Cupboards All Bared, page 27
“As well they should be.”
“Another telegram, Carew,” Hollway said, coming up to Bernard and handing over the paper before returning to his desk.
Bernard’s eyes scanned the telegram before handing it to Thomas with a friendly clap on the shoulder.
“Don’t dawdle too long waiting for the anarchist. I’ve already got another case for us waiting at my desk.”
Thomas grinned. He was finding he actually enjoyed working with his brother, within reason.
He turned to the telegram, which was from George Foster, and read: “Much appreciation Ofcr and Det Carew for assistance STOP Rcvd copy assassination plot via mail STOP Anarchists try again we’ll be ready for them STOP.”
THE END
To be continued in Crazy Maids in a Row...
Historical Notes
I’ve always loved historical fiction and its ability to breathe life into history, reminding us that these were real people in real places with real problems. I take great pleasure in weaving historical fact with fictional characters and events, so I’d like to share with you a little more about what historical goodies can be found within Cupboards All Bared.
Construction of the Great Northern Railroad Depot began on May 8, 1901. All references to the building were taken from articles printed at the time, which can be found on my website. There, I’ve collected a series of clipped newspaper articles referencing the timeline of the building of the depot and its iconic clock tower, which heavily influenced the events that unfold in the Spokane Clock Tower Mysteries, beginning with the first book, Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Taker. The clock tower is the basis for the timeline I’ve created for the book series in its entirety.
Another historical location would be Browne’s Addition, which is known as Spokane’s first neighborhood, established in 1883. Many of its homes are listed on the historical register, making it a perfect place to walk through to feel a sense of Spokane’s past. Speaking of which: you can actually walk the crime scene as described in Cupboards All Bared! The bluff overlooking Hangman Creek lies just a five-minute walk from the Campbell House, both of which you can visit today. In fact, it was a visit to this area, now called Overlook Park, and the way my knees turned to jelly looking out and over the ravine, that inspired the death in this story.
The Campbell House was built in 1898 and was donated to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society in 1924. Because it was only lived in for twenty-six years, it is in fabulous condition, and currently is a living museum, set up in the decor of the house circa 1910, complete with actors playing the family and servants at Christmastime. I tried to incorporate as many visible aspects of the house that you can still view today as possible, like the annunciator call bell system, the confused collection of armor on display above the front door, and the rather pink reception room. The museum has done an excellent job of collecting as many historical artifacts as possible in connection to the Campbells’ life in Spokane. The chair Marian discovers in Pavoni’s hotel room at the Montvale was inspired by a musical chair that can be viewed at the Campbell House, which they didn’t acquire until after their European tour in 1909, but I just had to get it in somewhere!
In 1901, the Campbells had five live-in staff. There were two maids, Matilda Peterson and Caroline “Carrie” Olsen, who were both Swedish, though they’d immigrated at very different times and were a couple years different in age. The three male employees were Edward Nelson, the gardener (who didn’t manage to make an appearance in this book), Chung Lee, a Chinese cook who’d immigrated twenty years earlier, and Joseph Gladding, the Ohio-born coachman who stayed with the Campbells until 1905. The only one of these staff members we have pictures of today is Joseph Gladding.
Amasa (pronounced a-MAY-sah) Campbell and Grace Campbell were as described, as was Helen Campbell, their only child. Descriptions of all three are based on portraits from 1904 that still hang in the Campbell House. After building a fortune in the mines of Idaho, Campbell moved his family to Spokane in 1898, and quickly became a leader and known entity in the city. His friendship with President McKinley was a real thing. According to The Chronicle, “Mr. Campbell and family are friends of the McKinleys, have known them for a good many years, and on that account they are the natural hosts of the distinguished travelers” (May 7, 1901). And in a letter Amasa wrote on May 11: “Grace and I are going to have the President with us for two days while he stops in Spokane. This is all arranged, and I guess we can take care of him.”
President McKinley’s visit to Spokane and all the references to the newspaper articles and facts regarding his visit are true, most of them taken straight out of The Spokesman, though the planned assassination attempt in Spokane was only inspired by the real one that would occur in September 1901. The McKinley Reception Committee was formed and headed by Chairman George A. Black. McKinley was supposed to board with the Campbells during his stay, and there was much planned for his visit in the manner of parades and speeches. Unfortunately, due to the health of Mrs. McKinley, he had to cancel his visit to Washington state. For a full outline of the events and to read the original articles as published in The Spokesman-Review and Chronicle, please visit my website.
