A tall tale about Chenoweth-Hage

One of my favorite stories about the late Helen Chenoweth-Hage occurred shortly after the Coeur d’Alene bureau of The Spokesman-Review opened. On Oct. 19, 1994, Chenoweth-Hage, who was killed in a vehicle accident Monday, was scheduled to debate incumbent Democrat Larry LaRocco in our new meeting room on the first floor. Colleague Betsy Russell provided a good description of Helen in her Eye On Boise blog Tuesday: “This tall, attractive, stylish woman spoke with a surprisingly quiet and breathy voice, that sometimes made you strain to hear what she said.” I’m going to zero in on the word “tall.” I’m 5-10-plus, and she could look me in the eye. On the night of the debate, she arrived a little early in jeans and a matching denim jacket, checked things out in the meeting room, and asked that the podiums be moved closer together. I was curious about that until she emerged from a restroom minutes later wearing high heels and an outfit more appropriate for her debate with Congressman LaRocco. Very high heels. She had a twinkle in her eye. She knew that LaRocco was vertically challenged. She also knew that the one-hour debate would be televised. So, she planned to take advantage of both subliminally, by towering over her opponent and exuding confidence. It was a good strategy. A better one, however, was to land on the ballot in Red State Idaho with a Repub designation after her name. Chenoweth-Hage won 56 percent of the vote and served three colorful terms in Congress before bowing out. She is already missed.