Cavalcade 2017 by APG-West (Idaho Press)

CAVALCADE 2017 A celebration of local businesses marking anniversaries in Canyon County

Idaho Press-Tribune: $2.50 US

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Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................ 4 AMALGAMATED SUGAR COMPANY CELEBRATES 75 YEARS................ 5-8 IDAHO’S FIRST MALL STRUGGLES WITH AGING............................. 9-11

SELLMAN INSURANCE SUCCESSOR KEEPS SERVICE TRADITION....................................................... 32-34 IDAHO TRACTOR ROLLS ON....................................................... 35-37

WEST VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER TURNS 40................................. 13-16

CALDWELL RESTAURANT STILL GOING STRONG AFTER 22 YEARS....................................................................... 38-41

FOUNDED IN 1969, GEM IN AND OUT MENU REMAINS THE SAME.............................. 17-18

A MISSION TO CARE.................................................................. 43-45

PRIEST ELECTRIC CONTIUNES TO SERVICE EELECTRIC MOTORS, PUMPS AROUND THE WEST....................................................... 20-21 STUDENTS COME AND GO, BUT BROWN BUS COMPANY REMAINS....................................... 22-24 101 YEARS AND COUNTING....................................................... 25-28 ‘WHAT CUSTOMER SERVICE SHOULD BE’..................................... 29-32

FAMILY-OWNED W.W. DEAL STILL SELLING INSURANCE 85 YEARS LATER.................................... 46 AT 85, JACOBSEN SIGN CO. FOUNDER ISN’T READY TO SLOW DOWN......................................................... 47 IN A WORLD OF COMPETITION, NUTRITION RUNS WITH THE BIG DOGS............................................ 49 33 YEARS AND COUNTING: LOCAL BUSINESS CONTINUES UNDER DAUGHTER’S LEADERSHIP....... 50

DRIVING OUR FUTURE OBEY THE LAW!

Passing a stopped school bus is a serious offense in Idaho. For the SAFETY of ALL, you as a driver must know the law. Your responsibilities are: To prepare to stop when the amber warning lights on the bus are flashing. These lights are your signal that the bus is preparing to stop and you should be preparing to stop, too. To stop when the red stop lights on the bus are flashing and the side stop arm is displayed. This means the bus is stopped and you should be stopped, as well.

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On a two-lane road, traffic in both directions must stop when the bus does. On a four-lane road, only the traffic behind the bus is required to stop. Don’t get in a big hurry and try to pass the bus. There may be kids coming or going from both sides of the street and they are relying on the traffic stopping.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

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Amalgamated Sugar Company celebrates 75 years

Nampa factory produces 2 million pounds of sugar every 24 hours By SEAN BUNCE

newsroom@idahopress.com

ou can see it from almost anywhere in Nampa — the tall, white factory standing out in the open skyline, its steam clouds spreading out in all directions. To anyone within a five-mile radius, there is also the smell, as freshly cut sugar beets give the atmosphere a slight scent of peanut butter. For Jessica McAnally, spokeswoman for the Amalgamated

Sugar Company's Nampa factory, the smell often reminds her of harvest time and helping her father out on the farm as a kid. “A lot of the people that have a strong history with the factory feel the same way,” McAnally said. In April, the Amalgamated Sugar Company's factory will celebrate 75 years in Nampa. In 1942, the factory was built in the wake of a sugar beet disease that closed down many

sugar producers at the time. It was also the only sugar beet factory constructed in the U.S. during World War II, according to plant Manager Eric Erickson. When the factory first opened, the company was producing a little more than 2,000 tons of sugar each day. It finished its first production year cutting a total of 192,970 tons of sugar beets and producing a little more than 553,000 bags of Continues on Page 6

AMALGAMATED SUGAR Address: 138 W. Karcher Road in Nampa Phone: 208-466-3541 Website: amalgamatedsugar.com Sugarbeet Processing Campaign: October – February Sugar Production: 11 months Sugar Packaging: Year round Undated historical photo of the exterior of the Amagamated Sugar plant in Nampa Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Amalgamated Sugar Company celebrates 75 years sugar weighing 100 pounds each. More than 660 growers sent their sugar beets to the Nampa plant in its opening year. Today, those numbers represent a fraction of the amount of product that the plant produces. It now cuts more than 12,000 tons of beets a day and produces 2 million pounds of sugar every 24 hours. The sugar company now also produces beet pulp, molasses and other beet by-products for use by food and animalfeed manufacturers. To most people, the Amalgamated Sugar Company's factory in Nampa is a marker for when to turn off Interstate 84, and a place where “they store a lot of beets.” But through its 75-year history, the factory has also represented something more to its workers and the community it serves — it is a symbol of tradition. “We have employees who generations of their family have worked here in some

capacity. Whole families have worked here,” McAnally said. One employee, Tim Vandeventer, has worked at the Amalgamated Sugar Company's Nampa factory for the past 38 years. Before that, his father, Roy, worked at the factory starting in 1967. Vandeventer, 56, is now a production manager at the plant, and like many others, is a part of the long-standing tradition. “What's kind of unique about it is that my wife's family has been a part of it longer than my family,” Vandeventer said. “And I worked there before I ever met her.” Vandeventer said his wife Tami's grandfather, Lawrence Polsen, worked for Amalgamated Sugar in Lewiston, Utah, as a shift supervisor before the company built its factory in Nampa. Her dad, Kenny, was born on company propContinues on Page 8

Chris Bronson/IPT Ron Scott, left, 1st class mechanic at Amalgamated Sugar, has been with the company for 37 years, while Gerald Lobs, right, mechanic supervisor, has been with the company for 36 years.

Chris Bronson/IPT

Gerald Lobs, mechanic supervisor with Amalgamated Sugar, has been with the company for 36 years.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

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Amalgamated Sugar Company celebrates 75 years erty in Lewiston in 1923. When the company decided to build the Nampa factory in 1942, Polsen moved to Idaho with her father. After high school, her father entered the military and fought in World War II, shipping off to the Pacific Ocean with the Navy. When the war was over, he came home and started working at the Nampa plant. “Kenny grew up on the company grounds and they used to grease the railroad tracks and throw stuff in the plume and jam up the factory," Vandeventer said. "Finally the plant manager called his dad in and said 'if you can't keep your kids out of the sugar factory I'm going to have to fire you.'” Luckily he wasn't fired, and the two sides of Vandeventer's family have since shared

seven generations working at the factory, with Vaneventer's three sons also putting in time when they aren't in school. “People have mixed feelings about having a factory in Nampa,” McAnally said. “But I think they've always been appreciative of the jobs it creates.” Amalgamated Sugar has undergone some ownership changes in its past.The company was first founded as the Ogden Sugar Company in 1897 before adopting its current name in 1915. In 1982, Amalgamated Sugar was purchased by Vahli and again sold to Snake River Sugar Company in 1997. The Snake River Sugar Company is a collaboration of sugar beet growers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Each day, more than 400 trucks deliver

sugar beets from nearly 300 farmers in the region to the company's plant in Nampa and more than 30 collection fields throughout the state of Idaho. Once processed, the factory provides sugar to more than 20 states across the country. Its sugar can be found in a variety of major company brands, which Erickson said he can't disclose. The company provides jobs to more than 540 working men and women of the Treasure Valley, including welders, electricians, computer programmers, carpenters and various other professions. Although he's not opposed to his sons carrying on the family tradition, Vandeventer said he'd like them to go to college first and start out further than he did.

