immediately. If you don’t buy right you can’t sell right and they felt Ace Hardware was the best. They said they definitely enjoyed the people and the learning experience that lasted a total of 38 years. They felt that the store was certainly a big part of their lives. Every time they are in the store shopping the feeling of partnership is almost overwhelming. It is very close to being like our child. As of Jan 7 this year, Bobbie and Jim have been married for 55 years and 38 of those years were spent in that store working and being together 24/7. “I will be 82 years old in June and Bobbie is 75, if we had it to do over again we would do the same thing,” said Jim. “We have our son, Jim, 2 granddaughters, 1 grandson, and

Selkirk Supply started in building in center of picture. Jim and Bobbie Ward lived in trailer near trees to right of building.

4 great-grand kids, with one more on the way. Life has been great.” Jim Ward wrote a longer very interesting history of the store, which was edited to fit this space. The following are excerpts from it: The original owner, Gus Schisby, started Newport Electric in 1909, it has been said that he started with his tools in a wooden box strapped over his shoulder. He would walk up and down the streets of Newport taking care of any electric problem that existed. We entered the picture in July of 1962, while on vacation, visiting my mother who had sold our ranch in Montana and moved to Priest Lake. I was discharged

from 11 years service in the U.S. Navy in 1959, where I was a First Class Electrician. I called Newport Electric to see if they needed an electrician. They indicated that they did not need an electrician but were eager to sell. So we bought the business next to the Roxy Theater. We changed the name from Newport Electric to Selkirk Electric. We took possession in Dec 1962. We set up a desk with electric heaters circling the desk for Bobbie when she wasn’t doing the laundry. There were a total of 12 Westinghouse front loading washers. I quickly found out that there was not any electrical work available so I started doing appliance repair. Had it not been for Bobbie and

store to get information and the laundry, at 60 cents a load parts they couldn’t get. we would not have survived. We started Selkirk Supply, The Newport Miner office next Inc in 1971. We drove a cattle door helped us to survive. I was called over there frequent- truck to Spokane to buy our hardware inventory. ly by Lee Smith to take care of In 1975, I quit contracting electrical problems. I was doing some work for Ed and came in to manage the store. Hout who owned the original I advertised that we help building where the store is tothose who help day. He offered to themselves. I sell us the build- “We’re excited to ing and 5 acres if have a business of our would guarantee that if a person we would move own. It allows us the did their wiring over to the Idaho opportunity to support or plumbing or side. Ed had a little small town America.” water system according to my cabin next to the instructions they property, which Jim Perry would pass code, he let us use as an office until we Current Owner of Selkirk Supply and many people did. We kept exwere able to get panding our store something set up to include sporting goods, fishin the building. In Jan 1964 ing tackle, pumps, farm supply, we moved a trailer house in lawn and garden. beside the building to live in. We sold to Pik Kwik stores We continued to pour small in March 1980. In 1985 we slabs of concrete and added got the business back. Bobbie space to the inside of the and I worked 7 days a week building. I started getting calls for 2 years, 10 to 12 hours to get people’s pumps worka day. We started our biggest ing, I was able to determine construction in 1994 when I if it was an electrical or pump decided we needed a bigger problem. I could fix the electristore. This is when we purcal problem, but didn’t know chased the large newly conanything about pumps, so I structed building which housed had to get educated about the gym and swimming pool pumps. from Hobb’s foundation. They We started to do more dismantled the building and plumbing and became Selkirk we hauled it to the store locaElectric and Plumbing . We tion. The store grew to 25,000 were doing all the electrical sq ft. The original building that work for the sawmills, schools we purchased is still visible in and others. the front of the store. At our high point we had 7 We continued to operate the electricians and 2 plumbers store until we sold to Leslie employed. At about that time, and Larry Allen in 2000. Larry we thought we might put in a had been our manager off and hardware store since we had on through the years. a lot of people coming to our

Jim and Patty Perry are current owners

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

Open Everyday 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.

208-437-5669

“YOUR HOMETOWN DIFFERENCE”

Page 22

East End of the Oldtown Bridge

LOGO CREATED BY MICK SCHULTZ 1969

A great place to learn for a century

1904 Newport School

NEWPORT SCHOOL

A liceWArner / FAith Mcclenny

ducation was very important to the early settlers and homesteaders. Almost every community or logging camp

had either school classes in someone’s living room or in a small one-room school house. Often the land was donated, trees were cut down and men built the buildings and much of the school furniture. During the early years, classes were held for a few weeks in the spring or fall since it was too difficult for children to get to school during the long dark snowy winters. PHOTO COURTESY OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Teachers were young people who had either finished high school or a few college classes. They often boarded with the families of their students. They were supervised by Stevens and later Pend Oreille County Superintendents. Among them were Wm. Sax (Stevens County School Superintendent), Ruby Dingee, Frannie Gregory, Sadie Halstead, Clara Howe and other dedicated community members. In the late 1800s, Newport students attended three small schools. In 1892, a handful of settlers built a small school house near the site of the present Newport cemetery for Newport and Penrith students. Mrs. Halford was the teacher for the first school term. A second school was held in the large two-story frame “Opera House” on Washington Ave. Mr. D.R. Lusher was the principal and Miss Eickmeyer was the first teacher with a class of thirty-four students. The third school was the small one-room school at Albeni Falls. All three schools alternated ses-

sions to equalize the distances the students had to walk. A few older students were taught high school subjects. During the early years, the Newport area was growing so fast that soon there was a need for a larger and more central school. In the 1904, a two story frame building was built that housed all the students in and around Newport. Soon the classrooms, halls and the playground were filled with eager young students. During recess, children played marbles, jump rope, tag and ball games. Each year new classrooms and teachers were added and soon the school building was overcrowded. In 1909, the old Cemetery School building was moved to the site of the old water tank on Warren Street. Occasionally classes were taught in other buildings. Ethel Slack, who had enrolled during her senior year, was the first high school graduate. A year later there were four graduates who had attended all eight years. They were King Reid, Mildred Moeser, Kathryn Kim-

mel and Adeline Grover. Ten years later, in 1914 the Newport School District was faced with the need for more class rooms especially for high school students. Bids were awarded April 7, 1914 and J.J. Lohrenz of Spokane had the lowest bid of $13,669.00. The Newport School Board specified that locally manufactured cement and labor was to be used in the construction. In addition to classrooms, the new school was to have a 41-foot by 63foot gymnasium with a balcony for spectators. An additional $5,000 dollars was raised to complete the building. The new school was completed on September 7, 1914. Enrolled were 251 students including 52 High School students. During the late 1930s and early 1940’s, the little one-room schools throughout the county were consolidated into four high school districts-Newport, Cusick, lone and Metaline Falls. Bus routes were mapped out and high school buildings were built in each district. At the

present time there are only three districts - Newport, Cusick and Selkirk (lone, Metaline and Metaline Falls). By 1935 the Newport School District enrollment had increased to over six hundred and there was need for a larger high school. The old wooden frame school house building was sold for $7,550; J.T. Halin was employed to build the new school. The old brick building would become the elementary school. Costs for the new building and remodeling for the old brick building was $100,000. W.H. McNeil, the principal, was anxious that the building be finished as soon as possible. He served as Newport High School Principal for nearly ten years and during World II died in a Japanese prison camp. McNeil Athletic Fields were named in his honor. The new high school was dedicated October 10, 1936. During World II, in addition to regular classroom work, the students were involved in scrap, rubber and other drives, rationing and all sorts of war drills.

Older teachers including married women became the teaching staff as men were drafted. The building was in use until it was condemned in 1980. The school population continued to grow resulting in the need for more school buildings. In 1951 after several bond levy special elections, the Newport School District was allowed to purchase some of the city land that had been set aside for an airport. In September 21, 1953, a new school was dedicated to Sadie Halstead who was honored for her thirty years of educational service as teacher and two terms as County Superintendent of Schools. In 1965, additional classrooms were added including the Johnson Gymnasium. Johnson was a popular elementary principal. The Newport airport was closed and a new high school building was constructed at the end of the landing strip. After a trying year of double shifting and other temporary ways to house students, the high school was ready September 8, 1981. In the early 1990s, there was a need for a new elementary school. A contract was awarded to the Redding Construction Company in Spokane for $4,475,000 and

1936 N ew

port S chool

ground breaking took place June15. The new school was dedicated the fall of 1995 and named the Stratton Elementary School to honor long-time school board member Lloyd “Lefty” Stratton. Sadie Halstead school became the Middle School. In June of 2003, Newport residents were shocked by clouds of smoke rising from a section of Sadie Halstead School. In the months that followed the school was rebuilt and remodeled. At the present time the Newport School District includes Stratton Elementary, 374 students, Sadie Halstead Middle School, 299 students, the Newport High School, 344 students, and 92 are enrolled in the Learning and Enrichment Center. Today, the school district has continued to improve. But much of it has been accomplished by keeping up with advancing technology and education programs. At the same time, the school board has worked to maintain existing buildings and the beautiful grounds. Several years ago the Don Ellersick Memorial Stadium was remodeled including the first all weather track in the county. This year new bleachers will be added to the high school gymnasium.

1914 Newport School PHOTO COURTESY OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Today:

PHOTO PROVIDED BY NEWPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Newport High School

PHOTO PROVIDED BY NEWPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Sadie Halstead Middle School

PHOTO PROVIDED BY NEWPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Stratton Elementary

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

NEWPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Web: www.newport.wednet.edu

Phone: (509) 447-3167 Fax: (509) 447-2553

Page 23

Page 24

Today Circa 1904

1927

May Sherman

Clarence Sherman

1981

COURTESY PHOTO/PEND OREILLE COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

The view along Fourth Street between Washington and Union in the early 1900’s shows the E.W.Whitney store which was moved to the current location of ShermanKnapp Funeral Home & Crematory on Second Street in Newport.

Dave Sherman

Phillis Sherman

herman-Knapp Fu-

Booth Undertaking in Newport. In a September 1928 issue of The matory has always been a Miner the first advertisement appeared with family owned funeral facil- the Booth and Sherman name. ity dating back to 1910. A Mr. Davis from Bozeman, Montana, returned Today it is a full service to Newport in 1930 and bought back his interfacility and onsite Cremaest in the business. That neral Home and Cre-

designed by Mr. Davis. His goal was to provide all the possible comfort to their riders. In 1992 Kurt and Kim Knapp purchased the funeral home from the Shermans. They successfully ran it until selling it to the current owners, Keith and Cindy Campbell in 2006.

tory. The owners have

2006-Present

changed but the fact they and the business have maintained deep roots in

1992

Kim Knapp

year it became known as Sherman and Davis. That year the new partners added a hearse and ambulance. The hearse was mounted on a Lincoln chasis with an eight-cylinder, 96 horsepower engine. The ambulance was a Graham-Paige chasis, mounted with a body

the community has not.

