Heritage Court woman became a paramedic in later years
BY JONATHAN KANE
The Heritage Court Committee has selected Lois Glenn to this year’s Heritage Court.
Glenn is known locally as the “stalwart of the library” for her volunteerism and long service on the board of directors of The Community Library in Ketchum.
“I’m very honored to be chosen,” Glenn said in an interview. “It’s great to be recognized as an historic figure and someone who contributed in the early days. It’s nice to be remembered.”
Glenn’s involvement with the library started about the time she moved from Blackfoot to the Wood River Valley in 1960. She first served as a volunteer, which led to being on the board of directors for 20 years, treasurer for 10 years and chair for two years.
“I’m most proud of the work I did on creating the new building,” Glenn said. “We made the plans while I was treasurer and figured out what it would cost and how to pay for it. It took a few years but it was a huge accomplishment. Since then it has expanded but it’s still one of the most important places in town and it keeps growing and modernizing.”
Glenn has also worked for 20 years at The Gold Mine, a thrift store in Ketchum that provides funding for The Community Library. She said her fondest memory there was working with Cynthia Quarton.
“People came in there to see her,” Glenn said. “It was a social place. People would come in and chat and catch up on the news.”
Glenn is originally from Stockham, Neb., with a population of 20 who she said were mostly relatives. She married her college sweetheart, Jim Glenn, and moved with him to Ketchum in 1960. While Jim worked as a pharmacist and part-owner at Ketchum Drug, which was located in the building that now houses Rocky Mountain Hardware, Lois was busy helping out at the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, teaching knitting for 4-H, and working with the PTA at Wood River Junior High.
After her husband passed away in the late 1990s, Lois Glenn moved to their second home at Smiley Creek, where she saw a community need and began a four-year career as a paramedic.
Though in her sixties and a bit apprehensive, she went back to school and even trained for several months in Kansas City, Mo.
She said nothing that happened at Smiley Creek and in northern Blaine County compares with the level of excitement of late-night emergency runs into downtown Kansas City. There, she dealt with drug overdoses, drive-by shootings, and the homeless. At Smiley Creek, there were motorcycles colliding with deer, lost hikers, and snowmobile accidents.
HERITAGE COURT
This is the third 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 is set for 3 p.m. Sunday, June 12, at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.