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1 CENTENNIAL VOL ^9P^ A 1— ^ JJS,^.S--B^HV 3I404 0iiS"S"""'' -,i£.fiY k Q/XviO C J ^ >L FreemanPeakintheBitterrootRangeoftheBeaverheadMountains. Dale Ford photo \jf^0^6^-^- ^.y^j- • -' ''«'»,.»>;; Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Brigham Young University-Idaho http://www.archive.org/details/centennialhistorOOIennh CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF LEMHI COUNTY, IDAHO Volume I :d^M- ^>/^ % r: Compiled by i& t^ 4j Lemhi County History Committee Hon. Fred Snook, Chairman Salmon, Idaho 83467 pop. 6,899 design - D. Krasowski '92 over design - Robert Wilkerson Copyright 1992 Lemhi County History Committee Hon. Fred Snook, Chairman To order copies of this publication contact; Judge Fred Snook 206 Courthouse Drive Salmon, Idaho 83467 LEMHI COUNTY HISTORY BOOK COMMITTEE Editorial Board Fred Snook, Chairman Marilyn Alford, Vice Chairman Doris Brown Phyllis Caples Ramona Combs-Stauffer Bob Loucks Janice Neal Shirley Parmenter Karen Whitworth Staff Marilyn Alford, coordinator Candace Burns, publicity Ramona Combs-Stauffer, proof editor Harold Heidemann, co-treasurer Sharon Hoffman, correspondence Sharon Infanger, co-treasurer Ann Loucks, publicity and sales Laura Morton, book orders MarRue Simmons, sales Jo Whitcomb, indexing Family Histories Shirley Parmenter, chairman Marilyn Alford Phoebe Bird Doris Brown Kay Guth Jean Marchand Doris Morton Julia Randolph Karen Whitworth Typists Marilyn Alford Laura Hendricks Denise Bender Ann Loucks Phoebe Bird Betty Morton Ramona Combs-Stauffer Martha Nyborg Kathleen Cramer Dorothy Olson Martha Edgar Shirley Parmenter Laura Gough Karen Whitworth Chrie Gould Clair Wiley Kay Guth Jackie Winterowd Our sincere gratitued is extended to the many others who helped either directly or indirectlyincompletingthispublication. SpecialthankstoDale Fordforphotographic work. A DREAM COMES TRUE by Fred Snook Chairman, History Book Committee This CentennialHistoryofLemhiiCountywas the idea Marchand to assist the public in preparing their indi- of an inspirational, dedicated, community minded per- vidual histories. son; the late Barbara Young. Barbara was the Chair- Meanwhile, our main stumbling block was the lack man of the Lemhi County Centennial Committee and of a computer coordinator. Again magic struck when in that position organized the "best" County Centen- Tower Creek resident, Marilyn Alford became inter- nial Organization in the State. Though stricken with ested and joined the party. Shirley and Marilyn made cancer midway through the Centennial, she inspired quite a team and truly have worked full time at this the best from all of us who worked with her. project for more than a year. They deserve the com- In my position as Centennial History Chairman, Bar- munity's praise for their sacrifice and efforts. As Chair- bara spoke with me often of the challenge of a Lemhi man my main job was to schedule the meetings, stay County family and general history book. Options were out of the way, and let the staff continue their efforts. considered; perhaps hiring an "expert" to come in and My otherjob was to coordinate as many feature stories do the project; perhaps contracting with some local as space would allow. writer to do the project; among other ideas. However, One large problem. We had no money to finance the the press of the other Centennial projects, and there book. It would have to be a pay as you go process, were many, always resulted in the book idea being which had a big blank in the middle until the finished pushed aside. product could be received; ready to be sold. We ap- Due to her illness, Barbara's activities became lim- preciate the seven hundred prepublication orders that ited and another wonderful person, Mona Van Overen were paid for in advance to partially finance the pro- quietly took the reins, working diligently on completing ject. So certain of success were we, that only one per- many Centennial tasks. Mona was interested in the son was called upon to sign the $80,000 guarantee to idea of a Centennial book, but had many other projects the publishing company. to complete. Unbelievably, Mona was stricken with Our next problem? We did not have a real editor. cancer soon after taking over the Centennial. The alternative was to edit by committee. Eight people Barbara passed away May 25, 1990. Mona passed served: Karen Whitworth, the Pahsimeroi Connection; away July 14, 1990. We miss them and wish them ev- Bob Loucks, Lemhi County Agent; our Vice Chairman erlasting peace. and Computer Coordinator, Marilyn Alford; our Family The Centennial came to a close and our History Com- History Chairperson, Shirley Parmenter; Lemhi County mittee was about to disband when another person rose native, teacher, and ranch wife, Janice Neal; Lemhi to the occasion. Her name; Shirley Parmenter. Shirley County native and former English teacher, Phyllis Ca- contacted me and again mentioned the challenge of a ples; Salmon City