When the Mill Whistle Blew: The Way It Was in Coeur d'Alene Country 1888-1955

When the Mill Whistle Blew is the story of two pioneer families, who moved to North Idaho, proved up on homestead land and became acquainted when a matchmaker successfully made an introduction. Their toughness and hard work helped them overcome tragedies and hardships and led to development of orchards, farmland, a logging railroad and silver mine. We experience their everyday life told with humor, sadness and insight.

Coeur d'Alene was a lumbering town and the mill whistles regulated men's work hours and also the population's daily comings. Downtown Coeur d'Alene in the 1940s and 1950s is pictured as seen through the eyes of a boy and teenager. The little neighborhood stores, the schools teachers, classmates and people who made the city go are all here, many described with funny stories.