Historic Bonneville County

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HISTORIC 

BONNEVILLE COUNTY 

A Centennial History 

by Mary Jane Fritzen 

A publication of the Greater Idaho Falls 

Chamber of Commerce 

HPNbooks 

A division of Lammert Incorporated 

San Antonio, Texas

✧ 

The Falls. 

PAINTING COURTESY OF 

MARJORIE CLEARWATER, ARTIST. 

First Edition 

Copyright © 2012 HPNbooks 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing 

from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to HPNbooks, 11535 Galm Road, Suite 101, San Antonio, Texas, 78254, (800) 749-9790, www.hpnbooks.com. 

ISBN: 978-1-935377-98-6 

Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2012951377 

Historic Bonneville County: A Centennial History 

author: Mary Jane Fritzen 

photograph editor: Scott Moss 

contributing writers for sharing the heritage: Brenda Thompson, Joe Goodpasture, Garnette Bane 

HPNbooks 

president: Ron Lammert 

project manager: Bart Barica 

administration: Donna M. Mata, Melissa G. Quinn 

book sales: Dee Steidle 

production: Colin Hart, Evelyn Hart, Glenda Tarazon Krouse, Tony Quinn 

2 ✦ H I S T O R I C B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

CONTENTS 

5 INTRODUCTION Purpose of the book 

6 SEASONS OF TIMELESS BEAUTY Photographs courtesy of Scott Moss 

10 CHAPTER 1 Before the Bridge 

12 CHAPTER 2 Taylor’s Bridge 

15 CHAPTER 3 Railroad and Agriculture, 1879-1889 

19 CHAPTER 4 Idaho Falls Begins, 1891-1910 

30 CHAPTER 5 Bonneville County Formed, 1911 

34 CHAPTER 6 City Expands Downtown, 1911-1930 

38 CHAPTER 7 City Growth Highlights to 1945 

42 CHAPTER 8 Atomic Energy Arrives and Culture Thrives 

46 CHAPTER 9 Irrigation and Palisades Dam 

49 CHAPTER 10 Ammon 

51 CHAPTER 11 Bone 

52 CHAPTER 12 Coltman 

54 CHAPTER 13 Dehlin 

55 CHAPTER 14 Iona 

57 CHAPTER 15 Grays Lake and Caribou Mountain 

61 CHAPTER 16 Lincoln 

63 CHAPTER 17 New Sweden 

65 CHAPTER 18 Osgood 

67 CHAPTER 19 Ozone 

69 CHAPTER 20 Ririe, Shelton, Poplar, Antelope 

73 CHAPTER 21 Swan Valley 

75 CHAPTER 22 Taylor 

78 CHAPTER 23 Ucon 

80 CHAPTER 24 York 

82 CHAPTER 25 Bonneville County: Celebrating 100 Years 

84 ENDNOTES 

86 SHARING THE HERITAGE 

167 SPONSORS 

168 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

168 ABOUT THE PHOTO EDITOR 

C o n t e n t s ✦ 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Many hands make an illustrated county history possible. 

For the first chapters, which chronicle a history of Bonneville County and Idaho Falls, I relied on initial encouragement from my 

brothers Joe and Dick Groberg, as well as lifetime experiences from my father, Delbert V. Groberg. Dad and I earlier worked with 

historians Edith Haroldsen Lovell, Merrill D. Beal, and Leonard J. Arrington (each now deceased), and I have since studied their 

writings. The Post-Register has recorded our local history from its beginning. David Pennock and the Museum of Idaho’s archivists 

LaDean Harmston and Judy House have given unselfish service to answer local history questions. Dave Radford, county 

commissioner; Ann Rydalch, county centennial event chair; historians Joseph Stewart, Susan Mardis and others have assisted me 

for several years to commemorate our centennial. Paul Jenkins produced a much-valued DVD containing interviews and short 

community histories, which was shown at our celebration. Lavon Reed has video-taped our history programs for the Museum’s 

Reading and Reference room. Photographs of county officials past and present were collected by Joseph Stewart and others; they are 

displayed in the county courthouse rotunda. 

Scott Moss, photo editor, has provided pictures from many sources, and Davidjohn Stosich, maps. Connie Otteson, Earline Reid, 

and Bruce Bash have given editorial assistance. We acknowledge use of writing by Cheryl Cox, Harold Forbush, D. V. Groberg, 

Margaret Hawkes Lindsley, Monte A. Mason, Jolyn Wyatt, Barbara Watson, Ron Harker, Jim Bennett, Bradley P. Bugger (INL), and 

Chesbro Music Company. 

For the short histories of the many communities which compose our county, I acknowledge work of the following local historians: 

Aleen Jensen (Ammon); Reed Moss (Antelope), Amy McClellan (Bone), Frank Randall, Ina Rasmussen, Kathy Moore, Lee Wilkins 

(Coltman); Jean Schwieder (Dehlin); Ellen Carney Nelson and Dave Radford (Grays Lake and Caribou Mountain); Zo Ann Simmons, 

Linden Bateman and Betty McKinlay (Iona); Jack Scott and Ron Harker (Lincoln); Susan Mardis (New Sweden); Joseph Stewart 

(Osgood); John P. Martinson and Helen McMullin (Palisades Dam); Connie Otteson (Ozone); Becky Freeman (Ririe); Afton Bitton 

(Swan Valley area); Bob and Jane Hoff, Lynn Clapp, and Doyle Arave (Taylor); Caroline Mackay, Bruce Bash, Sherrol and Karen Landon 

(Ucon); Gordon Moir and Nancy Moir (York). 

We also thank Helen McMullin, Rachel Robbins, Emily Murdock and others for their assistance. Rob Chiles, president CEO of 

Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce, and the C of C will be responsible for book sales. 

Among previous county histories consulted are Bonneville County in the Making (1941) by Barzilla Clark; Captain Bonneville’s 

County (1963) by Edith Haroldsen Lovell; and Beautiful Bonneville (1989), edited by a committee headed by Alice Horton [Crockett]. 

Edith Lovell has also researched and published a valuable history of Captain Bonneville, Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier of the American 

Frontier (1992). 

Bonneville County Heritage Association published a county history book for use in fourth grade Idaho History classes. It is 

George Brunt, Young Pioneer of Eagle Rock (2009) by Connie Otteson. Our BCHA committee of fourth grade teachers headed by 

Todd Brown selected the author and supervised the writing and publication of this award-winning and recommended historical 

story book. They also produced a useful teacher’s supplement by Deanna Hovey of BYU-Idaho faculty. (For more information, 

see Bonneville County Heritage Association, www.bonnevilleheritage.org.) 

Our year-long centennial celebration would not have been possible without the help from our Centennial Sponsors and Supporters: 

Delbert V. & Jennie H. Groberg Family Trust, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Farr Candy Company, Idaho National 

Laboratory, Intermountain Film & Video Productions Company, Idaho Travertine Corporation, Melaleuca, Inc., Museum of Idaho, 

Post-Register, Rocky Mountain Power, The Smith Group, U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office, Jim’s Trophy Room, 

Kris Burnham, Lori McNamara, Richard H. Groberg, and William & Jeanne Rigby. 


INTRODUCTION 

“Family Friendly” describes Bonneville County. Even the toll bridge enterprise included a family as revealed in the 1870 census 

of Eagle Rock Post Office, Snake River District, Oneida County, Idaho. Although the elements of weather and location were harshly 

unfriendly, Matt Taylor, the bridge-builder, brought his young family here for a few years. While most residents of this outpost were 

men who worked at mining or for the stage, yet the household of James Taylor, age 41, included his wife, J. L. (Jane LeGrand), 38, 

and their four children—Mary, 14; Oliver, 11; Robert, 4, and Jennie, 1. Several other relatives of Taylor and Anderson also settled 

in Eagle Rock, later named Idaho Falls. 1 After about 1871, when Matt Taylor and his family returned to Missouri, 2 Robert Anderson, 

Taylor’s brother-in-law, became responsible for the bridge and the business. Robert and his brother Jack founded the Anderson 

Brothers bank and mercantile business. 

Robert Anderson deserves the title of “first citizen” of Idaho Falls. He was first postmaster in 1866, started the first bank and store 

and conducted business here most of his life. He had to “go it” alone for several years at first until his brother Jack joined in the 

Idaho enterprise, enabling Robert to return to Missouri, where Robert was married when he was about 48. The newlyweds returned 

to Idaho, but also kept a farm in Missouri. His Idaho Falls household in the 1900 census included his wife, Alice; his married brother 

Jack, their aunt, Jane Holt, 77; and a servant, Ellis Van Winkle, 30. Robert died in a buggy accident in Missouri in 1904. 

Eagle Rock, also known as Taylor’s bridge, was principally a toll bridge river crossing until the railroad came in 1879. From then 

on hundreds of second generation Mormon families from Utah homesteaded and organized communities in the area. 3 Other settlers 

came from mid-western states, for example, the Swedish-speaking settlers of New Sweden. From its beginning Eagle Rock fostered 

schools and churches for Mormons, Protestants and Catholics. People looked after their old folks, who often came to live with their 

children and grandchildren. 

P U R P O S E O F T H E B O O K 

I appreciated a friend’s sympathy when she asked me why I accepted this job. Writing a history of Bonneville County is 

heavy duty; its weight must be shared by many. You may be interested in my answer. When Bart Barica called me last fall for 

recommendations of possible writers for a county history for his client, Historical Publications Network, I exempted myself. As chair 

of Bonneville County Heritage Association, engaged in its centennial celebration, I knew of various other qualified writers. 

Later, when Bart offered me the job, I chose to reconsider it because of one special asset—the Power Point presentations given 

by about twenty community historians during the past several years. These presentations had been shortened with the help of 

Joe Stewart for a DVD produced for Ann Rydalch by Paul Jenkins. We could use these capsule histories. Sure we had the DVD, an 

Internet site [Bonnevilleheritage.org], and interested audiences had attended our lectures; but now an attractive coffee-table book 

could further preserve our heritage. 

HPN’s method was to obtain a local author and sponsoring organization, and to sell business profile pages, showing contributions 

of specific businesses. These “paid” pages would be prepared separately from the body of the book and would pay for the 

publication. As author, I had no role in the “profiles.” This system left marketing up to the local sponsor, The Idaho Falls Chamber 

of Commerce. With a six-months’ deadline and limitations on both words and photos, I became the author and enlisted Scott Moss 

to be photo editor. 

This concise history begins with some photos of timeless 

beauties. Its first seven chapters chronologically summarize some 

highlights of our county’s development from the 1800s until about 

1945. Chapters 8 and 9 add the nuclear laboratory and the Palisade 

Dam, which came later. Short histories of each community comprise 

the second part of the book; they are arranged alphabetically as 

chapters 10-24. The concluding chapter describes our centennial 

celebration in 2011. Hopefully readers will find additional stories 

and interest in their heritage beyond the pages of this book. 

Short on words but well-illustrated, this book can help preserve 

our pioneer heritage and transmit essential values to our youth. 

I n t r o d u c t i o n ✦ 5

Spring 

✧ Balsam Root on Pine Creek Pass. 

✧ Wildflowers in Southeastern Idaho. 

✧ Wildflower at Grays Lake. 

✧ Tulips in Idaho Falls. 

✧ Spring flower on forest floor. 

✧ Wildflowers along Palisades Creek Trail. 


SEASONS OF TIMELESS BEAUTY 

✧ Floating the Snake River below Heise. 

✧ Blue Angels Air Show in Idaho Falls. 

✧ Japanese lantern at Sportsman Park. 

✧ View of Rainey Creek in Swan Valley. 

Summer 

✧ Monument at Taylor’s Crossing. 

✧ Abandoned International truck near Dehlin. 

S e a s o n s o f T i m e l e s s B e a u t y ✦ 7

Fall 

✧ Fall rainbow near Antelope Flats. 

✧ Aspen leaves in Swan Valley. 

✧ Fall hillside in Skyline Ridge. 

PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SEASONS COURTESY OF SCOTT MOSS. 

✧ Fall colors on Palisades Creek. 

✧ Old home near Antelope Flats. 


✧ Christmas time on the Green Belt. 

✧ First snow in Idaho Falls. 

✧ Diamond dust on Palisades Creek. 

✧ Winter farm scene south of Idaho Falls. 

Winter 

✧ Frosty morning in Swan Valley. 

✧ Winter in Tautphaus Park. 

S e a s o n s o f T i m e l e s s B e a u t y ✦ 9

CHAPTER 1 

B E F O R E T H E B R I D G E 

✧ 

Above: Eagle Rock ferry site about 

nine miles north of Broadway Bridge. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CONNIE OTTESON. 

Captain Benjamin L. E. Bonneville deserved to have a county named for him. Ever since Lewis 

and Clark first experienced this western country in 1805, the land beckoned explorers. John Jacob 

Astor, Wilson Price Hunt, and Andrew Henry were probably the first-known white men to camp in 

the Upper Snake River valley in about 1811. Nathaniel Wyeth established Fort Hall in 1834. 

Although trappers found rich rewards in beaver skins in the early 1800s, it was not until after 

Bonneville’s expeditions in 1832-34 that the land was fully explored. It was another forty years until 

anyone seriously considered settlement in what is now Bonneville County. 

Edith Lovell, county historian and Captain Bonneville biographer, verified Washington Irving’s 

image of him as an earnest, friendly and courteous man, whose persistent faith in human rights “was 

equaled only by his appreciation of nature’s boundless wonders. In his old age perhaps [his] best 

[memories] were of his years in the fur-trade and Indian world of the Rockies, living with ambition, 

eagerness, and a splendid dream.” 4 

Idaho Falls began with Taylor’s Bridge, but before the bridge, native Americans (Shoshoni and 

Northern Paiute or Bannock), frequented the area. Explorers, trappers, missionaries, and freighters 

all preceded any permanent settlement. 

Idaho was a late bloomer. It has a varied geography. While most of the state is mountainous, 

southeast Idaho is on the Snake River plains, the largest non-mountainous area on the state map. 5 

In the 1840s it seemed a hopeless sagebrush desert to John C. Fremont, whose maps helped open 

up the west to settlement. Beginning in 1847, Utah was settled by the Mormons. Several years 

later their leader Brigham Young, called missionaries to go north into Idaho to live with the Indians 

1 0 ✦ H I S T O R I C B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y

and teach them Christianity and farming skills. 

The location they chose was in the Salmon 

River country, just a few miles from Lewis 

and Clark’s famous Seventy-Mile Camp of 

1805, the first campground of white people 

in Idaho. 6 Fort Lemhi was Idaho’s first white 

farming community. It lasted just three years 

until difficulties forced its abandonment in 

1858. Nevertheless those missionaries had 

become acquainted with the country, and 

some later returned to settle in what is now 

Bonneville County. 

Permanent settlement in Idaho began during 

the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln signed a bill 

creating Idaho Territory in 1863. It included 

Montana and most of Wyoming and was at first 

larger than Texas but was soon carved down to 

near its present size. Its settlement was influenced 

by people fleeing the war. Thousands had 

trekked through the area on their way to Oregon 

or California when Idaho was part of the 

Oregon Territory, and they crossed it heading 

for the California gold rush in 1849, but the 

story changed when gold was discovered in 

Idaho and Montana. “Idaho gained its reputation 

as a mining territory in the 1860s and drew 

thousands of adventurers to its mountain-fast 

treasures.” 7 Placer mining and panning for gold 

were the norm. Hundreds of young unmarried 

men were attracted to this kind of mining 

because it required only simple tools, devices 

and hard work. “The typical picture of a mining 

district is not one of shooting up saloons 

and robbing the stage and express companies, 

but of hundreds of men toiling in the hot 

sun to earn a worthwhile pouch of dust.” 8 

Mt. Caribou, located in the southeastern part 

of present Bonneville County, produced about 

$1.2 million in gold beginning in 1870. The 

peak of Idaho’s mining was in the 1880s. 

It was the Montana mines that brought 

freighting through eastern Idaho. Montana 

mining camps relied on food supplies from 

Utah. 9 Ben Holladay stage lines received a 

contract for tri-weekly mail deliveries from 

Salt Lake City to Virginia City, Montana, by way 

of Cache Valley, Fort Hall, Eagle Rock and 

Beaver Canyon (Spencer). In January 1864 the 

state legislature incorporated this large area 

into the new Oneida County. Its county seat 

was Soda Springs, then later Malad—both a 

long journey from Eagle Rock. 

Freighting was a lucrative business. “Discovery 

of gold at Grasshopper Creek in Western Montana 

led to a flood of traffic from Northern Utah 

through Eastern Idaho to Montana.” 10 About half 

of Montana’s imports of food and supplies came 

by ox and mule team over this route. Freighters 

were sometimes from Cache Valley but more 

often from Nevada or the Great Plains states. 

Freight loads included flour, eggs, butter, 

potatoes and salt. Oneida Salt Works, located 

85 miles southeast of Eagle Rock, shipped a 

huge amount of salt. Tea, coffee, tobacco and 

mining supplies came from Corrine, Utah, after 

the transcontinental railroad was completed 

there in May 1869. 

A major obstacle to freighting was crossing 

the Snake River. There were only a few shallow 

places where travelers could ford the river. 

Several ferries were built for crossing. Eagle 

Rock Ferry was built in 1863 and chartered 

by the territorial legislature, which also set its 

tolls. It was just nine miles north of present 

✧ 

Captain B. L. E. Bonneville, army 

officer and explorer for whom the 

county was named. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE U.S. ARMY 

HISTORY INSTITUTE IN CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA. 

Idaho Falls. 11 C h a p t e r 1 ✦ 1 1

CHAPTER 2 

T A Y L O R ’ S 

B R I D G E 

✧ 

Above: Taylor Toll Bridge. Photograph 

taken by William Jackson with the 

Hayden Party around 1871. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM 

OF IDAHO. 

Below: James Madison Taylor. 

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM 

OF IDAHO. 

James Madison (Matt) Taylor envisioned and built the first bridge across the Snake River. He was 

born in Kentucky in 1825 and married Jane LeGrand Anderson in Lexington, Missouri, in 1853. He was 

a freighter who hauled goods in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Montana. While freighting, he selected the 

Snake River bridge site at “Black Rock Canyon.” He then organized the Oneida Road, Bridge and Ferry 

Company, which was chartered in December 1864 by the territorial legislature. The company was 

responsible for building and maintaining the road, bridge and ferry. The charter was good for twenty 

years. As wagon traffic was active and river crossings were needed, the toll business was very profitable. 

He advertised in the Daily Telegraph, Great Salt Lake City, April 12, 1865: 

Eagle Rock Ferry Snake River. 

Best and Shortest Route to the Gold Fields of Montana. 

The above-named ferry is furnished with a good substantial boat and two excellent strong ropes and 

is now in splendid running order. In the connection with the ferry we have a general store. 

We are now constructing a good and substantial bridge across Snake River in the vicinity of the ferry, 

which will be opened for the passage of teams about the end of May next. 

-J. M. Taylor, E. M. Morgan, W. F. Bartlit 

Matt set out to build the bridge then sent for his wife’s brother, Robert Anderson, to be his 

business partner. Robert, who was working in New York, responded and brought Matt’s wife and 

two children to Idaho with him. Later, after living many years in Idaho, Robert wrote an account of 

the bridge and its business: 12 

The bridge timbers were cut and hewn out at Beaver Canyon and in six feet of snow, then hauled 

eighty miles over the road which Ben Holliday’s stage mules could not keep open. In the spring of 

1866 the wagon bridge was opened and the ferry people moved down from the Ferry and brought the 

name of Eagle Rock with them. A small dwelling house was built of driftwood. A little storeroom and a 

blacksmith shop were made of some boards and old ferry-boat timbers, and the station of Eagle Rock had 

been started. All prices were high. 

Indians lounged about the store and a few trappers, including Beaver Dick (Richard Leigh), came 

for their supplies. 


✧ 

Left: Taylor Bridge after 1889 when it 

was condemned. The flour mill on the 

west side of the river was destroyed by 

fire in the early 1900s. 


OF IDAHO. 

Below: Robert Anderson. 


OF IDAHO. 

Jennie Reno, an early resident and historian, 

wrote in 1916: 

The next spring [1865 or 1866] Mr. Taylor’s 

family and brother-in-law, Robert Anderson, 

came out, moving down where Idaho Falls now 

is and opening up a store and bank or trading 

post, receiving gold dust, skins, etc. in return 

for guns, clothing and groceries; trappers, 

freighters and settlers depositing their earnings 

with them. The bridge was entirely of logs 

except for the bolts and irons taken from old 

freight wagons, converted to the use by Morgan, 

a blacksmith, and it was known as Taylor’s 

Bridge for several years. It was too low and 

washed out during high water in June 1867. 

They succeeded in…saving most of it and 

rebuilt it that winter. During high water, it was 

a common sight to see Mr. Taylor standing on 

the bridge with a prod pole pushing driftwood 

down stream. 

the others were young men working at mines 

or the stage station. Ten had wives keeping 

house, and there were nineteen little children. 

Of those, four belonged to James Taylor and his 

wife LeGrand. Shortly after 1870 the Taylors 

would return to live in Missouri. Although the 

Civil War had devastated her father’s family and 

property, LeGrand Taylor no longer needed to 

endure the cold windy winters and primitive 

frontier conditions of Idaho. According to the 

census, their daughter Jennie, aged one, had 

been born in Idaho; Robert, 4, in Utah; Oliver, 

11 and Mary 14, in Missouri. Only one ever 

came back to Eagle Rock. Barzilla Clark, who 

later wrote a history of the making of 

Bonneville County, recalled that Jennie Taylor 

came back and was his first and favorite school 

teacher in early Idaho Falls. She later returned 

to Missouri. 

Bottom: Richard Leigh “Beaver Dick” 

with his Indian wife Jennie and 

their children. 


OF IDAHO. 

Nearly all business in Southeast Idaho 

depended on freighting. During the season long 

trains of ox wagons were constantly on the 

road. Stage hands cut, hauled and stacked hay 

at the stations. The bridge often brought in 

from one thousand to two thousand dollars a 

day with twenty-five to fifty freight teams and 

other traffic crossing. 

From the 1870 census of the Eagle Rock 

Post Office, Upper Snake River District, Oneida 

County, Idaho Territory, we learn that pioneer 

Eagle Rock had a population of 75. Only three 

owned real estate—John M. Taylor (likely a 

relative), James Taylor, and Robert Anderson. 

Only these three were merchants and had 

personal estates of more than $1,000. Most of 

C h a p t e r 2 ✦ 1 3

✧ 

Top: C. C. Hayes, undertaker, 

at Sam Taylor’s Livery. 


OF IDAHO. 

Above: Jack Anderson. 


OF IDAHO. 

Both the founding families, Taylors and 

Andersons, had strong American heritages. 

James Madison earned his name as a relative of 

two presidents of the United States, James 

Madison and Zachary Taylor. Robert and 

LeGrand were children of Oliver Anderson, 

who had moved from Kentucky to Lexington, 

Missouri, in 1851. He owned a successful 

hemp-production business and built a beautiful 

home beside the Missouri River. A prominent 

Southern-sympathizer in the Civil War, he 

was later jailed and banished from Missouri. 

Today, because a Civil War battle was fought 

there, the Anderson House is a Missouri State 

Historic Site. 

Other Taylors and Andersons were among 

Eagle Rock’s founders. Matt Taylor enlisted 

his cousin Sam Taylor to come from Missouri 

and bring herds of cattle. In 1871 Robert 

Anderson sent for his brother John C. (Jack) 

Anderson, to be a business partner in 1871. 

Robert and Jack remained in Eagle Rock 

(Idaho Falls) for most of the rest of their 

lives, as did Sam Taylor. Robert wrote of 

his experience: 

Often only a single man was at Eagle Rock 

where there were hundreds of Indians camped 

around. At times [I] was left entirely alone, acting 

as stage agent, operator, postmaster, storekeeper. 

Fort Hall Indian reservation was laid out 

[1868]. Oneida County was organized [1864] 

with Malad as the county seat, 120 miles south 

of Eagle Rock, the northern boundary of the 

county being the Montana line. 13 

After about fifteen years of pioneering here, 

Robert turned the business over to Jack and 

returned to his farm in Missouri. While there he 

married a widow named Alice then returned 

with her to live in Eagle Rock. As the bridge 

now belonged to the Anderson brothers, it was 

called Anderson’s Bridge. They collected tolls 

until 1889, when Bingham County commissioners 

finally denied their application for 

license renewal. The bridge became a public 

highway and was replaced in 1890 by a new 

steel bridge. 

By 1889, Bingham County had been formed 

from the north portion of Oneida County with 

Blackfoot as county seat. Idaho statehood was 

nearing. Robert Anderson and Sam Taylor 

were elected to represent Bingham County as 

delegates to the state constitution convention in 

1889. Anderson Brothers Bank and Anderson 

Brothers Mercantile store were important to 

early Idaho Falls. The bank continued until 

1933 when it became First Security Bank. 

While rightly considered Idaho Falls’ “first 

citizen,” Robert also maintained a successful 

farm in Lafayette County, Missouri, where he 

died in 1904 as a result of a buggy accident. 

He was honored and mourned both there and 

in newly-named Idaho Falls. 


CHAPTER 3 

R A I L R O A D A N D A G R I C U L T U R E , 1 8 7 9 - 1 8 8 9 

Before the railroad came, 250,000 emigrants had crossed Idaho territory by wagon en route to 

Oregon or California, 14 yet Southeast Idaho remained an unsettled desert wilderness. In the spring 

of 1879, the Utah and Northern Railroad Line constructed by Cache Valley Mormon pioneers 

bridged the Snake River at Eagle Rock. It set the stage for an explosion of migration from northern 

Utah to the Upper Snake River valley in the 1880s. 

The transcontinental railroad had joined the nation at Promontory Point May 10, 1869. The 

terminus at Corinne, Utah, was several miles northwest of Ogden. Brigham Young built railroad lines 

to connect Salt Lake City and Ogden. His son, John W. Young, who had assisted in the Union Pacific 

construction, negotiated with New York City businessmen to construct the railroad further north. He 

became president of the Utah and Northern Railroad Company, which was chartered to build the line 

to Logan in Cache Valley, then north to Montana. In March 1873 Congress granted the Utah and 

Northern the right-of-way to connect with the Northern Pacific Railroad in Montana. 15 It reached 

Franklin on May 2, 1874. The Utah-Idaho boundary survey of 1872 had determined that Franklin 

was not in Utah, as had been supposed, but was part of Idaho. Thus this railroad was Idaho’s first. 

Franklin then became a major terminus for about 600 freighters who hauled goods from Franklin 

to Montana in 1874 with a daily average of about eighty wagons on the road. Wagon freighting 

continued through the 1880s, but the railroad opened the way for settlement. With Mormon 

ecclesiastic and business leaders directing the work, Mormons living along the route provided labor 

to build the roadbeds and lay the tracks. Construction reached Pocatello in August 1878; it went 

through Fort Hall Indian reservation, reached Blackfoot in December, and Eagle Rock in April 1879. 

From there it went to Camas in July and reached Butte, Montana, in December 1881. About 206 

miles of Utah and Northern Railroad track were in Oneida County, Idaho, which at that time 

included Eagle Rock. Mariner W. Merrill, bishop of the northern Cache Valley LDS Ward of 

Richmond, was general construction superintendent. Thomas E. Ricks and William D. Hendricks 

were in charge of grading and track-laying. Many workmen took along their wives as cooks and 

their sons as laborers; they also brought cows for milk. Motivated by overcrowding in Utah, they 

experienced new opportunities in Idaho. Thus the way was opened for families from Cache Valley, 

Utah, to push north into Southeastern Idaho. 

✧ 

Utah and Northern Railroad engine 

crossing railroad bridge at 

Eagle Rock. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 3 ✦ 1 5

✧ 

Above: Looking south at newer 

railroad bridge with the flour mill. 

The original site can be seen 

in foreground. 


OF IDAHO. 

Below: Railroad coach shop, c. 1886. 


OF IDAHO. 

Eagle Rock was an important and profitable 

toll bridge river crossing, but the Anderson 

brothers donated 104 acres plus one hundred 

feet on each side of the track to the railroad 

company when it arrived in April to build its 

own bridge. In return, the railroad company 

agreed to carry no freight or passengers across 

the river until July 1, 1879. 16 Wagon freighting 

continued as an important business through the 

1880s. Not until 1889 did Bingham County 

commissioners close the toll bridge. 

During the 1870s and ’80s business in Eagle 

Rock grew. In addition to the toll bridge it 

provided the telegraph and post office for the 

Upper Snake River Valley. Surrounded by 

gold, it was a center for miners. But farming 

had to wait for the future. A few families had 

tried farming as well as ranching—the Orville 

Buck family from Indiana, George Heath, 

Joseph Fisher and John Poole families from 

Utah. Most supplies had to be shipped in. 

Irrigation was needed. 

Eagle Rock grew when the 

railroad shops were located there. 

William E. Wheeler, editor of The 

Idaho Register, then in Blackfoot, 

reported on November 6, 1880: 

We spent one day at Eagle 

Rock this week. A large number of 

men are at work there, some grading 

the new tracks to the round 

house and machine shops, and 

another gang is engaged getting 

out rock for the latter, while a 

force of carpenters are putting up 

new buildings. A large two-story 

boarding house is nearly completed 

and six or eight dwellings 

will soon be commenced. The 

shops…will employ from 35 to 50 

men in connection with section 

men, track men, etc. [to] make an 

average of about 60 men. 


And on February 12, 1881: 

The round house which has ten stalls is nearly 

completed. The machine shop is nearly ready 

for setting the machinery. This building is 

60 x 100…but the largest building will be the 

car shop…its size is 60 x 200. In this shop all 

kinds of cars will be made from a flat car to a 

fine coach. An office for the master mechanic 

20 x 40 is nearly completed; another the same 

size for the foreman. An ice house 24 x 60 is 

furnished and filled with ice. Several other 

buildings such as store-house, oil house, sand 

drying house, will be put up. 

With additional boarding houses and smaller 

tenement houses, he estimated that: 

When the shops are running nearly two 

hundred men will find work. 

4 lawyers, 1 doctor; lodges of Knights of Labor, 

Masons and IOOF. A neat and commodious Baptist 

church has been built and the Episcopalians and 

Catholics are contemplating building. 

The 1880 census shows an increase of 

farmers in the Willow Creek country, which 

comprised rural areas north and east of Eagle 

Rock, later known as Ucon, Milo and Shelton. 

In 1884 homesteaders settled on farms which 

have since become the communities of Iona, 

St. Leon, Ucon, Milo, Taylor, Poplar, Coltman 

and Fairview. The next year Bingham County 

was formed from the large northern portion 

of Oneida County. Eagle Rock’s population 

in 1885 was about 1,500. Among newcomers 

were the family of Joseph A. Clark from 

Indiana. They would become leaders in local 

✧ 

First Baptist Church in Idaho Falls 

built in 1884 on the corner of 

Ash Street and Eastern Avenue. 


OF IDAHO. 

In spite of wind and snow, Eagle Rock settlers 

began building homes, churches and schools. 

At first church services and Sunday schools 

were held in homes. During the 1880s, Baptist, 

Methodist, and The Church of Jesus Christ 

of Latter-day Saints buildings were erected. 

Catholic and other Protestant churches were 

built within a few years. The influence of good 

music is shown in an article by Wheeler in 1883: 

Eagle Rock has four organs, five pianos, one 

cornet band of twelve pieces, besides violins and 

accordions. What town of but 600 inhabitants can 

make a better showing? 

Alma Marker, a violinist who operated a stationery 

and music store, played for dances held 

in the large room above the ZCMI, a large rock 

building built about 1882. Wheeler not only 

persuaded new homeseekers to move to Idaho 

Falls, but he moved his bride and his newspaper 

to Eagle Rock in early 1884. 

Wheeler described the local industry in 1885: 

Eagle Rock has 5 general merchandising 

stores, 2 large hotels, 4 restaurants, a dozen 

boarding houses, 1 drug store, 2 tailor shops, 

2 newspapers, 1 brewery, 1 market, 1 book 

store, 1 music store, 6 saloons, 2 barber shops, 

1 watch maker, 1 livery stable, 2 lumber yards, 

C h a p t e r 3 ✦ 1 7

✧ 

4-4-0 Eight Wheeler Narrow Gauge 

Train. The Utah and Northern Line 

prospered to the point it could not 

handle the freight being shipped over 

the narrow gauge line. Preparation to 

widen the line to standard gauge 

tracks required upgrading the bridge 

across Snake River at Eagle Rock. 

Then the 246 miles of railroad line 

between Pocatello, Idaho to Butte, 

Montana, were widened in one day, 

July 24, 1887. Ten men were assigned 

to each six-mile long section of track. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THORNTON WAITE: 

CLIFFORD PEAKE COLLECTION. 

and state government—Joseph being the first 

mayor of Idaho Falls, and his sons Chase and 

Barzilla both serving as mayors of Idaho Falls 

and governors of Idaho. The city’s water works 

were commenced in 1885. 

Because of the influx of families to the area, 

the Idaho Territorial legislature passed a bill to 

locate the University of Idaho in Eagle Rock. 

However, in a political move to preserve Idaho 

intact instead of ceding the north part of its 

territory to Washington, the University of Idaho 

was instead located in Moscow, Idaho, in 1889. 

This was a strategy to obtain state admission, 

which was granted by Congress and became 

effective July 3, 1890. In the meantime the 

territorial governor had called for an Idaho 

Constitutional convention to be assembled 

July 4 to August 6, 1889. Robert Anderson and 

Sam Taylor were among Bingham County’s delegation. 

Based on fears that the growing 

Mormon population would vote as a block, 

delegates adopted an anti-Mormon test oath, 

which excluded Mormons from voting, serving 

on juries or holding public office. Belief in 

polygamy was also an issue, although only 

about 150 of the 25,000 LDS population 

were practicing plural marriage. 17 This test 

oath, enforced since 1885 during territorial 

days, was not effectively repealed until 1895. 

Then as now Mormons made up about 

one-fourth of the state’s population. (The test 

oath was finally removed from the Idaho 

Constitution by vote in 1982.) Notwithstanding 

the disfranchisement, Eagle Rock citizens 

got along well sharing their frontier life. 

According to memories of Eunice (Mrs. Joseph 

A.) Clark, as reported in The Post-Register, 

in September, 1934: 

In the early days here there were no class 

distinctions—the members of the three churches, 

Catholic, Baptist, and LDS. were the best 

of friends and frequently held their socials 

together. Neighbors made a practice of calling 

on one another, and strangers were given a 

hospitable welcome. 18 

Although the railroad shops were an asset to 

the local community, they were not indispensable. 

On May 22, 1886, a severe wind toppled the 

round house. Fortunately none of the 53 workers 

inside was injured, but the round house was 

never rebuilt. Due to business decisions by the 

railroad to change its terminal to Pocatello, the 

shops were removed to Pocatello, and the population 

of Eagle Rock decreased in a nose dive. 

But this setback did not destroy the optimism of 

such founders as Robert and Jack Anderson and 

William E. Wheeler, who continued to live here 

and promote the town to homeseekers. 

Irrigation was the motivation for future settlers. 

The Snake River, which flows through 

Idaho, is the state’s most unifying feature. 

Considering the Boise River as a tributary of the 

Snake, two-thirds of Idaho’s population now 

live within the fertile Snake River Valley. 19 “But 

how was the water to be got from the river?” 

pioneer Robert Anderson asked. The First 

irrigation system was the Eagle Rock and 

Willow Creek Canal Co., formed June 11, 1880, 

to serve farming in the Menan area. Since 

then irrigation projects developed in quick 

succession. Although government irrigation 

districts would later be instituted, the Mormons 

began with cooperative irrigation companies. 

By 1885, there were twenty-eight farmer-built, 

locally owned, cooperative canal systems. 


CHAPTER 4 

I D A H O F A L L S B E G I N S , 1 8 9 1 - 1 9 1 0 

Many of the institutions of Idaho Falls, county seat of Bonneville County, began with pioneers 

who came to the area from various places and backgrounds. Their stories illustrate the cultural 

fabric of our community. 

W I L L I A M 

E . W H E E L E R 

✧ 

William E. Wheeler, editor, 

Idaho Register. 


OF IDAHO. 

William E. Wheeler, who recorded our early history in his newspaper, The Idaho Register, was 

influential in the growth of Idaho Falls. Born in Vermont in 1843 to native New Englanders, he had 

moved with his family to Illinois when aged fifteen. He enlisted in the Union army and became a 

lifelong supporter of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR ). After the Civil War he began traveling 

west for Bluff City, [Iowa,] Printing Co. He published a newspaper in Evanston, Wyoming, for 

several years, then moved to Blackfoot in 1880 and renamed it The Blackfoot Register. His beat 

included Eagle Rock. He married Elizabeth Dougherty of Denver at Christmastime in 1883, then 

took his newspaper to Eagle Rock and renamed it The Idaho Register. 

C h a p t e r 4 ✦ 1 9

Wheeler was named postmaster when 

Eagle Rock was incorporated in 1889. Edith 

Lovell wrote, 

Wheelers had no children, but over the years 

quietly sponsored youth projects. Boys from the 

country lived with the Wheelers to go to school 

and help out at the newspaper office. Good 

study habits and church attendance were 

required of them. 20 

In 1909, Wheeler, 66, who was a justice of 

the peace, sold the newspaper to his associate 

publisher, M. B. Yeaman. When Wheeler died 

in 1919, Idaho Falls had three newspapers— 

The Times, The Post and The Register. (They later 

merged into The Post-Register.) The following 

excerpt from fellow journalist, Sam Dennis, 

who established The Times in 1890, eulogizes 

Wheeler, and summarizes his role in our history: 

In writing anything concerning the passing 

of Wm. E. Wheeler it would be hard to 

disconnect his name with that of the 

development of the country. He gave his 

time and his energy and the best part of his 

life to the upbuilding of the Upper Snake 

River Valley. He came to Idaho at an early 

date; an honest man, a courageous man and a 

man who never forgot that he was a gentleman. 

The West in those early days coarsened and 

roughened many from the East, but never 

William. E. Wheeler. 

Mr. Wheeler came to Idaho with the railroad. 

He came first to Blackfoot and established 

The Blackfoot Register. Idaho was then a territory, 

the whole southeast being one county, old 

Oneida, which extended from Utah on the 

south to Montana on the north. His territory 

extended from the Sawtooth range on the west 

to Wyoming on the east, and we imagine it 

was hard pickings for a newspaper in those 

days. He often made trips either by stage or 

horseback to Salmon and other small camps to 

the west rustling for business in order to keep 

the payroll going. After remaining in Blackfoot 

three years Mr. Wheeler moved his printing 

office and whatever personal effects he 

happened to possess to Idaho Falls, or rather 

then, Eagle Rock, and called his paper The Idaho 

Register, the title under which it still exists. 

The railroad shops were here then and business 

no doubt was pretty good. However, in ’86 the 

company moved its shops to Pocatello with a 

goodly portion of the town’s dwellings and 

Eagle Rock for the time being became a deserted 

western town. 

At the time of the departure of the shops 

from Eagle Rock farming in this country did 

not amount to very much. Settlers were 

scarce and things were pretty much in the 

experimental stage. However, in 1890 a 

number of enterprising citizens commenced 

the building of the Idaho canal and a small 

group of men generally called the “boomers” 

came to town and among one of their 

enterprises was the construction of the Great 

Western canal, now known as the New Sweden 

property. These two systems of canals provided 

water for about eighty thousand acres of 

land and Idaho Falls commenced to reach out 

for settlers to occupy these lands. At this 

time W. E. Wheeler commenced his real life 

work for the upbuilding of the country. He 

printed columns and columns of booster 

articles in his paper and he never let up on 

this work or failed to join in any and every 

effort made to induce new settlers to come 

in. He was the author of an article printed in 

an agricultural magazine at St. Louis which 

had a large circulation in the middle western 

states and there are no doubt many citizens 

here today who were induced to come 

through the medium of this article. In short, 

practically all the matter which has been used 

in advertising this country either eminated 

[sic] from his office or was a rehash or 

enlargement of something that had previously 

been originated by him. 

One thing which probably did more to 

encourage agriculture here than anything else 

in which Mr. Wheeler took a leading part was 

the organization of a county fair association 

which gave exhibitions during the middle 

and latter ’80s. That was a big undertaking 

at that time for the people were few, settlements 

were scatter[ed] and everybody was poor. 

