Benewah County Hospice will host the Tree of Memories memorial service at 5:15 p.m. Friday at the courthouse in St. Maries.

The nonprofit organization has organized the ceremony for more than 20 years.

“I’ve been involved with so many people that have benefited from the program and I myself have had cancer and they helped me through it,” she said. “The organization does great things for our community.”

Jeanne Johnson puts together the personalized ribbons that decorate the Benewah County Hospice tree and garland each Christmas in the county courthouse. The nonprofit group organizes a memorial service each year. This year's service is 5:15 p.m. Friday.

Because we’re ready.

Of course, if you’re familiar with us you know we’re always ready to celebrate each season. Winter is no different, and we are about to ring her in.

Saturday marks the annual Christmas in St. Maries celebration. The day-long event celebrates small-town merriment with horse-drawn wagon rides, open fire pits along Main Avenue, a multitude of Christmas-themed contests and shopping.

Annie Fredericks, Sue Shoemaker, Kristina Mills and Shirley Ackerman have helped organize this year's Christmas in St. Maries celebration. The annual celebration is Saturday. Events are planned throughout the day and will culminate with the Lighted Christmas Parade at 5 p.m.

Christmas in St. Maries Schedule of Events

 12:45 p.m.

Santa’s arrival on Main Ave.

1 – 4 p.m.

Horse-drawn wagon rides

Professional photos with Santa and Timber Country

Letters to Santa at The Paperhouse

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Contest (register at Chamber’s table)

1 – 5 p.m.

Stroll onMain

4 p.m.

Line up at Jack’s Pharmacy for Lighted Christmas Parade

Entries for Dashing for Dough contest must be submitted to Chamber’s table

5 p.m.

Dashing for Dough drawing

Lighted Christmas Parade (travels from Jack’s downMain Ave)

All day

Craft fairs at Eagles Lodge, Grub Box and Four Seasons Realty

Fire and wine tasting and Origami Owl open house at BrickWall

Annual BetterCARE Fundraiser Sunday

The Christmas spriit carries over into Sunday and well into next week as the celebrating continues. The annual BetterCARE fundraiser will open with a social hour at 2 p.m. in the gymnasium of the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene. The semi-formal dinner, catered by Darcie Humphrey, and program, performed by students from Inspirations School of Dance, will follow at 3 p.m.

Portions of "The Nutcracker" ballet will be presented at BetterCARE's annual Christmas Gala this year, Dec. 8, by students at Inspirations School of Dance. Here, Taylor Humphrey and Nancy Becktel are pictured with Scrubbie, the BetterCARE bear.

The dancers will perform portions of the Nutcracker ballet as the entertainment for this year’s fundraiser organized by BetterCARE, a nonprofit foundation that supports projects at Benewah Community Hospital. Since its inception in 1987, the group has raised more than $375,000 for hospital improvements and projects. The gala is the group’s largest annual fundraiser. Last year the event netted about $12,500.

Tickets cost $25 and area available from any BetterCARE member or at the hospital lobby.

Community dinner Monday

Twenty-four turkeys and 70 pies will feed the St. Maries community this year at the annual Christmas dinner, which is organized by theNazareneChurch.

This year’s dinner is from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge Monday, Dec. 9.

Holly Holly, Jamie Spooner, Sue McDonald and Becky Luther, along with Michelle McDaniel (not pictued) are organizing this year's Community Christmas Dinner, which is done by the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene. The dinner is Monday, Dec. 9.

One hundred and six volunteers make the effort possible. Five ladies – Jamie Spooner, Holly Holly, Michelle McDaniel, Sue McDonnell and Becky Luther – comprise this year’s committee. Each has helped with the effort in some small way before deciding to be a part of the committee.

Although deliveries are not available, to-go boxes are for those who are not able to sit down and eat Monday night.

For more information, call the church at 245-4594.

This year will mark the 10th year Adie Darden has served as the chairman for the Elks Christmas Baskets.

