HUCKLEBERRIES: At your beck and mall

There were almost enough balloons at the 1989 opening of the Silver Lake Mall to float a child away.

Clowns entertained, too, frolicking along the line of customers waiting to enter the new mall.

And the Coeur d’Alene High Vikettes distributed goodies to the early customers.

Coeur d’Alene had waited two years for the grand opening. And — after soft openings of J.C. Penney, Fred Meyer and the Emporium during the previous week — the mall officially opened Aug. 2, 1989.

The response to the new shopping center at U.S. 95 and Hanley Avenue exceeded expectations. About 75,000 attended the official opening day. And, mall manager Jack Gillum reported to the Coeur d’Alene Press, “Everywhere I looked I saw nothing but big smiles.”

James Cordano Jr. certainly was grinning.

The representative for developer Robacor Associates told the Prass that the response to the $35 million Silver Lake Mall was the best he had seen for a mid-market center.

“With the mix of tenants we have at Silver Lake Mall, I can predict it will plug the flow of shopping dollars to Spokane,” Cordano said, adding: “It has taken us four or five years to put this mall together, and it is a terrific feeling to see it all come together as beautifully as it is.”

At 330,000 square feet, the mall offered more than 35 stores and was 60% full when it opened. And another 20% of the space was leased and would soon open.

Possibly the only ones who didn’t celebrate the arrival of the mall were downtown business owners.

And they were cautiously optimistic.

“Malls were so popular at the time,” said former mayor Sandi Bloem, a key player in the 1989 revitalization of downtown Coeur d’Alene. “We decided to partner with the mall rather than fight it.”

Bloem and others downtown saw an upside to the new competition on Hanley Avenue. The mall would attract shoppers to town, including some from Spokane. Once they were here, Sandi said this week, downtown businesses knew they had a shot to attract them, too

The downtown bounced back from the doldrums of the 1980s when as much as 60% of the business space was vacant. The mall, meanwhile, experienced ups and downs — and appeared to be failing after it lost Sears (2018) and then JCPenney (2021). During those gloomy times, Dave and Barbara Knoll of Black Sheep Sporting Goods bought the mall.

In need of more room, the Knolls relocated their multi-faceted business from 3534 Government Way, next to Costco, into the old Penney’s space. Meanwhile, they hung onto important, anchor tenants, like JoAnn Fabric & Craft and Macy’s. And added new stores.

After the purchase, Dave Knoll told The Press: “We are excited to be a part of the next big chapter of the storied history of the Silver Lake Mall. We have big plans for the shopping center, and we are excited about the opportunity to help bring a fresh perspective to operations at Silver Lake.”

The future of the Silver Lake Mall is bright again, now that it’s in the capable hands of a local family.

Why Black Sheep?

You may know that, in 1975, Dave and Barbara Knoll started their Black Sheep Sporting Goods in Coeur d’Alene. But do you know why they named their business Black Sheep?

For a business profile July 31, 1994, Dave Knoll told reporter Ric Clarke of the Coeur d’Alene Press that he saw the writing on the wall while working at his uncle’s White Elephant surplus stores in Spokane. Seems his uncle was turning key positions in the discount chain over to his children. And Dave felt that he was the black sheep in the family business and being gently pushed out.

So, with $2,000 in capital, he opened his own venture: Black Sheep Sporting Goods and Toys. Nineteen years later, when The Press came calling, the Knolls had opened three more Black Sheep stores in the Inland Northwest.

The Knolls, wrote reporter Clarke, “have proven that it pays to be black sheep.”

Marriage capital

For $20, and a walk of no more than 150 yards, a couple, each of whom was at least 18, could marry in less than an hour in Coeur d’Alene 50 years ago. The lovers could obtain a blood test and marriage license at the courthouse and then hop across the street to the Hitching Post.

And that’s why, in 1973, Coeur d’Alene, with a population of 17,000, issued more marriage licenses than Spokane, with a population of 180,000-plus — 3,632 to 3,103.

