Rick Just's Blog, page 166
April 4, 2020
The Town Builders
Towns in Idaho were rarely created on a whim. Most can trace their roots back to some geographical, geological, or transportation-related happenstance. Silver City, Idaho City, Florence, Bayhorse, and many others popped up because there was something nearby to mine. Idaho Falls, first called Eagle Rock, owes its location to a convenient narrowing of the Snake River where entrepreneurs could place a toll bridge. Boise came to into existence because of several factors, the nearby river, mining in the mountains, and the creation of the military Fort Boise, which provided some welcome protection from attack.
Today, we’re going to look at how Caldwell got its start. Mountain Home, Hailey, Shoshone, and Weiser got their start the same way.
Robert E. Strahorn and his wife Carrie Adell Green Strahorn—often called “Dell”—went everywhere together. Everywhere. The book Dell Strahorn wrote about their adventures is called (take a breath before you read this) Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage: a Woman's Unique Experience During Thirty Years of Path Finding and Pioneering From the Missouri to the Pacific and From Alaska to Mexico. It was published in 1911. Because of its popularity—it’s still in print today—Mrs. Strahorn is the best known of the two. Mr. Strahorn’s book, published in 1881 had a somewhat shorter title, The Resources and Attractions of Idaho Territory, for the Homeseeker, Capitalist and Tourist. It was popular at the time with Easterners dreaming of the West.
Writing about the West was Robert Strahorn’s job. The owner of Union Pacific Railroad at the time, 1877, hired him to write books and newspaper articles about how wonderful the West was in order to attract settlers and increase the fortune of said owner. His name was Jay Gould, and photos of him grace reference pages about Robber Barons not infrequently.
His boss’s alleged villainy aside, Strahorn was eager to take the publicity job, with one condition. He knew that it would require months of travelling that turned into years, so he insisted on taking his wife along. It was a good move for everyone concerned. She provided much enticing writing herself and was heavily involved with her husband in selecting sites where the Idaho and Oregon Land Development Company, closely affiliated with the Union Pacific, could purchase cheap land for the purpose of erecting railroad stations, which would in turn be the impetus for a town.
The aforementioned townsites came first. The railroad would come later.
Robert Strahorn roughly plotted out the route for the Oregon Shortline Railroad from Granger, Wyoming to Portland, Oregon, and he convinced the railroad to put in a spur to Hailey. That, 50-some years later, would give Averell Harriman the idea to create Sun Valley when he was the head of Union Pacific.
The Strahorns spent about 11 years in Idaho, buying land, laying out townsites, and sending reams of enthusiastic propaganda back East.
There is probably no town more indebted to the Strahorns than Caldwell, even if it is only for the name. The nascent berg was called Bugtown, at first, but Robert Strahorn named it after a business partner and U.S. Senator from Kansas, Alexander Caldwell.
The couple built the first home in Caldwell on Filmore Street between 7th Street and Kimball Avenue. They called it The Sunnyside Ranch, a bit of hyperbole for a 600 square foot house. Carrie Strahorn set out to civilize the new town by helping to start up its first church, a nondenominational gathering place headed by a Presbyterian minister by the name of Judson Boone. She also supported Boone when he decided to start a church-affiliated college in the bustling little town. The College of Idaho, founded in 1891, the state’s oldest private college, was the result.
Carrie Adell Green Strahorn passed away in 1925. Robert Strahorn donated funds in her name for the construction of the Strahorn Memorial Library on the campus of the College of Idaho. Today it is called Strahorn Hall and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The founding of a few Idaho towns was just a sliver in the lives of the remarkable Strahorns. Robert would continue to plot the course of railroads, and invest in mining and newspaper ventures long after the death of his wife. He lived to be 92, dying in San Francisco in 1944. He made and lost fortunes over the years. Upon his death his riches were just a memory.
Carrie Adell Green Strahorn, author and builder of towns.
Today, we’re going to look at how Caldwell got its start. Mountain Home, Hailey, Shoshone, and Weiser got their start the same way.
Robert E. Strahorn and his wife Carrie Adell Green Strahorn—often called “Dell”—went everywhere together. Everywhere. The book Dell Strahorn wrote about their adventures is called (take a breath before you read this) Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage: a Woman's Unique Experience During Thirty Years of Path Finding and Pioneering From the Missouri to the Pacific and From Alaska to Mexico. It was published in 1911. Because of its popularity—it’s still in print today—Mrs. Strahorn is the best known of the two. Mr. Strahorn’s book, published in 1881 had a somewhat shorter title, The Resources and Attractions of Idaho Territory, for the Homeseeker, Capitalist and Tourist. It was popular at the time with Easterners dreaming of the West.
Writing about the West was Robert Strahorn’s job. The owner of Union Pacific Railroad at the time, 1877, hired him to write books and newspaper articles about how wonderful the West was in order to attract settlers and increase the fortune of said owner. His name was Jay Gould, and photos of him grace reference pages about Robber Barons not infrequently.
His boss’s alleged villainy aside, Strahorn was eager to take the publicity job, with one condition. He knew that it would require months of travelling that turned into years, so he insisted on taking his wife along. It was a good move for everyone concerned. She provided much enticing writing herself and was heavily involved with her husband in selecting sites where the Idaho and Oregon Land Development Company, closely affiliated with the Union Pacific, could purchase cheap land for the purpose of erecting railroad stations, which would in turn be the impetus for a town.
The aforementioned townsites came first. The railroad would come later.
Robert Strahorn roughly plotted out the route for the Oregon Shortline Railroad from Granger, Wyoming to Portland, Oregon, and he convinced the railroad to put in a spur to Hailey. That, 50-some years later, would give Averell Harriman the idea to create Sun Valley when he was the head of Union Pacific.