But it started Idaho Falls as the center of 

attraction in this part of the state and she has 

21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 

held the lead ever since. 

-Idaho Falls Times, May 22, 1919 


J O H N L I N G R E N 

by Connie Otteson 

Another pioneer who came with the first 

railroad to Blackfoot, then on to Eagle Rock, 

was Swedish emigrant, John Lingren, founder 

of Highland Park, which is now best known 

as home of baseball’s Melaleuca Field. 

Lingren, who had come to Utah with a 

Mormon emigrant company from Malmo, 

Sweden, in 1863, at the age of 18, wrote in 

his journal: 

I arrived in Eagle Rock afoot with my 

blankets on my shoulder, March 25, 1879, with 

five dollars in my pocket. I worked for Jack 

Anderson after I had looked for a job for nearly 

a month in this town of three houses—a 

boarding house, hotel, and blacksmith shop. 

At this time the [Utah and Northern Railroad] 

was building the abutment for the iron [railroad 

bridge to cross the Snake River.] 

I started to work for Mr. Anderson April 

20th for a dollar a day and board, then $40 a 

month as gatekeeper of his toll bridge. By May 

27th, the terminus of the railroad got here. 

Great freighting outfits would pass through to 

Montana. In less than a week a mushroom town 

[sprang up] with some 100 houses, tents and 

wagons. I went one day and counted 2,700 

freight wagons, and I would take an average of 

$400 in tolls per day, it being $1.50 a span with 

wagon for crossing the bridge. 

By the spring of 1881 John had saved 

enough money to visit his family in Sweden. 

He was reunited with his family then returned 

to Idaho in late 1881 with two sisters and 

one brother. He purchased 160 acres north of 

Eagle Rock on Willow Creek for $750. He 

cleared sagebrush, built a cabin, dug ditches 

from the creek to water his garden, and 

began raising vegetables for market. He was 

then thirty-eight years old and still single. His 

siblings lived in the little adobe brick cabin 

with him until the brother and a sister married 

local residents. The other sister, Johanna, 

continued to keep house for John and ran a 

boarding house for eight workers from the 

railroad shops. She died in 1892 after surgery 

in Salt Lake City. 

Alone again, John started a tree nursery on 

his homestead, where he planted hundreds of 

evergreen, shade, fruit and ornamental trees, as 

well as lilacs and other shrubs. He often sold 

trees and plants to local residents, along with 

fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as honey, 

milk and eggs. 

During the hot summers, locals often asked 

to hold their picnics and outdoor meetings at 

Lingren’s tree farm, which he named Highland 

Park in honor of his Swedish homeland. In 

order to pay taxes he deeded lots to the City of 

Idaho Falls. He added picnic grounds, swings, 

hammocks, a dance pavilion, bandstand, 

and baseball diamond to the park. He also 

maintained a large mud-bottomed lake that was 

used as a swimming hole, canoe pond, and 

winter skating rink. 

In 1895 John married Sara Lettie Wilson in 

the Salt Lake LDS Temple, only two months 

after they had met in Blackfoot. He was 50 and 

she was 24 years old. They reared three children 

to maturity. He died in 1915 at age 71. 

✧ 

John Lingren, Highland Park founder. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 4 ✦ 2 1

C H A R L E S C . A N D S A R A H 

T A U T P H A U S 

by Jim Bennet 

Charles C. Tautphaus from Germany and Sarah 

Kane from Ireland immigrated to New York as children. 

Each sailed separately around the tip of South 

America to California where they met, married, and 

had five daughters. In 1882 the family moved to 

Butte City, Montana, where Tautphaus had a butcher 

shop and also bought and sold livestock. He was 

also involved in freighting, mining and farming. 

✧ 

Top, left: Charles Tautphaus. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JIM BENNETT. 

Top, right: Sarah Tautphaus. 

After his death in 1906, the Idaho Falls 

Boosters Club purchased the 160-acre Tautphaus 

Ranch from Sarah Tautphaus in 1910 to convert 

it into a place for the residents of the area to 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JIM BENNETT. 

Below: Joseph Clark, first mayor of 

Idaho Falls; father of future mayors 

and governors. 


OF IDAHO. 

In 1884, they purchased two sections of 

government land in the Eagle Rock area. In 1886, 

Tautphaus moved his family to their land in Eagle 

Rock, where he also operated a meat market. 

Using horse-drawn equipment and crews, 

they transformed the desert into a farm which 

included a wooded hillside, tree-lined drives, 

an apple orchard, and a lake with a waterfall. 

The lake became a center of social activity, with 

picnicking, boating, and swimming in the 

summer and ice skating in the winter. (It is now 

the sunken baseball diamond and handicapped 

playground in today’s Tautphaus Park) 

To bring water to his lake and land and for 

others, Tautphaus helped form the Idaho Canal 

Company in 1889 and designed a thirty-mile 

canal from the Snake River to waste into the 

Blackfoot River. 


the municipal hydroelectric plant No. 1, just 

below the Broadway Bridge. 

Eunice Clark, a gifted elocutionist, was 

an energetic supporter of the Women’s Christian 

Temperance Union (W. C. T. U.), and reared a 

family of community leaders. 

W. H . B . A N D S A R A C R O W 

enjoy. The name of Tautphaus Park was retained 

to honor the family. Improvements were added, 

including a grandstand, race track, bandstand, 

fountains and rest rooms. The grand opening of 

the new facility was held on July 25, 1910, in 

conjunction with Pioneer Day, when thousands 

attended the double celebration, enjoying horse 

races, speeches and athletic programs. Charles 

(1841-1906) and Sarah (1840-1917) are buried 

in the cemetery next to their park in a plot 

marked with a large stone cross. 

J O S E P H 

A . C L A R K 

The family of Joseph Addison and Eunice 

Hadley Clark were Quaker settlers of Indiana. 

The Clarks came to Eagle Rock on the railroad 

in 1885. A surveyor and civil engineer, he 

helped lay out the town site. He later helped 

establish the newspaper, The Times, and served 

on the school board. He envisioned a municipally-owned 

water system and served as mayor 

(1900-1902) when the city built its first power 

plant. Two sons, Barzilla and Chase, also served 

as mayors of Idaho Falls and were elected Idaho 

governors. During the terms of Barzilla Clark 

on the city council and as mayor, the city built 

After a courtship begun on a transcontinental 

train heading west, William Henry Byron 

Crow was married to Sara Ellen Murphy in 

Illinois in 1882. Both had taught school in 

Nebraska and continued to develop education 

in Eagle Rock. When Eagle Rock Water Works 

Company was organized in 1885, utilizing a 

windmill to generate electricity from water 

power, W. H. B. Crow was secretary of the 

company. Afterwards he purchased the plant. In 

1888 the Eagle Rock and Willow Creek Water 

Company purchased the Anderson Canal. 

Sara Crow brought her grand piano to 

Eagle Rock and taught music lessons. She rode 

horseback to teach students in the rural 

country. She was organist for Rebecca Mitchell’s 

Sunday school and was a charter member of 

the Trinity Methodist Church in Eagle Rock. 

✧ 

Left: Sara Murphy Crow. 


OF IDAHO. 

Right: William Henry Byron Crow. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 4 ✦ 2 3

W. W. A N D E L D O R A K E E F E R 

P I O N E E R 

W O M E N 

✧ 

William Keefer family, about 1918. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE POST-REGISTER. 

W. W. Keefer was one of several young carpenters 

who came from Omaha to work in railroad 

building construction. He built homes, 

business buildings, bridges and dams. His 

wife Eldora Shoemaker Keefer wrote a history 

of Eagle Rock in 1933 for the Daughters of 

American Revolution. A few excerpts follow: 

Until the year 1880, Eagle Rock was little 

more than a good trading post and a stage station. 

When the narrow railroad was built, Eagle 

Rock became a very busy place. In the early days 

it was a very common sight to see men sitting 

along the bank of Snake River with pans filled 

with sand in their hands, sifting out the small 

particles of gold dust. [Before there was a public 

cemetery,] the alley back of South Capital Avenue 

along the river bank was used as a burial place. 

Pioneer women figured importantly in 

village improvements. One of the best known 

was Rebecca Mitchell, revered as an early 

Sunday School teacher, librarian, and founder 

of a pioneer school. 30 As a Baptist missionary 

from Illinois, Rebecca Mitchell traveled by 

rail as far as Eagle Rock, Idaho, in 1882 with 

her daughter Bessie. Describing their journey 

through “this wild country, the home of the 

Redman, with a few trappers and hunters who 

were largely squaw men,” she wrote: 

The town was a row of company houses, 

built by railroad employees, with shanties 

here and there, besides a few business houses 

and the ever-present saloon plying its trade. 

It was on the morning of June 5, 1882, that 

I stepped from the train and into a new world. 


Not hotel or furnished room could be found 

where I could find shelter and rest, all day long 

I waded the sand shoe-top deep in some places, 

going from house to house, where I found a 

welcome, but not room. Late in the afternoon 

I found a shanty that I could rent which had 

been used for a saloon, into which my daughter 

and I gladly moved our trunks and were at 

home. I bought a candle, and for a candlestick 

used an empty beer bottle. 

Early in November winter set in, with 

deep snow and severe cold, which made it 

impossible to longer live in the shanty, but 

by this time a better place, though very small, 

was secured, which served me to the end of the 

first year’s work, after which reasonably good 

accommodations were opened for my school 

and home. 31 

Mrs. Mitchell organized the local W. C. T. U. 

and later became chaplain for the Idaho legislature 

in Boise. 

Minnie Hitt was a well-known and respected 

banker, who learned the banking business 

from the Anderson brothers beginning when 

she was seventeen. She became the cashier 

of the Anderson Bros. Bank and later retired 

as manager of the First Security Bank of 

Idaho, which had purchased the Anderson 

Bros. Bank. In 1946 the Idaho Falls Chamber 

of Commerce presented her with an honorary 

lifetime membership for her “singular influence 

in the development of this area,” particularly 

in developing property and enterprises over 

East Idaho. 

Kate Curley was organizer and first president 

of the Village Improvement Society (VIS) 

formed in 1898 to promote “public convenience 

and health and render the town more desirable 

as a place of residence.” Mrs. A. V. Scott was 

first vice president. Forty women, mainly wives 

of community leaders, met regularly for the 

next twenty years to carry out projects to clean 

and beautify the village.For example, they built 

fifty trash boxes to place around town; they 

successfully petitioned the town council to 

restrict cattle and other livestock to fenced 

yards; they planted trees along the streets, and 

started a hospital, library, and a house-numbering 

campaign to facilitate free mail delivery. 

In order to get rid of an undesirable red light 

✧ 

Above: Rebecca Mitchell, 

Baptist missionary. 


OF IDAHO. 

Below: Minnie Hitt, banker. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 4 ✦ 2 5

✧ 

Below: The Anderson Bros. Bank 

and Mercantile. 


OF IDAHO. 

Opposite, top: The Cooperative 

Wagon and Machine Company, 

established 1889. 


OF IDAHO. 

Opposite, bottom: Sugar Factory at 

Lincoln operated from 1903-1978; 

this photograph was taken in 1909. 


OF IDAHO. 

district, they bought the property where it was 

located along the river and ousted the tenants, 

then later returned the property to the city. 

It would become Sportsmen’s Park. 

Kate Curley served on the Idaho Falls School 

board and her last public appearance was 

speaking at the commencement of Idaho Falls 

High School. After Kate’s untimely death in 

1903, her husband Bowen Curley and the 

VIS planted trees for Kate Curley Park, 

located between Ninth and Tenth Streets in 

Idaho Falls. 

Adelia Duggan Scott was elected Justice of 

the Peace in 1896. She became president of the 

32, 33 

VIS and continued its beautification projects. 

B U S I N E S S 

Anderson Bros. Bank remained until the early 

1940s. From the beginning of Eagle Rock, 

Anderson Bros. Bank helped develop local business 

and Anderson Bros. Mercantile provided 

goods. As Mormon settlement increased in the 

rural areas, Utah-based businesses came to serve 

the community: Zion’s Commercial Mercantile 

Institution (Z. C. M. I.), Cooperative Wagon and 

Machine Company (C. W. & M.), and the Utah- 

Idaho Sugar plant. 

Horse-drawn wagons loaded with sacks of 

grain fill the streets in certain old photos of 

downtown Idaho Falls. Farmers and their 

families could obtain supplies at C. W. & M., 

established by 1889 in Eagle Rock by Mormon 

businessmen as Cooperative Wagon and Machine 

Company. It consolidated with its new name 

in 1902. G. G. Wright came from Utah to be 

manager. Wright, who also established a flour 

mill, was a leading source of credit for farmers 

needing to buy machinery and other supplies. 

A large two-story brick building was opened 

on the corner of Main (Broadway) and Capital 

Streets in 1905, as well as an implement 

building and repair storehouse which operated 

on West Broadway. Not until 1944 did the 

automobile bring C. W. & M.’s demise. 

Utah Sugar joined with Idaho Sugar to 

incorporate Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, which 

built its sugar plant in the future community of 

Lincoln in 1903. It provided much needed 

employment, both for sugar beet growers and 


for factory workers. The Lincoln plant was one 

of the most efficient in the country, beginning 

with daily production of 600 tons of beets 

and increasing to 4,400 tons before it closed in 

1978 due to nationwide economic factors after 

seventy-five years of successful operation. 

C h a p t e r 4 ✦ 2 7

✧ 

Wheat field, 1909. 


OF IDAHO. 

A G R I C U L T U R E 

From the mid-1880s, Bonneville County’s 

economy has relied on agriculture, and agriculture 

has relied on irrigation. 

One of the earliest farms was planted by 

Orville and Helen Buck with George Heath on 

Willow Creek in the spring of 1874. Buck 

planted and irrigated some hay and wheat, and 

the family raised some garden vegetables as 

well as cattle, sheep, pigs and ducks. 

Russet potatoes were first planted here in 

about 1909 and developed into a world-famous 

Idaho industry. Sugar beets were raised to supply 

the sugar plant. Tools to clear the sagebrush 

were manufactured here. The Miskin Scraper 

Company, begun in pioneer Ucon, continues 

today as an exporter of its scraper. 

W. L. Shattuck, who helped develop Osgood, 

a community west of the river, wrote the following 

history of irrigation in Bonneville County 

for The Post-Register’s “Golden Jubilee Edition,” 

September 10, 1934: 

Farming Played Small Part 1884 

In 1884, just fifty years ago, the sturdy 

pioneer who came to Eagle Rock found but 

little, from the agricultural standpoint, to 

encourage him unless he had great foresight 

and ambition. 

On January 1, 1884, the development of the 

agricultural resources in this vicinity was so 

slight that but 31,726 inches of water had been 

filed on in Snake river, and only a very small 

portion of this had been utilized. In those days 

the famous Idaho potato was unheard of; the 

sugar beet industry had not been thought of and 

the seed pea industry was unknown in the west. 

The market for the limited amount of grain produced 

was equally limited. Livestock was 

the only industry that had attained sufficient 

proportions to be at all recognized. 

Settlers who possibly had a vision of vast 

acres of land under irrigation and producing 

bountiful crops began moving in. They started 

clearing the land of the sagebrush. After this 

laborious task was completed, it was still a 

greater job to level the land for proper irrigation, 

as there was no machinery available for 

leveling land except for the small slip scraper, 

and that proved to be a very slow method. 

That we may get some idea of the magnitude 

of this picture, let us remember that the combined 

length of the different canal systems and 

their main laterals is more than 8,500 miles 

long. That this might be more clearly understood, 

imagine a canal sixty feet wide at the 

bottom and four feet in depth being started in 

New York City, extended across the American 

continent to San Francisco, returning to New 

York and then back westward as far as Chicago 

before it tapers out to a small ditch—then we 

have a picture of the greatest amount of labor 

and expense in constructing the canal system of 

this valley. 


B O O M I N G 

In January 1891 Wheeler wrote in The Register: 

Idaho Falls Town Company, 

What They Have Done and What Is Being Done 

A Grand Opportunity for Profitable Investment, etc. 

When the year 1890 was ushered into existence, 

Idaho Falls had not begun to assume semblance 

or shape. Eagle Rock, that erstwhile had 

sprang into existence almost like the mushroom 

growth of a night only to shrink and wilt under 

the glare of the morning sun, was plodding along, 

seemingly content with a steady and prosperous 

growth, until in a few years it might aspire to 

become the leading town or city in Eastern Idaho. 

During…March [1890] Mr. J. H. Holmes 

dropped in, and remained a few days. No one 

knew why he was here, nor what he was looking 

after. He kept his own counsels. He engaged 

a team and drove over the country and made 

some inquiries concerning land, took a look at 

the vast water power, and went his way. 

On the 23rd of April following he returned, 

bringing with him Honorable Willis G. Emerson. 

He showed him the river, the water power, and 

drove him into the country…and…[explained] 

the proposed canal. 

‘This is the place,’ said they, with one accord, 

and before leaving they had contracted for the 

purchase of the canal and all its rights and privileges. 

On May 27, they returned, bringing with 

them I. R. Holmes, A. M. York, D. W. Higbee, and 

other parties, members of the Interior Land and 

Immigration Co., of Denver. They remained several 

days, and contracted for the purchase of all 

the old townsite of Eagle Rock, and several large 

tracts of land adjoining the town on the south, 

east and north. At that time they concluded. they 

would endeavor to change the name of the town 

from Eagle Rock to Idaho Falls, and with that 

idea…they organized the Idaho Falls Town Co., 

composed of the following: The Interior Land 

and Immigration Co. of Denver, J. H. Holmes, 

W. G. Emerson, D. W. Higbee, and B. McCaffrey. 

On July 31 the Idaho Falls Canal and Irrigation 

Company was organized. [They began work on 

the big canal.] Excursionists from Chicago, 

Denver, Portland, and other cities, in special cars 

came in, and made filings of thousands of acres 

of choice lands along the route of the new canal. 

In connection with parties from Chicago, another 

canal project was developed on the west side of 

the river, and within fifteen miles of Idaho Falls. 

The Town company has closed the contracts 

for the old town site, and all the tracts of land 

adjacent thereto, and have platted them, and in 

one tract known as Crow’s addition. 

Portland, Tacoma, and Olympia capitalists 

have purchased over $75,000 worth of town 

property and canal stock. Other Chicago parties 

have organized the Idaho Falls Power and 

Lumber Company. 

Valuable sandstone quarries furnishing the 

finest quality of building rock are being opened, 

and in the spring a large number of business 

blocks, a magnificent hotel and many residences 

will be built. Hundreds of teams and men will 

find employment on the irrigating canals 

and…the ringing sound of the carpenters’ hammer 

and masons’ trowel will fill the air with 

music, in the new city of destiny and progress. 

✧ 

The Idaho Register, about 1893. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 4 ✦ 2 9

CHAPTER 5 

B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y F O R M E D , 1 9 1 1 

Idaho Falls rejoiced when it was named county seat of Bonneville County formed in 1911. This area 

had previously been part of Oneida and Bingham Counties. In territorial days we were in Oneida 

County with Malad as its county seat most of that time. When Oneida was split in 1885, we were 

part of Bingham County with Blackfoot as the county seat. Idaho became a state in 1890 and the 

state legislature formed Bonneville County from the northern portion of Bingham County in 1911. 

The Idaho Register of Idaho Falls reported on February 10, 1911: 

✧ 

Bonneville County’s natural features. 

MAP COURTESY OF CONNIE OTTESON. 

Bonneville County, with Idaho Falls the county seat is a reality after one of the most notable efforts 

for county division ever made in the legislative body of the state. The signing of the bill on last Tuesday 

afternoon by Governor Hawley put an end to a fight for county division which has occupied the attention 

of the legislature for each term for a number of years. Idaho Falls has attained an ambition long sought, 

and is now the county seat of the most prominent and prosperous county of the state of Idaho. 

The original bill designated the name of Snake River county which, however, met with some opposition 

and the more euphonious name of Bonneville, in honor of the famous explorer, was given. 

Senator St. Clair, who authored the bill, was presented with the pen with which the governor 

signed the bill. Although opposition had persisted for several years, during the 1911 session things 

went smoothly for the new county. The bill passed with just three dissenting votes in the senate, and 

only one “nay” in the house. Newly appointed county officers went immediately to work, selecting 

their temporary meeting location, and the city dreamed of future prosperity as county seat. 

Commissioners selected in 1911 were W. D. Huffaker, District 1; John Empey, District 2, and 

Robert L. Bybee, District 3. 


The Idaho Falls Times in February 1911 summarized 

the political procedure of dividing the 

county, eventually effected by cooperation of 

Clubs of Commerce of Idaho Falls and Blackfoot: 

Thursday last the house passed the Bingham 

county division bill, creating the county of 

Bonneville, with Idaho Falls as the county 

seat, by a vote of 58 to one. And thereby has 

Idaho Falls come to a realization of her hopes 

and aims after years of work and effort. 

At one time considerable opposition developed 

against the bill, but that practically withdrew 

from the field and left the coast clear. 

But slight changes were made in the bill as 

it was originally drawn up. The principal 

changes were changing the name from 

Snake River county to Bonneville County, and 

making it a county of the second class instead 

of third. 

The county derives its name from Captain 

Bonneville, a soldier and explorer who came 

to the southwest in 1833 and remained two 

years, crossing the territory embraced in old 

Bingham county a number of times, spending 

part of one winter at Tilden. After the war 

with Mexico…he served for a long time…in 

Oregon and Washington. 

A number of attempts have been made to 

divide Bingham county, but in every instance 

those in charge could not agree on what would 

be considered an equitable division; one that 

would be agreeable to a majority of the people 

of both the north and south parts of the county. 

When the question was agitated this winter, 

the Club of Commerce took hold of the matter 

and appointed a committee to meet a like 

committee from Blackfoot. The latter part of 

December these two committees met in this 

city and proceeded to get together to come plan 

for division. 

That would be the Caribou National Forest and 

the Gray’s Lake area in the southern part of the 

county. Familiar names of the past are connected 

here: Nathaniel Wyeth, Peter Skene Ogden 

and the Hudson Bay Company. Gold was discovered 

on the slopes of the highest mountain 

east of Gray’s Lake. The romance of the Caribou 

gold discoveries in the 1870s includes exciting 

tales of the miners—white men and Chinese. By 

the mid-1880s, Caribou City’s population was 

close to that of Eagle Rock—about 1500. The 

mining yield was at least one million dollars. 

✧ 

Map of Idaho showing changes of our 

county borders, 1885-1911. 

MAP COURTESY OF CONNIE OTTESON. 

The following descriptive history is adapted 

from one prepared for Bonneville County 

Historical Society in 1980 by Mildred Hoggan, 

Jim Hoggan, June Oler, Quincy Jensen, and 

Edith Haroldsen Lovell: 

Bonneville County is the shape of a pistol— 

aiming west. To get a feel of the county, 

let’s take the grip of the pistol and explore it. 

C h a p t e r 5 ✦ 3 1

✧ 

The intersection of Broadway and 

Capital Streets, this photograph was 

taken after 1905 when the streets 

were paved. 


OF IDAHO. 

Today Caribou City is a ghost town site, 

with silent gulches, muted hillside, and rickety 

broken-down sluices hidden in the grass. Its 

rotting rough boards, heaps of burned-over 

rubble, corroded square nails, bits of crockery 

and iron from old stoves beckon the curious. 

Each summer one can find historically-minded 

visitors wandering through the dusty area 

envisioning those colorful years of long ago, 

some wondering whether there is more gold 

“in them thar hills.” From Mt. Caribou one can 

view the magnificent Teton Range in Wyoming, 

a two-hour drive from Idaho Falls. 

Gray’s Lake, named after a Scottish-Iroquois 

trapper, John Gray, is today not a lake at all, but 

miles of whispering marshes. The flash-backs 

echo of beaver trappers, battles with bears and 

the Lander Trail. At Gray’s Lake one can presently 

enjoy the National Wildlife Refuge, which is 

a bird-watcher’s paradise. Here thousands of 

elegant, graceful sandhill cranes summer in the 

marshes and lay their eggs. 

Moving up the grip of the pistol, the eastern 

boundary, forty-one miles long, we reach 

forested lands, lakes and rivers of indescribable 

beauty, known as Palisades. When snowfall 

was great, the run-off of the South Fork of 

the Snake River used to flood the lands 

between Heise and Roberts; yet after a dry year, 

there was considerable crop loss. Therefore 

dedicated men united their efforts for a dam 

site on the river fifty miles east of Idaho Falls 

to provide supplemental water storage for dry 

years. Sacrificing some loss of homes and other 

property, they realized success when Palisades 

Dam was begun in 1952 and completed in 

1957. At that time it was the largest earthfilled 

dam built by the Department of 

Interior, and contained 1,400,000 acre feet 

of water. Now summer homes dot the perimeter 

of Palisades Reservoir, where many enjoy 

outdoor sports activities. Most important, it 

provides water, electricity, and much useful 

farm land. 


Swan Valley, forty-five miles east of Idaho 

Falls, is nestled between the snow-capped 

slopes of the Targhee and Caribou Ranges and 

is said to resemble Switzerland. It includes 

the towns of Alpine, Palisades, Irwin and Swan 

Valley. The thousands of beautiful swan, for 

which the valley was named, decreased until 

today none are generally seen there. 

Probably the first white visitor was John 

Coulter in 1808. In the early 1800s horse thieves 

and renegades sought cover in this region, where 

Bannack and Shoshone Indians also ranged. In 

1879 the Ross and Higham brothers moved into 

Swan Valley, bringing over 1,000 head of cattle 

to forage on the abundant feed. However, transporting 

supplies in and out was dangerous due 

to the treacherous waters of the South Fork of 

the Snake River. Imagine having to dismantle a 

wagon, mower or other implement, then row it 

across piece by piece, then reassemble it. So in 

1885 the Higham brothers built a ferry. When 

sheep men from Nevada and Utah began bringing 

in their huge sheep herds, the ranchers in 

Swan Valley, who objected to sharing their land, 

released their own ferry so that neither man nor 

beast could cross the turbulent waters of the 

South Fork. 

North and West Borders. Traveling seventyfive 

miles due west, we see rich farm lands of 

potatoes, grains and alfalfa hay. We approach 

the muzzle of the pistol, the western boundary 

of Bonneville County, only fourteen miles in 

length, a vast expanse of lava and sagebrush. 

Agnes Just Reid, one of Idaho’s beloved authors, 

living only a few miles from Idaho Falls, wrote 

four lines entitled “Fellowship”: 

The Irish have their shamrock, 

The Scott his bonny heather. 

In Idaho, it’s the sagebrush 

That holds us all together. 

Lava formations in the foothills of Eastern 

Bonneville County form an impermeable basement 

floor on which the ground water moves. 

Black basalt eruptions are distinctive features of 

our landscape. 

Idaho Falls, the hub of the great Upper 

Snake River valley, seems the trigger to make the 

pistol click. 

✧ 

Sagebrush covered Eagle Rock. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SUSAN MARDIS. 

C h a p t e r 5 ✦ 3 3

CHAPTER 6 

I D A H O F A L L S E X P A N D S D O W N T O W N , 1 9 1 1 - 1 9 3 0 

✧ 

The Oregon Shortline Railroad opened 

its new Idaho Falls depot downtown 

in 1911, on present Yellowstone 

Avenue facing C Street, now 

Constitution Way. Grass was planted 

in the C Street median. The depot was 

torn down in 1964 because its use 

was declining and the street in front of 

the depot, Yellowstone Avenue was 

being widened. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THORNTON WAITE: 

JOHN AGUIRRE COLLECTION. 

Important buildings were built between 1911 and 1930 on and near C Street (Constitution Way), 

which stretched from the railroad tracks on the east nearly to the river on the west. Among these 

were the railroad passenger depot (1910-11), the Federal Building with Post Office (1914), the 

Courthouse (1919), and City Hall (1930). 

R A I L R O A D 

D E P O T 

In 1910-1911 Oregon Short Line Railway built a new passenger depot at Cottage Street (North 

Yellowstone Avenue) and C Street (Constitution Way). The large wooden and brick structure was 

part of a major line relocation through Idaho Falls. North of the Depot an underpass was 

constructed for Birch Street, with a lava rock pump house for the underpass. The freight depot a 

block to the south was also expanded. 

F E D E R A L B U I L D I N G , P O S T O F F I C E 

U. S. Secretary of the Treasury William G. McAdoo laid the cornerstone for the Federal Building 

on Park Avenue and C Street in 1914, drawing a huge crowd. Prior to 1914 the Postal Service 

had moved from at least three locations, including the stage station, the southwest corner of 

Broadway Street and Capital Avenue and at 360 A Street. 

Later, in 1957, the Main Post Office was moved to Fourth and Freeman Streets, with the 

downtown location remaining as a station until operations were moved to a new site at Memorial 

Drive and F Street. 


B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y 

C O U R T H O U S E 

Property for the courthouse site was 

purchased in July of 1912, with building 

plans approved by the commissioners on 

August 12, 1919. The courthouse was formally 

opened on March 16, 1921, and still houses 

most county offices. The City-County Law 

Enforcement Building, opened in 1978, 

now houses city and county law enforcement 

departments, courts, and the jail. The courthouse 

is now listed on the National Register of 

Historic Places as an example of neo-classical 

public architecture. I D A H O F A L L S C I T Y H A L L 

In 1928 the city council purchased property 

and discussed plans for a new fire station. In 

October, bids were opened for excavation of the 

basement, and the plans were extended to include 

a police station and city hall. In August 1929 

the city council decided to move city offices to 

the new fire station building. Construction on 

the city hall unit was begun on May 2, 1930, 

with the formal opening on November 16, 1930. 

The building continues to serve with no major 

structural changes, although some services have 

been moved to other locations. 

✧ 

Top: Bonneville County Court House. 


OF IDAHO. 

Above: Idaho Falls City Building. 


OF IDAHO. 

Left: Federal Building on Park 

Avenue, Post Office, 1914-1957. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 6 ✦ 3 5

T H E A T R E S 

✧ 

Above: Construction of the Idaho Falls 

Carnegie Library, which later housed 

the county museum. 


OF IDAHO. 

Below: World War I Memorial 

Fountain on Memorial Drive. 


OF IDAHO. 

C A R N E G I E 

L I B R A R Y 

The City of Idaho Falls received a $15,000 

grant in 1909 from the Carnegie Foundation 

to construct a library. The cornerstone was laid 

in 1914 and the building completed in 1916. 

By the 1970s the city had outgrown its library, 

and a new facility was built to replace it. The 

Carnegie Library is now a part of the Museum 

of Idaho complex and is listed on the National 

Register of Historic Places. 

In 1908 the first motion picture theater, the 

Dime Theater, was opened on Broadway Street. 

Two more theaters soon followed—the Scenic 

on Broadway Street and the Star on Park Avenue. 

The American Theater, later known as the Gayety, 

opened on A Street in 1915. That same year 

the Rex Theater opened on Park Avenue, near 

B Street, where it is now known as the Centre 

Theatre. In 1919 the Colonial Theater (later 

changed to the Paramount Theater) was built at 

a cost of $50,000, with 696 seats downstairs 

and 331 in the balcony. It hosted traveling 

vaudeville acts, minstrel shows, dance revues, 

etc. Today it is part of the Willard Arts Center. 

M E M O R I A L 

D R I V E 

Memorial Drive was begun as a memorial 

to honor twenty-six servicemen who gave 

their lives during World War I. Twenty-six 

Norwegian maple trees were planted in the 

center of the drive, along with a memorial 

fountain and flagpole. At the foot of each tree 


was a bronze tablet on a granite base bearing 

the name of one of these valiant men. The site 

was dedicated on Armistice Day 1922. 

In 1959 the plaques were removed and 

reinstalled in a rose garden plot south of the 

LDS Hospital, which was south of the present 

Idaho Falls LDS Temple. 

The LDS Hospital filled an increasing need 

for medical services when it was opened on 

September 22, 1923. It went through many 

expansions in the ensuing years. After Eastern 

Idaho Regional Medical Center was opened in 

the city’s southeast area, the LDS Hospital and 

Nursing Home were razed in 1987. 

✧ 

Above: The south side of Broadway 

and Shoup Streets. The building in the 

center was built in 1905; the Scenic 

Theatre is beside it. 


OF IDAHO. 

Below: Latter-day Saints Hospital 

south of the temple on 

Memorial Drive. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 6 ✦ 3 7

CHAPTER 7 

C I T Y G R O W T H H I G H L I G H T S T O 1 9 4 5 

C H U R C H E S 

✧ 

The interior of Trinity 

Methodist Church. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SCOTT MOSS. 

Idaho Falls people have welcomed churches and filled them. Pioneers met in homes, then shared 

their early meetinghouses. Beginning in the 1880s Protestants and Church of Jesus Christ of 

Latter-day Saints built churches. 

Trinity United Methodist Church with its pipe organ and stained glass windows was built in 

1917 on Elm and Water Streets. 

The First Presbyterian Church was built downtown at the corner of Shoup and A Streets in 

the early 1880s. The present church was built in the Greek classic style at Ridge and Elm Streets 

and dedicated in 1920. 

Churches in rural communities often served also at first for school and recreation, as did the 

Swedish-speaking Mission Church in early New Sweden. 

Catholics worshipped at Holy Rosary Parish on Eastern Avenue until they dedicated their new 

church at Ninth and Lee Streets in 1920; the Holy Rosary School opened there the next year. 

The city celebrated with the Mormons when the Idaho Falls Temple was dedicated in 1945 at 

the end of World War II. This first LDS temple in Idaho was reflected in the Snake River and 

beautified the north end of Memorial Drive. 


✧ 

Top: Idaho Falls Temple, Church of 

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 

about 1945. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF M. J. FRITZEN. 

Middle: First Presbyterian Church, 

this building was dedicated in 1920. 


OF IDAHO. 

Bottom: Holy Rosary Catholic Church 

on Ninth Street. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 7 ✦ 3 9

✧ 

Pinecrest Golf Course clubhouse. 


OF IDAHO. 

P A R K S A N D R E C R E A T I O N 

Idaho Falls was planned so that anyone 

can be within walking distance of either a 

school playground or a park. The Snake River 

Geenbelt now appeals to many with its beautiful 

walking paths. 

G O L F 

The city purchased the municipal golf 

course on East Elva from the I. F. Country Club 

in 1935 and developed it into a beautiful 

18-hole all-grass golf course, complete with 

trees and a clubhouse. George Orullian was 

hired in 1936 as golf professional and served 

thirty-eight years. In 1964 the golf course 

was renamed Pinecrest and remains popular. 

The city has since developed three other 

courses, in addition to Country Club’s private 

golf course. 

B A S E B A L L 

In 1902 Rube Grimm organized a team 

that played on a diamond between C and D 

Streets, across from the future railroad 

depot. In 1904 the ball park was moved 

across the river south of the railroad bridge. 

In 1917 the city bought a field adjoining 

Highland Park to add a baseball field to the 

park. Idaho Falls played in the Utah-Idaho 

League in the 1920s; in 1940 Pioneer League 

came to Highland Park. After fire destroyed 

the main grandstand in 1975, McDermott 

Field was built at the same location in 1976. 

The team has had various names and affiliations 

and loyal fans. In 2006 the ballpark was 

renamed Melaleuca Field. 

T O U R I S M A N D H O T E L S 

Because of its location on the path to 

Yellowstone Park, Idaho Falls has long 

accommodated tourists. Idaho Falls’ Club of 

Commerce published a promotional brochure 

in 1910, which read: 

No centralized business region in America is 

so conveniently situated with respect to nature’s 

great playgrounds as is this region of the 

Upper Snake River Valley. One hundred eight 

miles northeast of Idaho Falls on the Park 

Branch of the Oregon Shortline Railroad lies 

the west entrance to the Yellowstone National 

Park, the greatest region of natural wonders to 

be found on earth. Thousands pass through 

Idaho Falls each season, while during the park 

visiting season scores of parties in commodious 

and comfortable camp wagons are seen moving 

along the country roads all directed toward the 

Park, or homeward bound. 


As early as 1865 stage passengers could find 

a place to rest at the Eagle Rock stage station, a 

crude two-room log cabin operated by the 

Anderson brothers. “Uncle Dick” Chamberlain 

built a two-story saloon which had rooms 

available as well as food and drink, but it was 

George Heath who built the real hotel in 1886, 

an adobe structure named the Burgess House 

on Eagle Rock Street and South Capital Avenue. 

Later called the Brooks Hotel, it served for a 

few years. 

A series of hotels closer to the heart of town 

followed. Mr. and Mrs. A. V. Scott built the 

Scott Hotel on a small hill on Lava Street. It 

opened in January 1892, but was destroyed by 

fire in August, so the Scotts took over management 

of the Graehl Hotel, a one-story stone 

building on Broadway Street, built about the 

same time as Scott’s. N. D. Porter took over 

the hotel in about 1901 until 1930 and 

renamed it the Porter Hotel. Its upper parts 

were then converted into twenty-four apartments 

and it was sold and reopened in 1930 

as the New Porter Hotel. Newer good hotels, 

such as the Hotel Idaho, were built downtown, 

clustering on C Street between the courthouse 

and railroad depot. 

B O N N E V I L L E 

H O T E L 

By the mid-1920s the community needed a 

bigger and more luxurious hotel, so, as a cooperative 

effort of 481 citizens of the city, Bonneville 

Hotel was conceived in 1926 and built in 

1927. The Community Hotel Corporation was 

headed by local attorney O. A. Johannesen and 

financed through the Hockenbury System of 

Pennsylvania. Bonneville Hotel was designed 

and built by the H. L. Stevens Company of 

San Francisco in less than a year at a cost of 

$335,000. Located at the corner of C Street and 

Park Avenue, the impressive five-story building 

was designed in the Italian Renaissance style 

with a brick facade in a range of brown tones, 

ornamental iron balconies and Spanish tile 

grooves. Originally under jurisdiction of Hotel 

Utah, it soon became the meeting area the 

community residents had envisioned. Along 

with seventy-six guest rooms, it housed a cafeteria, 

club room and banquet room to seat 300. 

The Rogers Hotel was opened in 1937 by 

B. M. “Brunt” Rogers on the corner of Shoup 

and B Streets. Since then the motel business has 

replaced hotels; motels now line the western 

banks of the Snake River. 

✧ 

Hotel Bonneville. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 7 ✦ 4 1

CHAPTER 8 

A T O M I C E N E R G Y A R R I V E S A N D C U L T U R E T H R I V E S 

✧ 

Atomic Energy Commission site. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE 

IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY. 

Nuclear energy broadened and enlivened Bonneville County when scientists and their families 

relocated here from many states to work at “the site.” This influx of scientists, construction workers 

and others spurred home-building and improved all aspects of the community, beginning in 1949. 

Locals were employed, schools were built and improved, fine arts were nourished with talented 

newcomers, and the county developed educationally, economically, and artistically. 

H I S T O R Y O F T H E I D A H O N A T I O N A L L A B O R A T O R Y 

by Bradley P. Bugger 

When most people think about nuclear power and the end of World War II, they think about the 

atomic bombing of Japan, which finally brought an end to the Second World War—and the 

beginning of the “Cold War” race to build nuclear weaponry between the U. S. and the Communist 

bloc. But in the middle of the eastern Idaho desert, atomic scientists were quietly shifting their focus 

away from military uses of the atom and towards more peaceful endeavors. After the end of WWII, 

the U. S. government realized that nuclear power had a lot of potential—but government scientists 

weren’t exactly sure where that potential would lead. So they started looking for a place to 

experiment with the new-found power of the atom, and their search led them to a former Naval 

Proving Ground about fifty miles west of Idaho Falls. 


On February 18, 1949, the Atomic Energy 

Commission announced it was going to build 

the National Reactor Testing Station on 

government property that had already been 

battered with ammunition from Navy guns 

and thousands of pounds of TNT from Army 

ordnance testing. Leonard E. Johnston was 

chosen by the AEC to manage a field office near 

the testing station. His job was to adapt the 

old Naval Proving Grounds to its new use: to 

construct, operate and test nuclear reactors. 

Thus began a spirited competition for the 

prize of hosting the AEC’s new field office 

between the four towns closest to the new 

test site: Arco, Blackfoot, Pocatello and Idaho 

Falls. Each city offered its own advantages 

and had to overcome its own disadvantages. 

