Former Staff
6/17/15 – Baasan
My undergraduate education gave me many things, one of which is my dear friend Samantha. We became fast friends, both of us were studious, avid connoisseurs of ice cream (but terrified of the dreaded freshman 15), and a quarter Asian. One of the many perks of our friendship was getting to meet Samantha’s family, including… Read the Rest »
6/3/15 – Colorado Chataqua
On a recent trip to Boulder, Colorado I had the chance to stay in the Colorado Chautauqua, one of the few Chautauquas left in the U.S., and the only one still operating west of the Mississippi. The nationwide Chautauqua movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was characterized by intellectual and cultural retreats… Read the Rest »
5/27/15 – 100 Years of Town Forests
This year, Vermont is celebrating 100 years of town forests. Town forests are just that – tracts of forest managed by the town, something that sounds so simple that it’s easy to forget their significance. I have fond memories of tromping through our town forest growing up in Ferrisburgh; it is on Shellhouse Mountain, a… Read the Rest »
5/20/15 – Cherry Blossoms
Despite my many research trips to Washington D.C. I’ve never had the opportunity to experience the city’s renowned cherry blossoms. Instead, every spring I gaze at the National Park Service’s live feed of the Cherry Blossom Web Cam. While most of the time my thoughts are rather rudimentary (“Golly, those flowers sure are pretty…”) this… Read the Rest »
5/13/15 – Go Fish
Looking at an image of (renowned Washington governor) Isaac Stevens, two things come to mind. First, he has a striking resemblance to Brad Pitt. Second, he looks like a man that gets what he wants, come hell or high water. As the first Territorial Governor of Washington and the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Stevens did… Read the Rest »
5/6/15 – Early Snow Surveys
While reading correspondence from the Bureau of Reclamation recently, SHRA researchers came across indications that some of the earliest snow surveys, dating back to the early 1920s, were conducted in the Boise River watershed. This piqued our interest in the early history of snow surveys and how technological developments have improved their accuracy. At a… Read the Rest »
4/22/15 – Jackson School
There’s a sign along Highway 20, just northwest of Mountain Home, Idaho, that has caught my attention many times. “Jackson School,” it reads, “1898-1925.” There’s no other explanation, and there’s not much else around aside from fields. After my last trip past the sign, I finally did some research. Jackson School was part of Rattlesnake Station,… Read the Rest »
4/15/15 – Hall of Fame: Feliz Cumple, Executioner
When searching through historical material, SHRA researchers occasionally come across items so singular that they need no elaboration. We’re showcasing some of these finds here on our blog as our “Hall of Fame” entries. We hope you will enjoy and appreciate seeing these little gems from the archives. Editor’s note: For more information on Emperor… Read the Rest »
4/8/2015 – Thinking Like a Historian
Last night, over dinner with my aunt and uncle, who were visiting from Massachusetts, we got into a discussion about the historical research we do at SHRA, its links to current environmental issues, and methodology, something that sounds boring and mundane, but something that had us sitting around the dinner table far into the evening…. Read the Rest »
4/1/15 – Hite’s Cove
Every early March my thoughts turn to Hite’s Cove, a steep-sided canyon along the South Fork of the Merced River just west of Yosemite National Park. For those living in the small town up the road from Hite’s Cove, as I did for three years, there is no better place to spot early spring wildflowers…. Read the Rest »