Bette hears sweet music of retirement
Coeur d’Alene Librarian Bette Ammon had planned to cook with her 8-year-old grandson, Max, and play her kazoo in retirement long before now.
But she delayed her exit when COVID-19 invaded the Inland Northwest this spring. She couldn’t abandon her staffers to work through the pandemic on their own.
“We were re-inventing library services every week,” Bette, 69, told Huckleberries.
Her wise guidance of the local library ends this evening with a socially distanced party at Shadduck Park.
The coronavirus and an underhanded censor who hid library books that opposed President Donald Trump made Bette’s last year challenging. But Bette was looking for a challenge in 2005 when she left the Missoula Public Library to replace the late Julie Meier and build a new library.
In September 2007, the former Montana Librarian of the Year opened the two-story, 40,000-square-foot building in Coeur d’Alene. Attendance jumped immediately. By the time the coronavirus arrived, the daily number of patrons had quadrupled to more than 1,000. And the Coeur d’Alene Public Library had started a satellite campus at Lake City High and was looking for more locations in the northern part of town.
Bette joined the Coeur d’Alene Public Library with a reputation for accomplishment and a nickname that underscores her penchant for having fun: “Kazoola from Missoula.” She learned to play the quirky instrument during a summer children’s program in Pocatello. And now plays it at every opportunity.
In retirement, Bette is looking forward to reconnecting with her beloved grandson. The two have cooked together since Max was able to stand on a chair and stir. But Bette and his parents, Randy and Katie Palmer, of Coeur d’Alene, thought it best that Bette keep a distance since she works in a public place.
After today, Bette is free to enjoy her grandson and finally begin reading a big backlog of books that have accumulated over her 15 years of quality library service.
Dishing it out
Ben & Jennifer Drake have added an item to their Crown & Thistle menu that an online grump, with a limited vocabulary, claims “sucks.”
For one week only, the Drakes will offer BBC Chicken Wings (8 wings marinated in “HP, hot sauces, garlic, and honey” for $8).
The Drakes, who operate their popular English-Scottish pub on Fourth Street (near the corner of Sherman Avenue), have been under fire from Mask Opponents for requiring that masks be worn in their business. They’ve been called “Communists,” “sheeple,” and Jennifer’s personal favorite, “tyrants” — all for obeying the mask mandate handed down by the Panhandle Health District board.
The trolls followed the first nasty wave by posting derogatory comments on the Crown & Thistle site. An out-of-state commenter claimed the Drakes had been rude to her online, adding, “The wings suck.”
Only the Crown & Thistle has never offered BBC Chicken Wings until now.
“It’s mostly just trying to find humor in an awful situation,” Jennifer told Huckleberries. “We’ve been harassed and berated for choosing to support a public health mandate. It’s truly insane. We’ve gotten a ton of guff, but the support and new customers we’ve received far surpasses it.”
And that’s how you deal with bullies.
Huckleberries
• Poet’s Corner: On weekends I ride at/the head of the pack/on my big black Hog with/a chick on the back;/I’m bad to the bone so/don’t get in my way,/I’m wild as they come/for a CPA – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Part-time Outlaw”).
• Librarian Ammon spent several hours this week handing out masks at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library door to patrons without them. She expected blowback from the Unmaskers. But received little. She estimates that 95 percent of the patrons appreciated the gesture.
• PSA, from retired Sandpoint High teacher Marianne Love: “If you can survive the mosquitoes, the (huckleberry) picking is good.”
• Here’s what Councilwoman Kiki Miller did with a mask on, from Friday noon to Sunday noon: Post office. Grocery store. Hardware store. Big Lots. Bike tire repair. Coffee stand. Total elapsed mask-wearing time 52 minutes in 48 hours.” All this, and she survived.
• Most motorists who travel north on Fourth Street, from Dalton Avenue, have seen the Dalton Gardens sign that reads: “Slow Down: Fawns in Area.” Now, there’s a handmade, copycat sign on East Miles Avenue near the Maple Street intersection. And both make us smile.
• Bjorn Handeen, the maverick Ron Pauler who represents Precinct 52 on the local GOP Central Committee, wears his political feelings on his bumpersticker: “It coulda been Ron.”
Parting Shot
Woody McEvers views the “line of demarcation” in the mask/unmask controversy at Prairie Avenue. Woody maintains that mask supporters hold sway south of Prairie Avenue, while Unmask Avengers dominate the area north of Prairie. Woody, who owns Rustler’s Roost in Hayden, has mentioned the Prairie Avenue Line theory to Huckleberries before. North Idaho’s politics get redder the farther north you go. Some consider the northern part of Kootenai County to be nothing more than the southern extension of uber-conservative Bonner County. But where does it start? Prairie Avenue? Farther north? Inquiring minds want to know.
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You can contact D.F. “Dave” Oliveria at dfo.northidaho@gmail.com.
