Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

 An editorial writer mourned the passing of Col. E.H. Morrison, of Fairfield, an extraordinary man and “talented personality.”

The writer recounted a summertime week he had spent with Col. Morrison at his hospitable country home.

The week began with a feast prepared in the great open fireplace, in which Col. Morrison “superintended the cooking of roast, steaks, poultry and flitches of bacon.”

“Fruits from his vast orchard, vegetables from his gardens, cream and butter from his own dairy herd, bread from the product of his wheat fields … all gave incontestable evidence of the fat acres of Palouse soil.”

The week continued with a drive to Lake Coeur d’Alene, a 12-mile row to Harrison, a steamboat ride up the St. Joe to the head of navigation, and “three never-to-be-forgotten days with the fighting trout on the swift water.”

Col. Morrison, said the writer, was one of the first to recognize that the Palouse was perfect for wheat. He later diversified into orchards and livestock. He also created a “great seed farm” and sold his seed to every state in the Union.

His true gift, however, was his “spontaneous sympathy” with whoever was in his company, whether senator, governor, ranch hand or wilderness guide.

His impact on the Inland Empire, said the writer, will long survive.