I'm researching but don't know all the pieces to the puzzle yet. I do know, however, that the best-kept secret rumor in Sandpoint claims that the predicted closing of Harolds Super Foods and its "ainty Maid Bakery" is directly related to a decision to be made at the city planning and zoning commission tomorrow night.
The commission could vote to allow a variance in building heights within the community. This could lead to the construction of a 5-story office complex on the block now occupied by Harolds, a laundromat, the Cinema 4-West movie theater, and my bi-monthly zapping grounds, the Hairhut.
On this Martin Luther King holiday, that possibility brings forth a discussion I've heard echoing through the community ever since the rumored demise of Harolds began to surface. What's going to happen to the poor and to the elderly citizens who have depended on this neighborhood grocery store for several decades? Its convenience for those who must walk has remained central to their ability to keep their cupboards stocked. Where will those people go if there's no Harolds?
Harolds is a Sandpoint institution rich with colorful history. Its owner and founder, Harold Marley, was murdered in the early '80s while making the nightly rounds before locking up. When he opened the door to the restroom serving the IGA cafe, he met a young man with a gun. Harold was shot twice. Family members say he flung a cup of coffee at the shooter before falling dead.
The store also went through its share of disasters---four fires over the decades, but it always rose from the ashes and continued to serve the South Sandpoint community. Most locals can tell stories of where Harold and later his son-in-law, Ralph Bloom, extended generous hands toward the needy in Sandpoint. I know from my own experience that students at Sandpoint High School always knew where to go while looking for massive support in the annual SHS food drive each December.
Of course, everyone's who's ever shopped there has a good story. Mine is of the Biblical nature. One summer day, we were having a family picnic at Jewel Lake. I went to what was then known as the IGA to pick up my share of goodies. While shopping in the fruit section, I selected some bananas. One rather large banana stood out among the clump. Always the pig in my pre-dieting days, I eyed that one as mine.
Once at Jewel Lake, I grabbed my banana before any other family member could get their gloms on it. When it came time to eat the thing, I couldn't get it open. I yanked, pulled and twisted----only to discover that the damn thing was rubber! It had no fruit inside, and that definitely explained why it had been wired to the clump. I took it back to the checker, who enjoyed a good laugh. The incident taught me a humble lesson about going for the biggest piece on the plate.
My IGA story and a host of others will remain but a piece of history if all this rumored progress in our community comes to fruition. And, as one person said to me, a large group of Sandpoint's population will have some new challenges when their neighborhood store no longer exists to serve their needs.
Along with this discussion comes another concern resounding about the town. With this major change in the way our town leaders do business, will Sandpoint, the Gem Community/the West's Best small town, be saying good bye to another quality that inspired those distinctions in the first place-----its well-documented compassion for the less fortunate?
Or, will some empathetic local entrepreneur recognize the impact associated with this community loss and find a way to fill the void, surely to be felt by these people. Planners might even consider a unit or two in the 5-story building serving as a corner grocery store.
The folks who remodeled their motel around the Tam-o-ShanterTervan/Tavern respected the old bar's historical nature; why not this newest planned development? That way everyone wins. Best yet, Sandpoint maintains its fine reputation as an all-inclusive rather than exclusive community.
Time will tell, I guess.
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