Kuk’s Tavern: History, Legend and Lore

By: Liv Stecker

If you take a left on 4^th street in downtown Northport, and head a block past Tony’s market, you will find a tall gray building, sided in crumbling asphalt shingles, with a slight Northwestern lean. This is Kuk’s Tavern, and in addition to being the only place you can drink a cold beer in town right now, it’s also a little piece of Washington State History. Staking their claim as the oldest licensed tavern in Washington State, operating since 1889, Kuk’s has yet to face a contender for the title. Over a century of scandal and intrigue are watered down inside these walls with the daily gossip of a sleepy little town populated by the descendants of the original settlers. This place has seen it all – from the boomtown ladies of the night to the stray bullet from a careless bystander. Felons and philanthropists grace the memories of the tavern, along with every imaginable traveler by train, steamship, automobile and even airplane.

Kuk’s Tavern, then Skrobian’s, was founded in 1889, the same year that the town of Northport was incorporated and Washington became a state. It was constructed on the lower level of Northport, now Columbia Avenue, which used to be called Front Street and was the main business thoroughfare along the railroad tracks facing the river during Northport’s boomtown days.  The building was moved to the present location on the corner of Summit and 4^th Street in an effort to avoid floods. In 1889, Northport wasn’t the same little map dot that you will find today, but instead a bustling industrial community with a busy shipbuilding yard, an operating smelter and brisk international commercial traffic by rail and water. With a peaking population nearing 2000 souls, Skrobian’s Bar answered the call for another tavern in the midst of a sudden upswell of hotels, churches, pool halls and yes, bars. 28 total bars at the highest count, most of which featured additional “hospitality” in the rooms upstairs, including Skrobians, which contained 8 rooms just big enough for a “bed, a dresser and a little bit of fun.” Catering to the needs of growing numbers of men working in the local mines, at the smelter and the shipyard, Northport provided recreation, religion and refreshment at every turn. The upstairs floor of the old tavern is now empty and inhabited by nothing more than a few scantily clad mannequins and a thick layer of dust, playing host to memories that we can only imagine.

Early Northport boasted huge steamships running between Spokane and the Kootenai Lakes in British Columbia, most of which were built in Northport and at the Little Dalles, just down the river. International train routes and a young airport that at one time attracted aviation fanatics from around the country were fully operational in those days, hosting air shows and fly-ins and bringing the outside world to Northport. The steamships and the airport may be gone, but the memories of an important international port that was quite nearly the Stevens County Seat live on in the history of this little tavern.

Kuk's remains standing after the 1914 fire

The year after it was built, when a forest fire escaped it’s natural setting and devoured much of Northport, Kuk's (then Skrobian’s) was one of the few buildings that remained standing. The building was relocated from the former downtown along Front Street in 1901, pulled on logs by draft horses up the hill to a higher, flood-proof plane. The back of the bar at one point featured a soda fountain where the younger set could enjoy an ice cream soda while their parents sat at the bar and caught up on local gossip. The tavern was one of the only remaining buildings from the fire of 1914 that destroyed most of Northport’s commercial buildings.

tokens from "Fred's Pool Hall

Skrobian’s survived the fires, the floods, and even the prohibition, when the alcohol and gambling was moved upstairs and out of sight while the soda fountain carried on benignly in the public eye. For over 100 years, Kuk's has been the hub of social life in Northport, and a good representation of the tenacious nature of the local inhabitants. Fred Skrobian renamed the establishment “Fred’s Pool Hall” for a while, and at some point in the 1950s a pool table, bowling machine and shuffleboard game (the latter two are still operational at Kuk's) were brought in.  In the early 1960s, Kuk’s was leased to Bill Bilson, who called the tavern “Frenchies” for a brief time, but after selling many of the valuable decorative antiques out of the building, Bilson was unable to make his payments and the Skrobian’s took over again.

In the late 1950s, Gary Kotzian recollects paying a $5 bill for a 24 pack of beer and a case of cigars. Too young at that age to legally buy the beer, he’d pay the $5 in the bar for the cigars, and circle around the block. Shortly thereafter, a cold 24 pack would be set in the alley behind the bar, left by the bartender for his retrieval.

