MOVING HISTORY FORWARD: World War II transformed NIJC with war training programs
This June 4, 1943, Coeur d'Alene Press photo shows four of the six buildings that were brought to NIJC’s Winton Park campus for use as dormitories for the students enrolled in the Civilian Aeronautics Administration pilot training programs and other wartime vocational training courses. The wooden structures had been built for the CCC Camp. At Beauty Bay and were brought to town using one of Lafferty’s.
Photo courtesy of MUSEUM OF NORTH IDAHO
In May 1944, G.O. Kildow was hired as the third president of the college when Orrin Lee abruptly resigned from his position to join the U.S. Naval Reserve. He had been Superintendent of the Post Falls School. This NIJC photo from 1949 shows President Kildow at his desk in the junior college’s city hall office.
Following the entry of the U.S. into World War II, North Idaho Junior College created new classes and fine-tuned others so they would immediately support the war effort.
A Civilian Aeronautics Administration flight training program was expanded to provide for local students and students from outside the area to gain basic piloting skills. A class was created to prepare shipwright helpers to work in the nation’s shipyards. Aviation and auto mechanics classes were also added.
Despite these adjustments during the first months of the war, NIJC saw a severe drop in the student population. The effect of the draft and a significant movement to fill war-related jobs saw students withdraw from school in growing numbers. Enrollment dropped to fewer than 50 students by the third year of the war. Faculty was equally impacted when approximately 60% of the staff left their positions to join in the war effort.
Fewer staff and fewer students meant fewer course offerings were needed, so academic offerings dwindled to a handful of classes. Conversely, the war-related training programs and vocational classes saw continued growth.
To address classroom, office and dormitory needs associated with the increased programs, six buildings that had been used at the Beauty Bay Civilian Conservation Corps program were moved to town. The wood structures were placed adjacent to the unfinished Mechanical Arts Building which was modified for use as the mess hall for the trainees.
The board of trustees also kept their eye on the potential for post-war growth by the college. They began purchasing land adjoining the Winton Park campus for expansion space. They also purchased the equipment and resources of M.G. Whitney College, a local business school, to enhance the college’s business education program, providing beginner and advanced business education offerings.
The war effort would eventually directly impact the leadership of the college. In May 1944, Orrin Lee resigned his position as president to join the U.S. Navy Reserve. In his place, the board of trustees hired George O. “G.O.” Kildow. Kildow had been serving as principal of Post Falls High School and as a member of the NIJC board until he was considered for the presidency. His familiarity with the daily operation of the school meant the transition in the school’s leadership was nearly flawless.
When President Kildow took over the college, he had only 30 academic students and five instructors, including himself. Those numbers would rapidly increase following the war as soldiers and members of the wartime workforce returned home and enrolled in school in droves.
Reasonably assured of a strong future, Kildow and the trustees provided funding to finish the Mechanical Arts building. As it was nearing completion in 1947, a plan was developed for adding permanent classroom space and administrative facilities to the Winton campus. Our next installment will include the story of the college’s next growth phase.
In May 1944, G.O. Kildow was hired as the third president of the college when Orrin Lee abruptly resigned from his position to join the U.S. Naval Reserve. He had been Superintendent of the Post Falls School. This NIJC photo from 1949 shows President Kildow at his desk in the junior college’s city hall office.