Curt Knapp

Current owners Keith and Cindy Campbell echo those before them when they say they are honored to be of service to Pend Oreille County and West Bonner County for the past 100 years. Their mission has been to serve with dignity and respect those families who entrust their loved ones to their care. Our Past

In 1927, Clarence Sherman purchased an interest in Davis and

Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home & Crematory Locally Owned & Operated

Owners: Keith & Cindy Campbell with children Isaiah, Miranda & Carly

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

For Assistance In: • Pre-Planning & Pre-Payment Plans • Funerals • Monuments • Cremations (preformed locally)

(509) 447-3118 423 W. 2nd Street • Newport (208) 448-1012 118 Wisconsin Street • Priest River

Page 25

or 44 years and counting, both entities have

drawn the energy of the mighty Pend Oreille River to fuel the growth of industry and commerce, and to provide warm homes and lighted evenings to thousands of customers on both sides of the Cascades. The knot in that relationship is the thin concrete arch of the Boundary Dam at the Z Canyon of the Pend Oreille River, built and operated by Seattle City Light since 1967. This 340-foot-tall structure harnesses the flow of the river to generate up to 1,050 megawatts of power during peak

house are a major feature in the landscape of the river. But for 44 years, they have also made a lasting impression on the economy, living standard and health of the community. City Light is currently one of the largest employers in the area, with a staff of 40 permanent workers (more than 50 during seasonal peaks) and a payroll of $3.5 million dollars. The project spends between $200,000 and a quarter of a million a year in local vendors and purchases. These wages and payments help to support local businesses and enterprises, generating sales tax revenues. Hydropower is a clean, renewable resource. Unlike extractive resource industries, utility wages and services are less vulnerable to the volatility of demand and supply, providing a stable anchor for the local community. By agreement with Pend Oreille County, Seattle City Light directly pays for the impact it creates on services in The dam starts to take shape in 1965.

Workers pour the first bucket of concrete during the Boundary Dam construction in 1965.

flows, about 50 percent of the electricity used by Seattle customers. Physically, the City Light Boundary Dam and its power-

the community. Under terms of the 2010 agreement with the county, City Light will contribute $19 million over 10 years to support government services

and the operations of three local school districts. The new agreement increased impact payments by about $7.5 million from the previous agreement that expired in 2009. Under terms of its federal license for the dam, City Light provides 48 megawatts of power, at the cost of production, to the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District. This affordable and reliable power helps the district to meet the electricity demand of several large employers in the county, indirectly helping to keep and attract industries drawn here by low-cost electricity and land. City Light supports the Pend Oreille County Fire District #2, providing funding for a paramedic position in north Pend Oreille county. City Light staffers also serve as volunteers and are trained in highangle rope and confined space rescue techniques to assist the district as needed. Routinely, City Light provides training and resources to support local first responders. City Light also promotes tourism in the county. It directly operates recreational facilities at Vista House, and the Forebay and Tailrace recreation areas. Its communications department also promotes Pend Oreille as a destination for outdoor enthusiasts, and actively seeks news stories and feature videos about the area. For years, the utility helped to stock the Pend Oreille reservoir with game fish, though the program ended in 2010 to prevent competition with native fish. It plans to stock fish in 18 lakes within 15 miles of the

Seattle City Light

project, to provide other fishing opportunities. Seattle City Light has a stake in ensuring the education and training of skilled workers in Pend Oreille County. Staff at the project volunteer to teach classes in electricity, welding and other skilled trades as part of the Selkirk School District Career Exploration program. This year, the utility began offering internships to local high school and post-secondary students at the Boundary Dam, helping them to become familiar with hydro maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering careers. The utility also signed an agreement this year to support a new Kalispel tribal training center, to advance employment opportunities for tribal members and the community by preparing workers to

meet the skilled crafts needs of local employers. City Light Boundary Project employees and their families live and work in the community. They take pride in making it a great place to live, volunteering at their schools and cities, and helping to raise funds for food and toys during the holidays. City Light staff regularly volunteer to operate a rescue barge during the Ione Down River Days festival, helping to retrieve snowmobiles that fail to “cross” the river during the festival’s signature event. City Light was the first utility in the nation to become carbon neutral in its operations, and it takes seriously its responsibilities to protect the fish and wildlife in the Pend Oreille River. It has spent about $1 million just to create a 1:25

scale model of the Boundary Dam, to study ways to reduce the amount of air that gets dissolved in the Pend Oreille during runoff spills. The electricity business is not a temporary operation – it requires massive systems and equipment built to last for decades. As a publicly owned utility, City Light takes very seriously its duties to be a good citizen, to provide affordable and reliable electricity, and to protect the environment. For 44 years, it has faithfully served the communities of Pend Oreille County. As it anticipates a new federal license on the Boundary Dam, City Light looks forward to another 50 years of partnership and growth with the governments, businesses, and people of this beautiful land.

This is the view inside of the Boundary powerhouse, which was carved into the rock of the supporting cliff.

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

Page 26

Boundary Project • Metaline Falls, WA • (509)446-3083 http://cityofseattle.net/light/tours/boundary/

Growing to service region

ifteen years ago, the Internet revolution was underway, but not in rural Pend Oreille County. Like rural

“We really feel that it’s important for people to have Internet access wherever they are.”

electrification decades earlier, the big companies stringing wire ignored the sparsely populated rural areas. Would the

Tom Walton POVN Owner

marvels of the Internet bypass this region, keeping it in the dark? Well, a few local modern day pioneers said no. Pend Oreille Valley Networks (POVN) was conceived in Newport in 1995 by a county librarian, a retired Boeing engineer, and an entrepreneur. They were tired of waiting for large Internet providers to bring access to their community. And they knew they had an immediate potential to reach 400 homes in the Newport/Oldtown area. With $20,000 in start-up funds from personal savings and $8,000 in advances from future customers hungry to get online without longdistance fees, they began. Two software experts were hired to determine and design the best networking components available to service this small community. Hardware requirements, sales, marketing, and business organization were provided by the originating team. In early 1996, POVN began providing dial-up Internet service from Newport using a partial T-1 line provided by GTE. Within the first year of operation, POVN was providing Internet access to more than 500 homes, covering the towns and rural areas of Sacheen Lake, Diamond Lake, Newport, Usk, and Cusick as well as Priest River, Oldtown and Blanchard. POVN became instantly recognized as the “local” Internet service provider, instituting a policy of limited and unlimited dial-up services priced for rural income levels and providing technical support from its Newport office. They employed fulltime, experienced local residents

Tom and Brenda Walton, Owners

as well as part-time high school computer science students from Newport and Cusick. Part of their original goal was to provide service to non-profit organizations and agencies that had no budget for Internet access. From the first day of opening its doors, POVN has provided free Internet connections to schools, libraries, chambers of commerce, and numerous fraternal organizations. During the first two years, POVN was located in a single office space with servers and routers set up in the basement. In 1997 Tom Walton, the sole owner of POVN, purchased a building on the main street of Newport and moved his staff of three to the location that would allow expansion of services, products and staff. POVN was the first to do many things during its history. When the Pend Oreille Public Utility District put up the fiber optic backbone, POVN became one of the first

Melannie Jones, Vice President

Office Tower

users. POVN was the first to install wireless Internet towers to beam signals to homes around Diamond Lake, connecting them to the fiber optic line that runs near Highway 2 for high speed Internet access. At the end of their first five years, POVN had increased its client base to over 3,500 and had expanded to cover Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene. POVN had acquired one of the oldest Internet providers serving the Sandpoint area. A full range of services was being offered, including high-speed dialup, DSL, frame relay, wireless, and web hosting. The entry to POVN’s office building hosted a small retail section of computer related products not available within a 35-mile radius. As POVN grew, it continued to

Cory George, Vice President and Matt, Trevor, Kali, Aaron, Chad, Lucas, Brenda (sitting up high)

cater to their rural user base by offering a wide range of free services, including a community calendar, classified ads, spam filtering, and compacting of dial-up downloads to increase speed. Additionally, on-site tech support, classes on Internet usage, and support of numerous community organizations and fundraisers are a few examples of POVN’s involvement in the communities it serves. In 2006, funds were dedicated to support expansion to the north Pend Oreille County towns of Metaline, Metaline Falls and Ione, update hardware and software, and open the opportunities for wireless beyond downtown Newport. The year 2006 was the top-earning year for POVN with slightly less than $1 million in annual revenues. Since its inception 12 years ago,

POVN has maintained its philosophy of providing local support. Its staff has fluctuated from 5 to 10, depending on the project and community needs. In 2007, POVN expanded its wireless service by erecting towers in the Diamond lake area and locally connecting fiber optic. The latest addition to POVN’s wireless network is the Cooks Mountain tower located northwest of Newport. This tower serves as the base for several repeater locations enabling wireless service in many hard to reach areas. In 2011, they made it possible for those traveling in Pend Oreille County to check e-mail on the go. POVN began offering free wireless access at hotspots in communities spanning the length of the county. “People are responding really well

to it, and they really like the free hour,” said Melanie Jones, POVN’s operations vice president. POVN has also brought highspeed wireless service to Clark Fork. The company received a $1 million federal stimulus grant in 2009 to do the work. POVN has also introduced telephone service over the Internet, or VOIP. The company has remained stable and financially solvent even while competing with small upstart ISP’s and larger regional and national companies offering dial-up and limited DSL. POVN believes that its many years of experience and attention to the needs of the small rural communities for a complete “local” package brings to it success and long lasting stability as an ISP.

POVN’s Melannie Jones logs on to the free WiFi hotspot outside the Internet provider’s office in downtown Newport. People can sign on for a free hour of Internet usage a day at hotspots throughout Pend Oreille County.

