'He is still watching over the city'

Community gathers for mural dedication ceremony

MOSES LAKE — There wasn't a single stranger standing in the audience. Monte Holm only had friends.

A crowd of more than 200 people gathered Saturday morning in Sinkiuse Square for a dedication ceremony of the mural depicting the life of Holm, longtime Moses Lake resident and businessman. The mural depicts various stages of Holm's life — as a 2-year-old, as a young hobo riding the train rails during the Great Depression, as a sheepherder in Montana and as the owner of his own rail line and museum.

The ceremony also served as a way to celebrate Holm's life, as he died May 3, and as a birthday party, as Holm would have turned 90 Saturday. Those in attendance received a slice of birthday cake and Werther's Original hard candies. Holm was well known for passing out the candies to everyone he met, a signature gift stemming from his days as a hobo during the Great Depression to ensure that he gave something to everybody he ever met.

Beneath the mural now hanging on the side of the Moses Lake Post Office, Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey proclaimed the day to be Monte Holm Day.

"Whereas Monte has never had a bad day in his life, has always smiled and offered conversation, handfuls of Werther's Originals, most frequently at this location, the Moses Lake Post Office," Covey read from his proclamation, ending with, "and whereas the citizens of Moses Lake, the Moses Lake Business Association, the City of Moses Lake and all who knew and loved this man wish to thank him for his belief in the basic goodness of people, all his contributions and positive outlook on life, now therefore I … do by the virtue of the authority vested in me hereby proclaim the date of May 13, 2006 as Monte Holm Day in the city of Moses Lake."

Holm's grandsons Larry and Steven Rimple, son-in-law Wayne Rimple, longtime family friend Cathy Kersey, Vern Hellewell and friend and muralist Patricia Jensen also spoke at the dedication.

Larry and Steven Rimple said that if they were to write a book about their grandfather, it would be a comedy that would go on for 500 pages.

Larry Rimple shared how his grandfather would call him every Monday and every Friday for 13 years, since he left Moses Lake to live in Seattle, and asked that the ceremony be a celebration for a man who probably should not have lived to his 14th birthday. Holm left his home with his father and stepmother to be a hobo when he was 13 years old.

"He did things that none of us could ever imagine, he survived odds that none of us could have ever wanted to face," Larry Rimple said, adding that he asked Holm the Sunday before he died if he was happy and if he had done everything he ever wanted to do. The answer to both questions was yes.

"He came to this town in the early 50s when there was nothing but dust and an Air Force base," Larry Rimple continued. "He stayed because he saw something in this town, in the people and the community that he loved. And he is still watching over the city. When I left last Friday, I thought there might be a hole in this town, something gone from this city. But looking around at all your faces, I don't think so. The love that he had for all of you, the city of Moses Lake and just for people in general is something that we need to keep going for a long time to come."

Steven Rimple agreed Holm had provided comedy in their lives.

"Just like this mike going out, that was every train trip and every Christmas we ever had, from dropping the turkey," he said, referring to a microphone which cut in and out throughout the ceremony, his comments drawing much laughter from the audience, especially family members.

Son-in-law Wayne Rimple recalled first meeting Holm about 44 years ago, when his future wife, Holm's daughter Karen, brought him home to meet her father.

"I walked into the house, stuck my hand out and said, 'Mr. Holm, how are you?'" Wayne Rimple recalled. Holm's response was that he never had a bad day in 84 years. About 10 years later, Wayne was working in Moses Lake Iron and Metal when a man came in and asked Holm how he was. Holm responded in the same fashion.

"The guy looks at him and says, 'Monte, you're not a day older than I am,'" Rimple recalled. "Monte says, 'Well, how old are you?' The guy says, 'I'm 80.' Now, Monte was only about 57. He looks at me and says, 'I think I better drop the 84.'"

Wayne Rimple continued by adding that all of those people present would remember Holm in a different way — as a businessman, a friend, a father, grandfather and father-in-law.

"Monte would, as he looks down, be the first person to say, 'Take with you those memories. Remember me the best way that you possibly can,' because to him, the whole world was a friend," he said.

"He will always be a legend of the town of Moses Lake," Kersey said. "To him, the terms husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend were sacred. He was worthy of all those exalted titles."

Jensen read a poem by Mother Theresa.

"Monte was our Mother Theresa," she said. "The world will be much better because he lived."

A rendition of "Big Iron Horses," originally recorded by Restless Heart, with lyrics reworked by Moses Lake resident Dale Roth to personalize it for Holm, played during the ceremony.

"I've got a vivid memory of him as a kid," Roth explained, recalling his father would drop off his steel at Holm's operation and would visit Holm growing up. "Every time I heard that song, it reminded me of Monte."

Jack St. Marie led the charge to ensure there would be enough Werther's Original candies for the crowd, special ordering several cartons from the Werther's company.

"Noting that Holm did not want any services, flowers or celebration, St. Marie said, "Monte would say, 'All right, if you have to have a gathering, just make sure that everyone there gets a Werther's.' I felt it was important that everyone here get their last candy from Monte."

Following the ceremony, many of Holm's family and friends gathered at the House of Poverty Museum to celebrate his life with champagne — Holm's favorite drink — cigars and to blow the whistle on Holm's steam engine as a send-off.