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

Lindas who lunch

No can do, Chloe. Claire, you can’t come, either.

If you’re an Olivia, Sophia, Sasha, Malia or Mia, you are not on the list. It’s a very short list.

This is a very exclusive social club. The rules are simple but strictly enforced: Only Lindas allowed.

That’s L-I-N-D-A Linda – not L-Y-N-D-A Lynda.

There are no special circumstances for Melinda or Belinda, Rosalinda, Lindalee, Lindalou – or any other name with the Linda lettering in it.

Linda Shane will be polite but firm. She won’t let them attend Linda Lunch.

Shane started her local Lindas-who-lunch club 10 years ago to find community with other women who share her name.

“We’re all Lindas,” she said. “We kind of have this bond.”

During the past decade, her Lindas have lunched from Sandpoint and Sagle to Spokane – and nearly everywhere nearby: Hayden, Wallace, Liberty Lake, Post Falls, Otis Orchards, Spokane Valley.

But most Linda Lunches, including the recent 10-year anniversary festivities, are held in Coeur d’Alene.

Nearly two dozen Lindas celebrated the milestone, including three first-timers. Introductions in the parlor of Greenbriar Inn went like this:

“Hi, I’m a Linda. Are you a Linda?”

“I’m Linda, too.”

“Hi, Linda.”

Shane usually gets everyone’s attention by calling out the plural version of their name. “Lindas, if you’d like to grab some hors d’oeuvres, they’re over here.”

Back when she was born, Linda was the No. 1 baby name for an American girl, and it remained at the top for six years, from 1947 to 1952. Nearly 1.1 million Lindas were born in the U.S. from 1940 and to 1959. Women in that age range – 56 to 75 years old – make up the bulk of the Lindas who lunch.

Linda Fox, 68, of Spokane, is one of them. She was named by the milkman. Her parents had been expecting a boy and didn’t have any girl names picked out.

“It means beautiful, and I think you have a beautiful spirit if you’re a Linda,” she said, noting the milkman was likely influenced by the hit song.

“Linda,” recorded in late 1946 by Buddy Clark and Ray Noble, was named for the daughter of the songwriter’s attorney – Linda Eastman, future wife of Beatle Paul McCartney. By then, Linda was already the second most popular girls’ name in America. The song, an overnight sensation, propelled the name to the top spot.

“Linda” reached Billboard magazine charts in March 1947, lasting 13 weeks and climbing to No. 1. Many musicians recorded it, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson and Spokane’s own Bing Crosby. Its popularity inspired Shane’s mother – like so many others of that era – to name her daughter Linda, derived from the Spanish word for beautiful.

“And we have a beautiful set of ladies,” said Shane, 65.

She founded Linda Lunch in the summer of 2005 after meeting a couple of other Lindas in the yarn aisle of a local craft store. Soon, the three women were gabbing like old friends. Before leaving, they decided they should get together sometime.

Four Lindas attended the first lunch, held that June at Beverly’s in Coeur d’Alene. Shane had such a good time that she decided to make lunch a regular event and invite other Lindas.

She publicized the club and set the stipulation. Because Linda is spelled L-I-N-D-A in the hit song she was named for, Shane limited the Linda Lunch to women who spell their name the same way.

“It’s interesting to find out about all the different Lindas and their interests and see if something matches up with yours. I think it’s really cool,” said Linda Sargent, 67, of Spokane.

She attended her first Linda Lunch in October. As a schoolgirl, there were so many Lindas in her class, the teacher called them by their middle names. Hers is Lea, No. 677 on the list of popular girls’ names provided by the Social Security Administration.

Linda Logan, 81, of Post Falls, is usually the oldest Linda at Linda Lunch. She has 15 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. Not one is named Linda.

She was born in 1934, when Linda was No. 182. In 2014, Linda was No. 615.

“Personally, I think the name will come back, just like the name John (No. 26 for boys),” Logan said. “I think it’s time.”

Meanwhile, “Every time I meet a Linda I invite her to Linda Lunch.”

About 20 Lindas came to the second lunch, held in August 2005 at the Dockside Restaurant in Coeur d’Alene. They all dressed in black and white. The restaurant created a special menu. The waiter, a man, wore a nametag with “Linda” on it.

Attendance grew to about 40 regulars, most of them baby boomers who dressed for the themed luncheons in prearranged color schemes: yellow and purple, red and black, navy and burgundy, blue and green, blue and gold. (That time they all wore orange, red and pink – “It was beautiful,” Shane said.)

