This Week in Bonners Ferry History
100 Years Ago
Master Clen Wallace, nine year old son of Mrs. Clara Wallace, nurse at the B.F. Hospital, had his eye blown out and the first joints of his thumb, forefinger and index finger torn off Saturday when a dynamite cap with which he was playing, exploded. The accident happened at the home of the boy’s aunt, Mrs. T.B. Ferris on the Curley Creek district. The dynamite cap was found by Master Clen and he had considerable curiosity to investigate the insides which is perfectly natural for any boy. First he tried to pry the cap apart with a nail and then he took a hammer and struck it a couple of times before it exploded.
School District No. 21 which was created at the July meeting of the County Commissioners upon the petition of residents of the district, is now erecting a temporary bldg. to house the school. The trustees are Jos. Barto, Walter Aldrich, and Charles Sand. Mr. Barto states the school will be located near the Jos. Barto ranch on BF-Porthill road about seven miles from town.
The B.F. baseball team defeated the Naples team on Sunday to the tune of 7 to 0 in a no-hit, no score, seven inning game- not a batter of the opposing team reached 1st base. Earl Heathershaw pitched and was in perfect condition.
A.C. White sawmill at Ritz Siding will close this evening for an indefinite period. The logging operations at Camp No. 3 will continue through the winter and it is possible that the sawmill will resume operations in a few weeks.
50 Years Ago
Bonners Ferry Babe Ruth baseball team ended on a winning note last Saturday as they took a double header from Castlegar on their home field by scores of 4-0 and 4-3 to win the CAN-U.S. league, running their final 1968 record to 16 wins and 7 losses. Top five hitters were Rick Meddock, Randy Sinclair, Darrell Eby, Dean Neumeyer, and Mike Plantz. Top pitching was Rick Meddock, Mike Plantz, Steve Carpenter, Darrell Eby, Randy Sinclair, Dave McLeish and Bob Wombacker.
Simon Francis, 77, and his wife, Catherine, 75, have a new home they had constructed by a local contractor, replacing one which was destroyed by fire at their 10-acre farm north of Bonners Ferry in April of 1967. Despite their ages, the Francises put in a wheat crop each year and with some of the income their home with four rooms and a bath, was built.
Four BFHS students recently returned from a trip to eight European countries on a People to People Student Ambassadors tour. They are Kathy McNally, Rita Eckhart, Cindy Houck, and Lynn Beatty.
15 Years Ago
On Aug. 9, five generations of the Dunning family celebrated 100 years of residence in what is now Boundary County. In 1903, siblings William F. and Brewster Dunning, Rose Northrup and their 76 year old mother moved to this area from Minnesota. Currently 11 direct descendants make their home here.
Panhandle Health District is making an appeal to an unknown male and female who may have been exposed to a rabid bat while helping two young boys who had found the bat! One of the boys was bitten and both are undergoing a series of shots after the bat was confirmed positive for rabies.
The average price for gasoline is heading back up again after being stable for much of the summer. The price for self-service pumps was $1.63 last Thursday.