North Idaho Memories: Life on the lake with the Ferris boys

Have you ever wondered what life was like on Lake Coeur d'Alene, say, 60 or 90 years ago?

Well, I'd like to take you back in time to 1921 for a minute. That was the year my grandfather, Harry Ferris, purchased a "hunting lodge" in a quiet cove on the west side of the lake for a tidy sum of $3,000. Today, you would have to add more zeroes to that sum to approach its value.

Grandpa was a businessman, but at his core, he was an outdoorsman who loved to fish and be in nature. He felt this place would be a perfect summer residence for his wife, Margarethe, and three young boys, Bob, Joel and Harry.

There were lovely views of the lake from inside the wooden house. The living room was large yet welcoming. The fireplace was made of river rocks and often had a roaring fire going. I remember the gramophone as you entered that main room, where they played their favorite records. In front of the house there was a sleeping porch. On the walls hung two framed paintings of Native American chiefs, which reminded everyone of the historical roots of the lake.

So, how did these energetic boys keep busy back then?

Quite simply, they made their own fun. They loved swimming and outdoor sports. That included driving the wooden boat, canoes, row boats and sail boating.

They learned to cook on the campfire and fish.

They had picnics, and beach parties that always included friends from Spokane and the lake. A farmer a few bays away had barn dances they went to.

Grandpa Harry was very involved with Boy Scouts. He earned the Silver Beaver, the highest adult award in Scouting.

All three boys became Eagle Scouts, and all attended summer Scout camp.

Reading quietly indoors was a treasured activity. Academics mattered to all of them.

The eldest, Bob, went to the University of Washington. Joel received a scholarship to Harvard, Class of 1941, and Harry graduated from Stanford.

Patriotism mattered dearly to the entire family. During WWII, all served in the military. Bob and Harry were in the Navy. Bob was a Pearl Harbor survivor, and Joel signed up with the Army Air Corps.

Grandpa Harry passed away in 1941.

After the war, Bob became an accountant. Harry ran Ferris Scaffolding. Joel worked for the Motion Picture Association of America in Washington, D.C., and came home to Spokane, where he ran Joel's Inc. for over half a century.

Bob married his high school sweetheart, Emar. Joel and Harry each married women from Coeur d' Alene, Mary Jean Rosenberry and Ellen Graue, respectively.

Their strong and enduring love for Lake Coeur d'Alene always pulled them back like a magnet to the lake. It was a place of peace, restoration, fun and renewal. And that love traveled through the Ferris generations as well. I am certain they would encourage everyone who has a lake place to share that hospitality with residents and newcomers, too.

Further, they would certainly say, "Take loving care of this gem that is Lake Cd'A."

— Sara Ferris, Coeur d'Alene

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Send your North Idaho memories and photos to Devin Weeks, dweeks@cdapress.com. Please provide information with any photos you send: who is in them, when and where were they taken and a brief description of what is happening in the photo. Pieces should be no more than 500 words. Please include the names of those submitting the memories and how long North Idaho has been or was your home.

Longtime residents have a treasure trove of stories about the way things used to be. We hope you'll share those gems with us.

    From left, brothers Joel and Harry Ferris on a rowboat on Lake Coeur d'Alene in the 1920s.
  

    The Ferris family was happy to share its Lake Coeur d'Alene waterfront property with friends who often visited for summer beach parties, like the one photographed here in the mid-1930s.