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

Pend Oreille Valley Networks

888-800-POVN (7686) 108 S. Washington, Newport

Celebrating 15 Years as Your Local Internet Service Provider

Page 27

Ponderay Newsprint strengthens county economy

hen Ponderay Newsprint Company began producing newsprint for the newspaper industry around the world at its mill in Usk in 1989, they became one of the most important pieces of Pend Oreille County history ever. By doubling the county tax base and energizing the economy like no other single event ever, the company become a significant part of Pend Oreille County in the the past, present and future. Before the mill opened in 1989, it was expected to employ 155 workers. With 178 today, it is the largest private employer in Pend Oreille County. The mill faced many challenges before it came to life in what was once a green field

in the Cusick flats. County leaders worked feverishly to make the economic opportunity a reality for Pend Oreille County. Several agreements were set in place for serving the site with power, water and sewer, and for transporting the mill products by rail. Today, the diligent work continues as Ponderay strives to stay competitive in the midst of a newsprint industry that has been in decline for a number of years. The industry has gone from extreme highs in terms of production levels, the number of newsprint manufacturers in North America, the number of workers employed in the industry … over the last 10 years it has continued to decline in all of those respects.

The challenge to reduce manufacturing and operations costs is critical now versus what it was years ago when the mill started up and was running so strongly in the 90s. Before the recycling plant came on line in 1995, the mill produced 620 tons of newsprint each day. Today, its reach is 700 tons. PNC was able to expand its customer base as a result of using recycled fiber to make its newsprint. The addition of recycled materials was actually a necessity to maintain some of PNC’s customers, as states began to impose laws requiring a certain recycled content in paper. Besides the recycling plant, the mill site’s other big change came in 2001 with the ad-

dition of the fluidized bed boiler. The equipment was another asset to help the company become more “green.” As part of the paper making process, the mill uses steam, which was previously produced by a propane fuel boiler. The upgraded boiler system burns biomass, or waste wood products, to produce the steam. Some things at the mill haven’t changed in the past two decades. Ponderay’s goal has always been to produce higher volumes of newsprint at higher efficiency levels. The staff, management and owners of Ponderay Newsprint Company salute their home county and joins everyone in the Centennial Celebration.

PONDERAY NEWSPRINT TIMELINE Before the Ponderay Newsprint mill rolled out its first paper in 1989, there were 10 years of happenings that lead up to it, making it all possible. Here’s a glimpse at how the Ponderay Newsprint mill at Usk came to be:

1979

• It was ﬁrst suggested that a pulp mill be built in Pend Oreille County. CH2M Hill engineering in Boise and Toypack Inc. were doing site research in northern Idaho and Washington for possible location of a pulp mill. PUD manager George Kennett of Newport wrote to CH2M, asking they consider Pend Oreille County because of its abundance of forests, water and most importantly, inexpensive electricity. • A two-and-a-half-year battle with environmentalists begins. Toypack proposed the pulp mill would be non-polluting because it utilizes an oxygen pulping rather than sulfate-based pulping process. Environmentalists were skeptical.

1985

• The Kalispel Tribe of Indians called for ﬁsh and wildlife studies. The parties agreed that studies could be conducted without construction delay. Aboriginal cook ovens were unearthed at the mill site in April. Ponderay Newsprint took an option on an additional 209 acres next to the proposed mill site. Later, two pioneer graves were found, but they were outside the construction site. • The town of Cusick received a $1.5 million grant/loan to tie the mill and the surrounding area into its water and sewer systems. • Inland Paper Co. of Spokane objected to the paper mill in a public hearing. It claimed the new mill would deplete the area’s wood chip supply. • The San Francisco Chronicle pulled out of the venture because of tax reform legislation. County political leaders feared the entire plan might collapse and sought help from Rep. Tom Foley and Sens. Slade Gorton and Dan Evans in Washington, D.C. • The bottom fell out of the newsprint market, and the consortium shelved plans to construct the mill because it wasn’t economically feasible.

• • • • •

superintendent Charles R. Green. Additional members included director of human resources Tom Garrett, purchasing and trafﬁc manager Chuck Shonkwiler, controller Steve Skeels and Bruce Nunn as thermo-mechanical pulping superintendent. Total employment was expected to be 155 people. Seminars were held in Cusick to prepare workers for employment at the mill. At an Ag Day presentation, Meany said Ponderay would be buying white wood chips, freshly cut, to make the whitest newsprint. A merger was proposed between the newsprint’s managing partner, Great Lakes Forest Products and Canadian International Paper (CIP) of Montreal. Concrete foundations and subgrade work was done on the mill site. In July, work started on the paper machine building. A huge water tank made its way to the mill site, tying up trafﬁc on Highway 41 and moving through Newport on the centerline of Washington Avenue.

HORIZON PHOTO|FILE

Paper machines Many adjustments and mechanical problems plagued start up at the mill the week of Nov. 13, 1989. Once the kinks were worked out, the managers were pleased with the newsprint-making machinery, which arrived on site in several pieces from Finland.

1989

HORIZON PHOTO|FILE

Ribbon cutting Dignitaries showed up for the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Ponderay Newsprint mill June 8, 1990. Mill manager Bill Meany, left, helps in the ribbon cutting with congressman Tom Foley and Gov. Booth Gardner.

1980

• A new hurdle loomed. An agreement could not be reached regarding the power load and rates. The PUD refused to obligate itself to any ﬁxed rate unless the mill announced deﬁnite intentions to locate in Pend Oreille County.

1981

• The company backing Toypack ran into financial difficulty in the spring, and the idea of locating a pulp mill in Pend Oreille County was shelved. • The newly formed Ponderay Paper Co., principally held by Pack River of Spokane and Sandpoint, began negotiations with the PUD over electricity costs. • The Miner printed its first story releasing the mill idea’s rebirth in November. Plans called for the $150 million mill to produce 400 metric tons daily and to start manufacturing newsprint in 1985. Those initial estimates proved to be wrong. It was also to employ 250 people.

HORIZON PHOTO|FILE

Ironworkers dedication The ironworkers union held a ceremony Feb. 11, 1989, as the last steel beam was placed on the structure that would become the Ponderay Newsprint plant. The pine tree symbolized growth, and the flag symbolized the country and the people.

1986

HORIZON PHOTO|FILE

Construction Construction workers fight the mud and snow as they start building the recycling plant at the mill site in 1994. The plant allowed the company to add recycled paper to its newsprint product, increasing its customer base for those that required recycled content in their paper.

1983

• The Port of Pend Oreille proposed purchasing a 700-acre ranch south of Usk for the location of an industrial park, the anchor tenant being the newsprint mill.

1984

• Ponderay Paper Co. assigned its interests in the proposed paper mill to Great Lakes Forest Products Ltd. of Thunder Bay, Ontario, which in turn formed the subsidiary of Ponderay Newsprint Co., a consortium of ﬁve major investors. • Plans for the mill were released, detailing production, maintenance and administrative buildings that would cover 225,000 square feet and would require 60 acres.

• Ponderay Newsprint continued with the purchase of the 700-acre mill site for $384,605. • After seven years, the PUD and Ponderay Newsprint approved an agreement regarding power rates. The contract allowed the company to buy power at cost, and the mill owners agreed to pay for many costs ordinarily borne by the PUD. In exchange the mill obtained favorable electricity rates. PUD attorney James P. McNally said it was one of the most complex and comprehensive contracts of its kind. As the mill came into operation, power sales for the PUD would grow from $3 million to more than $14 million. • It was revealed that a second mill, International Marketing and Technology of Federal Way was looking at Pend Oreille County as a possible location site.

1987

• The mill consortium signed on Knight-Ridder Inc. of Miami as its new investor. Other partners were the Kearns Tribune of Salt Lake City, Copley Press Inc. of LaJolla, Calif., Central Newspapers Inc. of Indianapolis, McClatchy Newspapers Inc. of Sacramento, Calif., and Great Lakes Forest Products of Montreal, the managing partner. • The cost of construction of the mill was expected to be $300 million – double the original ﬁgure. • The PUD began stringing transmission lines to the mill site, and a $1.4 million agreement was formed to bring Bonneville Power Administration lines there as well. The total cost for the BPA lines ended up being $3 million. • On Oct. 1, 1987, several hundred people, including Gov. Booth Gardner ofﬁcially launched the two-year construction project with a groundbreaking ceremony.

1988

• In January, 15 workers from Rust Engineering began work on the first two structures, an office building and a concrete mixing plant. By the spring, the construction crew numbered 300, and the crew topped out at about 1,000 workers. • Union officials met, stating they were working toward hiring local labor. The first management team is announced: mill manager William G. Meany, paper machine superintendent Wayne Smith, plant engineer Alan T. Marana, and electrical-instrumentation

• The BPA transmission line to Ponderay Newsprint was energized Jan. 13. • On Feb. 11, members of the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers ceremoniously placed the last major structural steel at the mill. A pine tree placed on the structure temporarily symbolized growth, and an American flag symbolized the country and the people. • A week later on Feb. 18, Gerald Whitney, a 37-year-old ironworker from Kennewick, fell to his death from the 100-foot level. He was not hooked up to a safety line, and Rust Construction was fined $1,600 for the error. Rust also donated $3,000 to the family. • Ponderay Newsprint’s managing partner, CIP, was sold to Canadian Pacific Forest Products, which became Avenor, Inc. in 1994. • The closed Forest Enterprises chipping mill was sold to Ponderay Valley Fibre. Plans were to operate the old plant for several months while a new chip mill was constructed. • Agreements were reached for newsprint shipping with the Port of Pend Oreille and Burlington Northern Railroad. • On Nov. 13, Ponderay workers made their first newsprint. It would be several more weeks before it reached commercial quality, but some of the paper was used in making writing tablets. • The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner Newspapers took delivery of the first commercial roll of newsprint, with the Dec. 6 issues of the newspapers printed on this roll.

1990

• The rate of production increased, and the newsprint was shipped by rail and truck all over the country. • The ofﬁcial dedication of the Ponderay Newsprint mill was held on June 8.

1994

• In November, Ponderay Newsprint reached a milestone, having produced its 1 millionth ton of newsprint. Industry watchers credit the company as one of the most efﬁcient newsprint manufacturers in the world. With newsprint prices rising dramatically, proﬁts were expected on the horizon.

1998

• Avenor, the mill’s managing partner, was bought by Bowater, based in South Carolina. Bowater assumed its 40-percent share in Ponderay Newsprint.

2007

• Bowater merges with Abitibi Consolidated of Montreal, creating AbitibiBowater, the third largest paper company in North America worth $8.3 billion.

2009

• AbitibiBowater ﬁled for bankruptcy. Ponderay Newsprint managers said the local mill would continue to operate strongly, thanks to its publishing partners, which guarantee purchase of a percentage of the mill’s output. After several acquisitions and mergers, the current publishing partners are McClatchy Company, Gannett Company and Media News Group. AbitibiBowater continues to be the mill’s managing partner with a 40-Percent share in Ponderay Newsprint Company.

