Rick Just's Blog, page 196
June 8, 2019
Bingham County Place Names
In yesterday’s post I wrote about how Blackfoot got its name. None of the other towns in Bingham County have quite so colorful naming histories.
Aberdeen was named after the town in Scotland. Springfield was probably named after the town in Illinois. Pingree was named after a Salt Lake City developer who platted the townsite. Fort Hall was named for Henry Hall, the partner of Nathaniel Wyeth who built the first trading post in the area.
Gibson, which is north of Fort Hall, was named after one of the men, John Gibson, who ran the Ferry Butte Ferry. By the way, what you may know as Ferry Butte is officially Gibson Butte, for the same reason.
I couldn’t find anything on the origin of the names Rockford or Rose. Riverside, meanwhile, is named—wait for it—because the town is beside the river. Ditto, Riverton.
Moreland is a similarly practical name. One of the first settlers found that the area had “more land” for homesteading than anywhere else. Residents there were ready to name the place “Bryan” if William Jennings Bryan won the presidential election in 1896, perhaps becoming the first town to be named after him. Bryan lost and Moreland became Moreland.
Groveland had a lot of groves. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Alridge was so named because of the nearby ridges. Basalt is named for basaltic formations nearby, though residents pronounce the name with emphasis on the first syllable and with a hard A.
Atomic City was once called Midway, since it was midway between Blackfoot and Arco. When it was incorporated in 1949 citizens thought it appropriate to change the name in honor of its proximity to what was then called the Atomic Energy Commission site.
Firth was named after early settler Lorenzo Firth. Thomas has another Lorenzo, Lorenzo Thomas, to thank for its name. Shelley was named for early settler John F. Shelley. Goshen was named for the biblical land of Goshen
Wapello seems to be the only settlement in the county with an Indian language name. Wapello, meaning something like “dawn,” was said to be a Fox chief. That begs the question, why name a place in Idaho after a chief from the Midwest?
Presto, which once had a post office, was named after Presto Burrell, the first settler on the Blackfoot River in that area.
My apologies if I have missed a community or former community. Many of those listed have long since lost their post offices, which were most often the reason for naming a town in the first place.
This post originally appeared as a column in the Blackfoot Morning News .
This is a picture of Lorenzo Thomas’ office in Blackfoot. It looks like someone has gone over his name on a print with a pen at some point. The town of Thomas was named after the attorney.
Aberdeen was named after the town in Scotland. Springfield was probably named after the town in Illinois. Pingree was named after a Salt Lake City developer who platted the townsite. Fort Hall was named for Henry Hall, the partner of Nathaniel Wyeth who built the first trading post in the area.
Gibson, which is north of Fort Hall, was named after one of the men, John Gibson, who ran the Ferry Butte Ferry. By the way, what you may know as Ferry Butte is officially Gibson Butte, for the same reason.
I couldn’t find anything on the origin of the names Rockford or Rose. Riverside, meanwhile, is named—wait for it—because the town is beside the river. Ditto, Riverton.
Moreland is a similarly practical name. One of the first settlers found that the area had “more land” for homesteading than anywhere else. Residents there were ready to name the place “Bryan” if William Jennings Bryan won the presidential election in 1896, perhaps becoming the first town to be named after him. Bryan lost and Moreland became Moreland.
Groveland had a lot of groves. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Alridge was so named because of the nearby ridges. Basalt is named for basaltic formations nearby, though residents pronounce the name with emphasis on the first syllable and with a hard A.
Atomic City was once called Midway, since it was midway between Blackfoot and Arco. When it was incorporated in 1949 citizens thought it appropriate to change the name in honor of its proximity to what was then called the Atomic Energy Commission site.
Firth was named after early settler Lorenzo Firth. Thomas has another Lorenzo, Lorenzo Thomas, to thank for its name. Shelley was named for early settler John F. Shelley. Goshen was named for the biblical land of Goshen
Wapello seems to be the only settlement in the county with an Indian language name. Wapello, meaning something like “dawn,” was said to be a Fox chief. That begs the question, why name a place in Idaho after a chief from the Midwest?
Presto, which once had a post office, was named after Presto Burrell, the first settler on the Blackfoot River in that area.
My apologies if I have missed a community or former community. Many of those listed have long since lost their post offices, which were most often the reason for naming a town in the first place.
