Daughters Share Mom’s Sense Of Style
TraCee Green had nothing left but her family after a 1991 earthquake in California - and that’s all she needed.
She returned to Post Falls, opened her dream business, earned a reputation for artistry and recently launched her own line of hair-care products - all of which she’s modestly proud.
But nothing matches the pride her two daughters, Cher and Sandria brought her by making TraCee’s Hair & Nails a family business.
“If I lost them out of here, I would close,” TraCee says.
She’d envisioned a chic black and white salon for years. Her hands knew hair before they were fully grown and never tired of styling it for friends and family.
But life took her into the marrying business. Her family owned Coeur d’Alene’s Hitching Post in the 1970s, then opened a Hitching Post in Big Bear, Calif., in 1986.
Her two daughters and a son always worked with the family.
“Because my mom worked so hard when I was a kid, I wanted to spend every minute with my kids,” TraCee says.
She had to start fresh after the earthquake and recognized her opportunity. She enrolled in beauty school. Her daughters were right behind her.
“All my friends always liked how I did their hair,” Cher says. “And Mom was going to buy a salon. I knew I had a job.”
Now, Sandria specializes in nail art, Cher in hair, TraCee in both. TraCee’s talent inspires her girls.
“She is good good. My mom is really good,” Cher says. The Green women often openly admire each other’s work, which gives their salon a comfortable family warmth.
That atmosphere added to their skill draws a steady stream of customers. Their artwork - from Hawaiian sunsets and Monet flower gardens to Betty Boop and Campbell’s soup labels - wins regional awards.
TraCee and her daughters didn’t plan to work together and admit to occasional battles. But they say family arguments are nothing compared to the cutthroat rivalry in some salons.
They swear they wouldn’t work anywhere else, even though TraCee fires Cher every few months.
“She won’t leave,” TraCee says, laughing.
“I’ll never leave,” Cher says. “This world is a lot crazier than I thought.”
30th mile-marker
Coeur d’Alene’s Carrousel Players has no problem turning 30 this year. It’s already boasting about an energetic summer season.
It’s good to know the lineup early enough to plan vacations around favorite shows, so here goes. “Annie Get Your Gun” starts July 10; “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” opens July 24; “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” hits Aug. 7; and “South Pacific” sails into Coeur d’Alene Aug. 21.
Seats become harder to get every year. Season ticket-holders and tours book early. You have no reason to complain in June that you didn’t know what the season had in store.
Call 769-7780 or (800) 4-CDA-TIX.
Single sorrows
Whew! Coeur d’Alene’s Dave Dust apparently isn’t the only person stuck single. His story (or maybe that model-like picture of him) drew several e-mail letters, a phone message from a parent that he’s the best coach ever and a verbal outpouring of similar singles stories. The single doctor. The single financial planner. The single photographer.
How do singles find each other in the Panhandle? Share your beat-the-odds love stories for Valentine’s Day with Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo