Paul

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Paul from water tower

Paul, Idaho from the water tower

Some of you may have seen this photo around.  There is a copy of this photo at Paul City Hall and in Les Schwab/Magic Valley Tire in Paul.  Even when I was a kid I remember seeing this photo.  This isn’t a great copy of the photo, but you take what I can get…

I previously wrote about the Paul Hotel, the first building with its name etched in the photo.  As I mentioned in that post, the second story is now missing from the Paul Hotel.  Notice all the cars parked along Idaho street and then the lone horseman in front of the Paul Hotel.

The next block down on the left side is the Paul State Bank.  Later known as Mikey’s bar, it sits empty.  I believe I mentioned earlier this is the building I wanted to buy and put my law practice, but I couldn’t even find the owners.  But, here is a check from the bank from my Great Grandmother’s confectionery that was drawn on the Paul State Bank.

The next block down on the left side corner is the Adams Block, which I have also previously written.  It was torn down in the 1990s, I found out by Garey McManus.

Then the next block down at the end of Idaho Street, you see the Paul School.  I haven’t written on the school yet, still organizing some of my photos for that post.  If I remember correctly, it burned down by an arson in 1977.

The Streeter Confectionery was the south half of Lot 2, Block 1, which puts it on the right side of Idaho street (the main street to the school from this vantage point) nearing Main Street, which is the intersection with the Adams Block building.  Most of the entire block is owned by Magic Valley Produce now.

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Burley Aerial Photo

Burley, Idaho about

I stumbled upon this photo last weekend.  Thought I would make it available to more.

I tried to find what year this photo is from and make these observations after closely reviewing the photo.

The large field on the east of Overland is where Dworshak Elementary is now.  I believe Dworshak opened in 1962, and there isn’t any construction, so that probably makes this photo at the latest about 1960.

Burley Stake Center to the lower right of the photo has small trees.  I do not know when the building was built, but this photo is after it was built.  The building now has an addition on the south side, I don’t know when that addition was built.

A house is in this picture where First Federal is now on Overland Avenue.  I don’t know when the First Federal bank building was built, this photo predates it.

A church appears to be about where Mr. Gas is on Overland, just south of First Federal.  I don’t know when the old Mr. Gas was built on that place, but this photo predates it.

None of the homes on the south of 16th between Elba and Hiland are present, the photo predates that neighborhood.

Burley Junior High is in the photo across the grass to the east of the Cassia County Courthouse.  The Courthouse was built in 1937, so I know we are after that date!  Burley Junior High School burned down 29 October 1973.  The photo is obviously before that date.  Burley Junior High, which was Burley High School before that, was built in 1915.

The Burley Masonic Hall is present and it appears homes are on the northeast corner of 16th and Overland which were replaced by Safeways, now the Burley Judicial Center.  I don’t know when Safeways was built, but this predates it.

Amalgamated Sugar still has its chimney, I don’t know when it was removed.

Burley Flour Mill is still present.  I don’t know when it was torn down.

Idaho Bank & Trust Building on the southwest corner of Overland and Main is still there.  I seem to remember it coming down in the mid 1980s.

Thriftway Drug is still present and it came down in the 1990s.

Sprague Sports is still present along with the National Bank Building on the north-west and north-east corners of Main and Overland.  I believe they both came down in the early 1980s.

Most telling to me is what is across the Snake River.  NOTHING exists in Minidoka County from Burley.  The first Overland Bridge over the Snake was built in 1947.  Interstate 84 appears to have not been constructed just south of 300 South in Minidoka County.  Everything North of the Snake on Overland is post-interstate.  In fact, it seems you would still drive to 400 South, now called Alfresco, and drive to the east to 600 West to drive to Paul.  If you follow Overland straight, you can see the canal, which Overland now diagonally goes to the east to attach to 600 West, which none of which is clear in this photo.  I believe the Interstate 84 came through the Burley area in the late 1960s.

Only a vague outline of a much smaller Paul, Idaho is in the distance, although fuzzy.

Therefore, this image appears to be late 1950’s or early 1960’s.  If anyone has clarifications, I am happy to update this post.

 

 

 

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Paul Hotel

Paul Hotel, Paul, Idaho

This is a photo of the Paul Hotel in Paul, Minidoka County, Idaho.

Paul was platted in 1905 as part of the Minidoka Reclamation Project.  The town was named after Charles H. Paul, the Minidoka Dam’s chief engineer.

By 1907 the Minidoka and Southwestern Railroad Company, acquired by Oregon Short Line Railroad in 1910, completed a 75 mile spur from Minidoka through Rupert, Paul, Twin Falls, Filer, and ending at Buhl.

The railroad crossed the land belonging in Paul by the name of James Ellis.

James donated land generously for the new little city.

