Archive Record
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2015.25.7g |
Object Name |
Madlyn Gillis Interview |
Scope & Content |
Madlyn Gillis Name Madlyn Gillis Date and Place of Birth 22 July 1908- Carlisle, Iowa Father's Name, Date and Place of Birth and Occupation Edward R. Hamm - 17 Feb. 1879- Council Bluffs, Iowa Mother's Maiden Name, Date and Place of Birth and Occupation Grace Mae Chambers (Hamm) (Byars) 14 June 1886 Ankeny, Iowa If Born at Priest Lake Area Just Where Did Your Family Live Then If Born Outside of Area When Did You Come And Why Did Your Family Decide to Come Here. Describe Details of Your Trip Here My grandparents, John T. and Lette R. Chambers, came to Idaho first. Grandfather was in the business of buying and selling cattle for a time and he traveled over the northwest and fell in love with the mountains, streams, hunting and fishing, after the rolling hills of Iowa. Eventually he met Gus Lithman who had homesteaded 160 acres in the Blue Lake area. Gus was consumptive and later died at Priest Lake, just north of Coolin. His only daughter, Kaniksu, was the first white child born at Priest Lake (or so she always claimed). Grandfather bought the homestead from Mr. Lithman, arranged the transfer and competed the work required for homesteading. My grandmother worked as a cook for a time for the Beardmores at the old St. Elmo hotel in Priest River while grandfather drove dray for Mr. Beardmore. Later they worked for the Jurgen brothers, who were logging a portion of land south of their farm on the old East Side road. Grandmother cooked, and grandfather rented his team and drove them himself in the logging operation during the winter months. In summer they cleared and worked their farm. My father, Edward Hamm then came west and established a tailor shop in Newport, Idaho. My mother and I followed the summer I was four - 1912- by train. All I remember of the trip was losing my much loved new hat with the red feather, out the train window. At that time we lived in Newport, with frequent trips to visit my grandparents. My parents were divorced about a year after we came west and when I was six, mother married Samuel T. Byars, who had homesteaded land at the mouth of the Thorofare on upper Priest Lake. We moved into a log cabin, which I think Sam had built. It was a wonderful, lovely although lonely spot for a little girl to grow up in. I never knew very much about my stepfather, Sam Byars. He was born in McMinnville, Tennessee, and left his home at age 14. He worked in Texas, Spokane, and Priest River, before finally settling on P.L. He worked for the Forest Service at that time. The summer I was nine (1917) we moved to the Falls Ranger Station where Sam was the Ranger. We were there for two years, then we returned to upper P.L. and work was begun on Forest Lodge, which met a need of fishermen, hunters and vacationers, who were beginning to explore the possibilities of that beautiful area. Sam Byars was a stern although just man. Meticulously fair and honest. He was a good friend to those who treated him fairly, but an implacable enemy to anyone he felt had tried to take advantage of him. He died in his launch of a heart attack in November 1929. he had been hauling supplies to some camps and his boat was found aground on Cape Horn, with Sam in the driver seat. Tell The Places You Lived Here Priest Lake (upper end), Coolin, Priest River- Sandpoint Tell About Early Days Here - How Far to Nearest Town, How Long Did It Take To Get There ETC. In summer we always traveled the lake by boat. Sam had a small launch for getting to Coolin or visiting friends on the big lake and w had a rowboat for fishing and short trips. In winter the men who lived at the upper end and on Little Priest Lake would take turns about once a month walking to Coolin on the ice. They pulled a sled and came back loaded with mail, newspapers, tobacco and odds and ends of things that were in short supply. Best of all they brought news of what was happening with our neighbors and in the nearby towns. We spent two winters at the head of the lake. One of those winters Sam bought and sold whitefish. In this project, the men built what they call "dog houses". A tiny house on sleigh runners. They would cut a round hole in the thick ice, pull the "dog house" over until a hole in the floor of the house corresponded with the hole in the ice. Stoves for warmth were made of square, five gallon, gas cans. A 3-legged stool allowed the fisherman to sit and watch his line and hook being taken by the whitefish, perhaps 20 feet down in the clear waters. Sam bought all the fish caught, built boxes for shipping, and found markets for the sale of the fish. Travel on the dusty, rutty roads in summer, was by horseback, light buggy or wagon. In winter it was horse and sleigh. The stage from Priest River made the 22 or 23 miles two or three times a week in summer. There was always a noon stop at the Half-way house run by Nettie and James Prater. In winter, we didn't reach the half-way house until dusk and then we stayed overnight there. I was quite small at the