Other than the Carew brothers, all the police officers mentioned in the book are real people. Desk Sergeant George Hollway, Jailer William Smith, Officer Walter Lawson, Officer William Lewis, Captain James Coverly, Chief William Witherspoon, Commissioner Henry Lilienthal, and Detectives Dougald McPhee, Alexander MacDonald, John McDermott, and Martin Burns were all active members of the Spokane Police Force in 1901. The private detectives of the Spokane Detective Agency, Richard Gemmrig and William Stauffer, mentioned at the end of the book were also real historical figures.
The governor of Washington in 1901 was John Rankin Rogers, though he died of pneumonia later that year. Dr. Nathan M. Baker was the coroner at this time, his office located in the Hyde Block around the corner from City Hall, which was on Front and Howard in 1901. Dutch Jake’s Coeur d’Alene Hotel was a theater, bar, and gambling hall audaciously located across the street from City Hall.
The Montvale Hotel was built in 1899 by Probate Judge John Binkley as one of the first Single Room Occupancy hotels in Spokane. Binkley was praised as an “eminently public-spirited citizen, and one whose influence has been very sensibly felt in the development of the city” (Edwards, History of Spokane County). The descriptions of the interior are inspired by articles from the time and photographs taken before it was updated. Today it is a beautiful boutique hotel that can still be visited in its original location, though the entrance and the interior have been greatly changed.
The list of watchmakers Archie visits are taken from the Polk’s City Directory from 1901 and are exactly as listed. Dodson’s was a real jewelry store that only recently closed its doors after 131 years of business. Otto Kratzer was really the watchmaker at that time and the interior is described based on photographs from the time period.
The Spokesman-Review and The Chronicle were the main newspapers of 1901 Spokane. Both were owned by William H. Cowles by 1901, who moved them all into the Review Building, which can still be visited today. Reporters were not given bylines at that time, so I was able to introduce my own creations easily into the staff.
Sacred Heart Hospital still exists today after being founded in 1886 by Mother Joseph, an inspirational woman of incredible strength. According to the Spokane City Directory, the Sister Superior in 1901 was Sister Peter of Alcantara, and the hospital was located at “Front av n w cor Browne.”
The Eastern Washington Hospital for the Insane, or “the Medical Lake asylum” as it was referred to in the papers of the time, officially opened in 1891. Per an article in The Spokesman-Review, Tuesday, May 7, 1901, they suffered a smallpox outbreak in the north wing of the women’s side on May 6, which lasted for a few weeks, and worked perfectly for causing a lag in the Baker’s arrival there until the opening of the next book...
The mining boom that occurred in Idaho began in 1883. Just as the Northern Pacific Railroad finished their transcontinental line that crossed through the upper panhandle of Idaho, Andrew Prichard led a prospecting group that discovered gold in a land already boasting silver and lead. People became millionaires overnight by investing in the mining companies, and in the railroads that were required to move the materials and people in and out of the panhandle. I recommend The Coeur d'Alenes Gold Rush and Its Lasting Legacy by Tony and Suzanne Bamonte for more information.
The disputes, riots, and unrest were not inspired by current events, but actually did happen, culminating in the creation of the Industrial Workers of the World, or “Wobblies,” in 1905, whose fights against labor issues would fill the news well into 1917. Back in 1899, Levi Hutton claimed that he was forced to drive a train of dynamite into the concentrator at Wardner, and the place was put under martial law. According to N.W. Durham’s History of Spokane, “mine-owners of the Coeur d'Alenes who wished to operate under martial law could do so only on condition that they would not employ members of the miners unions and the mine-owners acquiesced in this requirement.” At a meeting which Campbell and Finch attended representing the Standard, Hecla, and Gem mines, “mine-owners decided to cooperate with the state and resume operations as quickly as forces could be organized: $3.50 to be paid at Burke, Gem and Mullan for all men underground; $3.50 for miners at Wardner, and $3 for ‘muckers.’” Governor Steunenberg would be assassinated years later in 1905 for declaring that martial law. Campbell’s thoughts on the matter, as related in this book, come from letters he wrote at that time, some of the lines verbatim straight out of his pen.
Similarly, Thomas’s father’s thoughts regarding reporters come from Etiquette for Americans, published in 1898. The menus planned and executed by Mrs. Curry and Signora Magro come from cookbooks of the time period. For more on this, visit my website, where you can also find a recipe for the best “Italian Cornbread” or “Pane di granturco.”