In 1968 the Skrobian family sold the bar to Marion L. (Larry) Kukuk, and it was rechristened with the name it bears today, Kuk's Tavern. Well into the 60s, the old bordello rooms upstairs were rented out as private quarters. Before owning the bar, Larry Kukuk had made his mark in the Northport area after a fatal accident on a sharp curve of highway 7 miles south of town that is known to this day as Kuk’s Corner. In 1952 Kukuk received a three-year prison sentence for the negligent deaths of a husband and wife that left four orphaned sons behind.

a bullet hole in the antique bar

Over the course of a hundred and twenty five years, three stray bullet holes have found their resting place in the history of Kuks' walls, one from a visiting Spokane police officer who was showing off a new pistol, and one accidental fire that sailed right between the legs and under the barstool of an old local and drilled a hole in the wooden bar. The third bullet, above the window in the front of the tavern, keeps it’s story secret – the truth lost to the ages but speculation and imagination alive and well.

vintage shuffle board game

Gary and Marian Kotzian bought the bar in 1984 from Larry Kukuk, who wanted out of the tavern business after 20 years. Gary tells the story: “One Sunday he comes to me and says, ‘you still interested in buying that bar? There’s money in the till and beer in the cooler, just go open her up and start selling.’” - and so they did. Now, 31 years later, they are still selling beer “the old fashioned way, with a smile and a story or two,” with the help of daughter Deeann Kotzian, and the support of generations of Northport’s oldest families.

The years show their work, but Kuk's wears her age like the proud matriarch that she is. Strong and full of life, if a little bent at the knees and stooped in the back. The inside walls are plastered with a century of pop art and advertising – from Custer’s Last Fight, an original framed promotional print that was distributed from the Anheuser Busch Company in 1896, and is considered widely to be the oldest piece of “breweriana” (or brewing memorabilia) in the United States, to Cindy Crawford for Bud Light, circa 1987. The 20-foot shuffleboard, a glittery mirror ball from the 1970s, an internet based jukebox, free wifi, and an old bowling game round out the recreational offerings that Kuk's advertises, and in recent years the tavern has expanded to offer spirits as well. Every Tuesday night for the last six years has been “taco Tuesday”, where you can buy two tacos for a $1.50, and win a spot on the wall of fame if you can beat the record of eating 35 tacos in one sitting. Other food is available in house, or to go, for the under 21 crowd that isn’t allowed to dine in.  

Custer's Last Fight, 1896

The next time the road calls you north, don’t forget to swing in to Kuk’s for a cold drink and remember our State as it was when it was born, young, wild and full of life, untempered and untamed.

Red Cross Top Ten Cold Weather Safety Tips

As temperatures dip into the sub-zeros this month, don’t forget these important bits of information to keep you and your family safe!

1. Wear layers of lightweight clothing to stay warm. Gloves and a hat will help prevent losing your body heat.

2. Don’t forget your pets - bring them indoors. If they can’t come inside, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.

3. Protect your pipes - run water, even at a trickle, to help prevent your pipes from freezing. Open the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals out of the reach of children. Keep the garage doors closed if there are water lines in the garage.

4. Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night. Your heating bill may be a little higher, but you could avoid a more costly repair job if your pipes freeze and burst.

5. If you are using a space heater, place it on a level, hard surface and keep anything flammable at least three feet away – things such as paper, clothing, bedding, curtains or rugs.

6. Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.

7. Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.

8. If you are using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs.

9. Use generators correctly – never operate a generator inside the home, including in the basement or garage.

10. Don’t hook a generator up to the home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.

Dreaming In Miniature

The "Coyotee", Jim's first original miniature engine

By Liv Stecker

"Lil' Red", a single cylinder miniature

It’s no small feat to build an engine. Ask the motor buffs and hobbyists worldwide who construct running engines in their backyards and garages and maybe even a living room here or there (you know who you are…). Watching a myriad of complex parts and pieces come together, and then troubleshooting all of the functioning aspects until it’s smooth and operational can be a full time job for many years. Now scale that project down to 1/9^th of its actual size, and see how it goes. That’s exactly what Jim Moyer has been doing since 1964, when he began building his first miniature engine. It took 25 years to complete the project, and another 5 to get it running, but that was a challenge that Jim had been looking for since he was a young boy. The “Coyotee” engine won first place at the Pacific Rim International Model Exposition for internal combustion engines, and has been paced at up to 11,000 revolutions per minute. That’s a lot of power for an engine that’s smaller than your average loaf of bread. Jim says that the Coyotee is modeled after many auto-type engines, but will probably never run in an actual vehicle, unlike the Challenger V-8 engine that Jim rebuilt for a 1/3 scale remote controlled model of a T Bucket Roadster.

custom fabricated spark plug, with a dime for scale

It all started in 1964 when Jim was in the army. Fashioning a make shift lathe out of an old ¼ inch drill motor fastened to the window sill of his army barracks, he spun a beautiful little stainless steel crank shaft in spite of the complaints of his bunk mates. After touring in Vietnam and finishing his time in the armed forces, Jim was able to devote more time to his life long passion once he was discharged and began the civilian world. Jim says that he has always imagined things in miniature, from model airplanes as a young boy to remote control cars later in life. Mechanically inclined, he found an outlet for his attention to detail and his ingenuity in building these tiny engines.

