By Arie Kirk for The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah

One of the oldest buildings in Preston was demolished July 19. 

The century-old, school-district-owned building, which was north of Preston High School, will be replaced by a parking lot, said Brian Mendenhall, Preston School District business manager and clerk.

Preston High School Principal Jeff Lords said that with the space available now people park "all over the place," so the school needs more parking.

"It's kind of a mess out here with the students and even with the school activities," Lords said.

Mendenhall said the property will be filled and leveled immediately. Because of funding, he is unsure when the lot will be paved but he expects it to be completed within the year.

Lords described the demolition as "bittersweet" because Preston is losing a bit of local history.

"You hate to see history like this go," he said.

The building, which measured approximately 10,000 square feet, was built in the early 1900s. Because of age, its condition was getting "pretty...

Editor's note: This article is about the beginnings of Pocatello General Hospital. This hospital was torn down in 1957 after the present hospital on Memorial Drive had been built. This story first appeared in the Pocatello Tribune on May 11, 1923. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

The first hospital in Pocatello was the Japanese hospital on the west side, used exclusively for the care of Japanese laborers on the Oregon Short Line Railroad. Most operations were performed in homes. The early-day doctors also relied on Mrs. Burbank's and Mrs. McMillan's rooming houses for surgeries and convalescent care.

Nannie Maines, a trained nurse, came from Iowa to Pocatello in 1905. Mrs. Maines saw the urgent need for a hospital in a town of near 5,000 souls and spent her spare time in talking hospital. Mrs. Maines worked steadily and faithfully and finally with the aid of Mrs. George Derr, Mrs. A.L. Cook and the Methodist and...

By Sam Wyrouck

     My crew, number 5383 was part of the 351st Bomb Group. During World War Two the Eighth Air Force was the thrust of the air was against Hitler’s Germany and was made up of forty some groups. Each group consisted of four squadrons each of twelve planes and twelve crews plus spares. These were heavy four engine B-17’s and B-24’s. Except for rare occasions, each group put only three sqaudrons for each mission. This gave the standing down crewman a chance to do personal things.

    When a mission is completed, returning bombers with wounded aboard fire red, red flares and they have priority to land first. After each mission there at the end of the runway are lined up the inevitable “Meat Wagons.” After that, planes with battle damage land next. After that each bomber takes its turn to land. It takes time for each group of 36 bombers to get them all on the ground, especially during the long nights of winter months. They often present English fog and the fact that...

Editor's note: The following article is the Pocatello Tribune's account of the Fourth of July celebration in 1905. It was printed on July 5 of that year. The story has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

         The Fourth of July celebration in Pocatello yesterday was one of the most successful from every point of view ever given in the city. The only disagreeable thing to mar the pleasure of the occasion was persistence of the energetic zephyrs in wafting over the city from early morn till late at night.

         The program was most complete from the salute in the morning until the fireworks at night, and much credit is due the executive committee for the success of every detail of the celebration. The Indians took a very prominent part in the parade and the celebration yesterday. They presented a magnificent appearance in the parade and their sun dance on the...

Evenings that we did not fly, often times we Ariel gunners would gather around the lone radio in the barracks and listen to the American Forces Network or to the German Radio Berlin and listen to Lord Haw Haw and other personalities give out the latest news. Oh, I mean propaganda. After the news, we then enjoyed listening to the best popular music of Glen Miller, the Andrew Sisters, Frank Sinatra and others.

    When we were a brand new crew and had not yet flown our first bombing mission, the German announcer said, “We extend a welcome to Robert Parmell’s crew, we anxiously awaiting your first encounter with the Yellow Nosed Squadron of the Luftwaffe and the tens of thousands ground funs of 88 mm and larger. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes.”

    Well, something to think about. After the talk, we then enjoyed the good music. Some time later I was told that a German announcer said, “The American bombers have tried many times but have failed to demolish the world famous and huge Cologne...

By Sam Wyrouck

    Four 17-year-old boys were pals as only going to school, playing hockey and baseball, hiking and hunting together could be. One winter Sunday morning the four boys together with a larger group of boys and girls riding down steep, snow packed Timber Butte Road located at the south part of Butte, Montana. That bright,  winter sunshine enhanced the natural exuberance of the group. The spent group was on their way to their homes beyond the bottom of the hill.

    The group was very non-silent as they passed the very small neighborhood store owned by Lydia Yarzenbeck’s parents. Seventeen-year-old Lydia ran out to great us with the words, “The Japs have bombed Pearl Harbor and we are now at war! Hurry home and turn on your radios!”

    That news changed our mood and lives. We four boys’ first thoughts were, “What could we do to help with our share in this great coming conflict?”

