Sandpoint Magazine Summer 2013

M a G a Z i n E

inside: Official SandpOint Visitor Guide

WOLVES

COnTEnTIOUS COmEBACk

SAnDPOInT On THE SALmOn A river odyssey

&

Interview with filmmaker Ted Parvin, History of Sandpoint in 10 Objects, Ultimate Frisbee, Cedar Street Bridge at 30, Entrepreneurs of Sandpoint, Camping Our Lake, A Carpe Diem Photo Essay, Calendars, Dining, Real Estate ‌ and a whole pack more

SUMMER 2013

Sandpoint

FOR 30 YEARS it’s been the place to gather to shop, and be inspired, and eat, and craft, and ...

The Cedar Street Bridge has been Sandpoint’s Iconic Public Market for the past 30 years. Today you’ll find furniture, coffee and gelato, deli, restaurants, the Civic Children’s Activity Center, souvenirs, handmade bath and body products, clothing boutiques and more. Come gather over the water.

Lease spaces available for creative retailers and artisans.

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Call Jeff Bond 208-255-8270

4/30/13 1:41 PM

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Anytime Info

For recorded information or to speak to the listing agent, call 208.449.0071 and use the 5-digit property code.

McGinnisValleyRanch.com The ranch of your dreams!

Creeks/springs – pastures – timber – large acreage – quality custom dovetail log home – barns – shops – surrounded by USFS – abundant wildlife – like no other! - #11261 Call Karen Battenschlag 208.610.4299

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Premium quality custom cedar home on 10 private acres.

Quality finishes – gourmet kitchen – main floor master – stone fireplace – wrap-around covered decks - 2,528 sq.ft. - #12481 Call Karen Battenschlag 208.610.4299

Schweitzer Mountain Living! Like new! Townhome style condo – quality finishes – custom kitchen – granite and tile fireplace – open floor plan with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths – garage-shop area – heated driveway – 1,669 sq.ft. – #13361 Call Karen Battenschlag 208.610.4299

Rare Waterfront Opportunity! Custom log waterfront home on 836 feet of level private sandy shoreline backed by 25+ acres of trees and fenced/cross-fenced pasture. Long dock for boats. Shop/ garage for RV and more. Barn w/hay storage. $995,000 – #12201 Call Bill Schaudt 208-255-6172

Panoramic lake and mountain views from this peaceful end of the road waterfront home. Immaculate home perched above Lake Pend Oreille. Dock w/boat slip on 100 feet of frontage, state -of-the-art tram system. 3-car garage/shop w/ lake view. Private Glengary community. – #10641 | Bill Schaudt 208.255.6172

Extraordinary panoramic views on this 102+ acre ranch w/ 58 pasture acres, 42+ acres with over 5 acres water frontage. 4,278 sq .ft. home w/ 4+ bdrms, 4 baths & 2 rock fireplaces. 2 large barns w/ stalls, tack room, milk room, hayloft. $1,200,000 – #11161 Call Bonnie Chambers 208.946.7920

Private, Wooded 19+ Acres with creek and pond bordered by timber co. land. Cottage style home w/ 2 large bdrms + den, 1.5 baths, laundry/porch. Main floor master bdrm. Lots of storage.

Remodeled kitchen, 2 car detached garage w/ unfinished studio above. $249,000. – #13441 | Call Linda Tolley 208.561.1234

Newly Constructed Log Cabin on 12+ acres w/mountain views, big trees & two year-round natural springs, one developed with cistern. Electricity & septic system already in. Cabin interior unfinished. Additional building site for main house. $157,000. – #14991 | Call Linda Tolley 208.561.1234

Unsurpassed 180 Degree Views of Lake Pend Oreille in Hope.

Quality remodel in 2006 - new cabinets, fixtures, tile throughout.

Decks & more decks. Add’l lot available next door. – #11141 Stan Hatch, 290-7024 or Chris Chambers 290-2500

1,800 SF Townhouse in Sandpoint. 3 bedroom 2 baths, laminate kitchen floor, tile countertops, oak cabinets. Master bedroom has balcony. Deck in sideyard, 1-car garage. MLS#20130773 $169,000. – #11381 Call Susan Moon 208.290.5037

Spectacular Lake Pend Oreille Views. Gorgeous 3 bedroom, den, family room, 3.5 bath custom home in Hope. Wolf range, granite countertops, Travertine tile floors, cherry cabinetry. Walk-out basement, wet bar. Exterior water feature. MLS#20130648 $595,000. – #12151 | Call Susan Moon 208.290.5037

WOW!! Huge Views From Every Room! 21’ ceilings, 7,800 sq.ft., 3,000 sq.ft. patio, 6BR, 6.5BA., 154 pvt. wtrfrt. ft, 2+AC. Hard to believe a home like this is available on the Pend Oreille. – #10041 Stan Hatch 208.290.7024 or Chris Chambers 208.290.2500

© MMVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Claude Monet’s “Red Boats at Argenteuil,” used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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SANDP O INCONTENTS T MA G A Z IN E

S u m m e r 2 0 1 3 , Vo l . 2 3 , N o . 2

FEATURES 86 Cover Story: Return of the Wolf

The predator has made a strong comeback, thrilling for some – infuriating for others. PLUS: Q&A with Jim Hayden, regional wildlife manager

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35

Making the Town Tick

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Small Town, Big Ideas

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Thirty Years of the Cedar Street Bridge

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The Die-Hard Players of Ultimate Frisbee

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Private Beach

Behind the scenes with Eric Paull, chairman of SURA The story of entrepreneurs Jason Giddings, Nick Guida and Fred Colby The landmark comes full circle as a marketplace over water

Local athletes relish the counterculture sport – a mix of football, soccer Discover five spots for remote camping on Lake Pend Oreille

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A Photographic Dichotomy

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Sandpoint on the Salmon

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A History of Sandpoint in 10 Objects

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Bypass Bygone A reality 58 years in the making

Two native photographers capture, in pixels, what they love about life

A river odyssey in which adventurers discover you can take it with you Yes, 10 artifacts from Bonner County Museum relate the town’s story

DEPARTMENTS

Almanac Who, What and Why in Greater Sandpoint Calendar With Hot Picks and Festival at Sandpoint Interview Ted Parvin, Film Industry Veteran Photo Essay Carpe Diem Real Estate 74 On the cover: Photo of captive gray wolf © Ryan Jaime / 123RF Top: Gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park by Jerry Ferrara. See cover story, page 86.

Middle: Doug Marshall captured these acrobatics performed on the Salmon River by K-Bear River Adventures’ own: swamper Nan Kiebert and guide Garrett Stahl. See story, page 64.

Above: What is this artifact and how does it relate to Sandpoint’s history? See page 74.

Phenomenal Home: Elliot Bay masterpiece a lakeside place in the sun Community Land Trust: Offering homeowners a leg up Brewster’s Back in Town: Founder returns to C.M. Brewster & Co. Transportation Alternatives: Highway projects face balancing act Belwoods 301: Historic landmark on Cedar under renovation Marketwatch: Real estate on the rebound, with market trends

Natives and Newcomers Lodging Eats & Drinks Dining Guide Sandpoint of View SUMMER 2013

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10 25 29 81 98 98 103 104 105 109 112

115 120 121 132 138 SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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editor’s note The benefits of unplugging from the wired world and getting outside are well documented. They include boosting brainpower, mood and immunity. Researchers in Japan are finding that spending time in nature can lower blood pressure, ward off depression, lessen stress and even prevent cancer. In addition to forests, water may be a key element in the natural world for psychological well-being. Forests and water provided plenty of nature therapy for me and several others on the Salmon River last year, as told in “Sandpoint on the Salmon.”

The wild nature of our area is also at the heart of this issue’s cover story about wolves. Wolves evoke strong passions, but writer Cate Huisman produced a fair, balanced, journalistic story. Since being reintroduced to Yellowstone and Central Idaho in 1995-96, wolves have spread out and multiplied. In fact, 17 packs are now documented in the Idaho Panhandle. We were surprised to learn of a suspected pack named “Keokee,” the same name the publisher of Sandpoint Magazine adopted for his company. He spotted Keokee Mountain on the map, north of Schweitzer, and liked the name. Now wolves are being spotted around Keokee – but thankfully not at our downtown office.

Besides those two, fat stories, this issue contains another eight features, 13 almanac stories, a feature interview, “Carpe Diem” photo essay, five real estate features, five Eats & Drinks articles, and, perhaps my favorite, the essay on “Sprouts.” Enjoy this summertime reading, out in nature, if you please.

–B.J.G. P.S. How ‘bout that thicker, nicer cover?

Sandpoint Magazine is published twice yearly, in May and November, by Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc., 405 Church St., Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Phone: 208-263-3573 E-mail: inbox@keokee.com Publisher Chris Bessler Editor Billie Jean Gerke Assistant Editor Beth Hawkins Advertising Director Clint Nicholson

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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PICTOGRAPHS ON THE SALMON RIVER BY DOUG MARSHALL

CONTRIBUTORS A biologist by training, a naturalist at heart, Isaac Babcock has spent most of 17 years living in a tent in

pursuit of wolves, love and life. What began as a career for the Nez Perce Tribe Wolf Recovery Project transitioned into the self-unemployed life of a freelance photographer. See his work in “Return of the Wolf,” page 86, authored by frequent contributor . He and his wife, Bjornen, recently coproduced a film for PBS Nature – “River of No Return” – on central Idaho’s wilderness and wolves. Babcock negotiates with donkeys to run a small farm south of McCall. They still live in a tent – a yurt.

Huisman

Cate

In love with local living and the Sandpoint community, has written for The Sandpoint Reader and leads a teen writing group at the Sandpoint Library. This spring, she discovered a new interest: pruning fruit trees. In “Sprouts: Sandpoint’s Guardian Gardener,” page 138, she highlights the passion and dedication of the wise and well-known Sandpoint fruit tender, Sprouts, aka Jeff Rich. This Sandpoint of View essay is her first contribution to Sandpoint Magazine.

Oriana Korol

Jennifer Lamont Leo

If writer were to tell her story in 10 objects, they would include a pen, a notebook, a library card, a Bible, an antique typewriter, a wedding ring, a cat, a piano, a cameo brooch and a slice of Chicago-style pizza. She contributed “A History of Sandpoint in 10 Objects,” page 74. Interviewing business innovators for “Small Town, Big Ideas,” page 36, strengthened her belief that entrepreneurship is the key to a robust and lively Sandpoint.

Aaron Theisen is a Spokane-based outdoors writer

and photographer. He is currently working on the book “Day Hiking Mt. St. Helens” for Mountaineers Books. Although he spends much of his trail time in the backcountry, Theisen is consistently surprised by wilderness within easy reach on Lake Pend Oreille’s 111 miles of shoreline. He gives five recommendations for beachside camping by foot or float in the story “Private Beach: Remote Camping on Lake Pend Oreille,” page 51, his first contribution to Sandpoint Magazine.

Art Director Laura Wahl Ad Design/Production Ben Robinson, Katie Kosaya Office Manager Beth Acker Contributors Sandy Compton, Trish Gannon, Cate Huisman, Oriana Korol, Jennifer Lamont Leo, Marianne Love, Eric Plummer, Carrie Scozzaro and Aaron Theisen

©2013 by Keokee Co. Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.

Subscriptions: $12 per year, payable in advance.

Send address changes to the address at above left. Visit our web magazine published at www.SandpointMagazine.com. Printed in USA.

SUMMER 2013

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NEW

CON 20

Why Act Now?

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Prices, plans and specifications subject to change without notice. Offer void where prohibited by law. Broker cooperation welcomed. ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THE DECLARATION OF CONDOMINIUM AND PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO BUYER OR LESSEE.

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ALMANAC

Pack River Store nexus of love and flavor

Pack River Store’s love story starts with founders Cliff and Nancy Banks, above, who were married 70 years, and continues today with owners Bob and Arlene Dardine. PHOTO AT LEFT BY MARIE-DOMINIQUE VERDIER

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he story behind Pack River Store is part Sandpoint history and part love story. Built in 1975 by Cliff and Nancy Banks, this unassuming store sits alongside the Pack River where it meets Rapid Lightning Road, 12 miles northeast of Sandpoint. It serves the surrounding rural community by providing groceries, gas, and a place to shower and do laundry. But beginning 12 years ago, when a mom from California bought the ailing store, it solidified its role as a community center of sorts, that also happens to do a bang-up job in the kitchen.

But back to the love story. In 2000, Arlene Dardine was in her 40s and burned out from a demanding career in the banking industry that took too much time from her job of raising two growing boys. While visiting friends who had moved to northern Idaho and settled on Rapid Lightning Road, she heard that the Pack River Store was for sale. Within two months, she became its new owner and moved here from Santa Cruz, Calif.

The store hadn’t really thrived since its founders sold out and retired in 1982. Inventory was sparse. Its community spirit had dwindled. “It was so slow at first, I was second-guessing myself,” Dardine said.

She started asking customers what they wanted from the store. The answer was clear: food – good food. As a business-savvy woman who loved to cook, she listened.

Let’s continue the love story: Bob Dardine is a Rapid Lightning resident who lives off the grid and often patronized the store and offered to pick up items in town and make repairs for its new owner. He became Arlene’s maintenance man. As their friendship grew over the next three years, they realized they were in love – and the whole community was rooting for them. They married.

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Nine years later, the rest, as they say, is history. Bob, 69, praises Arlene profusely: “She goes way beyond. She takes care of everybody. She’s mom. This is the best woman in the world.”

Arlene, 56, gazes back at Bob with eyes of admiration and love: “I think we’re a good team, honey.”

Meantime, the Pack River Store is thriving as never before. Its reputation as a haven for foodies has grown beyond belief. It truly feels like the Kool-Aid mom’s house.

Nightly dinner specials such as prime rib, pork tenderloin with apple chutney, bleu cheese stuffed tenderloin and cream cheese chicken enchiladas tantalize customers. Special event dinners quickly sell out. Demand for catering is growing.

Is there another place like the Pack River Store, with its backwoods vibe and gourmet flair?

Probably not. It’s one of Sandpoint’s treasures, a bit hidden perhaps, but aren’t those the best kind?

–Billie Jean Gerke

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ALMANAC

‘Huckleberry King’ finds heaven on Earth

M

eet Joe Nieman, Huckleberry King. This Porthill native and CO-OP Country Store front counter clerk owns a T-shirt with the moniker “Smokin’ Joe Nieman, World’s Fastest Huckleberry Picker” to prove it. His shirt and a charm offensive, armed with huckleberry chocolate kisses, landed him a spot in 2012 on “The Price Is Right,” Vegas-style.

Nieman, 68, of Ponderay, keeps a logbook filled with meticulous berry-picking notes from his 43 years of supplying loyal customers in northern Idaho and even one Idaho politician.

“I received a phone call from United States Sen. Jim Risch’s office in Boise,” he said. “The girl said, ‘I understand you’re the Huckleberry King of North Idaho.’ ” The senator wanted some berries for a luncheon and wondered if Nieman would sell a couple gallons. “ ‘No,’ I told her, ‘I won’t sell you two gallons of huckleberries. I’ll donate them,’ ” Nieman said.

Not long after the luncheon, a manila envelope from the U.S. Senate arrived in Nieman’s mailbox. Inside, a folder included a thank-you note, a photo of Sen. Risch holding a huckleberry pie and another photo of a pie cut into pieces on a silver platter.

Later, he showed the photos to his coworkers and boasted, “See how my huckleberries get around?”

His 2012 huckleberry records show he picked 120 gallons that year.

They sell for $35 a gallon, a far cry from the $7 per gallon earned in 1969.

“Gas went up, so the price went up,” he said.

By March, his logbook already showed orders for 33 gallons, and he fills them on a first-ordered, first-served basis.

Nieman’s picking season lasts from mid-July to early October. On a typical day, he leaves home around 7 a.m., sets up base camp by 8 a.m. and picks until 4 p.m. His base camp includes an 8- to 10-foot tree with a yellow or red rag tied at the top and a 5-gallon can with lunch inside. “(While picking), I may wander a quarter mile away from base camp,” SUMMER 2013

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When not working at the CO-OP Country Store, Joe Nieman, above, feverishly picks huckleberries in season. PHOTO BY MARIANNE LOVE Idaho Sen. Jim Risch sent this photo, left, to thank Nieman for his donation of huckleberries for a luncheon he hosted

he said, “so I depend on those flags.”

Nieman’s berries undergo several cleaning stages, including cloth and screens for removing leaves, bark, cull berries, etc. After a water bath and thorough draining, berries are delivered in Ziploc bags.

“When you get your berries, I guarantee they’re clean,” he said.

Income from berry picking helped Nieman provide for his four children. Nowadays, extra cash means “fun money” for trips to Las Vegas or Reno, with his new bride, Gina, also a CO-OP employee.

Nieman plans to keep on pickin’.

“He’ll probably die in a huckleberry patch,” his boss, Ray Delay, said.

“That would be just fine – just like heaven,” Nieman said.

–Marianne Love SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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ALMANAC

Sandpoint Center becomes community grounds

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ead north out of Sandpoint on North Boyer Avenue, and it’s hard not to notice people in the fields that were once home to the University of Idaho’s research extension station. When funding sources for the site dried up a few years ago, the university made the nearly 80 acres available to community groups beginning in 2012.

Cyclocross riders and disc golfers started using the property last summer and are back after a winter dominated by Nordic skiers. Both the cyclocross course and the disc golf course are appropriate for all ages and abilities and are available to all comers at most hours, except when a big crowd gathers for an organized competition. Nominal fees are collected via an on-site box for each activity.

Cyclocross resembles steeplechase on bicycles; the race is on a dirt track with a series of obstacles. Competitors are not required to be riding their bikes at all times, but they must be attached to them, says enthusiast Wayne Pignolet. The course takes advantage of trees that were neatly planted in rows plus the steep drop to Sand Creek. In addition to a weekly Thursday night race series for locals in August, Pignolet and fellow cyclist Charles Mortensen are organizing a major meet for riders from around the Northwest this October (search Sandpoint Cyclocross on Facebook.com).

Each of the 18 holes of the Vandal Disc Golf Course includes two different tees – one for experienced players, with good aim and a good arm, and another one closer to each “hole,” or pin, for novices.

“What makes this course really fun is it’s very diverse,” said its designer, Rick Leader. The course puts the rows of trees and water into use. It drew 300 people a week last summer, and 50 came for a winter tournament in February (search Sandpoint Disc Golf on Facebook.com).

Other groups also make use of the property on somewhat less regular schedules. The Sandpoint High School cross-country team runs on a track mowed through the fields. Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and

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Ted Chauvin, above, exits the trees and heads to the start/finish straight in last fall’s Sandpoint Cyclocross race on the university’s property. PHOTO BY DAN JENKINS Inset: Rick Leader, the course designer, throws a disc from tee box No. 8

Education (SOLE) occasionally uses the area for outdoor education, leadership training and wilderness medicine activities (see story, page 19). If you see small groups of any age doing things with ropes, buckets, balls or even rubber chickens, they’re probably participating in a SOLE program.

Meanwhile, the Sandpoint Transition Initiative’s Folk School has been using the site’s office building for teaching traditional, practical arts such as blacksmithing and woodworking.

Upcoming possibilities include a community garden and a driving range; it doesn’t seem like locals will run out of ideas for this popular property any time soon.

–Cate Huisman

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Century 21 RiverStone has sold more properties in Sandpoint and Bonner County than any other agency in the last 4 years.

Century 21 RiverStone has received the Centurion Award the last four out of five years Century 21 RiverStone is in the Top 10% in home sales of the 2,350 Century 21 franchised offices in the US

w w w. C 2 1 S a n d p o i n t. c o m Sandpoint Office 305 N. First Avenue Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 (208) 255-2244 Fax (208) 255-2844 Toll Free (800) 205-8771

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Sandpoint Office 316 N. 2nd Avenue, Suite A-1 Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 (208) 255-2244 Fax (208) 255-1771 Toll Free (800) 205-8771

Schweitzer Mountain Office Located in the Lazier Building Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 (208) 263-0427 Fax (208) 265-5192 Toll Free (800) 205-8771

Priest River Office 45 S. McKinley- Rivertown Mall Priest River, Idaho 83856 (208) 448-0901 Fax (208) 448-2011 Toll Free (800) 205-8771

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ALMANAC

Tony Lewis, shown across from the Green Monarch Ridge Buttress – a key spot in the famed Ice Age floods – heads up the Sandpoint chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute. PHOTO BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

BOAT MAINTENANCE & STORAGE MARINE PARTS & ACCESSORIES LARGE WATER SPORTS SELECTION

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Winter Hours

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www.Birdaviationmuseum.com 325 Bird Ranch Road • Sagle, Idaho 208-255-4321

Inventors Association of Idaho

www.inventorsassociationofidaho.com

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in Sandpoint Sept. 13-14.

The topic’s appeal was evident in February when the IAFI’s Sandpoint chapter president, Tony Lewis, presented “North Idaho: Heart of the Ice Age Floods” at the Sandpoint Library.

The room overflowed and folks were

F

or such a small town, Sandpoint

120 students today. Staffed by 10 experi-

residents live a charmed life when

enced instructors, the school offers classes

it comes to the arts – treated to a

for children and adults in violin, piano,

renowned music festival every summer and

voice, guitar, flute, musical theater, and now

performances at the stately and historic

Shakespeare and Latin; in addition, the MCS

Panida Theater. Is it any wonder that the

is undergoing an accreditation process with

Music Conservatory of Sandpoint (MCS) has

Western Association of Schools and Colleges

blossomed in its short, four-year existence?

to become a school of performing arts.

Founder Karin Wedemeyer says no, it’s

“The Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center strives to educate visitors about the historic contributions of aviators and innovators who have helped create modern technology, and celebrate these individuals who have forever changed the way we live. It only takes one person to change the world.”

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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he Ice Age floods may have happened around 15,000 years ago, but they are hot in today’s world. That will surely be evident when the Ice Age Floods Institute (IAFI) holds it annual meeting

The ‘Juilliard of the Wild West’

Airplanes • Rare Vintage Cars Military History • Patent Models • Artwork Original Prototypes and Memorabilia

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Ice Age Floods Institute plans a geological heyday

not. “It really took off faster than we antici-

“My husband calls it the ‘Juilliard of the Wild West,’ ” Wedemeyer said.

pated,” she said, breathless as she finished

A former opera singer, Wedemeyer says

youth choir instruction one day this spring.

her sole purpose in founding the MCS was

“We are really growing!”

to help children find purpose in their lives.

Indeed, the MCS now fills the entire sec-

She felt as though Sandpoint’s music com-

ond floor of the large, historic brick building

munity wasn’t tied together, and she wanted

at Main and Second. Student enrollment

to establish a curriculum that would adapt

swelled from eight students in 2009 to nearly

to students as they grow and mature. In the

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being turned away, so Lewis offered to do an encore. People readily accepted and filled the room to capacity a couple hours later.

Lewis, a retired Louisiana State University professor of geography who now resides in Sagle, took the reins from Coeur Du Deluge chapter founder Sylvie White, a fellow geographer, last year. Lewis is coordinating the 2013 annual meeting as it is hosted in Sandpoint for the first time. Expected to draw more than 300 people, the event includes a Friday night lecture by renowned historian and author Jack Nisbet and Idaho State Geologist Roy Breckenridge (see calendar, page 25).

“The talk will focus on the physical and cultural landscape of northern Idaho, especially as related to the Ice Age floods,” said Lewis.

The following day, the speakers will lead an all-day field trip from Sandpoint to Clark Fork, with side trips to selected areas of interest. One highlight will surely be a prominent flood relic, the Green Monarch Ridge Buttress that towers 3,000 feet above Lake Pend Oreille. The ridge that once had thousands of feet of ice pressing against it is best observed from an interpretive display along Highway 200.

Learn more at iafi.org or at 255-1284.

ALMANAC

You Bring The Party

We’ll Provide The Place… Free!

BIRTHDAYS • HOLIDAYS • PARTIES

Laughing Dog Brewing Open Daily • 208-263-9222

1109 Fontaine Road, Ponderay, ID

www.LaughingDogBrewing.com

–Billie Jean Gerke

’

carousel class, for example, students age 5 to 7 explore different instruments to find that “perfect fit.”

“It’s all coming together,” Wedemeyer said. “It’s a privilege to be here, and bringing this all together really makes sense.”

To learn more about lessons, stop by 110 Main St., visit online at www.

SandpointConservatory.org, or call 265-4444.

–Beth Hawkins

SUMMER 2013

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ALMANAC

Webcams are for the birds

W

hen Sandpoint Online’s streaming webcam went live on a new osprey nesting platform at Memorial Field in April 2012, viewers saw a five-month-long drama with all the elements of a good soap opera.

Fans watched the ospreys build their nest, mate and lay two eggs, endure intense weather, fight off competitors, suffer the loss of one egg, then hatch and raise one chick that thrived and left the nest in September.

The show gained quite a following. With regional media sparking interest, the nest’s live webcam page was viewed 348,062 times by more than 100,000 unique visitors from around the world. The cam’s collaborators include the City of Sandpoint, Avista, Northland Communications and Westside Fire District.

The cam went back into operation this spring – with yet another surprise. In midMarch, a pair of geese colonized the nest to lay four eggs. Ospreys arrived in April, but the geese held their own and hatched out four goslings. In fact, consulting biologist

Janie Fink of Birds of Prey Northwest noted it’s common for geese to use osprey nests, but the timing usually works out. “The goose hatches her brood and is often gone by the time the osprey need to move in,” she said.

Meantime, this spring, Sandpoint Online launched a second streaming webcam page, this one focused on a bald eagle nest at the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge, in partnership with the Friends of Kootenai Refuge.

At press time, there was an abundance of drama at both nests. At the osprey nest, the geese had left with their goslings – but a second pair swooped in to lay eggs after skirmishing with ospreys. At the eagle cam, an eagle pair had laid two eggs – but the eggs were not viable.

What’s up next? Will the ospreys reclaim their nest from the geese? Will the eagles try for a second brood? As with any soap opera, tune in to see: www.sandpointonline.com.

From top: osprey chick and mom, June 21, 2012; Canada goose and her goslings, April 23, 2013; and eagle with two eggs, April 9, 2013

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Team Laughing Dog takes on Hank’s cause

L

ike most kindergartners, Sandpoint’s Hank Sturgis loves going to school and riding his bike. But unlike most 6-year-olds, Hank has a terminal illness. It’s called cystinosis, a rare metabolic disease with no cure. Because the disease affects so few – just 500 cases exist in the United States – research funding is not a priority.

That’s where the tenacity of Sandpoint comes in. Over the past five winters, the 24 Hours of Schweitzer ski relay event has raised more than $600,000 for cystinosis research. The 24 Hours for Hank Foundation has become the fourth-largest U.S. contributor.

And now, Sandpoint’s ratcheted up another way to make a difference.

This summer’s Team Laughing Dog bicyclists – Jacob Styer, Mel Dick, Dean Kyriakos and Al Lemire – hit the road June 15 in the Race Across America (RAAM) to raise awareness and funds for 24 Hours for Hank.

“Our desire, as a team, is about

spreading awareness of cystinosis outside of Sandpoint,” Dick said.

The foursome will ride from California some 3,000 miles to Maryland, backed by a support crew of 11.

Brian Sturgis, father of young Hank, is touched by the team’s efforts, along with everything that’s been done in the community for 24 Hours for Hank. “People are embracing something that doesn’t affect them,” he said.

Sturgis notes there is a synergy between cystinosis and the longdistance RAAM riders. “Hank drinks a ton of water; he’s thirsty all the time,” he said, explaining a common symptom of cystinosis. “If he can feel

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Team Laughing Dog 2013, from left: Jacob Styer, Mel Dick, Dean Kyriakos and Al Lemire. Inset: Kindergartner Hank Sturgis

like that all the time, then we can feel like that for 24 hours … that’s how we got started with 24 Hours for Hank.”

Learn more at 24HoursforHank.org and TeamLaughingDog.com.

–Beth Hawkins

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Horizons broaden for ‘college town’

S

tudents at North Idaho College’s Sandpoint campus will soon be spending more time at home.

NIC gained the additional space and location it needed when it moved into the historic Sandpoint High School building at Pine and Euclid last summer, but it was still missing something important: a science lab. A lab would enable students to meet their science requirement and complete an entire two-year associate’s degree without leaving town. “Up until now, students have had to drive to Coeur d’Alene for their lab science classes,” said NIC Communications and Marketing Specialist Tom Greene.

NIC was itching to fix that. The college launched a campaign to raise the $100,000 required to furnish and In what will become North Idaho College’s new science lab is Sandpoint’s campus equip a lab. Several local donors rose to meet the chal- coordinator, Mary Gustafik, and student Israel Gonzales. PHOTO BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE lenge, and the college exceeded its fundraising goal before the end of April. The “wet lab” will have the ventilation and other design features required to enable sion class in Sandpoint: Social Science 351, entitled “Values: students to safely handle potentially dangerous materials.

Wilderness.” LCSC will maintain an office in the NIC building Beginning in fall 2013, students may also start their work to provide enrollment and financial aid information, as well toward a four-year degree in a Sandpoint classroom. Lewis as to support and advise students. The dream of many for Clark State College (LCSC) already offers bachelor’s degrees Sandpoint to become a college town, it seems, is coming true. online and through interactive video classes, but this year, –Cate Huisman for the first time, LCSC will offer a face-to-face, upper divi-

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SUMMER 2013

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ALMANAC

SOLE strives to enhance kids’ souls

S

elkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education (SOLE) founder Dennison Webb is an outdoor junkie.

“While I enjoy the creative process of designing programming for SOLE, it’s ‘in the field’ where I really find solace and a deep sense of appreciation for the work I do,” he said.

As executive director of SOLE, Webb, 42, strives to “reach and teach” others in outdoor settings. SOLE achieved nonprofit status in 2011 and offers experiential education (learning by direct experience), ranging from character and leadership development to outdoor technical skill workshops. SOLE also partners with Idaho Fish and Game, Idaho Conservation League and Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, facilitating citizen science projects and other programming.

SOLE’s mission is to empower participants to become active learners and responsible stewards of their community and its environment. Helping Webb move forward is a staff that includes Jamie Esler, SOLE’s fieldwork coordinator, who took part in the 2013 Iceland Polar TREC Expedition.

Esler, 28, leads field instructors Jen Felhman, Brandi Mayes, and Taylor Long, along with adjunct field instructor, expert tracker and wildlife researcher Brian Baxter.

Webb’s secret weapon, if you will, is spouse Joy Jansen, 41, who holds a doctorate in education with a focus in neuro-

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Teaching in the field is a passion for SOLE founder Dennison Webb, right

psychological deficiencies; she serves as education adviser.

Jansen provides educational consultation and training for the SOLE community. Learn more at www.soleexperiences.org.

SUMMER 2013

–Sandy Compton

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Go for the Summit...

we’ve got you covered!

County fair to reveal underexposed artists

T

he organizers see it as a win-winwin: Promote art to the community, give artists an opportunity to sell their work, and raise much-needed funds for the Bonner County Fairgrounds.

The brainchild of an enthusiastic organizing committee, “Expose Yourself to Art” brings together 30 artists during this year’s Bonner County Fair (Aug. 20-24) in a special exhibition inside the food court.

Each artist will exhibit a larger “showcase” piece along with 30 pieces, 9 inches by 12 inches or smaller, unbelievably priced at $30 or less. Proceeds from the sale of the smaller pieces will be split with the Fair Board; upwards of $15,000 is earmarked for such essentials as installing heat systems into buildings and road maintenance.

Expose Yourself to Art will introduce the community to many artists who may

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annual event and its mission.

