History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 37

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024

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SENATOR GEORGE E. HILL ENJOYING HIMSELF IN HIS FAVORITE PASTIME, FISHING IN THE HEADWATERS OF THE SOUTH FORK OF SNAKE RIVER

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National Bank, an institution with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, of which he is first vice president and a director.

Soon after his return to Rigby, Senator Hill began taking a prominent part in the public affairs of this community and later of that part of the state. For two years he served as chairman of the board of trustees of Rigby under its village form of government, and after the town was incorporated in 1903, chiefly due to his efforts, he served as the first mayor and bas since done most of the legal work of the corpo- ration. He has also done much for the development of education locally, for it was chiefly due to him that the Rigby school district was made into an independent school organization, on the board of trustees of which he has served for twelve years. Now" the city has a large and modern district school and an accredited high school in which is taught agricultural, scientific, domestic science and commercial courses ..

In the fall of 1910 Senator Hill was elected a member of the lower house of the state legislature of Idaho and served in the regular session of 1911 and the special session of the following year, being a member of the judiciary, taxation and revenue, public health, and fish and game committees. In 1911 he was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the State Industrial School and was designated by Gov- ernor Hawley as referee to investigate a difficulty that arose in the school over two boys who were severely punished and afterward made their escape. After Senator Hill had investigated the situation for three weeks, he drew up his report in which he placed the blame upon the superintendent in charge of the school and recom- mended his removal. In 1915 Governor Alexander appointed him a member of the minimum wage commission, the task of which was to make investigations and then recommend a minimum wage law for the women workers of the state of Idaho. In 1916 he was elected state senator from Jefferson county, which be was instrumental in having created three years before, defeating Hon. John W. Hart, who had repre- sented this section in the upper house of the state legislature for many years. Dur- ing this session he was chairman of the state affairs committee of the senate which had charge of the state's legislative program, which was successfully enacted into law.

Senator Hill has always been a democrat and bis superior abilities as an organizer have been of great value to his party. In 1910 he was elected chairman of the demo- cratic party of Fremont county, which then included in addition to what is now Fre- mont county the counties of Jefferson, Madison, Teton and Clarke. He achieved com- plete success in conducting the campaign of his party in the fall of that year, for the entire county and state ticket was elected by eleven hundred majority which was sufficient to assure the election of Hon. James H. Hawley as governor. It was in this clection that Senator Hill was first elected to the state legislature. His success as an organizer in Fremont county gave him the honor of being made secretary of the democratic state central committee during 1912-13, and, together with Hon. Benjamin R. Gray, he conducted the democratic state campaign in the autumn of 1912, which gave the electoral vote of Idaho to Woodrow Wilson when he was first elected president of the United States.

While Hon. George E. Hill, Jr., was living in Salt Lake City he there married Maude Johnson in January, 1895. To this union twelve children have been born, ten of whom are now (1919) living at home with their parents in Rigby, namely: Leona, Ardath, Elbridge, Frances, Afton, Kenneth, Hawley, Jewel, Tessie and Pershing. The first three of the above named are now occupying important commercial positions in Rigby and the four oldest of the remaining are attending school and are preparing themselves for useful occupations in the future. Both the father and mother are loyal and consistent members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of Rigby, the former having done important missionary work in behalf of the denomination in the southern states from 1897 until 1900, and while he was thus engaged he had five hundred elders under his charge, being connected with the headquarters of the southern states mission at Chattanooga, Tennessee.

MISS RETTA F. MARTIN.

Miss Retta F. Martin, assistant state superintendent of public instruction in Idaho, appointed to the position by the state board of education on the 26th of March, 1919, is a native of Tennessee, having been born and reared in Washington county, that state. Her father, Robert Bruce Martin, also a native of Tennessee, was for

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thirty-five years identified with the public schools of the state as a teacher in Wash- ington county and in 1906 removed to the state of Washington, where he passed away in 1910. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary Susan Whitt, now resides in Spokane, Washington.

