Farragut (Idaho) Naval Training Station

I was doing a search on Farragut here on the forums and didn't find much so thought I'd share what I know. My father went to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho and then to radio school there too.

About a month ago, I visited Farragut to see the place my father had been in 1944. It was built in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and almost 300,000 recruits went through there.There is a fledgling museum called, Museum at the Brig, which is run by volunteers. Bless them! All memorabelia is from donations. And as you would probably guess, it is in the only building still standing, the brig. I took photos and will post them if I can figure it out.

The couple who volunteer there 3 1/2 days a week were so kind and so passionate about keeping the memory alive. There is also a place where you can look through files of hundreds of photos of graduating classes and search for your loved one. Each year, they add to the book of thousands of names and print a new notebook.

Here is a link to the museum. It's a pdf so I hope this works; http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/assets/content/docs/Farragut/Farragut Brig Museum Brochure.pdf

I made reservations to stay in a little cabin on lake Pend Oreille. When I got there, I learned that I was staying in what was used as the chauffer's quarters for the officers during the war. So much history in the sleepy little town. I plan to go back to share memorabelia with them.

When you go there, you get the feeling that the locals hold a lot of answers to what went on there and what continues. Believe it or not, the tiny town still has one full-time serviceman there who conducts research on making our subs as quiet as possible. Locals told me that occasionally, you will see the sub surface on the lake. It is a very, very deep lake and that is one of the reasons the area was chosen.

Bayview, Idaho is where I stayed and the tiny town that is at one end of the lake. The history is here; Welcome to Bayview Idaho Chamber of Commerce If you scroll down you can read about the involvement during the war. Eleanor Roosevelt apparently suggested the location to her husband, since it is a huge lake and inland.

I did try uploading my photos, but doesn't look like there's a "browse" option to just get the photos from the photos on my computer. So, I'll have to figure out how to get a URL for them. I assume that means you have to load the photos onto something like Photobucket.

Anyway---hope this might be helpful to someone out there. ~Karen

 

Hi and welcome

You can upload photo's from your computer, although they have to be a certain file size and dimension.

Here is the PhotoShop forum help and information
Photo Gallery Support - World War II Forums

 

Thank you and thanks for the move. I didn't know where to put it and meant to say to move it if appropriate. I tried to resize my own photo to use as the thumbnail next to my posts and it didn't work. But I'll mess with it when I have more time. I need to learn how to do it. I've done it on other websites but it didn't work here. Thank you for the link. I'll check it out. ~Karen

 

Welcome Karen.
Look forward to seeing your photos.

 

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!..... imagine my surprise to see a thread on Farragut - I live in Sandpoint, about 20 miles north of Farragut, also located on Lake Pend Oreille (one of America's true 'hidden gems', in my considered opinion) in Northern Idaho.



Having lived here for going on 35 years, I've spoken with quite a few old-time natives (sadly, a lot fewer, these days) that remember when the 'young fellows' would come to town on the weekends. They had dances in the Community Hall and renamed it the USO Club (here's another picture) (still standing - currently back to its original use as the Sandpoint Community Hall) and I recall, they had a program where the boys could sign up to have a Sunday dinner with a local family.

After the Naval Training Station at Farragut closed, they barged the hospital to Sandpoint in 1945 ( in pieces, no less).

Ross Hall, a local photographer, was the official photographer at the Station, and provided many portraits for the cadets. His incredible collection is now maintained by his son, my good friend Dann Hall.

Here's a quote and a picture of Hazel Hall, Ross' wife and Dann's mother.

Hazel Hall

Hazel Hall with sailors invited for Thanksgiving in 1942 (photo by Ross Hall)

Hazel Hall arrived in Sandpoint on Jan. 5, 1932, shortly after marrying Ross Hall. The young photographer had been working for Himes Studio for about seven months when he went to Colorado to marry his sweetheart. Hazel and Ross worked side by side in the studio, which they bought from Mrs. Himes about 10 years later.
....

Farragut and World War II
When we were hit by Japan, that was a great surprise to us. We soon saw an announcement in the Spokesman-Review that we were going to have a naval base on Lake Pend Oreille. Everybody in the whole town said, "What does this mean?" In a short time they knew, because anybody who could even hold a hammer up, could get a job. They could get a job doing anything. And they were paying about a $1.50 to $2 an hour, which 75 cents was the highest that was being paid anywhere at that time.
Ross wanted to do something, but he didn't know what. Lo and behold, Captain McMasters and two other officers came to the studio and asked him if he would be their photographer over at Farragut. Ross had to go to Seattle and a number of places to try to find the right kind of cameras. Recruits were coming and they took pictures, but the dark room wasn't ready yet. He would bring the films to our studio in Sandpoint, and we would develop them and print them the next day. Sometimes we'd have to work all night.
I hired a couple of girls to help me in the studio. One was an Italian and one was a Japanese, both good little workers. They were seniors in high school, and they were friends. One day here came the FBI, and they took this little Japanese girl. They took her right out of the studio because they were taking all the Japanese then. But that was kind of a shock. In no way would she ever have hurt anything or her family. She was the third generation Japanese.
After Farragut, it did leave the community in better condition. Everybody had more money and building began again. It was kind of fun to see it grow. The whole time I've lived here, it has been a real joy.
​

Here's a site with some incredibly detailed class pictures from Farragut - a possible treasure for someone trying to research a relative that trained there. Click on the small pics, and then click on the large picture, and on many of the photos, individual faces are easily recognized. Some even have accompanying lists of the individuals names.

Shortly after the war, the navy closed the training base, but kept a sonar research facility going (because of the depth of the lake).

Here's a picture of their latest 'toy'. I'm not sure, but I believe there's more than 'one guy' there.

 

Amazingly small world, huh? This is great information. We looked through the photos there at the ranger's station at the state park, but my dad's class wasn't there. I will be copying and donating his photo and the names that are on the back of it. That's how they get ALL of their information, from the veterans and their families themselves.

We stayed at McDonalds in Bayview. Talked to the guy who owns it. His father, who is in his 80's is still living and owned it shortly after the war. So much history there. I can't wait to go back. I want to stay longer and maybe meet with some of the locals. I'm just trying to get a feel for the place that Dad talks about so much these days.

Tomorrow is my breakfast day with Dad. I'm going to ask him about the dances and about having meals with locals. Of course, he was from Dayton, Washington so not too far to go on weekends. And he was honor man in his class so he got every weekend and every Wednesday off.

Thanks for the response. Please keep sharing what you hear or know. This is great! ~Karen

 

[/IMG] Hey! It worked! Woohoo! Kinda big though. Sorry about that. ~K

 

Sorry for the variety of sizes and lack of labels. I'm just trying to learn how to get the photos up. ~K