William Ellis and Dorothy Collson (February 12, 1972)

              Voices From the Past
William A. Ellis and Dorothy Collson
By William A. Ellis and Dorothy Collson
12 February 1972
Tape # 94
Oral Interview conducted by Harold Forbush
Transcribed by Tia Aucoin Mar 2007
Edited by Niccole Franc March 2008
Brigham Young University- Idaho
Harold Forbush: This cassette contains material copied from reel to reel tape in 1972 wherein Harold Forbush and others interviewed persons with background of Clark County. On the 19th of October, 1983, Mrs. Bonnie Stoddard and Eileen Bennett were at the Rexburg Historical Society for the purpose of giving a public showing of their work in collecting pictures of Clark County from 1780, I think, or 1870, I guess maybe I‘ d better say that: 1870 to the present time. They have received a grant and they are now in the process of completing the collection of some 5,000 pictures of that particular area of Clark County and they have to fill certain requirements that would entitle them to receive the grant moneys. Now, I indicated to one of these ladies, I believe Eileen Bennett, and there were maybe one or two other ladies from Clark County visiting us and making this presentation. I suggested to them that I had some reel to reel tape on which is recorded interviews of persons of that county and they suggested that we make a copy on cassette of these and make such available to them for their purposes out there in Clark County and I am doing that this closing week of October, 1983.
Side one: Oral history of the Upper Snake River Valley. This particular tape deals with the history of Clark County, which is part of the Upper Snake River Valley, though waters from the Snake and I guess waters tributaries of the Snake, however, have their origin in this county. It‘ s somewhat to the west and to the north of the area that we refer and as being a part of the drainage system of the Snake River. But surely this county would be a part of the north fork, Henry‘ s Fork, drainage area. And after the confluence of the two forks waters stemming from Clark County, I presume, would flow into the Snake River drainage area. It would be part of it. The point that I wish to make is that Clark County, as with the other four counties, Jefferson, Madison, Freemont, and Teton was a part of the old Freemont County, created in 1893 by the legislature and so it is a political and a geographical uniform area, along with the other four counties and incidentally, it is one of the counties that is embraced by our Upper Snake River Valley Historical Society. So it is that I take occasion to put on this tape, interviews of Clark residents, information about Clark concerning history and its development, its area, sociology, and geography, and topography, and a way of life as is seen by those whom I interview. I am commencing the preparation of this tape on the 12th day of February, 1972.
This interview is being conducted at the Green Restaurant on South Center in Rexburg, Idaho on the 12th day of February, 1972. I have with me this evening Brother Olaf Fredrickson, who is a close associate and friend of Mr. William Ellis, the man that we are now interviewing.
Would you state your full name and the date and place where you were born?
William A. Ellis: My name is William A. Ellis. I was born in Dubois 1894.
HF: You were born at Dubois in 1894. Well that‘ s very interesting. Now, Mr. Ellis, what has been your lifetime occupation?
WE: Well, I started out saddling a horse for years. HF: A cowboy you mean?
WE: Yes. I had quite a few horses of my own one time but we had to give them away.
HF: Then you were later a rancher, weren‘ t you?
WE: Well, I homesteaded up there. My dad had a place up there and I homesteaded up base.
HF: Can you describe the area where you homesteaded? How big a place was it and how big a ranch was it? You tell us all about it.
We: It was 340 acres. Except only, I think it probably was 50 acres, had wild hay scattered around different spots. I started cutting hay.
HF: Did you run a lot of cattle?
WE: No, I had a lot of horses. I went to Denver with a cartload of horses in 1921 but I got $ 156 out of the cart alone. That‘ s when I ran out of horses.
HF: What kind of horses were you raising?
WE: All kinds.
HF: No particular breed or purpose?
WE: No. They were all pretty good, just like to pick one ranch like that. My dad had 75 or 80 orders I guess. He finally just gave them away like that and got rid of them.
HF: Well now did you live on your ranch, n your homestead?
WE: Yes. Built a house on it and ranched it. After about 4 or 5 years we sold it and pulled out.
HF: Now what years were these, in the late teens?
WE: It seemed like before I was on the homestead on the 16.
HF: In 1916? Now this was a typical homestead?
WE: Yeah, straight creeks coming through it.
HF: What were their names?
WE: Webber Creek, Heady Creed, Medicine Lodge Creek. HF: Now what part of the county are we talking about, when we talked about Medicine Lodge Canyon?
WE: It was the center of the county. The west side goes way over into Bush Creek, the east side goes in the Kilgore area, certain of that way.
HF: And so we‘ re talking about kind of the central portion. Now, are these creeks head up the most, what do they call those, Beaver Head Mountains or what are they called? What are those mountains called to the north?
WE: It was one of those streams coming down out of those mountains that‘ s all I did was name.
HF: I see.
WE: Klamath Creek it ran on the east. Birch Creek went the other way in towards Gilmore.
