Remember When

70 YEARS AGO • MAY 5, 1948

NEW RUSTIC TAVERN OPENS

Saturday night is the opening night for Jack and Dick Harwood’s new rustic tavern at Quinn’s Hot Springs. “Air-Lock” logs, produced by the National Log Construction Company of Thompson Falls were used in the building. The tavern is reported to be the most attractive log structure in this section of the country.

Fine drinks, good food, with dancing before an open fireplace will be featured. Harwoods also have excellent hot mineral baths and overnite facilities. A number of couples from Thompson Falls are planning to be present for the opening.

RANCH FOR SALE – 195 acres in western Sanders County, 100 acres is tillable, 20 acres now cleared, 30 more almost cleared. Some timber and good pasture, electricity, good water piped ½ mile, excellent pressure. Two room house, insulated, shower and built-ins, new log shop building, 30’x40’ with aluminum roof, cement floor. Foundation for new house 32x36’ is in. Price $7500. Barto and Larson agents, First State Bank building, Thompson Falls, Montana.

50YEARS AO • MAY 3, 1968

WORK PARTY

Lions Club members turned out Sunday morning to begin work on another section of the wall they are building as a community beautification project on the north side of Main Street. Gerald Eldridge, city street superintendent, operated the city’s backhoe to dig the trench for the wall footing. Digging was typically Thompson Falls – obstructed by an occasional boulder. Strawbossing the digging are Louis Dufresne, Billy Watters, Ray Stinger, James L. Taylor, Art Turk and Leonard Lovhaug. Others helping were Freeman Fulks, C.R. Duffield, James Langley, Jack Basham, Richard Heater and K.A. Eggensperger. Lions plan to erect forms and pour wall this Sunday. This concrete wall is located just below the train depot. There is a big boulder in the wall on the west end that concrete was poured around. It must have been too big to move.

ANNUAL RITUAL

The Montana Power Co. crews at Thompson Falls performed their annual spring ritual last week of pulling the boards from the 50-year old Thompson Falls dam in preparation for the spring run-off. Boards are lifted out with an electric crane which operates from tracks on top of the main dam. After being stacked away at the end of the dam, they will be replaced in July after the high water recedes. Crane operator is L.E. (Happy) Worthington, other workers are Bruce Baylor, Claude Friel, Percy Wollaston and Don Widner.

Pulling the boards from the Thompson Falls dam before long may be a thing of the past. Montana Power Co. has announced plans to install electrically operated gates which would control flow and end this 50-year old task.

40 YEARS AGO •

MAY 4, 1978

FALLING TREE PINS LOGGER

Gerald Miller of Thompson Falls sustained chipped vertebrae in his back when a tree fell on him Monday at the Rathbun ranch on Graves Creek, where he was logging with Stan Hoekema.

A tree that had hung up in the brush caught Miller, pinning him to the ground and forcing his face into the dirt between his feet. Hoekema sawed the tree off of Miller to get Gerald out from under it. Then Stan called for help on his CB radio.

The Thompson Falls Ambulance took him to Clark Fork Valley Hospital. Initial reports were that he had suffered a broken arm and legs, but his daughter, Mary Miller, said Tuesday that the only broken bones were chipped vertebrae.