Boat club celebrates 50 years
COEUR d’ALENE – When the Spokane Yacht Club celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday, club members adhered to a long-established tradition. It had nothing to do with blue blazers or straw hats. This is a club with the mission of having good fun on the water, with jokes and lots of friends along for the ride.
Launched in 1954, the club is clearly the largest one of its kind in the Inland Northwest. Its member roster includes 170 families, said club commodore Ken Quimby.
Saturday’s celebration, held at the club’s well-maintained property and clubhouse along the Spokane River in Coeur d’Alene, held true to form. The party, attended by about 120 people, included plenty of jokes, stories of past cruises shared, and a barbecue and beer garden.
“For me, this has always been about enjoying the love of boating and safe boating with my friends. That’s my reason for being part of this group,” said Dale Pointer, who joined the club in the 1960s and was Saturday’s master of ceremonies.
The 74-year-old Pointer, a retired Spokane firefighter, recalled fondly a cruise in 1977, when he led a group of 50 motor boats up to Sandpoint. “My wife, Leona, and I made a pancake breakfast for the whole group. That was wild.”
Saturday’s event included a celebration of six of the club’s original charter members. When it was incorporated in 1954 – originally as the Spokane Outboard Club – it had 107 members. The six honorees received commemorative champagne glasses and citations honoring them for their club support.
The event gave club members one more chance to have fun with each other. When Pointer mentioned that Edwin Wuerst was the club’s original commodore, or chief officer, someone quipped: “He really was our Wuerst commodore.”
A few minutes later, Pointer started asking guests and members to bring items to place into a time capsule the club was going to bury near the clubhouse.
“Hey, Harvey,” Pointer said, “come up here, we need you.”
As longtime club member Harvey Bucholtz marched toward the microphone, a friend shouted: “Harvey won’t fit in the capsule.”
From 107 members originally to 170 member families today, the club has remained a relaxed, unpretentious place to make new friends and test new waters, said Quimby.
Ninety-one-year-old Ann Difford, who now lives in Tumwater, traveled across state with her husband, Wallace, for the party.
“I really like this group. We had so many good times,” said Difford. They raised three children in Spokane. Most summers, the kids’ prime recreation was joining adults on weekend cruises and daytrips all over the area, she said.
Tom Lookabill, a couple generations younger than Difford, had his own stories to tell.
His favorite cruise occurred around 1964, when he took his three young children along the Rocky Reach area of the Columbia River. “There was no Wanapum Dam yet, so we could ride in white water.
“And you could stop and climb up some cliffs, where you’d be able to see Indian paintings,” he said.
In 1968, the club formally changed its name to Spokane Yacht Club. Pointer said the change meant the Spokane members could take part in events or cruises hosted by other area yacht clubs.
Added member Bob Simpson: “I went to Hong Kong and went to their yacht club. Just because I belong to the Spokane Yacht Club, they treated me like a member.”