It will also be her last.

Her daughter, Sara, plans to manage the effort next year. This year, the two are co-chairing the effort in hopes that Sara will take it over next year.

Sara Darden and her mom Adie are this year's driving force behind the annual Elks Christmas Baskets. Sara plans to take over as the chair for her mom next year. Adie has been the chair of the effort for 10 years, and her daughter has helped her each year she's led the effort.

“It’s not that I’m burned out,” Adie said, “but I want to get some fresh blood involved. And they are willing to get involved.”

The idea to have Sara take over next year came up when the mother-daughter duo were discussing this year’s effort. Sara has been involved with the effort as long as her mom.

“I’ve done it forever and it’s a ton of fun,” Sara said. “One day, I was just talking about how maybe I would take it over one year and she said ‘well how about next year?’”

Sara said she knows the ins and outs of the project, but admits she will have to learn a bit more before she takes over. Adie agreed to train her daughter this year before putting her in charge of next year.

“I’ll still be around to help her if she needs it,” Adie added.

The effort, which has been around for years, provided baskets to 226 families last year. This year, families across Benewah County should request a basket by Dec. 15.

The baskets traditionally include a complete Christmas meal: a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, vegetables, fresh fruit and a pumpkin pie.

“We also add in other items, but that is what makes the basic box,” Sara said. “We try to give people a good variation of items.”

Gifts are also provided for children who are living in the household. After Thanksgiving, the Elks will put up the Tree of Sharing at Archie’s IGA and Harvest Foods. Tags on the tree will provide information for a child who is in need of a present. If one chooses to do so, they can purchase a present for that specific child. Gifts should not be wrapped.

In addition to gift donations, the Elks are also collecting non-perishable food items for the baskets.

“Everything that is donated goes to local families,” Adie said. “It will all stay here in the community. If someone doesn’t want to shop, we also welcome cash donations.”

The Elks will be assembling this year’s boxes beginning at 9 a.m. Dec. 15. Everyone is invited to come and help assemble the boxes.

“We had more than 100 people show up last year,” Sara said. “People are welcome to show up throughout the day and its crazy how many people do show up.”

Adie said the boxes have numbers on them during the assembling of boxes and the Elks are very discreet about those who are receiving boxes.

Baskets will be available for pickup or delivery Dec. 17 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Volunteers will not leave baskets if recipients are not home.

Families can request a basket at the St. Maries Food Bank or by calling the Elks Lodge at 245-1418. Those who want baskets will need to leave their name, phone number, number of people in the household, ages and gender of children and specify delivery or pickup.

I know, I know.

I get that a lot of people don’t want to decorate, or sing carols or even talk about Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving has had its turn, but this is too exciting not to mention. You see, every year we put on a big event that turns St. Maries into an old-fashioned snow globe: We roast chestnuts on the sidewalks, block off Main Avenue and set up fire pits in the middle of the street, we visit with Santa and our friends, and we shop at local businesses owned by our neighbors. But mostly we spread seasonal cheer.

This year, Christmas in St. Maries has started early, and we’re kind of excited about it. A new holiday contest was introduced last weekend that encourages shoppers to spend their money locally. The “Ho, Ho, Ho Dashing for Dough” Shopping Giveway is the newest addition to the annual celebration.

The St. Maries Chamber of Commerce and local businesses are sponsoring the contest. Shoppers who spend $10 or more at 15 participating businesses will be entered into a drawing to win $400 in chamber gift certificates. A second place prize of $100 in gift certificates will also be awarded.

Mykel Jensen, 4, receives a candy cane for getting his photo taken with Santa Claus during the 2012 Christmas in St. Maries celebration.