In the end, Idaho Falls won out, and on 

May 18, 1949, Johnston announced that 

the AEC would be leasing the Rogers Hotel 

in downtown Idaho Falls as its “Idaho 

headquarters.” Even though the AEC announced 

that initial hiring would probably be limited to 

about fifty people over the first year, “winning” 

the AEC headquarters designation was a 

huge, long-term achievement for Idaho Falls 

and Bonneville County. Now some sixtytwo 

years later, the economic benefits of 

what eventually became the Idaho National 

Laboratory are impressive indeed. 

Of course, Bonneville County is not the only 

beneficiary of the INL. All of Idaho benefits, as a 

recent study by Boise State University illustrates: 

when the study was performed in 2009, the 

INL generated a total economic impact exceeding 

$3.5 billion, boosted personal income in Idaho 

by nearly $2 billion, and was responsible for 

more than 24,000 jobs in the state. 

During its humble beginnings in the early 

1950s, however, the government managers of 

the NRTS were not nearly as concerned about 

the positive impacts the site would have on the 

local economy as they were on performing their 

assigned mission of testing and developing 

nuclear power. Their first “tool” in carrying 

out that mission was completed in 1951: 

Experimental Breeder Reactor 1. Designed and 

developed by Argonne National Laboratory, an 

arm of the University of Chicago and the primary 

“brains” behind the Manhattan Project, EBR-1 

was designed to demonstrate that a nuclear 

reactor could “breed” more fuel than it 

consumed. The reactor core, which was made of 

fissionable uranium-235 fuel rods, was encased 

in “blanket fuel” made of uranium-238. When 

the reactor went “critical,” the neutrons generated 

by the fission process would be absorbed by the 

non-fissionable uranium-238 and “transmute” 

into plutonium-239—a fissionable element that 

could be re-used as reactor fuel. 

✧ 

Good News, May 18, 1949. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE 

IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY. 

C h a p t e r 8 ✦ 4 3

✧ 

Early photograph of the 

Idaho Falls Greenbelt. 


OF IDAHO. 

Of course, another primary goal of the 

reactor was to produce useable quantities of 

electricity—something no other reactor had 

done to this point. On August 24, 1951—a 

little more than two years after the decision 

was made to site NRTS in Idaho—EBR-1 

went “critical” for the first time. After some 

adjustments to the fuel load and the reactor 

design, EBR-1 generated the first useable 

quantities of nuclear power on December 20, 

1951. The reactor was connected via generator 

to four light bulbs, which were lighted at 

1:23 p.m. Laboratory Director Walter Zinn 

captured the moment in his log book thusly: 

“Electricity flows from atomic energy. Rough 

estimate indicates 45 kw.” 

EBR-1 would be the first of fifty-two 

nuclear reactors to be constructed at the 

NRTS (now the Idaho National Laboratory 

or INL) over the years. The reactors were 

basically divided into two different categories: 

materials reactors, which tested different 

kinds of materials for use in reactor fuels 

and components; and experimental reactors, 

which were used to establish operating and 

safety parameters for different reactor designs. 

Nearly every power reactor in operation in 

the world today can trace its materials and/ 

or design back to research performed at 

the INL. 

At the same time as the INL was leading the 

world in nuclear power research, the lab was also 

serving a number of defense customers. Chief 

among these was the nuclear Navy, which used 

the INL site to develop designs and continue 

research into materials for nuclear-powered 

warships. Thousands of sailors also trained on 

three prototype reactors located at the INL’s 

Naval Reactors Facility until it was shut down 

in the early 1990s. Spent fuel from Navy ships 

and other government sources was reprocessed 

at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant from 

the 1950s until the early 1990s, in order to 

recover reusable highly-enriched uranium. 

The INL has hosted a wide range of research 

and production initiatives over the years. Some, 

such as work on a nuclear-powered airplane in 

the 1950s, might seem like pure folly these days. 

Yet research on nuclear airplane engines yielded 

a great deal of knowledge about materials. A 

formerly unused airplane hangar is used today 

to manufacture super-strong armor for the U. S. 

Army’s main battle tanks. Generations of eastern 

Idahoans have worked at the INL over its sixtytwo-year 

history, and many have made significant 

contributions to Bonneville County communities 

during that time. The INL remains a world 

leader in nuclear energy and national security 

research and development and a significant 

contributor to the Bonneville County way of life. 


F I N E A R T S T H R I V E 

The Idaho Falls Arts Council, organized in 

1990, was an outgrowth of years of interest 

in the fine arts—music, dancing, theater, and 

visual arts. Idaho Falls Music Club, formed in 

1912, begat later organizations, such as Idaho 

Falls Symphony and Idaho Falls Opera Theater. 

IFMC still encourages thousands of local music 

students. Chesbro Music, which still operates 

on Broadway, began with Horace Chesbro 

selling pianos in 1915. Still a family-owned and 

operated business, it is a major wholesaler of 

musical products in the U.S. and abroad. 

Chesbro encouraged school bands; A. L. Gifford 

was a popular bandmaster in Idaho Falls 

schools, where he taught for forty years. Idaho 

Falls Symphony began with rehearsals for 

Handel’s Messiah in 1949, and presented its first 

concert, conducted by Marcel Bird, in 1950 in 

the O. E. Bell Junior High School auditorium. 

It is a well-respected local symphony. 

Eastern Idaho Museum of Art, located beside 

the river on Capital Avenue, and other 

downtown galleries represent the community’s 

interest in visual arts. Idaho Falls Opera 

Theatre has performed major operas and other 

programs since 1977. Theater and dancing 

continue to entertain. Since 1953 the Idaho 

Falls Civic Auditorium has hosted many of 

these events. Since 2003 Museum of Idaho has 

brought premium exhibits and educational 

opportunities to the public. It is housed in an 

expansion of the old Carnegie Library. 

Of nature’s art, nothing is more beautiful or 

frequently used than the Snake River Greenbelt. 

E A S T E R N I D A H O R E G I O N A L 

M E D I C A L C E N T E R 

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center opened 

in 1986 as an outgrowth of a consolidation then 

closing of the previous hospitals, earlier operated 

by Catholic and LDS churches. An asset to the 

region, it serves a population of 300,000 with 

its staff of more than 1,000 degreed/certified/ 

licensed employees. 

E D U C A T I O N 

Idaho Falls High School with its Civic 

Auditorium was opened in 1953 at the edge of 

the city development. Since then neighborhoods 

and business areas have developed in all 

directions. New high schools were built on the 

west—Skyline High School, and on the east— 

Bonneville High School and Hillcrest High 

School (Bonneville School District 93) in 

Ammon. Many elementary, middle, and junior 

high schools, as well as private and charter 

schools, serve our youth. 

✧ 

Top: Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium. 


OF IDAHO. 

Above: Horace Chesbro. 


OF IDAHO. 

Left: A. L. Gifford, bandmaster. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF M. J. FRITZEN. 

C h a p t e r 8 ✦ 4 5

CHAPTER 9 

I R R I G A T I O N A N D P A L I S A D E S D A M 

✧ 

Groundbreaking ceremony for the 

construction of Palisades Dam. 


OF IDAHO. 

Irrigation was promised in 1871 when Professor Hayden, a geologist, visited and reported the 

soil was “composed of a rich sandy loam that needs but the addition of water to make it excellent 

farming land.” He said the water in the Snake River could irrigate nearly a thousand square miles 

of land in the valley. Irrigation would enable farming to flourish. 

During the settlement of the area from 1882 to 1900 many families migrating from Utah and 

other states dug canals from the Snake River. When they found that canals connected to the South 

Channel became dry in the summer, farmers cooperatively decided in 1894 to cut a large canal 

further upstream (north) to carry water through the flat sagebrush-covered land to fill the dry 

channel, which was called the “dry bed.” They thus created the Great Feeder, so named because it 

fed many other canals. The Great Feeder Canal was made 100 feet wide in the bottom with a large 

stone head-gate to control the flow of irrigation water. This head-gate, 116 feet from end to end, 

was considered in 1955 to be the largest in the United States. It has nine big piers, a bridge on top, 

is a mile in length, and connects the main river with the dry bed (the formerly dry channel). Located 

five miles northeast of Ririe in Jefferson County, The Great Feeder was dedicated in 1895. 34 


D A M S 

In about 1900 the Idaho Canal Company and 

Great Western Canal Companies formed into irrigation 

districts, and soon built a dam across the 

Snake River 12 miles north of Idaho Falls. Later, 

in 1912, a modern reinforced concrete dam was 

built behind the old wood dam to replace it. But 

the old dam remains as a tribute to early irrigation 

and to retain the honor of being the first dam 

to span the Snake River for irrigation purposes. 

During the summer of 1901 a second dam 

was constructed across the river, about two miles 

north of Idaho Falls, at the head of the old Porter 

Canal on the west side of the river. It was built 

for the Great Western Canal Company, which 

later became the New Sweden Irrigation District. 

Two more dams were built not only for irrigation 

purposes but also to supply power and control 

flooding. These were the Palisades Dam in the 

1950s and the Ririe Dam in the 1960s. 

P A L I S A D E S D A M 

by Helen McMullin 

Pioneer farmers settling near Rexburg and 

Blackfoot in the early 1870s developed the first 

irrigation in the Upper Snake River Valley. By 

1900, more than 500,000 acres were irrigated. 

But a more reliable system for storing water, 

reducing flood damage and providing electricity 

was needed to sustain further growth. 

The Minidoka Project, established in 1904, 

provided part of that stability by building five 

dams in Wyoming and Idaho for water storage 

and electricity. However, an unusually long 

drought in the early 1930s proved that another 

reservoir was needed, and the search for a suitable 

dam site on the Upper Snake River started in 1932. 

Twenty-seven sites were originally investigated. 

Of those, thirteen were found to be geologically 

unsuited while others were eliminated for 

various other reasons. The site finally chosen in 

1939 was at Calamity Point on the Snake River, 

about fifty-five miles east of Idaho Falls. Originally 

called “Grand Valley,” the name was changed in 

1941 to the Palisades Project to avoid confusion 

with the Grand Valley Project in Colorado. 

The Bureau of Reclamation received authorization 

for the Palisades Project in 1941, but 

World War II delayed all progress on the project 

In 1956, Daughters of Utah Pioneers erected a monument painted by 

Elaine Lingren [McChesney] on the greenbelt near Memorial Drive and 

D Street to honor irrigation pioneers. It reads: 

U P P E R S N A K E R I V E R V A L L E Y I R R I G A T I O N 

The fertile soil and abundance of water in this valley lured pioneer 

settlers. With small slip scrapers, hand plows, picks and shovels, they 

cleared sagebrush, built log homes, made canals, ditches and dams to put 

water on the land. One of the first canals was built in 1879-1880. Rock 

and brush dams were built to divert water into headgates. Men lost their 

lives in this work. Later canals were enlarged and better dams built. 

The largest dam, known as the “Great Feeder”, completed June 22, 1895, 

diverts water from South Fork into a network of canals. Through 

consolidation of canal systems, 700,000 acres of irrigated land with 100 

canals, known as the Upper Portion of District No. 36, are using 4,150,000 

acre feet of water from the river and its tributaries each irrigation season. 

Here the dream of reclaimed desert has been brought to full fruition. 

This is the legacy left by those pioneers to present and future generations. 

until 1945. Between 1945 and 1951, offices and 

housing were erected and preconstruction work 

done on the dam site, including the rerouting of 

fifty miles of road and construction of transmission 

lines which would eventually carry electricity 

from the dam. Work stopped each year when 

severe winter weather hit. Congress reauthorized 

the project in September 1950 and actual work 

on the dam began in 1951. Palisades Dam was 

completed in 1957 with the generating plant 

coming online in 1958. 

✧ 

Irrigation Monument on Memorial 

Drive greenbelt. 


C h a p t e r 9 ✦ 4 7

✧ 

Right: Completed Palisades Dam. 


OF IDAHO. 

Below: Map of Bonneville County 

irrigation system showing three major 

canal sources: 

1. Idaho & Great Western Canals 

Diversion Dam in the Snake River. 

2. Porter Canal Diversion Dam in 

the Snake River. 

3. The Great Feeder Canal and 

Head Gates at the Snake River. 

11. Palisade Dam and Lake 

on the Snake River. 

12. Ririe Dam and Lake on 

Willow Creek. 

MAP COURTESY OF DAVIDJOHN STOSICH 

AND JOSEPH STEWART, BONNEVILLE COUNTY. 

Official dedication of the dam took place 

on July 24, 1952, with Idaho Senator Henry 

Dworshak as the keynote speaker. Idaho’s other 

senator, Herman Welker, Idaho Congressman 

Hamer Budge, Idaho Governor Len Jordan, 

and Idaho Falls Mayor E. W. Fanning were 

among the speakers at the ceremony. Idaho 

Falls attorney W. S. Holden served as master of 

ceremonies for the event. 

B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y I R R I G A T I O N S Y S T E M 

On February 16, 1957, a ceremony marking 

the official start of power generation was held at 

the dam, with Wilbur Dexheimer, commissioner 

of reclamation, as the keynote speaker. 

The earth fill dam is 270 feet high and 2,100 

feet long and at the time was the largest earth 

fill dam built by the Bureau of Reclamation. 

Palisades Reservoir, formed behind the dam, 

holds approximately 1.2 million acre feet of 

water and is twenty-one miles long. 

While the dam was constructed primarily 

for irrigation, flood control and water storage 

needs, it also produces hydroelectric power, 

which is primarily used to meet large irrigation 

pumping power requirements on and near the 

Minidoka Project. 

For sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts, 

Palisades Reservoir offers some 16,000 acres of 

water surface with a seventy mile shoreline, and 

provides fishing, boating, water skiing, camping, 

picnicking and sightseeing opportunities 

for thousands of local residents and tourists 

each year. 

No miracle ever wrought, more gracious, 

more marvelous seems, 

Than the passing of the sage-brush gray, 

Receding from sight with the yesterday. 35 


CHAPTER 10 

A M M O N 

Ammon was first called South Iona when early Mormon settlers began to file claims on 160- 

acre parcels in the area east of Sand Creek in 1883-1885. John Empey and Albert Owen were 

among the first. Their challenges were to “grub”, or clear, the sagebrush, dig ditches, and build 

head gates for irrigation. In 1889 a branch of the LDS Church was organized with Arthur M. Rawson 

as presiding elder. “Old Hall” became the place for church, school, and recreation. On January 23, 

1899, the Ammon town-site, named for a Book of Mormon missionary, was dedicated by the 

Owen family. 

First homes were built of logs, clay and straw, but settlers worked hard for better homes. 

Settlers hauled logs for the first public building. The new school was made of bricks and had a bell 

tower. On October 10, 1905, the village of Ammon was incorporated. As the town grew, the red 

church was built. It faithfully served the community for fifty years. In 1915 a permit was obtained 

for a store on the corner of Sunnyside and Ammon Road to replace the old Mercantile. It still 

serves the community. 

Until about 1949 Ammon was a farming community. But during the next two decades things 

began to change. Hillview Village was annexed, and in 1961 the Village of Ammon became 

the City of Ammon. No longer rural, but home to over 13,000 residents, it is still a familyoriented 

community. 

✧ 

Old Ammon Hall. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ALEEN JENSEN. 

C h a p t e r 1 0 ✦ 4 9

✧ 

Above: Ammon’s first public building. 


Right: Home by Ammon-Lincoln Road 

and Sunnyside Road. 



CHAPTER 11 

B O N E 

Bone is a hill community still used by ranchers for horses, cattle and sheep. About twenty miles 

southeast of Idaho Falls on the Bone Road, its history is remembered by Miranda Stringham, who 

wrote in People of the Hills, 

Not all left the hills, a few remained…part of a new era with powerful machinery, 

electric lights, modern cars…forgotten are those sulky plows, the horse power threshers, 

the hand churns, cream separators, horse-drawn vehicles, the cisterns, oil lanterns and the 

buggies. Gone, too, are the people who used them, but not forgotten. 

The Bone Store is still a landmark. 

A descendant of pioneers William Henry and Elza Elkington, Laverne Elkington 

Harker remembers fondly the dances. The dance floor was waxed with corn meal for 

smoothness because it had large cracks. It was in the building which was also used 

for school and church. Little children rested or slept on the benches at the sides. 

Everyone danced with everyone; very fast music. Orchestra provided by the Daniels family—violin, 

organ, accordion, drum. Dances were from 8 p.m. until midnight. 

The Elkingtons, Laverne’s parents, bought their ranch in 1924. The name “Bone” is likely derived 

from Orin Bone, the first postmaster, or else from early rancher Julius Bone. In her youth, she heard 

lots of coyotes and an occasional cougar crying at night. 

✧ 

Top: Farming in Bone. 

Above: The Bone Store. 


OF IDAHO. 

We had about 400 acres fenced. In the morning we opened the gates to let the cows out. My job was to 

bring the cows and sheep in at night. I rode a horse and carried a gun for protection, but didn’t need to use it. 

The community endured a drought in about 1926, but the animals survived on sprouts. 

Family names persisting through the years include Barzee, Elkington, Judy, Empey, Stanger and 

Shurtliff and others. Tom Loertscher, whose family began ranching in Bone in about 1970, served 

as a county commissioner and state legislator. Formerly schooled in Bone, children now are bused 

to schools in Bonneville District 93. From the early 1900s for most of that century the Bone Rodeo 

was site of much excitement and camaraderie during the summer months. Bone was in the news in 

1982 when residents received their first telephone service as part of a television reality show. 

C h a p t e r 1 1 ✦ 5 1

CHAPTER 12 

C O L T M A N 

✧ 

Jesse Wilkin’s homestead painted by 

Greg Sievers. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LEE WILKINS. 

Coltman is located in the northern part of the county next to the Jefferson County line with the 

Snake River on the west and Ucon on the east. 

When hardy pioneers came in the late 1800s, they found tall sagebrush and the mighty Snake 

River. They had to find a way to clear the land and bring water from the river to their crops without 

the aid of heavy equipment. They usually cleared a few acres each year. Some used a rail from the 

railroad, and with a team of horses on each end, drug it across the sagebrush in one direction and 

then in the other direction. That would usually break off the sagebrush, which they would pile up 

and burn with huge bonfires. Digging ditches and canals was also a monumental task, but over the 

years the area became productive. 

Originally the area was called “Poverty Flats.” People first lived mostly in tents or wagon boxes 

until they were able to build crude log cabins. Pioneer homes were usually two rooms with 

a fireplace of rocks at one end. Fuel was sagebrush, willows, or scrub cedar hauled from the lavas 

south of Idaho Falls. The logs were chinked with mud, and the windows made of oiled muslin. 

Beds were large bags filled with straw. 


These hard-working people made time for 

entertainment—parties, picnics, plays, dances, 

ball games. For plays they made a stage in 

the frame school house by laying planks 

on some sawhorses, devising a curtain, and 

using kerosene lamp footlights. The well-loved 

Nelson family orchestra played for dances for 

over twenty-two years. 

Today only a few residents farm; most work 

in the city. Many new homes have been built. 

Coltman still has a store, a church, a school, and 

lots of great people. 

✧ 

Above: Coltman LDS Church was 

dedicated in 1929. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF FRANK RANDALL. 

Below: Coltman monument of 

Eagle Rock Ferry crossing. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JOSEPH STEWART. 

C h a p t e r 1 2 ✦ 5 3

CHAPTER 13 

D E H L I N 

by Jean Schwieder 

✧ 

Dehlin school house, c. 1920. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF JEAN SCHWIEDER. 

Homestead opportunities brought many families from Utah to the foothills in the early 1900s. 

Traveling to their homesteads in wagons and buggies, they settled in Taylor, Dehlin, Ozone, Bone, 

and Grays Lake areas. 

Women and children worked alongside men building, preparing land for crops and gardens, 

digging wells or hauling water from nearby springs, and caring for livestock, along with their 

household chores. Many of the men traveled to the valley and worked in the Lincoln sugar factory 

during the fall in order to make ends meet. This left the women and children to take care of the 

livestock and farm chores. 

Education and religion were priorities. As soon as they could, they constructed buildings 

for school and church. Schools were built in Taylorsville, Gray’s Lake, Wayan, Williamsburg, Bridge 

Creek, Herman, Eagle Creek, Glennore (Bone), Dehlin, Bulls Fork, Rock and Birch Creek, Deer 

Creek, Guyaz, Tipperary or Henry Creek, Enterprize, and probably other areas. Due to severe winters 

and busy times for the young and old, getting the farm ground ready to plant and harvest in spring 

and fall was a challenge. However, families tried to get their children to school as often as possible. 

Religion was an important part of their lives, and many LDS branches, wards, and Sunday 

Schools were established in the hills. Patriotism was something they all felt. Many young men 

served in the military in World War I, and some gave their lives. July Fourth was a big celebration 

in these communities, and everyone knew why they were celebrating. 

As the kids reached high school age, many families moved away from the hills. When the 

depression came after World War I, followed by a three year drought, most homesteaders had to 

move because they could no longer pay for their mortgages. 

People had to give up their dreams of owning land in the foothills beyond Idaho Falls, but they 

left behind a legacy of hard work and heartbreak. 


CHAPTER 14 

I O N A 

E A R L Y H I S T O R Y 

by Linden Bateman 

One hundred [and thirty] years ago a handful of hardy pioneers launched the first lonely assault 

on the stretch of sagebrush wilderness which would become the community of Iona. The year was 

1883, only twenty years after President Abraham Lincoln established the territory of Idaho and 

seven years before Idaho became a state. 

These men coming from Utah filed homestead entries in 1883 on land about two miles west of 

the present town site of Iona, in east Bonneville County. They were Rufus Norton, Joseph Mulliner, 

and James Stewart. They moved with their families to the area in 1884 and were joined by the 

families of Chris Olsen, C. J. Owens, John Norton, Ted Cox, Hans Hansen, Leander Norton, and 

James Reynolds. They were soon to be followed by George Ward, James E. Steele, the Longhurst 

brothers, and in the next several years by the families of Henry Denning, Ole Olsen, W. H. Rushton, 

H. Dahlstrom, A. J. Stanger, and the Rockwoods. 

And what did they find? Sagebrush, nothing but sagebrush. No trees, just a few willows along 

Sand Creek. The sagebrush was high, however, indicating rich soil, and they planted the first 

grain ever in the soil by June 1884. The settlers were discouraged by cold, windy spring weather 

and the bleak landscape. It wasn’t until they were urged to remain by Wilford Woodruff and 

Heber J. Grant, Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that they committed to 

put down their roots. 

How did the first settlers live? Some lived underground in dugouts; others built small sod-roofed 

cabins from logs they hauled from many miles or from mud and stone they quarried and cut by 

themselves. One such cabin is still found on the Reed Olsen farm, east of the town site. 

✧ 

Quarry stones for the Iona 

Mercantile Company. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ZOANN SIMMONS. 

C h a p t e r 1 4 ✦ 5 5

Davis Bitton, historian, wrote of Steele: 

James Steele was named [LDS] bishop of Iona. 

Later he became a counselor in the presidency of 

the Bannock [LDS] Stake and then president of 

Bingham Stake. For many years President Steele 

provided leadership…in the Snake River Valley. 

And he lived to see his dream come true as 

canals were dug and sage brush was replaced by 

fertile farms. 38 

D A N C I N G 

A T T H E I O N A M E R C 

✧ 

Above: Iona Merc on Main Street. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ZOANN SIMMONS. 

Below: James E. Steele. 

The Side Hill Canal, which brought the 

first irrigation water to the Iona area, was 

dug starting at a junction of Sand Creek and 

Willow Creek. It was dug with hand plows and 

scrapers, all the families taking their turns to 

work on the canal, often camping at the work 

site for one or two weeks at a time. 

James F. Shelley was the first school teacher 

in Iona. School was held in a log cabin. He 

also started the first store in Iona, the Iona 

Mercantile. The Merc was [later] housed in a 

handsome stone structure built in 1897. The 

building still stands as a proud landmark. For 

many years dances were held and basketball 

games played on the top floor. 

In 1888 a stone structure was begun which 

would eventually serve as a church house and 

a school. The building still stands, restored 

by the Bonneville Art Association. [The Stanger 

Memorial Building] is possibly the oldest 

major building still in use in Bonneville County 

and restored in its historic setting for future 

generations to enjoy. 36 

James E. Steele purchased the 160 acres 

which would become the Iona town site for 

$200. He had the site surveyed and the streets 

laid out and then sold plots [at cost] to the 

settlers. Electricity reached the town in 1908. 

Although much work was left to be done, Iona 

could be described then as settled—she even 

had a brass band! 37 

For those too young to remember, the Merc 

was the community Walmart in the little towns 

across the American West. The earliest Merc 

buildings were undoubtedly simple wooden 

structures and the later ones might be of local 

brick or stone. Many commercial buildings in 

the West had a second floor with independent 

access by stairway most typically at the side 

of the building. The second floor usually had 

a great open space dedicated to community 

gatherings and dancing. The square dance had 

a caller. 39 I O N A H I S T O R I C 

P R E S E R V A T I O N 

Collecting history and housing it in restored 

buildings has been a work of Iona historian ZoAnn 

Simmons and her committee, who have published 

two volumes of Iona’s centennial history. 

Craig Rockwood, mayor of Iona, summarized 

Iona’s development during the twenty 

years since its centennial. He wrote in 2004, 

It has been interesting to witness the transformation 

of Iona from the small, independent 

farming community of my youth to a larger city 

much more dependent on the economy of the 

entire region. Our goals as city leaders are to 

preserve our rich heritage and to maintain as 

much as possible the rural lifestyle that has 

defined this community since its beginning. 

In 1992 the old LDS church building that 

had also been an elementary school was transformed 

into the Community Center. Each year 

they celebrate “Iona Days” on or near July 24. 


CHAPTER 15 

G R A Y S L A K E A N D C A R I B O U M O U N T A I N 

by Ellen Carney 

Grays Lake 40 lies in the southeastern tip of Bonneville County, a 40,000-acre marshland bordered 

by meadow land in a valley about twenty-five miles long. The county line between Bonneville and 

Caribou counties divides the valley. The large marsh provides habitat for muskrats, geese, ducks, 

cranes, and numerous other species of birds and animals. In early years, it was one of the great 

beaver and muskrat districts of the country. Western influence in the area began with the fur 

trappers in 1817 or 1818. Grays Lake Valley, formerly known as Gray’s Hole, was named for its 

founder—John Gray, a half-breed Scottish-Iroquois, trapping with Donald McKenzie for Northwest 

Company’s Snake River Brigade. 

Early journals spoke of deer, elk, numerous buffalo, antelope, and other game animals, some no 

longer found in the area, as well as grizzly bears and hostile Indians. Thousands of travelers on their 

way to Oregon or California passed by the south end of Grays Lake marsh, along the Lander Trail. 

No one stopped to settle in Grays Lake at that time. 

In 1870, gold was discovered on the mountain (nearly 10,000 feet high) which dominated those 

surrounding the Grays Lake Valley. The discovery precipitated a minor gold rush. Jesse Fairchilds, 

F. S. Babcock, John Keenan and Frank McCoy are usually credited with the discovery. The mountain 

was then called Mt. Pisgah. The find became known as “Carriboo’s Diggins,” named for Fairchilds, 

who had become known as “Carriboo Jack” because of his frequent bragging about his mining 

at Carriboo, British Columbia. He said of himself, 

✧ 

Caribou Mountain. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ELLEN CARNEY. 

I was born in a blizzard snowdrift in the worst damn storm to ever hit Canada. I was bathed in a gold 

pan, suckled by a caribou, wrapped in a buffalo rug, and could whip any grizzly going before I was 

thirteen. That’s when I left home. 

Carriboo City, Caribou Mountain, Caribou National Forest and Caribou County were all named 

after Carriboo Jack. The spelling was eventually changed to Caribou though animals in the area did 

not include the caribou. 

C h a p t e r 1 5 ✦ 5 7

✧ 

Water duct at Caribou Mountain 

mine area. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DAVE RADFORD. 

Another colorful character on the mountain 

was William “Billy” Clemens—cousin of Samuel 

Clemens who was known as “Mark Twain.” 

Clemens was an early miner and the postmaster 

at Carriboo City. Over the post office hung a sign 

which proclaimed “Carriboo City Post Office, 

Bill Clemens—Boss.” Clemens was instrumental 

in bringing in Chinese to work at the mines. This 

area had the distinction of having Chinese work 

during the peak of mining activity instead of 

coming later, after whites had taken out the easy 

gold, as was the usual practice. 

Hydraulic mining with “water guns” was in 

use within a couple of years after the discovery 

of gold on the mountain. Boom towns appeared: 

Keenan City, Iowa Bar and Carriboo City. Iowa 

Bar was located slightly below Caribou City and 

later became part of it. Keenan City and Keenan 

Creek were named for John Keenan and McCoy 

Creek for Frank McCoy. 

The mines brought settlers to the Grays Lake 

Valley. Some miners homesteaded there, others 

came to support the mines. The settlements of 

Herman, Eagle Creek and Gray grew up in the 

north end of the valley, providing hotels, 

saloons, stores, schools and other services for the 

area. The town of Herman at the base of Caribou 

Mountain came into existence about 1875 to 

serve as a supply center for the gold camps. It 

was named after Herman Wakeman who built a 

store, saloon, boarding house and his home 

there. Early prominent citizens of Herman, who 

remained in the area, also included the Bell, 

Skinner, Collins, Madsen and Brenziger families. 

A community of black ranchers who raised 

cattle and furnished beef for the miners 

emerged. On early Bonneville County maps, the 

area was labeled “Nigger Flats.” A Black-Indian 

midwife known as Mother George ranched 

and served as a midwife, nurse and unofficial 

doctor. When Mother George died, people were 

shocked to discover she was a man, not a 

woman as she had posed to be. Black families 

included LeFlohics, Leggroans, Shirleys, Clarks, 

Stephens, Flakes, Greens, Posey Oglesby, John 

Bircher and Dan Brockman. Most Blacks left 

after the terrible winter of 1898 when over 

ninety percent of Idaho’s cattle died. 

The first permanent white settlers to Gray 

included the James and Amanda Almeda 

Sibbett family, James’s brother Sam, David 

Robison, Gideon Murphy, William C. Simmons, 

and H. B. Simmons. Cattle and sheep men followed 

the miners. During the 1870s huge herds 

of cattle, numbering from 2,000 to 3,000 head, 

were driven from Oregon and Washington to 

railroad points in Wyoming. Many crossed the 

Snake River at Eagle Rock, trailed along the 

Old Salt Road to Grays Lake, then followed the 

Lander Trail into Wyoming. Some settlers got 

their start in livestock from those animals lost, 

crippled or too weak to keep up with the herd. 

Local people were encouraged to round up and 

care for these strays. Sheep became common 

on the ranges in the 1890s. By 1907, when the 

U. S. Forest Service was established, summer 

time found over a million sheep grazing 

north of Soda Springs. When the area became 

over-grazed, the Forest Service had to limit 

the number of sheep allowed on the Forest. 

Today, several bands of sheep still summer on 

the Caribou National Forest. Tingeys, Muirs, 

Sodermans, Stoors, Petersens, Morgans, and 

others had sheep in the early days. By the 1940s 

most residents raised cattle. 

The area was largely populated by members 

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 

Saints who located in the valley. In May 1887 

a company of people left Davis County, Utah. 

They desired homes in a country where there 

was more room and an opportunity for more 

farming land. They included George H. Muir, 

John L. Fackrell, George L. Lincoln, David 

Lewis and William Lewis. The Tingeys were 

also early settlers at Grays Lake. 


Grays Lake is noted as John Day’s Lake on 

some maps of the late 1800s. Albert A. Dewey 

applied for a post office in the spring of 1888, 

designating the area “John Day’s Lake.” The 

post office was approved on April 10, restoring 

the older name of “Grays” which was officially 

changed to “Gray” in 1892. Then the valley had 

sawmills, a church, a couple of stores and a 

school with a belfry and a bell that could heard 

almost across the valley. Other little settlements 

in or near the valley had schools at various times, 

including Herman, Williamsburg, and Wayan. 

Wayan offered not only elementary school but 

two years of high school in the 1930s. 

Many of the ranchers remained solvent by 

trapping muskrats from the Grays Lake marsh 

during the ten-day season in early spring. They 

often made more money from this than they 

could bring in all year on their ranches. 

Muskrat pelts gradually rose from ten cents 

each to as high as $2.35. Over $44,000 earned 

by trappers in Grays Lake went through the 

Largilliere Company bank in Soda Springs one 

season. Trapping continued until 1965 when 

the Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge was 

established to benefit both water fowl and sand 

hill and whooping cranes. 

✧ 

Above: Grays Lake marshes. 


Left: Whooping Cranes painted by 

Martha West. 


C h a p t e r 1 5 ✦ 5 9

✧ 

Coyote Pelts trapped in the 

Grays Lake area. 


The main entertainment in the valley consisted 

of small home parties with neighbors and 

the weekly Saturday night dances, which nearly 

everyone in the valley attended. Music was 

furnished by local people who played the 

piano, the fiddle, the mouth organ (harmonica), 

the accordion or the guitar. The Farm Bureau 

was organized in Grays Lake about 1947 and 

sponsored meetings, picnics, an annual talent 

show, swimming lessons and the summer dances. 

Covered sleds, bobsleds and hay wagons 

provided winter transportation in early days. 

By the 1920s Grays Lake families enjoyed cars. 

By the 1930s ranchers in the area were growing 

wheat, oats, and barley. Most had a few cows, 

sheep, chickens, and pigs, and sent their milk 

to the cheese factory at the south end of the 

valley. In 1934 the counties purchased rightof-ways 

through the valley and graveled the 

roads. The road to Soda Springs was paved in 

1955. The telephone party line and old crank 

phones were replaced in the 1950s and electricity 

came to the valley in 1952. Over the years 

the valley has had a number of stores; several of 

which burned down. 

Grays Lake produced not only miners, ranchers 

and farmers, but men and women who 

excelled in business and industry, education, science, 

the military, the judicial system, and in other 

areas. Women of the valley became expert at quilting 

and crafts and produced beautiful heirlooms. 

Today the valley is losing its year-around 

population because of few work opportunities. 

Summer homes dot the area. Most ranchers no 

longer keep cattle year around but buy them in 

the spring and sell them in the fall or lease their 

land to non-local cattle owners. In 1990, the last 

store in the valley, the Wayan Cash Store, closed 

its doors. In 2008, the Wayan School, the only 

one left in the valley, closed. At that time attendance 

was down to three students. In October, 

2009, the last post office in the valley closed. 

The Grays Lake Rodeo, after thirty-four years of 

providing the “big event” of the year, closed in 

2011. Fishing and hunting remain popular in 

the area as do snowmobiling and four-wheeling. 


CHAPTER 16 

L I N C O L N 

The community of Lincoln began in 1903 when the Lincoln Sugar Factory was built, the first 

sugar producing plant in Idaho. Utah Sugar Company, whose principal shareholders were officials 

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had developed a successful beet sugar production 

in Lehi, Utah, and were ready to expand into Idaho, where citizens enthusiastically welcomed the 

new industry which would employ hundreds and enrich the area’s economy. Utah Sugar purchased 

610 acres of good land centrally located between Idaho Falls, Iona, and Ammon, for the plant, 

farms, and housing. 

The dedication of the “sugar factory” on April 14, 1903, was a major event for Bingham County. 

Gala ceremonies brought 4,500 people to the dedication. Local and state officials were invited. 

President Joseph F. Smith of the LDS Church spoke and dedicated the cornerstone. 

Mark Austin and his brother, Heber C. Austin, leaders in the Lehi, Utah, operation, were brought 

to supervise the Idaho plant. Heber Austin remained to be the superintendent. The company built 

four boarding houses and a club house. These were soon replaced by individual homes as families 

moved in to work at the factory or to grow beets. Soon an LDS Church and a school were provided. 

These were upgraded as the community grew rapidly. First called Centerville, the town was briefly 

renamed Austin, but at Austin’s suggestion, its name was changed to Lincoln, in honor of President 

Abraham Lincoln. 

✧ 

The Lincoln Sugar Plant. 


OF IDAHO. 

C h a p t e r 1 6 ✦ 6 1

✧ 

Lincoln School. 


OF IDAHO. 

This newly-developed agricultural industry 

combined the best of science and enterprise. 

In its first season the company contracted 

with 628 local growers for 5,274 acres of 

beets, and produced 73,304 bags of sugar. The 

first campaign employed 200 persons, mainly 

the local farmers who had grown the beets. 

In 1907 Utah Sugar merged with American 

Sugar Refining Company to form the Utah- 

Idaho Sugar Company. U & I Sugar purchased 

the Osgood project in 1920 41 , which it developed 

and leased to farm families who would 

grow sugar beets. 

For seventy-five years the Lincoln plant contributed 

strongly to the economy of Bonneville 

County. It was closed in 1978, when U. S. tariffs 

favored imported sugar. 

As well as providing jobs and industry, 

the sugar plant has provided leadership in 

both government and church. Heber C. Austin 

became an early Idaho Falls LDS stake president. 

Another plant superintendent, William 

Jack O’Bryant, was elected mayor of Idaho Falls 

(1959-1964); he also served as Idaho Falls LDS 

stake president. 

Although only the smokestack remains of the 

once-productive plant, the Eagle Rock Chapter 

of Sons of Utah Pioneers have restored its 

old steam engine and placed it as a monument 

beside the former factory. 42 Among Lincoln’s 

assets today are its beautiful cemetery and 

its schools. The Lincoln School, built in 1904, 

now an alternative high school, is the oldest 

continuous operating school in Idaho. 


CHAPTER 17 

N E W 

S W E D E N 

New Sweden was named for the settlers from Sweden who first shaped the desert west of the 

river into farmland. 

Lured by land promoters in 1893-’95, they came from America’s mid-west, which was suffering 

a drought. Recognizing the courage and tenacity of these Swedish immigrants, these promoters 

advertised in Swedish-language newspapers, contrasting the benefits of irrigated farmland to the 

rain-dependent agriculture in the mid-west. Having built the Great Western and Porter canals, 

under Arthur D. Morrison’s superintendence, they promised irrigated land to the Swedish farmers. 

Railroad excursions to Idaho Falls were free for homeseekers who bought eighty acres or more. 

Enthusiastic full-page advertisements by editor William Wheeler announced “large irrigating 

canals.” Foreseeing the future, they advertised that Idaho Falls “has the greatest water power of any 

inland city in the United States.” When prospective buyers arrived by train, they were escorted by 

horse-drawn bus to the Great Western Land and Irrigation Company’s fine hotel, which is now the 

Allen Thiel home. The two-story hotel provided housing until families could build their own 

homes. Prospective settlers were shown the company’s test farm, with its successful grain harvest. 

Pioneer families, such as Swansons and Ericksons, shared their homes with other newcomers. 

Early settlers included families of A. E. Fast, Andrew Burkman, Pete Anderson, Fred Anderson, 

P. A. Lundblade, and Andrew Melquist. In all, 143 Swedish families settled and called the area 

New Sweden. They built homes as fast as time and money would allow and dug ditches to connect 

their land to the canals. Domestic water was hauled, heated, and, if necessary, melted. They built 

a Church in 1895, which served as school until they built their New Sweden school in 1901. 

Miss Huldah Lundblade was their first teacher. Soon these thrifty west-side families realized that 

they were paying twice as much as people on the east side of the river, so they successfully protested 

to have their mortgages reduced in 1898. Settlers built a mill and store, which are among the 

heritage treasures of New Sweden. 

New Sweden Irrigation District, Idaho’s first irrigation district, was formed in 1900 and 

purchased the Great Western Canal system. Soon thereafter the first dam breached the Snake River. 

Headgates to the canal still remain. Settlers built a mill and store. To remember the people who 

sacrificed for future prosperity, the New Sweden Pioneer Association was formed in 1919. It still 

sponsors an annual picnic. 

✧ 

Great Western Canal headgates. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF 

JANET JENSEN FULLMER. 

C h a p t e r 1 7 ✦ 6 3

✧ 

Right: New Sweden Irrigation 

District Office. 


Below: New Sweden church 

and school. 



