Letter to the editor

Those were the days

Brent Steel July 21, 2019 From the print edition
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I grew up in Spokane and northern Idaho, and I remember the toxic streams feeding into Lake Coeur d’Alene when the mines were still working when I was a kid (“Losing Lake Coeur d’Alene,” HCN, 6/24/19). I learned to swim in the lake and worked on small farms and ranches in the area, as well as the railroad. Before the lakefront development, golf course, etc., there was a small amusement park on a pier downtown that we would hang out at as kids. I just hope I didn’t swallow too much lake water while we were swimming! Of course, we didn’t know much about the environmental consequences in those days, but we could tell something wasn’t right.

Brent Steel
Corvallis, Oregon

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