Shared history and enduring friendships

At 101 years young, Bea Fisher, Coeur d’Alene High School Class of 1941, was the belle of the ball at the 2024 CHS All-Class Reunion. How awesome is she? Well, she still walks a couple of miles each day in and around her home at Garden Plaza. Her son, Tom Fisher (CHS '70), told me she’d already worn out the wheels on the upright walker she’s owned for a couple of years. He estimates she put 2,000 miles or so on the rubber tires, which have now been replaced.

Bea was accompanied Saturday by two of her sons, Tom and Steve (CHS ‘67), making it a real family affair.

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Richard Epstein’s root beer-colored '57 Chevy won the People’s Choice Award at the 2024 All Class Reunion on Saturday. I remembered Dick cruising Sherman in that car in the late '60s. Or at least I thought I did.

Dick told me his parents had gifted him with the '57 Chevy that I was recalling when he graduated in 1967. Regretfully he sold it in 1971. Fast forward to 2006 and he purchased and restored the current car to look just like his original. Well-played, Mr. Epstein!

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Ron Hotchkiss, retired Coeur d’Alene Police lieutenant and member of CHS Class of '69, brought a real treasure to the All Class Reunion. The cement block letters were accompanied by Ron’s written recollections that are reprinted here. Thanks to Ron for his passion for preserving the history of our community!

"The third high school in Coeur d’Alene was built in 1910 at the corner of 7th Street and Montana Ave. It served as the high school from 1910 until the fall of 1954, when it became one of two junior high buildings for 7th through 9th grades. Both buildings were on the same lot but the earlier building was then known as the north building. It had the famous track above the gym and the infamous study hall that joined with the school’s library.

"By 1975, new schools had been built and the two old brick buildings became obsolete. They were sold to the City of Coeur d’Alene to use as a community center. By the 1980s the expense of operating the outdated buildings was more than the city could justify so they were demolished. The north building was first to come down, then later the newer south building. The cement HIGH SCHOOL letters from the 1910 north building were saved from destruction and offered to the school district. When the school district declined they were offered to the Museum of North Idaho. They, too, declined.

"The old brick bus repair shop was the only building still standing on the 7th Street property and was offered to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department to store lost and found bicycles until they could be sold at auction. The unwanted HIGH SCHOOL lettering had been placed in that building early on and since they were not wanted and too heavy to easily discard, they just stayed there.

"In 1999, a new police building was built along with another for the storage of bicycles and other bulky items. The Coeur d’Alene Parks Department wanted the old bus repair building and instructed the police department’s property officer to clean everything out of it so their equipment would fit. The street department was assisting by hauling loads to the dump. When I heard they were waiting for extra guys to assist in lifting the HIGH SCHOOL letters into the back of a dump truck I offered to remove them myself. Phone calls were made and they were thrilled not to have to do it.

"I didn’t know what I was going to do with the lettering, but they were part of Coeur d’Alene’s early history. I and many others attended that school, all entering under those bold letters. Once they went to the landfill they would have been gone forever. Twenty-five years later this All Class Reunion seemed like the perfect event to display them once again and to stir memories of our youth.”

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Just last month, Coeur d’Alene’s Kaitlyn Widmyer was crowned Miss Idaho USA. On Monday, she landed at LAX ready to compete for the Miss USA title. The preliminary competitions will take place this week with the televised finals happening Sunday, Aug. 4, at 5 p.m. (PST). Check your The CW listings.

I’m thinking our hometown girl has a real shot at bringing the Miss USA crown back to Idaho.

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Happy Main Street birthdays on the last day of July to Patricia Richardson, Annabelle Disney, Bill Hamilton, Adam Durflinger and Tab Bray. On the first day of August, Tatiana Harrison, Bev Moss, David Noordam, Duane Oliver, Patricia Kaufman, Dennis Harlan and Dodge Gonzales (30!) will be celebrating. On Friday, wish happy birthdays to Austin Viles, Mandy Averill and Matt Odd. Saturday, Ronda Smithson (70!), Jessica Hendricks and Steve Cox put on their party hats. Amy Evans, Jennifer Custer, Ben Fairfield, Jack Glinski, Sara McDrummand, Toni Caywood, Joel Bertsch, Michele Wood, Erin Delaney and Amy Ford take another trip around the sun Sunday. Starting the week with birthdays are Kristin Kilmer, Doris Weaver, Dave Holinka, Jonathan Thomas Burnett and Danna Ziegler on Monday, and Tracey Fouche (former Miss Idaho USA), George Evjen, Brenda Knight, Rick Marshall, James Fulton, Shirleen Jacobs, Christine Maiani, Kelli Aiken and Tom Wood will toast another year Aug. 6.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email rkthor52@aol.com.

    The cement blocks are preserved from the 1910 Coeur d’Alene High School building on Seventh Street.