2010

• PNC and AWPPW Local 422 began negotiating a ﬁrst contract for operations and lab personnel. AbitibiBowater emerges from bankruptcy in December. • Negotiations with the Union continues

2011

Provided for the Pend Oreille County Centennial by:

PONDERAY NEWSPRINT COMPANY . . .a contributing partner to Pend Oreille County

Page 28

422767 Highway 20 Usk, WA 99180

“Happy Birthday” PEND OREILLE COUNTY (The celebration of 100 years of life) !!! By L. Bruce TayLor, commiTTee co-chair Having only lived in Newport less than two years I knew very little about Pend Oreille County, except that it was tremendously different from where I came from in the state of Arizona. I was appointed to the committee because of my association with the Pend Oreille County Historical Society and Museum. I humbly accepted when the County Commissioners graVi and Bob Shanklin talk with Pend Oreille County comciously asked me to be chair of the committee. When it was determined missioner Diane Wear, right. that I needed help I suggested Shirley Sands, Newport Mayor and she became the co-chair. During the months I have learned to appreciate her even more for her care about Newport and Pend Oreille County. With almost a year of meetings and planning the Committee worked out a number of events and activities that would be a part of the year-long schedule to offer county wide celebrations for the residents and others. The committee members in their various communities organized and developed events and activities that would incorporate into the county-wide celebration. I have listed those who made up the committee in another area of this article. However, I need to mention some of those who worked so diligently, without any remuneration to make this celebration successful. First, let me thank the County Commissioners, John Hankey, Diane Wear Co-chairs of the Pend Oreille County and Laura Merrill for their foresight, support and encouragement in all Pend Oreille County citizens take a train ride through Centennial Celebration L. Bruce Taythe carrying out of the annual events. Luanne Ryman, former Chamber of Pend Oreille County. Pend Oreille County treasurer Terri lor and Newport mayor Shirley Sands dress in period clothing at the celebra- Miller, right, sits next to her husband Bill. County prosecu- Commerce Director, worked diligently as both treasurer and often left-hand person in overseeing events and selling of souvenirs. On the other hand tor Tom Metzger is pictured at center in sunglasses. tion in June. Robert, my right hand man, and Tressa Emch were incredibly proficient in: creating the Centennial “LOGO” and all of the souvenirs and spreading out the souvenirs throughout the county for people to sell and stretching the banners across the streets of Newport, Cusick (Fair Grounds), lone, Metaline and Metaline Falls to continually remind the communities of the ongoing celebration. Tressa Emch also organized and carried out the quilt show held in Metaline Falls and Newport over the Labor Day weekend. So many other civic and social organizations took their typical events and put a centennial twist upon them as they too became involved in giving life to the festivities. The list of events planned is also shown in another area of this page.. Thanks go to Bob Shanklin of the Port of Pend Oreille and the North Pend Oreille Valley Lion’s Club for providing the train ride from Newport to Cusick at their own expense. Jim Mathis and the Pend Oreille County Fair Board did a great job of celebrating the Centennial throughout the week with various activities and some special things as they put the Centennial Logo on their catalog and the buttons they passed out to the attendees. I was honored to sing the national anthem at the VFW flag raising at the Fair opening day. Last, but certainly not least is Marianne Nichols, County Auditor and those who assisted her (shown elsewhere) who planned and organized Pend Oreille County commissioner the community celebration of June 1st on the County Court house steps. Laura Merrill sings the National There were also many (names shown elsewhere) organizations and Anthem at the Pend Oreille County individuals who dipped into their purses and provided funds so that these centennial celebration. celebrations could be possible. They too, have my personal thanks and gratitude. I could go on but will bring this to a close by stating there is more to come. We began the year with the “BANG” of fireworks at the WinterFest celebration in Metaline Park and will end the year on December 28th at Sadie Halstead Middle School (compliments of Jason Thompson, Newport School District Superintendent) with a holiday show entitled: “A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS” starring Laura Sable (a Newport artist Robert Karr designed the centennial logo. Newport High School graduate) and her husband Bill Wiemuth. This show will be “FREE” to the public and we invite all Pend Oreille County residents to attend. I hope you had a “GREAT” year as the Centennial Committee worked so hard to make it an enjoyable time and one that you can remember as your children and grandchildren look forward to another “wonderful” celebration in 2111 !!! “Happy Birthday” Pend Oreille and many, many more! Cultural program director Francis Cullooyah of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians leads a drum circle at the centennial celebration.

CENTENNIAL EVENTS

JANUARY 1

“Big Smoke” magazine rafflePend Oreille County Historical CD sale Essay Contest at schools

JANUARY 8

Soroplimists Crab Feed, Eagles Hall

JANUARY 29

Winter Carnival, Metaline Park, lone

FEBRUARY 12

Poker Tournament, Cusick Howard’s Follies

MARCH

Evergreen Art Association Show

MARCH 5

Evergreen Art Associalion Art Walk Who Let the Girls Out

MARCH 19

Swan Festival

APRIL 8 - 17

Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, POP Children‘s Play

APRIL 22

Jack Nisbet Lecture

MAY 1

Seniors Show, Pend Oreille Players

MAY 8

Museum Opens Iris Garden Opens, Newport

MAY 28

Rummage Sale, Tiger Museum

Seattle City Light Boundary Project Pend Oreille Public Utility District Newport Hospital District 1 Allied Waste Management Ponderay Newsprint Bruce Taylor Democracy Live Joe & Gayle Cagianut Inn at the lake City of Seattle

Pend Oreille Festival Association Frontier Title & Escrow Seeber’s Healthmart Pharmacy Diane Wear Dollars & Deals Judge Philip Van de Veer Kitchen Shoppe Kris Martin Terri Ann Hedtke Fred & Zelda Elsner Judy Napier Tammie Ownbey

Pend Oreille County Centennial Committee: Bruce Taylor, Shirley Sands, Robert & Linda Karr, Luanne Ryman Committee Members: Dan Peterson, Terri Ann Hedtke, Bob Spencer, Bob Shanklin, Linda Zucht, Jim Mathis, Pam Thompson, Cheryl Chalfont, David Law. Howards Follies Old-Time Band: Cathi Rawley, Brian Orr, Barb Bell, Ted Kardos Pend Oreille County Commissioners: Laura Merrill, John Hankey, Diane Wear Pend Oreille County Auditor’s office: Marianne Nichols, Liz Krizenesky, Linda Blore, Tina Olson, Jill Shacklet, April Sliva, Linda Brown Owen’s Grocery - Assistance with BBQ Picnic Lunch Premier Party Rental- Assistance with rentals Western State Bus Service - shuttle bus Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Francis Culluyah and the Frog Island Singers Secretary of State Sam Reed Secretary of Health Mary Selecky, with the Governor’s Proclamation Senator Bob Morton Kim Wyman, Thurston County Auditor

Kris Cornelius - History instructor Rob Malcomb - First Baptist Church of Newport Spokane Air Force Color Guard Lavender Festival Association - Assistance with seating City of Newport - management of street closures & cleaning Newport Miner - Horizon Publication of the Pioneer Families Janet Lambarth - WSU Extension Office Gary Merrill & Staff of POC - Centennial Clean-up Project Kelly Drive - assistance with list of long time families Tom MacArthur - historical representation of Governor Marion Hay Sadie Halstead Middle School Band Art & Essay Contest Judges: Robert Karr Mia Harper Judy Napier Charles & TerriAnn Hedtke Staff of Pend Oreille County & all others who made this event possible.

Pend Oreille Centennial Quilt Committee Tressa Emch, Chairwoman Members: Doreen Bakewell Finney, Linda Karr, Barbee Leclair, Wanda McDougle, Barb Mayfield, Nancy and Bob Svboda, Gay Warner, Linda Zucht

Provided by the Pend Oreille County Centennial Committee

Pend Oreille County Fair and Cusick Rodeo Historic Lindsey House “open”, Fair Grounds

AUGUST 27

OKB Music Festival

SEPT. 3,- OCT. 23 Train Rides

SEPTEMBER 2-3 Vintage & Contemporary Quilt Show, Metlaine Falls

SEPTEMBER 3-4 Affair on Main Street

SEPTEMBER 4-5

Vintage & Contemporary Quilt Show, Create Arts Center

SEPTEMBER 9-10 Heritage Days, Museum

SEPTEMBER 10

Autumn 5K/10K Bloom Run

SEPTEMBER 10

Maws & Paws Car Show, Sadie Halstead Middle School

SEPTEMBER 11-12

Blue Grass Festival, City Park

OCTOBER 28

JUNE

NOVEMBER 5

Pend Oreille County Rodeo Music/Dinner Theatre, Circle Moon Theatre, Northwoods

JUNE 15

David Thompson Brigade, Rotary Park Landing

JUNE 18

Rhubarb Festival, Create Arts Center June 24 - Sep. 17 Fish/Frog Frenzy, Create Arts

One Act Play Festival, Pend Oreille Players, Lavender Festival

THANK YOU SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS:

AUGUST 17-21

JUNE 24, 25

JULY 9,10

Citizens of Pend Oreille County gathered at the old courthouse on Fourth Avenue June 1, 2011, to celebrate the county’s centennial.

AUGUST 7

Master Gardener Gardens Tour

SEPTEMBER 24

JULY 4

Pend Oreille County auditor Marianne Nichols addresses the crowd at the centennial celebration.

JULY 30, 31

Downriver Days Lion Train Rides

JUNE 1

Governor’s Dinner Camus Center

Fourth of July Breakfast, Usk Fourth of July Parade & Festivities, Cusick

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed, left, and Pend Oreille County Commissioner John Hankey were in attendance at the centennial celebration.

