HUCKLEBERRIES: A history of holiday giving and 'outstanding' decorations

Gary Allen didn’t hesitate to answer an obvious question: “Would you do it again?”

No. No. And no.

“It’s a young man’s gig,” said Gary, 68, of Coeur d’Alene, a KHTQ 94 1/2 FM consultant. “Marathons are not for older people.”

For two Decembers — 1997 and 1998 — Gary, then in his early 40s and KHTQ program director, broadcast up to 81 hours straight to raise money for Christmas for All, the annual Coeur d’Alene Press fundraiser.

He has a soft spot for Christmas.

As a child, Gary sporadically slept in a tent on riverbanks during the holidays. Christmases were thin then, but they got better: “I remember Christmas both ways. A couple of Christmases never happened.”

Gary enjoys catchy radio promotions, too.

From about 1987 to 1994, he and partner “Crash” Carlin, on Spokane’s KEZE Rock 106, broadcast their morning show, 5 to 10 o’clock, from billboards for two weeks in December. They did so to raise money for Toys for Tots. Gary still recalls sitting on billboard platforms with the north wind blowing at 7 a.m.

“We did all kinds of crazy stuff to put us on the map,” he said.

The idea for a Coeur d’Alene marathon fund-raiser emerged during a 1997 brainstorming session with promotions manager Bruce Deming. And that’s how Gary found himself asking Lake City for donations of cash, food, services and unwrapped toys that he could auction off over the airwaves.

Gary began his three-day broadcasts at 6 a.m. Fridays and ended around 10 a.m. Mondays. The toughest hours were from midnight until 3 a.m., when interaction with people slowed and adrenaline ebbed.

He recalls one man donating his entire Christmas bonus to the fund-raiser. Another man stopped by the station to pay $40 — in the late 1990s, mind you — for a dozen cookies baked by night DJ Karla Stevens.

Also, there was the man and his two small boys who trudged through heavy snow on Sherman Avenue at 10:30 one night to donate $25 worth of toys.

“The streets were quiet, and snow was falling,” said Gary, who compared downtown Coeur d’Alene during the holidays 25 years ago to scenes from “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

At the scheduled end of the 76-hour 1998 marathon, Gary extended his shift by five hours. He wanted to sell the rest of the auction items. He was rummy, of course.

Combined, Gary’s two marathon broadcasts raised more than $50,000 for Christmas for All.

And each year, Duane Hagadone, who owned KHTQ then, as well as the Coeur d’Alene Press, showed his gratitude by gifting Gary and wife Cathy a night at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. Hallucinating slightly from sleep deprivation, Gary recalls being dazzled by the resort lights and dancing reindeer.

And that’s when his wife knew it was time to order Mr. Sleepless in Cd'A to go beddy bye.

O Christmas tree

Christmas in Coeur d’Alene wasn’t as splashy in the 1950s as it is today.

It’s hard to compete with the Hallmark-perfect trees, lights, fireworks, and decorations on Sherman Avenue and at the Coeur d’Alene resort now. But residents of our Ozzie and Harriett era had sizzle, too.

In December 1958, six electrical contractors, working with Washington Water Power (Avista), dressed a 75-foot yellow pine on the north side of Tubbs Hill (opposite of what is now the Parkside high-rise).

They donated a combined 64 hours to run 1,000 feet of cable to a power source and install 500 lights, a four-foot Star of Bethlehem, rimmed by blue bulbs, and a cross at the base. Electrician Shimeo Nisheo placed the star on top.

Organizer Tom Robinson said the project was the contractors’ gift to the community “to show our appreciation to the public for patronage.”

When the tree was first lit Dec. 11, 1958, it could be seen for miles. The Coeur d’Alene Press pronounced the display “one of the outstanding decorations in the Pacific Northwest.”

‘Jackass Lane’

Come with me, if you will, to Dec. 28, 1963. You're in the 1800 block of 15th Street, looking east, when you see a familiar site: Pete the Donkey pulling a string of neighborhood children on sleds. Pete belongs to Mrs. Duane Wright of Route 2. She enjoys the smiles on the children’s faces as Pete plods along.

