He’s Making Piles Of … Cash
Poop turns most people into nosepinching ninnies. But to Bill Gore, p-oo-p are the first four letters in opportunity.
“When I see a need for something, I jump on it,” says Bill, no trace of humor showing on his young, bearded face. “People don’t want to pick up the piles in their yard, so I’ll do it.”
Probably not the career Bill’s mother envisioned for her boy. But when Bill called her with the idea from his Post Falls home last fall, she told him it was a money-maker.
Bill saw the idea on television. A man back East told his interviewer he earned $20,000-plus in an office. He made thousands more per year after he quit to scoop dog piles from people’s yards, he said.
Ah, the scent of money. Bill is 22, married and has a small son. He tends bar at Hauser’s Rainbow Inn. But he wants to work for himself and feed his family. He knew he needed a gimmick.
“I’m offering people the ability to lay down in their yards,” he says sincerely, as if anyone could focus on the serious nature of the job he’s proposing.
Bill will scoop pine cones as well as dog droppings - anything that could ruin a romp in the grass. Well, almost anything. He draws the line at cow and horse piles.
Why shouldn’t he make money from something people hate to do, he asks.
“I guarantee if someone saw $5 on the street, he’d bend over to pick it up,” he says. “That’s what I’m doing. I’m just picking something else up and then getting the $5.”
So don’t let your yard go to the dogs. Bill hopes to average $25 per house shaking open his garbage sacks, hauling off the findings and making sure nothing but grass slides between the owner’s toes.
“This is not my calling,” he says, finally cracking a smile. “But I’ll give it a shot.” Bill’s at 773-6250.
Go fly a kite
Break out the paper and sticks and head to Sandpoint’s City Beach. Kites, with any luck, will soar over the water this Sunday. Even if they don’t, they might win a prize. The Pend Oreille Arts Council gives out a cast-iron award for the best-looking handmade kite that doesn’t make it off the ground. There will be dozens of other prizes to handmade kites that do fly.
Last year, a box kite won the big award. It was the only kite the wind didn’t bash to bits. The fun starts at 1 p.m. no matter the weather - and it’s free.
Fair weather
One of the nicest things about North Idaho is that during the summer, every weekend is filled with some town’s annual celebration. Carnival games. Funnel cakes. Dunk tanks. Traveling from fair to fair is usually low-cost family fun and a good way to learn about neighboring towns.
Rathdrum already is preparing for its July country fair. The city’s Chamber of Commerce wants to know which businesses, artists and organizations want booth space in the park or to be in the parade.
The chamber also wants a volunteer to organize a short fun run for July 15. Call 687-2866 if you can help.
Time travel
Fifteen years ago, I had to stop only once on the drive from Rathdrum to Coeur d’Alene. I’d take state Highway 41 to Prairie and stop at Ramsey. Ramsey was a straight shot into town even as it became Northwest Boulevard. There were no stop signs or signals until Government Way. Can you believe it?
What was Kootenai County like when you first arrived 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-plus years ago? If you’re a native, what’s the biggest change you see from your first memories of your hometown?
Dredge up those memories and send them to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 83814; fax them to 765-7149; or call 765-7128 and we’ll chat about the good old days.