THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: The softball dad ... and grandpa: For three decades, Stacy Carhart has helped girls in Rathdrum and Spirit Lake — and beyond — play softball, and learn life lessons

"Dad. My coach. I don't know if I would've played softball, let alone learn to pitch if it wasn't for you. You inspired me to try it and encouraged me to keep going. You put me in clinics to help me and push me to be better, you watched video after video so you could learn tips to help me as a pitcher and as a pitcher ... You taught us the game of softball but also gave us so much more through softball. Thank you for all the fun and teaching me to love the game."

KATIE (CARHART) RUNNER, daughter of Stacy Carhart, as part of a memory book from Stacy's daughters and granddaughters

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If you needed to order some ice, don't call Stacy Carhart.

But if you were a girl growing up, particularly in the northern part of Kootenai County, and you wanted to play softball then, yes, please call Stacy Carhart.

For some three decades, Stacy was the reason a lot of girls in the Rathdrum and Spirit Lake area — and some in other parts of the county — became interested in softball.

He formed the Dry Ice club program — featuring sometimes one, sometimes three or four teams each season — and coached at least one of them each year, until the Dry Ice run came to an end a few years ago.

And for the past three decades, he has put on a popular preseason girls softball tournament in Coeur d'Alene over Memorial Day weekend — a tourney which sometimes has a waiting list for teams.

Stacy Carhart turns 81 on June 26. He and his wife, Georgia, recently celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary. They have 11 children, and Stacy coached two of their four daughters, and several of their 28 grandchildren.

Two of the youngest, Lily Carhart and Alycia Cameron, are playing at Timberlake High, and a third, Bernie Carhart, recently graduated.

But the memories live on.

"It was a good thing, and a lot of kids got some good out of it, that was the best part," Stacy said of the Dry Ice days. "We didn’t always have the No. 1 team, or even the No. 2 team, but the kids had fun, and they enjoyed it, and they learned a little bit about sportsmanship, and some of them went on to play."

Others have certainly noticed.

"He’s been an anchor for (club softball), particularly out in the Rathdrum area," said Brian Stranger, who with his wife Kathy has run the popular Coeur d'Alene Crush club softball program for decades. "He’s kinda kept it alive in Rathdrum, and outside the Coeur d’Alene area. He’s had a huge impact. He’s had a ton of kids come through his program … it’s been fun to see."

"He’s awesome; there’s no other words for him," said Casi Lupinacci, who played for Carhart and Dry Ice in the 1990s, and is now the Timberlake High softball coach. "He’s an icon when it comes to North Idaho softball. A lot of girls started their softball careers with him."

"You know what, Stacy is probably one of the most positive people I know," said Steve Anthony, former girls softball coach, former Coeur d'Alene recreation director, former district ASA softball commissioner, and former state ASA commissioner. "He’s always got a smile on his face. Easy going, kids loved him. I don’t think I ever heard him yell at an umpire once."

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"Grandpa, you started my journey in softball. I cherish the days where I got to play with you as my coach. You taught me to be confident on and off of the field. ... You taught me to enjoy the game, learn from my mistakes, and that the most important play is the next one. You have the best smile and laugh and I'm so glad I got to spend time with you on the field. ... Thank you for all you have done. You have created amazing softball players and people."

Bernie Carhart, granddaughter of Stacy Carhart

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Stacy Carhart's journey to North Idaho took some three decades and several thousand miles.

He was born in 1940 in Longbranch, N.J., the second of four children (an older sister, and two younger brothers).

He lived there until joining the Navy in 1958. He was stationed in Michigan, then in Pensacola, Fla., then in Jacksonville, Fla. He worked on radar equipment, tracking aircraft.

His tour was extended six months because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he finally got out of the Navy in 1962.

By then his parents had moved out to California, so he headed west and lived in the San Fernando Valley, where he met Georgia and had the first two children.

In 1967 they moved to Payette.

"My sister had moved up to Fruitland, and we visited her," Stacy recalled, "and while we were there we decided we liked it up there, so we went down and ... moved up within two weeks.

"My wife thought we were crazy, too."

After visiting some friends in North Idaho, they decided they liked it up here even better, and moved north in 1969 — first to the Rathdrum Prairie, then to their current residence, on 23 acres on the northernmost edge of Rathdrum, near Silverwood — in 1973.

"Lived out on the Prairie for a while, in a rental, 10 acres and a house, and another 160 acres that (the owner) farmed," Stacy recalled. "But he only farmed it one year, then the second year he asked me if I’d farm it, so we got into the pig business and did some farming. And saved enough money and sold enough pigs to buy the place we have now."

Some 20 years ago, he sold three 5-acre parcels on his property on Ramsey Road in Rathdrum to three of his children.

"They all built houses on them, so we have four houses in a row," Stacy said.

