Looking Back at Pages from the Past
The following stories are summarized from past issues of the Caribou County Sun over the last fifty plus years. The Enterprise thanks Mark Steele for permission to use the contents, and the Grace Public Library for access to the archives.
2019
A nine-year old Thunderjet boat has been refurbished by grant money from the Idaho Parks and Recreation funding from registration fees, Caribou County Sheriff Ric Anderson reported last week. He said no local tax dollars were used for doing inspections, normal patrol, education, rescues, and enforcement on county waterways. The sheriff said four marine deputies are responsible for patrol of the reservoirs in the county.
Many projects were going on at the Chesterfield Town Site over the Labor Day Weekend. Glen, Judy, and Ryan Loveland from Kaysville, Utah were at the Loveland-Simons house as they prepare to close it up for the winter. Work was also being done on the Davids Cabin and the Ruger Dugout. Tar paper has been put on the dugout roofs and dirt and sod will be added to the roofs this upcoming week.
After their opening season win against Ririe High School, Grace’s Lady Grizzlies were not satisfied with the win. “We’ve got a lot of work to do both offensively and defensively,” commented Grace Coach Ray Yamauchi. With three matches per week, and all three matches against 3-A sized schools, Grace definitely needed to be playing better than their opening week. On Wednesday night Grace played host to Shelley and Bear Lake. Grace lost to Shelley 25-18. “We actually played quite well defensively. We just had trouble generating much offensively,” stated Coach Yamauchi.
The Grace cross-country team achieved several historic “firsts” for its program while competing at the Cardinal Classic this past Saturday. A record-breaking number of 36 Grace runners helped the team earn a score in five different races; the boys and girls junior high teams each earned their highest places ever at the Classic, taking 8th and 10th places, respectively. The high school boys varsity also earned its highest place ever against a slew of powerhouse teams from around the region. Adding to the lit of team accomplishments were the boys JV team and the varsity girls team, who had their first ever scoring teams for this meet.
2014
Horse Play Day was held at the Caribou County Fairgrounds on Saturday. Play day features competition for different skill levels. Novice allows riders to walk or trot the games and an open level allows the riders to trot and canter through the games. Games include tortoise race, ride and lead, red light green light, egg and spoon, pony express, flag race, rope race, 10 bucket race, barrel race and pole bending. Ribbons were awarded.
2004
The Idaho Department of Water Resources has ordered the dissolving of the Bancroft-Lund Ground Water Management Area and has also issued a moratorium prohibiting most new appropriations of water. IDWR Director Karl Dreher, in a legal notice, rescinded the order establishing a Bancroft-Lund Ground Water Management Area in 1991. Water rights were decreed in 1995 in that area and a water district established. Dreher said that ground water management area was no longer needed to administer the water rights, but that a moratorium on new consumptive water rights applications would be placed on the area. The department will consider applications for domestic, municipal, and nonconsumptive ground water use. Ground water levels in the Bancroft-Lund area declined approximately 10 to 15 feet from 1985 to 2004. Additional appropriations of water must be limited to prevent further ground water level declines, the department said.
Caribou Memorial Hospital Foundation elected new officers for the coming year at their monthly meeting held Sept 2. Bart Simmons, recently retired school superintendent from Grace, was elected president, taking the reins from Lawrence Rigby, retired superintendent from Soda Springs. Kaye Pallante, a foundation board member, was elected vice president. Dawn Corbett, who is also in the hospital’s board of directors, was elected to continue to serve as the foundation’s secretary. Frank Chadwick, a former hospital board member, was re-elected treasurer. The foundation is currently planning its first annual Parade of Trees, which will be held during the week of Nov. 28. The foundation has purchased Christmas trees and decorations. The trees will be decorated by hospital departments and other volunteers, and will be shown to the public in the front entryway of the hospital.
