The Slice: Where everybody knows your nametag

An online Slice reader back East referred in an email to a Spokane relative of his as being a “minor celebrity” here.

It turned out that he was kidding. But that raised the perpetual question: Is there such a thing as a Spokane celebrity?

With occasional exceptions – Adam Morrison during his big year comes to mind – I would say “No.”

Sure, there are local residents with national reputations. But celebrities? Nah.

Feel free to disagree.

Thanking teachers: Well after her school years, Colville’s Bonnie Stichart sent a thank-you letter to her fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Avery, a gifted storyteller. “As …

An online Slice reader back East referred in an email to a Spokane relative of his as being a “minor celebrity” here.

It turned out that he was kidding. But that raised the perpetual question: Is there such a thing as a Spokane celebrity?

With occasional exceptions – Adam Morrison during his big year comes to mind – I would say “No.”

Sure, there are local residents with national reputations. But celebrities? Nah.

Feel free to disagree.

Thanking teachers: Well after her school years, Colville’s Bonnie Stichart sent a thank-you letter to her fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Avery, a gifted storyteller. “As a result of my letter to her, my husband and I went to the Oregon coast to visit her. She said I was the only student who had ever thanked her.”

Laurie Newell wrote, “Yes, I told my favorite teacher thank-you and I didn’t wait until years afterward either. He was my high school biology teacher and he influenced me to the point that I followed in his footsteps. Previous to that, I had always disliked science.”

Newell became a science teacher and then went to work in a hospital lab. “We still exchange Christmas cards.”

About five years ago, Barbara Cunningham contacted her 1960s high school French teacher, Julius Domowitz. “This man taught me French, plus the love of animals.”

When she called him, Cunningham assumed he might not remember her.

But he did, offering specific recollections to prove it. “This man made a difference in my life just because he was who he was – a teacher who cared about his students.”

Warm-up question: How do you react when you hear someone call Spokane a cow town? A) You say, “I get that you are going for a put-down, but we don’t really have significant stockyards.” B) You say, “Does your contempt extend to all of the interior West?” C) “You have mistaken us with Fort Worth.” D) “There are daily flights leaving here.” E) “Where’s home for you, Paris?” F) Other.

Today’s Slice question: Who here has over the years seen the greatest number of nominated presidential candidates during campaign stops in Spokane?

Write The Slice at P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Spokane’s Central Avenue isn’t really all that central.