HUCKLEBERRIES: A Western delicacy with local fans

Al Bates’s taste for Rocky Mountain oysters outlived him.

Al was smitten by the farm-animal delicacy while working on a Montana sheep ranch.

“That was his main dish,” widower Josie Bates told Coeur d’Alene Press readers Jan. 5, 1985. “Every Sunday morning, he had to have his Rocky Mountain oysters.”

So, it was no surprise that Al’s favorite fare was the first thing added to the menu in 1954 when the couple bought The Snake Pit, 1.3 miles up the Coeur d’Alene River from Kingston. And remained a staple for three more owners: Joe and Rose Mary Peak (approximately 1978-2012), Tom Richards and Doug Johnson (approximately 2015-24), and now Autumn and Viljo Basso.

Rocky Mountain oysters, for the uninitiated, are animal testicles, usually bull or sheep.

Rosie discovered that beef oysters were tougher than sheep ones. So, after experimentation, she beat and breaded bull meatballs to look “light, nice and puffy, just like a real oyster.” During the tenure of Tom Richards, the cowboy oysters were cut into strips, breaded and deep-fried.

“It was fairly common for locals to trick visitors into trying them by calling them ‘chicken strips,’” Tom told Huckleberries.

At times, during the summer rush, Tom said, the cooks couldn’t keep up with the demand for Rocky Mountain oysters. Some diners liked them. Others ate them as a novelty dish. Some asked if the oysters came from high mountain lakes. Others imagined a sea taste.

Hagadone Corporation executive Eric Haakenson, a longtime friend of Tom’s, was a reluctant fan.

One night, while dining at the Snake Pit with Eric and his wife, Chelle, Tom ordered a plate of RMOs for the table. Eric balked until Chelle reminded him of a family rule: You can’t reject food offered to you without sampling it. Eric did just that, loved the taste and commandeered the plate of oysters.

Late owner Joe Peak compared bull balls to breaded veal.

Donna Pollard, Joe’s cook, described the taste as “any other beef with bread on it,” adding: “I used to eat them all the time until I found out what they were. I think it’s just the idea.”

Joe hustled to get a continuous supply of bull testicles from small Montana meat plants. And that led to a warning on his menus: “Make sure we have ‘em. Sometimes the bulls don’t cooperate.”

Originally, to get customers acclimated to her dish, owner Josie Bates included them as a free side to steaks. “A lot of people had chicken and spaghetti,” she said. “We had steak and oysters.”

Josie and her oysters gained international acclaim when she was paid to cook her specialty at Expo ’74. She went through 150 pounds of them in 10 days. “I couldn’t cook them fast enough,” she said.

Rocky Mountain oysters, as a dish, evolved from a tradition followed by cowboys and sheepherders. After a day of castrating animals, ranch hands roasted the fresh oysters over a bonfire.

And that image gives new meaning to Nat King Cole’s Christmas phrase: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.”

Frostbitten

The intrepid sailors of yore who braved ice-encrusted moorages in bone-numbing weather described Coeur d’Alene’s old Frostbite Regatta as more fun than a root canal.

But that didn’t stop them from racing their sailboats on New Year’s Day.

On Jan. 1, 1985, racers chipped six boats free from docks in temperatures touching the low double digits to chase one another on a 5-mile, triangular course on Lake Coeur d’Alene. But the race was called off near the midway point after 2½ hours due to wind.

Skip Woodward of Coeur d’Alene was declared the winner.

Organizer Greg Matelich told The Press that the regatta started a decade before as “simply something to do on New Year’s Day,” adding: “It just gave us a chance to get out and play with our boats again. We thought it made sense to have a race.”

The regatta averaged 10 boats for the first decade with a high of 17 in 1981 when the weather turned unseasonably balmy. The smallest field was four boats in the race’s first year.

So, what prompted the hearty participants to brave the elements? Matelich told The Press: “Sailors who love their sport want to start the year doing the thing they enjoy best.”