There are three foreign exchange students attending Soda Springs High School this year, one each from Sweden, Germany, and Mexico. Emile Lantz was met in Pocatello by her host family, Gary and Robbie Lemarr, their son Drew, and their daughter Celeste as she arrived from Helsingborg, Sweden. Her parents are both artists. Melanie Mier came to the United States from Meckenbeuren in Germany. Her host parents are Jack and Dana Crist. Her father is a university lecturer, and her mother is a technician. Maria Solis is from Arizaba, Mexico. Her father is an engineer, and her mother is a stay at home mom. Her host mother is Adele Allen. The girls stated that they would all like to belong to a swim team in Pocatello.
1999
Soda Springs city crews worked top replace a valve at a Geyser last Wednesday morning. Once the faulty valve was taken off, crews had to get the new one bolted in before they could turn the water on again. In 25 years, the valve has had to be replaced three times.
After thrashing the Aberdeen Tigers 22-14 last week, the Challis Vikings had an air of total confidence coming into Friday night’s competition against the Grace Grizzlies. The Vikings boast a potent offense behind the running of Junior Ike Folsom. Folsom was named Prep Athlete of the Week for his 303-yard effort against Aberdeen. That confidence was shattered in the first play when Grizzly running back Jason Stoddard took the opening hand-off and scampered 53 yard through the Challis defenders. The drive was capped with an 11-yard touch-down pass from the quarterback Rawlee Yamauchi to wide receiver Kevin Smith.
Don Aslett is coming to Soda Springs! All ladies have a special treat coming on Spet. 11. Don Aslett, world-renowned author, speaker, founder of Varsity Contractors, Dean of Clean, Don Juan of the John, will be at the Hooper LDS Church multipurpose room to present “How to Have a 48-Hour Day” and “De-Clutter Our Lives.” All ladies are invited.
1994
North Gem School District welcomed third grade teacher Sam Wadsworth to its teaching staff for the 1994 school year. Wadsworth moved to Bancroft with his wife Kristine and their sons Dustin, Skyler, Samuel, and Ethan. Sharon Wistisen has also joined the faculty at North Gem, teaching English I, English II, and speech. Second semester, she will teach a drama class and will produce an all-school play. She is also one of the junior high advisors. Wistisen and her husband Rulon will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary soon. They live on the Wistisen family farm west of Bancroft, where they have raised their five children—Janine, Bruce, Brian, Charlene, and Coreen. Rulon and all the children are North Gem graduates.
Homecoming week was in full swing at North Gem High School. The royalty tryout assembly was conducted by Student Body President Stephanie Hebdon and Vice President Dawn Yost. Chosen as queen is Audra Bredehoft, daughter of LuAnn and Larry Bredehoft. King is Ryan Faulkner, son of RaeLee and Monte Faulkner. The senior attendants are Wendy Yost, daughter of Vicki and Date Yost, and Cody Hansen, son of Betty Sparrow. Representing the junior clas are Tanya Yost, daughter of Shauna and Monty Yost, and Tom Cellan, son of Dianne and Glen Cellan. Sophomores are Launi Neibaur, daughter of Jackie and Chad Neibaur, and Randy Rindlisbaker, son of Eugene and Layne Rindlisbaker. Freshmen: Raini Yost, daughter of Sherry and Gordon Yost, and Corry Hatch, son of Kathy and Terry Hatch.
The Royal Neighbor lodge reconvened meetings on Friday at the Enders, following a summer recess. Oracle Catherine Moore conducted. Catherin, Grace Trujillo and Viola Winchell served as co-hostesses. Following refreshments Pinochle was played with prizes going to Melva Cook, high, Louise Young, low. Bingo prizes were plentiful, with everyone winning a prize. The drawing was won by Louise Young and the travel prize by Helen Isle. Edna Larsen, Bernadine McNeal and Mellie Humphreys will be co-hostesses for October.