A total of 25 businesses are participating, including Country Fair, Timber Country, IGA, Jack’s Pharmacy, The Paperhouse, Grub Box, Taco Shack, Harvest Foods, Junction Drive-In, Suntan Etc., St. Maries Saw & Cycle, BrickWall, Hughes Ace Hardware, Triple XXX, Pizza Factory, KNRH Printing,NAPA, St. Maries Co-Op, Blue Goose, Heidi’s Sandwich and Catering, Big River Designs, Idaho Rigging, Main Street Espresso, Cabin City and Inspirations Hair Salon by Sabrina.

Punch cards for the contest can be picked up at any participating business, and all cards must be submitted to the Chamber’s Christmas in St. Maries table by 4 p.m. during the festivities, Saturday, Dec. 7. Winners will be drawn at 5 p.m.

Santa Claus arrives by horse-drawn wagon with a load of children.

Also new this year is a snowman building and decorating contest. A $25 gift certificate will be awarded to the first place winners of each age group. Other festivities included are horse-drawn wagon rides, professional photos with Santa, letters to Santa, a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Contest, the Stroll on Main, craft fairs and the main event, the Lighted Christmas Parade.

Mira Cook looks at the trees entered into the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree contest on Main Avenue during the 2012 Christmas in St. Maries festivities.

Three local heroes have been commemorated in such a way that that their stories will be told nationwide.

Local Medal of Honor recipients Vernon Baker, Lloyd McCarter and Gregory Boyington are listed on a stamp booklet released by the U.S. Postal Service last week.

The Medal of Honor booklet is the first of a new format for the Postal Service, the Prestige Folio. This format includes a large sheet folded in half to form an 8 1/2- by 7 1/2-inch booklet. The first issuance honors Medal of Honor recipients of World War II and includes historic photographs of the last 12 living recipients, photographs of two Forever Stamps that feature the Army and Navy versions of the medal, a list of recipients, information on the award and 18 Forever Stamps.

Kari Turner and Carolyn Crowe of the St. Maries post office display the new World War II Medal of Honor recipients stamp booklet, now available at the office.

Vernon Joseph Baker was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism in action April 5-6, 1945 near Viagreggio, Italy. He did not receive his medal for more than 50 years after the war because he was a black man and a victim of the policies of a segregated Army and country. Baker, who lived in the Benewah Valley with his wife Heidy, died from brain cancer in 2010 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Lloyd McCarter was born and raised in St. Maries and attended local schools. He was an athlete in high school and attended Gonzaga on a football scholarship. He enlisted in the Army in 1941. Mr. McCarter died in 1956 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, a Marine Corps aviator in WWII and the leader of the renowned Black Sheep Squadron, was born in Coeur d’Alene in 1912. He spent his childhood years in St. Maries, where he attended school and had his first flight. Toward the end of his second tour Mr. Boyington was shot down over the Pacific and captured by the Japanese. He spent 20 months as a prisoner of war. He died in 1988 at the age of 75.

The St. Maries post office has 200 booklets available for purchase for $9.20 each. For more information, call the local office at (208) 245-2031.

Saturdays were a highlight for Judith Brooks when she was a child.

Each week, after having saved her pennies, she and her family would head to a red and white store on Fourth Street in Coeur d’Alene.

“We’d buy penny candy,” Mrs. Brooks said. “They had a whole glass front of all the things you could get. We could even buy two things for one penny it was quite a deal. It was a favorite hangout as children.”

Mrs. Brooks, who now resides in Santa, recounts the memory in a short story which was recently published by Hometown Memories with a collection of other stories from the region called “A Living History of Northern and Mountain West Idaho: Coal Oil Lamps and Cattle in the Crops.”

The book includes 188 stories written by Idaho residents. Mrs. Brooks was one of eight local authors who had a short story published in the book.
A company based in North Carolina, Hometown Memories has published more than 60 books about various regions in the United States. They ask for submissions from residents and compile them into a collection of stories.

Karl Wetter of Plummer is one of several area residents whose stories were printed in a book recently published by a North Caronlina firm. The book features 188 submissions by Idaho residents.

