HUCKLEBERRIES: The tale of Fred Murphy

Fred Murphy and his snowmobile crashed through the ice 40 years ago, ending a storied career devoted to Lake Coeur d’Alene and his neighbors.

On Jan. 12, 1986, his 52nd wedding anniversary, the 77-year-old tugboat captain was enjoying an afternoon ride on the frozen lake when the accident occurred.

According to the Coeur d’Alene Press, Skip Murphy searched for his father in a tugboat after Fred failed to return to his Casco Bay home. Skip spotted Fred’s hat floating in the water first; then, his body. Skip also fell in the water but was able to pull himself out.

Fred may have been in the lake for up to two hours. Frantic efforts to revive him failed.

“He had a genius for doing what was right for the lake and for Coeur d’Alene,” businessman Duane Hagadone, a Casco Bay neighbor, told The Press. “Fred was an excellent teacher, and my sons were among many youths who learned water and boating skills from him.”

Sandy Emerson, former chamber of commerce manager, was another boy mentored by Fred. As a 16-year-old, Sandi spent summers and weekends as a deck hand for the lake legend, hammering nails, setting pilings and helping guide log booms.

“Fred was only 5-4, but he was a commanding presence with bushy eyebrows, flashing eyes and a big grin,” Sandy recalled last week.

Sandy’s father, banker Tom Emerson, and Fred were best friends. In 1988, Tom immortalized his buddy in his book: “Fred Murphy: A Legend of Lake Coeur d’Alene.”

At his death, Fred had spent more than 60 years on the lake. He quit school in the eighth grade, The Press eulogized, to earn “a PhD in boating, storytelling and community service.”

At a public celebration for his 76th birthday, Fred told The Press: “My life has been tugboats and still is. If you make your work like play, you’ll never stop working.”

Fred and his sons, Loren and Skip, built docks, drove pilings, hauled heavy machinery, towed logs, recovered submerged planes and vehicles, rescued stranded boaters, advised actors, assisted with Fourth of July fireworks and built The Coeur d’Alene Resort boardwalk.

Duane Hagadone honored Fred by renaming Templin’s Grill after him during the construction of The Coeur d’Alene Resort: Murphy’s Landing. After Fred died, organizers renamed the Memorial Day parade after him: Fred Murphy Pioneer Days Parade (1988-2004).

Fred wasn’t nostalgic about the lake’s past. He recalled clear-cut hills along the shoreline and a lake clogged with logs and debris. Said he: “It wasn’t so beautiful then.” He preferred the progress of the mid-1980s, including the opening of The Coeur d’Alene Resort.

Be it resolved

‘Tis the season when many New Year’s resolutions involve weight loss.

Fifteen years ago, Wanda Brust set an example for anyone battling the bulge.

In spring of 2009, the 5-foot-4 Rathdrum woman, 47, weighed more than 300 pounds. She had gained the final 35 pounds after she quit smoking.

That’s when she did an about-face and began walking, according to The Press.

“When I started, I had no clue that I would ever get to where I am now,” Wanda told The Press as she lapped the Silver Lake Mall in January 2011. By then, she had shed almost half her weight, 147 pounds, and weighed 157 pounds.

“I was amazed when I saw how much she slimmed down,” said mall walker Alden Perkins.

At that point, Wanda planned to run the 7.46-mile Bloomsday course in the spring.

“I always thought I wanted to go there and watch,” Wanda said. “Now, I’m going to participate.”

A year later, columnist Kerri Thoreson of The Press reported that Wanda had maintained her weight.

And it all began with a single step.

Stampede

The town was atwitter about scarce 3-cent stamps 50 years ago.

Meanwhile, local USPS officials were shocked by the reaction to a first-class stamp hike — from a dime to 13 cents.

“We didn’t think that many of our customers had that many 10-cent stamps,” said M.C. McDermid of the Coeur d'Alene post office.

On Jan. 3, 1976, the local USPS was hours away from selling out of 3-cent stamps as 10-cent-stamp hoarders swamped local offices. The post offices in Hayden Lake and Post Falls had already run out of the 3-centers.

