HUCKLEBERRIES: Wait a minute, please, Mr. Postman

Hayden Lake residents were miffed in the 1950s when the U.S. Postal Service folded their post office into the one at the former Hayden Village.

And officials of growing Hayden were frustrated that the USPS referred to the combined post office afterward as the “Hayden Lake” branch.

Today, most locals know that Hayden and Hayden Lake are separate government entities.

In summer 1985, however, there was enough uncertainty about the two small towns to warrant a letter from the Hayden City Council to local Postmaster Duane Huellemann.

Councilors asked that the USPS delete the “Lake” part.

“It’s wrong to have the name of the neighboring city,” groused Councilman Chet Davis. “If they won’t change the name, then they should move to Hayden Lake.”

Huellemann and acting Hayden Lake Mayor Bud Hofmeister were sympathetic.

“I can see Hayden’s point,” Huellemann told the Coeur d’Alene Press. “There has been confusion. People will come in and say, ‘What is this – Hayden or Hayden Lake?’ It doesn’t matter which as long as they get the ZIP code right.”

The postmaster promised to forward Hayden’s concerns to national headquarters in Washington, D.C. But he didn’t expect immediate action.

Hayden residents didn’t share the council’s frustration. An informal poll revealed that they weren’t aware of the name problem. Besides, they were used to the “Hayden Lake” label.

The 1980s flap seems petty today. But it wasn’t to then Mayor Frank Canale.

He told The Press that city business was delayed at times because mail meant for Hayden City Hall was delivered to Hayden Lake. As a result, the city of Hayden had incurred late fees and penalties. And some Hayden tax revenues were credited to Hayden Lake.

Additionally, The Press reported, Hayden inhabitants saw their place of residence routinely listed as Hayden Lake on driver’s licenses, voter registration documents, property deeds, tax records — and in the telephone directory.

In the last four decades, Hayden Lake, the small town founded by Irish immigrant Matthew Hayden, has grown from 277 to 675, including summer residents. Meanwhile, neighboring Hayden has boomed from nearly 3,000 souls to 16,935 — and counting.

And that growth finally put Hayden on the U.S. Postal Service map where it belongs.

White elephant?

Unbelievably, the elegant 1917 Jewett House on East Lakeshore Drive once was described as “a white elephant.” And a report from the Jewett House Advisory Board painted a dismal future for the three-story, lakeside mansion.

In September 1985, the Jewett House needed roof repair, modern wiring, and handicap accessible restrooms. David Potts, a Jewett House board member, told The Press: “It’s hard to justify that expense.” Potts estimated the repair costs at more than $20,000.

Councilman Jim Michaud was concerned about the city’s annual subsidy of $6,000 for Jewett House operational costs.

He said, “The city has no business supporting that facility with that limited use.”

In 1978, Coeur d’Alene received former chairman Frederick Jewett’s old home as a gift from Potlatch Forests, Inc., to serve senior citizens. Seven years later, it faced the wrecking ball until money was found to fix it. Later, city officials attracted revenue by expanding its use to include special events like weddings and anniversaries.

With Coeur d’Alene’s renewed interest in its past, the historic mansion should be safe now.

Gone in a blink

For decades, organizers of Spirit Lake’s annual Labor Day parade said proudly that it was over in a blink.

But no one blinked in the last two years — and the town still missed the parade. Dubbed the world’s second shortest parade, it was canceled for lack of interest in 2024 and 2025.

Even 20 years ago, the parade, which lasted two to five minutes, failed to attract many participants. In 2005, organizer Joy Porter said, “I think we were a little small this year.”

The parade on Main Street usually consisted of a few children, lawn mowers and a tractor. Still, hundreds watched. Nathan Wade of Spirit Lake and his dog, Turbo, rode Nathan’s Allis-Chalmers D12 in the 2005 parade. He didn’t know what to say about the parade’s brevity.

“It’s Spirit Lake,” he told The Press. “What do you expect?”

