Shining light
<p>Mary Button stands alongside the display case holding the flashlight her late husband, Harry Button, used after falling into the Spokane River when the Spokane River bridge collapsed March 27, 1971. The historical items from that event are displayed in the Post Falls Police Department where Button volunteers.</p>
POST FALLS - Even after Harry Button plunged into the Spokane River in his police car when a Post Falls bridge collapsed, his trusty Eveready flashlight never failed him.
The amazing story of resilience was told during an Eveready commercial for the 1976 Super Bowl. And now it will live at the Post Falls Police Department forever.
Button's widow, Mary, who volunteers at the department, donated the flashlight and Button's badges to the agency, which made a shadow box telling the story.
"This is humbling for me," said Mary as she looked at the display on Monday. "All the old-timers in Post Falls knew him well. He was so well-known in the community."
The flashlight not only worked after being submerged with Officer Button on March 27, 1971, it played a role in the rescue of him and witness Bill Jones Jr. after the two clung to debris from the Spokane Street Bridge collapse.
"With this flashlight, (Button) was able to see the twisted wreckage around him and direct rescue boats safely to them," the display states.
Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug said the story, a favorite among longtime locals and on its 40-year anniversary, deserves to be preserved.
"It's a significant event for the police department and the community," Haug said. "We wanted to make sure that it's not forgotten."
Button was a Post Falls officer for nine years. He was also Post Falls' fire chief from 1957 to 1960 and 1973 to 1978, served as a fire commissioner for several years and worked for the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department for five years.
During the night of the bridge collapse, Button and ridealong Allan Chaffin, who was disabled and worked as a volunteer dispatcher for the fire department, responded to an accident on the bridge.
As Button was on the radio to dispatch, a 100-foot section of the wooden bridge collapsed. The patrol car, with Button and Chaffin inside, plunged into the river, along with Jones. Chaffin died.
Mary said Button was able to escape the car because his door was open.
After the incident, Button wrote a letter to Eveready, praising the company for its ever-lasting product and the role it played in the rescue. The flashlight was in Button's boot during the event.
A few years later, Button was flown to Hollywood to do a re-enactment of the incident for commercials, including one that was shown during the Super Bowl.
Button retired in 1996 and died in 1998 of cancer at age 67.
In an earlier interview, Button called the commercial "amazingly real." A stuntman was used in the vehicle.
"It gave me chills to see it all happen again," Button said. "I definitely was not interested in going down in that car again."