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In its first nine years, Celebrate Life

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5/8/13 8:28 AM

ALMANAC

Expose Yourself to Art organizers include, from left: Connie Spurgeon, Janene Grende, Elise Creed, Elaine Linscott and Bonnie Shields. PHOTO BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

not be particularly well-known within their own community, said Connie Spurgeon, a member of the organizing committee who includes herself in that category. A lifelong horse trainer and rider, Spurgeon exhibits her Western- and equine-themed paintings nationally but rarely locally.

Other artists on the organizing committee include painters Elise Creed and Bob Linscott, whose wife, Elaine Linscott, is a Bonner County Fair board member and fellow organizer; Bonnie Shields, aka the “Tennessee Mule Artist”; and Janene Grende, known locally for her silk paintings and nationally for her gouache images of wildlife and birds.

To help get the word out, Grende created a poster, and the committee secured permission from the Idaho Transportation Department to organize the first-ever Paint Out on the Long Bridge (June 22-23). Good exposure for the artists and for Sandpoint as well!

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–Beth Hawkins

SUMMER 2013

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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ALMANAC

ReStore hits a building boom

Inside the new ReStore are Manager Philip Kent, left, and Dan Wimberley, vice president of Habitat for Humanity’s Sandpoint chapter. PHOTO

BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

F

luctuations in the local real estate market haven’t put a damper on ReStore, a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity that sells donated building materials and other household items.

In fact, ReStore already vacated its former Boyer Avenue location for a larger, 8,500-square-foot store on Baldy Mountain Road (just east of Miller’s

Country Store) this past spring.

“We needed more room, and we had an opportunity to buy this building,” said Philip Kent, manager of ReStore.

Proceeds are used to help fund the construction of new homes for lower-income residents. Since opening its doors five years ago, Sandpoint’s ReStore has contributed $75,000 to Habitat for Humanity.

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“That’s one house,” said Don Hanset, a board member of the group’s local chapter.

Shoppers find a wide variety of items for sale – everything from tools and lighting fixtures to appliances and furniture. “People don’t realize we get an amazing range of quality,” Kent said.

Residents and businesses have donated vast collections of furniture due to remodels and moves, something that never ceases to amaze Kent.

“We really get some remarkable things,” he said.

ReStore is open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; donations can be picked up on Tuesdays by calling 265-5313.

–Beth Hawkins

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Beatbox kid finds his passion

A

skinny kid with big brown eyes and the youthful appearance of a middle-schooler takes the stage at the Panida Theater and starts making music that sounds like a full hip-hop band is on stage with him. But he’s the only one on stage, and all the sounds are being produced by this vocal percussionist.

He’s Davey Mullen, a 20-year-old beatbox performer and 2011 Sandpoint High School graduate. He’s been on a whirlwind since he debuted with a five-minute solo at the high school’s 2011 Spring Fling.

“It went really well. They really loved it. That was the positive energy swing I needed to do it,” Mullen said, of becoming a professional beatboxer.

How did he learn to make all those noises with his mouth, lips, tongue and voice? Practice, experimentation and coaching on new-style beats from a national touring band, Rising Lion, when it performed in Sandpoint.

Shortly after that, he formed a band, To the Moon, with Sandpoint’s Jessie Bennett, and opened for the band Rehab in Coeur d’Alene at the Grail. Later that year, members of Rehab remembered Mullen when they returned to Coeur d’Alene; they invited the young beatboxer to go on tour.

“I started in Coeur d’Alene and ended up in Cleveland. I had 30 minutes to get on the bus and $50 in my pocket,” Mullen said. Rehab gave him a band T-shirt and some underwear, and the next morning he woke up in Seattle, where the next show was scheduled.

“It’s definitely my passion. I can see making a career out of (beatboxing),” Mullen said.

To that end, he and his girlfriend, Tara Skye, a classically trained Berkeley musician, plan to move to Portland this summer, where he can get his sound out there.

Mullen is also a self-taught didgeridoo player; he learned by watching YouTube videos, and the techniques he learned in fifth-grade trombone helped, too. See more at Facebook.com/ Biobeatbox.

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Ca l e n d a r

CALENDAR

See even more events in the big, fat calendars at SandpointOnline.com

JUNE

Sandpoint Farmers Market. Open-air mar-

ket every Wednesday and Saturday through Oct. 12 in Farmin Park. 597-3355 1 Bay Trail Fun Run. 5K/10K benefits the

Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail and the new Sand Creek Byway Trail. 946-7586

1 Summer Sounds. Bright Moments Jazz performs. See Hot Picks.

6 First Thursday. Downtown businesses

stay open late with live entertainment, shopping specials, drinks and appetizers, and more! 255-1876

6 Goudi. Panida hosts Belgian rock artist and

producer. 263-9191

7-8 “G-Dog.” Global Cinema Café documentary at 7:30 p.m., followed by questionand-answer session with cinematographer Erik Daarstad and director Fred Mock, in the Panida Theater. 263-9191 8 Sand Creek Paddlers Challenge.

Sandpoint Parks and Recreation sponsors canoe and kayak race, 9 a.m. from City Beach up Sand Creek and back. 263-3613 8 Summer Sounds. Cedar & Boyer perform.

See Hot Picks.

14 World Tour of Reel Paddling Film Festival. Panida Theater hosts Eureka

Institute event. 263-9191

15 Summer Sounds. Swing Street Combo performs. See Hot Picks.

15 Danceworks Spring Concert. Students’

annual recital, 3 p.m. at the Panida. 263-9191

21 ArtWalk. See Hot Picks.

21-22 Relay for Life. American Cancer

Society benefit at the fairgrounds. 263-8414

22 Summer Sounds. Trumpetman performs.

See Hot Picks.

27 Yappy Hour. A tail-waggin’ good time!

Bring your dog and enjoy a relaxing evening with friends and Panhandle Animal Shelter residents, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Pend d’Oreille Winery.

265-7297 27 Sandpoint Summer Sampler. Sandpoint

Chamber’s annual food festival at Farmin Park includes tasty samples from local restaurants, local brews and wine, plus the Litehouse Chef Cook-off. 263-2161

28-29 The Wizard of Oz. Sandpoint Onstage

[Hot Picks]

A laid-back tone for summer Steel pan music takes listeners to places like Trinidad and Key Largo with their warm, balmy weather. And while the Sandpoint High School Steel Pan Band plays in any type of weather, they do prefer sunny days like the rest of us!

The group’s inviting sound kicks off the Summer Sounds concert series from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. May 25. Sponsored by the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association, the series continues every Saturday through Sept. 7, at Park Place Stage, corner of First and Cedar. 255-1876 Be part of an annual art tradition Browse local businesses and soak up local artistic flair during the 36th annual ArtWalk in Sandpoint’s downtown core. Opening receptions are 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 21; exhibits remain on display through Sept. 6. During the receptions, meet the artists and enjoy complimentary appetizers and live music at many locations.

It’s a summertime tradition for locals and visitors alike! Sponsored by Pend Oreille Arts Council. www.ArtinSandpoint.org. 263-6139 Ride for a worthy cause The sixth annual CHAFE 150 bicycle ride has a new date, sponsor and charitable mission in 2013.

Moved to July 20, the CHAFE 150 is now sponsored by the Sandpoint Rotary Club and benefits local

production of the classic, performed at the Panida Theater. 263-9191

the untamed power of wild bulls, 7 p.m. at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414

29 Summer Sounds. Still Vertical performs.

30 Schweitzer Summer Celebration.

See Hot Picks.

29 Battle of the Bulls. Cowboys try to ride

Summer season opens with free chairlift rides, live music and family activities. 255-3081 S USM UME MRE R2 021031 3

001-034_SMS13.indd 25

students and families coping with autism.

What hasn’t changed? The CHAFE 150 has the same great route, distances of 150 or 80 miles, beautiful scenery and prodigious perks.

Once again, it’s a gran fondo timed event that’s one leg of the TriSandpoint. www.chafe150.org.

Pick to your heart’s content Is there anything more delicious, come August, than the mountain huckleberry? Mmm … it’s delicious in pies, jams, shakes and just right off the bush. Celebrate all things huckleberry at the 7th annual Schweitzer Huckleberry Festival Aug. 4! Enjoy a huckleberry pancake breakfast, live music, crafts and treats, a pieeating contest and kids’ activities. All the usual mountain activities are available, too. www.schweitzer.com. 255-3081 A beauty of an event The name says it all: chances are, the Scenic Half Marathon/10k/5k is one of the most scenic races you’ll find anywhere. The course takes runners across the gorgeous Pedestrian Long Bridge and along the new addition to the Sandpoint community, the Sand Creek Bike Path. This year’s event will be held Sept. 15, starting from City Beach; sign up early online to receive discounts. And then enjoy the view! www.ScenicHalf.com. 263-2161

JULY

4 Fourth of July Celebration. Lions Club parade downtown in the morning, afternoon stage performances at City Beach and fireworks over the lake at dusk. 263-2161 S ASN AN DD PP OO IN I NTT M MAAG GA Z I N NEE

25 25

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CALENDAR 5-6 The Wizard of Oz. See June 28-29.

First in Fashion

6 Summer Sounds. Wild Honey Band per-

forms. See Hot Picks.

11 Festival at Sandpoint Art Unveiling.

Fine art poster unveiled at Dover Bay. 265-4554

12-13 The Wizard of Oz. See June 28-29.

12-14 Sandpoint SummerFest. Community

music, arts and culture festival with a focus on local sustainability, yoga, kids’ crafts, at Eureka Mountain Center in Sagle. 265-4000 12-14 Classic Boat Festival. Classic

wooden boats, water-themed activities, contests and more along Sand Creek; sponsored

by Inland Empire Antique & Classic Boat Society and DSBA. 255-1876

13 Greater Sandpoint Flat Water Regatta.

Rotary Club hosts fourth annual canoe and kayak races up and down Sand Creek. 946-6079 13 Summer Sounds. Folk Remedy performs.

Visit us downtown and pamper yourself

See Hot Picks.

with unique, carefully chosen apparel collections and accessories to complement you and your contemporary lifestyle.

1k fun run at Sandpoint High School; benefits local children with cancer or other lifethreatening illnesses. 610-8023

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a

www.EvesLeaves.com the

FarmersÕ Market at Sandpoint May 4- October 12 Saturdays 9:00am to 1:00pm Wednesdays 3:00pm to 5:30pm Downtown Farmin Park and Oak Street

Always local.

14 Jacey’s Race. Competitive 5k race and

19 The Paul Thorn Band. Southern natives perform their bluesy, rocking originals and covers at 8 p.m. in the Panida Theater; presented by KPND. 263-9191 20 CHAFE 150. See Hot Picks.

20 Schweitzer Mountain Trail Run. 2nd annual event featuring 3.5-mile, 10-mile events at Schweitzer. 255-3081 20 Mountain Music Festival. Schweitzer

Mountain Resort hosts outdoor concerts, barbecue, beer garden, arts and crafts vendors, and kids’ activities. 255-3081

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mile swim across Lake Pend Oreille. 265-5412

3 Summer Sounds. Backstreet Dixie per-

forms. See Hot Picks.

4 Schweitzer Huckleberry Festival. See

Hot Picks.

7 First Wednesday. Held this month on

Wednesday. See June 6.

9-11 Artists’ Studio Tour. 11th annual, self-guided driving tour of working studios throughout the region. Pick up brochures at many downtown locations or visit ArtTourDrive.org.

10 Celebrate Life Fun Run/Walk. 10th annual Long Bridge trek assists local residents with cancer, cancer-related organizations. See story, page 20.

10 Summer Sounds. Benny & Bonnie per-

form. See Hot Picks.

10 Wings Over Sandpoint Fly-In.

Regional pilots fly into Sandpoint Airport or Dover Bay – for seaplanes – and hold a breakfast and aircraft display. Sponsored by the Sandpoint EAA Chapter 1441. 255-9954

10-11 Arts & Crafts Fair. POAC’s annual juried art exhibit with live music, food and kids’ activities at Sandpoint City Beach, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday. 263-6139 16-17 Spokane to Sandpoint Relay. 200-mile

team relay starts atop Mt. Spokane and finishes at Sandpoint’s City Beach. 541-350-4635

16-17 Bonner County Rodeo. Annual

rodeo at 7 p.m. each night, Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414

20 Bodacious BBQ. 30th annual fundraiser

16-17 “The Hunt for the Pend Oreille Paddler.” Panida Theater hosts Ben Olson’s

performs. See Hot Picks.

for Hope’s community center; held at the Litehouse Beachhouse. 264-5481

25 Yappy Hour. At Trinity at City Beach.

See June 27.

27 Crazy Days. Downtown merchants offer

big deals in annual sidewalk sale, sponsored

by DSBA. 255-1876

27 Summer Sounds. Special Crazy Days edition: Bridges Home performs at 10 a.m.; Carl Rey and the Blues Gators perform at noon; The Powell Brothers perform at 2 p.m.; Selkirk Society Orchestra performs at 4 p.m.

Chapter of USA Dance and Sandpoint Parks & Recreation dance, potluck from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at City Beach Pavilion. 263-3613

26

3 Long Bridge Swim. 19th annual, 1.76-

20 Summer Sounds. Mike & Shanna duo

27 Dance Party at City Beach. Sandpoint

www.sandpoint farmersmarket.com

music, dance and more featuring teachers and musicians from across the Northwest, at the Eureka Mountain Center. 265-4000

comedy play at 7:30 p.m. 263-9191

16-18 Artists’ Studio Tour. See Aug. 9-11.

17 King of the Kongcrete. City of Sandpoint presents skate competition beginning at noon, Travers Park. 263-3613 17 Summer Sounds. Peter Lucht performs.

See Hot Picks.

17 “Henry V.” Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, 6 p.m. (MDT) in Heron, Mont. 406847-2388 20-24 Bonner County Fair. Old-fashioned

country event at Bonner County Fairgrounds with contests, kids’ events and entertainment. Horse events in reining, barrel racing and team sorting. Concludes with Demolition Derby at 7 p.m. Aug. 24. 263-8414

AUGUST

23-24 “The Hunt for the Pend Oreille Paddler.” See Aug. 16-17.

opposite page.

24 Summer Sounds. No Strings Attached performs. See Hot Picks.

1-11 Festival at Sandpoint. See calendar, 2-4 Northwest YogaFest. Yoga, camping,

SUMMER 2013

5/8/13 8:28 AM

See even more events in the big, fat calendars at SandpointOnline.com 29 Yappy Hour. At Evans Brothers Coffee.

See June 27.

31 Summer Sounds. Truck Mills and Carl Rey perform. See Hot Picks.

31-Sept. 2 Schweitzer Fall Fest. 21st

annual celebration featuring great fun, music and beer on the mountain. 255-3081

SEPTEMBER

5 First Thursday. See June 6.

6-7 “Quick Exit.” Chris Herron’s new play

at the Panida’s Little Theater at 7:30 p.m.

263-9191

6-8 Harvest Party. Family-friendly activities, food sampling, wine tasting and live music at Pend d’Oreille Winery. 265-8545 7 Summer Sounds. Devon Wade performs.

See Hot Picks.

13-14 Ice Age Floods Institute Fall Meeting. The local Coeur Du Deluge chapter

hosts a public presentation and one-day field trip. www.IAFI.org

13-14 “Quick Exit.” See Sept. 6-7.

15 Scenic Half Marathon. See Hot Picks.

16-21 WaCanId Ride. Tour two states and one province on the fifth annual, supported, 344-mile bicycle ride. Sponsored by the International Selkirk Loop and Rotary International. 888-823-2626 19-22 Idaho Draft Horse and Mule International. Northwest’s largest draft

horse and mule expo at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. 263-8414

26 Yappy Hour. At Eichardt’s Pub. See June 27.

OCTOBER

4 First Thursday. See June 6.

4-5 “The Counselor.” The Panida’s Little

Theater hosts Sandpoint Onstage production, 7:30 p.m. 263-9191

10 Blaze & Kelly Concert. Singer/song-

writer Niccole Blaze and bassist Mo Kelly bring their compelling lyrics and angelic harmonies to the Panida Theater at 7:30 p.m., presented by the Pend Oreille Arts Council.

263-9191

11 Banff Radical Reels. Mountain Fever presents film event, 7 p.m. in the Panida Theater. 263-9191 11-12 “The Counselor.” See Oct. 4-5.

12 Harvest Fest. Sandpoint Farmers Market

closes out the season, beginning at 9 a.m., with entertainment, food booths, arts and crafts, and displays at Farmin Park. 597-3355

18-19 Wild & Scenic Film Festival.

Presented by Kaniksu Land Trust at 7 p.m. in the Panida Theater. 263-9191

19 Warren Miller Ski Film. Annual event

at the Panida Theater, sponsored by The Alpine Shop. 263-5157

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Festival at Sandpoint

The 31st annual Festival at Sandpoint, held in a casual atmosphere at Memorial Field on Lake Pend Oreille, creates a concert experience without equal. The eight performance dates fall over two weeks from Aug. 1-11. Buy a season pass or individual tickets by calling 2654554, toll-free 888-265-4554, or go to www.FestivalatSandpoint.com. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Thursdays and Fridays, and 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Thursday, Aug. 1 Indigo Girls An American folk rock music duo consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, the duo won a Grammy in 1990 for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Many hits include “Closer to Fine.” In 2006, they collaborated with Pink in the song “Dear Mr. President,” a song that echoes their strong political activism. Opening the show is the Shook Twins, a Portland duo native to Sandpoint. Tonight’s brewfest is dedicated to the memory of Barry Barush.

Friday, Aug. 2 CAKE An American alternative rock band from California, CAKE’s lead singer John McCrea provides a steady voice over the sound of trumpets and guitars, making for an interesting mixture of ironic lyrics with smooth backing music. Hits over the years include “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle,” “The Distance” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket.”

Saturday, Aug. 3 Rosanne Cash American singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash, daughter of country legend Johnny Cash, has recorded 11 No. 1 singles during her career, like her breakout hit in 1981, “Seven Year Ache.” The song “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” won a Grammy in 1985 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Her duet with thenhusband Rodney Crowell, “It’s Such a Small World,” also landed No. 1 in 1988.

Opening is Sandpoint’s Devon Wade and the Grammy-nominated Greencards.

Sunday, Aug. 4 Family Concert: The Princess and the Frog Round up the kids and head to the festival’s Family Concert, featuring the Spokane Youth

Orchestra conducted by Gary Sheldon. Fun activities for the kids, including an Instrument Petting Zoo, an Animal Petting Zoo and Birds of Prey Northwest program help round out the always-popular concert.

Thursday, Aug. 8 John Butler Trio An Australian roots and jam band led by guitarist and vocalist John Butler, the trio has won many music awards in their native country. The John Butler Trio landed an opening spot for Dave Matthews’ tour in 2001.

Friday, Aug. 9 Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band formed in 1967 in San Francisco and produced a multitude of mid1970s hit singles that are the staples of the classic rock radio format. Their iconic hits include “Fly Like An Eagle,” “Jet Airliner,” “Abracadabra” and many more.

Opening the show is Matt Andersen, an acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist from Canada.

Saturday, Aug. 10 Avett Brothers The Avett Brothers, an American band from North Carolina, is made up of two brothers – Scott Avett on banjo and Seth Avett on guitar – and Bob Crawford, who plays the stand-up bass.

Combining folk rock and bluegrass, their song “I and Love and You” hit high on the Billboard charts. Opening is Spokane’s Marshall McLean as well as Vintage Trouble, a California soul and rock band.

Sunday, Aug. 11 Grand Finale: Festival Fan Fare Maestro Gary Sheldon conducts the Spokane Symphony Orchestra in a Festival Fan Fare Grand Finale featuring violinist Jason Moody and pianist Francisco Renno. Fireworks cap off the concert, plus arrive early for complimentary Taste of the Stars wine tasting dedicated to the memory of Jim Walter.

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Interview

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Ted Parvin

Film industry veteran

T

BY SANDY COMPTON ed Parvin grew up in 1930s Los Angeles, where, he says, things were different than they are now. “It was wonderful. Lots of vacant lots. Trees to build houses in. Great places to build forts. You could leave your doors unlocked. We had streetcars instead of buses.

“One of my favorite memories is sitting on the concrete front stairs of my house with my friends. We were playing pirate, and I was the only one who had a pirate cap gun. Of course, it was only a single shot, and all the rest of them had repeating cap guns.”

That was, perhaps, Parvin’s first experience of authentic costuming.

Parvin and his wife purchased property at Priest Lake in 1983 and lived there part-time until 1992, when they “retired” and moved to Idaho full-time. At their property, Parvin built, among other things, a house and warehouse. He also built cabinets, a pond and a

mill house with an 8-foot, working water wheel and a smokestack with a design element inspired by Alfred Hitchcock.

In 1993, Parvin “unretired” to work on “Wagons East,” John Candy’s last film. “John died while we were still shooting the film,” Parvin said. “It’s called ‘rewrite quickly.’ We actually filmed final pieces of the film shooting over the shoulder of his double.”

He was a mere 40 years into the film industry by then. In his wake was an impressive and lengthy list of film-related accomplishments as a costumer, key costumer, production manager and producer. His credits include “Around The World in Eighty Days,” “Robin and the Seven Hoods,” “Texas Across the River,” “Rio Lobo,” “Little Fauss and Big Halsy,” “A Man Called Horse,” “The Culpepper Cattle Co.,” “Meteor,” “Wagons East,” “The Birds” and “Psycho.”

Parvin earned a bachelor of science from UCLA in psychology and philosophy in 1963, which he says came in handy during his career in the motion picture industry.

Now, as he approaches 83 years old, Parvin serves on the advisory board of the Northwest Independent Film & Video Entertainment Society (www.knifves.org) and is a founder and advisory board member of the Northwest Film Institute (www.northwestfilminstitute.

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Interview org), begun in 2007.

He has written a number of screenplays, including “Meteor,” “Without a Ladder,” “Sandpoint Punchline” (produced by Northwest Film Institute with a couple of 100-watt bulbs for lighting) and “Harvey’s Place.” “Without a Ladder” won first place in a competition with the Idaho Screenwriters Association and was produced by kNIFVES, with funding from State of Idaho Tourism and Film Commission and Mountain West

Bank. “Harvey’s Place” is being filmed at Schweitzer Mountain Resort as this issue of Sandpoint Magazine goes to press.

Parvin and his wife, Bea, moved from Priest Lake to Sandpoint in 2004.

Theirs is an “amalgamated family” of six sons, two of his and four of hers, one of whom works in Hollywood still. And Hollywood provided a good subject to begin our interview.

How did you get into the film industry?

The same way you get in today. I knew

somebody. At the end of World War II, my Aunt Emma stopped working at Lockheed, where she had a war production job, and went back to work for Western Costume Company. Western was a joint venture between Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers. I worked my way through college at Bob’s Big Boy Hamburgers. I’d never paid a huge amount of attention to the movies growing up, but when I graduated, Aunt Emma got them to offer me a job.

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“The Ten Commandments.” I packed wardrobe into hampers to ship to Egypt. Not too exciting. A bit later, I left Western to work for Michael Todd Productions. He was married to Elizabeth Taylor at the time. He’s the only one she never divorced. (Todd died in an airplane crash March 22, 1958.)

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The first movie you worked on was?

Working on a film is much better than working at a costume house. I always aspired to getting into the film industry working on the set. For one thing, there’s much more money. At the Western warehouse, you pulled out what you were told to pull out and sent it to the set or out to location. Out in the field – on location – you worked with the actors and director, presenting wardrobe you thought would work, keeping an eye on the budget.

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Interview I would go to the film room and ask if there was anything I could help with.

You don’t get jobs in the movies with a résumé. You get jobs by hustling and knowing people.

“Around the World” starred David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine and a number of other luminaries.

Were you starstruck?

Opposite: Ted Parvin, left, with the aid of Sean Connery, forefront, sails Roy Disney’s yawl, the Shamrock, in the opening scenes of the 1979 disaster movie, “Meteor.” Above: Parvin consults with Mook, one of the cavemen in the 1981 American slapstick comedy “Caveman,” starring Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelly Long and Barbara Bach COURTESY PHOTOS

I’ve never been starstruck. When I was a little kid, my aunt took me to Universal International during the filming of Flash Gordon films and I

met Ming the Merciless (Charles B. Middleton) and Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe). My aunt also made dresses for Mae West. We’d go to her house and I’d play in her living room while my aunt took measurements. (West) was a sweet, sweet woman. She also wrote lots of scripts.

It took many weeks to shoot “Around the World.” How does the time compare to a feature film today?

It’s not much different today for major productions, but you can shoot a film in

Did you feel like you’d been thrust into another world?

My father always taught me to ask questions and seek help. That helped me much later in life. I’ve never been thrust into a situation where I felt uncomfortable. And, I was pretty well aware of what was going on. Western was next to Paramount.

Your first movie not in the warehouse was “Around the World in Eighty Days.”

Yes, we did a location shoot at Durango, Colo., where we shot the cavalry charge scene and the Indian camp. We used the narrow gauge railroad between Durango and Silverton for the train scenes. It took 14 weeks to make that part of the movie, but overall the film took a year and a half to complete. The second unit (of which Parvin was not a part) went to India and to Europe for many of the location shots, but a lot of it was also filmed on the back lot at 20th Century Fox. We also used the stages at what was then RKO Studios. We shot some of the East Indian scenes on the back lot of the old Selznick studios. “Around the World” is also where I met Bob Martin, who was key costumer. He was a great connection. And, after I was done on the set,

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Interview

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five days if you want. You do it for whatever the budget will stand. “Harvey’s Place,” the film we are making in April, is going to take eight days. I had to write it so we could film it in a short time. “Harvey’s Place” will be shot with most of the actors sitting so we can just move the camera to the next scene. To that end, we have two pros helping with “Harvey’s Place.” Jim Matlosz will do the camera work. He’s a professional cinematographer. Don Goodman, who does production design for “The Mentalist,” will also be on the set.

“Harvey’s Place” is a straight-up, slapstick comedy with dozens of characters. Is that your normal style?

No way. For comedy, I much prefer something like “Blithe Spirit.” Noel Coward only had about seven characters in that. And, I tend to write pretty dark.

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Yes, Northwest Film Institute’s mission is “Education in the arts of the moving image.” As a concept, NFI is a school that offers a two-year, hands-on course in filmmaking. It has a very rigid class

schedule, eight hours a day, five days a week. A student is then expected to make a film using NFI facilities. When they graduate, NFI gets them their first internship. We’re trying to get something together with North Idaho College. We’ve taught some classes and done lectures at the charter school. Our hope is to find investors that will allow us to make NFI a for-profit organization, and NFI, in turn, will fund a nonprofit called the Northwest Film Institute Scholarship Fund.

You were the writer and producer for the 1979 semi-blockbuster, disaster flick, “Meteor.” Who was in it and how did it come about?

We had a good cast. Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard. Oh, yeah, Henry Fonda played the president. I was working for Sandy Howard Productions at the time, and I wrote a script based on an article in the Atlantic Monthly about asteroids and the devastation that might be caused by impact.

Arnold Orgolini, my partner and coproducer, got interested in it. We had some storyboard sketches done by Nikita

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Knatz, and Gabriel Katzka took those and raised money for the film. It cost $17 million to make, but it never made money, even though it always seemed to be within 5 or 6 percent of breaking even. I did get paid as producer and writer, though. And, from then on, I was a production manager or line producer.

You got out of costuming then, but most of your time in Hollywood was in that craft. When you watch movies, are you constantly looking at the costuming?

I only take interest when they are wrong. When it doesn’t fit the character. I feel sorry for the director who doesn’t know the difference.

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What was your most famous costume and who wore it?

The costume I’m proudest of I did for a woman – Candice Bergen’s outfit in “Soldier Blue.” Costume “design” is really researching the period the film is about and picking out the material that accentuates the star. Col. Iverson (played by John Anderson) wears a pith helmet in the movie as opposed to a kepi cap like the ones you might expect to see in a movie about the U.S. Cavalry. “Soldier Blue” was really about the Sand Creek Massacre, which was led by Col. John Chivington.

Research showed that Chivington wore a pith helmet.

You mentioned that the chimney on the mill house you built at Priest Lake was “tilted just a little to give it the feeling of reality.” What do you mean by that?

Alfred Hitchcock said, “There is a thing about the quality of imperfection which gives a feeling of reality to scenes.”

Being in wardrobe, you take a guy who’s supposed to be frazzled. He’s a businessman. He wears a suit every day. You take the tie and put it slightly askew. You help the character be “frazzled.” You can do it with a house, an auto shop. It would be instinctive to make things perfect, but they wouldn’t appear real. I’ve tried to remember that in my time in the industry.

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Behind the scenes

Making the town tick

Eric Paull, SURA chairman Story and photo by Billie Jean Gerke

H

ave you noticed the face of downtown changing in recent years? It would be hard not to, but you may not recognize the man who heads up the organization behind many of those improvements. Eric Paull, 53, is an Idaho native who works by day at Washington Trust Bank as a vice president of corporate banking. His other passion is heading up the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency (SURA), which receives funding via tax increment to funnel into critical, public infrastructure and improvements in the city of Sandpoint.

“Sometimes in my industry you can’t see what you do. Even if I make a loan, I don’t often see the results. But (with SURA) when I do hardscape and infrastructure, for example on Second, you can see it. I like that part of it and the excitement it brings,” Paull said.

With his business sense and financial background, Paull emphasizes the stewardship end of his involvement with urban renewal by choosing projects for the right reasons. He takes a conservative approach and makes sure projects pencil out.

Paull’s favorite SURA projects are the Sand Creek boardwalk extension north of Bridge Street, the Dock Street/ Windbag Marina renovation, redesigning Second Avenue, and making improvements to Sandpoint’s historic Panida Theater.

“That’s an icon, so it was fun to help that building,” he said.

A determined man, Paull credits a hardscrabble childhood in Lewiston, where he was raised by a single mom of four children. His mom and German grandparents showed him the value of hard work and self-motivation. “I didn’t have a lot of the privileges my friends had,” he said.

The 6-foot, 2-incher played basketball in high school and worked part

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time at a bank, where he continued to work while attending college. He graduated from Lewis Clark State College with a Bachelor of Science in business administration and began a full-time career in banking in 1982. Later, he graduated from the Pacific Coast Banking School. In 1995, he moved from Coeur d’Alene to Sandpoint when he transferred with First Security Bank.

He had skied at Schweitzer when he was growing up and always liked the town. He still enjoys skiing and gives back to Schweitzer and people who ski by volunteering as a mountain host.

“I don’t show them my secret stashes though,” he said, grinning.

He and his wife, Lisa, enjoy raising their two sons, Bridger, 20, and Carson, 17, and going out on the lake along with other outdoor pursuits, such as mountain biking and hiking. Paull also enjoys gardening, fishing and cooking.

Besides chairing SURA, Paull is a member of the Sandpoint Rotary Club, a board member of the Kootenai-Ponderay

Eric Paull and one of his favorite SURA projects, the Windbag Marina & Park

Sewer District, an advisory board member of the Festival at Sandpoint and a board member of the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation.

In all, he volunteers an average of five to seven hours a week. “You have to learn to be efficient with your time,” he said.

Indeed, as a professional with a family and a dizzying amount of volunteer duties, Paull shows the community how it can be done.

