By Dottie Gray
Those who worked on the railroads often gave names to places that have remained with us even today. Place names like Leonia, Moravia, Roman Nose, Eileen, Naples, and Copeland were all connected to the chains of railways in Boundary County.
Laborers often brought with them their families, and so feeding their families became a source of interesting stories. This was especially so with the Kootenai Valley Railroad gang. If an opportunity presented itself, the workers would interrupt their work routine to take time to shoot game or catch fish. A similar type of situation occurred with the Spokane International crew.
After taking on water at Meadow Creek, the train continued until it stopped at the depot in Town (Bonners Ferry). One employee jumped off the train and hurried into the depot. He soon returned with a fishing pole and climbed back up on the engine. He opened the hatch to the water tender and dropped in his fishing line. The train crew all shook their heads at his antics, until suddenly he gave the line a quick jerk, and out came a trout!
They were all totally amazed, but what they didn’t know was that he had seen the trout fall out of the water pipe and into the tender when they were filling up at Meadow Creek.
The Italian laborers were noted for the rock ovens they built along all three railroad lines during the years of their original construction. When camped for an extended time at various locations that required specialized rock work, they would build baking ovens out of available rock. Fresh bread was an essential ingredient in their lives, so bread was baked daily in these ovens. A few intact ovens can still be found along the tracks. A colleague and I had the good fortune to locate one hidden in a patch of current bushes!
•Editor’s note-This is the first of a four-part series entitled “Stories of the Rails.” for the Boundary County Museum. The museum is announcing its official opening for summer hours on Tuesday, May 3rd. From this date on, the Museum wilt be open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10:00-4:00, through the month of September.
Written by Museum staff for publication – Apr 7, 2016