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

Eventful Move Cost One Man His Memories

John Jaklich’s hopes are fading. He’s advertised since September in Boise, McCall, Lewiston, Moscow and St. Maries, but no one has responded.

He wants his memories back. He may have lost them while moving 15 months ago. Or maybe someone took them from the storage unit near his home in Hayden.

All he knows is that his boyhood scrapbooks are gone.

“The grief over it I’ve felt is the loss of the past,” he says, his eyes downcast. “It was the pictures that brought out my memories.”

John’s mother compiled the two books for him as he grew from an infant in Wisconsin in the 1940s to a U.S. Marine. She pasted in 1910 photographs of his grandparents, newspaper ads, birthday cards, Valentines, John’s report card.

The books stayed with his mother for safekeeping after he left home, until he settled down. She finally sent them to him in Boise in 1993. A year later, he and his family moved north.

John’s wife, Pauline, protected the scrapbooks in zippered plastic bags and put them in a box for the move. John packed some of his family’s belongings on a snowmobile trailer with improvised sides. The rest stayed in storage.

The trip north was a calamity. John overloaded the trailer and its tire went flat before the Jakliches left Boise. He and Pauline unloaded everything and separated it into piles to take along or to Goodwill, the dump or storage.

On U.S. Highway 95 north, the ties over the trailer broke. Tarps flew off.

“Anything might have fallen off,” Pauline says, straining to remember any detail that might help. “Or maybe we set the box in the Goodwill pile.”

They rented a truck to haul the rest of their belongings north, then put most of it in storage next to their trailer. It took months before John or Pauline noticed anything missing.

They checked Boise’s second-hand stores and a few antique stores, then began placing ads offering a reward. They can replace their missing sewing machine, ice-cream maker and pool cue. But not John’s memories.

“In antique stores, I see these old family pictures and wonder why they’re not hanging in that family’s home,” John says. “Now I know why.”

If you have any information about John’s scrapbooks, call him at 772-5443.

A heartful of music

Even if you’re not into Valentine’s Day, the music of pianist Cynthia Haberman and violinist Cathyanne Lavins will soften your heart.

The two Coeur d’Alene women will get together Feb. 10 to help Trinity Lutheran Church raise money for a new piano. They know their music so well, they’ll perform in candlelight at the church, 812 N. Fifth St. in Coeur d’Alene.

Cathyanne leads the Coeur d’Alene Youth Symphony and Cynthia graces Hayden Lake’s Clark House with her musical talent. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Call 664-5743.

Dinner and a movie

Sandpoint’s Panida Theater will offer several foreign films this winter and the city’s restaurants will cook food to match. I’m not sure what that means for the Panida’s first movie, “Smoke,” with Harvey Keitel and William Hurt on Saturday.

But later this winter, the schedule includes Luis Bunuel’s “Belle de Jour,” then “Il Postino.” By spring, the Panida will be into Cuban, Gypsy and Russian films. Yum.

Restaurants also will serve desserts and munchies in the theater lobby and they’ll represent whatever geographic area the film is about. What a great way to taste the world. Call 263-9191 for tickets.

What’s cooking?

Who’s the best cook in your community? Spread the news to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; fax to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo