Front Porch Conversations: Mike Peacock

Growing up in Kellogg in the '50s and '60s was a wild time for Halloween shenanigans. During a Front Porch Conversation on Wednesday night at 125 McKinley Ave., attorney Mike Peacock recalled the all-out brawls kids had as the spooky season shifted into full swing.

“It was a war zone on Halloween. Kids were hiding in doorways and alleys,” Peacock said.

Garbage can lids were prized possessions offering the most defense from the volleys of eggs that sailed through the air from youths.

For six weeks, Front Porch Conversations is bringing together multiple generations of Kellogg residents as they tell tales of the Silver Valley over the years. Rather than just a lecture, there is an opportunity for give and take between the crowd as the talk gets underway, and Peacock’s conversation often had some historical context supplemented from contemporaries in the crowd.

In the decades since Peacock’s childhood, he noted that the water and air quality had improved from the old practices that led to pollution from the smelters in town, though he rued that the boom times boasted many more jobs with medical coverage for the locals.

Whether residents pursued connecting with the Holy Spirit or wanted to imbibe liquor spirits, there was a wide variety of locales to populate.

“There were 18 churches and 31 bars,” Peacock said, invoking laughter among the assembled crowd.

The Oddfellows Hall may have been the place Peacock and his brother went to attend Sunday school, but its proximity to the bar Joe and Henry’s (later known as Dick and Henry’s) made for a bit of mischief and for them as kids.

The two went through the wrong door and wound up in the bar and decided, rather than hurrying to Sunday school, it would be silly to waste the opportunity to play a game or two of pool.

“If you were a kid who had a quarter or 35 cents, you’d go up to the bartender and say, ‘I’d like to play for as long as this will last me,’ and then head back to the pool table. You would get some pretty good games for 35 cents,” Peacock said.

The Hutton Store hosted an X-ray machine where kids could view the bones of their feet, bringing a scientific novelty to the mundane practice of buying shoes. He and the other kids probably used the machine more than they should have, but it was too much fun to pass up the opportunity.

Another source of joy in Peacock’s childhood was the siren call of the silver screen.

“The Liberty Theatre was a mecca for science fiction movies when I was a kid,” Peacock said.

The theater also hosted live theatrical performances as well as movies, and stood where Silver Valley Fitness now operates. Peacock said the spots for the stage sets to be flown in and out of the space are still visible in the outward appearance of the building today.

After three weeks of speakers, Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Paige Olsen said the only downside to the speaker series has been that they received many more suggestions than they could possibly use to tie in with the Spark! Places of Innovation Exhibition’s stay in Kellogg.

“The community has really rallied around this and many folks have asked to bring it back next year,” Olsen said.

If you go

When: Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

Where: 125 McKinley Ave., Kellogg

Aug. 2: Juli Zook and Mike Pierce

Aug. 9: Duane Little and Jerry White

Aug. 16: Paul and Carol Roberts