The daughter, Miss Retta F. Martin, was educated in the public schools of her native county and after her graduation from the high school at Jonesboro, Tennessee, completed a business course in a commercial college at Roanoke, Virginia. She studied stenography, bookkeeping and other hranches hut never followed that line of work. Instead she took up the profession of teaching, which pursuit had been followed by her father and various other members of the family. After six years devoted to the work of the school room in Washington county, Tennessee, she came to the northwest in 1905, believing that better opportunities were to be secured in this section of the country. She first went to Whitman county, Washington, where for three years she taught in the eighth grade of the public schools of Oakesdale. Her sister, Miss A. Gertrude Martin, taught in the fifth grade of the same school at the same time. She is now married and resides in Bristol, Tennessee.

Since 1908 Miss Retta F. Martin has been engaged in educational work in Idaho, all of the time in Kootenai and Lewis counties until her recent appoint- ment to the position of assistant state superintendent of public instruction. During the first three years of her residence in Idaho she was principal of the high school at Spirit Lake, Kootenai county, and then for one year was principal of the high school at Vollmer, Lewis county. Later she spent five and a half years as county superintendent of Lewis county and completed her third term on the 15th of Jan- uary, 1919, when she voluntarily retired from the position. She is a graduate of Virginia College at Roanoke, Virginia, where she won her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902. She is also a graduate of the Peabody Normal School at Nashville, Ten- nessee, and was thus well qualified by liberal training for educational work in the northwest. She is a member of the National Educational Association, also of the Inland Empire Teachers Association and of the Idaho State Teachers Association. She has written much for educational publication and has been active in teachers' associations and institutes. She holds to very high standards in her chosen pro- fession and her work has heen productive of splendid results.

LEO H. WALDEN.

Leo H. Walden is the cashier of the First National Bank of Kimberly and to the discharge of his present duties he brought broad experience gleaned in other fields. He was born in Carroll county, Missouri, October 3, 1888, and is a son of Henry C. and Lillie (Hill) Walden. His boyhood days were passed in Carroll and Nodaway counties of Missouri and his education was there acquired. On starting out in the business world he accepted a position as bookkeeper with the Northwestern Bank at Burlington Junction, Missouri, and was thus employed for five years. He then went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and was utility man with the Tootle Lemon National Bank, with which he was connected for a year. On the expiration of that period he went to Kansas City, and obtaining a position in a bank, was advanced from one post to another until he became discount clerk in the Missouri Savings Bank, with which he was identified for eight years. On the 30th of October, 1916, he arrived at Kimberly, Idaho, to assist in the organization of the First National Bank, the work of which was completed on the 8th of Feb- ruary, 1917, and on the 1st of May the new institution opened its doors for busi- ness. On the 15th of December, 1917, a new building was completed. The bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, has a surplus of five thousand dol- lars and undivided profits of twenty-nine hundred dollars, while its deposits amount to one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The officers of the bank are: J. M. Steelsmith, president; H. W. Mund and Frank Bower, vice presidents; Leo H. Walden, cashier; and Carl Ridgeway, assistant cashier. The bank has enjoyed a prosperous existence from the beginning. The business has steadily grown under the wise direction of its officers and Mr. Walden as cashier has proved not only a capable but a popular official who is always courteous and obliging, ready to extend the assistance of the bank to its patrons to any point that will not jeopardize the interests of the stockholders.

In 1909 Mr. Walden was married to Miss Blanch Spargur, a native of Nodaway

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county, Missouri, and a daughter of William Spargur. They have three children: Hubert, Lewis and Francis.

Mr. Walden belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a republican in his political views and has served as school treasurer and also as treasurer of Kimberly. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, esteem him highly as a progressive and representative young business man whose efforts have been a valuable asset to the commercial and financial development of the district in which he lives.

HON. JOHN KIRBY WHITE.

