Out of the Past: 12/17/2025

100 Years Ago—

The Minzell-Randall Co.: new Ford agency opened for business this week on North Main Street, between Second and Third Streets.

The discovery of a rich deposit of zinc ore was reported at the old Royal Gold property west of Northport. High grade zinc ore 2 or 3 feet in width was opened at a depth of 10 feet in an old shaft. The property was incorporated 30 years ago by A.H. Styles and good assays of gold were there, it was reported.

Radio station KFOA of Seattle broadcasted a description of the natural resources of Stevens County Monday night.

75 Years Ago—    

Members of the Stevens County Sportsmen’s Association will meet on Tuesday night in the Elks lounge to elect officers for the coming year. The association has a membership of over 600 sportsmen in the area.

The county jail could be mighty small and crowded come Jan. 1, if a lot of county drivers don’t get their new license tags pretty soon. 

Stevens County has 77 students enrolled in Washington State College this semester, according to tabulations made by registrar Harry Chambers.

50 Years Ago—  

Official announcement of Boise Cascade’s purchase of Avey Bros. Lumber Co. of Kettle Falls from its owners Pack River had not been made at press time. Last week, Avey Bros. employees were informed that Boise Cascade had purchased the mill.

The State Department of Agriculture will hold a public meeting in Colville on Monday on the application of new owners of the Colville Livestock Market to continue to conduct a weekly Wednesday sale. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Maier and Ted Morris have acquired the Colville Livestock Auction, Inc. from the previous owner, Mrs. Mallnee Pehrson.

25 Years Ago—

A 338-page historical perspective that chronicles Colville of another era has just been printed by the Statesman-Examiner. The expansive book, titled “Little Journeys Around The Town,” was written by noted Colville newspaperman and historian, J.C. Harrigan. The book was compiled and edited by the Northeast Washington Genealogical Society. The book’s co-editors are Shirley Dodson and Susan Dechant.

Colville city council members voted at last Tuesday’s meeting to proceed with preliminary engineering for Phase Three of the Colville 2000 Project, the Truck Route.

10 Years Ago—

The Colville Chamber of Commerce held their Gala Dinner on Dec. 12, and pulled the winning tickets for this year’s Christmas Tree Extravaganza. According to the Chamber, all 10,000 tickets were sold.

Talking about the disposal of contaminated occurrences at the Stevens County Landfill, what has recently been out of the ordinary is an unprecedented quantity: 7,200 tons from one source, according to Dennis Durbin, Stevens County’s Solid Waste manager.