CHAPTER 18 

O S G O O D 

In 1904 Osgood was begun on 7,000 acres of desert land a few miles north and west of 

Idaho Falls as an experimental Idaho Falls Dry Farm Agriculture (IFDFA) project. In 1914 six 

Idaho Falls businessmen and bankers decided to convert this dry farm land to irrigation farm land; 

they were George Brunt, Louis A. Hartert, Oscar A. Johannesen, James L. Milner, Alvin T. Shane, 

and W. L. Shattuck. 

They surveyed the land to lay out a canal and ditch systems. Because of the ascending elevation, 

a pump plant with four irrigation pumps was constructed near the Great Western canal to lift the 

water 550 feet above the canal water source input. 

In the spring of 1916 the project was sold to Dr. C. F. Osgood, a physician and investor from 

Ogden, Utah. On May 2, 1916, Dr. Osgood was shot and killed by one of his patients. The IFDFA 

farm reverted back to the original owners, who re-named it the Osgood Land and Livestock Co., 

later shortened to Osgood. 

In 1920 the Osgood project was sold to the Utah Idaho Sugar Company, who increased its size to 

about 12,000 acres. Osgood was divided into 40- to 80-acre farms, and leased to farm families under a 

share crop lease agreement. It became a community of about ninety-six farm families with homes built 

by the sugar company. Soon a church, school, and store were added. Over the next few years, utilities 

upgraded the living standard of the farmers. Osgood families developed a close bond of community. 

✧ 

Osgood Canal, 2005. 


C h a p t e r 1 8 ✦ 6 5

✧ 

Above: Irrigation pumps in Osgood, 

October 2005. 


Right: Typical Osgood home. 



CHAPTER 19 

O Z O N E 

E C H O E S I N T I M E : T H E H I L L C O M M U N I T I E S 

by Connie Otteson 

Ozone was homesteaded in the foothills fourteen miles southeast of Idaho Falls in about 1908 as 

a dry farming area. Between 1912 and 1925 Ozone served as the rural shopping center for Dehlin, 

Bone, Henry Creek, Tipperary, and other nearby farming communities. Ozone boasted the largest 

school and church, two cafes, a store and post office, boarding house, feed barn, garage, blacksmith 

shop, a Red Cross chapter, and an active Farm Bureau. At one time anything from buttons to 

harnesses could be purchased at Ozone. Today Ozone is gone and nearly forgotten. 

Nephi Otteson was among the first to file for a homestead on 160 acres. In 1908 he moved his 

family up to the homestead; they lived in a tent for two years while they cleared sagebrush, began 

farming, put up outbuildings and fences, and worked on improving and establishing roads. 

According to family lore, Nephi named the place Ozone because it means “pure air.” He built his 

first two-room house out of rough lumber and made space in the front room for a small post 

office when his wife Lenore was appointed postmistress by Woodrow Wilson on December 8, 1911. 

It was officially named the Ozone Post Office, and they received mail three times a week from 

Idaho Falls. 

✧ 

Harvester at Nephi Otteson 

dry farm, 1916. 


C h a p t e r 1 9 ✦ 6 7

✧ 

Above: The Nephi Otteson home was 

the first building in Ozone. The home 

was also used as a post office. This 

photograph shows the Otteson family 

around 1913. 


Below: The Ozone School was taken 

down in 1926 and moved to Ammon 

school yard where it serves as a lunch 

room and space for extra classrooms. 


In 1912, the citizens hauled logs to build 

a school for the forty school-age children in 

the vicinity. It was one large room with a potbellied 

stove in the middle and a tiny library in 

the corner and became the community center 

where many activities were held. 

A modern frame schoolhouse was constructed 

in 1919 with bathrooms, a kitchen, library, 

recreation hall, cloak room, and school room. 

After 1925, the last year for school there, 

the building was dismantled and moved to 

Ammon, where it is still used as supplementary 

space beside Ammon Elementary school. 

During World War I commodity prices 

skyrocketed when the government urged 

farmers to increase production for the war 

effort. Many families mortgaged their farms 

to expand their acreage and buy modern 

equipment. Then the war ended and prices 

plummeted. Added to this, an extended 

drought hit Ozone from 1919 through 

1923, and the dry farms lived up to their 

names. Nearly every homestead failed, and 

foothill families started moving out by the 

dozens, defaulting on their loans. By 1930 the 

population shrank to twelve. 

To see the townsite of 

Ozone today, drive southeast 

on Sunnyside Road to its 

end. Turn right on the Bone 

Road; in a hundred yards or 

so on the west you will see 

a few outbuildings and a summer 

home set back from the 

road. The homestead is owned 

today by Nephi Otteson’s 

grandson Doyle Judy. There is 

no indication whatsoever that 

this place was once a thriving 

village. Like Ozone, other surrounding 

settlements became 

only faint memories for a few 

who still remember. 


CHAPTER 20 

R I R I E , S H E L T O N , P O P L A R , A N T E L O P E 

R I R I E H I S T O R Y 

by Becky Freeman 

Ririe, a beautiful part of eastern Bonneville County, was the first area to be farmed. George Heath, 

who settled on the Willow Creek watershed in 1874, and Orville Buck, who brought his family 

the next year, grew the first acre of grain in the area, thus proving that it was possible to grow crops. 

Other settlers followed. 

In 1878 George and Robert Smith settled east of Shelton in the area they named Poplar. 

The Smith brothers dug the first ditch out of the Snake River. Poplar was a day’s ride by wagon 

from Eagle Rock, so it became a good stopping point for travelers coming from Wyoming. To meet 

the needs of these travelers, two boarding houses were established, along with a store, two schools, 

and two churches—one for the Mormons and one in 1895 for the Presbyterians. 

By about 1884 many pioneer families had settled to the west of the current township of Ririe, 

in the area known as Shelton. Shelton boasted a community building, a church, a school and a 

store. In the early 1900s they requested a post office to be located in the store. The postal 

department didn’t approve the name of Shelton but gave the post office the name of Prospect. 

In about 1911 the post office was closed when rural free delivery was begun. The name Shelton 

was revived. 

On August 8, 1883, siblings Ephraim Miller, Robert Miller, Mary Miller Hewitt, Annie Miller, and 

Margaret Miller McIntosh filed homestead claims side by side in the area that would become Ririe. 

Robert built a cabin and lived on the homestead. The rest of the family stayed in Pocatello but came 

in the summer to help run cattle and prove up on their homestead claims. Mary Miller was married 

to Joseph Hewitt. Their property on the east side of the Miller claims later became the town site of 

Ririe. In 1885 George and Sarah Miller Goodwin filed a homestead claim on the west of the Hewitt 

claim. They built a two-room log cabin, but sold their claim to David Ririe of Weber County, Utah, 

for $880.00. Ririe moved into the cabin and began farming and ranching. 

By 1912 land on the foothills was opened for homesteading. Hundreds of settlers flocked to 

Antelope for the nearly free land. By the 1920s Antelope was a thriving community with a church, 

a store, two schools, and even a small cemetery named Melba. Severe weather forced people off their 

claims during winter. Many moved to Shelton or Poplar till spring. Large crops of grain were grown 

in the fertile soil, and at one time, more wheat was shipped from Ririe than from any other place in 

the United States. 

✧ 

The Ririe Hotel, 1921. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BECKY FREEMAN. 

C h a p t e r 2 0 ✦ 6 9

✧ 

Above: Ririe homestead. 


Below: Map of Ririe area. 


At first farmers had to take their crops to 

Idaho Falls for shipment and pay shipping 

agents a fee. But they felt that they could 

do better if they could ship from their own 

depot. When the Utah and Northern Railroad 

was looking for places to put spur lines, David 

Ririe led a delegation to request they bring a 

spur line to the Shelton-Poplar area. In 1913 

he introduced the railroad officials to Joseph 

and Mary Hewitt, who owned the property 

next to his. Joseph recognized the advantage of 

bringing in the railroad, so agreed to donate 

five acres of land for the railroad tracks and 

a depot. 

David and Leah Ririe, who had a large brick 

home, offered to provide room and board for 

railroad workers. Leah served three meals a 

day to as many as twenty hard-working men 

for nine months until a hotel was completed. 

Her daughter Elizabeth and her niece Vivian 

Dutson stayed out of school for the year to 

help feed the men. They often had to bake 

twenty-two loaves of bread a day. When the 

rails were laid and the depot completed, it 

was time to name the depot. Many names 

were considered, but the railroad workers 

suggested the town be named Ririe because of 

David’s and Leah’s hospitality, and particularly 


Leah’s good food. The railroad agreed because 

of David’s influence in getting them the rightof-ways 

through the land and across the many 

canals, so the depot was named Ririe. And the 

town took that name. 

By 1919 Ririe had several general stores, 

one drug store, two hotels, two stables, two 

lumber yards, three blacksmith shops, two 

grain elevators, and the passenger and freight 

depot. During the night of July 4, 1919, a 

fire started in or near a hotel and spread 

rapidly. In spite of efforts of fire departments 

from Rigby and Idaho Falls, along with many 

volunteers, more than half of the town’s 

businesses were burned before the wind 

changed direction in the early morning and 

the fire was controlled. The town was soon 

rebuilt, but never regained the size it was before 

the fire. 

When Orville Buck moved into Southeastern 

Idaho, he hired Miss Jennie Beam from Eagle 

Rock to live in his home and teach his children. 

In 1880 he traveled to Malad, the Oneida County 

seat, and petitioned the county commissioners 

for a school district. Because of his efforts, the 

first school district in eastern Idaho, Oneida 

School District #1, was formed near his home. 

When Joseph Hewitt laid out the town, he 

established a place for an elementary school 

and built a small frame school house. The town 

grew rapidly and a larger school was needed. 

In 1919 a large four-room brick school was 

built on Main Street. Gradually the schools 

at Shelton, Poplar, Perry, and Antelope were 

closed and the students all went to Ririe for 

their education. 

Students could go to the eighth grade in 

Ririe, but if they wanted to go on, they had 

to go to Idaho Falls, Rigby, or Rexburg. A group 

of Ririe citizens decided it would be cheaper 

to have their own high school. They raised 

enough money to purchase a large brick building 

formerly used as a garage. With volunteer 

labor they converted the building into a high 

school. In 1934 Ririe High opened its doors. 

The Bonneville-Jefferson county line bisects the 

town, but Ririe still has its elementary, middle 

school, and high school. 

Businesses have come and gone. Few remain 

in Ririe as people can easily travel to other areas 

to shop. But the town is thriving and growing 

as people recognize the value of living in a 

small friendly community with nearby outdoor 

recreation opportunities. 

✧ 

Buck School. 


C h a p t e r 2 0 ✦ 7 1

agricultural lands on the north 

and rolling hills on the south. So 

deep is the top soil that sagebrush 

used to grow as high as ten feet. 

Settlers built homesteads in the 

early 1900s, but electricity did not 

come until the early 1950s. Until 

then coal-oil lamps illuminated 

their homes. Farmers relied on 

water from Snake River creeks as 

well as precipitation to produce 

wheat and other crops. Prominent 

author, Vardis Fisher, grew up 

there. Small farms are now consolidated 

into larger enterprises. 

T A K I N G T H E F E R R Y 

T O H E I S E 

✧ 

Above: Antelope store. 


Below: Crossing the river on the ferry 

to Heise. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF RICHARD ADAMS. 

A N T E L O P E F L A T S 

by Reed Moss 

Lying in the eastern portions of Bonneville 

and Jefferson counties, Antelope has fairly flat 

Richard C. Heise, a German 

immigrant, brought his family 

to Idaho shortly after 1890. As a 

traveling salesman in Idaho Falls and Poplar, he 

learned about the healing hot springs just three 

miles northeast of Ririe. He developed it into a 

popular resort. Some of us remember crossing 

the river on the ferry to get to Heise. 


CHAPTER 21 

O U T E R F O R C E S C H A N G E S W A N V A L L E Y 

by Afton Bitton 

Of course, every Bonneville County Community has undergone obvious changes since homesteading 

days, but probably none more than Swan Valley. Greater Swan Valley includes Conant Valley, 

the West Bank, Pine Creek benches, Baldy Bench, the Palisades valley and two villages, Irwin and 

Swan Valley proper. The residences of Greater Swan Valley lie in one of three jurisdictions— 

Bonneville County, the city of Irwin, or the city of Swan Valley. All pay taxes to Bonneville County. 

Each of the two cities has its own mayor, city council and governing ordinances. 

The valley’s civic development started about 1885 when the Higham brothers brought a large 

cattle herd into Conant Valley and the Ross brothers herded about 200 horses into Swan Valley’s 

village area, as land patents verify. Both stockmen and land tillers soon took up plots under the 

Homesteading Act, and the need for civilizing influences inspired socialization. 

Far-reaching grasslands and forest foliage provided nourishment for cattle, horses and later sheep 

herds. Elk, deer and other game animals, including for a time wild sheep and goats, often eked 

out the larders of the first pioneer families—as did fish and wild game birds. Moose in the late 

twentieth century joined the mix. They have liked especially to hang around the river islands and 

the marshes. 

Streams—including some thirteen creeks falling into the river—two mountain lakes, the Palisades 

Reservoir and the wandering South Fork of the Snake River all supply the irrigation ditches, the 

near-the-surface aquifer and the underground wells. This prevalence of scenic streams has facilitated 

the recreational appeals such as boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing and water bird hunting. 

Swan Valley has a varied geological and geographical nature as it lies somewhat serenely between 

the Snake River Range (also called the Big Hole Mountains) on the northward and the Caribou 

Range on the southward side of the river. Fence lines are about the only lines that observe strict 

geographical directions. Mountains in eastern Swan Valley merge into the mountains of western 

Wyoming. Two Wyoming towns supply phone and electrical service to Greater Swan Valley. 

✧ 

Swans, the valley’s patron birds, 

sometimes show up on Rainey Creek. 


C h a p t e r 2 1 ✦ 7 3

✧ 

On the south side of the South Fork, 

Fall Creek plunges into the river 

about a mile east of the Snake 

River bridge. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF TRUMPETER’S DELL 

BY AFTON BITTON. 

Alpine eastward, Driggs northward, and Ririe 

northwestward are all about thirty miles away. 

Idaho Falls, nearly forty-five miles west (and 

sometimes Driggs,) has most often supplied bigger 

grocery items and major supplies and services. 

As the outer world has discovered Swan 

Valley’s recreational and scenic merits, agricultural 

pursuits and stock raising have waned. 

Then, too, many children of pioneers have 

sought to make their living elsewhere. At the 

same time, developers have sold “city folks” on 

the benefits of investing in a vacation home in 

a valley that provides both scenic beauty and 

recreational opportunities. 

Before the recent economic downturn that 

put the real estate investment into the dubious, 

if not the no-no, column, farmers on hillsides 

and river banks affording unusual scopes could 

sell one acre for as much as $50,000. Multiple 

acres provided more money than a farmer could 

make in a life time. 

By 2012, developers and investors had toned 

down or even withdrawn their efforts. So those 

who built large urban-looking homes can 

choose to live in them several months a year or 

try to sell them in a depressed market. At any 

rate, Swan Valley will continue to supply superb 

views and recreational opportunities. 

For those who have ancestral roots in Swan 

Valley and/or choose to live there all year round, 

there is at least one store, one or two cafes, 

one or two public garages, two post offices, and 

a number of lodging facilities that stay open 

all year. In addition, there is one elementary 

school, two churches and one American Legion 

Hall that serves many social purposes including 

a weekly luncheon for senior citizens. 

Two main bars provide a place for many 

residents to kick back, play pool or pinochle or 

just to nosh and visit. 

The tourist influence has given rise to two bed 

and breakfast institutions, Hansen’s Guest Ranch, 

Sleepy J Cabins and other cabins and hook-ups. 

Some dry farming and valley floor crop and 

stock raising “promises” to continue providing a 

rural aspect. Vacation dwellers will bring the 

suburban ambience. Trail guides and river 

guides will continue to try to divert their clients 

to “forgetting it all.” 

As the identity of Swan Valley persists, shop 

keepers and service providers will continue to join 

other residents in advertising its many wonders. 


CHAPTER 22 

T A Y L O R 

Taylor began in 1885 when second generation Utah pioneers homesteaded southeast of 

Eagle Rock. First to come were six men from Hooper, Utah—John, Edward and William Priest, 

Smith Johnson, and Edwin and Abiah Wadsworth, Jr. Each built a log house on their claim before 

returning to Utah for their families. In 1886 Apostle John W. Taylor of the LDS Church was sent to 

organize the group into a branch, which became a ward in 1888. It was named Taylor in his honor, 

although the nearby Taylor Mountain was named for Eagle Rock pioneer Sam Taylor. To water this 

arid land, the pioneers dug a ten-mile-long irrigation canal from Eagle Rock. Hay and grain were 

first grown in 1890. 

Taylor Cemetery was established in 1887, when Abiah Wadsworth Jr. and William Arave purchased 

five acres of land for $65 to bury Ellen, the infant daughter of Sarah and Abiah Wadsworth, Jr. 

For more than a century Taylor was rural with both irrigated and dry farms. Its deep fertile soil 

produced the first Idaho russet potatoes. Joseph Allen Taylor, who came in 1889 from Weber County, 

Utah, built an early potato cellar and became the biggest potato shipper in Idaho. Sons of Utah 

Pioneers placed a monument on the Jack Taylor property in 2009, honoring Taylor’s contribution: 

✧ 

Sarah and Abiah Wadsworth, Jr., 

and family. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DOYLE ARAVE. 

The potato cellar made marketing possible throughout the fall to spring season. From that humble 

beginning in 1909, the potato industry has grown to make Idaho the potato capital of the world. 

Taylor Community Park honors the pioneers on the site of the first homestead. When Lynn Clapp 

learned that the property was for sale in 1992, he formed a non-profit organization called the Taylor 

Park Society and obtained donations to buy the property at auction. Various Eagle Scout projects and 

other donations enhanced the park. Daughters of Utah Pioneers placed a monument in the park. 

C h a p t e r 2 2 ✦ 7 5

H O F F ’ S R A I N B O W R A N C H 

✧ 

Right: Rasmus and Jennie Hoff, 

c. 1886. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BOB HOFF. 

Below: Potatoes from Taylor shipped 

by train. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DOYLE ARAVE. 

Rainbow Ranch, built on property of Eagle 

Rock pioneer, Sam Taylor, is now operated 

by the fifth generation of the Hoff family. 

Norwegian-born Rasmus Hoff and his wife 

Jenny Cecelia Lindahl purchased Sam Taylor’s 

ranch at the mouth of Henry Creek and Taylor 

Creek in 1903 and renamed it Rainbow Ranch. 

Robert “Bob” Hoff, present owner, found the 

early abstract showing a price of $17,000, 

which included about 450 horses. One of 

Taylor’s race horses won the grand circuit in 

1895, setting a trotting record unbroken for 

twenty-seven years. 

Rasmus Hoff put the ranch under the plow in 

1905 using a new 110 hp steam tractor, which 

took four men to operate. He tried digging 

ditches to bring water onto the bench land and 

in 1905 diverted Taylor Creek to water it. 

Bob Hoff writes: 

Jenny and Rasmus had three children, my 

father John Marcus (1897), Phillip Winfield 

(1900) and Helen Lulu (1902). They grew up 

under the guidance of a father who was never 

known to swear or spank his children. 

When Rasmus suffered a heart attack while 

crossing a flood-swollen Taylor Creek, the 

family moved to California, but he died in 

1916, leaving the widow and sons to handle 

his various businesses and debts. 


By 1918 they moved back to Rainbow Ranch 

still owing $23,000. Without livestock or virtually 

any equipment it was like starting all over 

again for the brothers. 

Helen became acquainted with several of the 

Shoshone Bannock people that still frequented 

the ranch hills and creeks in those days. This 

relationship lasted through the years and 

brought her to record their beautiful rituals 

with her paintings. Helen married Donald 

Aupperle in 1939 and became a well-known 

art teacher and artist. In the late summer of 

1934 Jenny Hoff made the last payment on 

the debt she owed. Coming back to the farm 

with the ‘paid’ stamp on the mortgage, her 

sons promised each other never to borrow 

again. Neither ever did. Mark had married a 

southern California girl, Onita. Phillip built a 

new home on the hill above Taylor Creek with 

his mother Jenny. 

During World War II Mark built two-way 

radios, operated aircraft, and later adapted 

mechanization to the farm, including a prototype 

potato digger. A large potato storage was 

built in 1910 measuring 40 x 150 feet so that a 

wagon and team could be driven all the way 

through. In 1912 an even larger cellar was 

built alongside it. The earth-covered roof of the 

larger one lasted forty-nine years. Both storages 

are still in use, with new roofs, of course. 

In 1951 a major change made Rainbow 

Ranch truly a ranch again. Much of the land 

was put into permanent pasture and Hereford 

cattle acquired for calf production. Part of one 

pasture was designated as a runway for the 

family’s Cessna 120. From the early’30s George 

Thompson wintered his sheep in the mouth of 

Taylor Creek. Eventually seven bands filled the 

little valley on the ranch. The sound of baying 

sheep with smell of smoke from the camps and 

cookhouse is now gone, traded for a reservoir 

used to regulate irrigation water. 

The third generation of the family reintroduced 

potatoes on the ranch. By 1969 the livestock 

were gone and Rainbow Ranch became 

essentially a farm again, operated by James Hoff 

of the fourth generation. 

✧ 

Rasmus Hoff’s steam tractor, below 

Arrowhead Hill. Hoff purchased the 

tractor for $5,000. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF BOB HOFF. 

C h a p t e r 2 2 ✦ 7 7

CHAPTER 23 

U C O N 

✧ 

Above: Ucon settlers. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF KAREN LANDON. 

Bottom, left: Arthur A. Miskin, 

age twenty-seven. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MARK MISKIN. 

Bottom, right: Miskin’s horsedrawn 

scraper. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MARK MISKIN. 

Ucon, a community about six-and-a-half miles northeast of Idaho Falls, was known as Willow 

Creek in the 1880s when families from Utah first settled as homesteaders. By 1911 its name was 

officially Ucon. 43 

Fighting sagebrush and other pioneer hardships, settlers succeeded in some farming even before 

irrigating. They also fished and hunted to provide food for their families. Willow Creek, about three 

miles southeast of present Ucon, was an inadequate water source. Farmers and other citizens pooled 

their resources to form the Great Feeder Canal Company in order to divert water back into the 

Snake River’s dry channel. After two months of cooperative labor, on June 22, 1895, hundreds 

witnessed an explosion of dynamite that sent churning water from the river into the canal, enough 

to irrigate 100,000 acres. The Great Feeder also fed other tributary canals to supply Ucon. 

Removing sagebrush required hard labor and innovation. Meeting the need, Arthur A. Miskin 

designed a scraper which he modified to seat a man behind his team. Miskin’s scraper still is 

marketed worldwide. 

Not only did Willow Creek settlers 

harness the river, but they also 

courted the railroad, which built 

a spur line, Yellowstone Branch, to 

Ucon, from which farmers shipped 

their produce. The railroad complex 

was enlarged to include a 

water tower and pump house, an 

ice shed, coal yard, tool shop, and 

stock yard. Downtown businesses 

prospered. With more recent highway 

developments, the railroad’s 

importance has decreased. 


Music has played a major social role since 

pioneer days, when singing and dancing were 

popular entertainments. Willow Creek band 

was organized in 1895, and a dance hall was 

built shortly afterwards. 

Schools were also high priority. Hardscrabble 

School, located on Willow Creek, two miles 

south of Ucon, was started in 1890. For many 

years from 1892 a one-room log school functioned 

both for church and school. In 1888 

residents were organized into the Willow Creek 

LDS Ward. They completed building their 

rock church in 1904 with rocks quarried at 

Miskin Quarry. Eggs gathered on Sundays were 

sold to buy nails to build the rock church 

which housed the congregation for fifty years. 

✧ 

Above: Simmons, Woolf and Company 

General Merchandise Store. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CAROLINE MACKAY. 

Below: Hardscrabble School. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SHERROL AND 

KAREN LANDON. 

C h a p t e r 2 3 ✦ 7 9

CHAPTER 24 

Y O R K 

by Gordon Moir 

✧ 

First grade, in York. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF GORDON MOIR. 

The York area is south of Idaho Falls from Sunnyside Road to the present Bingham County line, 

and east from the Snake River to the main Idaho canal. When first settled it was desert, with the 

Snake River to the west and Sand Creek to the east separated by four miles. Until the Snake River 

was harnessed with small dams to create canal systems, the York area was suited only for dry land 

crops. With the coming of the canals, A. M. York and others acquired farmland and thus gave the 

area its name. 

The first York School was two miles north of the present Bingham-Bonneville county line 

in 1898, but the site was changed in 1906 when W. W. Keefer built a school which became 

the community center. As time went on, a playground, horse barn, car garage, and teacher’s 

cottage were added. In 1937, York Grange members built the Grange Hall just east of the school 

grounds. In 1938 the school district contracted to use the Grange Hall for school while a new 

school and well system were being built. This brick building was funded by the Works Progress 

Administration (WPA), part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal program. The agreement 

also provided water to the cottage and Grange. The Grange provided use of its hall for school and 

community activities. When the York School District was consolidated with Idaho Falls School 

District #91, classes ended, and the site is now used as bus parking and dispatch, and for storage 

of records. 


Over the past century the 

York area has been changed. 

Land has been cleared, leveled, 

and built up to raise many 

different crops. Potato processing 

firms, large light-industrial 

business and warehouse complexes 

have been developed. 

A seed pea and grain experiment 

farm was located near the 

Fielding Memorial Cemetery. 

Three gravel processing firms 

and two barley plants are 

now there. 

Three fur farms have come and gone. A 

fox farm once adjoined Tautphaus Park zoo, 

where the Bonneville County Fair Grounds and 

Extension offices are now located. Two miles 

south of it was one of the largest chinchilla 

breeding and fur businesses in the nation. Now 

an elk breeding farm is just another mile south 

on the same road. It supplies the trophy bull 

elk hunting ranch in the Bone area. A mink fur 

farm used to be at the present location of the 

Anheuser Busch barley malting plant grounds 

until the end of World War II. 

Very early the city of Idaho Falls built the 

electrical power producing plant on the east 

side of Snake River. Since that time the 

Gem Lake and Power Dam have been built in 

the river bordering the southwest corner of the 

York area and Bingham County. In the early 

years some of the canals were named for 

people. These include the Koester ditch, the 

Gustafson Canal, the Strate ditch and road, the 

Schaum Ditch for the Schaumleffel farms, 

and the Quigg Canal. The German Canal is 

so-named because of German families in the 

area—the Meierottos, Cenells, Meppen, Weber, 

Knudsen and Seyfert families. Other families 

who owned or lived in the York area before 

1960 and still are represented there are 

Kelsch, Mulberry, Clapp, Crumley, Hughes, 

Miller, Daunt, Moir, Smith, Gray, Farnes, 

Breiter, Bennett, Weise, Wagoner, Heyrend, 

Nelson, Curtis, Bitter, Jordin, and Walquist. 

✧ 

Above: York Grange Hall. 


Below: Schaumleffel Barn, York. 


C h a p t e r 2 4 ✦ 8 1

CHAPTER 25 

B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y : C E L E B R A T I N G 1 0 0 Y E A R S 

by Ann Rydalch, Centennial Celebration Chairman 

✧ 

Above: County Centennial Insignia. 

Below: Ann Rydalch, 

Gala Celebration chair. 

The year 2011 was historic for Bonneville County. A year-long centennial celebration kicked off 

on February 7, with a program in the Centennial Court Room of the Bonneville County Courthouse. 

On that day The Idaho Legislature passed a resolution presented by Senator Bart Davis and 

Representative Linden Bateman, commemorating the forming of our county on February 7, 1911. 

This kickoff program was highlighted with the posting of the colors and Pledge of Allegiance 

by the Idaho Falls Firefighters Pipes and Drums and the Idaho Falls Fire Department Honor 

Guard. Our resident judges were honored during the program: Judges Mark Riddoch, Earl Blower, 

Joel E. Tingey, Dane H. Watkins, Jr., Steven Gardner, Jon Shindurling and Linda Cook. The six area 

mayors were honored—Jared Fuhriman, Idaho Falls; Brad Andersen, Iona; Steve Fuhriman, 

Ammon; David Blain, Ucon; Dave Sargent, Swan Valley; and Rhett Bradford, Irwin. Our Bonneville 

County elected officials were also honored—Commissioners Roger Christensen, Dave Radford, 

Lee Staker; Assessor Blake Mueller, Clerk Ron Longmore, Coroner Johnathon Walker, Prosecuting 

Attorney Bruce Pickett, Sheriff Paul Wilde and Treasurer Mark Hansen. 

Many local authors wrote and presented histories throughout the year about communities and 

other favorite topics in Bonneville County. The public was included in selecting Bonneville County’s 

Top 100 Treasures, as coordinated by Joe Stewart and Richard Kenney. 

The final event in this year-long centennial celebration was the Gala Program held November 10-12 

in the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium. Bonneville County is the shape of a pistol aiming west, and an 

original video which portrays the history of Bonneville County Bonneville County: Celebrating 

100 Years was produced by Paul Jenkins of Intermountain Film & Video Productions and shown 

each night of the Gala; the DVD was made available for purchase. The souvenir program, a historical 

keepsake of pictures and messages, was designed and produced by Lori McNamara and 

Kris Burnham. 

At the Gala event on Veterans Day, 11-11-11, we paid a special tribute to our county military and 

veterans, coordinated by Bob Skinner. Bonneville County Veterans Memorial Team Color Guard 

posted the colors. This event featured a tribute by Brigadier General Alan Gayhart, Commander of 

the Idaho Army National Guard and the Assistant Adjutant General for the State of Idaho. 


Unique to the Gala Program was the performance 

by the Bonneville County Centennial 

High School Choir which included 177 choir 

students from Bonneville, Hillcrest, Idaho Falls 

and Skyline High Schools under the direction 

of Camille Blackburn, Steve Dresen, Zola 

Jensen, and Mark Anderson—choir directors 

from the area high schools. Also providing 

music and entertainment were The Decades, 

the Eastern Idaho Technical College Wind 

Ensemble directed by Doug Wareing, and the 

Idaho Falls Old Time Fiddlers. 

We also had special messages and proclamations 

from Senator Davis and Representative 

Bateman, Lt. Governor Brad Little, U.S. Senators 

Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and Congressman 

Mike Simpson, as well as Department of 

Energy Idaho Operations Office Manager 

Richard Provencher, and Juan Alvarez from 

Battelle Energy Alliance, and our County 

Commissioners. The Idaho Falls Firefighters 

Pipes & Drums led the processionals followed 

by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office 

Color Guard. 

✧ 

Above: Left to right, County 

Commissioners Roger Christensen, 

Lee Staker, and Dave Radford, 2011. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LAVON REED. 

Below: Combined choir from four high 

schools: Bonneville, Hillcrest, Skyline 

and Idaho Falls. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LAVON REED. 

C h a p t e r 2 5 ✦ 8 3

ENDNOTES 

Introduction 

1 United States Census, Eagle Rock Post Office, Snake 

River District, Oneida County, Territory of Idaho, 1870. 

2 Mary Jane Fritzen, “Taylor’s Bridge and Founders of 

Eagle Rock,” published by the author for Bonneville 

County Heritage Association and Museum of Idaho, 

2006. See Bibliographic essay. 

3 Davis Bitton. “Peopling the Upper Snake: the Second 

wave of Mormon Settlement in Idaho.” Idaho Yesterdays, 

Summer 1979, pp. 47-52. Leonard J. Arrington. “The 

Promise of Eagle Rock: Idaho Falls, Idaho, 1863-1980.” 

Rendezvous: Special Issue: Perspectives on Western History, 

Vol. 18, Spring 1983, Nos. 1 & 2; pp. 2-6. 

Chapter 1 

4 Lovell, Edith Haroldson. Benjamin Bonneville, Soldier of the 

American Frontier (Salt Lake City: Horizon Publishers, 

1992), pages 254-255. 

5 For map see this link: http://geology.com/state-map/idaho. 

shtml#elevation 

6 Leonard J. Arrington, History of Idaho, Vol. 1 (Moscow, 

Idaho: University of Idaho Press, 1994), page 168. 

7 Arrington, page 249. 




11 Lovell, Edith Haroldson. Captain Bonneville’s County, 

(Idaho Falls: 1963), page 119. Lovell shows a facsimile 

drawing of the ferry. Adjoining property on both sides 

of the river is now farmed and access to the ferry site is 

only through cultivated fields. 

Chapter 2 

12 An Illustrated History of the State of Idaho (Chicago: Lewis 

Publishers, 1899), 96-100. See Mary Jane Fritzen, 

“Taylor’s Bridge and Founders of Eagle Rock,” (Idaho 

Falls, Idaho: Bonneville County Heritage Association 

and Museum of Idaho, 2006). 

13 Ibid. 

Chapter 3 



16 Lovell, Edith Haroldson. Captain Bonneville’s County, page 188. 

17 Joseph H. Groberg, “The Mormon Disfranchisements of 

1882 to 1892,” in Brigham Young University Studies, Vol. 16, 

Spring 1976, page 405. 

18 Clark, Eunice, The Post-Register, interview, September 1934. 

See also Lovell, 227. 


Chapter 4 

20 Lovell, 252. 

21 www.familysearch.org 

22 Idaho Register, April, May 1891; 18 June, 1909; 24 August 

1909; 21 May 1918; 16 May 1919; 20 May 1919. 

23 www.rootsweb.com/~ilcivilw/county/winnebago 

24 Idaho Falls Times, 22 May 1919. 

25 Lovell, Edith Haroldson. Captain Bonneville’s County. 

26 The Post-Register, 8 April 1946. 

27 U. S. 1880 Federal Census: Wyoming Territory. 

28 Fritzen, Mary Jane. Sesquicentennial Memories. Idaho Falls, 

Idaho, 1997 

29 Idaho Falls Daily Post, 18 May 1919 

30 Lovell, 202-203. 

31 See pamphlet found at Idaho Falls Public Library. 

32, 33 See Cheryl A. Cox, Second Stories Revisited (Idaho Falls, 2006). 

Chapter 9 

34 For more information, see The Great Feeder monument 

erected by Daughters of Utah Pioneers at Ririe City Hall 

on Main Street, Ririe. 

35 Irene Welch Grissom, The Passing of the Sage-Brush, Idaho 

Register, 2 November 1909, page 5, excerpted. 

Chapter 14 

36 See cover photograph of painting by Kathryn Browning of 

old building now restored as Stanger Memorial Art Building. 

37 Early history of Iona prepared by Linden Bateman for 

Iona’s Sunday Centennial Service, July 24, 1983. 

38 Deseret News Church News, November 22, 1980. 

39 Memories of Alice and Ken Rohde, who danced there for 

a remarkable square dance in the 1970s. 


✧ 

Whosoever Drinketh of This Water. 

PAINTING COURTESY OF GREGORY SIEVERS, ARTIST. 

Chapter 15 

40 Grays Lake historian Ellen Carney explains that in her 

experience the name of Grays Lake post office had no 

apostrophe. Carriboo or Cariboo was the spelling used for 

the post office for the historic mining camp, until the 

Forest Service came in about 1907, when the spelling was 

changed to Caribou. 

Chapter 16 

41 See Chapter 18, Osgood. 

42 Restored steam engine and history of Osgood sugar 

growers provided by Ron Harker. 

Chapter 23 

43 Name changes of Ucon: Before 1901 and sometimes 

thereafter it was known as Willow Creek; from 1901-1908: 

Ako; 1908-1911: Elva. Since then, Ucon. 

E n d n o t e s ✦ 8 5


SHARING THE HERITAGE 

H i s t o r i c p r o f i l e s o f b u s i n e s s e s , 

o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a n d f a m i l i e s t h a t h a v e 

c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d 

e c o n o m i c b a s e o f B o n n e v i l l e C o u n t y 

Quality of Life ..........................................................8 8 

The Marketplace ......................................................1 0 6 

Building a Greater Bonneville County ..........................1 3 4 

S h a r i n g t h e H e r i t a g e ✦ 8 7


QUALITY OF LIFE 

H e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s , s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s , 

u n i v e r s i t i e s , a n d o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e 

t o t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e i n B o n n e v i l l e C o u n t y 

Eastern Idaho Technical College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 0 

Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2 

War Bonnet Rodeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 4 

American Legion Post 56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5 

Idaho Falls School District #91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6 

Fairwinds-Sandcreek Retirement Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 

Creekside Home Health & Hospice/Encompass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 0 

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 1 

Development Workshop, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 2 

Peak Performance Therapy Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 3 

Colonial Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 4 

Idaho Falls Symphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 5 

Q u a l i t y o f L i f e ✦ 8 9

EASTERN IDAHO 

TECHNICAL 

COLLEGE 

✧ 

Above: Governor Samuelson signs 

HB #474 creating the Eastern Idaho 

Vocational School. Legislators 

witnessing the signing are left to right: 

Senator Richard A. Egbert; 

Representative John O. Sessions; 

Senator J. Marsden Williams; 

Representative Aden Hyde; 

Representative Russel Fogg; 

Senator Fisher Ellsworth; 

Representative Terry Crapo; and 

Representative Kurt L. Johnson, 

March 2, 1970. 

Below: The John O. Sessions 

Mechanical Building was the first 

campus building, 1972. Wayne 

Rodgers, the first director, stands 

in front of rented offices/ 

classrooms, 1970. 

Real Education. Real 

Jobs. Real Life. That is 

the motto of Eastern 

Idaho Technical College 

and is a fitting description 

of the type of education 

that this Idaho 

Falls school offers—a 

real education not left 

behind in the classroom 

or within the covers of 

a textbook, but instead 

one that is taken into 

the real world. 

Often called by its 

acronym, EITC—pronounced “Eye-Tech”— 

Eastern Idaho Technical College has served citizens 

and businesses in a nine county area in 

eastern Idaho for more than four decades. Now 

the largest college in Idaho Falls, it was officially 

established as Eastern Idaho Vocational School 

by the 40th Idaho Legislature in 1969; and, by 

August 1970—while building plans fueled 

by a $65,000 donation from Idaho Nuclear 

Corporation got underway—129 students began 

attending inaugural classes in rented facilities 

throughout the city. 

Phase I of the school’s first building—the 

John O. Sessions Mechanical Building—was 

completed in 1972, the same year that the 42nd 

Legislature changed the name to Eastern Idaho 

Vocational-Technical School to better describe 

the broader scope of programs being proposed. 

This name stayed in place until 1989 when the 

school was given its current name. 

By the mid-1970s, Phases II and III of the 

Mechanical Building—an additional 45,000 

square feet of learning and office space—was 

completed. With enrollment skyrocketing, however, 

even more space was soon needed and, in 

1976, the Idaho Legislature appropriated funds 

for the design of a new technology building. 

A collaborative effort between the federal and 

state governments, the $2.4 million Technical 

Building was completed in 1979. Within the 

next eight years, both buildings were also filled 

to capacity and the 1986 Idaho Legislature 

appropriated $800,000 for yet another. Thanks 

to matching funds from the Economic 

Development Association and a major community 

fund drive, the $2.4 million John E. 

Christofferson Multipurpose Building was 

completed in 1988. Next came the Maintenance 

Building in 1991; a distance learning center 

in 1995; the Alexander D. Creek Classroom- 

Laboratory Building in 1996; and the Richard 

and Lila J. Jordan Library in 2001. A new 

state-of-the-art Health Care Education Building 

officially opened for classes in 2007. 

Today, EITC is fully accredited by the 

Northwest Commission on Colleges and 

Universities. It remains state supported and 

focuses on being a minimal cost, open door 

institution that champions technical programs, 

customized industry training, basic skills 

instruction, workforce and community education, 

online distance education and student 

services. Its programs are concentrated on the 

business and healthcare professions as well as 

mechanical trades. Program graduates may be 

awarded a Post Secondary Technical Certificate, 

Technical Certificate, Advance Technical 

Certificate and/or the Associate of Applied 

Science Degree. 


In addition, EITC also houses a Regional 

Adult Learning Center at which adult basic skills 

and computer skills are taught; GED or High 

School Equivalency Certificate preparation and 

testing are administered and English as a 

Second Language is offered. The Center for New 

Directions prepares underprepared adults, single 

parents and displaced homemakers for educational 

and work success, and Workforce Training 

and Community Education programs offer specially 

designed short-term training courses to 

adults interested in upgrading their work skills 

or exploring new areas of employment. EITC 

also offers area companies cost-effective, highquality 

customized training, with all programs 

designed to not only improve the labor pool, 

but to, consequently, improve the chances of 

success for area business and industry. 

