Young named to Heritage Court by library in Carey
BY JONATHAN KANE
The Little Wood River Library of Carey has chosen Karen Young for this year’s Heritage Court. Young is well known in the community of Carey, having been involved with the Blaine County School District, various service organizations and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“It’s a great honor,” Young said of her selection to the court. “But you feel there are more worthy people. I guess they wanted someone who really uses the library and they felt that I would meet the qualifications. I’ve lived in Blaine County for over 30 years and I’m over 70 years of age and I like to participate in the community.”
Young said that when she first came to Carey in 1966, “I thought I had come to the end of the world. Now I love it. We built our house in 1970 and have lived there ever since.
“I love the people in Carey because they are so kind and caring. With about 500 people, it’s a really nice community to be in and I like being close to Craters of the Moon and the Little Wood Reservoir.
“It’s so pretty and when I look out our kitchen window I can see all the mountains,” she said. “It’s also a great place to raise kids. It may not have all the activity of Hailey, but all my children went to college and they all had a great education in Carey.”
Young was born in Huntington Park, Calif., one of five children. In 1955 she married Ross Young and worked for Thiokol while her husband earned a master’s degree from Utah State University. The couple moved to Carey two months before their fifth child was born.
For several years Karen Young was a scout leader. She taught knitting for 4-H and was involved in activities associated with the Blaine County Fair and various girls’ projects.
For 28 years she worked for the school district, first in the Carey School lunchroom and later as a bus driver. As a driver, she chauffeured girls’ athletic teams. She also enjoyed driving sixth-graders on trips to Yellowstone National Park.
Young started driving for the school district in 1974 and served as scorekeeper at games where she drove the teams.
“I did it for both basketball and volleyball as well as driving to places like Boise, Shoshone, Richfield and Gooding,” Young said.
“They made me the scorekeeper so I wouldn’t be such a wild fan,” she said with a laugh. “When my kids were playing, I would get pretty excited. But when you sit at the scorer’s table, you really have to behave.”
Karen and Ross Young are active members of the Carey LDS church, and have twice, since retiring, served on missions, once in Nauvoo, Ill., and five years later in Storm Lake, Iowa. This year the couple will celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary.
HERITAGE COURT
This is the second of a four-part series about the four women selected this year for the Blaine County Historical Museum Heritage Court. Now in its 13th year, the Heritage Court was founded to honor women for their contributions to the history and heritage of Blaine County. A coronation ceremony for this year’s honorees is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.