Huckleberries: Mr. Hospitality handed out good candy on Halloween, too

Stories abound in the wake of Bob Templin’s passing in Post Falls on Tuesday morning. As do the endearing terms. A gentleman. Mr. Hospitality. A community booster. A throwback to another era.

Huckleberries remembers how excited Bob was when Post Falls finally landed a full I-90 interchange at Spokane Street way back when. He knew the interchange was important to the River City’s progress.

Coeur d’Alene Councilman Woody McEvers recalls how Bob dropped by his Rustler’s Roost restaurant in Hayden in 2008 after he had moved it from the old Great American building nearby. Bob shared a box full of Polaroids from the 1974 grand opening of the Great American as well as remembrances of food and staff from that restaurant. Bob didn’t have to do that.

Judy Linville-Manley, of Coeur d’Alene, once was a neighbor of Bob’s. She recalls talking to Bob and his wife, Mary, on their evening walks with their dog.

And one more thing. Judy said her children loved going to the Templins’ home on Halloween because Bob gave out full-sized sodas and full-sized candy bars.

Bob cared for others. And that’s why he’ll be missed more than most.

Fan Mail

The Huckleberry about my cousin Florinda’s Portuguese beans brought back memories for reader Earlee Young: “I was born in Newman, California, and the Portuguese hall was behind my grandparents’ house. My grandfather was a high-ranking leader, and at festival times, they would bring over soupas and beans. I’m now 70, but I can still remember how delicious. Oh, don’t forget the sweet bread with the egg hidden in it. Thanks Dave for a Portuguese flashback!” For a pound of linguisa (Portuguese sausage), I can make it a regular feature here.

Sorry

So Tabby Twitchell, a 15-year-old Lake City High freshman, approaches an employee of a hobby supply store in Coeur d’Alene to ask for blue, mechanical pencil lead. Employee: “What size are you looking for – 0.5 or 0.7?” Tabby: “Either will work.” Employee: “Oh, OK. Well, we don’t carry any at all.” That elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner: “This tiny plant must conquer fear/ to bloom before the springtime’s here,/ for the snows of March that sometimes cloak us/ will frost your pistil if you’re a crocus” – “The Bard of Sherman Avenue: Poems by Tom Wobker” … Only those who have been trapped at the Kootenai County driver’s license department for hours – and there are many – can appreciate this Facebook post of Bridgette Lowry, of Coeur d’Alene: “An hour and a half at the DMV. Not too bad” … Lent Lament: “I’m not Catholic, but I’m considering giving up snow for Lent. Who’s with me?!” – Huckleberry Friend Allisa Haakenson Chipman, of Coeur d’Alene. … And another jab at Old Man Winter: “Whoever started the rumor I heard yesterday about us being done with snow is a twisted individual and obviously not from here” – Kris J. Helstrom, of Coeur d’Alene.

Parting Shot

An Apple State chauvinist reports on my Huckleberries blog that Washington ranks No. 5 in the Best States Rankings, according to U.S. News & World Reports. Idaho? No 32. This, based on 60 different metrics. Big deal, shrugs this Green One with Envy. Idaho beats Washington in the categories of “Crime & Corrections” and “Economy.” Who cares where we Spudheads stand on such trivial matters as “Health Care,” “Education,” “Infrastructure,” etc. The Idaho Legislature doesn’t.