Bayview Historical Society BAYVIEW, ID

dedicated to preserving the history of Bayview, Lakeview and other locations on Lake Pend Oreille

BAYVIEW TURNS 100 - SEE INFORMATION ON THE 2010 CENTENNIAL

This section is reserved for new articles and stories of interest.  The spotlight will focus on an individual, family, business or other aspect of the area's history.  Old stories, after they have appeared, will be placed in the archives and can be referenced there. 

    1.  MAIL ROUTE FROM BAYVIEW ON LAKE PEND OREILLE

     2.  THE '77 FIRE AT VISTA BAY

MAIL ROUTE FROM BAYVIEW ON LAKE PEND OREILLE

Mail boatmen and women have braved the waters of Lake Pend Oreille dating back to the 1860s.  During the brief history of Pen d’Oreille City from 1866 to 1872 mail was carried across the lake and up the Clark Fork River by the steamer Mary Moody serving to tie early communication links between the Montana Territory mining settlements at Missoula, Helena  and Blackfoot City with Eastern Washington and Oregon.  The first official mail contract was signed in 1866 by W. A. Clark and Warren Whitcher who agreed to provide mail transportation between Missoula and Walla Walla.  They sub-contracted various sections of the route to others, such as Stephen Liberty and Joseph Peavy, who carried the mail from Cabinet Landing to Connors in the area of present-day Rathdrum.  Liberty later moved to Washington Territory and settled west of the lake that was named in his memory.  Clark also contracted with the Pend Oreille Indians.  The mail was carried by boat when possible and otherwise by horseback.

Individuals were known to carry mail from various locations on the lake during the late 1800s and early 1900s as homesteaders settled the area and mining operations were in full swing.  One of these men, Fred Hartman (left), arrived at Lake Pend Oreille about 1890 and took a job delivering the mail between Hope and Blacktail.  Whether he had an actual contract with the US Postal Service is unknown.  These early mail carriers may have just been paid by the local residents to take their mail to the nearest post office and bring back what mail had accumulated there. He also brought mail from Bayview to Lakeview in a rowboat.  Eventually he bought a small steamboat called Water Wagon which he used to take mail from Lakeview and Cedar Creek to Hope.  An interesting article was written in the Northern Idaho News on January 11, 1907.  It told of how Captain Hartman nearly lost his life in a storm on the lake the previous week.  His boat was in trouble in the high winds.  Captain Childs saw that the boat was foundering and attempted to tow it with his steamer Weber, but the rope gave way near Whiskey Rock and Water Wagon was set adrift.  The boat washed ashore, tipped on end and sank.  Captain Hartman nearly made it to shore before slipping into the frigid water and became thoroughly chilled.  Childs, first thinking that he was safe, went in search of Hartman and found him nearly unconscious.  He was given stimulants and taken to Hope to recover.  His boat was a total loss.  From the early 1900s to the mid-1930s mail was carried mainly the Northern and Western, both 100 plus foot steamers which had regularly scheduled routes between Bayview, Hope and Sandpoint.  The Western’s last trip was June 30, 1938.  Then the era of contracting with individual persons began.

Jack McCollough was the first independent carrier in the modern era.  He held the mail contract from Bayview in 1938-39.   There were six main stops on his route: Lakeview, Cedar Creek, Whiskey Rock, Granite Creek, Kilroy and Pine Cove.  Jack delivered the mail six days a week.

LeRoy Ellis took over the route between August, 1939, and January, 1942, working for Jack McCollough, who maintained the contract.  During these years Roy drove Jack’s boat Alapar, a 23 footer.  Danny Knolls had the run from 1942 to ’46 when Roy and his wife Ethel moved to Montana.  Then in July, 1946, Roy returned to Idaho and obtained the contract on his own.  He used his 24’ Truscott Mary Ann (right) to deliver the mail to Lakeview, Cedar Creek, Whiskey Rock, and Granite Creek.  Cape Horn Resort was added as a stop.  Roy continued until 1950.