When the Carharts moved to North Idaho, Stacy got a job at company in Post Falls, which was starting to make keyboards for computers.

He then worked for L-P for several years, then started his own business — building automated controls for sawmills and the mining industry — and did that for 15-20 years.

He was also involved in 4H for some 25 years.

He and Georgia had four boys and seven girls — ranging from the oldest, Denise (57), down to the youngest, Katie (36).

"Well, I was planning on having a big family," Stacy said. "I don’t know if she was planning on that big. But we’re OK with it.

"We love 'em all, and some we actually like," he added with a laugh.

Stacy retired in 2002 at age 62, which allowed even more time to devote to softball.

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"Loved playing on Dry Ice. For memories, I always remember grandpa constantly reminding me that 'you're one of the fastest kids I know, Ash. You're fast at everything EXCEPT running.' I also just love the memories of going down and batting with him, or when he would make me play catch with him with a ping pong paddle as my mitt to instill using both hands to catch."

ASHLEY (CARHART) BERNHARDT, granddaughter of Stacy Carhart

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In the early 1990s, his second daughter, Angela, was around 8 or 9 and attending Garwood Elementary, was playing on a team in the Kootenai Girls Softball Association, a spring softball league based loosely on the schools the girls attended.

Girls softball was still slowpitch at the time.

Stacy would take Angela to practice and asked the coach if he needed help. The second year, another coach took over the team — then moved out of state the second week of practice.

Thus began the head softball coaching career of Stacy Carhart.

When the end of the spring season ended, in 1993, the girls wanted something to do for the summer.

Stacy talked with Brian Stranger, who was coaching a KGSA team in Coeur d'Alene.

There was talk about forming a summer team to practice, then play at the state ASA tournament.

Eventually, there were enough girls interested in forming two teams.

"That’s how Crush and Dry Ice got started," Stacy said.

"I hadn’t even thought about it until he called me up and told me about the state tournament," Stranger recalled. "He told me he was putting a team together to go to the state tournament, and asked if Patty (Brian's daughter) would want to play on it. … and then I started Crush.

"I didn’t even know travel ball existed," Brian said. "I didn’t know anything about a state tournament until he brought that to my attention.

"Dry Ice started before Crush. He came to me with the idea, and then we formed Crush, and competed against each other for the next 25, 30 years."

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"Never remembering how many wins but remembering who they are played with. Best years of my life still to this day. Lessons I can't get anywhere else ... Over 8 years of summer ball with him as my coach. My grandpa, my hero, my coach, my friend, my inspiration."

TASHA (CAMERON) TERRY, granddaughter of Stacy Carhart

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As folks who run most teams like this soon realize, raising money to pay for your program is not always easy.

"You can only have so many car washes and bake sales," Stacy Carhart said.

So he decided to put on a preseason tournament over Memorial Day weekend to raise money for his Dry Ice program. The first one, in 1993 or '94 at McEuen Field, consisted of five teams — including one from Cranbrook, British Columbia, that Stacy is still not sure how they found out about the tourney.

"Our concession stand consisted of a coffee table with some potato chips and snacks on it, and a cooler with some pop and Gatorade in it."

With tourney fees and the concession stand, he said they netted perhaps $100.

Every little bit helped. Especially since Stacy intentionally kept his fees low so anyone who wanted to play for Dry Ice could do so.

"Back then, we’d say tell your mom to buy you some gray baseball pants, and we’d get 'em a T-shirt, and that was your uniform," Stacy said.

This year's preseason tournament featured 36 teams in three divisions at Ramsey and Finucane Park — the size of the tourney limited by the number of fields available.

Stacy said he picked Memorial Day weekend, with the tourney ending on Sunday, "because people that traveled got an extra day to get home, and the teams liked it too, because a lot of 'em stayed and went to Silverwood."

Local chambers of commerce, take note.

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"There are so many great memories that I will never forget ... the jokes you would tell me while I was pitching to try to get me to calm down, our after-game talks and having a lot of 'errors' — but in your Jersey accent. You have taught me so much and so many life lessons. Love you gramps!"

COLIE (CAMERON) AKINS, granddaughter of Stacy Carhart

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Stacy Carhart knew how to play baseball, but had to learn on the fly about coaching softball.

He bought videos, listened to other coaches, and learned through experience. He coached a Dry Ice team all the way up until the club ended a few years ago, coaching whichever team needed a coach.

The first year, the club was called the Dodgers. Then the players asked Stacy if they could re-name the team.

They came up with Dry Ice.

"How they came up with that, I have no idea," he said.

As the story goes, one of the players, Sherry Blish, suggested Dry Ice "because we are hot and cold."

Dry Ice was not a business sponsoring the team, as some might have thought from the name.

"It’s funny, because I’ve had phone calls — 'We’d like to order some ice,'" Stacy said. "I said 'all our ice is wet.'"

