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OUR OPINION
One of the things that is apparent in compiling the Down Memory Lane column, as the old saying goes, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same.’
Down Memory Lane is a weekly look at 124 years of The Miner. The Miner has been continuously putting out a weekly newspaper since 1901. Newspapers are said to be the first draft of history and DML is a look at this week in 10-year sections going back to 1915.
In this week’s DML, among the things that stay the same, is the need for housing. During this week in 1915, there were no houses for rent in Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls.
While there is more housing available in the north county today, that isn’t as true for the southern part of Pend Oreille County, despite a low-income townhouse apartment complex that was started in 1985.
Another thing that falls into the ‘stays the same’ category is that in 1976 a state income tax produced a 70% voter turnout. It wouldn’t be a stretch to guess the turnout was to vote against a state income tax.
There are usually surprising things about the past, too. That the Pend Oreille River was said to run backwards in 1955 was astonishing. As a first draft, it’s sort of hard to know if that was true or not, but it was still remarkable.
Seeing familiar names is one of the enjoyable things about DML.
Tell Hamilton, who now works for the Kalispel Tribe, and Travis Stigall, who works for the Sheriff’s Office, were high school football stars for Cusick this week in 1995. In 2005, Newport’s Jackie Zorica was a bowling star after competing at the Washington Women Bowlers Association in Puyallup. Joining her were teammates Tammie Ownbey, Kelly Jo Hilliard and Pam Nichols.
The Miner has always covered west Bonner County, as well as Pend Oreille County. A 1995 account of a young grizzly bear causing havoc in the Nordman area near Priest Lake was reported. The bear had to be transplanted elsewhere after entering an occupied tent to eat dog food.
The point of Down Memory Lane is to celebrate, inform and entertain readers. It appears in various Miner publications. Sometimes it’s in the newspaper, sometimes in The Extra, a weekly shopper that goes to all households who get mail, and more recently in The Nugget, The Miner’s weekly digital newsletter.
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
-Don Gronning Editor