JULY 16,17

Bullarama Poker Paddle

“OPEN HOUSE”, Create Arts Center Trick-or-Treat, Downtown

Who Let The Girls Out Evergreen Art Association Art Walk

NOVEMBER 26 Hometown Christmas in Newport

DECEMBER 3

Festival of Trees, Sadie Halstead Middle School

DECEMBER 3 - 17 Holiday Shop Festival, Create

DECEMBER

Holiday Show/ Dinner Theatre, Circle Moon

DECEMBER TBA

Deck the Halls Arts & Crafts, Metaline Falls

DECEMBER 28

Centennial Celebrates, a county Christmas, Sadie Halstead Middle School

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS OF THE PEND OREILLE COUNTY CENTENNIAL QUILT SHOW: The Pend Oreille County Centennial Committee: L. Bruce Taylor and Shirley Sands, Co-Chairs Bear Paw Camp and Retreat Center: Bob and Nancy Svoboda Newport Naturals Iris and Alpacas: Robert and Linda Karr Custom Chicken Coops: Don Shoemaker John Zeimantz, Attorney at Law: Feltman, Gebhardt, Greer & Zeimantz, P.S. Create Arts Center Forgotten Corners Quilt Guild Albeni Falls Building Supply

Page 29

1960-1969 | From Page 9

free enterprise system for all Americans – as soon as possible.” The advertisement continues with warnings of propaganda, infiltration and sabotage. As the fight against communism was escalating, the country collectively mourned President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in November 1963. “About 150 persons gathered at the Federated Church at 11 o’clock Monday morning to participate in a memorial service for our late President, John F. Kennedy,” The Miner reported in the Nov. 28 issue. “It seemed that all who attended were in a reflective mood, still hardly able to sense that such a tragedy could befall our nation. And yet there was evident, the spirit that knew, that even in the hour of crisis, our nation could turn to Almighty God for help.” In the later years of the 1960s,

stories of local fathers, sons and husbands fighting in Vietnam surfaced in the pages of The Miner. “‘It was a miracle … I really believe now in miracles … the way it happened … the way all the details fell together so he could be saved.’ “This is Betty Myers talking from her Sacheen Lake home,” as reported in the March 17, 1966 issue of The Miner. “The miracle was the headline story across the country last week when her husband, U.S. Air Force Major Dafford Myers was snatched from a North Vietnameseheld airstrip where he crashed in flames. The attractive brunette, the mother of five children, still feels in a state of shock and confusion. The story of how Major Bernard F. Fisher, Kuna, Idaho, landed in a hail of communist ground fire to pick up her husband, captured the admiration and imagination of the country. Suddenly she and her family were world news,” The Miner reported.

“Her telephone has rung constantly with calls from friends in Florida, Montana, Michigan and California. The best telephone call of all was the one from Florida that alerted her that her husband would be on the Huntley-Brinkley newscast televised from Vietnam Sunday night. With just a half hour warning she and her family gathered in a circle around the TV. “‘You could hear a pin drop when he finally came on,’ she said. One of the children said, ‘There’s Daddy,’ and then it was quiet.’” Two months later Mr. and Mrs. Joe Shuckle of Newport received word their son, PFC Randy J. Shuckle, had been wounded in action in Vietnam. He was brought back to San Francisco for medical attention. Shuckle had been shot in the back of the head and the bullet lodged under his left eye, where it remained when he spoke to his parents on the telephone. His jawbone was also broken. Shuckle had laid in

From Page 6

Another inconvenience was disease. Small pox was spreading, and many people failed to seek a doctor for help because they couldn’t be bothered with being quarantined. Several articles in the newspaper urged people to take caution and keep the illness from spreading. The flu epidemic hit the area in 1918. That’s not to say that the people of Pend Oreille County didn’t have their fun. Baseball was big, as were evening dances, summertime picnics and Chautauqua gettogethers. Fid’s Opera House opened in Newport in December 1911, bringing live shows and the latest movies. Admission was 10 cents. It was also the site of local club meetings and high school graduations. The structure, built with cement from the newly opened Inland Portland Company in Metaline Falls, is around today as the apartments on Fourth Street behind Owen’s Grocery. A local chapter of the Moose Lodge formed in 1912, and they brought entertainment to town, starting with a public “smoker” at Kelly’s Hall where a 45-yearold professional wrestler from Sandpoint took on five Newport men in an hour. Idaho had the brawn and the beauty. Priest Lake was a popular summertime destination for local folks. To get there, though, they had to take a ferry across the Pend Oreille. The service was frequently stalled when the ferry was water logged or out of commission for some other reason. That’s when Miner publisher Fred Wolf took up the cause of building a bridge across the river at Newport. It wouldn’t happen until the 1920s, so the people put up with lugging their horse teams aboard the ferry. More and more autos were making the trip as well. As the newly established Pend Oreille County began to grow and expand, it was constantly defending itself and its worth to the state’s larger cities. Snide comments about the “worthless” land in the Calispell Valley came from Spokane newspapers. It was part of the reason the bigwig Indian agents of the region didn’t take up the effort to kick the Kalispel Indians off their land like they had done to native tribes most everywhere else in the nation. Writings in the local newspaper indicated that the white man didn’t have high regard for his Indian neighbors. One article described the plight of the tribe, being bogged with disease and living in ramshackle quarters. The Kalispels at the time numbered fewer than 100 members.

Page 30

Tom Foley announced that a contract had been awarded for the construction of the building, to Walter M. Varnum, a general contractor from Coeur d’Alene, in the amount of $294,620. The building was ready for occupancy in January 1967, and Foley returned as the main speaker at the dedication ceremony. And of course, as any native of the Northwest will tell you, the 1960s ended with the biggest snowfall anyone could remember then and now, in the winter of 1969. “With total snowfall in the 78 days from Nov. 1, 1968, to Jan. 17, 1969, recorded here as 71.1 inches, it would appear that this area might be on its way toward setting some new records,” The Miner reported. The average total snowfall per calendar year over the past 19 years is 69.99. Thus it may be seen that we have already had more snow in the first 78 days of winter than the 19-year average for a whole year.”

1930-1939 |

1910-1919 From Page 4

the field for more than five hours after the shooting before he could be moved to a safe place for help, as the Vietnamese were shooting over his head, The Miner reported. Though the country and the world was in turmoil, Pend Oreille County experienced many successes in the 1960s. The Ione and Metaline Falls school districts combined in the early 1960s into the Selkirk School District we now know. The request came before the Pend Oreille County Committee on School District Organization in late 1961. By July 1 of the following year, the school districts became one, and a new Selkirk High School was dedicated Saturday, Oct. 17, 1964. The Federal Building and post office were built on Washington Avenue in Newport, with artists’ renderings printed in The Miner looking nearly exactly as the building does now. In November 1965, Congressman

In the later part of the decade, World War I headlines covered The Miner’s pages. And with Wolf head of the liberty bond drive, for a couple weeks, the entire front page was a flyer encouraging the people of Pend Oreille to support their country and buy liberty bonds. When the draft was first announced 223 Lewis P. men in the county Larsen were on the list. Patriotism was high. As the war ended in 1919, a train bearing a tank and other war remnants made a 45-minute stop in Newport. A thousand people turned out. The people of Pend Oreille were working hard to achieve the American dream. Industry was booming. As ever, things centered on timber. There were ups and downs with the mills, but the Kaniksu National Forest harvested huge amounts of timber. With large parcels of land newly cleared from logging, agriculture was bigger then by about 100,000 acres of cropland. Near Newport, Charles M. Talmadge started the Silver Birch farm. It had orchards and potato fields, and the strawberries were such a hit that they shipped all the way to Fargo, N.D. Hay was the crop of the Calispell Valley, and across the river from Jared, the Merryweathers grew potatoes so large that when they were served on the dining car of the Northern Pacific, it got the moniker: “Route of the Big Baked Potato.” There were a few creameries, and one sold Newport Ice Cream and White Clover Butter in 1916. Mining was also big in the teens, and there was talk of a great operation at Bead Lake to go with the already successful claims in the Metaline District. Ione became the area’s second incorporated town (after Newport) in 1910, Metaline Falls followed suit in 1911 when Lewis P. Larsen platted the town that was expected to boom to a city with hundreds of thousands of people, thanks to his mining operations and cement plant. A year later, it got its school building, designed by the renowned architect Kirtland Cutter. It’s the center of community activity today as the Cutter Theatre. Many of the buildings of modernday Newport’s Washington Avenue were built in the 1910s. They’re remnants of Pend Oreille’s early days and a reminder of the hard work those early settlers put in to make the county what it is today.

and could not be held in the cells. Hearing a noise around midnight, deputy sheriff Siggins and Johnson were summoned and the three officers entered the jail to find Allemond naked, covered in facial cream, stuck halfway through the bars of the jail window. Callahan waited nearby in his slick birthday suit but Allemond was stuck at his hips. Callaghan remained fully dressed as he had suffered a flesh wound being shot by Marshal Johnson during the assault. The jail had been thoroughly searched when the men were initially incarcerated, so it was figured the facial cream had been smuggled in. The men eventually did manage their escape, in true “Shashank Redemption” fashion. They escaped prior to their April 9 trial by removing a portion of the brick wall, using tools made from a heavy wire chair brace and a slat from an iron bunk. They had worked on it for several days, pouring the mortar down the sewer and hiding the bricks in a bunk. The hole was concealed by hanging clothes until it was time for them to break out. All three were eventually apprehended in other parts of the state. The most sensational story of the 1930s in Pend Oreille County was the murder of Newport marshal George Coniff. He was gunned down outside the Newport Creamery, where the Newport Eagles Club is now on Union Avenue. The fatal day was Saturday, Sept. 14, 1935. Coniff confronted two men outside the building, who immediately began backing away and shooting. Coniff emptied his own gun at the men but was hit four times. He staggered to

industry did the unthinkable. To Union Avenue, where he was met by promote the consumption of dairy, mayor Carpenter and councilman manufacturers and producers in H.W. Larson, who had heard the Washington gunplay. The taxed two shooters The case remained unsolved themselves escaped. to raise an Although for decades, the sole cold advertising Coniff suffered shots to the case in Pend Oreille County, fund of $45,000 to apprise the heart (which until sheriff Tony Bamonte public of the proved fatal), upper right believed he solved it in 1989. benefits of milk products. arm, right And apprise hip and his they did. left wrist, he still had a hold on his By 1931, everyone from swimmers gun and flashlight when he climbed and actresses to “the healthiest girl into a vehicle on his own accord and in five states” needed milk to stay was rushed to Newport Community strong and lean, at least according Hospital. to advertisements running in The He was transferred to St. Luke’s in Miner. While many advertisements Spokane where he died on the X-ray dealt with the general health benefits table at 8 a.m. Sunday morning. of milk, butter and ice cream, there He remained alert almost until was concern that the public might the moment he died and was able associate dairy with “the sidewise to relate the events to other law phase of growth.” But such is not the enforcement. cause according to the dairy industry. Coniff was 53. “The best feature to the average The case remained unsolved for boy is overlooked. Milk is the most decades, the sole cold case in Pend powerful food yet found that, when Oreille County, until sheriff Tony added to a boy’s diet, makes him grow Bamonte believed he solved it in taller,” a story stated in 1930. 1989. The tale is the subject of the And, an “exhaustive” study by the book “Breaking Blue” by Timothy Department of Technical Research Egan. of the Washington Dairy Products It is believed that the two shooters Bureau proves that “a man, woman or who murdered Coniff were robbing child could undoubtedly live a longer the Newport Creamery. During time with the greatest degree of the Great Depression decadent happiness, strength and resistance to food items like cream were a hot disease on milk than any other food. commodity in the United States. Most And cheese, made from whole milk, communities had their own creamery may be considered a concentrated as refrigerated transportation was form of milk.” not yet common. With that kind of marketing However, before the Depression prowess and powers of persuasion, it really got rolling, the dairy industry should be no surprise that by 1939, found itself in a bit of a pickle. Under the Washington legislature launched consumption and not over production an investigation into the price of of dairy products was blamed for a milk. slump in prices in 1930. So the dairy

