Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1922-08-03

BOISE, Ida, July 20. 1922.-Editor
Herald: Going over a collection of
things pertaining TO early Bonners
Ferry history, | encountered two
photographs, one Of Mr.. and Mrs. S.
ID. Taylor. who piloted The Herald
through its infancy, and one OF A. ID.
Walker, who was also connected with
the paper.
Shortly after Taylor had moved
his printing and newspaper headquar-
tiers from Kootenai Station, now part
of Standpoint, and set up the machin-
cry at Boomers Ferry, he was joined
,by an itinerant printer named Walker.
The old timers will remember Walker
He was a very intelligent fellow and
was we'll liked. At that time the
"Kootenai Herald" as the Boomers
Ferry Herald" was then called, was
printed in a primitive, upright, rough
/ boarded and implanted building on the
4 hillside. This building was after Tay-
/ lor's marriage, in the early SOS, re-
modelled and used for residence pur-
| poses, the Taylors residing in the
! building next door. Later the print
/ ing shop was moved to the upper
story of a structure that had been
used as one of our first school houses
and known as the Yankee Kitchen
\ 1t got its name from the fact that Earl
! Newton and Jimmy Egan in prehis-
toric times used the lower floor for
"a restaurant. Dick Hummer, favorably
known to the first settlers at the
Ferry, built the place and for years
it was the only painted structure in
town. 1t stood on the south side Of
the Kootenai about where the old
ferry landing was. Hummer had got
control of that portion of the Ferry
we knew as The Commons and the
purpose in erecting so fine building
was TO attract the business portion of
the town away from its present loca-
ton to that end of the site. 1t didn't
attract worth a cent and some time
afterward Captain Lucas bought it
and moved it and altered it and made
it into the International Hotel.
Now, to get back to Walker. Times
grew very hard in the Kootenai coun-
try in the middle COS and Taylor
had occasion to go back east for some
purpose, the nature of which / have
now forgotten. 1t was then Walker
took over the paper but never paid
for it. After a few months, as I re-
call, he also deserted the enterprise
My law practice at the time made no
heavy demands on either by hours
or thoughts, and at Walkers sugges-
ton | embarked ad interim on the
journalistic sea which his departure
had left unoccupied. | rather think
you will find nailed at the head of
the old craft my name as the literary
steersman, but as to that | am in
doubt.
A young fellow we called Gene.
from Montana, was the master print
er and collector / do not recall that
he did much collecting but he did do
considerable swearing. In the course
OF time Taylor returned and resumed
control of the paper but not before /
had used my editorial prerogative to
inflict deserved public chastisement
on all those fellows who had given
me offense before this newly acquired
weapon of correction had come into
my control. The issues during my
brief supremacy will convince you 1
exercised my authority and opportu-
mites relentlessly.
| think the Herald next moved from
the Yankee Kitchen to its present
site-although in this, too, | may be
in error
Not long after Walker left town we
heard of his death somewhere, l think,
in Utah. A notice appeared in the
Herald at the time
Taylor soon got the Herald on it's
feet after it had been buffeted about
for years and it was thereafter sup I
posed to be very notwithstanding
ly fluential-journal
Were l sure that l was one of the I