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By Dick Sheldon| June 19, 2020 1:00 AM No one really believed they would actually do it. But, on Sept. 20, 1974, Chairwomen of the Kootenai Tribal Council Amy Trice and Doug Wheaton, community representative for the Tribe, formally notified the U.S. government that a state of war existed between the Tribe and the U.S. The issue…
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By Julie Gibbs| June 5, 2020 1:00 AM A close look at the three-story building dominating the southwest corner of Sherman Avenue and Fifth Street reveals two clues to its history. The words “City Hall” appear above the elaborate arched entry and the inscription, “Erected 1908” is chiseled on the cornerstone. Between 1900-1910, Coeur d’Alene’s population and…
Read MoreBy Richard Sheldon| May 22, 2020 1:00 AM On the eastern side of Lake Coeur d’Alene is beautiful Carlin Bay. It is approximately 10 miles from Fort Sherman. Who was the man honored by having such a beautiful place named in his memory? William Passmore Carlin was born on Nov. 23, 1829, in Rich Woods, Ill. He…
Read MoreBy Richard Sheldon| May 8, 2020 1:00 AM What rankles in Bob Launhardt’s mind is the issue of what caused the disastrous and deadly 1972 Sunshine Mine fire that caused the deaths of 91 miners. Robert E. (Bob) Launhardt was born in 1931 into a Midwest farm family, the second of five children. By the time he…
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By Robert Singletary| April 24, 2020 1:00 AM William Dollar, a native of Ottawa, Canada, was one of the first experienced timber agents to take advantage of the timber boom that was occurring in northern Idaho during the early 1900s. He arrived in Coeur d’Alene in 1899 and immediately began purchasing timberland for the Robbins Timber Company…
Read MoreBy Richard Sheldon| April 9, 2020 1:12 AM Born in Germany in the late 1850s, Wilhelm Martin Anthony August von Tubbe ran away to the United States at age 17. He changed his name to Anthony August Tubbs (Tony Tubbs), a name that will live forever in Coeur d’Alene history. After arriving in the United States he…
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By Dick Sheldon| March 20, 2020 1:00 AM In 1859, 1st Lt. John Mullan Jr. engineered and built a road (trail) from Fort Benton, Mont., to Walla Walla, Wash., passing nearby the current location of Coeur d’Alene. Three years later, with the help of 200 soldiers and civilians, the 611-mile trail was completed. The lieutenant became Capt.…
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By Dick Sheldon| March 5, 2020 1:12 AM One hundred seventy-three went into the Silver Valley’s Sunshine Mine on May 2, 1972. One week later, only 87 of them were alive. The last two survivors were rescued after eight days of entrapment. Death resulted from the fumes which had spread quickly through the miles of tunnels dug…
Read MoreWritten by Deborah Mitchell When the Milwaukee railroad wanted a freight route to the waterfront, they had to purchase the right-of-way across a significant amount of private property, some with homes already on them. One of the highest prices paid was for a large lot with a magnificent new home on it, built in 1908…
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| February 28, 2020 1:00 AM A short history of a giving family Adolph and Anna Molstead, nee Nilson immigrated from Norway in 1888 and were married in 1890 in Elkhorn, Mont. Looking for a healthier environment, they moved to early Coeur d’Alene. Adolph found the lake to be reminiscent of the fjords of his native…
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