HF: In recalling the time which you had your homestead out there, Mr. Ellis, can you recall some of your near neighboring ranchers?
WE: Neighboring ranches? [ Inaudible, tape skipping]
HF: That was your father?
WE: No, uncle. And my dad was further south.
HF: Was your ranch pretty much to the north? It was north of your father‘ s homestead but were there other ranchers around further north than you?
We: Oh, yeah, Tolsons, Delsure.
HF: Was this area just mainly good for this type of ranching that you conducted?
WE: Well, as far as the homestead in three different fields or they took it out in three different fields.
[ Inaudible, tape skipping]
HF: When did they put the telephone company out there? When did the first go in, Mr. Ellis?
We: Let‘ s see. I can‘ t remember. You think I‘ d remember when we got it.
HF: Well, was it taken from say, Roberts, or where did it come from? WE: It was my buddy‘ s, didn‘ t it?
HF: And then they took it on out to Dubois?
WE: Yeah.
[ Inaudible]
We: Of course all the folks in Kilgore had a phone. Things have changed a lot haven‘ t they? Things have changed a lot since them days.
HF: I‘ ll say.
WE: You could go up in the mountains and not even know it. They‘ re making new roads up in there. Yeah, you‘ ve ever road up there. Have you heard about it?
[ Inaudible]
HF: Is that in the northeast part of the county from which you‘ re talking about?
[ Inaudible]
HF: Is this timber taken to the mill in St Anthony or is it…?
WE: I think Stoddard up here gets some of it. You know the Stoddart Mill up there?
HF: In St., Anthony?
WE: Yeah.
Olaf Fredrickson: I don‘ t know for sure who all‘ s getting it. Some of it I believe is going clear up to Montana. Did you ever hear Bill?
WE: I didn‘ t hear what you said. I was wondering where that lumber was being sold and who had it? Who was getting it? Where they were building them roads?
OF: Well, I don‘ t know.
WE: Well, we‘ re just tiring you on that. We forget that you‘ re not interested in that.
HF: What years were you the county commissioner, one of the county commissioners over there, Mr. Ellis, in Clark County?
We: Let‘ s see. My head so dizzy and tired I can‘ t think.
OF: Well, it was him and my brother had that for years, didn‘ t you? How many years did you have that?
OF: What?
WE: How many years were you a commissioner, you and Ed?
OF: 12 years.
HF: Now, your associates were Ed Fredrickson?
OF: Yes, one of them.
WE: Only his brother was commissioner at that time.
HF: And who is the other member?
OF: Thomas. Thomas and who else?
WE: Brother Olaf…
OF: He was the head. That‘ s right. He was clerk in the court.
OF: Ed and I were in together all the time.
WE: Yeah, up there in the west canyon they didn‘ t last as many years on the job. They‘ d get new elections in there and get different men running.
HF: Do you recall some of the primary problems that you had to face in those 12 years?
OF: Money was the real problem.
HF: Trying to get some money, huh? This must‘ ve been in the depression years.
WE: Couldn‘ t get enough money to do anything, that‘ s true.
HF: Was this during the depression years, the ‗ 30‘ s, early ‗ 40‘ s?
WE: No, not that far back.
HF: Oh, it was in the ‗ 50‘ s. I see. Well, this has been a problem for all counties that they‘ ve all had to face, hasn‘ t it, taxation?
WE: They still do don‘ t they?
HF: Still a real problem. OF: Getting worse all the time, isn‘ t it?
WE: Yeah, I guess so. It takes so much more to get anything done.
OF: Well, prices keep it going up, don‘ t they?
WE: Say, you were telling me something about the Reno Ranch since you knew some history on the Reno Ranch. That would be something we‘ d like to hear.
OF: Well, the Reno Ranch has changed and I don‘ t know how long of time but there‘ s still a Reno ranch.
HF: Where is it located in the county?
OF: It‘ s located in the mostly in the southwest part of the county. It‘ s pretty close to Werse Creek.
HF: Is it noted for its many cattle or horses, or…?
OF: It was noted for a lot of good cattle and horses and sheep.
HF: How, do you know anything about the background of the name Reno? Was that the original founder?
WE: No I don‘ t
HF: You know some of the men who‘ ve operated and owned it.
WE: Later?
WE: Earl Wright.
WE: He used to be a senator .
HF: Earl, Earl White owned it at one time? That‘ s interesting. What others have owned it?
WE: Ben Wilding has been on it for a long time.
HF: Ben Wilding. How many acres are involved in that ranch?
WE: Um, I don‘ t know. It was two girls and two boys in that homestead time and there was a main Reno ranch that Reno owned first so I don‘ t know. It took in about five miles of country there. I don‘ t know really how big it was.
HF: Could have been well over 1,000 then couldn‘ t it, maybe 2 or 3,000 acres.
WE: I suppose they had a lot of ranges there, too, forest rangers or something.
OF: Ranges?
