McEuen went to bat for Tubbs Hill

Some believe that Mae McEuen donated the land for the Coeur d’Alene park that bears her name.

She didn’t.

But she did do something almost as good.

In a March 23, 1997, letter to the editor, Mae’s family thanked Duane Hagadone for withdrawing his plan to build a botanical garden on McEuen Field. Duane had offered to donate $2 million for a new library in exchange for the right to plant a garden in memory of his parents.

The letter was signed by grandchildren Susan McEuen Visintainer of Spokane, Janice McEuen Miller of Coeur d’Alene, and 10 great- and great-great-grandchildren.

The letter writer remembers attending the original McEuen Field dedication as a child but had no idea what her grandmother had accomplished until going through her memorabilia.

Above all, in 1956, Mae and the late Art Manley spearheaded opposition to a downtown business proposal to construct a shopping mall on 4.6 acres of what is now McEuen Park. Shopping malls were the rage of the time and the local economy was in the doldrums.

The council favored the idea. But state law required a vote for the sale of public land. Although outspent at least 3-to-1 in advertising, Mae, Art and their supporters were backed by Coeur d’Alene residents. The proposed sale of the then dirt parking lot at the base of Tubbs Hill was rejected 2,082 to 945.

Mae would go on to champion youth baseball in Coeur d’Alene after she joined the Parks and Recreation Commission. In 1957, she launched a drive to start boys baseball. Enough boys responded to form 40 teams. Two years later, 900 boys turned out for 56 teams.

“She was one of those people who would give a little guy a mitt if he didn’t have one,” Mae’s niece Doris Frensdorf told Cynthia Taggart of The Spokesman-Review in a 1997 profile.

Mae and her husband, Virgil, ran McEuen’s IGA at 12th and Sherman. Generosity was a family trait.

“The McEuens pulled a lot of people through a lot of hard times during the mill days,” Ralph Jerome told reporter Taggart. Mae allowed Jerome’s family to buy groceries on credit after his stepfather was laid off from the Ohio Match mill in 1957.

Mae died of cancer in 1964 at age 61.

“Plump and grandmotherly to everyone,” reporter Taggart wrote, “Mae poured so much time and energy into her community that she won state and national citations and generations of loyal fans.”

It’s appropriate that one of this city’s hallowed places bears her name.

A ray of hope

First, you need to know that Chad Schobert of Sandpoint is a huge scale-model fan of World War II aircraft. AND that Eastern Europe is a mecca for scale-model companies and hobbyists. Now, onward. Shortly before the Russian invasion, Chad ordered a scale model from Ukraine. Afterward, he figured his purchase was a “sunk cost” and he’d never see the item. You can imagine Chad’s surprise when the model arrived on Tuesday, postmarked Kyiv. Seems Putin’s butchers must have missed the scale-model supply line. Said Chad: “I’m hoping that normalcy will return someday soon, and they can go back to selling fun hobby stuff.” Amen.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Initially, The Bard of Sherman Avenue didn’t support removal of the Freedom Tree, which was felled nine years ago this week as part of the McEuen Park overhaul. He wrote: “Just chop the thing down/and acknowledge the fact/that freedom’s passe/since the Patriot Act.” But all was not lost. Artist Jeff May carved the Freedom Tree trunk into a beautiful totem, topped by an eagle, which now sits at the western edge of the improved McEuen Park.

• Bumpersnicker (on a Toyota hybrid on Hattie Avenue Wednesday): “Don’t Grow Up: It’s a trap.”

• As he approached birthday No. 71 this week, Darrell Kerby, of Bonners Ferry, said he’s been getting mail from undertakers offering to help plan his funeral. So he told his wife to just cremate him. She responded, quipped Darrell, by making him an appointment for Thursday.

• State Rep. Paul Amador, R-Coeur d’Alene, is busting button as the 2022 Legislature winds down. And it has nothing to do with law-making. Wife Julie, a math whiz, has zoomed up the UIdaho ladder – assistant prof (2012), associate prof (2017), and, recently, full-fledged prof. Says Paul: “I am so incredibly proud to see Julie recognized for her scholarly, teaching, and professional accomplishments; But I’m biased.” It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.

• You know what had us wringing our hands 20 years ago? Gas prices. The banner headline on the March 23, 2002, Press shouted: “Prices jump at the pump.” The rising cost of crude oil had pushed the average price of gas locally to — (drum roll, please) $1.30 per gallon for regular unleaded.

Parting Shot

At 12 years old, Keri Alexander was a nerdy kid from Pinehurst whom some classmates called “Four Eyes.” She describes herself in those formative years as “a friendly, skinny kid with terrible vision, hiding my changing body in a pair of overalls which felt like protective armor.” Keri can’t go back and talk to her 12-year-old self. But she has a message for 12-year-old girls today who might feel unattractive because they wear glasses or are considered nerdy. In a Facebook post, Keri urges the tweeners to be themselves and shine because years from now, when age brings them confidence and strength, they’ll appreciate “the authenticity and unique characteristics developed during youth.” Keri, publisher of the Shoshone News-Press in Osburn, is a prime example that good things are ahead for her young sisters of today.

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D.F. (Dave) Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com.