Al Olin proud of his country
Alvin Olin was proud to be an American. So proud, in fact, that he raised the flag at his home every day of his life, made sure the weather didn’t abuse it, and took it in with respect every night.
Al, like most World War II vets, never forgot his years in the service nor the friends with whom he served. He spent his life in service to the Roy Racy VFW Post 1473 in Spirit Lake and its members. His brother, Ray, was the post commander, and Al was the quartermaster for many years. They were part of a fiercely patriotic family with deep roots in the Blanchard and Spirit Lake communities. Al was born there in 1922, the second of three sons, to Charles and Corinia Olin. Charles was a World War I Marine, and his sons, Ray, Al and Wayne, all served in World War II. All three were Navy men.
Al’s father rode his horse out to these parts from Minnesota when he was only 17, bringing his dog along for company. Before long he’d established himself as Spirit Lake’s butcher, and was raising a family. The boys and their little sister, Winnie, all attended Spirit Lake schools. Of those days Al used to say that he was the only one who would do the morning milking chores because his brothers didn’t want to go to school smelling like milk, or worse. “But I’d go do it!” he’d say. His father instilled in Al a great work ethic and an honorable personal ethic to match. Many of his stories would begin with “My dad used to say …”, followed by a lesson from his experiences.
Many of his stories revolved around hunting and fishing – manly recreation in those days usually involved putting food on the table. Daughter Tracie said, “Every conversation was a story that I could learn from. He didn’t ever just give a pat answer to a question; there was always a story, and always a lesson in every story. He taught me how to take care of cars, how to care for a home; I learned it all from my father. Always a message, how to treat others, having pride, self-respect, dignity, credibility was everything – that’s all you really have is your credibility. That’s the way he lived his life, so his example was huge.”
Soon after graduating from high school, Al joined the Navy, where he served as machinists mate 1st Class on the USS Corregidor in the Pacific theater. He didn’t talk much about his experiences there; it was too emotional for him. Tracie says he was very sentimental about the things that mattered most – his family, his military service, his home, and his good name. Having things wasn’t important to him; taking care of what you had was very important.
He couldn’t stand still when injustice was being done, to man or animal. There was a day when he saw a man viciously beating a dog in the street. Al stepped in and rescued the dog, giving the owner a dose of his own medicine in the process. He was tenderhearted, but he didn’t shirk if a difficult job needed to be done. In time of trouble family and friends relied on his support and wisdom. He didn’t let them down.
Al and Ray were still in uniform when they came home and ventured into a family-run cafe that had sprung up while they were away. Al’s attention was drawn to the little waitress, the owner’s daughter Shirley Soliday, all of 5-feet-3-inches and maybe 100 pounds. She said that these guys in their uniforms looked like movie stars to her; she couldn’t stop staring at them because they were the handsomest men she’d ever seen. In September of 1947, after a year of courtship, Al and Shirley married without much fanfare but with abundant hope and initiative. They had two daughters, Shanon and Tracie. They were together for 53 years before Shirley died in 1999 from cancer.
When they married, the Olins moved to Portland long enough for Al to get a degree in HVAC, becoming an ace at refrigeration repair. Back home in North Idaho, Al worked for Spellman Refrigeration and eventually had his own business, Al’s Gem Refrigeration. He would take his grandson, Bryan Thompson, along on service calls. Bryan attributes his own success and work ethic to Al’s example – “He would often say to me, ‘We must fix it right, not just replace the parts and overcharge the customer. They depend on us.’ If a customer had a breakdown on a busy holiday weekend, he would find the time to be sure it was fixed. I never minded delaying our plans because he made it sound so important that I was proud to get to help. He would arrive with a smile and depart with a handshake.” His customers ranged from St. Maries to the Washington border. He went where he was needed.
Though his business and home were in Coeur d’Alene, his heart remained in Spirit Lake. His activities with the civic groups and VFW post there were never-ending. Shanon tells of his working to clean the cemeteries, marching in the Memorial Day parades, and generally being a part of every holiday celebration the town ever had. He was equally interested in the politics – if a new town employee was to be hired Al would want to be sure that he passed muster. He was in charge of the VFW Memorial Day picnics, and faithfully attended the post dinners and other events. “Support your armed forces,” was his slogan. Tracie described him as “the proudest American I have ever known.”
On May 12th, Tracie and her dad had a date for the VFW Loyalty Day dinner. When he didn’t answer her phone calls she became concerned and asked her husband to meet her at her dad’s. Al was sitting in his chair, all dressed up and ready to go. He had quietly answered a higher, final roll call.