To appease their frantic customers, postal clerks offered one- and two-cent stamps, which were also running low.

“It’s going like mad,” supervisor McDermid said.

If worse came to worst, he continued, customers might be forced to do the unthinkable — buy the new 13-cent stamps.

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner (for the 10th anniversary of the militant takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon): We have kidnapped your birds/and we won’t give them back/’till you meet our demands,/plus you send us a snack — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Ransom Note from Malheur Wildlife Refuge”).

• Slippery Talk: Legislator Art Manley of Coeur d’Alene was an outdoorsman. So, in January 1976, President Barry Schuler of North Idaho College donned ice skates to lobby the Democrats for more funding. As they talked, the two skated on frozen Fernan Lake. It beats lobbyists with bags of cash twisting arms in back rooms.

• Close Shave: Francis "Bud" Perry of Bud’s Barbers on Sherman Avenue might be the last barber in town to offer razor shaves. And, in January 1981, he began each workday by giving himself a straight-edge shave. Bud argued that the practice provided closer, more comfortable shaves. Bud’s father opened the business in 1935.

• Resolution: If you’re looking for a 2026 New Year’s resolution, try hiking Tubbs Hill. Ruth Thomas did so on her 90th birthday: Jan. 19, 2016. And she invited the town to join her. It was no surprise that Ruth chose a Tubbs Hill outing to celebrate her milestone. The retired Kellogg Junior High teacher hiked the hill five times weekly.

• Flower Lady: Mary Lou Reed was known as the queen of “Flower Row” during her tenure in the Idaho Senate. More bouquets arrived for her than for anyone else. She sat at a desk with two other female senators: Marti Calabretta of Osburn and Gail Bray of Boise. “There’s no windows in here,” Mary Lou said in January 1986. “The flowers add a little touch of reality” — something today’s legislators need desperately.

Parting shot

Apparently, Victorian village Ferndale, population 1,500, in California’s Redwood country still contends that it has America’s tallest, living Christmas tree.

On Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, the community gathered again, with cookies and cocoa, to light its Sitka spruce at the end of Main Street.

But 15 years ago, Coeur d’Alene promoters questioned Ferndale’s claim that its tree stood 162.5 feet. For five years, Coeur d’Alene had advertised that a decorated tree on Duane Hagadone’s Casco Bay property was the tallest — at 162 feet.

Also, Coeur d’Alene pooh-poohed the fact that Ferndale’s tree had only 900 lights. The Lake City's Christmas tree had 40,000 lights.

Then, as the war of words between the communities heated up, Coeur d’Alene discovered that its tree had died. But others nearby were just as tall.

Bottom line? Ferndale celebrated the 91st lighting of its impressive tree a month ago without renouncing its “tallest tree” claim. In fact, Ferndale chauvinists now say that their 100-year-old tree has grown to 175 feet.

• • •

D.F. “Dave” Oliveria can be contacted at [email protected].

    Tom Emerson published a biography in 1988: “Fred Murphy: A Legend of Coeur d’Alene Lake.” It’s a must-read for those interested in local history.
  

    Fred Murphy operates one of his many crafts in this undated photo.
  

    Wanda Brust walks around the Silver Lake Mall in 2011.
  

    Sally Pierce is among the hordes of stamp buyers in 1976.
  

    Legislator Art Manley, left, and North Idaho College President Barry Schuler discuss college funding in 1976 while skating on Fernan Lake.
  

    Barber Francis “Bud” Perry offers razor shaves in 1981.
  

    Ruth Thomas, front left, and well-wishers celebrate Ruth’s 90th birthday by hiking around Tubbs Hill in 2016.
  

    Mary Lou Reed, left, and son Bruce greet friends on a bench dedicated to Mary Lou and husband Scott in 2025. During the mid-1980s, Mary Lou received more flowers at her desk than any other state senator.
  

    Surveyors Ed Rintamaki, right, and Dwight Greenfield of Meckel Engineering explain how they measured a large Christmas tree on Duane Hagadone’s property in 2011.