The Strahorns spent about 11 years in Idaho, buying land, laying out townsites, and sending reams of enthusiastic propaganda back East.
There is probably no town more indebted to the Strahorns than Caldwell, even if it is only for the name. The nascent berg was called Bugtown, at first, but Robert Strahorn named it after a business partner and U.S. Senator from Kansas, Alexander Caldwell.
The couple built the first home in Caldwell on Filmore Street between 7th Street and Kimball Avenue. They called it The Sunnyside Ranch, a bit of hyperbole for a 600 square foot house. Carrie Strahorn set out to civilize the new town by helping to start up its first church, a nondenominational gathering place headed by a Presbyterian minister by the name of Judson Boone. She also supported Boone when he decided to start a church-affiliated college in the bustling little town. The College of Idaho, founded in 1891, the state’s oldest private college, was the result.
Carrie Adell Green Strahorn passed away in 1925. Robert Strahorn donated funds in her name for the construction of the Strahorn Memorial Library on the campus of the College of Idaho. Today it is called Strahorn Hall and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The founding of a few Idaho towns was just a sliver in the lives of the remarkable Strahorns. Robert would continue to plot the course of railroads, and invest in mining and newspaper ventures long after the death of his wife. He lived to be 92, dying in San Francisco in 1944. He made and lost fortunes over the years. Upon his death his riches were just a memory.
Carrie Adell Green Strahorn, author and builder of towns.
April 3, 2020
Aviator Cave
Spelunkers keep the location of most caves they know about secret. That’s to keep people who don’t have the proper training from hurting themselves and sometimes to protect cave environments.
There’s one cave in Idaho that gets a lot of extra protection. It’s called Aviator’s Cave and it is within the boundaries of the Idaho National Laboratory, which is in the desert between Idaho Falls and Arco. Since 1949 “the Site,” as it’s known locally, has been a national center for nuclear research. Because of the sensitive nature of that research, security at INL is high. In 1985, that included regular helicopter flyovers to make sure people weren’t intentionally or accidentally trespassing on the federal property.
In January 1985 pilot Mike Atwood was flying about 500 feet above the desert on a routine patrol when he spotted what looked like smoke. Circling around to investigate, he saw that it wasn’t smoke, but steam coming from a visible rift in the lava rock below. Atwood assumed it was condensation from warm air inside a lava tube hitting the sub-zero air in the desert above. He noted the GPS coordinates of the site and paid no more attention to it.
Lava tubes are common there in the Idaho desert, not far from Craters of the Moon National Monument. The caves were formed some 30,000 years ago when rivers of lava spewed from the earth, flowing downhill like water. The lava rivers would cool from the outside first forming a tube or roof over the molten lava still flowing beneath. Like a garden hose when the water is shut off the molten lava would drain out leaving a cave sometimes miles long.
Three years after his winter encounter with the steam and in a warmer season, Atwood’s curiosity surfaced. He decided to go back and investigate the hole he had found. When he flew to the coordinates he’d noted, Atwood saw that the vegetation around the dark shadow on the ground was a brighter shade of green than the surrounding rabbit brush.
About 30 feet from the hole he found a spot clear enough to land. As he walked closer to the cave he began to see buffalo skulls and other bones inside. He climbed down to the opening, stooped to get inside, and found that the cave opened up once past the lip. Standing up was easy.
It was immediately obvious that Atwood was not the first person to stand in that cave, though he was the first to stand there in a very long time. Among the scattered bones were obsidian chips and projectile points, evidence that native hunters had at least stopped in the cave if they had not lived there. Atwood, and later others, found more fragile evidence of human occupation, including objects made from plant material and fur.
Today this important archeological site remains doubly protected by its status as a place of scientific study and a place within a modern well-protected place of scientific study. Aviator’s Cave was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
The INL photo shows Shoshone-Bannock tribal members and archeologists exploring the cave.
#INL #aviatorcave
There’s one cave in Idaho that gets a lot of extra protection. It’s called Aviator’s Cave and it is within the boundaries of the Idaho National Laboratory, which is in the desert between Idaho Falls and Arco. Since 1949 “the Site,” as it’s known locally, has been a national center for nuclear research. Because of the sensitive nature of that research, security at INL is high. In 1985, that included regular helicopter flyovers to make sure people weren’t intentionally or accidentally trespassing on the federal property.
In January 1985 pilot Mike Atwood was flying about 500 feet above the desert on a routine patrol when he spotted what looked like smoke. Circling around to investigate, he saw that it wasn’t smoke, but steam coming from a visible rift in the lava rock below. Atwood assumed it was condensation from warm air inside a lava tube hitting the sub-zero air in the desert above. He noted the GPS coordinates of the site and paid no more attention to it.
Lava tubes are common there in the Idaho desert, not far from Craters of the Moon National Monument. The caves were formed some 30,000 years ago when rivers of lava spewed from the earth, flowing downhill like water. The lava rivers would cool from the outside first forming a tube or roof over the molten lava still flowing beneath. Like a garden hose when the water is shut off the molten lava would drain out leaving a cave sometimes miles long.
Three years after his winter encounter with the steam and in a warmer season, Atwood’s curiosity surfaced. He decided to go back and investigate the hole he had found. When he flew to the coordinates he’d noted, Atwood saw that the vegetation around the dark shadow on the ground was a brighter shade of green than the surrounding rabbit brush.
