Don Sausser: Keeping an eye on Cd'A

COEUR d'ALENE — Don Sausser latched onto a plastic Kodak camera when he was 11.

Seventy years later, the Coeur d'Alene man hasn't let go of having a camera in his hands whenever he suspects a photo op is about to happen.

It's easy to have that bug when you wake up each morning on the 10th floor of the Lake Tower Apartments overlooking downtown, The Coeur d'Alene Resort and Lake Coeur d'Alene.

"We don't take this for granted," Sausser said on a recent postcard-perfect morning while overlooking the scenic sights. "We have a lot of friends about fireworks time."

Sausser openly shares at no cost his bird’s-eye view photographs, ranging from breaking news to breathtaking sunsets, with the media and others.

"I never intended to make a living at photography — just a hobby," he said.

With his 800-millimeter lens, he can zoom in on subjects a mile away. When there are obstacles in the way or he needs a different angle, Sausser hops on his electric scooter to chase down the vantage point he needs.

"When you hear sirens, you've got to look around," he said, referring to his curiosity and journalistic instincts. "It's interesting, especially at night."

Sausser's photos haven't been limited to downtown and the lake. He shoots local symphony performances, North Idaho College games and downtown community events such as the Ironman triathlon.

"If I can make somebody happy by shooting their event, that's real satisfaction to me," he said.

The former General Telephone and Electric (GTE) engineer has contributed to the community by serving on NIC's board and booster club, symphony boards, the Citizens' Council for the Arts and as an Ironman volunteer. He also helped start the Mica-Kidd Island Fire District when he lived on the Mica Flats.

As another hobby, Sausser enjoys his 1926 Ford Model T, 1929 Ford Model A and 1965 Ford Econoline pickup. All of the classics have been restored. He also still plays the 1924 Knabe piano that he started to practice on when he was 5 and performs at five dances at the Mica Grange each year.

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What was your upbringing like?

I was raised in the little town of Compton in California (north of Long Beach). Back then, we were surrounded by agriculture, and, if we stayed out until dark, your parents didn't worry about it. It was a beautiful town. But it's slowly gone downhill with racial strife. My dad worked for Richfield Oil for 42 years and my mom was a homemaker and taught piano lessons. I worked at an ice skating rink called Iceland built by Frank Zamboni, the inventor of the ice resurfacing machine.

Did you get out on the ice much?

As a kid I tried all phases of it — speed skating and hockey. I wasn't into figure skating. But I did pass my first figure staking test on racing skates, which is a no-no. I worked in all phases of rink operations and even played the large pipe organ at Iceland. I also spent two weeks in Sonja Heine's Ice Review show in San Diego. (Heine was a world champion figure skater and film star.) It was an amazing experience and scary for an 18-year-old. I pranced around as a cat. I saw a pretty redhead and sat on her lap and she promptly told me to get off. Afterward, I learned that it was movie actress Maureen O'Hara. She was a spectator in the front row.

After you spent two years taking classes at the two-year Compton College in your hometown, what did you do for a career?

I went to work for General Telephone and Electric as a cable splicer's helper. It was interesting because I like to work with my hands and tools. While at GTE, I was drafted in the Army. I spent two years in the Army but never served overseas. I later became an engineer at GTE, starting in Long Beach before transferring here in 1972.

When did you really start to get into taking photos?

In the Army we put out a newsletter. When they'd do a maneuver I'd cover that. Most of all, it got me out of marching and crawling around in the dirt with an M1. I had a darkroom for 50 years until digital came around and made things 100 percent easier.

So it sounds like you embraced the digital age?

Not at first because the cameras were pretty weak, but I later embraced it. I'm a techno-nut, too, so I like anything new with technology. I no longer shoot with film, but some people do.

Why do you enjoy photography so much?

I think a photograph is an instance in time and you can never get that back once it happens. I take it seriously. I catalog all those files and I'm able to search them to find that instant. They're valuable. Even though my heirs will look at my 100,000 negatives and probably throw them out, while I'm here it's important. I probably have about 137,000 (digital) files up on a cloud and on my computer. When I shot men's and women's basketball, I'd come home with 700 photos, but I'd only end up keeping 180. I'd then put those on the web and shoot the players and coaches the address so they could get them.

Having your perspective of looking down on downtown and the lake must be fascinating from a photographer's perspective.

I took photos of the fire (on Sherman) recently. I was a fire chief for 20 years so I knew smoke when I saw it. We lived on Mica Flats for 20 years on 60 acres and I'm asked how we can stand the noise downtown. To me, it's pretty exciting noise. I don't call it noise. In the summer, it's noise of people happy and having fun. I enjoy that.

Moving from acreage on Mica Flats to having no yard downtown was quite the change. Do you miss the country?

I'm just glad we've experienced both. Two things that I miss about being in the country is a pot-bellied stove and a dog. You can't have either here.

You experienced a country moment a couple years ago — even though you're on the 10th floor of a downtown building — when an owl flew into your apartment, opened your canary cage and killed one of your canaries. The incident made international news. Reflect on that.

We keep our screen door open at night during summer because we don't get bugs and flies. An owl flew in and was able to open the door of the cage to kill one of the canaries. The dead bird was left in the cage and my wife found the owl behind the cage. It flew up, scared her and almost hit her. The owl then just stood on the rail of our porch, so I took some photos of it. It wasn't the owl that was so exhausting as much as all the publicity. We were interviewed by CNN and all the foreign networks were in our living room taking footage.

When you moved to Mica Flats, there was no fire department there but you helped start one. What was that experience like?

We formed an association where you paid so much per year to have fire protection. We had a strict rule that, if your house caught on fire and you weren't a member, the volunteer association would just control the perimeter of the fire. I didn't want to be called the chief, but that's what they called me during my 20 years as a volunteer. After I quit, it was a battle to make the change to get taxes to pay for it. It squeaked by, but on a narrow vote to form the district that it is now.

You were outspoken about North Idaho College changing conferences in basketball and some other sports, quit the booster club after 35 years and take photos at the college on a more limited basis these days. Why were you so upset over that?

We competed nationally and, with the new conference, we'll compete (regionally). You can't recruit foreign students anymore. We hosted several student-athletes and really enjoyed that. I was on a committee 13 years ago that studied whether the move was going to save money and it's not going to save a great deal. I was on the board of trustees once so I know. I still go a couple times a season to shoot all of the sports to make sure they have some records and I still shoot wrestling because it is exempt from the conference change.

On the other hand, you've quietly been involved in the community and with your photo hobby. Explain why.

I really don't care for people promoting themselves. I like to judge them on what they do and what you see them do without them tooting their own horn. I'm not a mover and shaker. That's just how I run my own life.