SECTION H
Idaho Falls...As the Government Aerial Photographer Saw It
From the Air
(Five photos; no captions.)
(new page)
Idaho Falls Now Third City in State in Population
Fifty Years Finds Many Changes in East Idaho City
Name of Metropolis Changed Three Times In Half Century;
Each Particularly Significant in Growth of Idaho Falls.
Carved out of the once arid wastelands that made up a part of
the last "frontier," Idaho Falls (a city which has had three names
during its existence) has grown to the place where almost seventy
years later it is the third city in Idaho. Idaho Falls, which
during its lifetime has also been known as Taylor Bridge and Eagle
Rock, owes its present location largely to the fact that at a point
near here a place was found where freighters could ford Snake
river. This was the only place where the stream could be crossed in
order to reach the rich Montana mining fields and bring ore out.
Following its establishment, the community turned to agriculture
(when irrigation was developed) as its greatest industry. Except
for the years when the railroad shops were here, Idaho Falls owes
most of its splendid growth to products of the soil.
Milestones in the history of Idaho Falls might be listed as
follows: In 1865 a toll bridge in a sagebrush desert; in 1872 a
small western village called Eagle Rock; in 1882 division point on
the Utah Northern railway; in 1890 a town of 1300 population; in
1900 the name was changed to Idaho Falls; in 1934 a city of over
10,000 residents.
Each of the names that the city has been known by are
especially significant in the history of the community and mark the
various steps in its progress. The first, Taylor Bridge, was
attached after the building of the toll bridge across Snake river
by Matt Taylor and heralded the birth of a settlement in this vast
waste land. After a few years, citizens felt that the name was not
suitable for such a thriving little community and changed the name
to Eagle Rock. Some 18 years later agriculture had been developed
to the point that it was probably the most important industry of
the section and agitation against the name "Eagle Rock" was
started. Many contended that the name was not significant of a rich
farming community, but smacked of a barren area. The suggestion was
made to name the city after the falls in Snake river here, for
after all it was this mighty stream of water that furnished the
life blood for this farming community. From this came the name,
Idaho Falls.
Here in 1863
Going back several years more than half a decade, we find that
Matt Taylor in 1863 reached here while trucking through to the rich
mining fields in Montana. He had to ford the river some miles above
here, but found that the stream was very swift and treacherous. He
hit upon the idea of building a bridge--for, he reasoned, the
hundreds of freighters carrying supplies into the Montana territory
would gladly pay a fee to save the trouble and danger of fording
the river. He went on into Montana with his wagons, but the
possibilities of a toll bridge, the advantage of a natural site
here, were constantly in his mind. He returned in 1865 and during
the winter, when the stream was frozen over, he built the first
bridge, laying the foundation for the present Idaho Fals. This
bridge was constructed at a point immediately south of where the
present Broadway street bridge spans the Snake. The old foundation
is still in place and may be easily seen.
Between the time of Taylor's first trip across the river and
when he built his bridge, however, a ferry was put into operation.
In 1864 Harry Ricketts established a ferry a few miles above the
present city at about the point where the stock bridge crosses near
Johns Hole.
Named from Rock
In his history of Idaho, Governor Hawley says: "Near this
ferry was a large rock in the middle of the stream where a family
of American eagles made their nest every year, and from this
coincidence the ferry was named Eagle Rock ferry. The first year
Mr. Ricketts operated this ferry he took in over thirty thousand
dollars in greenbacks in tolls from the wagons bound for Montana,
but as greenbacks were then at a discount he realized only about
half that amount in gold dust, then the current money of the west."
The old toll bridge that Matt Taylor constructed gave way to
the trend of progress in 1895 for a steel structure, the finest of
its kind at that time. A subsequent structure stood until 1928,
when the modern concrete bridge, marking the present era, was
built. Just south of the present structure today stands an old
railroad bridge which was built by the Utah Northern about 1880.
This bridge continues to serve for a spur line which runs to spud
warehouses on the west side of the river. At the time it was built
it was on the main line to Butte.
Going on with the history, Taylor Bridge soon became the point
at which all freighters crossed Snake river going north to Montana.
The only competition to the route through here was by the Missouri
river route. The village prospered, and in 1867 Robert Anderson
took an interest with Mr. Taylor in the operation of the bridge.
They worked as partners until 1872, when Mr. Taylor disposed of his
interests to Mr. J. C. Anderson, brother of his partner. Three
cabins had been built near the bridge, located at about where the
building formerly used as a city hall now stands in Capital and
Broadway. One was an eating house, another became a store and the
third was a livery stable. Mr. Taylor went into the cattle business
and became a large operator. Some eight years later talk of the
coming of the railroad was heard. The Utah Northern began building
its line north out of Ogden. Slowly the two thin ribbons of steel
stretched out across the desert, reaching here in 1880. On north it
went to Butte, providing a transportation outlet for the rich
minerals taken from the Montana mines and taking food and other
necessities of life to the miners. Eagle Rock was then a terminal.
