Kinsingers give Char-Le Apartments a facelift

The Char-Le Apartments near the Cougar Food Mart has recently been freshened up, giving a new look to a building with an interesting history.

The building was constructed in 1937 on Main Street at the current site of the Cougar Food Mart. It was purchased in 1944 by veterinarian Dr. Charles Hayward and his new bride Letia McGuire Hayward. According to an account from an interview with Letia, the bank was hesitant to extend a loan, because a veterinarian had never been successful in Colfax. The Haywards lived in one half of the building and conducted the veterinarian practice in the other half. There were six kennels in the basement for recovery and a living quarters for the assisting veterinarian student.

The Haywards re-located their practice to the North Flat in 1949 and the building became a grocery store operated by Karl and Dorothy Horting.

Wayne Kinsinger purchased the building in the 1970s. The land it was sitting on was not part of the sale as the neighboring gas station wanted to expand on that ground. Kinsinger had the building moved to its current location on Morton Street. To honor the Haywards, Kinsinger used the name Char-Le which is an abbreviation of Charles and Letia.

Letia, 94, now lives in Spokane Valley.