PAULL DATASHEET • Chairman of the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency; since 2005 on the SURA commission, which

has invested $1.93 million in downtown improvements, with another $500,000 earmarked, and $65,285 in projects north of downtown, with another $1 million earmarked • Member of Sandpoint Rotary Club since 1996; as president built the Lakeview Park’s gazebo • Serves on the board of directors of the Kootenai-Ponderay Sewer District since 1998 • Advisory board member of the Festival at Sandpoint since 2008 • Board member of the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation (chaired 2006-07) • Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Month, March 2012 • Volunteers at Schweitzer Mountain Resort as a mountain host since 2006 • Coached Little League baseball and junior tackle football SUMMER 2013

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BUSINESS

Small town, big ideas Three Sandpoint entrepreneurs share their stories Editor’s Note: This is the second story in a series

I

t takes a unique sort of courage – some might even say bravado – to run a business in tough times. In the face of a wobbly job market and bleak financial forecast, the temptation to hunker down and avoid taking risks is strong. Yet in recent years, an impressive number of Sandpointians have willingly rolled up their sleeves and set up shops of their own. Is there some special element found in northern Idaho’s heady mountain air, bracing blue water and towering firs that makes it a sizzling spot for start-ups?

Meet three ambitious, high-energy entrepreneurs who are making a meaningful contribution to the local economy, right here on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, as their business markets stretch across the country and even overseas.

PHOTO BY THOMAS LEO

Jason Giddings: TransluSense Inc. The tech industry was all abuzz last January when Sandpointbased TransluSense – a scrappy David facing down technology Goliaths like Samsung – took first place in the prestigious Last Gadget Standing contest at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

“It captures people’s imagination and gets them jazzed,” said TransluSense founder, president and CEO Jason Giddings, 45, of the prizewinning device. He’s talking about the Luminae, a futuristic-looking, lightdriven glass keyboard and touchpad. A clear cling-on overlay designates the keys and can be fully customized for the needs of specific industries, using software also supplied by TransluSense.

Giddings, a Spokane native and former Army helicopter pilot, earned a four-year degree in aerospace engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz. After a stint in Boise working on race airplanes, he worked at Davis Tool for seven years before founding Giddings Product Development in Forest Grove, Ore., to provide research and development services to small companies.

Fast forward to early 2012, when Giddings floated the idea for a lightdriven input device to technology-oriented followers of the Kickstarter.com 36

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crowdfunding website. The idea soon caught on, went viral and attracted enough funding to make the project viable.

Giddings had some decisions to make, and he had to make them quickly.

“My wife and I knew that if we were going to commit to a brickand-mortar manufacturing facil-

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BUSINESS

ity, it had to be located somewhere we wanted to live,” Giddings said, “so we chose Sandpoint as a good place to build the company and raise our daughter.” He has many positive things to say not only about Sandpoint’s natural attributes but also about the support he’s received from state, city and county officials.

“Idaho is a good place for business,” he said, citing benefits ranging from tax incentives to assistance in finding an appropriate building. TransluSense set up shop in a former call center on the Coldwater Creek campus, where a sea of cubicles has been remodeled into a cavernous, uncluttered space housing state-ofthe-art assembly equipment, flanked by a few small offices.

Giddings expects the Luminae to start shipping in August 2013. If all goes as planned, TransluSense will expand from its current five employees to a maximum of 130 employees by mid2014, producing about 100,000 units per month.

“Initially, we’ll ramp up the assembly, shipping/receiving and packaging operations,” Giddings said. “Later, we’ll add positions in other areas, like finance and marketing.”

The next major product slated to roll out after the Luminae is a keyboard that self-sanitizes using ultraviolet light, for use in hospitals and other medical environments.

Giddings advises anyone with a bright business idea to first investigate Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform.

“It’s a potential source of funding,” he said, “but it’s even more useful as a test bed where you can get good feedback. Blunt feedback,” he said, grimacing.

Giddings also feels it’s important to give back to the community. For example, TransluSense recently cosponsored a Sandpoint team in First Lego, a competition in which kids ages 9 to 14 use Lego® products to build robots. “The workforce of the future,” Giddings said. He meant the kids. And maybe even the robots.

For more information, visit www.translusense.com.

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Story by Jennifer Lamont Leo Photos by MarieDominique Verdier

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BUSINESS

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Nick Guida: Tamarack Aerospace Group, Inc. From the outside the hangar is nondescript, with only a modest sign to distinguish it from its neighbors lining the runway at Sandpoint’s small airport.

Inside, however, the large, open space hums with energy, a beehive of innovation in action. While mechanics work on planes, a team of engineers huddles in deep concentration over a bank of computers. Clearly, this is a place where serious work gets done.

Founder and chairman Nick Guida, 46, formed Tamarack Aerospace Group, Inc. (TAG) in 2010 to help airplane owners “get more out of their aviation investment,” according to the company’s mission statement. Tamarack

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develops supplemental type certificate (STC) products that are modifications for aircraft aimed at improving some aspect of the aircraft’s performance.

One example is an engine control modification for the Cirrus SR22 that returns manual control of the propeller RPM, allowing the pilot to reduce fuel burn and propeller noise. Most importantly, everything can be done in-house in a short time frame.

“We’re a one-stop shop for design, engineering and repairs,” Guida said.

“Our job is to solve problems.”

A potential game-changer, however, is Tamarack’s patented Active Winglet™ that reduces drag and increases fuel efficiency (typical for a winglet) without requiring the usual extensive structural reinforcement

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BUSINESS “We’re getting some great traction with bigname aviation companies,” says Nick Guida

mix of mechanics, engineers and IT (unique). Already approved for the professionals. According to an aviation Cessna CitationJet and the Cirrus SR22, the technology could revolutionize wing- industry website, the tough economy has slowed sales of new planes, meanlets for the entire aviation industry. ing owners are more interested in It would appear that Guida has jet improving their current planes. The fuel running through his veins. Growing forecast calls for blue skies ahead, as up in Maryland, he developed an interGuida sees the opportunities in aviation est in aviation at an early age. At 16 he was flying and skydiving. After earning a as virtually limitless.

“We’re getting some great traction degree in aeronautical engineering from with big-name aviation companies,” he Georgia Tech, his work as a consultant said. took him many places, including overWhile he thinks Sandpoint is a great seas. Eventually, a stint as chief engineer place to live and run a business, he at Quest Aircraft landed Guida and his admits there are a few challenges, such family in Sandpoint, where they opted to as needing a specialized pool of techput down roots. He is also a Designated savvy workers and accepting a moderEngineering Representative, meaning ate-to-high employee turnover rate. he holds a special delegation from the “It’s tough to move to a beautiful Federal Aviation Administration to make area and then not have much time to official engineering findings for aircraft spend outdoors because you’re putting structural modifications and repairs, on in 16-hour days,” he said, “but that’s behalf of the FAA. KPND Billboard X6(7.125 X 4.75) copy.pdf 1 4/17/13 10:50 AM the nature of a start-up.”

Tamarack currently employs 15 fullOn the plus side, Guida cites time and two part-time employees, a

C

Sandpoint as a friendly place where it’s easy to get to know people.

“This area attracts an interesting breed of people,” he said, “helpful, creative, dedicated people with the entrepreneurial spirit.”

With fewer planes competing for runways and airspace, flight testing is also easy here, and the relatively isolated location helps keep proprietary technology private. “In a big city like Portland, everybody knows what you’re doing,” Guida said. He commends the cooperation of local city and county officials who “really want small business to succeed.”

“And you gotta love the ‘rush minute,’ ” he added.

Rush minute?

“Other places have a rush hour,” he said, grinning. “Sandpoint has a rush minute.”

To learn more about TAG, visit www.tamarackaero.com.

From the Mountains to the lakes...

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SUMMER 2013

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“Even though we moved to a larger location, we’ve had to rent another warehouse,” says Fred Colby of his business, Laughing Dog Brewing

Fred Colby: Laughing Dog Brewing First, the important stuff. Yes, there is a real dog behind Laughing Dog Brewing. His name is Ben and he’s a yellow Lab belonging to company founders, Fred and Michelle Colby. Like others of his breed, Ben appears to be constantly smiling. You would smile, too, if you got to spend most of your time in a cheerful place like Laughing Dog, which Ben gets to do. Dogs are welcome in the taproom, along with their humans.

Laughing Dog Brewing was founded in 2005, when executive brewer Fred Colby, 49, left a corporate job to pursue his interest in handcrafted beers. When asked why he and Michelle chose this location for Laughing Dog, Fred said, “It’s a beautiful area. I’m a Sandpoint native. Growing up here, I took it for granted. Now we really appreciate it.”

He said Laughing Dog also receives “a ton of community support.” On the flip side, he mentioned that shipping product in and out of a small town can be a challenge, especially as the company grows. Also, he has needed to hire from outside the area to fill certain positions, like brewers.

“Brewing is a specialty,” he said.

“People study and practice it for years.”

What advice does Colby have for fledgling entrepreneurs? “Make sure it’s what you really want to do,” he said, “and realize that sometimes the busi40

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ness owner comes last,” that is, in terms of paychecks and vacations.

In 2011 Laughing Dog moved from its former location to roomier premises on Fontaine Drive in Ponderay. “Even though we moved to a larger location, we’ve had to rent another warehouse,” said Colby, a testament to a robust business. Today, the company’s “Fetchingly Good” beers and ales are sold in 40 states, and Laughing Dog is the first Idaho brewery legally permitted to export to Canada. More than 15 different beers, many of them awardwinning, are produced in the 15-barrel on-site brewery. Some of the brews are seasonal, like Huckleberry Cream Ale and Cold Nose Winter Ale, while others are produced year-round. A current favorite is Purebred A.P.A. Citra, a single-hop pale ale that showcases a variety of hop called Citra.

Laughing Dog Brewing also gives back to the community by sponsoring a range of worthy causes. This summer, as in the two previous years, “Team Laughing Dog” will participate in the annual Race Across America bicycling event. In 2013 the team will raise money for cystinosis research and awareness (see story, page 17).

“We also support the animal shelter,” Colby added. “We like to help out wherever we can.”

In 2012 Colby became a minority partner in a second brewery, the Belgian-themed Selkirk Abbey Brewing Company in Post Falls, Idaho, that cel-

ebrates its one-year anniversary with a special event June 29.

“Selkirk Abbey is my creative outlet, where I get to play with beers we don’t make at Laughing Dog,” he said. His good friend and business partner in Selkirk Abbey, Jeff Whitman, echoed Colby’s thoughts about why northern Idaho is a great place to make beer.

“You can’t get better water for brewing,” he said, “along with the finest quality grain, hops and yeast.” Selkirk Abbey brews eight-barrel batches of five year-round and four seasonal brews.

Schedule a date night with your dog at Laughing Dog Brewing, 1109 Fontaine Drive, Ponderay, 263-9222, www.laughingdogbrewing.com.

Summer hours are Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. When you’re down in Post Falls, visit Selkirk Abbey, 6180 E. Seltice Way, 292-4901, www.selkirkabbey.com (call or check website for summer hours).

••• While Guida, Giddings and Colby all appreciate Sandpoint’s natural beauty and matchless recreational opportunities, all three will attest that nothing replaces patience, planning and persistence when it comes to running a business, especially a start-up. Even though there’s no guaranteed formula for success, these entrepreneurs shared some common wisdom: Do what you enjoy, and take it seriously. Know your customers, build a top-notch team, harness the best technology and manage your resources wisely. Give back to the community. Begin with a real passion and a clear goal for what you want to accomplish. Take a step forward. See what you can learn from it. Take the next step.

Patience. Planning. Persistence. And maybe a little northern Idaho magic.

SUMMER 2013

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Navigating the Storm!

Health care reform.

Confused? You’re not alone. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is full of new benefits, rules, penalties and projects, spread out over several years with most taking place in 2014.

What are the key things you need to know about health care reform under the ACA? The primary focus of health care reform is to ensure that Americans of all ages and incomes have access to comprehensive major medical health insurance. The ACA provides stronger consumer protec-tions and new coverage options.

Does the ACA require that I have health Insurance?

The law is designed to increase the access of health care coverage, and requires almost all Americans to purchase a qualified health plan (QHP), or pay a penalty. QHP’s include individual market policies, job-based coverage, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, TRICARE and certain other coverages.

Does the ACA require major medical insurers to cover everyone regardless of their health status?

Yes. Insurers are required to provide guaranteed coverage regardless of health status.

Will my health status or pre-existing condition affect my premium?

No. Insurers will not be permitted to vary rates based on health status. Rates can only vary based on geographic region, age, tobacco use, and coverage category.

What is a health insurance exchange?

Health insurance exchanges are a key provision of the ACA. An exchange is a web portal where individuals can shop for and buy health insurance effective January 1, 2014.

The consumer assistance function of an exchange includes Taylor Insurance (agents) who can help you understand your benefits options. To check eligibility for coverage and subsidies via an exchange, you can submit your application for enrollment through the exchange

website. You are not required to get insurance through an exchange – you can continue to use Taylor Insurance and other traditional means of obtaining coverage.

When can I obtain coverage through the exchange?

Open enrollment for exchanges will begin October 1, 2013, for coverage effective date of January 1, 2014. Advance premium tax credits (or subsidies) will be available through public exchanges for eligible individuals and families.

How do I obtain coverage and subsides through the exchange?

Individuals and families can submit the application for enrollment through their state’s exchange website with Taylor Insurance’s assistance during the open enrollment period to check eligibility for coverage and subsidies.

Who can obtain a subsidy?

Premium subsidies will be available for individuals and families with incomes between 133 percent and 400 percent of the poverty level, or $14,404 to $43,320 for individuals and $29,326 to $88,200 for a family of four.

The subsidies will be on a sliding scale.

For example, a family of four earning 150 percent of the poverty level, or $33,075 a year, will have to pay 4 percent of its income, or $1,323, on premiums. A family with income of 400 percent of the poverty level will have to pay 9.5 percent, or $8,379.

Subsidies are only available when coverage is purchased through an exchange.

In addition, if your income is below 400 percent of the poverty level, your out-ofpocket health expenses will be limited as well including reduced deductibles and Out-of-Pocket limits.

If I don’t purchase health care insurance from an exchange or have employer provided insurance, will I be fined?

Yes, the penalty would start at $95, or up to 1 percent of income, whichever is greater, and rise to $695, or 2.5 percent of income, by 2016. This is the individual limit; families have a limit of $2,085 or 2.5 percent of household income, whichever is greater. Some people can be exempted from the insurance requirement, called an individual mandate, because of financial hardship or religious beliefs or if they are American Indians, for example.

What can we do for you?

Taylor Insurance is a full-service agency that has taken a leadership role in transforming how local individuals and businesses can adapt to and benefit from the rapidly changing insurance industry.

We’re ready to offer information and assistance to help you navigate the recent Health Care Reform initiatives with free computer and internet access with knowledgeable licensed agents to assist in the enrollment process at no additional charge to individuals or families.

Taylor Insurance, Inc. Serving North Idaho for over 20 years (208) 263-2708

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Cedar Str , r e t a eet l s r Br a e id y ge

3

BUSINESS

l circle s ful me co

By Beth Hawkins

H

ave you strolled through the Cedar Street Bridge lately? If so, you likely noticed that individual storefronts are filling up what were, for a long time, empty spaces. Shoppers and walkers alike meander along the light-filled space, checking out the latest wares and perhaps settling in with their laptops and lattes at the sidewalkstyle café.

The scene is remarkably similar to what the bridge used to look like 30 years ago (minus the laptops, of course), when Sandpoint’s Scott Glickenhaus fulfilled his ambitious plan to build a marketplace spanning Sand Creek. Despite the spirited debate that included a trip to the Idaho Supreme Court, then-thirtysomething Glickenhaus built a grand, post-andbeam-style log structure featuring a passive solar design that quickly became a Sandpoint landmark.

The Cedar Street Bridge structure itself dates back to 1903, when the town of Sandpoint was located on the east side of Sand Creek, next to the train station. Townsfolk used the bridge as a

Will Hawkins captured the above image of the Cedar Street Bridge back when it was new. Inset: The bridge’s modern facade. PHOTO BY GARY LIRETTE

link to the mainland to the west, what is now downtown Sandpoint. Rebuilt in 1933, the 24-foot-wide bridge had been closed to traffic since 1971. The City of Sandpoint condemned it in 1980, putting it on a sorry path to demolition.

But Glickenhaus, had other ideas – rebuilding it with a new, 80-foot-wide bridge with a mall atop and making it the only marketplace on a bridge in the United States. A traveler, he had been impressed by structures and architecture including the famed Ponte Vecchio – an 800-year-old marketplace on a bridge in Florence, Italy.

“Before I built this thing, I went to ‘people places’ like Faneuil Hall in Boston and progressive malls around the country,” said Glickenhaus, 65.

Gov. John Evans and Mayor Sally Cupan (“she made that project a go”) attended the dedication May 2, 1983, and 30 years ago Glickenhaus realized his vision of turning the bridge into a “people place” that was filled with SUMMER 2013

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people, shops and lots of light.

“It really did what I was hoping for,” he said. “Walking in to the Cedar Street Bridge, you just feel like it is your own.

It has a calming effect.”

More than a decade after the Cedar Street Bridge opened and became fully occupied by a delightful variety of tenants, Glickenhaus decided to lease the entire 30,000-square-foot bridge to retail giant Coldwater Creek. Thus, in 1995, he did away with the marketplace-style retail model. A decade later, in February 2005, he sold the bridge to Jeff Bond and his business partner at the time, John Gillham, who has since ended his ownership of the bridge. Bond, 58, had become a successful real estate broker, so he felt comfortable stepping into an ownership position. Besides, he had a personal connection with the Cedar Street Bridge: He was one of its first tenants as the former general manager of radio station KPND, and he was also a painting contractor who worked on the SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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BUSINESS

From left: the city’s condemned bridge over Sand Creek; the new Cedar Street Bridge under construction; Gov. John Evans and developer Scott Glickenhaus at the 1983 dedication; and the completed marketplace over water. PHOTOS COURTESY SCOTT GLICKENHAUS

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project back in the 1980s.

All was well for Bond, that is, until an economic tide of change and the might of Mother Nature herself tested his commitment to the Cedar Street Bridge.

First, Coldwater Creek moved into the W.A. Bernd building across the street and vacated the bridge in 2006.

At that point, a new plan of action took shape. Bond decided to take the bridge back to its roots, similar to Glickenhaus’ vision of a marketplace vibe.

As the economy buzzed along, Bond added a new entry including an elevator, removed an interior ramp and installed new windows, reopening in the spring of 2007. “We put in just shy of $1.5 million,” Bond said. “That was thanks to Panhandle State Bank.

Nobody else would have given a loan to us.”

Bond and Gillham enjoyed a period of time when retailers started to move in. “We were at nearly 80 percent occupancy,” Bond said.

And then all heck broke loose – more specifically, a wicked Arctic storm in November 2007. The storm blew its way through the area, and because all of the bridge’s pipes were located in the north wall, the water lines froze and flooded the bridge.

“It was just before Christmas, and we lost every single tenant,” Bond said.

“The shopping season was completely

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BUSINESS

Current owners Jeff and Cindy Bond on the bridge today. PHOTO BY CLINT NICHOLSON

under them,” he added.

Bond hopes that new ventures such as a juice bar and an Internet café take hold. One project is really taking off – Creations, a nonprofit art center for children that relies on donations and grant funding. Shery Meekings, comanager of the Cedar Street Bridge, is behind the art center at the east end.

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Future plans include a children’s boutique and a dedicated play area.

With the U.S. Highway 95 bypass finished, just mere feet away from the east entrance, the bridge is entering a new era. “It’s been fantastic,” Bond said of the bypass. “Our next move is new signage, which is very complicated.” City rules require a certain number of frontage feet, plus there are other stipulations that Bond will need to address. “The concept is that it was always a Pike Place Market feeling that we were trying to go for.”

Looking back, Bond admits it has been a tough go, but he is still pleased with the end result. “My vision is that the town understands the iconic value of the bridge. It feels like a public market.”

Thirty years later, Glickenhaus is pleased to see the bridge return to its roots. “The public market theme that I had originally thought of is coming back, and it’s an amazing draw for Sandpoint,” he said. “The bridge lives on, and it’s fabulous to see it.”

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wiped out.”

Bond took the insurance money, added to it, and moved all of the plumbing into the interior. It took an enormous amount of fortitude – and cold, hard cash – to stay afloat after the work was done. Not to mention, a lot of anger still lingered over what had happened.

“There was so much animosity created during that period,” he said. “The vendors who were here were so upset.”

But Bond persevered. “It’s an amazing story of tenacity that we stayed in this,” he said.

Fast-forward to today, when storefronts are filling up with a wide array of retailers – a home furnishing store, clothing stores, a photo framing gallery and a growing number of charming shops – plus a Mexican restaurant and European-style bistro.

Retail spaces are leased, but Bond has the ability to sell spaces as business condos. That strategy will take some time to bring to fruition. “The retailers are just now getting their feet

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It’s up to us.

Keep our water Clean and Healthy.

The river is the source of our drinking water, the rivers and lakes together are the foundation of our lifestyle.

To ke e p o u r w a t e r p u r e. .

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• Resist Fertilizing within 25 feet of the River.

Fertilizer in the water promotes algae blooms and aquatic plants.

• Cover All Bare Soil Immediately.

Mulch and seed to prevent valuable top soil from entering the rivers.

• Keep Native Plants on the Shoreline.

Native plants are low maintenance and prevent property loss from erosion.

• Maintain Your Septic System.

Have tank inspected annually and pump routinely.

• Keep Hazardous Materials Away from Flood Zones.

Gasoline, oil, antifreeze, pesticides, paint, etc....

• Watch Your Ash. If you are going to burn on the beach, burn in a container and remove ash.

• Boat Responsibly.

Prevent fuel spills, follow no-wake zone rules, and clean, drain, dry all boats and gear.

A message from Dover, Laclede, and Priest River Water Districts.... working together to protect your drinking water source.

Funding and support provided by Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Lake*A*Syst, and the Bonner Soil and Water Conservation District. www.plrcd.org/lakeasyst/ (208) 263-5310

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SPORTS

Local athletes relish sport of ultimate

I

t started more than four decades ago when a group of counterculture East Coast college students began running around barefoot and throwing a Frisbee disc on campus.

Now, more than 5 million people in the United States play the sport of ultimate, including a group of die-hard players in Sandpoint.

Come rain, snow or shine, the group meets every Monday and Thursday night at Great Northern Park from April through December.

Summer nights may draw more than 30 players, enough for two games, while other nights there are barely the 14 players needed for a regulation game (seven per team).

For the uninitiated, the sport has nothing to do with disc golf, a common misconception. Rather, it’s more a mix of football and soccer, with teams of seven advancing the disc with throws until reaching the end zone on a 120-yard field.

While there is no contact by rule, there is plenty of running, diving, passing and jumping.

Ian Balinsky, 33, moved to Sandpoint 14 years ago and has

been playing ultimate ever since.

He runs the league and last fall also taught a popular Sandpoint Parks and Rec class for middleschoolers, lauding how quickly they picked up the game.

Balinsky is also the undisputed gunslinger of the Sandpoint group, able to hurl the disc with amazing distance and accuracy. His bombs can fly more than the length of a football field, often dropping softly to a sprinting receiver for a score.

Similar to many, Balinsky was instantly hooked on the sport after being recruited for his first game.

“I was walking home from work one day, saw some guys playing, walked up, and they said ‘Hey, we could use one more for six-on-six,’ ” said Balinsky, recalling how he learned the game from longtime local players Rick Glaser, Steve Meyer, Dave Braun and Dave Marx.

“It’s like football, basketball and soccer, a lot of tidbits from other sports,” Balinsky said.

The first ultimate game on record was played between Rutgers and Princeton in 1972.

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After a steady growth in popularity, more than 700 college club teams now play the game. Last year the NCAA final was broadcast live on CBS Sports.

While the game is undeniably steeped in hippie roots, a lot more jocks are playing ultimate these days. A handful of brave souls still play barefoot among the cleats on occasion in Sandpoint, an homage to the original spirit of the game.

Glaser, or “Ultimate Rick” as many are prone to call him, has been playing in Sandpoint for more than 20 years and is a bit of a historian of the sport.

“It’s designed to be friendly natured, no matter how competitive it gets, holding on to the fun aspects of the sport and getting along with all the players on the field,” said Glaser, 58, who still dives to catch the disc on occasion and more than holds his own in the highly aerobic sport. “We used to have the soccer guys join us, and I’d joke that ultimate is a sport where we teach soccer players how to run.”

Spirit of the Game, or SOTG in

Story and photos

by Eric Plummer

Sarah Clark dives to catch a disc at Centennial Field in Sandpoint.

Ultimate is played every Monday and Thursday night during summer, come rain or shine

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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SPORTS Ian Balinsky leaps high to snag a disc during ultimate action at Great Northern Park

ultimate parlance, is an integral theme in the niche sport. Many players still perform trick throws and catches, adding flair to the action while staying true to the old school, free-spirited nature of the game. Players officiate their own games and arguments are usually quickly resolved, honoring how the game was originally played.

Local Dave Braun, 57, started playing ultimate in Sandpoint at the ripe young age of 40 when the group either played on the grass at Lakeview Park or at venerable War Memorial Field. While he may have lost a step somewhere in there, Braun remains one of the more deft and talented “handlers,” those who control the disc most on the field, akin to a point guard in basketball.

Braun enjoys the dynamic mix of players, the camaraderie and the ample running, all the while appreciating the beauty of the fast-paced action.

“I like seeing Ian do a full layout, and

watching the good players make good plays,” said Braun, lauding the game’s self-officiated format. “There’s no referees; it’s up to each individual person to be honest and fair. Everybody strives for that to happen.”

Sandpoint also has a traveling team, competing in tournaments around the Inland Northwest and Canada a few times each summer. While many teams have set plays, defensive schemes and play essentially the same lineups, Sandpoint employs a more free-form, let-it-rip style of play.

“Sandpoint is less structured but countered with some great athleticism,” Glaser said. “Ours is a little bit like wildman style, and it throws the other teams off.”

A handful of women also join the fun, occasionally playing in coed tournaments. Among the regulars is Sandpoint teacher Heather Morgan, 39, whose speed and skills have both

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SUMMER 2013

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SPORTS

Nate Harrell, in the yellow pinny, is edged out for the disc by Matt Bouse, as players battling for catches in the air is a regular occurrence during ultimate

sears

burned and impressed many male opponents.

Visiting players are regular in the summer months, as are a host of former Sandpoint students home for college break, many of whom play ultimate in college. Bonners Ferry also has a solid group of young players who are starting to become regulars in the Sandpoint run. The diversity of skill, ages and personalities is all part of the allure.

“It’s a fun way to get exercise and mingle with people in the area of all ages,” says Dave Miles, a 36-year-old teacher at Sandpoint who started playing ultimate in college and is one of the most skilled throwers of the disc. “It’s competitive but still laid-back.”

Sandpoint is also unique in that games are played in wind, rain, hail, snow and sun, sometimes in the same outing. Balinsky says other teams are intimidated by the wind, which can wreak havoc on a 175-gram disc, but

Sandpoint players are adept at both cutting through the teeth of a wind and utilizing a tailwind, each of which requires different throws to master.

Among the usual cast of characters are Alan Miller, famous for his trick throws, Josh Delucchi, who shreds defenses with his deep routes and laser thumb throws, Thomas Jenkins, known for playing barefoot and making crafty, no-look passes, and Eric Donenfeld, whose speed is a weapon on offense and defense.

On occasion through the years, games have been played on snow and in the moonlight, when players use a glow-in-the-dark disc and wear glow sticks. Win, lose or draw, a good time is usually had by all.

“We have fun with it and enjoy it.

Mistakes are forgiven and forgotten,” said Balinsky. “We pick up the cones, say ‘good game,’ got a workout, sweated, and then head to the beach.”

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Civilization Is Nearby.

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SECRET SPOTS

Private Beach

Remote camping on Lake Pend Oreille

S

tanding around our small campfire built from beach-foraged twigs at Evans Landing, a small beach on the west side of Lake Pend Oreille, my hiking companion and I marveled at our solitude.

Coyotes howled from the opposite shore.

The haunting call of the common loon carried across the water. A ground squirrel busily went about its errands up one ponderosa pine and down the next. Deer skittered on the hillside above us, causing little rivulets of rock to wash down the slope.

Clusters of lights blinked on and off, but otherwise the shoreline bore no signs of activity. Even the water, so often windblown, lay still, which only accentuated the full moon in its steady ascent over the great wall of the Green Monarchs.

An hour of hiking – all downhill, no less – had netted us miles of shoreline all to ourselves. Lakefront views that could otherwise be had with a million-dollar mortgage, we earned with just a little sweat equity – all this, on a calendar-worthy lake within a two-hours’ drive of 500,000 people (Greater Spokane), and not another soul to be seen.

Northern Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille is so

deep – 1,158 feet – that it supports U.S. Navy submarine tests and persistent reports of mysterious lake creatures. Its 111 miles of largely undeveloped shoreline, much of it U.S. Forest Service lands, also offer uncharted territory – if you’re willing to walk, boat or paddle.

MaryAnn Hamilton, recreation and trails program manager for the Sandpoint Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, says that hike- and boat-in camping on Lake Pend Oreille provides a backcountry experience similar to that of the Selkirks: “All the times I’ve been on Lake Pend Oreille in a boat, I feel the similarity to being on a highmountain lake: steep, rocky peaks; cliffs that plunge right down into the water; mountain goats wandering onto the shore.”

With a little effort, fans of human-powered recreation can explore the shore. Kayakers can put in at Talache, on the west side of the lake, and paddle all the way down to Forest Service camping areas at Maiden Rock and Evans Landing, or they can put in at Clark Fork and swing west and south to the Monarchs.

Maiden Rock and Evans Landing also offer hike-in access. These beaches are remote enough to escape the masses, but not so far that you can’t pack a bottle of wine. Easy SUMMER 2013

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Story and photos

by Aaron Theisen A backpacker awakes to a serene shoreline scene at Lake Pend Oreille’s Evans Landing campground

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SECRET SPOTS

Left: The rocky beach south of Maiden Rock gives sunrise watchers a view over the west Cabinet Mountains Opposite: Lake Pend Oreille makes for an inviting, early-season backpacking trip when snow still blankets the mountains

trails – at least on the way in – make these treks ideal for a first-time overnight trip; the sparkling lake will coax little feet onward. In addition, owing to its low elevation, Lake Pend Oreille makes a refreshing destination for those itching to set up a tent on dry ground when there’s still plenty of snow in the mountains.

This is dessert-first backpacking, with all the hard work at the end of the trip. As far as putting off the task of hefting the pack and climbing more than 1,000 feet back to the car, well,

there are worse places to procrastinate.

Whether accessed by foot or boat, the rugged, undeveloped shoreline scalloped with secluded bays allows for plenty of opportunities for solitude.

“There are so many miles of undeveloped beach on Lake Pend Oreille that you can definitely go beach camping and be alone,” said Hamilton. “This lake has the ability to disperse people.”

Day-trippers and campers alike tend to congregate around the established sites, all of which offer picnic tables and fire rings, and five of them featuring vault toilets. With a little investigating up or down the shore from an established site, hikers and boaters are sure to spy a tent-free spot.

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Where and how to camp on Pend Oreille

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Following, find three great places to sleep under the stars on Lake Pend Oreille by boating or walking in, plus a couple of choice campgrounds you can drive to that are also great embarking or disembarking points for dispersed camping nearby. Contact the Sandpoint Ranger District (1602 Ontario St., 263-5111) for directions, or consult the guidebook “Legendary Lake Pend Oreille: Idaho’s Wilderness of Water” (Keokee Books, 2010).

Maiden Rock One of two hike-in beaches on Lake Pend Oreille, Maiden Rock comes with a country-ballad backstory: Legend tells of a distraught lover who climbed the fin-like prominence and flung herself to the deep water below. The name belies a peaceful camping area on a secluded beach of sand and glass-smooth pebbles. Big pines shade four dispersed campsites with picnic tables. A vault toilet is a welcome amenity for beachside camping. Wander south of the beach to ancient, glacier-cut rocks, orange and angular, jutting crazily out of the lakeshore.

