Oldster Strolls through Sandpoint

He calls me "Teach." 

I consider that an honor. 

We see each other occasionally at Yoke's.  

There's been a promise for some months now that we SHALL get together because he has a lot of material to share with me about Sandpoint. 

After all, his dad and granddad served as mayor in the 1970s and 1930s, respectively. 

I thought of a way our promised meeting could happen within this calendar year and told him so the other day during our visit. 

That's when he mentioned meeting places BESIDES YOKE'S. 

He likes the atmosphere at the Columbia Bank lobby because Sandpoint tends to stroll by pretty much any time he occupies a table there. 

That suggestion brought up another thought on my friend and former student's part:  hardly any original signs of businesses left in Sandpoint.  

He mentioned the TAM aka Tavern aka Tervan, Connie's and the Panida. 

That's what led to my taking my camera and driving to town on a glorious afternoon in Sandpoint.

My goal:  find the old stuff around town.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized this project may take more than one trip. 

I also realized, with a tinge of sadness as I drove to town how correct my friend and former student Ed happened to be. 

HWY 95 has minimal reminders, if any, of how the scene once was for those of us who have lived here all our lives. 

Virtually every entity on both sides of the road has occupied space in open fields or has replaced something that came before it. 

The same is somewhat true in downtown Sandpoint, although some of the old buildings of First and Second Avenue still stand proud, albeit with business names replacing those of past times.  

Heck, even the Pastime . . . !

Anyway, I parked several times, leaving the car and walking past structures that I know could elicit thousands of stories among those of us who have spent a lifetime here. 

During my pleasant travels around town, I walked into two bars.  In both cases, the people I knew outnumbered the strangers. 

And, in a few cases, they knew me.  Rather than sitting at the bar greeting me, they had spent years sitting in classroom desks while I taught from my teacher's desk. 

At the Tam/Tervan/Tavern (second or third visit in my lifetime, I met a man from Philadelphia who had moved here eight months ago.

"Why are you here?" I asked. 

"It's a good local bar," he answered.

Little did he know the UNDERstatement coming from his mouth.  

I also met the new owners, who seem like nice people and who seem to appreciate the local gem they have purchased. 

As for the 219, I think yesterday's visit might be my fourth in a lifetime. 

While there, one customer asked if I was coming to her class reunion (1975) while another told me she graduated with my daughter (1997). 

Time sped by as I became so immersed in the fun of looking a little more closely at "my town" and capturing images of places that have played such a rich role in the history of our town. 

Thanks, Ed, for your idea.  You and "Teach" will get together one of these days and lose ourselves into some very meaningful time travel into our Sandpoint's past.  

In the meantime, if local readers have stories to share about any of the places you see, there's a willing recipient at this end. 

I have a feeling I'm not alone in the potential enjoyment. 

Anything about old Sandpoint is good stuff to those of us who have lived it for so many years.  

Happy Monday. 

How many locals were born very close to this house on North Second?

I'm talking about the old hospital before the old hospital but after the first hospital.

Twas during the era (according to my mother's account) new mothers stayed two weeks before bringing their babies home. 

Butch said he'd buy me a beer next time I come to the Tam.

I've known Butch since the days of the old fairgrounds, where our museum now sits.