Railroad shops were built, offices set up here and the prairie was
dotted with two-story red shacks, the buildings of the Utah
Northern. A passenger station was erected at a site where the Great
Basin Grain company structure now stands. Trains from the south
used practically the same route followed today, but going to Butte
the tracks crossed the river over the present railroad bridge. A
real setback was suffered when in 1887 the shops were moved to
Pocatello. The town had been prospering, the census of 1882 showing
a population of 670 persons. A school house and church had been
erected. The change was made when it was decided to build the
railroad west from Pocatello to Boise and the vast Oregon country.
Revival Comes
After a few years of hard sledding the town began to show a
revival when travelers began going through here to Yellowstone
National park. The east began to hear of this wonderful scenic spot
and Eagle Rock profited by it. This community was the gateway to
the park until the railroad built its line to what is now West
Yellowstone, Mont. Coupled with the tourist trade, agriculture
helped to pull the town out of the mire. Irrigation was being
developed rapidly and the wonderful results of putting water on
this fertile land were soon broadcast over the country. Farmers
began coming in and taking up homesteads. The Progressive canal
system was started in 1884. Then the Idaho and Great Western
systems were started. There were 1300 persons here at that time.
Soon flour mills, sugar factories, seed pea houses and other
industries grew up and Idaho Falls became a thriving community.
Turning to the financial history of the city of Idaho Falls
old record books and papers reveal many items of interest. One of
these records date back to the first village board, when Robert
Anderson was chairman and N. H. Clark was the clerk. They passed an
ordinance allowing the village treasurer 2 1/2 per cent of all
money collected, the village clerk $2 per meeting or a minimum of
$4 per month; the village marshal was to receive 25 per cent of all
licenses collected on dogs, circuses and other shows, etc.; the
street overseer was to receive $1 per day when actually employed.
The money used for street work was a poll tax of $2 in cash each
year--this applied to all men between the ages of 21 and 50 years.
The highest salaried man was the village attorney, at $8 per month.
Prohibited "Speeding" on Horseback
This board also passed an ordinance which defined various
misdemeanors which were punishable by fines. One of the these made
it unlawful to drive or ride any horse or mule at a reckless speed
on the streets, or the use of firearms from the backs of such
animals. Any drunken person found lying on a public street was
subject to a fine, as was any person fighting or threatening to
fight. Certain questionable resorts were also subject to fines.
The first time that a bond issue was proposed was in 1896,
when $30,000 was asked for building of a village waterworks. The
plan was to buy out the private water system owned and operated by
W. H. B. Crow. This consisted of a tank and distributing system
installed by the railroad and acquired by Mr. Crow when the
railroad shops were moved to Pocatello in 1887. The election was
held in the Methodist church, located on its present corner.
City indebtedness increased as the years passed and in 1912 a
bond issue of $95,000 was floated. Further rapid increases were
made, reaching a peak of $1,300,000 in 1920. The city tax levy at
that time was 25 1/2 mills, and the city also had special
assessments for paving, sewers and sidewalks; even then the rate
was not as high as many Idaho cities have at present.
Louis Starts Economy Plan
About this time Mayor Ralph Louis inaugurated an
administration of definite economy; especially trying to pick up
outstanding city warrants and thus save the item of interest for
the city. He also worked toward putting the city on a cash
operating basis. By the close of this administration, the city's
total indebtedness for all purposes, including special
improvements, had dropped to $640,000.
The city continued to grow and it was soon faced with the
question of a better and increased water supply, and that
necessitated an increase in electrical output. A bond issue for
$300,000 was submitted and was twice rejected by the voters. Then
a program was inaugurated to dispose of these questions by other
methods, and to keep the city revenue apace or ahead of the
expenditures for an improvement program. This was not accomplished
all at once or in one year, but the fact that it was accomplished
is shown by the fact that today Idaho Falls has the least bonded
indebtedness and the lowest city tax rate it has had for 30 years.
The city now has in bonds which have not matured some
$200,000, and the entire city tax levy is 13 mills. The revenue
producing assets are now conservatively valued at $1,500,000. "The
pay-as-you-go plan is proving such an advantage that we have been
able to make an annual increase in our improvements and employment
program," Mayor B. W. Clark said. "This year our total figures for
those items will be more than $700,000."
Modern Apparatus Helps Fire Fighters Hold Down Losses
Present Department, One of Most Efficient in State,
Had Its Inception in Back Room of Saloon;
Ed Winn Was First Chief of Fire Forces.
Idaho Falls' fire department came into being in a saloon back
in the early days when the city was known as Eagle Rock. Down
through the years of development of the city the department has
kept pace in every respect. Turning the yellowed pages of history
back to 1884, 50 years ago, we find that this little settlement
along the Snake river did not even have a fire department. When a
blaze broke out the neighbors assembled and did what they could
with a bucket brigade, but usually this failed to save the property
or contents of houses.
Early in 1885 Eagle Rock experienced a fire that wiped out
nearly all of the frame shacks along what is now Eagle Rock street.
