Post Falls celebrates history

Mary McCormick-Hughes used to sled down Spokane Street as a child.

She didn’t have to worry about cars.

It was a dirt road and there weren’t any. There were horses and wagons.

Her collie would grab the cuff of her coat sleeve in his mouth and pull her back up the snowy hill.

Last week McCormick-Hughes stood outside her home across from Q’emiln Park – the same home where she was born 88 years ago – and counted more than 50 cars passing on the paved street in five minutes’ time.

One of Post Falls’ oldest residents, McCormick-Hughes crossed the street from her lifelong home to the park last week to tell Post Falls fourth-graders about the history of the town as she knew it.

Students also heard from those who had stories going further back – tales originating before Frederick Post founded the town and long before McCormick-Hughes was born in the white house.

Quanah Matheson, cultural director for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, shared a tale of two rabbits who looked very different but were able to come together like brothers.

“Like we all should be,” Matheson said.

It was the first time Matheson attended the annual event called Q’emiln Quest. He said it made him happy to see the kids interacting with the tribe’s linguist, Raymond Brinkman.

“Someday they’re going to be stewards of this land, so it’s important they know the history,” Matheson said.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Post Falls Historical Society sponsored this year’s event in honor of Idaho Archeology and Historic Preservation Month.

Students can read about the history of Idaho in a story book, but it’s different hearing it from the people whose ancestors were there when the history began, said Kim Brown, past president of the historical society.

“It’s powerful,” she said.