Out of the Past September 16 2026

80 Years Ago

The organization and manning of the rural fire district has created a situation of vital interest to the residents of Deer Park. With an average turnout of less than seven members at fire alarms the past three years, the local fire department is undertaking to furnish a crew of three or four men to answer calls for the rural fire district. 

Capt. and Mrs. Albert Kogleman of Mongehelia, Pa., recently visited her parents in Deer Park. Capt. Kogleman was the pilot of the ill-fated flying fortress “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” which was shot down over the North Sea in February 1944. On his way home from Deer Park, he visited Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Haynes of Bloomington, Ind., parents of Lt. Don Haynes, who lost his life in the crash of the “Pistol Packin’ Mama.” Lt. Haynes’ last request of his captain, before he died of exposure in the North Sea, was “please visit my folks after the war and tell them about it.”

Miss Betty Follett, pupil of Mrs. Constance Sundling and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Follett of Loon Lake, will give a piano recital Sept. 16 in Spokane. Everyone is cordially invited. 

40 Years Ago

In what may prove to have far reaching implications for the entire mobile home industry, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development last week agreed with Tom Saltz, Deer Park, that his $50,00 mobile home is riddled with defects, some potentially life-threatening. 

Horses, a form of transportation within the Deer Park city limits usually limited to Settlers Day and Winter Festival festivities, have become more visible since spring. City administrator Ehman Shledon said the law restricting the riding of horses in Deer Park was eliminated when the city council began its review of the municipal code. 

Beginning this month people living in the northern part of Spokane County will be able to complete their first year of college without having to travel far from home. A three-year plan offering the 45 credits required for completion of a college freshman year begins at Deer Park High School.

20 Years Ago

A former Riverside student was killed on Sept. 12 in a construction accident involving a runaway truck near Chewelah. Elk’s Daren M. LaFayette, 19, who graduated from Riverside High School in 2005, was working on the Flowery Trail Road reconstruction project for Sharpline Industries of Spokane when he tried to stop a runaway truck by jumping in the cab. 

A 33-year-old Loon Lake man was arrested on Sept. 11 in connection with the murder of Craig A. Schiering last month at Newman Lake. Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes detectives arrested Christopher J. Hall on suspicion of second-degree murder. Hall was also charged with stealing a cell phone from a Spokane Valley store. 

Deer Park city officials will begin the search for a new city attorney this week. The city staff will start advertising for Dave Burdega’s replacement with various newspapers in northeast Washington and they hope to have a new attorney in place by December.