An important contributor to the school’s 

success is the Eastern Idaho Technical College 

Foundation. Founded and incorporated as a 

501(c) (3) in 1992, the Foundation assists 

students with scholarships, supports institutional 

initiatives and serves as a positive 

community partner. Like the college it has 

grown tremendously throughout its existence, 

thanks to generous donors—such as the 

J. A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, which 

in 2010 donated over $1 million for student 

scholarships as well as successful fundraising 

efforts such as the Great Race for Education, a 

large-scale, community-wide scavenger hunt, 

which in 2011 raised more than $40,000 for 

additional scholarships. The Foundation also 

publishes INVEST, an annual magazine which 

chronicles the achievements made by the staff, 

faculty and students of EITC. 

For more information, visit www.eitc.edu 

and www.eitcfoundation.org. 

✧ 

Above: The state-of-the-art Health 

Care Education Building opened for 

classes in 2007. 

Below: “Eye Your Future at EITC” 

2004 campaign focused on the various 

technical programs at EITC. 


BONNEVILLE 

JOINT SCHOOL 

DISTRICT NO. 93 

✧ 

Left: Lincoln School was built in 

1905 with a current enrollment of 

182 students. 

Right: Fairview-Coltman Elementary 

was built in 1927 with a current 

enrollment of 315 students. 

Though many residents and citizens were 

opposed to a combined school district in the 

beginning, Bonneville Joint School District 

Number 93 has flourished since it was first 

founded on March 16, 1950, and is, in fact, 

today the fifth largest school district in the state 

and fourth largest employer in the area. 

Passionate opposition mounted when the 

Idaho State Legislature mandated with its 1947 

School Reorganization Act #59 that all Idaho 

school districts consolidate as far as possible on 

county lines. Bonneville County residents resisted 

not only because the county covered such a 

vast area, but because the early settlers had 

already established their own schools and independent 

districts in each farming community 

and town site. Parents were reluctant to have 

strangers educating their children and feared 

having schools located a greater distance from 

home. They were also afraid that a centralized 

school system would negatively affect their 

children in other ways such as value structure 

and work ethics. City and county children, they 

felt, were unique in their needs and rural 

parents feared their children would be less 

appreciated than those of the more influential 

and wealthy citizens residing within the city 

limits of Idaho Falls. 

Despite local opposition, a Bonneville 

County Reorganization Committee was elected 

on June 2, 1947, and proposed that all of 

the county’s independent school districts 

consolidate with the Idaho Falls School District 

No. 91, a suburban district whose values 

were standard for the day, but quite different 

from the rural districts. The proposal was 

overwhelmingly defeated in a special election 

held on March 1, 1948, and leaders headed 

back to the drawing board. 

After eighteen general meetings and many 

smaller district meetings, a second reorganization 

proposal was finally sent to the state 

committee for approval on January 14, 1950, 

and was ratified in a special election three 

months later creating what is still known 

today as Bonneville Joint School District No. 

93. The newly organized independent district, 

made up of ten local districts located mainly 

in the rural areas outside of Idaho Falls, 

included the former Buck School District #1, 

Milo School District #31, Crowley School 

District #316, Fairview School District #11 

at Ucon, Independent School District #35 at 

Lincoln, Independent School District #5 

at Iona, and Independent School District #9 at 

Ammon. Louis L. Wolz was hired as the 

first superintendent and the original board 

of trustees included Chairman Robert E. Hill, 

Treasurer LeRoy H. Hansen, and Board 

Members Oscar W. Johnson, Herman Sargent, 

and Derrald Ricks. 

The new school system grew swiftly. In fact, 

between 1954 and 1962 the number of students 

more than doubled from approximately 

1,500 to more than 3,000 and the assessed 

value increased from $7.5 million to over 

$9 million. A new Bonneville High School was 

built and began serving grades seventh through 

twelfth in 1957. During the 1970s, a major 

growth spurt took root and, by 1983, the district 

had more than doubled again to more than 

6,500 students with an assessed valuation of 


over $39 million. Between 1990 and 2004, 

enrollment seemed to plateau with an average 

of 7,500 students, but hit another growth 

spurt around the 2004-2005 school year and, 

in 2012, enrollment topped 10,500. 

Today’s record-breaking student roster is 

served by more than 1,300 classified and 

certified staff members at 13 elementary 

schools, 2 middle schools, 1 online home 

school, 2 comprehensive high schools and 

1 online high school. Specialized education 

occurs at nineteen locations and includes 

programs such as early childhood intervention 

classrooms; a developmentally 

delayed kindergarten unit and 

developmentally delayed resource 

classrooms; units for autistic and 

severely emotionally disturbed 

students; extended resource 

classrooms, “Title One” all-day 

kindergarten classrooms; a district 

wide Limited English 

Proficiency program; supervised 

school detention; and alternative 

education locations for grades 

seventh through twelfth, as well 

as a behavioral health center for 

kindergarten through twelfth 

grade students. Approximately 

sixty-five percent of all students are transported 

to and from school. All schools and programs 

are fully accredited. 

“Our vision statement of ‘Achieving Each 

Individual’s Highest Potential’ symbolizes our 

commitment to provide the finest educational 

opportunities for every student and every 

employee,” said School Superintendent 

Dr. Charles Shackett. “We are proud of our 

school district and proud to call Bonneville 

County home.” 

For more information on Bonneville Joint 

School District No. 93, visit www.d93.k12.id.us. 

✧ 

Above: Ammon Elementary was built 

in 1936 with a current enrollment of 

395 students. 

Below: Rimrock Elementary was built 

in 2006 with a current enrollment of 

415 students. 


WAR BONNET 

RODEO 

✧ 

Above, left: The War Bonnet Roundup 

Rodeo emblem is trademarked with 

the state and has been the emblem of 

our rodeo for over a hundred years. 

Above, right: Early image of 

Reno Park during a War Bonnet 

Roundup Rodeo. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MAKE ’EM BUCK: 

100 YEARS OF THE WAR BONNET ROUNDUP AND 

THE RENO FAMILY. 

Below: Making ’im Ride, War Bonnet 

Roundup Rodeo, 1916. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MAKE ’EM BUCK: 

100 YEARS OF THE WAR BONNET ROUNDUP AND 

THE RENO FAMILY. PHOTOGRAPH ORIGINALLY 

TAKEN BY G. E. RUSSELL. 

American Legion Post 56 in Idaho Falls has 

been a center of community activity in 

Bonneville County since the World War I era. 

In addition to honoring veterans and providing 

a convivial place for veterans to gather and 

work on civic projects, the Post is known 

throughout the region for its sponsorship of the 

War Bonnet Roundup Rodeo, one of the oldest 

and most successful rodeos in the nation. 

There is no doubt that the War Bonnet 

Roundup is Idaho’s oldest and longest running 

rodeo. However there is some dispute about its 

anniversary. The idea of holding a rodeo in 

Idaho Falls developed after a rodeo was held in 

Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the early 1900s. 

When Idaho Falls became the county seat of the 

newly created Bonneville County in 1911, business 

leaders wanted to sponsor an event that 

would draw people in from surrounding areas 

and show then what Idaho Falls had to offer. 

The first rodeo performance was held in 

September 1912. 

The War Bonnet Roundup Rodeo has now 

been a fixture in Idaho Falls for 100 years and 

has been a source of exciting entertainment, 

sporting achievement and western heritage since 

its beginning. Tom Ogawa 

was Rodeo chairman for 

many years and, after his 

twenty-sixth year, he was 

presented with a laserengraved 

30-30 Winchester 

Saddle Rifle. 

There were a few 

years during the 1930s 

and 1940s when the 

Roundup could not be 

staged because of the 

Great Depression and 

World War II, and, in 

recent years, a lack of 

sponsorships caused cancellation 

of the event in 

2009 and 2010. However, 

under the leadership and 

direction of American 

Legion Post 56, the War 

Bonnet Roundup Rodeo 

has now entered its second 

century and is bigger 

and better than ever. 


The Rodeo has become a part of Idaho Falls 

history. The event started in Reno Park (now 

known as Tautphaus Park), and later moved to 

Sandy Downs where it continues to be a major 

summer attraction. In recent years, American 

Legion Post 56 has changed the rodeo arena 

and made many improvements to the rodeo 

grounds and facilities, including a big screen 

replay board that allows spectators to see 

instant replays of the action. 

Partnering with the Legion is Judd 

Mortensen, a local cowboy who is now retired 

from bull riding but lends his knowledge and 

expertise to rodeo and bull riding events 

throughout the country. 

Legion Boys State and supports the American 

Legion Oratorical Contest. Members visit fifth 

grade classrooms to present a flag education 

program and present certificates to students 

who complete the program. 

In addition, the Legion has a float in 

the annual Fourth of July parade, presents 

several programs for Veterans Day, retires 

and burns flags on Flag Day, and honors 

policemen, firemen, state patrolmen and 

sheriff’s deputies each year. Members also 

conduct programs for churches, civic 

organizations, scouts, nursing homes and 

others who request programs about the flag 

or veterans. 

AMERICAN 

LEGION POST 56 

In addition to its work with the War Bonnet 

Roundup Rodeo, American Legion Post 56, 

commanded by Robert L. Skinner, is involved 

in a number of other activities. 

The Legion’s Idaho Honor Guard is 

considered one of the best in the state and 

conducts graveside honors for any veteran. In 

2011 the Honor Guard conducted 113 such 

graveside ceremonies. 

The organization sponsors four American 

Legion baseball teams, sponsors the American 

In 1949, H. L. Baxter donated a building 

in downtown Idaho Falls to the American Legion 

and, in 1960; the County Commissioners agreed 

to fund operation of the building with county 

tax money. 

American Legion Post 56 meets at 7:00 pm 

the first and third Monday of each month at the 

Veterans Memorial Building at 485 Constitution 

Way in Idaho Falls. The Legion is an active, 

growing organization and always welcomes 

new members. 

✧ 

Above: The memorial team during 

military graveside honors. 


✧ 

Above: The first school in Idaho Falls 

School District #91 was the Rebecca 

Mitchell School, a one-room school 

that opened in 1882 on Eastern 

Avenue at Elm Street in what was 

then School District No. 9, 

Oneida County. 

Below: With recent passage of a 

$53 million bond, Idaho Falls School 

District #91 is making upgrades to 

schools throughout the district. Four 

of the district’s aged elementary 

schools—Dora Erickson, Edgemont, 

Ethel Boyes, and Longfellow—will be 

replaced with new buildings that can 

support twenty-first century learning. 

IDAHO FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT #91 

Idaho Falls School District #91 was actually 

born in the summer of 1882 when teacher 

Rebecca Mitchell set up a temporary classroom 

in an abandoned saloon on Eagle Rock Street. 

Old boxes served as desks for the first students 

of the new school district, which was initially 

named School District No. 9 of Oneida County 

and included almost all of the Snake River Valley. 

The makeshift classroom was only used for 

about six months before the first official schoolhouse 

was opened in December 1882—a 

one-room building located on Elm Street just 

south of what is today the Museum of Idaho. In 

1892, a new eight-room school was opened and 

dubbed Central School. An annex was added in 

1903 to serve students in grades one through 

twelve. At this point, the school employed 19 

teachers and boasted an enrollment of 738 

students, 73 of which were high school students. 

Other schools soon followed. Riverside School, 

for example, was opened on Idaho Avenue in 

1908 and Eastside Elementary located between 

Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets opened in 

1911. Eagle Rock Elementary on Chamberlain 

Avenue opened in 1913. In 1916, Idaho Falls 

Central High School opened on Seventh and 

Boulevard and served high school students for 

more than three decades before Idaho Falls High 

School was opened in 1952 on Holmes and John 

Adams Parkway. The old Central High facility 

was then used for various grades until it burned 

down in 1973. O. E. Bell Junior High School was 

built in 1930 on Ridge Avenue, on the site of the 

original Central School. It was closed down in 

1980 and is today a renovated office building. 

In the 1940s, approximately forty schools in 

the Upper Snake River Valley were reorganized 

into two school districts—Idaho Falls School 

District #91 and Bonneville School District #93. 

Several schools joined District #91 at that time. 

Eleven new schools—2 high schools, 1 junior 

high and 8 elementary schools—were built 

in the 1950 and 1960s to accommodate the 

explosive population growth fueled primarily by 

what is now Idaho National Laboratory. 

The district is currently the state’s fifth 

largest with approximately 10,400 students 

and a recently commissioned demographics 

study predicts that enrollment will continue 

to grow. The district has approximately 

940 full-time equivalent employees, more than 

600 of which are certified teachers, principals, 

counselors and nurses and all of whom 

work diligently with the community to fulfill 

the school system’s mission “to develop the 

whole child in an atmosphere of excellence 

characterized by a comprehensive curriculum, 

quality instruction, mutual respect and shared 

responsibility for learning.” 


In 2012, the district had 

18 schools—12 elementary 

schools to serve kindergarten 

through sixth grade; 2 middle 

schools for students in 

seventh and eighth grades; 

and 4 high schools for grades 

nine through twelve. Of the 4 

high schools, one is an alternative 

school for students 

who have not been successful 

in a traditional high 

school setting and the other 

is a new magnet high school, 

Compass Academy. With the 

passage of a $53 million bond in 2012, the 

district is in the process of rebuilding four of 

its elementary schools, renovating science 

classrooms at two high schools, and upgrading 

the Clair E. Gale Building to accommodate 

both the new Compass Academy and many of 

the district’s professional-technical programs. 

The upgrades are part of the district’s vision 

of creating schools that have a culture that 

empowers, instruction that engages and technology 

that enables students to be competitive 

in the twenty-first century. The district is in 

the process of aligning its curriculum to the 

Common Core Standards, which are aligned to 

college and work expectations. 

Another focus is on integrating 

technology into classrooms in 

ways that will truly transform 

education so students develop the 

skills of creativity, collaboration, 

critical thinking and communication, 

which are so critical today. 

The district has a number of 

special programs serving students’ 

needs including advanced placement 

and dual credit classes; 

an online academy; a host of programs 

for special needs students; 

a summer school for students in 

grades seven through twelve; a 

gifted program; programs to help 

students with limited proficiency 

in the English language; and a 

number of professional-technical 

programs that allow students to 

earn college credits and certifications 

in programs such as nursing 

assistant training, emergency 

medical technician training, and 

automotive technology. 

For more information on Idaho 

Falls School District #91, visit 

www.ifschools.org. 

✧ 

Above: Technology is changing 

education. In Idaho Falls School 

District #91, technology is used to 

enrich instruction, engage students 

and help them master the twenty-first 

century skills of communication, 

collaboration, critical thinking, and 

creativity that are critical to success in 

college and the world of work. 

Left: In Idaho Falls School District 

#91, the focus is on individual student 

achievement and ensuring that every 

child meets their potential. In our 

elementary schools, the emphasis is on 

reading, writing, and math so students 

have the strong foundation they need 

to be successful in high school, college, 

and the world of work. 


FAIRWINDS- 

SANDCREEK 

RETIREMENT 

COMMUNITY 

✧ 

Bottom, left: Dan Madsen, Ken 

Madsen and the farmer that sold the 

land to the Fairwinds-Sandcreek 

Retirement Community project. 

Bottom, center and right: Stages of 

construction for the Fairwinds 

Retirement Community project. 

Fairwinds-Sandcreek Retirement Community 

in Idaho Falls is a community in the truest 

sense. And not just any community, but one that 

focuses on continuously providing everything 

its residents need, all parceled in an atmosphere 

of “Five-Star Fun.” 

“The industry often calls communities 

such as ours ‘facilities’ and refer to those 

who live here as ‘patients’ instead of residents, 

but here at Fairwinds-Sandcreek that could not 

be further from reality,” General Manager and 

Administrator Kelly Martin says. “As a matter 

of fact, we are often likened to a luxurious 

and lively cruise ship. We’re just grounded in 

beautiful Idaho Falls.” 

The first community in Idaho Falls to cater 

to both assisted living and independent living 

residents, Fairwinds-Sandcreek Retirement 

Community has been open since the fall of 

2000. It is owned by Leisure Care, one of the 

nation’s largest privately-held retirement and 

assisted living companies since 1976, and its 

parent company, One Eighty. Both companies 

are known for their innovative and fun 

approaches to the business. The community 

offers 120 various-sized apartments anchored 

by an array of common areas that are far from 

common and great activities to bring it all to life. 

Residents, for example, can enjoy a scrumptious 

restaurant-style, dietician-approved meal 


prepared by a full-time executive chef seven days 

a week. There is also an onsite library, a spa, 

salon and host of other useful facilities and 

comfortable common areas as well as beautifully 

landscaped courtyards. Located nearby are the 

Sand Creek Golf Course, tennis courts, and 

theaters, museums and shopping malls, not to 

mention Yellowstone, the Grand Teton National 

Parks, Jackson Hole and the Snake River. For 

peace of mind, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical 

Center and Mountain View Hospital are also 

close at hand. The atmosphere is lively and fun, 

cozy and tranquil, all at the same time, and there 

are always a plethora of activities to explore. 

“You won’t find any boring elevator music 

here. We play good seventies music and rock 

and roll. The smell of freshly popped popcorn 

from our lobby bistro is a favorite by everyone 

that enters and it’s always fun to witness the 

extremely competitive putting contest that 

happens in the lobby twice a week. Just off 

the lobby, you may see our Wii Bowling Team 

practicing for an upcoming tournament or, 

upstairs, an intense billiard tournament in 

play. Across the room, a group of residents 

take part in a low impact ‘sittercise’ workout or 

participate in a course of brain aerobics,” 

Martin says, describing a typical day in the 

Fairwinds-Sandcreek community. “But, that’s 

just skimming the surface. There’s also bingo, 

fashion shows, poker, the opportunity to watch 

a professional baseball game from box seats just 

behind home plate or join other residents for a 

night with the Idaho Falls Symphony.” 

Additionally, residents can enjoy a walking 

club, weekly shopping trips, transportation to 

and from appointments, monthly candlelight 

dinners, scenic drives, concierge services, trip 

planning through the company’s own Travel by 

Leisure Care program and many customized 

annual events, such as golf tournaments, car 

shows and an annual contest for residents who 

have been married for fifty or more years whereby 

contestants enter to win a trip by submitting 

an essay expressing why their significant other is 

still the one. 

“The stories are amazing,” Martin said with a 

smile, adding that local officials and celebrities 

join the previous year’s contest winners as judges 

and announce the winner at a special dinner for 

the top fifteen couples and family members. 

“The bottom line is that our residents can do 

what they want, when they want, all the while 

having the peace of mind of knowing that 

our highly-trained staff is always available 

and every apartment is equipped with an 

emergency communication system. And, if 

they ever need assistance, our staff is available 

within minutes twenty-four hours a day 

seven days a week,” Martin said, adding that 

Fairwinds-Sandcreek follows closely the lead of 

its ownership companies in all that it does, 

including carefully selecting and maintaining 

a high-energy and dedicated staff and basing 

day-to-day operational decisions on always 

“doing the right thing.” 

“We know that our success starts with our 

staff and we are diligent about hiring happy, 

fun, innovative, dedicated and high-energy 

people who, by their very nature, add sincerity, 

warmth, character and heart to our community,” 

concluded Martin. 

For more information, visit the Internet at 

http://www.leisurecare.com/fairwinds-sandcreek/. 


CREEKSIDE HOME 

HEALTH & 

HOSPICE/ 

ENCOMPASS 

✧ 

Right: Left to right, 

Hospice Director Sandy Herrera, 

Home Health Director Yvette Blake, 

and Area Manager Delsy Phillips. 

There is a reason why 

Creekside Home Health and 

Hospice is one of the largest 

such providers in Idaho Falls 

area and it is the same reason 

that in November 2011 

Encompass Home Health— 

one of the most respected 

and recognized home health 

companies in the nation— 

selected the company to join 

its growing network. 

“Over the past decade 

since Creekside Home Health 

and Hospice was founded in 

2002, the company has earned a stellar 

reputation of providing competent, 

courteous and compassionate care to 

patients and their families and the 

community at large,” said Area Manager 

Delsy Phillips, proudly adding that 

these were the very qualities that 

attracted the new owners. 

Recognized as a Top Health Company 

on Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 list for 2011 

as well as a “Best Place to Work in 

Healthcare” by weekly magazine Modern 

Healthcare, Encompass Home Health is 

a Medicare-certified home health, hospice 

and pediatric home care network 

with more than 100 locations located 

across Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, 

Oregon, Texas, Utah and now Idaho. 

With a simply-stated, but quite powerful 

mission to provide “A Better Way to Care,” 

the staff of Creekside Home Health & Hospice/ 

Encompass is committed to delivering superior, 

compassionate and individualized care in the 

comfort of the patient’s home or in the least 

restrictive alternative setting in which the 

patient’s needs can be fully met. To further 

improve the quality of care offered, Creekside 

Home Health & Hospice/Encompass utilizes a 

sophisticated software program—an electronic 

medical records system called Homecare 

Homebase—which provides real-time information 

to caregivers and physicians. 

Creekside Home Health & Hospice/Encompass 

now has six locations in Idaho and Oregon. For 

more information, visit online at www.ehhi.com. 

1 0 0 ✦ H I S T O R I C B O N N E V I L L E C O U N T Y

EASTERN IDAHO 

REGIONAL 

MEDICAL 

CENTER 

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center 

(EIRMC) has been at the very heart of the 

region’s healthcare since opening more than a 

quarter of a century ago. 

The year was 1986 and the staff spent a 

chilly December moving both equipment and 

patients from Park View and River View 

Hospitals into a brand new $42 million facility 

located at 3100 Channing Way in Idaho Falls. 

Since opening, the initial capital investment has 

grown to well over $200 million and today— 

with 5 locations, 331 licensed beds and a staff 

of more than 225 physicians and 1,300-plus 

employees—EIRMC is the largest medical facility 

and the very hub of healthcare in the region. 

Truly a beacon in healthcare, it is a member 

of the HCA family and is fully accredited by the 

Joint Commission. EIRMC offers leading edge 

healthcare to an average of 439 patients per day, 

nearly forty percent of whom travel from outside 

of Bonneville County. The hospital is home 

to Idaho’s only Level 1 Intensive Care Unit. 

The hospital is one of just over 100 hospitals 

in the nation that features a Level II Trauma 

Center and also has a Cancer Center, which 

holds a rare “Comprehensive” ranking by the 

ACS Commission on Cancer as well as a leading 

edge Heart Center. EIRMC’s Heart Center 

provides the majority of its coronary bypass 

surgeries using the “beating heart” or off-pump 

method, which is proven to significantly 

decrease mortality rates, and its state-of-the-art 

catheterization labs offer the full complement 

of diagnostic and treatment services. 

EIRMC is furthermore home to the Air Idaho 

Rescue, which averages more than 800 air and 

ground rescues annually and is one of just 136 

nationally accredited air emergency transport 

services. Additionally, the hospital features 

a seventy-two bed Behavioral Health Center; 

is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by 

the Joint Commission; offers New U, a national 

bariatric center of excellence; provides regionleading 

care for high risk mothers and 

infants via impressive sub-specialization in 

perinatology and neonatology; and provides 

the region’s health safety net in its award 

winning Emergency Department, serving over 

38,000 patients per year. 

Complementing its leading role in the area’s 

healthcare, EIRMC is also an active and 

involved corporate citizen, donating time, 

money and sponsorship to a rich variety of 

community causes. 

For more information, visit www.eirmc.com. 

✧ 

Above: Since opening its doors in 

1986, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical 

Center has grown into a “medical 

destination” for patients residing as 

far as from Idaho Falls as southern 

Montana, western Wyoming and 

northern Utah. 

Below: As the second largest employer 

in Idaho Falls, EIRMC’s payroll has 

an impressive ripple effect into other 

area businesses, and the taxes paid by 

the hospital are a critical source of 

funds for infrastructure and other 

state and local services. 

Q u a l i t y o f L i f e ✦ 1 0 1

DEVELOPMENT 

WORKSHOP, 

INC. 

✧ 

Above: Many people were employed 

onsite. This photograph shows one of 

the first contracts—manufacturing 

survey stakes. 

Below: Today, Development 

Workshop, Inc., helps hundreds of 

individuals land jobs with 

area employers. 

As recently as the 1960s, many people with 

disabilities were seldom seen. Hidden away or 

institutionalized, opportunities to contribute to 

society or lead a normal life were nonexistent. 

Many could not dream of a future. 

Development Workshop, Inc., was born out 

of local efforts in response to a national movement 

to establish services for people with 

disabilities. They dreamed of services would 

allow individuals to remain in their homes and 

successfully integrate into their communities; 

to achieve their chosen level of economic and 

social independence. 

Beginning in 1971, serving just twelve 

clients with a staff of three, and a budget of 

$40,000, Development Workshop, Inc., was 

one of the pioneers in the United States to 

provide community-based vocational services. 

Today, the organization operates three manufacturing 

facilities in eastern Idaho where 

people with disabilities are able to receive vocational 

training and strive toward independence. 

The company manufactures products for a 

wide variety of customers, providing injection 

molding of plastics, industrial sewing, and 

assembly and packaging services. Additional 

opportunities exist through contracts like 

administrative support and janitorial services. 

In 2011, Development Workshop, Inc., 

served 638 clients, helped 157 people find 

competitive employment and earned nearly 

$5 million. Development Workshop, Inc., continues 

to live the mission “to assist individuals 

who have a disability or who are disadvantaged 

to recognize and to achieve their chosen level of 

economic and social independence.” 

Development Workshop, Inc., strives for 

the day when people will be valued for their 

contributions and their character and it is the 

disability that is no longer seen. 

Celebrating those who dare to dream—forty 

years of Development Workshop, Inc. To learn 

more about Development Workshop, Inc., visit 

them online at www.dwinc.org. 


PEAK 

PERFORMANCE 

THERAPY 

SERVICES 

Briggs Horman, physical therapist and 

owner of Peak Performance Therapy Services, 

PC—a local business, has been a provider and 

leader in the rehabilitative therapy market in 

Idaho Falls since 1993. 

After graduating from Chicago’s Northwestern 

University, Horman took a job at the Back 

Institute with Intermountain Health Care in 

Salt Lake City, Utah. Later, while in private 

practice in northern California, he was 

recruited by Eastern Idaho Regional Medical 

Center (EIRMC) where he became the director 

of physical therapy, occupation therapy, speech 

therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, audiology, 

industrial medicine, and therapy services for 

home health, TCU and the rehabilitation unit 

on the sixth floor. He also started Functional 

Capacity Testing for injured workers, which 

he still performs today. 

In 1998, Horman became the owner of 

Body Works Therapy Services, which quickly 

flourished and led to the formation of Peak 

Performance Therapy Services, PC. He was key 

in the design and implementation of rehabilitate 

services and contracted all inpatient and 

outpatient services with the construction and 

startup of Mountain View Hospital. Briggs has 

been an invited lecturer for industrial safety 

and other health-related topics for organizations 

such as Idaho National Laboratory and 

the Idaho Industrial Commission. He was also a 

monthly guest speaker on KIDK Radio AM 590 

for many years and a member of the American 

Physical Therapy Association since 1989. He 

served as chairman of the Physical Therapy 

Advisory Committee to the Idaho State Board 

of Medicine and is also a past Idaho delegate 

to the Federation of State Boards of Physical 

Therapists and district chairman for the Idaho 

Physical Therapy Association. 

Briggs’ wife, Wendy, has been on D93 School 

Board since 2002 and recently won the primary 

election for Idaho State Representative. They 

and their five children reside in Ammon, where 

Horman operates Ammon’s first physical therapy 

practice. On a personal level, he is active 

in the Boy Scouts; has coached youth sports; 

participates in men’s, co-ed, and recreational 

leagues; and is a member of the Sounds Choir 

in Idaho Falls. 

Q u a l i t y o f L i f e ✦ 1 0 3

COLONIAL 

THEATER 

In 1919 three local men—C. A. Spath of the 

Farmers and Merchant Bank, Dr. C. M. Cline, and 

S. K. Mittry, a local contractor—put up $175,000 

to build a “proper” theater. The Colonial featured a 

handsome ivory-colored terra cotta face in a neoclassical 

Greek style and was billed as the largest 

and finest theater in the state of Idaho when it 

opened on November 10, 1919. It had the largest 

stage in the Intermountain West, an orchestra pit, 

eight dressing rooms, 1,400 luxurious mahogany 

seats upholstered in leather; and a “modern” ramp 

to the balcony. Because the theater was designed 

in the era before modern electronic amplification, 

the acoustics were (and still are) superb. 

war bonds. Through the 1960s and 1970s the 

Paramount continued showing the latest in 

motion pictures. However, by 1990 it was in 

such disrepair that it was closed, presumably 

forever. There was talk about tearing the old 

theater down and building a parking garage. But 

a few fans saw the beauty and potential of 

the great old place underneath the decaying 

façade. In 1990 the Idaho Falls Arts Council was 

formed, with a mission to promote, advocate, 

and present a broad spectrum of visual and 

performing arts in Eastern Idaho. The restoration 

of the Colonial Theater was their first task. In 

November 1994 the then-owners of the old theater, 

Dick Clayton, Sr., and his son Steve, donated 

it to the Idaho Falls Arts Council. It took the 

Arts Council three years to raise $4.5 million and 

renovate the building, returning it to the beautiful 

visual and performing arts center it is today. 

✧ 

Above: Paramount Theater. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MUSEUM OF IDAHO. 

Right: Interior Colonial Theater. 

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF STEVE SMEDE. 

The first performance in the new theater was 

the play John Ferguson. C. H. Lewis was the first 

theater manager, presenting vaudeville, dramatic 

plays, road shows and some early moving 

pictures. The Great Depression severely impacted 

attendance as people could no longer afford 

the one or two dollar ticket prices for live 

performances, hence the ten cent ticket to the 

motion pictures, some of which were “talkies,” 

was much more affordable. The theater subsequently 

underwent a bit of a conversion; a 

projection screen was installed and the theater 

name was changed to the Paramount Theater. 

The first moving picture shown in the Paramount 

in November 1929 was Welcome Danger. 

The Paramount still hosted the occasional 

live stage performance into the 1940s and 

1950s, most of which were local productions. 

Celebrities occasionally visited, including the 

famous comedy team Abbott and Costello, selling 

On March 13, 1999, the beautifully renovated 

Colonial Theater celebrated its Grand 

Opening with blues and jazz legend Ray Charles. 

Currently, the theater hosts between sixteen and 

eighteen live professional performances a year as 

well as dozens of local and other performances 

presented by local groups who rent the theater. 

The Colonial Theater stands proudly in 

downtown Idaho Falls, its classic charm of a 

bygone time proving a beautiful setting for the 

best of contemporary performing arts. 


For over sixty years, the Idaho Falls 

Symphony has provided quality live orchestral 

experiences for the enjoyment, enrichment, and 

education of audiences and musicians alike. The 

Symphony presents an annual concert series 

that brings the best of classical music to a 

variety of local venues, including Freeman Park, 

the Colonial Theater, and the Civic Auditorium. 

Established in 1949, the Symphony was 

originally presented by the Idaho Falls Music 

Club and the Community Concerts Association. 

The Symphony redefined itself in 1961 when the 

Idaho Falls Symphony Society was incorporated, 

by-laws were formulated, and a board of directors 

was elected with Lowell Jobe as president. 

The Symphony Society has since partnered with 

many local sponsors to promote a vibrant and 

nationally recognized symphony orchestra. 

of whom bring an extraordinary 

dedication to the organization. 

Today the orchestra’s growing reputation 

has attracted musicians 

from throughout the Eastern 

Idaho region, which has brought 

increased professionalism to the 

volunteer spirit of the ensemble. 

Education and outreach efforts 

are central to the Symphony’s role 

in the community. Thousands of 

children experience the Symphony 

every year through Children’s 

Concerts, Family Concerts, and 

the in-school presentations of the 

Ambassador Program. The Idaho 

Falls Youth Symphony provides an 

engaging orchestral opportunity for area music 

students, and the Masterclasses offered by the 

Symphony’s world-renowned guest artists have 

inspired generations of emerging musicians. 

✧ 

IDAHO FALLS 

SYMPHONY 

ABOVE: PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF 

DENNIS HAMMON. 

BELOW AND BOTTOM: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY 

OF ROBERT BOWER, POST REGISTER. 

The Symphony draws musicians from all 

walks of life. Symphony members include 

professional musicians, music teachers, engineers, 

medical doctors and many others, all 

After an extensive search in 2010, conductor 

Thomas Heuser was named the Symphony’s 

tenth Music Director, following a line of directors 

that has included Dr. George Adams, John 

LoPiccolo, Carl Eberl, LaMar Barrus and Harold 

Mealy among others. The administrative staff of 

dedicated employees and volunteers is located 

in the Idaho Falls Symphony office at the 

Willard Arts Center in downtown Idaho Falls. 

For additional information about the Idaho Falls 

Symphony, please visit www.ifsymphony.org. 

Q u a l i t y o f L i f e ✦ 1 0 5


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Chesbro Music Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 6 

The Cellar Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 8 

Grow Idaho Falls, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 9 

East Idaho Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 0 

Bill’s Bike Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 1 

North Hi-Way Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 

The Bank of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 

Nelson Hall Parry Tucker, P.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 4 

Tobin Cleaning & Restoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 5 

Cornerstone Financial Advisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 6 

The Legacy Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 7 

C-A-L Farm & Ranch Stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 8 

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 9 

Merrill-Lynch Idaho Falls Branch Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 0 

North American Brewer’s Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 1 

Cox, Ohman & Brandstetter, Chartered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 2 

Control System 

Technology, Inc. 

The Smith Group 

T h e M a r k e t p l a c e ✦ 1 0 7

INTEGROW MALT TM 

LLC 

✧ 

Above: InteGrow Malt TM LLC 

management team, left to right: 

Pat Hovis, controller; Alfredo Avila, 

general manager; John Zietz, barley 

supply chain manager; Gregg Smith, 

plant engineer; Martin Perez, senior 

maltster and Mike Patten, 

HR/ES&H manager. 

Below: InteGrow Malt TM LLC’s plant 

sits on twenty-six acres and includes a 

host of metal and concrete silos, 

a cleaning and classification tower, 

a malting house, a power house and a 

support building, which hosts a state 

of the art laboratory. 

Grupo Modelo, S.A. de C.V., a leader in the 

production and marketing of beer in Mexico 

and throughout the world, and Cargill, a worldwide 

agricultural company, are successful 

companies in their own rights. But, just like 

the right recipe leads to a good brew of beer, 

unifying the knowledge and expertise of each 

of these companies in a joint venture is proving 

to be a true recipe for success. 

Though InteGrow Malt TM LLC has only been 

in existence since April of 2010 when the two 

companies joined forces to blend and capitalize 

on their individual and unique abilities in grain 

marketing, malting and brewing, InteGrow is 

actually the new, improved version of Grupo 

Modelo’s GModelo Agriculture, Inc., which 

formed in Idaho almost a decade earlier. 

Grupo Modelo—Mexico’s leading brewer 

and the distributor of thirteen beer brands, six 

of which are export brands and including 

Corona Extra, the world’s number one sold 

Mexican beer currently available in more than 

180 countries around the world—obviously 

understands what makes good beer. It understands 

that the whole process hinges on good 

malt and good malt starts with good barley, 

different varieties creating different tastes, colors, 

aromas as well as mellowness and head retention 

of the resulting beer. Among the barley varieties 

are two-row and six-row variations, rows 

referring to the number of seeds on the barley 

stalk, which impacts the starch-to-husk ratio as 

well as the desired malty flavor. Two-row barley 

has become an indispensable staple for Modelo 


ews, and it is the primary reason the brewer 

ventured to Idaho Falls from its home country 

where only six-row barley is produced. 

The second largest barley producer in the 

United States, the largest malting barley 

producer in the western part of the country 

and, even more importantly, a place where that 

barley comes in a wide selection of two-row 

malting varieties, Idaho Falls was exactly what 

Grupo Modelo was looking for. However, a 

plentiful two-row barley supply was only part 

of the equation as the corporation also desired 

to have better control over the quality of both 

the purchase and processing of barley used in 

its beer. Additionally, as malt prices are heavily 

influenced by underlying costs of barley and 

transportation, building a malting plant close to 

a barley production area was also important. 

Idaho Falls and Bonneville County offered the 

ideal location not only because of its proximity 

to production areas, but also because the state 

is home to the only federally-supported barley 

breeding program in the United States and the 

area is home to a strong labor force and existing 

infrastructure which offered unrivaled support 

for a malting plant. 

“Though Canada and North Dakota were 

being considered for our operation, Grupo 

Modelo was captivated by Idaho’s advantages,” 

said InteGrow Malt General Manager Alfredo 

Avila of Idaho Falls. 

Designed in Spain in 2002, construction 

started on the InteGrow plant in the spring of 

2003 and it received its first shipment of barley 

in September 2004. Its three production lines 

fired up in consecutive fashion, one each in July, 

August and October of 2005 and it shipped its 

first batch of malt in August of 2005. In 2009, 

Grupo Modelo decided to further strengthen its 

position in terms of barley supply by taking on 

a partner with expertise in the grain markets. 

Cargill—an international producer and marketer 

of food, agricultural, financial and industrial 

products and services with a presence in 65 

countries—became that partner and now owns 

49 percent of InteGrow Malt. Grupo Modelo 

maintains ownership of the other 51 percent. 

The name InteGrow Malt was created to 

convey the concepts of integrity and an interrelationship 

of collaboration with employees, 

growers and the Idaho Falls community. On the 

business operations side, the word “InteGrow” 

represents growth and integration. Physically, 

the plant sits on approximately twenty-six acres 

and includes a host of metal and concrete silos 

as well as several interstitials or combination 

silos, all combined with a storage capacity of 

114,700 tons of barley and 10,535 tons of malt. 

The plant’s 3 production lines each contain 

2 steeping tanks, 4 germinators and 2 kilns. 

✧ 

Above: GModelo Agriculture, LLC, 

was incorporated as an Idaho 

Company on October 18, 2001. 

Roger Christensen, Bonneville County 

Commissioner District 1, Idaho 

Governor Dick Kempthorne, 

City Mayor Linda Milam and Grupo 

Modelo’s CEO, Carlos Fernandez 

presided over the Ground Breaking 

Ceremony which was held on 

April 7, 2003. 

Left: There are twenty concrete silos, 

each capable of holding 6,504,000 

pounds of barley. They rise 150 feet 

above the ground. 


✧ 

Above: Both germination and kilning 

vessels are quite unique. The bottom 

of the vessels rotates according to 

a specific program to allow even 

germination and toasting of 

every grain. 

Below: Inside a germination vessel. 

The spiral helixes allow the grain at 

the bottom to come to the top and 

breathe. The vessel is filled and 

emptied using a fixed central auger. 

The company has four superheated, natural gas 

fed water boilers to heat-up the air used in 

processes. The main purpose of malting is to 

transform the food reserves of raw barley into a 

substrate capable of dissolution and extraction 

by hot water during a mashing stage, which 

leads to the production of wort, an aqueous 

solution of fermentable carbohydrates or sugar 

and soluble protein. Wort then becomes beer 

after yeast converts the sugar into alcohol and 

carbon dioxide. 

The malting process itself includes several 

steps, all of which are performed at the 

InteGrow plant. The first and most critical step 

is steeping, which cleans the grain’s surface 

and increases the barley moisture content. 

Germination follows and is an extension of 

what was started during steeping—only accelerated. 

Embryo germination is obtained within 

the germination vessel, which controls humidity, 

air and temperature and causes enzymes to 

break down the cell walls of the endosperm 

and transforms the barley into green malt. The 

third step is kilning, a process by which heated 

air passes through the grain’s bed stopping 

germination, retaining active enzymes and producing 

a stable product, which can be stored 

and transported. Before malt is transported to 

the customer, a final process called “polishing” 

takes place, freeing the malt from any attached 

dirt particles or split-open husk fragments. 

