HUCKLEBERRIES: A pioneer who stood for good

Coeur d’Alene has honored Fred Murphy in several ways.

Owner Duane Hagadone temporarily renamed Templin’s Grill after the legendary tugboat captain until the restaurant was razed during the construction of The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Coeur d’Alene boosters redubbed their Memorial Day parade to esteem him: Fred Murphy Pioneer Days Parade.

Friend Tom Emerson wrote a book about him: “Fred Murphy: A Legend of Coeur d’Alene Lake.”

And, after Fred’s untimely death in 1986, his friends launched the Fred Murphy Memorial Fund to raise $50,000 to erect an 8-and-a-half-foot statue of him at Independence Point.

On Oct. 18, 1989, North Idaho College art instructor Joe Jonas unveiled a 2-foot maquette of the proposed statue to 100 people at the Lake City Senior Center. The miniature version showed Fred at the wheel of his beloved tugboat. Joe said he could finish the larger statue within a year.

Everyone thought the project would be a good local addition to the 1990 state centennial celebration.

And then.

Crickets.

It’s now 2024. Memories of the man who embodied Lake Coeur d’Alene have faded. And little to nothing has been done to complete the project.

Meanwhile, Coeur d’Alene has become a mecca for public art.

The city honors children’s book stars Mudgy & Millie with statues all around the town. Artist Terry Lee salutes the region’s natural resource past and history with five sculptures along Front Avenue. Riverstone Pond is rimmed with public art ranging from the Wild West to the whimsical to an occasional controversial one. Artwork even enlivens city utility boxes.

The fingerprints of the top-notch Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission are seen everywhere.

And yet.

The absence of a statue honoring Fred Murphy is a glaring oversight.

Murphy represents a bygone era when an armada of boats transported men to and from Silver Valley mines, tugged logs to waterfront mills and transported sightseers around the lake. In his own right, he built docks, drove pilings, rescued boaters, pulled vehicles from the lake, doused fires and assisted with hydroplane races and the Fourth of July fireworks.

At the maquette unveiling 35 years ago, memorial fund co-chairman Tim Williams said: “Lumber and mining, our most valuable natural resources, bring to mind the romantic adventures of our state’s pioneers. Fred Murphy was one such pioneer who stood for all that was right and good.”

In March 1990, the statuette by late artist Jonas was to be sold at the annual Aw$um Auction.

It’s time to find it and finish the job.

No commie here

Ray Stone was many things: German Nazi camp liberator, teacher, North Idaho College dean, two-term Coeur d’Alene mayor, drummer and organizer of the Ray Stone jazz combo.

But he wasn’t a communist.

Lost to local history is the rough treatment Ray received when he taught at Coeur d’Alene High.

Every two weeks, Ray, as an adviser to the current affairs club, invited speakers to address some 150 high schoolers, including blacks and some socialists.

“We had some controversial people,” Ray told The Coeur d'Alene Press for a profile Oct. 9, 1994.

Well, that was the early 1950s. And U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy was running amok with his red-baiting propaganda.

Fellow teachers shunned Ray. After he taught about the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Ray's desk was searched. Students told him: “Mr. Stone, I like you as a teacher, but my mom wants to know if you’re a communist.”

Ray described the experience as “miserable.”

He survived to become the city’s first mayor to be elected to two, four-year terms and to be awarded the Eisenhower Liberation Medal for helping free the Wobbelin concentration camp.

In other words, he laughed last.

Deep six this one

Coeur d’Alene Golf Club area residents can thank Linda Desouza for helping stop a Kootenai County attempt to locate a temporary landfill next door.

As they ran out of space at the Ramsey Road landfill (now the transfer station), commissioners bought 17.5 acres across the road, to the west, as a temporary fix. They figured 10 years of use would enable them to find a suitable location for a new landfill off the aquifer.

But Desouza objected to the likely increase next door of flies, crows, seagulls, litter and smell.

So, she collected 200 signatures in opposition on petitions, circulated in the Fairway Hills and Fairway Forest subdivisions. That got the county’s attention.