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a wilderness of water, the dispersed campsites require extra devotion to Leave No Trace principles. In short, if you can pack it in full, you can pack it out empty. Otherwise, general Forest Service rules and regulations, including those governing fires (check for burn bans before building one) and fireworks (don’t discharge them on Forest Service land at any time), apply.

Camping on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille, it’s possible, Hamilton says, “to escape and be alone, to experience the scenery and majesty of this beautiful lake.”

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descend 1,000 feet down two miles on the south side of Blacktail Mountain.

The trail begins as a steady but pleasant descent through Western red cedars and moss on the banks of Maiden Creek before concluding with a dizzying drop to the shore.

Hikers take note: The beach is very popular with boaters, so an empty trailhead may belie a full beach below.

Evans Landing A short distance down the shore from Maiden Rock lies Evans Landing, which gets slightly less traffic than its more northerly cousin.

The two-mile hike on Evans Landing Trail No. 64 offers only two mostly unobstructed views of the lake and its surroundings – one of distant Maiden Rock and the other of the Green Monarchs – but when the hike

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View of the Green Monarchs from Mineral Point near Green Bay

gets to the good stuff so quickly, who needs to stop for views?

Three picnic tables accompany metal fire rings. A wellloved rope swing will tempt daredevils. The site does not feature potable water, but a small stream a 10-minutes’ walk north on the shore provides water for boiling or treating.

The vault toilet at Evans Landing has been removed; plan accordingly and pack a shovel for digging a cat hole.

Long Beach, Green Monarchs The Green Monarchs, on the east side of Lake Pend Oreille, crown the Coeur d’Alene Mountains and tower almost 3,000 feet above the least-developed stretch of Lake Pend Oreille shoreline.

A narrow ribbon of shore separates the mountains to the southeast and the thousand-foot-deep lake to the northwest.

Fire rings and a vault toilet are the only amenities on this remote beach. This might be the wildest camping experience on the lake.

For paddlers, Hamilton suggests putting in at Johnson Creek, paddling up the Clark Fork Delta and swinging around the shoreline to the Monarchs. However, boaters need be mindful of the sometimes-strong winds that blow up the lake and can quickly tip a kayak. Prudent paddlers hug the shore. As rugged as the setting is, the beach around the vault toilet still fills with boats on summer weekends.

However, there’s plenty of room to roam.

Hamilton said: “If you want to go to the Monarchs and be by 11 other boats, you can do that. If you want to go a mile away and be completely alone, there’s plenty of room to do that, too.”

Long Beach boasts offshore mooring buoys, but your best bet is a small vessel capable of landing on a rocky shore.

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Whiskey Rock Bay Campground This small – only nine tent sites – and secluded campground on the east side of the lake makes for a great family camping destination. Whiskey Rock has a sandy swimming beach, one of the only natural sand beaches on the lake, and a grassy area for lounging. This coveted spot is best known for its big dock that the Forest Service treats as a campsite.

A long, rough drive accesses the campground from Clark Fork; a better bet is to put in at Bayview or Garfield Bay and boat across.

Hamilton said: “Whiskey Rock is very popular with weekenders or people who just want to camp overnight on their boats or on the dock. We’ve even got buoys for bigger boats.”

Green Bay Campground At the end of a steep drive down a narrow, not-suitablefor-trailers access road, Green Bay Campground is one of the most scenic areas on Lake Pend Oreille.

Campsites up on ponderosa-shaded rocks peer over expansive views of the southern portion of the lake. Visit in autumn when the leaves of the shrubby understory – serviceberry, mock-orange and others – light up the campground in tawny reds and golds.

Hamilton said: “Green Bay is incredibly popular. It’s not a place you’d want to go to on a summer weekend thinking you’re going to get away from people.”

However, a trip up the shore, either by boat or on Mineral Point Trail No. 82, accesses one of the best dispersed sites on the lake, a large flat bench with big pines overhead and big views of the Green Monarchs out the tent-front flap.

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BAILEY

A photographic dichotomy Two natives capture what they love about life

W

hat do babies and backcountry skiing have in common? Plenty if you’re photographers Staci Bailey and Patrick Orton. They share a love for living in Sandpoint, an appreciation for Canon’s 5D Mark III camera and a desire to share their passion with the world.

Bailey, 36, a married mother of two, revels in photographing newborn babies bathed in natural light and the gentle stillness of her studio, while Orton, 24, lives for the thrill of the hill, camera in one hand and skis in another – when he’s not snowmobiling, wakeboarding, or rappelling off a cliff. Here are their stories.

Accidentally in love

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Bailey fell into photography more than eight years ago after the birth of son Owen, followed two years later by daughter Bella. Armed with a mother’s love for her children, a point-and-shoot camera and the support of husband Ryan – he owns Bailey’s Plumbing – Staci Bailey set out to capture the fleeting moments of her children’s early years.

“It wasn’t about just taking a photo,” said Bailey. “It was about freezing time and documenting all of their tiny details. Their chubby fingers, their long eyelashes, the fun they have while doing art projects, the messes they made and the joy they got out of those messes, watching them learn, all of it!”

But Bailey also saw business potential in being able to share her baby-love with other parents. “I started with (child) photography,” she said, “but gradually migrated to newborns and babies as my own got older.”

Eager to learn, Bailey honed her skills through practice, workshops and [turn to Bailey]

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Living the dream “Photography allows me to follow my passion,” said Patrick Orton, who wants to inspire others to live their life to its fullest. “My favorite part is getting to experience amazing adventures with my best friends.”

Adventures with friends was a process that started early for the Sagle native.

“In the summers we would jump off cliffs at Green Bay, go wakeboarding along the edge of the Green Monarchs, and hike deep into the Selkirks and Cabinets,” said Orton, who spent winters snowmobiling and skiing the backcountry.

Although he had been skiing since age 5, it wasn’t until age 16 that it became somewhat of an addiction, admits Orton. But it was a healthy addiction, one that turned him on to photography when Orton’s mother, Kristina, asked well-known local photographer Chris Guibert to take photos of Patrick while skiing.

“I fell in love with the lifestyle of photography before I started shooting,” said Orton. “At 17, I purchased my first dSLR (camera) and Chris lent me two lenses to use until I bought my own.” Orton shot countless images, finding an outlet for his energy and creativity that combined outdoor adventure, friendship and travel.

“Not much has changed,” said Orton, who has been featured in such national publications as Rock and Ice and Powder magazines, “but now we jump off bigger cliffs and go to more remote areas to explore.”

He went to Thailand, for example, where he photographed a BASE (buildings, antennas, spans, earth) jumper falling from a 460-foot wall for Outside magazine. For the shot, Orton climbed four pitches up a 5.11 route to position himself under the diver; captured Chris Bevins’ astonishing, midair nosedive; and then rappelled back down the mountain. In Vail, Colo., Orton’s photograph of a snowboarder catapulting over an ice waterfall cliff is now frozen in time on the pages of National Geographic Adventure’s “Adventure Town” series.

ORTON Patrick Orton, above, and Staci Bailey, opposite, are two homegrown photographers who share a love of Sandpoint and photography but went entirely different directions with their craft

[turn to Orton]

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BAILEY

researching other photographers. She took classes from Californiabased “Baby as Art” photographers Carrie Sandoval and Brittany Woodall, featured in such publications as The New York Times and renowned for their use of props to create intimate newborn portraits. It’s an approach pioneered by

Anne Geddes, known for her whimsical portraits of babies and expectant parents.

“Being a mom myself has helped me be able to handle the babies with confidence,” said Bailey. “I treat all of them as if they were my own.”

A typical photo shoot, explains Bailey, involves gently posing the babies in

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Vail holds special meaning for Orton, who graduated in nearby Glenwood Springs where he earned his professional photography degree at Colorado Mountain College (Guibert’s alma mater). It was a rigorous program and a turning point in his career.

“We started with 55 kids and I graduated with 6,” said Orton. “Most of the kids thought photography would be easy. They had no passion, and it showed in their work.” His passion caught the eye of Vail Resorts’ director of photography, Jack Affleck, who offered Orton a job photographing the mountain.

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ART

natural light settings, most often indoors.

Photographing against a neutral background with a short depth of field to blur the background, Bailey enhances the drama through the use of props: a shell-like swing, a vintage wicker baby carriage or tin bucket, a fur-lined drawer, a shelf shaped like a crescent moon complete with dangling star. [turn to Bailey]

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[turn to Orton]

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BAILEY

Fabric, color and texture are essential tools for Bailey, who makes many of the hats and headbands she uses in her photos. She also calls on family members – mom Cindy Derr of Spokane-based Knit Nan Knit and sister Jennifer Derr’s Modern Rag Quilts based in San Jose, Calif. – to provide a range of fabrics, blankets and ridiculously cute accessories.

Bailey uses her Canon Mark III camera body and a 50 mm lens to capture every detail, occasionally doing after-image touch-ups, such as reducing blemishes on otherwise perfect, little faces.

“I like clean, crisp and clear images, so the least amount of editing the better,” said Bailey, who will occasionally digitally merge two photos, such as trickier outdoor shots.

The least exciting part of the job, says Bailey, is paper-

[turn to Bailey]

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ART

chiseled from Green Bay rock slabs, a fireplace from Hope’s Lightning Creek – Starfire is a sanctuary on 40 acres surrounded by organic gardens, aspen and cedar trees and a pond. It also features a three-mile downhill mountain bike course Orton spent four years building.

As busy as he is – he recently hired an assistant and has gotten into both video and writing about his adventures – Orton has little time to ride his own bike course. He only spends about four months of the year in Sandpoint.

“Out of all the places I have seen in the world,” said Orton, “Sandpoint is my favorite. The beauty is unparalleled and it has such a friendly community.”

Although most of what he shoots is adventure, Orton’s portfolio (www.patrickortonphotography.com) shows broad [turn to Orton]

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BAILEY

work. A fourthgeneration Clark Fork/Sandpoint native, Bailey (née Derr) parlayed her volleyball skills into a scholarship at University of Southern Colorado (now called Colorado State) where she earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1998.

“It really is quite funny that I have the financial background that I do as I loved that type of work once upon a time, but now that my creative side has kicked in, paperwork is on my ‘chore’ list,” Bailey said.

What she loves, says Bailey, is continuing to learn and experiment.

“I miss everything ‘baby’ about my kids,” said Bailey, “and find so much joy in getting to interact with newborns and their parents. There is something so magical about that time frame.”

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ORTON

ability and reflects a thoughtful appreciation for nature and portraiture. In the yoga section, he includes a blackand-white image of a yogi atop a crag in standing bow pose with a mountain goat grazing casually nearby. In the portraiture section, a pretty brunette blows snow at the viewer, her impish character framed in a halo of soft, white light. And even in the adventure category, he captures the quiet moment, such as a couple paddling away from a campsite, a silvery purple silhouette contrasting with the orange embers of the campfire.

“I love capturing a moment in time that wows people,” said Orton. “Images are a way to show the world your unique, focused view. They give people a window into my world of adventure and travel – a way for me to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.”

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SANDPOINT ON THE SALMON In which our adventurers discover, yes, you can take it with you

Story by Billie Jean Gerke Photos by Doug Marshall

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on the Salmon

W

e were nearing the last rapid on our last day on the Salmon River, and Vinegar looked ominous. Mason Kiebert had warned us we would go out with a bang, that Vinegar Creek was the biggest rapid of our five-day trip. He wasn’t kidding. So far, not a single boat had flipped nor had a rafter been ejected. But Vinegar changed all that.

Rick and Randy Evans, of Evans Brothers Coffee fame, had gone from whitewater neophytes at the beginning of the trip to the cool dudes with the nerve to ride rapids on a stand-up paddleboard or in the inflatable kayak, known as a duckie.

Vinegar – a roiling corkscrew wave flanked by huge boulders – presented a great thrill for those of us with guides in the paddle raft and oar boats. With the Class III-IV behind us and the take-out just ahead, we turned to see how the Evans brothers in the duckie would fare. As they entered the rapid, a lateral wave hit them like a ton of bricks and flipped them in a split second. Rick grabbed the boat and held on, but Randy disappeared. We watched for long, anxious seconds until, thankfully, he popped to the surface. He had taken on water and didn’t look so good.

The experience was humbling to the brothers, who admittedly had gotten a little cocky from their beginners’ luck on the mighty Salmon.

“We were feeling pretty overconfident,” Randy said. “We had just aced all the whitewater the whole trip – and then got hammered on the last rapid.”

••• We were 22 of the more than 8,000 boaters who raft Idaho’s famous Salmon River each year, but no others do it the Sandpoint way. This was the inaugural “Sandpoint on the Salmon,” the brainchild of Mason Kiebert and wife Heather Johnston of K-Bear River Adventures, along with photographer Doug Marshall of El Photo Grande. The idea was to combine a group of Sandpoint people with some of our town’s signature purveyors of food and drink. We’re talking gourmet meals by Trinity at City Beach, award-winning Evans Brothers coffee, microbrews from Laughing Dog Brewing and wine from Pend d’Oreille Winery.

All this for five nights ensconced within a micro-Sandpoint community floating through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, three times the size of Rhode Island, and the Gospel Hump Wilderness Area. The canyon’s depth surpasses the Grand Canyon, and its network of trails could

Mason Kiebert, on the oars, guides his paddle rafters through the rapid known as Black Velvet. Sandpoint on the Salmon guests were treated to local food and beverages, right, including coffee prepared pour-over style by the Evans brothers themselves

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on the Salmon

From the top: Guests, guides and swampers at California Beach; and K-Bear River Adventure’s Mason Kiebert and wife Heather Johnston, the dynamic duo behind Sandpoint on the Salmon

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stretch from San Francisco to Detroit. It supports wildlife like bighorn sheep, of which we saw plenty.

Sandpoint folks do love to have a good time, and nowhere was that more evident than last July on the Salmon River. By day it was rapid after rapid through that gorgeous canyon, and by night it was playing in camp, getting spoiled by the ever-gracious crew and enjoying each other’s company, which was easy since we were an upbeat bunch.

The adventure started July 6 with a meeting at Laughing Dog Brewing, our first chance to see those we would travel with: John Phillips, a retired astronaut, and his wife, Laura; Alan Barber and wife Heather Hellier, retired proprietors of Church Street Bed & Breakfast; John and Mary McPherson, engineers from San Jose, Calif., who own a second home in Sandpoint; John Akins Jr., owner of The Little Olive, and his father John Sr., who owns Akins Harvest Foods; the Evans brothers and their father Dick Evans, of Charleston, S.C., a retired Air Force colonel who flew F-4 and F-111 fighter jets; winemaker Steve Meyer of Pend d’Oreille Winery; and Dave Kosiba, head brewer at Laughing Dog. Doug and I rounded out the list as the dirtbag photographer and writer.

Over the next six days we would create a bond that only happens on the river. “The river brings out the best in people. It takes a couple days to slough off and then the genuine person comes out,” said Kiebert, a fourthgeneration Sandpoint native.

Kiebert, 41, his teenage daughters Nan and Kaylee, wife Heather, 39, and one of their guides, Zach Westfall, 23, handed out dry bags and explained how they were used: The small ones would be our day packs, the large were like our suitcases. Then we were sent home to pack.

Early the next day, K-Bear’s van escorted us the 280 miles south to the put-in 26 miles upriver of Riggins. There we boarded a jet boat that carried us upriver 90 miles in less than three hours, providing a preview of the rapids we would encounter on the way back down. The jet boat roared into Corn Creek Campground at dinner time, where we found the K-Bear guides with camp set up, appetizers ready and cold beer on tap. “It was like stepping into a moving resort in the middle of nature,” said Meyer.

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on folding tables decked out with checkered tablecloths.

The next morning, anticipation was high and so was anxiety for those like me with little whitewater experience.

We broke camp and watched the crew meticulously pack the boats for the trip.

Most everything found a spot on the gear boats, which would always depart before us rafters so that by the time we arrived, camp would be set up with refreshments and appetizers awaiting.

That morning, the water was at 64 degrees, running at 8,241 cfs, with a forecast high of 98 and a low of 57.

Guide Aaron Gordon, a band teacher at Sandpoint High School, presented the safety talk. Kiebert warned us about dehydration and told us to force ourselves to drink water all day. Then he addressed snakes and bees; this is rattlesnake country after all. We were told to keep our tents zipped up at all times. We were reassured that a registered nurse, wife Heather, was on board and so was a satellite phone, as no cell service exists in the canyon. By 11 a.m. we hit the water.

The first rapid was Killum, a class II that sounds like “kill ’em” but was actually named for homesteader Jack Killum, who came to the Salmon River with his wife and five children in 1935. We nailed Killum with ease.

Our first lunch stop was the first of many historic sites we would encounter, a homestead settled by pioneer Frank Lantz on property he occupied from 1925 until his death in 1971, when he donated it to his employer, the U.S. Forest Service. Guide Iris Frye led us to Lantz’s

Guide Iris Frye and her dog, Rio, escort the author through the narrow slot in Big Mallard, a rapid with a formidable reputation

third and final home there. She related how Lantz came from West Virginia to settle on the Salmon. He married in 1935 but never had children. The fruit trees he planted still bear fruit; in fact, we enjoyed fresh cherries off his trees.

Frye, 23, has been rowing since her mid-teens and started guiding at 18 in Colorado. She teaches in Moab, Utah, during the school year and guides the Salmon in summer when she goes by her river name, “I-Frye.” The pretty blonde with a Livestrong tattoo on her wrist was born with cancer and diagnosed at age 12. At the time of our trip, she had been cancer-free for 14 months.

Every year, I-Frye volunteers for River Discovery, a rafting trip for Idaho children aged 12 to 17 who are battling cancer. No parents are allowed; instead, a nurse, oncologist and counselor are on board. They cover the kids’ ports so they can swim by day and open them to administer chemo treatments at night.

“I’m very lucky to guide those trips because of my history,” said Frye. She truly relates to the children, who can take their wigs off and just be happy for their five or six days on the Salmon.

By 5 p.m. we pulled off the river for our second camp. Libations began with Laughing Dog IPA and Rocket Dog Rye IPA. The crew served marinated chicken and veggie skewers for appetizers, followed by cedar plank salmon with lemon basil cream sauce, grilled

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on the Salmon asparagus and pasta salad. Meyer pulled out his Bistro Blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot. Dessert was New York cheesecake with raspberry sauce.

We were loosening up – enough to give each other a little grief. Dick Evans, 65, was relegated to a tent as far away from other campers as possible.

Everyone had heard him snoring up a storm at Corn Creek, so from then on he was put in the “boom boom” room.

He was characteristically good natured, despite being outcast at bedtime. Dick had gone through serious cancer four years earlier.

“I decided if opportunities come up, I’m going to do them,” he said. He had thought the trip might be too hard, but the chance to bond with his sons on a grand adventure won out.

“I’ve always felt close to my boys but never as close as when this trip was over,” Dick said. In fact, Dick and his sons are returning this summer for the second annual Sandpoint on the Salmon. He talked his 70-year-old brother into joining them this year, and his brother, in turn, talked his son and his partner into coming, too. (Warning to this year’s participants: Dick claims his brother snores louder than he does.)

Breakfast on day two was French toast stuffed with huckleberries, blueberries and yogurt, along with fresh fruit and sausage links.

Later, while breaking camp, Zach yelled out “Last call for the groover!”

Soon he returned and announced sternly: “No urinating in the groover!”

Apparently, that first night, we campers were not good about following the rules.

To lessen the impact of all the river travelers in dry river corridors, the Forest Service requires that visitors urinate in the river and not on land. All solid waste must be deposited in portable toilets, known affectionately as “groovers,” which are carried out. K-Bear added a classy touch to our groover – a side table decorated with an electric candle and a vase of silk flowers.

Kiebert gathered the troops for that day’s briefing and informed us this was his favorite whitewater day of the trip.

The rapids we would encounter were big but not crazy dangerous. Today the river would make a big bend northwest,

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Sandpoint

From left: Campsite No. 3 at Lower Yellow Pine; Dick Evans and son Randy conquer Big Mallard in the duckie; and retired astronaut John Phillips paddles hard

and the rock formations would change as we entered the Idaho Batholith.

This immense granite formation covers much of central Idaho. Some 50 million years ago, magma formed underground and pushed upward, creating many of the state’s mountains. The formation appears black because of lichen and moss on its

surface; hence, the name Black Canyon is given to this section of the Salmon. The Idaho Batholith creates a travel barrier that is only breached by the Salmon River suture zone. Except for U.S. Highway 95, which follows this zone from Riggins to McCall, no paved road crosses the Idaho Batholith from north to south.

Our anticipation for the day was heightened by Mason’s description of Barth Hot Springs, with its infinity pool perched on a cliff. Day two would cover 19 river miles, versus 17 the day before.

We made the hot springs and soaked in the pool before lunchtime. Named after 1920s homesteader Jim Barth, the site features historical inscriptions on rocks at the river’s edge, visible only at low water, including those dated from 1872 to 1911 by John McKay, a legendary Scotsman who spent more than 48 years in the canyon.

Rapids aside, the most exciting part of the day came when an afternoon thunderstorm forced us off the water.

We huddled on shore and watched the wind whip across the river and lightning flash all around. Once again, some of us failed to follow directions – like me, who neglected to pack rain gear in my day bag. The storm chilled me to the bone, but Kiebert kindly offered us some Fireball Cinnamon Whisky to warm us up and calm our nerves.

We pulled off the river for night three at Lower Yellow Pine Campground set amongst enormous ponderosa pines.

Kosiba pulled out a Laughing Dog specialty, the Anubis coffee porter – a highcalorie, dark beer that did the trick to warm us up.

Fresh fruit kabob appetizers were followed by tortellini primavera with creamy pesto sauce, topped off by caramel apple pie. Soon, a drinking game pitting Dick and the younger Akins against the winemaker and Randy began; the goal was to use a Frisbee to knock a cup off an oar set in sand. Dick’s team won. More teams were drawn into the game throughout the evening. Meantime, the younger set

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SUMMER 2013

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played beach golf.

We were letting go even more. Our stiff, formal personalities were sloughing off and revealing the people inside, just as Kiebert said they would.

At his briefing the next morning, our fearless leader read a guidebook’s description of Big Mallard, a class III to IV rapid we would hit right out of camp. Dick and Randy were set to be the first pair in the duckie that morning. As words like “formidable,” “tricky” and “chaotic” rolled off Mason’s tongue, Dick grimaced at each menacing adjective. “Dad thought he was going to die,” Randy confided later. They survived Big Mallard just fine.

Night four was spent at Mackay Bar, where we experienced the only civilization of the trip. A hunting lodge with electricity and hot showers, the ranch is served by a private airstrip and primitive road. Civilization proved too enticing for John Sr., who disappeared at dinnertime. Junior found him up on the bench trying to find reception on his iPhone. His son joked about Dad wanting to tweet about the trip, but actually Dad was trying to tend to business.

CEREC dentistry is the new buzz in the dental community. For those who aren’t familiar with this, it is an innovative Computer Aided Design (CAD) machine that allows dentists to fabricate crowns, caps and fillings in the office while the patient is being treated.

This is a jump forward in dentistry as we know it. Patients do not have to have a temporary crown (along with frequently associated problems), or wait 2 to 3 weeks to get their permanent crown back from a dental lab. The restorations are designed, fabricated chair-side and bonded all in a single appointment. This convenience to the patient has received fantastic praise since Dr. Lewis and Dr. Hawn implemented CEREC Dentistry.

Dr. Lewis and Dr. Hawn are extremely impressed with the accuracy and exceptional quality of the restoration that the CEREC unit designs and mills. Through extensive training provided by CEREC, both Lewis and Hawn have become experts in the CAD dentistry.

With this advanced technology, Drs. Lewis and Hawn are able to provide a higher level of care without any increased costs to the patient.

2025 West Pine Street Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 Phone: 208.265.4558

For convenient, exceptional quality, one-visit dentistry, call Drs. Lewis and Hawn for more information about CEREC.

Fax: 208.263.5721 info@sandpointdentists.com sandpointdentists.com

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/sandpointdentists

or scan the QR code with your smart phone!

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Sandpoint

Left: Heather Johnston and Dick Evans cliffjump together as others look on. Above: Guide Aaron Gordon fly fishes near California Beach

Games such as the one Dick Evans and John Akins Sr. are shown playing above were a common camp pastime. At right, Rick Evans masters the stand-up paddleboard

Mackay Bar faces west and was plenty hot on our arrival. The crew rose to the occasion, serving grilled portobello mushrooms with goat cheese, Roma tomatoes and basil as an appetizer. Dinner was grilled chicken breast stuffed with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, Fontina and herbs; on the side were dragon wheels (potatoes, onions and bell peppers wrapped in foil and grilled) and marinated, grilled squash. We had a delicious Kahlúa chocolate toffee mousse cake for dessert. The guys played horseshoes and a badminton game got under way as night fell.

The next morning, I-Frye and her dog Rio were snuggled together in their sleeping bag when I snuck past for a trail run. On my way, I passed the astronaut and friends hiking back and Aaron out fly fishing on the South Fork. Back at the lodge, I took the world’s longest 72

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shower and emerged late for breakfast.

Later Kiebert indicated it would be an easy whitewater day with class II rapids.

I took this opportunity to try out the duckie in mellow water with Laura Phillips but was soon back in the paddle raft. After a stop for some cliff-jumping, the group undertook a hike to what Kiebert described as the southern-most grove of Pacific yew trees – reached via an overgrown trail. At the grove, Kiebert related how the trees had been saved during a wildfire, a common occurrence in the canyon. The Evans brothers wanted to hike farther, so Kiebert and Johnston accompanied them and a few others on an extended hike while the rest of us turned back. Reunited later back at the beach, the hikers excitedly told how, beyond the yew grove, they had spotted one rattlesnake after another. When they hurriedly retreated, Mary McPherson literally had to jump

over a snake coiled on the trail.

“Who knew you could jump straight up in the air?” Mary said, laughing.

“Quite honestly, it didn’t bother me much. It wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a rattlesnake on the trail, but it definitely got my adrenaline going.”

We pulled into California Beach for our last night, a magical evening on a beautiful, white sand beach. Several of us played dice and observed a spirited game of boccie ball ensue, with high river-trip stakes: Losers had to get naked. The first one caught me off guard, but I carefully averted my eyes away as other players lost and disrobed.

(I won’t name names, but one of them roasts coffee, one runs a restaurant, one teaches in Moab and another spent time at the International Space Station.)

Our last dinner was a dandy – New York strip steaks with sautéed mushrooms and onions served with Meyer Reserve.

On the final morning, Kiebert praised us for keeping the river clean and for sharing in his dream. In his 12 seasons on the river, he declared the inaugural Sandpoint on the Salmon to be his best trip ever. Others echoed the thought.

We had bonded and experienced the ultimate summer camp for grown-ups, leaving the outside world and technology behind – but taking Sandpoint with us, on the Salmon River.

The second annual Sandpoint on the Salmon happens July 15-20. Information: www.raftthesalmon.com, 208-290-3737

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T H I N G S T H AT M A D E U S G O ‘ H M M ’

A H I S T O RY OF SANDPOINT KALISPEL WOOD PIPE, 1915

IN 10 OBJECTS STEAMBOAT WHISTLE, 1907

STORY BY JENNIFER LAMONT LEO PHOTOS BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

Recently, Neil MacGregor, director of the British Muse-

um, penned a bestselling book with an ambitious goal. In “The History of the World in 100 Objects,” MacGregor selected 100 artifacts from the museum’s collection to relate the story of human development, from the crude stone tool to the solar-powered lamp. While the choice of objects to include in such a project is necessarily arbitrary, we felt MacGregor was on to something. After all, a society’s material culture (that’s fancy scholar-speak for “the stuff people leave behind in their attics”) holds vital clues to the people, places and events that have shaped it over the years. That got us to thinking: What objects might best be used to tell the story of Sandpoint?

Of course, MacGregor had the entire British Museum at his disposal. Not to be outdone, we paid a visit to Sandpoint’s own venerable institution, the Bonner County 74

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Museum, in search of 10 key objects to represent Sandpoint’s history.

“The role of any museum is to collect, document, preserve and interpret objects,” said Olivia Luther, the museum’s director. “These objects have stories to tell, which our job is to share.” Referring to the museum’s collection, she added: “To me, the most important role of these objects is the opportunity they give to visitors to construct narratives, with themselves and with each other. It may be an old stove that triggers a visitor to share a memory of their mother or grandmother’s kitchen, or a historical image that people feel compelled to discuss.”

Here, then, are 10 objects we feel compelled to discuss. While considered commonplace in their day, each one holds an important clue to Sandpoint’s past. Give it some thought. What objects most say “Sandpoint” to you?

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1

2

Indian Straw Basket

Beaver Pelt on Willow Frame

circa 1915

circa 1900

Although little is known about this particular basket, it is The animal-fur market played a major role in the region’s

believed to be of Kalispel origin. Its small size and excellent condition indicate that it was likely used for trinkets or ceremonial purposes. Basket-weaving is one of the oldest and most widespread American Indian crafts. Here in the Northwest, baskets were often woven out of willow, birch bark or cedar bark. The Kalispel, or “Camas People,” were among the Sandpoint area’s earliest residents. According to Kalispel legend, the tribe originally came from the north and chose to live in the Lake Pend Oreille area for its abundant fish and game. Well into the 20th century, gatherings of Kalispel, Coeur d’Alene, Kootenai and other tribes took place every autumn in an area near Hope called Indian Meadows. In her book, “Legendary Lake Pend Oreille,” historian Jane Fritz noted: “A few old-timers from Clark Fork and Hope still remember the large Indian encampments that took place at the mouth of the Clark Fork. … Their horses would graze on the grasses in the long meadow of what today is Denton Slough.”

development. A voracious demand for beaver fur – used in clothing, particularly the men’s top hats that were all the rage during Victoria’s reign – drew British, French and American trappers to the Northwest. In the traditional method, after skinning, the beaver pelt was stretched to dry on a wooden frame such as this one to give it the more uniform, rounded shape desired by purchasers. These furs, along with tools, camas root and other goods, were traded by local Indian tribes at Kullyspell House. Founded in 1809 by David Thompson and Finan McDonald of the North West Company, Kullyspell House was situated near a well-traveled route on what is now the Hope Peninsula.

Although Kullyspel House only operated for a couple of years, it had the distinction of being the area’s first permanent structure. Robert Weeks, the first merchant in the settlement that eventually became Sandpoint, also traded in furs and other goods.

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3

4

Steamboat Lantern

Timetable, Great Northern Railway

Northern Navigation Company, 1907

1937

A

t one time the waters of Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake shimmered under the gleam of boat lanterns such as this one. From 1866 – when the Mary Moody carried prospectors into the gold hills of Montana – on into the 1940s, more than 80 steamboats skimmed over Bonner County waters.

All week long the boats ferried passengers, livestock, timber, mail, supplies and equipment from point to point around the lakes. On summer weekends, some did double duty, hosting tourist excursions, dances and picnics. The Northern Navigation Company’s cofounder, E.J. Elliott, built and operated steamboats from 1906 until his retirement in the 1950s.

By then, paved roads had replaced waterways as the most efficient way to move people and goods, and the era of the steamboat drew to a close.

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Beginning in 1883, the arrival of the Northern Pacific,

Great Northern and Spokane International railroads arguably had a greater impact on Sandpoint’s development than any other factor. Trains stacked high with cut timber headed to markets back east, then returned carrying goods, supplies and hardy souls eager to find work in northern Idaho’s forests and sawmills. L.D. and Ella Mae Farmin, the Northern Pacific’s first ticket agents in the area, were early Sandpoint moversand-shakers, platting the town as we know it today and naming many of its streets. By the 1930s, the railroads were also courting the tourist trade, as evidenced by this “Empire Builder” timetable that promotes both air-conditioned comfort and sojourns to Glacier National Park. Today, more than 40 trains pass through Sandpoint daily, entirely freightbearing except for the Amtrak passenger trains that glide through town in the wee hours of the night.

