A Neighborhood That Cares

Sourdough Point

A Neighborhood That Cares

PO Box 29 Sandpoint, ID 83864

A SPOA TRADITION--WINTER SOLSTICE

By Judy Meyers

Over twenty years ago, neighbors on Gold Hill Circle began hosting some version of a progressive Winter Solstice Party. We've had this party through winter storms and, at least twice, power outages. A consistent theme has been the fun of reconnecting with neighbors, down the road and from far away. This year we began, on Dec. 21st, at the Carlson home at 3 pm. They set a festive spread of appetizers, punch, and drinks. As we approached 4 pm, Jim and Diana served champagne for a toast to sunset on the shortest day of the year.

As the Christmas lights came on, neighbors gathered flashlights for the walk up Moonbeam to Cedar Glen, where new neighbors Sherrel Rhys

and Bill Janeke welcomed us to their beautifully decorated home. Cheryl's home brewed egg nog was a special treat, and Bill helped arrange a table full of desserts and sweets. The party was in full swing by the time everyone gathered at the Meyers'. Ken and Judy had placed luminaria along the way, to greet folks for more drinks and treats. As the evening progressed, Sean Jeronimo had a happy crowd for his very fun holiday sing along. We all learned a new one about getting a Hippopotamus for Christmas. The hosts all agreed that we're looking forward to doing it again in 2019. Hope to see you there!

January, 2019

INSIDE

Elaine Amsterdam ...................2 Harold Oens ............................ 3 Bonner County Drive ................4 Board Corner............................5 Contacts.................................. ..6 Preview of SPOA history........... 6

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

? Next Board meeting is Feb. 12 at Susan Lee's house.

? Road Committee will issue updates on plowing and sanding as needed

Newsletter Committee ? Lana Greenan, Carol Heirendt,

Jim Malkames ? Special contribution by Judy

Meyers

ELAINE AMSTERDAM---AN ARTIST AMONG US

by JM

Sourdough has an inordinate amount of folks who have excelled in their professional lives. One of the longest (and oldest) Sourdough residents, Elaine Amsterdam, lives a quiet life in her ivy covered home on Sourdough Lane. If you have an opportunity to visit with her, it will be worth your time. Conversations with Elaine can lead to unexpected discussions on human relationships and other esoteric topics that spring up! Elaine was born in December 1925 and has lived a full life which makes her life views very interesting.

Elaine was born in Los Angeles into a family that was committed to the arts. Elaine's father was the principal violinist for the Los Angeles Symphony, cousin Morrie Amsterdam was an actor (primarily remembered as Buddy on the Dick Van Dyke Show). Elaine excelled in art as a youngster and pursued that as a life passion. Elaine originally taught art in LA and caught the eye of Pepperdine University which was hoping to create an art program. She was involved from the very beginning--choosing an old barn as the Art Studio, developing curriculum and teaching students how to see the world from an artists perspective. Pepperdine had its art school.

Elaine's personal art collection is a plethora of media and styles. She has charcoal drawings, watercolor paintings and her specialty wax based paintings hanging in galleries in Greece, at Pepperdine and in her home. Elaine has received international recognition for her work and been recognized by the art community. Much of Elaine's work (she is a focused painter, analyzing a scene for a long time before starting to work) is based in Greece, her favorite place on earth.

Winter time escapes to Greece from Sourdough, were the norm for Elaine for many years. She feels connected to Greece, the people and culture. Spending a couple of months in Greece filled her soul. She was a part of the local artist community there and most of her artwork will be exhibited in a Greek gallery. Short term memory loss and age seem to have caught up to those trips so she is in Sourdough all year round.

Elaine has a daughter and grandson in Sandpoint and a grandson in Chicago. She does get lonely and relishes the opportunity to sit down and talk over a Scotch and cigarette. (Yes, she has smoked for almost 80 years!) The conversation is guaranteed to be interesting. To learn more about her art, just give her a visit.

Elaine was interviewed by The Sandpoint Reader a few weeks ago. If interested, the article appears under columnist Emily Articulated with the Title: Drinking with Elaine. The web version of The Reader will take you there -

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HAROLD E. OENS--THE MAN AND THE MEMORIES

By JM

As time moves on, there are special folks who contribute to family, neighborhood and country. Harold Oens was one of those special people. For those of you who were unaware, long time Sourdough resident and friend passed from this earth on November 8th 2018 after a long illness. It is fitting that we honor Harold in this issue and highlight contributions he has made to make this world a little better; for his family, the Sourdough community and the United States military.

Harold was born in Hunters Washington on 12/14/1937. He was a member of the Washington National Guard and was a proud member and supporter of the Sandpoint American Legion. Harold worked in the engineering field for the bulk of his career, supporting the Hanford Nuclear site cleanup--a good thing! Harold, and his wife Linda (the current President of SPOA) bought their dream home property on Bottle Bay Road in 1990. They worked together on weekends and vacations to build their home. Yes, Harold did pretty much all the work himself. They moved to the house in the fall of 1996. Linda was by his side as a strong supporter!