Librarian, Ramona Combs- Stauffer; Centennial history book. told her of our past efforts, longtime resident, Doris Brown; and Chairman, Mag- I and that we had no money, no staff and no encour- istrate Judge Fred Snook. agement to proceed. Shirley would not quit, and with I think it worked. Though difficult, it was a true labor her pushing and shoving, we were back in business. of love. Many decisions to be made, friendly arguments A meetingwas held and Fred Snookwasthe unofficial and disagreements, deadlines to meet, assignments to chairman. Interested persons were contacted and the complete. unofficial committee decided to "go for it". Our goal Two main decisions: Should we have a Pioneer sec- wasto collect five hundred family histories, which would tion for those people born before 1890 or a straight mean enough interest to finance the publication of the alphabetical arrangement? The majority vote was for book. Our neighbors in Beaverhead County, Montana, straight alphabetical listing. Issue two: Should there be led by Salmon native Ann Hirschy, came to give us a a specific dedication to a group of real persons rep- training seminar on their completed project, and we resenting our 185 years of recorded history, or a non- were off and running. controversial, generic dedication? The decision: Al- With Shirley leadingthe way and beingjoined by many ways avoid controversy. devoted volunteers, especially Doris Brown and Phoe- One other important item was the cost. The Com- be Bird, more than eleven hundred family histories, mittee sincerely feels that the price of the three vol- together with priceless photographs were collected. ume set is extremely low for a book of this quality. Several instructional sessions were conducted by Jean Comparable publications sell for $100 to $150, so our published price is another tribute to everyone volun- teering their efforts. No one was paid for their work on the Centennial History. Profits, if any, will be do- nated to worthwhile Lemhi County historical projects. After all the information was collected, the real work began. Ramona Combs-Stauffer, Marilyn Alford, and Ann Loucks, assisted by many others, worked day after day in physically laying out the entire three volumes; page by page. It was tedious, difficult work. Double checking all photos for correct captions and matching them to the right story, on the right page. There may be errors in the final product, but hope the public I realizes how difficult it was to coordinate this much information with an all volunteer staff. Bear in mind that the staff also had to carry on with their day to day occupations, other activities and families during this two year project. The final result? Barbara and Mona would be proud. It is the best, most complete history of the past 185 years in Lemhi County ever produced. Volume One contains manyfeature stories: Sacajawea, The Lemhis, Lewis and Clark, Leesburg, Pioneers, Miners, The Chi- nese, Schools, Churches and much, much more. Vol- ume Two and Three contain the many interesting family histories and photographs that were submitted, and also the history of the Pahsimeroi and its people. It is the best history of Lemhi County ever Written. Why? Because it was written by the people. More than eight hundred different authors contributed information to the book and that is what makes it so very special. It is said that memory is what makes life so special, and forgetfulness is what makes daily life possible. That is the case here. Most people wrote the best about their ancestors. Everyone has a right to be proud of their heritage. What was received was not scrutinized by the committee. If a person said that their Grand- mother was the best cook in Lemhi County, we did not dispute it. No two people ever remember the exact same thing, and some of what is printed here may not be absolutely correct. You, the reader, shall judge the credibility of each story. In conclusion, have been very fortunate to serve I my neighbors in Lemhi County in many public posi- tions. truly feel that contributing to this endeavor was I the most important and gratifying of all. Read on! We hope you will enjoy reading it as much as we have enjoyed producing it. A.i;\ij l.u ,,A.MJN H'viW, IDA DEDICATION by Sam McKinney Lemhi County native, rancher, and past County Commissioner The history of any western county is primarily determined by the heritage \ of its people, who came west and established a new life on the wild frontier. I Lemhi County is a stronghold of the western spirit, the passagewayfor Lewis and Clark, the native land of Sacajawea, Chief Tendoy and the peaceful Lemhi Indian tribe. : This Centennial History is respectfully dedicated to the Native Americans I who treasured this land before us, the courageous pioneers, and their de- [ scendants. It is dedicated also to the followers and builders who discovered the beautyand opportunity of this area, developed it, and hopefully will main- tain and preserve Lemhi County's natural grandeur. l