DFO: You're probably one of the few high-profile people that I don't know at all. Can you tell me when you got to Coeur d'Alene and why you came here?

Ruth Pratt: I arrived here on July 4, 2002. We built a house here in absentee. We were living in Bellingham, Wash. Whe came here because of kids and grandkids. Our son is Adam Olscamp. He's an orthopedics surgeon. He had moved here with 2 of our grandchildren.

DFO: Isn't your husband a retired university president?
RP: Yes, he is. That's how we met. In 1975, he became the youngest president at Western Washington University, and I joined the faculty in communication disorders (speech therapy). We got married in 1978. Then, he left and became president at Bowling Green University in Ohio. So you can tell Don Sausser that his name is not Pratt. He's done some interim presidencies since he retired from Bowling Green in 1995.

DFO: From the moment you arrived in Coeur d'Alene, it seems you've been involved with the library?
RP: I was looking for a way to meet people and get involved in the community, so I would feel comfortable here. Paul was doing an interim presidency in North Dakota. The whole first year he wasn't here. I had a party and invited all my neighbors. One of my neighbors was Dr. Mary Sanderson. I told people I was looking for ways to get involved. So she said, why don't you volunteer at the library foundation.

DFO: How easy is it to raise millions of dollars in a community that was also being tapped for millions of dollars by Kroc Center supporters?
RP: We actually were engaged in campaign for new library long before city got the Kroc grant. The foundation started in 1995 with the thought of raising money to build a new library. At that time there were no public funds to assist. It was a long process of sometimes two steps forward and five steps backward. Trying to keep energy sustained over long period of time. Get the political will to create public facility. So there was lots of lobbying. And then to educate the public re: importance of great library to the community. For many years, I felt I was selling a pig in a poke b/c I didn't have anything more to sell than a vision.

DFO: How would you describe yourself?
RP: I'm pretty much the glass is half full kind of person. I have, from my mother, a sense of humor that gives me some much needed perspective on life and issues. I'm one of those people who could be called a pollyanna, when I was younger. I tend to be optimistic and to figure out that there are ways to get things done.

DFO: That pollyanna outlook must have helped when you encountered individuals who opposed the cost and location of the library?
RP: We tried to do it by continuing to stick to the positive message points re: what a great factor a library is for the community in terms that it's an economic engine, an information resource, a community living room. In my opinion, libraries are the seminal symbol of a democratic society b/c there is access to everyone. No exclusion. It levels playing field.

DFO: Let's switch gears. I've heard you sing twice now, at Riverstone. I thoroughly enjoy your Big Band voice. How did you get involved in singing?
RP: I started singing in high school. I did musicals concerts in high school and college. I sang with a combo to help pay my way through college. It's always been my artistic outlet. I sang jazz standards before arriving here. Here, I got involved with Coeur d'Alene Big Band through Stan Schedler who plays trombone with that band. I've been singing with them for four years. I've recently started doing vocals for Tuxedo Junction Big Band b/c Ernie and Judy Carlson are retiring from the band at the end of the year. I started the trio with J.J. Dion and Ray Clemons last January. We're doing a play for NIC booster cruise on Sept. 28.

DFO: What's your favorite song to sing?
RP: That's tough b/c I'm so eclectic in my musical tastes. That's why we named the band, Eclectics. I enjoy all genres, although I'm not good at rap. Ella Fitzgerald is my idol. She's the greatest female jazz vocalist. I sing a lot of Ella's tunes.

DFO: If your life was made into a movie, who would play Ruth Pratt?
RP: Carol Burnett.

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