Tag Archives: Idaho history

Play ball! Baseball in Early Sandpoint, 1895-1930

The batter connected with a fast pitch, sending the ball high into the air toward the water. Cheers erupted from the enthusiastic crowd lining the makeshift field in the area now included in City Beach. This was the first game … Continue reading

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James Henry Towles of Hope, Idaho

James Henry Towles has intrigued me ever since I saw his photograph at the Bonner County Historical Society many years ago. Aside from his name, all I knew about him was that he was a Black man working as a … Continue reading

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A Little Extra Help for the Holiday Season

When I went to the grocery store recently, I was greeted by a group of volunteers collecting food for our local food bank. Like many others in Yokes that day, I added a few things to my cart to deposit … Continue reading

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Billy Abbott’s Saloon

Two buildings went up in smoke on that cold winter night. Working under difficult conditions, fire fighters managed to keep the flames from reaching a neighboring building but they were unable to save the two structures. By morning, the ruins … Continue reading

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November 1918: Celebration and Sorrow

The telephone rang in the Humbird Lumber Company offices on the mid-morning of November 7, 1918, bringing the unexpected but joyful news that Germany had signed the armistice agreement with the Allies. Word spread fast as the raucous sounds of … Continue reading

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Ford Day

Spring in North Idaho brings a wealth of colors, sounds, and smells that brighten our lives after the long, gray winter. Golden dandelions bloom exuberantly in lush green lawns; robins and chickadees noisily proclaim their territory; and lovely lilacs, lavender, … Continue reading

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1917: Wobblies, War, and Walkouts

By mid-March 1917, as the winter snow melted gradually into spring, the people of Sandpoint opened their weekly newspaper to find a few glimmers of good news. Local barbers reassured customers that the recent 10 cent price increase applied only … Continue reading

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Entertaining Sandpoint: They “seemed to be having an awful good time”

It was the highlight of the 1892 social calendar: a Washington’s birthday dance at the Spinks Hotel. Mr. Spinks, the genial proprietor and “champion yarn-spinner of the Panhandle,” issued an open invitation to Sandpoint residents. All were welcome, he announced … Continue reading

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Entertaining Sandpoint: From Roller Skates to Moving Pictures

A roller skating fad swept the nation in the early 1900s, starting in eastern cities in 1905 and working its way to the west coast a year later. Seattle had three skating rinks by September 1906 and a fourth one … Continue reading

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Bonner County’s (Very Brief) Gas and Oil Booms

In recent years, our area has seen an increasing number of trains hauling coal and oil from Montana to refineries and ports on the coast. It’s not uncommon to see trains, with up to one hundred tanker cars, crossing the … Continue reading

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