Hon. John Kirby White, commissioner of public welfare in the cabinet of Governor D. W. Davis, first came to Idaho in 1903 from Seymour, Indiana. Through the period of his residence in this state he has taken active and helpful part in promoting public progress along various lines and has been active in public office under both democratic and republican administrations, which is indicative of the fact that his public duties are not biased by partisanship or by personal prejudice in the slightest degree. He has ever regarded a public office as a public trust and it is well known that no trust reposed in John K. White has ever been betrayed.

Mr. White was born in Seymour, Indiana, June 24, 1880, the elder of the two sons of Harvey W. and Susan (Sutherland) White, both of whom died before John Kirby was nine years of age. The father was both a farmer and merchant and passed away when his son was a lad of but six years. Three years later he was left an orphan by the death of his mother and from that time forward he never knew what it was to live in a home of his own until after he had attained his majority and was married. His boyhood and youth were spent in Seymour and at the age of twelve years he left school in order to earn his living. The follow- ing year he removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, and worked his way through an Indianapolis business college, earning his tuition by sweeping floors, making fires and doing other such service. He completed the regular commercial course and also studied telegraphy, and before he was fourteen years of age he was a tele- graph operator for the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroad in Indian- apolis, his position being at an office in the suburbs of the city. He acted in that capacity for several years and his wages were advanced from forty-five to sixty dollars per month. In 1898 he resigned the position, however, to enter the army for service in the Spanish-American war as a member of the Third United States Cavalry. He enlisted as a private but was soon made sergeant major and served throughout the Cuban campaign of 1898, including the memorable battle of San Juan Hill, where the American troops under their intrepid commander made a brilliant dash up the hill, displaying the characteristic American spirit when the American soldier is defending the interests of his country. He remained in the service for five years and from 1900 until 1902 was on duty in the Philippines. He returned to the United States in 1903 and was mustered out at the Boise barracks.

It was this that brought Mr. White to Idaho. He was pleased with the state and its prospects and after being honorably discharged he secured the position of chief clerk in the office of the warden of the Idaho state penitentiary. He served in that capacity for nearly two years and then went to Washington, D. C., in the employ of United States Senator W. B. Heyburn, there continuing until 1912. Returning to Boise, he was made chief deputy in the state dairy food and sanitary department under command of Governor Hawley and continued in that department until October, 1914, when he was advanced from the position of deputy and made head of the department by Governor John M. Haines. In January, 1915, he was reappointed by Governor Moses Alexander, from whom he also received a second appointment in January, 1917. He continued in the position until January, 1919, when he became private secretary to Governor D. W. Davis and on the 31st of March, 1919, he was made commissioner of public welfare in the cabinet of Gov- ernor Davis. He has thus been retained in office under two democratic governors, Hawley and Alexander, and under two republican governors, Haines and Davis. This fact speaks for itself concerning his capability and fidelity.

On the 25th of April, 1906, in Washington, D. C., John K. White was married to Miss Bessie V. Miers, who was born at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, but was

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then living at Brunswick, Maryland, and with whom he became acquainted in Washington, D. C.ª

Mr. White gives his political endorsement to the republican party and frater- nally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men. He belongs to the Bolse Commercial Club and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist church. He finds his chief recreation in fishing but allows nothing to interfere with the faithful performance of his public duties, which he has dis- charged with credit to himself and the satisfaction of the general public.

WARREN D. SPRINGER, M. D.

Dr. Warren D. Springer, chief surgeon of St. Luke's Hospital of Boise from its founding until his death and recognized as one of the most eminent physicians and surgeons of the northwest, was called to his final rest October 19, 1909, yet his mem- ory is cherished and revered by all who knew him because of the great and good work which he did in behalf of suffering humanity. He was a man of the broadest sympathies whose interest in his work was not the expression merely of high attain- ment along scientific lines but also of the deepest interest in the welfare of his fellow- men.

Warren D. Springer was born in Nelson, Ontario, March 30, 1864, a son of David Warren and Elizabeth (Ghent) Springer, both of whom were natives of Canada and of English descent. The father was a farmer by occupation. There were eight sons and six daughters in the family of whom Dr. J. S. Springer and Leslie A. Springer are living at Boise, while the other members of the family are residents of Canada.

