Summer Closure
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Ferry County Historical Society Museum has been closed this summer.
The staff of the Stonerose Fossil Interpretive Center, who have been regulating visitor traffic to the museum have temporarily moved the Stonerose operations to their new but unfinished facility across from the Republic Drugstore and were not available at the museum.
The facility is also too small to permit social distancing for large groups. Both the Ferry County Historical Society and Stonerose hope to be open for their usual hours next summer. Watch the Winter Nugget for developments.
Yes, We Do Have Pianos!
The latest addition to our collection of artifacts significant to Ferry County’ history is the piano from the former Curlew Presbyterian (originally Methodist) church. Although the piano’s actual working parts are not in good condition, its case is a lovely piece of sculp-
ture. The piano was produced by Kraurch and Bach.
The earliest patent date visible in the piano is 1880. The earliest date scratched on the inside of the case by a 19th century piano tuner is 1894. The rest of the piano’s story is a mystery. If any of our readers know when and how the piano came to Curlew please let the
FCHS know. Railroad access didn’t come to Curlew
until 1902. If the piano arrived before that date it would have come to Curlew by either freight wagon or by raft down the Kettle River. There’s an exciting story in there somewhere. If you know anything about it, please help us tell it.
No More Large Items Right Now, Please!
Although the L.H. Mason building is a large space, it will be a construction area for several years. Storage of large items in a construction area slows the building process and puts the artifacts at risk.
If you have large items to donate to the FCHS and are able to keep them for several years, please do. We have no space where we can store these items safely.
The seats from the Selma Theater were recently donated by Marty Padilla who has been using them at the Scrub Board laundromat. They take up just about all the room in the L. H. Mason building not scheduled for disturbance in the near future.
FCHS Website Upgrade
The FCHS website will soon have a new look, a lot more historic photographs and opportunities to purchase them. The new design is being done by former local resident Arista Hageman. Watch the winter Nugget for details.
Belgian Mystery
Last year we received an email from a gentleman in Belgium with this photo attached. The message on the chalk board reads: “As a gift of their gratitude from the Belgium children of Moosel to the little americans of Ferry” It includes the dates “1914” and “1918” and is flanked by portraits of a man and woman who are probably King Albert I of Belgium and his Queen, Elizabeth of Bavaria. There are numerous appeals in our local newspaper of that time, the News-Miner, for aid to the people of Belgium, devastated by WWI and the accompanying food shortages, but nothing about aid from the little border town of Ferry.
Can any of our readers help us on that? There may be information on this in a book called memories of the Boom Town of Ferry, by Clara Weed but the FCHS does not have a copy.
