Looking Back at Pages from the Past
5 Years ago, 2019
The Soda Springs Rotary Club announced this years grand marshals of the parade, all of whom are 100 years old or older. Specifically, the grand marshals for the year are Merrill Hulse, Norma Bennett, and Eva Sorensen. Hulse was born in 1916 in Bench, a small community southeast of Grace. He attended grade school in Lago and graduated from GHS, before building B-24 bombers at Consolidated Air Craft in San Diego, and then going to work for Monsanto. He married Blanche Christensen in 1935.
Norma Bennett (Nielsen) was born in 1917 in Cleveland, and married Roe Fowler Bennett in 1937. The two ran a small farm in Lago for many years. At the time, Norma resided in the Caribou Living Center, and was a huge Utah Jazz fan.
Eva Sorensen is nine days older than Caribou County. She was born on Feb 2, 1919, and she has lived in Caribou County ever since. She recalled the family bringing hom large ice blocks in wagons from Alexander Reservoir for summer food storage. She also remembers getting a ride to primary for her teacher Ivins Ward, who drove a Model T.
Writer Ellen Carney recounted the history of the Bear Lake monster legends, which date back to the Native American inhabitants of the area. In more recent times, the first major modern report of something unusual in the Bear Lake was a 1968 Deseret News story by Charles C. Rich, apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the namesake of Rich county. He is credited with the first monster report in the area, given five years after settlers had first come to the area. He explained that many people had reported a “huge creature” in the lake, but that they had generally been alone at the time of the sightings, which meant they hadn’t been verified. At the time of the article, the most recent sighting had been at Swan Creek, where Marion Thomas and the sons of Phineas Cook had reported seeing a more than twenty foot brown creature with fur or hair, and two very long flippers, “near enough I could have shot it” if he had his rifle. As of 2019, there was no proof of a large creature in the lake beyond the anecdotal.
Governor Little planned to attend the Caribou County Ag Day. Educational and entertaining booths will be open throughout the City Park. The Day is intended to celebrate the contributions of agriculture to the country and the world.
Rhea Godfrey’s family held a community-wide celebration of her 90th birthday. Godfrey was born on June 8, 1926 in Weston, ID to Jesse W. and Bertha Loretta Olsen Griffiths. At 19, she married Murrie Godfrey at the Logan Temple in 1948. After moving to Soda Springs shortly after, they decided they wanted to stay.
The Sun ran the following public service message: “Our Apologies…To the Gentleman in the Navy Hat who came in Wednesday, June 12, to the Sun to renew his subscription. The Boss was busy looking at the New Cabela’s Catalog, the Office Manager was in Brigham City getting the paper printed, and two staffers weren’t present or accounted for. So, we missed getting your name. Please call us or stop in so we can renew your subscription for real this time.”
It was reported that a ten percent decrease in the number of prescriptions had been achieved during the first half of 2018. The American Medical Association’s Opioid Task Force released its annual report on the progress of the medical community’s response to the opioid crisis which has ravaged the country for the last two decades. The OTF has been tracking a number of entities and organizations related to the crisis, such as doctors, clinics, and other prescribers, as well as monitoring programs and treatment groups.
Several local youth athletes took their talents on the road this past weekend, traveling to Voise to compete in the USATF State Hersey Track Meet. Will McCullough, Izzy Shelton, and Zippy Somsen all competed and earned medals in multiple track and field disciplines. Izzy continued her dominance in the shot put and discus, winning both events. Will began with his first-ever javelin competition, winning gold and another in discus. Zippy earned second place in the javelin, and a silver in the extremely demanding pentathlon.
10 Years ago, 2014
The Caribou Memorial Hospital, through the non-profit CMH Foundation, published a new cookbook which is now available at the hospital, CEO John Hoopes announced. Contributors to the volume include Dietary Director Karleen Gunnell, Delene Barfuss, the “Pink Ladies” of the of the CMH Auxiliary. The CMH Foundation was formed many years ago to be able to accept donations. With income from various fundraisers, including the new cookbook, the golf scramble, and donations, the foundation makes scholarships available to improve the quality of health care for Caribou County residents.
