Warm Thanks Await Trio For Chilly Rescue
Something told Katherine von Hagen to skip the job interview Feb. 26 in St. Maries.
Snowflakes the size of quarters poured down on her car as she headed east on Interstate 90 toward state Highway 3.
“I had a flash that said don’t go, but I told myself I had to go. It would be a good experience,” she says.
By the trip home to Coeur d’Alene about 3:30 p.m., the snow was blinding. Highway 3 was so slick that Katherine crept along at 25 mph. The line of traffic that stretched behind her like an annoying tail nagged at her to pick up the pace.
“I’m sure they were all cursing at me,” she says.
Katherine, who’s 44, grew up in Minnesota and is no stranger to icy roads. Each time her compact Mitsubishi slid, she corrected until one sudden slide propelled her left across the highway and down a steep embankment.
“I remember going, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ All I could see in front of me was water,” she says. “I was so disappointed later that my life hadn’t flashed before my eyes.”
Katherine’s red car plunged into Cave Lake and flipped onto the driver’s side. She undid her lap and shoulder belts as water poured in, stood on her seat and pushed open the passenger-side door at the same moment a man outside was pulling it open.
She wasn’t hurt, but the man carried her to shore where a line of men helped her up the 100-foot embankment. Her car had stopped in shallow water. Three men tipped it upright, then called the Idaho State Police.
They stayed with her until help arrived. The men told Katherine they were garnet miners, but she doesn’t remember if they told her the name of their company. She also doesn’t remember if she thanked them.
“I’m hoping I did and I’m sorry if I forgot,” she says. “I want them to know how grateful I am.”
She looked for garnet miners in the telephone book so she could call her rescuers, but she found nothing.
The incident is nearly behind her now. Car repairs cost $2,400 and took two weeks. She didn’t get the job in St. Maries.
The story is one of Katherine’s favorites to tell, because she’s still here to tell it.
But she needs the names of her three rescuers and a chance to thank them to feel that her Rose Lake plunge is truly history.
Call 765-7128 if you can identify Katherine’s rescuers.
Bright connection
Coeur d’Alene’s Steve Badraun, who owns Duncan’s Garden Center, says light bulbs go on in his head all the time. Why? Thomas Edison was his fourth cousin.
Beautiful music
Bring up music teachers and Post Falls’ Randi Currey trumpets a melody of praises for John Kracht. He’s the vocal music teacher at the junior high and high school in Post Falls.
“When he brings the choir to sing for the elementary schools, the group clearly communicates its enjoyment and enthusiasm for music to the audience,” Randi says.
She takes piano lessons from John. I hope she’s not just buttering him up because she didn’t practice this week …
Winning touch
Remember Todd Banducci’s Bible Bowl students from Dalton Gardens Church of Christ? They cleaned up at a 51-team bowl in Fullerton, Calif., two weeks ago and Coeur d’Alene High sophomore Josh Reinstein won a $1,000 college scholarship.
Josh and junior high Bible ace Zach Shaner each missed only one question out of 100. But Zach will have to wait until he reaches the high school division for scholarships.
What obscure team did you belong to in high school? Lawn bowling? Ice fishing? Folk dancing? How did you sell it to your friends? Expose your past affiliations to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; send a fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo