HUCKLEBERRIES: Like father, like son

Burl C. Hagadone’s death 65 years ago today stunned Coeur d’Alene.

Only 49, this newspaper’s former publisher died unexpectedly at his Fort Grounds home early Tuesday morning, Dec. 8, 1959.

The story crafted by Burl’s shaken newsroom staff dominated the front page.

In summary, the article said: “He was a lifelong resident of Kootenai County, and his life story is typical of American self-made men.”

He was the son of pioneers.

In 1901, after playing ball for several years in Michigan and his native Minnesota, Burl’s father, Raymond, established a lathe mill and his first permanent home in Lane, Idaho, near Harrison. Later, Raymond and wife Addie moved to Harrison and then to Coeur d’Alene.

Burl was 2 when the family arrived here. He never left.

In 1930, after graduating from Coeur d’Alene High and attending Linfield College at McMinnville, Ore., he began work in the Coeur d'Alene Press circulation department: a job that launched a career that led to a family newspaper dynasty. A year later, he married Beverly Edmonds, daughter of former mayor O.W. “Foxy” Edmonds and his wife, Kathryn. And in 1937 he was named Press publisher.

Burl’s other newspaper achievements included: general production manager of the Scripps League of Newspapers; president of newspaper publishing companies in The Dalles, Ore., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Santa Maria, Calif.; and vice president of the Newspaper Advertising Service of San Francisco.

His interests beyond newspapering were impressive, too.

He was president or an officer in the following: North Idaho Water Conservation Association, Lake City Printing Co., Coeur d’Alene Realty, First Savings & Loan, Coeur d’Alene Country Club, Coeur d’Alene Rotary and Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce.

Also, he established two radio stations, KVNI in Coeur d’Alene and KNEW in Spokane; helped introduce natural gas to the Inland Northwest; and helped rehabilitate local irrigation districts, including one in Post Falls. As a major supporter of North Idaho Junior College, he spent the last year of his life raising money for a new college dormitory.

Above all, reported in Burl’s obituary, he was “a devoted family man.” It continued: “One of his joys was his spacious home at 701 W. Lakeshore Drive, where he could overlook the lake he loved so well. It also gave him a vantage point from which he could watch the Diamond Cup hydroplane races, a major community project in which he (and son Duane) played a major role.”

Duane Hagadone was 27 when his father and best friend died. He built a newspaper, hospitality and real estate empire on the foundation laid by his father. In 2004, Duane received the Horatio Alger Award, presented to exceptional leaders who embody the American Dream.

Like father, like son.

She persisted

Thelma Finney won women the right to tend bar in Idaho.

But first, she willingly was arrested in front of her customers at her Eddyville bar, handcuffed and later fingerprinted. On her way out the door, according to her daughter, Marlo Faulkner, the indomitable Thelma called out, “Look for me in the funny papers!”

Everyone was clued in on the ruse, from cops to barflies, from Thelma to her husband, Capt. John Finney.

In the early 1950s, Idaho didn’t allow women to tend bar; so, Thelma volunteered to be a test case. All this, according to Marlo Faulkner in a Museum of North Idaho article in summer 2020.

Thelma tended bar in isolated Eddyville on the south side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, just east of Arrow Point, because she couldn't find trustworthy male barkeepers. Everyone knew she was breaking the law.

When the county sheriff and a U.S. marshal arrived by boat one Sunday, she served each a “V.O. and 7” (Canadian whiskey and 7-Up). And left with the two cops. Later, the sheriff deemed his jail too disgusting to hold her. So, he returned her to Eddyville, where she finished tending bar that day.

Eventually, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that women who owned a percentage of a licensed tavern had a civil right to barkeep.

Thelma, whose adventures with Capt. John Finney on or near Lake Coeur d’Alene were legendary, died at age 86, Dec. 1, 1994.

North Idaho look

Seems North Idaho men had a certain look 40 years ago — you know, trimmed mustache (beard optional), a pinch of chew under the lower lip, huge Western-style belt, well-worn ball cap, jeans and a plaid or wool shirt.

“Most of them look like loggers that just came out of the woods,” Jim Kuykendall, a western wear owner told a Press reporter in December 1984.