About 30 feet from the hole he found a spot clear enough to land. As he walked closer to the cave he began to see buffalo skulls and other bones inside. He climbed down to the opening, stooped to get inside, and found that the cave opened up once past the lip. Standing up was easy.
It was immediately obvious that Atwood was not the first person to stand in that cave, though he was the first to stand there in a very long time. Among the scattered bones were obsidian chips and projectile points, evidence that native hunters had at least stopped in the cave if they had not lived there. Atwood, and later others, found more fragile evidence of human occupation, including objects made from plant material and fur.
Today this important archeological site remains doubly protected by its status as a place of scientific study and a place within a modern well-protected place of scientific study. Aviator’s Cave was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
The INL photo shows Shoshone-Bannock tribal members and archeologists exploring the cave.
#INL #aviatorcave
April 2, 2020
Aurelius Buckner
In 1944 a freshman name Aurelius Buckner signed up to play football for Boise Junior College. Friends called the Boise native “Buck.” It surprised no one that Buck wanted to play football at BJC. He had lettered in football, basketball, and baseball at Boise High School.
Buckner also joined the BJC basketball team, and come spring of ’45, he joined the baseball team. Which makes Aurelius Buckner the first black player in each sport in the Boise college’s history. In both basketball seasons he played (BJC was a two-year school, thus the Junior in its name) Buckner was the team captain and led the hoopsters in scoring.
In September of 1950, Buckner married another BJC grad, Dorothy Johnson. He would go on to be an honored athletic referee, and a member of the Idaho Human Rights Commission, who would try his hand at politics in 1971, running unsuccessfully for a seat on the Boise City Council.
Dorothy Buckner was always active in community affairs, serving multiple times on the Idaho NAACP board. She became a designee in the NAACP Heritage Hall of Fame in 2003. Both of the Buckners passed away in 2003. Their daughter, Cherie Buckner-Webb became Idaho’s first African-American legislator when she was elected to represent District 19 in the Idaho House in 2010. She was elected to the Idaho Senate in 2012 and served there until retiring in 2020.
Buckner also joined the BJC basketball team, and come spring of ’45, he joined the baseball team. Which makes Aurelius Buckner the first black player in each sport in the Boise college’s history. In both basketball seasons he played (BJC was a two-year school, thus the Junior in its name) Buckner was the team captain and led the hoopsters in scoring.
In September of 1950, Buckner married another BJC grad, Dorothy Johnson. He would go on to be an honored athletic referee, and a member of the Idaho Human Rights Commission, who would try his hand at politics in 1971, running unsuccessfully for a seat on the Boise City Council.
Dorothy Buckner was always active in community affairs, serving multiple times on the Idaho NAACP board. She became a designee in the NAACP Heritage Hall of Fame in 2003. Both of the Buckners passed away in 2003. Their daughter, Cherie Buckner-Webb became Idaho’s first African-American legislator when she was elected to represent District 19 in the Idaho House in 2010. She was elected to the Idaho Senate in 2012 and served there until retiring in 2020.
April 1, 2020
A Relucant Idahoan
Most Idahoans would rather live here than anywhere else. Today’s story is about a woman who desperately wanted to stay away, yet went on to popularize Idaho in illustration and story.
Mary Hallock grew up in New York, and received her education in Boston. She socialized with the elite of New England, but she fell in love with a civil engineer named Arthur Foote who had the grit of the West beneath his fingernails.
Mary Hallock Foote came West in the nation's Centennial year, 1876, but she did not come eagerly. Mrs. Foote once wrote, "No girl ever wanted less to go West with any man, or paid a man a greater compliment by doing so."
The Foote's lived in Idaho from 1883 to 1895, mostly in the Boise River Canyon near present day Lucky Peak Dam. It was a frustrating, heartbreaking time for them, but Mary made use of her hard experience. She was an illustrator for books and magazines of the era. In fact, she was once called the dean of women illustrators.
Encouraged by an editor to write as well, she became a popular author.
Mary Hallock Foote wrote many short stories, and a dozen novels. Much of her writing was based on her years in Idaho. Coeur d'Alene, Silver City, Boise, Thousand Springs, and Craters of the Moon were all settings for her stories.
In 1971 she was the subject of an enchanting—if controversial—story herself. Wallace Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Angle of Repose is based on the fascinating life of Mary Hallock Foote... a somewhat reluctant Idahoan.
I’m pleased to say that a new Foote Park interpretive exhibit opened last fall. You can reach it by crossing Lucky Peak Dam and taking the first road to your right. There is a restroom on site and plenty of parking. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time.
A sketch of her front porch on the Boise River by Mary Hallock Foote.
Mary Hallock grew up in New York, and received her education in Boston. She socialized with the elite of New England, but she fell in love with a civil engineer named Arthur Foote who had the grit of the West beneath his fingernails.
Mary Hallock Foote came West in the nation's Centennial year, 1876, but she did not come eagerly. Mrs. Foote once wrote, "No girl ever wanted less to go West with any man, or paid a man a greater compliment by doing so."
The Foote's lived in Idaho from 1883 to 1895, mostly in the Boise River Canyon near present day Lucky Peak Dam. It was a frustrating, heartbreaking time for them, but Mary made use of her hard experience. She was an illustrator for books and magazines of the era. In fact, she was once called the dean of women illustrators.
Encouraged by an editor to write as well, she became a popular author.
Mary Hallock Foote wrote many short stories, and a dozen novels. Much of her writing was based on her years in Idaho. Coeur d'Alene, Silver City, Boise, Thousand Springs, and Craters of the Moon were all settings for her stories.
In 1971 she was the subject of an enchanting—if controversial—story herself. Wallace Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Angle of Repose is based on the fascinating life of Mary Hallock Foote... a somewhat reluctant Idahoan.