Chris Bronson/IPT Frank Burtlow, left, a boiler house operator, is the third generation of Burtlows to work at Amalgamated Sugar in Nampa. Burtlow has been with the company for 23 years and has worked alongside his father and several uncles at the plant. Robin Ramirez, right, is an assistant boiler house operator, who has been with the company for five years.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Idaho’s first mall struggles with aging

Management at Nampa’s Karcher Mall have a goal to fill it up again By TORRIE COPE

tcope@idahopress.com

hen Nampa's Karcher Mall opened its doors to shoppers in August 1965, the city had something no other place in Idaho could claim at the time — an indoor shopping mall. “People came from all over to shop at the mall,” said Amber Acree, the mall's assistant property manager. “They would take day trips to Nampa from around Idaho or eastern Oregon.” Idaho's first indoor shopping mall debuted about nine years after the first enclosed mall was built in a Minneapolis suburb,

and in the middle of a construction boom for shopping malls. In 1960, there were 4,500 malls in the U.S. That number jumped to more than 16,000 by 1975, according to “A Brief History of the Mall,” published by the Association for Consumer Research. Karcher Mall opened with three anchor stores — the drugstore chain Skaggs Drug Centers, the discount store RascoTempo and Buttrey Food and Drug, according to “Canyon County Celebration.” Nampa Mayor Ernest Starr used a pair of giant scissors to cut the ribbon at the Buttrey Super Store and Kinney shoe

store — the first two stores to open in the mall — according to the Aug. 26, 1965, edition of the Idaho Free Press. The mall boasted 103,000 square feet of floor space and a paved, lighted parking lot that could accommodate 600 cars. Unlike all other shopping centers in Idaho at the time, all stores faced an inside mall that is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer, the paper reported. Several other department stores moved into Nampa's mall in the late '60s and into the '70s, including J.C. Penney, Falks, the Continues on Page 10

KARCHER MALL Address:1509 Caldwell Blvd. in Nampa Phone: 208-465-7845 Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday Website: shopkarchermall.com

An undated image of people shopping at the Karcher Mall in Nampa. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

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Bon Marche and Ernst Hardware, according to “Canyon County Celebration.” Each time, the mall added square footage to accommodate the new tenants. It's now more than 400,000 square feet. “If you talk to people who have lived here a long time, they remember Karcher Mall being the place to be when they were younger,” Acree said. “They came here to hang out and to meet friends and dates.” Acree has photos from years ago that show an orange-carpeted Karcher Mall filled with stores and shoppers. Today, Karcher Mall looks a little different. The orange carpet is gone, and so are a number of stores and customers. Things began to change for the mall in 1988, Acree said — the year the Boise Towne Square Mall opened. Customers and businesses chose the newer, larger Boise mall over Karcher Mall, and Karcher Mall has struggled to keep up with the changing retail market since then. Despite its location on one of Nampa's busiest roads, with close access to the freeway and a number of other restaurants and businesses nearby, Karcher Mall can't get people to come inside.

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An undated image of the Penney’s storefront at the Karcher Mall in Nampa.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Idaho’s first mall struggles with aging Over the years anchor stores including J.C. Penney, which was at the mall from 1968 to 1988, and Macy's moved out of Karcher Mall, favoring Boise and the newer Nampa Gateway Center, an outdoor shopping center. The women's clothing retailer Maurice's moved after two decades at Karcher Mall to the new Treasure Valley Marketplace in Nampa in 2007. Other national chain stores within the mall closed because the companies went out of business, which had nothing to do with the mall itself, Acree said. In 1986, Karcher Mall had 75 businesses, according to “Canyon County Celebration.” The current store directory lists 40 businesses. That includes the restaurants and banks outside of the mall's main building. The mall's larger stores include Mor Furniture, Ross, Big 5, Burlington Coat Factory and Joann's Fabric and Crafts. The mall also has smaller chain stores including Bath and Body Works and Christopher & Banks. There's also the Northern Lights Cinema

Grill and a number of small, local businesses. Karcher Mall’s owner, Milan Capital, invested in a $14 million facelift back in 2008, just in time for the economic downturn. Shortly after that, Macy's — which had been in the mall since 1973 when it started as the Bon Marche — moved out in 2009 leaving a 60,000-square-foot hole that remained vacant until 2016 when Mor Furniture moved in. Acree said Mor Furniture and new restaurants outside the mall, including Chipotle and Smashburger, have given people a new reason to look around inside. “People think, 'I haven't been to Karcher Mall in a while, I should see what's new,'” Acree said. But once inside it's hard for people not to notice the large number of vacant stores. Cushman & Wakefield, the firm responsible for leasing space at the mall, lists 15 available vacancies ranging in size from 800 square feet to more than 31,000 square feet.

When asked about the biggest challenge the mall faces today, Acree pointed to the one thing that made the Karcher Mall a major selling point 50 years ago. These days, everyone is looking for a storefront, she said. They don't want to face inside the mall where people don't know they are there. At one point, there was talk of “demalling” Karcher Mall, which essentially involves a remodel that would turn the mall inside out. De-malling has been a nationwide trend recently, and some malls have seen success from the change. Acree said that idea hasn't been discussed again recently. In the meantime, the mall's management team is hoping the increased traffic from Mor and others will inspire people to take a second look at the mall and fill those empty spaces. “We are working hard every day to fill that vacant space,” she said. “Our big goal is to fill the mall back up to where it was again.”

Chris Bronson/IPT The Karcher Mall in Nampa has been in business since 1965 and was Idaho’s first indoor mall.

Kelly Byrum shops at Bath and Body Works in the Karcher Mall in Nampa with her daughter Nicole, 17, on Feb. 14. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

West Valley Medical Center turns 40

Hospital’s origins date back to 1920 in Caldwell By TORRIE COPE

tcope@idahopress.com

aVena Baker started working at Caldwell Memorial Hospital in 1965. With young children at home, she made $1.15 an hour working the overnight shift as a switchboard operator. At one point, her boss surprised her with a raise. Baker was so happy she got emotional. “He gave me a nickel an hour raise and I cried,” she said. Baker is now retired, but still spends time at the hospital, which is in a new facility now called West Valley Medical Center. She and other longtime employees recently recalled how far health care has come in the decades they've worked at the hospital.

They remembered a time when it was OK for the chief of nursing to smoke cigarettes inside the hospital in her uniform. Donated blood was only checked for type and not the long list of diseases to look out for today. Some surgeries, considered common and minor today, required patients checking in the night before and staying days in the hospital. Baker recalled what cataract surgery was like back then — patients stayed three days in the hospital and their heads had to stay completely immobilized for 24 hours. Today the surgery is an outpatient procedure, and patients are sent

home with eye drops shortly after it's finished. "It was unheard of for a surgery patient to go home in one day," Baker said. West Valley Medical Center's current facility turns 40 years old this year, but its history dates back further. The 150-bed hospital employs more than 800 people including 200 physicians, according to West Valley. The hospital is one of 170 owned by Hospital Corporation of America, which is based in Nashville, Tennessee. In the last five years, West Valley has undergone numerous expansions and remodels and it's added new services. That

includes a new four-story medical office complex — the tallest building in Caldwell — along with an expanded intensive care unit, new 11-bed ortho-spine unit, a $3 million expansion of its cardiac electrophysiology catheterization lab and $6.25 million expansion and renovation of its surgery department. Upcoming additions include a new neonatal intensive care unit, a first for Caldwell.

THE CALDWELL SANITARIUM AND OTHER EARLY HOSPITALS

The current West Valley Medical Center facility turns Continues on Page 14

WEST VALLEY MEDICAL CENTER Address: 1717 Arlington Ave. in Caldwell Phone: 208-459-4641 Website: westvalleymedctr.com

Chris Bronson/IPT West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell has been serving the community since 1920. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

West Valley Medical Center turns 40 40 years old this year, but the hospital's roots date back to 1920 when three doctors opened the Caldwell Sanitarium, one of Caldwell's earliest hospitals, in a former mansion home. A 1983 publication by West Valley Medical Center details the history of the hospital and health care services in the early days. According to the publication, before the Caldwell Sanitarium opened, Caldwell was served by individual doctor's offices and clinics. Several doctors also came together in 1910 to form the 18-room Canyon Hospital in Caldwell. Doctors Fern M. Cole, Clifford M. Kaley and J.A. Young opened the Caldwell Sanitarium at 818 Logan St. in a mansion owned by Henry Dorman. The current Kaley Medical Training Center at West Valley is named for Kaley. That original Caldwell Sanitarium building still stands today as another longtime Caldwell institution, the Idaho P.E.O Chapter House, which is a retirement community.

West Valley Medical Center in the 1950s.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

The Caldwell Sanitarium could handle up to 15 patients — there were seven cots in private rooms and four cots each in the men's and women's wards. It was operational into the 1940s. “My sister was born in that P.E.O. House building,” said Wayne Tuckness, director of plant operations at West Valley. “My dad also had an appendix operation in that building.” Two other small hospitals — Caldwell General at 616 Cleveland Blvd., and Memorial Park at Seventh and Filmore streets — also opened in the 1920s.

CALDWELL MEMORIAL NAMED TO HONOR VETERANS

In the early 1940s, a group that included representatives from service clubs, lodges and organizations came together to begin a fundraising campaign for a new hospital to replace the Caldwell Sanitarium. The group broke ground in August 1948 on Caldwell Memorial Hospital, which was named for veterans for World War II. The

75-bed hospital opened in 1950 in the area that is now West Valley Medical Center's main parking lot. When the new hospital opened, the Caldwell Sanitarium building was donated and extensively remodeled to become the P.E.O. House. Sandy Straight, who worked for West Valley from 1976 to 2009, recalled that there were usually two to four patients per room in the 1950s-era building. "There was a number of times that we overflowed and patients were in the hallway," Straight said. The hospital also had very few private rooms for patients, unlike the current facility. Carolyn Hamann, director of laboratory services, has worked at West Valley since 1974. She recalled that the old hospital only had two rooms in its emergency department. The current hospital has an 18-room emergency department. "The hospital is now state of the art," Hamann said. "It can compete with any hospi-

An aerial photograph in the 1970s when the old medical center was being demolished after the current building was completed at West Valley Medical Center.

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The 1970s brought in a new era for Caldwell's hospital. The hospital became affiliated with HCA in 1974. Under that agreement, the hospital's association agreed to build a new facility. They broke ground in 1976 and opened the new hospital — the current facility — in 1977. Hamann has clear memories of the transition into the new hospital. “My biggest memory is the day they took down the old hospital,”

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West Valley Medical Center turns 40 she said. “We all stood out on the sidewalk and watched.” Hamann remembered watching as the wrecking ball bounced off the old building several times without doing any damage. “It took three times before they even got a chip,” she said. “It was built to last,” Baker added. In preparation for the move into the new building, the hospital released as many patients as it could and moved others over in

wheelchairs, Baker said. The new, 150-bed hospital had 60 doctors on staff when it opened. It still has 150 beds, but there are 200 doctors on staff, said West Valley spokeswoman Wendy McClain. In 1987, Caldwell Memorial Hospital became West Valley Medical Center to reflect the hospital's role in the community as a regional medical center that reached beyond Caldwell to serve the western end of the Treasure Valley.

The current facility is in a near-constant state of change as West Valley continues to grow and compete with other health systems in the area. "By March we'll have four construction projects going at once," Tuckness said. For the hospital's longtime employees, through all the growth and changes the hospital has seen over the years, one thing remains true — it's the people that make the hospital great, they said.

Chris Bronson/IPT West Valley Medical Center started as the Caldwell Sanitarium in 1920 in this building which is now the P.E.O Charter House.

Chris Bronson/IPT Doctors prep for a procedure in the West Valley Medical Cath Lab.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

An undated historical photo of nurses gathered together at West Valley Medical Center.

Founded in 1969, Gem In and Out menu remains the same

Restaurant features two drive-thru windows, orignal ham and cheese burger from first menu Other unique menu items include a taco burger with taco seasoning. The tater gems and he flashing neon Gem In French fries are sourced from and Out sign with two Simplot. arrows hasn’t changed The restaurant also features a bit since the burger restau- something else that’s a bit differrant opened in 1961. Since Tim ent — its flaked ice. Nielsen’s parents bought the restaurant in 1969, the menu hasn’t changed much either. “We do it right,” said Nielsen, who has worked at the restaurant since he was a freshman at Caldwell High School. “Why would you fix something that’s not broken?” The tastes of customers essentially proves that point. The most popular burger, the Gem Burger — with ham and cheddar cheese — was on the original menu. Nielsen estimates 200-400 are sold per day. The second most popular burger is the Buckineer with bacon, added to the menu in 1969. By OLIVIA WEITZ

oweitz@idahopress.com

“There’s more ice surface, and it will actually hold the carbonation longer and allow the pop not to go flat as soon,” he said. “It’s like the biggest snow cone you’re gonna get.” When Tim’s parents Tim and Lois Nielsen bought Gem

In and Out in 1969, the burger joint was located in a pre-manufactured building with one drive thru window. “It was so tiny,” Nielsen said. “It barely had a grill, a firer and Continues on Page 18

GEM IN AND OUT Address: 322 Cleveland Blvd. in Caldwell Phone: 208-459-0922

Chris Bronson/IPT Gem In and Out has been serving the Caldwell since 1961. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Founded in 1969, Gem In and Out menu remains the same an ice cream machine.” Tim and Lois, who had previously worked at the Red Steer, a mid-century burger shop popular around the Treasure Valley, then constructed the Gem building, uniquely adding two drive-thru windows,

both of which are accessible to drivers. “Gem In and Out ended up being kind of a hybrid between the original Gem In and Out and Red Steer,” said Nielsen, who now co-owns the restaurant with his wife Shari Nielsen. “This one is unique because being

Chris Bronson/IPT A burger is cooked on the grill at Gem In and Out on Jan. 27.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

on a corner we actually end up with a driver on each side.” The Nielsen family introduced a sportssponsorship program where the restaurant pays for the team entry fees for Caldwell and Vallivue sports teams, a tradition since 1969.

Chris Bronson/IPT Top: An illustration of Gem In and Out after its opening in Caldwell in 1961. Bottom: Gem In and Out has been serving the Caldwell community since 1961.

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Priest Electric continues to service electric motors, pumps around the West

Company still thriving after three generations of ownership By OLIVIA WEITZ

oweitz@idahopress.com

tour of Priest Electric is like taking a trip back in time, as decades-old pumps and motors used in mining or irrigation projects await repair and rebuilding. Third generation business operator Greg Priest said the fundamental, internal workings of electric motors — the company's bread and butter — haven't changed all that much since Priest Electric was founded in 1957. "The electric motor is already efficient," Priest said. "The motor hasn’t changed that much, but what drives the motor and what the motor operates has.” During Priest's father and grandfather's era, train engines and timber mills were powered by electric motors. Now the company's work is even-

ly split between agricultural and food processing and mining, repairing motors from Idaho, but also shipped from as far as Oregon and Nevada. Growing up, Priest had memories of coming into the shop on weekends if the family was working overtime to repair a farmer's broken pump. The shop is where he remembers spending time with his grandfather, Mel. "A lot of my memories with my grandfather are here because that’s where we spent so much time," Priest said. "It’s what he did, and it’s what we do. It’s a second home, without a better explanation.” Knowledge of electricity and hard work runs in the Priest family. Greg's great-grandfather worked on the Swan Falls Dam. His son, Mel, worked for Idaho Power in the era when Simplot was just starting up in Caldwell. “He really liked electric motors and understood what was going on,” Priest said.

PRIEST ELECTRIC Address: 412 Simplot Blvd. in Caldwell Phone: 208-459-6351 Website: priestelectric.com

Chris Bronson/IPT Greg Priest is a third generation business operator at Priest Electric.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Priest Electric continues to service electric motors, pumps around the West Mel and his son Earl saw opportunity in Caldwell to service the agricultural community here. In 1957, they moved to the city from the North End of Boise and founded Priest Electric in its original location on Fifth Street. The company later moved to Simplot Boulevard, where they have serviced motors and pumps ever since. Family has come and gone over the years. Now, Greg Priest, his father Earl and brother Richard run the place. His cousin, Valerie, does the books. Greg, who came back to the family business after living outside of Idaho for 20 years, said he has come to find meaning in fixing what's broken. “The reason why I love what we do is we’re a re-manufacturer, meaning we redo and reuse these machines that we don’t throw away," Priest said. "Almost everything’s recyclable on it, and rebuildable back to a new condition.”

Bill Murray, a long time worker at Priest Electric in Caldwell, works at the shop in an undated photograph.

