TI M E S PAST
IDAHO COUNTY FREE PRESS WWW .I DAHO C OUNTY F REE P RESS . COM
July 1, 2015
Look Back At History -----------------------------------
More Than A Century Of Idaho County News -----------------------------------
The voice of Idaho County since 1886
ARSONIST STRIKES! SCHOOL DESTROYED ‘Ever y Effort’ Made ‘But It Had Gone Too Far’
Times Past is a special section by the Idaho County Free Press highlighting a century of the region’s happenings, researched from past Free Press issues and historic publications. Along with original news stories, reprinted here word for word, are original features written by Free Press news staff on historic Idaho County events. We hope in this section you find out something you didn’t know of Idaho County’s history, as well as revisit moments you remember being a part of. And, perhaps, you’ll see some familiar faces along the way. — David Rauzi, editor
1905
Want The Asylum ------------------
Legislators Urged To Work For Location At Grangeville -----------------FEB. 2, 1905 — A well-attended mass meeting of Grangeville businessmen was held last Thursday night at the courthouse to take steps to secure the location of the insane asylum at Grangeville. A letter from Representative J. Loyal Adkinson stated that there was more than an even chance to secure the institution provided the people wanted it. There is no question but what the people want and no question but what they have the right to expect it. Idaho County is the largest county in the state, one of the heaviest taxpayers and as yet has not a single state institution. With our rich agricultural surroundings, abundance of the best water on earth, plenty of building material and a congenial climate there could be no better location for such an institution than right here.
Out On Bail ------------------
Dennison Boys Turned Out, Black Arrested -----------------JAN. 5, 1905 — The Dennison boys, age 12 and 14 years, who were being held in the county jail to answer to the charge of horse stealing, have been released on bail and their brother-in-law, whose name is Black, has been arrested charged with embezzlement. It seems Black was instrumental in having the boys arrested for stealing horses which
formerly belonged to the boys’ father and which the boys claim are the property of the estate. After the elder Dennison’s death, the estate being small, was not administered upon and Black, so it is claimed, took possession of the chattels and coerced the boys into making the statement that the horses were his individual property. However, it may be Black is being held under bonds and will have to convince the court that the boys did not have an equal right with himself in the horses claimed to be stolen.
Very Unfortunate Affair At Warren
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
Students watch as firefighters tackle the remaining blazes aflame in the Grangeville Elementary School building. The morning of Jan. 18, 1965, fire raced through the structure, leaving it a gutted shell. — SEE STORY, PAGE 2
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Jack Young Surrenders To Authorities -----------------JULY 27, 1905 — A very unfortunate affair occurred at Warren, last Monday night about one o’clock, in which Fred Morris was shot and killed by Jack Young. The trouble arose over a woman with whom Morris was living, and is reported as follows: Young and a number of men were sitting in Sid Robbins’ saloon when the woman with whom Morris lived came in and motioned Young to come out. They went to the room over the saloon and were making out a deed to some property, when Morris entered and drawing his revolver compelled the two to walk down the street. Young went into the saloon and the woman, with Morris, went away. Later in the night Morris returned and on entering the saloon found Young standing at the bar with a friend. He went up to him and started to draw his gun, whereupon Young drew his revolver and killed Morris.
COLD WAR In Cottonwood Built To Intercept Intruders, USAF Radar Station Dismantled After Seven Years Construction crews dismantle the U.S. Air Force surveillance radar station at the summit of Cottonwood Butte, pictured here on May 13, 1965. FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
— SEE STORY, PAGE 4
WATCH YOUR STEP Smokejumping Gets Start 75 Years Ago on Nez Perce National Forest Earl Cooley (pictured) and Rufus Robinson made history with the first-ever smokejumper response to a forest fire. Their historic jump was made on July 12, 1940, in the Nez Perce National Forest. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / NEZ PERCE CLEARWATER NATIONAL FORESTS
— SEE STORY, PAGE 6
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GES ARSON REMAINS UNSOLVED Hundreds of Thousands In Property Damage; Students Shuffled Through Town Until New Building is Built BY DAVID RAUZI, EDITOR IDAHO COUNTY FREE PRESS ires hit Idaho County hard in 1965. According to a report in the Idaho County Free Press, fires that year resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage, as well as one fatality. Residents from Riggins and Kamiah to Grangeville were left homeless in the aftermath of both residential and apartment blazes, and 70 workers were idled when Idapine Mills Harpster sawmill burned to the ground. Of these, only two were listed as the result of arson, one of which was Grangeville Elementary School, destroyed in an early morning blaze that Jan. 18. Initial reports were the fire’s spread gave it the jump on firefighters who, despite best efforts, were unable to contain the blaze that gutted the interior and its contents, leaving only the exterior walls standing. Arson was suspected from the start – compounded by a previous unsuccessful attempt
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the September prior — but a suspect or suspects eluded investigators, leaving questions unanswered and the case unsolved to this day. • For half a century, Grangeville Elementary School (GES) on South Idaho Street served up the three Rs to the community’s schoolchildren. The 22-room two-and-a-halfstory brick building was completed in early 1914, constructed for $65,000 with space for administration, a gymnasium and auditorium. The Free Press reported Jack Turner was the contractor on the project, the same man who built the Imperial Hotel. “This is your building,” said county superintendent of schools F.H. Meader, at a March 26, 1914, program dedicating the new building. Recognizing the work students did in getting the building and fixtures ready, Meader continued, “I want each of you to know it is the best school in the state.” The clock was ticking: GES had 50 years to live.
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Fast forward to Sept. 17, 1964: GES custodian Ruth Cuthbert had just completed cleaning a restroom when between 5 and 5:30 a.m. she stepped into a hallway full of smoke. At first she thought it was the furnace, but on investigation found the smoke wasn’t coming from there and so went back up to the hallway. “When I reached the main entrance, the flames were shooting up around the doors,” Cuthbert related in a Sept. 24 Free Press article. She then doused the flames, “with the only thing I could,” her pail filled with water, and then proceeded literally mop up the rest of the fire with her wet mop.
According to then Grangeville Police Chief Earl Huff, the arsonist splashed fuel or diesel oil on the doors, igniting it with “penny box type” wooden matches. A witness on her way to work reported seeing a person walking back and forth in the vicinity of the building, and that he ran as she approached him. Huff speculated, due to amateurish attempt, the arsonist was a disgruntled student looking for a way to promote an extended vacation. Huff was soon to change his mind. • Monday, Jan. 18, 1965: Fire was reported by Mrs. Wesley Wisener at GES around 5 a.m. Police Chief Huff was early on the scene and reported the fire hadn’t gotten very far, and that the flames were concentrated around the front entrance – the same location as the September attempt. The fire moved from here and burned through the roof, spreading out where it flamed through both wings. Charred pages of primary readers, arithmetic books and first spellers came floating down all over town as the fire burned. “Firemen made every effort to extinguish the fire,” reported the Free Press, “but it had gone too far before they arrived, and they could only contain it and prevent it from spreading to the gymnasium only a few yards away.” Most of the school records, and furnishings from only three rooms was all that was saved. School children and firemen worked side by side to get out as much equipment as possible.
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
Spectators stand along the sidewalk watching the Grangeville Elementary School building burn the morning of Jan. 18, 1965.