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson praised the passage of the Defense Appropriations bill for FY15, which included an amendment offered by Candice Miller to prohibit the Department of Defense from spending funds to divest, retire, transfer, or place in storage any A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, or to remove any units of the active or reserve component associated with such aircraft. This comes after the Air Force has proposed to retire the A-!0 Warthog and had not included any funding for it in the budget. A number of a-10s are stationed at the Idaho National Guard Base at Gowen Field in Boise.
Ledge Creek Horse Park is planning for an indoor horse riding arena and horse park. Terri Bergmeier, president of the board for the project, explained that the ISU feasibility study showed the potential for the facility to generate revenues sufficient to operate, maintain, and continue to expand over time. The Ledge Creek Horse Park planned to apply for non-profit status and begin a public information campaign to build community support for the facility. According to the board, there are nearly 58,000 horses in the area, with approximately 23,000 used for pleasure, 7,500 used for breeding, 7,000 used for farming and ranching, 6,300 used for packing, and 13,800 undisclosed. In building the park, the board hopes to open local residents’ eyes to the prominence of the horse industry.
20 Years ago, 2004
Grand Marshals for the Rotary Club’s 4th of July parade and activities were announced to be Debi and Kirk Hansen. The parade’s theme for the year is “Corps of Discovery.” Kirk Hansen was elected mayor in 1986, and was still serving at that time in 2004. Debi discussed her love of gardening and boating Bear Lake, as well as redecorating. The couple looked forward to leading the parade.
North Gem School District #149 held its regular trustee meeting, and reported that school lunch fees will be increasing a nickel across the board, from $1.45 to $1.50 in the elementary, $1.70 to $1.75 in the secondary school grades, and from $2.55 to $2.60 for adults. The school also reported great success with its phonics program. The Caribou County Fair announced plans to host wilk cow milking and wild cow riding for teams of three at the Fairgrounds, in addition to junior and senior barrel racing.
It was reported by Andrew Taylor in a long form discussion that ISU researchers working with the ISDA Sheep Experiment Station near DuBois near the Montana border were studying many facets of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem that once dominated the West. They were examining everything from the native plant and animal communities recover from fires, how invasive plants and noxious weeds can out complete sagebrush and other native plants in disturbed areas. The lab planned to study “this historically unappreciated ecosystem, which is more interesting than we ever imagined, but is disappearing pretty quickly.” The study will look at how sagebrush fits into the ecosystem, as well as how wildfires reshape and provide a vital component of the vegetation and wildlife needs of the sagebrush steppe.
Caribou Memorial Hospital and Living Center announced Nursing Assistant Month, according to Kathy Archibald, nursing manager at the Living Center. The Living Center is the County’s 37-bed skilled nursing facility. John Hoopes stated that CMH employs 38 full and part-time nursing assistants, also known as nursing assistants or CNAs. Soda Springs High School graduated 17 students from the CAN program in the spring. One student rom Grace, Travis Newsom, graduated from the program in the spring and went to work at the Living Center. He is interested in becoming a radiology technologist or a related health care profession. Karen Murray, a CAN who has worked at the facility for four years, says that the position can be very rewarding, in addition to being very demanding.
The Board of Directors of the Soda Springs Lions Club presented a slate of officers, including Darrin Sims as president, Chad Bybee as first vice president, Paul Hooper as second vice president, Gaylon Gneiting as secretary, Duane Sims as treasurer, Jeff Bowen as tail twister, Jim Fowler as membership chairman, John Lau and Brent Maughan as one year directors, and Leonard Kingsford and Keith Reed as two year directors.
230 trekkers participated in the three day handcart trek north of Soda Springs past Cow Camp and into Chesterfield. In addition to the 130 youth who participated in the trek, more than 50 adult leaders and helpers were along to supervise and lead the trek. The three day adventure is designed to help participants understand the terrific struggles undertaken by the pioneers who made their way across the west more than a century and a half ago.
