Potlatch

13. When I think of all the great things this country has to offer I have to be thankful for the community in which I have lived for nearly 25 years: Potlatch, Idaho. Potlatch sits at the base of the Hoodoo Mountains on the rolling hills of the Palouse. Here we get the four seasons in full force so you get to see every shade of beauty that comes from our lush evergreen forests and the rolling farmland of the Palouse Prairie. Right now at the end of winter and the budding of spring the remains of the last of the dirty snow banks are flooding the rivers and the fields are beginning to look like grasshopper pie with the green crème de menthe of wheat fields against the chocolate hues of the muddy, as of yet, unplowed fields. And of course there are plenty of gray misty days with the constant dampness of the season that still, on certain cooler mornings, gives way to snow.

Our community supports each other. When someone is sick we have fundraisers to help them pay for incidentals. We have a food bank for those who are hit by hard times. We have community gatherings to celebrate our heritage from logger sports to fiddle concerts. We have athletic events for our kids through our Parks and Rec. District and our schools. We have community band and a community choir for our Easter Cantata. We have a great EMT and Fire Department made up entirely of volunteers.

Another great thing about Potlatch is that with all its beauty, it is just off the radar for tourism. We don’t have a whitewater river, rugged mountain peaks for climbing or skiing, nor any big lakes right here. We do have a large place in the history of the Northwest as the founding company town of Potlatch Forest Industries, home of incredible families that continued to make other big timber corporations and people instrumental in the invention of Teflon. But most of that is just quiet keep-to-ourselves information that doesn’t attract crowds. It’s the amazing beauty of the area, the community support, the four seasons—all of these things make me really proud and thankful for this little town where I live: Potlatch, Idaho.