WE: Yeah. Did they have forest ranges?
OF: [ Inaudible]
WE: They had quite a hold over the forestry committee and so forth.
HF: Of course, over the years, Mr. Ellis, I‘ ve heard that the county out there is very important for sheep, sheep production. I guess it was because of that that they were able to get a big experiment station out there. Do you have any…
WE: All areas there was lots of good grass, so that was probably one of the reasons they settled right there.
HF: Has that been there quite a few years prior to the county‘ s creation, would you say?
WE: Yeah.
HF: Before the county was actually established?
WE: Yeah.
HF: But they‘ ve built it up a lot haven‘ t they with buildings?
WE: Well, it was nothing there when they started. They build more buildings every year on it.
HF: Now, that must be a kind of an agency of the United State‘ s Department of Agriculture, isn‘ t it?
WE: It‘ s the biggest US station in the world. I read that not long ago. Sheep place in Dubois is the largest one in the world.
OF: That‘ s right.
HF: Well, now what‘ s the purpose? What was it created there for?
WE: Oh, to cross breed them and experiment with them. They got one breed they called it Targhee. They named it after the Targhee forest. They got it from cross breeding.
HF: Well, what do they get for the targhee? The targhee is a hybrid, I guess, isn‘ t it a crossbred?
WE: Some of them from [ Inaudible]. When they put them three together and made the targhee they made a combination of all of them. I never followed it very close. [ Inaudible] I‘ m nervous.
HF: We have gone—[ tape cuts out]
Would you tell me, Mr. Ellis about your experience with the Dubois hotel, when you, when you first got it, something about the history of the hotel, when it was built and of what materials.
WE: It‘ s not an old hotel. We built about 13 or 14 I imagine, on in there.
OF: Who was it that built it? Do you remember?
WE: John Smith.
OF: John Smith?
HF: Is it a two- story building?
WE: Yeah. I think it was 14 rooms in it all together.
HF: And it catered to visitors to the community, businessmen coming in and so on?
WE: I didn‘ t catch what you said.
HF: Did it, did it serve businessmen coming into the community? They stayed there overnight and-
WE: Yeah, sheepherders,
HF: Sheepherders, peddlers, and –
WE: And whatnot.
HF: And did it have a café in the hotel?
WE: No.
HF: No café.
WE: Just an old cook. They cooked out on a ranch, saved up his money and come in and built it. Never had no water, I mean no washbowls and that kind of stuff. They had water up at the front. Everybody come down there and got their water and washed.
HF: Well, now you and your family acquired it as a home or as a residence, did you?
WE: Yeah.
HF: About what year was this?
WE: My head‘ s going around so bad I can‘ t think or nothing.
HF: Well, since you acquired it as a residence, you mentioned that the telephone exchange was established there.
WE: Yeah. We put wash bowls in all the rooms, put in two wash bash tubs, you know, just fix it up.
OF: About what time did they have the water pressure in there? When did they put the tank in, do you remember? When did they put the water tank in Dubois, about that time?
WE: Before that, Olaf.
OF: Was it?
WE: Yeah. Not too much before that, though.
OF: It couldn‘ t have been too much before that. I guess there wasn‘ t any of the homes had water in them and they had running water.
WE: No.
HF: What did they do? Bring the water in by pipe from up the canyon?
WE: No, from a well.
HF: I see.
WE: They just drove a deep well, didn‘ t they? 650 feet did I think.
HF: You remember Sherriff Holden‘ s family?
WE: No, I don‘ t. They were raised down in Hamer and I didn‘ t know any of them until I knew him.
HF: He‘ s served the county quite a few years, hasn‘ t he? WE: Yeah. A nice fellow.
HF: Was he the sheriff when you were county commissioner?
WE: I believe that he was.
OF: Is that the same one that‘ s sheriff now?
HF: Yeah, Sheriff Holden. And there‘ s another family out there, quite influential in the courthouse.
WE: Thomas?
HF: No.
WE: Ben Thomas was commissioner there for 20 some odd years.
HF: Is that right? Do you remember much about the railroad, its influence on the community?
WE: It‘ s just about like it is now when I first remembered it. It moved up from old Kamas in 1892. That was the start of Dubois.
HF: Can you give me an explanation why they moved it from Kamas into Dubois?
WE: It‘ s closer to the Continental Divide.
HF: I see. Now, old Kamas would be just across the line into Jefferson County, wouldn‘ t it?
WE: Yeah, pretty close.
HF: It‘ s in Jefferson County, though, isn‘ t it, old Kamas?
WE: Yeah.
HF: And so the town of Dubois was established in 1892.
WE: It was moved up from Kamas in 1892.
HF: Something about who after who Clark county was named?
WE: S. K. Clark. Sam Clark. He was a quite big stock farmer, had sheep, cattle, horses. They were big operators at one time.
HF: I see. And he was a representative or a senator out of the county, out of that area, wasn‘ t he?
