More than Petticoats: Remarkable Idaho Women

This book recounts numerous life stories that, indeed, convince readers that the main characters are truly remarkable.  Each account narrates the life of an Idaho woman born before 1900.  Surprisingly, none of these women were defined by their gender, but rather by their spectacular lives.  Every short story stands alone, but some lives intertwine to create a picture of relationships in early Idaho.  The concise style with which Bragg writes allows for a quick read; however, for the thorough historian, Bragg’s stories may be too brief.  Many details are included in each narrative but they often feel arbitrary and few historically-based ideas are given to connect these details (presumably, this is to keep the work succinct).  Nevertheless, Bragg provides a history that should leave every reader, if not fascinated, at least appreciative of the perseverance demonstrated by each Idaho woman. The book includes many historical pictures and paintings that reinforce the differences between now and then, as well as a comprehensive bibliography listing each of Bragg’s resources.  More than Petticoats is a great introduction to Idaho women’s history and is sure to hook readers from the first few pages.

Reviewed by Jessica Hass, SIHA Intern

by William Forgey, M.D.

This is a delightful book that will make your next camping trip, family time at the fireplace, or Halloween Night so much more memorable. This paperback is a compilation of “ghost stories” that are pretty tame by today’s chainsaw horror movie standards, but just right for setting the tone in places where the campfire or fireplace provides flickering light and the chance for mysterious things to seem more real. There are 21 stories told by many authors including Mark Twain. The writing is good and the stories not always predictable, but certainly easy enough for younger readers to follow.

What is wonderful about this book, besides the stories, is that Dr. Forgey does a post mortem on each one. While the stories can be read aloud as they are, Dr. Forgey lays out, in a brief, separate section following each story, the key points.  He suggests what to emphasize and what to make sound scary so that the novice storyteller can get it right. I tried the stories out on my grand children, 8 and 5 years old. I read some of the stories aloud and some I told them from memory (after I read them), amplifying and slightly exaggerating where as Dr. Forgey suggests.  Both boys were able to follow along, with the 5-year old asking those 5-year old sorts of questions.  It was a lot of fun for all of us!

There are enough stories to make many evenings fly past and to provide those who like to tell stories plenty of opportunity to “spin a yarn”.  If you always wanted to tell “ghost stories” but never heard any or didn’t know where to start, this is the book for you!

Reviewed by Joe Gallagher, Director, SIHA Board

The Charcoal Forest-How Fire Helps Animals and Plants

by Beth A. Peluso, Mt. Press Publishing Co., Missoula, MT, 2007

This book describes elements of behavior exhibited by twenty insect, plant, and animal species in their response to a fire-ravaged environment.  Only one, the black fire beetle, appears to owe its very existence to the availability of charred trees.  Nineteen species are able to adapt to a charred landscape environment, and the cooperative result of the efforts of all twenty is the eventual remediation of the fire-damaged forest. The book’s title is misleading, though, since it implies that a fire-ravaged forest is justified primarily by its providing a desirable environment for the actual survival and/or colonization of individual species.  Importantly, one would hope that the title of the book followed by its twenty consecutive segments of text, each responding affirmatively to the question, “Who needs burned trees?”, would not serve to provoke the careless or malicious initiation of forest fires to test this thesis.

The author’s literary and illustrative styles are well-suited to children while the data content covering the twenty species is of interest both to young and adult readers.  The introductory categorization of forest fire intensity levels and the use of scientific names to describe the several species add authenticity to the book.  Missing, though, at this point in the book is a clear statement of the approximate overall timescale involved in plant, shrub, and tree remediation of a charred landscape.  This important scaling tool is most explicitly mentioned past midway through the book in the section covering elk (Cervus canadensis.)

One example of the author’s general approach is the discussion of the plant, blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata), where emphasis is placed on the role of the plant as a host for the Colorado firemoth rather than on its being an important ground cover for renewing fire-scarred land over a period of two to twenty years.  The “This Is The Life” and the “Explore A Little More..” sections of the book provide interesting additional data on the described species and useful opportunities for continued study via books, web sites and visits to national park and forest sites.

Beth Waterbury has worked as a wildlife biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Salmon Region since 2002 coordinating the regional Conservation Sciences Program. Her surveys and studies take her across east-central Idaho, from the Beaverhead Mountains to the Sawtooth Range, from sagebrush-steppe to subalpine forest, focusing on at-risk species, including pygmy rabbit, bald eagle, peregrine falcon, flammulated owl, long-billed curlew, wolverine, and fisher.