By 8 a.m., the building was gutted with only the brick and stucco walls left standing. Huff and Grangeville Fire Chief R. A. Large were reported in the Spokesman-Review with the theory this may have been the work of an arsonist who specializes in schools. The October prior, a school in Council was destroyed by fire, believed to See Arson, Page 3
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the original records were mailed. I know that, because Mom and Dad contacted the school in Minnesota to see if they had anything.”
‘Quite Traumatized’
Residents Recall School Fire
crew that moved the gym out to the old baseball diamond so a new elementary could be built.” — Roger Spears
•
Witnesses Remember Fire
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
Students walk past the elementary school building in the process of demolition.
‘Most Massive Fire I’ve Ever Seen...’ Portland, Ore., resident Debi Jeffers Boersma lived in Grangeville from 1961 to 1967, and she was in 7th grade when the fire destroyed the school. She shared her recollections about that day: “My friend, Liz Aiken, always stopped by in the morning and we walked to school together. When she didn’t show up, I called her and asked her where she was. That’s when she told my family about the school being on fire. She was so surprised that we didn’t know about it. We lived down on Junction Street, and could have seen the smoke if we
had looked out the window. Like nearly everyone else, we bundled up and headed out to watch the fire. It was by far the most massive fire I’ve ever seen, before or since. I don’t think I was old enough to really comprehend what this meant. After a while my sister and I got bored watching the fire, and discovered that $.15 was buried in the ice on the street, a nickel and a dime. That was a lot of money in those days, and we spent the rest of the time trying to get that money out of the ice. Not an easy feat, and I don’t think we were successful. We were out of school for about a week until locations could be found to put all of us. I ended up at the Armory and my sister went up to the Forestry Department (I think).” “My Uncle Lonnie had sent me some sprigs of cotton on the vine that I had
taken to school to show my teachers and fellow students what cotton really looked like. My Uncle Bob had also sent me a comb set from Nigeria that I had in my locker. Both of these were lost in the fire. I did lose my schoolbooks in the fire, but that was kind of exciting, because we all knew we’d get new books. While we were watching the fire, Sue Crea came up with her arms full of books. We felt so sorry for her, because she wouldn’t get the new books like the rest of us.” “All of my school records were lost (as were everyone’s), including those that were transferred over from the elementary school in Prinsburg, Minn. I felt this loss most keenly when I was working on my life story for my children. I don’t have any of those records anymore and no way to recreate them, as
“We lived across the street. I remember laying out on the hood of our car and watching the whole fire!” — Jeannie Warden
“I remember, as a child, feeling quite traumatized. And I remember how quickly they were able to put together temporary sites for all of us to go back to “A scary sight from our kitchen winschool. My sister was at the Armory and dow on Court Street!” I was at the library.” (Her dad was a vol— Don and Patty Coffman unteer fireman who helped get files out of the school office. “We lived about three miles east of — Cynthia Bunting Mottner town and could see the glow in the sky.” — Jan Waite “It was on my birthday, and I can remember seeing the flames from our “Mom and Dad lived across the living room window.” street, and Mom was concerned about — Debi Moody all the embers flying. Dad slept through it all and was very surprised to find it “We lived three blocks due west from gone when he woke up.” the school and I could see it very well — Dick Crowell as it burned from my upstairs bedroom window. Mom was working in the “We lived across the street on South school cafeteria and lost some things A. My dad woke me up and said, “It’s she had left at work that day. It was an time to get up, but I don’t think you will old building and one of my teachers, have any school today.” Then he took Archie Gilchrest, was a firefighter and me outside. It was still dark out and said it went up so fast they had no quite a sight. My dad bought a lot of the chance of slowing it down or putting it bricks from the salvage and used them out, but rather just hoped to contain it. on a house they built down by Stites. They did keep it from burning the gymMade for a great fireplace! nasium. A year later, I worked on the — Randy Wells
Arson: Only suspect a man who left town hurriedly shortly after the fire Continued from Page 2 have been arson. That fire, and two in Grangeville, they speculated, may be the work of the same individual. Prosecuting Attorney William B. Taylor, Jr., reported they had a few leads and was hopeful they would find their man. Huff elaborated, saying they were looking for a man who left town hurriedly shortly after the fire without taking time to collect wages from his employer. Commenting on this aspect of the investigation, then Idaho County Sheriff Gene Fuzzell was quoted as saying, “I have reason to believe we will have our arsonist when this man is located.” But while the school’s ruins were still hot, Superintendent Earl Vopat worked with the school board on both resuming student education and in the interim getting started on a new building. By the following Mon-
day, GES’s 450 students were shuffled to five different locations throughout town: Armory, Baptist and Community churches, city library and the Forest Service building. “You can’t imagine the way this community rallied behind us,” Vopat said in a SpokesmanReview article. “Help came from all directions. The people are to be congratulated.” Meanwhile, the board worked with a Lewiston architect, and plans moved forward for a 22classroom, single-story building for the site that would require relocating the surviving gymnasium. An estimated 5,000 volumes were reported lost in the fire, and so trucks dispatched from Grangeville to the state book depository in Caldwell, returning with 5,100 pounds of books to put classes back in business. And more good fortune was coming.
1915
Conflagration Destroys Store, Post Office ------------------
White Bird Suffers $19,000 Loss -----------------MARCH 4, 1915 — White Bird suffered $19,000 by fire late Monday night Second conflagration destroys Freidenrich store, post office and other property. White Bird was visited by its second disastrous fire in two years last Monday night at which time property to the
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
Richard Hauger, board chair of Joint Class A School District 241, receiving a $400,000 check from Bob Burke, adjuster for the Insurance Company of North America. This is a partial payment made the day after the fire destroyed GES Jan. 18, 1965.
The November prior, a new insurance policy was purchased that covered the building for replacement value, and the Tues-
value of $19,000 was destroyed, the Freidenrich general merchandise store, the post office and a warehouse owned by Charles Gregory and containing goods of the Salmon River Stores Company going up in flames. The fire originated in the rear of the Freidenrich building and was first discovered by Mrs. Lenon, the wife of the postmaster. Mrs. Lenon was awakened about 11 o’clock Monday night by the crackling of fire and at that time the Freidenrich building was a mass of flames and the room occupied by the post office was ablaze. Postmaster Lenon got up and called up the Wilson saloon, giving the news. The few citizens of the town who were on the streets at this hour quickly formed a volunteer company which was later augmented by others who had
day following classes resuming, the school board received its initial first payment, $400,000. All totaled, the district would re-
ceive $795,000 to cover building and equipment replacement. And – bummer for the kids — lost time due to the fire was made up: an extra day for grades one through three, and four days for grades four through eight that lost a portion of spring break and two days into the summer break. • Construction on the new school began later that year, and just eight days short of the oneyear anniversary of the fire, the first students — three classes each of fifth and sixth grades — went into the new building that January 1966. “Moving into the new classrooms was quite an experience for most of the students,” reported the Free Press, Jan. 13, 1966, issue. “Where, in some cases the makeshift classroom had been small and ill-equipped, the new facilities offer just about all that
can be asked for in modern conveniences,” including room wallto-wall carpeting, cabinet space for each student, new-type desk and chair combinations, water fountain, fluorescent lighting and acoustical tile sound control. The new GES was dedicated June 1, 1966. And according to reports was “the most modern elementary school building in northern Idaho.” Speaking at the dedication was Dr. Walter E. Steffans, vice president academic affairs, University of Idaho, who in part noted, “A new school is the expression of your faith in the young people of your community …” and dedicated the building to “the young men and women of this community for the purpose of developing their minds to the full extent of their abilities, their ambitions, their expectations and their natural desire for knowledge ….”
