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Staff News
We feel it is very appropriate for the month of May which features Mother’s Day to do our feature staff article on the “Mother of Red Cedar Inn”-Katherine Smith. Although she just turned the ripe youthful age of 88, Katherine remains an active participant in our success at Red Cedar. She still offers sage advice whenever she is asked on recipies or business matters and is always there for us if we need some encouragement. Believe it or not Katherine still makes “Grandma’s Brownies” featured on the menu. She is truly a perfectionist and takes extreme pride in everything she has ever made. This is the same perfectionist attitude she has passed down to Ginger and Wes as they have frequent discussions about food preparation, presentation and sanitation. Always the bulldog on employee sanitation training, Katherine was way ahead of her time in always stressing the basics of the kitchen cleanliness, like washing hands, and use of sanitizers, or degreasers. Working at Red Cedar is like getting a degree in the food and beverage business. In fact, several entrepreneurs started here and went on to their own businesses.
Katherine is the first female ever employed at the Red Cedar Inn. She applied for a a job in 1935 after she heard from the man who delivered ice, that Red Cedar was looking for a woman to work there. She was hired by James Smith II, who of course became her future husband. Katherine recalls she started to work for $1.00 per day, which was a decent wage at that time. She and James were married in 1940, and needless to say she has never left Red Cedar. Her wedding breakfast was cooked at Red Cedar by then waitress and still best friend, Merle Couch. The couple had two children; one daughter; Virginia (Ginger) Smith Gallagher and one son, James Smith III. James has persued a career outside the restaurant business as Real Estate Agent for Lamar International. Katherine is also very close and proud of her two grandsons; Rob Myers of Lafayette, Colorado who is a Mortgage Banker and heads his own company called Competative Mortgage; and Michael Gallagher who works part time at Red Cedar and has his own heating and air conditioning business; Gallagher Mechanical.
Some of Katherine’s fondest memories include her charitable work for St. Bridget’s Church as a member of the Queen’s Daughters. Her favorite was the performance Minstrel Follies of which she participated for several years during the early 50’s. Katherine also functioned as president of the Queen’s Daughters from 1957 through 1959 and was awarded with a rosary which she still treasures today as a lifetime momento. Many of her friends and Red Cedar Inn Customers also were active in the Queen’s Daughters including Marie Buscher, Rose Freeman, Macella Hoeflinger, Jenny Dailey, Mary Poelker, Helen Murray, Laura Lee Noonan, Glafrie McNamee, Emilie Quennoz, Mary Dailey, and Pat Buscher.
Because of Red Cedar Inn’s prominent place in history, Katherine is a frequent target of media types and gives frequent interviews to writers or reporters wanting to know the history of Red Cedar and are looking for one of those knee slapping special stories. One such reporter, was Channel 2’s John Auble. John told us he had finally met his match as he was barely able to keep up with her. He did one of his “Auble At Large” reports on her and told a story about a customer who (according to Katherine) was not acting properly as a result of an over indulgence and was asked by James Smith II to leave. When the customer failed to move Katherine “assisted” him out the door as she just happened to have a broom in her hand!! After this interview Katherine and John have become good friends and found out their birthdays are on back to back days in April and have ever since jointly celebrated their birthdays at Red Cedar. This year’s party was on April 27th.
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Left:Katherine Smith gets together with daughter-Ginger Gallagher, Grandson- Michael Gallagher, and Wes Karna for a restaurant pow-wow.
Right: Katherine Smith with sister Marcella Faszold.
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