History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 47

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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On the 4th of March, 1887, Mr. Mckown was married at Spencer, West Virginia, to Miss Jemima Belcher, who was born at that place, and they have become parents of three children, Lon E., Grace and Helen, the last named being but thirteen years of age. The two eldest are married. Lon being a resident of Pocatello, Idaho, while Grace is the wife of John W. Allen and makes her home at American Falls. There are also two grandchildren, Maxine and Dorothy Mckown, daughters of Lon E. Mckown.

Mr. Mckown is fond of hunting, fishing and swimming, which constitute the chief sources of his recreation. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church and fra- ternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows and with the Masons. In the latter organization he has advanced through the York Rite to the Knight Templar degree and is also a Mystic Shriner. His political allegiance has ever been given to the republican party and on the 5th of November, 1918, Power county elected him a mem- ber of the state senate, where he is now serving. In this connection, as well as in the other relations of life, he follows constructive methods, seeking to upbuild rather than to destroy, and his aid and influence are always on the side of progress and im- provement.

WILLIAM V. REGAN.

William V. Regan is the eldest of the three sons of Timothy and Rose Regan and the only living child. Wisely embracing the opportunities that have come to him, he is today occupying a central place on the stage of business activity in Boise, where he concentrates his time and attention upon the direction of important inter- ests. He was born in Silver City, Idaho, June 30, 1883. His father, who went through all of the hardships, privations and experiences of pioneer development in this state and who is mentioned at length elsewhere in this work, was anxious that his sons should have excellent educational opportunities and William V. Regan entered the Santa Clara College of California, from which he was graduated with the class of 1903. He returned to Boise to take up business duties in connection

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with enterprises that had been developed by his father and is now the secretary of the Overland Company, Limited, and a director of the Boise City National Bank and of the Boise Artesian Hot & Cold Water Company. He devotes his time largely to the management of his father's extensive business interests, being the active and valuable assistant of Timothy Regan and more and more largely relieving his father of onerous business cares and responsibilities.

On the 28th of June, 1911, William V. Regan was married in San Francisco, California, to Miss Mollie V. Merle, a native of San Francisco and a sister of his college chum. To Mr. and Mrs. Regan have been born five children: William V., Jr., Mollie Merle, Kathleen Flavin, Timothy Dalton and Margaret Blackinger. The home of the family is one of the attractive residences of the city. It stands at No. 1009 Warm Springs avenue in Boise and was erected in 1911. It is built in the Cali- fornia mission style of architecture, is of concrete construction with red tile roof and its equipment and furnishings are of the most modern and attractive type.

Fraternally William V. Regan is an Elk and a Knight of Columbus and he is well known in the capital city as a member of the Boise Commercial Club and of the Boise Country Club. His social qualities have made for popularity wherever he is known and he has come to recognition as one of the substantial business men of his city.

EMILE GRANDJEAN.

Emile Grandjean, whose capable and efficient service as supervisor of the Boise national forest is indicated in the fact that he has been retained in the office con- tinuously since 1906, while for a year previous he had been a forest ranger, makes his home in Boise and enjoys the respect and high esteem of all with whom he has been brought in contact. He is of Danish birth, having been born in the city of Copen- hagen, Denmark, October 31, 1867, his parents being Daniel Lublau and Nathalia Grandjean. The father was the owner of large landed interests in Denmark, where he was granted the title of king's counselor and where he long ranked as a most influential and prominent citizen. The Grandjeans were one of the old Protestant families of Denmark, to which country a removal was made from France in 1625.

Excellent educational opportunities were accorded Emile Grandjean, who was instructed by private tutors until he entered the high school of Copenhagen. In the meantime he had taken up the study of forestry under the direction of bis uncle, who was in that department of the government service, and thus Mr. Grand- jean gained the initial experience which qualified him for the active duties that now devolve upon him as supervisor of the Boise national forest. Attracted by the opportunities of the new world, he bade adieu to friends and native land in 1883 and sailed for the United States. For a few months he remained at Omaha, Nebraska, and then made his way to the Wood River mining district of Idaho, attracted by the mining excitement which was then at its height. He not only engaged in mining operations in that section but also gave considerable time to hunting and trapping on the Salmon, Wood and Lost rivers. Again the call of the frontier took him into a largely undeveloped district, for in 1896 he went to Alaska and other Northwest territories, devoting three years to the work of ex- ploring, hunting and prospecting, and for a time he was engaged in the fur trad- ing business in connection with the Hudson's Bay Company, principally along the Mackenzie river and its tributaries. He was not successful in his search for gold in that country, however, and with practically nothing to show for his labors he returned to the United States. Once more Idaho was made his destination and again he became connected with mining operations on the headwaters of the Sal- mon river. where he labored with. success until 1905, when the Sawtooth national forest was created.