heard the news and came from their have been few on the prairie this year minutes fully a hundred persons gathhomes and every effort was made to but the loss has nevertheless been quite ered to learn what was the matter. An investigation showed that some save property and arrest the progress of heavy. miscreant had evidently placed a stick of the fire. dynamite under the rear end of the Caldwell pool hall and touched it off, the explosion tearing up several boards in the floor and jarring up the contents -----------------of the room above to some extent but Report Of Explosion Heard Across doing no material damage. Cottonwood Business Section The reason for the act of vandalism ----------------------------------and the perpetrator are unknown, and Thousand Bushels Burnt Up SEPT. 30, 1915 — People around while some hold to the theory that it town last evening thought for a few was a stick of dynamite that caused the -----------------SEPT. 23, 1915 — Monday a smut minutes that an attempt was being commotion, others are of the firm imexplosion burned up the machine of Gill made to crack the strong box of the Ger- pression that a German submarine got & Troeh, which was threshing on the man State Bank when an explosion of headed up Cottonwood Creek from the Gill Brothers ranch near Fenn. A thou- considerable severity occurred in close Clearwater and on running into the alsand bushels of grain was burned up proximity to that institution. The report leys in Cottonwood, turned loose a torwith the machine and makes the loss of the explosion was heard all over the pedo with the usual effect. – Cottonconsiderable more. Smut explosions business section of the city and in a few wood Chronicle.
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Cottonwood Fought Cold War At USFS Station Atop Butte Cottonwood Air Force Base built in 1956; dismantled in 1965 BY LORIE PALMER IDAHO COUNTY FREE PRESS OTTONWOOD – Prior to its current gig as North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI), the butte 5.7 miles west-northwest of Cottonwood was home to a United States Air Force Base. Cottonwood Air Force Station was a former United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station located at the summit of Cottonwood Butte. Cottonwood Peak Air Force Station was initially part of Phase II of the Air Defense Com-
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scopes. From a June 26, 1958, issue of the Cottonwood Chronicle: “Major Frank S. Palmer, recently appointed commanding officer of the Cottonwood Radar Station, will arrive here Monday, July 7, to take over his duties at the local station. Prior to his new assignment, Major Palmer had been with the 637th AC&W at Othello, Wash.” From a July 10, 1958, article in the Cottonwood Chronicle: “Major Palmer reported a cadre of 14 Air Force men are now stationed at Cottonwood and their work at this time is to
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
On May 20, 1965, a fire did major roof damage to the facility. The fire was the result of hot metal falling on the roof during dismantling.
mand Mobile Radar program. The Air Force approved this expansion of the Mobile Radar program in 1952. Radars in this network were designated “SM.” The station became operational on July 1, 1958, when the 822nd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was assigned to the new station. The station consisted of 66 buildings, including operation and administrative facilities, three dormitories, 27 family housing units, three radar domes, and support facilities/utilities. The site was divided into three general areas: the operations area at the summit, cantonment area at mid-mountain, and a family housing area at the north end of the city of Cottonwood. Initially the station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station. As a GCI station, the squadron’s role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit’s radar
set up the cantonment area for future occupancy. This work includes setting up the supply section, the motor pool, the mess arranging schedules, and taking care of many other phases of preliminary work to ready the camp for occupancy. It is believed all preliminary work at the camp will be completed in six to eight weeks. However, the camp will not be activated until such time as all contracts have been completed at the operations site and technical equipment is installed and ready for use.” During 1960, Cottonwood AFS joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-07 at Larson AFB, Wash. After joining, the squadron was redesignated as the 822nd Radar Squadron (SAGE) in September 1960. The radar squadron provided information 24/7 to the SAGE Direction Center where it was analyzed to determine
range, direction altitude speed and whether or not aircraft were friendly or hostile. The closure of the base was announced in November 1964. A catastrophic bearing failure in the AN/FPS-24 antenna pedestal led to an early shutdown of the station and the inactivation of the 822nd Radar Squadron. The Cantonment Area was used from 1965 to 1974 by the Office of Economic Opportunity as a Job Corps Center. An article in the March 4, 1965, edition of the Free Press reads: “Nez Perce Forest officers, under whose direction the camp will fall, pointed out that the current facilities would more than suffice and that all facilities were in good shape.” May 6, 1965: “Lieutenant Ira Engle said there were presently 38 men and one other office at the base and the men are leaving for new duty stations daily. The two small radar domes have already been removed and most of the supporting structure has been dismantled. Job superintendent James R. Skelton estimated the cost of dismantling and removing the equipment from the site at $275,000. Cost of the original contract to build the site, 1956-57, was $1,457,981. In 1961, one of the largest rotary radar antennas in the West was installed atop an 85-foot tower at an approximate cost of $10 million. The dome now being dismantled (see photo) was placed around the antenna at an additional cost of $1.25 million. The Cottonwood base was one of 95 military installments ordered closed or curtailed in the sweeping economy order of Nov. 19, 1964.” From May 20, 1965: “A fire at the Cottonwood Radar Site did major damage to the roof and part of the interior building Wednesday morning. Lieutenant Weston C. House, who had just assumed command of the site, said the fire was caused by hot metal falling on the roof … during dismantling construction.” The State of Idaho Department of Corrections acquired the property in 1974, and has
Almost immediately 50 or 60 said that some were so loud that men tumbled into autos and the they were heard across the fire truck was tuned up and start- street. ed for the conflagration. Little, however, could be done except to keep the flames from spreading -----------------and the people of Fenn and the Multiple Articles Lost surrounding farms had that well Including Coat, Suitcase under control when the -----------------Grangeville people arrived. -----------------New Course Will Be Pleasure Fire discovered early Tuesday JULY 30, 1925 — T.W. Crea, a Source To All farmer, living some six miles morning - $50,000 loss. -----------------northeast of Grangeville, hired a MARCH 12, 1925 — man between 25 and 30 years of Grangeville will have a new golf age last Saturday to work in the course in the near future, accordharvest. ing to plans recently made public The family was away from by the organization of the home on Sunday, and on return-----------------Grangeville Country Club, an asing discovered that the man, Referee Escaped Mob Going who gave his name as Chandler, Through Window, Or Hid In Stove sociation of golf enthusiasts. The new course will be of six holes, was missing, as was also two di-----------------totaling 1700 yards, laid out so amond rings, a gold ring, a 303 MARCH 5, 1925 — The vol- that three more can be added Savage rifle, Mr. Crea’s best suit, leyball game last Thursday night without changing the original his overcoat, and a new suitcase between the Nightgowns and the plat of the course. The course besides a lot of other articles. Pajamas was a scream, socially, will be located on John’s Creek, A complaint was filed with scientifically, mentally, morally two miles southwest of the city Justice J.E. Byrom that evening, and financially; although all who on the North and South highway, and a warrant issued charging John Doe Chandler with grand attended believe emphatically in the field on the left side of the larceny. The authorities are on that the game was worth double road where the highway crosses the lookout for the man, and if the price of admission. It was a the stream. Situation and topography are apprehended, will he brought ripping game. The Pajamas won, too. A per- ideal for a splendid course, back for trial. fect alibi for the pajamas was the golfers say. The brook flows fact that they were playing the through the center of the course, garment and not the player. They bordered by shrubs and willows. stuck to the policy of letting the The stream is perpetual and fed gowns win. The referee escaped by mountain springs. The sub-irthe mob after the game by going rigation of the soil will aid in -----------------out through the window, some keeping the course green during say, while others claim he hid in the summer and fall months. $50,000 Loss the stove. -----------------It is said on good authority JUNE 11, 1925 — A general fire alarm from the telephone that two pretty young damsels central and the shriek of the fire asked at the door if ladies were siren Monday night between one permitted to enter, and upon and two o’clock aroused the citi- being answered in the affirma-----------------zens of Grangeville. Inquiry tive, nearly fainted when Aunty Cammack Wins Bid elicited the information that the Ayers went after a high one with -----------------big Wrenn elevator at Fenn, pigtails streaming behind. OCT. 15, 1925 — Geo. CamThe costumes were something about nine miles out on the Cotwonderful to behold, and it is mack was the successful bidder tonwood highway was afire.