This post originally appeared as a column in the Blackfoot Morning News .
This is a picture of Lorenzo Thomas’ office in Blackfoot. It looks like someone has gone over his name on a print with a pen at some point. The town of Thomas was named after the attorney.
June 7, 2019
Why Blackfoot?
Norman Maclean made the Blackfoot River famous with his short story collection, A River Runs Through it, and Other Stories. That Blackfoot River is in Montana, something I frequently had to explain to people after the movie
A River Runs Through It
came out. I grew up along the Blackfoot River, but not that one.
The Blackfoot River I know best flows into the Snake River south of the town of Blackfoot. It may seem odd for the name Blackfoot to apply to two rivers and a town, especially when the rivers are some 300 miles apart and in different states. The Blackfeet Indians live mostly in Montana, where Maclean’s river runs. Blackfoot the town, and the other river are both here in Idaho.
Blackfoot is an odd name. Why did fur trapper Donald McKenzie give it to the river in 1819? The indigenous people around Blackfoot are mostly Shoshone and Bannock, but McKenzie bumped into some Siksika in this area in 1819 and gave the anglicized version of their name to the river. The name Siksika refers to the dark moccasins members of that tribe wore.
The town was named after the river, as were at least three natural features in the area including the Blackfoot Mountains, and the Blackfoot Valley. The Blackfoot Lava Field is in Caribou County, north of Soda Springs.
Another often repeated tale is that someone walked across a recently burned patch of desert and had ash all over their shoes or moccasins. That apocryphal story has some charm, but not the documentation of McKenzie’s naming of the river.
Blackfoot was sometimes referred to as Grove City in the early days because of the many trees planted by settlers. It was more of a nickname. There was never a post office by that name.
Blackfoot did go by another name, though, for a few months. The first post office in what would later become Blackfoot was called Central Ferry. Starting in 1864 Central Ferry Station was a stop for Ben Holiday Stages and for freighters. It became an official post office in 1878. The name was changed to Blackfoot in 1879. A historical marker telling that story is located on a rock monument in the park on the southeast corner of Bridge and Meridian streets in Blackfoot.
What about the other towns in Bingham County? I’ll take a look at where they got their names tomorrow.
This post originally appeared as a column in the Blackfoot Morning News.
The Blackfoot Post Office, likely from sometime in the 1880s. The first post office to carry the town name started in 1879. (Courtesy of the Kim Stephens collection)
The Blackfoot River I know best flows into the Snake River south of the town of Blackfoot. It may seem odd for the name Blackfoot to apply to two rivers and a town, especially when the rivers are some 300 miles apart and in different states. The Blackfeet Indians live mostly in Montana, where Maclean’s river runs. Blackfoot the town, and the other river are both here in Idaho.
Blackfoot is an odd name. Why did fur trapper Donald McKenzie give it to the river in 1819? The indigenous people around Blackfoot are mostly Shoshone and Bannock, but McKenzie bumped into some Siksika in this area in 1819 and gave the anglicized version of their name to the river. The name Siksika refers to the dark moccasins members of that tribe wore.
The town was named after the river, as were at least three natural features in the area including the Blackfoot Mountains, and the Blackfoot Valley. The Blackfoot Lava Field is in Caribou County, north of Soda Springs.
Another often repeated tale is that someone walked across a recently burned patch of desert and had ash all over their shoes or moccasins. That apocryphal story has some charm, but not the documentation of McKenzie’s naming of the river.
Blackfoot was sometimes referred to as Grove City in the early days because of the many trees planted by settlers. It was more of a nickname. There was never a post office by that name.
Blackfoot did go by another name, though, for a few months. The first post office in what would later become Blackfoot was called Central Ferry. Starting in 1864 Central Ferry Station was a stop for Ben Holiday Stages and for freighters. It became an official post office in 1878. The name was changed to Blackfoot in 1879. A historical marker telling that story is located on a rock monument in the park on the southeast corner of Bridge and Meridian streets in Blackfoot.
What about the other towns in Bingham County? I’ll take a look at where they got their names tomorrow.
This post originally appeared as a column in the Blackfoot Morning News.