time, but it seems to me that I remember a sort of dormitory with a number of beds. Must have been two dorms on for ladies and one for men. I don't believe there were more than 3 or 4 bed in the room I was in. Later, just before the cars were used, my grandmother supplied the noon meal for the stage passengers. Then came the Model T Fords, the Stars and the Reos. I can still remember my mother making at least four runs at the old East River hill before she finally made it to the top in our old model T. she didn't mind making the run, but was terrified of backing back down for another run. East River hill had some very sharp curves and it was narrow and steep. What Wild Life Have You Seen Here Deer, bear, coyotes, beaver, muskrat, mink, and martin Did You Have Any Contacts With The Indians Who Camped At Sherwood Bay Only to walk up with other children once to see what an Indian looked like. We stared at them,, they stared at us. How Did You Heat Your Home Wood Stoves- They were lighted by Kerosene and gasoline lamps and lanterns. Do You Recall Any Fires, Hard Winters, or Any Other Facts of The Difficult Times Here Perhaps memory plays tricks on one, but it seemed to me that there was much more snow and the winters were much colder in those earlier days. I remember a winter when the young men drove their Model Ts out on the ice to chase and kill coyotes. The men would cut the ice for storage and bring in large blocks of clear, almost blue ice. I remember snow at Forest Lodge which was even with the porch roof, so that it was like a long dark room. Describe Any Details About Nordman You Can Remember, Coolin And Or Priest Lake I remember the old log store established by Leonard Paul in Coolin. I remember Mrs. Ida Handy, who built the first hotel in Coolin. First there was the Northern Hotel on the hill (still standing) then the Idaho Inn built across the street from the present store. There was a wonderful, cold spring in front of the Idaho Inn, It was lined with rock and someone had built an attractive, rounded cover over it. Looked something like a wishing well. When I began attending school in Coolin, my mother purchased a float house from a Vern Dempsey, much to Sam's disgust. But he built docks in front of a lot he purchased and we lived in the house-boat for many years, even after Sam died. It has since been pulled up on the beach and is now a tavern. My son, first child, John T. Gillis, was born there. After the docks were built, Sam and my grandfather went into business renting small boats and outboard motors to the tourists. Their book-keeping was very simple. Each evening they sat down and divided the money taken in equally between them. If any purchases were made, each supplied half the cost. Gradually Sam added three launches for regular scheduled runs of the lake and then a tug boat, purchased in Coeur D'Alene for towing log booms and barges. In 1926 when the big fire swept the west side of Priest Lake, every available boat was in use to haul firefighters and supplies to Forest Service Lake stations. About that time Cap Markham finished building a tug-boat for the Navigation Company, owners based in Sandpoint on Pend Oreille river. Cap was a man who loved more and bigger things than anyone else had. I often thought he might have originated in Texas. Anyway he was going to have the biggest tug boat on the lake and by golly he was also going to have the biggest and loudest whistle ever heard on the lake. He sent away someplace for the whistle, Chicago or some such place, and when it finally arrived he practically danced his way down to the dock with it. All that afternoon and evening he poured wood into that firebox until he had all the steam it would produce without blowing up. Then he pulled the whistle. What came out was something between a squawk and a squeak. He tried for several days, but was finally forced to give up and return the whistle for a smaller one, more suitable for a lake tug. Tell About Early Day Schools, Where Located, How Did You Get to School, Names of Teachers, Names of Class Mates, Other Details About the Schools My first two years of school were in the Meagan school house, very near my grandparents home. It was one room, with two small cloak rooms on either side of the one door. A pail of water and a dipper was kept there. Outside plumbing, one for girls and one for boys. When we lived at the Falls Ranger station I had to ride horseback to Four corners school. Barney and Bessie Stone, who lived on a little farm north of the station, rode with me. It was approximately two and a half miles and our dads built a shed for the horses and kept it stocked with hay and grain. There were always a variety of riding and pack horses kept at the station, so there was always one available for me. I loved the horses and from that time on I always had a riding horse, both at the Falls and at Forest Lodge. Later I went to school in Coolin and finished the grades there. If memory serves, the school was always where it is now, so of course it was always within walking distance. The only teachers name I remember in Coolin