40 is the PEAK age

COEUR d'ALENE — The muscle-bound brutes on Mount Olympus were feeling mischievous, wary of competition.

Worried that racquetball enthusiast and budding young businessman Chip Althen might put a dent in their monopoly, the gods conspired.

“Ironwood, schmironwood,” Zeus reportedly rumbled.

And so when Althen, the Pittsburgh native and University of Montana MBA who’d moved here in 1980, sought to build a place where people could exercise and get stronger and healthier and better at their games, the gods intervened.

Althen and his business partner, 25-year-old Jack Tawney, needed a loan, and with the economy stagnant and the bright young men without a whole lot of collateral, bankers just weren’t biting.

“We shopped it at every bank in town here and pretty much got the cold shoulder everywhere,” Althen said. “Unlike some new businesses, we couldn’t pre-sell anything — we had to have a building first.”

North Idaho’s Odysseus persevered.

“Last ditch, somebody told us Jim Johnston liked to play racquetball,” Althen said. “Jim was kind of being groomed to be the next president of First Federal Savings and Loan downtown, so we went to see him.”

According to Althen, when he and Tawney showed up at the bank in business suits and briefcases, “Jim thought for sure we were IBM salesmen.”

Chip and Jack must’ve been good salesmen because Johnston ended up loaning them $700,000 anyway. Althen and Tawney turned over every cushion on the proverbial couch to try to come up with their share to make the project work, but both fell short. They brought in a silent third partner, Althen said, and had just enough cash to make the thing pencil out.

John Barlow of newly formed Hagadone Construction was hired, and Barlow attracted R.G. Nelson — the same architect who just a few years later would work with Barlow to alter the region’s economic trajectory by building The Coeur d’Alene Resort for Duane B. Hagadone and Jerry Jaeger.

“R.G. was a creative guy who came up with a good, efficient design that didn’t cost too much,” Althen said.

All told, the wooden structure at 940 W. Ironwood Drive came in at just under $1 million, and the boys were almost in business.

The frowning gods, however, weren’t quite done with our heroes yet.

• • •

The February 1982 grand opening was approaching and Gary Retter, then the resident racquetball pro, witnessed a midnight disaster. A bunch of the training equipment — barbells, dumbbells, weights, benches — was stolen overnight.

“We had to scramble to get enough stuff to open in three weeks,” Retter said.

That gut-punch from the gods hurt, but wasn’t a show stopper. One of Ironwood Athletic Club’s charter members happened to be Fred Harris, local insurance guru. Problem solved. And a funny footnote for the team that launched Ironwood was born.

“We aren’t even open yet and we have our first insurance claim,” Retter can say now with a laugh.

Since ’82, though, the gods for the most part have relented. Maybe some of them have even joined the club.

When you survey the 11,000 or so current members of what’s now called PEAK Health and Wellness Center, with spectacular Kootenai County facilities in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Hayden, you see bodies that look like they belong on Olympus.

• • •

In 1982, the big lure was racquetball. America was on fire for the sport back then, and Coeur d’Alene had only two places to play — and Althen and Tawney knew Ironwood Athletic Club would ace the others, particularly because in addition to six racquetball/handball courts, IAC also boasted tennis courts, a pool and workout areas.

The locker rooms featured showers, Jacuzzis, steam rooms and dry saunas.

Locals lapped it up. According to Press archives, membership the first year was a stout 1,200 souls.

“Memberships were sold out at the time of the grand opening,” said Retter, who took over as the sneakers-on-the-ground general manager of facilities in 2007 after Althen retired. “Jack, Chip and Tallie — Chip’s wife — owned and operated the club. Tallie worked the service desk, daycare, taught kids’ classes and much more. I was the racquetball professional and Linda (Yates) worked at the service desk and taught group fitness classes.”

Linda, by the way, owns the distinction as the only employee still there since Day One. The original ownership group also included investors Jack and Anne Remien.

Strong owners, a good business plan, a great facility and an eager community put the fledgling club on solid footing — but boy, it took work.

“The first couple years I’d be lucky to get a couple hours sleep a night,” said Althen, who did the heavy business lifting the first 25 years. He’s still a club workout fanatic who owns an interesting footnote himself.

Althen doesn’t have a cellphone.

“Hey, when I retired, I retired,” he said. “I don’t have an electronic leash on me.”

There have been challenges over those 40 years, of course, as the organization has weathered recessions, competition and a pandemic.

