Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake

Learn about history through the eyes of those who lived it in the new book presented by the Priest Lake Museum, "Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake." Built around the framework of oral histories recorded of numerous pioneers, the book includes four chapters with several sections in each one, plus an introduction and a history timeline. Up front are biographies on the "Priest Lake Voices," from the first generation that includes pioneer Leonard Paul to the second generation of voices, including Paul's daughter, Marjorie, and many others.

The seeds for this book started when Leonard Paul’s granddaughter Charlotte Jones and her husband, Hank, retired back to Priest Lake in 1987, and discovered an 8 mm tape made by her mother years earlier. Marjorie (Paul) Roberts had captured her father’s memoirs on tape. She preserved the words of a Priest Lake pioneer who not only witnessed years of change from his store’s front porch but often played a role in shaping the lake’s history as well. The transcript of the tape provided the inception for this book project and also lends a framework for each chapter.

Click to read an excerpt from chapter 4 .

Praise for Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake

“From the knockout punch of an Evinrude spinner spool to a boxcar full of flour, these oral histories capture the spirit of a unique lake community in the wild Northwest. The voices ring true, the photographs light up the ­stories and the waters of Priest Lake sparkle through time.”

–Jack Nisbet, author of “Visible Bones” and “The Mapmaker’s Eye”

“Fascinating firsthand accounts and wonderful vintage photographs make ‘Pioneer Voices of Priest Lake’ the essential guide to understanding and ­appreciating what has been aptly termed ‘God’s Country’ in Idaho’s still-pristine Panhandle.”


           –Tom Trusky, director of Hemingway Western Studies Center and professor, Department of English, Boise State University

“These are the personal true-life stories of the courageous, strong-willed people who found freedom and created their own way of life in God’s ­country at Priest Lake in the late 1800s and early 1900s to share with their progeny and generations to come.”

           –Catherine Simpson, educator and co-author of “North of the Narrows” and “Panhandle Personalities”

Editor’s Biography

Kris Runberg Smith is associate professor of history at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. She received a doctorate in American Studies from Saint Louis University, a Master of Arts in American History from Washington State University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Idaho in Museum Science. Her great-grandfather, Howard Gumaer, arrived at Priest Lake in 1897, and her family has gathered regularly at Coolin Bay ever since.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Notes on Editing
Introducing Priest Lake Voices
Chapter 1. Changing the Wilderness
            Getting to the Lake
            Early Coolin
            Leonard Paul Store in Coolin
            Getting Around the Lake
            Homesteading at Priest Lake
Chapter 2. Making a Living
            Miners First
            Sourdoughs
            Logging
            Moviemaking with Nell Shipman
            Tourism
Chapter 3. Government at Priest Lake
            Priest River Forest Reserve
            Servicing Kaniksu National Forest
            Civilian Conservation Corps Camps
Chapter 4. Creating a Community
            Housekeeping
            School at Priest Lake
            Entertainment at Priest Lake
            Winter at the Lake
            All’s Fair in Love
            Law and Sort-of Order
            The End of an Era
Bibliography
Photograph Credits
Index