KNPS finds home of its own at arboretum

Tucked away in a corner of the arboretum is the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society's new world headquarters.

Sunday, KNPS members gathered to celebrate those headquarters — a new cabin that is everything from a storage area to a learning center to an area for arboretum coordinator Cara Johnson to work.

"I love this cabin," Johnson told volunteers at Sunday's dedication. "It's so adorable, it's so perfect and the finished result is amazing. But that process from the beginning to now, to all of us being here today, what it really just revealed to me is how important a process like this is."

And while the process wasn't always smooth, and discussions weren't always easy, the result was something amazing, Johnson told volunteers.

"Just to watch all these people come together and have to work together and listen to each other and there's lots of opinions and lots of needs, and logistics to make this happen, and resources, and skills," she said. "And that's what community is. That's what makes a community strong. That's how we make a refined, resilient, connected community is processes like this. And going through that process all together. It's important doing things like this for the good of others, for the good of the group, that a gift like this was more than just the finished results. It was really beautiful."

The project was lead by longtime KNPS volunteer and past president Ken Thacker. Thacker got involved with the project after retiring as president, saying he wanted to stay involved with the arboretum and figured the cabin project was the perfect way.

Johnson said witnessing the creation of the cabin, from the need to move from the historic settler's cabin to discussions on where and how to create their own space in the arboretum was inspiring to watch. Seeing both longtime volunteers and new ones get involved was fun to witness this summer, she said.

"It all started with an idea and then a lot of work and a lot of working together," said Johnson. "And it's been just quietly over here in the corner of town, this beautiful example of community happening, these processes all the time and they just continue. So it's been such a joy to witness."

It is those volunteers to whom the cabin is being dedicated — their work, their dedication and their love for the arboretum, Johnson said.

"It's not just a place," Johnson said. "People love this place and we do all sorts of stuff and it's ever-changing. It's more than a place, it's a process. It's a community."

It was about a year ago that they learned the museum needed the homesteaders cabin, longtime KNPS member Rae Charlton said. Members worked with city officials and neighbors to find their own spot in the arboretum, she said.

"This is smaller than the other cabin but I think it will work for us, and it really is the headquarters for the Native Plant Society because we don't have a building," Charlton said.

Items that had been stored in members' garages — and a treasured desk once owned by arboretum founder Lois Wythe — have made their way back to the arboretum, finding a spot in their new cabin.

A library is planned for the cabin area, giving gardeners and residents a spot to find information about native plants, how to grow them and more. A bulletin board will serve as another spot to connect with the community.

In many ways, Charlton said, the cabin project is both a result of the community stepping up to make it happen and a tribute to what its residents make possible.

"Most of all, I think it really is what Cara said, it is a tribute to this community [and] the way people stepped up and donated time and expertise and materials," she said. "It just blew us away. We never never realized there'd be so many good people coming forward. They're not members, most of them, a few are but most of them are not. Somebody knows somebody who says, 'Oh, sure. I'll help.' "

As excited as they are by their new cabin, members said they are excited by the museum's plan to use the old homestead cabin to showcase what life was like in the community's early days. While its exact age is unknown, the structure was the original homestead cabin of Theodore Hepner, according to a plaque at Lakeview Park. Museum records show the first entry for the land on which it once stood was made on June 12, 1885, when it was platted into the town of Fry, which later became the city of Kootenai.

"But in our view, [the museum's plan is] the best use of that cabin," Thacker said. "It's a historic thing, and they're gonna put displays in there. It's really a museum piece; it's not a storage shed, which is what we used it for."

Their new cabin is both functional and something they can grow and adapt as they need, KNPS president Shawna Parry said.

"This is our world headquarters, the KNPS world headquarters," she said.

Key volunteers were honored at Sunday's dedication, with Johnson, Thacker and KNPS officials paying tribute to those who gave their time, money or both.

• Mark Stockwell, who served as co-organizer with Thacker and took the lead on permitting;

• Dave Bertus, who designed the cabin and served as the project's architect;

• Steve Johnson, who served as project foreman and kept the group on task;

• Carpet One, which supplied the flooring for inside the cabin;

• John Elsa, who did electrical work on the project;

• Sandpoint Building Supply, which gave the group a great deal on supplies;

• Three Amigos Plumbing, which provided an electrical cable bore under the arboretum's trees;

• Stoneway Electrical Supply, which provided all electrical fixtures and wiring;

• The White Pine chapter of the Idaho Native Plant Society, which gave the group a $500 grant toward the project;

• Bob Blair, who built a one-of-a-kind door as well as helping with the cabin's construction;

• Also honored were volunteers George Gehrig, Kirby McKee, Craig Johnson, John Harbuck, Laird Parry, and Ann Torpie; and businesses, Winter Ridge Natural Foods and Avista Utilities.