closed its doors, followed by the
YMCA. Water sports were popular
for residents of Coeur d'Alene, and
swim teams excelled. Without a
pool available for practices and
meets, residents sought other
sources. Attempts to attract an-
other agency to build its own facil-
ity and to cajole government
leaders to help out failed, until
Mayor Sandy Bleoum and Sue Philo
learned of Joan Kroc's generous gift
to The Salvation Army to establish
community centers in select loca-
tions across the U.S. They also dis-
an Idaho task force to choose a po-
tential location for a Kroc Center.
Sandy and Sue joined the task force
and, despite facing steep competition
from larger communities with definite
need, persuaded the group to endorse
their proposal over the others.
from communities where The Sal-
vation Army had established opera-
tions, but the Coeur d'Alene's corps
had closed almost 75 years ago.
The closest Salvation Army opera-
tion was nearly 40 miles away in
Spokane, Washington.
always find a way to get things done.
With an economy built on timber
and mining, the town was at a cross-
roads when those industries deterio-
natural beauty of the surrounding area, which
is marked by spectacular lakes, to transform
Coeur d'Alene into a tourist destination.
projected
in community without active
Salvation Army corps.
in
used by
swimming programs.
of