According to their website, the purpose of the books is to “preserve the spirit, character and memory of a time that will never be seen again.”
In addition to her short story, Mrs. Brooks had also published a children’s book and says she has started to do quite a bit of writing. She is a retired school teacher.

St. Maries’ residents Maxine Magers, Sam Cummings, Jeanne Robinson and June Pomerinke also had stories published in the book.

In her story, Mrs. Magers recalls memories of her fifth-grade teacher, Ida Wannamaker.

“She did a travel club and we picked two states that we wrote to and asked for information,” Mrs. Magers said. “I wrote to a state representative, Ralph Harding, and he sent me a nice letter back and a picture of him sitting at a desk talking to President Kennedy.”

Mrs. Magers has lived in St. Maries for her entire life. She worked as an instructional aide at the St. Maries school district and the Avery school. She said this was the second time her work has been published.

Born and raised in Kellogg, Mr. Cummings recounted stories of growing up in the Deadwood Gulch area. In his story, he recalls there was an ore car railroad that ran between the smelter and zinc plant.

“Whenever I wanted to go to Kellogg, I could just bike, walk or stand by the track and jump onto the train,” Mr. Cummings said.
He also remembers picking up batteries and copper wire to recycle and his mother doing laundry in an old ringer washer.

Mr. Cummings said he doesn’t do a lot of writing, but thought it would be fun to respond to the call for submissions.

“I just shared my childhood and teenage memories,” he said.

He worked as a teacher for the St. Maries school district and also as a probation officer for Benewah County before he retired.

Mrs. Robinson recounts a summer that she and her mother joined her father, who worked for the Forest Service, at Loop Creek up above Avery.

“Since my father would be there all summer, we would often go and live in the same area. There was a building there and we got permission from the ranger to live there,” she said.

During this particular summer, a large band of sheep was brought in by train and the owner of the sheep had been granted a permit to let them graze in the St. Joe National Forest. One of the herders gave a lamb to Mrs. Robinson’s father who gifted it to her.

“All summer, Lamb was my constant companion,” she recounts. “Wherever I went, Lamb went, too.”

Mrs. Robinson moved to St. Maries in 1926 with her parents and has lived in the area since. She worked at the telephone company and kept books for her husband’s logging business.

Though she does not consider herself a prolific writer, Mrs. Pomerinke had already published two books about her family before she submitted a short piece for the Hometown Memories book.

In her story, she talks about her family’s first car, a 1925 Model T Ford pickup. She grew up 10 miles outside of Pierce. The main town, Orofino, was 25 miles away. Mrs. Pomerinke writes she learned to walk well as an early age.

“It was exciting when dad brought the pickup home,” she said. “It was a thrill to ride in the car up to our homestead.”

Later, her father went to work for the Ford factory in Chicago and made enough money to buy a brand new 1930 Dodge, the car she learned to drive in.

Mrs. Pomerinke moved to St. Maries in 1949. She was a stay-at-home mom and also worked full time for Robert Baltz.

Two Plummer residents also had their stories included in the collection.

Rita Kidder wrote about the childhood memories she has of her horses. In her story, Ms. Kidder talks about how as a little girl she had a love for horses.

“I can remember every one of them and their names,” she said. “My dad used them for work on the farm.”

The family lived on a farm near Kendrick. Not only did the horses work on the farm, but they also provided transportation from the homestead into town. Her father’s riding horse was also the same horse that helped put hay into the barn by pulling a cable.

Ms. Kidder moved to the Plummer area when she was 23 years old. She said she does not do much writing.

“I sort of did this on whim. It was something I could sit down and do fairly quickly,” she said.

Karl Wetter has had eight books published. A retired teacher and principal, he enjoys writing. For this project, he wrote about a time when he and a friend went out to trap rabbits.

“It was World War II and they needed rabbit hides to line aviator caps,” he said. “You were paid a dollar for each hide.”

During the camping trip, which was over Christmas vacation, he and his friend set up their traps and camped overnight in the woods.

