Remember When

50 YEARS AGO • APRIL 6, 1948

GUNDERSONS SELL SKOGMOS

Sale of the Skogmo Clothing store to a new, still-to-be formed local corporation effective April 20 was announced Tuesday by owners Gary and Betty Gunderson. Stockholders in the new corporation will be Dean and Liz Margelin, State Rep. Chris Stobie and his wife, Ruby, Herb and Juanita Stobie, K.A. and Gladys Eggensperger and Jim and Middie Frost, all of Thompson Falls.

Gunderson who is retiring from the clothing business after more than 35 years, will continue to reside in Thompson Falls.

Gunderson started working with the Gambles-Skogmo organization in the Gambles store furniture department at Kalispell. Then for seven years he managed the Gambles store at Eureka.

In the early 1950s the Gundersons purchased the Gambles Store at Drummond, which they operated for seven years before buying the store here from Rich and Millie Wollaston in the early 1960s.

When they purchased the local store it was located in the building now occupied by Motor Parts (now Simple Simon’s Pizza). The Gundersons moved the store to the present location of the Gambles store (now Doug’s True Value) before selling the hardware portion to Jim and Delores Freer in 1974. The Gundersons retained the clothing store which they moved to the former Peek Building.

A disastrous fire in December 1974 destroyed the Skogmos Store and its huge Christmas inventory along with the Thompson Falls Drug, Bill’s Barber Shop and the Montana Job Service Office.

The Gundersons built their present building in the spring of 1975 and moved that fall into the new and enlarged quarters (now Mike’s Uptown Essentials and Main Street Medical).

Mrs. Darlene Willhite will be retained as a fulltime employee. She and Frost attended a fall and back-to-school clothing showing in Billings earlier this week to purchase stock for the new owners.

The new owners said they plan to restock the store and operate a clothing store that will attempt to meet the needs of the area’s citizens.

EXCERPT FROM CITY COUNCIL MEETING, EARLY 1950s

City Marshal Gerald Eldridge has been relieved of his street maintenances duties and is to devote practically all of his time in the future to police work Mayor Orin P. Kendall informed the city council Monday night.

The action was taken following requests made by several citizens to have Eldridge devote more of his time policing the city, particularly at night. The requests were prompted by recent burglaries – particularly the break-in at the school in October and the more recent theft of cash from Motor Parts.

The following statement, with the council’s approval, was issued outlining the duties of Marshal Eldridge.

The town council and many of the citizens of Thompson Falls feel that more marshal work should be done and for that reason schedule and suggestions listed below have been prepared so that the marshal will have a general idea of what is expected of him.

“The principal duty of the city marshal is to prevent infractions of the law and city ordinances and to take the required steps to see that the offenders are punished.

“The marshal will be expected to devote approximately eight hours per day for six days a week in the performance of his duties except in emergencies or when authorized to do otherwise by the mayor or town council.

“The marshal shall at all time pay particular attention to the enforcement of traffic regulations such as parking overtime, speeding, failure to observe traffic signs, careless and reckless driving and any other irregularity. Tickets are to be issued to offenders for flagrant disregard of the law. The aim should be toward prevention as much as possible.

“At least three nights a week the marshal shall patrol the streets and alleys between the hours of 2 and 7 a.m., and he shall at all times work as closely with other law enforcement officers as possible. His routine should be so varied that people intent on committing some offense will have difficulty in determining where he will be at a given time.