100 years ago in Pend Oreille County: Company buys timberland to make matches

The Diamond Match Co. purchased two huge blocks of white pine timberland in Pend Oreille County, in preparation for turning the lumber into wooden matches.

One of the tracts was in the Leclerc Creek vicinity and the other was in the Calispel Creek area near Usk. The company planned to build lumber mills at each location to process the wood.

The Spokesman-Review estimated that the company was acquiring no less than 325 million feet of timber.

The wooden match business had become an important part of the region’s economy. Another match company, the Ohio Match Co., had recently announced plans for a new plant in Yardley in east Spokane.

From the epidemic beat: A measles epidemic was still active in Spokane, but beginning to abate. The city health office reported that 350 cases had been reported in March, most of them early in the month.

By the end of March, the number of active cases was down to between 150 and 200.

From the corset file: The Spokesman-Review ran an ad for Nemo’s Triple-Service Self-Reducing Corsets.

“Makes Stout Women Attractive,” said the ad.

“Self-Reducing Corsets will work no miracles, but they will reduce the abdomen and make the figure smaller and lighter in weight,” said the ad copy.