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
Interior of the station dome being dismantled in May 1965.
occupied the site ever since as NICI. The housing site located at the end of town was used by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Later it became housing for Idaho State Department of Corrections/NICI and their families. The State of Idaho auctioned the 7.24 acres of land and the remaining houses in 2012. Steve Lamont and his son-inlaw Ryan Uhlenkott made the investment in the town of Cottonwood when the duo purchased the housing development off Cottonwood Butte Road. They won a live-auction bidding session offered by IDOC (Idaho Department of Correction), offering $135,000 — $31,000 more than set minimum bid - for the 18 houses.
From a February 2013 Free Press article: “When I heard the IDOC had condemned the houses and the recommendation was to tear them down, they were not able to be repaired, I just couldn’t believe it,” Lamont said. Lamont worked for NICI for more than 15 years and during that time actually lived in the subdivision. What Lamont and Uhlenkott learned was the 18 houses sitting on 7.24 acres, originally built in 1955 for U.S. Air Force staff working at the Cottonwood Butte radar station that later became NICI, were condemned by IDOC/NICI but not by the state of Idaho. “Meaning there was no official condemnation - just that NICI did not feel it wanted its
staff living in the houses as they were,” Uhlenkott explained. Following that news came the decision to bid and make that financial and emotional investment in Cottonwood. “We knew taking 18 rental houses from our community would have a huge economic impact on Cottonwood and its businesses,” Lamont said. “Where would people live who work at NICI or at other local businesses? If there is no housing, they won’t move their families here. Then our schools have fewer kids and we have less commerce. It’s a domino effect.” — Information compiled from The Cottonwood Chronicle, the Idaho County Free Press, the Lewiston Tribune and Air Force records. Cottonwood auctioneer Walt Altman advertised his services — “A successful Sale Means More Money For You” — in the Nov. 5, 1925, issue of the Idaho County Free Press. (Note the spelling error, which was not uncommon when laying lead type — backwards — by hand.)
1925
Trusts Hired Man; Loses Diamonds
Golfers Have Plan For Country Club
Nightgowns Victor Over Pajamas
Big Elevator Burns At Fenn Tuesday
New Pontoon Ferry To Be Built
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
for the building of the new ponIdaho County will pay one- toon will be built out of 1-1/2 toon ferry to be built at Pittsburg fourth of the cost, which is to be inch clear stuff and the floor will Landing, and to operate across $800. Work on the ferry will start the Snake River at that point. sometime this month. The pon- be two-inch red fir.
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Here he tied it to the garage door, first releasing its legs and making it all comfy. At present time Mr. Hinkley cannot be reached for a statement, and we probably couldn’t print it anyway, but Mr. Reeves is basking in the joy of a good deed well done.
Sent Two Ships to Bottom
Pvt. Byrne Killed In Belgium
July 12, 1945 — Ensign George H. Bailey, USNR, Grangeville, pilot of a Navy carrierbased fighter plane, recently destroyed two small enemy transports in the vicinity of the Japanese homeland. During a low-level strafing run, one of the ships exploded, damaging his plane. Bailey returned to his carrier force but was forced to land in the water and was picked up by a U.S. destroyer. Ensign Bailey was fortunate on another occasion. He is pictured here beside the damaged tail of his fighter plane after being hit by an enemy fighter.
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Died In Action On Christmas Day
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
1935
Trapper, Moore, States Game Good MARCH 21, 1935 — Henry J. Moore, miner and trapper from up Big Salmon, was a visitor in the city last week. Mr. Moore states that the game in that territory are coming thru the winter in very good condition, that coyotes are increasing a little faster than the game, and that they were getting as large as wolves. Mr. Moore is an ardent supporter of a bounty to curb the increase of these animals. He was injured about five years ago in a dynamite explosion in a stove in his cabin, but says he is enjoying very good health at present. ------------------
Stocking New Goods At Nigg Store In Grangeville Shipments of new spring merchandise are being received at the Nigg store in Grangeville and patrons are invited to come in and inspect these goods. Sale of carryover merchandise from the Sasenbery stock is still in effect, and Mr. Nigg is preparing to introduce a new stock throughout the store. They will continue to carry the popular brands of merchandise as carried previously by Mr. Sasenbery, such as Star brand shoes, overalls, suits, dress goods, etc.
ground, and farmers, sheepherders, fishermen, and droves of whiskey drinkers combed the gold dust out of their hair and weaved their way into Elk City for the glorious Fourth of July. Some culprits, whom we have not as yet apprehended, had advertised a huge three-day celebration in Elk with a rodeo, street games and fireworks. However, the business people and respected citizens of the town knew nothing of the plans so when outside cars and families of pleasure seekers swarmed up the one and dusty street of Elk,, they were taken by surprise. But everyone did his best to entertain those who did come in. A couple of good dog fights took place in the upper end of town, the beer parlors furnished the necessary oil for the crowd, and a couple of small boys rode a calf down below the post office. In the evening a small local orchestra was assembled and turned out surprisingly good music. An airplane made its headquarters out in the field and took passengers cruising around the country from time to time and hot dogs could be purchased at a couple of stands.
Hauntz House Burned ------------------
Another Fire Of Mysterious Origin
course last Sunday and were taken by the locals to the tune of 26-1/2 to 11-1/2. This makes two games for Grangeville and one for Orofino. It is quite likely that the latter town will try to get revenge at an early date.
-----------------JAN. 18, 1945 — Grief came to another Grangeville family last Saturday when word was received from the War Department by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Byrne that their youngest son, Pvt. Leonard M. Byrne, 19, had been killed in action in Belgium on Christmas day. Pvt. Byrne was born April 15, 1925, in Grangeville where he resided until he entered the service March 31, 1944. He received 17 weeks basic training with an infantry division at Camp Roberts, Calif., and then came home on a 10-day delay enroute to Fort Meade, Md. He sailed for England about the middle of October and later went to France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. His last letter written to his parents was from a rest camp in Holland Dec. 16.
hope to have the wholesale beverage and bottling business in Grangeville well-established for my sons.