Janie Fink has been working with raptors for the past sixteen years. Her work began by reintroducing some sixty endangered peregrine falcons from skyscrapers in the Midwest, over a four year period. She received training at the prestigious University of Minnesota Raptor Center where she learned to care for and treat injured birds of prey. She received her Master’s Degree in biology from Purdue University, where her thesis investigated wintering bald eagle habitat in Indiana. Since then, she has treated two thousand injured birds of prey, and lectures extensively on their ecology, traveling with specially trained eagles, hawks, owls and falcons. She works closely with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and is permitted for her work through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Janie is a Master Falconer, as well as a registered nurse. She currently is Executive Director of the non-profit Birds of Prey Northwest that serves to educate the public about the inherent value of raptors in our landscape, and provides emergency medical treatment to wild injured birds of prey that collide with our modern world.

Carter Niemeyer has a Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s Degrees in wildlife biology from Iowa State University. He has been a state trapper for the Montana Department of Livestock and a district supervisor for USDA Wildlife Services in western Montana, managing and controlling large predators. He was chosen as the wolf management specialist for USDA Wildlife Services covering the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. In that position, he was responsible for livestock depredation investigation, as well as wolf capture and removal. Carter was a member of the wolf capture team in Canada during the reintroduction in the mid-1990s. He was recruited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to run the agency’s wolf recovery program in Idaho. He retired in 2006, coincidentally, on the same day that wolf management was officially handed over to the state of Idaho. He also has worked on wolf issues in England, France and Kyrgyzstan, and is scheduled to travel to Sweden in fall 2010.

Robin Garwood is a wildlife biologist working for the Sawtooth National Forest. Her area of responsibility includes the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and the Ketchum Ranger District. She received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in wildlife and fisheries science from the University of Tennessee in 1986 and a Master’s of Science degree in raptor biology from Boise State University in 1990. She has worked for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho, and the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado, Utah, and Idaho. Robin is married and has been in the Wood River Valley since 1991. She lives in Hailey.

David Cannamela is a “former” fisheries biologist (if there is such a thing). He grew up in Connecticut and, through his love of trout fishing, became interested in trout and salmon. He was particularly captured by the biology and history of the Atlantic salmon in New England. Dave’s fascination with trout and salmon led to his career as a fisheries biologist. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Connecticut and earned a Master’s Degree from Murray State University after transferring from Idaho State University. Dave has been with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for 20 years. He spent his first 11 years as a fisheries biologist working on salmon and steelhead. In 2001, Dave took over as the superintendent at the MK Nature Center in Boise. Dave now pursues his passion for natural resources, kids, and coaching in the education realm.

P. Gary Eller has played American roots music since he grew up in rural West Virginia. Following a thirty-year career as a nuclear scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, he retired to Nampa and immediately became deeply involved in Idaho history and music. With funding from the Idaho Humanities Council in 2007 and 2008, he compiled almost 200 historically-rooted songs of our region, and performs them at many events through out Idaho. Gary works closely with regional museums and universities to collect and archive these treasures. His performance and interpretation bring Idaho’s song heritage to life.

Laura Wolf is a regional biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Salmon. After earning a Master’s Degree investigating how to remove non-native feral pigs from Georgia, she moved to Idaho to work with native wildlife. She has been studying female sage-grouse habitat use and nesting success in the Pahsimeroi Valley. She also has had the opportunity to track a group of radio-collared mountain goats translocated from Utah into the Lemhi region via helicopter. When not working in the wildlife field, she enjoys gardening, cross-country skiing, and giving educational talks about the wilds of Idaho.

Tom Curet has been working hard to protect and monitor Idaho’s fisheries since he received his Masters’ Degree in fishery resources from the University of Idaho in 1993. He joined Idaho Department of Fish and Game in 1993 as the Anadromous Fisheries Biologist. Fore the past nine years, Tom has served as the Regional Fishery Manager based in Salmon, Idaho where lives with his wife and four children.

SAWTOOTH FORUM AND LECTURE SERIES FOCUSES ON WILDLIFE THIS SUMMER!