Chris Bronson/IPT Priest Electric was established in Caldwell in 1957. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Students come and go, but Brown Bus Company remains

Manager Brent Carpenter sees new technology, nostalgia holding true for the company

that come with cushioning both behind and in front of the seat, creating a “compartment” which better protects the student passengers. s a child, watching his father help run Drivers, seeking part-time, steady hours and Brown Bus Company in Nampa, Brent stable employment, come and go. Carpenter never expected to take his faMore and new technology, like GPS, is expectther's place. ed to be implemented for school busing in the fuHe didn't want to. ture. Dealing with short staffing, weekend hours But, one thing hasn't changed for Carpenter: and buses breaking down were challenges Car- the intimate experience of riding the school bus. penter once thought he would avoid. “There's something special about what hapYet, something drew him in. pens on a school bus,” Carpenter said. “I still re“I realized there was a strong community con- member some of my bus drivers … it's a unique nection,” Carpenter said, “Serving schools and experience.” parents, there's something special about getting kids to and from school.” THE HISTORY (AND FUTURE) OF BROWN BUSES It’s an industry that is also changing and adaptRich Brown started the Brown Bus Company ing to new demands and technology. in 1959 with 12 buses. Now, in 2017, about 270 Inside the buses, seats have changed from buses transport nearly 12,500 students to schools those built with a metal frame to today’s models in Nampa, Vallivue and Wilder school districts By ALX GEORGE

ageorge@idahopress.com

A BROWN BUS COMPANY Address for Nampa school district office: 2111 E. Sherman Ave. in Nampa Phone number: 208-466-4181 Address for Vallivue school district office: 12020 Karcher Road in Nampa Phone number: 208-455-2532 Website: brownbuscompany.com

Chris Bronson/IPT Buses are parked and lined up at the Brown Bus Company depot on Feb. 24.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

as well as several Canyon and Ada County charter schools. Additional seat padding made its way onto the buses in 1970 in an effort to better protect students in instances of rear-end collisions. Students may “bounce around” in the compartment, but otherwise don't sustain many injuries, according to Carpenter. Carpenter believes requiring seatbelts is on the horizon for all school buses, but at this point he doesn't think the safety devices are necessary because the current seating structure keeps students safe. School districts can ask school bus companies to implement seatbelts, but until it's federally

required and the state adopts it, Brown Bus Company intends to hold off. In the meantime, other safety features are being installed on some buses. Automatic stop arms are replacing manual ones, which creates one less task for drivers. Mirrors have been moved to create more visibility and reduce blind spots, and some buses now have video cameras to monitor student behavior. They've come in handy in cases when a student is cited for inappropriate behavior and the parent says, 'prove it,' Carpenter said. “If a student got in trouble on the bus 20 years ago, the parent would just take the

driver's word for it and take care (of the discipline),” Carpenter said. “Now parents will say, 'My kid didn't do that.' Now, there's push-back with, usually, the same outcome.” When asked if misbehaving students are still required to sit up front, Carpenter laughed. There are limited things a bus driver can do to discipline students: warnings, having the student sit up toward the front and issuing citations. On rare occasions students can be suspended from riding the bus. In the old days, bus drivers would literally kick students off the bus and make them walk home, Carpenter said. That would Continues on Page 24

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Students come and go, but Brown Bus Company remains never fly now, he added. “The bus driver can't physically go sit 'em down,” Carpenter said. “And we wouldn't want them to. Student management is an area where drivers often stumble. We have a student management program training program for our drivers.” Many bus driver applicants don't have commercial driving experience, according to Carpenter, so Brown Bus Company helps employees get their commercial driver's license. After submitting an application, applicants undergo a rigorous interview, fingerprint FBI background checks and a Department of Transportation physical and drug screening. In the last two to three years, the number of applicants has dropped, according to Carpenter. Brown Bus Company's target employee base includes stay-at-home parents who have a child in school — so the child can ride the bus while the parent is working — or retired residents looking for a part-time job.

Chris Bronson/IPT Drivers for the Brown Bus Company relax and are briefed on their routes prior to afternoon pickup on Feb. 24.

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Idaho Power brings electricity to the Treasure Valley for a century The year-long celebration in 2016 included a traveling exhibit, a multi-episode documentary ne hundred years is a series and several events the milestone few business- company hosted as a way to say es reach. thanks to current and former But Idaho Power, formed in employees. 1916 when five utility compaThe centennial exhibit now nies merged, has been light- resides in the company’s downing up homes longer than most town Boise headquarters. homes have been around. “The participation was huge,” “I never thought I’d go West said. “People just really through a centennial celebra- wanted to celebrate being a part tion,” said Krista West, who of Idaho Power.” oversaw a 100 years project for It’s a legacy illuminated every the company in her role as a time a light switch gets flipped brand manager. on. By BEN FLETCHER

For the Press-Tribune

Idaho Power initially served 18,000 customers, relying on nine hydroelectric dams built on the Snake River. Presently, Idaho Power serves more than 520,000 customers in a 24,000-square-mile area and offers energy generated at 17 hydroelectric dams, three natural gas-fired plants and three jointly-owned coal-fired plants. Idaho Power constructed most of its hydroelectric power plants in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, culminating in the completion of the three-dam Hells Canyon Continues on Page 26

IDAHO POWER Address: 138 W. Karcher Road in Nampa Address: 1221 W. Idaho St. in Boise Phone: 208-388-2200 Website: idahopower.com

Courtesy of Idaho Power Idaho Power relied on hydroelectric power as its primary method of generating power. Throughout the 1920s, the company updated older and constructed new hydroelectric dams on the Snake River. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

101 Years and Counting Complex in 1968. But while the bulk of energy Idaho Power produces still comes from harnessing the power of falling water, its current fuel mix has evolved to include 40 percent thermal (coal and natural gas) and 10 to 20 percent renewable energy. Renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal is purchased from independent sources, sometimes required by law. In that time, Idaho Power’s workforce has also grown to about 2,000 employees. While headquartered in Boise, a field office in Canyon County employs 90 people. “Our Canyon Operations Center is pretty big,” West said. “It keeps the lights on basically for all of Canyon County and surrounding communities.” Idaho Power kept lights on through some

notable speed bumps through 100 years: The Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War and the energy crisis of the 1970s. Other challenges have included drought, changing regulations and building new infrastructure to meet the needs of growing areas, like Canyon County. To celebrate that history, Idaho Power produced a video series documenting each decade of the company’s evolution. It can also been viewed on the company’s website, under the tab “100 Years.” “Despite these and other hurdles we’ve faced together, Idaho Power’s customers have enjoyed some of the lowest rates in the nation for nearly a century,” said Darrel Anderson, Idaho Power president and CEO. In those early years, Idaho Power delivered energy to rural areas, like Canyon

County, and fueled industries like agriculture, mining and manufactured food industries. With energy to sell, the company went through great lengths to show people the benefits of electricity, even employing salespeople to go door to door. “They had cooking classes to show consumers who had never used electric appliance before how to do it,” West said. When the energy crisis of the 1970s hit, the company shifted to its focus from selling to conservation. Currently, Idaho Power offers customers a vareity of energy efficiency programs. There are incentives for purchasing energy-saving appliances, heating and cooling Continues on Page 28

Aerial photo of the Corporate Headquarters completed in the 1990s. Across the street, to the left of the headquarters building, is the original General Office which is still used today.

Photos Courtesy of Idaho Power Idaho Power’s community education representatives worked with schools and civic organizations to educate the communities it serves about electricity and safety in the 1980s.

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The company outlines two major areas of focus on its website: • The Boardman to Hemingway 500-kilovolt transmission project that will move energy to and from the Pacific Northwest • Obtaining a new federal license for the Hells Canyon Complex, the three dams at the heart of Idaho Power’s hydroelectric system Idaho Power officials say they are poised to adapt to challenges like the increasing role of renewable energy, electric cars, distributed generation and electricity storage technology. One thing officials said that won’t change? Idaho Power’s commitment to caring for the outdoors. The company maintains more than 50 recreational facilities along the Snake River. Another constant, West noted, is that Idaho Power employees remain the heart of a company that has cared for more than 100 years. “That hometown feel I get today, you can tell it’s been around throughout our history,” West said.

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‘What Customer Service Should Be’ Rostock Furniture sells furniture since 1952 to exit the service at about the same time. For the Press-Tribune Rostock said his brother conhe burnt red, weathered vinced him to come back to Boiprinting on the side of se with him and work at Fifer’s Rostock Furniture that Furniture for owner Ralph Fifer. comes into view with every “That’s where I got started in drive across Caldwell’s 10th Av- the furniture business,” Rostock enue bridge has been there so said. long, it’s almost iconic. He eventually moved to the The business has been a fix- Nampa location of Fifer’s, and ture in town since 1976, but its became an equal partner in the founder — Willard “Woo” Ros- business in 1964, before buying tock — has been selling furni- the business from Fifer in 1976 ture locally since 1952. Born and renaming it. The store startand raised in Pennsylvania, ed out across the street from its near Lancaster County, Rostock current location at the corner worked on local farms with the of Blaine and Kimball avenues, Amish before graduating high but that building was eventually school early and enlisting in condemned because the creek the Navy at 17. His brother was was flooding underneath the stationed with the Air Force foundation. The old JCPenney at Gowen Field in Mountain building became Rostock’s new Home, and the two happened home. By KELCIE MOSELEY

The longtime business now features furniture, televisions, carpet, vinyl and appliances. From the beginning, Rostock said he set out to run an honest business, and that philosophy carries through today, even though he is retired. Woo’s son, Jim, manages the business now. “I would never cheat anybody. I believe the customer is the most important person when they walk through the front door. … You hear that from all merchants, but that comes from my heart. That’s why I never made any money,” Rostock said. "They’ve done OK, but extravagant profits were never a priority." That attitude seems to extend to employees at Rostock as well, Continues on Page 30

ROSTOCK FURNITURE Address: 307 S. Kimball Ave. in Caldwell Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday Phone: 208-459-0816 Website: rostockfurnitureinc.com Chris Bronson/IPT Pictured is the old storefront at Rostock Furniture from a newspaper ad from its old location.