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5

6

Chinese Straw Hat

Miner’s Helmet

circa 1900

circa 1920

The construction and maintenance of the Northern

Pacific, Great Northern and Spokane International railroads between 1882 and 1905 drew workers of many ethnicities to the Sandpoint area, including Chinese. A substantial Chinese settlement was established in Hope, with a mostly male population due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and other discriminatory regulations that prevented workers from bringing their families into the United States. While most of the Chinese worked on the railroad, some operated stores and cultivated gardens. Residents recall purchasing fresh vegetables from Chinese neighbors. After about 1905, when construction was completed on the Spokane International, most of the Chinese laborers gradually moved on, many eventually returning to China. The Old Hope Cemetery is rumored to still contain the remains of some Chinese who died here.

This hardworking hat, meant to protect a miner from

falling objects, originally held a battery-powered lamp in front. Thomas Edison introduced the headlamp for use in mines beginning around 1914, perfecting a design that would not explode in the presence of gases. According to the Bullard Company of San Francisco, a major manufacturer of industrial headgear, the hard hat is a surprisingly recent invention. The oldest mining hats were made of cloth or canvas. Protection greatly improved with this hard hat style, based on the World War I doughboy’s helmet. In the early 1900s, Bonner County seemed like a promising mining locale, located just 60 miles north of the mineral-rich Coeur d’Alene Mountains. Mines such as the Weber, the Blue Bird, the Keep Cool and the Black Jack came and went with varying degrees of success. A few, like the Green Monarch copper-ore mine, prospered for a time, but in general miners had better luck farther south. “This is great mining country,” Great Northern engineer C.F.B. Haskell declared of the Sandpoint area in 1890. “There are prospects located everywhere.”

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7 Peavey circa 1915

In the mid- to

late 1800s, as the rich timberland of the Upper Midwest thinned out, lumber companies headed west, attracted by the dense forests and readily available water and railroad transportation of northern Idaho. Humbird, A.C. White and other lumber companies and sawmills boosted the local economy and employed hundreds of residents in the decades around the turn of the 20th century.

A common sight on area waterways was the big log drive, when logs were floated from the woods to the mills. Named for its inventor, Maine blacksmith Joseph Peavey, the peavey (or peavy, or pivie – spelling variations abound) is a pole with a spike or fixed hook on the end, used to hand-maneuver logs in the water. Local resident Paul Croy spent his breaks from college during the 1920s working as a “bank beaver” on log drives. Later in life he recalled, “I found that bank beavers work the logs off shore and shallow bars with pevees (sic) until they float and the current catches them.”

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8 Seed Broadcaster circa 1925

For local farmers, this labor-saving device came in

handy during planting season. Seed was placed in the canvas bag, then scattered evenly over the soil with just a turn of the crank at the bottom. Other aspects of farming in northern Idaho were not so easy. Beginning in the second and third decades of the 20th century, plenty of land was made available for purchase at attractively low prices from the lumber companies. The bad news was that these cut-over lots were chock-full of stumps – literal stumbling blocks for those who worked the land. Still, many intrepid farmers and ranchers bought up the land and commenced “stump farming,” pulling or blowing out the stumps or maneuvering around them. On July 31, 1917, a Sandpoint newspaper carried this telling item: “Mr. Laird has a fine hay crop this year, raised around the stumps. Enough hay can be cut from around the stumps to pay for the powder to blow the stumps next fall.”

F

or inspiration, visit the Bonner County

offers exhibits on archaeological finds, early

hard all winter to create new exhibits, reorga-

Museum, a rich resource of artifacts and

exploration and settlement, railroads, mining,

nize the archives for easier access by research-

information about the often rough-and-tum-

timber, and more, plus an extensive research

ers, and build a new, larger gift shop. Current

ble heritage of Sandpoint and greater Bonner

archive.

featured exhibits include “Rural Electrification

County. Founded in 1972 and operated by the

New in 2013: The Bonner County Museum

Bonner County Historical Society, the museum

reopened with a face-lift! Volunteers worked

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in Bonner County,” “From Sunset to Sandpoint: The Photography of Duane ‘Cap’ Davis,”

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9

10

Surgical Instruments

Schweitzer Lift Tickets 1963

circa 1907

Over the years several Sandpoint hospitals have come and

gone: the Graham Hospital, the Parnell Hospital, the Reardon Hospital and others, named after the doctors who founded them. Perhaps the best-remembered was the Page Hospital.

Founded by Kansas native Dr. Ones “O.F.” Page, Page Hospital opened briefly from 1903 to 1904 in the home of Alec and Rose Piatt on Third Avenue, with Rose Piatt serving as matron.

In 1907 Dr. Page reopened the hospital, this time in a roomy, new, bungalow-style structure located next to Sand Creek, approximately where Bonner General stands today. In those early days, an office visit cost $2, a house call $3 and a week’s stay $10. There was even a $12 ticket deal that covered a person for a year – medical services, surgery, hospital stays and medicine – and if money was tight, services might be bartered for vegetables instead of cash. (Try that with the medical industry today and see how far you get!) Dr. Ethel Page Westwood (sister to Ones F.), Dr. Helen “Pete” Peterson, and many other dedicated doctors and nurses served at Page. Renamed Community Hospital in the 1940s, it was supplanted by Bonner General Hospital in 1951.

“Selected Artifacts from the Loren Evenson

Although powder hounds had been schussing “unofficially”

on Schweitzer Mountain’s magnificent slopes since the 1930s, Dec. 4, 1963, was the official opening day of Schweitzer Basin. The name “Schweitzer,” meaning “Swiss” in German, refers to a Swiss recluse who reportedly once lived in the basin. Schweitzer Basin Ski Area was the brainchild of Jim Brown Jr., Jack Fowler and Grant Groesbeck. Discussions with friends and Sandpoint community leaders such as Bud Moon, Jim Parsons Sr., Mayor Floyd Gray and banker Bill Ballard resulted in fundraising efforts, including stock sales and federal grants. Sam Wormington was the first manager.

Eleven miles from Sandpoint, the mountain offers panoramic views of the Cabinet, Selkirk and Bitterroot mountain ranges.

With a top altitude of 6,400 feet, Schweitzer Mountain Resort today features 92 trails on nearly 3,000 skiable acres and boasts Idaho’s only six-person, high-speed lift. Schweitzer celebrates its 50th anniversary this December, a huge milestone for the mountain and the local community.

publication this summer.

Lakeview Park at 611 S. Ella Ave. in Sandpoint.

Collection,” and “Canoes for the Journey: David

Volunteers are available by appointment

Thompson at Boat Encampment in 1911.” Also,

to assist with genealogical and other archival

p.m., admission is $3 for adults, $1 for ages 6

a revised and updated edition of “Driving Past:

research, and the gift shop is a unique place to

to 18, and children under age 6 are free. Phone

Tours of Historical and Geographical Sites in

do some shopping.

263-2344 or look up www.bonnercounty

Bonner County” by Nancy Renk is slated for

The Bonner County Museum is located in SUMMER 2013

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Open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4

history.org.

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Sandpoint

A reality 58 years in the making

W

hen the Sand Creek Byway opened to traffic on July 27, 2012, it finally ended an ongoing, passionate argument over a bypass around downtown Sandpoint. Among options proposed over the years were a through-town route; a west-side route with a new bridge near Dover; and even a tunnel. But as this vintage photo and conceptual sketch from 1955 shows, in the end it was an idea proposed more than half a century ago that came to fruition. “As you can see, it is not much different than the project that was completed a half-century later,” said Steve Gill of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. So far, reviews of the new byway are largely positive. Mayor Marsha Ogilvie, originally an opponent who became a reluctant supporter, summed up a common sentiment: “The final result is something I am proud of, and I think it will prove to be an asset to our community for years to come.” The photo reveals much about how the town has changed in 58 years, and at least one argument has been laid to rest.

A 1955 photo and conceptual sketch of the Sandpoint bypass, above, illustrates how closely today’s Sand Creek Byway, right, followed the original proposal. IDAHO STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – ITD COLLECTION – AR24_1359-1_1955 AND JERRY LUTHER PHOTO

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Carpe Diem photo essay Everybody knows carpe diem means seize the day, but who knows Merriam-Webster’s definition? The enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future; Latin, literally pluck the day. Herein, our photo subjects well illustrate that definition.

Nikki Anderson :: Heliophilia

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Marsha Lutz :: Peak Experience

Doug Marshall :: Gooooooo Scotchmans!

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Laura Roady :: In Good Company Marie-Dominique Verdier :: Unbridled

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Carpe Diem

Patrick Orton :: 7BLOVE

Clint Nicholson :: The Evening Bite

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Woods Wheatcroft :: Suspended

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Return of the

WOLF

Story by Cate Huisman Photos by Isaac Babcock

Once nearly eradicated, the predator

has made a strong comeback.

That’s thrilling for some –

infuriating for others

G

ary Finney fears he is losing a family tradition that he treasures. “Hunting was a big part of my life and my family’s life,” he says, “but my kids aren’t going to see the hunting opportunities I’ve had. Elk numbers are steadily declining, and they aren’t coming back. Wolves are primarily responsible, in my mind.”

Ann Sydow, in contrast, treasures the wolves whose numbers rose in Idaho but are now declining again.

“Wolves are by far the most beneficial and the least dangerous of all the large predators,” she says, pointing out that there is far less animosity toward cougars and bears.

A wide range of feelings about the wolf is standard here in Idaho, although both its detractors and its admirers agree that the gray wolf, Canis lupus, represents a remarkable success story in species recovery.

By the 1930s, wolves had been almost completely eradicated in the West. Their U.S. recovery began when they were placed on the Endangered Species List in 1974, and it accelerated when wolves imported from Canada were reintroduced to Yellowstone and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996..

‘An Elite Predator’ In the years since their reintroduction, wolves have multiplied and migrated into many areas of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, more recently moving into Oregon and Washington as well. Their wide travel patterns and wariness of humans make them notoriously difficult to count, but Idaho Fish and Game (IFG) documents show a wolf population that peaked at 856 confirmed animals in 2009 and has since decreased to 683. Their advocates believe there were more than 1,000 wolves in Idaho, at least for a time.

Wolves have reestablished themselves successfully throughout the Northern Rockies for several reasons. “They’re an elite predator,” said IFG Conservation Officer Matt 86

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Above: The Landmark pack alpha male, a subadult and pups – early June, central Idaho. Opposite: Alpha female, Chamberlain Basin pack. This wolf, B16, and her mate, B9, were captured in Canada, translocated to central Idaho in 1995 and formed one of the first documented breeding pairs

Haag. “They can make food out of anything they want to.”

Reintroduced wolves entered a habitat from which they had been absent for 70 years. The wild ungulates that remained – deer, moose and elk – had multiplied in their absence. Plenty of these game animals existed for the wolves to prey upon, as well as the domestic animals they had originally been eradicated to protect.

Another reason for their success is their ability to spread out and procreate. “They can travel hundreds of miles to find a mate and establish a new pack and a new territory,” said IFG Habitat Biologist Brian Johnson. For years, scientists have been trapping wolves and outfitting them with radio collars for study. Johnson mentions one collared in Alberta that showed up in Colorado and another collared near Boise that was tracked to Saskatchewan.

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WOLVES

5/8/13 8:51 AM

WOLVES

The Panhandle Population The Idaho Panhandle is one of the few places a remnant wolf population survived, or at least traveled through, during the 20th century. “There’s always been a few wolves in this area,” said Bill Lefebvre, whose family came to Boundary County in 1932. “We’ve seen their tracks but never one of them.”

Given wolves’ tendencies to travel, it’s reasonable to think that some of the wolves introduced down south have intermingled with our locals. But the panhandle population of wolves has been growing on its own ever since wolves were placed on the Endangered Species List. According to Wayne Wakkinen, a wildlife biologist with IFG, management activities in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s kept wolf numbers down. But as the effects of listing took hold, populations started to recover, and packs started to grow in the 1990s. Currently there are several documented and suspected packs in the panhandle.

Closest to Sandpoint is the Keokee Pack, likely only a few animals that inhabit the area west and north of town.

Wolves and Humans Panhandle visitors and residents are far more likely to hear howling or see tracks than to actually come upon wolves.

When they do, reactions vary. “Wolves make a country feel truly wild,” said avid hiker Phil Hough, who sees their tracks regularly when he is hiking around Sandpoint but has not seen a wolf here. “Even not seeing them, their presence can really be felt.”

Fellow hiker Sandy Compton recalls an encounter high in the mountains, when he and his companions spotted a

Female wolf B88 of the Chamberlain Basin pack in central Idaho

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pack of wolves on a snowfield across a draw from their camp: “Then, all of a sudden, they drained off the snowfield into the timber, and about a minute later here they came, all of them, running right full tilt at us. They got about 100 yards away from us and then sheared off to the right. One stopped between two trees and stared at us, a really big guy, I imagine the alpha male, for about four heartbeats. The thing that I remember most was him standing there, and behind him these shadows just flitting through the woods.”

Hunters aren’t fond of wolves, but most will say they command respect. Ward Tollbom recalls how a pack of wolves added a little more excitement than preferred at the end of a day of family hunting: “My kids didn’t see them; they heard a pack of them howling in a spot where we were supposed to meet. It scared my daughter half to death. After dark, even with a rifle, she was spooked.”

The Management Controversy As the wolf population has recovered, pressure has mounted to remove wolves from the Endangered Species List.

Over the protests of a coalition of environmental and wildlife groups, Idaho wolves were removed, then replaced through a court order, and then removed again most recently on May 5, 2011. The second removal particularly galled wolf advocates, because the delisting was made through a budget rider – a legislative maneuver that had nothing to do with the merits of the arguments on either side. “It was the first time that a political move removed an animal from the Endangered Species List,” said Sydow, who works with the wolf advocacy group Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance to get the wolves back on the list.

Wolf management in Idaho is now under the control of IFG, which is managing wolves as they do other big game animals. The state has agreed with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to maintain a population of at least 150 individuals and 15 breeding pairs.

Wolf supporters feel this number is far from adequate.

“How can 150 wolves in 184,000 square miles of Idaho fulfill their role in the ecosystem?” asked Sydow. A further concern is that such a small population cannot possibly have enough genetic diversity to maintain a healthy population.

Jim Hayden, IFG regional wildlife manager (see “Just the Wolf Facts, Please”), counters that wolves’ penchant for travel means Idaho’s population is constantly cross-breeding with out-of-state wolves: “We are talking not about 150 but about a total population of 50,000, part of the larger system of North American gray wolves.”

But skepticism persists. Suzanne Stone, of Defenders of Wildlife, has been studying wolves for 25 years. Her organization is not opposed to the hunting of any species that can sustain itself, but she questions the difference between the state’s management of wolves and its management of other large predator species. Mountain lions and bears, she says, are managed to maintain much larger populations. “Far more

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WOLVES

A 6-week old pup from the Landmark pack, central Idaho. At this age pups have often been moved from the den site to a rendezvous site – essentially a puppy playground for when the adults go on hunting forays

Attempts at Coexistence

pressure has been applied to wolves, in an effort to significantly reduce the wolf population. This is a big contrast between how the state of Idaho manages wolves and how they manage other species,” she said.

Wakkinen and Haag both respond that a sustainable population of wolves is much smaller than that of bears or mountain lions. Black bears don’t give birth until they are four or five years old, and then they produce a pair of twins every other year. A mountain lion will have one or two kits every two years. In contrast, a female wolf, typically just the alpha female, starts reproducing by its second year and generates an average of four to five pups per litter every spring.

To support their efforts to regain protection for wolves, wolf advocacy groups are doing their best to prevent the problems with predation that led to the wolves’ eradication 70 years ago. Defenders of Wildlife is working with ranchers in the Wood River Valley of southern Idaho to develop practices that will lessen wolves’ attraction to their sheep, including the use of noisemakers, spotlights, night watchmen and “fladry” – flapping flags on strings like those at used car lots. Why fladry works is unknown, but it seems to keep the wolves wary and away from the herd, at least for a while.

This work has been valuable not just because it protects the sheep. Tourists who come to the valley, which is home to Sun Valley Resort, want to see the wolves. With tourism as important as ranching to the local economy, reaching a sheep/wolf détente is important for everyone.

There are few reports of such domestic animal depredation in the panhandle. “It’s not as much of an issue here as it is down south by any means,” Haag said. “They’re eating their natural prey and especially moose in winter.”

This is cold comfort to hunters. Some have organized to kill as many wolves as they can. The vehemence of their positions can be found on a variety of Facebook pages:

The Missing Elk Hunters’ concern is that wolves are decimating the elk population, and it’s true that this number, as measured by what IFG calls the calf/cow ratio, or the number of elk calves per 100 elk cows, has fallen in some areas in recent years.

While the ratio has remained at a healthy 30 or so in the northern panhandle, it has dropped into the teens in parts of the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene drainages, where Finney hunts. As a result, hunters there have seen a 90 percent drop in hunting opportunities.

But wolves are only part of the issue for the elk in this region. A couple years of record snowfall recently have also depressed elk populations, as have habitat changes: Where the epic 1910 Fire cleared the landscape of trees a century ago, the brush that fills in first after a fire has supported increased elk populations for decades. Now, mature trees are starting to predominate again, and the preponderance of elk browse is dwindling.

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A 6-week old pup from the Landmark pack begs for food from an adult.

When an older wolf returns to the rendezvous site, pups run to greet it and lick its muzzle, enticing it to regurgitate food for them

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S C R AT C H O N E M O R E O F F Y O U R B U C K E T L I S T.

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“We want every wolf blasted!” and “Kill them ALL!” As hunting season opens, pro-wolf groups rally with equal vehemence and inflammatory language, decrying the state’s management plan: “It’s not management. It’s killing; it’s slaughter.”

To be fair, as with other controversies, the loudest and most strident voices get the most press but do not necessarily represent the majority of opinion holders. Despite their efforts to reduce the wolf population, ranchers and hunters agree that the wolves are never likely to go away completely.

“Wolves are here to stay, there’s no doubt about it; it’s just a matter of trying to keep their numbers in balance with other animals,” said Coeur d’Alene hunter Rich Gerhard. And Compton, who was thrilled with his wolf encounter in the wild, nevertheless sees the necessity of a hunt: “I don’t know how they thought they could introduce them successfully and not have them managed by hunting,” he said.

The target number of 150 wolves remains controversial. As Sydow pointed out: “The wolf was out of the picture for 70 years. All of a sudden it’s back, and people don’t know what’s going to happen.” The wolves are not coming back to the same Idaho they left: Old-growth trees have been cut in some areas; new growth has filled in others; and far more people live now in remote areas that overlap with wildlife habitat.

Nevertheless, Wakkinen feels that resistance to hunting wolves may be dying down to a degree. “As we continue to have a harvest season on them and as we continue to show that wolves are at viable numbers throughout the

state of Idaho, it takes the ammunition away,” he said.

At some point, if the wolf population stabilizes, and if wolf advocates believe the population is big enough, and if ranchers and hunters feel that livestock are protected and game populations are adequate, wolves could come to be considered just another predator – albeit the elite one – in the wild landscape of northern Idaho.

Distribution of Wolves in Northwest

Green circles show documented wolf packs as of 2012; asterisks mark locations where the 1995-96 wolf transplants were made in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Purple shows range of wolves prior to those transplants.

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Yellowstone’s Lamar Pack. Writes photographer Jerry Ferrara: “They had just gotten up after sleeping for several hours and were ‘greeting’ and making contact with each other, something they do regularly to maintain the social status of the pack.

After nosing, rubbing and contact, they all trotted off probably to either hunt or to feed on a kill.”

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WOLVES

Just the wolf facts, please

With Jim Hayden, regional wildlife manager, Idaho Fish and Game enough to be noticed or otherwise docu-

number of wolves has gone down because

How much habitat do we have for wolves in northern Idaho?

mented. The number of wolves in a pack

of hunting and trapping. The mean pack size

changes daily, but last year, the average

is smaller than what it was before active

We’ve got about 7,800 square miles total

summer pack size was 8.3 in the region.

management. Some of these packs are totally

in the five northern counties. We’d expect

About 10 to 15 percent of the wolf popu-

untouched, and others may be totally taken.

to find wolves in about 80 percent of that.

lation is not associated with a pack, so a

Some portion of the area is large lakes, urban

conservative estimate for last summer would

areas and agricultural land, but the vast

be 160 to 290 wolves in the panhandle.

majority is available to wolves.

Are wolves being reintroduced, or are they expanding here naturally?

Prior to the first transplantation of wolves into Idaho, there were already about 50 wolves nearby, about 60 miles to the east of Sandpoint, and an unknown number to our north in British Columbia and Alberta. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife transplanted about 35 wolves, but the nearest was introduced over 200 miles to the south. (Interestingly, the nearest source of the transplant stock – the wolves that were transplanted to Idaho – is only about 350 miles to our north.) So, the majority of the wolves in this area are likely walk-ins that expanded here naturally, but

TWELVE-WEEK-OLD WOLF PUPS FROM THE BIGHOLE PACK ON THE UPPER CLEARWATER VIE FOR POSITION ON A STUMP. GRAY WOLVES BY NAME, THEIR COLOR VARIES FROM NEARLY PURE WHITE TO COAL BLACK AND ANYWHERE IN BETWEEN

How many established packs and animals are here?

The number of packs in the annual report isn’t an estimate or an actual number; it’s what we’ve been able to document. So that number is a minimum number of packs.

Based on the report, we’ve got 17 packs that are wholly contained in the panhandle, that

92

we assume the transplant did contribute to

WOLVES HARVESTED IN CLARK FORK, SPRING 2013 PHOTO COURTESY BYRON RUEN

How many wolves were harvested this year?

There were 315 wolves harvested statewide

the wolf population in this area as well.

during the past season compared to 377 a

And is the species the same as was found here historically?

year ago. In the panhandle, the harvest of 71 wolves is about the same as a year ago (76).

The wolf doesn’t lend itself to sub-spe-

The lower harvest could be attributed to a va-

ciation. The statement, “a wolf is a wolf is a

riety of factors, including less interest in hunt-

wolf” is most accurate. What we have now

ing and trapping this year, more wary wolves,

is likely very much what we would have had

fewer wolves, year-to-year fluctuations in

without a transplant 200 miles to the south.

weather conditions, and so forth. No doubt it’s

At what rate are their numbers projected to expand?

some combination of all of the above.

Are deer, elk and moose populations up or down, and how much is due to wolves?

are here almost all the time. An additional 14

There are two different things going on

packs spend at least a portion of their time in

here, and they’re moving in opposite direc-

the panhandle. They may all be here, or none

tions. In terms of numbers of packs, 10 years

That’s the million-dollar question. What

of them may. So, if you figure half of those

ago we had two packs documented as den-

we look for is patterns. In Shoshone County

are here at any given time, there should be at

ning in the panhandle, five years ago we had

near Avery, the elk population has gone

least 24 packs in the five northern counties

seven, and last year we had 20. So in terms

down about 71 percent between 2006 and

at any given time. Undoubtedly there are

of numbers of packs, they have increased in

2012. We have substantial concerns with

some others that haven’t been around long

the panhandle and throughout Idaho. But the

moose as well, although probably fewer with

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WOLVES

IF YOU MISS THIS YEAR’S

FESTIVAL AT SANDPOINT

A BULL ELK IN VELVET, EARLY JULY, CENTRAL IDAHO. WRITES PHOTOGRAPHER ISAAC BABCOCK: “THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A WOLF RENDEZVOUS SITE. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN AMAZED HOW OFTEN I SEE PRIME BULL ELK IN WOLF RENDEZVOUS AND DEN SITE AREAS. I’VE OFTEN SEEN THE WOLVES LOOK AT THEM AND SIMPLY IGNORE THE ELK – OR SOMETIMES THE ELK WILL CONFRONT AND RUN THE WOLVES OFF. TO ME, IT IS AN INTERESTING INTERACTION SHOWING THAT WOLVES TRULY ARE SELECTIVE IN THEIR PREDATION AND THAT NOT EVERY UNGULATE IS SUSCEPTIBLE TO PREDATION”

white-tailed deer. In other areas farther west and adjacent to farmland, moose and elk populations are quite vibrant and

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Is culling of those herds by wolves harmful, or does it make them healthier?

Initially, if you have a herd without

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predation, you do have more old and sick animals. When wolves move into a system, that gets cleaned up pretty quickly. Then wolves choose from among healthy animals, and the result is just far fewer animals and only subtle differences between individuals. Certainly that’s been the case in the upper St. Joe and portions of the upper Coeur d’Alene rivers.

How many conflicts with domestic animals have been recorded?

There’s only one reported in the panhandle in 2012, and it’s usually less than five. People often don’t report dog/wolf conflicts. We don’t have a lot of livestock in this neck of the woods, so while conflicts here can be important, we haven’t yet seen a lot of this in the panhandle.

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This property is listed for sale by Merry Browne-Hayes (Lic#SP-25795) of Tomlinson Sotheby’s International Realty, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864, (208) 263-5101. Concierge Auctions, LLC is the provider of auction marketing services, is not a brokerage, and is not directly involved in selling real property. The services referred to herein are not available to residents of any state where prohibited by applicable state law. Concierge Auctions, LLC, its agents and affiliates, broker partners, auctioneer, and sellers do not warrant or guaranty the accuracy or completeness of any information and shall have no liability for errors or omissions or inaccuracies under any circumstances in this or any other property listings or advertising, promotional or publicity statements and materials. This is not meant as a solicitation for listings. Brokers are protected and encouraged to participate. See Auction Terms and Conditions for full details. ©2008 Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated. Neither Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC nor any of their affiliated companies is providing any product or service in connection with this auction event.

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www.TSSIR.com

Anytime Info

For recorded information or to speak to the listing agent, call 208.449.0071 and use the 5-digit property code.

You Deserve

Knowledgeable Dedicated Superb Service

Pilots Take Note! Beautiful large custom home on the only residential airstrip in Sandpoint.

The home is built with ICF construction (walls are almost a foot thick cement, rated R50). This amazing property features a 55’X50’ hangar with a 50’ Schweiss electric bi-fold door and a 600+ sq.ft. heated shop area with a full bath, direct taxiway access to the 3,500’ FAA approved airstrip, soaring blue spruce cathedral ceilings throughout the house, beautiful tile work, massive art gallery hallway, stainless appliances, etc. 8 acres with Sand Creek frontage. Owner/Agent $589,000 #15311

Bonnie Chambers 208.946.7920

Carrie LaGrace 208.290.1965

bonnie.chambers@sothebysrealty.com

carrie.lagrace@sothebysrealty.com

Lake RV Sales & Service with 10,000SF building, 7 Bay RV heated work shop, w/four 12x14 high doors. Public propane sales station, dump station, inventory & business included. Hi Dee Ho RV Park which has 31 sites, water, sewer, cable & phone to each site. Laundry bldg w/washers, dryers, bathrooms, showers & spa room. Separate 4-car garage/shop building. Park area w/ Gazebo, BBQ set up. RV Consignments as well. All on 5+ commercial acres located in busy area. MLS#20130958 $1,850,000 #12661

Large, Comfortable Home. 4 bed, 3 bath, 2,309SF w/ attached 2-car garage. Easy to care for landscaped yard. Deck fronting back yard for BBQ,. Located in very desirable neighborhood, Westwood Terrace, with outside pool and tennis courts. MLS#20123124 $329,000 #12011

Mickie Caswell

Lake & Mountain Views from this home on 9+acres. 5 bed, 4 bath, lg family rm, 3,360SF+.

Landscaped yard w/pond, water fall, rock work, & fenced garden area w/raised beds. Blueberry patch. Paved driveway, deck, gazebo & deck by pond. MLS 20130129 $449,000 #12061

REALTOR®, ABR, CRS, ABRS

208.290.5116 • mickie.caswell@sothebysrealty.com “Lifetime Local, Lifetime Clients”

Beth Hall

Sarah Rieper

208.610.5858

208.627.8000

REALTOR®, GRI

REALTOR®, GRI

www.TheSelkirkTeam.com

TealLaneWaterfront.com #12381 100’ Riverfront | 3 bed 2 bath | Dock and boat lift | Sandy beach | Rock fireplace | 3 car garage

MajesticMartinBay.com #15801 100’ Lake Pend Oreille | 3 bed 2.5 bath | Dock and boat rail | Pebble beach | Security system | 3 car garage | Artist studio and wood shop

EstateAtPeakView.com #10171 80 Acres | 4 ensuite bedrooms | Year-round creek | Private 4 acre pond | Movie theater | Elevator | 5 fireplaces | Home office | 4 car garage

OnDriftwoodPoint.com #14181 Cottage on Lake Coeur d’Alene | Renovated in 2007 | Efficient floor plan | Covered 2 slip dock with lift | 1,184 SF decking | Southwest sunsets | Gentle slope to pebble beach | Easy access on quiet private lane

Cheri Hiatt

REALTOR®, GRI

208.290.3719

cheri.hiatt@sothebysrealty.com

© MMVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Claude Monet’s “Red Boats at Argenteuil,” used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main Street, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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www.TSSIR.com Anytime Info

For recorded information or to speak to the listing agent, call 208.449.0071 and use the 5-digit property code.

$5,900,000 BigIdaho.com #15601 21,000+ sq. ft. log estate • 228 pristine acres next to national forest service • Private lake • 2 creeks • Greenhouse • Executive office • Large Wine Cellar • Spacious gourmet Kitchen • Expansive outdoor living areas

$5,490,000 StarfireWay.com #10871 104 private acres adjacent to state land • Distinctive shy 7,000 sq. ft. home • New caretaker’s home and barn w/stables • Greenhouse • Organic gardens • Pond • Completely selfsufficient • Exceptional craftsmanship

$2,690,000 ThePointAtPonderPoint.com #10891 Luxurious 3,300+ sq. ft. custom one-level home w/360’ of pristine shoreline along Lake Pend Oreille • 2 private acres • Panoramic views • Great Room w/soaring ceilings • Gourmet Kitchen • Spacious Master Suite • 2 sandy beaches • Large dock

$1,350,000 ThreeSistersRanchCareywood.com #10811 115 acres • 4,200 sq. ft. home • Guest home & cabin • Equestrian ready w/large barn • Multiple outbuildings • Organically farmed acreage • Adjacent to state & forest service land • Additional 165 acres available

$1,295,000 LakeshoreParadise.com #13591 Custom 3,322 sq. ft. home • .55 acre on the Pend Oreille River • Main floor Master Bedroom Suite • Gourmet Kitchen • Formal and informal Dining areas • Great Room w/gas fireplace • Expansive outdoor living areas • Large dock with multiple slips

$997,500 MooseMeadowWaterfront.com #11471 Shy 6,000 sq. ft. custom home in showcase condition on Pend Oreille River • Main floor Master Suite • 2 addt’l Bedroom Suites • Great Room • Famly Room • Spacious Dining • Office • Complete separate Guest Quarters • Lush landscaping & Dock

$659,000 BirchHavenWaterfront.com #15851 Immaculately maintained home in protective cove on Lake Pend Oreille • Main floor Master Suite • 2 additional Bedrooms + Guest Suite • Spacious Great Room, Dining & Kitchen • 4 car Garage • Large dock • Multiple decks & patio

$439,000 WaterviewAtAspenLane.com #10371 Exceptional quality custom-built home with elegant Tuscan charm • Custom finishes throughout • Panoramic Lake Pend Oreille views • Beautiful landscaping with extensive use of natural stone • Garden area • Close to deep water marinas

$329,000 CapeHornDrive.com #10731 Remodeled home in gated community • Panoramic views at Lake Pend Oreille • Main floor Master Suite • Great Room • Formal Dining Room • Spacious Kitchen • Care-free landscaping • 2 car Garage • Community water access • Close to deep water marinas

B

Cindy Bond Associate Broker, Owner GRI, CRS

H

elping buyers and sellers see possibilities before they become obvious.

www.CindyBond.com

208.255.8360 | cindy.bond@sothebysrealty.com | 200 Main | Sandpoint

© MMVII Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Claude Monet’s “Red Boats at Argenteuil,” used with permission. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc.

