by Barry McCombs
It might surprise some readers to know that dynamite used to be about as common an article on farms and ranches in the area as bailing twine is now. I remember as a young kid in the 1950s seeing boxes of it lying around in barns and sheds on both of my grandparents’ farms. While its main purpose was for assisting in the difficult work of removing stumps to clear fields, it was also put to some pretty creative uses as people became rather casual in handling it.
My mother tells how my grandfather would wake them up on the 4th of July by throwing a quarter stick of dynamite up on the tin roof above the attic where she and her siblings slept. That was sure to get them out of bed with a bang. Quarter sticks of dynamite were also employed by her extended family while hunting to drive deer out of particularly brushy areas. Fish not biting? A little dynamite could bring them to the surface.
My father got his start as a lineman by digging holes for power poles that extended electrical service to rural areas. Part of his reputation for completing more holes than anyone else on the crew was due to the fact that he carried sticks of dynamite in his back pocket to help out in rocky places.
Dynamite was also handy for those who might have more malicious intents. Recently, Lora Rose of the local genealogical society sent me a copy of a petition signed by a number of residents including my great grand uncle that was sent to the county officials in 1891. Someone had used dynamite twice to blow up a dam that was located near Addy for the purpose of operating a grist mill for local farmers. The petition was a request to fund the rebuilding of the dam and to bring the perpetrator to justice.
An event in 1892 demonstrates just how effective dynamite could be in an emergency. Nearly the entire population of Colville had gathered to watch a play put on by the Ladies Aide Society in the Meyers Opera House. At 7:30 p.m. a fire broke out at the Dominion Hotel. A bucket brigade was quickly formed but in spite of heroic efforts the fire spread quickly and as recounted below threatened to do away with a major section of the town:
“. . .All glass on the south side of the William Block cracked and fell to the ground. It now looked as though the Rickey store building, Charette’s saloon and the Hofstetter barn and a place called the “Ark” would be destroyed. It was also plain that unless immediate and effective action could be taken, the saloon of James Durkin, Habein’s stable, the post office and possibly Perras and Lenery’s store would soon burst into flames.
At this critical juncture was heard the cry of ‘dynamite and giant powder’ rising above the tumult of the crowd and the roar of devouring flames rapidly eating up the hotel. Almost simultaneously a man was observed running toward the Rickey building with a box of giant powder on his shoulder. At once an order rang out for everyone to fall back and watch for flying timbers. The crowd required no urging to act upon such a sensible suggestion and a deafening explosion immediately followed; the Rickey building could be seen in the air flying in all directions; it was plainly evident that the courageous parties who handled the powder were experts in the business. This was heroic treatment but effective, although other buildings in the vicinity did not escape damage consequent upon the face of the explosion. All of the glass in Durkin’s saloon and Habein’s stable was broken as were several windows in the post office and a large plate glass in the Hotel Colville besides several smaller ones in various parts of the building. William Hofstetter sustained quite severe bruises caused by a portion of the roof of the Rickey building falling upon him.”
Our modern fire departments would no doubt shun this method of controlling a fire although the results might be not any more destructive than current standard protocol. If you happen to have some dynamite lying around and are thinking about using it in case you have a house fire, you should probably check with your insurance agent first.
Dynamite was also handy for those who might have more malicious intents. Recently, Lora Rose of the local genealogical society sent me a copy of a petition signed by a number of residents including my great grand uncle that was sent to the county officials in 1891. Someone had used dynamite twice to blow up a dam that was located near Addy for the purpose of operating a grist mill for local farmers. The petition was a request to fund the rebuilding of the dam and to bring the perpetrator to justice.
An event in 1892 demonstrates just how effective dynamite could be in an emergency. Nearly the entire population of Colville had gathered to watch a play put on by the Ladies Aide Society in the Meyers Opera House. At 7:30 p.m. a fire broke out at the Dominion Hotel. A bucket brigade was quickly formed but in spite of heroic efforts the fire spread quickly and as recounted below threatened to do away with a major section of the town:
“. . .All glass on the south side of the William Block cracked and fell to the ground. It now looked as though the Rickey store building, Charette’s saloon and the Hofstetter barn and a place called the “Ark” would be destroyed. It was also plain that unless immediate and effective action could be taken, the saloon of James Durkin, Habein’s stable, the post office and possibly Perras and Lenery’s store would soon burst into flames.
At this critical juncture was heard the cry of ‘dynamite and giant powder’ rising above the tumult of the crowd and the roar of devouring flames rapidly eating up the hotel. Almost simultaneously a man was observed running toward the Rickey building with a box of giant powder on his shoulder. At once an order rang out for everyone to fall back and watch for flying timbers. The crowd required no urging to act upon such a sensible suggestion and a deafening explosion immediately followed; the Rickey building could be seen in the air flying in all directions; it was plainly evident that the courageous parties who handled the powder were experts in the business. This was heroic treatment but effective, although other buildings in the vicinity did not escape damage consequent upon the face of the explosion. All of the glass in Durkin’s saloon and Habein’s stable was broken as were several windows in the post office and a large plate glass in the Hotel Colville besides several smaller ones in various parts of the building. William Hofstetter sustained quite severe bruises caused by a portion of the roof of the Rickey building falling upon him.”
Our modern fire departments would no doubt shun this method of controlling a fire although the results might be not any more destructive than current standard protocol. If you happen to have some dynamite lying around and are thinking about using it in case you have a house fire, you should probably check with your insurance agent first.
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