WE: Yes.
HF: When it was old Freemont County.
WE: Yeah.
HF: In the early, very earliest days, now you mentioned that you were born in 1894 at Dubois. That was just after the town, just a couple of years after the town was founded and in those years I guess you would have to go clear over to St. Anthony to do a lot of your business transactions, wouldn‘ t you?
WE: Yeah. There was a road that goes from Dubois to St. Anthony.
HF: Well it changed quite a lot then once they got the county seed over there at Dubois.
WE: It changed it quite a bit.
HF: Quite a change.
WE: Oh, not too much of a change. It was a railroad town and all the help ranges out there, and that took engineers to operate and run the coal shoots and water tank and all that. It made a quite a lot of employment.
HF: And the cattle and sheep men would drive their stock there to be taken to market.
WE: That‘ s the only way we had to get them to them was to drive them. No trucks.
HF: So it was quite a shipping point for cattle and sheep and horses.
We: Yeah, it was.
HF: Now, has it catered to lumbering at all?
We: Not too much, no.
HF: I see. Do you recall when the courthouse was built there to house the county officials? Did they use an existing building or did they start right from scratch and build a courthouse?
WE: I‘ d say they started right from scratch, wouldn‘ t you say Olaf?
OF: I believe so, yeah. I can‘ t remember.
WE: I can‘ t either. Because I wasn‘ t living down there then, I lived down in Dubois.
HF: Yeah.
Home, here at Rexburg that same night and this is of Dorothy Collson who has been in the rest home for a number of years. She needs to be complimented on her cheerfulness and the optimistic, positive attitude of life that she exhibits so well in the rest home.
Joining rooms here at the Green Rest Home and now talking here with Dorothy. I know her as Dorothy and I‘ m going to ask her to state her full name and then the date and the place where she was born. So Dorothy:
Dorothy Collson: My name is Dorothy Collson, C- O- L- L- S- O- N. And my father‘ s name was William Arthur Colson. My mother‘ s maiden name was Failes. Sarah Martha Failes. They were pioneers of Lower Mills. And I was born up Medicine Lodge Canyon on my father‘ s ranch on August 17, 1911. That‘ s 60 years ago.
HF: Well, that‘ s I guess that‘ s right. Yeah, that would be 60 years.
WE: You don‘ t look that old.
DC: [ Laughs] Thank you.
WE: I‘ m surprised you‘ re that old.
HF: And this was at Medicine Lodge.
DC: Yes, see, there‘ s lower Medicine Lodge and upper.
HF: And you were lower?
DC: No, upper Medicine Lodge, in the canyon.
HF: I see. Now, Bill Ellis‘ s ranch must have been up in that area.
DC: Well his grandfather‘ s ranch and his fathers‘ ranch was on lower Medicine Lodge on about eight miles, or maybe not quite that far, from Dubois. And it was more west, southwest of Dubois while we were more northwest and kind of to the north, you know.
HF: How far was your ranch from Dubois?
DC: 30 miles.
WE: Were you way up there by the Garrett Ranch?
DC: That‘ s the one. That was our ranch. WE: Well, that was your ranch?
DC: Yeah, that‘ s where I was born and raised.
HF: Now, Dorothy, could you tell us a little about the ranch? How large it was and what did you raise on it?
DC: Well, it was a section.
HF: 640 acres.
DC: We had grain and hay and you know, wild hay you know wild hay some else, but not much garden so just enough for personal use. So my dad was a cattleman. He raised quite a herd.
HF: On that ranch?
DC: Then they had the grazing land. Well, of course it was public domain, you know, and then there was not tailored grazing and then the forest was a where they grazed in the summer.
HF: And did both sheep and cattle roam the range together?
DC: Yes, sir. You‘ ve probably heard of the damning of torque years ago? The run- man for lower ranch was on Lower Medicine Lodge but they had…
HF: They had sheep, did they?
DC: They had sheep. Of course it wasn‘ t over the same area as the cattle but pretty close.
HF: As a young girl, do you remember them talking about a conflict of interest between the cattlemen and the sheep men?
DC: Well, in other areas.
HF: But not in that area?
DC: I don‘ t think there was ever anything, you know, serious. There was something because, I don‘ t know, most of the cattlemen up there— there were several besides my dad— they seemed to get along alright. When some problem came up over a herder would all the time would raise the sheep down and maybe all the men. I had to go and talk to him, ― Oh sure, he had ours‖ and he didn‘ t know he did because he‘ d talk to Jimmy Danny or Sam Clark who reported themselves. And they didn‘ t know anything about this. They‘ d say ― Oh, he knew better‖. HF: Well, now this Sam Clark was the one after whom the county was named.
DC: I‘ d imagine it was. See, he was Senator Clark one time. He‘ s been dead a good many years.
HF: And he it was who had this big sheep interest.
DC: Yeah, he did it together.
HF: The two brothers?
