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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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By Robert Singletary Special for the Nickel’s Worth The history of the motion picture industry had its beginning in the late 1800s. By the early 1900s, the making and showing of movies was developing into a major industry. There were over a dozen movie theaters in northern Idaho by 1911. Three of those, the Alene Theater, the Edison,…
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By Deborah Mitchell At the turn of the 19th century, the steamboat captains on Lake Coeur d’Alene shared and agreed to a set of signal whistles, or toots, that they had brought with them from Michigan, Wisconsin, Portland, or wherever they had learned the rules and skills of steamboat navigation. However, the oversight of safety…
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By Robert Singletary, Special to The Nickel’s Worth The first musical organization to perform in what is now the city of Coeur d’Alene was probably the 2nd Infantry Band, stationed at Fort Coeur d’Alene from 1878 to 1884. The photo above shows the band in full dress in 1879. The 4th Infantry Band served at the…
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By Robert Singletary, Special to the Coeur d’Alene Press Stanley Easton, an 1894 graduate of the University of California, was associated with the Bunker Hill Mining Company in Kellogg, Idaho for more than 60 years. Three years after graduation, he started working for Bunker Hill as a laborer. By 1903, he was the manager of…
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By: Robert Singletary In 1912, Spirit Lake was chosen as the home of the Inland Empire annual Chautauquas. Each summer, a comprehensive program featuring lectures, educators and entertainers of nationwide reputation would be presented at Spirit Lake. The Chautauqua grounds were open to the public throughout the year for enjoyment and recreation. The facilities included a dance pavilion, large…
Read MoreBy Robert Singletary Spokane millionaire F. Lewis Clark built a mansion on the south end of Hayden Lake Lake in 1910. At the time, it was said to be the most expensive house in Idaho. Four years after the house was completed, Clark mysteriously disappeared and was never to be heard from again. The mansion was sold…
Read MoreBy Robert Singletary With the completion of the first railroad across northern Idaho in 1881 and the rapid development of towns, there became a very high demand for agricultural products. Matt Hayden was one of the first to attempt systemic farming in the area near the shore of Hayden Lake. According to folklore, the lake got…
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By Robert Singletary In 1902, Frederick Blackwell, a wealthy lumberman from Williamsport, Penn., came to Coeur d’Alene to invest in the emerging timber industry. In addition to developing one of the largest timber empires in northern Idaho, he became involved in railroad building, banking, tourism and recreation. In 1905, he constructed one of the most attractive…
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