I’m pleased to say that a new Foote Park interpretive exhibit opened last fall. You can reach it by crossing Lucky Peak Dam and taking the first road to your right. There is a restroom on site and plenty of parking. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time.
A sketch of her front porch on the Boise River by Mary Hallock Foote.
March 31, 2020
Pop Quiz!
Below is a little Idaho trivia quiz. If you’ve been following Speaking of Idaho, you might do very well. Caution, it is my job to throw you off the scent. Answers below the picture.
1). What does the word “spud” mean?
A. It’s an acronym for Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet.
B. No one has a clue.
C. It was originally the name for a digging instrument something like a trowel.
D. It is a Shoshone word meaning “many eyes.”
E. It was an alternate name for the “possible” bag carried by trappers.
2). What was the town of Mesa, Idaho known for?
A. At one time it had the largest apple production in the U.S.
B. Wyatt Earp owned a saloon there.
C. It was established atop a flat-topped butte in eastern Idaho.
D. It was just a honky tonk above Mesa Falls, but it had a post office.
E. It was the original name of Arco.
3). Which of the following movies were shot, at least in part, in Idaho?
A. Breakfast of Champions.
B. I Met Him in Paris.
C. How to Marry a Millionaire.
D. Bus Stop.
E. All of them.
4). Which of these is true about Dr. Ephraim Smith?
A. He was a dentist.
B. He was elected as the first mayor of Boise.
C. He never served as the mayor of Boise.
D. He had an impressive head of hair and beard.
E. All of the above.
5) Which of the following are false about Champagne Creek?
A. It was originally called Era Creek.
B. It was named Champagne because of its natural effervescence.
C. It disappears into the lavas not far from Craters of the Moon National Monument.
D. It was named after a man named Champagne.
E. None of the above.
Answers
1, C
2, A
3, E
4, E
5, B
How did you do?
5 right—Why aren’t you writing this blog?
4 right—A true Idaho native, no matter where you’re from.
3 right—Good! Treat yourself to some French fries.
2 right—Okay! Eat more potatoes!
1 right—Meh. You need to read more blog posts.
0 right—Really, you should reconsider your recent relocation.
1). What does the word “spud” mean?
A. It’s an acronym for Society for the Prevention of an Unwholesome Diet.
B. No one has a clue.
C. It was originally the name for a digging instrument something like a trowel.
D. It is a Shoshone word meaning “many eyes.”
E. It was an alternate name for the “possible” bag carried by trappers.
2). What was the town of Mesa, Idaho known for?
A. At one time it had the largest apple production in the U.S.
B. Wyatt Earp owned a saloon there.
C. It was established atop a flat-topped butte in eastern Idaho.
D. It was just a honky tonk above Mesa Falls, but it had a post office.
E. It was the original name of Arco.
3). Which of the following movies were shot, at least in part, in Idaho?
A. Breakfast of Champions.
B. I Met Him in Paris.
C. How to Marry a Millionaire.
D. Bus Stop.
E. All of them.
4). Which of these is true about Dr. Ephraim Smith?
A. He was a dentist.
B. He was elected as the first mayor of Boise.
C. He never served as the mayor of Boise.
D. He had an impressive head of hair and beard.
E. All of the above.
5) Which of the following are false about Champagne Creek?
A. It was originally called Era Creek.
B. It was named Champagne because of its natural effervescence.
C. It disappears into the lavas not far from Craters of the Moon National Monument.
D. It was named after a man named Champagne.
E. None of the above.
Answers1, C
2, A
3, E
4, E
5, B
How did you do?
5 right—Why aren’t you writing this blog?
4 right—A true Idaho native, no matter where you’re from.
3 right—Good! Treat yourself to some French fries.
2 right—Okay! Eat more potatoes!
1 right—Meh. You need to read more blog posts.
0 right—Really, you should reconsider your recent relocation.
March 30, 2020
The Bon Ton
Bon Ton is a French term defined as something fashionable or stylish. Many businesses around the country, from department stores to bakeries, used the name. Even so it will surprise long-time Blackfoot residents to learn that Blackfoot’s original Bon Ton was a Chinese restaurant that opened in 1907 with Lou Wah as the proprietor. He sold it months later to Louie Fung who promised to “conduct it as a first-class restaurant and short order house.” It was located on North Main Street. It seems to have disappeared sometime before 1916.
The second Bon Ton would last for 59 years, at the corner of North Broadway and West Pacific in Blackfoot. The Bon Ton most remember was a candy parlor and restaurant, started by Ted Enlow in 1916. They served Mexican Chili and chicken tamales at all hours, providing those hours were between 9 am and 11 pm when they were open. The Bingham County News on May 11, 1916, described the Bon Ton as a “place artistically fitted up for a candy parlor and factory, and the display of sweetmeats is indeed attractive. The place is also provided with a player piano and a Victrola in connection with a small dance hall.” Dancing would be big at the Bon Ton during its first few years, with many mentions in the local papers.
Nick Lagos took over the Bon Ton in 1921 and ran it until 1923, when he sold it to Chris Spyrow and Jim Morris. Lagos moved to Idaho Falls where he opened Falls Candy Kitchen. What happened to Mr. Spyrow, or exactly when Gust became involved in the business isn’t clear. Gust married Lagos’ daughter Constance in 1931. The Bon Ton that Gust and Jim ran is the one most people remember. It was a teen hangout for decades, where you could drop a coin in a jukebox and order a banana split or a Miss Blackfoot to go along with your burger.