The third season of the Sawtooth Forum and Lecture Series will begin in Stanley, Idaho in on July 2 and continue each Friday afternoon through August 27 at the Stanley Museum located on State Highway 75.  Sponsored by the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association, the Series will include speakers, lecturers, researchers, and authors from around the West, all of whom bring special expertise regarding wildlife of the Sawtooth area.  Specific presentations will explore the natural history of cougars, Sandhill cranes, raptors, wolves, wolverines, mountain goats, and native fishes.  Some presentations will include live animals.   Participation is free and open to the public.

The Series is supported by the Sawtooth Society and Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch.  Other partners helping to bring the Series to Stanley include the City of Stanley, U.S. Forest Service, and Stanley-Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce.

SEE THE SCHEDULE HERE!

Stanley City Mayor Herb Mumford said, “Lots of towns boast a pioneer history, but, in Stanley, one can get a real sense or it since the rustic western character of the town and natural landscape has been preserved.  It doesn’t take much imagination to envision the rewards and challenges of life as it was.  We think that this tour helps us all to relate to our history and appreciate the rare, unspoiled, western town that is Stanley.”

The tour brochure is available at the Stanley City Center, Stanley Museum, Stanley Ranger Station, and many local businesses.  It also is available for download here.  It is a self-guiding brochure keyed to markers throughout Stanley and Lower Stanley.

The tour was made possible by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, by grants from the Sawtooth Mountain Mamas and the Sawtooth Society, and in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.

About 10 minutes from downtown Stanley, Stanley Lake is just a short drive from Highway 21, and there is parking at two lots at the eastern and western ends of the lake. See the map below for details.

Pack a picnic, bring a bathing suit, or grab a tennis ball to share with your dog on the beach. Beware, that mountain runoff water can be chilly!

View Larger Map

I have always felt that you can’t have too many hiking guides for your favorite trekking and backpacking areas.  For me, The Day Hiker’s Guide to Stanley, Idaho is no exception. The Sawtooth country surrounding Stanley, often coined the “Gem of Idaho” with its indescribably beautiful and majestic views, sets the stage for the nearly unlimited and uncrowded hiking opportunities. Aside from Marchant’s excellent and detailed hiking descriptions, the author covers GPS use, Leave No Trace backcountry etiquette, and hiking safety.  A young family man with young children, the author does a fine job of detailing hikes for various age ranges and abilities. His hiking recommendations for families with children of different ages are right on the money, in my experience. Another great feature is the breakdown of hikes by useful categories such as the best aerobic hikes, best wildflower hikes, best view hikes, and best solitude hikes. Directions to trailheads and once-on-the-trail directions are straight-forward, simple and, in every case, exactly accurate, in my experience. It’s obvious that Marchant and his four children have grown to love the Sawtooth country, and I think readers will, too, especially if they accept the challenge to take some of the hikes described in this book.

Reviewed by Gary Gadwa, President, SIHA Board of Directors

If you would like to purchase this or any other resources about the Sawtooth-Salmon River Country, please contact us at 208-774-3517 (summer only) or email us.

Ice House restoration in progress

The historic Valley Creek Ranger Station complex located on State Highway 75 includes the Stanley Museum and several other old buildings that served the U.S. Forest Service beginning in the 1930s.   This complex is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and operated by SIHA under permit from the U.S. Forest Service. One of the modest log buildings behind the Museum (formerly the Ranger’s residence) was a structure designed to provide cold storage before electricity was available in the Sawtooth Valley.

new footings

SIHA began a program in 2008 to restore this “ice house” as an historical interpretive exhibit to provide visitors a glimpse of  earlier life in the Sawtooth Valley.  To date, fundraising efforts have generated over $13,000 from more than 75 SIHA members and friends.   In addition, grants have been received from the Idaho Heritage Trust and the Sawtooth Society.   With the help of the Forest Service and the expertise of Sawtooth Valley Builders, exterior restoration is almost complete.

All environmental remediation was done before restoration began, including removal of the nearly nine tons of the original sawdust insulation from the interior walls.  This will be replaced with material replicating the sawdust insulating qualities.  Logs were marked for replacement or repair on the south wall of the Ice House, and then subsequently removed.

To rebuild the wall, new logs or repaired ones were stacked from top down in a gravity defying act! The next stages required the entire building to be stabilized while crumbling foundations were removed and replaced. Once the building’s structural integrity is restored, attention will turn to interior restoration.