07/24/2025
Courthouse trees are memorials
By Tammy Gilmer
The Clearwater County Commissioners recently asked the Clearwater Historical Museum, if we had any information on the trees planted in front of the courthouse. They wanted to know if they were protected memorial trees or just decorative trees. In searching through files, the only information found were pictures from when the courthouse was newly completed to its ivy-covered walls and then there were spruce trees in front of the building, and finally the leaf trees that now stand in front.
I wrote an article and shared the pictures from 1928 to present and asked for help. When I returned from vacation, I had a very nice answer on the museum’s answering machine from Mike McCarthy, a longtime Orofino resident, who was able to shed some light on the trees.
How appropriate that this coincided with Independence Day also called the Fourth of July and commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence. The day is also notable for its display of patriotism by flying the American flag, parades, barbeques, and fireworks.
Yes, the trees are protected memorial trees. The first trees were blue spruce trees, and they were in remembrance of the men who lived here or had close ties to the town and fought and died in WWI. Five casualties had their names on plaques at the base of the trees. Then, sometime in the 1970s, the blue spruce trees were taken out and the current leaf trees were planted in remembrance of the same individuals.
The five plaques have the following names on them, and the notation that they were killed in action in WWI. They were Second Lieutenant Harold E. Kinne (Mike’s Uncle), Private Charles A. Bobbitt, Private Glenn R. Dieterle, Fireman First Class Elmer Renner, and Private Adolph Hendrickson.
There have been many articles written on Lieutenant Harold E. Kinne with the Orofino’s VFW being named after him. The recent 90th anniversary of the VFW have made mention of Kinne. He was born in Orofino on Feb. 28, 1896 and his casualty date is noted as July 19, 1918. Kinne was in the Army as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st Division, 16th Infantry Regiment.
He was listed as missing in action, killed by machine gun fire at the Battle of Soissons in France at the age of 22. His place of burial is noted on the tablets of the Missing at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, Belleau, France. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart.
Private Charles Augustus Bobbitt was listed as coming from Nezperce, Idaho.
He was born on Oct. 11, 1893 and his casualty date was Oct. 6, 1918. Bobbitt was in the Army and served with Company G, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division. The records show that he died in France due to a traumatic event, which ultimately resulted in loss of life at 24.
He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery and was awarded the World War 1 Victory Medal. Charles was the brother of Andrew Jackson Bobbitt. M. Merle Loseth, long-time administrator at the Clearwater Valley Hospital was born to Andrew Jackson Bobbitt, thus making Charles her uncle. The road called Bobbitt Bench is named after the Bobbitt family.
Private Glenn R. Dieterle was listed from Idaho. He was born Feb. 7, 1891 and his casualty date, was Oct. 11, 1918. He was with the Army in the 77th Division, 306th Infantry Regiment. The newspaper article said that he was killed in action in France at the age of 27. Dieterle was buried or memorialized at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne, France. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. He was awarded the WWI Victory Medal. Glenn’s father, Fred Dieterle, was a Clearwater County Commissioner, elected in 1924 and served 14 years.
Fireman First Class Elmer Renner had no recorded date of birth, but he served in the Navy. No family names were listed, and it is believed he came from Kentucky. He died on September 30, 1918, while aboard the U.S.S. Ticonderoga, which was listed as missing in action or lost at sea. The U.S.S. Ticonderoga was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.
Originally built as the steamer Camilla Rickmers in 1914 at Bremerhaven, Germany, the ship was seized by U.S. Customs in 1917 and turned over to the Navy. It was converted into a transport ship and renamed Ticonderoga. During the night of the 29th and 30th, the ship developed engine trouble and fell behind the convoy traveling from New York. At 5:20 a.m. the next morning, a German submarine, U-152, was spotted on the surface.
The Ticonderoga was cleared for action, and for the next two hours, her gun crews fought the enemy in a losing battle. At 7:45 a.m., the ship sank beneath the sea. Of the 237 sailors and soldiers aboard, only 24 survived. Twenty-two survivors were in a single lifeboat and rescued four days later by the British steamer S.S. Moorish Prince.
The remaining two survivors were taken prisoner by the U-boat and eventually landed at Kiel, Germany. Renner is listed on the tablet of the Missing at Suresnes American Cemetery in France. He was awarded the WWI Victory Medal, a Purple Heart, and the Navy Expeditionary Medal.
The last honoree was Private Adolph Christian Hendrickson. He was born Feb. 12, 1894 and died Oct. 14, 1918. He was drafted from Clearwater County and was the son of John and Gina Hendrickson. His parents lived in Troy and around Christmas he married Mrs. Schumacker, who had three children.
Hendrickson was 24 years old when he died at Jefferson, Missouri of Spanish influenza. He was buried at the Moscow Cemetery.
Thank you to Mike McCarthy for your initial information, Bob Campbell who helped find information on Hendrickson, and the VFW for your help and sharing of the websites used. If any family or individuals know more about the five honorees Harold Kinne, Charles Bobbitt, Glenn Dieterle, Elmer Renner, and Adolph Hendrickson or have pictures of these individuals, the Clearwater Historical Museum would be interested in updating and adding to their files. The museum can be called at 208-476-5033 or [email protected].
Thank you to these individuals for representing the United States of America and giving the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