1984
Janet Tolman reported that “The members of the Ira Call family [are attempting to] refurbish the pioneer home of their ancestors. Around July 24 the families of four of these members, at least, came to Chesterfield with their motorhomes, campers, and some even stayed in the schoolhouse the Chesterfield Foundation had been repairing, so that they could make the first attempt at such a project. According to Joel Davids of Bancroft, who is a great-grandson of Ira Call and one of his wives, it took four men working a total of 112 hours over that weekend to haul out about 10 tons of debris to even get started. After that was moved, they found that the floor was uneven and needed jacking up in many places, and replacement in others. They leveled the whole building, jacked up and stabilized the roof, putting a cable over the rafters, in all directions. They rebuilt an inner wall that had deteriorated an was needed to hold the roof in place, pulled the chimney back in place, and stabilized it. Following the instruction of people who do this sort of thing for a living and are refurbishing the homes in Nauvoo, Illinois for the church, they took pictures of every angle, in sets of two, in case of one not turning out, both to show the progress, as well as to know what still had to be done. They kept a sample of the plaster so that they would have that as a keepsake of the original building material. They plan to replaster the whole house.
The total cost of restoring the house at this point is $592, not counting the labor, which these days would exceed the cost by about four times. All of this expense has been met and it is planned to keep the bills paid as they do the work.
Labor Day weekend the family met again to replace the shingles on the roof. They are attempting to preserve the home now, with the restoration coming later.
Lowell Call, son of the late Joseph C. Call and Myrtle Eliason Call is the family member who has taken the lead in this project. This is one of his contributions to genealogy, as his father before him gathered information concerning the descendants of the noble ancestor, Ira Call, and printed it in book form.
This home is located on top of a hill to the south of the original square that Chesterfield Foundation plans to restore, but will be a showplace like the rest of the
buildings.
Relics are being collected all the time by many people, but the Foundation has the dream of buying and restoring these original buildings on their lots where they were built and making them available for tours by the public so that people of the West can see just how their ancestors lived—no indoor plumbing at all including bathrooms, cold hard floors, and only bare necessities.
The city of Nauvoo is being restored at the present rime, with the skills these pioneers used to sustain themselves and their families being displayed. It is considered a showplace of the middle states, with many thousands of visitors each year touring the area.
The dream to refurbish the old homesteads of Chesterfield is the original idea of Craig Call, another descendant of these pioneers, who was born and raised in Soda Springs, but lives now in Provo, Utah. He was newly elected to the Utah State Legislature from his area.
This dream is shared by Gary Hatch of Chesterfield, who, having gained his education, been out in the world, and seeing how it is turning out, returned to farm in Chesterfield and raise his
family there.
They have the support of such area people as Jean (Cube) Treasure, Joel Davids, Ada Smith, and Elaine Johnson, all of whom have served on the board of directors of the Chesterfield Foundation the five years it has been in operation.
Much has been accomplished in that time. A book about the original pioneers has been printed and the schoolhouse on the original townsite has been purchased and restored to the point that family reunions dances, and other parties can be held there, especially the Memorial Day activities each year.”
1969
Stanley Patterson, his son Brett, and his father were logging up 8-Mile Saturday when a tree nearly fell on them. The senior Patterson swung around to avoid being hit and his saw hit Stan in the knee. They bandaged the knee as best they could and went on with their work. Then a stick flew up and hit Stan in the eye. All in all, Stan ended up with 12 stitches in his knee and four stitches in his eyebrow.
Tosoiba TOPS queen for the month of August was Carma Carver with a total weight loss of 10 pounds. First runner-up to the queen was JoAnn Lloyd second runner-up was Sonja Woolsey. On Sept. 27, at the Presbyterian Church, Soda Springs, a day of area recognition will be held for all TOPS members of Eastern Idaho.
Too early to tell how good, but sea-run steelhead fishing season in Snake, Clearwater, and Salmon rivers is in the offing. From mid-September on through the fall until winter freeze-up ends the sport, anglers will be out trying their luck. So far, 115,000 steelhead have been counted at Bonneville Dam on the lower Columbia River, but the tally dropped to 59,000 at The Dalles.
