Never Bean Better: Coeur d'Alene attorney marks 50th anniversary of Spokane's World's Fair

COEUR d’ALENE — For Charles Bean, this is no ordinary weekend.

This is one to remember. Or perhaps, for remembering.

“It’s one of those weekends you just say, ‘Wow, how could this happen?’ I’m grateful,” he said.

The longtime Coeur d’Alene attorney is about to mark two key anniversaries. Fifty years ago today, the World’s Fair, Expo '74, opened in Spokane. Bean, studying law at the time, was the assistant personnel director for the event that attracted nearly 6 million people.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life. To this day it’s the best job I’ve ever had,” Bean said Thursday.

And then, there’s Bloomsday.

Sunday is the 48th Lilac Bloomsday Run, also in Spokane. Bean is one of a handful of perennials who have run them all. And he’ll be at the starting line again, this time joined by a granddaughter.

“I feel great, really good about it,” Bean said. “Every year, it’s an excuse to get in shape.”

The 76-year-old said he feels lucky to have been part of the 7.46-mile race since day one.

“I was fortunate enough to be there when it began; I was fortunate enough to continue,” Bean said.

He considers it a casual fun run, not a competition, and soaks in the atmosphere with thousands of others in conquering Doomsday Hill on his way to the finish line.

“I was never somebody that cared about my time,” he said.

A former basketball player at the College of Southern Idaho, the affable Bean maintains his fitness. Bloomsday is in a way the annual benchmark to see where he’s at. He's a Bloomie for life.

“It’s part of who I am. I can’t quit,” he said.

And then, there's the World's Fair.

A little over 50 years ago, Bean was attending Gonzaga University School of Law when he applied for a job with Expo '74. He sent in his resume and soon got a call to come in for an interview. A month later, he was hired.

“What am I going to do?” he asked.

Since he was talking to the personnel director, he was made the assistant personnel director. He believed it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

It became his full-time day job while he attended law school at night. He and his wife, Carol, also managed an apartment building while raising their first child. It was an insanely busy, chaotic time. Bean loved it.

"It was  great job," he said.

He recalled that many doubted the World’s Fair would actually happen in Spokane. 

“It was something a lot of people said couldn't be done,” Bean said.

But it did. Bean was part of the tight-knit team that pulled it off. He reviewed resumes, conducted interviews and responded to work inquiries. He earned all of $700 a month.

“I thought I was rich," he said.

President Richard Nixon presided over the opening ceremony May 4, 1974. Bean, however, didn’t see it.

“I was working,” he said, laughing.

Once the fair was underway, Bean routinely walked the grounds, attended shows, greeted people — some who became lifelong friends — and kept tabs on operations.

“As a small-town kid from Twin Falls, Idaho, it was a thrill," he said. "There was so much energy. It was just incredible energy.”

When the fair closed on Nov. 3, Bean was proud of how well it went and that he was part of it.

“It didn’t make me sad, but in retrospect, it was a chapter closing in my life," he said.

But he’ll always have running.