Rostock Furniture in Caldwell is a family business that has been serving the community since 1952. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

‘What Customer Service Should Be’ because once someone comes on board, they don’t leave. Betty Denson has been Rostock’s bookkeeper for 50 years. John Houston and Todd Hill have been employees for more than 20 years. Every other employee has worked at Rostock between 20 and 40 years, according to Denson. They have sold furniture to the children and grandchildren of Canyon County residents. “It’s just kind of a family,” Denson said. “I could always do what I needed if my kids had a game or something, everyone always pitched in and helped for vacations and stuff.” Working for Woo was great as well, she said. “People would come in with a complaint, and he was the best I’ve ever seen at turning a complaint into a sale,” Denson said. “Nobody wants to go anyplace else.” Caldwell Mayor Garret Nancolas also has ties to Rostock. He remembers shopping there as a child with his parents, and has bought many appliances there with his wife as an adult. But he also used to work at Blacker's Complete Home Furnishings, which has since

Chris Bronson/IPT Dining area tables are set up for display at Rostock Furniture in Caldwell.

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‘What Customer Service Should Be’ closed. The two companies were competition, but he remembers Rostock employees being gracious enough to send customers to Blacker's for merchandise they didn’t have, and vice versa. “I’ve had all kinds of interactions with the Rostocks,” Nancolas said. “I’ve known Jim Rostock my entire life.” Nancolas said the business has been successful mostly just because it’s run by “really good people” who know their customers by name.

“That’s the kind of business the big guys can’t offer," he said. "They’re a great example of what customer service should be.” On top of that, Nancolas said Rostock is generous with community donations and sponsorships. They are often a donation spot for toy drives and other fundraisers, and have been known to donate furniture to local families in need. They have also sponsored little league teams and other school events. “Even as a kid, I remember playing with

Rostock Furniture (sponsored) teams,” Nancolas said. Denson said out of all the furniture stores that have been in Caldwell, they are the only ones left. Though she is in her 80s now, Denson said she and the rest of the family intend to keep providing good customer service as long as the community will have them. “For me it’s just habit,” Denson said. “I enjoy coming to work, and it’s something you don’t leave when you’ve been here so long.”

Chris Bronson/IPT Rostock Furniture in Caldwell is a family business that has been serving the community since 1952. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Sellman Insurance successor keeps service tradition Peggy Sellman, daughter of Hal Sellman, keeps business in the family By BRAD CARLSON

For the Press-Tribune

al Sellman, who founded an insurance agency in a city that was much smaller 35 years ago, prefers how his daughter Peggy runs it. “She is a better insurance agent than I was,” he said. “She is more personable than I was, and just a better ‘people’ person.” Sellman Insurance, 321 Second St. S., Suite 104, has

changed locations of its Nampa office and its book of business over the years, but not its fundamental approach. Owner and agent Peggy Sellman uses the same service-centered approach that keyed her father’s success in launching and growing the agency. “It’s not about the commission, it’s about taking care of people,” she said. Peggy, 48, said her father from the outset emphasized the value of listening to the cus-

tomer and identifying the real need at hand — keys to success Hal discovered while working as a military pilot, fast-food restaurant operator and real estate agent before starting his nearly 20-year insurance career. Hal, 79, never had any regrets about entering the insurance business, which “kept me extremely happy,” he said. “Helping other people is just a good occupation to have,” he said. Peggy does not look at run-

ning Sellman Insurance as a job. “A lot of my friends have jobs … I get to come to work,” she said. “I just love being able to help people every day.” Peggy, who had joined Farmers Insurance as an agent in training in the late 1990s, bought the agency from her father on the first day of 2001. Earlier she worked in property management at the Idaho Department of Education — where she focused on child nutrition and finished a bachelor’s degree in finance at Boise State University — and at the Idaho Housing and Finance Association. “Dad said he was going to retire … It was the best decision I ever made,” she said of starting her insurance career. Hal was a Farmers agent. He was based in Nampa at 202 Ninth Ave. S. then 811 Seventh St. S. and then on Midland Boulevard north of the NampaContinues on Page 34

SELLMAN INSURANCE Address: 321 Second St. S., Suite 104 in Nampa Phone: 208-467-3300 Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday Website: sellmaninsurance.com

Chris Bronson/IPT Peggy Sellman and her father Hal Sellman have been serving the community for over 35 years.

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Sellman Insurance successor keeps service tradition Caldwell Boulevard. Here, Peggy, who as a youth helped in the agency, joined as a Farmers recruit, sharing the office with her father and other agents. On Jan. 1, 2001, Hal retired, and individual Farmers agencies carrying his and Peggy’s names, respectively, merged to form Peggy Sellman Farmers Insurance dba Sellman Insurance. In 2013, Peggy left Farmers and became an independent insurance agent representing multiple companies. After Thanksgiving 2015 she moved Sellman Insurance from 912 12th Ave. S. to the remodeled current location on Second Street South. Hal set up, and then scrapped, one of the first electronically voiced, automatic-dial phone systems for setting appointments. “I had as much trouble with it as I had good things from it,” he said. “I gained some good clients that stayed with me many, many years. But I ruffled a few feathers, too." Peggy took the office in an internet-driven, paperless direction. Regardless of who was running the business, its success stemmed partly from the owners’ belief in the community they served. “I can’t imagine a better place to work or

Hal Sellman at an award banquet.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

a better place to work for yourself,” Hal said of Nampa, where he was born. Starting in the mid-1960s, after spending five years as a naval aviator — he served in the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade – he and two brothers owned several Treasure Valley A&W fast-food restaurants. Hal in 1980 sold his restaurant interests and worked as a real estate agent, in a housing market challenged by high interest rates, before starting his insurance business in late ’81. He felt his insurance agency turn a corner toward long-term success about two years later. Peggy started slowly in the insurance business, she said, working to build a solid reputation. She has since taken on more community service roles. She has served as a Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission member since late 2015, chairs a Nampa Chamber of Commerce business networking group and has held several offices with Nampa Kiwanis Club. In the early to mid-1990s, the insurance agency grew on referrals and the addition of a book of farm-related business acquired from a large Canyon County mutual insurance company that merged into what is now United Heritage. Adding this clientele provided opportunities to further grow

the business and made the agency referralbased. More growth came based on population gains, including a short-term spike in homeowner policies as the housing market boomed in the early and middle 2000s. Hal built the agency from the ground up, early on making many cold calls and setting up introductory meetings. He retired at an ideal time, working his final six years as “insurance companies were having their heyday” reflecting growth of the economy, he said. Premiums were low, aiding demand. Returns were high on customer-owned annuities and the insurance companies’ own investments. “It was just a good time to be in business, but it didn’t last.” Peggy made fewer outgoing calls, but would establish herself in the business amid a couple of recessions and a period that saw operating expenses jump in relation to income. The two-employee Sellman Insurance represents 10 to 12 insurers. Business activity was diversifying again as February began, after an earlier focus on health insurance due to annual open-enrollment periods.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the opening of Sellman Insurance at its building in Nampa.