Chevy V-8 327 CU, 1/6th scale

Even after doing some research into Jim’s work through his website, MoyerMade.com, and looking into the international hobby of miniature engine crafting, I was still unprepared for the size of the engines on display in Jim’s shop. His single cylinder Lil’ Red engine is small enough to hold in the palm of your hand while it whirrs away, running on an eyedropper full of gas over a period of hours. With a custom fabricated radiator, the tiny water cooled engine, like all of Jim’s engines, runs on regular gasoline and is lubricated by standard issue 5W synthetic oil.

Jim’s projects include the Challenger V-8, alongside the Coyotee, a 1/6^th scale of a Chevy V-8 327CU engine, and Lil’ Red. Lil’ Red was a concept engine that Jim began work on when he ran into some roadblocks with the Coyotee, and finding success within a year on the simpler engine gave Jim the reassurance he needed to keep chasing victory with the more complex project.

Ford Flathead V-860

Jim has lived outside of Kettle Falls with his wife Bonnie for 24 years. They travel to conventions and shows with the miniature engines, where audiences are captivated by the reality of miniaturized horsepower. In August of 2013 they attended the Good Guys West Coast National Convention in Pleasanton, California, where Jim’s engines stole the show. Jim said the little Chevy engine nearly burned out from running so much as thousands of people came through the show wanting to hear the impossibly small engine rev up. Jim’s Chevy V-8 project has taken him over seven years and more than 5,000 man-hours to complete, that, coupled with the cost of creating every part would make the selling price of these collectibles outrageous. Most of Jim’s engines require specialized fabrication of every tiny piece, down to the minute spark plugs, since manufacturers don’t see a high demand for parts at 1/6^th the traditional operating size. The next project for Jim is a ¼ scale Ford Flathead V-860, an engine only made from 1937-40. An online company called replicaengines.com crafted several of these mini Ford engines but so far, none of them have actually run. Jim is using some of the parts from the Replica Engines project and has set out to make a running version. Lil’ Red and the Coyotee are both original designs, but Jim’s more recent undertakings are modeled after classic hotrod engines, which hearkens to another passion Jim has. His “baby” is a 1929 Ford Roadster pickup, which he had up and running last summer and continues to fine tune when he needs a break from the tiny details of his miniatures.

Always eager to talk about his collection, Jim welcomes calls and visits to his website, he will continue to show his engines at expos in the northwest, and to our best knowledge, he holds the record for the smallest running Chevy engine in the world. For our little corner of the world, he’s a one of a kind artist.

Historic Lodge Makes New Memories

By Liv Stecker

Vintage Signs Beckon Passers-By

The fondest memories of my youth involve a grassy lakeside in the sunshine and a tan boy in corduroy shorts, beckoning from the rocking turquoise shell of a paddleboat on choppy waves. It’s the late 1980s, and nothing beats corduroy and paddleboats for a middle-school girl in the dead of summer. The shorts have fallen out of fashion temporarily, but the boat still rocks in the dark blue water every summer off the shore of Lake Gillette, nestled high up in the mountains above Colville where Beaver Lodge has stood since 1948.

Lake Gillette From the Lodge 1968

There isn’t much grass right now, but Beaver Lodge Resort is in full swing as the snowmobilers pile in for the annual Gold Rush Fun Run, perfectly timed with a several inches of new snow and sunshine to rival the peak of July. In August of 2014, Beaver Lodge changed ownership, and new owners Dick and Marlene Nichols bit off a piece of Stevens County nostalgia that may have been more than they bargained for – in both the work and the reward. “It’s been enjoyable, it’s been what we thought it would be – busy!” Dick says.