Max Krackenberg  became the mail carrier from 1950 to 1953 on what was termed Star Marine Route.  He was followed by Jim MacDonald.  Jim bought Max’s boat, a 23’ Chris Craft.  Three years later Jim bought a new boat – a 25’ Chris Craft Express Cruiser (left).  His stopping points on the route included the Navy barge in the middle of the bay, Lakeview, Cedar Creek, Cunningham’s Castle, Whiskey Rock, Granite Creek, (later Kilroy Bay and Pine Cove), Cape Horn Resort and back home to Bayview.  Mail was still delivered 6 days a week and in the 13 years Jim had the contract he rarely missed a day.  Before ’56-58 when a radio-relay phone service was installed across the lake, the mail boat was the only outside communication residents had.  The delivery serviced about 25 families in Lakeview but only six or less in the other locations.  Someone always met the boat to take the mail and give to the residents.  Jim recalled one winter trip when he carried a passenger, Bob Gueder.  When the boat arrived at Cedar Creek the wind was up, making a hazardous landing.  There weren’t any posts on the dock and the 2 men standing there did nothing to assist, so Bob tried to fend off the boat from a crash.  In doing so, he fell overboard.  Jim pulled the boat away and grabbed Bob from the water.  He thought that Bob would get pneumonia for sure, but he got warmed at Whiskey Rock and suffered no ill effects.  Posts were finally added to the Cedar Creek dock.

The next carrier was Hugh S. Davis.  A native of Arkansas, Hugh got his maritime training in Alaska after spending 25 years in the cattle hide buying business in Redding, CA.  He also served a 4-year stint in the Navy and Marine Corp.  In 1965 he and his wife moved to Bayview and obtained the contract to run the mail boat.  Hugh had the route for 13 years until 1978.  During that time he missed but 2 days.  He had a 25’ express cruiser called La Seal.  The route took about 3 hours.  Hugh left Bayview at 12:30 pm, making his first stop at the Navy facility anchored in the bay before heading to Lakeview.  Kilroy Bay (Seen on right at Kilroy with Norene Larkin) was the northern most stop on the route where he generally paused for a cup of coffee at the Kilroy Bar and Café operated by Lillian Hall  before returning south. (Lillian and her husband Ed had operated the Whiskey Rock Resort until 1945.)  He battled icing conditions and pelting snow in the winter months and angry waves and soupy fog in spring and fall in order to faithfully deliver the mail and other supplies.   In the winter he served about 30 hardy residents living on the east side of the lake.  Summer numbers increased to 150 to 250.

George and Darlene Johnston were the next to take over.  The Johnstons operated their boat 313 days a year, going as far up the lake as Kilroy Bay.  The boat left the dock promptly at noon.  Darlene piloted it during the summer months and George took over the duties during the winter.  The couple owned a sheep ranch in the mountains east of Bayview.  In 1980 they earned $13,289 for the year.  They first used La Seal, purchased from Davis, but when that boat was damaged on the rocks they purchased a 24’ Chris Craft.  That new craft was used just 2 weeks before it was destroyed in a fire which claimed the life of Darlene.  The boat caught on fire as Darlene left Boileau’s dock in late May, 1988.  She was 45 yrs. old at the time of the accident.  Darlene had gassed the boat and was pulling away from the dock when an explosion occurred engulfing the boat in flames.  Darlene tossed the mail bags from the boat and jumped into the frigid water.  She had a passenger on board – 16-year-old Joe Dory.  Neither could swim but Dory did make it back to the dock.  Mrs. Johnson’s body was pulled from the water by rescuers about 10 minutes later, but efforts to revive her failed.  Luke Duncan, owner of the Scenic Bay boat repair shop, volunteered to deliver mail temporarily.  George continued the route until 1991.  Pete Ritzheimer subbed for George during this time.

John Thaxter has been the mail carrier since 1993, following a 2-year stint by Boyd Westphal. John bought a new 23 ½ foot Crestliner, called Pathfinder, when he obtained the route.  He allows passengers to accompany him.  John is now in his 14^th year delivering the mail.  He makes five stops - Lakeview, Cedar Creek, Whiskey Rock, Granite Creek and Kilroy - but modifies his trip during the winter months on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays when he just travels to Whiskey Rock.  Although roads connect these east side settlements, they are not kept open in the winter and the postal service has determined that a marine route is the most efficient method of delivery.  The marine route on Lake Pend Oreille is one of just 3 such routes in Idaho; the others are on the Snake River and Lake Coeur d’Alene.  There are marine routes in Oregon on the Rogue River and on Lake Chelan in Washington

THE 1977 FIRE AT VISTA BAY

It was a pleasant Saturday evening at Vista Bay Resort on Lake Pend Oreille (right) – just past 7 p.m. on May, 14^th.  Jan Larkin (left with Ed) was busy inside the restaurant serving the evening crowd when she heard a frantic women’s voice yelling, “Fire, Fire.”  She looked out the front windows to see smoke and fire quickly swallowing their yellow boat shed.  Jan grabbed the phone to call for help, unaware of the massive damage that was about to occur.

