Moving History Forward: The story of McEuen Park, Part 2
This is the second of a two-part series on the history of Coeur d'Alene's McEuen Park.
Mae McEuen was tireless in her love of her community and her love of baseball. Many citizens of Coeur d’Alene would tell you that when Mae McEuen died of cancer in 1964 at age 61, there wasn’t a dry eye in town.
If you were a young male who had lived any of your youth in Coeur d’Alene or its environs, you would have been especially saddened by Mae’s passing. She was buried in Forrest Cemetery.
Mae and her husband, Virgil, owned the IGA grocery store on 12th and Sherman Avenue. She loved baseball. She joined the Parks and Recreation Commission in 1957 and became the driving force to have baseball the main presence on the McEuen Park. She spearheaded a drive for Little League baseball, resulting in enough boys joining to field 40 teams. Two years later, 56 teams totaled 900 boys.
Her generosity extended to struggling families by extending credit in order to buy groceries. Mae also provided free hot dogs and pop for team members and game attendees. She won state and national awards for her generosity.
In the mid-1960s, the Lakeshore Development Corporation, the City Parks and Recreation Department, downtown merchants and community service organizations such as the Lions, Rotary and Kiwanis clubs banded together to develop the Mullan Park property into a youth recreation area with ball fields and tennis courts. Mae fought hard to see her Little Leaguers had a place to play at the park.
Mae did not live to see the project completed, but her contributions were not forgotten. In June of 1965, Mullan Park was officially renamed Mae McEuen Field to honor her. It was a fitting tribute to a person who had touched the lives of hundreds through her dedication.
Time has given way to more change. McEuen Field would see only seasonal use for the next 47 years, mostly hosting American Legion baseball games in the summer, a few youth football games in the fall and occasional tennis matches when the weather permitted. In 1998, a comprehensive plan was developed to enhance the use of the park.
In 2012, ground was broken for a new city park project. The plan was the result of cooperation between the Coeur d’Alene City Council and the local urban renewal agency. On May 24, 2014, 1,000 people attended the rededication of a reconstructed McEuen Field and celebration of the $20 million expansion of the facilities that are now known as McEuen Park.
McEuen Park is now a reconstructed, 20-acre, multi-use facility, offering numerous recreational and cultural opportunities to an even greater cross-section of the local citizenry.
The Museum of North Idaho has an exhibit that details the park’s history and the adjacent city docks and boat launch area, designed and written by Steve Shepperd, who was one of Mae’s Little Leaguers.
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Richard Sheldon, member, Museum of North Idaho Board of Directors. Reviewed by Steve Shepperd: MoNI volunteer and ex-Little Leaguer.
