Cantwell takes over as mayor

Lennet Coons Cantwell presided over her first meeting as mayor of Ekalaka on January 5th. Cantwell ran unopposed for the position and took the reins from Vicki Fix who did not seek reelection in November.

When asked why she decided to run for mayor, Cantwell told the Eagle on Tuesday that, simply stated, she was "talked into it."

"There was some arm twisting and some thought that my background working on highways would be an added plus," she said.

Cantwell was referring to her experience working for the state of Idaho.

"I worked for the state for eighteen years as an engineers assistant and a transportation tech."

She went on to explain that she mostly drove truck, operated equipment and plowed snow on Idaho's Highway 12 between her home in Kamiah, Idaho and Lewiston, Idaho, a stretch of highway spanning around 70 miles.

Cantwell, daughter of Harvey and Ita Coons, grew up in the Belltower community. She attended all of grade school at Belltower and then attended high school in Ekalaka. Many of the people she knows in Ekalaka, she said, are those she grew up with around Belltower, including Vernalea Kittelmann and Marlys Carroll.

"Mary McCamish was one of my teachers out there," she added.

Cantwell lived all over the United States prior to her return to Ekalaka. Besides her eighteen years in Idaho, she has lived in Colorado and New Mexico. Her husband passed away in 2017, and in 2018 she moved back to the area to be closer to family.

"I learned to appreciate this awesome community," she said.

She also added that she no longer had any family near her in Idaho. A sister here as well as six grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren throughout the rest of Montana led her to making the decision to move to Ekalaka.

In total, Cantwell has three children, 6 surviving step-children, 38 grandkids and "40-some great-grandkids."

I lost track of them," she joked. "There's so many."

Cantwell is retired. Aside from taking over as Mayor of Ekalaka in January, she enjoys spending time chasing around her grandchildren, gardening and collecting and restoring cast iron pots and pans. She also enjoys traveling around with her fifth wheel and camping at various campgrounds and forests.