| “Mailboats
in Hells Canyon in the 1930s and 1940s”
On Thursday, October 11, at 7:00 p.m. in the Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Carole Simon-Smolinski will discuss and show a powerpoint presentation on the mailboats in Hells Canyon in the 1930s and 1940s. For many years, the mailboats were the communication link 
for residents in Hells Canyon. The person who held the mail contract provided
the people living along nearly 100 miles of isolated territory with not
only the mail but also with much of the necessities of life. Residents
would send their list of wants and needs downriver with the mailboat captain
who, in turn, would return with their mail and the required items on the
next trip back upriver. Mrs. Simon-Smolinski is currently working on a
book on the history of Hells Canyon that she hopes will be published sometime
next year. This is one segment of that history.
The Historical Museum at St. Gertrude has sponsored an annual Fall Lecture Series for eight years. This presentation is the third of four lectures this fall. The last one will occur on October 18 with the theme “Historical Songs of the Snake and Salmon Region.” Admission is free. |
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