GROWTH: Those were the days

I have been provoked to respond. I have been snooping around all the Google map photos of Coeur d’Alene, Dalton Gardens, Hayden Lake. My God! Makes one long for Wovoka.

Coeur d’Alene, the population was always 12,198. Wanna repeater? 12,198. Sign by that gnarly l’il ‘ol tree coming in from Spokane, the Happy Hour down across the tracks.

Hayden Lake: 500.

OK, Hayden Lake, summer … people come, September, lock up.

Cd’A … now it reads: 50,000

And “they” have Hayden Lake divided into Hayden and Hayden Lake. Sounds like your basic gerrymandering.

But, what gets me is the population density. Look at Brodie’s old house there on East Hayden, south side of the fifth fairway: If there aren’t a row of houses and another behind! Reminds me of Baltimore how they had that alley down the middle for the slaves. And what was the great little loop of train turnaround, Tobacco Road, little cabins for summer rental … now gorged with mansioneroonies.

And Hayden Lake! Hayden Lake is my Ayers Rock liquid form. Always will be.

Our apple orchard is gone. Mr. Kielbach’s house and what was the most beautiful, productive garden in North Idaho is gone. I rustled, inadvertently, a quail up between his September corn stocks (the south end of his garden).

And there is the huge divide — the big houses/the trailers. Am I complaining? No, I am observing. But damn glad for Mr. Kielbach`s garden along Strayhorn Road just after our house. Mrs. Strayhorn was my baby sitter. Earl Marsh was the sheriff, 1954 Hudson. He’d get, if there was a problem, Billy Strayhorn to accompany him. There wasn’t. We grew up simple and in the boondocks.

The nuns at I.H.M. felt they were in mission country. We loved them. They loved us.

I trust everybody is getting along. But I know they aren’t. Can feel it from the Google map photos, even. Hope I am wrong.

WILLIAM WAKEFIELD

Hayden Lake