Fan Mail

A Huckleberries item (Aug. 31) said 1975 Coeur d’Alene High grad Steve Parker was the first Vik to appear in the NFL since the Great Depression. Ron Hodge, former Benewah County coroner and a 1960s Vik, disagrees: “Bob Pegg was a 1965 CHS grad. All State Fullback. Scholarship to Vanderbilt University. Drafted by the Washington Redskins. And played several years (professionally). He transferred to CHS from Kellogg in 1963 and was the starting fullback for two years. His parents owned the State Motel on Sherman. Its fireplace was shaped like the state of Idaho. I think it’s still there. This was 10 years before Steve Parker.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: Come January, we’ll remember/how bright the sun shone in September — The Bard of Sherman Avenue. (“Autumn Thought”).

• Need for speed: Skydivers enjoy their sport for various reasons. But speed motivated Jeff Wragg of the Henley Hummers. Said he: “It is possible to go 200 miles per hour in freefall.” In September 1975, Wragg’s Hummers of the old Henley Aerodrome (now Silverwood) entertained county fair goers with an 11-person air formation. At the time, they held the Idaho record with a 20-person formation.

• Thinner: In late summer 1995, Coeur d’Alene’s Lee Hartman treated herself on her 50th birthday with her first parasail ride. And, oh yeah, for shedding 108 of her 297 pounds. She still had 40 pounds to go. She credited the Jenny Craig Weight program for her success. “All of a sudden, exercise is fun,” the U.S. Forest Service payroll specialist told The Press. “Life is out there, and I just didn’t realize that.”

• Pappy’s Back: On Aug. 29, 1945, the word of the day in Coeur d’Alene was — “electrifying.” That’s how the media described reports that Maj. Greg “Pappy” Boyington was alive after enduring 17 months in a Japanese prison camp. The Coeur d’Alene-born Congressional Medal of Honor winner was shot down in January 1944 and believed dead. His survival thrilled “American land, sea and air forces.”

• Progress? On the Atlas Waterfront today, dwellings of all sorts blanket a once-thriving mill site. On Sept. 2, 2000, the Richards family announced the sale of its Idaho Forest Industries holdings to Stimson Lumber Co. At 63, Tom Richards said he and his twin brother, John, had health issues and decided to retire. Five years later, Stimson shut the Atlas mill. And the bang of construction hammers grew nearer.

Parting shot

Pam Pratt believes it was her destiny to become the first principal of Coeur d’Alene’s Skyway Elementary.

The first sign?

On Sept. 3, 2000, Pam told The Press that she had found a website created by the principal of Skyway Park Elementary in Colorado. Her name? Pamela Pratt.

Then, the selection committee picked Skyway from among 175 choices for the new name. At the time, she said, there was only one other Skyway Elementary in the country — in Florida.

Skyway fit the new school, she said — one that opened onto the Rathdrum Prairie and its beautiful sunsets.

Pam guided Skyway Elementary for six years. On June 30, 2011, she retired after nearly 30 years with the Coeur d’Alene School District.

• • •

D.F. (Dave) Oliveria can be contacted at [email protected].

    David Potts and Irma Anderl of the Jewett House Advisory Boat fretted about the future of the historic mansion in 1985.
  

Nathan Wade of Spirit Lake, with his dog, Turbo, drove a tractor in his town’s annual tiny parade in 2005.

    Coeur d'Alene Vik Bob Pegg was one of two players from the Inland Northwest named to the all-American High School football first team by Coach and Athlete magazine in January 1965.
  

    Jeff Wragg, left, and Ray Baldwin of the Henley Hummers look to the sky after landing at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in 1975.
  

    Lee Hartman celebrates her 50th birthday — and losing 108 pounds — by treating herself to a parasail ride in 1995.
  

Maj. Greg (Pappy) Boyington is greeted after his POW prison release by Commander Stassen on the Mercy Ship Reeves in Tokyo Bay in 1945.

    The Idaho Forest Industries mill site is shown in this aerial view from 2000. The property is now covered with Atlas Waterfront dwellings.
  

    New Skyway Elementary principal Pam Pratt helps first grader Kyle Johnson in 2000.