1965
19 Enlistments In Grangeville Unit ------------------
‘Fine Job Of Recruiting In The Last Few Days’
-----------------Feb. 18, 1965 — The Grangeville unit of the Idaho National Guard has been boosted by 19 men since their all-out ----------------------------------drive to bring the unit up to Zane Grey’s New Story At Wing Leased Room Vacated strength began Feb. 1. Captain Don Burris, company By Gamble Store Blue Fox Theatre commander, said that, although ----------------------------------MARCH 8, 1945 — Charles L. the unit got off to a slow start, he NOV. 7, 1935 — Zane Grey’s Wing and W.F. Crosby, Boise, felt sure that the Company newest and greatest novel, the were in Grangeville the first of would be at maximum strength adventure story everyone is talking about, “Thunder Mountain,” is coming to the Blue Fox theatre for a three-day engagement starting next Tuesday, Nov. 12. “Thunder Mountain” tells the story of our own rugged backdoor country, the Idaho gold rush of Thunder Mountain, pictured on the screen as only the pen of Zane Grey could portray it. You’ll forget everything this wizard of western thrillers has done before when you see this new, different and colorful adventure romance of Idaho when it was young. The book of Zane Grey’s new story, “Thunder Mountain,” has just been published and is said to adhere to, and depict correctly the colorful history of the gold rush of Thunder Mountain in this state.
-----------------MAY 30, 1935 — Another of those fires of mysterious origin Monday night about 11 o’clock completely destroyed the house belonging to Len Hauntz in the south end of town. The house had been occupied by Alvis Newby, but who had moved out earlier in the day. Because of the distance of the fire from a water hydrant some delay was encountered before water could be turned onto the burning building. Loss is estimated at about $500. No furniture was in the house. ------------------
EXTRA COPIES OF TIMES PAST
Riggins Girl Wins Trip To U.N. ------------------
Cooper Worked Extra Hard For This -----------------March 25, 1965 — RIGGINS – All the Salmon River High School personnel are thrilled because one of their members, Jeannie Cooper, won the Rebekah and IOOF sponsored trip to the UN contest. The finals were held at New Meadows Sunday and several people from Riggins went up to hear the speeches. Although Riggins has entered a contestant nearly every year since the contest started, this is their first winner. Miss Cooper has worked extra hard for this win. Miss Jean Cooper, 17, daugh-
Moonshine Operation Busted
1945
Circle C Cowhand Lariats Wildcat ------------------
Reeves Basking In Joy Of Good Deed Well Done
May 13, 1965 — State and Idaho County law enforcement raided a moonshine operation at a ranch about eight miles east of Kamiah, confiscating a complete still and 16.5 gallons of the liquid it was producing. Three men were implicated in operating the still. Pictured here is ICSO Sheriff Gene Fuzzell. FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
the week, bringing a truckload of equipment for the opening of a bottling works in this city. Mr. Wing, who is experienced in this line of business, has been interested in locating here for the last several years. Mr. Wing has leased the east room of the S.E. Lindsley building, recently vacated by the Gamble store, where the equipment already here is now stored. Another load is expected from Boise in a few days. “My candid opinion is that the boys will be returning home sometime during this year or early in 1946, by which time I
IDAHO’S OLDEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER IS STILL SPREAD’N IT AFTER 129 YEARS
ARE AVAILABLE AT
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June 29, 1950 — Grangeville is being represented at the National Scout Jamboree in Valley Forge by eight Boy Scouts and one Scoutmaster. Shown here are (front, L-R) Bill Asker, Judson James and Richard Willey; (second row) Randall Curtis, Bobby Fisher, Dick Troeh and Lowell Martin (back) Troop 139 Scoutmaster Corland James.
Thunder Mountain Bottling Works To Gold Rush Filmed Open In G’ville
-----------------(By Murrielle Wilson) APRIL 19, 1945 — RIGGINS – Clinton Reeves, while cowboying for the Circle C up Race Creek, roped a wildcat. In the excitement of the moment he hopped nimbly off his horse and hog-tied the critter -----------------in the best approved style and Dog Fights, Calf Rides Main Events then came the thought, what -----------------Locals Take Down Orofino At next? However, inspiration JULY 11, 1935 — Placer minGrangeville Golf Course struck and he carted the greatly ers from every gulch, hard rock A team of 12 men from Orofi- perturbed feline to the ranch of miners from every hole in the no invaded the Grangeville golf his dear friend, Walt Hinkley.
Elk City Wide Open All During Fourth
Scouts Off To 1950 Jamboree
900 W. Main, P.O. Box 690 • Grangeville, ID 83530 208-983-1200, 800-252-0233 - www.idahocountyfreepress.com
by the last day of this month. “Our men have done a fine job of recruiting in the last few days and are still working hard to reach our goal of at least one new recruit for each man in the organization,” Burris said. The new men attended their first drill last weekend and got their first taste of “G.I. chow” as well as orientation on what they may expect from the National Guard and what the Guard expects of them. Included in the new men are four with prior service. These are Monte E. Clark, four years Navy; Steve E. Stoneking, Larry E. Bentley and Robert Workman, each with three years in the Army. All four are from Grangeville. Others enlisted during the month are David W. Kinzer, Dan W. Paul, William C. Shipley, Allen E. Pesio, Richard L. Burkenbine, Ralph A. Paul, Richard L. Prall, Gerald J. Wright and William Fowler, all of Grangeville. Richard C. Devlin was the only enlistment from Stites and Marian E. Lauer was the only representative from Ferdinand. Vern E. Sonnen was the only enlistment from Greencreek. Enlisting from Cottonwood were Michael D. Zorb, John H. Schnider and Wayne U. Forsman. Captain Burris said a “good number” of other youths had showed considerable interest in enlisting in his unit and he expected to have several more enlistments this week.
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Cooper, Lucile, and a student at Salmon River High School won the United Nations Pilgrimage for Youth Contest, for District 12 Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, Sunday at New Meadows. Jean scored 94 out of a possible 100 over three other contestants.
Grangeville Grows; 320 Homes In 14 Years April 8, 1965 — There have been 320 new homes built in Grangeville since 1950, or in the past 14 years, according to records kept at the Free Press. This is an average of 23 a year. Records are from building permits applied for at the city hall. Year with the greatest number of houses was 1955, when there were 40 applications for new home building permits. Figures do not include business buildings or additions and improvements. Value of the 40 houses built in 1955 was given as $322,000, most likely a conservative figure. Totals on some of the years have not been kept by the Free Press. HOME BUILDING BY YEARS:
1950 – 29; 1951 – 36; 1952 – 31; 1953 – 32; 1954 – 32; 1955 – 40; 1956 – 12; 1957 – 22; 1958 – 12; 1959 – 13; 1960 – 21; 1961 - 8; 1962 – 8; 1963 – 10; 1964 – 14.