At the time, Washington required a three-day waiting period; Montana, five days.

It also helped that the marriage license bureau at the Kootenai County Courthouse was the only one in the area that opened on Saturdays.

Although the sale of licenses was brisk, chief clerk Marguerite Tomblin told The Press on July 31, 1974, it didn’t compare to the “good old days.”

Kootenai County sold 7,161 licenses in 1966, the last year the state allowed marriages without a waiting period for those under 18.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: There was too much spinach/for her to finach — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“The Big Salad”).

• Founders: As you enjoy the final day of Art on the Green at North Idaho College today, tip your cap to the late Pat and Sue Flammia. The couple helped found the three-day celebration of the arts, which Sue described this way in The Press on Aug. 1, 2004: “It’s like a grand community reunion. And it’s all centered around the arts.”

• No Mercy: In her 20 years as Coeur d’Alene’s meter maid, Earlene Cronquist issued parking tickets without fear or favor to anyone, including friends. When a ticketed friend complained, “Don’t you know my car by now?” Earlene responded: “Of course, I know your car, and you know my job.” Earlene enjoyed her first day of retirement July 30, 1984.

• In Memoriam: Somewhere in Wolf Lodge Bay there was — and may still be — a 6-foot, red granite memorial to Jack D. Mays, a 12-year-old Californian. The son of Coast Guard petty officer and Mrs. Richard Mays, the boy was killed by a speedboat July 20, 1974, while floating on an air mattress with Debra Garren, 11, of Spokane. Debra lost a leg. The memorial was erected two weeks after the accident to promote safe boating.

• More Access: The many friends of Tubbs Hill have worked for decades to improve trailheads for the mount. On Aug. 4, 1999, a demolition crew removed the old water manager’s house to make room for East Tubbs Hill Park and ease access to an eastern trailhead. Now, a new access is open on the north face, near the future Museum of North Idaho. Check it out.

Parting shot

Twenty years ago (July 13, 2004), long before book banners targeted Idaho libraries, the Coeur d’Alene Library Foundation promoted a clever fund-raiser: A 13-month calendar for 2005. It depicted local celebs playfully recreating classic book titles. For example, oldsters Jim Shepperd, Elmer Jordan, Dr. Bill Wood and “Ace” Walden were shown on a tugboat in Viking-blue sweatshirts bearing the letter “C.” The classic? Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea,” of course. For February 2005, undertakers Dexter Yates and Bruce English declared Romeo (Jerry Jaeger) and Juliet (Ellen Jaeger) DOA, while a “priest” (Dick Haugen) prayed. Other fun depictions included “The Catcher in the Rye,” “Moby Dick,” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” Ruth Pratt of the library foundation said at the time: “I’m sure that people will have as much fun looking at this calendar as we are shooting it.” The calendar — a classic in its own right — spotlights people, some now gone, who built this city.

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

    In 1989, the Coeur d’Alene Vikettes handed out goodies at the opening of the Silver Lake Mall.
  

    Owner Dave Knoll of Black Sheep Sporting Goods is shown in 1994.
  

    In 1974, Rev. Orland Scott performed hundreds of marriages at the Hitching Post.
  

    In 2004, Art on the Green founders Pat and Sue Flammia posed for The Press.
  

    In 1984, meter maid Earlene Cronquist retired.
  

    In 1974, Coast Guard petty officer Richard Mays dedicated a water safety monument in memory of his son, Jack.
  

    Recently, Eileen Oliveria Harrison of Costa Mesa, Calif., read directions at the new Tubbs Hill trailhead, west of the future Museum of North Idaho.
  

    For the Library Foundation’s 2005 calendar, undertakers Dexter Yates, left, and Bruce English, right, declared Romeo (Jerry Jaeger) and Juliet (Ellen Jaeger) DOA, while “priest” Dick Haugen prayed.