Frank A Grimm and Ludwig Alexander Grimm are the two brothers credited with building the Paul Hotel for $70,000.  He started as a photographer and opened a gallery in Mount Angel, Oregon.  He later moved to Portland and became a motorman for the for the city railroad.  He moved to Paul in 1916 and then assisted in building the Hotel Paul.  He managed the Hotel until 1 June 1919 when he leased it.

The Hotel was a popular location as it had indoor plumbing, which was a novel idea for a hotel at that time.

Here is a picture of Paul from the water tower.  You can see the writing on the photo of the hotel and at the end of Idaho Street the school that burned in 1977.

Paul, Idaho from water tower

I don’t know why, but eventually the entire second story was removed from the building.  It remains that way to today, February 2018.

The windows in the front of the building are now all bricked.  Mustang Sally’s, a club, was located in the right side of the building and now has a painting of “Sinister” as a DJ on the end.  I am not aware of a business operating int he building right now.  It does appear that a family are living in at least part of the building.

As a kid I remember being intrigued by the bank drop-box that was on the east end of the building.  That box has been removed and the hole bricked in.  I have never been in any part of the building.  Since it is beside the Post Office, I am around the building on a regular basis.

A relic of the times, I doubt we will see any renovation or reinvention of the building.  But it will probably eventually be demolished and lost to time.

 

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White Towers Motel

White Towers Motel

This is an interesting photo from Paul, Idaho.  This White Towers Motel was located on Highway 25 where the Wrangler Insurance is now, across from the D.L. Evans Bank on Ellis.  White Towers Motel and Cafe burned down in the late ’60s or early ’70s.  You can see some of the rooms to the right.  Likely built in the classic style of the rooms around the perimeter with the office, facilities, and café in the central building.  I cannot tell if it had a gas station as part of it as well.  Some of these old hotels did not have bathrooms and showers in the rooms, but in the main building.  This one may have followed that design.

While Paul had other older hotels, this one certainly filled the motoring stage of the city with it built on the highway as opposed to the old railroad downtown.  If I recall, the highway was built and the roads oiled in the mid 1930s, and looking at the design, this building probably came shortly afterward.

This was just a vacant lot in my earliest memories.  None of the rooms were there either.

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Beulah Duncan and Damey Ross

Beulah and Damey Ross

I received this photo a few years ago.  It just has “Beulah” written on the back of it.  I asked the person who provided it to see if they could get a higher resolution scan of the photo.  I don’t have one yet, but I can always hope.

There is really only on Beulah Ross in the entire extended family I am aware.  That is Beulah Estell Ross.  She was born 26 March 1908 in Twin Branch, McDowell, West Virginia.  She was born to Robert Leonard Ross (1888-1944) and Minnie Belle Hambrick (1889-abt 1985).  There are many questions about her father Robert.  I have heard stories from West Virginia family that he was running from the law when he visited them in the 1930s.  Which might lead to some explanation on why he is hard to track and records seem to be scant.

We believe Robert and Minnie had 6 children, but only 3 of them have we really been able to find or track.  Beulah Estell Ross is one of those children.  She met and married William Jackson “Jack” Duncan on 20 September 1922 in Burley, Cassia, Idaho.  He was born 26 September 1901 in Clinton, Van Buren, Arkansas.  That would put her at 14 years of age when she married in Burley to Bill, who was 21.

I have written of her grandparents, James & Damey Ross, before.  They lived in and near Paul, Minidoka, Idaho until the late 1920s.  The 1930 census found them in Bend, Deschutes, Oregon.

Looking at the photo, I am guessing Beulah is about 12-14, which puts us in the early 1920s and in southern Idaho.

Beulah and Jack had 4 children that we know.  Jack died 11 July 1977 in Sunnyside, Yakima, Washington.  Beulah remarried to a Kenneth K Marshall.  She then passed away 5 March 2002 in Toppenish, Yakima, Washington.  Jack and Beulah are both buried in Zillah.

Read her obituary here.

I found this note from a 2007 post.  I recorded these notes from a conversation with granddaughter Carol Ann Stone.

“We visited for a few minutes; she told me what she knew of her grandmother, Beulah.  Their story goes something like this.  Robert was an alcoholic and his wife Minnie had some sort of Drug addiction.  All the children were farmed out to others.  Beulah was taken in by her grandparents, my great great grandparents James Thomas Meredith Ross and Damey Catherine Graham.  She was taken and raised near Rupert, Idaho.  But her strict Mormon grandparents was a bit much for her so she was anxious to get out.  That came when she met a Jack or Mack Duncan.  She was 14 and married him.  They moved to Zillah, Washington and lived out the remainder of their days.  He died in the late 70’s and she died in 2002 at about 96 years of age.  They had four children, two of which are deceased.”

The more I looked at the photo, it dawned on me that the lady was her grandmother, Damey Catherine Graham Ross.

