Story of our soldiers' resting place
During bittersweet remembrances, like Memorial Day and Veterans Day, we’re reminded of the beauty of our cemeteries.
We’re proud of the monuments, the well-maintained graves, the acres of grass, and the swath of flags.
But it wasn’t always like this.
Almost four decades ago, then mayor Don Johnston created a Cemetery Board to address public outrage caused by the deplorable condition of Forest Cemetery on Memorial Day 1981. The cemetery was also drowning in red ink. According to a 1985 study, the city had spent $275,000 to underwrite the cemetery’s enterprise fund over the previous five years.
Enter Jerry Adams, Betty Stone, Peg Kelly, and others. In relatively little time, they introduced cost-saving measures and revenue-generating changes. And they balanced the cemetery budget.
Doug Eastwood, who was beginning a storied career as city parks and cemetery director, said at the time that the board “obviously is the best thing that ever happened to the cemetery.”
Despite their efforts, cemetery supporters weren’t out of the woods.
Mayor Jim Fromm’s administration wanted the city out of the cemetery business. And Fromm had the votes to privatize the cemetery. A City Council majority favored selling about 4 acres of unused land and closing the cemetery when its inventory of graves was used up.
But 1985 was an election year.
Betty Stone’s husband, Ray, a former North Idaho College dean of instruction, successfully ran against Fromm. Ray favored keeping the cemetery in city hands. His solid victory over Fromm ended the debate.
Ray Stone’s election had a downside. Betty was forced to resign from the Cemetery Board. She and Ray wanted to avoid a possible conflict of interest after he became mayor.
In January 1986, Betty said of her resignation: “I hate this very much.”
Betty and her “Underground Committee” — a reference once made by chairwoman Peg Kelly — are the reason Forest Cemetery remains in good hands today — the city’s hands.
Fan Mail
Last week, Huckleberries told you about the odd count method used in the 1991 Post Falls city election that momentarily deflated Mayor Jim Hammond. The partial count showed Hammond losing badly in a three-way race. But he won handily when all the ballots were counted. Jim emails: “Skip Hissong was also on the ballot and had more votes than my 14 but well short of victory. We were in the back of the City Hall feeling devastated. We even talked about moving elsewhere. I still have a cap my dear friend Cliff Hayes gave me emblazoned with ‘Hammond 14.’ Thank you for the memory and the laugh.”
Huckleberries
• Poet’s Corner: Upon the hill/as winter nears/the tamarack/are golden spears – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Deer Season”).
• And now a public service announcement from the Venture High School readerboard on Ninth Street: “You’re Doing Great. Keep it up.” The vaccine must really be on the way.
• On his Facebook page, Coeur d’Alene Realtor Tom Torgerson asked, “Please sound off if you were one of the 268 Kootenai County residents who voted for Kanye West!” To which Councilman Dan Gookin answered, “Yo.” And Pat Wheeler responded, “Why waste a vote?” Huckleberries suspects a vote for Kanye was a vote for “none of the above.” Not wasted at all.
• During Warren G. Harding’s landslide victory for president 100 years ago, local Republicans swept all the contested races down the line by 2-to-1 margins. Not much has changed.
• Career website Zippia says the favorite Thanksgiving side dish in Idaho is green bean casserole. Neighbors Washington, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming prefer mashed potatoes. Oregon wants biscuits. And Wyoming favors brown gravy. Green-bean casserole? In the “Famous Potatoes” state? Shameful.
Parting Shot
You newcomers may hear that the National Geographic once named Lake Coeur d’Alene as one of the five most beautiful lakes in the world. Well, the magazine didn’t. No less of an authority than the late Louise Shadduck (“At the Edge of the Ice: Where Lake Coeur d’Alene and its People Meet”) says the fiction was circulated by local tourist promoters who were “long on imagination and nerve but short on facts.” Lake Coeur d’Alene is beautiful, of course. A world-class beauty. But some Priest Lake aficionados might argue that it isn’t even the most beautiful lake in North Idaho.
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D.F. Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com.