History At Home
Connecting with the history of Bonner County can happen anytime and anywhere. We have resources for you to bring history to life in your own home. Dig deep into all the ways you can adventure.
At-Home Historians for ideas, inspiration and activities for ages 11 and up.
Young Explorers activities are designed for children under 10.
Connecting the Past to the Present is for historians of all ages.
Tunes and tales from another time
From now on, when I hear the phrase, “make learning fun,” I will think of Gary. Changing the scenery, getting out of the classroom, and being directly involved and hands-on are all great methods for encouraging students’ interest and participation.
The unexpected roots of the Bonner County Fair
On the wall of the Bonner County Fairgrounds office, a blue ribbon is framed and hangs prominently on the wall. In lustrous gold figures on the worn blue background are the numbers 1927, which is known as the year of the first Bonner County Fair.
The one who shook up City Beach
Young Vernon Shook didn’t let anything stand in the way of his ambitions to become an engineer or doctor, not even the Great Depression. Upon graduating from Sandpoint High School, he took on dozens of jobs to raise college funds.
What makes our town special?
This is the time of year we begin to see more tourists making their way to town and to the shores of lake Pend Oreille. Even your little ones may notice how things begin to get busier and there are more people at some of their favorite local places.
An underground mystery
When Heather Upton, Interim Director of the Bonner County History Museum, received a tip that secret rooms had been uncovered beneath the Abbott Building on First Avenue in Sandpoint, she responded as most history lovers would: with excitement and curiosity.
What’s your map-making style?
I have seen a few maps pop up lately as memes to help add some lightness of our current living situations. Map-making has been around for a long time, to help us make sense of the world around us and help us find our way.
Foraging, Part 2
As my sons were playing in the grass after days of stop and go rain, we were enjoying all the green around us. My oldest son noticed a little brighter shade of green standing out, and plucked his first fir tip off of a young fir tree.
Walk through History
Now that the weather is getting nicer and walking through town seems like an option. It is a great time to consider going on a historic walking tour of Sandpoint. The walking tour can be downloaded to your phone to make navigation easy.
The untold pleasures of gardening
Jean Wright developed her passion for gardening from necessity, according to her daughter Bev Kee, first growing food during the Depression years, later adding perennials and flowering vegetation “to her repertoire.” By trading plants with friends, “she could make a beautiful garden out of next to nothing,” says Bev.
The “original” social distancing
Self-quarantining is not entirely new to Bonner County old timers. Seventy years and more ago, it was pretty much a way of life. Farm families especially were used to being home almost all of the time except for a few hours a day for the children who were at school.
Trees as old as time
My first spring in Sandpoint, I visited a friend at her cabin, and she wouldn’t let me leave without a visit to “the big tree.” The property behind her home turned into a mass of creek channels during spring run-off, and she lent me thigh-high muck boots to slog through the frigid water.
The Greatest Gift
I have always struggled with coming up with gifts for my mom on Mother's Day. I completely adore her, but I never know what to get her to show that.
Beehives to bangs, hair through the ages
Have you found yourself lately standing in front of the mirror, hoping that quarantine will last the three months it takes to flesh out a proper handlebar mustache? Have you gone crazy wrangling squirmy children while giving them lopsided haircuts? Have you taken the midnight plunge into the irretrievable world of bangs?
Finding and Foraging
The earliest inhabitants of Bonner County were the Kalispel, which mean "camas people". Camas is the name of a potato like root that these natives survived on, along with other plants and animals foraged and hunted in the region.
Creepiest Object
The Yorkshire Museum recently challenged curators around the world to a #curatorbattle to showcase the #creepiestobject in their collections. Museums are sharing these objects on social media for the public to enjoy at home.
Through their eyes: children during the Spanish influenza
The Bonner County Historical Society has created a portal where you can share your stories, photos, and artifacts about the COVID-19 experience. Your personal histories will be archived in the Museum’s collections so that years from now you can remember what it was like, and so that future generations can understand what we are all going through.
The History in the Soil
There is nothing more satisfying for a child than being in nature and digging in the soil. As we see a little more sun in the sky, I know that I have wanted to get outside and get my hands in the dirt.
Help us preserve history
I can't stop thinking about the present, past, and future right now. Maybe it's because things have slowed down and I have more quiet time on my hands?
Wildlife: Friend or Faux Pas?
Since the last of the snow melted, I have been scattering small piles of birdseed around the lawn, trying to lure songbirds to a newly established birdfeeder. Every now and then, a quartet of mule deer stroll through and nibble bits of corn from the piles of seed. So sweet and fuzzy, I thought.