Bonner County History - June 28, 2026

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

June 28, 1976 – BLOOM-STEVENS ENGAGED 

Mr. and Mrs. Denver Bloom of Selle announce the engagement of their daughter, Ruth Elaine, to Paul M. Stevens, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray C. Stevens of Rapid Lightning Creek. Both Ruth and Paul are SHS graduates. A late summer wedding is planned.  

• • •

SERVICE NEWS 

Marine Corporal Tracy L. Dexter, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Dexter of Sandpoint, was promoted to his present rank while serving at Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, Santa Ana, Calif. A 1974 SHS graduate, he joined the Marine Corps in Oct. 1974.  

• • •

LITTLEFIELD AWARDED FELLOWSHIP 

Mrs. Gene Littlefield, Bonner County Museum director, is one of 20 persons west of the Mississippi selected to attend the Western area History Seminar on the Interpretation of History by Historical Societies and Museums. The two-week seminar will be held on the campus of Montana State University where the museum of the Rockies is located.  

• • •

BETA SIG CHAPTER INSTALLS 

New officers were installed for Preceptor Omicron Chapter, Beta Sigma Phi, by retiring president Clarice Parsons, at the Home of Joann Cogswell during the final meeting of the year. Serving for the 1976-77 club year will be Faye Riese, president; Wayv Gill, vice-president; Audrey Piatt, secretary; Ilene Spring, treasurer; and Vivian Palmer, sponsor.  

75 Years Ago

Sandpoint News-Bulletin

June 28, 1951 – LEAVES FOR SAN DIEGO 

Mrs. Jim Parsons left by train for San Diego to see her son Jim Parsons Jr. before he sails for the Korean theater at the end of his advanced training leave. Parsons has been taking a special 16-week course in the Marine corps after finishing boot camp.  

• • •

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES HALL 

Log drives in northern Idaho are the subject of an 18-picture layout in the current issue of National Geographic magazine. Thirteen of the pictures are the work of Ross Hall, Sandpoint photographer. 

• • •

EARLY DAY RESIDENT CALLED 

Funeral services were held for Mrs. Susan Maude Allen, a Sandpoint resident since 1906. For years, Mrs. Allen ran the Allen House [511 N. 2nd; now site of the east end of the BGH ER], a homey boarding place which her motherly kindness and good cooking made popular. In early days, the Allen home was a gathering place for social festivities.  

• • •

GIRL SCOUTS ENJOY “BIKE-HIKE” 

Girl Scouts, Martha Kramer, Virginia Olson, Alice Woolsey, Alma Pearson and Sherrill Thurlow, and their leader, Mrs. Herbert Oliver, last week enjoyed a “bike-hike,” riding their bicycles three miles, then climbing a mountain. The girls made notes on the wildflowers they saw and learned to make a drinking place from a small spring.

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