Bracelets’ tale has charming closure

Ruthe Harshman says she’s rarely at a loss for words.

But last May when she received a call saying her charm bracelets that had been missing for 20 years had turned up in Iowa, she couldn’t summon any words to describe her happiness.

However, when Harshman and Mary Christensen, of Robbins, Iowa, met in person for the first time recently, there was no lack of conversation or smiles.

Christensen’s aunt, Glendale Reeve, lives in Spokane, giving Christensen the opportunity to not only travel here for a little family reunion, but also to meet Harshman.

“(Harshman) is so delightful. I’m thankful I found her while she was alive,” joked Christensen. “The more we talk the more we realize what we have in common.”

“I’m just so in awe of this lady,” Harshman said. “For her to hold on to something so worthless to her for so long, it means the world to me.”

The story began in 1987 when, allegedly, thieves in the Chicago airport were interrupted in their mischief and put the jewelry they’d stolen into a suitcase belonging to Christensen.

“When I had first found them (the bracelets) in a plastic bag in my luggage, I called the airline, and they had said there was no way to track who they belonged to,” Christensen said. “I wore some of it for a while but then just stored it away.”

When she was doing some cleaning last spring after her retirement from teaching, she came across a basket with the bracelets and decided try finding their owner again.

One of the charm bracelets had charms with the names Bob and Ruthe on it, so Christensen tried using this information and the Internet to locate their owner.

She contacted National Public Radio commentator Bob Greene, who did a story on the bracelets. Listening to that radio report was Harshman’s grandson’s wife’s college roommate, who thought the names of Ruthe, her husband and children and their birthdays sounded familiar. A week later all of the information was put together to determine that the bracelets belonged to Harshman.

Once it was verified, NPR aired a new story and surprised Harshman with a phone call about her bracelets.

Harshman was so happy to hear that her lost bracelets were going to be returned she sent a huge basket of flowers before Christensen had sent the package.

“Getting the bracelets back was unbelievable,” Harshman said. “The charms have all kinds of memories.”

Conor Wigert

Rogers cheerleaders get new uniforms

Rogers High School cheerleaders won’t be outclassed by anyone when they take the field this fall.

The 14-member squad now has four sets of new uniforms – worth nearly $30,000 – thanks to the generosity of two 1961 Rogers alumni who were high school sweethearts and have never lost a fierce loyalty to their old school.

“We are going to look so much better than all of the other schools,” said Charisse Myers, a senior and co-captain of the squad.

The new uniforms include skirts, shells, body liners, warm-up jackets, Nike cheer shoes and pants, all from Varsity, a leading uniform maker.

Just one three-piece outfit – suitable for warm weather or indoors – costs $300.

Counting their useable old uniforms, the girls now have six different outfits, enough to look sharp at every event even when their schedule puts them in four different venues during one week in January.

The result, said senior co-captain Kaylee Raymond, is “we’re going to be louder. We’ll feel more confident and stuff.”

The gift came from Rich and Donna Naccarato, who wanted to make a contribution in time for completion of $70 million remodeling and expansion of the landmark 1932 high school. The two-phase project is scheduled for completion later this year.

Rich Naccarato said he and his wife were talking about what they could do to help the school and they hit on the idea of contributing to the cheerleaders because they “are kind of the point persons for purple pride.”

A former running back and student body president, Rich Naccarato went on to play football at the University of Idaho and eventually returned to Rogers to teach and coach football in the early 1970s. He is now a successful real estate developer.

Donna Naccarato was a Rogers cheerleader and Girls League secretary who supported her husband through college and works with him in their business. She is still known for having a competitive spirit. “It’s a reward for us to see them so excited,” she said.

Mike Prager

Spirit Lake skate park faces closure

Dave Roser watches kids walk past his house all day long headed toward Spirit Lake’s skate park.

Though the city is considering tearing out the park because of complaints, Roser said the sound of skateboards slamming off the ramps and onto the concrete is like music.

“I love the sound of this place,” said the Presbyterian pastor, whose home is near City Park.

“I listen to this and I say, ‘There’s another kid that’s not in trouble.’ ”

Roser and nearly 50 other Spirit Lake residents of all ages gathered at the skate park Wednesday to come up with solutions to the problems Mayor Roxy Martin said are cause for shutting the park down: Complaints about swearing teens, drug and alcohol use, vandalism and bullying.

“It’s just been an ongoing problem,” Martin said.

The mayor said she doesn’t have anything against skateboarders – she even enjoys watching the sport on TV, and her grandsons skateboard.

The boys aren’t allowed to skate at Spirit Lake’s skate park, though.

Martin said she’s heard several complaints about the skate park and that it’s been nothing but trouble for the city since opening about eight years ago.

Debbie Moore, organizer of the effort to save the skate park, said she talked with Martin about the problems there.

“I said there’s a lot of good kids that hang out there, too, and there are solutions to problems,” Moore said. She began circulating petitions, collected about 200 signatures and organized a community meeting.

If supporters of the skate park can come up with a plan to curb the problems and complaints from residents, Martin said the city will consider keeping the park open.

She’s not optimistic.

Martin said she’s closed the park down for a couple weeks at a time in the past and skaters have promised to clean up their act and their trash, but haven’t.

“It’s ridiculous to tear down a beautiful skate park like that when there are towns around us scrimping, saving, trying to put money together so their kids have something like this,” Moore said.

Megan Krizenesky used to be a bored kid in Spirit Lake.

“This is the first place in Spirit Lake that’s actually been built for the kids,” said Krizenesky, now an adult and mother of three. “We have to take care of it.”

She urged the skateboarders gathered at the meeting to take the initiative and take care of their park.

Taryn Hecker