Damey Catherine Graham Ross

Here is a photo of James Thomas and Damey Catherine Ross.

James & Damey Ross

Robert, Beulah’s father, is brother to my John “Jack” William Ross.

After I realized that this photograph was another of my Great Great Grandmother, I was pretty excited.  It makes me want to be more diligent in chasing down a better scan of the photo.

Here are a couple of other photos with Beulah and Jack in them.  I don’t know the other individuals.  Some day….

Jack and Beulah Duncan

 

Beulah and Jack Duncan with unknown

 

Beulah’s Son

 

Beulah’s Son Bob

 

Jack and family 1

 

Jack and family 2

 

Jack and Beulah Duncan Family

 

John “Jack” Ross and Beulah Duncan

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Adams Block

Adams Block, Paul, Idaho

I came across some pictures of Paul, Minidoka County, Idaho recently.  Thank you to the City of Paul for making them available.

I remember this building as a kid.  Somehow the alley immediately behind this building I seemed to get puncture weeds that would flatten my tire and then I had to walk over to the tire store to get it fixed.  I felt an attachment to the building even though I never entered that I recollect.  I was saddened when they tore the building down in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s.

The photo says it was the Paul Store Co. on Idaho Street and Main Street in Paul.  Just behind the building away further to the right is Paul Elementary.  I don’t know anything about Paul Store Co. but this photo has K & C Auction written on the front of the building.

I think the Adams Block at the top of the façade is more interesting.

J. E. Earley and Frank Adams were the founders of the Southern Idaho Review, a newspaper that was established in Heyburn, not far from Paul.

Francis “Frank” Henry Adams was born 18 September 1880 in London, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada.  I am not sure exactly why he came to the Minidoka Project, but he was involved with the Heyburn newspaper very early on.  The Heyburn website indicates the newspaper started publishing in 1905.

Frank then went on to marry Clara Louise Schodde, son of the well-known rancher Henry & Minnie Schodde whose homestead is located about 3.5 miles west of Heyburn, about 2.5 west of Paul and about 3 miles to the south.  Clara, born 1 August 1884, is claimed the first baby born in the area north of the Snake in what is now Minidoka County.  Frank and Clara married 10 June 1908 in Heyburn by Rev. Merkins.

I don’t know what the Adams Building was originally built for.  All I know is that it was a stately building that eventually lost usefulness and was demolished for storage units.  When I was looking for somewhere to locate my law office when I came to Idaho, I did reminisce about the Adams Building wishing it was still there as I was trying to locate the owner of the old Paul State Bank.  The owner was not interested in selling and the Adams Building was only a memory.

I remember walking along Main Street when the building was being demolished.  I saw the old Adams Block blocks sitting in the rubble and wanting to climb the fence to grab them and take them home.  Funny what memories we recall.

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Memories are Made of This

Lillie 23 April 2017

Sometimes you just have to be grateful for what you have.  I am fortunate to have a great family.  A couple of photos of recent.

Hiram and Aliza, 23 April 2017, Snake River Minidoka spillway, flood 2017

 

Hiram and Aliza, Paul Park, 22 April 2017

 

Del Monte Tower

You can’t hardly see it, but I regularly see it.  My Grandfather helped build that water tower that is small but to the left of the tree just above the fence.  Most days when I open Aliza’s blinds, I have a reminder of my ancestry in the distance.

The remaining of the Twin Falls, 19 March 2017

 

Shoshone Falls, 19 March 2017, Flood of 2017

 

Hiram and Aliza at Shoshone Falls 19 March 2017

 

Hiram and Aliza goofing off 19 March 2017

 

 

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Eagle Scout

I received my Eagle Scout on 19 October 1993 making it 23 years ago!  Where does the time go?  Here are some photos of that occasion.

Newspaper clipping from the South Idaho Press.

Newspaper clipping from the South Idaho Press.

My Dad, Milo Ross, is also an Eagle Scout, so he could make the award to me.  Mom refused to step into a Mormon church, so my Grandma, Gladys Donaldson Ross, stood in for her.  Mom finally showed up and came in and then became offended because Grandma stood in her place.  Sometimes you cannot win!

The Court of Honor.

The Court of Honor.  Me, Grandma, Dad on stage with the Eagle Nest.

paul-ross-eagle-court-of-honor-with-gladys-and-milo-ross

 

Dad shaking my hand afterward for photos.

Dad shaking my hand for a photo for the newspaper.

Here is one of those awkward teen photos.  Dad had me take a picture before we went to the Court of Honor.  I borrowed someone else’s pants so they did not fit.  I was already in love with the green trousers.

paul-ross-eagle-uniform

I have a couple of the invitations and the programs for the Court of Honor.  Next time I stumble on them I should scan a copy so they are also saved for posterity.  Just remember, we all go through that awkward teenage stage.