History - How To Stop a Thief
by Bob Gunter
The method used in the Sandpoint Post Office for protecting their valuables stayed hidden for many years but recently it was discovered, and what a surprise it was.
The building located at 419 North 2nd Avenue in Sandpoint, Idaho was built as a Post Office in 1927. Everyone knows that a Post Office has stamps that are worth money and there is always money in the cash drawers from stamp sales and money orders. The amount of money and valuables in any Post Office, at any given time must vary, but there was always a need to protect against a robbery. The method used in the Sandpoint Post Office for protecting their valuables stayed hidden for many years but recently it was discovered, and what a surprise it was.
After the old Federal Building was given to the city it was the home of East Bonner County Library. In a room that was used as the children's library there is a huge walk-in vault that has been open since the days of the post office. The door to the vault is massive and, as expected, has a large combination lock on the door. No one paid much attention to the vault, as the combination had long ago been lost.
Recently, the old Post Office/Library was sold and has become an antique mall. Everyone that saw the old vault wondered if a combination to the lock could be obtained. A local Locksmith was called and he felt sure that he could make the old lock work again. He first removed the plate from the back of the door and that is where the fun began.
Inside the cavity of the door were several wires that ran through a hinge, over the top of the doorframe to the other side of the door. There the wires connected to a small, glass enclosed, unit that looked like a trip hammer. From this the wires continued on the inside of the vault casing and disappeared into an innocent metal box with no bottom. All of this was placed so that one would not notice anything out of the ordinary. But there was something there that was far from the ordinary. When the Locksmith removed the front of the metal box he was confronted with three canisters of tear gas. They were about eight inches long and had retained their shine over the years.
Here is how it worked. If someone tampered with the combination lock on the door then the signal traveled over the wires and the tear gas was released protecting the contents of the vault. Those trying to enter, if not apprehended, went home with tears in their eyes. The canisters were carefully removed and taken to the Bonner Sheriff's office for disposal. If the canisters were placed in the vault at the time of construction then they were about 74 years old. No one could predict just how volatile they were and extreme caution was exercised.
The original combination to the old lock finally was known but one question still remains about the tear gas. If that sort of security was used today just how extremely dangerous would it be? Not from the gas but from the lawsuits that would occur when the robber was inconvenienced by the tear gas.
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All photographs have been used with permission of the Bonner County Museum.
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