“We were woken up the next morning because a half a ton of snow fell on us,” he said. “We ended up heading home without any rabbits.”

Mr. Wetter has lived in Plummer all of his life.

Worley resident Joe Bloomsburg also had a short story published in the book. It recalled an episode that happened more than 60 years ago.
Mr. Bloomsburg recounted how a lone cow walked over his cattle guard and into his field. He figured the best instrument to use to herd her was a 410 shotgun.

“I went down to the house and got it and shot her carefully in the side,” Mr. Bloomsburg said.

The cow headed for home and did not return. Two weeks later, Mr. Bloomsburg was fetching the mail, when the cow’s owner approached him.

“He asked me if I’d had trouble with his cows getting into my field. I said no except for the one. He told me that what’s he thought and that he’d been keeping her penned up. Up by the barn I saw her and there was an eighteen inch circle on her side where I’d shot her.”

Mr. Bloomsburg said he’s written extensively, but hasn’t had a lot published. He writes books about his life as well as science-fiction. He moved to the Worley area when he was 15 and has resided there since.

Those who would like to purchase a book can call (877) 491-8802.

The investment Benewah Community Hospital made in its building is now winning awards – big awards within the construction industry.

One of the construction companies that worked on the BCH project has been recognized for its work.

Robins and Morton’s Nashville, Tenn. office won two Excellence in Construction awards from the Associated Builders and Contractors for the work they did on Benewah Community Hospital.

Robins and Morton completed the hospital in a joint-venture partnership with Polin and Young of Coeur d’Alene.

The new Benewah Community Hospital tower and emergency room expansion was first recognized in the ABC Alabama Chapter ceremony Oct. 3. Robins and Morton won a merit award in the Healthcare $10 to $25 million category.

The project won the top honor of an Eagle award in the same category from the Mid-Tennessee ABC Chapter.

The ABC Excellence in Construction awards recognize outstanding construction projects across the United States. The winning teams and projects represent the best of the best for safety, quality, teamwork, planning and innovation.

The award recognizes individuals and companies that exemplify the high quality of merit-shop workmanship in their projects while upholding a dedication to building projects on time and under budget.

the $29 million renovation and expansion of Benewah Community Hospital provided updated and additional medical services to a landlocked campus. Areas include 16 private patient rooms, imaging and emergency departments, a physician’s clinic, physical therapy department and parking expansion.

Construction on the new hospital started in the fall of 2010 and the project was completed May 2013.

… or a newly built home, a newspaper subscription, a couple gallons of heating oil for your home, an insurance policy, a prepaid cellphone plan … the list goes on and on.

And that’s the point of a new Web site developed to showcase many of the great products you can buy right here in St. Maries.

Show Me St. Maries was created and built to highlight St. Maries businessmen and women and retailers and to show off the good thing that we have going on right here.

But mostly it was produced to tell the stories behind the businesses, to peel back the layers behind the advertisements.

We all know what a certain store has to offer (gasoline, books, DVDs, etc); what we might not know is why they do what they do.

Take a second and get to know some of your favorite businesses a  bit better. Learn about their families, their motivations and their civic-mindedness.

If we take a second to look close enough, we’ll notice that we’re all bound by a common thread. That thread can vary, of course, but it usually comes back to family.

As you look through each businesses’ pages, you’ll find that family is a common motivator for each company. It’s the driving force behind what fuels each of us, business owner or not.

So, start here: 

poke through the pages, and share our site with your friends, family and whoever else might be interested in learning more about the people they do business with every day.

Thank you.

Clearly I stole the title.

It’s a blatant ripoff from one of my favorite series of books (now a very popular – and quite good – television show on HBO).

In this context, however, the connotation is completely different from how it’s used in the books and on TV. Winter is not a bad word here in North Idaho, and we don’t use it as a warning.

We revel in it. Here, we love winter. We play, we explore, we do good things – heck – we plan events around the season.

Events like one of our most anticipated downtown affairs, Christmas in St. Maries.