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Serving the North Idaho region Sandpoint Branch 200 Main Street Sandpoint, Idaho 208.263.5101 800.282.6880

Coeur d’Alene Branch 221 E. Sherman Avenue Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 208.667.1551 800.621.3163

Welcome to one of the most unique properties in all of North Idaho! Almost 50 acres of forest completely surround a 9-acre stream-fed lake that will take your breath away. The log home features a stunning master suite artfully designed to fully capture the beauty of the water & encompassing mountains. Read a book, paint a masterpiece, or watch the wildlife from the elevated “tree house” artist’s studio.

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Wild Rose Retreat. In a beautiful mountain valley at the confluence of the Pend Oreille River and Cocolalla Creek, scenic solitude & breathtaking beauty gather together to express all the outdoor-oriented appeal of life in the Northern Idaho Panhandle. This 6-acre exclusive peninsula boasts over 1,600 feet of riprapped deep water frontage & a private sandy beach for swimming.

All utilities in place, including secure boat storage facilities and more! $999,000 #15961 Salishan Point. Affordable luxury, exquisite scenery, old world craftsmanship …

Welcome to Salishan Point on the Pend Oreille River! This brand new home has 127’ of private river frontage, hardwood floors, granite counters, stainless appliances, & incredible views! Amenities include a four-acre beachfront peninsula equipped with bathhouse, pavilion, sandy beach, & playground. Launch a boat from your private dock or from your slip in the marina. $549,000 #13661

141 Birch Bay Lane. A phenomenal waterfront property overlooking Sandpoint & Dover Bay with views of Schweitzer Mountain. This resort home sits on 100’ of private river frontage, comes with a boat dock, boatlift, & an elevated waterfront deck.

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Sleep’s Cabins. Relax and enjoy the Sandpoint waterfront lifestyle without any of the hassle and maintenance!

This brand new cabin community offers a unique opportunity for a select few. Five new cabins will be built on this outstanding piece of property with common area maintenance & landscaping included. Community waterfront and dock afford access to the river and lake. Lot prices starting at $195,000. Completed cabins starting at $395,000. #15011

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Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated. Coeur d’Alene office: 208-667-1551, 221 E. Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814. Sandpoint office: 208-263-5101, 200 Main St., Sandpoint, ID 83864.

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Home to stay in Elliot Bay Couple creates lakeside place in the sun

Spencer and Ann Eisenbarth, along with Andy, finally built the home of their dreams after years vacationing at a small cabin on their Elliot Bay property. PORTRAIT BY MARIE-DOMINIQUE VERDIER

I

t was by happenstance that Ann and Spencer Eisenbarth first discovered Sandpoint. More than 20 years ago, the couple was on the way to the Coeur d’Alene Resort for a little R&R – seeking an escape from their hectic lives as business owners in Orange County, Calif. A doctor sitting next to them on the flight to Spokane inquired about their plans while visiting the Inland Northwest, and upon hearing that they were heading to Coeur d’Alene, he said, “You need to go to Sandpoint, you’ll like it better.”

The Eisenbarths took the good doctor’s word and, after spending the night in Coeur d’Alene, traveled on up north.

“We stayed the rest of the week in Sandpoint,” Spencer said with a smile. “We fell in love with the area.”

So much so, the couple decided to purchase a waterfront lot in Elliot Bay, on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille just north 98

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of Garfield Bay. It had a rundown cabin on the property that was in need of repair, but the pristine view of the Green Monarch Mountains more than made up for any cosmetic flaws of the existing structure. This was in 1992, and the Eisenbarths were still running the company that they had founded in California. Spencer was an engineer who was on the cusp of innovative electronic designs “back in the days when it was all getting started,” he says.

Because of a busy work schedule, plus raising their two daughters, the couple fixed up the cabin the best they could and tried to fit in a visit to Sandpoint as often as possible. The beauty of that majestic view across Lake Pend Oreille, and the peace and serenity they felt while spending time in the area, kept drawing them back. Spending time in a rural setting was a natural attraction for Spencer, who grew up in the small

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PHENOMENAL HOME

Real Estate

southern Idaho town of Weiser. He enjoyed the rugged beauty of northern Idaho and the chance to play on his snowmobile.

Ann was a tougher sell. She grew up in Florida and still has a fondness for warmth and sunshine – something she didn’t find too much of in northern Idaho. “I miss the South,” she said, “but I do love how green it is here.” Ann definitely appreciates the fact that Elliot Bay’s southeastern-facing location enjoys a warmer microclimate.

Finally, in 2009 the couple decided to retire full time to Sandpoint and build the home of their dreams. They hired architect Bill Klein to design a home that took advantage of the lake views: “We just knew that we wanted the views from anywhere in the home,” Ann said. Finding a builder was simple; Skip Pucci is their next-door neighbor.

Construction of the 6,500-square-foot home was finished

in a swift 10 months. The Eisenbarths were building in the midst of the economic recession, giving them an eager group of skilled workers. “It was buzzing,” Ann said. “I couldn’t stand to come up here for a while.”

The end result is a classic, Northwest-style home with natural stone column bases, and exposed wood beams and trusses throughout. Large windows on the main floor provide spectacular views of the lake, the Monarchs and the islands. A gourmet kitchen includes all of the top-end finishes you would expect in a home of this magnitude: granite countertops, high-end stainless steel appliances and a large central island.

Rustic finishes along with vertical timbers that came right off the property complete the home’s lodge-style flair. For Klein, the architect who fine-tuned the home’s plans: “The design was intended to provide a presence on the lake and comple-

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ment the existing homes.”

Utilizing the natural elements was a pleasing part of the process for Pucci.

“The beam work was done on-site, and I enjoyed working on those,” he said.

Pucci also appreciated the fact that he lived right next door. “It was nice. I could have breakfast, go out and check on the boys, and come back in and have a cup of coffee.”

The open floor plan on the main level includes the spacious kitchen and dining areas, along with a light-filled great room showcased by a floor-to-ceiling fireplace. The extra tall firebox features handmade bronze embellishments from North Dakota and an old, weathered wood piece for the mantel. Topping it all off is a majestic wildlife art piece created by Spirit Lake’s Joe Kronenberg.

The master bedroom is also on the

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main floor and features those same majestic views, built-ins against the wall, and an adjoining spa-like master bath that includes a stand-alone tub beneath a wall of slate tile. “It kind of spoils you,” Ann said of the bathroom.

Just around the corner is a steam shower – just set the shower ahead of time, and enjoy a warm and steamy oasis on a cold winter’s day.

Not wanting to forget another important member of the family, a pint-sized Yorkshire terrier named Andy, the Eisenbarths had a doggy room built adjacent to the master bedroom. It’s quite spacious, about the size of a small den, with a custom portrait of Andy etched into the glass of the door that separates the doggy room from the master bedroom, not to mention the milliondollar view that simply can’t be beat.

But Andy won’t have anything to do with the custom-designed accommodations. Andy walks in, gives the room a quick sniff, and promptly trots back out to the couple’s bedroom. “We gave up,” Ann said. “He wants to be where we are. So now it’s a reading room.”

Two guest suites on the upper floor take in the sweeping lake views, with luxurious touches that would make any houseguest want to permanently unpack their bags. In fact, Ann said that during the first year after the house was finished, they had “a revolving door

of company.” Ann has enjoyed visits from her two sisters who live in Florida, although it appears that her siblings have the same initial reaction to northern Idaho that Ann had. “They chose the coldest days to visit,” Ann said.

“They just froze!” Visits have leveled off since the home was first built, but the couple anticipates more time with their daughters, who live in Texas and California, once their granddaughter graduates from high school.

When the Eisenbarths were first putting together their thoughts and ideas for the house, a walkout basement wasn’t on the list. But now, the spacious downstairs area holds two of the couple’s favorite features (besides the view). For Spencer, it’s the wood-burning fireplace in the center of the family room that lends a cozy atmosphere – as well as enough heat that he finds himself opening up doors and windows when the fire really gets roaring. And as for Ann’s favorite feature of the home, it’s truly a pièce de résistance that boat lovers everywhere would swoon over: a room that holds their 25-foot cuddy cabin boat. Because it’s located just a few rooms over from the family room, the Eisenbarths don’t even have to “leave home” to launch their boat. Just open the garage door, push a button that mechanically glides the boat down the metal rails, and you’re on the water.

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The Eisenbarth home fully takes advantage of its stunning, southeast-facing location across from the Green Monarchs

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Another “hidden” gem in the downstairs area, tucked behind a sliding etched-glass barn door, is a spacious wine-tasting room that’s filled with beautiful artwork on the walls and a large dining table and chairs in the center. An adjoining wine storage room holds several boxes of wine on the floor; a future project for Spencer is putting in shelving.

However, the current status of the room is just fine with Spencer: “We don’t collect much; we drink.” The couple has enjoyed making their own wine with the assistance of their neighbor, Pucci, and holding parties in the wine-tasting room.

One more “project room” on the list is a large theater room. With all the extra space that came along with the walkout basement addition, Spencer said, “We had to figure out what to do next.”

During the summers, the Eisenbarths often boat over to Hope – about a 10-minute trip, versus an hour or more by car. The couple stays active the rest of the year with church, and Spencer belongs to the Inventors Association of Idaho at the Bird Aviation Museum and Invention Center located just a short distance from their home.

The Eisenbarths are happy to have “landed” in their dream location, and even Florida-raised Ann has a cheerful view of life in northern Idaho. “You appreciate the sun so much more when you live here!”

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Real Estate

Land Trust offers homeowners a leg up

By Trish Gannon

J

ust east of the airport runway off Boyer Road is a growing subdivision of single-family homes where four empty lots – the Community Land Trust at Spring Creek – await families to fill them. Those lots represent the Bonner Community Housing Agency’s first effort to provide affordable housing for working people a community depends on, yet whose incomes are stretched by the cost of local housing.

When a real estate boom took place in the last decade, prices climbed throughout the United States, and Sandpoint was no exception. Home prices hit a peak in the latter part of the decade. By spring 2007, the median selling price for a home in Sandpoint was $245,650, according to data from the Selkirk Multiple Listing Service. Prices have dropped since that bubble burst; the median price for residential property in Sandpoint is now $179,700. According to the HUD fiveyear estimate, the median family income in Bonner County is $51,377.

Statistics like these are what led Stephen Drinkard to get involved with housing issues via the Bonner Community Housing Agency (BCHA), and to help develop its Community Land Trust program.

“The idea behind all affordable housing efforts is how can we provide housing for people who can’t afford to pay market value,” said Drinkard, president of the BCHA board. “And a big driver of market value is the land the home sits on.”

The price of a residential lot coupled with substantial city impact and user facility fees adds $40,000 to $60,000 or more to the home price, he says. The Community Land Trust removes this amount from a mortgage by holding the land itself in trust. Think “condo” but with single-family housing.

“The buyer gets almost all the benefits of home ownership – they can sell the house or leave it to their heirs, they gain stability, and become a true part of the community. And the community gets the benefit of housing that’s affordable to the workers who make a community livable.”

Laura Hackworthy, a 24-year-old certified nurse’s aide, is one of the program’s current applicants. “I am young and this is my best opportunity to have my very first home and have it actually built for me,” she said. “Also, (the house) is new, and it won’t be breaking down soon, adding costs I can’t afford right now.”

Applicants to the program must make no more than 80 percent of the area’s median income for their family size, have good credit, own no more than $5,000 in liquid assets and have been employed at least two years. Mortgages will be funded through Washington Trust Bank. “They are invaluable partners for our program,” Drinkard said.

The loans would require $500 down with payments structured to be around $650 per month, including taxes and

Shown at the Community Land Trust’s building site on Sand Creek Way off North Boyer Avenue is Laura Hackworthy, a 24-year-old home applicant, along with Stephen Drinkard, Bonner Community Housing Agency president.

PHOTO BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

insurance. Once approved, the applicant can choose from several home plans offered by Idagon Homes of Sandpoint, the same builder for other homes in the subdivision.

Buyers accepted into the Community Land Trust program do face some restrictions on home ownership. They can’t develop their property in a way that devalues the property, Drinkard said, and if they sell, they must sell to someone who meets the same guidelines.

This is not speculation property. “That’s the trade off,” he added. “They can’t sell at market rate. If the home has appreciated, they can get back every dollar they’ve paid that didn’t go to interest, plus up to 25 percent of the new appraisal. But the goal is to keep this housing affordable.”

Those interested in learning more or applying may visit the BCHA website at www.BonnerHousing.org.

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Brewster’s back in town

W

hat comes around goes around seems to be the case with Chuck Brewster. When the real estate market is up, he comes around to Sandpoint. When it’s down, he goes where it’s up.

In 2012, the 66-year-old made his third move to Sandpoint, where he had founded C.M. Brewster & Co. Real Estate in 1978. He bought his old company back from broker Tom Renk, who had started his realty career under Brewster more than 30 years ago.

Brewster soon moved the realty office back to where it began, the Farmin Building at Cedar and Second. And now, he and Renk work side by side once again.

“We had so much fun back then,” Brewster said, of living in Sandpoint in the 1970s and early ’80s when it was a logger/hippie town. He recalls having the “Long Bridge moment” in June 1974 at age 27 when, accompanied by his

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dog, he drove a pickup outfitted with his homemade camper into Sandpoint.

Jack and June Young at Rainbow Realty promptly hired him as an appraiser and then taught him the real estate business. Next, Steve Van Horne and Don McCanlies hired him at Resort Realty. A couple years later, Lois Wythe, a former real estate broker, mentored him as he established C.M. Brewster & Co. In 1981, he sold out to Renk and moved to California and later Hawaii.

He returned to Sandpoint for the next real estate upswing in 1991 and founded Pacific Northwest Investments and Brewster Financial. He left again in 1997 for Hawaii, followed by a move to Thailand in 2004.

Brewster started a new family in Thailand with wife, Poan, and had three children. By 2012, he missed Sandpoint, where real estate was once again on the upswing, and where he wanted his children to be educated.

Chuck Brewster, circa 1978

Chuck Brewster, 2013

“My best friends are in this town,” he said. “This is home.”

He feels like a new kid in town again, but that’s all right with him. That goes along with reliving his childhood through his two boys, ages 6 and 7, and his 4-year-old daughter.

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Transportation alternatives for all kinds of travelers Story by Cate Huisman Photos by Jerry Luther

C

yclists and pedestrians in Sandpoint have long had to strategize how best to cross U.S. Highway 2 as they move between the northern and southern ends of town. They’re hoping that the upcoming realignment of this highway – known in local circles as “The Curve” – will make this notorious gauntlet easier for them to run.

But the mission of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is to move motor vehicles quickly and efficiently, and such rapid transit doesn’t always mesh well with the slower motion of local, motorless travelers. As Sandpoint Magazine went to press, the city council was working with ITD to find a highway design that would best accommodate these competing interests.

For the city of Sandpoint, safe and efficient passage for cyclists and pedestrians is as important as good routes for cars and trucks. “The driving task for us is to say we want a complete urban street that takes into account all users of the right-of-way,” said Kody Van Dyk, Sandpoint’s public works director. The Sand Creek Master Plan, put together by local citizens, generated the bike path that roughly parallels the recently completed Sand Creek Byway, and locals have requested similar accommodations for nonmotorized travelers along Highway 2 as well as safe and convenient crossings.

The opening of the Sand Creek Byway removed U.S. Highway 95 traffic from Sandpoint last year, but Highway 2 traffic, coming through Sandpoint between Bonners Ferry and Priest River, continues to course through town. When The Curve is completed, westbound vehicles that now travel around the 90-degree turn at Fifth Avenue and Pine Street will

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be moved to the nearby, former railroad right-of-way, while eastbound traffic will travel a block east on Pine Street and then head out on Fifth Avenue. The three blocks that are currently one-way between Pine and Cedar will still be oneway, but the cars on them will be moving north instead of south.

Early input from Sandpoint citizens on this project called for a traffic circle at Pine and Boyer instead of the current traffic light. The state responded with three alternatives; two of them featured roundabouts, but both alternatives included two lanes of traffic in each direction, which didn’t sit well with local pedestrians.

“In earlier design alternatives, we preferred a single-lane roundabout at SUMMER 2013

“The Curve” will bend U.S. Highway 2 to the left, just in front of the old grain elevator, and displace Dub’s Drive-in, seen bottom center

Boyer, but we believed the two more recent roundabouts with double lanes were less safe for pedestrians and bicyclists,” said Jeff Kuhns, who chairs the city’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PBAC). “Part of PBAC’s charge is to recommend ways to encourage walking and biking. With that in mind, our review of ITD’s alternatives were based on looking at how each alternative aided walking and biking by making it safe and attractive.”

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R _ E orities as coming down to two things: narrower lanes and narrower turning radii. He points out that ITD designs every turn for trucks, but many turns along this route won’t have much truck traffic. The wide swath of pavement pedestrians must cross at such turns increases the danger for them, so the city has proposed narrower turns. ITD also wants wide lanes, but narrower lanes naturally slow traffic, making the roadway safer for travelers not in vehicles, so again, the city is lobbying for a narrower option.

Currently, there is a bike path along the railroad right-of-way and along the highway, and it is important to note that, no matter how the city’s negotiations with ITD fall out, a bike path paralleling the highway is included in plans for the project. Then as now, it will continue out to Division Street, where it will meet up with the bike path out to Dover.

When it became known that Dub’s Drive-in – a venerable purveyor of hamburgers and ice cream – might be displaced by The Curve, public interest

in the project spiked, and a large crowd turned out to see ITD’s proposals at a public information session in February.

Alas, none of the alternatives under consideration is likely to salvage Dub’s in its current location; even if the building were not displaced, the parking and eating areas would be.

However, ITD will work with Dub’s, as with other displaced businesses, so they can relocate elsewhere if they choose. Marty Mire, who owns Dub’s, has every intention of staying in business; at press time he was looking for a place to relocate and was hoping to stay on the same side of town.

Assuming an agreement can be reached, construction on The Curve should occur in the summer of 2014.

When it is done, the last bit of state highway will have been removed from Sandpoint’s historic downtown, and control of the central grid of streets will revert from the state to the city.

Many in town have long looked forward to this eventuality, and planning for it began last fall. The city contracted

with SERA Architects to propose plans and solicit public input to redesign the downtown streets once they are freed of highway traffic.

SERA scrutinized downtown uses and considered how traffic patterns would change as the streets re-opened to two-way traffic. One critical question they asked was, “How do you get a 10-year-old from their house to City Beach safely on a bike?” On streets designated in the plan as “Links to the Lake” (Third Avenue and Oak Street), bicycle and pedestrian travel is made a priority, and these streets are designed accordingly, with extra protections for travelers not in cars.

The resulting plan has something for everyone: better sidewalks and lighting, more signs to help visitors find their way around, places to sit and gather, more parking for cars, and bioswales similar to those on Second Avenue to deal with stormwater.

A distinctive downtown gateway will be constructed at Fifth and Cedar, as traffic will begin once again to flow into

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downtown Sandpoint from the north along Cedar Street. And for the wideeyed tourists coming into Sandpoint from the mountain views of the Long Bridge, a new roundabout at First and Superior is planned to improve traffic flow from the south.

Work will begin this summer on streets not currently part of the state highway route, including rebuilding Third Avenue between Pine and Church streets, and painting the stripes for dedicated bike lanes on Oak. North of town, work on Highway 95 continues through Ponderay, providing pavement repairs and a traffic light that have been needed for a long time.

Local input has ensured that nonmotorized travelers will have some nice new options here, too. The byway bike path will be extended north, under the train trestle and up to a new traffic light at Bonner Mall Way. Pedestrians and cyclists will thus be able to travel from Sandpoint to the commercial sector of our northern suburb without ever having to dash precariously between cars and

trucks on the highway.

In addition, ITD is negotiating with property owners to extend a bike path north from the light to Kootenai Cutoff Road on the east side of the highway.

Although a cyclist can now make this journey via parking lots and lower-traffic streets, a direct bike path would be a welcome, safer and shorter route.

Travelers bumping through gravel or choking on dust during construc-

In Ponderay, just north of Sandpoint, work on U.S. Highway 95 is under way to build a four-lane thoroughfare plus bike paths

tion this summer can take some comfort in knowing that a lot of planning and thought has gone into these projects. Perhaps, when these highway projects are done, getting about will be a better experience for all.

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Real Estate

Belwoods 301

A landmark renovation

By Trish Gannon

‘I

t’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid,” said Julie Meyer, 49, coowner of Sandpoint’s Pend d’Oreille Winery and now owner of the historic building at the corner of Third Avenue and Cedar Street, which was best known as Belwood’s Furniture. “I remember going in there all the time when I was young, and as a teenager I would tell (then-owner) Ernie Belwood, ‘I want to own this building someday.’ ” “Someday” arrived almost two years ago after Belwood’s Furniture closed its doors and the building went on the market. “It’s a passion,” Meyer said, “to take something old and original to the town, and give it life for the next 100 years.”

Lots of area children wandered through the five, rather funky floors of Belwood’s Furniture through the years.

Those floors are now gone; the building has been completely gutted to reveal the bones of the original two-story structure.

“I didn’t realize there were five different structures as part of the building,” Meyer said, “and we had to take most of it down to make the building structurally sound. But we’re preserving whatever

we can.” All the original wood that was pulled out of the building, for example, much of it beautiful, vertical grain fir, is being refinished and will be reused as flooring, trim and tabletops. Fabric that Meyer, a textile artist, found inside a cupboard is being made into pillows.

Old bottles, horseshoes and buggy springs will be on display when the building opens this September.

Finding horseshoes and buggy springs was a bit of a surprise given that “livery” wasn’t on the list of historical uses of the building compiled by Joanne Pennington Kelly, a descendent of one of the previous owners.

The building was erected in 1909 to house a dry goods/grocery store. Over the next century it was home to the St. James Hotel, a cigar store and pool hall, apartments, various grocery stores, and four different furniture stores: Golden Rule Clothing and Furniture, Stebbins and Nesbitt House of Furniture, Furniture Exchange, and finally Belwood’s (see time line, next page).

The new Belwoods 301 building will house office spaces upstairs and the Pend d’Oreille Winery tasting room, SUMMER 2013

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Julie and Steve Meyer inside the Belwoods 301 building under renovation downtown. PHOTOS BY MARIE- DOMINIQUE VERDIER

Bistro Rouge café and the Belwood Merc (gift shop) on the street level. The café will offer indoor/outdoor dining spaces across from the Jeff Jones Town Square.

A two-story atrium entrance on the west side of the building will showcase signage that was discovered during renovation, including faint lettering that announced the St. James Hotel.

The Belwoods 301 building is owned

by Julie as Red House, LLC, and the award-winning winery owned by Julie and husband Steve, 51, will merely be a tenant. “I’m grateful the winery was ready to take its next big step in its evolution and move over into this space,” Julie said. Pend d’Oreille Winery moved to its downtown location kittySANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Clockwise, from left: The mural exposed on the west wall provides evidence of the building’s past uses; Furniture Exchange, circa 1960; and a token from the Umpire Cigar Store, circa 1930, discovered during renovation.

PHOTOS COURTESY JULIE MEYER

corner from Belwood’s in 2002. When the winery moves across the street in September, its production facility will move to a building developed near the Sandpoint Airport. Meantime, MickDuff’s Brewing Co. will move its brewing operations into the space vacated by the winery, while keeping its pub-style restaurant on First Avenue.

“This is a great opportunity for us,” said Mickey Mahoney, head brewer and co-owner of MickDuff’s. “Craft beer is really popular right now.”

By moving its production facilities to the Cedar Street location, the brewery will increase production space from just a couple hundred square feet to more than 4,000 square feet: “That’s a substantial increase,” Mahoney said. “We’re going to make a lot more beer.”

Mahoney and his brother and partner, Duffy, hope to get their popular local ales into wider distribution – area bars, restaurants and pubs as far south as the college town of Moscow, Idaho.

The additional footage gained on First Avenue will allow the restaurant to expand, while street frontage at the Cedar Street facility may be turned into a tasting room for beer aficionados.

Steve and Julie praise those who have helped in this now two-year process, including Realtor Chris Chambers, Boden Mountain Architecture, Mountain Construction Management, and Uptic Studios, which is designing the tasting room and Bistro Rouge Café.

“All of our staff is on board with this move and what will be an expansion of the winery,” said Steve. “We are so pleased to be growing along with the community. This is our 18th year as a

A history of 301 Cedar St.

In the late 1890s, L.D. and Ella Farmin homesteaded 160 acres that would eventually become Sandpoint.

William Ashley surveyed and platted the site, and the streets of Sandpoint were named one evening around the family dining table. Mrs. Earl Farmin named Cedar Street as she had a special love for the cedar trees here.

Soon, Cedar Street would be developed, including the historic building in the 300 block being renovated today.

Holz and Charles Pennington; seven apartments upstairs.

George Hamm rents cigar store space to open Savon Grocery Store

1907

1959

Williams Mercantile gains title to land

1909

Building constructed, holds dry goods/ grocery

110

1910

St. James Hotel upstairs/Williams Mercantile below.

Proprietor D.W. McIntyre

1916

St. James Hotel upstairs, Golden Rule Clothing and Furniture downstairs

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1923

Stebbins and Nesbitt House of Furniture

1930

Umpire Cigar Store and Pool Hall opens in northeast corner of building, Glen Hamilton Fleming, Proprietor. Tillie

Fleming managed both the St. James Hotel and the Bernd Hotel on First Avenue during the 1920s.

It’s rumored Fleming allowed “ladies of the night” to operate in the upstairs rooms.

1934

Furniture Exchange rents building

1935

Building ownership transfers to Thoreson

1936

Building ownership transfers to Walter

Pennington buys out Holz to become building’s sole owner

1964

Al Jeffres, former manager of Furniture Exchange, buys building/business

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winery, and we feel we’re hitting our stride with a brand that’s well known throughout the state and the region.”

Sandpoint Property Management is handling the office and retail leasing. As many as four offices may be located on the second floor along with a small office space in the atrium and more offices in the rear. The upstairs features panoramic views of downtown Sandpoint along with all modern amenities.

New fiber optic cable running right alongside the building means tenants may get symmetrical Internet bandwidth, according to Bala Bishop, general manager at Sandpoint’s Northland Cable. “We offer Internet connections at speeds comparable to big cities throughout the U.S.,” Bishop said. “And with the fiber optic, you can get upload speeds that are just as fast as download speeds, a big plus for some businesses.”

The building remodel and reconstruction is being conducted to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards. “We are following the guidelines for LEED in hopes of attaining at least a Silver certification,” Steve said. “The hard part is, the historical nature of the brick structure makes that goal rather difficult.”

Silver certification status would ensure energy-efficiency and the recycling of usable materials as well as encompassing another passion of the Meyers: bicycling. “There will be on-site bike storage and showers,” Julie said.

“It will definitely have an urban-funk type of appeal,” Steve added. “We’re not looking at tomorrow with this project.

We really are looking at the next 100 years of the life of this building.”

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spt mag a.indd 1

10/17/2010 11:11:04 PM

Get Your [Product] [Brand] [Company] 1975

Ernie Belwood, former delivery truck driver for the Furniture Exchange, purchases building/business, opens Belwood’s Furniture

2009

Belwood’s Furniture closes; building left vacant

2011

R _ E

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2013

Belwoods 301 projected to open in September, will house Pend d’Oreille Winery and other businesses

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R _ E Marketwatch: Real estate on the rebound

S

ee those smiles around town? It ap-

there,” she said, but emphasizes that there

pears that happy days have arrived

is a sense of urgency for some buyers that

for both buyers and sellers in today’s

didn’t exist before.

local real estate market.

“It feels like we’re at the tipping point,

Inventory is down, making it harder to

but we don’t know if it’s going to tip over

find quality properties. Another impact is

yet,” said Bond. “In general, I think in the

the upswing, according to market indicators

that it boosts new construction. “We’re at a

upper-end price range we’re still seeing

for September 2012 through April 2013. A

pivotal moment,” added Bond.

price reductions. But in the $200,000 to

Sandpoint-area real estate sales are on

14 percent increase in residential sales rep-

Raphael Barta, president of the SAR,

resents a huge boost to the local economy,

agrees that the local market is heading

although home prices aren’t going totally

toward a shortage of properties. “The ‘sweet

bananas. In fact, prices are 3 percent lower

spot’ where demand is most intense is

continue to make home ownership a good

than this time last year.

for single-family homes priced at around

deal. The days of sitting on the sidelines and

$200,000,” Barta said. “As you move up in

waiting for a great deal, however, are over.

pricing, the demand curve tails off.”

Sellers don’t have to compete with bank-

Buyers are streaming into the market, but sellers are able to move their properties at a decent price. “It feels like we’re back to a

Regional sales were buoyed by excep-

$500,000 price range, it feels like the bottom hit this past fall.”

For buyers, historically low interest rates

owned properties like they used to, and a

healthy market,” said Cindy Bond, presi-

tionally high sales figures in outlying

dent of the Multiple Listing Service for the

areas, including Hope and Clark Fork, up

Selkirk Association of Realtors (SAR).

more than 300 percent over this period

vises buyers to make their move - because

Bond notes that while all appears to be

last year, as well as Boundary County

nobody is certain what tomorrow will bring.

on the up-and-up, a host of factors remain

(up 32 percent) and Schweitzer (up 56

“They don’t ring a bell to signal a change in

at play.

percent). In comparison, Sandpoint noticed

the markets,” he said.

“There are still some great buys out

112

Does all of this news mean that the local real estate market has hit the bottom?

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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a 9 percent increase.

reduced inventory shifts the advantage.

Barta has studied the data, and ad-

–Beth Hawkins

SUMMER 2013

5/8/13 8:57 AM

market trends Residential Sales By Area

All Areas

Schweitzer 2011-2012

2012-2013

% Inc/Decr

2011

2012

% Inc/Decr

Sold Listings

347

395

14

Sold Listings

9

14

56

Volume - Sold Listings

$77,063,641

$85,217,156

11

Volume - Sold Listings

$2,118,000

$3,393,200

60

Median Price

$165,000

$169,000

2

Median Price

$205,000

$205,000

0

Average Sales Price

$222,085

$215,739

-3

Average Sale Price

$235,333

$242,371

3

Average Days on Market

165

188

14

Average Days on Market

224

182

-19

2011-2012

2012-2013

% Inc/Decr

2011-2012

2012-2013

% Inc/Decr

Sold Listings

70

76

9

Sold Listings

12

50

317

Volume - Sold Listings

$15,516,600

$11,576,633

-25

Volume - Sold Listings

$3,275,500

$12,563,010

284

Median Price

$154,000

$139,950

-9

Median Price

$224,500

$199,975

-11

Average Sales Price

$221,665

$153,324

-31

Average Sales Price

$272,958

$251,260

-8

Average Days on Market

135

137

1

Average Days on Market

182

209

15

2011-2012

2012-2013

% Inc/Decr

2011-2012

2012-2013

% Inc/Decr

Sold Listings

224

252

13

Sold Listings

97

145

49

Volume - Sold Listings

$56,174,765

$58,761,117

5

Volume - Sold Listings

$8,146,200

$12,513,709

54

Median Price

$186,000

$179,700

-3

Median Price

$55,000

$45,000

-18

Average Sales Price

$250,780

$233,179

-7

Average Sales Price

$83,981

$86,301

3

Average Days on Market

173

176

2

Average Days on Market

211

283

34

Sandpoint City

Hope/Clark Fork

Sandpoint Area

Real Estate

Selkirk Multiple Listing Service Real Estate Market Trends

Bonner County vacant land

Based on information from the Selkirk MLSŠ for the period of September 22, 2011, to April 20, 2012, versus the time period for September 22, 2012, to April 20, 2013 – Real Estate Stats for Bonner & Boundary Counties. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

R _ E

SUMMER 2013

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SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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5/8/13 8:57 AM

Real Estate

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1326 Baldy Mt. Rd. Sandpoint, ID 83864

SUMMER 2013

5/8/13 8:57 AM

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS Real Estate

Natives and Newcomers

By Billie Jean Gerke Photos by Marie-Dominique Verdier This edition of Natives and Newcomers features two sets of coworkers – two women who work at Schweitzer Mountain Resort and a married couple employed at Keokee, the publisher of this magazine.

