08/26/26 Out of the Past

100 Years Ago—

A delegation of mining men of Stevens County will meet with the mining bureau of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce in Spokane Monday to create interest in the development of Stevens County’s mines. There will be delegates from Colville, Northport, Kettle Falls, and Chewelah.

The Colville Examiner is purely a local community paper, representing the northern half of Stevens County. Its bona fide subscription list is three times greater than that of any other paper published in Colville.

KETTLE FALLS – Cars and trucks are running day and night to move the immense crop of peaches, cantaloupes, watermelons, and pears.

A special school election will be held this afternoon in the new high school building to determine whether a special levy shall be assessed in school district No. 5 to raise $1,581.01 for general school maintenance and $7,899.65 for completing and furnishing the new high school building.

75 Years Ago—

A new 500-car capacity drive-in theater, first to be built north of Spokane, will be constructed north of Colville.

Age limits on first grade students in the Colville system were extended this week. Children who will be 6 before Nov. 30 may be enrolled next Monday, Myron Colburn, school superintendent, announced Thursday morning.

Inland Empire contractors were $37,000 too high in bids for construction of a new 12-room grade school for Colville.

A record crowd of over 1,000 persons attended the annual firemen’s barbecue at Deep Lake on Labor Day. 

50 Years Ago—

If you think you are rubbing elbows with a Canadian neighbor to the north while standing at the cashier’s counter in Colville, you very well could be right. More than ever before, Canadians have been crossing the border for a shopping spree in the United States. And with Colville only a short distance away, and a large-small retail trade center, it is reaping the benefits, at least for now.

The State Department of Highway released plans this week for the re-surfacing of Colville’s Main Street, according to Bill McCammon, local department head.

Horse racing, log cutting, a softball game, dancing, and lots of food will all be a part of one of the area’s more popular functions, the fourth annual “Arden Daze.”

25 Years Ago—

Brian Strobel, 12, from Kettle Falls, won at Spokane Raceway Park. Strobel rode a 2001 Yamaha YZ 80. He competed against 20 other racers ages 12-16. This was Strobel’s first year of racing.

Jamie Hockley, a resident of Addy, will be competing for the Miss Rodeo Washington title over Labor Day weekend in Bremerton.

Last week’s rainfall and cooler temperatures conspired to give firefighters the upper hand on the major wildfires burning in northeast Washington.

10 Years Ago—

The Northeast Tri-County Health District was notified of three area horses that tested positive for West Nile Virus. Two of the three horses are from the north Stevens County area. The third is from Pend Oreille County.

It’s official: the nation’s National Park Service turned 100 in August. Of the 59 national parks, three are in Washington state: Mt. Rainier National Park, established in 1899; Olympic National Park, established in 1938; and North Cascades National Park, established in 1968.