Mr. Grandjean then sought employment in the forestry service and became a ranger. The capability and intelligence which he displayed in that connection led to his appointment in 1906 to take charge of the Sawtooth and Payette national forests, which then embraced what is now included within the Sawtooth, Boise, Payette and Idaho national forests and portions of the Challis and Lembi forests, the area aggregating nearly five million six hundred thousand acres. In 1908 the Sawtooth and Payette forests were divided as indicated above and Mr. Grandjean

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was appointed supervisor of the Boise national forest, with headquarters in Boise, where he has since remained, continuously occupying this position with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the forestry department of the govern- ment. He has most carefully protected the interests of the public in this connec- tion and has manifested a fairness toward those opposing the policy of national forestry, winning their confidence and goodwill and eventually gaining their sup- port to the government policy. Originally the sheep growers of the state were bitter opponents of the system of national forests, feeling that it cut off their graz- ing lands, but the enlightening and educative policy which Mr. Grandjean assumed in course of time led them to see that the plans being followed not only carefully conserved the forest areas but were so arranged as to provide for the sheep raisers permanent grazing facilities, and those who were formerly bitterly opposed to the course are now among its stanchest supporters. A contemporary writer has said of him: "He has a broad and accurate knowledge of scientific and practical for- estry and Idaho may esteem herself fortunate that his efforts have been enlisted in the safeguarding of part of the fine forests of the state, for the protection and perpetuation of these great resources have a great significance touching upon the general welfare of this progressive commonwealth."

Mr. Grandjean was married in 1914 to Mary Olive Bushfield, of Boise, and to them have been born two children, Donald and Ruth. Mr. Grandjean greatly enjoys hunting and has many fine specimens of big game, which he has mounted. His hunting expeditions have carried him into the Arctic regions, into Nevada and in all intervening districts. He is a member of the Idaho Sportsmen's Club and was formerly president of the See Idaho First Association. In a word he has done everything in his power to develop the interests of the state and make its oppor- tunities and possibilities known to the public. In politics he maintains an inde- pendent course, while his religious belief is that of the United Presbyterian church, his life being at all times guided by high and honorable principles.

MISS SADIE P. HULET.

Miss Sadie P. Hulet, county superintendent of schools in Teton county, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 25, 1886. She is a daughter of S. S. and Sarah A. (Dalley) Hulet, who are also natives of Utah, where the father followed the occupation of farming until 1897. He then removed to Wyoming and engaged in the sheep business just across the line from Idaho. He purchased land, improved it and continued its cultivation until 1910, when he bought land one mile north of Driggs, in Teton county. This he also developed and is still operating that farm, giving his attention to the raising of sheep and cattle. The mother is likewise living and they are among the well known and highly esteemed residents of Teton county. They became the parents of five children, of whom Sadie P. is the eldest. Moses A. enlisted for service with the United States army on the 7th of November, 1917, and was soon sent to France, where he was killed in action near Argonne on the 9th of October, 1918, at the age of twenty-nine years. David W. also enlisted in the army on the 7th of November, 1917, and was in the aviation service until May 14, 1919, spending most of the time in France. He is now on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California. Lette is the wife of D. P. Soren- sen, a farmer of Teton county. Lillian, a maiden of thirteen years, is attending school at Driggs.

Sadie P. Hulet was reared and educated in Utah. She attended the schools of Cedar City, also the State Normal School there and then entered the University of Utah, from which she was graduated with the class of 1906. She afterward took up the profession of teaching, which she followed for two years in Utah and for a similar period in Arizona, while for six years she was a successful teacher of Idaho. In November, 1918, she was elected county superintendent of schools of Teton county and entered upon the duties of the position on the 13th of Jan- mary, 1919. She is proving a most capable official in this connection. She holds to high educational standards and does everything in her power to gain new ideas that will prove of practical value in preparing the young for life's responsible du- ties. Aside from her profession she has business interests, being the owner of

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eighty acres of improved land adjoining her father's place and from which she derives a good rental.