Sabrina and Aubrey Hansen are pulled by sled dog in the 2012 parade.

This year’s celebration is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, and plans are already underway. By all accounts, it’ll be just as nuanced as the previous efforts with the usual focus on the detail that makes it incredibly special, such as horse-drawn carriage rides, a visit from Santa, open fire pits in the streets, and deals in every store. Small-town Christmas done right.

So, yes. Winter is coming, and we couldn’t be more excited.

Despite his own accomplishments in the sport, the real reward for wrestling champion Ken Tams has been the time he’s invested in his students.

Mr. Tams will be inducted to the Lumberjack Booster Club’s Hall of Fame at its fundraising banquet Nov. 15.

A 1967 graduate of Payette High School, Mr. Tams started wrestling his freshman year after his driver’s education instructor asked him if he’d ever thought about the sport. He had said no. The sport, however, would soon be a staple in his life.

“I enjoyed the fact that it is a dual-purpose sport,” Mr. Tams said. “It is an individual sport, but then you also contribute to the team scores. So you are trying to win for yourself as well as the team.”

Ken Tams will be inducted into the Lumberjack Booster Club's Hall of Fame Nov. 15. He's coached wrestling since 1973 in St. Maries. His wife, Kathy, is also pictured.

During his high school wrestling career, Mr. Tams was a two-time state champion and lettered all four years in the sport. He also participated in football, track and baseball.

Mr. Tams earned a wrestling scholarship that included three years at Brigham Young University. He placed second in the Western Athletic Conference as a junior and was the conference champion as a senior.

After earning teaching credentials at Boise State University, Mr. Tams took a job at St. Maries High School as assistant wrestling coach in 1973.

“I’ve been coaching some kind of wrestling since then,” he said.

Fours years after he accepted the position as assistant wrestling coach, he was named head coach. Under his tutelage, the Lumberjacks claimed six league titles and a fourth place finish at state. He also coached high school football and girls softball.

In addition to coaching, he taught at the middle and high schools. He served as the athletic director for seven years. He was later hired as the middle school principal and served in that capacity until he retired in 2005.

Mr. Tams was instrumental in starting the North Idaho Wrestling League, which included the St. Maries club. It was a program that introduced youngsters to the sport. He was among local coaches who spent their weekends traveling to tournaments.

“We thought it could be a program where students could get some experience before high school, and there was no middle school wrestling program at the time,” he said. “We thought it would be beneficial. Now we have it where the kids are a lot younger. It just grew.”

In 2008, he was inducted into Idaho Chapter of the National Hall of Fame for his accomplishments and several years of coaching.

Mr. Tams has coached wrestling for more than 40 years. And it’s the students he taught rather than his own accomplishments that have been the biggest thrill.

“I like working with the kids. It’s just fun. At five or six years old they know nothing at all about wrestling and it’s just fun to watch them grow and get better over the course of time,” he said. “Some of them have gone on to wrestle at the middle and high school level and done very well.”

His wife, Kathy, has also been a part of his team. She knows just about as much as wrestling as he does.

“She’s been there filling in tournament brackets on the weekends and helps register kids and has traveled with me,” he said.

Mr. Tams said he is a huge supporter of schools offering athletic programs to students. He said it encourages students to stay in school and gives them an organized activity to participate in.

“Kids like athletics,” he said.  “I believe it helps greatly with the education aspect as well as inspires them to take pride in their school. Athletics is a big part of that.”

Mr. Tams learned in September he was selected for this year’s Hall of Fame honor from the Lumberjack Booster Club.

Dennis Humphrey, with the Lumberjack Booster Club, said Mr. Tams was selected for the time that he has put into the sport locally.

“He’s been in the top running for the honor every year that we’ve done this,” Mr. Humphrey said. “He has coached hundreds of kids and no doubt put in hundreds of hours. He’s just a very good guy and done a lot through the years.”

Mr. Tams said he was surprised and honored to be selected for the award.