Interest rates when Althen and Tawney closed on the deal were around 18 percent. The group branched out in 1986 and, with R.G. Nelson’s help, created Harbor Square Athletic Club - almost the spittin’ image of Ironwood Athletic Club - in Edmonds, Wash. Tawney took over what remains a successful operation there, but for a while it sucked up the young company’s cash flow.

“At times it’s been a tough ride,” Althen admitted. “There were some serious competitors, and all our capital was drained going into the Seattle area. Those were some lean years until we could invest more in Ironwood.”

But invest they did - over and over and over again. Through the years, the owners have established and expanded superior facilities, helping membership grow from that original 1,200 to about 11,000, Retter said.

And as The Press has reported, property has been purchased on the prairie for a 60,000 square-foot facility featuring eight dedicated indoor pickleball courts, four outdoor pickleball courts, and loads of top-flight fitness equipment. The new Post Falls site will be built at Prairie Avenue and Highway 41.

After years of relative silence, though, possibly having fun with North Idaho politics, the gods returned in 2008 to play games with Retter & Co.

“We had to make a pivot not so much because of industry trends but because of the recession combined with the $30 million Kroc Center opening in Coeur d’Alene,” Retter said. “We were hit pretty hard and took about a 30% reduction in membership. But we kept working hard and changed our business model to become more of an adult club while still being a locally owned and operated athletic and fitness club with three locations.”

One club membership allowed use of all the facilities, rebranded in 2008 as PEAK Health and Wellness Center. The formula has worked out pretty well; just ask charter members.

•••

Pete Hohman of Hayden knew a good thing when he saw it back in the day.

“Being a handball junkie I was playing at a small facility with one court, owned by Hal Damiano,” said Hohman, a longtime educator and coach. “When Jack and Chip announced the building of Ironwood, a first class athletic facility, I was quick to buy a membership. Those were great mornings of competitive handball.”

Hohman went on to recall engaging conversations in the steam room with other guys, noting: “We solved all the problems of the world in that little room.”

And he wasn’t bashful about lighting 40 birthday candles for his pals.

“Congratulations to Jack, Chip and Gary for all of their successes,” Hohman said. “Ironwood and the PEAK athletic clubs are still the best in the area!”

Charter member Dale Nosworthy, founder of Nosworthy’s Hall of Fame restaurant and sports bar on Government Way, can still be found pumping iron at one of the PEAKS, most often in Hayden.

“In those early days we’d travel around and go to racquetball tournaments,” Nosworthy said. “Ironwood was terrific. Those were great guys from the get-go, and they brought in Gary. All the guys who started that, they just cultivated a neat little cult down there.”

Like Hohman, Nosworthy chuckled over some interesting steam room chats — tales that will remain private because, well, this is a family newspaper.

“Seems like it’s been there forever and it just keeps rollin’,” Nosworthy said before turning somewhat serious. “Guys have passed away that were great friends I met down there.”

Ray and Jan Tekverk, who claim some fame as “the only charter member couple still there,” are scientists so you can’t argue with their facts.

“We did minerals exploration in very rugged, high mountain terrains during the field season so it was a challenge to stay in shape over the winter,” said Ray. “At first our plan was to stay in shape over the winter, but a decade later it was a family affair. All of our daughters worked out at the club at times.”

Relationships evolved.

“Then there are all the good friends over all the years,” he said. “The club has frequently been the center of my social life. Boy have I missed that during the pandemic.”

Tekverk wasn’t quite done.

“Finally, there is the staff,” he said. “Over four decades at the club, I’ve had the pleasure to get to know so many of the people who work there. So many times I would walk through that door feeling a bit worn out. The person at the front desk would greet me and we might chat for a bit and everything would immediately improve.”

Retter, who’s seen it all from every conceivable angle over 40 years, couldn’t agree more with Tekverk’s analysis.

“It’s a family,” he said matter-of-factly. “Little kids in Tallie’s day care became members, and now their kids are members. It’s generational. It’s a family.”

Retter gave particular credit to Althen, from whom Gary took the responsibility of running the whole show 15 years ago.

“He started it and ran this place for 25 years,” Retter said. “It became the community center. I came from Spokane and never wanted to go back. These guys are the greatest. They brought me in and taught me a lot.”

Retter got a little emotional.

“All these years and we’ve never had one argument,” he said. “Not many marriages last 40 years.”

Only the best do - and that goes for businesses, too.