The Morris brothers came to the United States from Greece in about 1916, when Gust was 16 and Jim was 18. Gust wasn’t fussy about his name, answering as readily to “Gus,” which he was commonly called. He also answered the fire alarm countless times. The fire station was located across the street from the Bon Ton. A member of the volunteer fire brigade from 1938 to 1969, Gus was often seen dashing across the street in his white apron to answer an alarm.
Urania Brown, the daughter of Gus Morris remembers dipping chocolate in the basement of the Bon Ton for her dad. All those sweets had to be stored somehow, so the candy makers worked out a deal with the Bitton-Tuohy men’s store down the street to get the shoeboxes customers didn’t take when they purchased shoes.
Gus and Jim created a lot of chocolate and prepared miles of ribbon candy. It was an ice cream creation that made them famous at the fair. They purchased a booth at the fair in 1936 and began selling burgers and ice cream. Their selection winnowed down over the years until they were selling just Bon Ton nut sundaes, a block of vanilla ice cream on a stick rolled in chocolate and chopped nuts. Gus’s son Jim, quoted in a 2002 article in The Post Register, estimated the family had sold more than half a million of the ice cream treats over the years. That was the year the family sold the booth. The Bon Ton itself was closed in 1975.
The interior of the Bon Ton circa 1955 with Jim Morris at the cash register.
The second Bon Ton would last for 59 years, at the corner of North Broadway and West Pacific in Blackfoot. The Bon Ton most remember was a candy parlor and restaurant, started by Ted Enlow in 1916. They served Mexican Chili and chicken tamales at all hours, providing those hours were between 9 am and 11 pm when they were open. The Bingham County News on May 11, 1916, described the Bon Ton as a “place artistically fitted up for a candy parlor and factory, and the display of sweetmeats is indeed attractive. The place is also provided with a player piano and a Victrola in connection with a small dance hall.” Dancing would be big at the Bon Ton during its first few years, with many mentions in the local papers.
Nick Lagos took over the Bon Ton in 1921 and ran it until 1923, when he sold it to Chris Spyrow and Jim Morris. Lagos moved to Idaho Falls where he opened Falls Candy Kitchen. What happened to Mr. Spyrow, or exactly when Gust became involved in the business isn’t clear. Gust married Lagos’ daughter Constance in 1931. The Bon Ton that Gust and Jim ran is the one most people remember. It was a teen hangout for decades, where you could drop a coin in a jukebox and order a banana split or a Miss Blackfoot to go along with your burger.
The Morris brothers came to the United States from Greece in about 1916, when Gust was 16 and Jim was 18. Gust wasn’t fussy about his name, answering as readily to “Gus,” which he was commonly called. He also answered the fire alarm countless times. The fire station was located across the street from the Bon Ton. A member of the volunteer fire brigade from 1938 to 1969, Gus was often seen dashing across the street in his white apron to answer an alarm.
Urania Brown, the daughter of Gus Morris remembers dipping chocolate in the basement of the Bon Ton for her dad. All those sweets had to be stored somehow, so the candy makers worked out a deal with the Bitton-Tuohy men’s store down the street to get the shoeboxes customers didn’t take when they purchased shoes.
Gus and Jim created a lot of chocolate and prepared miles of ribbon candy. It was an ice cream creation that made them famous at the fair. They purchased a booth at the fair in 1936 and began selling burgers and ice cream. Their selection winnowed down over the years until they were selling just Bon Ton nut sundaes, a block of vanilla ice cream on a stick rolled in chocolate and chopped nuts. Gus’s son Jim, quoted in a 2002 article in The Post Register, estimated the family had sold more than half a million of the ice cream treats over the years. That was the year the family sold the booth. The Bon Ton itself was closed in 1975.
The interior of the Bon Ton circa 1955 with Jim Morris at the cash register.
March 29, 2020
Georgia Coleman
Georgia Coleman, center in the photo, was born in St. Maries, Idaho. She was an Olympic champion, but the Idaho Statesman didn’t make the Idaho connection when reporting on her prowess in the pool at the time so she may not have lived long in the state.
Coleman won the silver medal in the 10-metre platform and the bronze medal in the 3-metre springboard competition in 1928 in Amsterdam. Four years later, in Los Angels she won the gold medal in the 3-metre springboard event and the silver medal in the 10-metre platform competition. She dominated diving competition for several years.
Coleman contracted polio in 1937. She recovered enough to start swimming again, but two years later died from polio-related pneumonia.
Georgia Coleman was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966.
You can see Coleman demonstrating her dives by Googling Georgia Coleman (1933), and watching a short video called Graceful Eve.
#georgiacoleman
Coleman won the silver medal in the 10-metre platform and the bronze medal in the 3-metre springboard competition in 1928 in Amsterdam. Four years later, in Los Angels she won the gold medal in the 3-metre springboard event and the silver medal in the 10-metre platform competition. She dominated diving competition for several years.
Coleman contracted polio in 1937. She recovered enough to start swimming again, but two years later died from polio-related pneumonia.
Georgia Coleman was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966.
You can see Coleman demonstrating her dives by Googling Georgia Coleman (1933), and watching a short video called Graceful Eve.
#georgiacoleman
March 28, 2020
Wyatt Earp in Murray
Have you ever heard of a little Idaho town called Murray? Maybe not, but I bet you've heard of a couple of Western characters called Wyatt Earp and Calamity Jane. They knew all about Murray.
Murray, Idaho, located in the mountains just north of Wallace, has fewer than 100 residents nowadays, but in the mid-1880s it was a thriving boomtown. A gold rush came to Murray in 1883. Gold meant miners, and miners meant saloons, supply stores, and a red-light district. The latter attracted some colorful ladies like Terrible Edith, Molly B. Dam, and Calamity Jane.