30 Years ago, 1994
Gary Brogan of Wendover, Utah was named the new principal at Grace High School, coming to the area from the Tooele School District. Brogan is originally from New Plymouth, Idaho. He was a state champion wrestler and national champion bareback rider in the NCRA in 1986. So far, he has been impressed with the pristine beauty of Southeast Idaho and expressed a desire to raise his family in this area.
Becky Bergholm was recognized as an outstanding Dance minor at ISU at the NDA National Convention held in Denver. She is a third semester senior studying secondary education in physical education, History and Dance. This fall she will be instructing Pocatello elementary schools in recreational dance. She will be doing her student teaching in the spring and graduating in May.
The Caribou County Emergency Services released information for residents about avoiding and mitigating thunderstorm hazards. A list of places to avoid during summer lightning storms included unprotected bleachers, beaches, hills, bikes and motorcycles, tractors, horses, under trees, swimming, boats in the water, open windows, wire fences, screen doors, metal objects, towers and overhead wires. Safe areas include under cliffs, flat on the ground, in a ravine, in a dry ditch, in thick timber, in the center of a room, in a car, in a dry cave, in a metal frame building, and other purpose built safe places.
The community of Grace is applying for a Gem Community Action Grant of $10,000. The Idaho Department of Commerce is sponsoring the program, which Grace has participated in for the past two years. The Grace Gem Team received its certification in May 1993, which made the community eligible for the grant. The top priority project for the group has been the renovation of the Grace Theater for the past year. The project has received a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts for a feasibility study. $10,000 will be used from the grant to remove asbestos in the acoustic tiles of the Theater.
40 Years ago, 1984
The original Mountain Men Trappers came out of the mountains every year when the snow melted. They met traders from the East and trader their fur pelts for guns, gun powder, lead, knives, flour, and salt—all the staple products they needed to make it through another winter. This gathering was called a Rendezvous. The mountain men would see other mountain men and friends they hadn’t seen since the last rendezvous a year earlier. Many of the modern day mountain men use replicas of equipment the original mountain men used. The Sheeprock Muzzleloaders started having rendezvous about 10 years ago. It started to educate the public in the use of black powder guns and to have get-togethers for black powder enthusiasts. The rendezvous for this year is scheduled for the area west of the Bailey Creek Bridge south of Soda Springs.
A fire on Monday leveled the home of the Don Sibbett family, one-half mile south of the Grays Lake Bird Refuge. The nearest neighbor, Lyle burton, heard an explosion and ran across the road to see if anyone was inside. Smoke was pouting out all the doors and windows. Within seconds the place was engulfed in flames. The family had left about ten minutes earlier and gone to the Glade Sibbett residence nearby. Donations of food, clothing and other items to the family, which includes three children, were being taken at Thirkill. The cause of the explosion had not been determined.
The Shaun-dels from Grace will be having a dance-a-thon and dance on Friday at the potato cellar north of Grace. The dance will be supported bu Country Chicken and Mr. “Wass”.
Mr. and Mrs. Walters were guests at a surprise steak and potluck dineer hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Rigby at their home in honor of Enid Walters’ retirement after 24 years at the Intermountain Gas Company. Many guests from both Intermountain Gas as well as the Walters family were on hand to congratulate Enid on her milestone.
Seven rigs from the Caribou Rollers, Good Sam R.V. Chapter met to travel together the Blackfoot to attend the State Samboree. Ray and Melva Cook, Claude and Mae Jeppsen, Myron and Helen Isle, LaViel and Gladys Hildreth, Percy and Jennie Norcutt, Mel and Verda Weaver, and Bill Moore were joined later by Diggs and Maxine Lewis. The theme for this year’s Samboree was “Gold Rush Days.” During the program, Caribou County’s Home Economist Diane Malleck gave a class on microwave cooking. There was a costume parade, horse shoe tournament, skits, and a box social and a hoedown. The weekend ended with a non-denominational service on Sunday morning.
