HUCKLEBERRIES: Gentle giants

A Coeur d’Alene Press sportswriter once described them as “teenage office buildings.”

Shirtless and buff, in a Press photo Aug. 20, 1983, Joe Tofflemire and Rollin Putzier were men among boys during preseason conditioning drills for the Post Falls High football team.

“Joe the Toe” Tofflemire (6-3½, 240 pounds) and Rollin “Putz” Putzier (6-4, 260) could full-squat more than 500 pounds — akin, the sports scribe said, to “doing deep-knee bends under a Volkswagen.”

Forty years ago, center/placekicker Tofflemire and tackle Putzier would earn their second straight All-State honors for a Trojans team that lost to Middleton in the state playoffs for a second straight year. Each would later star for a Pac-10 team — Tofflemire for Arizona and Putzier for Oregon. Each would be drafted and play injury-shortened careers in the National Football League.

Each would die too young.

In August 1983, however, optimism in Post Falls was sky-high as the Trojans prepared for an opening game against Lewiston. Friends Tofflemire and Putzier were to anchor the offensive and defensive lines that some predicted would be the best to ever play in the Intermountain League. Their 1982 team had outscored six league opponents by a combined 174 points to 6.

“This team has more potential than any team we’ve ever had,” said coach Nick Menegas at the time.

The Trojans were good, but not great, compiling a 6-3 record before nemesis Middleton outplayed them 24-7 in the state A-2 quarterfinals Nov. 5, 1983.

Meanwhile, the two linemen made their marks as quality humans as well as football players.

Coach Menegas described Tofflemire as “warm, sharing, caring, compassionate,” according to a Spokesman-Review report. “His evolution from boy to man was so rewarding to watch.”

Post Falls resident Chet Lindquist told the Press of a time that the two players returned a tent with a hole in it that they’d borrowed from him: “Here these two buffed monsters in tank tops came to my house apologizing to a little guy like me. That will always be a memory to me.”

Tofflemire became a three-time All-Pac-10 center for Arizona, won the Morris Trophy as a senior as the league’s outstanding offensive lineman, and was enshrined in the UA Hall of Fame. At Oregon, defensive tackle Putzier had 310 tackles, 222 of which were solo tackles and 17 tackles for losses.

In 1988, Green Bay took Putzier in the fourth round of the NFL draft; a year later, Seattle drafted Tofflemire in the second round. Limited by injuries, Tofflemire played in 33 games over six seasons with the Seahawks, with most starts concentrated in 1990 and 1992. Putzier played in 16 games, earning a Super Bowl ring with San Francisco, before joining the now-defunct World League of American Football.

The injuries suffered by the two in the NFL contributed to their premature deaths — Tofflemire at age 46 in 2011, Putzier at age 52 in 2018. Nearly a dozen surgeries on his shoulders and back left Tofflemire unable to be physically active later in life. Putzier’s family said his final years were plagued “with the health issues many former NFL players experience.”

The gentle giants had big bodies and big hearts. And they were a blessing to those who knew them.

Shadows in 1963

Many of us danced to The Fabulous Shadows over the decades — at the fairgrounds, on Lake Coeur d’Alene cruises, during band reunions. But in 1963, when they were just The Shadows, original fans heard them practice at Dari-Delite.

In an end-of-summer story (Aug. 29, 1963), Press reporter Kay Dimeling spotlighted The Shadows and their practice venue: "One of the gayest spots in town was at the Dari-Delite, corner of 13th & Sherman. Dozens of teenagers tapped their feet to the lively music of a combo calling themselves The Shadows, who occasionally practice there for their dance dates."

The reporter added that the band would dissolve soon because some members were college-bound. She introduced the band as Dexter Yates, Mike Bolan, Pete Shepperd, Doug Wanamaker, Jack Fullwiler and Tom Dotzler (who was replaced by Jim Frame).

The story concludes: "The lads who have been together since January have played for many weekend dances in the area. They have no leader and all play by ear and read no music. However, most of the boys are accomplished musicians.”

The Shadows finally did break up for good — in 2015, when the oldest members reached age 70.

Doomed Playland

Some of you know that Playland Pier (at what is now Independence Point) burned Dec. 18, 1975, after years of increasing disuse. But did you know that the waterfront carnival was doomed anyway?

On Aug. 30, 1973, the main headline in the Coeur d'Alene Press read: "Playland Park to be removed by '77." In a 1966 pact with the Bureau of Land Management, the city had agreed to expand City Park by razing Playland Pier and other buildings on 10 acres on the park’s eastern edge.

Launched by businessman Earl Somers on July 4, 1942, Playland Pier, with its many attractions, was a lakeshore draw through the mid-1960s: Merry-go-Round, Ferris wheel, bumper cars, miniature train, roller coaster, revolving swing and penny arcade.

As Playland Pier (named Barber’s Coast in its last years) ran down, it was stripped of parts by new owners. But, in a final act of showmanship, it left on its own accord — in a blaze of glory.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: The yellow bus,/the dipping sun,/the acorns fall —/this summer’s done — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Finis”).

• And the Answer Is — Sears, JCPenney, The Emporium and a scaled-down Fred Meyer. The question? Name the four anchor stores for the $22 million Silverlake Mall that was under construction in September 1988.

• Tee-Hee Shirt: At the Costco gas pumps, on a blazing summer day, sister-in-law Lisa Oliveria of Coeur d'Alene spotted this T-shirt message on a twentysomething motorist: “It’s a bad day to be a cold beer.”

• Sign of the Times: A message at The Garnet restaurant on Government Way is Old School: “WE DO NOT HAVE WIFI. Talk to each other. Pretend it’s 1995.”

• Time Flies: Has it been 25 years since Barb Renner retired as North Idaho Fair manager? Indeed. In her 14 years (1984-98) of guiding the fair, Barb added buildings, full-time employees, grass and asphalt, introduced year-round activities, and doubled the size of crowds. She left behind pristine grounds and a blueprint for continued success. Saaalute.

• Rising Star: John Friesz would play 10 years in the NFL But in August 1983 he was a second-string QB behind Scott Wellman on Herb Criner’s Coeur d'Alene High defending state champs. As the Viks drubbed Boise in the opener Sept. 2, 1983, Friesz was inserted for mop-up duty and tossed a 36-yard TD to reserve receiver Paul Peters. Many more TDs would follow.

Parting shot

You’re more likely to get run over by a faddish electric bike on the north shore today than you are by a skateboarder. But in the late '80s skaters were viewed as a nuisance, bordering on an epidemic, in the downtown and City Park. Skaters ignored signs banning them from city sidewalks. And favored using park benches, picnic tables and the bandstand as props for various tricks. “In an area as crowded as City Park, you need benches that aren’t splintered,” said frustrated Parks Director Doug Eastwood at the time. “The skaters need concrete and asphalt ramps.” Eastwood was a prophet. The skaters, with adult help, eventually helped construct a makeshift home behind the right field fence of Memorial Field. And that park was moved and expanded as part of the Four Corners renovation to become one of the best in the Inland Northwest. Today, the skaters are happy. Downtown is safer. God bless us, everyone.

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Dave Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com. You can see more of his old photos and stories on his Facebook site: D.F. Oliveria.