STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Papoose Club won’t be flipping flapjacks this year. Instead, members are trying to raise money for youth programs by selling 19 original framed Wagon Days posters.
The Papoose Club decided to put its annual Wagon Days pancake breakfast on hold for the second year in a row because of the COVID pandemic, even though the breakfast typically nets more than $10,000 for youth causes.
Now they’re looking at selling a collection of Wagon Days posters donated by David Spaulding and Renae Spaulding to make up for the lost revenue of the Pancake Breakfast.
“Our goal is to restock our kitty after COVID prevented us from holding our popular fundraisers,” said Claudi Klokke, noting that the Wagon Days Pancake Breakfast has been an important fundraiser since 1977.
David Spaulding, who passed away this year, was a pilot, a “yellow coat” with Sun Valley Company and a fly-fishing guide. His wife Renae is a longtime member of the Papoose Club.
“Their generous gift couldn’t have come at a better time, as the pandemic has constrained Papoose Club’s ability to fundraise and, in turn, fulfill its mission—funding requests from local groups that benefit local youth,” said Anna Mathieu. “The organization is grateful for the Spauldings’ donation and the opportunity to place this amazing collection with a special collector and aficionado of Wagon Days.”
With autographed posters dating to the 1976 Bicentennial celebration, the collection is a lucky find for someone who wants to own a piece of local history and support Papoose Club’s philanthropic efforts at the same time.
Papoose Club was founded in 1954 by a group of local mothers and was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1975. The organization recently opened membership to men.
The list of groups the club has donated to is long and includes the BCRD Aquatic Center Revitalization, BCRD Summer Programs, Company of Fools student matinees, ERC EcoCamps, Girls on the Run, St. Thomas Playhouse children’s theater, The Hunger Coalition and Swiftsure Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Center.
To learn more about the Wagon Days poster collection, contact Anna Mathieu at 208-309-1329. The full collection can be viewed online at www.papooseclub.org/wagon-days-fundraiser