Among the board members who incorporated 

the original GModelo Company were then 

GModelo Chairman of the Board Antonino 

Fernandez and Grupo Modelo CEO Carlos 

Fernandez. The company’s general manager 

from the time of incorporation in 2001 until the 

joint venture with Cargill in 2010 was Luis 

Miguel Alvarez, an industrial engineer and longtime 

employee of Grupo Modelo. The construction 

manager was Jose Serrano, an electronics 

engineer who had worked in the operations 

division of Grupo Modelo’s home office for 

sixteen years, and the administrative manager 

was Alfredo Avila, an industrial engineer who 

not only launched Grupo Modelo’s Mexico 

retail convenience store chain, Extra, but 

who also became an integral part of 

GModelo Agriculture’s operations from 

start-up. Avila became general manager 

when GModelo Agriculture became 

InteGrow Malt and still serves in that 

capacity. The all-important role of barleypurchaser 

is now handled by John Zietz, 

a three decade plus employee of Cargill. 

Also on the current management team 

is Controller Pat Hovis and Plant Manager 

Gregg Smith, both of who joined the 

company in 2004 each with thirty plus 

years of experience. Martin Perez, Grupo 

Modelo’s most experienced maltster, now 

serves as InteGrow’s senior maltster. 

Mike Patten, the company’s first human 

resource manager who came on board in 


2010, has been instrumental in helping 

the new company develop its own distinct 

culture apart from both parent companies 

while still upholding the values of both. 

Today, InteGrow Malt has become a 

major part of the Idaho Falls business 

landscape. It is responsible for the 

creation of nearly fifty full-time jobs as 

well as additional seasonal jobs. It has 

contributed more than $15 million in 

taxes in less than a decade of operation 

and has paid an estimated $8.1 million to 

the City of Idaho Falls for utilities. Since 

2004 when production started, more than 

250 Idaho farmers have done business 

with the company and approximately 200 

continue to sell barley to the company on 

an annual basis. Total barley purchased in 

Idaho to date is valued at $170,575,000 with 

an additional $38,000,000 bought from large 

barley companies outside of Idaho. The plant 

produces enough malt to fill approximately 

4.6 million cans or bottles of beer daily. 

In addition, InteGrow makes a concerted 

effort to utilize local businesses and has 

ongoing relationships with hotels, travel 

agencies and local retail stores and industrial 

supply companies at which they have purchasing 

accounts, not to mention restaurants 

and local service providers. The company’s 

customer base is mostly comprised of Grupo 

Modelo’s Breweries in Mexico. 

Beyond the business aspect, InteGrow Malt 

is also invested in the Idaho Falls community, 

collaborating with local charities for projects 

such as providing holiday dinners and gifts 

to families in need. The company and its 

employees also take part in a host of other 

community events and charitable causes and 

are, of course, huge supporters of events such 

as the Idaho Falls BeerFest—the single largest 

one day beer festival in the United States. 

Participation in this event is aimed at further 

developing the industry and helping to develop 

markets for the local grain producers. 

For more information on InteGrow Malt TM LLC, 

please visit www.integrowmalt.com. 

✧ 

Above: Malting is the controlled 

germination of a cereal grain to 

produce enzymes and to cause defined 

changes in its chemical constituents. 

At a certain point germination is 

arrested through the kilning process, 

in which dry air—in increasing 

temperature ranges —is circulated 

through the green malt. 

Below: Since 2004 when production 

started, more than 250 Idaho farmers 

have done business with the company. 

InteGrow Malt TM LLC is proud to 

export Idaho barley to the world, 

through Modelo’s fine beers. 


CARPET ONE 

FLOOR & 

HOME 

Like his grandfather who founded Westergard 

Mayflower Moving and Storage, Steve Westergard 

and his wife, Judy, have built their successful 

business—Carpet One Floor & Home in Idaho 

Falls—essentially from scratch. 

“In the beginning, in 1983, we had just a 

small storage building to store our carpet and 

our only advertising was a small ad in the classified 

section,” Steve said recently, recounting 

the first couple of years after a friend convinced 

them to buy into a Mr. Carpet franchise. “We 

had an old green station wagon packed with 

carpet samples and we traveled from Ashton to 

Pocatello and everyplace in between.” 

By 1985, however, the Westergards had 

opened a 3,500 square foot headquarters facility 

and, within just two more years, had moved 

again into an even larger facility. Though almost 

double in size from the first, they outgrew that 

facility as well and in 1992 purchased a former 

IGA grocery store, which family and friends 

spent three months helping 

convert into a sustainable floor 

covering store. 

Shortly after the husband 

and wife team incorporated the 

company and in 1995 joined 

Carpet One, the largest co-op of 

retail flooring in the nation. 

In 2007 they added a new 

retail area and additional warehouse 

space making the total 

facility a whopping 13,000 

square feet. It is here at 405 

West Seventeenth Street that the 

company remains today. 

Again just like his grandfather’s 

business, the Westergards’ 

business has become a true 

family business with sons and 

daughters, nieces and nephews 

joining in along the way, several 

of whom are still on the team. 

The Westergards do not hesitate 

to give credit where credit is due. 

“We are very appreciative and proud of our 

employees, our children, our extended family 

and our installers,” Steve said. “We are also very 

proud to be a member of the Carpet One Floor 

& Home family as it provides us with national 

buying power, allowing us to pass along great 

savings on the best assortment of name brands 

in carpet, vinyl, ceramic tile, hardwood and 

laminate flooring.” 

For more information, call 208-529-1951 or 

visit online at www.carpetoneidahofalls.com. 


WESTERGARD 

MOVING 

AND STORAGE 

Although the company closed in 2000, 

Westergard Moving and Storage was not only 

an important fixture in Idaho Falls for almost a 

century, it was also the bedrock on which three 

generations of Westergards made their living. 

It was a business that became a family legacy. 

Founded by James Christian “J. C.” Westergard, 

Idaho Falls Transfer and Storage opened its 

doors on March 12, 1912, with one team of 

horses, a single wagon and a small twelve by 

twelve foot tin building. In the beginning, 

Westergard had a trio of business partners, 

but eventually bought them out, growing the 

company and breaking new ground as he 

went. In fact, in 1916, it was Westergard who 

purchased Idaho Falls’ first semi-truck and 

trailer and soon after had an entire fleet of 

semis as well as pickups and flatbeds. 

He changed the business name to Westergard 

Transfer and Storage in 1926, about the same 

time his son—James Christian Westergard, Jr., 

or Jay—started helping out part-time while still 

in high school. Jay later became full time and 

soon welcomed his brother—David Lloyd or 

D. L.—and sister, Ruth, into what was now a 

full-fledged family business. 

In 1947 the Westergards became agents for 

nationwide moving company Aero-Mayflower 

and began moving people to and from all parts 

of the United States. In 1955, D. L.’s son, Jim, 

became the third generation to join the business, 

by now known simply as Westergard 

Mayflower. Like his father and uncle, he also 

worked part time while in high school and later 

became full time. Jay’s son, Steve, also joined 

in, working part-time while in high school and 

college, becoming full time in 1972 upon his 

graduation from Boise State. In March 1983, 

however, Steve and his wife, Judy, branched 

out to start a new business—Carpet One Floor 

& Home in Idaho Falls—which remains in 

business today. 

The senior Westergard passed away in 1968 

at the age of eighty-seven, followed by Jay 

Westergard in 1979 and, finally, D. L. in 1998, 

the same year that Westergard Mayflower 

celebrated its eighty-fifth year in business. 

Though the company was closed in 2000, its 

legacy lives on in the hearts of the Westergard 

family and the many clients they served in their 

eight-plus decades in business. 


CANDLEWOOD 

SUITES 

✧ 

Opposite, top: Our awards are many: 

the 2009 Newcomer Award, the 2009 

Intercontinental Hotels Group Priority 

Club Excellence Award, the 2010 

Intercontinental Hotels Group 

Torchbearer Award, the 2010 Best of 

the Best Lead Housekeeper of the 

Year, Janet Earnest, the 2011 

Intercontinental Hotels Torchbearer 

Award, the 2011 Best of the Best 

Maintenance Engineer of the Year, 

Brent Kirkham and the 2011 Best of 

the Best General Manager of the Year, 

Laura Ballard. We have also won 

awards for our fundraising for 

Give Kids the World and Habitat 

for Humanity. 

On the outside, Candlewood Suites in Idaho 

Falls, Idaho is a beautiful riverfront property, 

which casts a striking reflection upon the 

tranquil flowing waters of the Snake River. 

On the inside, it exudes a relaxing, casual 

atmosphere reflective of home. 

“The Candlewood Suites’ trademark slogan, 

‘Consider Us Home,’ is more than just advertising 

jargon, it is who we are,” said General 

Manager Laura Ballard. “Everything we do is 

about helping our guests feel at home while 

they are on the road.” 

Owned and operated by Marotel, LLC—a 

local company that also owns and operates 

the Holiday Inn Express and the Hampton Inn 

on Channing Way in Idaho Falls—Candlewood 

Suites is an award-winning, pet-friendly 

extended stay hotel located at 665 Pancheri 

Drive, next to the Scenic Snake River. It 

is ideally located just minutes from an 

array of local attractions and businesses 

including the Snake River Greenbelt, 

the Falls and a variety of local parks 

great for exploring nature as well as 

the Museum of Idaho, the Idaho Falls 

LDS Temple Visitor’s Center and the 

Tautphaus Park Zoo, just to name a few. 

For those who love to shop and dine 

out, downtown local shopping and the 

Grand Teton Mall as well as a smorgasbord 

of unique and exceptional restaurants 

are just a short drive away. Major 

businesses nearby include Nature’s 

Path, Mountain View Hospital, Eastern 

Idaho Regional Medical Center, Idaho 

Falls Surgical Center and many more. 


The hotel itself has four floors with eightyone 

spacious suites, all of which feature full 

private kitchens with refrigerators, microwaves, 

stove tops and dishwashers and are fully 

stocked with cookware and dishes. Additionally, 

each guest suite has a thirty-two inch LCD television 

with DVD player, a recliner, an executive 

work desk and free high-speed Internet access. 

Select suites also feature river-view balconies. 

Business services available to guests include 

copying, courier services, facsimile, high-speed 

and wireless Internet access in public spaces 

and access to a computer and printer at the 

front desk. The hotel also offers complimentary 

onsite laundry facilities and The Candlewood 

Cupboard, located in the hotel’s lobby, offers a 

variety of food and sundry items for purchase. 

Weekly housekeeping services, dry cleaning 

and laundry pick-up services are also available. 

Onsite parking is complimentary for guests. 

To stay in shape while on the road, guests 

have full access to an onsite, twenty-four hour 

fitness center equipped with high quality Star 

Trac equipment to include two treadmills, a 

bicycle and an elliptical machine as well as an 

Instinct weight system with bench, two exercise 

balls, mats and scales. For those who enjoy 

outdoor grilling, the hotel has a river view BBQ 

Pavilion with two grills and tables 

and chairs; and for those looking 

forward to a little downtime with 

music, a movie or a book, the hotel 

has a well-stocked Lending Library 

featuring a vast array of DVDs, 

books and CDs which can be 

checked out free of charge. 

The hotel’s dedication to service 

excellence is rewarded by the return 

visits of many of its guests as well as 

a trophy case brimming with awards 

and special recognition, including 

the 2009 Newcomer Award, the 

2009 Intercontinental Hotels Group 

Priority Club Excellence Award and 

the Intercontinental Hotels Group 

Torchbearer Award for both 2010 

and 2011. The Best of the Best 

Lead Housekeeper of the Year 

Award was earned by associate 

Janet Earnest in 2010, while Brent 

Kirkham was named 2011 Best of 

the Best Maintenance Engineer of the Year and 

Laura Ballard, 2011 Best of the Best General 

Manager of the Year. The hotel and its staff have 

also won several awards for fundraising efforts 

for such charities as Give Kids the World and 

Habitat for Humanity. 

For more information or to book a reservation 

at Candlewood Suites in Idaho Falls, call 

208-525-9800 or 1-800-496-7630 or visit 

online at www.candlewoodsuites.com. 


CHESBRO MUSIC 

COMPANY 

✧ 

Top: Horace Chesbro (left), at the 

Broadway location in 1927. 

Above: Henry Chesbro, second 

generation owner, 1924. 

With the motto “Service and Quality Since 

1911,” Chesbro Music Company has grown to 

become a staple to musicians in Southeast 

Idaho, while also serving as one of the largest 

distributors of sheet music, instruments, and 

accessories to over 1,500 dealers throughout the 

United States and some foreign countries. 

Chesbro even has agreements with foreign 

suppliers to produce their own trademarked 

acoustic and electric guitars, drums, accessories, 

and music-themed gift items. 

While Chesbro Music was officially founded 

in Idaho in 1911, the company actually started 

earlier in Seattle, Washington. The founder, 

Horace Chesbro, was the son of a traveling 

spiritualist minister and quit school at age 

twelve to work as an apprentice in a Seattle 

music store. Because of his musical abilities, 

his employer sent him to complete a two year 

program at Valparaiso Conservatory of Music. 

Chesbro later returned to Seattle to take 

over his employer’s music business. Though 

the business did not succeed, Chesbro did 

not give up. He paid his creditors and moved 

to St. Anthony, Idaho, in 1911 where he had 

heard farmers were doing well financially. 

There he set up shop again before finally 

moving to the growing Idaho Falls area in 

1915. In 1924 he moved one more time to 

327 Broadway in Idaho Falls where the business 

remains today. 

Indeed, it was Chesbro’s financial accountability 

and his negotiation ability with vendors 

that helped him grow the business and 

survive the lean years. He sold and serviced 

pianos door-to-door and established the first 

school band programs in eastern Idaho creating 

a demand for music. He funded the school 

programs by hiring band teachers and renting 

instruments to the students. His wife, Ella, 

worked alongside him in the business. 

During the Depression, Chesbro expanded 

from retail store to distributor. He consigned 

music products to drug and variety stores, with 

the music racks named “Chesbro’s Little Music 

Store.” The consignment program is still a 

part of Chesbro’s business today. He also hired 

traveling salesmen to sell wholesale products 

to music stores in Utah, Idaho, Montana, 

and Wyoming. The territory eventually expanded 

to fifteen western states including Alaska 

and Hawaii. 

In 1940, Horace and Ella retired and their 

son, Henry, took over the business. Horace 

passed away in 1951 and—two years later— 

tragedy struck as Henry, his wife Mary Jane, 

and their son Paul were all killed when their 

corporate airplane crashed. This left their 

daughter Joan and Grandma Ella as the only 

surviving members of the Chesbro family. Joan 

had just graduated from Stanford University 

and both she and her grandmother returned to 

run the business. 

As a woman, Joan was a pioneer in the 

business world where credit was not generally 

given to women. She, however, was given six 

months by the creditors and bank to see if she 

could run the business. She succeeded. 


One of Chesbro Music’s key expansion 

opportunities came in the 1970s when Chesbro 

became a distributor for a Japanese music 

company. This gave the company opportunity 

to expand and grow throughout the west. Joan 

passed away in 1999 leaving the business to 

her three children—Scott Chesbro Griggs, 

Tana Jane Stahn, and Vanetta Chesbro Wilson, 

the latter two of which actively run the 

business today as the CFO and 

CEO, respectively. 

Today, Chesbro operates a 

wholesale division and two 

retail stores in Idaho Falls and 

Rexburg. The company is fully 

automated in order to serve 

more customers. All orders, 

including Internet orders, are 

shipped the same day received. 

The successful formula for 

Chesbro Music Company has 

been to implement sound 

financial management, hire 

great employees, give back to 

the community, and to look for 

new opportunities. Chesbro 

supports music organizations, 

events, and schools. The owners 

and managers have been 

active in civic groups including 

Soroptimist, Zonta, Civitan, 

Kiwanis, Rotary, and church organizations. 

When Rotary International expanded the 

opportunity for women to become Rotarians, 

Joan became the first woman Rotarian in Idaho. 

The company has remained in the Chesbro 

family, with each generation growing up in 

the business at the side of their parents and 

keeping to the core values established by 

Horace and Ella more than a century ago. 

✧ 

Above: Exterior of the current 

building at 327 Broadway. 

Below: Interior of the retail 

store, 1961. 


THE 

CELLAR 

RESTAURANT 

The Cellar, a casual fine dining restaurant 

located in Ammon, Idaho, is a three-generation 

dream come true. 

It started out as his father’s dream. Then 

one night, over a nice dinner at a quaint little 

French restaurant—a treat from his parents 

in celebration of his college graduation—it 

became Scott Hinschberger’s dream, too. Still, 

it was not until almost three decades later when 

his own son discovered a passion for cooking 

that the dream finally sprouted wings. 

“Even though we all envisioned a place where 

exceptional people could enjoy exceptional 

food, it wasn’t until our son Bryan started 

creating amazing recipes that things really 

began to fall in place,” said Scott, who with his 

wife Michele, opened The Cellar in 2004. 

With a mantra of “Taste Life, It’s Delicious,” 

The Cellar is located in a historical house 

that has adorned the southeast corner of 

Seventeenth Street and Ammon since the early 

1900s when the area was known as Casey’s 

Corner. Careful to maintain the century-old 

house’s historical flavor, the Hinschbergers 

named the restaurant’s lounge “Casey’s Bar.” 

Another of the rooms in the restaurant is 

still called “The Captain’s Quarters” as it was 

dubbed by Fred Karford who owned and added 

on to the property in the 1960s. 

It was not long after Hinschberger and his 

partners purchased the property that the idea to 

convert the house into a restaurant took root. 

Hundreds of hours were spent formulating a 

business plan and securing financing. Then a 

host of local contractors and individuals helped 

transform the old house into a unique restaurant 

with a variety of dining rooms, a full bar 

and an enclosed patio with breathtaking 

views of the ancient pines which garnish 

the homestead. The restaurant seats more than 

100 for in-house dining and also provides both 

on-site and off-site banquet and catering services 

for weddings, receptions, parties and other 

life celebrations. The Cellar’s executive chef uses 

fresh, local or regional ingredients whenever 

possible to create menu items, sauces, and 

nightly specials that amuse the palate, and customers 

are often treated to live music while they 

share a meal and celebrate each other’s lives. 

For more information on The Cellar, visit 

www.thecellar.biz. 


Since World War II, Idaho Falls has had a 

long history in the development of nuclear 

energy, and defense. After the Cold War ended, 

the community faced a challenge as peaceful 

times led to the decommissioning of defenserelated 

activities and considerable downsizing 

of the business at its very heart—Idaho 

National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). 

In 1992, a group of approximately sixty citizens 

and leaders of Eastern Idaho and Idaho 

Falls began working to form a partnership 

among local businesses, governments, and 

concerned individuals. Their mission was to 

first coordinate and focus existing resources 

and, second, to add new elements to diversify 

Eastern Idaho’s economy. The end result was the 

regional Eastern Idaho Economic Development 

Council, Inc., the precursor of what is today 

Grow Idaho Falls, Inc. 

Today, INEEL has evolved into the Idaho 

National Laboratory, the Lead Nuclear Lab for 

the U.S. Department of Energy, and is engaged 

in new and expanded missions for energy, 

research, and development. Grow Idaho Falls, 

Inc. has become a nonprofit, public-private economic 

development agency, incorporated in 

2000, which retains and expands existing companies, 

attracts new industries, and advocates 

for a friendly business climate in Idaho Falls, 

Ammon, Bonneville County, 

and Idaho. Investors, partners 

and members of the board of 

directors are among the 

“Who’s Who” of area businesses 

and governmental agencies. 

GIFI deserves a great deal of 

credit for the area’s continued 

industry diversification, an 

increase in population (twentysix 

percent, 2010 census), 

increased prosperity, and promotion 

of cultural, educational, 

and recreational opportunities. 

The community is recognized in national 

and international rankings. For example, 

The Boomtown “10 Real Estate Markets Poised 

for Rapid Growth–2010 to 2020”, the “Top 10 

Micro-Cities of the Future” (2011-12, fDI 

Magazine), one of the “Best Places to Raise 

Your Kids” (BusinessWeek.com, 2010), “Top 

100 Best Small Places for Business & Careers” 

(Forbes.com, 2010), and the “Top 100 Cities 

for 2010” (Money.CNN.com). 

For more information, please visit online at 

www.growidahofall.org or call toll-free at 

1-800-900-2014. 

GROW 

IDAHO FALLS, 

INC. 

✧ 

Above: Linda Martin, CEO Grow 

Idaho Falls. 

Left: Left to right, Roger Christensen, 

Bonneville County; Bob Poyser, vice 

president; Sam Shakir, president, 

Areva Enrichment Services LLC; 

Amy Lientz, GIFI president; and 

Mayor Jared Fuhriman. 

Bottom, left: 1950 Post Register. 

Bottom, right: Now Idaho Falls 

Downtown Development Corporation. 


EAST IDAHO 

CREDIT UNION 

In 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, 

two dozen members collectively deposited 

$52.75 into the newly-formed Idaho Falls U.S. 

Government Employees Federal Credit Union, a 

financial seed that would eventually blossom 

into a very successful member-owned cooperative 

with more than 30,000 members and assets 

in excess of a quarter of a billion dollars. 

East Idaho Credit Union, as it is now known, 

is a full-service financial institution which operates 

under both a community charter and an 

expanded charter based on occupation. It provides 

local services to small and underserved 

communities in Eastern Idaho with ten branch 

locations—three in Idaho Falls and one each 

in Salmon, Arco, St. Anthony, Rexburg, Dubois, 

Shelley and Challis. It is one of the oldest 

credit unions in the state. 

“Not only are we the oldest in the Idaho Falls 

area, we are also one of only a few that remain 

from sixteen that were organized in 1935,” said 

President and CEO LaMont Hanson. “I fully 

believe that a big part of our sustainability 

is that we are a member owned cooperative. 

We support the motto of ‘members helping 

members’; with everything that we do being 

guided by the credit union philosophy of 

‘not for profit, not for charity, but for service’.” 

Providing the top notch service for which 

the credit union is known is a dedicated staff 

of more than 100—many whom have served the 

cooperative for more than twenty years. “This 

stability and longevity is often cited as one of 

the cooperative’s key strengths,” says Hanson, 

who himself has been with the institution since 

1978. Hanson joins two other past managers 

whose leadership stint stretched 

past two decades—Reed Olsen 

who served from 1938 to 1962 

and Arlene Walker who served 

1962 until 1987. 

Members of East Idaho Credit 

Union are employees or family 

members of employees, of an 

array of occupational categories 

and/or who reside or work within 

twenty-five miles of the city 

of Shelley or in the counties 

of Bonneville, Bingham, Butte, 

Custer, Lemhi, Clark, Fremont, 

Madison, Teton, and Jefferson. 

For more information on 

East Idaho Credit Union, visit 

www.eastidahocu.org. 


BILL’S 

BIKE SHOP 

For sixty-five years, cycle enthusiasts 

throughout the southeast Idaho region and into 

Wyoming have relied on Bill’s Bike Shop for 

excellent service, quality products and bicycle 

expertise. A fixture in Idaho Falls since 1947, 

Bill’s Bike Shop started when local residents 

Bill and Alice Murdock began selling bicycles 

and motorcycles on West Broadway. Bill and 

Alice’s son, Stan Murdock, moved Bill’s Bike 

Shop to its Holmes Avenue location where 

it has been for twenty-five years. Gary Wight 

purchased the business in 2010 and in 2012 

announced Snake River Landing as the new 

home of Bill’s Bike Shop on Pier View Drive 

with an anticipated opening date in early 2013. 

General Manager Brandon Fell and Service 

Manager Troy Scott assist Wight in heading up 

the state-of-the-art, spacious location of over 

10,000 square feet. Bill’s Bike Shop is well known 

among cycling enthusiasts as the only location 

in the area to shop for the 

four major cycling brands in 

one location: Trek, Raleigh, 

Specialized and Giant. During 

peak season, Bill’s Bike Shop 

services over 600 bicycles per 

month with a guaranteed seventy-two 

hour turnaround. 

In addition to sales, service 

and rentals, Bill’s Bike 

Shop is actively involved in 

giving back to its patrons 

and the community. For the 

last nine years, they have 

been able to give away several 

hundred restored bikes 

to underprivileged youth with help from Shop with 

Cops, the Salvation Army, St. Vincent’s de Paul 

and Christmas for Families. Bill’s is also a major 

sponsor for the Heart of Idaho Century Ride, 

which happens in August each year at Snake 

River Landing and the Criterium Series that runs 

throughout the summer season. 

“Bill’s Bike Shop enjoys being involved in 

the community and being at Snake River 

Landing helps allow for that. The planners of 

Snake River Landing had the foresight to lay 

the infrastructure for a bicycle, pedestrian and 

family-friendly community within Idaho Falls,” 

says Wight. 

Bill’s Bike Shop features a world-class mix of 

brands and a variety of products but also will 

offer virtual spin classes, large seminar and 

classroom space, a large service area and convenient 

rental center. For more information, 

visit www.billsbike.com. 

✧ 

Above: Owner of Bill’s Bike Shop, 

Gary Wight and his employees in 

June 2012. 

Below: A rendering of Bill’s Bike 

Shop’s new location on Pier View 

Drive in Snake River Landing. 


NORTH 

HI-WAY CAFÉ 

Owner Roxanne Smith loves that the North 

Hi-Way Café is a beloved local landmark and 

particularly enjoys hearing the accounts of 

the many generations that have frequented the 

café even before she and her husband, Wes, 

bought it in 2002. She is especially enthralled 

by the story of how the place got its start as an 

automotive shop. 

Back then known as a “flivver” shop, shop 

owner Aaron Jones set up tables inside the 

garage so that customers could have a bite to 

eat while waiting for their Model A’s to be fixed. 

Over time, the garage evolved into a full-time 

eatery that spanned the tests of time, wars 

and depressions to eventually be proclaimed 

Idaho’s oldest continually running café as 

officially noted by researchers at the state 

capital and celebrated by city proclamation on 

June 17, 2009. 

According to the Boise researchers, archives 

show the café opened on June 17, 1934 and, 

though some of the exact timeline is a bit 

blurred, there have been three 

primary owners including partners 

Everett and Edna Morgan 

and Loren and Louise Schultz; 

Evan and Theo Cropper who 

purchased the Schultz’s interest 

in 1949 and became sole owners 

in 1952; Lavar “Butch” and 

Darlene Warren who purchased 

it in 1972, running it for three 

decades before finally selling to 

Roxanne and Wesley Smith. 

Today, the café is still a local 

gathering place, but its charm 

and incredible “everything-fromscratch” 

menu also brings in 

visitors from near and far, 

including many famous people 

from former United States 

President Ronald Reagan to stars 

of the silver screen. 

Although the official hours 

are 5 a.m. until 10 p.m., baking 

starts at 3:30 a.m. with a continual 

flow of patrons coming into 

the seventy seat diner, breakfast 

flowing into lunch and lunch 

into dinner. In addition, North 

Hi-Way is also well-known for 

its outside catering. The Smiths 

employ an average of fifty people, 

many of whom have been 

with the café for several decades. 

Many patrons have been coming 

in for just as long or longer. 

“And that is where our real 

treasure lies,” said Smith. For 

more information, please visit 

www.northhiwaycafe.com on the 

Internet or just stop by. 


THE BANK 

OF COMMERCE 

The Bank of Commerce’s motto is “The Bank of 

a Lifetime” and is a most fitting description for a 

bank that has become a fixture in Idaho Falls 

since first opening its doors on September 3, 1959. 

“More than a half century ago, a group of 

businessmen saw a need for a community bank 

that would serve small businesses and the 

agricultural industry,” said President and CEO 

Thomas Romrell. “They pooled $8 million in 

capital to fund their vision and The Bank of 

Commerce has been growing ever since.” 

In fact today The Bank of Commerce has 

grown a hundredfold to $800 million in assets 

and has over 200 employees serving more than 

47,000 customers. Including the main administrative 

branch at 3113 South Twenty-fifth Street 

in Idaho Falls, there are fourteen 

other branches in the bank’s system—five 

in Idaho Falls, two in 

neighboring Rexburg and one each in 

eight other nearby towns and cities 

including American Falls, Blackfoot, 

Driggs, Mud Lake, Pocatello, Rigby, 

Ririe and Shelley. 

Since its inception, the bank has 

strived to meet the credit needs of its 

community as is reflected in its loan 

portfolio with one third of loans being 

agricultural-based, one third being 

commercial and real estate based and 

one third small business and consumer 

loans. It is because of this diversity 

that the bank is considered to be one 

of the safest and soundest banks in 

Idaho and the nation, says Romrell. 

In addition to credit and lending services, 

individuals and businesses can choose from a 

full slate of banking options from checking, 

savings and certificates of deposit to individual 

retirement and health savings accounts and 

trust services, just to name a few. Customers 

also enjoy the most up-to-date services in the 

industry including online banking, bill pay and 

even text banking. 

“We at the Bank of Commerce are always 

proud to offer the best banking services and 

competitive rates, but the true credit for our 

success lies with our experienced, friendly staff 

and many loyal customers,” Romrell said. 

For more information on The Bank of 

Commerce, visit www.bankofcommerce.org. 


NELSON HALL 

PARRY TUCKER, 

P.A. 

✧ 

Below: Front row, left to right, 

Brian Tucker, Doug Nelson, 

Blake Hall, and Wiley Dennert. 

Back row, left to right, 

Weston Davis, Scott Hall, Sam Angell, 

Nathan Starnes, and Steve Parry. 

Nelson Hall Parry Tucker, P.A. (NHPT), a 

professional association of attorneys and counselors 

in Idaho Falls, serves the Southern Idaho 

area. The firm’s offices are located adjacent to 

the Snake River and the water falls that gave 

Idaho Falls its name. 

NHPT has been an active member of the 

community for decades, originating in 1959 as 

Anderson Sharp and Bush. 

W. Joe Anderson, one of the founding members, 

was a dedicated veteran of World War II 

who received the Prisoner of War Medal. 

Following his military service, Anderson was 

involved in the State Bar Association and was a 

founding member and president of the Eastern 

Idaho Estate Planning Council. He was also 

active in a number of civic organizations. 

John M. Sharp was a special agent working 

in Idaho Falls and a former Bonneville County 

Prosecuting Attorney when he joined Anderson 

to form a law partnership in 1959. Sharp was 

later elected President of the Idaho State Bar 

Commission and served in many community 

organizations until his passing in 2009. 

Eugene L. Bush, also a former prosecutor and 

a member of the Idaho legislature, became a 

partner shortly thereafter. 

Today, NHPT continues its founders’ tradition 

of service and excellence. It is one of 

the largest law firms in the area with a reservoir 

of experience and expertise in representing 

both individuals and businesses. Committed to 

providing the highest standards of professional 

legal services at a fair and reasonable cost, the 

firm takes pride in knowing and understanding 

its clients’ needs. The firm has continued to 

grow and expand as community and business 

leaders have recognized the quality of its work. 

The firms’ attorneys represent many government 

entities, including counties, cities, school 

districts, and other taxing authorities. In 1961, 

the firm helped charter a regional community 

bank and has provided services to many lenders 

for more than fifty years. 

Community and volunteer service has been a 

tradition for members of the firm and numerous 

political and charitable organizations have been 

led by firm members over the years. Currently, 

the firm provides facilities for the Idaho 

Community Foundation and assists the foundation 

in its mission to enhance the quality of life 

throughout Idaho. 


TOBIN 

CLEANING & 

RESTORATION 

When disaster strikes, residents of eastern 

Idaho know they can depend on Tobin Cleaning 

& Restoration to restore their homes or businesses 

to original condition as quickly as possible. 

Tobin Cleaning & Restoration began as a 

small, family-operated janitorial and carpet 

cleaning firm in 1973. The company was founded 

by Harold Tobin, who formerly was in the 

dry cleaning business, and his son, Hal, who had 

worked for another cleaning service. In the early 

days, the entire family, including Hal’s mother 

and siblings, helped clean homes and offices. 

The company’s very first job was cleaning 

some rental property on a Saturday. Within a 

week, the new cleaning service had acquired a 

dozen customers, including banks, loan offices 

and construction firms. The fee in those early 

days was ten dollars an hour, which covered 

labor and supplies. 

A major breakthrough came when the firm 

began performing clean-up work for insurance 

companies following a fire, flood, wind storm 

or other natural disaster. Tobin Cleaning & 

Restoration soon became specialists in clean-up 

and restoration work and today ninety-five percent 

of its work is for insurance companies. 

To dry homes and businesses inundated by 

flood waters, Tobin has three truck-mounted 

extractors to remove the water and sophisticated 

drying equipment that can heat an interior to 

110 degrees for quick drying. “We disassemble 

the property if necessary, then clean and deodorize,” 

explains Tobin “Drying the structure is the 

key to avoid mold issues.” 

If a structure has been damaged, Tobin 

Restoration is a licensed residential and commercial 

general contractor and works with 

experienced plumbing and electrical subcontractors. 

Most other work is performed with 

Tobin’s highly qualified in-house employees. 

“We were the first cleaning company that could 

handle everything from shingles to carpet with 

one phone call,” comments Tobin. 

Tobin Cleaning worked from home offices and 

rented storage space in its early years, but built 

its current facility at 1535 Sunnyside Road in 

Idaho Falls in 1984. The firm currently has fifteen 

employees, including 

several who have 

been with the company 

twenty years or 

longer. Gary Welker, 

an expert on reconstruction, 

has been 

with the company 

thirty-seven years, 

and Secretary Julie 

Severson has been 

with the company 

twenty-seven years. 

Tobin retired in 

2012 and sold the business to Rhett Judy, an 

experienced cleaning contractor who had worked 

with Tobin for five years. 

The firm will continue to provide the same 

fine services under the same name. For additional 

information on Tobin Cleaning & Restoration, 

visit www.tobinrestoration.com. 


CORNERSTONE 

FINANCIAL 

ADVISORS 

✧ 

Darren Josephson. 

The cornerstone is the first stone set in a 

masonry foundation—a rock-solid stone that 

determines the entire position of a structure 

and a most fitting namesake for Cornerstone 

Financial Advisors in Idaho Falls, Idaho. 

Cornerstone Financial is a full-service financial 

consulting firm dedicated to helping clients 

build wealth and protect their hard-earned 

assets. Cornerstone Financial actually got its legs 

in June 1983 when founder Parke Josephson 

used his own to hoof it door-to-door selling 

Prudential Life policies. As life insurance was 

its primary focus, the company was founded 

as Josephson Insurance Agency, Inc. and Parke 

Josephson sat at its helm until 1992 when he 

retired and handed the reins over to his son, 

Darren, who had been an agent with the 

company since the beginning. Shortly after, 

the name of the company was changed 

to Cornerstone Financial Advisors to more 

adequately reflect the broader spectrum of 

services the company began to offer. 

Today, Darren remains president and continues 

to lead the fully independent company as 

it offers not just life insurance, but retirement, 

estate and investment planning, tax and risk 

management as well as education funding and 

employee and executive benefits. 

“As financial professionals we strive to help 

our clients plan for financial security by 

providing them with three key tools—a clear 

understanding of their financial goals; a 

well-defined roadmap from which to work 

toward those goals; and ongoing advice to help 

adjust that roadmap when needs change,” 

Darren says. “We never want our clients to have 

to worry about outliving their incomes.” 

Cornerstone currently has two offices, the 

headquarters offices in Idaho Falls and a 

satellite office in nearby Pocatella. The Pocatella 

office formerly conducted business under 

the name Idaho Planning. In addition to the 

experienced and seasoned agents and personnel 

who work out of these offices, the company 

also has a strong presence on the internet. 

On the company’s website, www.cfaidaho.net, 

clients will find valuable information such as 

educational articles and advice as well as tools 

for evaluating and assessing both current and 

future needs. 

Securities offered through The O.N. Equity 

Sales Company. 

Investment Advisory Services offered through 

O.N. Investment Management Company. 

Member FINRA/SIPC One Financial Way, 

Cincinnati, OH 45242 (513) 794-6794. 


THE LEGACY 

NETWORK 

The Legacy Network, it might be said, 

follows its own lead. Since 1976 the financial 

services company has been helping families 

build for future generations. Lately, it has been 

doing some generational building of its own. 

Now, the founder, Rand Robison, has been 

joined as partners by his sons, Russell in 1999 

and Joel in 2003 and by his daughter, Moria 

Westenskow in 2009. On Joel’s to-do list was a 

big merger item, the operational integration of 

other agencies acquired by the former Robison 

Insurance and Financial Services, Inc. Joel has 

been entrusted with expansion of the vital internal 

sales force, and Moria is commissioned with 

growing the exciting health side of the business. 

“There are only three things you can do 

with your wealth at your death,” says Rand. 

“You can give it to your family, to charity or 

to the government. At TLN, we have developed 

a process that guides our clientele through to 

the finish line and helps them keep as much of 

their estate in their family as possible.” 

Thirty-six years later, and after the addition of 

the three partners, The Legacy Network is now 

licensed to sell insurance in forty-eight states. 

Its four divisions include two wholesale operations—TLN 

Brokerage and TLN Direct—and two 

retail entities—TLN Service Network and Elite 

Advisors Group. The group includes an online 

interactive known as LegacyLifeQuote.com, 

which has spurred considerable growth since it 

began in 2007. 

Representing the ten largest life insurance 

carriers in the United States, including Met 

Life, John Hancock, Lincoln National, AXA, 

Prudential, ING and an additional twenty 

major companies, The Legacy Network offers 

life, health, annuity long-term care and 

disability products. The company works 

through more than 100 agencies across the 

United States. 

“The Legacy Network is the face of Idaho to 

those insurance advisors around the country,” 

says Russell, “and our plan is to sign up more 

good people, to the benefit of those agencies 

and the people here at home.” 

For more information on this growing family 

firm, visit www.TLNnet.com. 

✧ 

Back row, left to right: A true family 

business, company founder Rand 

Robison poses with his children and 

TLN business partners, Russell 

Robison, Joel Robison and Moria 

Westenskow. Front row, left to right: 

The up and coming third generation 

of Robisons include Russell’s son, 

Adrian Robison, and Joel’s son, 

Jack Robison. 


C-A-L 

FARM & 

RANCH STORES 

It was not an easy decision for Clinton 

Murphy and his two sons, Allen and Laurel 

“Wayne,” to leave the little town of Clarissa, 

Minnesota, population 500 and head west to 

seek their destiny. 

tires, batteries and oil filters. If a farmer 

or rancher had five or more motorized 

vehicles, they could get a “Fleet” card, 

which entitled them to a discount on 

their purchases. 

✧ 

The Murphy brothers are very 

grateful for the awesome support the 

residents of Bonneville County have 

extended over the years. In this 

vintage photo, Allen (left) and Wayne 

(right) Murphy pose in front of their 

storefront with hometown friends who 

were passing through Idaho Falls. 

They loved their home, but they were 

looking for more—specifically a town 

with plenty of farms and ranches where 

they could open a retail farm and ranch 

supply store. They passed through Montana 

as far west as Missoula. Not finding what 

they were looking for there, they turned 

south. Their intent was to head to Texas, but 

as they drove through the fertile Idaho Falls 

valley—an area teeming with farms—they 

knew right away they had found their 

new home. 

With $30,000, most of which was borrowed 

from their father, Allen and Wayne opened 

their new store on the corner of Curtis and 

West Eighteenth Street in Idaho Falls in 

August 1959. They named it C-A-L Farm 

& Ranch Store—the C for Clinton, the 

A for Allen and the L for Laurel. The bulk of 

their product line included tools, spark plugs, 

Area farmers responded with full support 

and the Murphy’s quickly outgrew their 

1,800 square foot building. After just one 

year they moved into a new building in front 

of the stockyards on Yellowstone Highway. 

Twelve years later, they built a new 33,000 

square foot store at 665 East Anderson in Idaho 

Falls. A second store was opened in 1963 in 

neighboring Rexburg with additional stores 

opening in Blackfoot, Pocatello and Burley 

in 1967. 

In 1988, C-A-L Ranch Stores was sold to 

longtime employee and general manager, 

Howard Johnston, and in 2006 was sold again, 

this time to three other long-term employees. 

Today, Jerry Ward, Bill Wallace and Tom 

Yearsley own the company and operate 

eighteen stores in four states. 

For more information on C-A-L Ranch 

Stores, visit online at www.calranch.com. 


The chamber of commerce has been a part of 

the Idaho Falls scene for over 100 years, helping 

to forge the business community forward. 