Miss Hulet gives her political allegiance to the republican party. Like the .others of the family, she is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is stake president of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associa- tion. Her father filled a two years' mission in England. The family has been a potent force in the intellectual, material and moral progress of the community.

E. G. JOHNSON.

E. G. Johnson, now well known as a horticulturist of Canyon county and one who is contributing in marked degree to the development and upbuilding of his sec- tion of the state, has from the beginning recognized the possibilities of the district in which he lives and has so directed his efforts that the valuable results of his labors in behalf of the public have precluded the possibility of any jealousy by reason of his individual success. He is now the president of the Union Loan Company, the vice president of the Farmers Cooperative Ditch Company, Ltd., and the president of the Apple Valley Fruit Growers Association. His study of conditions has made him thoroughly familiar with the possibilities of Idaho, and his utilization of opportunities has caused the transformation of arid land into productive fields and orchards.

Mr. Johnson was born in Norway, January 29, 1873, and while living in Iowa he was proprietor of a chain of drug stores there, but the lure of the west was upon him and thirteen years ago he arrived in Idaho, where he has since been interested in fruit raising. In 1916 he became one of the organizers of the Apple Valley Orchard Asso- ciation, which was formed to handle the crops of its individual members. Two years ago the Apple Valley Fruit Growers Association was formed to handle all of the fruit raised between Nyssa, Oregon, and Parma, Idaho. During the first year of its organi- zation the association handled one hundred and fifty carloads and in 1919 handled about two hundred carloads. They are making preparations to develop their business until they will annually handle about a thousand carloads of fruit. The officers of the Apple Valley Fruit Growers Association are: E. G. Johnson, president; Robert Minton, vice president; and J. C. Watson, secretary-treasurer. The business is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars and has enjoyed steady development since its organization.

Upon coming to Parma thirteen years ago Mr. Johnson organized the Idaho Invest- ment Company with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. Of this company he is the president, with J. L. Kennedy, vice president, and J. W. Porterfield, secretary and treasurer. This company is developing and planting exclusively Jonathan, Roman Beauty and Winesap orchards on twenty-four hundred acres of the famous Canyon county big red apple land and is subdividing and selling these orchards in small tracts. They took over this land when it was an undeveloped sagebrush district and have spent a million dollars in improvement and development work. They employ from fifteen to forty people on the farms and from one hundred to one hundred and fifty people in the packing house. The tract is situated between Parma, Idaho, and Nyssa, Oregon, and only a few years ago it was covered with a dense growth of sagebrush and gave no indication that it would ever be a valuable and productive region. As one goes over the district today he sees a succession of apple and prune orchards, with clover and alfalfa fields and stock farms. The beautiful homes, the fine barns and substantial outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, the up-to-date packing houses with the necessary equipment for the comfort and housing of employes during shipping and picking seasons are the indisputable evidences of the worth of the soil and the thrift and prosperity of the owners. This wonderful transformation has been brought about by Mr. Johnson and his associates, who have largely interested eastern capital in the undertaking. To Mr. Johnson must be given the credit for the foresight which imbued him with confidence to inspire others of equal business ability and financial strength to invest over a million dollars in the reclamation of the region and the development of a great enterprise of this kind. It has been a gigantic task to clear, level and convey water over these undulating acres, where are found prosperous homes and happy fami- lies. These farms lie on sunny slopes, from which one obtains an enchanting view for miles to the south, east and west, while the snow-clad mountains rise in the distance on every hand in their eternal beauty, a never-ending reminder of the great water supply which they furnish and which makes the land prodigal in its harvests.

E. G. JOHNSON

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Mr. Johnson owns about three hundred acres of apple and prune orchards and also eight hundred acres of farming land about two miles northwest of Parma, all of which is under cultivation. Upon his farm he likewise keeps six hundred head of cattle and seven hundred head of hogs, and every branch of his business is bringing good returns because he closely studies every possibility and labors along the most practical lines.

Still another phase of Mr. Johnson's business activity is indicated in the fact that he is the vice president and one of the directors of the Farmers Cooperative Ditch Company, Ltd., the other officers being M. J. Devers, president; W. B. Mitchell, secre- tary; and H. R. Mclaughlin, treasurer. Mr. Johnson is likewise the president of the Union Loan Company, which was organized for the purpose of making farm loans, and his associates in this are J. C. Blackwell, vice president and treasurer, and J. E. Ker- rick, secretary. The business is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars. Mr. John- son is a director and stockholder of the Parma State Bank.