Idaho Tractor rolls on Longtime ag equipment company run by Thiel family still strong after recession By BRAD CARLSON For the Press-Tribune

I IDAHO TRACTOR, INC. Address: 2204 Caldwell Blvd. in Nampa Phone: 208-466-4611 Website: idahotractor.com

n an Idaho Tractor office seemingly short of computers, Curt Thiel, a decade beyond retirement age, picks up the phone and handles a detailed inquiry surprisingly quickly — grabbing a logo-bearing binder off a shelf within easy reach, finding the right pages instantly and reciting a couple of numbers to a customer’s satisfaction. “That part of the business,” he said, referring to customer

interactions, “is still back in the old history.” Even his technology-savvy sons and grandson place a premium on old-fashioned, spoken-word communication as they keep the business moving forward. A customer-first approach powers survival and success at Idaho Tractor. Four generations of Thiel family members have guided the Nampa sales, parts and service business through myriad changes in the community and growing economy for

nearly 58 years, including 51 at its current site at 2204 Caldwell Blvd. Rudy Thiel, who farmed in the Happy Valley Road area of east Nampa, got into the agricultural equipment business in 1959 as T.W. Implement, on a site along Simplot Boulevard in Caldwell. Curt, Rudy’s son, joined the business in 1961. They moved it to downtown Nampa in 1963, operating as Treasure Valley Equipment, Continues on Page 36

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Idaho Tractor rolls on before heading to the current site on thenrural Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard in 1966 as Idaho Tractor. Curt bought the business from his father in 1974. Curt and Jane Thiel (office administrator), their sons Dave and Chris, and Dave’s son Dustin run the business. Dave and Chris co-own Idaho Tractor Inc. and Idaho Tractor Rents Inc. with their father. “When we moved out here in ’66, we were in the country,” Jane said. The Thiel family since has seen the west Nampa-east Caldwell commercial corridor grow and change. Idaho Tractor changed, too, growing from 5,000 square feet of building space in 1966 to the current 21,000

square feet on 8 acres, on the north side of the Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard between Karcher and Middleton roads. Idaho Tractor was a Case dealer until 2009 and since 1990 has been a Kubota dealer — in 2016 ranking fourth nationwide in percentage increase in Kubota sales among single-location dealerships, Jane said. Customers include construction and utility companies, homeowners and farmers. The business employs 13, down from 23 in 2006 but up from six in 2009. The late2000s recession brought a decline in revenue but still-solid business among loyal customers of parts, service, rental and sales segments.

Curt said revenue in 2016 roughly equaled that of 2006. Intervening years included the worst recession among the four economic downturns Idaho Tractor and its Thiel-owned legacy businesses experienced, he said. The slowdown came in 2007, with fullblown recession hitting the business hard in 2008. Curt, who will be 77 in April, scrapped plans to retire after his sons deemed him too difficult to replace. He and Jane used retirement savings to keep the business going. “They say a recession happens to other people. When it happens to you, it's a depression,” Curt said. “It took until ’15 to see it come back.”

Chris Bronson/IPT From left to right: Jane, Curt, Dustin, Dave and Chris Thiel are carrying on the family tradition of the family business at Idaho Tractor in Nampa.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Idaho Tractor rolls on Agricultural clients produced steady business, but this group consists mainly of small farms that buy and service fewer machines than major production-ag operations. A big share of business comes from rural homeowners with acreage — a segment that stalled as financing tightened, property values fell and the number of sales dwindled. Idaho Tractor in the first full year of the downturn saw its Kubota unit sales plunge by about two-thirds and then hold steady for a few years before rising substantially in 2015, Curt said. Unit sales roughly doubled between 2015 and 2016 on the surge in construction and home building. Business with rural homeowners has

picked up as an improving economy enables more people to buy and improve properties. And construction customers are replacing equipment such as mini-excavators and skid-steer loaders. Jane said a track skidsteer Kubota came out with last year has been popular. Idaho Tractor recently began carrying a large line of toys. Curt said they’re popular with kids and adults, including owners of rural properties who want a desktop reminder of rural life. When he got into the business with his father in 1961, “you could deliver equipment to a farmer, shake hands and that was it,” he said. Paperwork followed. “Now you’ve got to have every T crossed and I dotted before

you deliver equipment.” Another change over the years involves the need to work with fewer but larger companies as manufacturers merge, Curt said. He and Jane don’t plan to retire. “We are having too much fun,” Jane said. “We might slow down a bit, but we won’t retire.” “When you retire, you do what you want. We are both doing what we want to do, so we must be retired,” Curt said with a smile. Idaho Tractor’s outlook is strong, he said. Business volume in the first month and a half of 2017 exceeded the same period of 2006, and the dealership and its clientele have room to grow, he said.

Chris Bronson/IPT An aerial shot of Idaho Tractor in 1998.

The Idaho Tractor shop works on a variety of tractors at its warehouse in Nampa on Feb. 14. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Caldwell restaurant still going strong after 22 years By BRAD CARLSON For the Press-Tribune

rphan Annie’s Bar & Grill chef and owner Fun Yee takes a short walk around the restaurant’s spiffy building that sits gener-

ORPHAN ANNIE’S Address: 801 Everett St. in Caldwell Phone: 208-455-2660 Website: orphananniesbandg.com Hours: Mon - Closed . Tue-Thu 11:30 AM - 10:00 PM. Fri 11:30 AM - 11:00 PM. Sat 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM. Sun - Closed

ally between the downtown Caldwell core and Fairview Golf Course. It’s after the lunch rush on a Friday, and he is preparing for another busy evening at the restaurant that has been going strong for 22 years – much longer than some residents expected. As he steps inside and sits at a table in front of a large window, he talks about consistency and loyal customers, not innovations and growth strategies. Nearby, unhurried customers carry on relaxed conversations unrelated to the restaurant’s atmosphere or menu. This low-key dynamic

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seems ideal to the soft-spoken Yee, who has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 50 years. Orphan Annie’s, 801 Everett St., survived in a challenging, complicated industry by striving to stay uncomplicated. The restaurant offers steaks, chicken, Asian cuisine and fresh seafood. “My goal is to always try to be consistent in what we do,” Yee said. “And that is not easy.” Often in a restaurant, “everyone has different ideas,” he said. But the key to long-term success is to figure out what is right in food preparation, operations

and atmosphere, and then stay on course, he said. Experience and a willingness to keep learning also help. Orphan Annie’s is named for Fun’s wife Ann “Kim” Yee, a Korean orphan adopted in 1956, at age 6, by American parents. She grew up in Harper, Oregon. Fun Yee moved from China to the U.S. in March 1963 at age 15. He has worked in restaurants since – first in San Francisco, then Salt Lake City, then in Oregon towns Burns and Ontario. He worked at the former East Side Café in Ontario from Continues on Page 40

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Caldwell restaurant still going strong after 22 years 1969 to 1982, starting as a cook and ending up as master (head) cook. “I learned a lot. That was a great restaurant, a well-known restaurant,” he said. East Side, which closed a number of years ago after it was sold, was big. Fun and Kim met there and eventually left to become owneroperators. In 1982, Fun and two siblings opened the Asia restaurant in downtown Caldwell. The restaurant succeeded, but the group sold it in 1993 as the individuals went into other businesses. For Yee, this meant finding a location for what would become Orphan Annie’s. “Believe in yourself and what you are doing,” Yee said. “You can’t do it like anybody else is doing and expect to compete. We do our own things here. We serve a little bit of everything.” Orphan Annie’s is in its original location, earlier home to a flower shop and church. The current building of 6,000 square feet, including ground-level and basement space,

replaced a structure that burned in 1999. Images depicting golf and other sports are prominent on the restaurant’s walls. The pictures are a nod to building owner Yee’s longtime involvement in golf, his interest in sports in general, and – according to Kim – his love of art. In the mid-1990s, when sports-themed restaurants and bars were still new and Caldwell was still fairly small, there was talk that Orphan Annie’s was a great place that served great food, but that the community might not support it adequately. Fun Yee said that while the location is not ideal – it’s away from high-volume roads and intersections, though it does draw some customers from the nearby golf course – the restaurant has succeeded largely based on reputation and word of mouth. Though some people call the beer, wine and cocktail area a sports bar, “to a lot of people it’s a neighborhood bar and grill. People know each other,” he said. There was no point at which Orphan

Annie’s was struggling, but then reached a turning point toward success, Yee said. He was confident from the outset that the restaurant would succeed; his reputation at Asia provided a following and he kept applying lessons learned. “There is never an end to learning in the art of cooking … If you are in it for the money, forget it,” Yee said. Compared to many businesses, restaurants offer work that is too hard, hours too long and financial rewards not great, he said. But the staff meet many people – a reward in and of itself, especially when they compliment the food and become loyal customers who refer others. “You have to love what you do, enjoy what you do,” Yee said. Population gains in the southwest Idaho in recent years bring new customers and new competitors. “We are getting new people, new clientele, no question about that,” Yee said. Orphan Annie’s gains some customers and

Chris Bronson/IPT People dine at Orphan Annies on March 3 in Caldwell.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Caldwell restaurant still going strong after 22 years a couple of older staff members to their cars. “I enjoy the people who come in.” Orphan Annie’s has been active on social media, which Kim Yee said helps the restaurant attract new customers and track trends. The Yees have two grown children who earlier worked at Orphan Annie’s, which employs 12 to 15 people full- and part-time. They have one grandchild who works part-time in the restaurant and another who worked there previously. None went into the restaurant business, but all “learned how to work,” Fun said. “Time flies, I know that,” he said.

