When Candace Conradi returned to Coeur d’Alene last week to share her new book, "Thirteen Twenty Four Sherman," she wasn’t sure what to expect.

Conradi’s book tells the story of her family, who owned the famous Rathskeller Inn, with locations in Coeur d’Alene and Moscow. She runs a Rathskeller Inn Facebook group with nearly 500 members, but she had never met most of them in person. Conradi was 17 when she left Coeur d’Alene and the Rathskeller behind.

“A lot of people know me, and I don’t know who they are,” said Conradi. “I was a little girl when it started.”

When Conradi arrived at the Museum of North Idaho for an author event Sept. 19, she was shocked to encounter a line out the door. Some of the people waiting to meet her were familiar faces, including Patty Appelberg Phillips, who worked at the Rathskeller from 1966 until the early 1970s.

“She was the head of our kitchen, she was like family,” Conradi said. “She was there when I got to the museum at 10.”

Conradi said many visitors reminisced and shared personal memories about visiting the Rathskeller and watching The Cascades perform. She heard many stories from people who met their spouses there.

“I often say the population of Coeur d’Alene went way up because of the couples who met there,” said Conradi with a laugh.

On Wednesday evening, Conradi hosted an informal Rathskeller reunion on the corner of 14th Street and Sherman Avenue, where the Rathskeller once stood. The venue was a bar called Bottle Joy, which is expected to open soon.

At the reunion, people gathered to share fond memories of visiting or working at the Rathskeller decades ago. Over pizza, peanuts and beer, they reminisced and swapped stories of legendary performances, colorful characters and drunken shenanigans.

“We had a little group of people I hung around with, we played pool, drank beer, danced,” said Tom Iverson, who used to frequent the Rathskeller. “The dancing and the music were absolutely great, they had bands here from all over.”

Iverson said the Rathskeller was the first place he ate pizza. He has fond memories of visiting the bar with friends and recalled a rivalry with college students from Washington. He remembers seeing Conradi at the Rathskeller when she was a child and recently reconnected with her while she was writing her book.

“I was real excited about her writing a book,” said Iverson, “there’s a lot of history here.”

Steve Shepperd, a volunteer at the Museum of North Idaho, also connected with Conradi while she was writing her book. He began frequenting the Rathskeller in 1968 as a college student.

“The place was kind of designed to cater to my age group, young college kids,” said Shepperd. “It drew a lot of kids in from Spokane because of the difference in drinking age.”

One of Shepperd’s fond memories of the Rathskeller was nights when the bar served shelled peanuts and allowed customers to leave the shells scattered across the floor. He was excited about Conradi’s efforts to keep the history of the Rathskeller alive and helped with research for the book.

Among the attendees were Conradi’s niece, Jacqulyn Paneque, as well as Patty Appelberg Phillips and her younger sister, Liz.

“This is a trip for me because I’ve heard about this my entire life,” Paneque said “It shaped so much of who my mom and her are.”

In a role reminiscent of her predecessors, Paneque stood behind the bar and served beer to customers who once ordered drinks at the Rathskeller.

“There was so much fun in the bar,” said Phillips. “Little bitty Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 10,000 people! It was awesome.”

Phillips and her younger sister both worked in the kitchen at the Rathskeller at different times, preparing pizza, burgers, sandwiches, shrimp and fries for hungry crowds.

“I had a guy that used to come into my kitchen and open up the pepperoni container and reach in and grab a handful of pepperoni,” said Phillips, “I chased him out of the kitchen more times than I can count. It was unreal.”

At the reunion, Conradi addressed the crowd. She thanked friends and family for supporting and inspiring her. She read a passage from her book before leaving attendees to reminisce.

“When you get into your 70s and 80s, reliving something that was fun and exciting for you, it lifts your spirit and you just feel better,” said Conradi. “The melancholy lifts, and you get to celebrate it again.”

    A historic photo of the Rathskeller Inn, located at 1324 Sherman. Now the location of Vertical Earth.
  

    Candace Conradi's niece Jacqulyn Paneque serves pizza at the Rathskeller reunion at Bottle Joy on Wednesday Sept. 23.
  

    Patty Appelberg Phillips and Steve Shepperd at the Rathskeller reunion on Wed. Sept. 23 at Bottle Joy.
  

    Candace reads an excerpt from her new book at the Rathskeller reunion on Wed. Sept. 23 at Bottle Joy.