DC: No, they weren‘ t any relation.
HF: Oh, weren‘ t they?
DC: They had separate rights of zone. I don‘ t think they were brothers.
HF: Did your father have his ranch fenced?
DC: Well, you know, most. Of course there was some grazing land but it‘ s pasture they call it and your hay land, you know, but he had other land that wasn‘ t completely fenced, homestead lands, you know. You have to prevent or you‘ ll lose some. He fenced it, built a log cabin.
HF: Now, you had a home?
DC: Oh, yeah, jome ranch.
HF: Could you describe the home ranch, how big it was and some of the facilities you know, as you remember about it?
DC : Well, in those days, it was an old town house. I can remember a log house and I was just a little girl. There were two separate buildings like they‘ d been joined together, you know? And they built on another large room, about as large as these two in this area put together on this end of the building. And I can just barely remember when we built it. I was a young a child. And you know those days where you had a big living and ours was a living and dining room, a huge kitchen, and it had a pantry off of the kitchen. And on the other end of the building there was another large room, the old, you know, original part of the house, and there was another area like a living room and bedrooms all connect. It was a strange. It was really— were you ever up there Mr. Fredrickson?
OF: Yeah, I‘ d been up there to that place but I‘ ve never been in it.
DC: There was trees.
HF: Did you have a bunk house for your hired men?
DC: Yes. I remember when the bunkhouse was built, too. It was built in a large field, you know? And it was a good part of the large field. Just one big room and they had their beds in one end of the building and I remember we had a great big pool table, you know, so we‘ d been snowed in for so long in the winter time and the men had their…
HF: Let‘ s see now, transportation out there, I imagine, you just had one road going up through the ranch. How would they get their animals and sheep and cattle to the railroad? They‘ d have to trial them, right? Trail them for quit a distance.
DC: Drive them. Trail them to Dubois and or sometimes they‘ ve even taken them over through Sheep‘ s Creek into Montana and trail them into Dale, Montana and rode it down there. But it wouldn‘ t be very often if that‘ d happen. It‘ d be just if some were over on that side, you know, where they‘ d be put in with maybe some cattleman‘ s you know, cattle and sheep.
HF: Dale, Montana would be the nearest outlet?
DC: It would be the closest railroad.
HF: Deep railroad.
DC: But otherwise we‘ d trail them to Dubois. And then first they had to order their stock cars ahead of time. And there were usually buyers would come out maybe in the summertime, sometimes quite early if the price was good and you know and they‘ d like contract them and then they‘ d be shipped out. But they use to ship cattle a lot when I was a little girl before the fires came out and they‘ d use to go they‘ d have a whole train load, you know, or some number of cars from the whole area and several men go with them.
HF: Go take them right back to Omaha or Chicago or wherever the destination might be.
DC: Kansas City, and he‘ d gone to Las Angels, he‘ s gone to San Francisco, of course this has been a good many years ago, you know.
HF: Where did you go to school as a little girl?
DC: At Eddy. There was a little two room schoolhouse right about a mile and a half south of our home.
HF: Was that on the kind of towards the lower part of Medicine Creek?
DC: No, this was in the upper canyon. And there‘ s only about a dozen pupils probably you know, all raised. And they had two years of high school. I went about six weeks and took a year off.
HF: You mean they had two- year high school there at Eddy?
DC: Yeah.
HF: Is that right?
OF: Can I ask a question?
HF: You bet.
OF: This school, wasn‘ t it a kind of a boxcar affair that they‘ ve moved in there? Was it a real building.
DC: No, I can‘ t remember when it was built but it was just a frame building and it first had one big room and then they built on a little add- a- way you know, to that and they had a cupboard for books and place for water, you know. They had to carry the water before then. And of course, the stove was just a wood stove with a heater. It was real cold. I‘ ll never forget how cold in the wintertime, you know, because there wouldn‘ t be any fire in there all night and usually the teacher then would be the janitor.
HF: Just the one teacher?
DC: One teacher for all grades, all the way from maybe beginning through the 8th grade and into high school.
HF: Dorothy, can you recall some of your very earliest teachers, the names, of your earliest teachers?
DC: I think Mrs. Flint was my first teacher. I remember visiting school about a year before I went to school with a friend of mine and you know what the first word I ever learned in school was? Spring. That‘ s right, at school.
HF: Mrs. Flint is the one you remember. Other ones later?
DC: I think that yes, there was others. Sometimes they were single ladies, you know, they‘ d go over to the families. Well that‘ s what they did then and they later were [ inaudible] but that was long after I was out of school, you know.
[ Tape jumps]
DC: We‘ re doing it better because you‘ re going to have to anyway. You know, I learned earlier in life that you just have to make the best of it. It wasn‘ t anyone‘ s fault. My dad has done everything for me that he possibly could. And you know you could cry all the time but what good would it do? I still have the same condition and be more miserable and everybody else around me so I just made up my mind and enjoy life all I could. HF: You‘ ve got a wonderful attitude.
