Newport offers historic charm
Newport, Wash., is one of those small Inland Northwest towns you stop in to stock up on granola bars, hot dog buns or a case of beer before you disappear into the Idaho Panhandle. Or you might layover there before beating the sun up for a day of fishing on the Pend Oreille River.
But while you’re passing through town, the big green and red wheel at Centennial Plaza Mini-Park may catch your eye. It did mine, and we found a concentration of Newport’s past there, plus two quaint food establishments that offer different types of cold summer refreshments.
The bonus was a small market of naturally “good-for-you” stuff that appeared on our doorstep.
On a Saturday mid-morning, tents were going up across the street from our Newport motel. What luck; a farmers’ market came to us.
Organizers of the Newport-Pend Oreille Valley Farmers’ Market hope the new location at Highway 2 and Calispell will allow for expansion. It was getting a little crowded at the Centennial Plaza downtown.
As a child growing up in a small Southern town, I remember friends and family sharing canned peaches and green beans or bringing over tomatoes and okra because they had them coming out of their ears. Now, as families scatter across the country for better jobs or a different atmosphere, those connections to the land and community slip away.
That’s why I love fresh markets because I can buy good homemade and homegrown things – the kinds of things I wish I had time to make myself or wish I had a friendly neighbor to make for me.
At the Newport market I found honey made by bees in Chattaroy, Wash.; veggies grown in the soil of Eastern Washington; and bread so fresh that steam collected on the inside of the plastic wrap as it rested on a vendor’s table.
I was glad I had cash on me to take advantage of the situation. The honey I bought was rich and sweet, and I couldn’t resist the homemade apple butter with its plain white label which spelled out the jar’s simple list of ingredients: apples, apple cider, sugar, spices and lemon juice.
(For more information on the farmers’ market or to find another one in Washington, call (206) 706-5198 or visit www.wafarmersmarkets.com.)
Back in downtown Newport at the Centennial Plaza Mini-Park, I planned to find out what the heck that big wheel was used for. Turns out the massive piece of metal is a 450-horsepower, four-valve, single-cylinder steam engine with a 16-foot flywheel that used to run at 100 rpm. (Even though I’m female, I still feel the urge to give an ol’ “Tool Man” grunt after these specs.)
The wheel was owned and used by several lumber companies before being donated to the city as a historical landmark. The lumber industry helped to establish Newport and still plays a major role in the local economy today, according to the Newport Chamber of Commerce Web site.
Remnants of the town’s history stand near the chamber of commerce building. The grounds of The Pend Oreille County Historical Society Museum extend a short distance along Highway 2 behind a fence. A former train depot and an adjacent building house vintage and antique collections. Behind the museum’s main buildings are old settlers’ cabins, a caboose, a replica of a fire tower and a shed full of old machinery.
Many exhibits display equipment and uniforms from the area’s earliest industries and businesses – a dentist’s examining chair, a gas mask, an old printing press. Other exhibits show examples of clothes, linens, old sewing supplies and buttons.
Dried camas bulbs hang on a wall of the museum beside a newspaper article announcing the natural laxative action of the native food. Indians who first called the region home traditionally collected bulbs of the blue camas flower to boil, grill or make into flour.
A month ago, husband John and I roamed with our dog Kah-less through a meadow of blooming camas and buzzing bees just across the state border in Idaho in a wildlife area near Albeni Falls Dam.
After the museum tour, I walked across the street to Owen’s Grocery, where we ordered a deli sandwich that came with generous portions of turkey. The small grocery on the opposite side of the store provides campers and residents with food and a few necessities. A huge wooden bar against one wall serves up ice cream floats and sundaes.
Across the street there’s another place to get cold refreshments, but more for adult tastes.
Kelly’s, established in 1894, is said to be the oldest operating business in Newport. The place looks quite different than it did when it first opened, as seen in a few black-and-white photos on the walls and menu cover. A pool table sits where a wood stove once warmed loggers and townsmen.
The pride of Kelly’s is still the 24-foot long, 12-foot high bar that was shipped to San Francisco and then traveled overland on a three-month wagon trip to Newport.
One old photo shows a bear jumping up on a man, much like a familiar dog would. A previous owner of the bar had a bear that he kept in back. Locals say he would throw drunks out there to sober them up and to amuse other patrons.
The tavern has changed hands over the years, but it continues to be a place where locals and travelers alike can unwind with a brew poured from the tap into a frosty canning jar.
And they promise not to throw you to the bears.