Bonner County History - Aug. 26, 2025

Brought to you by the

Bonner County Historical

Society and Museum

611 S. Ella Ave., Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864

208-263-2344

50 Years Ago

Sandpoint News-Bulletin

and Sandpoint Bee

Aug. 26, 1975 – BIRTHS

8-25: To Mr. and Mrs. Norman Janeksela, Priest River, 7 lb. 1 oz. boy; To Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Chapin, Bonners Ferry, 8 lb. boy. To Mr. and Mrs. David Streeter, Nordman, 7 lb. 6 oz. girl; To Mr. and Mrs. Silvio Ribeiro, Sandpoint, 6 lb. 13 oz. boy. 

•••

HANSONS NOTE GOLDEN YEAR

Mr. and Mrs. Chris A. Hanson celebrated their golden wedding anniversary July 27, which was also Mr. Hanson’s birthday. They were married that date in 1927 at Scobey, Mont., moving that year to Coeur d’Alene where they raised their children, Bettie Jean and Harley. They moved to Sandpoint in 1955, living at 911 Poplar. In March, 1955, Hanson build the P & H Stud Mill at Kootenai; he later built the Hanson and Son Machine Shop at 917 Poplar in Sandpoint. 

•••

BRIDGE OLD STANDARD

The bridge now under construction as part of the Hwy 200 bypass at Hope would be “at least” six feet wider if designed today. The bridge, a 1964 Federal forest highway project, has been under construction the past 10 years. When it was designed, 28 feet was the standard surface width for such a structure, considering the traffic density for that particular bridge. That included 12 feet for each travel lane, but only two feet of shoulder area. Now, the same bridge would require 12’ travel lanes plus 5’ safety shoulders, making a total of 34 feet for the bridge.

75 Years Ago

Sandpoint News-Bulletin

Aug. 26, 1950 – CITY IN BRIEF

Sgt. Robert Perry, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Perry, left Sunday for Portland. He was in the active reserves and just received orders to return to duty.

Miss Virginia Sulzle of this city, on Wednesday returned from Spokane where she was the overnight guest of her grandmother, Mrs. O.A. Edburg.

David C. Demers arrived Monday from Portland to spend his vacation visiting his sister-in-law, Mrs. Sam Owens, at Hope and trying to catch “some of the big ones” in Lake Pend Oreille. 

Ted Grant left Saturday for Rhinelander, Wisc. to spend two weeks visiting relatives. 

•••

YOUNGSTERS RAISE $125 FOR HOSPITAL

Bonner county youngsters have contributed $125 to the Bonner General hospital building fund due to the efforts of two girls, Penny Nelson and Loyce Hall. The pair originated and wrote their own scripts for a radio program called the Earn-a-Dollar club heard every weekday morning at 8:15. The largest contribution so far was by the “Eager Beavers,” a group of small youngsters who collected enough pies and cakes to hold a sale that netted $25 for the hospital. A backyard circus put on by the north Sixth avenue Freckle club raised $12.96. Individual kids earned their contributions by doing a wide variety of tasks such as picking huckleberries, baby-sitting, running errands, feeding geese, pulling weeds, and washing dishes. Little Jay Miller earned 25 cents for getting dressed by himself and picking up his toys.

For more information, visit the museum online at bonnercountyhistory.org.