DC: And I think I really had truly an enjoyable life.
HF: Now isn‘ t that wonderful.
DC: I have lots of friends; I have a wonderful family, my brothers and my sisters, of course, my mother hasn‘ t been with us since I was a little girl, I lost my dad early in life but I have wonderful sisters and I had wonderful brothers , which are gone, too.
OF: Now, where do they live now?
DC: My sisters, they‘ re scattered. I have Montana— it was in California, but now two in Montana and Lynn is in Dubois and Ellen‘ s in Medicine Lodge and I have a sister in Pocatello and me here. Out of 12 children there‘ s six of us living.
HF: Did you come along towards the end?
DC: No, about the middle.
HF: About in the middle.
DC: And two sets of twins in our family.
HF: Two sets?
DC: Yes.
HF: Girls? Boys?
DC: Twin girls and a boy and a girl. But we lost one on each set. Mary and Mildred the twin girls, Mary‘ s twin daughter [ inaudible]. Then Martha and my sister in Montana and their twins are the boys. He was a big husky kid, you know, and she was a little delicate girl. He and I were more like twins. Of course, I couldn‘ t walk, I‘ d crawl around on my hands and feet but we could get in to plenty of mischief like playing in the ditch, you know. But he drowned in just a little bit of a ditch passed the house.
HF: Were you with him at the time?
DC: No, I wasn‘ t. No. There wasn‘ t even running water in there. It was so strange because he was always so good to cross the bridge but I guess maybe he saw something one day and thought he‘ d just step across, just a small one, you know. You know how high grass are growing on the banks in the day and must‘ ve caught his foot because he fell right in on his face.
OF: What year did you come into the rest home?
DC: 1960.
OF: 60?
DC: 29th of December, 1960.
OF: And all of the other time you stayed at your home, all the time?
DC: Oh, I was in Montana with my sister. I was putting the California [ inaudible]. But I‘ ve enjoyed it and I enjoyed seeing the country you know and how it‘ s so different. Vegetation‘ s different and the big cities you know, and the ocean but to live down there, I wouldn‘ t want to leave down there. And then I went to live with the one in Pocatello and at that time my brother Ken was alive and he lived in Salmon and I was up there. I was down in Dubois all the time.
HF: What changes in Clark County do you feel have been the most significant down through the years as you compare the appearance and your knowledge of the country as a young woman and as you see it as it‘ s developed now?
DC: Of course now Dubois, that potato area, you know, has just developed since I‘ ve been over here, that Anderson Barns, is that what they call it? See they‘ ve got all that under cultivation out of Dubois, I don‘ t know about how many miles.
[ Tape 2]
Harold Forbush: Side two, the interview with Dorothy Collson is continued.
DC: It was just sagebrush.
OF: They mostly just blew that. Sage brush and dust
DC: Yeah, it was just sage brush you know.
HF: Now this would be on both sides on the road and west or I mean south of Dubois.
DC: Mostly to the west.
HF: On the west side of the highway.
DC: But you could see these sprinklers going and come back over here late in the evening, you know, and the sun was setting and the sprinklers were all going and it seemed like to me that as far as you could see out there you could see these sprinklers going.
OF: Are you having that on now?
HF: Yes.
OF: Do you remember the German settlement that came in there south of Dubois many years ago and they all took homesteads and they had wonderful crops of dry farm, green for several years and the all at once it turned dry and no more crops were profitable it seemed like so they just threw up their homesteads and left.
DC: I‘ ve seen them, quite a few of those old houses, you know. Of course then later these old wind mills, you know. I guess it must‘ ve had systems or something for water, didn‘ t they?
OF: Yeah, I think so.
HF: Well, what‘ s their source of water now for these wells?
DC: Deep wells.
HF: Deep wells. Do either one of you have any idea just how deep they have to go for their wells for their water?
DC: Pretty deep.
OF: In the town of Dubois they have to go 800 feet. I don‘ t know how it is over in there.
DC: I‘ ve wondered how deep those wells or how many they had even. I don‘ t know.
OF: I know that in Dubois because I helped pull that well come out of for the railroads.
DC: Yeah, I know that‘ s real deep. They have to go through lava. There‘ s a lot of lava rock in that area.
OF: Yeah.
DC: But it imust be rich soil because they raise gardens.
OF: Beautiful soil isn‘ t it? Well, is this the same soil now these people are farming on, very much of it?
DC: Yeah. You can vary it anyway, you know? That‘ s one of the major, you know, changes to me. Of course, there‘ s been improvement on the highway. The road is changed a lot through the canyon and on our particular oil hole place, the Garret Ranch, I was up there building. I took my sister and I went up to Dubois about four years ago and he was on the mill run.
OF: Do you know who it is that‘ s living in that house now?
DC: Yeah, I know him. Edna and Bill Fredrickson, she was.
