A debt of gratitude to women who roared

Next week marks the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. For millions of American women today it might seem hard to imagine there was a time in this country when we didn't have the right to cast a ballot, have our name appear on a ballot or even serve on a jury, deserving of all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to those "soldiers in petticoats" who toiled tirelessly and with no small personal sacrifice to see Women's Suffrage succeed.Tonight my friend, Rep. Marge Chadderdon, is hosting a free-to-the-public event at the Coeur d'Alene Resort that features actress/historian Tames Alan in a living history presentation on the Women's Suffrage movement. Marge will also give an overview of the movement in Idaho's history.

On a personal level, as a woman whose name has appeared on a ballot and who serves in elected office, I'm honored to be emceeing an event that pays respect to women I'll never meet who made it possible.Bring your family, especially your daughters, tonight at 7.

***On Friday night Tim and Pam Jank, Paul and Robbie Bielec and Burt and Tonya Rutan viewed the Perseid Meteor shower (comet trailings) from the Gozzer Ranch Club. They had just finished dinner and were walking to the boat shuttle when a "fireball" zoomed past, so large, close and bright that Pam swears she actually heard it as it passed by in the night sky.

Interesting to note that one of the group, Burt Rutan, happens to be an aerospace engineer famous for his design of the record-breaking Voyager, which was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling and the sub-orbital spaceplane, SpaceShipOne. Burt was named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influencial People in the World in 2005.Not bad company for viewing a meteor shower on beautiful Lake Coeur d'Alene.

***Tom and Judi Messina received an anniversary serenade worthy of a Tony Award ... the entire Coeur d'Alene Summer Theater cast of "Hairspray" was being hosted by the couple at a barbecue at their Syringa Heights home on Aug. 8. Director Kirk Mouser is a houseguest of theirs this month.

When the cast broke into an acappella rendition of the show's opening number, "Good Morning Baltimore," Judi says she's sure their incredible voices could be heard across the lake to Arrow Point.

***We all see those Adopt a Highway signs along the roadways and wonder if the organizations, businesses or individuals actually pick up litter on their adopted roads.

The other day I saw a Facebook post from Dickinson Insurance about how much fun they had doing their litter duty. J.D. Dickinson and his staff adopted the area of Meyer Road from Hayden Avenue to Lancaster. Says J.D., "We encourage others to participate in adopting a roadway by getting your friends, family or employees together - it's a wonderful thing for our community!"***

Happy 21st birthday today to Jaqueline Dickinson and others celebrating on Aug. 18 ... Toni Prince, Jim Hail III, Julie Pierce and Alethea Carpenter. Tomorrow Scott Noordam and Peter Woods mark the date of their birth and on Saturday Kelly Chadderdon, Betsy Bullard, Crystal Shofner and Matthew Behringer will blow out the birthday candles. Brett Seright and Lilliana Raynor share an Aug. 22 birthday and on Monday Debbie Berger, Eileen Mann and Beth Dagastine are the birthday girls.***

THERE'S MORE ... at More Main Street see local photos of people and places you know. Lots of things to do this week, find events there, too. Find the link for adding your birthday to the Main Street Birthday Club!***

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. More Main Street blog is at http://moremainstreet.blogspot.com. Kerri can be reached at mainstreet@cdapress.com