At the place of his nativity Dr. Warren D. Springer was reared and early deter- mined 'upon the practice of medicine as a life work. Having completed his public school training, he then became a medical student in Trinity College at Toronto, Canada, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1889. He after- ward pursued a course in the College of Physicians of Ontario and is numbered among its alumni of 1890. He opened an office in his native city, where he remained for a year, enjoying a large hospital experience during that period. The year 1892 wit- nessed his arrival at Ogden, Utah, but soon afterward he came to Boise and entered upon the practice of his profession as a member of the firm of Fairchild & Springer. At the time of his death he was generally acknowledged as the foremost surgeon in the state. Constant professional demands were made upon his time and energies, and his powers continually increased through the exercise of effort. He was, moreover, a close and discriminating student of the science of medicine and kept in touch with the latest researches and discoveries having to do with medical and surgical prac- tice. While he continued in general practice, his attention was most largely given to surgical work and in that field he attained eminence. He became one of the foun- ders of St. Luke's Hospital of Boise, took to it its first patient and remained chief surgeon to the time of his demise. He was intensely interested in building up the surgical department to its present high state of efficiency. He took a deep interest in all the work of the institution and the nurses of St. Luke's to this day hold his name and memory in affectionate regard. When the call for volunteers was made in 1898 for service in the Spanish-American war Dr. Springer, although enjoying an excellent practice, put aside all personal interests and went to the Philippines as regimental surgeon, with the rank of major. He left his home on the 19th of May, 1898, with the troops from Idaho, and returned in September, 1899. His regiment was on active duty in most of the skirmishes with the Filipinos and Dr. Springer's services were therefore in demand. He was very popular with the soldiers, caring for them with untiring devotion, and every man of the regiment was proud to claim him as a friend.

In Warsaw, Illinois, on the 3d of July, 1894, Dr. Springer was united in marriage to Miss Lulu Eymann, who was born, reared and educated at Warsaw, a daughter of Abraham and Susanna (Spori) Eymann. Her mother, now a widow, is still living at Warsaw, her father, who was a merchant, having passed away about a dozen years ago. Dr. and Mrs. Springer had two children: Eugene, who was born April 17, 1902; and Warren David, who was born November 14, 1909, about a month after his father's death, for whom he was named.

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Since the death of her husband Mrs. Springer has continued to occupy the family residence at No. 1215 Jefferson street. This is a commodious and splendid property which Dr. and Mrs. Springer had planned and built in the year 1901. Mrs. Springer devotes practically her entire attention to the rearing of her two children. She is a member of St. Michael's cathedral. She has worked untiringly for the interests of St. Luke's Hospital, of which her hushand was the founder, and during the World war was active in support of all local war measures.

Dr. Springer was a very prominent Mason. He had attained the Knights Tem- plar degree in the York Rite and was also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He like- wise held membership in the Capital City Lodge of Elks. While he never sought nor desired political office, he was secretary of the state board of health and did a great deal of valuable work for that organization. He possessed a most genial manner and kindly disposition, which won for him a host of friends. His sympathy and broad humanitarianism prompted him to respond to every call for professional aid, even at the sacrifice of his personal interests. He almost instantly won the confidence of those whom he attended and inspired his patients with much of his own cheer and hopefulness. He greatly enjoyed all forms of outdoor life, especially hunting, and when leisure permitted would make a trip into the mountains for big game. It was on one such trip that he suffered dilation of the heart from over exercise and this was the primary cause of his death, which occurred three years later. His life and his character were as clear as the sunlight. No man came in contact with him but speedily appreciated him at his true worth and knew he was a man who not only cherished a high ideal of duty but who lived up to it. He was not an idle sentimentalist but a worker, devoting the major portion of his time to the service of others, and his practice was at all times filled with labors of love. The memory of his sweet and beautiful life, of his sincerity and simplicity of character, can never be forgotten. Cut off in the flower of his manhood, he had nevertheless accomplished a work far greater than that of many others who reached twice his years and his memory re- mains as an inspiration to many who knew him.