Although the message content has changed over 

the years, the chamber has been and always 

will be dedicated to telling the Idaho Falls story. 

Information is readily provided to the business 

world and others seeking information about 

regional shopping, cultural interests, medical and 

healthcare, recreation, transportation and other 

businesses and organizations in Eastern Idaho. 

In June 1904 as businessmen came to realize 

that their own prosperity depended on the 

development of a prosperous, healthy, happy 

community, a group of business leaders formed the 

first business organization called the Idaho Falls 

Commercial Club. In 1907 the group was reorganized 

as the Idaho Falls Club of Commerce, as their 

primary focus shifted to attracting new industries 

and commercial development to Idaho Falls. 

The name changed April 28, 1919 to 

Bonneville County Commercial Club and again 

April 5, 1922 when the chamber of commerce 

name came into existence. In the late 1950s, 

it was recognized that whatever affected the 

businesses of Idaho Falls had a profound impact 

on the surrounding communities, so the name 

was changed to The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber 

of Commerce, its present designation. 

As one of the largest and most active chambers 

of commerce in the state of Idaho, The Greater 

Idaho Falls Chamber has taken pride in the fact 

that it has played the vital role in the business 

community of being the advocate and leader for 

business interests in Eastern Idaho. 

From the early 1900s, Innovative projects have 

shaped the future of Idaho Falls as an icon in 

the development of energy sources. The chamber 

has played an instrumental role in such projects 

as the development of the city’s first power plant 

by taming the Snake River’s rapids and diverting 

the waters through hydroelectric turbines. 

When the state of Idaho was originally selected 

to become the home of the atomic energy site 

in 1948, our neighbors to the south, the city of 

Pocatello, was expected to be chosen to house 

the headquarters. Although agriculture has 

always been the predominant industry in Idaho 

Falls, our chamber business leaders, through 

clever planning and lobbying, managed to sway 

the Washington D.C. decision makers to select 

Idaho Falls instead and led to the development 

of the first experimental Breeder Reactor, 

which chalked up one of the most historic 

achievements of the century in producing 

the first use of nuclear fission electricity at the 

Idaho National Laboratory. 

In the 1970s the chamber initiated construction 

of a new environmental education center on 

the northern edge of Russ Freeman Park that led 

to the creation of University Place, a duel enrollment 

satellite campus for Idaho State University 

and the University of Idaho and played a critical 

role in lobbying the state legislature to create a 

vocational technical college in Eastern Idaho, 

now know as Eastern Idaho Technical College. 

While the list of activities and projects the 

chamber has been involved with during the 

development of Idaho Falls is long, one thing is 

for certain, the chamber has played a critical role 

in improving the economic welfare 

of the community. Whether 

it is creating a business friendly 

atmosphere, to providing a 

skilled and stable workforce, 

to helping businesses run more 

efficiently and reduce costs 

of operation. The chamber is 

fighting many battles, on many 

fronts, on businesses behalf. 

For more information visit 

www.idahofallschamber.com or 

call 208-523-1010. 

THE GREATER 

IDAHO FALLS 

CHAMBER OF 

COMMERCE 


MERRILL LYNCH– 

IDAHO FALLS 

BRANCH OFFICE 

Merrill Lynch—the brokerage and investment 

firm renowned for bringing “Wall Street to Main 

Street” nearly a century ago—has also played a 

key role in Idaho Falls’ growth and recognition 

as a regional business hub. The firm originally 

opened a downtown Idaho Falls office in 1981 

and has held a consistent position in the community 

ever since. Today, Merrill Lynch has 

expanded to help meet the needs of its growing 

client base by moving to modern offices at 560 

South Woodruff Avenue. Anchored by approximately 

a dozen Financial Advisors and five service-oriented 

Client Associates, the Idaho Falls 

branch office focuses on helping affluent individuals, 

families and business owners pursue 

their financial dreams. Everyone in the office 

aspires every day to honor Charles Merrill’s commitment 

to putting clients’ interests first. 

Merrill Lynch offers the experience, continuity 

and perspective that few in the industry can 

match. From educating prospects about investing 

in the 1930s and 1940s—including special 

programs for women—to leading Wall Street 

globalization in the 1960s, to introducing the 

revolutionary Cash Management Account ® in the 

1970s; from being the first financial firm ever to 

exceed $1 trillion in client assets, which happened 

in the 1990s, to launching a comprehensive 

wealth management platform and joining 

Bank of America in the twenty-first century, 

Merrill Lynch has been a leader in bringing individuals 

into the investment process in the United 

States and around the world. 

Although the firm offers access to the vast 

global resources of both Merrill Lynch and Bank 

of America, our Financial Advisors try to give 

each client meeting the feel of an intimate family 

gathering. We believe that when we connect 

on a “local” level, there is a net gain in understanding, 

support and achievement. And our 

role goes beyond advising on stocks and bonds. 

We also assist individuals, families and businesses 

in areas such as retirement, cash management 

and financing, often working closely with clients’ 

other professionals, such as attorneys and 

accountants, as needed. 

The principles by which we conduct ourselves 

are: focusing on clients, respecting each individual, 

working as a team, being responsible citizens 

and demonstrating integrity at all times. And our 

employees are actively involved in the communities 

in which they serve and live, devoting time, 

energy and resources to create positive change. 

Please contact us at 208-525-5211 to learn 

more about how The Power of the Right Advisor ® 

can make a positive impact on your financial life. 

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes 

available products and services offered by Merrill 

Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, 

a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC, 

and other subsidiaries of Bank of America 

Corporation (BAC). 

Investment products are not FDIC Issued, 

are not bank guaranteed and may lose value. 


The mission of the North American Brewers 

Association (NABA) has been the same since the 

day it was founded: To secure the role of beer in 

today’s culture and society through the advancement 

of brewing quality and consumer education. 

The idea for the association began brewing 

shortly after the first cup of suds was poured 

at the first-ever Mountain Brewers Beer Fest in 

May 1995. Created as a fun way to introduce 

craft and microbrewed beer to eastern Idaho, 

this first festival not only attracted 700 people, 

but also became the catalyst for the association. 

NABA was actually founded in late 1996 

and incorporated in 1999. It is a nonprofit, 

all-volunteer organization with members from 

throughout the North American brewing industry. 

Founders and key individuals credited 

with getting it all started include Lisa Smith, 

Rich Gelok, Bruce 

Steege, Bob Beckwith, 

Jay Newkirk, Ron 

Leanna, Tom Hartwell 

and Dine Smith as well 

as local attorney John 

“Mick” Ohman and 

current NABA President 

Gregg Smith. 

In addition to organizational 

tasks such 

as the development 

of corporate policies, 

procedures and membership, 

NABA also 

sanctions beer awards 

and festivals such as the Mountain Brewers Fest 

and North American Beer Awards as well as a 

judging and evaluation course. 

Held on the first Saturday in June at Sandy 

Downs in Idaho Falls, the Mountain Brewers 

Fest has grown immensely over the years and 

now attracts people from more than twenty 

states and several foreign countries. The 2011 

edition hosted a record-breaking 6,000 attendees 

and was named a winner of the governor’s 

tourism event award. It regularly features 

samplings from more than 100 breweries as 

well as food and live music. 

All revenue goes to charities 

and nonprofits with selected 

groups receiving more 

than $620,000 since the 

festival’s inception. 

Held in conjunction 

with the festival since 1997, 

the North American Beer 

Awards is a prestigious 

and professional three-day 

brewing competition judged 

by brewmasters from major 

national and small independent 

breweries as well 

as beer journalists and 

certified judges. The gold, 

silver and bronze medals awarded are so 

coveted that it is not uncommon to see them 

heralded in the winning brewer’s national 

advertising campaigns. 

Visit www.northamericanbrewers.org or 

www.mbbf.org for more information. 

NORTH 

AMERICAN 

BREWER’S 

ASSOCIATION 


COX, OHMAN & 

BRANDSTETTER, 

CHARTERED 

✧ 

Above: Left to right, Dean 

Brandstetter, Amy Kingston, 

and John Ohman. 

Below: Left to right, Lori Freeman, 

Sheila Cooper, Pat Cox, Becki 

Thompson, and Kris Purcell. 

For more than three decades, the attorneys 

of what is now Cox, Ohman & Brandstetter, 

Chartered in Idaho Falls have stood behind 

clients as they faced judge and jury in an array 

of litigation-related matters from cases of 

wrongful death, family law, criminal defense, 

probate and estates, real estate matters, and 

business and employment law to just about any 

other legal matter, civil or criminal. 

A full-service law firm, COB Law—as it is 

often referred—is committed to upholding 

the highest standards of professionalism and 

ethics and pledges to always provide the 

highest quality representation. One of the ways 

they do this is by getting to know each client on 

an individual basis. 

“By using a one-on-one approach we are able 

to effectively assess each client’s needs and 

requirements,” said John M. Ohman, one of the 

two original founding partners. “In many cases, 

an out-of-court agreement can be reached 

through smart negotiation, but, sometimes, 

aggressive litigation is necessary. Our expertise 

is in knowing how to best meet each client’s 

individual challenge.” 

A certified trial specialist with a consistent 

“A” rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Legal 

Directory, Ohman began practicing with Idaho 

Falls native Roger D. Cox in December 1978 

and the two formed Cox and Ohman, 

Chartered in May 1981. In April 1990 they 

brought in Dean C. Brandstetter of Idaho Falls 

and rebranded the firm Cox, Ohman & 

Brandstetter, Chartered. 

Also heralded by Martindale-Hubbell, 

Brandstetter specializes in family, commercial 

and criminal law with extensive experience 

in trial and appellate matters. Cox retired in 

2007 after practicing law for forty years and 

attorney Amy Kingston joined in 2009. Also 

from Idaho Falls and with Federal Tax Court 

experience, Kingston specializes in tax planning 

and issues arising from business operations, 

property transactions, estate planning, 

probate matters, tax exempt organizations, 

wills or trusts, business formation, and mergers, 

consolidations and acquisitions. 

In addition to the attorneys, the firm has 

a staff of five highly-skilled employees. All 

pride themselves not only in their professions, 

but in their community as well through 

involvement in numerous civic, charitable and 

social organizations and events. 

For more information, please visit 

www.coblawidahofalls.com. 


✧ 

Grays Lake marshes. 



✧ 

New school in Ammon, 1904. 


BUILDING A GREATER 

BONNEVILLE COUNTY 

B o n n e v i l l e C o u n t y ’ s r e a l e s t a t e d e v e l o p e r s , 

c o n s t r u c t i o n c o m p a n i e s , h e a v y i n d u s t r i e s , 

a n d m a n u f a c t u r e r s p r o v i d e 

t h e e c o n o m i c f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t y 

Idaho Falls Power 

City of Idaho Falls Electric Light Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 6 

B&B Custom, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 8 

Anheuser-Busch Idaho Barley and Malting Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 0 

HK Contractors, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 2 

Idaho National Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 4 

Johnson Brothers Planing Mill, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 6 

The Watkins Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 8 

Ball Ventures, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 0 

Morgan Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 2 

Custom Land Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 3 

Eagle Rock Specialties, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 4 

Idaho Steel Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 5 

Pacific West Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 6 

Venture One Properties 

Java Espress ® and Juice Jungle ® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 7 

Wheeler Electric, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 8 

NBW Architects, P.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 9 

D. V. Groberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 0 

Holst Tr uck Parts 

Holst Collision Center, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 1 

J. R. Simplot Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 2 

Bonneville Industrial Supply Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 3 

Doug Andrus Distributing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 4 

B u i l d i n g a G r e a t e r B o n n e v i l l e C o u n t y ✦ 1 3 5

IDAHO FALLS 

POWER 

CITY OF 

IDAHO FALLS 

ELECTRIC LIGHT 

DIVISION 

✧ 

Above: Diversion dam on Snake River 

for City Plant, 1962. The structure 

provides the “falls” for Idaho Falls. 

Below: Substation and Lower Plant 

building, 1955. 

Joseph A. Clark, the first mayor of Idaho Falls, 

campaigned for office on a promise to bring 

electric power to the town. He made good on his 

campaign promise and a tiny electric generator 

was installed on an irrigation canal in the fall of 

1900, establishing the city’s electric utility. 

The original power plant was located near what 

is now a small park on the west side of boulevard 

where Tenth Street connects. The fan-belt generator 

had a capacity of 125 horsepower and most of 

the initial demand for the plant was for street 

lighting. However, electric power was not 

supplied twenty-four hours a day. The generating 

plant was started around 4:00 p.m. on cloudy 

days and 4:30 p.m. on clear days in the winter. 

It was often turned off on bright, moonlit nights. 

Demand for electricity grew quickly, leading 

to an increase in the plant’s capacity in 1902. 

Residents paid $1 per month for two incandescent 

lights, 40 cents each for the next two lights, 

and 30 cents per month for each additional light. 

By 1912 additional generating power was 

needed and voters approved a $95,000 bond 

issue to build a dam and powerhouse on the river 

between the Broadway Avenue Bridge and the 

hospital. Within weeks, electric rates dropped to 

seven cents per kilowatt-hour, one of the lowest 

residential rates in the state. Commercial customers 

paid a rate of four cents per kilowatt-hour. 

Demand for electricity continued to grow, 

and Idaho Falls was forced to purchase surplus 

power from Utah Power & Light, which had 

purchased a hydroelectric dam and powerhouse 

on the Snake River, four miles south of Idaho 

Falls. City officials also felt the pressure to find 

a second generating unit for the City Plant and, 

in 1917, $35,000 in new bonds was issued to 

pay for a waterwheel and generator at the City 

Plant. A number of additions and improvements 

helped the city keep pace with demand through 

the 1930s. Although the Great Depression 

devastated southeastern Idaho, peak load continued 

to increase at approximately ten percent 

through the first half of the 1930s. 

Like other utilities across the nation, Idaho 

Falls Power had to ‘make do’ with shortages of 

water, manpower and materials during World 

War II. The war effort also created a shortage of 

steel, copper and aluminum, all essential for 

maintaining the city’s electric system. The war 

era also saw completion of two massive dams on 


the Columbia River, a significant event that led 

to creation of a vast public power system for the 

Pacific Northwest. 

Until 1950, Idaho Falls Power operated in 

essentially the same manner as it had for fifty 

years. However, by the early 1960s, peak 

demand was approaching 40,000 kilowatts and 

Idaho Falls signed an agreement with the 

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for what 

appeared at the time to be a limitless supply of 

inexpensive hydroelectric power. The agreement 

allowed Idaho Falls Power to lower its rates and 

more aggressively market electricity. 

The utility survived a major disaster in June 

1976 when the Teton Dam, a storage reservoir 

on the upper Snake River, suddenly failed and 

more than 80 billion gallons of water spilled 

out of the reservoir. The flood killed six people 

and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in 

damage. The utility’s City Plant was a total loss 

and damage to other facilities was extensive. 

A $48 million bond issue was approved by 

voters to rebuild the hydroelectric plants, using 

bulb turbine technology that dramatically 

increased the performance of the city’s hydroelectric 

plants. 

As demand continued to grow, the Gem State 

project—a 22.4-megawatt plant—was built on 

the Snake River below Idaho Falls in 1987. In 

addition to supplying the area’s electric power 

needs, Gem State has become one of the area’s 

prime recreation spots. 

Idaho Falls Power has enjoyed an annual 

growth rate of just under two percent over 

the last forty years and annual retail revenues 

now total $42.6 million on sales of 698,300,000 

kilowatt hours. The utility serves more than 

26,000 customers and employs more than 

sixty-five people. 

✧ 

Above: Intake structure for City Plant 

after Teton Dam flood, 1976. 

Below: Crews replacing downtown 

transformer racks, 1965. 


B&B CUSTOM, 

INC. 

✧ 

Left to right, Cory, Dave, and Tracy 

Bingham are ready to begin another 

day at their custom crop-protection 

business in Idaho Falls. 

“The ‘Idaho’ hangtag in the produce section 

of the supermarket may not be a big deal 

for some; but, for the potato growers of that 

state, it is their pledge of quality to consumers,” 

says David Bingham, president and CEO of 

B&B Custom, Inc. 

Before B&B Custom, a crop-production, custom-application 

business, was founded in 1988, 

the family operated a 360 acre farm where they 

raised hay, grain and potatoes. With the potato 

growing operation, Dave used a four-row planter 

equipped with a 150-gallon fertilizer tank to 

spray liquid fertilizer into the soil through 

the planter shoe. While the treatment of soil 

was vital to a healthy crop, he soon learned 

the method he used was not adequate because 

the spray mixed with 

the dry disease control 

chemical, resulting in 

inefficient application 

of expensive materials. 

He agrees that 

“necessity” is the Mother 

of Invention. With the 

help of his team (sons 

Cory and Tracy, and 

David’s wife, Jeanie), 

they designed and built 

equipment to allow 

simultaneous potato 

row mark-out and 

chemical applications. 

The idea worked, and they expanded the number 

of rows from four to eight, redesigning the injector 

shoes; thereby, eliminating cross-mixing of 

chemicals, and more than doubling the capacity of 

chemical tanks. These improvements greatly 

increased the efficiency, reducing the maintenance 

during application. The initial enhancements 

prompted Bingham to seek other improvements, 

not only increasing the overall operation of his 

farm, but revolutionized the potato-growing 

industry in Idaho. 

In 1992, B&B Custom designed a two-layer 

injector shoe for the new Vapam ® application 

system, which enables the fumigation chemical 

to be distributed more evenly and efficiently in 

the soil while minimizing waste. B&B’s chemical 

suppliers took note, testing the placement of the 

product in the soil. It was not long until word 

spread among suppliers and dealers; and, B&B’s 

process became the new industry standard. 

During the start-up years, B&B continued 

utilizing the initial design modifications to 

improve chemical applications and row markouts. 

Further research and testing methods 

proved that single-layer Vapam ® application and 

water overlay was more efficient than the 

previously used two-layer application because it 

prevented chemical escape into the atmosphere. 

When the Potato Growers of Idaho learned 

about the application, B&B Custom was asked to 

demonstrate the new technique to the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Idaho 


State Legislature and AG Company officials. Again, 

B&B Custom established a new industry baseline. 

Since 1990, B&B’s growth and inventions have 

been phenomenal. They designed and built 8-row, 

markers; 12-row markers, and, eventually, 18-row 

markers. Each time, the tractors’ horsepower was 

dramatically increased. The company made 

improvements to the injector shoe in 1993; and, 

in 2004, it was the first to incorporate a satellite 

positioning system (GPS) to assist tractor 

operators during the mark-out and chemical 

application process. Improvements have been 

made to the technology, using BeeLine © GPS, to 

keep the tractor on a straight path within a 

tolerance of +/- one inch. “The GPS system is 

accurate, automated position tracking that allows 

farmers and agricultural service providers to 

record data and apply variable rates of inputs to 

smaller areas within larger fields,” he says. 

In 2000, B&B made major changes by 

replacing their standard wheeled tractors with 

new rubber caterpillar tract tractors. This 

change limited the soil compaction damage 

caused by large tractor footprints. 

When the Pale Cyst Nematode soil disease 

was discovered in the Shelley area, B&B 

Custom’s team used its innovative equipment 

and application system to apply Telone ® , a deep 

treatment commercial chemical, to eliminate the 

destructive pest from the soil and prevent loss of 

entire crops. It also eliminated the threat of the 

disease spreading to nearby fields. 

During 2011 the B&B Custom team 

expanded into the Burley, Idaho, area. They 

were invited by a local fertilizer company to use 

their innovative systems to apply Telone ® soil 

fumigant to two fields totaling 1,100 acres. This 

application was used for the 2012 sugar beet 

crop season. The purpose of this application 

was to eliminate the nematode disease to 

improve the productivity of the sugar beet crop. 

Since the company was founded, another 

son, Tim, and daughter, Michelle, were added as 

tractor operators. Otherwise, there have been no 

major changes to key personnel or organization 

of the family-run business. It takes pride in 

purchasing all equipment, supplies, and 

materials from local dealers and suppliers. 

B&B Custom, Inc. is located in the New 

Sweden area in Idaho Falls. 


ANHEUSER-BUSCH IDAHO BARLEY AND 

MALTING OPERATIONS 

and high quality barley seed to local Idaho 

farmers. The barley varieties grown in Idaho 

have been hand selected by Anheuser-Busch 

brewmasters to provide a barley malt supply of 

the highest quality for beer production. 

The staff at the Barley Elevator contracts 

with local Idaho farmers (many of whom 

have grown barley for Anheuser-Busch for 

generations) to ensure a dependable supply 

of high quality malting barley. Currently 

Anheuser-Busch contracts approximately twenty 

million bushels of Idaho barley. The elevator 

receives barley direct from the local farmers, 

making sure it conforms to strict quality 

standards before accepting and then ships the 

barley to the malt plant where it is cleaned in 

preparation for malt production. 

✧ 

Above: The Anheuser-Busch 

Malt Plant in Idaho Falls, 

prior to expansion. 

Right: An Idaho barley field. 

Malted barley is arguably the most important 

ingredient in any beer and forms the flavor 

base for the Anheuser-Busch family of beers 

including Budweiser and Bud Light, the two of 

the best selling beers in the world. 

Anheuser-Busch began contracting barley in 

Idaho in the mid-1960s after the company 

deemed Idaho and the barley grown here to 

be of the ideal quality for its beers. Idaho is 

currently the largest barley producing state in 

the nation. Today the company’s Idaho barley 

and malting operations directly employs more 

than sixty people and indirectly provides 

employment for thousands more ultimately 

contributing over $100 million dollars annually 

to the local economy. 

The company’s malt plant located just 

south of downtown Idaho Falls and Barley 

Elevator located north of the city along 

Interstate I-15 were both constructed in 1990 

and then expanded in 2002, effectively 

doubling the size of both facilities. Both are 

notable local landmarks with their Budweiser 

and Anheuser-Busch logos being visible for 

miles around. In addition to these two facilities, 

Anheuser-Busch also operates a Barley Seed 

Plant just east of the Barley Elevator. 

Growing malting quality barley for beer production 

is a complex operation that begins at the 

Barley Seed Plant, which supplies a high purity 

After the barley has been cleaned at the malt 

plant, it is “malted” through a seven day, three 

step process of steeping, germination and 

kilning. The finished malt is then tasted and 

analyzed for quality before being shipped to 

any of the company’s twelve domestic breweries 

for beer production. 

Anheuser-Busch as a company traces its 

origins back to the Bavarian Brewery, established 

in 1852 in St. Louis. Eberhard Anheuser 

acquired the Bavarian Brewery in 1869 and 

renamed it E. Anheuser & Co. In 1864, his 

son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, joined the company 

that would later become Anheuser-Busch. 


While the company’s early years were 

demanding, Adolphus proved up to the 

challenge. His keen vision, bold initiative, 

marketing savvy and passionate commitment 

to quality were his legacy to those who followed 

and the high standards he established have 

been adhered to by each succeeding generation. 

Philanthropic outreach is at the core of 

Anheuser-Busch’s business philosophy and has 

been since 1906, when the company donated 

money to the American Red Cross to support 

those impacted by the San 

Francisco earthquake. 

Since 1997, Anheuser- 

Busch and its foundation 

have invested in local communities 

through donations 

of nearly $475 million 

to charitable organizations. 

The company has also 

provided more than 71 

million cans of drinking 

water to people impacted by 

natural or other disasters 

since 1988. 

In addition to the company’s contributions, 

Anheuser-Busch’s workforce is dedicated to 

making a difference through volunteerism. 

Many employees give countless hours to help 

worthy organizations. 

Anheuser-Busch and its employees build 

on a legacy of corporate social responsibility 

by focusing on three key areas: promoting 

alcohol responsibility, preserving and protecting 

the environment and making a difference 

in local communities. 

✧ 

Above: The Anheuser-Busch 

Barley Elevator near Osgood. 

Below: The Anheuser-Busch 

Malt Plant, post expansion. 


HK 

CONTRACTORS, 

INC. 

From its humble beginnings as Hartwell 

Excavating to its current status as eastern 

Idaho’s largest road construction company, 

HK Contractors, Inc., of Idaho Falls has literally 

paved its way to success. 

Indeed, the company’s impressive reputation 

has been forged over six-plus decades. Starting 

in 1952—when George Hartwell began construction 

and excavating operations with little 

more than a backhoe, a dump truck and a 

dream; later joining forces with John Kennaday 

of Kennaday Paving; and then finally merging 

the two companies to become HK Contractors, 

Inc., on July 25, 1975, HK has certainly earned 

its designation as one of the most respected 

and successful general contracting firms in the 

Rocky Mountain West. 

Although the newly-merged company’s compounded 

expertise and assets enabled it to earn 

larger and more varied projects, the new HK 

Contractors put everything on the back burner 

to help its community back to its feet following 

the catastrophic Teton Dam Flood in 1976. 

Workers spent six months moving mud and 

debris and rebuilding roads before resuming 

normal duties and plunging headfirst into 

massive projects such as the paving of major 

highways for the Federal Highway Division and 

Transportation Departments for Idaho, Utah, 

Wyoming, Nevada, and Montana, as well an 

array of other projects for a diverse roster 

of residential, commercial and government 

clients. The company adopted the motto 

“Everything from Highways to Driveways” and 

that motto stands today. 

In addition to highways, today’s HK workforce 

of 250-plus multi-skilled, experienced 

workers uses a fleet of more than 350 pieces of 

major equipment to perform everything from 

city and local paving, underground utilities, 

turnkey subdivisions, mining, and specialty 

construction such as airports and dams to 

smaller, more routine driveway paving and 

maintenance, snow removal and even gravel 

and topsoil sales and delivery. 

✧ 

Above: HK Contractors, Inc. was 

founded and operated in the early 

days by (top) John Kennaday, 

(from left to right) Gene Ranstrom, 

Clyde Charles, George Hartwell, 

and Leonard Foster. 

Right: HK has invested in the latest 

in low emission warm mix asphalt 

technology by installing an energy 

efficient and eco-friendly warm mix 

asphalt plant. 


A self-sufficient company with annual sales 

often surpassing $100 million, HK owns multiple 

gravel sources, aggregate crushing operations 

and asphalt plants and was purchased 

in 2007 by Oldcastle, Inc.,—one of the world’s 

leading building products and materials companies. 

With operations in more than 1,900 

locations across the U.S. and Canada, this new 

parent company further escalated HK’s selfsufficiency 

by providing even more abundant 

resources and increased purchasing leverage. 

Some major local projects that bear the HK 

stamp include the 2007 reconstruction of Idaho 

Falls’ Sunnyside Road; and the 2010-2011 

reconstruction of U.S. Highway 20 from Menan 

to Lorenzo. HK was also a major contractor at 

many Brigham Young University-Idaho sites as 

the university transitioned from a two year to a 

four year school. 

Additionally, the company has been awarded 

major multiyear, multimillion dollar projects 

in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. 

Sprawling over preserved land in Idaho, 

Wyoming and Montana, Yellowstone has been 

the beneficiary of HK work over the past three 

decades to include major excavation, bridge 

construction, masonry, mechanically stabilized 

earth walls, soil nail walls, aggregate production, 

plant mix paving and the total reconstruction of 

old roadway. HK employees—working primarily 

at night so as not to disrupt tourist traffic were 

often visited by buffalo herds, moose and the 

occasional grizzly bear—are always careful to 

protect the environmental and historical features 

of the parks in which they are chosen to work. 

Superb work in Yellowstone led to a ten plus 

year, $140 million undertaking at Montana’s 

Glacier National Park which began in 2007. 

This project involves the rehabilitation of 

Going-to-the-Sun Road, which is not only one 

of the nation’s most scenic highways, but also 

one that—at only twenty feet wide with cliffs 

above and steep drop-offs below—makes HK’s 

award-winning expertise and safety crucial. 

As for awards, HK has received numerous 

local, state and national awards for work 

quality, performance and safety, including the 

“Best Construction Project” awarded by the 

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 

1998 and 2004 for projects in Yellowstone and 

in Grand Teton National Park in 2005. In 2003 

the company was awarded the FHWA’s “Highest 

Environmental Complexity” for its work on 

Yellowstone’s Grand Loop Road and, in 2008, the 

National Asphalt Pavement Association presented 

its esteemed Quality in Construction Award to 

the company after its completion of Yellowstone’s 

first warm-mix asphalt road project. 

The company also boasts an award winning 

safety record with more than one million hours 

worked without a lost time injury as well as 

recognition for their loyal participation in 

community and charitable activities. 

For more on HK Contractors, please visit 

www.hkcontractors.com 

✧ 

Above: HK Contractors, Inc., has 

constructed hundreds of private, 

municipal, and state sponsored jobs 

throughout the Mountain West. 

Below: HK’s motto “Everything from 

Highways to Driveways” stands for 

quality and integrity, and still rings 

true today. 


IDAHO NATIONAL 

LABORATORY 

✧ 

Below: The prototype for the 

U.S. Navy’s first nuclear submarine, 

the USS Nautilus, was built and 

tested at Idaho National Laboratory. 

Bottom: A team of reactor 

operators and engineers stands near 

Experimental Breeder Reactor-I a few 

weeks after the facility became the 

first reactor in the world to generate 

usable electricity. 

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has called 

Bonneville County home since 1949, when the 

National Reactor Testing Station was established 

by the Atomic Energy Commission (now the 

Department of Energy) in the Arco Desert. Idaho 

Falls and Bonneville County were chosen over 

several surrounding communities to house the 

Idaho offices that would oversee the newly formed 

research institution. The decision has brought 

cultural and economic growth to the region for 

more than sixty years. Today, exceptional expertise, 

unique infrastructure, nuclear materials and 

strategic partnerships converge at INL to form the 

national nuclear energy laboratory. 

As one of only ten multi-program national 

laboratories in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 

laboratory complex, INL was originally 

established to conduct nuclear 

demonstration and testing for the 

nation, with the expectation that the 

mission would last no more than 

fifteen years. More than six decades 

later, INL remains the leading laboratory 

for U.S. nuclear research and 

development, and has expanded 

the breadth of its programs and projects, 

attracting top engineers and 

researchers from across the country 

and around the world. The laboratory’s 

geography and physical infrastructure 

provide unique capabilities 

to test and deploy new technologies 

that help protect the nation’s resources and 

advance energy security. 

Over the years, fifty-two nuclear reactors 

have been built at INL, many of them firstof-a-kind 

designs that were constructed to 

prove or disprove nuclear theories. Some of 

these reactors have become world famous for 

their accomplishments. 

• On December 20, 1951, Experimental Breeder 

Reactor-I became the first reactor in the world 

to generate a usable amount of electricity. 

Only two years later, it proved that a nuclear 

reactor, while generating electricity, could also 

create more reactor fuel than it was consuming. 

EBR-I was decommissioned in 1964, and 

two years later was designated a Registered 

National Historic Landmark. Today, EBR-I is 

an atomic museum open to the public during 

the summer. 

• The Materials Test Reactor (MTR) was also 

built and operated at INL. This reactor has 

been credited with starting materials research 

for nuclear energy facilities around the 

world. It also began a tradition of materials 

research that continues today at INL’s 

Advanced Test Reactor, the world’s largest 

and most versatile materials testing reactor. 

• The Loss of Fluid Test Reactor (LOFT) operated 

from 1973 until 1985 with the primary 

intent of improving reactor safety. Information 

gathered from the LOFT experiments has 

been an integral part of developing computer 

codes to enhance reactor safety in nuclear 

energy facilities and research reactors around 

the world. 

The U.S. nuclear Navy was also born in 

Idaho. In fact, the first nuclear submarine 

prototype was built and operated at INL, 

proving the concept that a nuclear reactor 

could supply a submarine with electrical power 

and propulsion over extended periods of time. 

This momentous accomplishment led to the 

launching of the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear 

vessel in the United States, and the construction 

of additional prototype systems that 

became training platforms for thousands of 

naval sailors who trained at INL and lived in 


Today, the laboratory supports the safe 

operation of the nation’s 104 nuclear energy 

facilities and performs cutting-edge research for 


next generation nuclear reactors that emphasize 

inherent safety features and high-temperature 

designs. INL also performs vital research for 

national security, alternative energy, biotechnology, 

modeling and simulation, and numerous 

other energy fields. 

As the world confronts the complexities of 

energy challenges and choices, INL promises to 

use research innovation, testing and evaluation, 

and expertise to help industry and academia 

apply new solutions to safely, securely and 

sustainably expand energy supply and improve 

efficiency. With a strong partnership and a 

bright future, both the laboratory and 

Bonneville County are destined to celebrate 

many more milestones and anniversaries. 

✧ 

Above: An interior view of the fuel 

storage canal at Idaho National 

Laboratory’s Advanced Test 

Reactor complex. 

Below: A researcher uses a Computer 

Assisted Virtual Environment to better 

visualize the internal components of 

Idaho National Laboratory’s 

Advanced Test Reactor. 


JOHNSON BROTHERS PLANING MILL, INC. 

✧ 

Above: The old water wheel drive 

shaft for belt-driven equipment is 

still located in the basement at 

211 Cliff Street in Idaho Falls. 

This shaft is one of the highlights 

of a Johnson Brothers tour. 

Below: Johnson family and original 

owners in early 1900s. Back row, 

left to right: Oscar, Robert, Adolph, 

Emil, and Eno. Front row, left to 

right: Ernest, Alfreda, Carl Alfred, 

Maria Sophia, and Frederick. 

Like the skilled hands that have planed, sanded, 

turned and molded fine woodwork bearing 

the Johnson Brothers name for more than 

100 years, passion and hard work have finetuned 

and polished this family business into 

one of the most progressive woodworking and 

casework facilities in the Intermountain West 

and have succeeded in expanding its operations 

to include sales and distribution divisions. 

Founded in 1905, in the days when roughsawn 

lumber found its way from forest floor 

to planing mill by horse and wagon, Johnson 

Brothers was born when husband and wife 

Carl Alfred and Maria Sophia Johnson, their 

daughter, Alfreda, and seven sons—Robert, 

Oscar, Fred, Adolph, Ernest, Eno and Emil— 

migrated from Elkhart, Indiana to Idaho searching 

for prosperity. They settled in Idaho Falls 

where they not only found prosperity for their 

generation, but for future generations of family 

members as well. 

Soon after they arrived, the Johnsons purchased 

Idaho Falls Planing Mill, one of only 

two lumber planing mills in the area. As was 

common in those days, a water wheel powered 

the mill and continued to do so for almost a 

decade. The shaft was then transferred to the 

company’s present headquarters on Cliff Street. 

It was converted to a 15-horsepower electric 

motor powering all the woodworking equipment 

until the early 1960s. The original shaft 

with drive wheels is still located in the Cliff 

Street building’s basement and is available for 

public viewing. 

The first Johnson brothers learned the planing 

mill business from the ground up, manufacturing 

products like sashes, doors, windows, 

mouldings and cabinets which were used in 

their residential contracting business. Johnson 

Brothers constructed many of the homes on 

Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Streets in the Crow’s 

Addition of Idaho Falls. A true family business, 

Eno and wife Lelah, spent the first six months of 

their marriage living in a tent on an Arco jobsite 

while company crews built the Butte County 

Courthouse and Arco Masonic Temple. Lelah 

not only washed workers’ 

clothes in the nearby creek, 

but also cooked three hearty 

meals for them each day. 

The Johnson Brothers survived 

the Great Depression 

by negotiating government 

contracts and building several 

schools, churches and 

service stations. In the mid 

to late 1930s, management 

was transferred from Eno, 

Adolph and Ernie Johnson 

to Eno and Gene (Frederick’s 

son) Johnson. By the 1950s, 

architectural woodworking 

became the company’s mainstay, 

with its first major millwork 

project being the Idaho 


Falls High School and Idaho 

Falls Civic Auditorium. These 

cabinets and millwork are still 

in use today more than a half 

century later. 

In the early 1970s, Johnson 

Brothers became the distributor 

for Formica Brand plastic 

laminate, prompting the establishment 

of the sales and distribution 

division. This division 

grew so quickly that it was 

soon moved from a small area 

in the millwork building to its 

own building on Basalt Street. 

In 2000, an additional 7,000 

square foot showroom was 

constructed dedicated to 

featuring products such as 

doors, windows, mouldings, plastic laminate 

and hardware. A second sales and distribution 

center in Boise followed in 2005. 

Additional expansions to the planing mill 

have resulted in divisions devoted to countertops, 

wood moulding and wood and hollow 

metal doors. Johnson Brothers Planing Mill 

continues to produce architectural woodwork 

and casework throughout Idaho, Utah, 

Wyoming, Montana, Nevada and Oregon for 

church facilities, primary and secondary school 

projects, financial, hospitals, 

government facilities 

and medical and 

dental offices. Some of 

the largest projects 

have been the McKay 

Dee Hospital in Ogden, 

Utah; the Portneuf 

Regional Medical Center 

in Pocatello, Idaho; and 

the Church of Jesus 

Christ of Latter Day 

Saints Temple in 

Portland, Oregon. 

The company continues 

to be headquartered 

in Idaho Falls and is in its 

fifth generation of being 

family owned and operated. 

The current generation 

descends from Eno 

and Lelah and their daughter, Bernice. Bernice 

married Dave Sargis in 1941 and had five children, 

all of whom spent many afterschool hours 

and vacations sweeping floors and shoveling sawdust. 

Three of those children—E. J, David and 

Lindsay—own and operate the company today, 

with yet another generation already moving up 

through the ranks. Johnson Brothers employs 

more than fifty people, over half of whom have 

been with the company for a decade or more. 

For more information, visit www.jbros.com. 

✧ 

Above: The moulding department is 

just one of the manufacturing areas 

of Johnson Brothers. Computerized 

equipment is now used extensively. 

Below: The showroom in Idaho Falls 

was designed to showcase many of the 

products in actual application. 


THE WATKINS 

COMPANY 

✧ 

Top, left: George Watkins, Sr. 

Top, right: The founder’s son 

Dane Watkins. 

“The more things change, the more they 

stay the same.” The same could be said of the 

property along the greenbelt in Idaho Falls over 

the course of the last 100 years. At the turn of the 

century, people traveled for miles to cross the 

Snake River at Taylor’s Toll Bridge—a gathering 

place for those crossing the river as well as the 

territorial geese that rose out of the water to 

join the gaggle on the shore. There were no falls 

then, just the slow moving “Great Snake” and a 

settlement called Eagle Rock. 

But, as the settlement of Eagle Rock grew 

and changed, so did the property along the 

river. In fact, Eagle Rock eventually became 

Idaho Falls, with significant changes occurring 

on both sides of the river. For example, on the 

east side, the Bonneville County Courthouse 

was built in 1921 followed by the L.D.S. 

Temple in 1945. Both remain today. On the 

west side of the river, Salt Lake City, Utah 

resident George Watkins, Sr., and his wife Hope 

started Snake River Equipment Company—a 

full-line International Harvester dealership that 

serviced southeastern Idaho—in 1941. 

Over the next forty years, though there was 

little emphasis on the river in the beginning, the 

founding Watkins and his family acquired fifteen 

acres of rock and sagebrush along the river’s west 

bank and grew the business adding real estate, 

farming, industrial and irrigation divisions. 

“During the early years, there was a gravel road 

and a German concentration camp during 

World War II. That was pretty much it,” says 

Dane Watkins, the founder’s son, a fifteen year 

veteran of the Idaho State Senate, and principal 

of the present-day Watkins Company. “I have to 

give my Dad a lot of credit for his foresight. He 

provided the foundation for generations to come.” 

In 1981, however, tragedy struck when the 

founding Watkins was thrown from a horse 

and killed at the family cabin at Hebgen Lake, 

Montana. The loss caused the family to consider 

other uses for the property along the river. “We 

decided to develop the property to take advantage 

of such beauty,” Watkins said. “Located just 

across from the beautiful falls, we knew it was 

a wonderful opportunity to attract businesses.” 

They named the development Eagle Rock 

Station in honor of the history of the city and, 

instead of tearing down the old farm implement 

buildings, they cleared out the grease and 

remodeled several buildings, which now sit 


upon the very foundations that his father built 

in the 1940s. “Our goal was to keep as much of 

what Dad started as possible,” says Watkins. 

“Historically a gathering place, it is an ideal location 

for restaurants, office space and retail space.” 