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SMOKEJUMPING NEARLY MET DISASTER ON FIRST DROP IN 1940 Firefighting Tactic Got Start On Nez Perce National Forest 75 Years Ago BY ANDREW OTTOSON IDAHO COUNTY FREE PRESS ike pebbles thrown into still water, the parachuting of two men into a lightningstruck wilderness within the Nez Perce National Forest sent ripples in all directions. At the time – about 2 p.m. on July 12, 1940 – Earl Cooley and Rufus Robinson were ordered out to fight a fire. Like so many firefighters of earlier days, Cooley and Robinson gathered their gear: lunch, fire packs, climbing spurs, saws…and unlike the first responders of earlier times, Cooley and Roberts took jumping suits and parachutes. “At 3:21 we left the ground,” Robinson wrote in a document which reads like an after-action report and was provided to the Free Press by Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests historian Cindy Schacher. Aboard a Travel Air 6000 piloted by Dick Johnson, after turning at Goat Mountain to follow Bear Creek, after turning to follow Ditch Creek, after climbing over Moose Ridge and swinging south of the Wylies Peak lookout, the men spotted fire on the east slope of Marten Creek. These place names refer to parts of the most remote country remaining anywhere in the United States, in what would later be designated the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. The advent of flight had opened up a new world of possibilities, and during the 1920s, Forest Service firefighting outfits began deploying aerial patrols and parachuting cargo drops using burlap sacks. The first American experiments in human parachuting began in the late 1930s. When lightning cracked out in the wilderness in July 1940, lookouts had the job of not just pinpointing a new fire, but of making the first attempt to put it out. The typical response time for reinforcements could have been measured on a calendar, but Robinson and Cooley were both on the ground shortly after 4 p.m., more than 11 miles southwest of Moose Creek Ranger Station. Robinson, a Kooskia native, jumped first. Both men landed in trees. They started building
L
1975
Council OKs Plans For Lions Park Feb. 5, 1975 — The Grangeville City Council Monday night approved a proposal from the Lions Club which will have the effect of setting in gear receiving funds for development of a new park in Grangeville. The park, to be located in the east end of town, will include approximately 14 acres which will all be developed by the local Lions Club. Funds for the park would come from the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, club officials present said. Representing the Lions Club’s Civic Improvement Committee included Jerry Asker, Jack Marek, Port Wagner, Al McCulley and Norm Henderson.
State Champs! SR Varsity Girls ------------------
Spickelmire Scored 57 Points For The Three Nights -----------------Feb. 26, 1975 — SALMON RIVER – Salmon River Varsity girls are state champions. The first night the girls played Murtaugh and stomped them 54-13. Second night they were up against one of the teams in their own league which was Cambridge. They defeated Cambridge 52-30. This put them in the championship game with Melba. Salmon River came on with another victory over Melba
Earl Cooley and Rufus Robinson (pictured in 1940 at Moose Creek Ranger Station) made history with the first-ever smokejumper response to a forest fire. Their historic jump was made on July 12, 1940, in the Nez Perce National Forest. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / NEZ PERCE CLEARWATER NATIONAL FORESTS
fire line that afternoon, and were joined by a trail crew the next morning. The fire was under control by 10 a.m. July 13, and they set out on the return trip with Moose Creek Ranger Station packer Howard Engle on the morning of July 14. When Cooley, of Hamilton, Mont., died of pneumonia at age 98 in 2009, the Washington Post noted his passing in its obituaries. His training was “rudimentary,” according to the Post. “The trainer had hung a parachute in a tree to point out the harness, shroud lines and release handles, then said: ‘Tomorrow we jump.’” • The smokejumpers’ pioneering advances came just as the nation verged on total war. In June 1940, with much of Europe already engulfed by Hitler’s flames, four U.S. Army staff officers went to Missoula to observe parachute training. One, Major William Cary Lee, would later command the 101st Airborne Division in Europe.
With the smokejumpers set to celebrate their 75th year this year, the Missoulian recently reported the CIA recruited some of their number for missions to support the Tibetan resistance to red China during the 1950s and ‘60s: There’s a painting hanging in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Langley, Virginia, headquarters called “Khampa Airlift to Tibet.” “You look at the canopy of the parachute and you can tell they are smokejumpers, and the suits are smokejumper suits…You could figure out where they got their training.” • Even on the home front, smoke jumping has occasionally proved a deadly profession. Cooley once told the Associated Press the only bad part of smokejumping was the long walk home, but he nearly met disaster on that very first jump. “My risers were twisted above my head and it seemed some time before they started to unwind,” he reported. “When I
was about down, I could see that I was going to land in large timber by a small creek. I picked a large spruce tree about 120 feet high. The chute hung on the limbs about 10 feet from the top…I went through the branches on the side of the tree, breaking many of them. I noticed the chute on the side of the tree and didn’t want to swing back because I thought there might be a possibility of the chute slipping off the limbs and going on down to the ground, so
I grabbed the stub of a broken limb and climbed onto the trunk of the tree.” Among the worst accidents the area has ever seen was in 1959, when a crash landing at the Moose Creek Ranger Station claimed the lives of two smokejumpers and Nez Perce Forest Supervisor Alva Blackerby. While smokejumpers have sometimes been caught up in such accidents, smokejumpers have also been among the first responders to such disasters. Three days after Robinson and Cooley made their historic jump, a cargo plane crashed, killing the pilot and leaving the cargo kicker badly injured – leading to the first-ever deployment of a smokejumper on a rescue mission. In 1979, smokejumpers out of Missoula helped save one man after a cargo plane crash that killed 10 others near Selway Falls. (One other survived.) The perils involved with aviation are not the only risk smokejumpers have learned to face. A fire 15 men parachuted in to fight struck down a dozen of their number in 1949, at Mann Gulch in Montana. Since the profession’s earliest days, smokejumpers have adjusted to myriad changes, including technical improvements in parachutes and aircraft, notably including the round parachutes and Twin Otter aircraft still in use at the Grangeville Air Center (GAC), which has recently been home to about 30 smokejumpers every summer. Beginning nationally with Deanne Shulman in McCall and locally with Robin Embry at GAC, women have joined the ranks of the smokejumpers
since the early 1980s. Modern communication technology – and computers in particular – have revolutionized the way the Forest Service responds to fires, GAC base manager Chris Young explained. During Young’s early days at GAC in 1992, much communication was by telephone, which required much repetition. Email connected whole groups together, and tablet-type devices have made it possible to share briefing information in real time, giving those in Young’s position far greater awareness and the ability to coordinate with similar units elsewhere in the nation. And: “Firefighting itself has changed through time, the way we approach fire. A lot of that is hard lessons we’ve learned through fatalities all the way back to Mann Gulch,” Young said. “And technology is always going to be changing…if you don’t evolve or adapt, you won’t be able to keep up.” The ripples have spanned the globe and the world of possibilities continues to expand, but the smokejumpers’ roots run deep in Idaho County. Young said he appreciates the support the community has given – what he has seen of it since training at GAC in 1992. “Since I’ve been here it has been solid – I can’t say enough about the foundation of this jump base, and the involvement of the community here in Grangeville, and the support we’ve received from the community,” Young said. “It’s really good, and that’s what keeps us alive, I think. The community here is very supportive of what we do, and they would never want to see it leave.” Robin Embry was the first female jumper at the Grangeville Air Base. Over her expansive career, the longest of any female smokejumper, Embry made the most jumps of any Grangeville jumper, male or female, at 450. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / NEZ PERCE CLEARWATER NATIONAL FOREST
57-27. This was the last game the girls played for the season in which they were undefeated with 23 wins. Marty Spickelmire scored 57 points for the three nights, Glenna Roakey 39, Elayne Parrish 14, Deanna Roakey 12, Denise Roakey 6, Joni Nevins 6, Eva Wicks 10, Shelly Foster 4, Vickie Herman 5, Rony A. Smith 10.