Virgil and Wyatt Earp had some mining claims in the area, and they ran a saloon in nearby Eagle City. An 1884 newspaper ad for their saloon called it the "finest appointed saloon in the Coeur d'Alenes... with the finest brand of foreign and domestic liquors to be found in the United States." The ad also suggested that customers of the Earp brothers' White Elephant Saloon, should come "and see the Elephant."
Virgil and Wyatt Earp didn't stick around long, though. Murray boomed for about a year and a half, then just hung on for another 25 or 30 years. During its life as a mining center, about $1 million worth of gold came out of Murray, though.
The little town is still worth visiting. The Sprag Pole Museum has a fascinating collection of mining tools, whiskey decanters, and guns. It also claims to have the world's longest wooden chain. It's 120 feet in length. Can your wooden chain beat that?
A wanted poster from Earp's more infamous days.
Murray, Idaho, located in the mountains just north of Wallace, has fewer than 100 residents nowadays, but in the mid-1880s it was a thriving boomtown. A gold rush came to Murray in 1883. Gold meant miners, and miners meant saloons, supply stores, and a red-light district. The latter attracted some colorful ladies like Terrible Edith, Molly B. Dam, and Calamity Jane.
Virgil and Wyatt Earp had some mining claims in the area, and they ran a saloon in nearby Eagle City. An 1884 newspaper ad for their saloon called it the "finest appointed saloon in the Coeur d'Alenes... with the finest brand of foreign and domestic liquors to be found in the United States." The ad also suggested that customers of the Earp brothers' White Elephant Saloon, should come "and see the Elephant."
Virgil and Wyatt Earp didn't stick around long, though. Murray boomed for about a year and a half, then just hung on for another 25 or 30 years. During its life as a mining center, about $1 million worth of gold came out of Murray, though.
The little town is still worth visiting. The Sprag Pole Museum has a fascinating collection of mining tools, whiskey decanters, and guns. It also claims to have the world's longest wooden chain. It's 120 feet in length. Can your wooden chain beat that?
A wanted poster from Earp's more infamous days.
March 27, 2020
Idaho Monsters
People say they have seen Bigfoot in Idaho. Some swear they saw Sharlie. He’s the lake monster said to live in Payette Lake. And, there are many stories about the Bear Lake monster. We know where one of those legends came from. The one about the monster no one bothered to name.
You know about Bigfoot. He, she, or they, go by a lot of names. In the Himalayas, they are known as Yeti. Some call them Abominable Snowmen. The legends passed down in the Salish Tribe of the Pacific Northwest call them Sasquatch.
Stories about Bigfoot go back at least to 1887 in Idaho. A more recent sighting took place not far from Lewiston. In 1992, several people spotted something near Spalding. Some watched an animal from across the river as it walked through a field. The Nez Perce National Historic Park was nearby. One park employee also saw something big, dark, and shaggy. It walked on two legs. The watchers drove closer to where it had been. One of them spotted it across the field squatting behind a bush. One man had binoculars. He looked and said it was just a man, but he wouldn’t let anyone else look. Others said it was seven feet tall and walked with its arms swinging. They said it couldn’t be a bear because it walked upright for so far. Did they see Bigfoot?
Jeff Meldrum is one Idahoan who thinks Bigfoot might exist. He is a professor at Idaho State University. Dr. Meldrum has been looking for Bigfoot since 1996. He has studied plaster casts of many footprints. It is another cast that makes him wonder. It is a cast of where something sat in the mud. That’s right, he thinks it might be a print of Bigfoot’s butt.
Meldrum sees too much detail in some of the footprints for them to be a hoax. Anybody can carve a big shoe out of wood and walk around. The professor says he’s seen prints like that. But he has also seen prints that only something weighing a thousand pounds could make. Those prints show skin details a lot like fingerprints. The toes spread apart in some tracks and slip in the mud.
In 2006, Meldrum had a Bigfoot convention in Pocatello. The county commissioners signed an official document protecting any Sasquatch and welcoming them to the county. They didn’t say they believed in Bigfoot. They believed in conventions for sure. Big meetings bring in a lot of money. People need to pay for hotel rooms and food. Even with that official welcome, no Bigfoot showed up.
If someone comes up with proof that Bigfoot exists, it might be Idaho’s Jeff Meldrum. He’s a scientist. If he is ever convinced it will be because he has very good evidence.
Bigfoot has more names than he needs. One Idaho monster went without a name for many years. The first sighting of the Payette Lake monster was in the winter of 1920. A logging crew was cutting wood for railroad ties. They spotted a big log floating in the icy water. Then the log began to swivel back and forth like a snake. It created a wake as it sped away.
In 1944 a group of people saw something in Payette Lake that was at least 35 feet long. It had the head of a dinosaur and shell-like skin. That claim got attention all over the country. People began coming to McCall to look for the beast. Time magazine published an article about it, calling the creature Slimy Slim.
Two years later a doctor from Nampa said he saw Slimy Slim. The doctor thought it was about 40 feet long and made waves like a motorboat.
By 1954, many people had seen something in the lake. The local newspaper editor decided to have some fun with the growing legend. He ran a national contest to pick a name for the Payette Lake monster. People came up with Kingfish, Watzit, Fantasy, Alley Oop, Hi-Ho, and even Old Rover. The winner was a woman from Springfield, Virginia who thought the creature should be named Sharlie.
So, now everyone knows what to call whatever it is. They make ice sculptures of Sharlie during the winter carnival in McCall. A local restaurant sells a Sharlie burger. It is almost certainly not made from lake monsters. Meanwhile, people still see unexplained things in the waters of Payette Lake.