The proposal was deep-sixed. And the county built the landfill 15 miles south of town.

Eventually, the land targeted for a temporary landfill was transformed into Ramsey Park.

All's well that ends well.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Jack O’Lantern, shining bright/in the black October night,/your grin is crazed and wild and drunken —/but don’t forget, you’re just a punkin/The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Delusions of Grandeur”).

• A Star Is Born: On Oct. 13, 1974, 20 parachutists took to the sky above the Henley Aerodrome and finally — on their fourth try of the weekend — formed an 18-man star. That broke the Idaho record by one. But fell two short of their goal. Most of the skydivers belonged to the Henley Hummers, based on the property that’s now known as — Silverwood.

• USPO Upgrade: On Oct. 21, 1964, a cornerstone was placed for a new Coeur d’Alene post office at Seventh and Lakeside. The high school band played under the direction of Gil Burns. Congressman Compton I. White Jr. said the building was needed to address steady growth. And local Postmaster Eugene W. MacDonald collected souvenirs from the event to be placed in a time capsule.

• Making It Real: On Oct. 20, 1979, Judge Watt Prather and Sheriff Rocky Watson observed National Disabled People’s Rights Day by wheel-chairing around downtown. In doing so, the two discovered obstacles that disabled people face daily. And they enjoyed the adventure so much that a Cd'A Press cutline writer dubbed them: “Two wild and crazy guys.”

• Barf-O-Rama: On Oct. 14, 1959, a Whirl was installed on the Bryan Elementary playground, paid for by the school’s PTA. Children in those halcyon days spun the device in fast circles, causing them to vomit and/or fly off. What fun! A Cd'A Press photo shows six kids launching the first Whirl ride. No cellphones, of course. Simply youngsters enjoying the moment.

• Protest Dud: On Oct. 15, 1969, the first Vietnam War Moratorium attracted millions of protesters across the nation. But little Coeur d'Alene interest. Twelve of 15 random people interviewed by The Press backed President Nixon and the war. “I don’t like the way the Vietnam War has been handled,” said John Hartle of Hayden Lake. “(But) there is a job to be done. We should get it done, and get out.”

Parting shot

On Oct. 20, 1999, after struggles with stubborn people, tight money and rights-of-way purchases, North Idaho Centennial Trail boosters saw their work rewarded. On that day, our 23-mile trail was one of the 50 nationwide recognized as a Millennium Legacy Trail. In announcing the list, first lady Hillary Clinton said such trails are “gifts to the future” that benefit people of all ages. Only five years before, construction workers had finished the eastern 5 miles of the trail to Higgens Point. The $732,000 project transformed old Interstate 90 into two lanes and a wide bike path. Also built were three parking lots, 21 fitness stations and six restrooms. More popular than ever today, the North Idaho Centennial Trail bears stunning testimony to the visionaries who dreamed it up.

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

    In 1984, Robert Patterson, left, presents Fred Murphy with a portrait after the Templin’s Grill was renamed Murphy’s Landing.
  

    In 1994, Ray Stone displays the drums he used for his jazz combo.
  

    In 1984, Linda Desouza and her children, Robin and Chris, walk through a proposed landfill site.
  

    In 1974, Roy Baldwin of the Henley Hummers prepares for a jump.
  

    From left, Congressman Compton White, postmaster Eugene MacDonald and regional postmaster James Symbol lay a cornerstone in 1964.
  

    In 1979, Judge Watt Prather assists Sheriff Rocky Watson.
  

    In 1959, Bryan School children initiate The Whirl, including Sheila Nelson, left; seated from left, Debbe Ann Pumajevich, Robert McCold and Jamie Kohler; and standing, Bobby Olson and Mark Johnson. Red Halpern, city parks and rec director, stands in the background.
  

    In 1969, John Hartle responds to a question about the Vietnam War.
  

    In 1999, Doug and Pam Potter walk along the North Idaho Centennial Trail after it was recognized as a Millennium Legacy Trail.