Dry Ice had kids from mostly Rathdrum and Spirit Lake over the years, but also had some from Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, even Kellogg and the St. Maries area.

Stacy used to post the team's batting averages for his players to see.

One player, he recalled, hadn't gotten a hit all season.

"Finally we’re at a district tournament in Tacoma or Seattle," Stacy recalled. "And she finally got a hold of one and she gets a base hit. And she’s running to first base and she’s yelling, 'I’ve got a batting average.'"

Angela, a member of that first Dry Ice team, went to Lakeland as a freshman, to Timberlake as a sophomore when it opened, and was part of Timberlake's first graduation class.

Though Dry Ice is gone, some alumni are still active. Timberlake's team that went to state in May had seven players that were part of Dry Ice.

"I went in to watch a game, Timberlake and Lakeland, and there were seven girls on Timberlake that played for us, and three girls on Lakeland that played for us, and both coaches."

"He probably was the first coach that I realized, 'I might want to go on after high school and play in college,'" Lupinacci said. "The Carharts, they’re a great family. I still see Stacy every now and then and he always gives me a big hug. They’re just good people. It seems like he hasn’t aged at all; he’s still the same ol’ Stacy, makes jokes and loves the sport still. I learned a lot from not just him, but from his family in general."

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"Never played on a Dry Ice team but I coached a season with him. We had a great time and learned a lot from each other. My favorite memories were when dad and I would watch hitting videos together and analyze them to help myself and teach the girls new skills and drills. His love and dedication is inspiring."

ANNIE CARHART, daughter of Stacy Carhart

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Dry Ice played mostly tournaments in the Northwest, usually going to state, sometimes playing at regionals.

On one trip to a tourney in Moses Lake, "the girls decided they wanted to go swimming in Moses Lake, and that’s not a good place to swim," Stacy recalled. "It’s kind of a nasty lake. They came out of the water with moss on them; we had to hose 'em all down."

Another time, to save some money on a trip to a tourney in Othello, Wash., Stacy arranged for the players to camp at the fairgrounds there, where the kids stayed in campers and tents, and showers were available.

"After one trip there we got banned from ever going back to the fairgrounds," Stacy said.

"I guess a lady had some of her prized goats there, and the kids went over, and they were milking the goats .... that’s what kids do, they get together and they do things."

Stacy didn't find out about it until the team got home, and he got a call from the guy who ran the fairgrounds.

"He said the lady that owns the goats might be suing you," Stacy said. "So we never went back there again."

Stacy said he never heard from the lady.

Another time, with the state tournament in Boise, one of the cars bringing some of the Dry Ice players got lost in the Tri-Cities. By the time they finally made it to Boise, the team's first game was already scheduled to start, and Dry Ice had to forfeit its opener.

"Bill Parks, he was the commissioner down there (and is now the state commissioner, succeeding Steve Anthony), he never let me forget about that," Stacy said. Even at tournaments since then, "He’s always asking me, 'You getting to the games on time these days?'"

Even though the Dry Ice run is over, Stacy Carhart still puts on his preseason tournament — one of a few put on locally, including one by Stranger, who remains president of the Crush, which has one team these days.

"My granddaughter was playing in his tournament three weeks ago, and the weekend before we had our 16-and-under tournament, and Stacy’s over there watching that," Brian recalled. "He comes over and sits by my trailer and we B.S. for a while."

Stacy is very much hands-on during his tournaments, though he said this year's tournament might be his last — if he can convince one of his kids to take over the tournament.

Though ...

"I've gotta tell you, he told me that for 10 years," said Anthony, who was state ASA commissioner until 2016, when he retired as Coeur d'Alene recreation director. "He was saying that before I retired."

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"I think the greater lessons were not in winning or losing but being a part of something greater than ourselves. Dad, you could always find a positive in every kid you coached and that goes a long way. Playing ball with you and Annie and Katie has been some of the best years of my life.

"Also a shoutout to mom. I don't think Dry Ice would exist without her support. She has always been an irreplaceable part of dad's team."

ANGELA CARHART, daughter of Stacy Carhart

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Stacy Carhart gave a lot of girls in North Idaho a chance to play softball, and a chance to learn some life lessons along the way.

What did he get out of all this?

"Some of the biggest enjoyment you get … you work on these kids, and you try to teach 'em this, or that, and one day, one of them actually does it in a game … and you go, 'Yeah!,'" he said. "Just something about that that makes you feel good about yourself."

"He probably doesn’t even realize the amount of people he’s impacted, positively … just a great man," Lupinacci said. "I owe a lot of my success in softball to him, because I don’t think I would have even played club ball if he had never approached myself and my parents about playing softball. I played in college, and I’m coaching now."

"Through my years, one of the easiest coaches and team administrators to work with," Anthony said. "When I look at Stacy, all I see is a chuckle. He’s always smiling.

"He’s just a good, good guy."

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.