In 1910, LE’s Grandfather, Bob Manning migrated from Gypsum, Kansas to the small, lakeside town of Sandpoint, Idaho and purchased a homestead. LE’s mother, Virginia (Birdie) and my father, Eugene, were born Sandpoint, before Bob returned to Gypsum where his father C.B. Manning operated a hardware business. Bob Manning acquired a hardware business and lived the rest of his life in the neighboring town of Roxbury, where Virgina and Eugene grew up and went to school, accompanied by little sisters Muriel and Janet, who were born in Roxbury.
Upon his death in 1957, our grandfather Bob left a 20-acre parcel in Sandpoint, where a small cabin had been built, to Virginia, and a separate 40-acre parcel of forest land to my father. When Virginia and my father Eugene passed, they willed their Idaho land to LE and me, respectively. Over the years, Eugene, LE, and myself made several pilgrimages to Sandpoint to visit our “family homestead”, but we never got around to making any improvements to the land.
The land around Sandpoint is very scenic, including lakes, mountains, and forests that provide enjoyable fishing, skiing, and hiking to locals and tourists. During the years since grandfather Bob purchased the land, the Sandpint area morphed from a lumbering economy into a tourist attraction. In recent years, LE and I had made a connection with local naturalists who installed trails and used our lands for horseback riding and hiking.
In 2018, LE donated his 20 acres to the Kaniksu Land Trust, a local group that creates and maintains local hiking trails. This property, now designated and labeled as the “The Manning Buffer” (named after LE’s grandfather Bob Manning) hosts a pathway known as Greta’s Segway which links two major hiking trails and woodlands that are important components of the Kaniksu Land Trust (KLT) of Bonner County Idaho.
KLT hosted an event in which LE was honored and made a speech.
Celebrating the Life of LE Krause 