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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Dying Musician Found Harmony

Musician Scott Moulton left Hawaii five years ago for the privacy of North Idaho’s plush forests and the peace of its undisturbed mountain peaks.

Tuesday morning, Scott found permanent peace. He died at home in Sandpoint at age 44 after fighting cancer for two years.

“He never had a fear of dying,” said his wife, Margie. “He felt he was going to a beautiful place.”

Scott hosted KPND’s popular Sunday morning brunch show until the cancer weakened him four months ago. He played his mellow acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and Dobro compositions on the show.

He also played the music of friends he’d performed with over the years: Graham Nash, Jesse Colin Young, Richie Havens, John Hartford, Taj Mahal.

Scott launched his first band - Scotty and the Tissues - in junior high. He moved from rock and roll to bluegrass, country and, finally, soft guitar.

After 20 years of touring, he found his haven south of Sandpoint in 1990. He bought 30 forested acres where he could live quietly and feed deer. He began work on his third album, “Light on the Mountain.”

The album is his musical tribute to the natural beauty in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Occasionally, Scott relinquished his instruments for a chainsaw. Over three years, he cleared the dead wood from 20 of his acres and added trails for a parklike setting.

“It was unbelievable,” Margie said. “He was really into it. He hugged every single tree on our property.”

At 97 pounds, Margie can’t maintain Scott’s park. But she’ll stay on the land that inspired some of her husband’s sweetest music.

“There’s no way I could leave,” she said.

To help pay Scott’s medical bills, friends will hold a buffet and concert Aug. 31 at the Panida Theater. The concert will feature music of blues guitarist Truck Mills, Charley Packard and Tom Newbill, the Bonnie Thompson Band, Bob Geide Jazz Ensemble, Mark Morrison Trio and Jesse Colin Young.

Tickets are $8 for the first 150, then $10. They’re available at Sandpoint’s Jumpin’ Joe’s Espresso, Bradley’s Restaurant and BJ’s Games and Books and Coeur d’Alene’s Wine Cellar.

Eat it up

The Latah Historical Society has the most genteel approach to raising money. In July, it threw a garden party complete with seersucker suits and straw hats. Friday , the society will offer a candlelight dessert and visit with poet Emily Dickinson.

Emily Dickinson is dead. But actress Jane Fellows is as good as her twin. At the Moscow Community Center, Jane as Emily will take her audience into the poet’s Massachusetts parlor and share her memories and confidences.

The society is promising fruit crepes at 7 p.m. and the poet’s arrival at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $12. Call 882-1004.

The play’s the thing

If you’ve ever dreamed of running a theater, your moment has come. The Lake City Playhouse in Coeur d’Alene is leaderless.

This is a community theater without a huge budget. Whoever runs it needs to know how to write grants, recruit volunteers and persuade the public that the theater is the coolest place in Coeur d’Alene.

The job does pay. Call 667-1323 for details.

Organized

Thanks to the Kootenai Amateur Radio Society, 120 kids had a terrific time in the Coeur d’Alene Youth Triathlon this month. The Rotary Club helped finish Coeur d’Alene’s Cultural Center.

What does your organization do for the community that few people know about? Plant trees? Clothe homeless children? Brag about your group’s contributions to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; FAX to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.

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