Baby love

The first babies of the year born at the old Kootenai Medical Center didn’t win tax deductions for their parents. But they attracted swell consolation prizes. First, they gained front-page coverage in The Press for mom and themselves. Then, they earned a bounty of gifts from local merchants.

In 1970, Mrs. Ralph Nicholson of Coeur d’Alene introduced Press readers to Meredith Rae, a girl of 7 pounds 13 ounces who joined two brothers. The Nicholsons' loot included: an engraved silver Princess Cup from Everson’s Jewelry, a case of Gerber Baby Food from Buttrey’s and a Beacon baby blanket from Sprouse-Reitz.

In 1985, Dr. Frederick Ambrose left a New Year’s Eve party to deliver baby girl Haylie Jo at 2:49 the next morning for her parents, Mac and Deborah Williams of Careywood. Not expected until Jan. 12, Haylie Jo, beat out four others for first-baby honors.

On New Year’s Day 1975, John Michael Derr was born 36 minutes after midnight to join four other children belonging to Ruth and Clinton Derr of Coeur d’Alene. Little John’s arrival prompted this New Year’s resolution from his mother: “No more.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Raise higher your glass/and be of good cheer/a New Year has come/and we are still here — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“New Year’s Toast”).

• Did You Know … that the iconic Iron Horse restaurant in downtown Coeur d’Alene encompasses three buildings? For a Press profile Jan. 1, 1995, owner Tom Robb said he and his partners bought the bankrupt Manor House first, in 1972. Then came the Brunswick Café two buildings over. Finally, he said, they purchased Pines Bakery in the middle and “just knocked all these holes in the wall, and that’s how we ended up with three buildings.”

• Sanders Beach Tiff: New Year 2005 began with the city pressing the court to decide whether Sanders Beach in Coeur d'Alene was public or private. For a century or so, the beach was treated as public. But disputes arose in later years when some East Lakeshore Drive residents pressed their ownership claim. In the end, the beach was declared private. And the fences went up.

• Holding Her Own: In 2005, Mandy Jacques completed Year One as Coeur d’Alene’s first female firefighter. A former North Idaho College basketball player, she beat out 450 other applicants for the job. And her boss, Kenny Gabriel, praised her work: “To live with a group of people sometimes 24 hours a day, it has to be a perfect fit — and she has been spectacular.”

Parting shot

The Book of Proverbs says: “Even small children are known by their actions.” And fifth grader Bethany Adams, 10, passed muster when she found a $100 bill on the old Skate Plaza floor. At first, according to The Press of Jan. 6, 2000, the Ponderosa School student thought the money was a $10 bill. Then she saw the second zero. But it didn’t matter. She took the cash straight to rink manager John King. Later in the day, a Pinehurst family that had celebrated a birthday at Skate Plaza returned in search of the C note. The family was so grateful for Bethany’s integrity that it gave her 10 bucks. King added five free skating lessons and a certificate of appreciation to the reward. He said he hadn't seen such honesty in his 19 years at the roller rink. And proud mother Gale Adams said: “The teaching we reviewed at home really paid off.” Like mother, like daughter.

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D.F. (Dave) Oliveria can be contacted at dfo@cdapress.com. Also, you can follow him on his “D.F. Oliveria” Facebook page.

    Probably in 1985, Joe Peak, left, samples Rocky Mountain oysters, a delicacy that Josie Bates put on the menu.
  

    In 1985, Vic Beeman, left, tends the helm as Greg Matelich mans the sheets and winches.
  

    In 1970, Mrs. Ralph Nicholson with First Baby Meredith Rae.
  

    In 1985, Deborah Williams with First Baby Haylie Jo.
  

    In 1975, Ruth Derr with First Baby John Michael.
  

    In 1995, owner Tom Robb is shown in his Iron Horse office.
  

    In 2005, Jadyn Smith, 5, protests with her mother, Jennifer, during a public discussion about Sanders Beach.
  

    In 2005, Mandy Jacques flourishes as a Coeur d’Alene firefighter.
  

    In 2000, Skate Plaza manager John King rewards fifth grader Bethany Adams.