Huckleberries: Things just aren’t the same without ex-Mayor for Life

In Jeff Foxworthy-speak, you might be a Coeur d’Alene native, if … you read this column back in the ‘80s when it was called Kootenai Grapevine. And if you remember the sour comments and public condemnations that ex-Mayor For Life Ray Stone leveled at your humble Huckleberry Hound. Particularly on Mondays, when the column appeared. One particular Monday, my wife and I were awakened at 6 by an angry phone call. After listening to about 30 seconds of vituperation and obscenity, my wife cut off the caller and handed me the phone, stating: “I think it’s for you.” It was Ray. He was mad about something I wrote. For years, we formed quite a team. He’d spout. I’d quote him. Regularly, he created controversy with his offhand remarks, like the time he accidentally uttered into an open mike in council chambers: “The biggest jerk in town just entered the room.” I kept the town guessing for weeks who that might be. At another time, he almost triggered a border war by referring to Spokane visitors and boaters as “suckers” for clogging our beaches and messing up the town with litter. Why do I bring up Ray now, a dozen years after he left office? Councilman Ron Edinger introduced Ray to colleague Erica Curless at Hudson’s Hamburgers on Wednesday. When he heard where she worked, Ray snapped: “I hate The Spokesman-Review.” Tongue firmly cheeked, Erica responded: “In that case, Dave Oliveria says, ‘Hi.” To which, Ray shot back: “I hate Dave Oliveria worse than I hate The Spokesman-Review.” This place hasn’t been the same without Ray.