It was then that leading citizens of the community got together in
the Brewery saloon and organized the first fire department. In
those days, and even the next few years, bright colored uniforms of
the volunteers and man-drawn equipment was the size of it. This was
not much equipment to combat flames that broke out in the frame
dwellings. Today, 50 years later, finds Idaho Falls with one of the
best fire departments of any city of its size in the country--
boasting three motor fire trucks and a department made up of seven
paid men and a chief. A volunteer force of 14 call men goes to
complete the department and gives Idaho Falls protection that makes
it possible for it to be recognized in the low fire insurance rate
class.
Fifty years ago a number of frame shacks and a few adobe
buildings dotted the sage brush along Snake river, where Taylor
bridge was located, marked the settlement of Eagle Rock. When a
building caught fire in those days, it was a goner. Today thousands
of modern business houses and homes make up this city, and fires
that break out have little chance of doing much damage before the
fire fighters have the flames under control.
But this change did not take place in a year or several years.
On a Sunday night in 1885, 20 men gathered in the old Brewery
saloon and started the first volunteer fire department. The meeting
appointed Ed. F. Winn, who later served as postmaster and is still
residing in Idaho Falls, as the first fire chief. William A.
Wheeler was appointed as assistant fire chief, W. B. Green,
secretary, and John Glen, treasurer. A fee of $1 each was paid by
the 20 volunteers. The meeting voted to buy a hose cart, but before
this could be done it was necessary to raise some money, so a dance
was staged in Glen Wheeler's house New Year's night, ending with a
midnight super at Dick Chamberlain's saloon. A total of $150 was
cleared by this dance and a hose cart and 300 feet of hose were
purchased. The railroad company agreed to install three fire plugs.
Served Many Years
The old volunteer department served the thriving little town
for many years, offering fair protection against fires. Fire
insurance in those days was little heard of this far west. One of
the leading figures connected with the early day department was
Bert Center, who did much to help build up the department.
The first fire station in the town was in front of where the
Z.C.M.I. building now is and later it was established in a new
building built where Kugler's jewelry store is now located. The
volunteers owned both the cart and the building where it was
housed. In 1889, when the village was incorporated and the cart
moved across the street from the post-office building now occupied
by the Co-operative creamery sub-station and formerly occupied by
the late John O'Neil, was purchased by the village. The village
board at that time included Robert Anderson, chairman, and W. H.
Clark, clerk.
Horse Carts Bought
It was not until 1907 that the old man-drawn cart was replaced
by the horse-drawn equipment. About this time Julius Marker, who
serves today as fire chief, became connected with the department
and was the driver of the first horse-drawn cart. J. W. Galey was
chief at that time and none of the firemen were paid. The
department used the O'Neil building.
First to Draw Pay
The two men on the department first to receive pay were Mr.
Marker and Lew Tolley, who served together for about a year. Then
Bob Brace replaced Mr. Tolley. In 1909 the city decided to pay the
fire chief. Wally Sheriff was named to the position by E. P.
Coltman, mayor. He served as chief for about a month and then
resigned and Mr. Marker was appointed. Mr. Marker has continued to
serve Idaho Falls as fire chief since that date. Shortly after this
the city moved the fire station to a building on the property where
the Kress building now stands on Park avenue. This was a frame
shack and served until torn down in the fall of 1930 to make room
for the Kress building. The department moved to the present
location at that time. At this time also the old fire bell was done
away with and a fire siren installed.
After putting up a fight that lasted for two years, motorized
fire fighting equipment in 1916 replaced the horse-drawn rig. The
first motor fire truck was purchased that year and is one of those
in service today in the department. Two firemen, besides the chief,
were paid by the city at that time and when the second truck was
purchased the department was increased to six firemen and the
chief. In November of 1930 the big combination ladder and hose
engine was purchased and another man added to the force.
Has Two Shifts
With eight men, including the chief, now on the city payroll,
the department operates in two shifts of four men each. Call men
may be reached by telephone in case of a fire or report when they
hear the fire siren.
As an example of the efficiency of the department, records
reveal that the loss from fire in the city in 1933 amounted to but
79 cents per capita. This is compared with $5.99 per capita in
1932. The fire loss that year, however, was boosted to this figure
by the Lambrecht building fire, which was one of the worst in
years. Total fire loss in 1932 was $59,941.70, while last year the
loss was but $7921.28, records show.
Photo captions:
TWO VIEWS OF IDAHO FALLS' CITY HALL
NO CITY IN THE STATE OF IDAHO has a more pretentious or more modern
city hall than the one recently built in Idaho Falls. The top photo
shows a front view of the imposing structure with the impressive
pillars. The bottom view shows one side of the city hall and the
No. 1 fire station. The equipment is the best that could be bought,
and that plus a well trained fire fighting crew is responsible for
the low per capita loss from fires in the city.
Photos by Williams
Idaho Falls Financial Center of Eastern Idaho
Deposits Exceed Other South Idaho Cities by Million
Two Strong Banking Institutions Closely Linked with Progress
of Community for Many Years; Anderson Bros.,
Oldest Bank in State, Began in Adobe Cabin.
