Swallow, Mauser celebrated as 2025 Esto Perpetua awardees

Two local stewards of Idaho history are 2025 Esto Perpetua award recipients, honored at the state level for their lasting impact on Idaho's historical preservation efforts. 

John Swallow of Coeur d'Alene and Laurie Harris Mauser of Bayview were celebrated June 6 during the Idaho State Historical Society's annual Esto Perpetua Awards Ceremony at the Idaho State Museum in Boise. 

Learning about Idaho history in fourth grade, attending the old Winton and Sherman elementary schools and visiting the historical Campbell House in Spokane all helped spark Swallow's interest in history at a young age.

"I have a finance and real estate background, yet early on I felt drawn toward historic preservation and balanced land conservation as the way to go — if I ever found myself in a position to be able to do that," Swallow said Tuesday evening via email.

Swallow, a preservationist and businessman, was recognized for more than a decade of hands-on historic preservation in Coeur d’Alene. He saved the iconic 1903 J.C. White House, a mansion where civic leader J.C. White once resided. When the mansion was threatened with demolition, Swallow preserved the structure and relocated it in 2019 to 720 Young Ave., where it is now the centerpiece of the Museum of North Idaho.

His preservation work began in 2011 when he bought and fully restored the 1915 Northern Pacific Railway Depot on Third Street, which now serves as his company headquarters and is open to the public as a historic space. 

In 2018, Swallow saved another historical home from demolition when he floated it by barge across Lake Coeur d'Alene. The 1909 home had been built for the first president of Coeur d'Alene College and was an important community space for many years. The city of Coeur d’Alene awarded him the Heart of History award in 2024 for his vision and leadership.

Swallow said he takes more of a business approach to historic preservation to understand how the community was built and work toward sustained use well into the future.

"Even at our relatively modest level, we have preserved and protected some great properties — and influenced many more — that will hopefully tell a story for generations to come," Swallow said. "I guess a person just needs to be comfortable living with more of a caretaker mentality, and then you begin to see things in a different way."

Mauser, who has been a professional archaeologist for more than 30 years, also discovered her passion for history at a young age.

"It was something I was very interested in in junior high," she said during a Thursday morning phone interview.

Archaeology wasn't her first career. She worked in media marketing and advertising before pursuing her passion, which was deepened by her involvement with a local Idaho Archeology Society chapter.

"I had been going to some of their meetings and doing some of their projects and I went, 'Well gee, I’d like to do this,'" Mauser said.

Mauser serves as principal investigator on cultural resource surveys across the state. Her career includes working with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, private environmental firms and independent contracting. 

She joined the Kootenai County Historic Preservation Commission more than a decade ago. She has since led transformative projects that have reshaped the understanding and preservation of North Idaho’s cultural landscape.

A significant achievement on her resume is the successful National Register of Historic Places nomination for Pen d’Oreille City, an 1866 settlement on Lake Pend Oreille. This required grant writing, archaeological survey, interagency collaboration and public outreach.

Mauser also championed the preservation of the Coeur d’Alene’s Garden District, securing funding and closely working with local residents. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places just days before the Esto Perpetua Awards ceremony. Her extensive work also includes documenting historic ranches, lakeside properties and early infrastructure and authoring key planning documents such as the Kootenai County Historic Preservation Plan and Inadvertent Find Protocol.

"I have worked hard," Mauser said. "I've walked thousands of miles of powerlines and fiber optic lines and recorded thousands of sites."

Mauser is lauded as a dedicated mentor, respected by peers for her deep knowledge and passionate advocacy for Idaho’s cultural heritage.

She said it was a surprise to be nominated for an Esto Perpetua award. She said she simply wants to keep Idaho Idaho.

"It's great company to be in for this award," she said.

The Idaho State Historical Society's Esto Perpetua award is named for the state motto: “Let It Be Perpetual.” The award honors those whose work ensures that Idaho’s history is preserved, shared and celebrated for generations to come.

    Mauser