1911 | Ione who had served as a treasurer before he left Minnesota. wasn’t quick to let go. Even up The people were quick to criticize though 1915 as the new courthouse their appointed leaders. All three was going up, the town tried to claim were voted out in the next general the seat. election. And early on, citizens After the county division bill balked at the commissioners’ stipend passed both houses, Gov. Marion E. of $4 per day. Sound familiar? Hay signed off on March 1, making The name for the state’s youngest it official. The bill took effect June county was 10, but that was for debate The name for the state’s up a Saturday, so in Olympia. the first county youngest county was up “Pend Oreille” officers, appointed had come from by Hay, were sworn for debate in Olympia. the French fur in at 2:10 p.m. on traders, their June 12, 1911. name for the Kalispel Indians Commissioners were Dr. G. W. supposedly because of the ear Sutherland, a large property owner pendants they wore, or perhaps from Newport who had served on the because Lake Pend Oreille was county board in Stevens County; D. shaped like such an adornment. R. Atherton, a farmer from Cusick Whatever the case, it was hard to who had experience in road work, pronounce, even harder to spell, logging and administration; and L. and it was French. Lawmakers in L. Mathews, an accountant from Olympia suggested Allen County, From Page 3

after John B. Allen, the state’s first U.S. Senator. The first county offices were on Washington Avenue, just north of what is today POVN and was then The Newport Miner offices. They converted the second story of the Craig building and added a secured vault and jail to the back. Once the new county was allowed to take on debt, it went out for a bond, and in 1915, what we now know as the “old” courthouse was built for $27,000 – much to Ione’s dismay. New buildings were springing up all over Newport in those days. Although voters were tight with their tax dollars and originally rejected the bonds, Newport was able to put up its city hall in 1913 and a new high school in 1915. “Our demands cause taxes,” Fred Wolf wrote on The Miner’s front page in 1914. “People must awaken to reform.”

1990 - 1999 | From Page 12

upgrade in 1999. Newport also got a place for higher learning when a branch of the Community Colleges of Spokane came to town. Before the college had its own home, it shared the former Key Tronic building with a business that was new to the area, Northwest Composites, which made parts for airplanes. Newport celebrated its centennial in 1993, and the main drag got a new look with old-time charm: sidewalks with brick inlays, vintage style lampposts and park benches. At that same time, the downtown business district was divided with Washington and Union avenues becoming one-way streets. As the decade closed, there were plans to install the city’s first stoplight at the junctions of Highways 2 and 41. A new hospital building went up in Newport, and the hospital was set to expand to a lot that used to house the high school. There, it built an assisted living facility and a dental clinic. A few blocks away, there was a groundbreaking in 1999 for Quail Manor, a housing complex for adults with a mental disability. The first shovel was turned by future resident Danny Woelk. He and about 20 others were on the waiting list for a home. The Kalispel Tribe celebrated their accomplishments with a powwow and Indian feast in the fall of 1999. The $17 million casino was being built in Airway Heights, the tribe had reached a settlement

with the public utility district over compensation for land flooded by Box Canyon Dam, and natural resources work was progressing with a bass hatchery and a new wildlife habitat area, the Flying Goose Ranch. Communities also celebrated their achievements in the world of sports. Cusick High School suited up its first female football player, Menesia Craig. At the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Chuck and Jeane Frandrup watched their daughter earn a silver medal for rowing. The girls’ basketball team from Newport High School brought home its first ever state title in 1999 under coach Mike Frederick. Carey Sauer was named MVP of the tournament. She also had her sister Rose Sauer helping out on the court, and dad Larry on the sideline as assistant coach. In 1992, Newport’s football team earned its first league crown in 44 years under Northeast A League coach of the year Jim Murphy. The Grizzlies volleyball team was the regionals No. 1 seed to state, where they took fourth in 1998, and Cusick made it to the B-11 football playoffs. In 1990, a living Christmas tree was planted at Newport’s Centennial Plaza. The 25-yearold tree came from a farm south of Oldtown. Other trees in the area were struggling with the bark beetle. The U.S. Forest Service tried to figure out what to do with the dying trees.

Comments from the public were blunt. “Log it, you morons,” one letter said. In the fall of 1991, forest fires devastated parts of the Spokane area. In Pend Oreille County, about 1,200 acres at Jefferson Road and 314 acres at Marshall Lake were ablaze, sparked by a downed power line. Homes were evacuated.

The floods came in 1997. It was the worst the county had seen since 1948. A total 75 families were evacuated from their homes along the river. The Eurasian milfoil infestation was growing in the waters of the Pend Oreille, and it turned up in Diamond and Davis lakes by 1998. People tried all they could to get

rid of the noxious weed. Chuck and Nancy Shaw bought a weed harvesting machine, and others thought a plant-eating weevil would be the answer. We’re still looking for a good solution today. Many of the issues from this recent decade still live in us and make this county and its people who we are today.

1920-1929 |

1950-1959 | From Page 8

scored 15 touchdowns. He went on to play for Washington State College and was later in the pro leagues with the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Another local hero of sorts was Newport’s oldest resident, George Turner Byxbe, who made headlines each year as his Sept. 4 birthday neared. Fellow residents counted with him past his 100th birthday. He lived in a little house at the north end of Warren Avenue. An article in The Miner described him as hardy and independent. “The little oldster does his own housekeeping, mending, etc.” He homesteaded at Penrith in 1901 and never married. He reached 102 before suffering a stroke and passed away April 26, 1957. The county also lost Fred Wolf in 1957. The long-time Miner publisher (38 years) was a champion for local causes. One of the major pushers for the county’s formation, he was named the “Father of Pend Oreille County” and he set off the first blast to build Albeni Falls Dam and lived to see its completion. Wolf passed away Oct. 29, 1957, at Sacred Heart hospital in Spokane at the age of 80. “Fred Wolf had done more for this town and country than any other individual in its history, and the list of his achievements for the community will probably never be equaled,” wrote 1950s Miner publisher Freeman Frost. The pioneer spirit was still alive in some local folks. Domingo Romero drove his team of horses to town twice a week with a load of hay. The wooden-legged old timer made the front page when he took on a bear with an axe when he found the intruder in his pigpen. The dams kept workers working during the 50s. Diamond Match lumber mills at Dalkena and Albeni Falls were major employers of the day as well, despite a couple of union strikes during that period. Mines at Comstock near Marshall Lake and Jim Creek near Ione were busy. Locals were turning their hopes to the tourism industry. Newport leaders urged the Owen family to move their Chattaroy-area museum to town. After the dam was in, Albeni Cove was developed as a tourist spot. Improvements were made at Gardner Caves and Crawford State

Park in North Pend Oreille County. And in 1959, the state announced a new recreation area, Newport State Park, 5 miles north of Newport, but it remains undeveloped to this day. Updates on the progress of the dams had a weekly spot at the top of the newspaper. President Truman approved plans and funding for Albeni Falls Dam in 1950. Work started the following January. About that time, talks were heating up for the building of Box Canyon Dam, though local mining magnates were against it, saying the reservoir behind the dam would put some of the nation’s richest ore deposits underwater. Regardless, the local utility district received a license to build at Box Canyon in 1952, and construction started in September with a few hundred people on hand to watch the first blast of dynamite for the $16 million project. As the concrete was poured for the draft tube of Unit 3 at Albeni, a time capsule was sealed there, containing facts of the day. The first of three generators started turning in March 1955, and the completed dam was christened June 23. By that time, Box was also producing its first power, which was sent to Whatcom County for the oil plant in Ferndale. The Pend Oreille Public Utility District, without a major power user of its own in Pend Oreille County, sent letters to the nation’s leading industries touting the power it would have available. The city of Seattle, which was in the process of getting approval for its own dam on the Pend Oreille River, took all of Box Canyon Dam’s surplus power – the 53 megawatts that was left after Ferndale General Petroleum’s 6 MW share. With power in demand and construction of the dam complete, the Pend Oreille PUD reduced rates by 8 percent. The county was not enthused with Seattle’s plans for Boundary Dam, especially because Seattle could pay no property taxes to Pend Oreille County. Miners put up their protest as well. The PUD, hoping to persuade the feds to quash Seattle’s plans, still held out hope for building a small dam at Z Canyon. That was a project never to be, and Boundary Dam wasn’t far from a reality, another major construction project that brought our Pend Oreille closer to the land we know today.