    Mr. Yarzenbeck often told us boys about his experiences...

Editor’s note: The following is an article on some Pocatello businesses in the 1890s and early 1900s, as written by George N. Ifft for his newspaper, the Pocatello Tribune, on Oct. 22, 1934. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

 When we first knew Pocatello, Front Street, now First Avenue, constituted practically the entire business section. The First National Bank was located there in a small wooden building. The Phoenix Block was built at the corner of East Center and Front Street, and was occupied by the Blyth and Fargo company store, then a general merchandising establishment selling groceries as well as dry goods.

 On the other corner was John Ostoich’s Opera House Restaurant, a high-class establishment for those days. Ostoich was a Dalmatian and accumulated shekels enough to return to his native land and lead a life of leisure. We often wonder whether if he is still part of the life of his native village in that...

  June 15, 2010

Dear Bob, Sixty six years is a long time to go back in time, don't expect very much. Our squadron was a night fighter squadron, number 543. We flew F6. F fighter aircraft equipped with radar for night flying. We left this country on Christmas day 1944 from San Diego, California. The first day of our trip was on a small aircraft carrier that took us and our planes to Pearl harbor. We spent 2 months in Pearl harbor, flying various places in C47 transport planes for work details, no shore leave was allowed. We left Pearl on early March 1945. I think the ship was called an A.K.A., but that's just a guess. It had most of our gear aboard plus accommodations for about 100 men in the bow. Our ship was anchored in Leyte gulf when a tanker came along side to refuel our ship. Knute and I wrote letters to each other, and I knew he was on the U.S.S. Suamico. Someone painted the ships name on a 55 gallon, barrel lifting device. As luck would have it, a crane on the Suamico was transferring...

Originally published in the Idaho State Journal on March 21, 1993 following the fire at the Chief Theater in Pocatello.

By Rick Davis

There was more than wood, mortar and steel that went up in smoke on Saturday (March 20, 1993).

Part of Pocatello's identity charred in the fire that claimed the Chief Theater.

Looking at the stunned people, young and old, as they passed by the still-burning ruin Saturday morning, it was easy to tell this disaster cut across generations and social strata.

The grief felt by members of the Chief Foundation, who spent countless hours restoring the classic western movie house, was shared by people who haven't seen the inside of the building in decades.

The Chief was as treaured a building when it was in constructed in 1938 as it is today. The $250,000 theater of a half million bricks and 75 tons of structural steel was hailed as an architectural and aesthetic wonder of southeastern Idaho on opening day. It operated as a commercial theater until 1982.

It hurts. Part of our lives...

Editor's note: This is the conclusion of the Pocatello Tribune's series on businesses established in Pocatello between 1892 and 1910, and still surviving in 1930. The story was printed in the Tribune in June 1930. The article has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. 

         A great deal of the work of the Chaffee Bottling Works was done by hand in 1905, when they began fixing up cold drinks for the citizens of Pocatello. But times have changed in this business as in all others. Nowadays automatic machinery takes care of the mixing, bottling and capping of the bottles as well as the pre-washing, in which the bottles are taken through various strong solutions in a thermos boiler.

         This results in absolutely sanitary drinks, as they are not touched by hands until the bottles are ready for the market. The old method of bottling included a weak washing solution....

Editor's note: This article is part two in the Pocatello Tribune's three-part series about some of Pocatello's longest surviving businesses, as of 1930. It was printed in the Tribune in June of 1930. This article has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. Part I in the series ran July 14 and Part III will appear as the next Yesteryear post.

       The T.B. Smith Co. is the third oldest concern in town. T.B. Smith took it over in 1894, when he sold insurance, coal and abstracts. The first telephone in town was in their office, and people used to drive for miles each night to hear people talking over the new "contraption." For a number of years the long-distance office was located there, and Sam Smith was the first messenger boy.

       Those were the days when coal was sold for $5.20, and all deliveries were made with a horse and wagon. Sometimes it was hard to supply the town and...

* Get a story about Lyman Fargo's home today, with photos too, at http://athome.idahostatejournal.com/?page_id=403

Editor's note: This is the first part of the Pocatello Tribune's three-part series about nine businesses established in Pocatello between 1892 and 1910, that managed to survive until 1930, the only ones to do so. This article was first printed in the Tribune on June 29, 1930. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. Part II of the series will run in the next few days. 

         It is a real honor for a business house to have stayed through the vicissitudes of fortune and change in a town's growth and the natural business difficulties of "getting established." Of all the firms who have gone into business in Pocatello in the last 20 years, only a few have this honor.

         Those were the days! When Mother loaded you down with all...