Assets totaling approximately a million dollars more than in
banks of any other city in southern Idaho, with the exception of
Boise, is the outstanding record made by Idaho Falls' two banking
houses during 1933. At the close of business last year, Anderson
Bros. bank (now the First Security Bank of Idaho) and the American
National bank showed assets totaling more than $5,200,000. This
exceptional record, made during a year considered poor financially,
shows why Idaho Falls has become the banking and financial center
of this entire Upper Snake River Valley and eastern Idaho. This
reward comes as result of 50 years of hard work on the part of men
and women connected with banking. The record set up in 1933 is one
not common with communities of the size of Idaho Falls.
Starting with the little store operated by the Anderson
brothers some 50 years ago, banking has become one of the leading
cogs in business life of this city. When the Anderson brothers
were in business their banking consisted largely of "depositing"
sums of money for residents of this area in their safe for
safekeeping. They had the only safe in this part of the country at
that time. But today, banking plays a big part in the business role
of the city. The city's two institutions are located in recently
constructed, large and modern structures which occupy busy corners
in downtown Idaho Falls. They employ large numbers of men and women
to handle the work involved in taking care of thousands of
customers.
Turning again to the year just closed, it is doubtful if
financial institutions any place in the United States have been
greater forces for progress than have the two local banking houses,
the First Security Bank of Idaho, which was for 68 years known as
Anderson Brothers, and the American National. Today the two banks
have more than three million dollars' worth of loans in effect in
Bonneville county and the adjacent territory, most of the money
being used in the interest of agricultural development. Better
methods of farming, diversification of crops, improvements in rural
living conditions, more and better livestock--all these projects
are receiving encouragement, financial as well as moral, from the
Idaho Falls bankers.
Cover Wide Area
The loans now in force cover a wide area. Instead of being
made in large sums to one, two, three or four individuals they are
spread out in smaller sums to hundreds. Every enterprise worthy of
encouragement, every farm property that is being properly managed,
is receiving consideration. No just request for financial
assistance goes unheeded as the local bankers strive to continue
the policies of many years' standing to lend every effort to
increase the productivity of the community.
Idaho Falls' banks have been closely related with the growth
of the city and country. Anderson brothers, founded in 1865, is the
oldest bank in the state. The American National, while not in
existence as many years, has served faithfully since its creation
in 1892. Through the trying early days of this section, when
farming was more or less uncertain, both institutions weathered
critical times unwaveringtly. Not once did either ever weaken in
the face of temporary bad conditions. Conservative and able
management has enabled them to stand out in times of stress like
beacon lights in a heavy fog, lighting the way back to stability
and normalcy. In the spring of 1933, after all the banking
institutions in the United States had been closed as an emergency
measure, both of the Idaho Falls banks were among the first in the
state to be reopened under the new requirements prescribed by the
federal government. Under the new banking laws, deposits in both
banks up to the amount of $5000 are insured with the Federal
Deposit Insurance corporation.
Came in 1865
In 1865 when Robert and J. C. Anderson began their first
banking business in an adobe cabin in the settlement at Taylor's
Bridge, later known as Eagle Rock and finally as Idaho Falls, this
city was nothing more than a few log huts, a wide place in the road
where travelers spent the night enroute to the rich mining towns in
Montana. That first "bank" dealt in gold, furs and hides and was a
general depositary for other valuables. Anderson Brothers were for
many years a big factor in the community, and their handiwork was
plainly noticeable in the early ...development of the country. The
general [store] and bank were known the length and breadth of the
new western country. As the city and adjoining territory progressed
the business of the Anderson Brothers increased until it outgrew
the old quarters. The two-story brick building now occupied by the
Corey Implement company at the corner of Capital avenue and the
railroad tracks was erected as the new home of the bank. In 1903
the bank was moved to Broadway, where Bybee's grocery now is, and
it occupied that location until 1926, when the management purchased
the Idaho Falls National bank business and moved into its present
location.
The Anderson brothers directed the affairs of the bank for
many years and became widely known as bankers. In 1903 C. C.
Campbell associated himself with the institution, and was active in
the organization until his death in 1920. In 1922 E. G. Bennett
became connected with the bank. In 1926 the bank became a member of
the First Security corporation system of banks of which Mr. Bennett
now is vice president and general manager. Anderson Brothers bank
became a branch bank under that system early in 1934. Officers in
the Idaho Falls branch include Victor Austin, vice president; F. E.
Eichelberger, vice president; M. M. Hitt, manager; T. C. Wasley,
assistant manager, and Leo G. Christenson, assistant manager.
Started in 1892
The American National bank came into existence in 1892 as
the Bank of Idaho Falls, with Bowen Curley, Jay R. Mason and W. R.
Kinnaird (father of Dr. William Kinnaird) as its founders. Mr.
Curley and Mr. Mason, after starting banks in Nebraska, decided to
come west to an irrigated region, after crops were burned out there
in a drouth. They selected Idaho Falls and opened the doors of the
bank for the first time in a humble frame building on the site at
Shoup and Broadway now occupied by a service station. The business
was carried on there for a year. Meantime a stone building was
being erected at the present site of the bank. After operating in
this building as a private bank for 11 years, the Bank of Idaho
Falls was nationalized and became the American National bank. In
1928 the business outgrew the old quarters and the present modern
banking house was erected.
The American National bank has always been active in
sponsoring and supporting agricultural and commercial enterprises,
and has been a factor for conservative progressive growth. Mr.