File photo

1929 Newport High School Football Team From Page 5

funds to build roads in and out of the county like the one over the Panhandle to Glacier Park. The feds saw people from Spokane getting to the forests and lakes and they had to pass through Pend Oreille County. The Penrith sawmill was closed but Diamond Match announced the building of a new one in Cusick. Technology, particularly from defense research helped the stump farmers of the county. They were allowed to use new explosives to get rid of the big stumps once and for all. Whatever this new explosive was, the county farmers placed one order for 22 tons. There were no reports of deaths immediately after delivery. In 1924, the movers and shakers in Newport and Priest River were trying to build a bridge across the Pend Oreille. They had used a ferry for many years. The debate was front-page news. As new technology developed, more natural resource based products were needed like telephone/electric poles. A cedar pole treating plant was built in Newport. By the mid 1920s the state was talking about paving the highway to Newport within 12 years. The idea was to pave all the roads to county seats. This must have seemed classier. By 1925, the bridge over the river wasn’t built but was on the top of mind awareness. State officials were against it because it cost lots for so few people. But of coarse the locals said, so what. According to The Miner, the people of Newport, led by Fred Wolf, for years had conducted a relentless fight for the bridge. Wolf was still publisher of The Miner and probably wrote the story. The state, with the help of Rep. W.B. Weaver, put up a big bunch of cash for it. Everyone started celebrating and wondering what deal the local leaders had made. Engineering began in the spring of 1925. The dream bridge would be built that fall. $175.000 for: 1,100 feet of

steel, five spans of 200 feet each with an 80 foot span on the west bank and about 200 feet of piling. It would sit 58 feet above low water so steamboats could get under it. The roadway would be 20 feet in width with a sidewalk. Pend Oreille County’s half was paid for with $50,000 from the state of Washington and $21,000 came from Bonner County. The rest came from the federal government. By the summer of 1926, pile driving crews from the local Humbird mill located on the east side of the river were in the river. The steel was coming in September and the county was excited about driving over the river and the new way to get out of the county. The county residents were excited about the future. A front-page opinion said it all. “Now that the Newport bridge project is well underway it is time that the citizens of this community prepare to put over some other big project that will help to put this community on the road to progress. Now as never before they must work to justify their place in the sun.” Hydroelectric power was on that horizon. The proposed Columbia Basin project was getting the nation excited. In the county, roads were still the first priority. The road between Cusick and Chewelah was completed with a big ceremony. It followed the Chewelah trail used by early settlers. Once again the search for rare minerals in northeast Washington was on. Rumors were published that there was great promise of great mining activity in Pend Oreille County. Sixteen graduated from Newport High School in 1927. The Newport Interstate Bridge was dedicated Saturday, July 9, 1927. Price: $198,000. Governors and dignitaries from two states were at the ribbon cutting. The only one not celebrating was the ferry operator – he saw his last run.

The river was still the center of focus for the remainder of the Roaring 1920s. Most every front page of The Miner had some discussion of developing hydroelectric power from Z Canyon to Box Canyon. North Pend Oreille County was the site for both and as a headline in the 1929 Metaline Falls News states: Eyes of mining world on Metaline District. Let the good times roll. New trails in the National forest were built for fire protection but it is noted that they would also be good to attract tourists. Hugh L. Cooper, world famous hydroelectric engineer and proponent of the Z-Canyon power project was in town talking to the clubs and local politicians. He said it is the state’s job to create jobs by: “harnessing the stream for power wherever the stream is so located as to give power to industry.” The local guys loved him. There were many similar pastimes to today. One was chasing cougars around. In 1928, Bud Moon and his helpers caught a live 6-foot female on LeClerc Road and brought it to town. It wasn’t clear why but this was still the roaring 20s. If you weren’t trying to build a dam, mine, sawmill or road, you were hunting. By the beginning of 1929, the big news was that the entire Pend Oreille Highway from north to south was graded gravel. The narrow road through the forest was completed. But the Spokane to Seattle folks were already ahead of them again. They were going to pave the highway between the big cities. Railroad wasn’t dead. They dedicated the railroad tunnel through the Cascades that year. Flying was becoming the thing. Newport dedicated its airport late in 1929. Flyers from all over the region came. Even the dusty and not packed yet field brought praise from the military pilots. An even faster way in and out of the county had arrived. The future was fast and bright.

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1980-1989 | From Page 11 local leaders from Idaho and Washington to rebuild the aging Oldtown Bridge. Without a new bridge trucks were probably not going to use the 14 foot, 5 inch vertical clearance steel dinosaur any longer. That would mean no chip trucks for the paper mill, if it was ever to be built. In another public works effort, Newport built its current library in 1984. The economic roller coaster ride started going up in the mid-1980s. Hubbart had been hospitalized a year earlier with a heart attack and as he put it in his final editorial: “You got to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. When Fred and Susan Willenbrock, both 34, arrived in Newport to take the reins of The Newport Miner, they didn’t know they were in a low point or high point. The couple from Seattle was about to own their first newspaper. Around them, Keytronic was selling their building, the paper mill was on hold, Albeni sawmill was on strike, federal agents were still chasing white supremacists around and unemployment was in double

digits. Willenbrock wrote: “Several have let us know that some tough economic storms have hit. One of the first men I met was leaving town.” As the new publisher, Willenbrock inherited a seat at the “Taco Club,” later Pro Pend Oreille from the Hubbarts. It was a group started and funded by a few business people to fill the Keytronic building. They met at the Hubbarts’ home and had tacos. Some of them, like the Hubbarts, had been instrumental in the early days of the paper mill promotion – a lot of tacos earlier. Pro Pend Oreille morphed into a real organization although without funding. They became part of the economic development scene, pushing further the paper mill plans. Tourism promotion was taken on during this time by proponents of the “City of Flags” theme for Newport. Flags were originally flown from countries that visitors to town were from. The Miner joined the plan by taking front-page pictures of the visitors with their flag. Sweden, Japan and even a general from Russia are now in The Miner archives. Willenbrock chaired a group to upgrade the Newport Plaza, which

1970-1979 | There was a marriage at the county jail that same year. Two suspects who were accused of had no plot to take over brandishing a submachine gun the county. Susan Finley, a during an altercation at the tribal council member, told the swimming area at Box Canyon tied commissioners, “I didn’t know there the knot in the hoosegow. Pend was such bitterness against the Oreille County charges included Indian. This surprises me.” second-degree assault, felony There were a number of names in possession of marijuana and reckless the news in the 1970s that people driving. would recognize today. The 18-year-old bride was Lloyd “Lefty” Stratton got a hole described as “lovely in a white in one at the Rivercrest Golf Course, t-shirt and blue jeans and a tattoo located between Newport and Priest on her right bicep.” River, according to a front-page Newly elected sheriff Tony story in the Aug. 5, 1971 paper. He Bamonte served as best man for the used a five iron on the 185-yard fifth 39-year-old groom. Miner publisher hole. James Hubert arranged the wedding A new attorney opened his office cake. in Newport in June 1974. Doug The couple was initially offered Lambarth received his legal training a regular knife to cut the wedding at the University of Brussels in cake, but Bamonte overruled that Belgium and at the University of and substituted a plastic knife. After Michigan Law School, The Miner the ceremony, they were returned to reported. He started practicing law separate jail in Pittsburg, cells. “After Penn. He left Perhaps the most all, this is a a position as jail,” Bamonte director of significant story of the said, almost the Eastern decade was when voters apologetically, Washington according to Legal Services approved the formation of the story. Program to start Northeast Washington’s Perhaps a practice in the most Newport. first port district in 1978. significant Spokane’s story of the Expo ’74 was decade was when voters approved probably the biggest regional story the formation of Northeast of the day. Pend Oreille County Washington’s first port district in Day at Expo ‘74 was heralded as a 1978. Voters in the south county success in the Oct. 23, 1974 Miner. Helen Krouse at the piano and Percy voted against the port 3-2 but the north county vote carried it. The Gardiner playing the saw were two Port of Pend Oreille was formed of the big attractions. with the purpose of saving the There were some unusual news county’s only rail link. items reported during the decade. Safeway announced plans to open In 1970, two men had their leg a 40,000 square foot superstore in broken while riding the same horse Newport in 1979, with construction at a horse race on two different days. Both broke the same leg in two planned for next year. As the decade ended, the familiar places. In 1972, it was reported that rodeo themes continued to resonate with those of today. Credit was tight, new insurers took over a lawsuit filed by home construction was down and a Spokane woman. She was knocked the unemployment was expected to out when she threw herself over a rise as the timber industry cut back. friend who was in a fight with rodeo The reasons were different, but personnel over abusive hippy jokes told during the rodeo. She didn’t just that didn’t make much difference to those who couldn’t get loans, a job or throw herself over her friend, she afford a house. was involved in the fracas herself, Still, The Miner saw reason according to the story. A stretch of the Pend Oreille River for optimism. Key Tronic, which launched in Newport in 1978, was was being considered for a nuclear expected to add a third addition complex, a front-page story in the here. That would bring the number April 26, 1973, paper reported. The of workers there to 100. PUD was surprised to receive notice The new Safeway store would that an area in the Ruby Usk area bring in tax revenue and provide was one of 20 sites around the state jobs and the establishment of that were identified in a secret the port district was heralded engineering study. nationally. The last year of the decade came As the saying goes, the more in with 33-degrees below zero weather, making for the coldest New things change, the more they stay the same. Year’s Eve ever in the county.

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at the time was a gravel drainage became solidly anchored in the area near the museum. history of north Pend Oreille County. In 1989, County library director “Robert Mathews, from Metaline Dave Remington organized a grand Falls, died in a fiery assault by a state centennial celebration ending brigade of FBI agents after a 34-hour in a train ride. The Miner produced a siege on Whidbey Island. He died centennial publication. in the flames as a fugitive outlaw, A chip mill was started at Usk, suspected bank robber and self-styled where it still operates. defender of the white race,” Miner Sheriff Bamonte said he discovered publisher James Hubbart wrote. the murderer of the Newport marshal Mathews, 31, was the leader of The who died 54 years earlier. It leads to Order, the militant arm of the Aryan a book and national publicity for the Nations. He had come to Metaline sheriff. Falls from Arizona 11 years before. In 1982, voters recalled county “It is only logical to assume that commissioner Elmer Armstrong in a my days on this planet are rapidly special election. drawing The charges to a close,” stemmed from his A Canadian paper company Mathews creation of the declared in had joined five U.S. county personnel a letter to newspaper publishers to department, The Miner. including funding build a mill on a green He went on it. But a group declaring he field near Usk. wasn’t going suspicious of into hiding any government and the FBI control was would know what it was like to be the behind the recall. The recall marked hunted. a decade of bickering between Economic-wise, Hubbart summed county officials and certain groups. it up by writing 1984 was a turning Armstrong’s north county district point: “For a change, the year brought residents talked of seceding from the more good news than bad.” county. A Canadian paper company had The non-native plant in a small joined five U.S. newspaper publishers part of the Pend Oreille River to build a mill on a green field near – locals were calling it milfoil Usk. The work of local proponents weed – was about to be studied. was becoming fruitful. Terry Brown, The first milfoil-caused drowning secretary of Great Lakes Forest claimed a 47-year-old woman in Products, Ltd., of Thunder Bay, Metaline Falls. Ontario, was in Newport with James The darkest days of anti McClatchy, board chairman of government extremism in the McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. 80s began to unfold in The Miner McClatchy told The Miner they front pages and editorial pages. chose Pend Oreille because of low cost It started as a small story on the power and available raw materials front page: “Aryan counterfeiter spotted near Metaline Falls.” Near – wood chips from the many mills at the time. Christmas in 1984, the violent It couldn’t come soon enough as movement of white supremacists

two sawmills announced closure. The unemployment rate reached 25 percent. Many residents were looking forward to the 600 jobs and $40 million to be spent during construction. “As soon as someone gets the shovels out, I’ll be there,” Rep. Tom Foley told The Miner from Washington D.C. in 1986. Thursday Oct. 1, 1987, was a day many people have waited for: “Shovel bites first mill dirt,” was the headline. Ground breaking for Ponderay Newsprint Mill was the story. Gov. Booth Gardner flew into Ione Airport for the event. A special section was printed for the newspaper and handed out at the event. It included the history and how to make newsprint. The Ponderay story held the front page for the next few years. Jim McNally was among the key behindthe-scenes players. He negotiated a power sales contract between the PUD and Ponderay that was essential for both. McNally often was involved in efforts to improve the economy, speaking of it until his death. Co-publishers Jim and Sherry Hubbart were also among the shakers and movers in the effort to bring Ponderay. One of the first signs of growth from the newsprint mill was a new housing development – the first in decades. Quail Ridge Estates was proposed in Newport. Who would have thought? Headlines were then: “Construction boom and strong timber industry hit in 1989.” In November, Ponderay began to make paper. By December, the bugs were out and The Miner received the first roll of newsprint and prints that week’s edition on it. The county would never be the same.

