Teens Pull Off A Tour De Force

Coeur d’Alene seemed like a dull town to 17-year-old Piper Wimmer until this summer.

“It’s awesome how much history it has,” she says without a trace of sarcasm.

Piper discovered that Hudson’s Hamburgers used to serve ham and eggs and that the Kootenai County seat once was Rathdrum. She learned that 150,000 tons of concrete support the floating boardwalk.

Her research was used for a tour guide brochure that will take walkers from North Idaho College to Tubbs Hill, Roger’s Ice Cream and St. Thomas church.

“I’m glad there’ll be something for people to pick up and take with them,” says Dorothy Dahlgren, director of the Museum of North Idaho. “People do request walking tours.”

The tour was one of four projects offered North Idaho teens in the state’s Summer Youth Employment Program this year. The program employs kids who live in tough circumstances. Their parents may have divorced or died. Money is a struggle.

The kids earn minimum wage.

Ben Yarbrough, a recently discharged U.S. Marine, was hired to supervise the walking-tour project.

He’s young enough to fit in with his four charges and old enough to take command.

The group decided on a three-mile loop that starts at NIC. The 24 tour sites aren’t all historical. The kids included the Coeur d’Alene Resort, floating boardwalk and the skate park.

Roger’s Ice Cream was Dan Brewer’s favorite site to research for the project.

“I’m in love with the Double-Double,” the 15-year-old says, naming Roger’s famous burger.

He learned that Roger’s used to be a coffee shop and that its building was once a Dairy Delight and Pablo’s Mexican restaurant. All that information went into the guide.

“I didn’t know there was a jail in the old City Hall,” Angela Buechner, 17, says. “I told my mom about it. She thinks this is cool.”

The kids shot the photos, put the information on the computer and planned the brochures. The work gave most of them direction for the future. Piper says she wants to teach history. Dan want to be a photographer. Angela is interested in graphic arts.

Unique Printing Services Inc. printed the guide, which includes a numbered list of sites and a map. The printing costs about $1,000. The kids are raising some money from a car wash and asking for donations.

If you’d like to help, send donations to Unique/Coeur d’Alene Job Service, 7600 Mineral Dr., Suite 600, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83816.

Avid athlete

Bill Brockley may have left Coeur d’Alene for California 12 years ago, but he never fails to return each summer. He’s the only athlete who has competed in every Coeur d’Alene Triathlon - that’s 16. And he’s here again.

Bill is 36 and definitely “a weekend warrior,” says his wife, Susie. “He even did it one year with the flu.”

Look for Bill at the triathlon finish line at North Idaho College on Sunday. And cheer.

Let’s get physical

Scoot to the Kootenai Medical Center Health Park in Post Falls for free sports physicals, noon to 4:30 p.m., Thursday.

KMC and Coeur d’Alene Pediatrics are kind enough to offer the service. Students should bring parents and shot records, and wear shorts, a T-shirt and sports bra, if appropriate.

First ones to arrive will have the best chance of being seen. The health park is at 1300 E. Mullan.

Which Panhandle doctor has the best bedside manner? Nominate the nice ones to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; FAX to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.