Growing up in the Colville area, both Dick and Marlene had visited lake as youngsters, as well as bringing their own children out occasionally to stay at the Forest Service campgrounds during the summer. Both of Dick’s parents were mail carriers in the 1950’s on the Highway 20 route when he was a child, back when the mail carrier also served as taxi service and grocery delivery for the remote families on the lakes. Dick and his siblings (one brother is now the mail carrier for the same route) would ride along with their parents on the routes. Looking for a new adventure after many years of employment in Colville, Beaver Lodge presented itself to the Nichols over and over again until, for them, the timing was right. Marlene says that it’s the perfect spot for Dick to practice his fix-it skills and keep busy. She balances a part time job at the Stevens County Superior Court with her time at the lodge, where they spend the better part of their week living and working now – coming full circle for Dick and his youth spent near the Little Pend Oreille Lakes.

Beaver Lodge was built in 1948; at the time it was called Comus Diane Resort. Helen and Lester McKern built the lakeside lodge, when most of highway 20 was still unpaved and the Pend Oreille Lakes were just being developed for summer recreation. The Air Force was constructing a radar dome base about three miles away to support defense efforts for the Cold War, and the military influx brought enough business to expand the lodge and install two gas pumps within the first two years. Five of the resort cabins date back to these first years, constructed from timber harvested from the resort site and costing $4 per night to rent, including a rowboat. The McKerns sold Comus Diane in 1956, it was renamed Beaver Lodge, and has changed hands numerous times since then, gaining another four cabins, a shower facility and other minor modifications as the years have progressed.

Since taking over in August, Marlene and Dick have begun some improvements and renovation, and most of all, repairs. After operating for nearly seventy years, the lodge is beginning to feel her age, and as the Nichols put some tender loving care into the place, the rejuvenation begins and the next season of memory making can take place at this Stevens County icon of family vacation. Upcoming plans include cabin renovations, new RV sites and the finishing touches on a new septic system. One of the first undertakings at the lodge was some basic redecorating as Dick and Marlene decided to go with a more local theme and remove the exotic wildlife trophies from around the world that had accumulated as a somewhat sinister trademark of the resort restaurant.

The restaurant, while no longer serving hard alcohol, still offers a wide variety of wine and beers, of the macro and microbrew variety, and a full menu, including Prime Rib dinner every night, a treat worth the drive for the dedicated carnivores among us. Guests can watch the game on a big screen TV in the dining room, and WiFi is available for the visitors that aren’t enjoying the break from cell service and technology. The Nichols fenced in an outdoor beer garden area off of the deck which almost doubles the restaurant seating area in the summer season.

Gillette Lake is part of the chain of Pend Oreille Lakes that also include Lakes Thomas, Sherry, and Heritage, all connected by the Little Pend Oreille River. Boaters can travel between lakes and reach the various campgrounds and summer homes on the water’s edge, some privately owned and some managed by the Colville National Forest. Fishing season opens on April 27^th for Cutthroat and Brook Trout, and in the vast surrounding forest, hunters of all seasons find a great base camp at Beaver Lodge. The store has been the salvation of countless campers who arrive to the lakes a few marshmallows short of a s’more, or missing crucial items like matches, firewood or beer.

In addition to the nostalgic paddleboats, rowboats and the ever popular canoe, the Nichols’ are looking into expanding the recreation rentals to include Stand Up Paddle Boards, an ideal sport for the Pend Oreille Lakes and their many summer visitors. The pristine, snow covered lake also beckons snowmobilers and snowshoers, who can skip the seasonal (and altogether reasonable) dock fee of $5.

Following the Gold Rush Fun Run for snowmobiles, this May the resort will host an ATV/Jeep Bucket Run starting at the lodge, another fall Bucket Run, and the Tiger Triathlon in July. The resort is busiest between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with crowds of campers for July 4^th and other summer holidays. The campground is able to accommodate large groups and events with a wide variety of camping options and a big pavilion that is available for daily rentals. Reservations well ahead of time are strongly encouraged as the resort fills up quickly. Family reunions, wedding receptions, birthday parties and other special occasions over the years have planted their memories on the shores of this little lake tucked high above the Colville valley.

For Valentines Day, Beaver Lodge Resort is offering a cabin rental and dinner with two drinks at $99 a night for a standard cabin, $129 for a deluxe cabin (with a private bathroom). A quiet dinner for two including two drinks is $45 if you don’t want an overnight stay in cozy cabin. For almost any holiday, it’s worth the 24 mile drive from Colville to find out what Beaver Lodge Resort has to offer. Try the prime rib and drink a cold beer overlooking the spectacular lake year round, enjoy the memories from years past and plan some new ones for the future at Beaver Lodge.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.beaverlodgeresort.org or call 509-684-5657 to make reservations for your next adventure in the woods.