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Smylie Paints a Centennial Sign

11/9/2018

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​Idaho has celebrated a couple of centennials. More people will remember the Idaho State Centennial that took place in 1990, but there was an earlier one celebrating Idaho’s Territorial Centennial in 1963.
 
To make sure visitors to the state were aware of the celebration, the Idaho Transportation Department painted a red “carpet” on the first 80 feet of inbound lanes on the major highways entering the state, with the message “Idaho Welcomes You” painted onto the red. On the outgoing lanes, 10-foot-high letters reading “Hurry Back” bid travelers adieu.
 
In the photo below, Idaho Governor Robert E. Smylie is giving the last touches of paint to one of 25 3’x5’ signs installed at the entry points for that year. He would do some more pretend painting on US 95 at the top of Lewiston Hill on the Idaho/Washington border May 3, 1963 to kick off the Territorial Centennial. 
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Photo courtesy of the Idaho Transportation Department digital collection. 
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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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