Idaho Falls - City of Destiny

Idaho Falls, City of Destiny
Compiled and Edited by Mary Jane Fritzen

Copyright c 1991, Bonneville County Historical Society All rights reserved


The title was taken from an advertisement which appeared in the Idaho Falls Times, January 28, 1892.
It reads:

Westward The Star Of Empire Takes Its Course
Idaho Falls!
The City of Destiny
is Situated in the Heart of the Best Grain Belt in the West.
In a Few Years Only She Has Grown From An Insignificant
Railroad Station To The
Metropolis of Idaho

Contributors
Richard Adams
Fea George
Ben Plastino
Betty Anderson
Delbert V. Groberg
The Idaho Falls Post Register
Jane Arnold
Richard Hahn
Roger Ralphs
Van Ashton
Lisa Hansen
R. Carl Reynolds
Doris Backstsrom
Harvey A. Hatch
Carol Romer
Linden B. Bateman
Faye Holm
Hazel Rose
Donna Bowman
Norma Jean Housley
Karen Sackett
Beverly Branson
Quincy Jensen
Richard T. St. Clair
Dick Carr
Bev Kemp
St. John's Lutheran Church
Carol Chazin
Etta Lee
Jean Schwieder
Deanne R. Chick
Margaret Lindsley
Dewayne Silvester
Ernest Craner
Elaine Lingren
Merrell Smith
Joan Drexler
Donald F. Lloyd
Virginia Smith
Virginia E. Doucette
Edith Haroldsen Lovell
Josephine Snell
Loretta Evans
Renee Magee
T. H. Stickley
Harold Forbush
Joe Marker
Elizabeth Straka
Anny Fritzen
Monte A. Mason
Thornton Waite
Mary Jane Fritzen
Trudy McClure
Barbara Watson
Dora Gale
George Orullian
Miles Willard
Artie Lee Gardner
W. G. Woffinden
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In addition to the aforementioned men and women who wrote and contributed histories on the topics we requested we thank our chief consultants Edith Lovell and D.V. Groberg. Edith is the author of Captain Bonneville's County and other articles. We have gleaned from the many articles Joe Marker has written for the Post Register, Beautiful Bonneville, and his book, Eagle Rock U.S.A.

We are indebted to the Post Register's special editions throughout the years which have been invaluable. We are grateful to the city of Idaho Falls and Mayor Tom Campbell for helping to fund this project during the city's centennial year, and to the Bonneville County Historical Society officers, Bob Bates and Bernice McCowin for their support.

We acknowledge the following people for interviews which have been incorporated into our history: Bish Jenkins, Leon Skelton, Harry Hops, Stanley Crowley, Jack Gamble, Dewain Silvester, JoLynn Wyatt, John Christoffersen, Wylie Snarr, Richard Carr, Richard Gillespie, Linda Cook, Marjorie Homer, Velma Chandler (City Clerk) and Ron Longmore (County Clerk) and the authors of published materials referred to in our list of sources.

For bibliographical help we express appreciation to Idaho Falls Public Library Dorothea Jones of the Idaho Falls LDS Family History Library; Blaine Bake, Leland Hunsaker, Gale Reeser, Ricks College Librarians; Leonard Arrington, regional historian; Rocky Barker, Post Register; Shirley McBride, BCHS oral history chairman.

Production Assistants include Anny Fritzen, Fred Winter, Della Isle, Mark Holbrook, Tammy Larsen, and Karen Sackett.


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CONTENTS

Begin Here
Introductory Comments
Chap. 1 - Agriculture
Potatoes, grains, sugar beets, livestock, irrigation.
Chap. 2 - Business and Industry
Banking, Chamber of Commerce, Rogers Brothers Seed.
Chap. 3 - Amusements, Arts and Music
Amusements: dancing, circus, baseball, theaters, Heise Hot Springs, War Bonnet Roundup, parades. Arts: painting, drama, dance, music, symphony, opera theatre.
Chap. 4 - Communications
Newspapers, telephone, broadcast.
Chap. 5 - Celebrations
Centennials and Jubilees, Pioneer Day, Intersec.
Chap. 6 - Churches
Chap. 7 - City Government
Mayors, City Hall, Public Library; Departments of Electricity, Fire, Police, Building and Planning, Parks and Recreation, Public Works.
Chap. 8 - Courthouse and Federal Post Office
Chap. 9 - Historic Preservation Efforts
Bonneville County Historical Society, Idaho Falls Historic Preservation Commission (Historic buildings, places, homes), Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
Chap. 10 - Schools
Chap. 11 - Clubs/Fraternal Organizations
Lodges, Sportsmen's Association, American Legion and other Veterans Associations, Boy Scouts.
Chap. 12 - Transportation
Railroad, Automobiles, Aviation.
Chap. 13 - Medical Practice &Amp; Hospitals
Chap. 14 - Native Americans
Chap. 15 - Snake River
Bridges, Greenbelt, Temple.
Chap. 16 - Tourism and Hotels
Chap. 17 - Lawyers and Judges
Chap. 18 - War Efforts
Red Cross, World War I, World War II.
Chap. 19 - Population Growth
Chap. 20 - INEL
Appendix 1 - Bibliography Guide
Appendix 2 - Chronology