was Miss Ruby Clefstad. Among school mates I remember are Elsie and Ivan Moultan, Elsie Markham, Grayden, Donald and Forest Winslow, Herbert Reardon, Hazel and Gladys Lamb. There were other of course, but their names escape me. There was one thing that nearly all parents agreed on; the teacher was nearly always right and both we children and our parents had great respect for her. Some Information About Churches in The Area There was never a church in Coolin, the closest was in Priest River. However, nearly every winter parents, mostly mothers, would get together and hold a Sunday School in the school house. Mrs. Handy told me that she had come into Coolin with the road crew over a trail to begin with. She had set up a tent and cooked for that crew. Then she and her husband homesteaded land about 4 miles north of Coolin, what is know as Sherwood Beach. For as long as I can remember, a man named Art Marston, looked after Mrs. Handy in many ways. He seemed to do odd jobs, which required a man, around the hotel. He also had a little sawmill across the lake from Coolin, near the Outlet. Our favorite people to visit on the lake, seemed to be Belle and Harry Angstadt at the Lone Star Ranch, about midway on the lake. We spent Christmas holidays with them on year, and I remember some great country dances at their home. Cemeteries, Lone Graves, Indian Burial Grounds Don't know of any. What Were The Names of Post Offices in The Area - Where Located and How Did The Mail Get Here, How Often. Coolin- in Leonard Pauls old log store. Nordman- in winter it took 2 days from P.R. to Coollin, staying overnight at the half-way house. (James Praters) Describe Early Trips Uplake, What Kind of Boats, Who Did You Visit Were There Any Commercial Cruises How Did Boats Take Part in The Logging Industry Sams boats hauled men, supplies and mail to the camps. The tug boat towed booms of logs to the Outlet where they were floated down to Pend Oreille river. Were You Involved in Logging, Mining, Commercial Business Mother leased Forest Lodge to a Mr. Pattie, originally of Boston, later of Spokane. He had it 2 or 3 years, then to 3 young men. It burned to the ground while they were in possession. Describe Social Occasions and Entertainments of the Early Days Dances, Houseparties, ETC. I remember dances at Lone Star Ranch, in summers when there were girls about forestry and Blister Rust boys came to the Lodge to dance by the old Victrola. Do You Recall Any Notable Figures or Famous People Traveling Through no Any Recollection Early Telephone Systems, U.S. Forest Service, Look Outs State or Federal Agencies in the Area Besides the Beaver Creek Ranger Station and the lookouts, Forest Lodge had the only public telephone at the upper end of the lake. I almost lost it for us trying to be a good Samaritan. Boys stationed on the look-outs for the summer, became terrible lonesome and hungry for music. No radio then. The fellow at the switchboard at Beaver Creek used to open and lines to the lookouts in the evening and I would drag my little portable phonograph up to the phone and play requests for an hour or so. The boys would take a large tin pan and put the receiver close to the bottom reflecting and magnifying the noise. I usually put on a record, that went about my business until the record was played. One evening I came back on the phone to see what was wanted next and was startled to hear the ranger (Jim Ward) at the Coolin station coming as close to cursing as he ever came. He had a soft southern voice and accent, but I could tell he was practically livid with rage. Seems some smoke had been reported on the distract and he couldn't get through to get a smoke-jumper on the job. That ended the evening concerts until the rainy season. Describe Specific Incidents, Tragic, Humorous, or Otherwise That Will Give a More Complete Account of Your Life Outline Your Later Life, When and Where Married and to Whom, Children Their Names and Addresses and Your Own Career I was married in Coolin To George T. Gillis- New Foundland on 9 Sept. 1931 in the houseboat, with practically all the residents of Coolin in attendance. We lived in Bonner County all of our married life- Part of the time on my grandfathers farm- There are 4 children-- John T Gillis- 10419 E Sharp, Spokane, Sue Stevens- 520 Columbia, Sunnyvale, CA, Sally McCorthy, 3463 E Kerckhoff, Fresno, CA, Becky McWermott, Rt 1, Box 365, Sandpoint, ID. What Relics or Pictures, Diaries, Maps, Letters Do You Have of Early Days I have very few relics of early days. A few pictures only. A fire and many more took care of that. Do You Have Any Tools, Pieces of Furniture of Articles Representing Early Days That You Would Consider Sharing With People Who Visit The Museum. This Can Include Articles of Clothing ETC. Do You Remember Any Early Hotels or Lodging Houses and Locations Northern Hotel still standing on hill as you come into Idaho Inn, Burned across from present store. What Sawmills Do You Remember, Location and Who Owned Them Art Marstens mill across lake from Coolin near Outlet. Any Other Items of Interest |
Collection |
PLM |