Huckleberries: She shattered glass ceilings with her badge

Elaine Barrett didn’t stop living in her 50s when her husband of 35 years died unexpectedly.

Instead, she challenged herself and applied for a job with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office that no woman had held before: Detective.

And, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press, that’s how she went from shuffling papers in the KCSO’s civil division “to sleuthing sex crimes, child abuse assaults, and batteries.”

“At the time,” she told The Press for a story on April 10, 1989, “it was absolutely what I needed.”

The Press interviewed Elaine 2½ years after she became a detective and four years after a heart attack claimed her husband, Bruce, the assistant plant supervisor for the Washington Water Power Co. (Avista). The couple had met at Coeur d’Alene High, where Elaine was described as pretty, popular and a wonderful dancer. They eloped in July 1950 after Elaine graduated.

Elaine, known for her impeccable dress and grooming, was the daughter of a former Idaho State Trooper and the grandchild of a former Boundary County sheriff. Prior to her promotion, Elaine had worked for the sheriff’s office for 17 years, as a secretary, jail matron and head of the civil division.

Despite her police pedigree, she worked hard to win acceptance from male detectives.

“I guess I had to prove myself, in a sense,” Elaine told The Press, “because they weren’t used to working with a woman.”

And, as she proved herself, she won the respect of her colleagues.

“It was very difficult for her because of her lack of actual case experience,” Detective Steve Stenerson told The Press 35 years ago. “She works real hard, she stays busy, and she gets results.”

Detective John Wheelock said: “I wouldn’t hesitate in working with her on anything.”

Elaine found her calling, according to her 2015 obituary, handling “crimes against people.” As a woman who loved children, she was a formidable investigator, examiner and advocate for victims of domestic abuse, sexual molestation and rape.

Elaine was proudest of her work on two severe cases of sex crimes against children.

In one, the victims were two sisters who had been abused by their parents. Elaine built a rapport with one of them by taking her to the beach and playing on swings. The girl feared that her mother would hit her if she talked about her mistreatment. And Elaine responded: “I’m just a little old lady, and I wouldn’t hurt you or let anybody else hurt you.”

Elaine’s gentle persistence paid off. The parents pleaded guilty and were imprisoned for 10 to 15 years.

Eventually, Elaine taught classes at North Idaho College and spoke publicly about her experience.

In 1992, Elaine married DeWayne Smalley. The two traveled the country and became snowbirds. She was widowed again in 2009. And died in Arizona on Aug. 16, 2015, after an extended struggle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 83.

Influencers

If you’re looking for inspiration for the next Powerball game, you should consider Nos. 30, 47, 49, 62 and 67, with a Powerball number of 13.

Twenty-five years ago (1999), North Idahoans landed in those spots on the list of 100 Most Influential Idahoans, compiled by former political reporter Randy Stapilus.

North Idaho influencers were: No. 30, Benewah County commissioner Jack Buell; No. 47, Coeur d’Alene Tribe leader Ernie Stensgar; No. 49, mining magnate Harry Magnuson; No. 62, White House adviser Bruce Reed; and No. 67, tax activist Ron Rankin. The group was bookended by No. 13, Coeur d’Alene native son Duane Hagadone and No. 77, congressional aide Sandy Patano.

Interestingly, Bruce Reed, a moderate Democrat from our red-meat state, remains one of Idaho’s most influential people. Bruce, the son of former state senator Mary Lou Reed and her late attorney husband, Scott, has been an adviser to Democratic presidents and vice presidents for decades.

A 1978 Coeur d’Alene High graduate, Bruce now serves as deputy chief of staff for President Joe Biden. He was crucial in forming President Biden’s artificial intelligence policy.

Big, big rock

In 1873, surveyor Rollie Reeves laid out the original Idaho-Washington state line. And, in 1989, Centennial Trail fans installed a plaque on a big rock at the state line to commemorate the feat.

The 8-by-9-foot boulder was moved from the Ramsey Road area in Coeur d’Alene on April 13, 1989, and placed on the state line, north of the proposed path of the North Idaho Centennial Trail. The first five miles of the Kootenai County section — to Post Falls — would be built the following year.

“It was part of a great plan to connect the two states,” said trail booster Doug Eastwood.

Organizers raised money for the trail by inviting people to submit estimates of the boulder’s weight, at $1 each. The best guess won $100 worth of gasoline from Petro Stop and Shop.

Doug can’t recall who won but says the rock weighs 40,000 pounds.

Later, in April 1989, surveyors associations from Idaho and Washington retraced the steps taken by Reeves to draw the state line. And discovered the 19th-century surveyor, with his rudimentary equipment, was remarkably accurate.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: How pleasant to live up on Mars,/among the comets and the stars,/and gaze out on the landscape fair/and not see politicians there — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Mars Mission”).

• Famous Potatoes: In her effort to impress the judges at the 1969 National College Queen contest in Palm Beach, Fla., Mimi Henrickson, 21, of Rathdrum, baked a potato casserole. She and the other 49 contestants were told to produce a dish using her state’s products. For Mimi, a University of Idaho senior, that meant potatoes, of course.

• Factoid: On June 11, 1965, Coeur d’Alene changed the name of Mullan Field to Mae McEuen Playfield to honor volunteer extraordinaire Mae McEuen, who died the previous September. After the playfield overhaul 10 years ago, it was renamed McEuen Park.

• Flashback: You may be an old-timer if … you bought zucchini, cucumber and marigold starts at Steve Badraun’s Duncan’s Garden Center off Kathleen Avenue. On April 11, 1999, principal Bill Prosser and others were busy transforming the old nursery into the Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy for a fall opening. Today, the academy high school is deemed the state's second best.

• Yawner: On April 13, 1984, Dr. William Wood called it quits after 38 years as coroner for two reasons: He’d lost interest in the job due to increasing paperwork, and he was shocked at the amount of money city and county officials spent on meals and travel: “That teed me off,” he said. “In my 38 years, I have never filed for one penny of gas or meals.”

Parting shot

Ray Stone, Coeur d’Alene’s spunky two-term mayor (1985-93), was flamboyant, impatient, and feisty. And he didn’t suffer fools when it came to prejudice. In 1945, the former World War II veteran was among the first to liberate a German concentration camp. And the horror wrought by racism remained with him. On April 12, 1984, as Stone mulled a successful first race for mayor, the former North Idaho College dean was featured in a Press article. An NIC colleague told The Press that he admired Stone because he didn’t shy from controversy. Once, after two Black athletes were caught breaking into the student union, Stone stood up to residents who demanded that the college quit recruiting Black athletes for the basketball team. Stone spoke out against the racist attack, saying NIC should seek the best athletes regardless of color. It wasn’t a popular stand at the time. Fighting racism rarely is.

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

    Bruce Reed and wife Bonnie LePard, center, with then President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.
  

    Tye Akers of Hite Crane positions cables to place Centennial Rock at the state line.
  

    Centennial Rock with a plaque honoring surveyor Rollie Reeves.
  

    Mimi Henrickson at the National College Queen contest.
  

    City official Red Halpern recognizes Mae McEuen’s contributions.
  

    Principal Bill Proser helped open Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.
  

    Dr. William Wood lost interest in his public job after 38 years as county coroner.