Watersports and the Finney family

Thanks to Anne Anderson for reminding of an interesting bit of local history and trivia. Back in the 1920s, Jack Finney had one of the only powerboats on Lake Coeur d'Alene, having adapted a car engine to power his boat. The family tied a board to the back of the boat and began riding their "aquaplane," soon gaining national acclaim for their stunts. Son John, a snow and cross country skier, took some boards from the barn and steamed them over a wood stove to curve the tips. Then he nailed shoes to the board and viola! The sport of watersking was born.

Anne wasn't sure she believed all of the folklore about the local connection to the invention of watersking until the 1990s, when she visited the Water Skier Hall of Fame in Cypress Gardens, Fla., and saw photos of the Finneys performing aquaplane acrobatics there on the wall.This all got me to thinking ... considering the Finney family's contributions to boating, recreation and tourism on Lake Coeur d'Alene - which also included the very first tour boat, the Seeweewana - why isn't there a statue somewhere on the waterfront honoring them? I'm thinking a sculpture of them in a skiing pyramid would be a great addition to public art.

***It was no coincidence that last week's packed-house "Fireman's Ball" at Capone's in Post Falls took place on July 26. That was the anniversary date of an arsonist torching the pub belonging to Tom and Teresa Capone. Said Tom of the benefit for the Kootenai County Police and Fire Memorial Fund: "If it wasn't for these firefighters my business would have been lost. I owe them." Paying it forward.

***Last Saturday Pend Oreille County Dispatchers took a 911 report of a van submerged in the Pend Oreille River at the end of the Ione Park boat ramp. Meanwhile Jamie Crawford of Coeur d'Alene successfully pulled the driver from the vehicle and was swimming her to the dock. Jamie and a sheriff's deputy began CPR with the assistance of Mary Dickson, also of Coeur d'Alene. After several minutes the victim began breathing on her own.

Kudos to Jamie Crawford for his lifesaving heroics as well as to Mary Dickson.***

Longtime San Francisico 49ers quarterback John Brodie was in town last month to visit his little sis, Katie Brodie. John received the NFL's MVP Award in 1970 and when he retired from football he ranked third in career passing yards, behind only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton. ***

Last week Tim Jank found out how much it costs to experience the thrill of his very first hole-in-one. Golfing at Avondale during Men's League with Jim Foote, Al Graham and Erik McKinney, Tim sunk the ball at the 3rd hole. No word yet on what the damage was to his pocketbook after buying rounds for everyone in the clubhouse, including his wife, Pam, and friends who came over from the Hayden Lake Country Club to celebrate the feat.

***It's got to be some kind of record somewhere ... on Sunday, J.D. Dickinson and friends attended the Willie Nelson concert in Spokane. For J.D., it marked his 47th Willie concert!

***Post Falls' annual Community Picnic with the Kelly Hughes Band is 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Q'emiln Park pavilion, and this weekend is the Art on the Green/Taste of the Coeur d'Alenes/Downtown Street Fair in Coeur d'Alene. It must be summer!

***Happy Birthday today to an old friend, Steve Cox. Tomorrow the ageless Ruthie Johnson will blow out 87 candles on her cake, sharing the birthdate with Ben Fairfield, Toni Caywood, Joel Bertsch and Amy Ford. On Friday Dave Holinka and John Burnett are the birthday boys and Saturday celebrants are Brenda Smith, Christine Maiani, Tracey Brown Fouche, Kelli Aiken, Tom Wood and James Fulton. On Sunday Norm McBride, Cindi Wimmer, Greg Delavan, Billie Collins and Bob Nonini will put on their party hats. The week will kick off with birthdays for Eli Yates, Jodi Anderson, Patty Collins, Virginia Griggs and Bob Perry on Monday and Anne Anderson, Jerry Goggin, Terry Morris, Jack Haven and Christina Strailman on Tuesday.

***THERE'S MORE: New stories and photos almost every day at More Main Street. There's a link also for adding your birthday to the Main Street Birthday Club!

***Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2010 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. More Main Street blog is at http://moremainstreet.blogspot.com. Listen to Main Street Monday on KVNI AM1080. Kerri can be reached at [email protected]