Saltese tavern goes up in flames
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This unchanged article ran on the front page of the Jan. 19, 1996, edition of the Shoshone News-Press. If you remember this story, or other BLAST FROM THE PAST articles, let us know by writing us or commenting online.
By JONI LUECK
Staff Writer
SALTESE, Mont. — People in Shoshone County will have to drive another seven miles into Haugen, Mont., to do any gambling after the Old Montana Bar and Grill Casino in Saltese burned to the ground Wednesday mourning at about 2:30 a.m.
Owner Gloria Howard was asleep in her home across the block at about 2 a.m. when an employee, who lives behind the bar in a trailer, came to her door screaming, telling her the bar was on fire.
“I threw on clothes and ran across the street. There was just smoke pouring out, but no flames. We tried to open the front door but there was something seriously burning,” she said.
“We ran around the back about 15 feet away and screamed to get the kids out of the trailer house which sits near the bar. At this point we called 911 and the sheriff’s department,” Howard said. “We were afraid to go into the building.”
Four fire trucks and 20 fire personnel from DeBorgia, Saltese and St. Regis responded to the fire call.
According to St. Regis volunteer fire department chief Ken Hill, the call came into St. regis at about 2 a.m. “We got up there about 2:30 a.m. The roads were bad with whiteout conditions. It looked like the fire was up in the attic and the downstairs was filled with smoke. It took about 15 to 20 minutes to burn down. It was really hot in there and then it just ignited.”
The night before there was a fire at the old 10,000 Silver $ Bar which was used for storage. Hill siad the structure was saved but there is water damage and loss of contents. “I don’t think arson was a factor in either fire.”
When fire crews arrived smoke was barreling out. “I was afraid it would explode; they started pumping water at it,” said Howard. “A fireman went and knocked in the back door and at that point, the flames shot out, about 40 to 50 feet in the air, and it kept exploding and it burned to the ground while we stood there and watched. All surrounding buildings were saved, except for a wood portion of the first original jail in the area which briefly caught fire,” she said.
The casino operated under a grandfather clause at its location along the St. Regis River and Howard isn’t sure the state law will allow her to rebuild in that same location. The original building was built in 1917 and had been built upon since then. “I will rebuild if they let me,” Howard said.
No cause of the fire has been determined yet, but Howard said it probably started inside the building.
The casino had 17 gambling machines and a live poker table. It also contained many historical items such as photographs, bottles, an old beer can collection and an 1890 hand-carved oak bar which was made by two German brothers. The bar was moved from Old Victor Hotel in Mullan after that hotel was torn down in 1937.
“It was a very beautiful bar and it was very well-known,” she said. “We offered full service dining, poker, gambling; it was just a friendly little place by the side of the road.”
Howard, who bought the casino four years ago, had refurbished the whole place but kept it old looking to keep with the theme.
Nothing was salvageable, but an old safe which contained the day’s receipts hasn’t been opened yet, Howard said.
Howard said about 90 percent of her customers came from the Silver Valley. “I really appreciate the business from Silver Valley.”
Oma Tarter, Saltese resident since 1948, worked in many businesses in the area including the Old Montana Bar and Grill. “It was a beautiful building. Everybody stopped to eat and drink at the bar. It went on that way for quite a few years.”