| Cottonwood
to celebrate 150th year in 2012, area history included
(History continued from last week) We kinda got all screwed up last week and did a bit of bouncing around. Anyway, we should be thinking about the late seventies and early eighties here. As I remember there was an attempt on President Ford’s life and the lady involved got a life sentence out of it. Also in the Super Bowl the Steelers defeated Dallas, a good game, 21-17. Jimmy Carter wins the Democratic convention. The Irish Republican Army sets off 12 bombs in West London. Twill there ever be a time of peace? In 1976 is the U.S.’s bicentennial. Apple gets started in the computer business. Most of us are surprised by the way the younger people pick up on the new technology. Talk about a revolution. The word literate takes on a whole new meaning. We really start to doubt that kids don’t really have the reasoning until they are seven! I can’t even set my watch or the kitchen clock without the help of my grandkids. What’s the date, day, hour? Ask the computer! Here in Idaho the Teton Dam collapses—killing 11 of our fellow Idaho people. In New York Son of Sam goes on a killing spree. There’s a big flood in Colorado killing about 150 people. President Ford beats Ronald Reagan for the presidential nomination. Then in November Jimmy Carter beats Ford for the U.S. Presidency. Almost at once he pardons Viet Nam draft evaders. This is the year Elvis Presley dies and 75,000 people go to Memphis for his memorial! The new Food Stamp program starts. We are having the usual winter storms, but not like it used to be. There is much talk about the dams on the Columbia creating more slack water, more wind, which changes our weather in central Idaho. Back east in Ohio and the Great Lakes they’re having winter big time. It soon hits the east coast killing over 100 people. Michael Jackson releases an album which sells 7 million copies in the U.S. alone. China introduces the “One Child Policy” and experts say that this policy has prevented 400 million births. In 1980 (a Leap Year) we get new that the famous Chicago-Rock Island Railroad has gone broke and will be liquidated. On March 31st the last train runs under the old name. Again here, the big new and once in a lifetime event is the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Everything takes on a spooky look. People are running around in filter masks. Many local trucks and tractors, as well as cars, are damaged with the fine rock dust. The estimate is that over 3 billion dollars of damage in the U.S. One of the most popular high-tech games, PAC-MAN, shows up on everybody’s TV. What a change from our toys when we were young! Everyone is watching the news for information about the hostages taken in the U.S. Embassy in Iran. Another big deal is the story of the Unabomber, which now starts to unfold. At the Republican Convention, Ronald Reagan is nominated and Jimmy Carter is on the slate again for the Democrats. In November we are off and running trying to clean up our mess with a new president. I think this holds center-stage over who shot J.R. on the “Dallas” TV show. About this time there was a failed attempts to free the hostages from the embassy in Iran. They were later freed after Reagan took over the President’s Office. Here locally, new farming practices continued to bring new strains of grain and yields went up and up. New fertilizer and sprays also changed the picture dramatically. The new hospital was also keeping up with new medicines and machines. Great skills were used both in development and practice. We were very fortunate to be in the middle of all these changes. Our schools, too, were adopting new ways and means. New courses offered at the school put our students in great position to receive scholarships and grants. Our ball team, both girls and boys, kept the road “hot” down to District and State Tournaments. What great memories the kids will have all their lives! It seems to me most history books feature the same names over and over. Is this because some families are more open and jealous about their story? Does it mean that some are more private and feel that this somehow invades their private lives? Anyway we are really feeling good about our overall response. As we move on to the next phase of editing and layout, we urge those of you who have been working on stories to get them turned in. On the other hand, if you don’t want to do this sort of thing, that’s fine too. It is pretty evident now that this effort will display and feature many who have not been in previous books. We will make a real effort to show these stories in the same spirit as they were given. Thanks to all of you for your help and encouragement! Our next meeting will be at the Library at 2 p.m. on Feb. 9th. At this time our overall story count is nearing 400, which includes business and organization stories and we are moving on to the next work table. Next week we plan to recall what went on in the 1980’s and our local reaction. All along we see how these time zones keep showing up in our everyday lives. It becomes more and more evident that our past has a direct link to our everyday lives! 
A view of Cottonwood circa 1910 taken from near where the Riding Club Arena is now. The large building at right is the Cottonwood Public School which was completed about that time. The large house in the middle is the Dr. Turner house later owned by Dr. We. F. Orr. Photo provided by Hollandsworth family. 
The Cottonwood Hardware & Implement Co. which was located where the Community Hall is now. This picture was taken in about 1914 or 1915. The building later burned when the cleaners business in the north end had a fire. Photo courtesy of the Simon family. 
Doug Duman and friend delivering papers by horse-drawn sleigh in January 1971. Remember When Remember When… You didn’t have to “chew plastic” to get a couple of soda crackers? In fact they use to come in a cracker barrel and you put a few in a brown sack. Speaking of barrels, remember when the grocery store had a barrel of fish? A wooden box of smelt? Some of the farm ladies dropped of a couple chickens in a sack to be killed and plucked for Sunday dinner? They would also deliver farm fresh eggs in a covered pan? Arlie Gentry from Graves Creek brought melons, cucumbers and fresh berries to sell door to door? The old Community Hall-Doctor’s office which sat where the Post Office is now? Then there was a small alley, then a couple of harness and saddle shops, one of which is where the now world famous “Ray Holes Saddles” got their start! See the “John Baer Story” in our community book (and also in last week’s Chronicle). The local Jaycees put on a dance every Saturday night? Held in the Community Hall this got to be too much of a good thing for awhile! All the local schools had “Giant Strides,” “Teeter-Totters” and “Go-Rounds?” Nowadays the insurance companies would have a fit! The magic show would come to town-tickets only 50¢? We had a fire bell tower on Main Street about where the flag pole is now? The bowling alley was on the ground floor of the old Rooke Hotel? In the 1930’s when John Jenny ran same? There was a creamery on the lots now occupied by Cottonwood Foods? Watch for coming pictures! |
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