McEuen Field Part 4

I attended the McEuen workshop tonight and came away with good feelings. It was a good crowd and everyone was given the opportunity to participate and voice their thoughts, ideas and concerns.

The City is in a unique position now. Railroad rights of way are being handed back (to the City via the Fed & it's restrictions), some grants are available, Front Street is in for a major re-haul and the seawall must be replaced in the not so distant future. With the input tonight, a vision of the onion of the future just peeled back a layer.

When you entered you got some items including 4 sheets of colored stickers. There were numerous display boards around the room and besides photos, maps, mission statements, etc., there were boards with lists of activities and features and likes and wishes that people could put their sticker "vote" on.

Facilitators then showed 26 slides of various items in various parks. Each attendee had a page with a graph where you marked like/dislike and preferred location as these photos were shown. With some of the photos they asked people to raise green, red or yellow cards on how they felt about a particular item, then called on people to say why they voted what color. After that the moderator took comments, ideas and concerns from the crowd as she led us through what do you like best about parks, name/describe outstanding parks/park features, tell what's important to you about McEuen topics. It lasted a little less than 2 hours which I found to be very well spent. I would guess 90-120 people.

There were a number of things that came up tonight that I thought noteworthy.

The big tree at the foot of 4th St. It's called the Freedom Tree. It was planted to stop cars (when 4th was a 2-way street) from going straight south. In the Viet Nam era, a Coeur d'Alene man named USAF Capt. Frederick McMurray was shot down over North Viet Nam in 1972. Happily, Capt. McMurray did return. At the foot of what we now call the Freedom Tree is a marker noting Capt. McMurray. The tree, Park Director Doug Eastwood said, was a prime example of attachment a community has to it's touchstones. He opened the evening well.

On the topic of tennis courts, one man applauded all the courts in the city and was disappointed they weren't used more. He didn't call for courts on McEuen.

One new idea mentioned was a canoe/kayak launch. I liked that. A young family was there and talked about playgrounds. A real trail around the foot of Tubbs was popular. There were a number of great comments.

An open picnic shelter came up. One woman asked if there was one on McEuen. That one statement may have been the most powerful of the evening. Think about that.

If a person who lives here doesn't even know of the shelter at the foot of Tubbs, doesn't that in and of itself say a lot? You care enough about McEuen to attend this evening but don't know what's even there? Then you must not go there much. Why? I'm guessing there is nothing much there right now to draw you. And that is the crux of the biscuit as Frank Zappa would say.

Sitting there, listening, thinking, a memory popped into my head. Back in the 90's the CdA Kiwanis Club had a Home Run Derby at McEuen. Right on Legion Field. Timing? Couldn't have been better. It followed the Fred Murphy Parade on Memorial Saturday. Drove my little truck down Sherman with my daughter and 20 trophies in back with signs and telling people to come to McEuen Field directly after the parade. It was gonna be great!

Now even on a postcard day, it was like pulling teeth trying to get anyone to come to the American Legion baseball field. It was so slow we solicited people launching boats trying to get batters. "Two balls for a buck and you could with this trophy!" We had everything set; T-ball, pitching machine, tapes to measure, bats of all sizes, buckets of balls, PA with an announcer, plenty of good Kiwanians, the whole shootin' match. We didn't lose money but it was a disappointment. Even with thousands of people literally within blocks of a fun filled, wholesome, family event on a holiday weekend, on McEuen Field, the gem or the Lake City..., well, we all got good tans.

The next year we held it at Memorial Field across from City Park. Success! We all got sunburned on the right side but loved the batters we had all afternoon.



Taking a break for a week, I'll be back.