Curley retired as active head of the bank in 1926 and the full
management was assumed by D. F. Richards, the present president,
who came here in 1909 to associate himself in the business with Mr.
Curley and Mr. Mason.
Opens Branches
Branches were established by the American National at Rigby
and Salmon, Idaho, in March 1934, with H. J. Compton manager at
Rigby and Jay R. Mason manager at Salmon, with John T. Rathjen
assistant.
The present officers of the bank are: D. F. Richards,
president; Jay R. Mason, chairman of the board; George R. Willsey,
cashier; W. C. Parker, assistant cashier.
Idaho Falls banks supply currency and silver to all the banks
in this territory. Banks of the upper valley all carry accounts
with the local institutions and do a great deal of business through
them. Supplying the service that the larger banks give has made the
First Security Bank of Idaho and the American National bank
outstanding in the banking business.
Photo caption:
HOMES OF IDAHO FALLS' TWO BANKS
TOP PICTURE SHOWS THE MODERN BUILDING that houses the First
Security bank of Idaho (formerly Anderson Bros.) at the corner of
Park avenue and A street. Below is the home of the American
National bank's up to date banking house. It is located on Broadway
at Shoup avenue.
The inset is an artist's conception of the first Anderson
Bros. bank.
Associated Press Gives Post-Register
Readers Prompt, Accurate News Reports
250,000 Miles of Wires and 85,000 Reporters
Bring News to Post-Register
BY M. E. BARKER (AP) Bureau Chief
In a corner of The Post-Register editorial rooms stands a
little machine, not much larger than a typewriter and not unlike
one in its operation.
From it there pours, almost unceasingly from morning until
late afternoon, the story of the world's events of each day--
history in the making.
The little machine is a symbol of a vast and intricate
organization that covers the United States with a network of
250,000 miles of telegraph wires over which there flows, day and
night throughout the 24 hours, the product of an army of some
85,000 reporters and editors.
Of this organization The Post-Register is a part. This
newspaper and some 1300 others, scattered over the United States
and its possessions, South and Central America, Mexico and Cuba,
constitute the Associated Press, the only press association owned
by the newspapers it serves.
Served by 2000 Men
Nearly 100 bureaus, staffed by 2000 full time employes and
situated in every important city of the United States and foreign
countries, gather the news of the world, write it for American
newspaper readers and transmit it to the offices of the 1300 member
newspapers.
In addition, some 2000 part-time correspondents scattered over
the world in smaller communities, are on the watch for news events
that may occur there, ready to dispatch them by the fastest means
of communication to the newspapers of America.
And behind this first line army there stands another of about
80,000 members, made up of the editorial employes of the newspapers
that comprise The Associated Press, gathering the news of their
home fields and placing it at the disposal of the other members.
It is the result of the daily labors of this vast army of
newspaper workers that pours from the busy little machine in the
office of The Post-Register and constitutes the story of the
world's current affairs that it places before its readers each
evening.
Like The Post-Register, the leased wire service of The
Associated Press this year is celebrating its fiftieth birthday
anniversary.
In 1884 the first leased wire circuit of any press association
was placed in operation. In contrast to the present 225,000 mile
wire system of The Associated Press...miles in operating between
Chicago and New York City.
Prior to that time, the news reports of press associations,
totaling only a few hundred words daily, were carried over the
wires of the commercial telegraph companies.
Inception of System
This small beginning marked the inception of the present
complex system of telegraph, cable and wireless communication that
has made neighbors of the newspaper readers of the civilized world
and has rendered the affairs of the farthest outpost as readily
available as those of the next township.
The Morse telegraph, with an operator taking the dispatches
from a sounder and writing them on a typewriter, has proven too
slow for the demands of the modern newspaper. It has given place to
the automatic telegraph, or teletype, which operates at a speed of
nearly 60 words a minute, bringing into the office of The Post-
Register each day about 30,000 words of news, almost the equivalent
of the contents of an ordinary length novel.
Over the trunk wires of The Associated Press, traversing the
nation from coast to coast and extending to all its larger cities
some 200,000 words of news. For the collection and transmission of
this news there will be expended during the present year something
like $8,000,000.
But this gigantic organization, with its world contacts, is no
impersonal machine, pouring into each of the 1300 newspaper offices
its news dispatches, regardless of their importance to their
readers.
Its 225,000 miles of leased wire circuits are divided into
many shorter ones each serving a separate territory with its own
news interests. From the daily grist of 200,000 words are selected
stories of importance to the readers of state or section, and these
are sent over the circuit reaching the newspapers of that state.
In addition, staff employes of The Associated Press are
stationed in the capital and other principal cities of the state,
to gather first-hand and write the important state news. Further,
The Associated Press maintains in Washington, besides its general
staff concerned with news of national importance, a staff of
regional correspondents whose duty it is to collect news of
particular interest to the states they represent there.
Thus The Post-Register, through the Boise bureau of The
Associated Press, receives not only dispatches of interest to Idaho
newspaper readers generally, but also stories of especial
importance to the Upper Snake River Valley.