Eimers Promoted; Arnzen Is Principal April 16, 1975 — School District Number 241 shuffled around top coaching and administrative personnel during their Monday meeting, promoting Bill Eimers to assistant superintendent, and promoting Al Arnzen to the post of principal of Grangeville High School. Jim Vopat, who has been teaching and coaching at Salmon River High School in Riggins, has been assigned the varsity basketball coaching job at Grangeville High School; he will teach junior high math. Eimers has been principal at Grangeville High School for the past 15 years, and will assume his job as assistant superintendent July 1. Arnzen has been basketball coach at Grangeville High School, leading the team to several state wins while coach. He will be Grangeville High School principal for the 1975-76 school year. Robert Zimmerman, who has been assistant coach at Salmon River High School, will be assigned the varsity basketball coaching job at Salmon River High School.
Proudly Serving Idaho County 21 Years.
Owners: Bruce Graham and Robert Stinson — 1994 & 2015
Heating & Air Conditioning Grangeville 983-2495 • Kamiah 935-7727 Idaho HHVAC contractor’s license HVAC-1153 Idaho Electrical contractor’s license ELE-33119
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1985: Bulldog Track Going Strong
cleared the way for a controver- volved, said Jim Lynch, the Boise sial wolf reintroduction plan. attorney who is handling the Idaho’s wolves are scheduled case for the district. to be transported and released immediately as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to take advantage of both the weather and upcoming wolf mating season.
GPD Chief To Retire
March 8, 1995 — After 24 years of service, Grangeville Police Chief Bob Wilbanks is going to retire. Wilbanks, who is 51 years old, announced his retirement at the March 6 Grangeville City Council Feb. 1, 1995 — Growth in meeting. Idaho County soared in 1994 and has yet to slow down despite the closing of Idapine Mills in Grangeville on Nov. 30. People who work in real estate, title companies and power March 15, 1995 — Prehistoric companies say 1994 was one of their busiest years ever, and the mammoth bones discovered at growth was countywide, even Tolo Lake last fall will be on display at West One Bank starting area-wide. today and running through March 27. The find has generated a lot of local interest. Many people lined up for hours to see the bones at Tolo Lake in late October. ------------------
County Growth No Signs Of Slowing
‘Almost Heaven’ Draws Negative Attention To Area ------------------
Community A Place to Escape Government Tyranny
FREE PRESS ARCHIVES
Grangeville Bulldog track was going strong as junior Kelcey Edwards was one of several athletes to compete in an All-Comers meet at Moscow. He placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 149.6. From March 20, 1985.
declining school enrollment combined with the state’s new academic requirements for graduation. Next year, the district will lose up to $110,000 in state funds Jan. 23, 1985 — After a short due to a drop in students, Superand rather uneventful council intendent Al Arnzen predicts. meeting Monday night, Grangeville’s city council agreed to tackle the question of providing handicapped facilities in city building. Grangeville Mayor Ralph Bos April 24, 1985 — Excitement explained to the council that fedis building for first jet boat races eral regulation will soon require Campers are already beginthat public buildings provide faning to line the Salmon River as cilities for the handicapped. spectators anticipate the first “River of No Return” Championship Jet Boat Race scheduled for this weekend. Organizers of the race are predicting a crowd of between March 13, 1985 — District 15,000 to 30,000 people during 241 school administrators are the two days of racing. finding themselves faced with a Between 40 and 50 powerful problem that is getting bigger jet boats will be competing for a and more difficult to solve. purse of $9,500 on Saturday and The problem has arisen due to Sunday.
1985
Facilities Planned To Benefit Disabled
First Year For Jet Boat Races
Student Enrollment Issue For Dist. 241
1995: Savage On Defense
Rafting Accident Claims 5-year-old ------------------
Colorado Girl Dies at Hospital In Spokane After Rafting Accident -----------------June 19, 1985 — A 5-year-old Colorado girl who fell in the South Fork of the Clearwater River Thursday afternoon died Friday at Sacred Heart Medical Center at Spokane. Kari Cotner of Divide, Colo, was flown to Spokane following a rafting accident on the river near milepost 12 along Highway 14, according to Deputy Mike Wambolt of the Idaho County Sheriff’s Dept.
-----------------Jan. 11, 1995 — Idaho County has once again drawn national attention thanks in part to Bo Gritz’s planned “Almost Heaven” community north of Kamiah. In last Sunday’s edition of the “New York Times Magazine,” several local residents were quoted, included Bo Gritz himself, for an article entitled, “Off The Grid – Enter Government-Hating, Home-Schooling, ScriptureQuoting Idaho, the New LeaveMe-Alone America at Its Most Extreme.” The magazine describes Gritz’s covenant community “as a place to escape government tyranny and Armageddon in the lowlands.”
Prayer Lawsuit Costs Covered ------------------
Issue On Prayer At Graduation -----------------Jan. 25, 1995 — Limited district funds will be at risk when District 241 petitions to take the prayer at graduation case to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court agrees to take the case, the insurance company will cover all costs in-
Mammoth Bones On Display
Damages Sought Against Earth First! Firm Suing Under Idaho’s Racketeering Act
-----------------Feb. 8, 1995 — Highland Enterprises, Inc. of Grangeville is seeking $100,000 in damages resulting from acts of protest by members of Earth First! over a two-year period, according to court records. The firm is suing under Idaho’s Racketeering Act and if successful, Highland would be entitled to triple the amount in damages.
CV Rams Win State A-3 Title Feb. 15, 1995 — They’ll be hanging up the banner in Clearwater Valley High School any day now. And, in the years ahead, that banner will remind players and fans that CV’s girls’ basketball team won the 1995 Idaho A-3 championship.
Feb. 22, 1995 — A rally promoting “traditional American values” was held at Kamiah, an event which organizers hoped would offset negative publicity surrounding Bo Gritz’s planned “Constitutional Covenant Community.” Here, Alan Schonefeld of Kooskia and about 75 others held signs and marched before a scheduled lecture at Kamiah High School by Jack McLamb, a Gritz associate.
Trustees Back Off White Bird Closure
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★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
-----------------Dec.11, 1985 — School trustees continued to talk about budget cuts Monday at the district office; however, they decided to “quit talking about school closures.” “As far as I am personally concerned, that has got to be a last resort,” said trustee Lou Bunting. “There has to be a real emergency before that occurs.”
1995
FREE PRESS ARCHIVES
Feb. 1, 1995— Joanne Hayes, leading scorer for the Salmon River Savages, goes on the defense in a recent game in the A-3 District III-North Tournament in which the Riggins team placed second behind Cambridge. The 5-11 junior post has scored 330 points in the 23 games the Savages have played.
Sept. 13, 1995 — Grangeville Elks Lodge voted 27-20 to keep its male-only membership policy in place. The Grangeville Lodge, like lodges throughout the country, was directed by the national lodge to vote on whether to remove the word “male” from membership requirements.
1995: Protest Offsets Gritz Negative Publicity
Sept. 25, 1985 — Three members of a Potlatch family were killed Sunday afternoon when their airplane crashed along the side of a clearcut about four miles east of the Powell Ranger Station. Dead are the pilot, Harvey Dean Thiessen, 41, his wife, Linda, 38, and their 11-year-old son, Chad Allan, all of Potlatch.
‘That Has Got To Be A Last Resort’
March 15, 1995 — Shearer Lumber Products purchased the Idapine mill site last week with the intention of moving its office, planer and shipping operations to Grangeville. John Bennett, operations manager, said the purchase will have little impact on Shearer’s Elk City sawmill and would result in just a few additional jobs.
