I went through my files during the lunch hour, looking for mentions of Patty Duke in my Huckleberries column. I found a couple of dozen of them. I plan to use some for my Sunday Huckleberries column. The first mention was Sep. 26, 1994, in reference to her short-lived television series, "Amazing Grace," filmed in Coeur d'Alene. Here's another one:

Jan. 31, 2009: It’s OK to admit it now, I guess. After all, it has been 45 years since I had a "tween" crush on Cathy and Patty – the Lane cousins. Remember them? Before Ginger and Mary Ann, early ’60s television offered rambunctious Patty and her prim and proper English cousin, Cathy, on the "Patty Duke Show." They were played by the same Academy Award-winning actress who gave the show its name and has lived in Coeur d’Alene for quite some time. I’ve met Patty Duke – or as she prefers, Anna – a couple of times. She’s City Councilman Mike Kennedy’s aunt and mother of actor Shawn Astin of "Lord of the Rings" and "Rudy" fame. I’ve never told her that I was more smitten by her portrayal of the English cousin Cathy than the American one. I’ve always had a thing for a British accent. So why am I telling you all this? Patty is reprising her roles as the TV cousins to encourage us aging baby boomers to sign up for Social Security benefits online. In a press release, which I provided at Huckleberries Online along with a video of an ad featuring Patty Duke as the twins, a Social Security official sez: "It takes just 12 to 15 minutes to fill out the form, compared with the 45 minutes it took with the previous version." Patty, who has been involved in fundraisers and appeared on stage locally, is 62. I’m three years behind her. I’ve read her book, "Call Me Anna." She’s autographed a copy of a vintage album I have of hers that features her Top-40 song from the ’60s, "Don’t Just Stand There." In other words, I remain a fan.

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