BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
The beauty of the community in this Valley is in the conversations, the friendship and laughter we have at the market, the post office, the liquor store. The history here is held together by our conversations and the luxury of reading about our trials, tribulations, successes and happiness in our publications. This very paper you read now is testament to the value of love that happens when we get together, when we make it real to deliquesce into joy over a shared laugh, dinner, drink, or kiss.
Community grows from sharing our adventures—with our friends and neighbors but also with what might be strangers, for the moment, until that time when your life meets theirs. These papers keep us together, informed, and allow us to put the “Hey!” in our week.
A rancher’s daughter, wonderful woman and friend, Winnie Bird, was so kind as to donate one of her cherished copies of the old Hailey Times to remind us what the Valley has been about for so many years.
This cache of Hailey history was published on Thursday, June 21, 1956, titled:
“75 Years of Progress in Idaho’s Famous Wood River Valleys” – notice the plural
This old Hailey Times paper is in, essentially, a magazine format, measuring around 10 by 17 inches. The stories are fairly long and packed with local characters. Coming in at eight or more pages, we are, perhaps, reminded of a time when reading was the primary mode of finding entertainment and information.
The stories range from mentions of Jay Gould, “one of the richest and most influential men to ever visit the Wood River Valley,” to memoirs of influential Hailey characters and wild tales of partying in Bellevue. This being from ‘56, mining stories abound along with quirky advertisements and fun histories.
This sample was taken from the story:
PIONEER CHARACTERS WERE PLENTIFUL
by Keith McBride
‘From an Interview with Joseph W Fuld.’
“There aren’t many of us real oldtimers left,” Joe commented. “The real old characters, like Lousy John, or insectivorous John, as George McLeod used to call him, are all gone. I don’t know whether John was really lousy or not, but he hung around all the saloons and took a few drinks for pay.”
It goes on to talk of an “unforgettable character, Old Jack Rafter,” who was apparently “bow-legged, stooped and had a dignity that was charming. He was honest as the day was long and generous to a fault.”
Days used to be long! A very unique advertisement reads:
“ADVERTISE FOR HUSBANDS
June 27, 1883.– Any two respectable men, widowers, bachelors, or young men, in good circumstances, that wish Missouri girls for wives, can get them by replying to this. We are orphan girls and it is our desire to have Oregon husbands. Our ages are 17 and 24, respectively. J.D. and A.M. Wiliams”
We certainly don’t see ads like this these days. And they’re looking for Oregon husbands! The times they did change.
And don’t we often hear a similar sentiment, how ‘old Hailey was’, or how ‘The valley used to be xyz’. It’s so common and understandable. We cherish our own stories but how amazing it is to peer into the ancient history of those who inhabited the same space as us only so long ago. Most definitely some who live here will remember these times and perhaps even the names.
The Valley has always had characters and unique individuals. Just ask Gorb at The Casino about TK or Joyce, Linda Anderson or Kelly Dawson. It’s a fantasy and a history that intertwine like vines from the same grapes of wrath. The Hailey Times is simply full of charm and nostalgia with so much rich history.
With much thanks to Winnie Bird, you can view multiple photos of the old Hailey Times draping stories on its pages from the Valley in the mid ‘50s.
If someone tells you that love takes time, tell them to wait for it, then. Meanwhile, we push toward our own happy future by relishing the past.