We know more about the monster in Bear Lake. The first reports of that one were in a Salt Lake City newspaper in 1868. The paper printed stories from reporters in southeastern Idaho. Joseph C. Rich often wrote from the Idaho side of Bear Lake. Part of Bear Lake is in Idaho and part is in Utah.
Rich told of Indian legends of a snake-like monster that had short, stubby legs. It would sometimes scurry onto shore and snatch away maidens in its terrible jaws.
But it wasn’t just a legend. Rich wrote of people who saw the monster that very year. Just three weeks earlier one saw “two or three feet of some kind of an animal that he had never seen before raised out of the water.” It had ears on the side of its head the size of “a pint cup.”
Then a man and three women saw something very large swimming in the lake faster than a horse could run.
A few days later three men saw a beast they said was 90 feet long. One of them said he had never seen a train go that fast. Then they spotted a second, smaller monster. This one was only 40 feet long.
Rich reported that “the waves that rolled up in front and on each side of them” were three feet high.
Readers wrote to the paper with ideas about the monsters. One thought sea lions got stranded in the lake when an ancient ocean dried up. Others thought fossils held a clue. Maybe the monster was a swimming dinosaur.
Several people said they, too, saw the monster. Many scoffed at the stories. J.C. Rich wrote how sorry he was for unbelievers. “They might come up here someday, and through their unbelief, be thrown off their guard and gobbled up by the Water Devil.”
Rich often wrote tongue-in-cheek. The story about the Bear Lake monster was part of a longer article. It started this way: “It is a mystery to me that all the leading journals of the world have not correspondents in Bear Lake. In fact, I don’t know how the people tolerate their publications without.”
He went on to describe the styles in Paris. Paris, Idaho. Those included “cow sheds and other items.” He also told of invading grasshoppers “well disciplined, armed, and equipped for war.”
The monster sightings went on even after 1888. That was when the reporter finally admitted he made the whole thing up. Why? Just for fun. The fact he owned a resort on Bear Lake may have played a part. The publicity was great! Even today people claim they have seen the “monster.” That would have amused the father of the monster, Joseph C. Rich.
What do these “monsters” have in common? People claim they have seen them. Newspapers report on those claims. People get excited. Someone has some fun with the story. You can never prove there is no monster. It might be just around the bend or in deeper water. What monsters have you heard about?
You know about Bigfoot. He, she, or they, go by a lot of names. In the Himalayas, they are known as Yeti. Some call them Abominable Snowmen. The legends passed down in the Salish Tribe of the Pacific Northwest call them Sasquatch.
Stories about Bigfoot go back at least to 1887 in Idaho. A more recent sighting took place not far from Lewiston. In 1992, several people spotted something near Spalding. Some watched an animal from across the river as it walked through a field. The Nez Perce National Historic Park was nearby. One park employee also saw something big, dark, and shaggy. It walked on two legs. The watchers drove closer to where it had been. One of them spotted it across the field squatting behind a bush. One man had binoculars. He looked and said it was just a man, but he wouldn’t let anyone else look. Others said it was seven feet tall and walked with its arms swinging. They said it couldn’t be a bear because it walked upright for so far. Did they see Bigfoot?
Jeff Meldrum is one Idahoan who thinks Bigfoot might exist. He is a professor at Idaho State University. Dr. Meldrum has been looking for Bigfoot since 1996. He has studied plaster casts of many footprints. It is another cast that makes him wonder. It is a cast of where something sat in the mud. That’s right, he thinks it might be a print of Bigfoot’s butt.
Meldrum sees too much detail in some of the footprints for them to be a hoax. Anybody can carve a big shoe out of wood and walk around. The professor says he’s seen prints like that. But he has also seen prints that only something weighing a thousand pounds could make. Those prints show skin details a lot like fingerprints. The toes spread apart in some tracks and slip in the mud.
In 2006, Meldrum had a Bigfoot convention in Pocatello. The county commissioners signed an official document protecting any Sasquatch and welcoming them to the county. They didn’t say they believed in Bigfoot. They believed in conventions for sure. Big meetings bring in a lot of money. People need to pay for hotel rooms and food. Even with that official welcome, no Bigfoot showed up.
If someone comes up with proof that Bigfoot exists, it might be Idaho’s Jeff Meldrum. He’s a scientist. If he is ever convinced it will be because he has very good evidence.
Bigfoot has more names than he needs. One Idaho monster went without a name for many years. The first sighting of the Payette Lake monster was in the winter of 1920. A logging crew was cutting wood for railroad ties. They spotted a big log floating in the icy water. Then the log began to swivel back and forth like a snake. It created a wake as it sped away.
In 1944 a group of people saw something in Payette Lake that was at least 35 feet long. It had the head of a dinosaur and shell-like skin. That claim got attention all over the country. People began coming to McCall to look for the beast. Time magazine published an article about it, calling the creature Slimy Slim.
Two years later a doctor from Nampa said he saw Slimy Slim. The doctor thought it was about 40 feet long and made waves like a motorboat.
By 1954, many people had seen something in the lake. The local newspaper editor decided to have some fun with the growing legend. He ran a national contest to pick a name for the Payette Lake monster. People came up with Kingfish, Watzit, Fantasy, Alley Oop, Hi-Ho, and even Old Rover. The winner was a woman from Springfield, Virginia who thought the creature should be named Sharlie.
So, now everyone knows what to call whatever it is. They make ice sculptures of Sharlie during the winter carnival in McCall. A local restaurant sells a Sharlie burger. It is almost certainly not made from lake monsters. Meanwhile, people still see unexplained things in the waters of Payette Lake.
