Paddle On!

Pend Oreille

Encircled by the mountains high,

O’er-arched by an unequaled sky,

Fringed by thy forests, evergreen,

No fairer lake has ever been---

            O Pend Oreille, the Beautiful!

The stars gaze on thy placid breast

In filmy mists so lightly dressed;

The queenly moon the livelong night

Flings in thy deeps her silvery light,

While from the woods, the owlet’s calls

Echo along thy massive walls---

            O Pend Oreille, the Beautiful!

I hear the laughter of the loon;

I hear thy wavelets whisper, croon;

I hear the mallard whistling by;

I see the osprey poised on high;

I see the ever-widening rings

Where out thy breast the salmon springs,---

            O Pend Oreille, the Beautiful!

And when from out the rigorous North,

The roystering winds come rushing forth,

Lashing thy breast with might and main,

Making they billows leap again,---

I joy in all thy wild uproar,

And linger on thy stormy shore,

Or sail my boat in triumph O’er---

            O Pend Oreille, the Beautiful!

Here with thee would I ever stay,

Forgetting all the sordid way,

Which doth engross the Sons of men,

Bringing them sorrow, sin and pain;

For Heaven hath kissed they, Pend Oreille,

And lingers near Thee, day by day,

            O Pend Oreille, the Beautiful!

                        ---Sullivan S. Healey, Tacoma, Dec.8, 1917

Poem appears in a brochure prepared by Dr. F. G. Wendle, MD., who came west on a big game hunt in 1912, fell in love with the country and its friendly people.  

At the time of the brochure, an aged Dr. Wendle was developing a 58-acre pine, fir, cedar and birch timbered subdivision and building sites on the lakeshore just south of Hope, Idaho.

~~~~~

Last evening, I could not help but think of historical snippets, like the one above, collected years ago while researching for a book, which would later be edited by Jane Fritz and published by Keokee Creative Group as Legendary Lake Pend Oreille:  Idaho's Wilderness of Water.

Along with Annie on her paddle board and Bill in the red kayak, I was paddling Bluebird, my new kayak, through a section of the Clark Fork Delta and into Lake Pend Oreille.

We had launched at the Pend Oreille drift yard, and we all agreed that we could not have drawn a more perfect evening. 

Water was still, birds were flitting through the air and occasionally someone among us three paddlers would yell out in the evening silence announcing a fish jumping.

We spent a lovely and peaceful hour or so in an element all our own.

Happily, that's how it often is on our magnificent waterways.  I'm sure there were numerous other humans out there, but, in keeping with the times, we enjoyed an abundance of social distance. 

As we moved along, I thought about some of the materials I had gathered several years ago while working off and on for more than a year, traveling to communities around the lake and delving into historical documents at the museum, etc. 

I also thought about David Thompson and his team of paddlers who established the Kullyspell House just a few miles west of where we were enjoying our warm summer evening. 

He probably had a completely different perspective from ours, maybe not even thinking of his experience as ultimate relaxation.  

After all, the British/Canadian explorer/mapmaker/fur trader was on a mission when he paddled on Pend Oreille in 1809, and his purpose involved establishing a trading post. 

For us, the evening experience satisfied not only our immediate recreational needs on a hot summer day but also our getting better acquainted with the waters which we have passed by throughout our lives---in cars and trucks on the highway. 

For the amount of time our family has spent in North Idaho (a combined 161 years for the three paddlers), ironically, we have spent little time out there on the lake or the rivers. 

Oh, as Annie told Cousin Rich the other night while we were paddling the Pack River Delta, we've enjoyed an occasional boat ride, with maybe some fishing mixed in, but the total time we've logged on the water is minimal at that. 

Last evening's kayaking/paddle board experience was not just for looking and admiring and escaping the cares of the world; this was actually  embracing and living the on-site reality of the delta and the lake, upclose and personally. 

As relative long-timers in the area, such outings aboard our paddling vessels this summer  have added a whole new dimension to our excitement and appreciation for this beautiful place called home.  

Last night on the water was divine. 

Its was stunning, and it created a lovely August, 2020 memory that the three of us will most likely hold dear for years to come. 

From "Ripples in Time," based on personal notes I collected while researching the history of white settlements along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille several years ago.  

Such simple suggestions present a daunting challenge, indeed, especially considering the forces that have invaded the lake and its surroundings since Thompson so quietly passed through in 1809.

  In spite of that, Pend Oreille remains a valuable jewel that continues to cast a magic spell on most anyone who ever lays eyes on its waters.  Though tarnished a bit, the jewel remains vibrant and alive.  

Human forces do exist who recognize its fragility; groups are striving to reclaim what’s been lost among its fisheries and its necessary nutrients.  

Though development on the lake is striking, miles and miles of unspoiled shoreline along both sides of the main channel can still propel visitors into a time warp.

If developers like Jae Heinberg [Seasons at Sandpoint], along with recreationalists, permanent residents, visitors and the like could band together and actively exercise one simple rule to go along with the others Thompson might utter, the lake will remain a precious gem to be cherished 200 years from now:  leave it in better shape than you found it.