HUCKLEBERRIES: Wendy Carpenter: Committed cop

Wendy Carpenter smashed several glass ceilings in her 30 years with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

She was the first female to gain the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant, captain and, finally, police chief.

But before ascending the CPD ladder, the 1975 Coeur d’Alene High graduate was a meter monitor, ticketing parking violators during her four daily rounds downtown.

“I don’t particularly enjoy citing people,” Wendy, then 27, told the Coeur d’Alene Press for a story about the town’s two “meter maids” March 10, 1985.

She and colleague Carol Orr, then 37, viewed their job’s purpose as keeping traffic moving.

“It’s nothing personal,” Wendy said.

At the time, Wendy had worked for the department for eight years, transferring from dispatch to meter monitoring 3 ½ years before. Carol had joined the parking patrol six months prior.

Wendy switched jobs primarily because she wanted to be outside. Also, meter monitors had better work hours than dispatchers and a chance for advancement.

And advance she did.

By the time she retired as chief in October 2007, she was one of several Coeur d'Alene women who held important posts. Sandi Bloem was mayor. Wendy Gabriel was the city administrator. Priscilla Bell was interim North Idaho College president. And Sue Thilo served on the state Board of Education.

Prior to her retirement, Wendy told Huckleberries: “We’re all professional people who are dedicated to our jobs. It’s not because we’re women, but because of our commitment.”

She pointed to one big difference between men and women in law enforcement: “At the end of the day, I go into the women’s locker room, and the men go into the men’s locker room.”

Nearly 18 years have gone by since Wendy retired. She and her husband, Tim Trout, a retired Idaho State Police officer, are snowbirds who spend half the year in Yuma, Ariz.

Wendy doesn’t miss North Idaho winters.

Contacted in Arizona last week, Wendy said, “Yuma isn’t the prettiest place, but it is the sunniest city in the United States.”

Did you know

A Merchant Marine ship named after Coeur d’Alene played a role in our World War II effort, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press on May 8, 2000.

The vessel was all but forgotten 25 years ago when Jim Shepperd of Coeur d'Alene spotted a headline in the January 1945 edition of D 'n' 6: “Coeur d’Alene Victory rides waves after Oregon ceremony.” The local publication featured stories about North Idahoans involved in the war.

“I sure as heck never heard about it,” said Shepperd, a WWII veteran and history buff. “It’s kind of out of the blue as far as I’m concerned.”

On Dec. 15, 1944, Margaret Wofford of Coeur d’Alene christened the vessel at Portland, Ore., by breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow. Her son, Sgt. James Wofford, was Coeur d’Alene’s first war casualty, according to D 'n' 6.

The city of Coeur d’Alene donated 200 books to start the ship’s library.

Ports of call included Saipan, Okinawa, Guam, Pearl Harbor, Singapore, Calcutta, Bombay and New York.

In 1946, the SS Coeur d’Alene Victory was sold to the Weyerhaeuser Co. In 1969, it was sold to Taiwan for scrap metal.

Hills at the helm

Before The Coeur d’Alene Resort and before the North Shore Motor Hotel, there was the Desert Hotel. And its longtime manager James S. Hill was recognized by The Press as the “dean of Northwest hotelmen.”

For decades, the Desert Hotel was the center of business and social life in downtown Coeur d’Alene until it burned down June 25, 1972. Designed as a Spanish mission and called the Hotel Idaho when it opened July 3, 1905, the building was located on the site of Hagadone Hospitality’s future Sherman Tower, Second and Sherman.

Jim Hill began managing it June 15, 1917, and remained at the post after Victor Dessert purchased the 66-room landmark in 1924 and renamed it. In June 1953, Hill semi-retired. And in January 1956, he handed management duties to his son, James H. Hill.

“We are delighted that young Jim will become manager of the hotel,” said a company spokeswoman. “It just wouldn’t seem natural without a Hill at the helm.”

