A Brief History of Mack's Inn by Nancy Stratford

At age 12, William H. Mack left his native Germany to come to America. To repay his uncle for his passage, William worked in his uncle's San Francisco bakeries for two years. Here he learned to speak English. Before leaving San Francisco, he cooked in some of the famous hotels.

William moved to Logan, Utah where he worked at the Bluebird Café. It was here that he met and married Alberta Bigelow. Following their marriage, they moved to San Francisco, where he enrolled in medical school. At night he worked at the bakery. They were living in San Francisco during the great earthquake. William sent his wife and their four and a half-yearold daughter, Myrtle back to Millville, Utah, where her mother lived.

After finishing his training he was a licensed optometrist, hence his nickname "Doc". He returned to Utah to his wife and now two daughters. Madeline was born when he was in San Francisco. He opened an office in Rexburg, where he wrote prescriptions for farmers and sheepherders in the area.

Doc's love of the outdoors landed him a job as a regional game warden. He gave up being an optometrist and moved to Island Park, his assigned area. When the Macks first began to come to Island Park they took a horse and buggy from Rexburg to Ashton, where they spent the night. The next morning they ascended the Ashton hill and rode to the Uden Ranch (now Elk Creek Ranch), where they spent the next night before moving on to the Snake River.

Doc established an inn in the early 1900's as a stopping place for travelers. It was a small building at Trude's Siding near the railroad tracks and Stoddard's Sawmill. The Union Pacific's Yellowstone Park Special passed by Trude's Siding on its way to and from the west entrance of Yellowstone Park. Some of the passengers got off at Trude's Siding, where they were met by Doc Mack and taken fishing. After a day on the river they returned to Mack's place and ate Mrs. Mack's home cooked meal. Then they were put up in tent frame cottages that Doc had built.

Doc moved his operation to where the stagecoach crossed the river. It was one and a half miles upstream from Mack's Inn's present location at the Sawtelle Club, formerly known as Rexburg Rod and Gun Club. His business increased.

When Yellowstone National Park opened its roads to automobiles in 1916, Doc sold his property upriver and leased Forest Service property on the west side of the new highway where the bridge was being built. He then built an inn along U.S. Highway 191 (now Route 20) on the east side of the highway to accommodate his visitors.

Doc thought of everything. He had a post office that was later moved to the remodeled Balch building. He commissioned the Kennedy's to build the Chapel in the Pines to serve the various denominations who wanted to use it for services. He purchased a "Yellow Car" from Yellowstone National Park that he used to transport guests.

In 1943, Mack's Inn was purchased by Harvey and Gladys Schwendiman, a Fremont County potato farmer and former state senator. He replaced the old log and stucco buildings at Mack's with a new restaurant, bar, and store and in 1948 built a modern lodge. Float trips were established between Big Springs and Macks. A shuttle service was established for those wanting to float the river. Schwendiman died in 1971 and the ownership of the place went to his daughter, Bonnie.

Ralph Bastian purchased the resort from Bonnie and Max Mortensen in 1976. The place went through a series of owners until the spring of 1989 when Ralph Bastian who held the mortgage, received the property back. Drained financially, he closed the operation for the winter. In the fall of 1989, the lodge burned to the ground, leaving only the fireplace standing.

Vance Derricott, the Island Park Fire District commissioner said that by the time the fire department arrived it was too far gone to be saved. Derricott estimated that the fire had been burning for about an hour and a half before being spotted. It apparently started in the kitchen area at the north end of the building.

Island Park Fire Department responded with 15 firefighters and three trucks that pumped water directly from the river. Engines from St. Anthony, Ashton, and West Yellowstone also joined the effort but too late. The lodge was deserted at the time of the fire as the resort had been shut down for the winter on October 15. The building was uninsured. The burning of the 42-year-old lodge ended an era at Mack's Inn and only the memories remain.

Gary and Gloria Bastian managed the resort after the fire for a few years. In 1996, two men from Orem, Utah bought the inn when Ralph Bastian died. Chad Bauer and Rick Evans purchased 15 acres of land, the 22 unit motel, 16 condominiums, 30 cabins, a motor home park with 69 spaces, a convention center and a laundromat. Rick Evans who owned and taught at the Evans Hairstyling College in Orem, Utah moved to Island Park with his family and ran the resort year round.

Henry's Fork Landing, the riverside restaurant made popular by Dean and Deanna Green was purchased by Chad and Rick in 1997. An old fashioned ice cream parlor was added.

The convention center became a dinner theater open June through Labor Day. The summer of 1998 marked the first season for the Mack's Inn Dinner Theater. It has presented Island Park with outstanding productions ever since. The actors are selected at auditions. They not only perform, but help serve the food.

Chad Bauer purchased Rick Evans’ interest in 2006. Chad, although not able to spend 100% of his time at Mack’s, manages the resort now. He is a graduate of South Fremont High School with ties to the Island Park community and big plans for Mack's Inn's future.
[This is part of the May 15, 2007 edition of Henry's Fork Country.]