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That's Not a Light Saber in His Hand

6/28/2023

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Charles Ostner immigrated from Austria to find his fortune in Idaho. He was working in the Florence area when he decided to make a grand gesture for his new home territory.
 
Ostner had some patience. It took him four years to carve the wooden statue of George Washington astride a horse that stands on the fourth floor of the Idaho statehouse today. Ostner modeled the statue in snow before committing it to pine. He studied the likeness of George Washington on a postage stamp to get the face right.
 
Ostner donated the statue to Idaho Territory in 1869. The Legislature granted him $2,500 for the work. It stood outside the statehouse for 65 years, before it was brought inside and gilded. It stood for years outside of the attorney general’s office, giving the secretary behind those glass doors an unobstructed view of the tail end of a golden horse. The statue was moved to the fourth floor during the 2007 renovation of the building.
 
Ostener died in 1913 and is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise.

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It would be so cool to report that in this depiction George Washington has a light saber in his hand. Sadly, it's just a retracted telescope.
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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. One of his Idaho books explores the history of Idaho's state parks: Images of America, Idaho State Parks. Rick also writes a regular column for Boise Weekly.

    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.idahohumanities.org/programs/inquiring-idaho/
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    Check out Rick's history of Idaho State Parks.

    The audio link below is to Rick's Story Story Night set called "Someplace Not Firth"

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