Merchants smile when they see Andrea coming

Andrea Fulks doesn’t shop till she drops because, well, she doesn’t drop.

In days gone by, the Hayden Chamber of Commerce president/CEO visited 60 stores in 24 hours on Black Friday, with son Nick and friend Christine Gookin in tow.

They’d shop stores in Kootenai County, unload their treasures at Andrea’s Post Falls home, and then head to Spokane for Round 2. They were resolved to set endurance records each year.

Black Friday, to them, wasn’t about great deals for early risers and intrepid bargain hunters. It was about being out with friends and family, especially in the last two years of COVID. And helping local businesses.

“We tried to support everyone,” Andrea told Huckleberries this week.

Black Friday 2021 fell short of years past — 30 stores in 13 hours.

Black Friday has changed, starting with stores moving up their opening times from early Friday morning to Thanksgiving Day. Now, shoppers can find Black Friday ads a week ahead of time. The bins at Walmart are picked through by the time the actual shopping day arrives. And Kmart and Shopko are gone.

Andrea was challenged further in 2019 when her son, now 30, moved to New York City. Nick had accompanied his mother on her annual Black Friday sprees from babyhood. In later years, he chronicled the events by posting Facebook photos of every stop, including one with treasures piled high on a bed.

Andrea estimates she spends $500 to $1,000 on her Black Friday outings.

In 2021, Andrea found great deals for husband Mike but declined to say what they were. She doesn’t want to spoil the Christmas surprises. She also bought a $59 faux Christmas tree for the chamber office for $19.99. And found great bargains for herself at Bath and Body Works in the Silver Lake Mall.

And her shopping isn’t over.

From 4-8 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, the Hayden chamber will stage its first Outdoor European Christmas Market at McIntire Family Park behind Hayden City Hall.

The event will feature 55 booths. And Andrea plans to buy a little something from every one of them.

What’s in a name?

You know where Nettleton Gulch is located. But do you know about the man for whom it is named – John Nettleton? He was a towering pioneer, 6 feet 4 inches and 230 pounds, who could quote the Bible at length and play by ear his Stradivarius violin perfectly. In 1889, Nettleton came west in a covered wagon from North Dakota by way of Iowa. His father died en route. Nettleton then helped his mother homestead 160 acres in Nettleton Gulch. He was a sociable man who in 1919 lost his wife, Mary. He didn’t remarry. When asked why, he would respond (according to Louise Shadduck’s local history, “At the Edge of the Ice”): “Those I would have wouldn’t have me, and those that would have me the devil wouldn’t have.” For years, Nettleton served as an election judge at Dalton School. On this day 70 years ago, he died as he tried to start his car after serving as judge for a Dalton Highway District election. His son-in-law, Ira Thomas, who won as a write-in candidate, and other family members were nearby.

Huckleberries:

Poet’s Corner: One or two cookies,/and one or two Mounds,/one or two egg nogs,/and presto: five pounds – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“That Holiday Magic”).

Steve Kane of Post Falls recalls fondly the time he used the name “Donner” at a restaurant when told he had an hour wait for service. Finally, the host called out, “Donner, party of five,” to which Steve responded: “There are four of us now, and we aren’t really hungry anymore.”

Yesteryears: On this day in 1996, the Coeur d’Alene Press announced that Louise Shadduck had published her third book, “At the Edge of the Ice: Where Coeur d’Alene and Its People Meet.” It’s still a must read for anyone who wants to know about the people who settled here.

Woody McEvers’ Rustler’s Roost in Hayden was the site of another “Pay It Forward” moment. A waiter found this message on a napkin Sunday: “Thank You to whoever paid for our meal. This is our first meal living in the area. We moved here from Clark County Wash., to flee the mandates and try to live a bit more free. Your kindness will be paid forward.”

Parting Shot: On its Facebook page Monday, the local GOP linked to the back story of the “Let’s Go Brandon” movement. The term comes from Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway, where a rowdy crowd chanted, “(F-bomb) Joe Biden” while NBC reporter Kelly Stavast interviewed NASCAR driver Brandon Brown. Stavast claimed the crowd was yelling, “Let’s go, Brandon.” The story feeds into the “fake news” filter of many. And partisans use it as an excuse to extend a sanitized middle finger to the president. Which calls to mind that old saying: Two wrongs don’t make a right.

You can contact D.F. “Dave” Oliveria at dfo@cdapress.com