Front Porch Conversations: ‘Hearing about the past does bring hope’

Audiences at the hometown tales featured in the Front Porch Conversations series have been regaled with tales of everything from Halloween prank battles that took place in downtown Kellogg, to the nude swimming pool for men at the YMCA, to fallout from the mining war of 1899.

As one of the organizers for the series, Diannah Fields-Brown has been most inspired by the breadth of oral history covered in these informal Front Porch Conversations and feels that there is much to be gleaned.

“The hope, of course, is that these stories will help us see this historic district with fresh eyes and spark an interest in what these commercial spaces might become in the future,” Fields-Brown said.

Only two more talks remain, at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at 125 McKinley Ave., Kellogg, with this week’s talk featuring Juli Zook and Mike Pierce.

Zook is the first vice president of the Historic Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce and said that she and Pierce are excited to keep things lively during their talk as they bounce from topic to topic about what the scene was like in Kellogg during their childhoods as well as the Kellogg Dickens Festival.

“Mike and I are both ‘boomers’ and will most likely talk about growing up in the '60s! We do not have a plan, however, I can talk to anyone, any time so I am not too worried,” Zook said.

Silver Valley natives of all ages have come out to the series, with some wanting to reminisce about the shared cultural history of Kellogg in decades past and some wanting to learn directly from natives who have seen different eras of change in the Valley.

“Front Porch Conversations have provided our community a link between the past and present. Uptown Kellogg, though blighted for several decades, is still alive and bustling in the mind's eyes of those who grew up here, as those who have shared memories with us over the past four weeks have attested,” Fields-Brown said.

Hearing Duane Little speak of the sheer volume of businesses that existed in the 1950s has been the biggest takeaway that Fields-Brown has found inspiring when considering the future of Kellogg and the Silver Valley.

Uptown Kellogg was once home to a hospital, high school, junior high, two grade schools, a dentist, four law firms, an engineering firm, the city hall/fire station, three auto dealers, eight bars, a theater, three grocery stores, seven clothing stores, a shoemaker, two hardware stores, a bakery, two banks, two gas stations, the YMCA, two Five and Dime stores, a sporting goods store, two barber shops, a post office, several boarding houses, two restaurants, the Bunker Hill employment office, the telephone exchange, the funeral home and the Bunker Hill Power and Appliance store.

Little’s portrait of Bunker Hill of the 1950s was a time when the local community was flourishing and the Bunker Hill Mining Company had 2,500 employees.

“The mines and the unions were strong, and folks were making money and doing well. The things that people needed were accessible to them. I, too, would love to see a time in the near future where there is again the opportunity to earn good wages locally, where businesses of all kinds could thrive, and where schools and activities for children are fully funded. We have to believe we can get there, hearing about the past does bring hope,” Fields-Brown said,

If you go

There has been an adjustment to the speaker schedule for the remaining Front Porch Conversations, and Juli Zook and Mike Pierce will be speaking at the next talk Wednesday.

What: Front Porch Conversations

When: 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays, July 12 through August 16

Where: 125 McKinley Ave., Kellogg

Speakers:

Aug. 9: Juli Zook and Mike Pierce

Aug. 16: Paul and Carol Roberts