At the north end of the property is the microbrewery, 

Snow Eagle, the very place where George 

Watkins used to have his office. Today, whether 

winter or summer, it is a fantastic place to eat, shop 

and watch the falls. In the summer, in fact, you 

can sit at tables on the sidewalk and listen to the 

powerful roll of the falls. The Idaho Falls Chamber 

of Commerce is at the south end of the development, 

facing Broadway. In between the two, there 

are a number of other restaurants, offices and shops. 

As interest in the river has grown, so has 

the development. Behind Eagle Rock Station, the 

Watkins family has developed Chili’s, Applebee’s, 

Hampton Inn and Commercial Tire. “This is 

a perfect continuation of the Eagle Rock development. 

The river will always be here.” 

Others in the community have come to 

appreciate the value of the river. Over the 

years, development to the south of Eagle 

Rock Station has taken place, specifically 

Taylor’s Crossing and more recently, Snake 

River Landing. “We were here long before 

there was a greenbelt. It is wonderful to see the 

community rediscover the river.” Today, the 

greenbelt stretches from Freeman Park several 

miles south to Ryder Park. 

“We love this community, and it has been 

good to our family. We remain committed to 

ensuring the river remains a gathering place. 

Just as in the past, both the geese and people 

still come and we are convinced that both 

will continue to gather here for many more 

generations to come.” 

Watkins is married to the former Sherry 

McNamara (a former Miss Idaho Falls). They 

are the parents of seven children: Tory, Tracey, 

Dane, Jr., Damond, Taryn, David and Tiffany. 

✧ 

Above and below: Improvements 

to Eagle Rock Station from 1941 

to 2012. Eagle Rock Station is 

located at 349 River Parkway, 

Box 50781, Idaho Falls 83405. 

Telephone: 208-523-0800, 

Fax: 208-523-0801, 

email: thewatkinsco@cs.com. 


BALL VENTURES, 

LLC 

✧ 

Connie and Allen Ball. 

Not many people have the ability to visualize 

the potential of a gravel pit located on the Snake 

River and develop a vision for a premiere riverfront 

destination, but that is exactly what happened 

with Allen Ball, chairman and founder of 

Ball Ventures, LLC and CEO Cortney Liddiard. 

“It really wasn’t something you would think 

anyone would look at and see potential,” Eric 

Isom, Ball Ventures’ chief development officer, 

said of the company’s flagship project. “In fact, 

a lot of people worked at that gravel pit or 

drove by it every single day, but they either 

didn’t have the vision nor the ability to do 

anything about it.” Ball, however, had both. 

In 2001, Ball’s vision led him to purchase 

approximately 400 acres, most of it formerly 

owned by the concrete and gravel company, 

Monroc, Incorporated. Located in the heart of 

Idaho Falls where Ball was born, settled with 

his wife, Connie, and chose to raise his family, 

Ball’s vision was to clean up and develop the 

area into an aesthetically pleasing masterplanned 

riverfront community where people 

could live, work, shop and play, integrating 

the elements of daily life into one convenient 

location near Interstate 15 and on the beautiful 

Snake River. 

Liddiard was an integral part of taking Ball’s 

vision to a reality, along with a skilled management 

team including a talented development 

division, construction management, marketing 

and an expert legal team. Liddiard led the new 

company in demolishing the Monroc structures 

and creating the new development’s infrastructure 

and roads, the first road completed being 

Snake River Parkway, connecting Sunnyside 

Road near the Interstate 15 interchange to 

Pancheri Drive and the rest of downtown Idaho 

Falls. Official groundbreaking ceremonies for 

the project took place in 2007 and today, the 

area continues to be transformed into a blend 

of restaurants, retail space, Class A offices, 

recreational amenities and residential homes, 

all woven together by more than six miles of 

trail, handsome architecture and stunning 

waterfalls and landscaping. 

Firm believers that strong community is 

based on human connectivity, the Balls are 

especially proud of the aesthetic and recreation 

elements that punctuate the business and 


esidential areas. Residents and visitors are 

invited to take a leisurely stroll amidst the 

water features and trails or attend one of many 

events sponsored or hosted by Snake River 

Landing. For many of the events, Snake River 

Landing partners with various educational, 

charitable and not-for-profit organizations 

such as the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho, 

Eastern Idaho Technical College, the Greater 

Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce and others. 

The Balls will continue the Greenbelt Trail, 

including Milligan Park and The Pier, a 4,000 

square foot pier overlooking the Snake River; 

two areas that became dedicated City of 

Idaho Falls space in 2008. In 2010 the Snake 

River Landing community was selected as 

the location of the Idaho Falls multipurpose 

event center. A longtime supporter of the 

idea, the Balls offered to donate more than 

twenty acres within the development for the 

anticipated facility. 

While considered the company’s flagship 

project, Snake River Landing is only one of 

many projects completed or underway for 

Ball Ventures, LLC. The company, a privatelyheld 

real estate investment, lending, and 

development company headquartered at 

901 Pier View Drive, Suite 201 within Snake 

River Landing, has a proven track record of 

successful ventures in twelve states across 

the nation. In 2012, it employed approximately 

thirty direct employees and up to 500 through 

the ownership of various operating companies. 

Developments have primarily focused on 

office and commercial space as well as hospitality 

facilities and include the Hilton Garden Inn 

in Idaho Falls, Rail Crossings Shopping Center 

in Pocatello, Idaho and Skyway Regional 

Shopping Center in Helena, Montana, just to 

name a few. 

To learn more, visit www.ballventures.com 

or www.snakeriverlanding.com. 

✧ 

Above: Snake River Landing Pier 

ribbon cutting ceremony July 2008. 

Below: Ball Ventures corporate office 

building in Snake River Landing. 


MORGAN 

CONSTRUCTION, 

INC. 

“At the end of the day, we want to make our 

customer’s dream property a reality and we 

strive to do that while spending less of their 

time and money,” says Matt Morgan, founder 

and president of Morgan Construction, Inc.—a 

Design Build-Value Engineering Contractor with 

locations in Boise and Idaho Falls. 

Established in 1989, this Idaho-based company 

originally specialized solely in the construction 

of high-end custom homes, but as its reputation 

grew, so did its offerings. In fact, before Morgan 

Construction could even celebrate its tenth birthday, 

it had already evolved into a true turnkey 

operation and, in 1997, officially adopted the title 

of Design Build-Value Engineering Contractor. 

“This business model, which combines the 

efforts of the contractor, the architect, engineers 

and specialists under one contract not only provides 

substantial savings for our clients, but it 

creates a lot less stress for them as well,” says 

Morgan, adding that his company completes in 

thirty to sixty days what takes four to six 

months using conventional approaches. “We 

strive to build complete trust from start to finish 

and are proud to have those who start out as 

clients end as valued friends.” 

Morgan Construction has designed, constructed, 

renovated or remodeled everything 

from large corporate offices, call centers and 

heavy equipment storage facilities to intricately-planned 

office park developments and more 

than 200 medical, dental and commercial 

buildings all across Southern Idaho. A thorough 

understanding of lease and lease-purchase 

programs further assists clients in discovering 

preferred locations for their projects and positive 

relationships with an extensive network of 

financial institutions can help them uncover the 

best lending deal possible. 

The recipient of multiple awards and the 

subject of a host of magazine features, the 

company stands behind its work with a 100 

percent guarantee. This has allowed Morgan 

Construction to withstand the ups and downs 

of the varying economy. The company is proud 

to call Bonneville County its home and looks 

forward to future decades of success. 

Please visit www.morgan-construction.com 

for more information. 


Their business is gaining ground—in the 

most literal sense. Founded by two successful 

building contractors with a passion and vision 

for identifying, purchasing and readying 

land for future construction, Custom Land 

Development has spent almost a half century 

developing and improving Idaho Falls and 


Jack Jensen of Jack Jensen Construction and 

Richard “Dick” Skidmore of Skidmore, Inc., both 

started businesses in the 1950s before teaming 

up in 1965 to add land development to their 

menu of services. Their first purchase included 

seventy acres from longtime Idaho Falls resident 

Rose Nielsen who became the namesake for 

what is now an expansive 327 acre subdivision 

bordered by Seventeenth Street to the north, 

Sunnyside Road to the south, Hitt Road to the 

east and Woodruff Avenue to the west. 

Though their plans were to continue the 

development of residential neighborhoods and 

the occasional commercial property, an employee 

of the City of Idaho Falls had another idea. 

Having just returned from a seminar on the 

development of regional malls, the city engineer 

suggested that the company’s property on Hitt 

Road and Seventeenth Street would be a prime 

location for such a mall. Fully embracing the 

idea, the duo obtained commercial zoning and 

went to work on securing interest from potential 

anchors such as JCPenney as well as a purchaser 

who shared the vision. The Grand Teton Mall 

was built in 1984 and is today the centerpiece of 

a booming retail area. 

Jensen and Skidmore were both involved in 

other developments as well. Jensen, for example, 

was a partner in the development of the 

Idaho Falls Country Club Golf Course. He 

passed away in 1990, but his daughter Linda 

Hill immediately assumed his share of the 

company. She and Skidmore continue to grow 

the business today. 

Other developments in Skidmore’s portfolio 

include the 4,000-plus acre Comore Loma 

and Summerfield subdivisions in Idaho Falls; 

Fox Hollow in Ammon; and Deer Creek in 

Swan Valley. Current projects under development 

are Kingswood Subdivision in Idaho 

Falls. Skidmore is still active in the original 

Skidmore, Inc., which just recently celebrated 

its fifty-fourth anniversary. He proudly works 

alongside his sons Randy, Dave and Brett, 

in designing and constructing custom homes 

and commercial buildings. They also lease 

commercial properties and office space. 

CUSTOM LAND 

DEVELOPMENT 


EAGLE ROCK 

SPECIALTIES, 

LLC 

Established in April 2009, Eagle Rock 

Specialties, LLC, in Idaho Falls is a 

wholesale distributor of industrial supplies. 

Day or night, the company stands ready 

with useful and in-demand parts such as 

high strength fasteners, pipe and piping 

products, plumbing items, valves, gauges, 

instrumentation, actuation, lab supplies, 

pumps, railroad and automotive supplies, 

raw metals safety supplies and equipment, 

gaskets, fire equipment and supplies as well 

as air and water filtration supplies. 

“If we do not have 

what a client needs in our 

warehouse, chances are 

we have the connections 

to get it, no matter how 

rare or hard to find,” said 

Owner and President Mike 

Hendrickson. “On top of 

that, we have time definite 

delivery options and offer 

same day deliveries on 

most anything from anywhere 

in the country.” 

Though Eagle Rock Specialties, LLC, itself 

was not established until 2009, its foundation 

started more than two decades ago when 

Hendrickson began working in the industrial 

supply field and then decided that he could 

better serve his customers with his own 

business. He pulled his family together and 

they launched Eagle Rock Specialties, LLC— 

his wife Bonnie, son Tony and daughter 

Ashley Quiroz as co-owners. 

“At Eagle Rock Specialties, we understand 

the importance of ‘up-time’; of keeping the job 

or piece of equipment up and running,” 

Hendrickson says. “Our mission is to help 

our client’s minimized costly and frustrating 

down-time by supplying the parts they need to 

meet their own business goals and demands.” 

Primary clients served by Eagle Rock 

Specialties, LLC, include Idaho National Lab, 

the City of Idaho Falls and other government 

agencies, Yellowstone and Glacier National 

Parks and a host of industrial contractors 

from the Idaho Falls area in addition to a 

major industrial contracting firm in Hawaii. 

Eagle Rock Specialties, LLC, is in business 

to keep other businesses running. 

For more information on Eagle Rock 

Specialties, LLC, call 208-523-0283 or visit 

online at www.eaglerockspecialties.com. 


IDAHO STEEL 

PRODUCTS, 

INC. 

The potato—in all its delicious forms—has 

become a staple of the American diet. Idaho 

Steel Products specializes in manufacturing 

stainless steel food processing equipment for 

the potato processing industry, so the next time 

you enjoy a tater tot you can thank the Idaho 

Steel equipment that made it possible. 

The Lortz family founded the business in 

Idaho Falls in 1918 and Don Lortz and his 

company were instrumental in development 

of the potato processing industry. One of 

the key developments during this ownership 

was the rotary former, which is used throughout 

the world to produce tater tots, hash 

brown patties and other shapes and flavors of 

formed potatoes. 

Much of the equipment designed and manufactured 

by Idaho Steel is still in operation 

decades later, a tribute to the skill and care that 

goes into the creation of each product. 

In 1991, Idaho Steel was sold to Lynn 

Bradshaw, a local businessman from Shelley with 

experience in potato dehydration. Bradshaw saw 

a need for an improved drum dryer for the 

industry and his idea for a larger, all stainless 

steel drum revolutionized the industry and 

opened up new opportunities for the company. 

Also during this period, Idaho Steel became a 

specialist in potato flake equipment. 

Bradshaw also took the company international, 

forging a strategic partnership with 

Kiremko, a firm in Holland. 

Bradshaw retired in 2008 and sold the business 

to his sons, Delynn Bradshaw and Alan 

Bradshaw, and son-in-law Davis Christensen. 

Under their leadership, Idaho Steel purchased 

Reyco Systems of Boise and strengthened its ties 

with Kiremko. 

Idaho Steel Products, including Reyco, 

currently employs 165 people and produces 

annual revenues of $35 million. Its loyal 

customer base includes the top names in the 

potato industry worldwide. 

Idaho Steel has long been a supporter of 

the Eastern Idaho Technical College and also 

supports its employees and their causes. 

For additional information about Idaho Steel 

Products, Inc., visit www.idahosteel.com. 


PACIFIC WEST 

CONSTRUCTION 

✧ 

Below: Idaho Falls LEED Platinum 

Apartment project. Pictured from left 

to right: Jason, Malia, Lynden, Janice, 

Julie and Justin Kunde. 

With a great passion for the construction 

industry and a desire to bring true quality to 

every project, Lynden Kunde has built Pacific 

West Construction (PWC) in Idaho Falls into 

a family-owned and operated business with a 

solid foundation. 

“And that foundation is our dedication to 

quality and our customer’s complete satisfaction,” 

says Kunde. “We love and demand quality 

for our customers and it is our one goal for every 

project we take on.” 

Being a true family business, Kunde’s sons, 

Jason and Justin, are both following in their 

father’s footsteps. Having grown up around 

and worked in the construction industry all 

their lives, they have become an integral part 

of the company alongside their father. Both 

serve as project managers running office 

operations and working closely with their core 

members in the field. 

Pacific West Construction was founded in 

1989 when Kunde—at the time a highlyregarded 

and respected estimator in Idaho 

Falls—began to recognize the demand for a 

contractor Dedicated to Quality. Though work 

was scarce at first, the PWC reputation grew 

quickly. Today, PWC has completed more than 

$200 million worth of work on a broad range of 

projects to include hospitals, churches, lodges, 

libraries, schools, hotels, multifamily dwellings 

and magnificent custom log homes. 

The company’s flagship project as a custom 

builder was Flagg Ranch Resort Lodge—a 

breath-taking resort in northwestern Wyoming. 

This project further fueled Pacific West’s reputation 

and popularity throughout Wyoming, 

Idaho, and Montana making custom-built, 

multimillion dollar homes 

and residential developments 

the company’s specialty. 

The past two years 

they have been involved in 

remodeling and preserving 

Historic Downtown Idaho 

Falls, including the Earl 

Building, Pachangas, and 

Idahoan. They have taken 

an active approach specializing 

in Leadership in 

Energy and Environmental 

Design or LEED development 

projects, building 

two multifamily projects 

in Idaho Falls and having 

received the highest 

award of LEED Platinum 

Certification, making them 

Idaho’s first LEED developer. 

They continue to be a 

leader in this field. 

For more information on 

Pacific West Construction, 

call 208-525-2645 or visit 

www.pwcquality.com. 


VENTURE ONE 

PROPERTIES 

JAVA ESPRESS ® 

AND 

JUICE JUNGLE ® 

With his finger on the pulse of the Eastern 

Idaho real estate market since 2001, Principal 

Broker and Owner Shane Murphy has made 

Venture One Properties the area’s leading 

provider for commercial real estate. 

By fully understanding the market, knowing 

how to coordinate multimarket expansions, dispositions 

and investment properties, cultivating 

relationships with and between property owners, 

major tenants, and government agencies, 

Venture One is essentially a one-stop-shop for 

clients locating in Eastern Idaho—clients such 

as Red Robin, UPS, Gold’s Gym, Walgreens and 

GSA. The company specializes in local retail, 

industrial, professional office, investment and 

land development transactions; is an avid supporter 

and member of Grow Idaho Falls, Inc., 

Eastern Idaho’s economic development council, 

ICSC International Council of Shopping Centers 

and other local and national associations; and 

also manages multimillion dollar retail and office 

land projects in Pocatello and Idaho Falls as well. 

For more information on Venture One 

Properties, call 208-542-7979 or visit online at 

www.ventureoneproperties.com. 

Recognizing that specialty coffee was fast 

becoming one of the hottest commodities in the 

food service market, entrepreneur and Chief 

Executive Officer Shane Murphy founded Java 

Espress ® —a drive-thru coffee beverage chain— 

in 1993 in Idaho Falls. 

In 2004, Juice Jungle was added to the mix to 

serve up gourmet fresh fruit smoothies, and today 

the combined business—Java Espress ® and Juice 

Jungle ® —have proven to be “The Perfect Blend,” 

the perfect blend of Specialty Coffee Blends as well 

as the perfect addition of real fresh fruit and coffee 

smoothies. With its unique building design, flow, 

recipes second to none, and the continued development 

of products and efficiency, it has not only 

become one of the most successful drive-thru gourmet 

beverage establishments in Idaho, but is also 

developing franchise opportunities for others to be 

successful branching out into six western states. 

The Java Espress ® and Juice Jungle ® franchise 

opportunity has been developed and is offered by 

Murphy and parent company, KoolBeanz, Inc. 

For more information, call (208) 529-4552 

or visit online at www.javaespress.com and 

http://www.facebook.com/JavaEspress. 

✧ 

Above: Shane Murphy. 


WHEELER 

ELECTRIC, INC. 

✧ 

Above: Doug, Dick and Jeff Wheeler. 

Below: Current office building in 

Idaho Falls, Idaho. 

If there was ever a business wired for success, 

it is most certainly Wheeler Electric, Inc. in 

Idaho Falls, Idaho. 

Founded by John Richard “Dick” Wheeler a 

half century ago, Wheeler Electric is, in fact, 

Eastern Idaho’s largest electrical contracting 

firm. A new, but talented electrician, Dick 

Wheeler started out in 1962 with little more 

than a dream and plenty of encouragement, 

particularly from neighbor, friend and former 

Department of Energy coworker Vic Owens. 

His first contract earned him a whopping $450 

for wiring a small 

post office in Arco, 

Idaho, and his second 

contract—a remodeling 

job for a local 

junior high school— 

not only earned him 

more than $14,000, 

but also ignited a 

momentum of electrifying 

magnitude 

that continues today. 

Wheeler Electric 

provides award-winning services to a broad range 

of clients—from residential to multimillion dollar 

commercial and industrial projects, not just in 

Idaho Falls, but throughout the state and nation. 

Indeed, whether hooking up a clothes dryer, 

working on a 290 foot tall windmill, installing 

the lights that illuminate the streets or a ball 

field such as Idaho Falls’ own Melaleuca Field; 

whether wiring a luxury ski resort or other commercial 

property or institutional facility, such 

as BYU-I Manwaring Center or ISU Stephens 

Performing Arts Center; whether performing 

highly technical work at a malting plant, 

Wheeler Electric tackles every job the same— 

with experience, pride, excellent workmanship 

and a commitment to customer service. It is 

no wonder that annual revenues are consistently 

in the eight digit range despite characteristic 

fluctuations in the construction industry. 

A true family business, Wheeler’s wife, 

LaRae, spent many years taking care of the 

company’s books and both of their sons also 

joined their parents in the business—Doug in 

1978 and Jeff just one year later. Today, yet a 

third generation of Wheelers are moving up 

the ranks, with Jeff’s sons Jeremy and Cody 

and Doug’s son Josh all learning the ropes. In 

addition to biological family, Wheeler Electric 

also has an extended family of dedicated 

employees—a dozen office employees and 

approximately ninety electricians—many of 

who have worked alongside the Wheelers for 

more than two decades. 

Please visit www.wheelerelectric.com for 

more information. 


NBW 

ARCHITECTS, 

P.A. 

NBW Architects, P.A., a full-service architectural 

firm, was established more than fifty years 

ago by Architect Max L. Call, who opened his 

practice in a small office on Second Street in 

Idaho Falls. Call then designed a new office on 

John Adams Parkway that remains the firm’s 

location today. 

Originally established in 1959 as a sole proprietorship, 

the firm incorporated in 1980 with 

long-time associates Scott L. Nielson and Kevin 

R. Bodily joining Call in ownership of the firm. 

Call retired from active practice in December 

1993, and the firm became Nielson Bodily and 

Associates, P.A. in January 1995. James H. Wyatt 

joined the firm in 2003 and, in 2009; the name 

was changed to NBW Architects, P.A. 

NBW Architects, P.A., has an outstanding 

reputation for design and has been involved in 

many fine building projects in the region, 

including new buildings, additions and remodeling 

projects of various sizes for schools, 

business offices, churches and institutional 

organizations. The firm’s emphasis is on strong 

client relationships and sound, conservative 

design. The firm’s objectives for each project are 

to be within budget, within schedule, to be 

functional and to be aesthetically pleasing. 

NBW projects have included Kenworth Sales 

Company in Salt Lake City, Melaleuca Field, 

Bank of Commerce, Sunrise Elementary School 

New Rigby High School and the Stephens 

Performing Arts Center at Idaho State University. 

NBW has completed projects for most of the 

school districts in the area, Idaho State 

University and BYU-Idaho. Over the years, NBW 

Architects have worked on about every LDS 

church and school building in Bonneville County 

and throughout south east Idaho. 

The firm currently employs twelve people 

including an interior designer and several 

licensed architects. 

For more information about NBW Architects, 

P.A., visit www.nbwarchitects.com. 

✧ 

Above: Melaleuca Field. 

Below: NBW projects include 

The Broadway Branch of The Bank 

of Commerce. 


D.V. GROBERG 

✧ 

Above: Delbert and Jennie Groberg. 

Delbert V. Groberg started his company in 

downtown Idaho Falls in 1929 at the age of 

twenty-three, one year before he married his 

wife of seventy-four years, Jennie Holbrook. He 

started out in insurance, but then branched 

out into real estate development and became a 

pioneer in real estate appraising. 

Born in Idaho Falls 

in 1906, Groberg was 

orphaned just three 

years later and— 

although relatives in 

Utah took him in with 

open arms—Idaho was 

always his home. He 

returned to Bonneville 

County in 1928, both 

to raise his family as 

well as help build up 

the community. 

With boundless energy 

and interest in 

growing and enriching 

Bonneville County, 

Groberg was instrumental 

in bringing Idaho 

National Laboratory 

(INL) and helped found 

the KID Broadcasting 

Corporation, the Land Title Company and the 

Bank of Commerce in Idaho Falls, as well as 

many real estate projects. He served as president 

or chairman of various local organizations 

and his wife, Jennie, served in many school, 

community and music organizations. 

Groberg also chaired many committees that 

established Idaho Falls as a leader in patriotic 

activities. As a matter of fact, during the 

Bicentennial of the U. S. Constitution, radio 

commentator Paul Harvey announced on the 

air that “Bonneville County in Idaho is a place 

to go for a major celebration” and the Idaho 7th 

District Bar Association chose Groberg for their 

Liberty Bell award. 

And even though he was blessed financially, 

Groberg never strove to become wealthy. He 

shared liberally and always encouraged others 

to invest in the area to make Bonneville County 

a great place to raise a family. He and Jennie 

truly loved the Idaho Falls valley and the many 

friends they made there. They presided over the 

Idaho Falls Temple and reared eleven children, 

seven of whom returned to Idaho Falls to work 

and raise families of their own. 

Passing along his love for community to his 

family, Groberg had a son who served for many 

years on the Idaho Falls City council and, 

today, three of his sons own and three of his 

grandsons work in the business that he started 

more than eight decades ago. Presently, the 

business concentrates on real estate developments 

and financial management. 


HOLST 

TRUCK PARTS 

When a young Ted Holst hopped a Seattlebound 

freight train in the early 1930s just so he 

could attend mechanical school, no one knew 

that the business he would return to Idaho Falls 

to build would still be alive, well and growing 

some eight decades later. 

Founded by Holst in 1932—a time when the 

Great Depression had the nation gridlocked— 

Holst Truck Parts started out as a shop from 

which the young mechanic built and repaired 

farm machinery from salvaged cars and trucks. 

Raw materials were scarce and struggling farmers 

depended on Holst for their equipment needs. 

They depended on him so much, in fact, that 

when he was drafted into World War II, they 

complained until he was granted a deferment. 

After the war, when Holst realized that people 

seemed more interested in the spare parts he 

had thrown out behind the shop, he turned the 

business focus to vehicle parts. And, in the early 

1970s—just before he decided to retire and turn 

the business over to his son—pick-ups and 

trucks were added to the company’s specialties. 

Though fresh out of high school when he 

took over, Jon Holst had already been working 

alongside his parents for many years and, in 

1975, he and his wife, Shauna, also the company 

bookkeeper, officially bought the business. 

Together, they grew the company as well as their 

family. They had six children, four of which were 

boys who all gladly joined the family business. 

Today, Christopher, Jon Casey, Dennis and 

Michael Holst all still work in the business, 

which not only includes Holst Truck Parts, 

but also Holst Collision Center, Inc., a division 

added in 2009. With twenty-six employees on 

the payroll, the company specializes in selling 

new, used and rebuilt truck and pickup parts 

as well as trucks and trailers for a diversified 

clientele such as farmers, ranchers, truckers, 

city maintenance departments, school districts 

and oil and natural gas companies. In addition 

to the parts and collision center operations, the 

Holst umbrella also includes full service truck 

and transmission repair shops and specializes in 

the sale and installation of vacuum and crude oil 

pumps as well as in the sale of vacuum trailers. 

For more, visit www.holsttruck.com. 

HOLST 

COLLISION 

CENTER, INC. 


J. R. SIMPLOT 

COMPANY 

✧ 

Right: J. R. Simplot, who loved 

promoting Idaho and its signature 

product, posed for this 1944 

photograph as part of a publicity 

campaign. He established potato 

fresh-pack operations at places all 

along the Snake River, including 

Bonneville County. J. R. passed away 

in 2008, but the memory of his life 

and legacy will endure, thanks in part 

to pictures like this and many other 

shots of him that were published over 

the years. 

J. R. “Jack” Simplot left his Declo, Idaho, home 

at age fourteen in 1923 to start what would 

become one of the largest privately held food 

and agribusiness companies in the United States. 

As part of his business ventures during the 

early years, Jack opened a string of potato freshpack 

sheds all along the Snake River, including 

one at Idaho Falls in the 1930s. 

In the late 1940s, he opened a Simplot 

Soilbuilder retail store in Idaho Falls, making it 

one of the first units in a burgeoning organization 

that was designed to sell the products being produced 

at the new Simplot fertilizer manufacturing 

plant in Pocatello. In the late 1980s, the Idaho 

Falls store and another unit that had been started 

years earlier in Roberts were consolidated into a 

new Soilbuilder operation in Osgood. That unit 

is still in business today and the organization 

has been renamed Simplot Grower Solutions. 

In 1989, Simplot dramatically expanded its 

potato operations by acquiring Idaho Falls 

Bonded Produce and Supply Company, one of 

Idaho’s largest fresh packers. That business 

was sold in 2002 as Simplot cut back on its 

involvement in fresh pack, but the company is 

still big in potatoes. Simplot produces and sells 

about 3 billion pounds of fries and formed 

potato products as well as more than a 

thousand other specialty food items. 

Worldwide, Simplot employs 10,000 people 

and does business in 14 countries on 4 continents. 

Annual revenue in fiscal 2012 was $5.6 

billion. The company’s headquarters building is 

located in Boise, with major operations in North 

America, Australia, New Zealand, and China. 

The firm specializes in food processing, fertilizer 

manufacturing, livestock production, farming, 

and other enterprises related to agriculture. 

The Simplot pillars—Passion for People, Spirit 

of Innovation, and Respect for Resources—are 

as relevant today as they were when young Jack 

Simplot started his journey toward remarkable 

success. As stated in the company mission 

statement, Simplot is committed to Bringing 

Earth’s Resources to Life. 

Visit www.simplot.com for more information. 


At Industrial Supply, we do so much more 

than offer supplies. We reduce costs. We keep 

you stocked with materials that improve your 

productivity and increase your return on 

investment. We bring you specialized services 

and expert training. We do whatever it takes to 

help you tool your business for success. 

Bonneville Industrial Supply Company (BISCO) 

has been in the general industrial supply business 

since 1964. After beginning operations on 

a small scale, the Idaho Falls store has been 

able to grow steadily through decades of up 

and down economies. We believe our ability to 

provide consistent service, react to market 

changes quickly, and meet customers needs and 

requirements have been an essential asset to 

our growth. In 1986 we built a 30,000 square 

foot store, warehouse, and office complex in 

Idaho Falls, Idaho. We have branch operations 

in Soda Springs, Pocatello and Boise, Idaho. 

BISCO is an established and well financed 

corporation. All of our facilities maintain similar 

inventories, solicit the same type of trade, 

and provide excellent backup inventories. 

Through our history we have been confronted 

with numerous changes in the industry. The 

end result has improved our efficiency and ability 

to provide customers with a system adapted 

to fit their needs. The BISCO Online Store 

(www.biscoif.com) is our latest addition to meet 

BONNEVILLE INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CO., INC. 

these needs. The Online Store is integrated into 

our Idaho Falls computer system to provide 

pricing and availability in the various branch 

locations. We are beginning the Online Store 

inventories with several thousand selected items 

and will be making additions to the Online 

Store almost on a daily basis. We currently have 

over 45,000 inventory line items available in the 

four Idaho stores and are always willing to help 

wherever we can. Please contact us directly at 

208-523-6220 if you cannot locate what you are 

looking for on the BISCO Online Store. 


DOUG ANDRUS 

DISTRIBUTING 

Though the country was still in the grips of 

the Great Depression with almost twenty 

percent of Americans unemployed, Doug and 

Veatrice Andrus were determined to make their 

own way and in 1937 launched a company 

that would not only see them through the lean 

years, but would become a legacy that would 

provide for future generations of family to come 

as well. 

Celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary in 

2012, Doug Andrus Distributing—for-hire 

trucking company headquartered at 6300 

South Forty-Fifth West in Idaho Falls, Idaho— 

was first passed from Doug and Veatrice to 

sons, Heber and Doug, Jr., when the two purchased 

the business and its six trucks in the 

mid-1970s. The brothers immediately adopted 

their parents’ philosophy that “hard work, 

integrity and being surrounded by quality 

people could bring success 

even in the toughest 

of times” and, as a result, 

grew the company substantially. 

In 2006, Doug 

Andrus, Jr., retired, selling 

his share of the business 

to his son-in-law Clay 

Murdoch and Heber’s son, 

Jason Andrus. Andrus, Jr., 

has since passed away, 

but Clay and Jason continue 

to run the company 

alongside Heber. 

And, like those whose 

footsteps they follow, these 

second and third generation 

family members, 

proudly stand behind the 

company motto “Always 

Ready to Serve You” which the founding 

Andrus’ established more than three-quarters 

of a century ago. It is this dedication to service 

excellence that has resulted in a host of awards 

for outstanding service and safety over the years 

as well as continuing growth. 

Doug Andrus Distributing today employs 

300 people and boasts a vast fleet of 270 trucks 

and 470 trailers, including both refrigerated 

and dry van trailers as well as flatbed and bulk 

trailers. It offers its truck transportation services 

throughout the forty-eight states and western 

Canada and additionally specializes in providing 

and delivering a host of salt products 

from bulk road and water conditioning salts to 

food-grade, agricultural and livestock salts. 

For more information on Doug Andrus 

Distributing, call toll-free at (800) 336-1034 or 

visit online at www.dougandrusdistributing.com. 


SPONSORS 

American Legion Post 56..............................................................................................................................................................95 

Anheuser-Busch Idaho Barley and Malting Operations................................................................................................................140 

B&B Custom, Inc. ......................................................................................................................................................................138 

Ball Ventures, LLC......................................................................................................................................................................150 

Bill’s Bike Shop...........................................................................................................................................................................121 

Bonneville Industrial Supply Co., Inc. ........................................................................................................................................163 

Bonneville Joint School District No. 93 ........................................................................................................................................92 

C-A-L Farm & Ranch Stores.......................................................................................................................................................128 

Candlewood Suites.....................................................................................................................................................................114 

Carpet One Floor & Home/Westergard Moving and Storage .......................................................................................................112 

Chesbro Music Company............................................................................................................................................................116 

Colonial Theater.........................................................................................................................................................................104 

Cornerstone Financial Advisors ..................................................................................................................................................126 

Cox, Ohman & Brandstetter, Chartered......................................................................................................................................132 

Creekside Home Health & Hospice/Encompass..........................................................................................................................100 

Custom Land Development ........................................................................................................................................................153 

Development Workshop, Inc. .....................................................................................................................................................102 

Doug Andrus Distributing ..........................................................................................................................................................164 

D. V. Groberg .............................................................................................................................................................................160 

Eagle Rock Specialties, LLC ........................................................................................................................................................154 

East Idaho Credit Union.............................................................................................................................................................120 

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.......................................................................................................................................101 

Eastern Idaho Technical College ...................................................................................................................................................90 

Fairwinds-Sandcreek Retirement Community ...............................................................................................................................98 

Grow Idaho Falls, Inc.................................................................................................................................................................119 

HK Contractors, Inc. ..................................................................................................................................................................142 

Holst Truck Parts/Holst Collision Center, Inc..............................................................................................................................161 

Idaho Falls Power/City of Idaho Falls Electric Light Division......................................................................................................136 

Idaho Falls School District #91.....................................................................................................................................................96 

Idaho Falls Symphony................................................................................................................................................................105 

Idaho National Laboratory..........................................................................................................................................................144 

Idaho Steel Products, Inc............................................................................................................................................................155 

InteGrow MaltTM LLC ...............................................................................................................................................................108 

Johnson Brothers Planing Mill, Inc. ............................................................................................................................................146 

J. R. Simplot Company ...............................................................................................................................................................162 

Merrill-Lynch Idaho Falls Branch Office .....................................................................................................................................130 

Morgan Construction, Inc...........................................................................................................................................................152 

NBW Architects, P.A. ..................................................................................................................................................................159 

Nelson Hall Parry Tucker, P.A. ....................................................................................................................................................124 

North American Brewer’s Association..........................................................................................................................................131 

North Hi-Way Café.....................................................................................................................................................................122 

Pacific West Construction...........................................................................................................................................................156 

Peak Performance Therapy Services............................................................................................................................................103 

The Bank of Commerce ..............................................................................................................................................................123 

The Cellar Restaurant .................................................................................................................................................................118 

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce .........................................................................................................................129 

The Legacy Network...................................................................................................................................................................127 

The Watkins Company ...............................................................................................................................................................148 

Tobin Cleaning & Restoration ....................................................................................................................................................125 

Venture One Properties/Java Espress ® and Juice Jungle ® ...........................................................................................................157 

War Bonnet Rodeo .......................................................................................................................................................................94 

Wheeler Electric, Inc. .................................................................................................................................................................158 

S p o n s o r s ✦ 1 6 5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

M A R Y J A N E F R I T Z E N 

Finding others interested in passing along our heritage to younger generations, the author, Mary Jane Fritzen, organized the 

Bonneville County Heritage Association in 2004. BCHA partnered with the county commission to celebrate the centennial of 

Bonneville County–1911-2011. Ann Rydalch, who chaired the year’s end celebration, continued in 2012 as BCHA board chair. 

Born in Idaho Falls to Delbert V. and Jennie Holbrook Groberg, Mary Jane grew up with the city during the 1930s. Her dad had 

been born in Idaho Falls and her mother in Provo, Utah. Mary Jane graduated from Idaho Falls High School, Brigham Young 

University in Provo, and University of Utah (MA). She worked for the Church News department of Deseret News in Salt Lake City 

and taught school in Salt Lake City and Idaho Falls. She was married to Achim Fritzen, a native German school teacher at Skyline 

High School in Idaho Falls. Their two daughters, Anny and Rosalee, now live in Spokane, Washington, and Sandpoint, Idaho. 

Her interest in local history was generated as she assisted her father in the 1980s to write a history of the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. 

She has written several family histories and local histories. 


ABOUT THE PHOTO EDITOR 

S C O T T 

M O S S 

Born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, Scott Moss, photo editor, has been an avid outdoorsman and has been photographing the 

scenes and wildlife as a hobbyist for the last twenty plus years. 

A b o u t t h e P h o t o E d i t o r ✦ 1 6 7

For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book, please call 

Historical Publishing Network at 800-749-9790 or visit www.hpnbooks.com. 

Albemarle & Charlottesville: 

An Illustrated History of the First 150 Years 

Black Gold: The Story of Texas Oil & Gas 

Ector County, Texas: 125 Years of History 

Garland: A Contemporary History 

Historic Abilene: An Illustrated History 

Historic Alamance County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History 

Historic Amarillo: An Illustrated History 

Historic Anchorage: An Illustrated History 

Historic Austin: An Illustrated History 

Historic Baldwin County: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Baton Rouge: An Illustrated History 

Historic Beaufort County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History 

Historic Bexar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Birmingham: An Illustrated History 

Historic Brazoria County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Brownsville: An Illustrated History 

Historic Charlotte: 

An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County 

Historic Chautauqua County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Cheyenne: A History of the Magic City 

Historic Clayton County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Columbus: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Comal County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Corpus Christi: An Illustrated History 

Historic DeKalb County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Denton County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Edmond: An Illustrated History 

Historic El Paso: An Illustrated History 

Historic Erie County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Fayette County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Fairbanks: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gainesville & Hall County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gregg County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hampton Roads: Where America Began 

Historic Hancock County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Henry County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hood County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Houston: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hunt County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Illinois: An Illustrated History 

Historic Kern County: 

An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County 

Historic Lafayette: 

An Illustrated History of Lafayette & Lafayette Parish 

Historic Laredo: 

An Illustrated History of Laredo & Webb County 

Historic Las Cruces: The Story of Las Cruces & The Mesilla Valley 

Historic Lee County: The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County 

Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Mansfield: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Midland: An Illustrated History 

Historic Mobile: 

An Illustrated History of the Mobile Bay Region 

Historic Montgomery County: 

An Illustrated History of Montgomery County, Texas 

Historic Ocala: The Story of Ocala & Marion County 

Historic Oklahoma: An Illustrated History 

Historic Oklahoma County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Omaha: 

An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County 

Historic Orange County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Osceola County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History 

Historic Palestine: An Illustrated History 

Historic Paris and Lamar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History 

Historic Passaic County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pennsylvania An Illustrated History 

Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History 

Historic Prescott: 

An Illustrated History of Prescott & Yavapai County 

Historic Prince George’s County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rio Grande Valley: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rogers County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Santa Barbara: An Illustrated History 

Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land 

Historic Shelby County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Shreveport-Bossier: 

An Illustrated History of Shreveport & Bossier City 

Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History 

Historic Smith County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Temple: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texarkana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texas: An Illustrated History 

Historic Victoria: An Illustrated History 

Historic Tulsa: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wake County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Warren County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Williamson County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear: 

An Illustrated History 

Historic York County: An Illustrated History 

In the Heart of Louisiana: An Illustrated History of Rapides Parish 

Iron, Wood & Water: An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego 

Jefferson Parish: Rich Heritage, Promising Future 

Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods: A History of Community 

Midland: Window to the West 

The New Frontier: 

A Contemporary History of Fort Worth & Tarrant County 

Old Orange County Courthouse: A Centennial History 

Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle 

Rich With Opportunity: 

Images of Beaumont and Jefferson County 

San Antonio, City Exceptional 

The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait 

Southwest Louisiana: A Treasure Revealed 

The Spirit of Collin County 

Valley Places, Valley Faces 

Water, Rails & Oil: Historic Mid & South Jefferson County 


ISBN: 978-1-935377-98-6 

Leadership Sponsors

Historic Bonneville County

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