Table Of Content1
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 fam-
ily 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