OF: Do you know what? She‘ s my niece .
DC: Yeah, I knew she was related but I don‘ t know. Yeah, I know Bill used to live in Dubois. He grew up with Lynn Morris‘ s boys, you know?
HF: Well, now in the early days when the stagecoaches were coming through Dubois I was a big stagecoach at Kamas, of course, and others on further north, you know, coming out of Virginia City and so on. The ranchers put up hay and sold to those who cared for these stage stops. Down through the years, has this been a pretty vital business of putting up wild hay and selling it and is it still done quite a bit out in Clark?
DC: Of course there, you know, most of the ranchers used it for their own use.
OF: There were stockmen that had always ready.
DC: Stockmen there that used it for their own. I know that that used to be years ago, but that‘ s that was before my time. Really I‘ m not that old. [ Laughs]
HF: Yes, a long, long time ago. I appreciate that. Well, what is there about the wild hay over there in Clark County that‘ so useful and helpful and good?
DC: It was high altitude. You see, it was growing at a high altitude up there. It was the highest canyon.
OF: There isn‘ t much wild hay now- a- days.
DC: No, I don‘ t, maybe up there, there might be a little bit of alfalfa now. They were just starting, you know, to have some alfalfa when I lived there so I don‘ t know.
OF: In the early days it was natural grass there and they could mow it, you know, without any cultivation whatever because it was just between the brush and openings, you know, and the forest was all around and later as they cultivated the land they put it into Timothy. In those days, you see, there were no automobiles to speak of and also the main industry was horses, you see. It‘ d be like up in Butte Montana. Now they do their mining with horses. That is, they move the ore out of the mines and also there‘ d be the taxis in city of Butte and everybody owned horses, you know, around town and likely the hay that was raised in Kilgore. Now it was Timothy Hay that has been mixed with the, a lot of times they just— a lot of times they‘ d just throw Timothy seed on the land and it mixed with the wild hay and made a wonderful feed for horses and stock. And the people I Butte, they were just anxious for that kind of hay. As a matter of fact, it was a premium to them to feed the horses. And that was my father‘ s business for many years. He‘ d raise this Timothy hay and bale it. HF: Would they bail it then?
OF: Yeah, they‘ d stack it in, all over the fields, you know. They‘ d take an area big enough to get about a 14 ton stack of hay and they‘ d stack it with derricks and things like that. Well even earlier than that they stacked it with nets and wagons and derricks. And now of course, what happened, automobiles started becoming more plentiful. In Idaho there was a disease come into the alfalfa down in this country, what is called weevils. And I guess we still have weevil around here and Montana put an embargo against Idaho hay on account of this weevil and that cut off our business in that kind you see and so we had to go into cattle and milk cattle and things like that and that‘ s what happened I guess all over the county, didn‘ t it? I suppose your parents still had beef cattle.
DC: Yeah, see, dad came from Montana. He was born and raised in Montana. And he worked for a stockman up there since he was a young boy. He came down to Idaho where he started out in the cattle business. But he worked at one time in Butte for this handsome meat packing. And they were using the horses then in those days.
HF: There was a real demand for this hay out here.
DC: I don‘ t think there was any that I had ever heard of out of medicine lodge area. Of course, that isn‘ t near as big an area as Mr. Fredrickson‘ s talking about.
DC: Well, they were people who went in there for livestock and their main interest was in livestock.
Harold Forbush: The following material is read from a little pamphlet or brochure by Miss Dory Palmer and this little pamphlet was prepared by the Clark County Chamber of Commerce in 1946:
Dory Palmer: Clark County History: Clark County was included in many earlier counties, being first in Idaho County with County Seat in Soda Springs created January 22, 1864. In 1866 the county seat was moved to Malad. The first county organized at the 15th session of the Idaho Legislature was Clark County, the bill creating the county having been approved of the governor on February 1, 1919. This county was formed out of the northern western part of Freemont County and contains about half the area formerly embraced in the last named county. The permanent county seat of Clark County was located at Dubois. The county for judicial purposes under act was included in the 9th judicial district of the state. It was named in honor of the honorable Samuel K. Clark, a prominent cattleman of the northwest and residing about nine miles west of Dubois including 1917 representing Freemont County in the state legislature. The following towns and communities are located in Clark County: Dubois, Spencer, Kilgore, Idmon, Humphrey, Small, and Birch Creek. The county is 40 miles west of Yellowstone National Park. It is bounded on the west by Butte County, which is famous for the Craters of the Moon. Libby Hot Springs, waters of which contain 17 minerals, is a health resort within the county. Clark County is 150 miles from Butte Montana and about 285 from Salt Lake City, Utah. The Viola Mine in Mikolea, bordering Clark County was discovered in 1881 by Bill Crawford and Peterson. It is financed by Nash and McDonald. Cap Rustin bought the mind for $ 5,000 and sold it one year later for $ 150,000 to the Viola Mining Company. Mill Wood built in 1885. The ore averaged 72% lead. It was run into 92 pound bricks and hauled to Kamas. One winter when the roads were blocked these bricks were hauled out on a flat and stacked by cord wood. Coal kilns were built about 1886 to furnish charcoal for the mill. The ore was hauled by horses and mule teams from 6- 18 head to a team.
