The life and death of a race track

I remember as a child having my father point out the remnants of the Alan Race Track as we drove through Post Falls. The remains lay in a field a quarter-mile west of the junction of what is now Highway 41 and Seltice Way and an outline of an oval track peaked through the scrub grass there.

Christmas for ‘Slab Town’

At Fort Coeur d’Alene 143 years ago

Fort Coeur d’Alene was established in 1878. Barracks were built for the single enlisted men and those who were married lived outside of the camp with their families in what at the time was called Slab Town. Col. Frank Wheaton was the fort commander.

Ten pioneers of the Coeur d'Alene Mining District

Early December, 1913, now 110 years ago, 10 of the Coeur d’Alene Mining District’s earliest pioneers happened to encounter one another at the corner of Sixth and Cedar Streets in Wallace.

Silver Valley Mining Wars: Part 3

William Haywood (aka “Big Bill”) was born in 1867 in Salt Lake City to parents William and Elizabeth. The father, a rider in the legendary but short-lived Pony Express, died when Bill was just 3 years old. Thus, young Bill was required to join the manual labor force at a very early age, working as an indentured farmhand and cowboy. Sadly, a formal education had to be shelved.

Silver Valley Mining Wars: Part 2

As a boy I looked forward to driving to my grandparent’s home in Gilroy, Calif., on the major holidays. On one visit my grandfather took me into his bedroom and showed me his Colt New Service .38 caliber revolver. I was stunned! What was my quiet, peace-loving grandpa doing with this monstrous revolver? That’s when I first heard about the mining wars, the Western Federation of Miners and Harry Orchard, and why these were an important part of my family history.

Burke destroyed by fire 100 years ago

The 100th anniversary of the fire that demolished Burke, Idaho, on July 13-14, 1923, passed by mostly unnoticed last month.

Remembering old Worley

Driving through Worley today, it may not be obvious, but Worley was once a bustling town.

Part Two: Thomas Kerl’s Life Speaks to Us Today

By 1917 President Woodrow Wilson’s insistence that the U.S. stay out of the war was being assaulted on all sides. The Germans were aware the U.S. had increased aid to the British from $2 billion to $4 billion since the war’s beginning in 1914.

Part One: Thomas Kerl’s Life Speaks to Us Today

Thomas Kerl was an exemplary citizen, patriot and businessman who ran afoul of the Espionage Act of 1917 with tragic results. How could a Coeur d’Alene citizen be a WW I era spy for the Germans? What is there about his story that is still so important even for today?

Spirit Lake attracted Chatauquas

There was a “gold rush” to Spirit Lake in 1907, but the “gold” was timber—white pine and Douglas fir. Frederick Blackwell and a host of other entrepreneurs pushed in a railroad, lumber mill, hotels, shops, and school within a couple of years. This boom town was high quality, with a downtown and school built of bricks, electricity and piped heat provided within the city from the mill operation. While logging and lumbering were the most profitable businesses, the natural beauty of Spirit Lake, as well as easy access to the Inland Empire through the new train service, attracted many tourists and caught the eye of the Idaho Chatauqua (Sha TAW’ kwa) organization.

Eva Canfield: Intrepid, energetic and educated

No man would take the job of census enumerator in the wild and rugged Salmon River district, also know as the "River of No Return," so 67-year-old widow, Eva Canfield, was hired.

MOVING HISTORY FORWARD: Post Falls battleground

July 9, 1966 was a hot Saturday in Post Falls when the attractive, 27-year-old female checked into the Satellite Motel on Seltice Way.