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By Robert Singletary Special to the Nickel’s Worth In 1905, the land and buildings of Fort Sherman were sold at public auction. Two Spokane businessmen, Thomas Kerl and David Ham, purchased several acres of land, including the Fort Chapel and the post commander’s spacious home. Kerl and his family lived in that house for almost…
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By Robert Singletary special to the Nickel’s Worth The first modern hospital in Coeur d’Alene was constructed at 412 Lakeside Avenue in the early 1930s. The Lake City Hospital and Medical Center was a two-story brick building owned by Ft. Harold J. Sturges. In 1941, Dr. Otto Husted purchased the structure and moved his practice there along with…
Read MoreBy Robert Singletary, Special to the Nickel’s Worth As new and improved highways began to develop in northern Idaho during the 1950s and 1960s, there was a revival of tourism, especially in Coeur d’Alene. Kyle Walker, who became the manager of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce in 1948, spearheaded the promotion of Coeur d’ Alene as a…
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By Robert SingletarySpecial to the Coeur d’Alene PressGeneral William Passmore Carlin was a career soldier, who began his career with the 6tth US Infantry at Fort Snelling, Minn., soon after graduating from West Point in 1850. He ended his career in 1893 after serving 10 years as the commander of the 4th Infantry at Fort Sherman, Idaho. …
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By ROBERT SINGLETARY, Special to the Press In the fall of 1940, Earl Somers and his wife Byrd, moved to Coeur d’Alene with the idea of building an amusement park. Earl organized the Coeur d’Alene Lakeside Development Company and began meeting with city officials about leasing land for his amusement park near the new Civic Center in…
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By Robert Singletary, Special to the Nickel’s Worth On October 11, 1906, boat builder P.W. Johnson launched the Flyer, one of the most popular steamboats on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Flyer was one of many steamboats that was owned and operated by J.C. White and his navigation company, the Red Collar Line. White started his steamboat business…
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By Robert Singletary, Special for the Nickel’s Worth In 1881, Marcus Wright came to Idaho Territory and helped create the town of Rathdrum and organize Kootenai County. He also established the Atlas Tie Company in 1909, which was located about three miles west of Coeur d’Alene on the Spokane River. Wright was the first in the…
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by Deborah Akers Mitchell So dire was the need for nurses during the Spanish flu epidemic that the Coeur d’Alene Press sent an SOS throughout the city: “All women, preferably without children, are requested to report to Dr. Barclay…of the Red Cross. Previous training as a nurse, while invaluable in the present situation, is not…
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By Robert Singletary, Special to the Nickel’s Worth This coming July 4th, 2021, will be exactly 160 years ago when John Mullan’s road construction crew stopped work to celebrate Independence Day. During the rest stop, one of Mullan’s crew cut the inscription “M.R. July 4, 1861” on a large white pine on the top of…
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By Robert Singletary Special to the Nickel’s Worth Coeur d’Alene had an important role in the training of pilots during World War II. In 1942, the Buroker-Hicks Flying Service leased Weeks Field, which had been established as a municipal airport in the early 1920s. At that time, the field only had a small hanger with no…
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