Post Falls’ Past Brought Into Focus
Kim Brown can’t get enough of the stories.
She wants to hear Don Kamps’ boyhood recollections of scrambling over Treaty Rock and Geraldine Eggers’ girlhood dreams of dancing around the maypole at McGuires School.
Kim searches for the people who have lived in Post Falls the longest and plucks their personal histories. Every memory fills a gap.
“Each piece of our history we preserve and share becomes part of the long-term history of the town,” Kim says. “We get more of a total picture and a greater appreciation of our area.”
Last year, Kim captured the oral histories on video to personalize the Post Falls Historical Society’s latest project.
The society identified historic sites in town, researched them and nominated the eligible ones for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Some predate the town’s incorporation in 1891.
Four made it onto the register - the Samuel and Ann Young home (circa 1900), the Community Presbyterian Church (1890), Treaty Rock (ancient) and two Washington Water Power Co. bridges (the 1920s).
Pleasantview School and McGuires School were placed on the register in 1984.
If people can see Post Falls’ history, they’ll feel closer to their community, Kim says. By videotaping each site, she made it easy for people to see Post Falls’ history without ever leaving home.
“Memories on Video” is “one of the best videos funded by the historic preservation program in the state,” says Ann Swanson, the program’s grant analyst. “The narrators related personal incidents that give these properties meaning to everyone.”
For Kim, the project is another in her constant search to uncover her town’s history.
“I get pretty excited about things historical,” she says. “The idea of sharing local history is such a natural thing to do.”
The Post Falls Historical Society will show “Memories on Video” at its annual banquet at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Templin’s Resort. The public is invited. Tickets are $15. For information, call 773-4681.
Music for money
The North Idaho College Foundation is smart enough to know the power of music. To raise money for the scholarships it gives, the foundation has organized a crowd-pleasing concert that most people will be happy to pay $18 to hear.
Who can pass up all the favorites from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Showboat,” sung by popular bass-baritone William Rhodes and well-known soprano Kay Damiano?
If you’re not into Broadway, go to hear 15-year-old violinist Jason Moody from Sandpoint; Spokane’s William Thomas, a bagpipe soloist; or Coeur d’Alene’s two favorite guys on grands, Todd Snyder and George Conrad.
Wait, there’s more. Veritas, the Inland Empire Boys Choir; the North Idaho Symphony; and the West Valley String Orchestra will complete the lineup of performers. Whew.
The foundation will sponsor two concerts, one at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 and the other at 2 p.m. Feb. 8 in NIC’s Schuler Auditorium. Tickets are $15 and $18 and sell out fast. Call 769-7780 to reserve yours.
No time to rest
Winter is no time for gardeners to put away their trowels. It’s the time to learn things, according to the Master Gardeners of the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension Service.
On Jan. 31 at Templin’s Resort in Post Falls, Sandpoint’s Dan Barney will teach a class on bonsai, Post Falls Garden Center manager Katie Burge will share what she knows about bulbs and Diane Park and Barbara Ford will teach pond construction and discuss water plants.
Classes are $20. Call 667-6426 for details.
Who’s the best indoor gardener you know? Spotlight green thumbs for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; or send a fax to 765-7149, call 765-7128 or send e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo