Post Falls, Wallace locals earn Esto Perpetua Award
Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery and today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
If you ask Kim Brown and Richard Caron, they'd say the past is also a present, to be preserved and promoted for future generations to learn from and appreciate.
Brown, of Post Falls, and Caron, of Wallace, are among 12 Idahoans to receive the 2023 Idaho State Historical Society's Esto Perpetua award. They have used their own gifts to diligently collect and research North Idaho's past to create treasure troves of information to educate local communities about the people, places, events and artifacts that helped shape North Idaho into what it is today.
"For a University of Montana graduate in history, and as a volunteer, this award honors the importance of the land and the people's stories and historic preservation," Brown told The Press. "Honoring the past, getting the respectful handoff and providing insights for our children, that has been a long time focus for me."
Brown is active with the Post Falls Historical Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution Lt. George Farragut Chapter, the Kootenai County Historical Preservation Committee, Toastmasters International and other civic groups. She is a liaison to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, she was integral to placing six Post Falls buildings on the National Historic Register and she is working on the application for historical designation of the Chapin Building, one of the oldest buildings in Post Falls, where the Post Falls Museum is housed.
Brown said, as a small town years ago, Post Falls wanted a museum and its own identity and history to be recognized, but it didn't have a vehicle to make it happen.
"As a charter member of the Post Falls Historical Society and in the planning for the state and city centennials, we began 35 years ago," she said. "We have uncovered, shared and preserved more for the future. There is much more to do. Much more."
She said for anyone who believes in "the little engine that could" concept, Post Falls has its own story of perseverance.
"The citizens that live here are part of the larger American story, and by living here contribute to the continuing story of the land and the people," Brown said. "Individual stories, past and present, demonstrate continuity and strength. Mothers, fathers, veterans, business people, natives and newcomers. Lots to share and preserve."
Fourth-generation Wallace resident Caron has been actively involved with the Northern Pacific Railroad Museum and Wallace District Mining Museum for more than 35 years, assisting with the preservation of local artifacts and creating displays to tell Wallace's history. He restored and preserved the historic integrity of a three-story 1890 building on Cedar Street, he participated in saving Wallace's turn-of-the-century railroad depot from destruction and helped to list the entire town on the National Register of Historic Places. He has also contributed to books on local history and assisted in reconstruction of the Pulaski Trail and the opening of the Taft Tunnel.
"I’m very honored, that's probably the best way to put it," Caron said. "I’m most rewarded by the people that nominated me and the nice things they had to say about me, my peers in history. It's nice to be recognized by your friends and cohorts, and we're all friends because we’ve all been around here a long, long, long time."
Caron said his interest in history began when he was young. He started by collecting Wallace memorabilia. He said he was very much aware of his family and the length of time they had been in the Silver Valley, where his great-grandfather made their home in 1899. He said he is very proud to say one of his sons is a fifth-generation miner.
"Who knows how it happens," Caron said. "You start out kind of a romance with the place and the next thing you know it’s a full-blown love affair. It’s almost like being a busybody in a way, you just start doing things and one thing leads to another."
Caron and Brown will be honored at the 24th annual Esto Perpetua Awards ceremony June 5 at the Idaho State Museum in Boise.
Info: history.idaho.gov
