Invention is a soft sell
Here's a "hometown boy makes good" story featuring a fourth generation local man who took an idea through rough sketches to finished product.
Chris LaVoie graduated from Lake City High School in 2000 and promptly joined the Air Force where he served for six years. A few years ago he had a cancerous tumor removed and then last spring discovered the cancer had returned. Chris took a medical withdrawal from U of I and moved back to Coeur d'Alene to undergo treatment at the VA hospital in Spokane. It was during this time that he re-visited some sketches he'd made for a travel pillow design. A local seamstress helped him with creating a prototype and they're now being manufactured by McCarty's Sacro Ease in the Coeur d'Alene Industrial Park.
I enjoyed a hands-on demo of the Slumber Mitt this week and it's fantastically comfortable. I'm putting in an order for one in purple animal print. The clever pillows are available at www.slumbermitt.com; the site just went live on Monday. Congratulations to Chris for a great example of entrepreneurial spirit!
The "For Dummies" book franchise is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. An interesting bit of trivia is that the very first book in the series, DOS for Dummies, was written by Coeur d'Alene resident Dan Gookin. He's written quite a few additional titles through the years, which have sold millions of copies. His latest book is evidence of how technology has evolved in two decades ... Droid 2 for Dummies is a how-to guide for smart phones. I'll keep this in mind for when I finally get a "grown-up" phone, as Dan suggests.
On Saturday we attended the Sorenson Magnet School event for the first tme and were hugely impressed with what the staff, students and volunteers created. The spirit of the school ... children immersed in the arts ... was evident throughout the Coeur d'Alene Resort banquet room. Each classroom and their parents created silent auction packages that were incredibly clever and artistic. Principal Jim Gray and all involved deserve a big A+!
For the fourth year the Coeur d'Alene Downtown Association is hosting the St. Patricks Day Parade at 4 p.m. on Saturday. This is such a fun event ... people watching along the sidelines is a hoot, too. Congratulations to Katrina Ely who will reign as the Irish Colleen in the parade, joined by Jerry Neely, Irishman of the Year. Don some green and celebrate!
Saturday there will be an afternoon and an evening performance of the Grease! Sing-A-Long to benefit the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theater at NIC's Schuler Performing Arts Center. Who doesn't love all those great songs from the movie soundtrack? Actress Ellen Travolta will also share what it was like to work on the set of the iconic 1978 movie that starred her little brother, John. This is THE fun, family event of the season for sure. Call 769-7780 for tickets.
Happy birthday today to Nate Thoreson, Bob Frazey, Debbie Myles and Giuliana Palmus-Roge. Tomorrow Jon Dingman, Nancy Frazey and Clark Osterson will put on their party hats. On Friday Mayor Clay Larkin turns 75 with an open house from 2-4 p.m. at City Hall. Ed Robar, Mindy Newby, Sue Walker, Jim Faucher, Bill Paradee, Jr. and Pat Giesa share Clay's March 11 birthdate. DeAnn Johnson, Phil Thompson and David Wagner will blow out the candles on Saturday. Lots of local birthdays being celebrated on Monday ... by Tom Capone, Wayne Cofield, Candace McEnespy, Adam Graves, Bud Evans and Sheila Kemis. John McGruder, Len Crosby, Penny Linder and Hanna George were born on the Ides of March.
THERE'S MORE: Photos and tidbits on More Main Street each week. There's a link also 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. Listen to Main Street Monday on KVNI AM1080. Kerri can be reached at mainstreet@cdapress.com