Editor's note: This is the story of the lost vein at the Fort Hall Mine, written by Idaho State Journal reporter Jerry Grotta. It was first printed in the Journal on Aug. 18, 1963. The article has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

         A copper mine with a lost rich vein is located just 8 miles from downtown Pocatello.

         Henry Palmer, who came to Pocatello from Illinois in the 1880s, discovered the vein in 1902. Palmer operated one of the first lumber mills in this area, while also prospecting for minerals.

         After Palmer located the copper vein, many Pocatello residents invested in the Fort Hall Mining and Milling Co., which sold 226,000 shares of stock of $1 par value. Palmer was general manager of the company and work continued for about a decade.

         A road was...

Editor's note: This is the conclusion of a brief history of the Arbon family and Arbon Valley by Fern Hartvigsen. The story was first printed in the Idaho State Journal on Sept. 19, 1965. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. For Part I of this series, see the previous post.

            Arbon continued growing and the first sawmill was operated by the White brothers in Bull Canyon. Prior to that time all building was from logs cut in the canyon.

            Many dates were of real consequence to Arbon Vally residents, and notable among them was Oct. 7, 1898, when the first mail was sent out of the valley. It consisted of three letters.

            On Aug. 18, 1900, the first church organization was completed with David J. Bowen as the first presiding elder....

Editor's note: The following is part one of a history of the Arbon family and Arbon Valley, settled in 1896. The story was written by Fern Hartvigsen and first appeared in the Idaho State Journal on Sept. 19, 1965. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. Read tomorrow's post for Part II of this series. 

            When Joe Arbon at age 20 plowed the first furrow in Arbon Valley, he was conducting a ground-breaking for the formation of a prosperous community.

            The Arbons were the first family to spend a winter in the valley, then known as Bannock, but later renamed in honor of the first settlers. They laid the foundation for the first irrigation in the area and were first to introduce summer fallowing as a program to “rest” portions of the lands in alternating years.

        ...

“Hail to the Chief”

This timeline of the existance of the Chief Theater in Old Town Pocatello was originally published in the Idaho State Journal on March 21, 1993.

Jan. 5, 1938 — A crowd of 2,496 moviegoers from across Southeast Idaho flock to the opening night of the Chief Theater to watch “Bad Men of Brimstone,” starring Wallace Berry and Virginia Bruce.

1945-1960 — The Chief is in its heyday as Southeast Idaho’s premier theater. Usherettes, clad in tight uniforms, escort patrons to thier seats aqs the Golden Age of Holywood shimmers to life on the big screen.

Sept. 1982 — The Chief’s 44 years as a commercial movie house ends, but remains open under a unique private/public partnership involving the non-profit Chief Foundation and the City.

Dec. 9, 1984 — Denver businessman Frank Ricketson donates the Chief to the city. A restoration project, which will eventually involve hundreds of volunteers and thousands of hours of work begins.

July 9, 1989 — A refurbished Chief Theater reopens with country singer Jerry...

Editor's note: This article is about the Pocatello Opera House and its patrons, from the point of view of a traveling show company manager in 1898. It was first printed in the Pocatello Tribune on April 16, 1898. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

            The San Francisco Music and Drama periodical contains a letter from R. Beers Loos, manager of the “What Happened to Jones” Co., dated Pocatello, Idaho, April 4, from which the following extracts are made:

            “It’s a manageress here, and she can give some of the silk-hat boys cards and spades and win out without disturbing a curl. Her name is Mrs. H.B. Kinport and she is a theatrical encyclopedia. She knows all the shows that are working coastwards and their merits and the business they are doing. I have only one fault to find with her. She writes her complimentaries on scraps of paper...

Editor's note: The following article is the account of two murders that occurred at the time of the land rush of 1902. The murderer was never found. The article appeared in the Pocatello Tribune on June 26, 1902. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

            It is a murder that has stained the opening pages of the record of the Fort Hall mining district — a crime so cruelly atrocious, so totally lacking in motive as to be almost appalling.

            Yesterday morning Sheriff Rice and Coroner Bean brought in the body of E.M. Fritz, an esteemed citizen of Pocatello, a bullet hole through his head and another through his body. Last evening they brought in the body of John S. Donaldson, an old gentleman who arrived in Pocatello only a few days ago from Wood River, Neb. He too had been shot to death with a rifle bullet which...

Editor's note: This article includes the reminiscences of mining promoter William Sharp about one of the last gold rushes. A number of Pocatellans tried their luck at Thunder Mountain but were defeated by the difficult terrain and terrible weather. This story first appeared in the Pocatello Tribune on March 25, 1928. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

            "Tell me something about Thunder Mountain."