G’vlle Elks Says No To Women
Plane Crash Kills Three, Injures Two
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Shearer Buys IdaPine Mill site
Despite Lawsuits, Wolves On Way Jan. 11, 1995 — Young wolves may already be on the prowl in north-central Idaho this week after a federal judge
Advertisement from 1979.
Our History The Solberg Agency was started in 1902 by George M. Reed 1902—George Reed Company 1920—Eimers-Graham Company 1931—C.D. McCargar Agency & Ted Bordeux Agency 1950—Haynes Agency 1959—Nels L. Solberg joined the Haynes Agency 1961—Nels L. Solberg bought into the company and it was then called the Haynes-Solberg Agency 1962—Harold Haynes died and Nels L. Solberg bought out his interest. The name was then changed to the Solberg Agency. Over the next several years Nels L. Solberg added the Folden Agency, The Wolford Agency, and the Foust Agency 1970—Solberg Agency merged with George Gerrard who was the owner of the J.E. Graham Company. The name was then changed to the Solberg-Gerrard Agency 1972—Nels L.Solberg purchased Mr. Gerrard’s interest in the business following Mr. Gerrard’s death, and later changed the name back to the Solberg Agency 1986—Don & Andrea Solberg bought the Solberg Agency from Mary Ann Solberg Current—Don & Andrea continue to own and operate Solberg Agency, Inc., as an Insurance, Real Estate office. Don has Property, Casualty, Disability (Health) and Surplus Lines Insurance Licenses along with a Real Estate Broker’s License.
Formerly Jeff ’s Auto Repair
Serving Idaho County since Dec. 11, 1978
110 W. North 2nd Grangeville 208-983-2626
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Then
Now
Victory At State May 25, 2005 — Grangeville High School’s Debbie Pederson races for the finish line in the 800 relay. Pederson anchored the team to victory at state.
Then
Now
FREE PRESS ARCHIVE
2005
Muench Interns In Wash., D.C. ------------------
Being From Small Town Not Deterrent From Reaching Goals -----------------Jan. 19, 2005 — GRANGEVILLE – “Being from a small town is not necessarily a deterrent when it comes to reaching your goals,” Elissa Muench said. “In fact, sometimes it’s a real help.” Muench recently finished a White House internship where she worked in the Office of Strategic Initiative Leader Karl Rove, senior adviser to President George W. Bush.
Alm Attends Bush Inauguration March 2, 2005 — GRANGEVILLE – When President Bush was re-elected president, Betty Alm said she was thankful. As she and her husband, Jerry, were watching the returns on television, she turned to him and said “I want to go to his inauguration.” “He kind of rolled his eyes,” Alm laughed. However, Alm was serious and she began to plan her trip.
Geis Runs Boston Marathon April 27, 2005 — KEUTERVILLE – “I took one year of track and one year of basketball,” shrugged Trina Geis of Keuterville. “I just started running on my own, really, and I’ve done it for about 10 years all together.” The 1996 Prairie High School graduate ran the Boston Marathon April 18. “I had wanted to do it, but not alone,” she admitted. She was able to go with friends – former Grangeville resident and St. Mary’s Hospital employee Liz Harbert and Harbert’s sister, Patti, now of Boise, — who also qualified for the race.
$100,000 Price On Nursing Home May 25, 2005 — GRANGEVILLE – Final agreement is pending, but a $100,000 price has been approved for Syringa General Hospital to purchase the Idaho County Nursing Home. SGH Administrator Jess Hawley updated the Idaho County Board of Commissioners at their Monday meeting regarding the agreement between the two public entities on the purchase, which includes both the 10,000square-foot facility and its inventory.
has recently been recognized for his years of service. Niemi is the recipient of the George Oakshott Award for outstanding service to the veterinary profession, bestowed by the North Idaho Veterinary Medical Association (NIVMA).
ment of Idaho National Guard soldiers is literally set in stone. Last Thursday, the “Soldier Stone” was placed at the National Guard Armory in Grangeville, honoring the 18-month Iraq deployment of Detachment 2 Company B of the 116th Combat Engineers serving with Idaho’s 116th Brigade Combat Team. According to SSG Joe Slichter, the “Iraq and Back” memorial honors both the company’s tremendous work in Iraq and their sacOct. 5, 2005 — rifice away from their families. GRANGEVILLE – Wind and sleet, summer sun and winter chill: Alice Rickman has gone through it all to report the daily weather findings for Grangeville. And her service – half a century in fact – was recently recogNov. 23, 2005 — RIGGINS – nized by the National Weather Joint School District 241 trustees Service which presented her the Edward H. Stoll award. This spe- voted 3-2 to pursue a deconsolicial recognition honors NWS dation plan at Monday’s regular weather observers who have monthly board meeting at Salmon River High School. provided 50 years of service. Riggins board member, Joyce Barnard, surprised the audience of more than 50 when, after two hours of discussion on deconsolidation, she made the motion to use money from the district’s Nov. 9, 2005 — contingency fund to help with GRANGEVILLE – The commit- the process.
Rickman Honored 50 Years for NWS
District To Pursue Deconsolidation
‘Soldier Stone’ honors 116th Eng.
DeHaas Retires As FSA Director March 23, 2005 — GRANGEVILLE – For more than 40 years – through policy changes, price fluctuations, and days of plenty and natural disasters – Georgia DeHaas has been the face of federal farm programs for Idaho County agriculture producers. And on April 1, no joke, DeHaas retires as county executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency office in Grangeville, a profession that has truly been a special part of her life.
Now
16 YEARS and counting. (208) 983-1002 | Reservations (866) 786-6835 | Grangeville, ID
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Plug into the one to call for quality, honesty and value! Serving the Camas Prairie for more than 66 Years! We have been serving the Camas Prairie and Valley areas for 66 years and will be for another 66 years. It’s our quality, integrity and customer satisfaction that keeps it that way! Specialists in residential and commercial design, construction, additions, repair and upgrades. The largest and most experienced electrical firm in the area stands ready to serve you from start to finish.
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962-3941 413 Main • P. O. Box 426 Cottonwood, Idaho 83522
WWW.IDAHOCOUNTYFREEPRESS.COM 1948 advertisement Irwin Drug
From a humble beginning back in 1932, the Asker family has been selling groceries for 83 years. Now a fourth generation continues the traditions of wide variety, high quality merchandise at low prices. Though the name has changed, the great customer service remains the same.
415 W. Main, Grangeville • 983-0680
1979
Niemi Honored For Years Of Service Aug. 10, 2005 — GRANGEVILLE – A local animal care landmark for nearly four decades, Dr. Brice Niemi DR. BRICE NIEMI
Then
140 West Main Downtown Grangeville
JEWELRY-PHOTO
208-983-1310
Irwin Drug First began on Grangeville’s Main Street in 1911 in the building that housed the Sears store in the 1979. For the next twenty years, until 1931, the drug store was Lamm Drug. Then in 1931 it became Zenier Drug with Shaffer Drug taking ownership in 1932 until 1943. Irwin owned the store from 1944 until 1966. In the fall of 1996, Irwin Drug moved to its present corner location on Main Street. Irwin Drug has provided 96 years or service to Idaho County.
Still in Downtown Grangeville 983-1090
www.IrwinDrug.com