HUCKLEBERRIES: Better planning for the future

Dorothy Dahlgren was a fan of Coeur d’Alene history before it was cool.

She relished our blue-collar tapestry of steamboats, mining, railroads and logging. And, for 38 years, she shared her passion for local history as director of the Museum of North Idaho.

On March 19, 2000, Dorothy told the Coeur d’Alene Press: “I think by understanding our community’s story we can better plan for the future. The changes we make in our community will be based on a foundation of our local culture and history.”

On April 18-19, the Museum of North Idaho will open its new home in the historic J.C. White House at the foot of Tubbs Hill. Community fundraising and sweat equity poured into the $3 million project so far guarantee the new center’s success.

Dorothy’s role as a torch bearer for our collective story won’t be forgotten.

A museum job awaited her in May 1982 after she obtained degrees in museology and history from the University of Idaho.

“I graduated on Saturday and started work on Monday,” she told The Press.

Dorothy spent her MONI career in the cramped, poorly heated former Cenex building near City Park, preserving the past, managing collections, coordinating events and directing volunteers.

Count Coeur d'Alene native John V. Wood among those who praised Dorothy. She helped and encouraged his research projects.

He said: “I have watched her confidently handle multiple tasks at the same time that would have confounded any mere mortal — juggling the scheduling of volunteers to handle someone who has called in sick, answering the phone with questions about renting the ‘Little Red Chapel' for a wedding, helping the volunteer working at the front counter make change, (and even fixing clogged toilets). And this is a person who is trained as a curator of museum collections; a job that she seems to have done in her spare time!’”

Dorothy, who retired Oct. 31, 2020, now volunteers at the museum.

O Canada!

Before partisan politics ruined the goodwill between our countries, Canada was a loyal friend of the U.S.

In 1979-80, this country couldn’t thank Canada enough for rescuing six American diplomats during the Iranian Revolution, including Lee Schatz of Post Falls.

If you don’t recall the incident, maybe you remember the movie, “Argo.” The Canadian embassy hid the six diplomats and then helped them escape. More than 50 other Americans would be held hostage for 444 days.

In recognizing Canada’s act of friendship, Vance Everson of Spokane hand-engraved a plaque that read in part: “Thanks Canada and Ambassador Ken Taylor and all members and employees of the Canadian Embassy in Iran.”

At the time, the Everson brothers, Ken and Clair, owned Everson’s Jewelry in downtown Coeur d’Alene. All six Everson siblings are gone now. But Vance Everson’s sentiments toward Canada are still shared by many here.

Earth Day

An Earth Day organizer once called Hayden Lake home.

On March 20, 1995, Paul Edwards, then 83 or 84, told The Press about his first meeting with Earth Day founder John McConnell. A UNICEF information director at the time, Edwards said McConnell “had this whole Earth Day thing in mind” in 1969 when he introduced himself. He wanted to make Earth Day an international holiday.

McConnell, Edwards said, “poked and probed and persuaded” people with his idea until U.N. Secretary-General U Thant proclaimed the first Earth Day. On March 20, 1970, U Thant first rang the U.N. Peace Bell in San Francisco and requested a moment of worldwide peace, prayer and meditation.

Edwards and his staff promoted the holiday and recruited entertainers to the cause, like Danny Kaye, Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn and Dinah Shore.

An Eastern Washington native, Edwards retired to Hayden Lake.

Said he: “I remember swimming in Lake Coeur d’Alene in 1923 when we heard that President Harding had died.”

Earth Day 2025 is scheduled for April 22.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: This tiny plant must conquer fear/to bloom before the springtime’s here,/for the snows of March that sometimes cloak us/will frost your pistil if you’re a crocus — Bard of Sherman Avenue (“The Courage of the Crocus in Northern States”).

• On This Day: On March 23, 1960, Coeur d'Alene Mayor P.A. Christianson and others were photographed in The Press greeting half-clad Miss 1960 Restaurant Show during her brief stop at the local airport. Jo Robinson, seemingly sporting only high heels and a short coat, was promoting a restaurant convention in Seattle. And she brought “real cheesecake” with her, the cutline said, adding “not the kind you see in the picture.”

• Benefactor: Much can be said about the generosity of Silver Valley mining patriarch Henry “Hank” Day, of Day Mines, who died at age 82 on March 21, 1985. With Harry Magnuson, he helped restore the Old Cataldo Mission. And in March 1955, Hank donated 20.23 acres of land, including 1,300 feet of shoreline at Kidd Island Bay to North Idaho Camp Fire for a summer camp. In 2003, actor Dennis Franz ("Hill Street Blues") bought an expanded Camp Neewahlu site for about $2 million.

• Did You Know? Retired 1st District Judge James Judd was the first public defender in Kootenai County — and North Idaho. At age 28, on March 23, 1970, Judd was sworn in for a two-year term. Judd, a former Marine platoon commander during the Vietnam War, said the new office would improve public defense and save money. His starting annual salary was $9,000, or $74,014 in today's economy. 

• World Record: In February 1985, Steve Siefert, then 21 of Hayden Lake, claimed a Guinness World Book record, according to The Press, by consuming 7.2 pounds of hot dogs and a gallon of milk in two hours. When asked about the feat at the Edible Dog in Coeur d’Alene, “Mr. Hot Dog” said, “I couldn’t turn down a free hot dog.”

Parting shot

It wasn’t exactly Michael Jordan dunking a basketball on the cover of a Wheaties box. But the 1999-2000 state champ Coeur d’Alene High girls basketball team and their fans didn’t mind. They scooped up Hometown Stars cereal boxes from the old Tidyman’s store, featuring their team photo in color on the front. One parent bought eight boxes at $5.99 each. The supermarket ordered 12 cases of 12 boxes. “It’s something special that the kids can remember forever,” athletic director Larry Schwenke told The Press. He worked with Carlisle Cereal Co. of Bismarck, N.D., to manufacture the souvenir. The cereal boxes also featured black-and-white pictures of other Viking winter teams on the back. AD Schwenke snagged an 18-ounce box. In way of explanation, he shrugged and said: “I love them.”

• • • 

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

    Co-operative Supply (Cenex) operates in a building next to City Park in 1975, later becoming the Museum of North Idaho’s longtime home.
  

    Vance Everson of Spokane thanks Canada for rescuing six American diplomats in Iran, including one from Post Falls, in 1980.
  

    Paul Edwards of Hayden Lake recalls his role as an Earth Day organizer in 1995.
  

    Jo Robinson, Miss 1960 Restaurant Show, serves cheesecake to Coeur d’Alene Mayor P.A. Christianson (overcoat) and others in 1960.
  

    Mining magnate Henry (Hank) Day, pictured sometime before 1985.
  

    Commissioner Henry J. Meyer, left, swears in Post Falls attorney James Judd as Kootenai County’s first public defender in 1970.
  

    Steve Siefert set an eating record because he couldn’t pass up a free hot dog in 1985.
  

    Tidyman’s director Pat Dahmen displays Hometown Stars Cereal in 2000.