            The Tribune reporter made the above request of William Sharp, formerly of Spencer, Idaho, who is presently engaged in the promotion of several mining properties in the Lemhi district.

            "It's been a long time since I was in the Thunder Mountain district," Sharp replied. "During the excitement in 1902, I led a pack string in there over what...

Editor's note: This is a continuation of G. Nicholas Ifft’s reminiscences of childhood in Pocatello in the late 1890s and early 1900s. This story was first published in the Idaho State Journal on July 14, 1957. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. 

            We recall the first Fourth of July celebration we attended here many years ago. There was a street parade in the morning with the Indians in all their war paint participating. There was always a patriotic ceremony of some kind at which a leading citizen spoke with fervor of “treacherous Albion,” or paid tribute to our  heroes of the Civil War. 

            On the first occasion for us the entertainment program was held in the “Wye,” and citizens waded through clouds of dust to a grandstand and race track. As the dust clouds rolled over the track, we watched...

Editor's note: This article is the Pocatello Tribune's account of the founding of the Academy of Idaho, predecessor of Idaho State University. It was printed in the Tribune on Aug. 28, 1941. The article has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

            The Academy of Idaho almost went by default for lack of a site in Pocatello.

            The academy bill which Sen. Theodore Turner introduced and passed in the state Legislature provided that prior to May 1, 1901, the City of Pocatello would have to donate a site for the use of the academy. This bill was not passed until March 4 and on March 11 a Pocatello Tribune editorial stated, "The bill came up as the special order. After it was read, Hunt, representative from Bannock County, rose and made a few remarks in favor of the bill, which, while short, constituted really...

Editor's note: This is the conclusion of the late Nicholas G. Ifft’s reminiscences of childhood in Pocatello in the 1890s and early 1900s. Part one was posted yesterday. Today's article first appeared in the Pocatello Tribune on June 14, 1939. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman.

            As boys we had plenty of playtime, although all of us had chores, which included hauling in coal and wood in the winter and hauling out ashes and garbage. In the summer the lawn had to be cut. For a number of years we sold papers and later we had a route, which included all the south end of town west of the tracks. We had to carry the papers on foot, as it was difficult manipulating a bicycle on wooden sidewalks and dirt streets, and climbing in and out of ditches.

            Somehow our days seemed to be filled with as much activity as...

Editor's note: The following article is part one of a two-part series on the reminiscences of a Pocatello childhood in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The content was written by G. Nicholas Ifft and appeared in the Pocatello Tribune on June 14, 1939, and Nov. 5, 1941. It has been edited and adapted for use here by retired Idaho State University history professor Jo Ann Ruckman. The second part will run later this week.

            When we roamed the streets of this community in the late 1890s and early 1900s, there was no such thing as a Boy Scout organization, recreational programs or sundry other items for the building and entertainment of the young. We had no swimming pools, tennis and golf were unknown as far as Pocatello was concerned, and the idea of supervised or directed play would have raised a laugh.

            There were no parks but we had the hills and canyons, and as we look back upon it...

“And then with mutual embraces and many tears, they took their leaves of one another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.” –William Bradford, of Plymouth Plantation, ca 1620-

    Each of us has a powerful journey story deep in our personal heritage.  It may be a story of a family uprooting itself in order to story together or of sons and daughters moving to another land or of a distant ancestor coming to America.  Immigration and travel have shaped American society.  

    Journey Stories is a Museum on Main Street project organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and brought to you by your state humanities council.  Journey Stories examines how transportation and migration helped build our nation, how it has changed us, and how our mobile world looked to travelers along the way.  

    Americans have traveled for many reasons throughout time.  Some journeys took courage.  Coming to America was...

Malad City, ID – On June 26, the farm of D. Jay and Julie Hansen, 216 S. 300 E., Malad City, will be designated an Idaho Century Farm by the Idaho State Historical Society and the Idaho Department of Agriculture.  At 1 p.m., the award will be presented at a ceremony by Jim Johnston, of Pocatello, a trustee of the Idaho State Historical Society.  

The award recognizes agricultural property owned and operated in Idaho by the same family, at least forty acres of which must have remained in agricultural use for the last 100 years or more.  The Hansen farm was established by Jacob P. and Julia Geargina (Johanson) Hansen, grandparents of the award recipients, in 1910.   

The grandparents came to Idaho from Honeyville and Bear River City, Utah, in 1901, and obtained ownership of the current property in 1910.  They raised wheat, barley, oats, cattle, sheep, and horses.  The second generation to farm the property was Clyde and Ruth Hansen, followed by the third generation, current owners...