Likewise in the Washington AP bureau the regional
correspondent for Idaho is on the watch for developments of
interest to the people of this section. Through his contacts with
the members of the Idaho delegation in congress and with the
various government departments, he obtains the news that
particularly concerns the readers of The Post-Register and other
newspapers of the state.
This news, gathered from over the state, the nation and the
world, is carried over the leased wire system of The Associated
Press with almost unbelievable speed. In a test made a few years
ago, a dispatch was sent twice around the world, through principal
Associated Press bureaus of both the northern and southern
hemispheres, in the astonishingly short time of two hours and five
minutes.
News of outstanding importance in foreign countries as well as
the United States is flashed throughout the Associated Press
organization in a matter of but a few minutes. A story of changing
developments in this country or abroad flows speedily over the
wires, keeping each newspaper constantly informed of its progress,
almost minute by minute.
News Pictures
With the growing importance of news pictures in recent years,
The Associated Press has provided facilities to supply its member
newspapers with illustrations of current events in photograph and
matrix form. From the latter, cuts for printing the pictures are
cast by the newspapers in their own plants.
Fastest means of collection and distribution of news
photographs, by train and airmail, have been employed, and with the
development of the telephoto, the pictures have been sent by wire
over the country.
Within the next few months a leased wire telephoto system will
be put in operation by The Associated Press, with sending and
receiving stations in a number of the larger cities of the United
States.
Through its use, photographs of news events in any part of the
nation will be transmitted in a few minutes to all other points in
the telephoto system. From these points they will be distributed by
air mail as photographic prints or in matrix form to newspapers not
on the telephoto wires.
Just as it pioneered the leased wire telegraph circuit for
transmission of news dispatches, The Associated Press is thus
leading the way in the establishment of a leased wire telephoto
system, in its effort to supply its member newspapers with the
world's news in story and picture form in the shortest possible
time.
This, then, is the story of the little machine in the Post-
Register building, and of the great news-gathering organization of
which it and The Post-Register are a part.
Photo caption:
Associated Press Gives Post-Register
Readers Prompt, Accurate News Reports
THIS LITTLE MACHINE pictured here is one of two in The Post-
Register editorial rooms that connect the paper with a 250,000 mile
network of wires that spread over the world and carry the stories
from 85,000 reporters and editors to the paper's editorial rooms to
be relayed to readers in the Upper Snake River Valley.
CLEVERLEY'S HERE HALF CENTURY
Filed Homesteads in Shelton Vicinity in 1884;
Grubbed Sagebrush.
The Cleverley brothers, Frank and Jesse, residents of Shelton
vicinity, had but one neighbor when they first went to homestead
there in 1884. That was Orville Buck, who had already been there
several years. The Cleverley brothers filed claims and then moved
to Eagle Rock, where they worked on the railroad for two years. At
the end of that time their homestead claims were being threatened,
so they again moved to the farm and planted a timber lot to further
assure them of their rights.
The sagebrush in that section was so large and so tough that
ordinary methods of grubbing were of little avail. Jesse Cleverley
asked his old railroad foreman for a rail with which to grub the
troublesome growth. The foreman supplied the rail, which became
community property. It was dragged along the ground and proved to
be an excellent devise with which to clear the sagebrush. Many of
the roads and most of the farms in Shelton were cleared with the
aid of this rail.
Help Build Canals
The Cleverley brothers helped to build the Progressive, the
Farmer's friend and the Enterprise canals. Jesse Cleverley served
as presiding elder for the L. D. S. church until 1885, when the
ward was organized with John Shelton-Howard as bishop and Jesse
Cleverley and Edmund Lovell as councilors. The ward was called
Shelton, in honor of the Shelton-Howard family. Bishop Howard
served for 36 years; he was released a year before his death in
1922. At this time Edmund Lovell was sustained as bishop, In 1912
community labor was donated to quarry rock a few miles north of
Shelton to build the present large chapel. It was finished in 1914,
and it was at that time completely paid for.
Mrs. Frank Cleverley has been dead a number of years. mr. and
Mrs. Jesse Cleverley celebrated their fifty-ninth wedding
anniversary last February. They still take an active part in
community and church affairs.
Among the first families in the Shelton vicinity were the
Burtenshaws, the Newmans, the Johnsons, the Egans, theL Lovells,
the Heaths, the Barnes, the Ricets, and the Cooks.
Photo Caption:
EFFICIENT OFFICERS PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY
CO-ORDINATION OF THE EFFORTS of the sheriff's and police offices
has spelt disaster for more than one criminal, who has attempted to
ply his trade in Idaho Falls. At the top is the county law
enforcement group. Reading from left to right they are, top row,
standing, Byron Ellsworth, deputy sheriff; Dave Beguin, chief
deputy sheriff; Kenneth Mackenzie, county attorney. Bottom row,
left to right are Judge W. D. Huffaker of the probate court and
Harry Meppen, sheriff. In the lower picture are the city's peace
officers. Top row, standing, left to right, William O'Brien,
traffic; Charles Criddle, sergeant; Bert Hansen, patrolman; Albert
Howard, patrolman; Wiliam Williams, captain; John Bartlett,
patrolman; Ernest Harker, patrolman; Theodore Jackson, patrolman;
Paul Crowder, traffic. Seated, left to right, Mayor Barzilla W.