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Clark County Forests: The forests of Clark County supplied its population with needed timber products, lumber, fence posts, chorale posts, house logs, and fuel. In addition, timber products are the second largest revenue producing business in the county. Five saw mills with capacity of two million feet per year are operated on a sustain yield basis. The bulk of this timber comes from national forest land under whose management and protection of continuous supply of timber is assured. Much of the timber supply used by the log products mill, located at Dubois, is obtained from Clark County‘ s forests.
That‘ s all.
HF: Is there any transportation?
DP: The union pacific railroad passes through Clark County from north to south. It was first constructed on a narrow gage track in the ‗ 70‘ s, but in the ‗ 90‘ s it was changed to a standard track to take the place of freight teams and wagons which laboriously hauled freight from Salt Lake City to Butte in other Montana points. The intermountain bus line also passes through the county, carrying passengers from Idaho Falls to Butte, Montana. Highway 91 from Salt Lake City to Butte furnishes a splendid road for passenger cars and trucks. The Idaho central highway when completed will pass through Clark County from east to west. Tourists who travel these highways are provided with beautiful scenery.
That‘ s it for that one.
HF: Any others?
DP: There‘ s one on Dubois.
HF: Ok.
DP: Dubois Idaho, with an elevation of 5,125 feet, population of 541 is a county seat of Clark County. It has many modern homes with beautiful landscaping. It has a general merchandise store, and two grocery stores, a modern café where the best of meals are served; especially to the travel worn who enjoy popsicles, home- baked pie and coffee. Dubois is a village with good clean hotels, motels, and cabins. In the education field the village is equipped with a good grade school and high school. The health program includes hot lunches which give training and good food habits. The gymnasium is among the best in the state. The physical education program gives training in basketball, football, baseball, and track events. Dubois has three churches, the Baptist Community, LDS, and Catholic. There are three service stations and a fine airport. Nearby is the US Sheep Experiment Station, the largest of its kind in the world. Here in the county seat of Clark County is the new processing plant from milling logs to uniformity for prefabricated and precision log structures which can be quickly constructed by average laymen. There is also a planning mill. Snow planes are perfected and manufactured here. They revolutionize winter travel in the heavily snow blanketed areas and from the use of national snow plane races which are held in the vicinity each year. All that a sportsman could ask for and hunting and fishing is to be had in the surrounding mountains and streams where abundant fish and wildlife thrive. Dubois is also the center of extensive cattle and sheep raising operation and is a shipping point for many livestock raisers. Dubois welcomes one and all to partake of its hospitality.
The village of Spencer, 15 miles of Dubois, is a thriving community with a population of 250. The hills which surround it give it a beautiful setting. The Woods Livestock Company established their headquarters at Spencer years before Clark County was organized. The companied entered largely into livestock. It gave employment to many men and so the people who formerly lived at Old Beaver, a settlement a few miles north of Spencer, moved down near their work and the town of Spencer grew into a busy enterprising community. People are proud of their school which is equipped with a modern lunchroom, heating, and lighting. There are two general merchandise stores. Lemon‘ s Lodge furnishes refreshments and good food to travelers. The Union Pacific Railroad passes through Spencer as Highway 91. Spencer is located near public campgrounds maintained by the Targhee National Forest, equipped with stoves, tables, fountains, and toilets. The saw mill north of town gives employment to a number of people, some of whom live in Spencer. The ski lift gives recreation to those who enjoy winter sports. Clark County‘ s snow plane races are also winter attractions. The hospitality the people give is the feeling of welcome to newcomers.
Humphrey: Humphrey is located in the northern part of Clark County on Highway 91, also on the Union Pacific Railroad. There‘ s a general merchandise store, gas station, post office. The mountain scenery is beautiful. Abundantly crops are raised, thousands of cows graze on the slopes. Sportsmen find this part of Clark County ideal for hunting deer, elk, and bear.
Kilgore and Idmon: The Kilgore and Idmon communities each have an elementary school where hot lunches are served to the children. The kitchens are equipped with electric ranges and refrigerators. The buildings are well- lighted and heated. Kilgore has an update general merchandise store and post office. The people of these friendly communities are engaged in dairying, farming, and stock raising. The huge crops of hay and grain are raised. The highlight of the summer recreation season for the county is the Kamas Meadows rodeo which is held on July 4th at the old picnic grounds west of Kilgore. This is a home talent show where anything can happen and usually does. Last but not least, hunting and fishing which lure many sportsmen to the county each year. Hunting in this area includes deer and moose, upland birds, and water foul in season. HF: This closes and completes the two interviews.