1940-1949 | held in 1943, a man was found not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting his father. He was sent roads and developing a sewer to Walla Walla, where he would be system for Newport were two items held in a section of the prison for local leaders aspired to complete. the criminally insane. He wasn’t to The decision whether to build be released until he was declared a $140,000 sanitary sewer and sane by a jury trial in Pend Oreille disposal plant for Newport went to County. the voters. A 60-percent approval In 1948, another was needed to pass jury was impaneled and Newport voted The greatest flood since 1894 struck and scheduled to 268-114 to approve it, hear four criminal although there was a the mid-county June 1, 1948, leaving cases. The cases were problem with financing residential sections of Cusick under 6 to 8 for larceny, assault, and it wouldn’t be built until the next feet of water when the Pend Oreille River negligent driving and a game law violation. decade. rose and broke through earthen dikes. A jury found the The war time ban defendant not guilty on driving faster than in the negligent 50 mph was rescinded driving case and the defendant in $2.3 million. One railroad employee and people were again allowed to the larceny case changed his plea was killed when a train derailed. drive 50 mph, where permitted. to guilty. Much of the area was underwater Miner publisher Fred Wolf, who There were a couple of disputes for a month. owned the paper since 1907, sold it in the county by the end of the The U.S. Army Engineers at the end of 1945, ending a 38-year decade. An eight month strike by recommended the long discussed career with The Miner. The new miners of the International Union Albeni Falls Dam be built. The owner, Freeman S. Frost, was from of the Mine, Mill and Smelter projected cost of $32 million was Gooding, Idaho. Workers against the Grandview said to be low, according to an Local pictures started appearing Army report. But the U.S. Congress mine was taking its toll in 1948. more often with the change of The company was refusing approved funding by the end of the ownership and the end of the war. to sign a contract because decade. Another change was noted a couple union leaders hadn’t signed There was a spirited advertising months into Frost’s ownership. The anti-communist and financial war waged over alcohol in the subscription rate was increased to statements. fall election of 1948. Initiative $2.50 a year, a 50-cent increase. Several men were arrested for 13 sought to limit beer and Newsstand copies sold for 6 cents. attacking a non striker and a court wine sales only to state liquor The area started getting back to injunction prohibiting picketing stores and prohibit grocery a peacetime footing, with everyone was issued against the union under stores, restaurants, gas stations having an optimistic outlook. the Taft-Hartley Act. and taverns from selling beer. The first post war Pend Oreille The Pend Oreille Public Utility Initiative 171 sought to allow the County Fair and Rodeo was held, District and the city of Newport sale of liquor by the glass at any with schools dismissed on the were at each other’s throats. establishment that served food Friday of the event. Bucking stock Newport voters voted 3-1 to buy as its principal business, such as from the Calgary Stampede was out a private electric company and restaurants. featured. run their own electricity. The PUD Pend Oreille voters solidly Pend Oreille County joined the eventually won an out-of-court turned down both initiatives, rest of the country in voting out settlement with the utility and Initiative 13 went down 2-1 in the the Democrats in the fall elections, bought it out for $325,000. county. Initiative 13 was defeated with the national Congress By the end of the decade, the statewide, but Initiative 171 was and state legislature going to county could look back at improved passed. Republican control. The assessor transportation and electricity. The county voted for Democrat and the auditor were the only The funding was approved for the Harry Truman for president, as did county Democrats elected. Albeni Falls Dam and the start of Bonner County. The county’s most successful the automobile culture was taking Pend Oreille County didn’t have writer, Barbara Ellersick, was off. many jury trials in the 1940s. paid $20,000 for the movie rights The postwar boom was Between 1941 and 1948, there was to one of her stories in 1948. She underway. only one jury trial. In that trial, would also get 2 percent of the net

From Page 7

proceeds from the movie, if it were made. The greatest flood since 1894 struck the mid-county June 1, 1948, leaving residential sections of Cusick under 6 to 8 feet of water when the Pend Oreille River rose and broke through earthen dikes. Flood damage was estimated at

MINER | From Page 15 hospitalized a year earlier with a heart attack and as he put it in his final editorial: “You got to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.” Willenbrock wrote: “Several have let us know that some tough economic storms have hit. One of the first men I met was leaving town.” But he went on to say that becoming the publisher of a community newspaper is like becoming a guardian. “It’s only temporary, with a beginning and end. And during your time, you can only hope the newspaper serves the community, readers and advertisers.” Hubbart wrote: “We pass the torch to a young and capable publisher who we feel confident will carry on a long and proud tradition at these newspapers.” That ended his nine years at The Miner. Willenbrock, who remains the current publisher, become the seventh and second longest on the job. He served as president of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association in 1996. Just a few years after arriving, Willenbrock started to dramatically change the technology used to produce his newspapers. Typewriters were replaced by typesetting word processers. Every few years, these were replaced by next generation computers, eventually morphing into typesetter and layout tools. Just as equipment was bought, it became obsolete. The darkroom and chemicals haven’t been used for years and photography is done by digital cameras downloaded to

2000-2011 | computers. Computers were networked and very little paper changed hands. Pages are emailed to the press. Quality and timeliness reached unprecedented levels by 2000. It allowed more color, which was absent until the late 1990s. More special sections were added and expanded. Today, The Miner also publishes a website, has mobile applications, digital video, and connects with readers via social networks including Facebook and Twitter. During the years, the staff has earned numerous awards from peer groups and organizations for their work in news writing, advertising, opinions, photography and community service. In 2009, the newspaper earned the general excellence award from the Washington Newspaper Publisher’s Association going up against much larger newspapers. That same year, the paper earned the community service award for promoting the renovation the Newport School District’s sports stadium. Just like publishers of the past have done, The Miner, its owners and its staff have their hearts in this community. They champion its causes, watch out for their best interests, and along the way, tell the story of its people.

Editor’s note: The story was compiled from a history of the early Newport Miner written by former reporter Mike Denuty, from the pages of The Miner and from the memories of current and past employees.

From Page 13 nearly four years, the mine was “temporarily” closed due to a downturn in the economy. In February 2009, employees worked their last day. The mine remains shutdown today, operating on a “care and maintenance” program. About 45 people remain employed at the mine, some working on exploration for more minerals. Pend Oreille County is not without its scandal in modern times. High profile court cases and controversial decisions by public officials have made headlines throughout the decade. Two groups of Pend Oreille County residents were charged with murders that happened elsewhere in the state. In January 2000, former Newport residents and business owners Morris “Mel” Goldberg and Jo Ann Peterson were charged with the 1991 murder of their son-in-law Peter Zeihen in the Spokane Valley. Jo Ann, who had one time run for county commissioner, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In 2003, three Newport men, two of whom were recent graduates of Newport High School, were arrested in Snohomish County on murder charges. Matthew Young, his father Daniel Young, and Bryce Howe were charged with murder after a botched drug deal in a Denny’s parking lot near Everett. Howe remains in prison, as does the elder Young. Matthew Young

went to trial and was acquitted on the murder charges while Howe pleaded in exchange for testimony against Young. A multiple-victim shooting at the Stateline Tavern in Oldtown ended the lives of five people in October 2003. Ralph R. Reeves shot four people to death – LeRoy G. Wiese, 84, Tiki D. Wiese, 41, Chester W. Cavalier, 62, and Henry “Hank” Shumake, 63 – then took his own life later that night. In October 2007, after just two hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Mary Rosalee Gray, 61, of premeditated murder. Gray was found guilty of shooting and killing, Robert Gray, 70, her eighth husband to whom she had been married for seven months. Robert Gray was a former Newport City Councilman. A major contention between the citizens of Pend Oreille County and the officials that lead the county government was the decision to increase the wages of elected officials in late 2005. The commissioners approved an average $325 to $250 per month increase for employees to bring them closer in line with counties of a similar economic and population size. The big issue for many was the commissioners’ move from parttime to full-time employees, which brought with it a 73-percent wage increase. In October 2006, The Miner reported that many citizens along as the three candidates for the commissioner District 2 seat, had

been critical of the raise. The commissioners’ salary is now set by a commission comprised of citizens, whose decision is final. Through dark times and light, Pend Oreille County continued to thrive. The city of Newport celebrated its centennial in the summer of 2003. Historic buildings such as city hall got a fresh coat of paint and the community gathered in the city park for picnicking, games and music. Since then, the towns of Ione and Metaline Falls have also celebrated their centennials. In July 2004, about 1,500 people attended the first ever Pend Oreille Lavender Festival on the Pend Oreille River, and it became an annual event. In 2006, the Newport High School track became the place to be for the first annual Pend Oreille Valley Relay for Life. That first year, the goal of raising $11,000 by 10 teams for the American Cancer Society blown out of the water, with the final tally of 20 teams and $42,000 exceeding everyone’s expectations. The relay continues every August, bringing together people from across the region. There have been times of celebration and times of trial throughout the 100 years Pend Oreille County has been in existence. Good times and bad, those experiences have made Pend Oreille County what it is today, and it will echo in the pages as history unfolds over the next 100 years.

The first Miner building

The Miner building in 2011

The Newport

Miner

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