The Blackfoot Post Office, likely from sometime in the 1880s. The first post office to carry the town name started in 1879. (Courtesy of the Kim Stephens collection)
June 6, 2019
Spud Bombs
Idaho has always been creative about its potatoes. The license plate slogan has been a big part of that, and there’s currently a huge potato on a big truck touring the country and attracting attention.
Did you know about the postcards? There have been big-potato-on-a-truck postcards for years, mostly produced by postcard companies. It was the Idaho Department of Agriculture that came up with a creative series of postcards to offer to those military folks who trained here during World War II. The top four below were aimed at those stationed at Gowen Field in Boise, and the bottom two were for the “boots” training at Farragut Naval Training Station.
The cards are all signed by the artist, “Hager.” And that’s all I know about him or her. Does anyone else out there know anything about this cartoonist?
Did you know about the postcards? There have been big-potato-on-a-truck postcards for years, mostly produced by postcard companies. It was the Idaho Department of Agriculture that came up with a creative series of postcards to offer to those military folks who trained here during World War II. The top four below were aimed at those stationed at Gowen Field in Boise, and the bottom two were for the “boots” training at Farragut Naval Training Station.
The cards are all signed by the artist, “Hager.” And that’s all I know about him or her. Does anyone else out there know anything about this cartoonist?
June 5, 2019
Monkey See, Monkey Zoo
Well, who can pass up a good monkey story? I recently read an offhand comment that Zoo Boise got its start when an escaped circus monkey was captured between Mountain Home and Boise. I had to chase that escaped monkey down.
The story took place back in 1916, when there wasn’t yet a zoo and when people would have called it the Boise Zoo if they had one, rather than Zoo Boise, not knowing how foolish they would sound. Probably.
I found several references to the story, some saying that the monkey had escaped a circus in Mountain Home, some saying the circus was in Boise. The earliest one was in a 1928 Idaho Statesman story. One would assume the older the better in something like this, but it turned out to be a story in the April 1, 1960 Idaho Statesman that confirmed the tale. It was an interview with the man who found the monkey.
Norris Fritchman had been mentioned in earlier stories about the monkey, so this was good. In Fritchman’s memory the incident took place in 1917. “I was on the road for Idaho Candy company with another salesman, and we had stayed overnight in Mountain Home. The next day, about Hammett, this fellow happened to look over to the railroad right-of-way and he yelled, ‘my gosh, that looks like a monkey sitting on a fence post.’
They stopped the Maxwell they were riding in and gave chase to the monkey, which turned out to be a chimpanzee. They put on driving gloves and grabbed a piece of twine. The chimp must have been a young one, since they lived to tell the tale. A full-grown chimp would have made quick work of the candy salesmen.
At the risk of appearing trite in a story told a hundred years later, they gave the chimp a banana which made it much more amenable.
Fritchman gave the chimpanzee to the city to put on display in Julia Davis Park. That was fine for the summer. When winter came the city moved the animal to a “reading room” in city hall where Industrial Workers of the World (union agitators often called Wobblies) were incarcerated. They found the chimp, named “Chris,” a companion to keep him company. There was reportedly bad blood between the Wobblies and the chimps. One day the latter were found dead in their cell, apparently having been poisoned.
That first, ill-fated chimp stirred the desire for a zoo in the citizenry. They acquired some monkeys, then an alligator who had outgrown his home in the window of a Nampa drugstore. In 1919 the park board purchased a couple of tigers and the zoo was off and running.
Today Zoo Boise is on the leading edge of zoo conservation and even raises money to help protect creatures in the wild. In 2007 it became the first zoo in the country to create a conservation fee.
The story took place back in 1916, when there wasn’t yet a zoo and when people would have called it the Boise Zoo if they had one, rather than Zoo Boise, not knowing how foolish they would sound. Probably.
I found several references to the story, some saying that the monkey had escaped a circus in Mountain Home, some saying the circus was in Boise. The earliest one was in a 1928 Idaho Statesman story. One would assume the older the better in something like this, but it turned out to be a story in the April 1, 1960 Idaho Statesman that confirmed the tale. It was an interview with the man who found the monkey.
Norris Fritchman had been mentioned in earlier stories about the monkey, so this was good. In Fritchman’s memory the incident took place in 1917. “I was on the road for Idaho Candy company with another salesman, and we had stayed overnight in Mountain Home. The next day, about Hammett, this fellow happened to look over to the railroad right-of-way and he yelled, ‘my gosh, that looks like a monkey sitting on a fence post.’
