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The Snake Pit Decor

We certainly have a lot of interesting things on our walls. Here are some highlights.

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This South Vietnamese currency was sent back from Vietnam by Cpl. Robert L. Arnold, serving with the U.S. Marine Corps, in Ocober of 1967. 
Notes of 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Peasters. The notes were framed with a note about Cpl. Arnold. Note the hole in the 200 Peaster note - there was a gunfight outside The Snake Pit and a stray bullet came through a window, went through the glass and the bill and lodged itself in our wall. The bullet hole is still in the wall behind the frame.
Civilian Conservation Corps tokens were issued during the New Deal to CCC workers. The CCC employed young men during the Great Depression - they were paid partly in tokens that could be used for food at their work camp while the rest of their pay was sent to their parents.
These two coins came from Ross Redenbo who worked at the CCC camp in Prichard in 1934. They were donated to The Snake Pit by his son in 1989.
An undated photo of musicians at The Snake Pit sometime in the 50's or early 60's.  Guessing at the date is tricky - the Fender Stratocaster, the guitar in the picture, came out in '54. We still have the half wagon wheels surrounding the stage, but not in a corner like this so this photo was probably taken before the wing was added to the Southeast side of the building sometime in the early 60's. 
A note on the back of the photo identifies:
Left:  Spencer
Accordion:  Jerry Isher (?)
Guitar - Rhythm: Bill Whitehead
Josie - Standup Bass
Rainer Master Brewer bobble head, circa 1960's.
Pint glass from the former T.W. Fisher's in Coeur d'Alene.  T.W. Fisher's was a brewpub connected to the Coeur d'Alene Brewing Company, both in downtown Coeur d'Alene from 1987 to 2002.
Hot sauce bottle from the former Hot Rod Cafe in Post Falls.
Poster produced by the Idaho Department of Commerce around 1970 to promote tourism:  http://fyinorthidaho.blogspot.com/2010/02/ski-great-potato.html
One of a series of ceramic decanters produced by the Ezra Brooks distillery, this one in 1972:  http://fyinorthidaho.blogspot.com/2010/02/ski-great-potato-part-2.html
This is certainly one of the strangest things that make up the decor at The Snake Pit, although it has a lot of composition. Handmade lamp of driftwood and who-knows-what, I suppose made in the 60's or 70's. I would imagine that the designer of this lamp was enjoying some illegal substances while coming up with this beauty!
Detail of our amazingly strange hand-made lamp.
Detail of our amazingly strange hand-made lamp.
Speaker, probably 1960's but possibly 50's or 70's?  It was attached to our jukebox until 2015. Sadly we only have one. It is now a part of our space-age 21st century sound system!
This frog is set in mortar in the fireplace which was built sometime in the late 50's or 60's. Stop by and see if you can find it!
Our fireplace was built with river rock that regular customers brought in sometime in the late 50's or early 60's. If you look closely enough at the mortar you can find a frog as well as this heart.
This chair is made entirely of elk antlers. Allegedly made by a woodwprker named Swede, a friend of former owner Josie Bates, probably some time in the 60's. We recently had the seat redone so you can sit in it. It is probably not our most comfortable piece of furniture but it is definitely the most interesting.
Some of Joe Peak's literature suggested that locals refer to,this as the 'horny chair,' but I have never heard anyone call it that.
Please let us know if you have any information on Swede or his woodwork. We know very little about him other than all of the fabulous work he left us.
Mounted head of a Mountain Fresh Rainier. The Mountain Fresh Rainier was common in the Northwest - across the Cascades as well as North Idaho and Northwest Montana - through the 70's. Zealous over-harvesting probably led to their decline and they are a rare sight today.
Obviously if something is in print it has to be true so this must be the Biggest Mountain Fresh Rainier Ever Captured.
Mounted head of a Mountain Fresh Rainier.  The top does have a crack in it - probably damage from the hunting party bringing this majestic animal down!
These highway signs are not often seen on the road these days as wild Mountain Fresh Rainier populations have been decimated by over-hunting.
Signature on the 'Beer Crossing' sign.
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The Snake Pit Decor

We certainly have a lot of interesting things on our walls. Here are some highlights.

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