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signing at Gifford
Dick Southern and his co-authors Pat (Heuett) Van Buren and Phillip Rathbun would like to announce the release of their books Halfway Stage Stop: Pioneer Settlement, Gifford, Idaho and Big School On A Hill: School Through The Years, Gifford, Idaho. The release and signing event will take place Sunday, August 4, from noon to 4 p.m., at the home of Don and Donna Southern, located at the intersection of Main Street and Kettenbaugh Grade, in downtown Gifford. The 252 page book Halfway Stage Stop: Gifford, Idaho, follows some of the first homestead families of the fertile lands of the Gifford Plateau to see what happened to them; whether they stayed or left the area after they proved up and received title to their land. Also, there are many newspaper articles published in the Lewiston Tribune and other newspapers that tell what was going on with the people and events of the Gifford area. A notation from the cover states, “A historical account of things we like to remember and some we’d just as soon forget at Gifford, Idaho.” The 185 page book, Big School on a Hill: School Through The Years, is a collection of student and class photographs from the days when Gifford had a thriving school student population. Dick Southern of Craigmont, was born at Clarkston and lived at Silcott, Washington before his family moved to the Gifford area in 1941. As an active member of the Ilo-Vollmer Historical Society at Craigmont, Southern was recognized in 2011 with the Idaho State Historical Society’s Esto Perpetua Award for outstanding contributions to individual, local, and regional historic preservation. He is also a member of the Idaho State, Nez Perce County and Lewis County historical societies. Patricia (Heuett) Van Buren was born and raised at Culdesac. Her Mustoe and Heuett families had homesteads at Melrose and Gifford and lived there all the rest of their lives. She is a member of the Twin Rivers and Idaho State Genealogy Societies, the Idaho State, Nez Perce County, and the Ilo-Vollmer Historical Societies and lives in Lewiston with her husband Gerald. Phillip Rathbun was born in Lewiston. His maternal family, the Atkinsons arrived in the Gifford-Melrose district in 1907. Phillip moved to and lived at Gifford where he attended and graduated from school at Culdesac. Phillip is a member of the Nez Perce County Historical Society. He now lives in San Antonio, Texas but visits the Lewiston area regularly. For more information about the book release, please contact Dick Southern at 208-924-5625 or 208-791-8575 or col_craig57@yahoo.com. |
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