Rathdrum store owner Julie Thibado described North Idaho men as “more down to earth, and wearing lots of cowboy clothing.”

Resident Bill Kinney said folks here like the outdoors and dress accordingly. Transplants, he said, are easy to spot here because they are “trendier.”

Ultimately, The Press reporter felt the North Idaho look was endangered: “A high-waisted New Yorker will probably catch a glimpse of it while driving through in a Chrysler K car and fall in love with it.”

Then, said the reporter: “It’s back to Nehru jackets.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Although it’s reported the Eskimo/has two hundred words he can use to say snow,/she has just one, with no ifs, ands or buts:/ when she sees it falling she simply says “nuts” — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“The Linguistics of Snow”).

• Christmas Miracle: Imagine how Ken Schultz, 50, of Newport, Wash., felt 30 years ago when he lost his wallet and $800 Christmas stash at a gas station in Vantage, Wash. His girlfriend yelled at him. Now, imagine how relieved he was when Danny Jeffries of Coeur d’Alene found the wallet and contacted him. Good people like Danny still exist today.

• Stamp Me: Yes, Virginia, there was an S&H Green Stamps redemption center in town — at 1311 Sherman Ave. It opened Dec. 3, 1964. Customers received stamps from supermarkets, department stores and gas stations. Then, they redeemed their stamp books for some 1,700 items. Everyone who filled a book — 24 pages, 50 points per page — remembers the nasty-tasting glue on those stamps.

• Welcome Haven: On Dec. 2, 1989, The Walden House — A Caring Place was dedicated on the Kootenai Health campus, corner of Nora Street and Emma Avenue. Named for A.K. "Ace" Walden and his wife, Ellen, the facility could house up to eight cancer outpatients and their families. A longtime community booster, Ace said: "Ellen and I have thought about leaving our footprint in the sands of time. Walden House is that footprint." 

• Full Sails Ahead: And the answer Is: Donna Bain, Mason McCuddin and Patty Sgrecci. The question: Who comprised the “dream team” that crafted “Catch the Wind?" The colorful $75,000 artwork graces the town’s Northwest Boulevard entrance. On Nov. 30, 2009, Bain said of the public art: “Not everybody is a sailor, but the lake is the biggest draw. That’s (why) my family moved here.”

Parting shot

On Dec. 4, 1999, Tom Dahmen, 76, was sworn in as the 13th — and oldest — Fightin’ Creek mayor after yet another election marked by vote-buyin’, lyin’ and mischief. And the locals loved it. The Fightin’ Creek mayoral elections were started in 1987 by then-owner Fred Gabourie of the Fighting Creek Trading Post, south of Coeur d’Alene along U.S. 95. Graft was celebrated. Beer bought votes. Winners served for a year. Their only duty was to keep toilet paper stocked in the two-hole outhouse that doubled as a chamber of commerce building. “I nearly went broke buying votes,” Dahmen told a Press reporter. The fun ended five years later with the sale of the trading post. The building was razed and replaced with a smoke shop. It’s probably just as well. The Fightin’ Creek elections couldn’t compete with our bitter, demeaning, slanderous, divisive elections today.

• • •

D.F. (Dave) Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com. You can find more historic photos of the Coeur d’Alene area on his Facebook page: D.F. Oliveria.

    Publisher Burl C. Hagadone is shown in an undated Press photo.
  

    In the 1930s, Thelma Finney pilots the family tour boat Seeweewana.
  

    Thelma Finney poses sometime in the 1930s.
  

    In 1984, the North Idaho “look” is unveiled.
  

    In 1994, Ken Schultz of Newport, Wash., left, thanks “Good Samaritan” Danny Jeffries of Coeur d’Alene.
  

    In 1964, S&H Green Stamps clerks, from left, Mrs. Barney Samson, Mrs. Hank Schultz and Mrs. Bob Boughton wait for customers.
  

    In 1989, A.K. (Ace) and Ellen Walden stand before a portrait to be placed in The Walden House.
  

    In 2009, Donna Bain poses with her public art piece, “Catch the Wind.”
  

    In 1999, outgoing mayor George (Swamp) Watters, left, passes the gavel to his successor, Tom Dahmen, right, while master of ceremonies Dick Wandrocke watches.