They stopped the Maxwell they were riding in and gave chase to the monkey, which turned out to be a chimpanzee. They put on driving gloves and grabbed a piece of twine. The chimp must have been a young one, since they lived to tell the tale. A full-grown chimp would have made quick work of the candy salesmen.
At the risk of appearing trite in a story told a hundred years later, they gave the chimp a banana which made it much more amenable.
Fritchman gave the chimpanzee to the city to put on display in Julia Davis Park. That was fine for the summer. When winter came the city moved the animal to a “reading room” in city hall where Industrial Workers of the World (union agitators often called Wobblies) were incarcerated. They found the chimp, named “Chris,” a companion to keep him company. There was reportedly bad blood between the Wobblies and the chimps. One day the latter were found dead in their cell, apparently having been poisoned.
That first, ill-fated chimp stirred the desire for a zoo in the citizenry. They acquired some monkeys, then an alligator who had outgrown his home in the window of a Nampa drugstore. In 1919 the park board purchased a couple of tigers and the zoo was off and running.
Today Zoo Boise is on the leading edge of zoo conservation and even raises money to help protect creatures in the wild. In 2007 it became the first zoo in the country to create a conservation fee.
June 4, 2019
How the Boise Library! Came to be
This is a link to my recent column in the
Idaho Press
.
June 3, 2019
Idanha Water
Bottled water is ubiquitous. It’s shipped all over the world and consumed by the billions of gallons by people who usually have a faucet nearby. But before I get off on a rant, I want to say that bottling water and shipping it all over the globe isn’t a new thing. They were doing it in Idaho in 1887.
The Natural Mineral Water Co. incorporated May 17, 1887 was located in Soda Springs, Idaho. They bottled water from Ninety Percent Springs and called it Idanha. Some claim the name is an Indian word meaning something like “spirit of healing waters.” The company would sometimes spell it Idan-Ha. The Idanha Hotel, built by the Union Pacific, came along that same year. That’s the one in Soda Springs. Boise’s Idanha, named after the earlier hotel, came along later.
Idanha water was shipped to eastern markets and foreign countries. It won first prize at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The water is said to have won first place at a World’s Fair in Paris, though the date isn’t certain.
The bottling works burned down in 1895. One might wonder what would burn in a water bottling plant. Nevertheless, it did burn and was rebuilt, getting back to business a couple of years later. The plant filled a million bottles a year in the early days.
Idanha was a great name for a couple of hotels and premium bottled water. It still serves as the name of a town in Oregon. Historians agree that the town name was linked to Idanha water in some way, but no one seems to know how.
But what I want to know about Idanha water is, why ain’t I rich? The National Park Service in interpretive materials about the springs quotes from a diary of one Emma Thompson about the day she and a few friends discovered Ninety Percent Springs. Emma was my great grandmother.
The Natural Mineral Water Co. incorporated May 17, 1887 was located in Soda Springs, Idaho. They bottled water from Ninety Percent Springs and called it Idanha. Some claim the name is an Indian word meaning something like “spirit of healing waters.” The company would sometimes spell it Idan-Ha. The Idanha Hotel, built by the Union Pacific, came along that same year. That’s the one in Soda Springs. Boise’s Idanha, named after the earlier hotel, came along later.
Idanha water was shipped to eastern markets and foreign countries. It won first prize at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The water is said to have won first place at a World’s Fair in Paris, though the date isn’t certain.
The bottling works burned down in 1895. One might wonder what would burn in a water bottling plant. Nevertheless, it did burn and was rebuilt, getting back to business a couple of years later. The plant filled a million bottles a year in the early days.
Idanha was a great name for a couple of hotels and premium bottled water. It still serves as the name of a town in Oregon. Historians agree that the town name was linked to Idanha water in some way, but no one seems to know how.
But what I want to know about Idanha water is, why ain’t I rich? The National Park Service in interpretive materials about the springs quotes from a diary of one Emma Thompson about the day she and a few friends discovered Ninety Percent Springs. Emma was my great grandmother.
June 2, 2019
The USO Fire
In 1935, Coeur d’Alene city leaders began talking about the need for a civic auditorium. Money is always tight for such aspirational projects, but the mission of the Works Project Administration (WPA), the largest agency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program, was to create jobs. Building the city an auditorium would generate jobs during construction, and serve the community well into the future.