We know more about the monster in Bear Lake. The first reports of that one were in a Salt Lake City newspaper in 1868. The paper printed stories from reporters in southeastern Idaho. Joseph C. Rich often wrote from the Idaho side of Bear Lake. Part of Bear Lake is in Idaho and part is in Utah.
Rich told of Indian legends of a snake-like monster that had short, stubby legs. It would sometimes scurry onto shore and snatch away maidens in its terrible jaws.
But it wasn’t just a legend. Rich wrote of people who saw the monster that very year. Just three weeks earlier one saw “two or three feet of some kind of an animal that he had never seen before raised out of the water.” It had ears on the side of its head the size of “a pint cup.”
Then a man and three women saw something very large swimming in the lake faster than a horse could run.
A few days later three men saw a beast they said was 90 feet long. One of them said he had never seen a train go that fast. Then they spotted a second, smaller monster. This one was only 40 feet long.
Rich reported that “the waves that rolled up in front and on each side of them” were three feet high.
Readers wrote to the paper with ideas about the monsters. One thought sea lions got stranded in the lake when an ancient ocean dried up. Others thought fossils held a clue. Maybe the monster was a swimming dinosaur.
Several people said they, too, saw the monster. Many scoffed at the stories. J.C. Rich wrote how sorry he was for unbelievers. “They might come up here someday, and through their unbelief, be thrown off their guard and gobbled up by the Water Devil.”
Rich often wrote tongue-in-cheek. The story about the Bear Lake monster was part of a longer article. It started this way: “It is a mystery to me that all the leading journals of the world have not correspondents in Bear Lake. In fact, I don’t know how the people tolerate their publications without.”
He went on to describe the styles in Paris. Paris, Idaho. Those included “cow sheds and other items.” He also told of invading grasshoppers “well disciplined, armed, and equipped for war.”
The monster sightings went on even after 1888. That was when the reporter finally admitted he made the whole thing up. Why? Just for fun. The fact he owned a resort on Bear Lake may have played a part. The publicity was great! Even today people claim they have seen the “monster.” That would have amused the father of the monster, Joseph C. Rich.
What do these “monsters” have in common? People claim they have seen them. Newspapers report on those claims. People get excited. Someone has some fun with the story. You can never prove there is no monster. It might be just around the bend or in deeper water. What monsters have you heard about?
March 26, 2020
Arrowrock Dam and Railroad
I often find myself thinking, “everybody knows that” when I’m working on these short historical vignettes. As it turns out, I am regularly able to find a little bit of Idaho trivia that is brand new to a lot of people. Also, it’s not uncommon that my posts generate some feedback that includes something I didn’t know about the story. I really appreciate that.
Part of the reason I do this every day is that I frequently learn something new, myself. Today’s post is a good example.
I knew that Arrowrock Dam, dedicated in 1915, was the tallest dam in the world, for a little while. That’s always intrigued me, because by the standards of, say, Hoover, or Dworshak, it isn’t all that impressive. At 366 feet it held that title until 1924, when a dam in Switzerland knocked it from the throne.
But in reviewing the history of Arrowrock dam recently, I found a little Idaho first that was completely new to me. I informally collect tidbits where Idaho or an Idahoan was the first at something to defy the cynics who seem to think we’re always the last ones to the party.
This obscure first regards the railroad line that was built from the community of Barber all the way along the Boise River to the construction site of the Arrowrock Dam. The Barber Lumber Company was interested in a rail line along that stretch that could haul timber out of the mountains. In fact, they owned the right of way where the line would need to go. So, the Bureau of Reclamation worked out an agreement with Barber Lumber company where Reclamation would lease the tracks and run the railroad. That made the Arrowrock and Barber Railroad the first publicly owned line in the nation.
The Arrowrock and Barber Railroad ran from—wait for it—Arrowrock to Barber and back. The Oregon Shortline ran from Barber to the new Reclamation office in Boise, where materials were warehoused and sent to the construction site as needed. The Reclamation Service Boise Project Office, at 214 Broadway Avenue in Boise, was listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 2010.
#arrowrock #tallestdam
Part of the reason I do this every day is that I frequently learn something new, myself. Today’s post is a good example.
I knew that Arrowrock Dam, dedicated in 1915, was the tallest dam in the world, for a little while. That’s always intrigued me, because by the standards of, say, Hoover, or Dworshak, it isn’t all that impressive. At 366 feet it held that title until 1924, when a dam in Switzerland knocked it from the throne.
But in reviewing the history of Arrowrock dam recently, I found a little Idaho first that was completely new to me. I informally collect tidbits where Idaho or an Idahoan was the first at something to defy the cynics who seem to think we’re always the last ones to the party.
This obscure first regards the railroad line that was built from the community of Barber all the way along the Boise River to the construction site of the Arrowrock Dam. The Barber Lumber Company was interested in a rail line along that stretch that could haul timber out of the mountains. In fact, they owned the right of way where the line would need to go. So, the Bureau of Reclamation worked out an agreement with Barber Lumber company where Reclamation would lease the tracks and run the railroad. That made the Arrowrock and Barber Railroad the first publicly owned line in the nation.
The Arrowrock and Barber Railroad ran from—wait for it—Arrowrock to Barber and back. The Oregon Shortline ran from Barber to the new Reclamation office in Boise, where materials were warehoused and sent to the construction site as needed. The Reclamation Service Boise Project Office, at 214 Broadway Avenue in Boise, was listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 2010.
#arrowrock #tallestdam
