HUCKLEBERRIES: Rooster tails and screaming engines

Hydroplane races brought thunder, thrills to Lake Cd'A

It was Car d’Alene, Ironman and Art on the Green rolled into one. Coeur d’Alene was all in. The unlimited hydroplane owners and drivers were all in, too. The only dark lining shadowing the silver cloud for the first Diamond Cup that June 28-29, 1958, was June’s unpredictable weather. After a pell-mell, two-month rush to prepare a 3-mile racecourse and pit area, the city of Coeur d’Alene opened its arms to national media and its first hydroplane races. And the rain came down. And then the wind blew away the first day of the weekend event.