With the WPA putting up 65 percent of construction costs and providing the labor, work was begun on the auditorium in 1936. It hosted some events before its completion but wasn’t fully open until 1938.
It became the USO-Civic Auditorium in 1942 when military officials and USO personnel approached the city about providing off-base entertainment services for the “boots” at the new Farragut Naval Training Station (FNTS), and smaller military facilities in the area. The United Service Organization (USO), a non-profit dedicated to providing entertainment to US troops, took over the operation of the building with the understanding that it would be returned to the City of Coeur d’Alene when it was no longer needed as a USO.
The beautiful log building (pictured) was in a city park adjacent to Lake Coeur d’Alene. Service members could enjoy the beach, weather permitting, and take part in dances, play ping pong, see movies, and just enjoy a little free time. More than 2,000 sailors a day visited the USO during its peak.
On October 9, 1945, a 17-year-old recruit from Farragut boarded a bus with fellow boots for a little R and R in town. William Barna, from New Jersey, had been at FNTS only three weeks. A 6th-grade drop-out, Barna had no explanation for his actions that night. What he did was methodically tear stuffing from the upholstery in three cars in preparation for lighting them on fire. Then, he went into the USO and surreptitiously unlocked a back door so he could get back in after the building was closed for the night. When the patrons and staff were gone, Barna entered through the door and began pulling down curtains. He piled them on the floor along with wads of paper, and set it all on fire.
The three cars and the log USO-Civic Auditorium went up in flames, a devastating loss to the community.
Barna was convicted of second-degree arson and given 5 to 10 years in the state prison. He served only four years before being released in 1949.
Much of the material for this post was taken from an article written by Don Pischner in the summer 2012 edition of the Museum of Northern Idaho’s newsletter.
With the WPA putting up 65 percent of construction costs and providing the labor, work was begun on the auditorium in 1936. It hosted some events before its completion but wasn’t fully open until 1938.
It became the USO-Civic Auditorium in 1942 when military officials and USO personnel approached the city about providing off-base entertainment services for the “boots” at the new Farragut Naval Training Station (FNTS), and smaller military facilities in the area. The United Service Organization (USO), a non-profit dedicated to providing entertainment to US troops, took over the operation of the building with the understanding that it would be returned to the City of Coeur d’Alene when it was no longer needed as a USO.
The beautiful log building (pictured) was in a city park adjacent to Lake Coeur d’Alene. Service members could enjoy the beach, weather permitting, and take part in dances, play ping pong, see movies, and just enjoy a little free time. More than 2,000 sailors a day visited the USO during its peak.
On October 9, 1945, a 17-year-old recruit from Farragut boarded a bus with fellow boots for a little R and R in town. William Barna, from New Jersey, had been at FNTS only three weeks. A 6th-grade drop-out, Barna had no explanation for his actions that night. What he did was methodically tear stuffing from the upholstery in three cars in preparation for lighting them on fire. Then, he went into the USO and surreptitiously unlocked a back door so he could get back in after the building was closed for the night. When the patrons and staff were gone, Barna entered through the door and began pulling down curtains. He piled them on the floor along with wads of paper, and set it all on fire.
The three cars and the log USO-Civic Auditorium went up in flames, a devastating loss to the community.
Barna was convicted of second-degree arson and given 5 to 10 years in the state prison. He served only four years before being released in 1949.
Much of the material for this post was taken from an article written by Don Pischner in the summer 2012 edition of the Museum of Northern Idaho’s newsletter.
June 1, 2019
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs...
So, I mentioned a few days ago that I'm informally looking for icon Idaho signs as part of a book project I'm working on. I got a few nominations from around the state and I thought I'd share them with you. What signs am I missing? I'm looking for eye-catching signs of every kind, neon, cartoonish characters, clever wording, whatever makes them memorable. You can send me a tip or pic, or just comment on this post. Thanks! 
Lumberjack Drive In, Coeur d'Alene 
Shoshone Ice Caves
Big Cowboy, Wendell
Frostop Drive In, Ashton 
Is that Jackie O. in Blackfoot?? 
Farrell's Auto Upholstering, Idaho Falls 
The rooster on the Capri Restaurant Sign used to sit on top of Jim's Coffee Shop in Boise. 