Both of the newcomers have international connections; one is an American who lived overseas for several years and the other is a newlywed from Russia. As always, Natives and Newcomers compares and contrasts the opinions of two native residents with two recent transplants. Enjoy pondering their different perspectives.

NATIVES Teresa Lunde

An owner services liaison at Schweitzer, Teresa Lunde, 56, is also the author of two romance novels, one of them historical and based in Hope,

under her pen name Tesa Devlyn. She attended Northside Elementary and graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1974. She and husband Don live on property in the Selle Valley that has been in her family since the late 1930s.

They have three cats and are raising a heifer. Lunde loves to garden, be outside, ski, sew and do home improvements. The couple has three grown daughters and seven grandchildren.

What do you like about living in Sandpoint?

It’s home. My whole family lives here. After traveling a lot and looking around at other places, you can’t beat Sandpoint. The pace of life is so much slower than most places, and the people are so friendly. And it’s attracted so many of the same type of people. I enjoy meeting new people when they come here and their (contributions) to the area. Quality of life is the No. 1 thing. I love all of the art events we have – the festival, the Panida. We’re such an artist-friendly town, which as a writer, I really enjoy.

What would you change if you could?

I’d like to see more prosperity return to Sandpoint. A few years ago, people were able to make a living and stay before the economy went downhill. I’d like to see that pick up and build again so we could get more shopping and more jobs. I’d like to see the Bonner

098-119_SMS13_RE.indd 115

SUMMER 2013

Mall get more stores. It’s depressing when you see empty storefronts.

What do you do for summertime fun?

Mainly work in my garden, keeping up with my flower beds. I like to go out on the lake with friends, go berry picking and hiking around – just taking advantage of the good weather and the outdoors.

What do you wish Sandpoint had that it doesn’t have now?

I was really excited about the prospect of the college going in on Boyer. I would like to see more college courses available here in Sandpoint, an opportunity for high school graduates to maybe be able to stick around a little longer.

Any advice for people who want to move to Sandpoint?

Come here with the expectation of having that quality of life but not getting rich here. It really is more about family and friends, outdoor activities, building relationships … the core of what I feel life should be about. Don’t come here and try to change it in a completely different direction, and don’t expect more than what you see. A lot of people have ended up moving away because they realize they can’t have the same standard of living as somewhere else.

Ever been tempted to relocate? If so, why?

Years ago I was, basically for opportunity. We considered a couple places, but at that point, our kids were still in school. That was one of the main reasons why we stayed because we wanted them to finish school here and grow up here. … (My husband) moved here as a young teen from Denver. I think he’s more devoted to the area even than I am.

SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS Ben Robinson

This son of Ed and Karen Robinson was born in Sandpoint in 1986 and went to college at Montana State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in film in 2009 and met his future wife, Katie Kosaya. After college, he moved to South Korea and taught English, followed by a move to Moscow, Russia, in March 2011. He taught English in Russia, married Katie in April 2012 and then moved back to Sandpoint two months later to take a job at Keokee as a web developer. Ben, 26, loves to camp, hike and do anything creative – photography, painting and making films.

What do you like about living in Sandpoint?

I like the nature and being on the lake and having lots of spots to go hiking. I like that it’s pretty relaxed, and I like being able to walk anywhere in town from my home. There’s

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What would you change if you could?

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PHOTO BY KATIE KOSAYA

Phone: 208.265.6406 Fax: 208.265.2477

Obviously, it’s not popular with everybody, but I would make winter a little shorter. I like the light in summer. The main thing I don’t like about winter is the darkness.

What do you do for summertime fun?

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I like to go hiking and swim in the lake. I like to take photos.

I like to borrow (my parents’) kayaks and float down the Bull River and the Clark Fork River.

What do you wish Sandpoint had that it doesn’t have now?

More to do downtown. There are some places to go, but downtown could have more activities and things. The mall needs to be improved and expanded. It’s kind of a pain to go a long way to shop for clothes.

Any advice for people who want to move to Sandpoint?

If you don’t know how to ski, learning how is probably a good idea. That’s the best way to not get depressed in winter.

Prepare for winter (laughs). Find a job before you get here because it might be a little bit hard to find one, since it’s a smaller place.

Ever been tempted to relocate? If so, why?

For right now, I’m glad to be back, but there are lots of places to explore. If ever I went somewhere else, it would be to explore a bigger city. The difference is you can get anything in a big city and different kinds of opportunities.

A signed proof releases Keokee Publishing, Inc. from any reponsibility for error on copy. Please read all copy and check this job carefully. Thank you your is the best we can it.R 2 0 1 3 116 for your S A Nparticipation D P O I N T in M ensuring AGAZIN E product

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5/8/13 8:57 AM

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS

Newcomers

What do you do for summertime fun?

We finally discovered camping, because living where we did, the camping experiences were not the same. So last year, we went crazy and stocked up on tents and sleeping bags and everything. One of our first camping weekends, we went over to Sam Owen and were able to get a spot on the lake. It spoiled us, because now that’s all we want to do – get out and be close to the lake in nature.

How does Sandpoint measure up to media accolades?

What we knew about Sandpoint we had read online, so getting here and realizing that what you read in the media is true is pretty impressive. This is a hip, artistic community that’s cutting edge and entrepreneurial. At the same time, it’s a really tangible community, and I think the media gets that.

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Dig Clark

A 42-year-old mother of four, Dig Clark is native to Baltimore but lived in England and France before moving to Sandpoint in September 2011. She found work in London in 2000, met and married an Englishman, and then moved to France in 2002. Educated at Marquette University, Clark had worked at Snowmass and then Grand Targhee Resort after graduating from college. The desire to move back to the states and work in the ski industry once again led her to pursue a job at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, where she is the front office manager for the lodges. Her husband subsequently landed a job at Quest Aircraft as a quality engineer.

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What do you like about living in Sandpoint?

Everything. It’s such a great place. The biggest thing has to be the people. For me, having lived in other towns that are associated with ski resorts, there’s always that sort of off-putting “I’m a local, and you’re not a local” kind of thing, and not once has that come across in Sandpoint. On the contrary, it’s been more like “You’re new? Hey, have you tried this?” … It’s more of an inclusive mentality, which is just awesome.

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Welcome to Sandpoint Date Dr. Whitney Henker

drhenker@SandpointOptometry.com

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What would you change if you could?

It would be great to have a bike path that went all the way to Laclede, just so we could explore this side of town more … and to follow up with that project, an ice rink and potentially a community pool.

SUMMER 2013

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NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS

Sandpoint GRAPHIC ––––Facts about our town, visually presented––––

Sandpoint now has three – count them, three – local radio stations that you can listen to online, anytime, anywhere in the world. Local faves 95.3 KPND and K-102 - Country posted their broadcasts online in March via Facebook, where you can send the streaming link to your smartphone or tablet. Enjoy the best progressive rock station anywhere (yes, we accept that as fact) or contemporary country.

After a big equipment upgrade, nonprofit radio 88.5 KRFY plans to reinstate its live stream with eclectic music, local events and interviews, at: www.KRFY.org

Can you hear us now?

Restaurants per 10k Households

A BEST EATING TOWN

There are 61 dining establishments in Greater Sandpoint*, including Ponderay, Kootenai and Dover.

U.S. Census figures put the combined population at 9,736 with 4,404 households.

That equals 138.5 restaurants per 10,000 households. Compare to the best eating cities in the nation.**

What brought you to Sandpoint?

Schweitzer. When we were living overseas, it was difficult for me to find work, not being French. I really missed being in the ski industry. We had contemplated moving to Grand Targhee, where we still own property, or to Whitefish or Taos, New Mexico. I have a good friend who’s heavily involved with Idaho tourism, and she’s like, “You need to check out Schweitzer and Sandpoint.” … Lo and behold, a position came open. We came home to a place that none of us had ever been to before. My family is really happy.

We couldn’t have asked for better.

Katie Kosaya

Born in a town on the Black Sea in Ukraine, Katie Kosaya moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, at age 8, followed by a move to Moscow at 14. While studying tourism and hospitality management in college, she worked at the Hilton in Bozeman, Mont., for two summers in a row. She happened to meet Sandpoint native Ben Robinson that second summer. The daughter of a PHOTO BY BEN ROBINSON

San Francisco CA

Fairfield County CT

Long Island NY

New York NY

Seattle WA

Sandpoint ID

City

SOURCES *Sandpoint dining directory:www.sandpointdining.com ** Huffington Post, “Best Eating Towns,” http://huff.to/113tpgI

Biggest. Floods. Ever.

The most massive floods in the history of Planet Earth are believed to have originated right here.

During the last Ice Age, 12,000 years to 15,000 years ago, a lobe the continental ice sheet extended down from Canada across current-day Lake Pend Oreille, forming Glacial Lake Missoula. The ice dam washed out repeatedly, sending huge floods across the Columbia Basin to the Pacific Ocean.

Maximum depth of flood 1,250 feet at Wallula Gap!

The Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall

Floods sped up to 80 mph No outrunning it.

A cheetah at 70 mph is the fastest land animal

SOURCE: “On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods: The Northern Reaches,” by Bruce Bjornstad and Gene Kiver; 2012, Keokee Books.

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NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS pharmacist and an engineer, she grew up traveling, spending summers in the country and mushroom picking. Kosaya, 25, moved to Sandpoint with her new husband in June 2012.

What do you like about living in Sandpoint?

I like nature here and how everything is close. I don’t have to spend an hour and a half every morning on a subway to get to work. I can just walk everywhere. I like that there are moose. We had moose in our backyard all winter. … And raccoons, too. I had never seen them before.

What would you change if you could?

I would change the business side of the town, bring in more shops – popular shops – and cafés. If you actually want to go shopping, you have to travel to Coeur d’Alene or Spokane. And there are too many offices downtown, like real estate and all that. I would change the plan of what those buildings on First Avenue have in them.

What do you do for summertime fun?

I go hiking, camping, kayaking. I garden and take photos of everything and post them on my blog (chestnutmocha. blogspot.com). (My first summer here) we went to the beach a lot, went hiking all over the place, and I had my first garden here. We took different road trips.

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How does Sandpoint measure up to media accolades?

The nature is fantastic, people are really nice, and the town itself is really nice and beautiful. But areas like the mall and such are not well-planned and designed and they are empty. It’s a pretty town, great location, but it’s not developed enough. The things that are here don’t function the right way, like the mall and the SPOT bus, it’s always empty.

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What brought you to Sandpoint?

We got married, and then Ben got a job at Keokee. It’s kind of like Montana, so I knew that the nature would be nice, and also his parents live here. We wouldn’t be super isolated from everywhere, but it is really far. I can’t just hop on a plane and go home.

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x

x

x

x

x

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Coeur d’Alene Casino

Downtown Sandpoint on the lake. Indoor pool, sauna, fitness room, hot tub. All rooms with lake view. Dine at Trinity at City Beach. Also 22-site RV park. www.SandpointHotels.com

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x

x

x

x

x

x

Whether you prefer rustic elegance or Manhattan chic, you’ll find a room that suits you along with a casino that boasts the area’s most machines, and the most winners. See ad, page 90.

800-523-2464

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Dover Bay Bungalows 208-263-3083

19

x

x

x

x

x

Waterfront bungalows at beautiful Dover Bay in Marina Village. Fully furnished with lake and mountain views. Fitness center, marina and hiking/biking trails. See ads, page 50. www.DoverBayBungalows.com

GuestHouse Lodge

60

x

Free breakfast with waffles, 24-hour hot tub, free wireless Internet. Family suites. Schweitzer ski packages. At the base of Schweitzer Mountain, two miles from Lake Pend Oreille.

208-263-2210

Holiday Inn Express

83

x

x

x

The newest hotel in Greater Sandpoint. 100 percent smoke-free. The Ponderay location is at the base of Schweitzer Mountain next to the new location of Sweet Lou’s, close to Walmart. See ad,

208-255-4500 / Fax 208-255-4502

page 19. www.HIExpress.com

La Quinta Inn

68

x

x

x

x

x

x

Lodge at Sandpoint

25

x

x

x

x

250

x

x

x

x

x

x

9

x

50

x

x

Great deals on exclusive Schweitzer ski-in/out condos and waterfront vacation cabins. Book your perfect Idaho vacation online 24/7. www.NorthridgeVacationRentals.com

877-667-8409 or 208-290-6847

Pend Oreille Shores Resort

x

x

x

62

x

x

x

x

x

Indoor pool and hot tub. Close to downtown Sandpoint. 5th Avenue Restaurant and Mitzy’s Lounge on property. Kids stay and eat free. www.SandpointHotels.com

208-263-2111 or 866-519-7683

Sandpoint Vacation Rentals

Fully furnished condos and on-site athletic club on Lake Pend Oreille.

Stay and play packages. See ad, page 53. www.POSResort.com

208-264-5828

Sandpoint Quality Inn

Northern Quest Resort & Casino is the Inland Northwest’s only AAA-rated 4-Diamond casino resort.

Complimentary Wi-Fi, and valet and overnight parking. See ad, page 66. www.NorthernQuest.com

509-242-7000

Northridge Vacation Rentals

Accommodations for weddings, retreats and banquets. Lakeside with swimming and docks. Views of lake and mountains for an unforgettable Idaho vacation. www.LodgeAtSandpoint.com

208-263-2211

Northern Quest Casino

Downtown location, high-speed Internet. Free breakfast, themed spa suites. Silverwood, ski and golf packages. Kids stay free. See ad, page 62. www.Hotels-West.com

208-263-9581 or 800-282-0660

75

x

x

x

x

75 luxury homes and condos in Sandpoint and on the lake. First-class properties at affordable rates. Plan your perfect vacation. Boat rentals, tee times. See ad, page 5.

208-263-7570 or 866-263-7570

www.SandpointVacationRentals.com

Selkirk Lodge

167

x

x

x

x

x

x

Sleep’s Cabins

6

x

On beautiful Lakeshore Drive. Sleep’s Cabins consists of six log bungalows decorated with original furnishings and collectibles. See ad, page 52. www.SleepsCabins.com

208-255-2122 or 866-302-2122

Sweet Magnolia Bed & Breakfast

5

x

x

2

x

x

9

x

x

Deluxe spa suites with private, jetted tub for two in bath. Gas fireplace, AC, kitchenette, free wireless Internet. www.WaterhouseBedandBreakfast.com

208-263-0828

Western Pleasure Guest Ranch

x

208-265-0257 or 800-831-8810

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Private cabins sleep 2-8. Lodge rooms with private baths, rec room, horseback riding and meals available. See ad, page 52. www.WesternPleasureRanch.com

208-263-9066

White Pine Lodge

Beautiful Victorian home with unique rooms and antiques. Located in downtown Sandpoint. Within walking distance of many local shops and businesses. See ad, page 21. www.SweetMagnoliaBandB.com

208-265-2425

Waterhouse B&B

Mountain accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views.

Outdoor heated pool and hot tubs. See ad, page 139. www.Schweitzer.com

208-265-0257 or 800-831-8810

50

x

x

x

x

x

x

New accommodations, stay-and-play packages. Spectacular mountain and lake views. Outdoor hot tubs, access to heated pool. See ad, page 139. www.Schweitzer.com

SUMMER 2013

5/8/13 9:43 AM

& Drinks Picnic perfect

Eats

Excursions with food in the fabulous outdoors

By Beth Hawkins

A

h, a picnic. The mere mention of the word conjures up basketfuls of fond images, eating with friends and family, eating in the great outdoors … and most importantly, eating!

Picnic food is special food. A picnic takes forethought. Sandwiches are wrapped, cold salads are prepared, other goodies carefully packed. Even the process of bringing everything out of the cooler is a delight. Picnic food just tastes better than food eaten inside. Maybe it’s because when we eat outdoors, soaking up a natural setting without the modern distractions of daily life, we savor every bite.

For those on the go, whether heading to a mountain trail, boating on the lake, or kicking back at an area park, a number of local restaurants and delis make it easy to pick up ready-made, delectable picnic fare. The sandwiches and salads will already be packed for travel, so just throw a cooler in the car and go!

Winter Ridge Natural Foods, 703 Lake St., keeps the grab ‘n’ go case in the deli department stocked with premade sandwiches and wraps, including rice wraps that are filled with vegetables and peanut sauce and then dipped in hot water. “It’s like a fresh roll,” said Julia Neil, manager of the deli at Winter Ridge. “It’s a round circle that’s hard and crunchy – it’s a fun, easy way to eat your vegetables.” The deli also offers shrimp rolls and sushi, such as temaki.

And there are always options available for vegetarians. “If people come in and they don’t want meat on their sandwich, we do made-to-order sandwiches,” Neil said.

Another great way to get a veggie

fix is by picking up one of the deli’s popular kale salads, which are best left to the pros at Winter Ridge – as Neil explains, “none of our customers can figure out how to do it!” The Tuscan kale salad features a vinegar dressing with olive oil, agave, walnuts and red onions; the Kaleslaw has more of a toasted sesame flavor, and is made with a vegan mayonnaise.

And this year, just about the time picnic season wraps up, customers will be pleased to find a larger seating area at Winter Ridge, including a fireplace!

With the store acquiring the adjacent space that will double its square footage, its popular deli is expanding into SUMMER 2013

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Enjoy a meal with a view at Sandpoint’s City Beach. PHOTO BY KATIE KOSAYA

the current produce area. It promises an inviting new sit-and-dine experience for Sandpoint.

Another eatery that offers picnic fare – as well as abundant new seating – is Miller’s Country Store, 1326 Baldy Mountain Rd. “We’re tripling our size and adding sit-down seating with tables and chairs this summer,” said Rod Miller, owner of the store. The expansion is good news for folks who have come to love their delicious deli sandwiches, served on homemade bread.

Perfect for a picnic, Miller’s offers SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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five different sandwiches, featuring roast beef, turkey, ham, turkey-ham and Lebanon bologna (which is named after a town in Pennsylvania, but is actually made locally by the much-loved Wood’s Meats). Top it off with a to-go order of homemade coleslaw, a recipe that was handed down from Rod’s mother-in-law.

And finally, wash everything down with

in g lian din a t I e F in

Locatio 3 Now

ns

Serving Sandpoint for over 27 years

Dinner served 7 nights a week Corner of First and Pine 208-263-0211 www.IvanosSandpoint.com Join us at Beyond Hope during Summer 208-264-5251

208-255-2100 105 S. First Ave.

one of Miller’s old-fashioned specialty pops such as Birch beer, a homemadetasting variety of root beer, or a sarsaparilla soda.

If you call ahead for a large order, Miller’s will have the sandwiches bagged up and ready to go when you arrive; or, if the order is 10 sandwiches or larger and it’s in a local area (including the city parks, like City Beach!), Miller’s will cheerfully deliver (263-9446).

Picnickers can also find a surprising array of to-go options at Tango Café, located inside the big brick Panhandle State Bank building at 414 Church St. For picnics with a more formal air, stop by the Tango and pick up a family-style dinner that’s packaged and ready to go.

The dinners can be used for lunches as well and include a salad and choice of steak or chicken.

Judy Colegrove, Tango’s owner, said

Deli sandwiches such as this enticing one from Miller’s Country Store proffer ready-made picnic fare. PHOTO BY BETH HAWKINS

numerous menu selections work well for picnics. “Any of the lunch items off the menu can be packaged for picnics, and we can do any kinds of sandwiches.”

Colegrove also suggests picnic fare that doesn’t necessarily involve sandwiches.

“Stop by and pick up a Greek salad or a piece of quiche,” she said. “It can all be ready to go.”

The Greek salad is a Tango fave, made up of mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta, red peppers, red onions and lemon oil dressing – all served with fresh crostini.

All constitute delicious food – and are even more scrumptious when eaten outdoors at a summertime picnic!

Shop Outside the Box • • • • • • • •

INSIDE PANHANDLE STATE BANK

703 W. Lake at Boyer St. in Sandpoint . 208-265-8135

Organic Deli and Bakery Gluten-free and vegan foods Fresh juice and smoothie bar Local meat, eggs, veggies Organic produce Supplements Beer & wine Bulk foods

www.WinterRidgeFoods.com

Open every day: 8 AM – 8 PM

TANGO-CAFE-SANDPOINT.COM

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Restaurateur Q&A with Justin Dick and Pat Chitlungsei

R

unning a restaurant is not for the weary. It requires a lot of passion, people skills, food finesse and time. Two successful Sandpoint restaurateurs – Justin Dick, 34, of Trinity at City Beach, and Sudarat “Pat” Chitlungsei, “in her 50s,” of Bangkok Thai Cuisine – credit the influence of their family for getting them started in the restaurant world.

Dick grew up in Denver, Colo., and learned a great deal of professional skills from his parents, Mel and Claudia Dick, owners of Trinity before Justin took over six years ago. Dick said he was influenced by both his mother and father in different ways before jumping into the business, and he credits their perspectives on management, marketing and more.

Chitlungsei is from Thailand and learned much of her restaurant and cooking skills from her grandmother and her sisterin-law, who owns a Thai restaurant in New York. Chitlungsei said it is Thai heritage that women learn to cook.

Eats

& Drinks

Serving Sandpoint

–B.H. PHOTOS BY BETH HAWKINS

JUSTIN DICK

124

SUDARAT “PAT” CHITLUNGSEI

Hours worked each week?

80 plus

About 55

Favorite thing about running a restaurant?

The relationships I’ve built with the customers and the employees.

Meeting people. I love to talk with people, and I love the interaction.

What is the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge is maximizing the efficiency of the facility to keep up with the demands of a growing business.

Managing people. I have good employees who have become friends, but there are tough times, too.

Favorite dish on the menu?

Prime rib

Curry. Customers say we have the best curry … and peanut sauce – that’s our highlight.

What season do you love best in Sandpoint?

Fall is my favorite season. We start to slow down from the craziness of the summer, and I make up for lost time with my wife and children and just enjoy the town at a slower pace.

Both (winter and summer), actually. I love the snow. When I go to Bangkok, I miss Sandpoint.

Advice for someone who is thinking about opening a restaurant?

Try to gain as much experience in as many industry positions as possible prior to making that decision. When you do make the decision to open a restaurant, you will find that you will have to wear every hat. The glamorous and romantic idea of having a place to entertain friends and dine on the finest quality food and beverage is often squelched by the reality of plunging toilets and washing dishes.

I think people should try what they want to do. You have to put your energy into it. You have to have time and the passion. You really have to like it.

If you could be doing anything else, what would it be?

I’d be a stay-at-home dad.

Travel and practice Buddhism. I love to travel and be inspired by the foods in other cultures. In Thailand, we eat all the time, five times a day. Happy, we eat; sad, we eat.

Hobbies or pastimes when not working?

Spending time with my wife, Shaunavee, my 5-year-old son, Jace, and 7-month-old daughter, Evelyn

Reading … I read everything.

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On the trail of garlic hot spots

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& Drinks

O

f all foods, garlic may be most legendary – literally. The “stinking rose,” as it’s been called since ancient Greece, has begotten a veritable library of superstition and folklore. Egyptian slaves building the pyramids were given rations of garlic to ward off illness and increase strength. Koreans of old ate pickled garlic before hiking mountain paths, to ward off tigers. Garlic has a reputation still for protecting people from mosquito bites, although scientists say that’s dubious.

Most folks nowadays just appreciate garlic’s intense flavor.

And in Sandpoint, a number of restaurants are happy to accommodate the garlic lover.

Finding the most pungent garlic dishes ’round town isn’t too difficult: Just take a whiff. Several restaurants dress up their signature dishes with garlic, or just flat out go à la garlic in the sense that it’s the main ingredient.

First up on the garlic tour is Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., where the Garlic Fries have Garlic aioli chicken at Eichardt’s Pub. PHOTO BY KATIE KOSAYA achieved notoriety across the United States. “The garlic fries are one of a kind,” notes a Californian’s post on Yelp.com. The thick-cut fries are doused with garlic, Parmesan and herbs. As Eichardt’s Chef Reese Warren readily admits, “We use a lot of garlic.” Warren has created many of the menu items himself, and his favorite dish featuring garlic is the Char-Grilled Chicken with garlic tapenade and basil pesto. He also crafts a mean Garlic Burger. It all adds up. “We go through 10 to 15 pounds of garlic per week,” Warren said.

Another fragrant star is The Little Olive, 124 S. Second Ave., with its Mediterranean-based menu. A majority of the dishes use garlic, in some form or another. Of particular note is the Rustic Roasted Garlic, an appetizer that consists of a head of garlic served with toasted pitas, kalamata olives and cambozola cheese. “People love it,” said Jenny, a server at Little Olive who prefers to remain somewhat incognito (a garlic addict in recovery, perhaps?). Guests squeeze out the garlic themselves, and love the combination of the garlic with the creamy cheese – a cross between brie and bleu.

Garlic is a coveted ingredient at MickDuff’s Brewing Co., 312 N. First Ave., primarily because of the pub’s roasted garlic mayonnaise – it’s made on the premises, and lands on many of the sandwiches and burgers. In addition, the Gorgonzola Cheese Fries are a must-have for anyone visiting for the first time, according to co-owner Duffy Mahoney: criss-cut fries are covered with Litehouse gorgonzola, and mixed with roasted garlic for an unbelievable taste. “They’re definitely one of our signature dishes,” Mahoney said.

And finally, a stop at The Readery, 209 N. First Ave., reveals a garlic presence at the very top of the restaurant’s lunch menu: Grilled Sirloin Sandwich, served hot with Swiss cheese, balsamic glazed onions and roasted garlic aioli sauce. Mmmm … talk about melt-in-your-mouth goodness. It’s one of the restaurant’s top sellers, and a good reason to try out this hidden gem in downtown Sandpoint.

So there you have it, a quick tour of the garlic of Sandpoint. And that’s just a taste, so to speak; the fragrant ingredient can be found in a multitude of other restaurants around town. Just follow your nose.

–B.H

Spectacular views Featuring fresh seafood, aged beef and local, fresh ingredients

Full bar & outstanding wine list April through October for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch Accessed easily by boat or car at Hope Marine Services Hwy 200 E. Hope, Idaho 208.264.5311 hopefloatingrestaurant.com SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Servers’ Favorite Meals

They take orders for a living … and love it

L

ike an orchestra conductor, restaurant servers are the maestros of a well-rehearsed performance – tending to diners’ needs with a smile, while keeping the lines of communication open with the behind-the-scenes cooking staff.

With as many questions as restaurant servers are required to ask of patrons, we thought it would be fun to turn the tables, so to speak, and open up the questioning to some of Sandpoint’s favorite servers. “Do you cook at home?” Or, “What’s the most rewarding thing about your job?” And the question we really want answered: “What’s your favorite meal here?”

Paul Gollin, 56, has been a server at Forty-One South, 41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle, for five years and thoroughly enjoys his job: “I love working here. This is the highlight of my day,” he said.

Bangkok on Second AUTHENTIC THAI FOOD

Sandpoint’s Best Thai Food • Peanut sauces made in-house • 6 different Thai curry • Gluten-free & Vegetarian • Wine and beer • Summer outdoor seating

Eat in or take out

208-265-4149 • 202 N. 2nd Ave.

Above: Paul Gollin, server and dessert chef at Forty-One South. Opposite: Servers Devyn Miller of Sweet Lou’s, with her trademark flower, and Amy Borup of Di Luna’s Café. PHOTOS BY BETH HAWKINS

Gollin, who has been voted Best Server in Bonner County, enjoys helping guests navigate the menu and advising those who are undecided about what to choose. “I tell them to order something they wouldn’t make themselves.” He takes his own advice to heart. Gollin’s favorite meal is any one of the restaurant’s three steak selections: the Steak and ’Shrooms, the Smoked Filet Mignon and the Steak Oscar. “I cook a lot at home, but to save my life I can’t cook a steak,” he said.

On top of his job as a server, Gollin

makes all of the gourmet desserts served at Forty-One South. If that wasn’t enough, he does website design and also enjoys bicycling and kayaking.

How does he make time for everything? “I’m single, and I live in Sandpoint,” he laughs. Ladies?

Devyn Miller, 27, is hard to miss at Sweet Lou’s, 477272 Highway 95 in Ponderay – she’s the server wearing a flower in her hair. “I heard somewhere that women who wear flowers in their hair get 15 percent more in tips, so I figured I can use all the help I can get,”

35

Wines by the glass & the best ambiance in town

Happy hour Monday – Thursday, 5-7 Live music every Friday and Saturday Gourmet appetizers every day

WINE BAR Mon-Thurs 11-9 Fri & Sat 11-11 208-263-6971

Upstairs at 311 N. First Avenue, Sandpoint

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she says with sly humor.

Miller has been a server at Sweet Lou’s for about a year and enjoys the customer service side of her job. “I love being around people, and serving is my passion,” she said.

Her favorite meal is the Bruschetta Chicken, with the Bison Ribs coming in a close second. “There’s a lot of meat on the bones, and it’s served with our house barbecue sauce,” she said.

When she isn’t working, Miller enjoys spending time with her husband and 2-year-old daughter; she also belongs to a roller derby league in Coeur d’Alene. “It’s changed my life,” she said of the rough-and-tumble sport.

Because of Sweet Lou’s location, Miller said the restaurant sees a lot of visitors who are driving through. One group of ladies from Canada made a memorable impression for Miller when they brought her flowers. “I thought that was such a nice gesture,” she said. “It makes me feel so full.”

While not a cook herself – she leaves that to her husband – Miller knows the value of a sit-down meal. “All the best conversations start around the dinner table,” she said.

Amy Borup, 44, didn’t intend to become a server at Di Luna’s Café, 207 Cedar St. “I came here to help out for one day, and I never left,” she said.

That was 11 years ago.

Borup was drawn to the social side of serving and loves to see familiar faces walk through the door: “I feel like I know everybody, and they know my name.”

Her favorite meal at Di Luna’s is actually any Farm-to-Table Dinner, a series the restaurant hosts throughout the year. The event is held either at the

café, or at the featured farm itself. Chefs cook the meals using fresh, local food, and sometimes the featured farmer will give a presentation.

The daughter of the late Cinde Borup, half of the popular Wild Roses musical duo, Beth & Cinde, Borup was also instrumental in starting the café’s popular Dinner Concert Series. They book stellar artists from around the country for a listening room experience.

While Borup is a vegetarian, she stays neutral on the issue when guests ask about meat preferences on the

Bulk FooDS-Deli-BakeD GooDS Breads Scones Pastries Cookies Pies Cinnamon Rolls Coffee Teas Canned Goods Spices Beans Rice Pasta Flour Nuts Dried Fruit Christian Books Housewares

Hours: M-F 8:30-5:30

Join us on

208-263-9446

1326 Baldy Mt. Rd., Sandpoint, iD 83864

MillersCountryStoreSandpoint.com

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menu. “I’ll say, ‘Lots of people come here for the bacon.’ It works.”