Bird’s-eye view

During construction of The Coeur d’Alene Resort, Rathdrum crane operator Tom Kramer, then 38, had the best view of the Coeur d’Alene shoreline — 282 feet above McEuen Field.

And Gordon King of The Press climbed the structure for a story March 8, 1985.

Kramer was no stranger to tall cranes. A year before, he’d deftly handled the 160-footer used to build the Park View Tower in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

As Duane Hagadone’s future resort took shape, Kramer was boxed in for 8 ½ hours each weekday in a 5-by-5-foot partially insulated cab with a space heater, a portable radio and a coffee can for a toilet. The daily confinement, The Press reported, prevented Kramer from embracing a permanent job as a crane operator.

“After a while,” he said, “you get tired of sitting up there in the cab, and you take another job so you can move around a bit.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Weighed down by news of murder/and wars that maim and kill,/she glanced out of her window/and saw the daffodil — The Bard of Sherman Avenue. (“Hope in the Backyard”).

• First Baby: As she cuddled her baby boy, born at 7:31 p.m. New Year’s Day 1956, Mrs. Thomas Jacobson of Coeur d’Alene wondered what he would become. Not only was Ronald Gerard Jacobson the first 1956 baby born in Coeur d’Alene (Lake City General Hospital), but he was also the great-grandson of pioneer Margaret Groves, then a resident since 1878. Most locals know the baby today as Ron Jacobson, the three-term mayor of Post Falls.

• Gunner Jack: You may know that Jack Riggs is a former ER doc, started North Idaho Emergency Care centers, and served as Idaho’s 38th lieutenant governor (2001-03). But did you know he was a good basketball player, too? On Feb. 13, 1985, he scored six points to lead the Coeur d’Alene Medical Community to a 57-54 wheelchair basketball win over the Spokane Cyclones. The visitors, an established wheelchair team, spotted the locals 50 points. So, Jack scored all but one of the home team’s genuine points.

• And the Answer Is: Les Hogan (two), John Owen (eight) and Pat Whitcomb (four). The question? Which three coaches led North Idaho College wrestlers to their 14 NJCAA titles? Hogan coached the first two champions in 1974 and 1975. The community was so thrilled with a second straight title March 1, 1975, that it welcomed the team back from Worthington, Minn., with a 1 ½-mile escort. And Mayor Ron Edinger presented Hogan with the key to the city.

Parting shot

In March 1995, Louise Shadduck, possibly the most influential woman ever born in Idaho, was 79 years old. And yet she was still full of life and charm. Before an interview at her Lake Coeur d’Alene home, she prepared a meal of fresh-caught lake trout, scalloped potatoes and scratch-made biscuits for Press reporter David Bond and a cameraman. The Coeur d’Alene native was as comfortable hosting the two gruff journalists as she had been hobnobbing with President Dwight Eisenhower and former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Newsman Bond described her as “a person who long dominated North Idaho journalism, served on several congressional staffs, and was a confidante to a generation of Idaho leaders.” Yet her simple answer to one of Bond’s questions — "What is your greatest achievement?" — showed why Louise had such a spark. She said: “It is yet to happen.”

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

    In 2000, World War II veteran Jim Shepperd presents a framed photo of the SS Coeur d’Alene Victory to City Hall.
  

    In 1956, James S. Hill, left, is shown with his son, James H. Hill.
  

    In 1985, operator Tom Kramer sits 282 feet above downtown Coeur d’Alene.
  

    In 1985, Tom Kramer is scrunched in a 5-feet-square crane cab.
  

    In 1956, Mrs. Thomas Jacobson cuddles her newborn, Ronald.
  

    In 1985, Jack Riggs, left, grabs a rebound in a wheelchair basketball game.
  

    LEFT: Mayor Ron Edinger, left, presents NIC wrestling coach Les Hogan with the key to the city in 1975. CENTER: Jim O’Connell sports a black eye after winning the 167-pound national title. BOTTOM RIGHT: Lynn Taylor falls back in exhaustion after winning second place in his weight class.
  

    In 1995, Louise Shadduck poses for the Coeur d'Alene Press.