The books discussed by the characters were all written prior to 1901. Edgar Allan Poe’s detective, Auguste Dupin, made his first appearance in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in 1841. Anna Katharine Green’s debut mystery The Leavenworth Case, published in 1878, was a bestseller overnight, and introduced the world to the perceptive Detective Gryce, who would inspire the creation of Sherlock Holmes nine years later.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was published in 1886, and is said to be inspired by a dream he had, though the dream was most likely inspired by articles published at the time concerning the mysterious cases of Felida and Vivet. The articles Roslyn reads regarding these cases can be found online under the titles listed in the story or via links on my website. Founded in 1874, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease is “the world's oldest independent scientific monthly in the field of human behavior.” The Scientific American was established in 1845 and is one of the oldest magazines in the United States. Editions circa 1901 can be found online at archive.org. They make for absolutely fascinating reading.
And finally, the title of this book was inspired by a political cartoon I found from 1897, which can be viewed on my website. Drawn by Victor Gillam, it shows President McKinley as Old Mother Hubbard with a dog wearing the face of Uncle Sam, finding the cupboard, which has an image of the US treasury in deficit, bare.
To learn more about the history behind the book’s events, and to read the actual articles referenced, please visit my website at Patricia-Meredith.com.
Thank you for listening and reading!
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I offer praise and gratitude to my Lord and merciful Savior, Jesus Christ, with whom nothing is impossible, for giving me these words and this story.
To my husband, Andrew Meredith—I love you more than you love me, no changes.
My kids, who enthusiastically ask when they can read Mommy’s new book.
My parents and parents-in-law, whose faith, support, and encouragement have brought me to this moment.
Special thanks to Corin Faye, my editor and writing partner whose critiques literally forced me to re-write a third of the book, making it infinitely better for it.
To Rebecca Cook, whose voice has once more brought my story to life. Thank you for taking the time to look up all the foreign language pronunciations I threw at you this time!
Alex Fergus at the Ferris Archives and Ellen Postlewait at the Campbell House—without you two I would have been stuck in an infinite research loop! Thank you for helping me find everything I needed and more to ensure this book was an accurate historical representation of the Campbells and their environs.
Susan Walker, the Spokane Regional Law Enforcement Museum Secretary-Treasurer, for offering access to hands-on research, as well as answering all my questions about detectives and police officers circa 1901 Spokane. Thank you for your continued enthusiasm for my work!
To the entire Crommelin family, but especially Miff, Mariad, and Patrick Serné, for compiling the letters of Marinus Crommelin into Dear Mother, a collection of letters sent home from Spokane in 1901, whose descriptions provided the basis for many of my characters’ perceptions of their surroundings.
Special thanks to Jan and Tom Falconer, whose relationship greatly inspired that of Bernard and Roslyn Carew. Especially a big thank you to Jan, whose life in a wheelchair since the age of thirty has breathed heart into Roslyn’s character. Jan, you are a gift. God is using you and He loves you even more than I do!
My amazing team of Beta Readers: Ben Armstrong, Jason Armstrong, Noelle Austin, Leslie Bryant, Kathy Buckmaster, Alex Fergus, Rachel Fergus, Anne Fischer, Kim Hammond, Leah Humenuck, William H. Keith, Katie Kessler, Maggie Meredith, Renae Meredith, Scotte Meredith, Su Meredith, Diane Meredith-Gordon, Lydia Pierce, Sarah E. Pounder, Andy Rizzo, Beth Rizzo, Catie Rizzo, Dean Rizzo, Jessie Rizzo, Sue Rizzo, and Carole Waters. All of you made this book better with your input!
And you, dear reader. The next book is coming soon!
Thank you all!
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Did you love Cupboards All Bared? Then you should read Crazy Maids in a Row by Patricia Meredith!
The Baker is in the Medical Lake asylum, which means all should be well with the world. But when a string of murders draws Marian, Archie, and the Carew brothers to her doorstep, they begin to wonder if she's at it again.
Crazy Maids in a Row is Book 3 in the Spokane Clock Tower Mysteries, coming October 2022.
Read more at Patricia Meredith’s site.
Also by Patricia Meredith
Spokane Clock Tower Mysteries
Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Taker
Cupboards All Bared (Coming Soon)
Standalone
Happenings
Murder for a Jar of Red Rum
Watch for more at Patricia Meredith’s site.
About the Author
Patricia Meredith is an author of historical and cozy mysteries. She currently lives just outside Spokane, Washington on a farm with peacocks, ducks, guinea fowl, chickens, and sheep. When she’s not writing, she’s playing board games with her husband, creating imaginary worlds with her two children, or out in the garden reading a good book with a cup of tea.
For all the latest updates, you can follow her as @pmeredithauthor on Goodreads, Instagram, and Facebook.
Read more at Patricia Meredith’s site.
Patricia Meredith, Cupboards All Bared
