'Everything was possible with Mikki'

Mikki Stevens created a glittering legacy of exploiting merriment and enhancing the ridiculous that shines as a most joyful chapter in North Idaho's history.

The founder of the Red Hot Mamas died at home July 27 surrounded by her family, following a 14-year battle with Stage 4 follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 2021, she was also diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, which ultimately led to the loss of cognitive abilities.

She was 76.

"The things that come to mind when I think of my time with the Red Hot Mamas and working with Mikki are that she had an endless amount of creativity," Amy Bartoo, who was a Mama for 10 years, said Wednesday.

"Everything was possible with Mikki," she said. "The costume ideas and the dance numbers and the vaudeville show-type entertainment she would just create on the fly, and for years and years and years. That always astounded me."

Originally from Coeur d'Alene, Stevens spent college years studying ballet and theater. She found her way to Hollywood, where she was discovered by the Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio while working as a server in 1972. She became the voice of teenage Pebbles Flintstone in "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" for five years. She performed other voicework and did some TV acting while in Tinseltown.

Stevens and her husband, Dennis, eventually found their way back to Coeur d'Alene, where she formed the Red Hot Mamas performance troupe in 1991.

"There’s over 150 women in this town that at one particular time or another were hit by her heart, showing and teaching and doing and going for three decades," said Gale Nye, a longtime Red Hot Mama and Stevens' hairdresser. "She was extraordinary. She had a vision of what she wanted."

Bartoo said something about the Red Hot Mamas that was critically important to Stevens, and something that made it so fun, is that she made a spot for everyone of every age, every ability and every body type.

"We all had our place," Bartoo said. "That took a lot of effort, thought and creativity to be able to make everybody have an important role."

She said Stevens was a stickler, too. She required a certain level of professionalism and quality.

"It was a lot of work," Bartoo said. "The attention to detail seemed overwhelming at times, but it was worth it."

With their shopping carts, loud costumes and grocery-laden wide-brim hats, "Grand Poobah" Stevens led the Mamas on hundreds of performance adventures filled with happy music, high kicks and high energy. 

The Red Hot Mamas were a crowd favorite in Fourth of July and Christmas parades on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. The Mamas could also be found entertaining the masses at fundraisers and other charitable events or donating their time and talents through community service.

The nonprofit troupe performed in its first inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., in 2001 as President George W. Bush was sworn into office. Coeur d'Alene City Councilwoman Kiki Miller was instrumental in this exciting time for the Mamas, assisting with production and public relations. 

Miller said Stevens was a creative force to be reckoned with. 

"The creation of the Red Hot Mamas was the inside of her beautiful, soulful sprit coming to life year after year," Miller said. "She touched every aspect of the group, nurtured it, grew it, fought for it and shared it with the world.

"Being with her from the beginning, she and I had a special relationship. Sometimes her creative mind and my business mind didn’t quite meld, but we always came together and teamed up to conquer amazing challenges," Miller said.

She said getting 90 women from the West Coast to the East Coast with shopping carts to march in front of a president was a major challenge, with no road map.

"But we did it," Miller said, "and paved the way for dozens of worldwide parades to come."

She said she was honored to win a celebrity dance contest with Stevens and to help set up dozens of nonprofit adventures and create her entourage for her Fourth of July grand marshal entry in 2022, "well past the fabulous era of the Red Hot Mamas."

"She, and what she gave to the world, was special and unforgettable," Miller said. "There was never anything like it and there never will be."

The Red Hot Mamas appeared in regional and national parades, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Fiesta and Holiday bowls and the St Patrick’s Festival Parade in Ireland.

The Mamas traveled to London and received a Medal of Merit from the Lord Mayor of Westminster. The troupe received commendation from the president of the United States and was entered into Congressional Record by Idaho’s former governor, Butch Otter. The Veterans Administration awarded the Mamas the Veterans of Foreign Wars Americanism Award for their original scripted production of “The Triumphant American Spirit."

Stevens dissolved the Red Hot Mamas on Dec. 31, 2021, when her health began to deteriorate.

"So many wonderful friends and loved ones are contacting me daily," Stevens wrote in an email that New Years's Eve. "Your cards, kind thoughts, and prayer of solid gold. TU! I love you."

When she wasn't running amok making merry in the streets, Stevens worked as a communications instructor at North Idaho College for several years. Sherry Simkins, dean of instruction for transfer and general education, worked with Stevens for about 10 years.

"I was assigned to mentor her, which was fun because she was so full of life and energy," Simkins said. "I was still a fairly new young faculty member, so in the end I think she mentored me just as much as I mentored her."

Her students adored her for the passion, energy and expertise she brought into her classroom and everything she did on campus, Simkins said.

"I can't imagine a more fun instructor,” she said.

Simkins said she remembers Stevens sharing a leadership lesson with her.

"She used the analogy of finding garbage in your backyard and needing to determine whether it's yours or if the neighbor threw it over the fence; you need to decide what you keep and what you disregard," Simkins said. "As people give you negative feedback, it's determining what’s worth paying attention to and what you ignore and say, 'I can’t own this. It’s not worth my time and attention.'"

She said if staff members worked together on a project or committee, everyone wanted to be on Stevens' team. Everyone knew it would be a good time when Stevens was involved.

"She just had such a way about her," Simkins said. "I think what impressed me the most is she could have fun and be herself, but she was very good and brought the best out in her students. She had very high expectations and students had to meet those, which doesn't always mix with the fun piece, but for her it was a beautiful balance."

A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 27 at First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene. Attendees are asked to wear bright colors, at Stevens' request.

    Mikki Stevens in her Red Hot Mamas glory is seen in October 2017. Stevens died July 27. She was 76.
  

    Mikki Stevens and granddaughter Kennedy Gelnette smile for the camera during the 2004 Fourth of July Parade in Coeur d'Alene.
  

    The Red Hot Mamas dance in the Fourth of July Parade in Coeur d'Alene in 2003. The now-dissolved performance group was founded in 1991 by Mikki Stevens, who died July 27.
  

    Mikki Stevens, seated front left and beaming a huge smile, is seen with her Red Hot Mamas while on a parade trip in Pennsylvania in 2003.