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

He Was Ripe For Adventure

Seventy years of experience is hard to beat and Henry Acosta knows it. But he doesn’t boast about starting work at age 7 on his uncle’s produce wagon in Los Angeles. He’d rather show off his Mendota melons and Walla Walla onions.

“If it looks good, people buy,” he says, wiping his wet hands on his blue grocer’s apron.

Supermarkets have driven most neighborhood grocery stores out of business, but Henry’s outdoor Fruit Basket in Coeur d’Alene swarms with customers.

And no wonder. Henry writes, “Ripe, take me home,” on a honeydew ready to eat. He slaps watermelons, listens for the timpani drum-like echo, smiles when he hears it and confidently hands the melon to his grandson to carry out for a customer.

His oversized tent buzzes with conversation. Henry’s wife, Kay, knows all the customers, their children, their neighbors.

Henry, who’s 77, treats his apples and tomatoes tenderly because produce has always been there for him. It pulled him out of the East Los Angeles gangs of the 1930s.

“The best way to get kids out of a gang is to give them a job,” he says, nodding sagely. A man offered him $2 a day to pick lemons. Henry didn’t hesitate.

Produce gave him his first business in 1941, although Henry still sighs over the circumstances. A Japanese friend headed to an internment camp sold Henry his produce market in Hollywood for $200.

Henry sold the store three years later for $2,000 and headed to the Philippines with the U.S. Army. He was wounded so severely there that doctors told him he’d never walk again.

A year later, Henry walked into an East L.A. market to work in produce. He then used the strong reputation he earned there to leave Los Angeles with his family for a safer place in central California.

Henry and Kay retired in Coeur d’Alene five years ago. Kay complained at home about the price of produce in the Panhandle so Henry opened a small, seasonal stand.

“He needed something to do,” Kay says, with a fond glance at her husband. “He was driving me crazy.”

Now, the Acostas, their daughter and grandchildren sell produce under a large tent along U.S. Highway 95. Customers hug them when they open in April and groan when they close in September.

Henry’s proud of his produce and expertise, but especially of his prices.

“We make a small profit,” he says, adding with a chuckle, “I don’t pay my wife. Remember when the preacher said, ‘For better or for worse?’ Well, this is the ‘for worse’ part.”

Homeward bound

You don’t need to be a construction expert to help build a house. Habitat for Humanity wants everybody to work on the project it’ll start Aug. 24 on Ninth and Grant in Post Falls.

Here’s how it works: the two families who will live in the duplex will help build it. The work will serve as their down payments. With the help of a lot of volunteers and donations, the building costs should stay low. The two families will make low monthly payments until they own it.

These two families might never own homes without Habitat. This latest project specifically needs a site manager. Habitat also collects castoffs from remodeling jobs - doorknobs, appliances, etc. - to auction to raise money for the program. To volunteer or donate, call 667-3116.

Animal tales

Early-bird Kootenai County workers saw the funniest dog cross the courthouse lawn a week ago. It was a giant raccoon and no one knows where it went.

What strange animal encounters have you had? Scratch out a story for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; fax to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.