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loses some, while retaining a loyal following. “I don’t think about it. Everyone has their own niche and their own share of the business.” He runs the kitchen. Kim waits tables and does whatever is needed operationally and for customers. “She is very good with people. She is an up-front, people person,” Fun Yee said. “We are so grateful to have such loyal customers,” Kim Yee said. “Our restaurant is like a family, a big, happy family.” She detailed several regulars, from a retired entrepreneur generous to other patrons because “he just enjoys seeing people having fun” to a young man who comes in near closing so he can escort

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A Mission to Care

Saint Alphonsus, started by Sisters of Mercy in 1917, still offering health care By BEN FLETCHER

For the Press-Tribune

n 1917, a group of women called the Sisters of Mercy made the trek to Nampa on a mission to care for the sick. They survived on meager means and lived in tents to make room for patients inside a modest residence located on 11th Avenue that served as the Nampa General Hospital. Their shoulders must have been broad. One hundred years later, Saint Alphonsus Nampa is poised to open a new hospital, located at Garrity Boulevard and Interstate 84, on a founda-

tion they say those sisters built. “We’re really standing on the shoulders of what the sisters started here,” said Sheri Ainsworth, director of mission integration at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Nampa. “We certainly wouldn’t be able to be where we are today without the work that came before, without the sisters that came before. So we’re building on that legacy. We’re really continuing Catholic health care into the future for the community of Nampa.” That future is centered on being prepared to meet the needs of a growing Canyon County community. The new hospital on Garrity

and I-84 will provide residents with state-of-the-art health care, better access to specialists and a streamlined commute right off the freeway. “Being a part of a larger organization allows us to be able to do things like the new hospital,” Ainsworth said. “Obviously, for Canyon County it’s significant because we have been able to bring new services to the area.” Ainsworth said the facility should open around May, and that Saint Alphonsus-Nampa is focused in the near future on making it a smooth transition for its employees and patients moving over from the organization’s 12th Avenue hospital.

Saint Alphonsus acquired Mercy Medical Center in 2010 and has since worked to expand and enhance services in Canyon County. That includes plans to open a neighborhood hospital on 12th Avenue near the location Mercy Medical Center stood for decades. “I’m glad to see the growth because we need it here in Canyon County,” Curtis Homer, a rancher and former Nampa Police Chief, said in a video posted by Saint Alphonsus. Homer was also a patient at one time, and he recollects for viewers how he underwent triple-bypass surgery roughly six years ago. “It’s good to know they’re there and our families don’t have to travel back and forth to Boise,” he said. For Canyon County, it’s a new health care reality. But a far Continues on Page 44

SAINT ALPHONSUS Addresses: 1512 12th Ave. Road in Nampa 4402 E. Flamingo Ave. in Nampa (Located Off Interstate 84 at Garrity) Phone: 208-463-5000 Website: saintalphonsus.org Submitted by Saint Alphonsus Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

A Mission to Care cry from what greeted the Sisters of Mercy, a religious group on a mission to serve the poor, sick and uneducated, when they arrived in Nampa 100 years ago. The women had no money, no connections and little, if any, training. They also lived in tents, including summers and winters, for two and a half years to make room for patients in a residence that had eight bedrooms until 1919, when $100,000 was raised and Mercy Hospital opened on 16th Avenue. A year later, they opened a school to train nurses. As time went by, more money was raised, services and facilities improved and more beds became available. A heritage exhibit, compiled by Saint Alphonsus-Nampa, traces the arrival of the sisters and includes some key moments

during the growth and expansion of Mercy was opened adjacent to I-84, providing Medical Center: urgent care, lab, rehabilitation services, a pharmacy and medical office space. • In 1955, Mercy earned full accreditation making it the only accredited hospital • In 2010, ownership of Mercy Medical serving Canyon County. Center was transferred to Trinity Health, which announced the formation of the Saint Alphonsus Health Alliance and Visit YouTube to learn about the Sisters of Mercy would consist of Mercy, Saint Alphonsus (search “100 Years of Care in Nampa”) and the Regional Medical Center in Boise, Holy future of Saint Alphonsus health care in Canyon Rosary in Ontario and Saint Elizabeth’s County (search “health care in Nampa: legacy and in Baker City. the future”). The expansion of medical services to outreaching areas beyond Boise is the result • In 1968, the new 114-bed Mercy Medi- of community assessments Saint Alphonsus cal Center was opened at a cost of $3.5 routinely performs, said Josh Schlaich, a spokeman for Saint Alphonsus Health Sysmillion. • A 30-bed rehabilitation center was tem. “Canyon County is still a pretty rural opened in 1971, offering physical, speech area, a proud rural area,” Schlaich said. “It’s and occupational therapy. • In 1998, Mercy Medical North Center been proven that having better access to

Chris Bronson/IPT Karl Keeler, president of Saint Alphonsus Nampa, stands outside the new Saint Alponsus Medical Center on Garrity Boulevard.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

A Mission to Care care closer to home creates better outcomes for people.” The location of the new hospital,while closer to home, also provides an easier drive for Canyon County residents via the freeway. The five-story, 240,000-square-foot facility will have a total 100 inpatient beds, including a 10-bed short-stay unit, 18-bed intensive care unit, 25-bed 24-hour emergency department and six-room surgical operating suite. Karl Keeler, president of Saint AlphonsusNampa, explained the $80 million price tag in a Saint Alphonsus video celebrating the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy and future of health care in Canyon County. “We are celebrating our 100 years, and we are investing in our next 100 years,” Keeler said.

Chris Bronson/IPT The Saint Alphonus Medical Center on 12th Avenue in Nampa is part of an organization that has been serving the community for 100 years.

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Family-owned W.W. Deal still selling insurance 85 years later Agency handles all lines of insurance, though largest part of business is property casualty By LIS STEWART

lstewart@idahopress.com

or 85 years, the Deal name has been synonymous with the word “insurance” in Canyon County. The family-owned W.W. Deal insurance agency at 917 Second St. S. in Nampa handles all lines of insurance, though the largest part of its business is property casualty — homes, automobiles, commercial, farm, etc. It is one of the largest independent insurance agencies in Nampa. Though a family business poses unique challenges, Bill Deal Jr. decided early on to go into the insurance business in Nampa, like his father, grandfather and great-uncle before him. “It’s a fun community to live in, grow in,” Deal said. “I was born and raised here and came back here.” The Deal family’s presence in the Treasure Valley started over a century ago, with the family of William Wallace Deal, a circuit

preacher. His name still rings a bell for many long-time Canyon County residents whose relatives were married by William Wallace while on his rounds. In 1932, Willam Wallace’s son Homer Deal opened Deal Insurance on 11th Avenue South in downtown Nampa. Two years later, he became the a regional manager for Farmer’s Insurance and sold the agency to his brother Edson, who ran it until 1965, when he sold it to Homer’s son Bill Sr. Insurance was always in the cards for Bill Sr. “I was born in 1936, so from my earliest memories, which would be maybe age 4 or 5, I was very much knowledgeable about what (my father) did in the insurance business,” Bill Sr. said. The agency expanded under Bill Sr.’s ownership, combining

with the Jamison Reid agency in to become Jamison, Reid and Deal. In the 1980s, Bill Deal Sr. bought out his partner and the name of the agency became W.W. Deal. Bill Deal Sr. sold the company to his son Bill Jr. in 2007 when he was appointed by Idaho Gov. Butch Otter to be director of the Idaho Department of Insurance. He led the department through the Great Recession and implementation of the Affordable Care Act before retiring from the department in 2014. The company is run these days under the leadership of Bill Jr. and Tirana Chafin-Deal, who have been married 25 years. Tirana is a retired stockbroker and licensed insurance agent. They don’t have kids, but they do have fur-babies: two corgis named Moxi and Dottie and a

havachon named Kippy. At age 54, Bill Jr. has no immediate plans to retire. “As long as I enjoy it, I’m going to keep doing it,” Bill Jr. said. W.W. Deal employs 12 people, including 76-year-old Dianne Siewert, who, through company mergers, has essentially worked for the same insurance agency for 57 years. Although she started out and spent much of her career as a customer service agent, quoting rates and writing policies, Siewert transitioned to receptionist several years ago. Like Bill Jr., Siewert does not have any intention to retire, either. She loves what she does. “I need something to do, and as long as I’m able, I’ll continue,” Siewert said. “I love the people I work with and the people I work for.”

