Former Staff
1/19/15 – USS Boise
A couple of weeks ago while carefully perusing archival documents, SHRA researchers stumbled upon a March 16, 1943 Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper article. The article touched upon the heroic efforts of the USS Boise’s crew. While in the archive, knowledge of simple geography made it difficult to reconcile how a 9,700-ton sea faring vessel could be… Read the Rest »
1/16/15 – Favorite Reading Rooms: Hornig Library
Editor’s Note: This week’s blog is by Naomi Heindel as part of our ongoing series on our favorite reading rooms. From the spacious reading room at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, we travel to a tiny library embedded deep within Dartmouth College’s physical science building. Many thanks to Kim Wind, Program Administrator, Environmental… Read the Rest »
1/14/15 – The Great River of the West
Right before the holidays, SHRA researchers found themselves swimming in sources relating to the development of the Columbia River. Like so many other rivers, the Columbia faced a plethora of competing interests, such as hydroelectric power, fish, navigation, irrigation, and recreation. Documentation on the subject was vast but one source in particular intrigued us. Around… Read the Rest »
1/12/15 – Coeur d’Alene Mining Pollution
We recently came upon an unexpected Idaho Daily Statesman headline – “Nelson Attacks River Pollution” – while doing research on the early 1930s.[i] The headline appeared more than 30 years before pollution and sewage caused Ohio’s Cuyahoga River to catch fire and help spur the environmental movement to address water pollution nationwide. But, in northern… Read the Rest »
1/7/15 – Women for Legislature: High-Brows or Flappers?
With the 2014 midterm election not far behind us, an archival article from 1930 on women serving in the Idaho state legislature seemed too good not to share. The Idaho Statesman article recounted a tongue-in-cheek debate between Mrs. Frank Bruins and Mrs. W.T. Leighton that took place at a Burbank Federation meeting and revolved around… Read the Rest »
1/5/15 – Hells Canyon
This October, SHRA had the chance to explore Hells Canyon on the Snake River, North America’s deepest river gorge. From the water, the many layers of cliffs, hills, and mountains rise 7,400 feet to the Seven Devils Mountains on the Idaho side, and more than a mile to the canyon rim on the Oregon side…. Read the Rest »
12/17/14 – First Ladies of Idaho
Here’s a neat find from a recent trip to the archives: a booklet of photos and autobiographies of the first ladies of Idaho.[i] The booklet was published by the Friends of the Historical Museum in 1990, and it offers a glimpse into the lives (and wardrobes) of the wives of Idaho’s first governors. The early… Read the Rest »
12/15/14 – Then & Now Fairview Avenue
Because most of our projects focus on the built and natural environments, SHRA researchers often find themselves researching at the unique intersection between environmental and urban history. In early 2014, our research led to 1950s photographs of Fairview Avenue in Boise, Idaho, a road that is now a major thoroughfare in the Treasure Valley. One… Read the Rest »
12/10/14 – The USGS Takes on Dowsing
While perusing the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) water-supply papers recently, SHRA researchers were surprised to find a paper from 1917 titled “The Divining Rod: A History of Water Witching.”[i] USGS papers tend to deal with river hydrology or aquifer resources, so this topic was quite a change. What did the USGS have to say… Read the Rest »
12/8/14 – A Bird’s Eye View
Some of our favorite sources here at SHRA are maps. While our researchers take great joy in analyzing the intricacies of all maps, bird’s eye view or panoramic maps are some of our absolute favorites. Created in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century by cartographers, these images depicted cities from above at a… Read the Rest »