MULLAN - Today the number of businesses operating on a daily basis in Mullan could be counted on one hand and the population is dwindling.

But a dozen of the town's nearly 700 residents recently joined together to reverse the trend toward economic extinction. They don't want Mullan to just become a disconnected village of homes next to the Lucky Friday silver mine with no sense of community. They've got their work cut out for them.

The new group - it's being called the Mullan Community Action Network - would like to see the number of businesses increase, the flow of visitors to town swell and the population trend upward toward the levels seen during the Silver Valley's mining heyday. There were years in Mullan's history when the population was around 2,300 people. Just a decade ago it was well over 800.

Some in the community haven't joined forces, but they find the group's goals laudable and hope they can spark something. Others are even suspicious of their motivations.

"You've got to grow or die," said Terry Haumer, who has lived in Mullan for eight years and owns and operates The Motherlode Bistro in Mullan with his longtime girlfriend Marla Hartman. They aren't part of the group.

Haumer said he'd like to open a restaurant across Hunter Street from the Bistro, which he'd like to see someone else take over in his place. That would double the town's eateries. A diner, the popular Coyote Cafe, closed in the past few months. That was another obvious step in the wrong direction.

The place isn't hopeless. Not yet.

Haumer said Mullan could find a way to draw business from skiers and cyclists who visit the area. Mullan is at the trailhead of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, and Lookout Pass is just five minutes away for snow skiing and bike rental for the nearby Route of the Hiawatha.

And, he said, "If we could have some kind of festival each summer that would help" draw people in to visit. Something with music in the town's park would be refreshing, he said.

Currently, there are many longtime residents and families that cherish the peace and solitude that's currently abundant, but not all that welcoming to visitors. Change in another direction might upset an environment in which many residents quietly thrive at the foot of the surrounding, steep, forested mountains.

Most days only the low roar of semi-tractor trailer tires on Interstate 90 interrupt the silence. Activity downtown often is limited to people dropping by the post office and exchanging a little chitchat.

There is an Olympic-size swimming pool at the Mullan Athletic Pavilion, and a bowling alley and public library inside the historic Morning Club building. Residents are proud of the schools, where class sizes are small. The low cost of living is attractive.

Ask around and the answers are varied as to how a town becomes a bit busier and bigger but also maintains a feel of rural refuge for those who seek it.

Chuck Reynalds, a Mullan resident and former Shoshone County sheriff, said, "Obviously we need new businesses, but I'm not sure what kind."

Many retired people live in Mullan, and a lot of people love the small-town atmosphere, he said.

At the same time, he said, "I don't believe anyone would say they don't want to make Mullan a more attractive place."

If anyone is reluctant right now to join in the revival effort, it's likely due to the "awkward" timing of it, he said.

"Their goals are laudable," Reynalds said. "It just comes right on the heels of the recall effort."

There is a recall election early next year of Mayor Mike Dunnigan and Councilman Dan White. Dunnigan wasn't available to comment, according to City Clerk Tammy Scheel, and White declined to comment last week. Ron Hayes, another city councilman, didn't return a call seeking comment.

They might be a bit skittish of the media, and perhaps understandably so. Back in September, Mullan, and Dunnigan in particular, got some bad publicity in the form of a video posted to YouTube. It went viral, at least by Mullan standards.

It showed Dunnigan in a confrontation with city resident Jeff Bergstrom, who recorded the exchange.

"Come on out here so I can beat the living (expletive) out of you," Dunnigan yells from the driver's seat of a blue minivan at the beginning of the five-minute clip.

He wasn't done.

"You're a (expletive) head," the mayor yells. "You're a lying sack of (expletive)."

Dunnigan appeared to be upset about a sign posted on a utility pole across the street from Bergstrom's place.

The video clip was popular enough that CNN put it on its website.

Patricia Wolford, a Mullan resident, said the group organized less than three months ago.

At first she said the group and the recall were not linked as some at City Hall contend. But then she corrected herself.

"I think if it hadn't been for Jeff Bergstrom stirring up the pot we might have just been complacent and continued along in our peaceful lives in this singular town on the edge of the wilderness," Wolford said. "After I heard some of the complaints that Jeff had, it lit a fire under my own ass and (I) started to ask questions about the city management. A lot of people did the same thing."

Then the group seemed to come together in an united effort to make some changes, stemming from conversations about the recall.

"So, maybe in some respects we owe 'Hippy Jeff' a big thank you," Wolford said. "Something good has come out of something bad, and Mullan is going to be a much better place because of it."

The group, known locally as "M-Can," is united in its effort to market Mullan as a great place to do business, live and visit. And hopefully revisit.