W.W. Deal Address: 917 Second St. S. in Nampa Phone: 208-466-2465 Website: wwdealinsurance.com Chris Bronson/IPT Dianne Siewert has been working at W.W. Deal Insurance for 57 years.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

Chris Bronson/IPT Bill Deal Jr. continues to run his family’s insurance company, W.W. Deal Insurance, in Nampa.

At 85, Jacobsen Sign Co. founder isn’t ready to slow down Jacobsen Sign founder’s work can be seen all over Nampa and beyond By LIS STEWART

lstewart@idahopress.com

hen Bill Jacobsen’s boss told him 64 years ago she was cutting back his hours managing a local sign business, he told her to make out his next paycheck to Jacobsen Sign Company. “And I haven’t been out of work since,” Jacobsen said. His former employer, United Signs, went out of business six months later. Over the decades, Jacobsen kept up with the evolution of his trade as it went from by-hand work to mainly computer design. And though he lacks formal art training, his experience and ingenuity have kept him in business. Jacobsen has been creating signs for customers in Canyon County and beyond since 1953. It’s a good chance that many of the campaign signs, pole signs, monument signs or logo-decorated vehicles visible on any drive around town are the work of Jacobsen. He's so well known that he hardly advertises; people just come to him. Pulling out a scrapbook, Jacobsen leafed through pages, pointing out some of his favorite pieces from the past. One of the first in the book is of him, in the early days of

his business, standing in front of his truck, which is emblazoned with a hand-painted "Jacobsen Sign Co.," underneath the logo "Quality Signs of All Kinds." There are easily more than 100 pictures, but Jacobsen claims they only represent a fraction of the work he has done. There's Edmark of Nampa, for which in 1958 he traded sign space and work for a 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser. He kept the deal going with the car dealership for a while, getting a new vehicle every two years. Owyhee Sheet Metal of Nampa is one of his oldest customers. There's businesses in McCall and Kuna, and as far away as Riverton, Wyoming, displaying his work.

Almost like a collector, Jacobsen listed the churches he’s worked for in the past, including Central Valley Baptist Church, College Church of the Nazarene and First Mennonite Church. Some churches have been his clients so long that he replaced their signs with new ones, several times over. Pointing to a photo of himself working on a large banner, Jacobsen proudly said that in 1994 he created the first campaign signage for Helen Chenoweth, the only woman to represent Idaho in the U.S. Congress. Making signs is a job that makes Jacobsen proud, and one that, despite being 85 years old, he intends to keep doing. “I love what I do and as long as I’m able to do it, I’ll do it,” Jacobsen said.

JACOBSEN SIGN CO. Address: 111 W. Roosevelt Ave. in Nampa Phone: 208-466-6239 Chris Bronson/IPT Bill Jacobsen with Jacobsen Sign Co. has been serving the community since 1953. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

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In a World of competition, Nutrition runs with the big dogs

World of Nutrition in Nampa celebrates 40 years ments that World of Nutrition healthy lifestyle. Wear's staff is extensively offers to their patients. ageorge@idahopress.com trained regularly on all the “In this market, you have to ealth trends come and products and how they can im- be a pioneer,” Wear said. go, but World of Nutri- pact a customer's health. At 6 years old, Wear began tion in Nampa has restudying her mother's business mained a constant for decades. practices. Cheryl Wear opened The business offers nutrition FOUR LEGGED FRIENDS World of Nutrition in 1977 in and other health products — the Karcher Mall. such as oils and herbs — and Four dogs have been a part of the World of NutriThis year marks World of tion family, beginning with Cheryl Wear. Della wellness classes such as yoga Nutrition's 40th anniversary of and Ima are the current mascots, French bulldogs, and Paleo cooking. The busi- and frequently visit the store. Kris and co-owner being part of the Nampa comness features 48 classes taught Allison Wear have also their chocolate lab Deuce. munity. by staff, while others are offered “Ninety-nine percent of people love having a dog In 2015, the store moved to in here,” Kris Wear said. from visiting instructors. 1309 First St. S. in downtown Though big stores like Costco Nampa, where Nafziger Men's and Walmart carry health-food “I pay my staff a lot of money store was once located. supplements, those stores don't to be educated and help people,” The building provides a betprovide customers great knowl- Wear said. “We provide people ter atmosphere for the business, edge of the products they are with something they can't get especially for health classes. The purchasing, according to Kris somewhere else.” building is more than 100 years Wear, owner of World of NutriPart of that comes from the old, and offers 300 more square tion. relationships with local health feet of space for World of NutriAs a business, you ride those professionals World of Nu- tion. fads from a capital standpoint, trition has established. Wear “It probably costs more, but according to Wear, and use it as works with doctors, a neurolo- it's an investment in downtown an opportunity to educate peo- gist and a pediatrician, among Nampa,” Wear said. “How could ple on alternative ways to live a others, who prescribe supple- you go wrong with that?” By ALX GEORGE

WORLD OF NUTRITION Address: 1309 First St. S. in Nampa Phone: 208-467-7505 Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday Website: wonnampa.com Email: worldofnutrition@wonnampa.com Chris Bronson/IPT World of Nutrition is celebrating 40 years of service to the community in Nampa.

Chris Bronson/IPT Kris Ward is a second generation owner of World of Nutrition, which was started by her mother 40 years ago. Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

33 years and counting: local business continues under daughter’s leadership

Jackie King continues Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress By ALX GEORGE

BY THE NUMBERS Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress has five employees, and each wears multiple hats for the company. For example, Jackie King is the owner and “chief toilet scrubber.” The building was built in 1946 was home to Dry Lakes Electric, according to Jackie King. She also believes that at one time it was a John Deere Dealership. • Number of years in business: 33 • Number of employees: 5 Recognition: • Brand Source Dealer of the year 2006 • Brand Source 2016 Dealer Award • Brand Source Member Service Chairperson Award • Brand Source Rocky Mountain President 17 years Volunteering: • Supporter of the annual Melba Community Auction • Supporter of Nampa’s Project Graduation since 1993 • Supporter of Saint Paul’s annual School Carnival and Gala • Supporter of the Boise Rescue Mission Coat Drive • Supporter of the Boys and Girls Club • Member of the • Nampa Chamber of Commerce since 1983

NAMPA APPLIANCE TV & MATTRESS Address: 278 Caldwell Blvd. in Nampa Phone: 208-465-0551 Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday Website: nampabrandsource.com

ageorge@idahopress.com

fter 33 years of business, after surviving the 2008 financial crisis, and after this year's record-breaking snowfall, Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress's biggest challenge is its parking lot. Back in 1983, when the store opened, the parking lot extended out and took up what is now two of Caldwell Boulevard's four lanes of traffic. Now, it's half that size, squished to just barely accommodate SUV-size vehicles and a delivery truck. If that's the biggest challenge the business faces, owner Jackie King said everything will be OK. King and her father, Darry Endicott, opened Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress two years after moving to Nampa from Kansas in 1981. Now, in 2017, King still owns and runs the store. She attributes the success of the business to her father and continues to employ his businesses practices of customer service and operating efficiently. "My dad, Darry Endicott, believed that if you treated your customers like friends and family the success of your business would take care of itself," King

said in an email. "Darry is gone now and we miss him dearly, but our philosophy is still the same." When the 2008 economic bubble burst and the recession hit, the store survived because building payments weren't being made. At that time, Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress went down to four employees. In 2017, it's back up to five. But of course, the main success of Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress is its loyal customer base, and those motivated to shop local. “You can buy a mattress anywhere,” said Lewis King, sales manager. “Customers get a lot of individual attention here. Someone can explain what they're getting for their money and exactly why prices are different among products and brands.” The company offers a wide variety of home appliances, kitchen appliances, washers and

dryers, televisions and mattresses. Lewis King, no biological relation, is the sales manager, but also helps with deliveries and stars in TV commercials for the business. He remembers when the business offered only had two brands of appliances. Thirty years later, Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress carries 10 or more brands. Lewis King said he's seen grandparents, parents and third generations of families shop for their home needs through the store. And the customer base is getting younger. On a typical day Lewis King will see around five couples to fill their soonto-be kitchens in their future homes being built in the area. “We're a family-owned business that keeps on a' truckin',” he said.

Chris Bronson/IPT Lewis King, sales manager at Nampa Appliance TV & Mattress, has contributed to the success of the business.

Cavalcade | Saturday, March 25, 2017

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