With a packed car and her two young children in tow, Gina Taruscio remembers driving over the last hill into Moscow and feeling “a strong sense of home” nearly 23 years ago.
The executive director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce’s Partnership for Economic Prosperity said she made the move from Oklahoma to Moscow in 1994, hoping to raise her children in a place that would check off all her boxes — a higher education rated town near family in a safe, welcoming environment. Those boxes, and more, were checked once she arrived in Moscow, which “fit the bill.”
“After about a month, it gets under your skin and it becomes home,” Taruscio said. “Moscow becomes part of you very quickly.”
Of all the things Taruscio wanted in a town, an educated community was one of her top priorities.
For Eric Perryman, the principal of Moscow High School, a well-educated town begins in grade-school.
Moscow became home to Perryman 17 years ago when he took a teaching job in the Moscow School District.
“It’s a nice town where my kids can run wild and not get into too much trouble,” Perryman said.
Like Taruscio, Perryman said Moscow checks off a lot of boxes for families.
“The Moscow School District is bustling with fantastic kids, fantastic teachers and really fantastic families, which makes the community an outstanding place to live,” Perryman said. “So, being around that everyday, I probably have the best job in the county.”
Moscow, he said, is a town that caters to everyone, especially young people.
“The student population here and the educated young people here are both big selling points for people,” Perryman said. “I always like to say that in Moscow our kids are born on third base and we take credit for the triple.”
Though Moscow is home to a largely young demographic, older community members like Nancy Peterson still make up a large percentage of those engaged in the community.
The president of the Latah County Historical Society was born and raised in Moscow. Over her past 72 years in town, Peterson said she graduated from Moscow High School and the University of Idaho. After teaching for 39 years at the high school and the university, Peterson found it was time to get involved in the historical aspects of Moscow.
“When you’re a part of the historical board, you get to almost everything about Moscow,” Peterson said. “Like history, the town evolves from one thing to the next — it never stops changing.”
Peterson said has seen changes in almost every facet of the community, but she has noticed the biggest change to be the growth of the university. While he thinks of Moscow as a community first, Perryman said the university comes in close second.
“When I think of Moscow, the University of Idaho definitely comes to mind,” Perryman said. “We get a pretty new influx of young people all the time, and that’s a really nice feeling.”
Peterson said the fresh and artistic vibe Moscow offers can be attributed to that sense of youth Perryman mentioned.
“I’ll always go back to the arts when talking about Moscow, because there is always something artistic going on,” Peterson said.
Almost 10 years ago, Moscow Art Director Kathleen Burns came to the town to foster the town’s love of art and cultivate a new set of artistic experiences. Burns works as part of the 12-member Moscow Arts Commission, which was formed in 1977 to promote Moscow’s artistic endeavors.
“The growth we’ve had had here in my last 10 years has been amazing,” Burns said.
Burns said she has seen the Moscow Farmers Market — one of the largest weekly community events — grow from a small parking lot affair to the length of downtown Main Street.
“The arts are part of our culture, climate and fabric,” Burns said. “It really defines a lot of the folks that live here.”
While Moscow’s art scene thrives, Taruscio said it is the community’s political climate that really exemplifies the town’s population.
“We are sitting in the midst of north Idaho, and that alone is more conservative than most places,” Taruscio said. “Yet here we are — a little blue patch in a red state.”
Taruscio said she finds it to be a commonly held belief that no matter what side of the political spectrum a community member falls on, everyone likes knowing that Moscow has the chance of making political change.
“I think I speak for a lot of people when I say we manage to be independent and individual and strong,” Taruscio said. “We do our own thing and we do it well — despite the difference, we love it.”
Burns said Moscow is the sort of town that people search for.
“When people think about a place to live, they think about needs and wants — Moscow just so happens to fit both the needs and the wants of its community members,” Burns said.
When Perryman began his job search 17 years ago, like many others, he too looked around with his own set of certain needs and wants in a town. Moscow seemed like the perfect fit.
“I haven’t met many people who don’t get out and get involved with the community,” Perryman said. “The people here are the town’s biggest selling point.”
Over two decades ago when Taruscio found herself in Moscow, she said she felt like home in an instant. But, it was a while into her stay when she realized just how to describe the people of Moscow.
When her daughter skipped a day of school — an unusual occurrence in their family — Taruscio became a little worried, but not for long.
“The clearest illustration of what Moscow is, was when three other mothers called me to tell me that she wasn’t at school because she was enjoying the day in Rotary Park,” Taruscio said.
While her daughter wanted to spend a nice day in Moscow, Taruscio said she knew her daughter was safe with the watchful eyes of kind community members.
“It takes a village to raise a family, and Moscow is that village,” Taruscio said. “It was very clear to me at that point that Moscow was home — it always will be.”
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected]