THINGS TO LOVE
e m o H a An Id LOVE Affair
PHOTO BY JOHN WEBSTER
(or love to hate) (or hate to love)
ABOUT OUR GREAT STATE
I
dahoans live here for a variety of reasons, and now more people want to become Idahoans than ever before. Tensions arise with that, but tension is the opposite of “Idaho-y.” The reasons that we love living in Idaho, as well as a few things we might dislike about living here, are the exact same reasons other people might love it! Confusing? Yes, maybe. But let’s remember, the gripes that we Idahoans might have are inspired by our love of this amazing place. POTATO PRIDE Let’s tackle J. R. Simplot’s marketing genius first. Even if you hate to admit that you secretly like Idaho’s spud association–from Africa to China–the potato state is internationally famous for exactly that reason. We drop a giant spud on New Year’s Eve and the world’s largest potato chip sits in the Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot. Simplot made billions by first commercializing French fries for the U.S. Army and by 2005, supplying more than half of all McDonald fries! A favorite story of Idaho’s embracement of the spud goes back nearly a century. In 1928, Idaho became the pioneer in turning the standard license plate into an advertisement for the state, replacing the solid colored utilitarian plate with a green one adorned with a brown potato and the slogan “Idaho Potatoes.” Here’s the kicker: According to Idaho historian Rick Just, people thought it was such a cool license plate that they were routinely stolen off cars. So the next time someone asks about potatoes when you say you’re from Idaho, remember to take some pride that our starchy tubers hold as much history lore as calories.
