I worked a variety of seasons as a housekeeper, waitress, and cook's helper in the mid to late '50's under then owner Cameron A. Sharpe. The gravel road in from Index was 13.7 mi.
There were four mineral springs. They all lay parallel to the main road and just to the left of the entrance. No. 1 and largest was orange-olive green in color and had a strong sulfurous/multi-mineral odor and salty-mineral taste. It was piped under the entrance road into the LARGE swimming pools (small one closest to coffee shop windows was about 3 feet deep and for kids. The big one was graduated. Spring #2 was very similar to #1 and the one visitors sampled. No. 3 was soda water, and #4 was carbonated, had been reclaimed, was wood-lined and we used a dipper for the makings of carbonated beverages or floats for the coffee shop.
On summer time-offs we picked wild huckleberries, made pies, and sold as a favorite in the shop. We accommodated drop-ins and overnight guests for various stays. Only the second floor bedrooms had sinks in the rooms; one had a large claw-footed bathtub for guests demanding a mineral water soak.
The electricity generated by the fast-descending small stream across the main road before reaching the entrance was DC, required converters, and was only available until 10 p.m. Electric appliances were small, like irons for clothes. All linens were transported out for laundering. The fire that took the lodge occurred, I am quite sure, in Jan. 1960. Cause: wood furnace explosion. They retrieved just a few items. —Polly
Reposted from NWHikers.net