A tale of two cities, one mayor
I’ve long joked that I have dual citizenship in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls. The former where lived in my youth, the latter where I’ve made my home for over three decades. CHS is my alma mater and PFHS is my home team.
An interesting bit of trivia is that only two people have received the honor of being named Citizen of the Year in both Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene — Paul Anderson and Gary Schneidmiller.
Jim Hammond is a past Citizen of the Year honoree in Post Falls but last week he achieved a new category of future trivia. Coeur d’Alene Mayor-Elect Hammond served as mayor of Post Falls from 1991-1996. When he takes the oath of office in January he will become the first ever to have served as the mayor of both cities.
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I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon on Friday in the company of exceptional women at the Soroptimist’s Women of Distinction luncheon. One of the honorees was Leanne Campbell in the Arts category.
Leanne and I first met in 1998 when we served on a committee that brought the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Julyamsh Pow Wow to Post Falls for the first time. I treasure the friendships made and maintained through that project decades ago.
Leanne is an enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, a renowned native artist, a teacher, a leader and just one of the most genuinely kind and good people I know. On Friday her acceptance remarks were spoken in both English and Schitsu`umsh, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s ancient language, making it very special.
Leanne is also a U.S. Air Force veteran. Native Americans have the highest percentage of military service per capita than any ethnic group in the country. On this Veterans Day I’d like to recognize Leanne and all of the tribal members for their service in the armed forces.
Huy tseep q`u.
Veterans Day 2021: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them,” — John F. Kennedy.
To all who’ve served, we thank you.
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Happy Main Street birthdays today to Jeanne Norton, Beverly Pogue, Kathleen Tillman, Bret Bowers, Marlow Hendricks, Doug Eastwood, John Evans, Dale Broadsword and the U.S. Marine Corps, celebrating 246 years of honor and tradition. Semper Fi. Celebrating 11/11 birthdays tomorrow are Ruth Pratt, Ellen Jaeger, Graydon Stanley, Tim Mitchell, Eugene Boyle, Aaron Roberts, Amy Colbert, Ruth Morrow, Kim Malar-Currie, Kelli Fahy, Heather Bryant, Ron Lahr, Keith Boe and Emilia Ovstedal. On Friday Faith Mitchell, Chris Arnold, Polly Johnson, Marshall Mend, Dana Ryan, Greg Gervais (50!), Robert Lantz, Antigone Twidt, Brenda Murphy and Amanda Behringer put on their party hats. Saturday birthday wishes to Matt Backs, Cheyenne Tate, Desiree Janke, Timarie Lindquist, Tonya Yost, Margaret Ogram, Jennifer Currie and Jeannette Laster. Best wishes to Mamie Johnson, Jane Hansen, Joan Antonich, Jill Satterly, Tim Curry, Ann Jaworski and Robert Chatters on Sunday. Christopher Banks, Cheryl Siroshton, Mark Fisher, Teresa Eatherton, Jan Marie, Charlie Miller, Mark Gustofson, Christina Ethridge and Mary Scalise blow out the birthday candles on Monday. On Tuesday Wayne Manis, Ray Martin, Peter Smith, Colleen Allison, Greg Kosareff, Jim Morris, Sue Spinazza-Halliday, Chris Fillios, Karen Pichotta, Kilie Ellison, Dan Ripley (70!) and Stan Purcell take another trip around the sun.
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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.