Marcus Kaminsky (& sons)
Marcus Kaminsky, with sons Herman, Louis and Saul operated general merchandise stores in Spokane, Cheney, Colfax, Ellensburg.
From at least 1882 to February 1890, Kaminsky & Son general merchandise store was located at 402 1st street. Its is possible that the store was located elsewhere before 1884.
1888-02-16: Marcus Kaminsky purchased lot 2 block C SMith Addition in Spokane for $50. [Spokane Falls Review]
1905-09-15: Headline of Marcus Kaminsky Dies; Passes Away at Portland at the Age of 73. The article itself seems to come from Colfax, but is illegible. [Spokesman-Review, Friday September 15, 1905, Pg 4, Col 2]
George McCroskey, a county pioneer, offered these recollections in a Pullman Herald article dated January 1925 from the WSU Special Collections; on the death of Herman Kaminsky [Herman Kaminsky died 23 January 1925]:
He was a true friend of the pioneer and a factor in the upbuilding of the Inland Empire.
Just after the Northern Pacific was completed in 1883, Cheney suddenly came into existence, competing with Spokane for the county seat and actually capturing it, about the same time the old stage line from Walla Walla and Colfax changed its northern terminus from Spokane to Cheney. Cheney became the outfitting point for the Palouse and Big Bend countries, as well as the main market point for those districts. The town boasted the finest hotel, the Oakes House, between St. Paul [MN] and Portland [OR].
M. Kaminsky & Son, a firm in which Herman was a partner, established an immense general store in Cheney while the town was at the height of its pioneer boom, the company dealing in all kinds of produce and grain, as well as carrying a complete stock of general merchandise. They were live merchants and advertised their wares far and wide, their signs blazing forth in giant letters from buildings, at cross roads, and other points of vantage all through the Palouse and Big Bend countries. “Go to Kaminsky & Son, Cheney” became almost a household word and the pioneers of the country were treated fairly and well when they followed the advice of the numerous signs and dealt with Kaminsky & Son.
Along with other settlers, I hauled grain and other produce from the ranch in Steptoe country and traded it for merchandise and some money. We were glad of the opportunity to make the trade and were always sure of a square deal when trading with Kaminsky & Son. It would be hard for me to locate in memory a pioneer firm that was more helpful to the hardy settler in his earliest struggles than Kaminsky & Son, and it is with a feeling of deep regret, mingled with a memory of happy relationship many years ago, that I say goodbye to my old friend, Herman Kaminsky.
As I came here today to meet the train that carries the remains of my old friend to Lewiston, I was struck by a realization of the rapidity with which the real pioneers, who did so much for the Northwest, are taking their last long journey. There are but a few of them left, even now.
Mrs. Kaminsky was a Lewiston woman, a member of the Grostein family, pioneers of that district. The firm of Grostein & Binnard was one of the early firms of Lewiston.