History of Our Area - Lakota Resort

Lakota is an Indian name meaning Sparkling Waters.  Lakota, one of the important resorts on the lakeshore is by Swan Creek.  Many remember the good times they had at Lakota around 1917 and 1918.  Clarence E. Booth purchased the land from the Cook Estate.  On it he built a heated pool.  Heated it by steam from a large boiler.  The coal was hauled by team and wagon from the rail head at Paris, Idaho.  Cabins were built, a cafe, and tent floors for dancing.  As the resort developed, more capital became apparent and he sold two-fifths interest to Edward M. Pugmire of St. Charles, Idaho.

In search for an appropriate name he offered a prize for the best name submitted and the name Lakota was selected.  (See more below picture.)

  

The dance floor, cafe and swimming pool burned down.  A new cafe and skating rink have taken their place.  It has had several owners since it began and today it is owned by Robert Nacey.

By Bryan Booth in Rich Memories.

From the Rails and Trails Museum, "They ran a contest through the Paris Post newspaper asking people to name it. John (Johann) Favre of Paris won a $5 gold piece for submitting the Indian name Lakota, which means "sparking waters." Favre was a Civil War and Western Indian War veteran. Lakota was the name of a Sioux Scout who saved his life in a campaign. A few years later, the whole resort burned to the ground."

History of Our Area - Ideal Beach

 In 1915 James W. Neil of Kemmerer, Wyoming, visited the community and was favorably impressed.  He conceived the idea of securing property on the lake shore and building a resort.  He bought a piece of land on the lake shore from Thomas and Joseph Hodges which they had used for lambing grounds, and in 1926 incorporated Ideal Beach Amusement Company, financed by the businessmen of Kemmerer.  It was given its name because of the nature of the beautiful sandy beach upon which it was located.  Part of the lodge and a few cabins were built the first year and also a dance pavilion with a spring floor.

Fifty canvas row boats and canoes were purchased from Old Town, Maine, and put into service.  The following year more cabins were added making forty-one in all.  The lodge was completed with a first class dining room.  Boating, bathing, and dancing were the chief amusements.  In 1918 a merry-go-round was added and other concession-like games were installed and operated by John Wilson and Archie Niel.

From the book "Rich Memories' published in 1962 

Another article about Ideal Beach states that Ideal Beach was built in 1916, and given the name because of its beautiful sandy beach.  There is a large dance hall with a spring floor, a large cafe, a new modern motel, and many cabins....in 1960 they build a new boat ramp that can put two boats in the water at once.

Just a Little Bear Lake History by C.T. Buttars

DID YOU KNOW…

…Raspberry Days in Garden City is a regular phenomenon these days.  Now Bear Lake raspberries are not the grocery store variety.  Their unique flavor may be described as eating a handful of sun ripened, freshly picked raspberries after just finishing a breath mint.  But what makes them so delicious?  It might be the cooler climate or perhaps the types of seeds they plant.  In any event, they are sensational!  But what did “berry season” mean to the farmers in the early 1900’s?  Grace Sims Anderson Owen and Stella Sims Terry Long describe it this way in their “Life Stories” recalling the experience as children:

“During the summer we would pick raspberries until the day’s orders from Randolph and Woodruff were picked into customers’ bottles.  Boxes (which had the customers’ names on) were placed by the road and one of the little kids was sent to sit there until John Jensen (the mailman) came along to pick them up.  They would flag him down.  It wasn’t hard as during the berry season, he was watching for them.   If there weren’t enough orders to take care of all the berries, Mom and Dad would get a load of berries and vegetables and would either take them to Montpelier or Evanston to sell. When we would get done picking berries, gardening, or other work, no matter how tired we were, we would go to the lake with a bar of soap and have a bath and swim for a while.  This would revive us; and we would be ready to go roller skating or dancing, riding bicycles, picking wildflowers or just walking.

In the fall we would pick the apples.  We older kids would climb up into the trees and pick the apples into buckets and then let the buckets down on ropes to the littler kids on the ground, and they would dump them into baskets and we would pull them back up the tree to fill again.  Then Mom and Dad would take the back seat out of the car and fill this area and trunk with apples and take them off to sell.  Sometimes they would take them to Cokeville, or Kemmerer, Wyoming, for example, to peddle.  If the people wanted the fruit and didn’t have the money, they would trade for calves, chickens, baby pigs, or anything that would help on our farm to make money.”

 If their efforts were profitable enough, their trips to Kemmerer included a stop at J. C. Penneys to buy a few clothes and shoes for the kids.  Did you know the Kemmerer store is the “original” J. C. Penneys.  It was founded in 1902 by James Cash Penney and is referred to as the “Mother Store” or “Store Number 1” and is still a tourist attraction today.

The farmers in the early years in Bear Lake were certainly resourceful.  They had to be, for on many occasions, it meant their survival.  Just imagine what effort it would have taken to make that delicious raspberry shake you’ll enjoy these Raspberry Days in Garden City! 

 Everett              Lois (Tremelling)      Buelah       Grace

Roger                       Keller (Anderson)                       Cal

Everett Sims and family with their stylish “raspberry picking” hats in front of their raspberry patch at their farm in Swan Creek  (about 1947).

