| Cottonwood
to celebrate 150th year in 2012, area history included
(History continued from last week) We are nearing the end of our collection of stories for the personal division of the 150-year story book. This Saturday, the 10th of March has been designated as the closing date. We want to thank all of you who have taken part in this part of our area celebration. The next meeting is set for the 15th of March at 2 p.m. at the Library. We hope to move on to the next step which will be to determine the price and conduction of the book pre-sale. Also we will try to set up some kind of schedule for the time it will take to assemble the stories into book form. We will try to stay in touch with all of you and let you know how things are progressing. Certain stories that have been in the computer and are ready to go will be published in the paper for you to preview and share our enjoyment. Sometimes , when in the right mood, we all want to recall a personal story. When this happens, what a difference it makes to share this with someone and we can see if our experience is mutual and others feel the way we do about people, places and things in general. They tell me this is why we get married or develop friendships is to share our stories or lives with people who we have things in common. It’s kind of like the question, “When a tree falls and no one hears or sees it, what’s the difference?” When two or more of us see or hear that tree fall it becomes a part of our lives and many exchanges can come from that. Most of us knew that this project was going to be a large undertaking and that, if successful, would become another milestone for all of us. By sharing all these stories, we get to know and understand each other better and our common bond becomes stronger to help us in the future. The old saying “It takes a long time to grow an old friend” really comes to bear here in that it has taken us 150 years to grow and develop this area! Sure, we don’t always see eye to eye, but we go ahead, working together, to make it better for the next generation. We learn, no only from our mistakes, but also from the many things that were done right! In these stories you will find examples of both and people like us, who lived and loved in the shadow of these great mountain. As a young man going out into Central Idaho’s wilderness to hunt and fish, I couldn’t wait to bring my wife and kids so they too could enjoy – and believe me they did! While, to say we saw it all would be impossible, it would be more likely to say we covered a lot of it, some places so often, we had names for some of the wild animals we saw! Some of these outings today include the fourth and fifth generations and they carry the same songs and stories that the grandpas and grandmas before them use to sing when they enjoyed these mountains! This then is what they call “our heritage” – this then is what they call “our legacy.” Thank you all for your part in this development and in its presentation! The old folks often mentioned “being part of the big picture.” Well, I think this is about just that. All of you have become part of the picture and we all share in this. 
Tom Sprute was just hanging around in about 1941. Picture provided by Bonnie Gehring. 
One of the stories to be featured in the book. Remember When Remember When… Cottonwood’s Town Team held their baseball games where the Riding Club Arena is now. The Lions Club put on a rodeo up there at the same location? We also have pictures of the rodeo held in 1912 on the block where the Elementary School has been! Also we remember that in the fifties the Circus set up their tents on the old ball diamond. You didn’t have a car? If you had two or more cars at the house you had company? Trailers were seldom seen? Let along used to haul family toys around? Storage units didn’t exist? Now everyone should have one to keep their toys out of the weather. The salesperson asked cash or charge instead of cash or credit card? You could only get fresh fruits and vegetables in the late summer? It was only late summer when you could buy corn on the cob? Canning was a way of life and not a job loss? When was the last time you saw anyone spading the garden? Ask the kids what this is and enjoy the crazy looks you get! Anyone out there ever went out to grandpa’s for a butchering party or to grandma’s for a quilting party? |
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