Ten-year-old Pete is in his prime despite losing his ears to a Montana blizzard. During a hunting trip the previous fall, he'd hauled an elk from the forest. He's gentle and responds to the kids’ commands.

The children honor Pete by dubbing the short street in their playground as “Jackass Lane.” They want the city fathers to make the name official. But that doesn’t happen. So, Pete and “Jackass Lane” pass into neighborhood lore, remembered by the few who enjoyed those magical winter rides.

Encore! Encore!

Katie Mans introduced herself to actors Jack Bannon and Ellen Travolta in City Park decades ago with a question: “Do you want to be in a play?” The Bannons had visited Coeur d’Alene several times and were smitten. They jumped at the chance to perform here. And appeared in the 1990 Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre play “Company.” After moving here in 1994, the Bannons became fixtures in CST productions. Jack died in 2017. And, last Sunday, Ellen, now 84, performed her last of a decade's worth of Christmas shows to packed houses and standing O’s. They came. They entertained. They conquered our hearts.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: All the gifts have been given/and the guests have all gone,/still she hopes that the feeling/through the months will live on — The Bard of Sherman Avenue. (“Day After Christmas”).

• Did You Know … That tiny Huetter grew by more than 20 times overnight 40 years ago when it annexed two lumber mills on the Spokane River: Diamond International and Idaho Forest Industries (Stimson)? Mill execs feared Coeur d’Alene would force them out and turn their land into greenspace or condos. Or, basically, what’s happening today.

• In Memoriam: Singer, actress, minister, Winifred Gregory was someone who jumped into the middle of things. After moving here in 1985, Winifred and husband Stephen opened Gregory’s McFarland House B&B, 601 Foster Ave. Among Winifred’s many triumphs was the founding of the Taste of Coeur d’Alene festival. She died at 85 on Dec. 26, 2003.

• Factoid: Before Lake City High opened in fall 1994, Ramsey Road was a 30-foot-wide route with abrupt shoulders and stop signs at Kathleen and Hanley avenues.

Parting shot

In December 1993, director Pete Nikiforuk of the Kootenai Humane Society could only dream of a no-kill shelter. Each week, Pete and his staff of eight faced the grim task of euthanizing 50 dogs and cats. “It’s unfortunate that we have to control the pet population through euthanasia,” Pete told The Press. In those days, only 30% of dogs and 4% of cats were adopted. The animals were held 72 hours before they were condemned. Pete introduced affordable neuter services to reduce the killing. But Pete had left the shelter before it became a no-kill facility July 1, 2003. Today, under executive director Debbie Jeffrey’s leadership, it has come further. Last March, the shelter, now the Companions Animal Center, moved into a new 22,000-square-foot building, 10275 N. Atlas Road, which director Jeffrey describes in two words: “It’s gorgeous.”

• • •

You can contact D.F. “Dave” Oliveria at dfo@cdapress.com.

    From left, Bruce Deming and Gary Allen present a check for $25,000 to The Press editor Mike Feiler after Gary’s 1998 marathon.
  

    The 1958 lighted yellow pine on Tubbs Hill could be seen for miles.
  

    Pete the Donkey pulls neighborhood kids on Jackass Lane, from right: Larry Wright, 14, Craig Ziegler, 13, Kerrie Fitch, 6, Peg Wright, 12, Jodie Fitch, 2 ½, Chris Fitch, 7, Jay Lakamp, 7, Jarry Lakamp, 5 ½, John King, 10, and Steve Wright, 10.
  

    Ellen Travolta appears with her late husband, Jack Bannon, in the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre production of “Hello, Dolly!”
  

    The old Idaho Forest Industries Atlas mill property is now sprouting condos and some greenspace.
  

    Winifred Gregory left a legacy of community support.
  

    Patrolman Mark Knapp observes traffic at the corner of Kathleen Avenue and old Ramsey Road.
  

    Pete Nikiforuk, former executive director of the Kootenai Humane Society, dreamed of a kill-free animal shelter.