When not working at Di Luna’s, Borup says simply that she’s a mom.

“That’s why I quit my big job. I can work breakfast and lunch, and then I’m home,” she said.

While she tends a garden, Borup doesn’t like kitchen duty. Once in a while, she assists the cooking staff at Di Luna’s, but then the urge to be social kicks in. She said, “I see all those people, and I want to go talk to them!”

–B.H.

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The Local Dish

News and events foodies need to know

A

s hectic as many people’s lives have become, it’s a good idea to sit down and enjoy your meal. Sandpoint’s fine restaurants and eateries seem to be going out of their way lately to make their guests’ experience more comfortable and inviting – adding new seating, indoors and out.

Perhaps that’s a reflection of the north-

ern Idaho lifestyle … to relax, eat well and enjoy!

If the great outdoors is your preferred dining environment, head out to the DISH at Dover Bay, 204 S. Fourth St. in Dover. Proprietor Gary Pietz said the patio dining experience is better than ever, thanks to new comfortable seating, a plethora of umbrellas, plus

Di Lu n a ’s CAFE

American Bistro Dining & Catering For delivery call

208.263.0846

www.DiLunas.com 207 Cedar Street

proved proved with changes anges; please provide another proof

e sign with your approval:

Eddie Sneva and Gary Pietz show off recent improvements to DISH at Dover Bay’s patio

Hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Daily

208 265-6467

ture

www.DishatDoverBay.com

an opened-up view to the Pend Oreille River that’s “100 percent unobstructed” thanks to the removal of some trees during the off-season.

You can pair that stellar view with the restaurant’s new seafood dishes, including a Spicy Poached Prawn appetizer that Chef Eddie Sneva said is “a play on shrimp cocktail” as well as Thai Clams – made with red curry sauce and coconut. For lighter fare, the Seared Ahi Salad blends mixed greens and Asian slaw with edamame beans, wontons and more. Finally, two new seafood entrées are the Sweet Chili Grilled Prawns with wasabi crème fraîche and spring onion rice, and the Atlantic Salmon doused in a lemongrass soy marinade.

••• New ownership at Pend Oreille Pasta, 476534 Highway 95 in Ponderay, will bring changes to the popular pasta and wine shop.

According to Kelly Roles, who took over ownership of Pend Oreille Pasta with his wife, Ericka, they will still be offering the delicious pasta-and-sauce dinners to go, but they have big plans to open up the shop space so it’s roomier and more accommodating for wine tastings and the like.

“Eventually we plan to get some sit-

Date

Artisan Coffees Roasted Daily d proof releases Keokee Publishing, Inc. from any reponsibility for Roasting Studio and Café n copy. Please read all copy and check this job carefully.

Thank you 524 Church, Sandpoint r participation in ensuring your product is the best we can make it.

OPEN 7am–5pm Monday–Friday; 8am–4pm Saturday

note: This color comp is produced by an in-house printer and is not ve of the quality of the final printed piece. This proof may not accurately he colors. ~ Eichardt’s Serves up the Best of Northwest Microbrews, Food and Local Live Music ~ Full Lunch and Dinner Menu 16 Micros on Tap • Oak Cask Red Wines Upstairs Game Room Open Daily From 11:30 am

212 Cedar St. • Sandpoint • 263-4005

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brothers

EvansBrothersCoffee.com | 208-265-5553 find us on facebook!

Great Mexican Food Awesome Atmosphere 314 N. Second Avenue Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 Phone: 208-263-2995

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Eats “A DOWNTOWN FAVORITE”

Located on Historic Cedar Street Bridge

& Drinks

down seating,” said Roles, who wants to add hot menu items in the near future.

He also expects to add three to four deli sandwiches, plus a weekly entrée special.

Visit this favorite local spot for ongoing changes!

••• More seating has opened up at Pine Street Bakery, 710 Pine St., with an upstairs renovation that has allowed additional tables and chairs. And during the warmer months, a spacious patio is just the place to enjoy the bakery’s scrumptious treats.

Savory items already on the menu include filled croissants with choice of chicken chipotle, ham and cheese or sausage with mushrooms. The bakery plans to add more lunch items in the future, as well as beer and wine. For folks on the go, try the new frozen pizza dough. Made fresh and then frozen, just take it home, defrost on the counter, and roll it out for a 12” pizza crust.

Besides iced lattes and chai teas, signature items for summer include the Danishes, carrot cupcakes and whoopie pies – a filled cake sandwich.

••• Lots of dine-in seating is on tap at Winter Ridge Natural Foods, 703 W. Lake St., where an expansion to the west as well as a remodel will bring a large, new sitting area alongside its popular deli. The produce section will move to the other end of the store, in the newly acquired space, allowing

265-4396 www.CedarStBistro.com

Danielle, Vicki and Kim in Winter Ridge’s future dining area

the deli section to expand and cater to those who would like to stay and eat their meal.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Winter Ridge always features a tempting array of hot dishes ready to eat at the grab ‘n’ go bar, and don’t miss the fresh bakery items and hot coffee.

••• If you thought Monarch Mountain Coffee, 208 N. Fourth Ave., was just a place for early birds, think again – now it’s a spot for early-night owls to perch.

The popular coffee spot has extended its hours and now stays open until 7 p.m.

Monday through Saturday, and 5 p.m.

Sundays. In fact, Monarch now serves beer and wine and hosts a monthly open mic event as well as Monarch

Espresso • Beer/Wine • WiFi

Open Daily at 6 A.M. 208 N. 4th Avenue • Sandpoint, ID

Hoagies, Hamburgers, Fries Shakes, Fresh Salads & more JoesPhilly.com 102 Church St. Sandpoint 263-1444 SUMMER 2013

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wine • beer • gift baskets • catering

Eats

International Wine Selection Artisan Cheeses & Breads Fresh Pasta Dinners To Go Gourmet Deli

www.pendoreillepasta.com 476534 Hwy 95 Sandpoint • 208.263.1352

fresh baked breads • cheeses • olives

& Drinks

sausages • ravioli • gourmet sandwiches

The Local Dish News and events foodies need to know Monarch Mountain Coffee extended its hours and added libations to the menu

Complete carry-out fresh pasta dinners

The Pie Hut

502 Church Street • Sandpoint, ID • 208-265-2208

Great Soups v Sandwiches v Pies Free Delivery

Now Serving Beer & Wine!

116 N. First Ave • 208.263.8989 PitaPitUsa.com

Movie Night held on the third Thursday of each month. Held in conjunction with the Northwest Film Institute, Movie Night donations benefit the group’s quest to start a film school in Sandpoint.

Late-day noshes are also on the menu now, including quesadillas, nachos, a hummus platter, and a sliced apple platter with caramel, Nutella and whipped cream. “It’s really delicious,” said owner Sherrie Wilson.

••• If you’re in the mood for an Asian spin on soups, check out the Pie Hut, 502 Church St. New additions to the menu, which vary daily, include a Japanese ramen soup brimming with noodles, pork and vegetables including carrots and green onions. Another new soup is the Thai soup made fresh with curry, coconut milk and chicken.

Called the Pie Hut for exactly why you might suspect, the restaurant finishes off a good lunch with a slice of fresh-baked pie. What are popular choices in summertime? The sour cream lemon, tiramisu and Boston cream pies.

When a downtown eatery hits the five-year mark, you know it’s got something great going on. Such is the case for Joe’s Philly Cheesesteaks, 102 Church St., which plans to celebrate its fifth anniversary in August with some to-be-announced special events.

While diners can’t go wrong with the authentic cheesesteak, Joe’s is reaching out to its customers who are looking for gluten-free options by increasing their salad menu. The same toppings that go in their cheesesteaks, including chicken, grilled onions and more, can be ordered on a salad. The restaurant’s daily soup is often made gluten-free, as well as the Philly cheesesteak fries.

••• Chef Elissa Robbins rolls out new menu items for the summer at The Floating Restaurant, 47394 Highway 200 in Hope, including an appetizer of Lamb Meatballs with Red Curry, entrees of Bacon Wrapped Pork Filet with Creamy Chèvre and Dried Cherries, Buffalo Shepherd’s Pie, and a Napoleon with Pesto Chicken and Prosciutto.

Diners can also continue to find fresh seafood and premium Washington beef, along with homemade breads and desserts including ice creams and sorbet.

The Floating Restaurant strives to have many options for vegetarian and glutenfree diets, as well.

Rice crusts & soy cheese now available

A Sandpoint tradition...

Made fresh daily!

710 Pine Street • Sandpoint

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“Out of this W orld” • Delivery • Sandwiches • Calzones • Specialty Salads • Homemade Dough • Beer/Wine • Take & Bakes

The Carolyn

215 S. 2nd Ave.

263-9321

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Eats

Outdoor seating galore can be found at Evans Brothers Coffee, 524 Church St., where the outdoor patio is open for the summer season, and Saturday hours have been extended to 4 p.m.

(208) 597-7499 Evans Brothers roasts its own awardwww.littleolivefood.com winning124 coffee, andAve, the café now offers S. 2nd Sandpoint Foxfire loose-leaf tea from Portland, Ore., and Good Food’s incredible Raaca

chocolate bars. Coffee, tea, chocolate: What more do you really need?

Evans Brothers’ location is within Sandpoint’s blossoming Granary District, fast becoming a focal point for events r ro ll s 12 of and activities –nkeep an'sou eye on the event ! be tw ee oo se Ch ho w w e ro ll at th now ro ll yo ur or calendars for happenings there.

••• On a who’s new note: Bricks & Barley opens June 1 in the former Loading Dock space, at the corner of Bridge Street and First Avenue. Owners Lindsay Rich and Emily French kept the wood-fired pizza that fans have come to love and also introduce signature fresh salads and sandwiches, BIG TUNA They Sushi utilizing local ingredients. are also 'just roll with it'... sushi your way N E X T local D O O Rwine T O Land I T T Lbeer.

E OLIVE debuting more (208) 597-7498 StayBigTunaRoll.com tuned as we learn• more.

–B.H.

eat me

& Drinks

In the Granary District, Evans Brothers Coffee exudes charm and grooviness

IT’S ALWAYS FINER AT THE 219ER! Full service bar serving Sandpoint and North Idaho for over 75 years.

A Five-Star Dive Bar

Big tuna sushi

Find us on 219 N. First Avenue Sandpoint | 208.263.9934

ll s 12 o f o u r ro n e e tw be se Ch o o w w e ro ll ! w n- th at 's ho o r u yo ll ro or

eat me

(208) 597-7499 www.littleolivefood.com 124 S. 2nd Ave, Sandpoint

'just roll with it'... sushi your way

NEXT DOOR TO LITTLE OLIVE BigTunaRoll.com • (208) 597-7498

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Big tuna BIG TUNA sushi Sushi SANDPOINT MAGAZINE

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Map not to scale!

Fifth Ave.

Dining Guide

1 Cedar St. Bistro 2 Evans Brothers Coffee 3 Monarch Mountain Coffee 4 Pine Street Bakery 5 Joe’s Philly Cheesesteaks 6 Miller’s Country Store & Deli 7 Mojo Coyote 8 Pend Oreille Pasta 9 Pita Pit 0 The Readery - Tango Cafe = Winter Ridge Natural Foods q Chimney Rock Grill w Connie’s Café e Di Luna’s Café r DISH at Dover Bay t Floating Restaurant y Forty-One South u Pie Hut i Sweet Lou’s o Trinity at City Beach p Eichardt’s Pub & Grill [ MickDuff’s Brewing Co. ] Bangkok Cuisine \ Ivano’s Ristoranté & Caffè a Jalapeño’s Restaurant s The Little Olive/Big Tuna d Second Avenue Pizza f Shoga at Forty-One South g Coldwater Creek Wine Bar h La Rosa j Laughing Dog Brewing k Pend d’Oreille Winery l 219 Lounge

d

Marina

AMENITIES KEY Waterfront Dining Outdoor Dining Full Bar Serves Breakfast Open Late Night

yf To Sagle

Coeur d’Alene

Wi-Fi Available

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Dining Guide

DINING GUIDE Restaurant index by type of cuisine Locate by number on dining map

BAKERIES, COFFEE & DESSERTS

1 Cedar St. Bistro

European-style café in the heart of downtown Sandpoint on the Cedar Street Bridge. Exceptional coffee and tea drinks, premium gelato, delectable pastries, fine chocolates, and tasty panini.

265-4396.

& Deli

1326 Baldy Mountain Rd. Wholesome goodness with a selection of fine deli meats and cheeses, bulk food items, pie fillings, and delicious fresh-baked pies and breads – plus soup and sandwiches to go. 263-9446.

2 Evans Brothers Coffee

7 Mojo Coyote at Schweitzer

3 Monarch Mountain Coffee

8 Pend Oreille Pasta & Wine

4 Pine Street Bakery 710 Pine St. European pastries, breads and cakes made using quality ingredients. Coffees, espresso drinks and Tazzina teas. Sit on the patio, or enjoy new seating upstairs. Open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 263-9012.

9 Pita Pit

524 Church St. Artisan coffee roaster in the center of the Granary Arts District.

Connected to the roastery, Studio 524 Coffee Lounge serves coffees dripped to order on the brew bar, plus pastries and burritos. 265-5553.

208 N. Fourth Ave. Open at 6 a.m. daily and roasting top-grade beans. Espresso drinks, drip coffee bar, teas, handcrafted milkshakes and real fruit smoothies, breakfast burritos, and homemade soups.

Enjoy daily appetizers; now serving beer and wine. 265-9382.

DELICATESSEN & MARKET

5 Joe’s Philly Cheesesteaks 102 Church St. Authentic Philly cheesesteaks served with choice of cheese; also serving burgers, hot dogs, fries, BLTs, vegetarian options, smoothies, shakes and fresh-made salads. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 263-1444.

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6 Miller’s Country Store

10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. Enjoy a fresh Tully’s espresso and treat your sweet tooth to a warm scone. Freshbaked pastries, breakfast burritos and lunch specials. Fine selection of beer and wine. 263-9555.

476534 Highway 95, Ponderay (one block south of Walmart). Fresh homemade pastas and sauces made on-site, including salad and artisan bread as part of a complete, take-home dinner package. Fine wines, artisan cheeses and gourmet groceries.

263-1352.

116 N. First Ave. Great-tasting food that’s healthy, fresh and served fast.

Lean, savory meats grilled to perfection, a large choice of crisp, fresh veggies, and exotic toppings. Try a Gyro, Chicken Souvlaki, a vegetarian Falafel or one of the breakfast pitas. 263-8989.

0 The Readery 209 N. First Ave. Feed your mind, body and soul at Sandpoint’s favorite cafe and bookstore, featuring fresh, local and organic fare, coffee and espresso drinks, new and used books. Breakfasts, sandwiches, soups all made fresh. Open daily 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. 597-7866.

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t The Floating Restaurant

Dining Guide

- Tango Cafe

Highway 200, East Hope at Hope Marine Services. The lake’s only floating restaurant and lounge. Regional fare, fresh seafood, local products. Handmade breads, desserts, soups and sauces. Sit outside during summer and enjoy the views. Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch.

264-5311.

414 Church St. In the Panhandle State Bank atrium, Tango is a favorite among locals for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Signature omelettes and lunch specials, fresh-baked goods, and a barista bar. Take-out dinner menu. 263-9514.

= Winter Ridge

y Forty-One South

703 Lake St. Natural foods grocery store and a great place to pick up a quick meal at the Grab and Go Bar featuring dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner until 6 p.m. Open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 265-8135.

41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle. South end of the Long Bridge. Waterfront dining in an elegant lodge setting; exquisite service paired with innovative cuisine make for one of North Idaho’s premier dining experiences. Open 7 nights a week, weekend brunch. 265-2000.

ECLECTIC / FINE DINING

u Pie Hut

q Chimney Rock at Schweitzer

502 Church St. A gourmet café where the locals like to eat. Daily lunch specials include homemade soups, panini, pot pies, beef pasties, quiches and salads, plus fruit and cream pies. Open Tuesday through Saturday.

265-2208.

10000 Schweitzer Mountain Rd. Fireplaces, comfortable seating in the bar and a diverse selection of cuisine.

Extensive menu includes high-quality steaks, hearty pasta, scrumptious salads and exquisite seafood. Open daily during the summer. 255-3071.

i Sweet Lou’s

Two locations! In Hope: 46624 Highway 200, overlooking Lake Pend Oreille in the Holiday Shores Marina. 264-5999. In Ponderay: 477272 U.S. Highway 95.

Open every day, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Terrific traditional and regional fare.

263-1381.

w Connie’s Café 323 Cedar St. Historic hospitality!

Landmark Sandpoint restaurant is known as “a coffee shop with dinner house quality.” Serving made-fromscratch breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes of the highest quality.

255-2227.

o Trinity at City Beach

58 Bridge St. Enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner on the shore of Lake Pend Oreille.

Waterfront dining with an outstanding view and menu featuring seafood, steaks, salads and appetizers; great selection of wines, beers and cocktails. Open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. 255-7558.

e Di Luna’s Café

207 Cedar St. American bistro café offering hand-cut steaks, homemade soups and vegetarian cuisine. Farm to Table Dinners monthly and dinner concerts. Open Tuesday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch. 263-0846.

PUB-STYLE

r DISH at Dover Bay

At Dover Bay Resort. Casual fine dining on the water. DISH at Dover Bay is open for the season, serving lunch and dinner seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. American grill menu with Pacific Rim influences. Happy hour daily. 265-6467.

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p Eichardt’s Pub & Grill

212 Cedar St. Relaxing pub and grill mixes casual dining with seriously good food. More than a dozen beers on tap, good wines and live music. Upstairs game room with fireplace. Locally supported since 1994. Open daily at 11:30 a.m.

263-4005.

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AMENITIES KEY

Waterfront Dining

Outdoor Dining

Full Bar

41 Lakeshore Dr., Sagle. Premier sushi restaurant adjacent to Forty-One South. Sushi bar and magnificent sunset views overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.

Open for dinner seven nights a week, and lunch Monday through Friday. 2652001.

WINE BARS & LOUNGES

] Bangkok On Second

202 N. Second Ave. Authentic Thai food, including a wide variety of vegetarian; fine selection of wine and beer, Thai tea and coffee. Lunch MondayFriday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 265-4149.

g Coldwater Creek Wine Bar

311 N. First Ave. An upscale wine bar with more than 35 wines by the glass, gourmet appetizers, lunch, desserts and soup, full coffee bar, local and regional microbrews.

Live music every Friday and Saturday night. 263-6971.

h La Rosa Club

\ Ivano’s Ristoranté & Caffè/Del Lago

102 S. First Ave. Italian dining accompanied by classic wines. Pasta, fresh seafood and steaks, veal, chicken, and vegetarian entrees. Gluten-free menu. Dinner served seven nights a week starting at 4:30 p.m. 263-0211.

105 S. First Ave. Casual gathering place featuring craft cocktails and martinis along with an innovative food menu with plates and bites. Fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. 255-2100.

a Jalapeño’s Restaurant

j Laughing Dog Brewing

s The Little Olive and

k Pend d’Oreille Winery

314 N. Second Ave. Authentic Mexican food in a fun and friendly environment serving traditional and unusual southof-the-border specialties, plus even a few gringo dishes! Full cantina bar with traditional frosty margaritas. Banquet room and outside deck. 263-2995.

Big Tuna

124 S. Second Ave. Serving lunch and dinner in a quaint setting. Mix of Greek-inspired dishes made with the freshest ingredients possible. Right next door is the Big Tuna - order a sushi roll.

Extensive beer and wine menu.

597-7499.

d Second Avenue Pizza

215 S. Second Ave. Savor the piledhigh specialty pizzas, loaded with fresh ingredients on homemade dough, or calzones, specialty salads and sandwiches. Beer and wine, take-andbake pizzas available. Free delivery; open daily. 263-9321.

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Wi-Fi Available

f Shoga @ Forty-One South

312 N. First Ave. Handcrafted ales in a family-friendly downtown atmosphere, brewing top-of-the-line beers and root beer. Menu includes traditional and updated pub fare – toasted sandwiches, hearty soups and gourmet hamburgers.

255-4351.

REGIONAL/ETHNIC

Open Late Night

Dining Guide

[ MickDuff’s Brewing Co.

Serves Breakfast

1109 Fontaine Dr., Ponderay. Take a tour, and taste handcrafted ales, IPAs, stouts, and the hoppiest beer anywhere. Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Firkin Friday, first Friday of every month, to taste a specially fermented flavor of beer. 263-9222.

220 Cedar St. Quality and elegance in vinting at Idaho’s 2003 Winery of the Year. Local, award-winning wines.

Tasting room and Bistro Rouge menu daily. Home and garden items. Frequent special events and live music Fridays.

265-8545.

l 219 Lounge

219 N. First Ave. A “locals” favorite proudly serving Sandpoint for more than 75 years, offering beer, wine and cocktails. Enjoy a “219er” by local brewery Laughing Dog. Open seven days a week, 365 days a year from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

263-9934.

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Advertiser Index A Glass Act 114 Affordable Home Care-Clay Williams 114 Albertson / Barlow Insurance 116 All Seasons Garden & Floral 60 Alpine Shop 14 Anderson’s Autobody 69 Archer Vacation Condos 59 Artist Studio Tour 60 Art Works Gallery 60 Barry Fisher Custom Homes 104 Bird Aviation Museum & Invention Center 14 Bonner County Daily Bee 68 Bonner General Hospital 16 Bonner Soil & Water Conservation District 46 Carousel Emporium 44 Cedar Street Bridge Public Market 2 Century 21/Riverstone Company 13 C.M. Brewster & Co. Real Estate 34 CO-OP Country Store 23 Coeur d’Alene Casino 90 Coldwell Banker 113 Dan Fogarty Custom Builder 114 Dana Construction Company 100 Davies, Tom D.D.S PLLC 22 Dover Bay 50 DSS Custom Homes 102 Eve’s Leaves 26 Evergreen Realty 6 - Charesse Moore 119 Family Health Center 53 Farmers Market 26 Ferrara Wildlife Photography 61 Festival at Sandpoint 93 Finan McDonald Clothing Company 33 Floating Restaurant, The 125 Forty-One South 126 Fritz’s Frypan 30 Hallans Gallery 61 Hesstronics 42

Holiday Inn Express Home Sweet Home Consignment Hope Marine Services Idaho Rustic International Selkirk Loop Ivano’s Ristorante James Hann Design Jensen, Brian CPA Jon Sayler Architect Karen Robinson Art Keokee Keokee Books Koch, Dr. Paul E. - Walmart Vision Center KPND Radio Lake Pend Oreille Cruises La Quinta Inn Laughing Dog Brewing Lewis and Hawn Dentistry Litehouse Little Olive Restaurant Local Pages, The McMahon & Easterbrook MeadowBrook Home & Gift Meyer’s Sport Tees Miller’s Country Store & Deli Northern Quest Casino Northwest Handmade Old Church In Hope Pacific Construction Company Paint Bucket, The Panhandle State Bank Pend Oreille Shores Resort Pend d’Oreille Winery Petal Talk Ponderay Garden Center Pucci Construction Redtail Gallery ReStore Habitat for Humanity River Journal, The

19 58 55 71 93 122 112 116 111 60 116 136 117 39 53 62 15 71 17 131 70 101 45 38 127 66 28 58 106 70 24 53 32 32 18 101 59 100 38

Sandpoint Building Supply 107 Sandpoint Business & Events Center 21 Sandpoint Magazine Subscriptions 71 Sandpoint Marine & Motorsports 69 SandpointMovers.com 114 Sandpoint Online 137 Sandpoint Optometry 117 Sandpoint Orthopedics 63 Sandpoint Property Management 31 Sandpoint Sports 52 Sandpoint Storage 119 Sandpoint Super Drug 15 Sandpoint Vacation Rentals 5 Sandpoint Waldorf School 58 Schweitzer Mountain Resort 139 Sears 49 Seasons at Sandpoint 9 Selkirk Craftsman Furniture 61 Selle Valley Construction 109, 115 Seneacquoteen Meadows 73 Silver Wing 38 Sleep’s Cabins 52 STCU (Spokane Teachers Credit Union) 69 Steckler & Wynns Financial Group 48 Suarez Engineering 101 Summit Insurance 20 Sunshine Goldmine 62 SWAC 68 Sweet Lou’s 123 Sweet Magnolia Bed & Breakfast 21 Taylor Insurance 41 Timber Frames by Collin Beggs 114 Tomlinson Sandpoint Sotheby’s 3, 94-97, 140 Trinity at City Beach 4 219 Lounge 131 Western Pleasure Guest Ranch 52 Wildflower Day Spa 117 Winter Ridge Natural Foods 122 Zany Zebra 59

Go Exploring with Keokee Guide Books 800-880-3573

www.SandpointGeneralStore.com

NOW IN PRINT!

$26

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SUMMER 2013

5/8/13 9:45 AM

Marketplace Your Buick, GMC truck dealer. New and used sales and leasing. Full service, parts and body shop.

Highway 95 N., Ponderay, 263-2118, 1-800-430-5050. www.AlpineMotors.net

North Idaho Insurance

The best skin care Sandpoint has to offer! Extensive menu of facial and body treatments.

Full-body waxing. Serene, relaxing environment. Geneé Jo Baker, certified esthetician. sugeeskincare@yahoo.com, 324 S. Florence Ave., 263-6205.

Over 26 years of rental management experience.

Tenant screening, rent collection, accounting, maintenance and marketing.

Residential, commercial and mini storage.

Friendly, prompt service. 204 E. Superior, 263-4033. www.RLPropertyManagement.com

See what life is like with alpacas!

Shop for wonderful alpaca fiber hats, scarves, sweaters, rugs, throws and yarn. Open year-round, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 1635 Rapid Lightning Rd., 265-2788. www.

FromTheHeartRanch.com A marketing communications firm providing Web design and hosting, search engine optimization and marketing, graphic design, public relations, editorial and media consultation. 405 Church St., 263-3573, 800-880-3573. www.keokee.com

A full-service, independent insurance agency serving northern Idaho since 1978. Business or personal risks: property, liability, workers comp, bonding, home, auto, life and health. 102 Superior St., 263-2194. NorthIdahoIns.com

Scandinavian countries represented in this specialty shop. Kitchen items, table tops, candles, electric candleholders, books, cards, rugs, pewter Vikings, mugs, Danish iron candleholders and year-round Christmas. 319 N. First Ave., 263-7722.

Get in the Marketplace!

To advertise here, call or e-mail: 263-3573 ext. 123 or adsales@keokee.com

Free pickup for quality furniture donations. Find treasures, weekdays 10 to 5, Saturdays 10 to 2. Proceeds benefit LPOHS students, senior citizens.

Volunteers welcome! 101 N. Boyer, 263-3247.

Special gifts for special people. Vera Bradley bags, Big Sky Carvers, Baggallini, Tyler and BeanPod candles, souvenirs, balloon bouquets, Hallmark cards, books, gift wrap, stationery. 306 N. First Ave., 263-2811.

Offering the latest bestsellers, office supplies, machine supplies and free delivery in Sandpoint.

Order online. 201 Cedar St., 263-2417. www.Vanderfords.com Protecting your real estate investments since 2003! We provide a wide range of property protection and vacation rental management services for seasonal residents and vacation home owners of North Idaho.

Available 24/7 for emergencies! www.

NorthridgePropertyManagement.com. Jeremy 208-290-6847 or Mike 208-290-6531

Property Management, LLC

... there’s a lot goin’ on!

Property Management, LLC

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remarkable community web site Events • Visitor Guide Movies • Lodging & Dining Recreation • Job Center FREE classified ads Weather & Travel Info • News Sandpoint Q&A Forums

Click to

www.SandpointOnline.com SUMMER 2013

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Sandpoint of View

‘Sprouts’

He’s Sandpoint’s guardian gardener

By Oriana Korol

S

prouts, the spry, magical almost, white-bearded Sandpoint character, catches people off guard with an outstretched hand and a twinkle in his eye, offering, “Plum?”

He is a gleaner of sorts, a rogue arborist adopting trees in need and spreading their sweet, fibrous wealth around the community. Some newcomers have woken up to him on a ladder hand-pruning their tree. Usually, after he explains that he’s taken care of the tree for 25 years, the owner is happy to let him keep at it.

Despite appearances, Sprouts, known on the books as 70-year-old Jeffrey Rich, proclaimed during our first conversation, “I refuse to grow up!” and immediately began plotting with me over his current battle: the damn gophers chewing on the blueberry roots: “I mean, I’d chew ’em too if I were a gopher. Bet they sure are tasty. … Cats! That’s what we need.

An army of cats.”

In the spring he prunes, in the summer and fall he harvests. The dried fruit lasts some folks through the winter. He used to hand out wheatgrass juice at the Farmers Market, but now just hands out fruit and stories around town.

He noticed the need back in the ’80s: fruit trees growing wild and thick without pruning, fruit rotting on the ground. Trees started to go missing.

So he stepped in. There’s not a tree he drives by that he doesn’t notice, doesn’t want to care for.

“I was just asked to take care of this huge grandmother plum tree. Buckets of fruit. Fill one up one day, and the next day another bucket! Buckets of fruit!

And the owner was gonna chop it down if I didn’t agree to take care of it!”

“Do you get anything in return?” I asked.

“Raspberries! Plums! Apples!” He laughed. “The other day, a man gave me

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moose. I don’t usually eat meat … but moose!” His eyes lit up.

“Do you ever get paid?” my housemate chimed in.

“Well, this one woman gives me $50.”

With the longest to-do list of anyone I’ve met, he wants to recruit volunteers.

He’s hoping for young people – nimble folks with some time on their hands. He’s also ready to get out the computer and find a grant for a crane with a bucket.

“I’m getting old, and so are a lot of the trees’ owners. Can’t climb like we used to.”

It’s hard to imagine Sprouts on a computer, but after following him around for two days, I wouldn’t be surprised if he built his from scraps. It seems, too, that Sandpoint is the perfect place for him – so many people willing to trade, loving eccentricity and in the process of reconnecting with the earth.

I plan to be the first volunteer. In fact, I already pruned my first blueberry bush,

Rogue arborist Jeffrey “Sprouts” Rich cares for local fruit trees and freely shares the juicy treasures they yield. PHOTO BY BILLIE JEAN GERKE

snipping dead branches off, taping split ones together, covering the wounds so disease can’t enter the hardwood, and when I asked if I’d done it right, he smiled and nodded.

“Now they feel cared for.” He winked.

Somehow, I felt cared for, too.

He used to want to be a hobbit, living underground (I suspect he has hairy feet), but of late his thoughts have been with the birds. When in his presence I find myself soaring between the lightheartedness of the sky and the deeply rooted, heavy energy of the earth.

Perhaps in his refusal to grow up, Sprouts has grown out and around, up and down, finding a unique, craggy wholeness of being much like the great, old grandmother trees he prunes.

SUMMER 2013

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Schweitzer offers all kinds of fun under the sun, whether it’s flying down our Zip Line or simply relaxing by the pool.

It’s up to you how much or how little you experience. Either way, you’ll enjoy breathtaking scenery that revives both body and mind. This summer, get off the couch and onto a chairlift. Elevate Your Summer.

SUMMER EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Escape the heat in town and come up for some fresh, cool air.

Stay two nights in the Selkirk Lodge, White Pine Lodge, or any of our condos and your 3rd night is on us!

schweitzer.com Sandpoint Mag Summer.indd 1 Coverpages.indd 139

JUNE 28.......Opening Day JUNE 30.......Summer Celebration JULY 20.........Mountain Music Festival AUG 4............Huckleberry Festival Labor Day....Fall Fest Weekend

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Intriguing Some homes arouse curiosity.

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Search for your own Intriguing at

TSSIR.com

International Realty Affiliates LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC.

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