ORRIN HALLETT BARBER.

"The science of government" is no mere idle term. In recent years almost every question of public concern has been made the subject of scientific research and investigation and public activity has been along the lines of development and progress. This is manifest in no field of public service more largely than in that which has to do with immigration and labor, for the statistics which have been gathered along these lines have brought to light various truths which have been of the greatest benefit in forwarding the interests of commonwealth and of country. Orrin Hallett Barber now fills the important position of commissioner of immi- gration, labor and statistics in the cabinet of Governor Davis of Idaho and has recently removed to Boise from American Falls, Idaho, to enter upon the duties of his office at the capitol. He had previously been engaged in newspaper work as editor and publisher of the American Falls Press, the oldest paper of that town.

Mr. Barher is a native of Missouri, his hirth having occurred upon a farm in St. Clair county on the 14th of March, 1866, his parents being Emerson and Calista (Pingree) Barber, both of whom were natives of Ohio hut spent their last days in Missouri. The father devoted his life to the occupation of farming in order to provide for his family, but at the time of the Civil war all business and personal considerations were put aside and he joined the Union army as a soldier in defense of the flag.

Thomas Barber, the progenitor of the family in America immigrated from England in 1635 and settled in Connecticut. He served as sergeant in the Pequot war. The Barber family remained in Connecticut until after the Revolutionary war, when Hallett Barber, with his parents, removed to Vermont and there mar- ried Elizabeth Vining, a woman of Scotch descent. He moved thence to New York, and from there to Ohio and settled in the Western Reserve, near Greenville. Of this union Emerson Barber was born January 12, 1827. He married Calista Pingree about 1850. She was descended from Aaron Pengrey, who had settled in Massa- chusetts prior to 1641. A subsequent descendant, spelling his name James Pingery, served in the Revolutionary armies. His son John moved to Coshocton, Ohio, and

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his son John, grandfather of Orrin Hallett Barber, removed to Jay county, Indiana, and was the second white settler in the county. He married Elizabeth Babcock.

Orrin H. Barber spent his youthful days upon a Missouri farm, early becoming familiar with all the duties and labors incident to the development of the fields and the cultivation of the crops in that section of the country. His education was obtained in one of the district schools near his home, but his knowledge was largely acquired under the direction of his father, a man of liberal education, who had had college training in the east and had successfully engaged in teaching. When seven- teen years of age Orrin H. Barber discontinued his studies to become a teacher and taught for two terms. When nineteen years of age he entered a newspaper office in Auburn, Nebraska, where he spent four years and by this time he had become a master printer. In 1889 he removed to Burlington, Colorado, where he was manager of a newspaper for a year and a half, and from 1890 until 1894 he was engaged in newspaper publication at Ogden, Utah. On the expiration of that period he spent nine years in Salt Lake City and during that time was in the employ of the Western Newspaper Union. In 1904 he came to Idaho and after spending two years at Twin Falls and a brief period at two or three other points he took up his abode at American Falls, where he lived continuously until his removal to Boise at a recent date. While at American Falls he was continuously identified with newspaper work and in May, 1907, became editor of the Press and has been its owner for many years. He ever made his paper the champion of progressive public measures, giving stalwart support to any plan or project which he believed would prove of benefit to community and state. In politics he has always been a champion of republican principles and he served as state game warden under Gov- ernor John M. Haines from 1913 until 1915, during which period he lived in Boise, leasing his paper in American Falls. At the end of that time he returned to take charge of the paper and continued its publication until after he became a member of the cabinet of Governor Davis, when he once more became a resident of the capital. ' He has never been a candidate for an elective office but has twice been appointed to high office by two different governors of Idaho-John M. Haines and David W. Davis. The latter appointment made him commissioner of immigration, labor and statistics and he entered upon the duties of the position on the 13th of April. He is now bending every energy to the mastery of the tasks that devolve upon him, and those who know Mr. Barber and his characteristic thoroughness have no doubt as to the outcome.

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 37

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1024

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1024