Luncheons often feature guest speakers. They are the exceptions to the rule; presenters don’t need to be named Linda.

The Lindas have learned about everything from identity theft to hydroponics. They’ve made jewelry, visited an aviation museum, hosted a fashion show and taken a noontime cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene. At their 10th anniversary lunch, they practiced napkin folding.

“We always have lunch. We usually have an activity. Once in a while we just gab,” said Shane, who tries not to duplicate speakers or topics. “It can be informative or fun.”

The Lindas lunch on Saturdays, except for the one time they met on a Sunday. They’ve done potlucks, sack lunches, high teas and progressive lunches. They’ve even lunched at a funeral home, where they learned about interment options.

“I love organizing. I love planning. I think it keeps me going. It gives me a sense of joy,” Shane said. “I love to see women have fun and laugh and be creative. When I see Lindas light up, that really makes my day.”

Early on, the Lindas met every other month, then three or four times a year. An entire year had passed between their last meeting in 2014 and their anniversary celebration in early October.

Throughout the years and lunches, about 20 Lindas have regularly kept coming. “People go on,” Shane said. “Some have moved. We lost two from cancer.”

Most live in North Idaho, but some come from Spokane. Shane would welcome Lindas from Montana, too – as long as they were willing to do the drive.

“We welcome any age. Just be a Linda,” said Shane, who’s hoping to revitalize the group. “We have this common ground already. We are all Lindas, and we’re glad to see you.”

Linda Lunch isn’t the only group for Lindas. A pair of friends, both named Linda, founded Lindas Involved in Network Development Association, or L.I.N.D.A, in 1987 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That club allows any woman whose first name is pronounced Linda – including Lynda, Lynnda and Linnda – and has members in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Great Britain.

Membership to the Lyndon, Illinois-based Linda group is $20 per year. This year, its annual conference was held in Linda, California.

Jack Lawrence, who wrote the “Linda” song, was the guest of honor at the third L.I.N.D.A conference 10 years before he died. The group’s website at www.lindaclub.org features a memorial page dedicated to him with a note that reads, “Thanks, Jack, for writing our song.”

Linda remained popular throughout the 1960s. But by the time Linda Richman came along in 1977, Jennifer was No. 1.

Richman, 38, of Coeur d’Alene, is the baby of the group. Her mother wanted to name her Tatiana after a Russian ice-skater, “but she didn’t think it would go well with our last name,” which was McNett.

So her dad named her after Linda Kaye Henning, an actress in the television show “Petticoat Junction,” which ran from 1965 to 1971.

“I was the only Linda in school,” Richman said.

A teacher, she lived and taught in the Sunnyside School District in the Yakima Valley for several years, driving back to North Idaho on weekends to attend Linda Lunch.

“I think the reason I keep coming back is because of all the friendships I’ve made,” she said. “Our age doesn’t matter. We’re all fairly close.”

Linda remains the fifth most popular girl’s name in the U.S. for the last 100 years. Mary is No. 1.

In fact, Mary was No. 1 from 1915 until Linda jumped from No. 2 to the top spot in 1947. And Mary was back in first place from 1953 through 1961.

After that, the popular girls were – in order – Lisa, Jennifer, Jessica, Ashley, Emily, Isabella and Sophia. Emma was most popular last year. These days, a girl is more likely to be named Jayden, Jaelynn, Braelyn, Braylee, Brynlee, Paislee, Ashlyn, Addisyn, Addyson, Madisyn, Madison, Brooklyn, Londyn, Eden, Genesis, Dallas, Juniper, Journey, Lyric, Montserrat (No. 571), Shiloh, Aryanna, Adriana (No. 177) and Winter (No. 556) – but not Wynter (No. 882).

“You never see Mary or Linda or Jane. All of those names that we grew up with, you don’t see them anymore,” said Linda Blackstone, 70, of Coeur d’Alene.

Mary is No. 120 now, and Jane, No. 322. Both are more popular than Linda, which sits just under Mira and Lylah and just above Whitney and Alena.

None of Blackstone’s grandchildren is named Linda. There’s Violet (No. 67 for girls) and Milo (No. 311 for boys). One is Rhiannon, named for the 1975 song by Stevie Nicks. Rhiannon ranked No. 941 in 2007, but hasn’t made the top 1,000 list of baby girl names since.

Like Blackstone, Shane doesn’t have any grandchildren named Linda. She didn’t name her daughter Linda, either.

Still, she would like to see a Linda resurgence. It’s her favorite name.

“All Lindas are special,” she said. “They all have talents. They all have a story.”