Clark, Chief Algot Carlson, Ira Taylor, warden of the state
penitentiary, and Lee Walker, police judge.
Photos by Williams
City's Own Plant Supplies Power at Low Cost
Father of Present Mayor Built First Local Power Plant
Present Hydro Electric Equipment Brings
Idaho Falls Gross Income of $240,000 Yearly;
Power Rates Low.
Idaho Falls' 5000 horse power municipally owned hydro electric
plant has an annual earning power of $240,000, in addition to the
service of supplying city street lights and power for pumping water
from the two deep wells. Vastly different is the present plant with
its three power houses, five turbines and two Deisel engines, from
the 125 horse power generator established by Mayor Joseph A. Clark
and his council in 1901.
The need for electrical power and light was felt by citizens
of Idaho Falls for many years before the little stone plant on
Crow's slough, at the corner of what is now Tenth and Boulevard,
marked the end of the smoky, kerosene lamp. In 1900 agitation grew
for the establishment of a power plant. The following year Mayor
Joseph A. Clark and his council conceived the idea for a
municipally owned plant, transformed their idea into reality, and
laid the foundations for the present power system, which is known
throughout the west for the abundance of cheap power it supplies
for community industries and domestic use.
The first municipal electric plant was something of a novelty,
being the only generating plant in this section of the state at
that time. During the first year of its operation it brought the
city a revenue of $1005.35. The city water plant, purchased in 1900
from W. H. B. Crow, turned in an additional $1963. From that small
beginning has developed the present $1,500,000 system.
Plant Built on River
The first generating plant served the city until 1912 when
Bowen Curley and his council built what is now the main power house
on the banks of the river proper. Marking the growth and
development of the city two old type cogwheel generators were
installed. Mayor Barzilla W. Clark was at that time president of
the council and chairman of the electricity and water committee,
serving with J. L. Milner and Jabez Norwin. The following year
Councilman Clark was elected mayor and during his term of office,
another turbine, this one capable of generating 700 horse power,
was installed, bringing the production capacity to 1050 horse power
in 1913, the first year the plant on the river was in operation,
the gross receits were $43,..2.95.
W. A. Bradbury, during his term as mayor, removed the first
two units of the main plant, and put in two modern turbines. That
brought the production power to 1700 horse power, where it remained
until the Ralph Louis administration installed another turbine and
an oil-burning Deisel engine. By this time the demand for power and
light was beginning to tax the city's facilities to capacity, and
the Deisel engine was purchased to insure sufficient power during
peak load hours and for protection in a pumping way in case of
fire.
Start Upper Plant
In 1928, Mayor Barzilla W. Clark and his council started work
on the unit located four and one half miles up the river at the
site of the old Wright diversion dam. This unit of the power system
with its huge turbine capable of producing 2000 horse power was
completed and put into service in 1929.
Today the city power plant has 2400 meters in homes,
apartments and business houses. Instead of the arc lights that
illuminated the city streets in 1903 the city has constructed a
system of light standards that includes 325 lights throughout the
business and residential sections, making the city one of the best
lighted in the west.
Water Works Develops
The municipally owned water works has kept pace with the
city's growth and progress. When Idaho Falls was first established,
water haulers kept their customers' water barrels filled with river
water for the sum of 25 cents a week. Later W. H. B. Crow acquired
the railroad company's plant, when the shops were moved to
Pocatello. In 1900, the city bought Mr. Crow's plant. Since that
date the water works have been municipally owned. In 1914 fourteen
hundred gallons per day met the requirements. In 1930 more than
four million gallons was needed per day for the domestic and
commercial uses of Idaho Falls. For several years much of the water
supply came from the one well on the corner of Tenth and Boulevard,
where the first power plant was located. A second well was put in
operation in 1929, increasing the capacity to eight million gallons
per day. A third well will soon be completed which will furnish an
additional five and one half million gallons per day. This amount
can be augmented by water from the river, which the power plant is
equipped to pump, should the need arise. A chlorinating plant is
used to purify the river water, before it is put into the mains on
such unusual emergencies.
A new carrier current off peak load control was installed this
summer, by which the current going into hot water heaters can be
cut off when the load becomes too heavy. This is the first such
system ever installed for commercial purposes.
Thus the growth and development of the municipal electric
plant is closely interlocked with the development of electric
current for light and power purposes, sold at low rates, and
opening a field for manufacture by keeping the cost of power for
commercial purposes at a minimum of cost.
Photo captions:
City's Own Plant Supplies Power at Low Cost
The Power Story As Photo Tells It
No. 1.--Where Idaho Falls' municipal power plant had its
inception in 1901. On the banks of Crow creek Mayor Joseph Clark,
father of the present mayor, laid the foundation for the city's
5000 horsepower electric plant.
No. 2--The Diesel unit, installed by the Ralph Louis
administration, as an auxiliary unit to guarantee adequate power
for pumping in emergencies when the hydro electric plant fails to
function because of ice or other adverse conditions.
