Community helps Charlie's wish take flight
Courtesy photo Charlie Meeker and Dan Meeker prepare for their flight. Charlie, a well-known Bonners Ferry icon, expressed his wish to fly in an aircraft, and was granted that wish on Halloween day with the help of several friends in the community.
COURTESY PHOTO A once in a lifetime experiece for Charlie Meeker was made possible by a number of big hearted friends and family within the Boundary County communty.
BONNERS FERRY — Charlie Meeker flew a plane. There are a few folks around here who don’t know who Charlie is, but there are many who have met him and understand the significance of this aeronautical event.
Who is Charlie?
Charlie is somewhat of a Bonners Ferry icon, if you will.
In 1942, Charlie Meeker was born as Douglas Charles Meeker, though he prefers to be called, Charlie, and is well-known to many in Bonners Ferry as such. He is one of those unique Bonners Ferry natives, in that he was actually born in the town.
Charlie has a rich, ancestral history within the Boundary County area.
“The Meeker family has been in Bonners Ferry since like 1905 or something,” his longtime friend Candy Beck said. “They were famous for the Meeker Stove.”
Charlie worked at The Springs restaurant at the Kootenai River Inn for 24 years.
“When we go into The Springs, people come out of the woodwork to greet Charlie,” said Beck. “He is known by his friends at the restaurant as Douglas.”
While working at The Springs, Charlie likes to tell people that he was the cook. He was tasked with preparing the vegetables for the kitchen; prior to that, he was a dishwasher.
“Charlie would walk to and from work,” said Sarah Jenkins, who is Charlie’s second cousin. Pat Stewart, Jenkins’ mother, was given permission to paint footprints on the sidewalks so that Charlie would know where to go by following the painted feet to and from work.
For his 24 years of loyal employment with the Kootenai River Inn, Charlie was awarded a jacket for his retirement gift.
Beck works with Charlie on a regular basis through her position as owner/operator of Bonners Ferry Adult Social. Her business is in serving special needs adults in the local community with social outings and adult day health care services. She has worked with Charlie for a little over 10 years now, and knows him well.
“Charlie is a man of few words, and one day, he told me, out of the blue, ‘Candy I want to fly in an airplane and I want to fly one,’ — he never had been in a plane,” said Beck. “So, I got help from Mary Joseph who is a part of our group, and she made the phone calls to the airport, set the appointment up, and made all of the arrangements.”
“Not just myself, but our whole, huge, family adores Charlie,” Jenkins added. “... So really, to have him verbalize that he wanted to go up in the airplane, that was amazing!”
“We made it happen,” said Beck.
Halloween day of 2019, Charlie experienced his wish. A local pilot, associated with Northern Air Inc., donated his time and skill to fly Charlie and Charlie’s cousin, Dan, around the Boundary County area.
“We donated an hour for the airplane, the pilot donated his time,” said Dave Parker, owner of Northern Air Inc.
In discussing about how the flight affected Charlie, Beck said, “It was one of the most fantastic things in Charlie’s life.”
When folks mention the flight to 77-year old Charlie, his face lights up with the most genuine smile.
A very special man was finally able to realize one of his bucket-list items, enjoying an experience of a lifetime that Halloween day, and this was made possible by some amazing and wonderful people of this community.
Charlie’s next item on that bucket-list? He says he wants to ride a train, and it seems certain that Beck, and the community of supportive friends, will help him get there.