Unwanted baby badly wanted now; many offering homes to ‘Cookie’

The doctors and nurses called him “Cookie” because the newborn was found abandoned in a Melrose Fig Bars box with “Cookies” printed on the side.

The baby was four to six hours old when located by State Patrolman Walter W. Cox on Wednesday afternoon, May 30, 1956: Memorial Day.

He was tucked under a pink-and-white blanket. And he and his cardboard crib were discarded among small trees and bushes along a remote gravel road near Garwood.

At first, the officer thought the infant was dead and called for the coroner.

Then, Cookie stirred.

And Officer Cox rushed him 13 miles to Lake City General Hospital in downtown Coeur d’Alene, siren wailing.

A day later, attending physicians proclaimed the baby “normal in every way,” adding, “he couldn’t be better.” He was 5 pounds, 4 ounces, and had a hint of reddish-blond hair.

The bizarre story began with a phone call to the Idaho port of entry from a man who said he found an infant while picnicking near the junction of highways 95 and 53. The call initially launched a fruitless search by Patrolman Cox and Deputy Sheriff Cliff B. Johnson.

Forty-five minutes later, the man, who claimed to be from Pendleton, Ore., called back to say the officers were looking in the wrong place. He then gave better directions.

Authorities said later that the caller knew “more about the baby than he told officers.”

On June 1, 1956, a front-page headline in The Press indicated a change of fortune for the deserted child: “Unwanted baby badly wanted now; many offering homes to ‘Cookie.’”

Calls and letters poured into local, state and probate officials from couples in a dozen states who wanted to adopt Cookie. By then, he was a ward of Kootenai County Sheriff H.H. Haner and known officially at the hospital as “Baby Box X.”

One reader of The Press recommended a stronger name for the baby, like Davy Crockett. He said, “Any baby as rugged as (him) deserves a better name than Cookie.”

Cookie was hospitalized for three weeks before a formal probate hearing was held.

On June 19, 1956, Probate Judge Maxine Whitney removed Cookie from the custody of his parents, whoever they might be. She directed that he be placed as a ward of “other parties” for three months, allowing adoption proceedings to begin.

If he is still alive, Cookie celebrated his 70th birthday yesterday. He may or may not know that seven decades ago, as a helpless baby, he captivated this “City with a Heart.”

Faith Journey

A Coeur d’Alene woman on a religious pilgrimage to Europe witnessed the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981.

Anne Colborn, a waitress at Templin’s restaurant for 31 years, was nine days into her “Journey of Faith” with a cousin and 45 other Americans when the shooting occurred.

 She told Doug Clark of the Coeur d’Alene Press that the shots sounded like “two little bangs — like firecrackers.”

The women had already stopped in France at the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame, Lourdes. At St. Peter’s Square in Rome, the pilgrims had reserve seats for the highlight of the tour — a chance to see Pope John Paul in his popemobile pass nearby.

The pope was 25 feet away from them when shots — actually, there were four — rang out from a 9mm Browning pistol fired by Turkish hit man Mehmet Ali Agca.

The pope was struck in the stomach and hand. One of the bullets also hit Ann Odre of Buffalo, N.Y., in the chest. A member of the Journey of Faith tour, she had pushed ahead for a better view of the pontiff.

The pope survived and later forgave his would-be killer. The New York woman lived, too.

“I didn’t know what to think,” Colborn said. “He was such a happy person. He looked thrilled to see all the people. It sure wasn’t the kind of vacation I thought it would be.”

By Another Name

It was almost called Heritage Point.

Ray Stone, then councilman and future Coeur d’Alene mayor, lobbied hard for that name on June 1, 1976. And he was miffed when the City Council rejected it on a 4-2 vote.

The council then split 3-3 on a motion to designate the old Playland Pier amusement park site as Independence Point, with Stone among the dissenters.

Mayor Ron Edinger cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the name that remains today.

Groused Stone, “Now we’ll be just like everybody else. Heritage Point is a much broader concept than Independence Point.”

On June 28, with Camp Fire girls raising flags and the 13th Naval District Band playing, Mayor Edinger and a crowd of 200 dedicated the new attraction. And, as reported in The Press, Independence Point “officially became part of the Coeur d’Alene landscape.”

Huckleberries

• Poet’s Corner: If gasoline / keeps going up, / I’ll have to buy / it by the cup — The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“One Grand of Regular, Please”).

• Free Parking: Backed by downtown businesses, Coeur d’Alene launched an experimental program May 28, 1986 — free parking for two hours. Monitor Carol Orr removed the meter mechanisms and told The Press that parking tickets under the new system had increased, from $3 to $5 — and to $10 if not paid within 72 hours. The idea worked. Free parking for two hours is still available downtown.

• Energizer Bunny: Dan English has worn many hats during his long public career, including school trustee, county clerk and city councilman. But did you know that he began his career 50 years ago as a county juvenile officer who joined Youth for Christ? Then, he helped found Anchor House/Idaho Youth Ranch. Now, in his 70s, Dan isn’t finished. He plans to seek a fourth full council term in 2027.

• Did You Know II? Michael DePasquale began his culinary career washing dishes in a Rhode Island restaurant. And in May 1986, at age 25, he was one of four chefs who helped open The Coeur d’Alene Resort. He became an award-winning chef at Dockside and Cricket’s — and sold Toyotas briefly (according to the late food critic Patrick Jacobs). In 1998, he opened his thriving Michael D’s eatery on East Sherman.

Parting Shot

By May 28, 1996, Ron Rankin was used to losing.

As an anti-tax crusader, he had pushed several unsuccessful statewide initiatives to limit property taxes. He had campaigned for various Idaho offices 10 times in 30 years — from highway district to Idaho Legislature to governor — and lost, lost, lost.

But he made converts to his conservative anti-tax movement each time he ran for office.

And then he upset incumbent Bob Macdonald in the 1996 Republican primary for Kootenai County commissioner.

“I’ve always felt like Moses, that I would never see the promised land,” Rankin quipped.

Then, he beat Democrat Chuck Sheroke to win the general election, too.

Rankin served two terms — six years — before he lost to Rick Currie in a 2002 GOP primary.

In 2013, High Country News of Colorado included Rankin in a cover story, “How right-wing emigrants conquered North Idaho.” Of Rankin’s final loss, HCN said, “Local politics had shifted so drastically to the right that some conservatives considered him too liberal.”

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

    Above left, Patrolman Walter W. Cox, left, and Deputy Cliff B. Johnson inspect the cookie box that served as a crib in 1956. Above right, Deputy John W. Rasor views the spot where an officer found baby “Cookie.”
  

    Anne Colborn follows reports of Pope John Paul II’s recovery in 1981.
  

    Pope John Paul II talks to pilgrim Ann Odre of Buffalo, N.Y., who was wounded with him in 1981.
  

    Kent Spangler of Young’s Nursery plants a shrub at the old Playland Pier site in 1976, a day after the City Council named it Independence Point.
  

    Days before the 1976 bicentennial celebration, Independence Point officially replaced Playland Pier, a waterfront amusement park and midway.
  

    Meter monitor Carol Orr removes mechanisms from downtown parking meters in 1986 as Coeur d’Alene experiments with free parking.
  

    Dan English quits work as a Kootenai County juvenile officer to join Youth for Christ in 1976.
  

    Michael Depasquale, second from left, is one of four chefs who helped open The Coeur d’Alene: A Resort on the Lake in 1986. Pictured are, from left, chefs Rod Jessick, DePasquale, Gordon Harris and Bill Steele.