Nothing Deters The Falls Guy On His Crusade

Last May I tossed an idea into the air:

Wouldn’t it be great if Spokane changed back to Spokane Falls, the original name James Glover bestowed on the town he founded in 1880?

Ideas to columnists are like feathers. We throw them into the wind and then watch as most of them blow away, never to be seen or heard from again.

Once in awhile, however, we come up with something that doesn’t easily disappear.

Renaming the town is one of those. Nearly 160 readers telephoned or wrote me to say yes to Spokane Falls.

But my name-change proposal lodged deepest in the imagination of one small man with a huge heart.

His name is Nate Grossman. He seized on Spokane Falls as not merely a notion worthy of debate, but something that needed to happen.

Because of his energy, voters next spring may make the historic decision of whether to change our identity back to Spokane Falls.

It was Grossman who sold outgoing Councilman Mike Brewer on the idea. Brewer saw reclaiming Spokane’s original moniker as his chance to leave a legacy.

So on Monday night, after debate and testimony from concerned citizens, the City Council unanimously voted to put the name change up for a vote sometime in the spring.

They may have been shining Grossman and Brewer on since no date was actually set. By the time spring rolls around there could be enough new faces on the council to void the deal.

For example: John Talbott , Mayor Jack Geraghty’s opponent in the November election, couldn’t be more emphatically against changing Spokane’s name.

“No!” he says loudly. People here “have grown up with Spokane as the name. Come on.”

Grossman, 66, is unfazed by the naysayers. “I’m very optimistic,” he says. “I think there’s a very good chance of success as long as people know that they have all the time in the world to change their business cards and stationery.

“It’s the rest of the world we want to call us Spokane Falls.”

Even those who consider changing Spokane’s name sheer lunacy can’t fault Grossman’s sincerity. Or his love for the river that runs through the city’s heart.

His earliest memories of growing up here are of making regular trips to take in the spectacular falls with his dad, Manuel. Now retired, Grossman pestered the city into placing signs along the river that point out to tourists the most scenic vantages.

Had Grossman been around in 1891, our foolish forefathers would never have dared drop the “Falls” in Spokane Falls.

Environmentalists were rare in those days. People thought God created waterways as outdoor plumbing to flush away sewage and industrial wastes.

I’m told waterfront homes were often built with the picture windows on the side of the house opposite to the water.

With this kind of attitude, why not drop the Falls?

Fortunately times changed. Spokane tore down the railyards and held a world’s fair dedicated to the environment.

Reclaiming Spokane Falls could be a continuation of the commitment that started with Expo ‘74.

If our city leaders were smart, they would tie Spokane Falls with the revitalization of downtown. There would be a gold mine of national publicity for a city this size that has the chutzpah to change its name.

Spokane Falls. Is it really that crazy of an idea?

Whatever the outcome, Grossman says he and Brewer will see it through to the end.

“There’s a lot of work to do,” Grossman says. “Between the two of us, we will lead the way.”

, DataTimes MEMO: Anyone wishing to join Grossman can reach him at 927-8830.