Our 'secret' is 145 years old now
We shouldn’t be surprised that newcomers are pouring into Coeur d’Alene.
We should be surprised it took them so long to get here.
Blabbermouths have touted this area since 1877, when William Tecumseh Sherman was gobsmacked by Coeur d’Alene’s beauty during an inspection tour — and recommended a fort be built here.
Now, we roll our eyes when Coeur d’Alene makes a “best-places-to-be” list in a national magazine. It’s nice to live in a paradise. But such lists mean more people, packed beaches, and crowded roadways.
However, in post-WWII times, Coeur d’Alene Press readers were thrilled when a Northwest Airlines stewardess sang Coeur d’Alene’s praises. Under the headline, “Coeur d’Alene is the prettiest spot that N.W. Airlines flies over,” the Feb. 7, 1947, edition recounts a Minneapolis Star Journal article.
Key to the story was a question posed by reporter Arline Roe of the Star Journal to Northwest stewardess Leta Knapp: “What is the prettiest spot you fly over?”
The Press article guaranteed that “Coeur d’Alene folk will (take) pride in the answer.”
Knapp said: “From Billings, Mont., to Seattle — over the majestic and snow-capped mountains — just before you reach Spokane, you see Coeur d’Alene, which is like a real-life Shangri-La. It’s a lake surrounded completely by mountains, and the scenery is terrific.”
It still is. But you don’t have to tell your family and friends back home about it.
A Star Is Born
Ava Goodman, a nearly 6-year-old with a blazing wit, has been mentioned in this column several times. Remember? Ava has provided us with such gems as: “Why do you spell it O-K-A-Y? It’s just fine with the O and the K!” And: “Why did God make cars go 120, when no one is allowed to drive that fast?” Well, the young ‘un from Rathdrum has struck Huckleberries gold again, with an assist from her grandfather, Phil Tumminello. Her latest episode begins with a warning from her mother, Angela, not to follow brother David into the muddy goo at the edge of Killarney Lake recently. But Ava didn’t listen. She emerged distraught, caked in mud from her boots to her tights to halfway up her skirt. As she trudged up a small bank, she noticed Grandpa Phil filming her. “It’s not funny, Poppa!” she screamed. In response, Phil said: “I’m not making fun, but you know I’m going to show this at your wedding.” Head down as she climbed, Ava cried, “Nooooo!” Step. Step. And then: “You’ll be dead.”
Huckleberries
• Poet’s Corner: Please bless the hockey/and figure skate twirling,/but spare us, O Lord,/ from any more curling — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Prayer for the Winter Olympics”).
• I haven’t used the word “ossification” in print during 50 years of newspapering. It means: “being molded into a rigid, conventional, sterile, or unimaginative condition.” Councilman Dan Gookin used it to warn against city committees comprised of people who share similar opinions. It also can be used to describe Gookin’s unwavering opposition to urban renewal.
• Has it been 35 years since county planners OK’d the zone change for Gary Norton’s hare-brained idea? Norton wanted to create a tourist attraction in Athol — Athol! — by transforming the old Henley Aerodrome into a transportation museum and replicating an old mining town. He figured motorists on highway 95 would stop to see his attraction. And that’s how Silverwood began.
• Facebook question from former Sandpoint High grad Henry Johnston: What do funeral directors and building inspectors have in common? Both can drive by a place and say, “See that house? I’ve been in that house.” Henry owns two funeral homes in central Washington.
• You won’t have to wait THAT long to check out a copy of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus, A Survivor’s Tale” from our libraries — despite a waiting list of 29. The local system has 10 copies of the graphic novel, banned by a Tennessee school district. A Coeur d’Alene librarian estimates a wait of two weeks. When will censors learn that their actions boost demand?
• Knowlton Nelson doesn’t hesitate with his answer when asked: What’s the best thing about sharing a birthday (Feb. 4) with your mother? “I’ll never have trouble remembering her birthday,” Knowlton told Huckleberries. And for mother Deb? A mutual admirer of her son, Deb considers his birth “the best present ever.” Knowlton is 12. And his mother? Hubby Michael diplomatically gives her age as “older than 12.”
Parting Shot
Some of you are worried that Coeur d’Alene is going to the dogs. But resident Claire Weller isn’t. She fell in love with the Gem State’s generous spirit in 1985 when she and her late husband, Chuck, moved from Sufferin’ California to operate Drifters Top of the Hill restaurant in Grangeville. And she’s still smitten. Her first impression was reinforced when volunteer help arrived within five minutes after Chuck’d high-centered their car upon entering Grangeville. “Idahoans are the original good Samaritans,” Claire said. The Wellers encountered the “same negative angst” then that oldtimers are feeling today in North Idaho. But they were determined to fit in. And did. Said she: “I’d never go back.”
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D.F. “Dave” Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com.
