TORBERT'S
(BLOCK 45; LOT 15)
Through much of its history, this building housed what one owner called a "wonder" store and a later owner called a "variety" store... both essentially five-and-dime stores.
Built as a livery stable, the site has had numerous owners. Around 1913, the W T. Cole Transfer Co. occupied the site. In the mid-1920s, Oscar Wermager opened a business that he dubbed The Wonder Store, offering an "extensive" selection of notions. Wermager, his wife and two daughters lived upstairs. A dentist named Dr. Coons also maintained an office upstairs for a time.
Renn Torbert, who had a Woolworth's store in Kalispell, bought the property in 1946, and his partner, Larry Kositzky, opened Torbert's variety store here. Like the Wermagers, Kositzky lived upstairs with his wife, Irene, and their two children. Irene, who worked in the store every day, told of her many trips up and down the 23 steps between the apartment and the store.
In about 1973 the building was sold to Philip Travis, who turned it into a sort of mini-mall. It subsequently has had several owners and had been home to a succession of businesses, including a sandwich shop.
Sponsored by the
Stumptown Historical Society and the Whitefish Community Foundation
From the plaque at the building