Cataldo Is County’s Distant Relative Many Feel Left Out On ‘Wrong Side’ Of Fourth Of July Pass

Some of them register their cars, buy their groceries and school their kids in Kellogg.

Their 911 telephone calls are routed through Wallace because Coeur d’Alene is a long-distance charge away.

Folks along this marshy area east of Fourth of July Pass are part of a county they don’t belong to and are residents of a county that often forsakes them.

They live in Kootenai County, but even the phone book lists their addresses under “Silver Valley.”

In the wake of last month’s flooding, at least one woman is frustrated enough to consider secession.

“We’re completely forgotten over here,” said Lee Ann Baysinger of Cataldo. “It takes a flood for people to even remember we’re part of Kootenai County.”

But few of the estimated 1,000 people here complain about their county’s response to the floodwaters. After all, they note, Kootenai County’s disaster services chief makes Cataldo his home.

In fact, most here don’t complain at all. They view the foibles of life on the “wrong side of the pass” more as entertainment than inconvenience.

Last month’s flood of attention just reminded them how often they go, well, unnoticed.

“People have grumbled about this for years,” said Mike White, president of the Rose Lake Historical Society. “They don’t really mind. They just feel we’re left out a lot.”

With the mountain pass a seemingly perfect geographic border, it’s not entirely clear why the county line runs right through Cataldo, eight miles east of the summit.

“The engineers went up the wrong draw or were drunk or something,” said Dave Daniel, Kootenai County’s building chief and a Cataldo resident himself. “Who knows?”

He’s not far from the truth.

In 1861, Shoshone County was part of the Washington territories and stretched from Pierce, Idaho, to South Pass, Wyoming. Kootenai County was created in 1865 - before Idaho was a state - so cartographers could shrink Shoshone to an area around the Silver Valley mines.

“It looks like the line was pure accident,” said Merl Wells, retired director of the Idaho Historical Society. “They just drew it and didn’t have the foggiest notion where they were in relation to places like Cataldo.”

Four generations later, residents are quick to point out ways they are tied to the neighboring county - and estranged from it.

Police response sometimes takes 40 minutes or more. The county maintains boat ramps on Lake Coeur d’Alene instead of ramps Cataldo residents can walk to on the Coeur d’Alene River.

Cataldo resident Judy Watson said she can have Kellogg newspapers delivered, but she can get The Coeur d’Alene Press only through the mail - one day late. She gets the Idaho Spokesman-Review delivered daily.

Darcy Nordquist, who runs Bodine’s Bar and Grill in downtown Cataldo, said she can’t get beer distributors to come from Coeur d’Alene.

“We ran out one Saturday and my guy in Kellogg was closed,” she said. “The Coeur d’Alene distributor was open, but I still had to go to the store and buy it myself.”

Many residents also say there’s a natural bond with public officials in Shoshone County.

“We know those people,” Verne Blalack said. “I know the sheriff; I know the commissioners. We’re just closer.”

Baysinger, too, knows Shoshone County commissioners - all three of them. But she could name only one of her own: “Commissioner O’Connell” (apparently a hybrid of Commissioners Dick Compton and Bob Macdonald).

Few share Baysinger’s belief that Cataldo should swap mother counties, mostly because the change would mean little and cost more.

Last year, taxes on a $75,000 house on the Kootenai County side of Cataldo were about $1,180. Taxes on a similar house a few yards east ran about $1,310.

“It’s more expensive here,” said Larry Watson, Shoshone County’s chief deputy assessor. “We don’t have as many folks to spread the tax burden around.”

Most residents of the Cataldo area are there for the rural life, said Steve Mullen, owner of the Rose Lake General Store. They don’t expect many services, have few complaints with government and don’t care what they can’t get from their county seat.

“Heck, the only thing I get upset about is Domino’s (pizza) doesn’t deliver,” Mullen said. “That and the fact it’s cheaper to drive to Coeur d’Alene than call there.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: QUIRKS OF CATALDO Police response sometimes takes 40 minutes or more. The county maintains boat ramps on Lake Coeur d’Alene instead of ramps Cataldo residents can walk to on the Coeur d’Alene River.