The Washerwoman on Vista Avenue in Boise gets dressed up for special occasions. 
The Chief Theater sign in Pocatello has been beautifully restored.
Lumberjack Drive In, Coeur d'Alene Shoshone Ice Caves
Big Cowboy, Wendell
Frostop Drive In, Ashton Is that Jackie O. in Blackfoot?? Farrell's Auto Upholstering, Idaho Falls The rooster on the Capri Restaurant Sign used to sit on top of Jim's Coffee Shop in Boise. The Washerwoman on Vista Avenue in Boise gets dressed up for special occasions. The Chief Theater sign in Pocatello has been beautifully restored.
May 31, 2019
The Statue's Story
This Statue is in the park next to the Borah Station Post Office near the statehouse in Boise. It’s called Hospitality of the Nez Perce. Nez Perce Chief Twisted Hair is depicted discussing area geography with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in Sept 1805. The chief’s son, Lawyer, portrayed at about age eight, inspects trade items at their feet: Nez Perce camas roots, a salmon, Euro-American cloth, and a knife.
Lawyer, or Hallalhotsoot as he was known to the Nez Perce, would become a chief himself in later life and play a prominent role in the Flight of the Nez Perce.
Doug Hyde created the statue. He is a nationally acclaimed Native American artist and Nez Perce descendent who grew up in Lewiston. The statue was donated to the State of Idaho in 2006 by Carol MacGregor, an Idaho native who was a rancher, professor, and the author of several books on Idaho history.
#idahohistory #twistedhair #lewisandclark #doughyde #carolmacgregor
Lawyer, or Hallalhotsoot as he was known to the Nez Perce, would become a chief himself in later life and play a prominent role in the Flight of the Nez Perce.
Doug Hyde created the statue. He is a nationally acclaimed Native American artist and Nez Perce descendent who grew up in Lewiston. The statue was donated to the State of Idaho in 2006 by Carol MacGregor, an Idaho native who was a rancher, professor, and the author of several books on Idaho history.
#idahohistory #twistedhair #lewisandclark #doughyde #carolmacgregor
May 30, 2019
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). How do you spell the last name of Idaho’s first woman in Congress?
A. Chenowith
B. Chinoweth
C. Chenoweth
D. Post
E. Pfost
2). The first Mazdas to appear in Idaho were what?
A. Trucks
B. Light bulbs
C. Station wagons
D. Bicycles
E. Sports cars
3). What was M. Alfreda Elsensohn best known for?
A. She was a trapper.
B. She started one of Idaho’s better museums.
C. She was a trick shooter.
D. She ran a boarding house in Idaho City.
E. The Malad River carries her name (that’s what the M. stands for).
4). What unusual thing was a hollowed-out Idaho cedar tree used for?
A. A still
B. A darkroom
C. A hiding place for gold
D. A dog house
E. A storage locker for rifles
5) What will you find in the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude near Cottonwood?
A. Sylvan “Buckskin Bill” Hart’s helmet hat.
B. Personal items that belonged to Polly Bemis.
C. Medical instruments.
D. Ming Dynasty vases.
E. All of the above.
Answers
1, E
2, B
3, B
4, B
5, E
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). How do you spell the last name of Idaho’s first woman in Congress?
A. Chenowith
B. Chinoweth
C. Chenoweth
D. Post
E. Pfost
2). The first Mazdas to appear in Idaho were what?
A. Trucks
B. Light bulbs
C. Station wagons
D. Bicycles
E. Sports cars
3). What was M. Alfreda Elsensohn best known for?
A. She was a trapper.
B. She started one of Idaho’s better museums.
C. She was a trick shooter.
D. She ran a boarding house in Idaho City.
E. The Malad River carries her name (that’s what the M. stands for).
4). What unusual thing was a hollowed-out Idaho cedar tree used for?
A. A still
B. A darkroom
C. A hiding place for gold
D. A dog house
E. A storage locker for rifles
5) What will you find in the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude near Cottonwood?
A. Sylvan “Buckskin Bill” Hart’s helmet hat.
B. Personal items that belonged to Polly Bemis.
C. Medical instruments.
D. Ming Dynasty vases.
E. All of the above.
Answers1, E
2, B
3, B
4, B
5, E
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.
