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

He remembers when …

Tony Carpine reminisces about his six decades in Cheney

Wendy Huber Correspondent

CHENEY – Tony Carpine has lived in Cheney for 61 years. Born in 1926 in Renton, Wash., he lived there until he enlisted in 1944. He was in Patton’s Army in World War II until 1947.

After the war, being a runner, Carpine chose Cheney as his new home. His uncle Victor, who ran track at Eastern Washington College of Education, now Eastern Washington University, had persuaded him to attend there.

Carpine has seen a few changes in Cheney over the years.

“They used to have May Fest on May Day where they’d block off the main road and have dances and go from one tavern to another,” reminisces Carpine. “Then I remember when the bank was robbed. An old friend of ours did it! But they didn’t put him in jail. He gave the money back.”

Carpine, his uncle and his brother Fred are all in the university’s Hall of Fame for track. He has been a strong supporter of Eastern athletics over the years and helped start the annual Orland Killin Lobster Dinner in 1982, where live lobsters are flown in from Maine.

Carpine also met his wife, Vivian, at Eastern, where she was a college librarian for more than 20 years. They have two daughters and two sons. The family moved to their present home on Nolan Brown Place near Cheney High School in 1974, when the region was still relatively unpopulated. It wasn’t until 1996 that the area suddenly boomed.

“This house at that time was one of the few houses in this addition. That was all wheat fields, see,” Carpine says, gesturing beyond his backyard. “Downtown hasn’t changed at all. The big change was when they built Safeway and all that out there.”

Carpine spent more than 30 years in the construction business, first on a rock crusher, then as operator of an asphalt roller. He did all the roads in Cheney and the airport runway twice. After he retired from construction, he owned and operated an Italian restaurant, Antonio & Son, in downtown Cheney for six years.

“I had a good time doing it. I fed all the football players and basketball players,” Carpine says. “I made my homemade ravioli. I had spaghetti and meatballs, and barbecued chicken and ribs. I met a lot of people. Some of them went on to pro football.”

In his military days Carpine saw concentration camps, and where the bombs had dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He won a Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Bronze Star, and 23 other service medals during his service, and became Chief Master Sergeant. He is a lifetime member of the VFW.

One of Carpine’s favorite memories is the arrival of the rodeo, which many of his good friends organized in 1967.

After retirement, he had fun traveling with the EWU basketball and football teams until he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2000. Now he enjoys gardening, cooking and fishing from his boat, especially at Williams and Badger Lakes.

“Oh, I love Cheney. I wouldn’t live in any other place,” Carpine says. “It’s such a nice small town. There’s not much crime here. When I go to the coast it’s bumper-to-bumper every place.”

Reach correspondent Wendy Huber by e-mail at wendhuber@lycos.com.