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Dispatches from the Past (tap to read)

1/29/2022

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Time for one of our occasional Dispatches from the Past where we feature oddities from newspapers that caught our eye while researching some unrelated topic.
 
From the August 8. 1867, Owyhee Bullion, an ad for the Poorman Saloon in Ruby City. “I have now opened a saloon in my own elegant styled building. I desire the patronage of those only WHO ARE LIABEL TO PAY.” 
 
From the Idaho News, Blackfoot comes this light-hearted jab about the Grangeville paper on September 12, 1891. “The Free Press, published at Grangeville, has been as prompt to roll from the press on publication day as ‘Old Faithful’ the famous old geyser of the Yellowstone Park, is to throw up mud and water at its stated periods. But September 1st, Mrs. Parker honored her husband, the editor, as he was never honored before. She presented him with a daughter and that day the Free Press did not dance to the call nor the music. We are not kicking; editors should be allowed some privileges and daughter days are the times when allowances should come in. Next week we expect to see the Free Press bubbling over with sparkling gems of poesy, sentiment and songs about the little queen of the home empire.”
 
For context on this next one, you need to know that Idaho was a prohibition state beginning in 1916. Here’s a little blurb from the September 18, 1917 American Falls Press.
 
“Earl Fleming of the Bonanza Bar country was in town Friday night and somewhere in his travels picked up a bottle of the forbidden. He was in one of the pool halls and Deputy Sheriff Fred Walworth came in. Now you know Earl had known Fred a long time so he proffered the latter the bottle. Fred took the bottle all right, also the prisoner and Earl, after waiving his preliminary hearing, is awaiting under bond the session of the district court. Moral: don’t offer a sheriff a drink in a crowded pool hall.”
 
From the Blackfoot Idaho Republican, November 10, 1920.
 
“Because he had the Ford habit of getting out of his car when he wanted to start the engine, J.T. Burroughs, traveling salesman for an Idaho Falls wholesale grocery company, lost his Dodge car Saturday night, when it was struck at the crossing north of the depot by Short Line train No. 34, and barely escaped himself.”
 
The article went on to explain that the Dodge had stalled on the tracks, so Burroughs, out of habit, jumped out to crank the thing to a start. That’s when the train hit the car, which featured one of those new-fangled dashboard starters.

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    Author, Speaker

    Rick Just has been writing about Idaho history since 1989 when he wrote and recorded scripts for the Idaho Centennial Commission’s daily radio program, Idaho Snapshots. His latest book on Idaho history is Images of America, Idaho State Parks. Rick also writes a regular column for the Idaho Press.

    Rick does public presentations on Idaho's state park history and the history of the Morrisite war for the Idaho Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau.
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