Nothing says fall like football and royalty

I like to do my part to ensure that the elusive “small-town feel” reminders are a priority in this column. There are few things more small town than bowling scores or the names of the high school homecoming king and queen on the pages of the local newspaper.

Here are the Homecoming royalty: from Post Falls High School, King Aaron Franz and Queen Emma Singleton; Lake City High School crowned Queen Sophie Provolt and King Lane Moglia. From Timberlake High School Olivia Barnhart is Homecoming Queen and Cayden Night is King; and at Lakeland Queen London Peterson and King Haydon Benson were crowned.

Coeur d’Alene High School’s homecoming game and festivities are coming up Friday.

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On Saturday, the fall Cowboy Breakfast is taking place at the historic Pleasantview School on West Riverview Drive. A biannual fundraiser for the restoration and maintenance of the school, which was built in 1910, this breakfast is a glimpse into the past for Post Falls. Volunteers from the Pleasantview Community Association serve homemade biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, juice and coffee. Homemade jellies, jams and honey butter grace each table.

Breakfast is served cafeteria-style on the main floor so there’s the added bonus of meeting new people or old friends as tablemates. Conversations flow as freely as the coffee. If you’ve never attended one of these breakfasts, please do and bring the family and tour the school.

The event is from 8 to 11 a.m., $12 per person, family prices available. 18724 W. Riverview Drive, Post Falls.

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Autumn has always had a melancholy effect on my mood, and more so since the 12th day of October in 2004 when my world shifted and changed forever.

The two decades that my father has been gone have blessedly been filled with more joy than sadness although we’ve experienced many family milestones in which his presence was missed mightily, including the recent birth of his first great- great-grandson.

There will never come a time that I don’t catch myself reaching for the phone to call to share something with my dad, a laugh or an indignation or a headshaking current event.

When I find myself missing him the most is when I’m the most grateful. Grateful to have been blessed with a father for 52 years of my life who loved me unconditionally and who made each of his five children absolutely certain that we were his favorite. What better gift than that could there be?
Ronald D. Rankin, April 19, 1929 — Oct. 12, 2004.

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Happy birthday today to Randy Wells, Kathy Epstein, Greg Luraski, Lyn Harris and Ron Deering. Tomorrow’s birthdays belong to Bill Everson, Nancy Kosonen, Jessica Moore, Steve Fitzhugh, Lori Gravelle, Bob Cox, Allan Knight, Lynn Jackson, Mollie Sommers, Marlea Kruger and Mike Way. On Friday, Michael Pereira, Chris Pasquale, Greg Worley, Chad Anderson, Cindy Odd (70!) and Warren Anglin take another trip around the sun. Tom Elliott, Jeff Yates, Donnie Murrell, Alan Brown, Kathy Getchius, Kirk Hjeltness and McKade Brown blow out the birthday candles Saturday. On Sunday, our nephew, Derek Scharf, Jeff Johnson, Margaret Eddings, Serena Pratt, Kathy Pierce and Judy Bennett turn the page on another year. Monday birthdays for Randy Bohach, Leslie Lien, Jeff Elder, Dave Chambers, Karen Hammond, Linda Polley, Gary Ghramm and Suzanne Metzger. Cheers on Oct. 15 to Rich Nyquist, Braxton Kurtz, Dee Jameson, Beth Peters, Katie Smith, Wayne Hammond, Elizabeth McGregor, Laurie Dixon, Beth Myles, Greg Cossette, Dave Smith, Peyton Brown and Patty Cheesman.

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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 thoreson.kerri@gmail.com.