1968 Miss Budweiser returns to Coeur d'Alene

COEUR d'ALENE - Come see her in all her beauty.

Before the show, before the parade, just her and her alone.

She's the 1968 Miss Budweiser, a vintage hydroplane whose 2,000-horsepower engine and sleek curves used to race across Lake Coeur d'Alene when the Lake City played host to one of the most popular "thunderboat" races in the country - the Diamond Cup Regatta.

"It was thrilling. Anyone who grew up around here remembers those races," said Dave Walker, a Coeur d'Alene native who grew up watching the show every summer. "It was our Indy 500. It was the biggest thing in town."

The races aren't back, but Miss Budweiser is. She'll be on display this weekend and taking part in the Fourth of July Parade as a nod to Coeur d'Alene's past, while promoting the inaugural Coeur d'Alene Diamond Cup Regatta show Aug. 20-22.

The August event is a weekend dedicated to the hydroplane races from 1958 to 1968 before finance troubles ended the run. It won't bring the races back, but it will offer the nostalgic a chance to remember the glory days - including a ride in the smooth vessels - while raising money for the Museum of North Idaho.

"It's literally a bucket list item," said Doug Miller, on riding as a passenger. Miller is helping bring the boats to Coeur d'Alene as museum board member and event chairman.

"There's no better vehicle than what those old hydroplanes do," he said.

The goal is to begin raising up to $15 million for a new museum in Coeur d'Alene - eventually. While weekend shows likely won't bring in that total, "it's a good start," Miller said.

Details on all the events aren't yet finalized, but could include banquet and benefit auctions, a golf tournament, and 1.5 mile-long exhibition runs by three vintage hydroplanes provided by the Hydroplane and Powerboat Museum in Kent, Wash.

Meantime, Miss Budweiser - which competed in the final Coeur d'Alene race, can clock 190 miles per hour and made the trip over from Kent on Thursday - will be on display beginning at 9 this morning at Independence Point. It will move to the museum for the afternoon and spend all day there Saturday.

Sunday, the 33-foot boat will hitch a ride down Sherman Avenue as part of the parade.

"It's a piece of history, said Walker, who is helping the museum promote the event.

Pieces of that history are already around town, including a hydro display in the museum running through Oct. 31, and the racing suit and helmet Mira Slovak wore during his 1963 race, hanging inside Hudson's Hamburgers on Sherman Avenue. That was the suit the driver was in when he survived a violent crash.

"This is one just near and dear to my heart," Walker said. "It was a big, big event that rolled into town and people got involved."

The Museum is at 115 Northwest Blvd. and is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Those interested in being notified when tickets become available for the events can contact Dorothy Dahlgren, museum director, at 664-3448 or e-mail dd@museumni.org.