No. 3--The four turbines at the main power plant. Here is
generated the bulk of the power that lights the city's street and
homes; cooks the meals and moves the wheels of the city's
industries.
No. 4--Another section of the hydro electric plant, completed in
1929, four miles up the river at the site of the old Wright
diversion dam. The huge turbine installed in this structure is
capable of producing 1000 horse power. The picture also shows a
section of the dam built on the site.
Bottom photo shows an exterior view of the main power plant
taken in the winter, when snow dotted the rock strewn around the
grounds. (1) is the main power hose. (2) is one section of the
house that covers the Deisel unit, and (3) is the switch tower from
which can be controlled the "juice" going into the various power
lines that serve the many sections of the city.
KEEFER READER FOR 50 YEARS
Local Man Has Read Register Since Its Earliest Issues.
Chugging and puffing wearily to a stop in front of the little
log depot at Blackfoot, the Utah Northern unloaded its few dusty
passengers and a crew of railroad workers before beginning the pull
to Eagle Rock, farther up the line. One of the group made his way
immediately to the log building of the newspaper, the Blackfoot
Register, and received his usual weekly issue of the little valley
paper. This was in 1883 and the reader was J. W. Keefer.
Consistent reader of the Blackfoot Register, the Idaho
Register and The Post-Register successively, Jake Keefer is the
oldest living subscriber to the present Post-Register. He was the
second person to subscribe to the paper when it was founded in
Blackfoot in 1883 by William E. Wheeler. The late Orville Buck,
early settler on Willow creek, was the first subscriber.
Came Here in 1880
Of a Pennsylvania Dutch family, Mr. Keefer came to this
section of the valley when a young man in 1880 while working on the
railroad out of Omaha. Mr. Keefer came here with a group of
workers, several of whom settled in Eagle Rock and became prominent
citizens of the place.
"News in the early days was practically all local," Mr. Keefer
said.
"There was no Associated Press service or news-gathering
organization. News from the outside world trickled in late and was
often carried by cattle men, traders, travelers coming through here
over the toll bridge."
The railroad station in Eagle Rock was located near the old
black grain elevator on the south side of the tracks, and it was
this station and the shops that gave work to about 250 men in the
little settlement.
"When I first settled on Willow creek," Mr. Keefer said,
"there were only a few families living in that section. Orville
Buck was the first to homestead there. Over in the swan Valley
country there were only a few families, and I remember the two
Hiram brothers, the Ross brothers and a man called "Baldy" Hyde.
Dick Hiram is living today. We had to come to town for our mail--
there was no such thing as rural mail service. Most of us
susbscribed to the paper, and we called by the office for it each
week. I paid $1.50 for a year's subscription."
Water Problem Serious
The water problem in Eagle Rock was a serious one. For a long
time there was no pumping system and water was carried in barrels
to the homes in town, sometimes by individual families and later by
regular water haulers.
"John Watts was the first water hauler," Mr. Keefer said. "Dan
Clyne, who still lives here, also hauled water for residents and
delivered coal and what little freight there was at that time. W.
H. B. Crow, who built the first house on the north side of town and
was considered as living far out in the country, installed the
first water system in town in his home. Part of the old pump house
now standing by the river is a relic of our early water system."
It was a long time before local residents made trips to
Yellowstone park. Tales of the wonders found in that area reached
the valley, but the trip was not to be taken lightly in view of the
long trek over mountains and strange country. The first stage line
into the park was sent out from Market lake. near Roberts, and it
was after this that several families attempted the trip.
Took Weeks to Make Trip
"It took weeks to make the trip," he explained, "and there
were extensive preparations to be made by each family before
leaving here. Everyone piled comfortably in the back of a wagon and
each night unloaded for camp. It took a week to get there and the
whole vacation was gone by the time the family arrived home again."
Saloons, the first of which was run by Dick Chamberlain, and
the Brooks hotel were popular gathering places in the evening
hours. "Night life" in the little settlement was limited in scope,
although genuine enough in fellowship and friendliness. Dick Berry
built the first saloon on the north side of the tracks and his
little place went up near where the New Porter hotel now stands.
Mr. Keefer through the years has continued the habit of
calling for his paper and each day as the time nears for the big
press to roll he strolls into the office and after his usual cheery
greetings goes his way. Still strong and upright in build, he will
be 75 years old in October, most of those years being spent in
Eagle Rock and Idaho Falls watching a changing community and the
miracles wrought by time.
Photo:
J. W. "Jake" Keefer, well known pioneer, who has been a reader of
The Post-Register since its founding. His name was the second on
the list of the Blackfoot Register, which was later moved to Eagle
Rock, and became known as the Idaho Register.
CORRESPONDENTS FOR THE POST-REGISTER
UPPER VALLEY news writers for The Post-Register are stationed in
practically every community and city. Above are five of the 35
correspondents who send in stories and news items. Reading left to
right, they are Mrs. E. L. Southwick of Fairview, Mrs. D. O.
Frongner of Riverdale, Mrs. C. S. Waters of Grant, Mrs. Maurice S.
Ritchey of Swan Valley and Mrs. D. E. Hathway of Chester.
Return to the Table of Contents