After moving to Sagle, Harold jumped in to involvement with SPOA. His contributions to our neighborhood include being President of the SPOA Board for 9 years and always pitching in on volunteer projects. He helped with the island development, building the causeway bridge, clearing trees and doing whatever else was needed. His great big laugh and sense of humor would always make projects more enjoyable. He was always "front and center", ready to help make Sourdough a great place!

Harold's community involvement included (in addition to the American Legion) the Priest River Rotary and a long term member of the Sandpoint United Methodist Church where he served in many capacities. He and Linda are committed to their faith and that manifested itself in Harold's willingness to help others.

Harold will be remembered by his twice daily walks to the island, his willingness to serve, his positive approach to life and his big guffaw laugh. He was truly a man who made a difference. He will be missed.

The Memories

Harold was one of the first people we met when we bought the lot next door. Being 6 hours from our home in Olympia, Harold was my "go to Guy" . He offered advice, power tools and personal help as needed. He went as far as to lend my kids a tent when they decided to camp on our lot and forgot to bring a tent. Yes, it rained that night! Jim Malkames

Continued on page 5

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LEARNING ABOUT BONNER COUNTY

By Carol Heirendt

Darrel and I have found a unique and fun way to explore Sagle and the rest of Bonner County with a unique driving tour book called "Driving Past ? Tours of Historical Sites in Bonner County Idaho", by Nancy Foster Renk. This book especially works well when one person "drives past" and the other "co-pilots" by way of reading the text to others in the car.

The driving tours are of different lengths and are designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in local history. There are sixteen chapters encompassing Bonner County, however, so far we have done most of our exploring locally in Sagle. Chapter 11 entitled Sagle Road has the following drives:

Sagle Road Sagle School and Turnbull Field Sagle and the 1910 Fire Sagle Community of Christ Church Cyrus and Mary Jane Turnbull Homestead Hay Fields Thomas and Lucy Newington Farm Newman Post Office The Church in the Wildwood and Gamlin Lake Cemetery Broten Post Office Fred Shields Barn Martin Homestead Dr. Forrest Bird, The Bird Respirator, and the Bird Aviation Museum and Invention

Center Meadowlark School Israel Gamblin and Gamlin (Gamblin) Lake Glengary Bay

A personal favorite drive of ours is "The Church in the Wildwood and Gamlin Lake Cemetery" drive. You will learn who donated the land the church sits on next to the cemetery. Then, after reading the history of the 13 year old boy (Laurence Miller) drowning in a fishing accident in 1933, you may just want to get out of your car like we did in search for the headstone. The church was named after the boy's favorite hymn which has a line "There's a church in the wildwood, no lovelier spot in the dale." We purchased "Driving Past" at Vanderford's Books in Sandpoint and look forward to having more historical adventures soon.

Page 4

BOARD CORNER - Jim Carlson Reporting

The SPOA Board is initiating a new project called a "Reserve Study" to better plan for needed funding resources in the future. Several board members recently attended a free seminar for Home Owner Associations presented in Coeur d' Alene by our attorney, Peter Smith. The purpose of this study is to review the Association's assets and to develop realistic plans and budgets for anticipated repair, maintenance, and replacement of essential equipment and facilities. We will begin by making a list and lifespan estimates of our assets. Our assets will be grouped into Roads, Island, Common Area, Water Plant, and water distribution facilities.

Members of the Reserve Study Committee are: John Cron (Chair), Susan Lee, Jim Carlson, Bob Chambers, Bill Janecke, Anastasia Miki, and Gary Johnson. We are extremely fortunate to have Bill Janecke as a member of our committee and new SPOA member. Bill worked for about 30 years with Montana Power in the fields of Finance and Auditing and he participated in multiple Reserve Study projects for non-profit organizations.

Through this project we hope to develop fact-based information for reserves, budgeting and long-term stability of our assets. We hope to provide information on this process at the next Annual Meeting. Please contact committee members if you have questions or comments.

THE MEMORIES (continued)

Here's one bright moment I recall. Rich Welling, Harold and I, were pulling a rather large, maybe 4ft. in diameter, section of a fallen fir tree, up the hill with a wench and heavy steel cable. Harold was on the bottom end, clearing brush, so nothing would snag the 10ft. tree section. As often goes, when amateurs attempt something out of their realm of expertise, a snag or branch suddenly caused the tree to buck up, altering its uphill course, aiming now for Harold's legs.

With Ninja-like reflexes, he executed a barrel roll, worthy of

an Olympic gymnast. Rich Welling turned to me and said, "did ya see that... that man's a squir-

rel!" I couldn't believe it. Harold had just completed a 360 degree barrel roll somersault holding

a chain saw, landing squarely on his feet. A maneuver he most likely accomplished many times

in his life, I would venture to say!

David Walsh

****************

When we were part time residents, Harold was our "Go To" guy. He would look after our place and he even coordinated a plumbing repair when we needed one.

In fact he took good care of all of Sourdough, doing things that needed to be done. If it was a project, like the new bridge, he was on the committee. He took care of our water system for a while and if you needed information about the association, he was the man to see. He was always there and willing to help with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Bob Chambers

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