MAIN STREET: Post Falls grandma loves her sailors
Chris Pappas is the daughter of a World War II Army pilot and the sister of an Army soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield in Vietnam. She’s also the grandmother of four, three of whom are all wearing the uniform of the U.S. Navy. When Chase Price and Haylie Price graduated from the Navy’s Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill. last week they followed in their brother’s footsteps. Spencer Price graduated from RTC in April of this year.
Spencer, Chase and Haylie’s mom, Nichelle Price, is unabashedly proud of her children’s decision to serve their county.
So what about Chris’ fourth grandchild, the son of her daughter, Teena? Leland Johnson is a 10-year-old fifth grader so there’s still lots of time for him to decide upon a career path.
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In May I wrote this piece in Main Street: “Brady Campbell is a professional photographer and father of five; Jaxson, Vance, Ellie, Lilah and Elyce. On Monday night he added acoustic guitarist / singer to his resume when he took to the open mic stage at Calypso’s Coffee House with his talented 13-year-old daughter, Ellie, and brought the house down.
“Nearly two decades after picking up a guitar and teaching himself to play and a lifetime of singing along, Brady made a resolution last year to perform in front of an audience that wasn’t his family. It took until this week and a lot of encouragement from Ellie to make it a reality. Their sweet harmonies were spectacular. I love that Brady set a great example for his children in facing fear as a grown-up and embracing the unknown.”
Evalyn Adams read that column and wrote asking me for contact information for Brady, which I provided. Fast forward to this coming Friday evening and Brady and Ellie will be on stage to kick off the talent show to benefit the CAP Food Bank at the Kroc Center that Evalyn coordinated. Details about the show are in Things to Do Highlights below.
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On a sunny but brisk September Sunday morning I had a moment of silence for the end of summer. Bert was cleaning our above-ground pool in preparation of draining and disassembling it, the giant inflatable rainbow unicorn nearby awaiting deflation and a long winter’s nap in the storage shed.
While I truly enjoy fall I love summer best. I posted a photo of Bert cleaning the pool and many Facebook friends commented that similar tasks had taken place over the weekend. Pools, cabins and river campsites being closed, boats coming out of the lake and into storage. The collective sigh of lovers of summer could be heard for miles.
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Homecoming is a rite of passage as well as a celebration of school spirit and a new school year ... oh, and there’s a football game, too. Last week Post Falls High School crowned Brock Zeller and Abby Gennett as their king and queen and Lake City High School did the same with Kodie Kolden and Taylor Pickford. PFHS homecoming court: Casey Walker, Nate Buer, David Bourgard, Kyle Sanchez, Karabeth Schini, Maddie Hansen, Hadley Willoughby and Abby Melton. LCHS senior court: Dakota Curtis, Annica Wilson, Marco Rojo and Chloe Knudsen.
On Friday Coeur d’Alene High School will celebrate homecoming and Booster Club President Alisa Ward is extending an invitation for CHS alumni to make it an All-Class Homecoming with past classes also being represented in the homecoming parade. Past homecoming royalty should contact Alisa at wardpartyof6@yahoo.com or (208) 916-6469.
Congratulations to all and here’s to a great night of football and friends!
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Things to do highlights:
On Friday there’s a lot to choose from for your entertainment ... Heritage Health charity golf tournament, Indian Summer Scramble, at Avondale starts at 12:30 p.m. phouser@myheritagehealth.org
The annual Post Falls Historical Society Oktoberfest at the Lions Grand Pavilion at Q’emlin Park starts at 5 p.m. with a traditional German meal, beer tasting from local breweries, live music and auctions.
Bras on Dudes live auction and fashion show featuring decorated bras modeled by local ‘dudes’! All proceeds benefit local cancer charities through The Windermere Foundation. Doors open at the Coeur d’Alene Eagles at 5:30 for the 6 p.m. event.
Turkeys and More Talent/Variety Show benefiting Community Action Partnership Food Bank and the drive to provide the makings for 1,600 Thanksgiving dinners for local families. The show is directed by Mike Bolan, original member of The Fabulous Shadows. 7 p.m. at the Kroc. (208) 667-1865
On Saturday the Special Needs Rodeo, free for all ages, at 10 a.m. at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds as part of the Pro West Rodeo. Info: www.rascalrodeo.org
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Last chance to buy a $50 raffle ticket with a better than 1-500 chance to win a $25,000 scholarship to use at North Idaho College, U of I or Lewis Clark State College. The winning ticket will be drawn tomorrow at the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce. While it would be great to win to give to your child or grandchild, if you’ve dreamed of going to college this would be a wonderful gift to yourself. www.postfallschamber.com or 773-5016.
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Happy birthday today to beautiful golden girl Ruth McDermid (89!), sharing her birthday with Loretta Reed, Cindy Lash, Delraya Anstine, Joseph Dutre, Kaley Fowler, Julie DeGon, Robert Hoyt and Paul Landers. Tomorrow Kayla Troxell, Kylie Solberg, Meg Elyard, Natalie Loval, Ken Cook, Wayne Riddle and Bryan Czarapata will have their cake and eat it, too!.
Friday our oldest grandson Matt Snider shares a birthday with A’mya Ohlig, John Holley, Gina Myers, Peg Mettalia, Phil Corliss, Tina Crane, Greg Youngman, Jim Rosenlund, Shellie Mundy and Marilyn Griffitts. On Saturday our youngest daughter Sarah Elizabeth shares a last day of September birthday with Steve Griffitts, Chickie Albright, Debra Raymer, Don Schmitt, Jeff Baltzell, Dan Grimmett, Valerie Mesenbrink, Brett Hollenbeck, Ann Siebert, Liz Arakelian and Donna Cooper.
Oct. 1 birthdays belong to Casey Irgens, Jill Gardner and Kathi Southland. On Monday Wendy Medlock, Jack Sjostrom, Dana Kinsey (70!), Rebecca Armstrong, Millie Eylar, Linda Harris, Renee` Mullan, Karla Derton and David Tabakman are celebrating another trip around the sun. Andy Stidham, Dave Bobbitt, Dave Priano, Madison Morrow, Darcy Johnson, Shylo Deubner, Meilee Anderson and Jeff McLean mark their birthdays on Oct. 3.
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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.