Coming home for the holidays goes viral
Christine Woeller is a hometown girl ... Borah Elementary, Canfield Middle School, graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 2011, attended the University of Idaho, studied abroad at Oxford University and recently completed student teaching at her prep alma mater.
In January she will be studying for her MBA in Finance from Gonzaga. So it’s a little surprising that she refers to a recent video project as something she did in her spare time. What spare time?
Christine has long had a passion for photography, and she’s quite talented. In high school and college she was capturing images of people, athletics and activities on campus.
Over Christmas break, when many of her lifelong and high school friends were also home for the holidays, she wanted to talk with those who have been gone since graduation, either away at college or traveling. In high school, Christine said, they all used to talk about an eagerness to get out and see the world but she noticed that now they talk about an appreciation and gratitude for the place that they’ve long called home.
The on-camera interviews with nearly two dozen friends, and the backdrop of a downtown winter wonderland, is less like a tourism piece and more like a home movie — a really good quality home movie.
She posted her six-minute video love letter to Coeur d’Alene the day after Christmas, and by Tuesday afternoon it had been viewed more than 125,000 times and shared on Facebook by more than 3,000 people, including Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer. The mayor commented that “these are the next leaders of our community.”
At a time of year when everyone yearns for the connection and comfort of home, family and friends, Christine, 23, tapped into that sentiment in a big way.
“What started out as an idea to help me practice videography turned into a video that really helped me appreciate the town where I grew up,” she said.
The video can be seen on Facebook on Christine Woeller Photography’s page.
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When the Arctic Express hands us sub-freezing temps, make ice balls! One of my favorite projects this time of year involves filling regular size balloons with water and several drops of food coloring. Place outside for at least 24 hours until frozen solid then cut off the balloon for some bright pops of color in this winter white landscape.
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Fernan Stem Academy is presenting its North Idaho Wild Game Feast on Jan. 16 at Avondale Golf Course, featuring a five-course meal prepared by chef Bill Rutherford. Menu items include steelhead sushi rolls, elk short ribs and that North Idaho favorite, blackened marinated alligator sirloin. Info: 664-2659, fernanstempta@gmail.com
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If one of your goals for 2016 is to become a published writer, author Jack Castle’s four-part series at 6 p.m., Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 26 at the Community Library Network at Hayden is for you. The workshop is designed for anyone interested in becoming an author, regardless of where they are in the writing process. All sessions are free and no registration is required.
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There are many people who prefer to start the new year by running and splashing in sub-freezing weather. The 39th Annual TESH Hangover Handicap starts 9:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day. The 5-mile fun run starts behind Michael D's Eatery. It is an out-and-back course that goes along the scenic Centennial Trail on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive. 765-5105.
For decades, locals have plunged into Lake Coeur d’Alene at Sanders Beach at high noon to welcome the new year with the Polar Bear Plunge. This year St. Vincent de Paul will be there with a concession stand and will also collect hats, gloves, blankets for its homeless warming centers.
Temperatures on New Year's Day are forecast to be in the low teens. Brrrrrr.
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Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.
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Resolve to be a blessing in someone’s life every day in 2016.
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Happy birthday today to Gayle Jacklin Stegmann, Marsha Dornquast, Nona Rambo, Bryce Raynor, Kalia Baltzell, Diane Ahlers, Dave Dutro, Tamara Poelstra and LeVenia Jacobson.
New Year’s Eve birthdays belong to Cheryl Freeman, Kalia Baltzell, Sarah Chase, George Holcomb, Phyllis Koepsell, Shaun Leary, Sandy Thompson and Crystal Dean.
On Jan. 1, aka New Year’s Day, Edie Miller, Ron Jacobson, Jan Leaf, Kathy Edinger Dingman, Linda Jordan, Kevin Johnson, Steve Schiller, Johanna Johnson, Jessica Froehlich Hammond, David Attridge, Dianna Owens, Linda Cook, Holly Childers, Katrina Boyer, Johanna Johnson, Declan Jones, Cheryl Shepherd, sisters Shaun Willams and Shana Crimp celebrate the first Main Street birthdays of 2016.
Nicole Barnes, Jerry Roth, Bob McIlvenna and Dion Unruh bundle up the birthday wishes on Saturday.
On Sunday, Harvey Dougall, Katie Soy, Jeff Block and Erika Umphenour celebrate another trip around the sun.
Idaho’s first lady Lori Otter shares a Jan. 4 birthday with Darrell Whitesitt, Debbie Ferguson, Norman Tucker, Bert Storlie and Brandon Sutich.
Wish a happy birthday on Tuesday to Marty Hayes, Jamie Lynn Morgan, Sherri Patton, Phil Eager, Thad Bolek, Timothy Barrett, Andrew Hansen, Dirk Darrow, Bobbi Doupe, Rick Gunther and Debbie Raeon.
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 and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.