An unidentified woman had heard a pop and then saw flames leaping from the far eastern end of the outer boat dock near slip number 2 and 3.  The explosion set off a chain reaction as one boat after another, as well as the wooden dock structure, caught on fire.  Flames spread throughout the 188 ft. long outer dock in about 5 minutes and continued for several hours.  The smoke and flames were punctuated by burst of pyroclastic energy as gasoline from the various boats was set ablaze.  Ed and other boat owners quickly jumped into action, grabbing buckets and whatever containers they could find.  They were soon joined by men from the Bayview Volunteer Fire Dept. and others from the nearby Navy base.  The only fire fighting equipment they had at their disposal was the Navy’s old fire engine.  In all nearly 50 volunteers responded, attempting in vain to save the numerous 22’ to 32’ pleasure boats housed inside the boat shed.

Three cruisers were rescued because people cast them free and out of harms way.  A young boy bravely jumped into the lake keeping one of the boats from drifting back toward the flames.  Undaunted by the massive inferno, alert boaters revved up their engines, drove past the breakwater at the far eastern edge of the docks and splashed waves on to the wooden platform to help prevent the fire from destroying that structure.  The main dock and gas pumps were also saved.  Mrs. Robbi Castleberry credited a local resident for saving her boat by forming a bucket brigade and dousing the flames.

People across the bay watched in horror as the conflagration rose and flared.  Smoke billowed high into the fading evening sky.  Curious bystanders in boats formed a ring around the perimeter and watched in horror as men dashed precariously close to the fires, tossing buckets of water on the burning pilings and dock.  Later, Marion Lillie, a Bayview resident who wrote articles for the local newspapers, penned these words: “The dreams of many boat owners went up in the smoke.  People love their boats.  There were hours and hours spent polishing and painting, of fitting curtains to tricky little windows, of repair work and maintenance, to say nothing of the beloved tackle now at the bottom of the lake.”

At 11:30 p.m. volunteers were still standing by because the leaking gas under the water would occasionally surface and flare across the area.  When Ed had a chance to evaluate the situation, an assessment showed that 12 boats burned and sunk, amounting to a loss of $100,000.  There was an additional $50,000 loss to the marina as the entire outer dock and the boat shed was destroyed.  Ed first thought that faulty wiring on a boat might have sparked the fire, but that was not the case.  Divers from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department investigated the sunken hulls looking for the cause, but could not place blame on any definite source.  After the insurance company determined their findings, evidence was uncovered indicating that the probable culprit was a charcoal barbeque that tipped over.  According to William W. Cooper, “As near as I could tell the fire started in the boat in slip #2 or #3.  Late in the afternoon, I left the dock area to go to my trailer.  Going up the stairs about half way up I stopped, facing the docks.  I could smell charcoal odor which was coming from the direction of the docks.”   

A hoist was used to raise the burned hulls.  Salvage efforts continued for 4 days before all boats were recovered.  Some fell apart once they were raised. Rebuilding the docks and shed took all summer.  The dock repair was contracted out to Jim Chase of Chase Enterprise.  Ed and Jan’s son Bruce did much of the work, sandblasting (right) and repainting the scorched pilings.  Jan and Ed Larkin had mortgaged their home at Nine Mile in order to purchase the 15-acre Redman’s Resort in 1974 from Eric and Sandy Redman.  The two Larkins formed a corporation with Spokane friends Bob Sheeks, Lee Tracy and Gary Sanders, each putting up ¼ of the total $150,000 investment.  They decided to call the resort Vista Bay.  The Redman’s had previously split the land, selling property to Claire Hendrickson which became Vista Bay West.  The daily operations of the resort fell on Jan’s hands.  Jan was on salary and did all the day-to-day work, while the others remained as silent partners.  She set up housekeeping in a portion of the main building.  Ed traveled back and forth to Spokane to his job with Burlington Northern.  Gradually Jan added a diversified restaurant menu.   Vista Bay became the premier "hot spot" at Bayview after Jan obtaining a liquor licence and they were given an old bar from Connie’s in Sandpoint.  A year following the fire Bob Sheeks put the property on sale without the knowledge of the partners.  The others were discouraged with the costs of repairs and did want out, so they sold to Ray and Dollie McNary in February of ’78.  The Larkins bought a trailer in Bayview for a weekend getaway but continued to use Spokane as their permanent home.  Ed served one term as President of the Bayview Chamber of Commerce, starting in 1977.  He retired on disability and then died in 1988.  Jan eventually returned to town with partner Pat Dow and established their permanent home.

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