"The group is in the process of creating a workforce of community volunteers who are willing to lend a hand to property owners with projects such as pulling noxious weeds, exterior painting, and large trash removal," the group said in a recent news release. "(The group) believes that it is time for Mullan to put on a 'happy face,' with a welcoming appearance and attitude for visitors and residents alike."

The group recently distributed about a dozen welcome baskets to new full-time residents and families moving to town. Some of those are mining families who have come to work at Lucky Friday.

"We want real people who are going to come here and live here and pitch in," Wolford said.

The group's core group of about a dozen residents has been meeting monthly, Wolford said.

Her husband, Joe Wolford, said the lack of business activity in Mullan leaves residents with no choice but to travel to other communities for the goods and services they need. Most go west to Wallace for the nearest grocery store or to the Walmart Supercenter in Smelterville.

"To bring business in, you've got to put a new face on the community," Joe Wolford said. "The people that do come here, it's unfortunate, there are not enough hotels or motels. They come and play, then leave."

Gary Strong is a believer in Mullan's potential.

Strong, one of the owners of the new Mullan House bed and breakfast and a teacher at Mullan Junior-Senior High School, said, "This area has so much potential."

Strong, who has a background in banking and investment, said any new Mullan businesses would benefit by aligning themselves with Lookout Pass, which is popular and growing.

"There are basically two massive seasons for tourism that come to this little town," he said. "In addition, you have hikers, snowmobilers, people on ATVs and motorcycles, and mountain bikers."

Currently, other than Lucky Friday, there are no employers in Mullan. Silver production has been stopped at the mine for a year following multiple fatal accidents the year before. The stoppage meant major layoffs. In the past few months, miners have been hired back and production is scheduled to resume soon.

The mine, while significant, isn't enough.

Strong said for Mullan to survive long term it eventually will need a grocery store, a medical clinic and bank. The town has a gas station.

Strong envisions a nonprofit forming to raise money and buy a building downtown. Space could then be leased for next to nothing to lure in a medical clinic and a bank or credit union.

"Sixty percent of this community is over 65 years old, so having a doctor in town and a local grocery store and a local bank makes a world of sense," he said. "I'm hoping a nonprofit could come in and help us kickstart the community."

When he opened his bed and breakfast less than a year ago, he estimated 10 percent of his business would come from the Mullan community. It's been double that.

"The townspeople have come here, they've seen it, and they like it," he said.

Residents have put visiting family and friends up at the Mullan House and hosted social gatherings there.

"You've got to have a good working relationship between the town and yourself," he said. "You have a lot of long-term residents here who don't want things to change."

So change must be done right.

He predicts Mullan will become a ghost town with an operating mine if there is no change.

Chris Barrett, marketing director at Lookout Pass, said Strong has worked to be a community partner with the ski and recreation area.

"He's definitely got the right idea," Barrett said. Both can benefit from a close relationship.

"If (prospective businesses) want something to happen, they've really got to reach out and make it happen," Barrett said.

A smartly marketed pub would do well in Mullan, Barrett predicted. The town has two bars, but only The Outlaw bar and grill operates predictably. Barrett said Lookout Pass closes down around four or five in the afternoon, and a nearby watering hole might be welcome.

"But (a Mullan pub) has to cater to college people," at least on certain nights, he said.

The Wolfords' next-door neighbor, Becky Altman, who has lived in Mullan for eight years, has joined the group.

"I've seen things go downhill, real quick" in Mullan, she said.

She hopes renewed production at Lucky Friday will turn that around, at least putting some money in people's pockets. But she knows that can't be relied on to solve all needs.

"We need housing, we need medical - that's a big issue that keeps coming up," Altman said.

She said those at City Hall have been working on bringing a medical clinic to town. A lot of seniors live in Mullan, and they are isolated with nobody checking on them, she said.

"People need to watch out for each other," Altman said. "People die all the time, and nobody even knows."

Altman said the newly-formed group has decided that complaining about the status quo is not enough, and it's time for action.

The Wolfords and Altman said Bergstrom - who confronted the mayor and video recorded the incident - only complained about the town. That's not their style.

"But we did take his list of complaints, and we made sure to follow through on each of them," Altman said. And a lot of those were taken care of by officials at City Hall, she said.

"So he kind of lit a fire under everyone," Altman said.

INFOBOX or SIDEBAR:

MCAN (Mullan Community Action Network) - (208) 744-1187

It's a local nonprofit group working to improve communications within the community, and initiate efforts to improve Mullan's appearance by offering hands-on assistance to homeowners in need of help with their property maintenance. It also seeks to participate in local civic projects, distribute welcome packages to new residents, and promote small-business development.

Information: mcan@mctvusa.tv

Meetings: 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month at the Library.