Remember When?

50 YEARS AGO • JANUARY 9, 1969

REGULAR TRAIN STOPS SET FOR FALLS, NOXON

Noxon and Thompson Falls again are regular stops for the Main streeter passenger trains operated by the Northern Pacific Railway Co., Louis W. Menk, president, advised the Thompson Falls-Noxon Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber had written the N.P. in November requesting that the Mainstreeter make regular stops, instead of merely stopping when flagged at the two depots. In response to the chamber’s request Menk this week wrote Mrs. Dufresne:

“At the time we improved the Mainstreeter by adding through slumbercoach service and shortening the running time, we instituted flag stops at certain lower-volume stations. This was done to save time lost in daily stops at stations where passengers less frequently used the train and to create a more consistently favorable schedule at higher volume stations. Yet, you may be certain the Northern Pacific wants to provide the best possible service for those who do use it. We trust this may also increase patronage. “For these reasons, our Mainstreeter trains will make regular stops at Thompson Falls and Noxon in the future.”

The depot at Thompson Falls was moved to the east corner of Preston Avenue and Woodland Street and is now a private residence. I remember boarding the train at Thompson Falls and going to Missoula with my family as a small child several times. I didn’t care to ride on a train however, as I was expected to sit still.

40 YEARS AGO • JANUARY 4, 1979

COURTHOUSE OPEN DURING NOON HOUR

Sanders County commissioners agreed to enforce the state law to keep all county offices which are manned with sufficient employees open during the noon hour effective Jan. 2, at their final session of the old year.

Offices which are expected to remain open during the noon hour starting Tuesday were Clerk and Recorder, Treasurer, Assessor, Appraiser, Welfare and Extension Service.

COUNTDOWN STARTS FOR HAWK WRESTLERS

Three week ends of competition remain for the Blue Hawks no. 1 ranked wrestling squad before the Western B-C Divisional Tournament, and the Blue Hawks probably will get their toughest dual meet test of the season to date Friday afternoon here.

But, if the Hawks live up to their past performances, they can win both matches.

To date the Blue Hawk grapplers, coached by Rich “Big Bird” DeWitt and Nick Carter have finished first in two tournaments, at Hamilton and Mission, and tied for fifth with Libby in a big three-state meet at Coeur d’Alene that featured some of the largest schools in the Northwest.

To date, the squad has chalked up dual meet victories over Arlee, Plains, Loyola, Darby, Corvallis, Charlo, Frenchtown and Florence.

Among the squad’s 13 top wrestlers, one Blue Hawk, Shawn Allen is undefeated in competition this year with a record of 11 wins against no defeats. Two other wrestlers, Ron Kazmierczak and Larry Milner, have lost only one match while chalking up 15 wins each. Mike Fisher has a 15-2 record and Gary Hagerman is 14-3 and Steve Davis is 13-3.

This could be Thompson Falls’ best wrestling season yet, and the Hawks may live up to predictions by Montana sportswriters and coaches who rated them earlier as the best in the B-C Classification in the state. A growing following of local fans hope so.

The Blue Hawk wrestlers went on to win State as a team and had four first place championships – Ron Kazmierczak, 126 lbs., Steve Davis, 155 lbs., Larry Milner, 167 lbs. and Shawn Allen, heavyweight. They also won the state championship in 1980.