Liberty Lake

Washington

1900 S. Zephyr Rd.

Liberty Lake, WA 99019

History

History of Zephyr Lodge

     About 1894 a Spokane Cattleman from Nova Scotia, named Roderick MacKenzie bought up 800 acres of land along the Northwest shore of Liberty Lake including some 40 acres of orchard originally planted by the Hudson Bay Company.

     Within a year a 20 room frame hotel, along with a scatter of outbuildings, stables and corrals, sprouted on the property.

     About the same time, a Spokane restaurant man, named Martin Kalez, bought a section of Northern Pacific rail grant land on the Southeast end of the lake and leased from the state another section of school land with the privilege of purchase. He, too, set up a cattle ranch and began developing a camping & recreational spot in the grove back from his lake front.

     Although horse and buggy was the only means of transportation to either of the lake spots, both locations quickly built up a profitable summer business.

     About this time, 1902, the Inland Empire Electric railroad to Coeur d’Alene was beginning construction. MacKenzie and Kalez attempted to convience the Island Rail officials that a spur line into Liberty Lake would pay off. The line was not interested.

     Meanwhile, Kalez had sold a slice of his East-shore lake front to a Butte, Montana gambler and sportsman, Charles Traeger. Traeger had spared no expenses in building an attractive structure which he named Zephyr Lodge Casino. The word Zephyr denotes a gentle breeze, but the name for the lodge was probably derived from the Chicago Zephyr train that stopped just North of Liberty Lake on its way to Spokane and Seattle.

     Thousands of feet of lumber was hauled in by horse and wagon from Post Falls mills. By 1902 it was ready for occupancy. The furnishings were elaborate, all shipped from the East. Floors were covered with wall to wall carpeting and doors were all factory made. A pavilion was also built on the lake shore below the inn site. The place was designed to serve as a roadhouse and gambling casino.

     Business boomed at both East and West side resorts. The East side became a sought after picnic ground. It didn’t take long for the Inland Rail officials to realize they had missed the boat at Liberty Lake. By 1905 a spur line was under construction into Liberty Lake. Horse and buggy would take people to the Zephyr Lodge Casino and other lodges around. Also motor launches met all trains and no Sunday outings at the lake were complete without a launch ride around the lake with a stopover at Kalez Park on the East shore. The lake quickly became too popular a spot to harbor the type of resort the original building of the Zephyr Inn had planned.

     The Zephyr Inn operated a fairly large gasoline launch from its dance-hall dock. One Sunday the Zephyr launch passed the swimming boat house loaded with a noisy crowd of men and women. The Zephyr boat dropped anchor in a good fishing spot across the lake. Suddenly it burst into flames and burned. Fortunately no lives were lost.

     It was the fall after the boat blaze that Charlie Traeger married a women by the name of Beryle. They had gone to Niagra Falls on their honeymoon and were so impressed with the honeymoon suite in their hotel that Charlie fixed her a nice honeymoon suite in the lodge. With her arrival, Zephyr was going to change its roadhouse policy and cater to a new type of trade. It dropped the casino from its identity and the new Mrs. Traeger took over the dining room catering with the objective of good food being dispensed as a drawing card.

     Mr. Traeger died from a lung condition and his widow immediately turned the hotel site into a most respectable summer resort property. Mrs. Traeger married again to Fred Wing, a former railroad time keeper at Elk, Washington.

     Under Mrs. Wings management, Zephyr Inn soon became a well patronized resort hotel with the reputation for fried chicken. On a big holiday such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years, the Zephyr Inn was usually the scene of an all-night dance. Farmers, ranchers, youngsters from all around the lake and as far away as Saltese and Newman Lake came to the affair. Dancing was carried on until daylight, after a midnight feed. Folds arrived aboard anything from spring wagons to saddle horses. With daylight the parties broke up and headed for home.

     Zephyr Lodge operated at a profit until World War I times in 1917 when the Catholic Bishop Shinner of Spokane diocese purchased the Kalez Park next to the Zephyr Inn. A short time later he purchased the Zephyr Inn as a part of his vision plan for a home for the old retired priests. After a series of set backs the deal fell through and Mrs. Wing was forced to again take possession of the lodge. For the next 10 years the East end of Liberty Lake merely existed until mid 1930’s. It was probably used as a “speak-easy” during prohibition. At this same time it became a retreat and convalescent center, Christian Churches used it for such.

     In 1946 the Wings wanted to sell and were negotiating with a Spokane brewery. They had offered $25,000. The Christian Men’s Fellowship were waiting to talk to her. They offered $20,000 with $10,000 down and $10,000 to be paid in 10 years. The Wings were moved by the thought that their beloved Zephyr would be used for Christian leadership and took the lower of two bids.

     Within a month, the money was raised and purchased by the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. In July 1946, Articles of Incorporation for Christian Conference Grounds Inc were filed. In September, the deed was transferred . A board was formed and it took two years to renovate the lodge because it had not been taken care of for so long.

     As the years have progressed, the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ are still supporting and holding conferences, retreats and youth group camps today. There are still many projects being worked on and restoring the lodge back to its original appeal.