History of Our Area - Bear Lake Monster

 "A Monster!!  There's a monster in the lake!" cried an excited rider as he raced along the Round Valley road.  "I saw only the head and part of the neck", Johnson said, "It had ears or bunches on the side of its head the size of pint cups. The waves dashed over it and it threw water from its mouth and nose.  It stayed only a few moments moving its head back and forth.  Then it disappeared under the water, swimming rapidly away."

This panicky condition existed among the settlers for several years.  In 1871, four campers fled when an alligator like animal some 75 feet long crawled out of the water near their camp.  They returned the next day and found the camp destroyed.

"The creature again left the water two days later", a Logan family that had come to the lake for a week-end of swimming reported.  "We were in the water when we heard a great commotion, and a great monster the size of two box cars crawled up on the beach and headed for one of our horses.  It was about to gobble the horses when our dog barked and frightened it back into the water.  We were terrified."

Several others said they saw the monster in following weeks and the panic increased  Fun sales boomed and several settlers moved.  Some believed the creature did exist.  They said it could be a descendent of a prehistoric long necked race of Mesozoic sea lizards that were known to inhabit ancient Lake Bonneville which once covered most of northern Utah.

Two huge lizard fossils were found in Fossil Hill in Wyoming, only about 30 miles from the lake.

History of Our Area - Ladies Literary Club - Abbie Telford

 In the winter of 1929, the Ladies Literary Club was organized, under the direction of Mrs. Ruben D. Law, who also became the first president, with 26 members.  Later it increased to 36 members.  For 33 years women of the community have enjoyed each others friendship, association, and literary development.

In 1947, Mrs. Minerva Teichert, an artist, from Cokeville Wyoming, presented the club with a beautiful life size oil painting.

From Rich Memories

History of Our Area - Early Day Amusements

The early day amusements were entered into whole heartedly by the settlers.  In the summer picnics, Fourth of July and Twenty-fourth of July celebrations were enjoyed.  In the winter there were dances, skating parties, sleigh riding, home talent theaters.  The women  held quilting bees and rag bees.  Some of the early day musicians who played for dances were Charles H. Pope, banjo, George D. Lutz, Sr., violin (fiddle in those days), George Whittington also played the violin.  Later on C. H. And Charles T. Whittington chorded on the organ or piano.  Rose Lutz Pope also played the organ and piano for dances.

In 1900 the telephone was brought to Garden City, which was a line between Montpelier Idaho and Evanston, Wyoming.  It was located in the store building of George E. Pope and Samuel Weston.  This, of course was a great convenience, as prior to this time messages of imp0ortance had to be relayed by horse back.

From the book "Rich Memories' published in 1962 

History of Our Area - Meadowville Schools

 Board of Trustees were formed in the Meadowville community.  These officials attempted to provide their children with such educational advantages as were possible under pioneer conditions

One day one of these trustees visited the school to note the progress of the pupils and the efficiency of the teacher.  He asked a likely looking pupil named Luther Tufts to write the alphabet on the blackboard.  When the writing was completed, the youngster turned to the trustee and asked,  "what do you want me to do now, add 'em up?"

Teachers who taught at the school were for many years reimbursed by charging a fee per student.  This was paid in cash or in usable merchandise.  Unmarried teachers boarded among the patrons, which helped to pay part of their educational costs.  The school terms were limited to seven months.

From the book "Rich Memories' published in 1962

History of Our Area - Dance Rules

Heirloom Recipes: Carrot Pudding - Mae Hodges

Garden City Aerial Photo Late 1960s (shared by Lorraine Rich Mills)

 

History of Our Area - Sage Creek

 As the settlement of the Randolph community began and new families moved into the neighborhood it was a natural procedure for some of the families to push farther and farther out.  So other areas began to be settled even  though they were only a few miles away.  As travel was slow and roads hardly existed, it was more convenient to establish and maintain a school near the people.  Two such schools were set up for the people who moved out from the Randolph area.  One to the south was called Argyle, and the other to the north was known as Sage Creek.  Each group had its ow little building which served the religious, educational and social needs of the people.

For many years short-term school were held in the homes.  The little brick school house at Sage Creek was ready for use in the fall of 1909, with Arthur Dean as the first teacher and the school year had been extended from a few weeks in the winter to six months.

The teacher held a double office of teacher and janitor.  A small blackboard on the wall, a little chalk, a glowing pot-bellied stove to warm the building, a bucket of water (carried from a near farm house) with a dipper, placed on a low bench provided the physical setting of the school.  The classes ranged from beginner to the eighth grade.

History of Our Area - Wolves

 In June 1908, the six Rex brothers, William, Alfred, Arthur, Samuel, John Ozleand and Percy joined a partnership and purchased the Ford Ranch east of Randolph.  At that time their livestock was plagued with many wolf packs.  The men usually had to night-herd the stock.  They would round them up on the bed ground and hang lighted lanterns around.  One morning they awoke and found an old black cow nearly chewed into shoe strings.  One wolf in a pack was the killer or fighter.  A horse in the open meadow could out run a wolf.

One Christmas eve when the Rex boys were returning home from a dance they met a pack of eight wolves on the road just below the canal bridge in the river lane.  Each was on horseback so they gave chase.  All the wolves scattered but one.  He bristled up, snarled, and stood in the road ready to fight, but they called his bluff and rode straight for him, and he turned and sulked into the night..

That winter the Rex brothers trapped six wolves.  They did not like their dogs to enter into the fight for the wolves were fierce biters.  Some of the wolves they caught measured over six feet in length.