Mr. Johnson married Miss Onna D. Albertson, of Inwood, Iowa, and they have three sons: Sterling Evan, Robert Albert and Charles Edward, aged respectively ten, seven and four years. Mr. Johnson is a most progressive, farsighted business man. He has studied the nature of the soil of Idaho and its possibilities for development, the chances for irrigation and in fact every question which has to do with the lines of business in which he is engaged. He looks beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities of the future and works not only for present gain but for later prog- ress as well. His orchards present a most beautiful and attractive appearance, and in the conduct of his interests he has shown a fixed and unalterable purpose under all circumstances. He early learned that it is the dynamics of the human will that can overcome any difficulty and has never allowed himself to become discouraged nor disheartened. Aiming at a high and splendid mark, he has reached his objective.

JUDGE ROBERT O. JONES.

Judge Robert O. Jones, presiding over the probate court of Power county and making his home at American Falls, was born in Oneida county, New York, in July, 1852. He is a son of Thomas and Catherine (Jacobs) Jones, the former a native of Wales, while the latter was born in England. In early life the father learned the shoemaker's trade and after crossing the Atlantic established his home in New York city, where he followed his trade for a number of years. He after- ward went to Boston, where he worked in one of the first shoe factories of the city. Later he removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and after a time continued on his westward way to Chicago, where he resided for a year. He next went to Iowa and purchased land in Elkader. This he cultivated and improved for some time and then removed to Iowa county, Wisconsin, where he again purchased land, carrying on general farming until 1865. In that year he became a resident of Macon county, Missouri, bought land there and resided thereon throughout his remaining days, his death occurring in February, 1892. For a brief period he survived his wife, who passed away in July, 1890.

Judge Jones was reared and educated in Wisconsin and remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority. In early life he learned the harness- maker's trade, at which he worked in Missouri until 1894. He then came to Idaho, settling at Malad, Oneida county, where he engaged in the drug business, remain- ing at that place for three years. In 1897 he became a resident of American Falls, where he opened a drug store. He is a registered pharmacist and conducted his store until 1904, when he sold the business and filed on a homestead a half mile from the town. He then undertook the arduous task of developing new land and has since continued the cultivation of the place, which is now a well improved farm property. He does not do the actual work of the farm at present, employing others to till the fields, but he gives personal supervision to the farm work. He is now conducting a real estate and insurance business at American Falls, having estab- lished an agency on withdrawing from the drug trade.

In December, 1879, was celebrated the marriage of Judge Jones and Miss Sophia John, and they became the parents of four children, of whom Minnie, the firstborn, passed away in July, 1917. Edith, the second of the family, is the wife of J. A. Tucker, a resident of Klamath Falls, Oregon. Ernest is editor of the Rockland Times at Rockland, Idaho. Lester R. is a pharmacist by profession but

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is now on the U. S. S. Comfort, having enlisted in April, 1917, and reenlisted in September, 1919. The wife and mother passed away in August, 1902, after a brief illness. The removal to Idaho had been made on account of her health, but at length death claimed her and many friends whom she had made in this state, as well as her immediate family, sincerely mourned her loss.

Judge Jones is a stalwart republican in his political belief and has filled va- rious public offices. He served as justice of the peace from 1898 until 1919 with the exception of a brief period of nine months. From 1900 until 1902 he was county commissioner and in the fall of 1918 was elected probate judge of Power county. He has also served on the school board for sixteen years and is keenly interested in the welfare of the schools and the advancement of their standards. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the Christian church and in these associations are found the rules which control him in all of his relations with his fellowmen.

DR. FREDERICK S. KOHLER.

The name of Dr. Frederick S. Kohler deserves an honored place on the pages of Idaho's history. At the dedication of the monument erected to his memory, his old friend, Fred G. Mock, who was largely instrumental in raising the fund for this monument, delivered the following tribute, which could only have come from the heart of one whose grief was most sympathetic and real.

"The history of the accomplishments of those who have won distinction is a great teacher and holds out to young people struggling against adverse circumstances a hope of final success. This, then, is why we are honoring the memory of our old friend. We cannot help him, but by reciting some of the story of his life work, we can teach a lesson to humanity. On January 1, 1908, this community lost a good man. I have lived among you here for almost twenty-seven years and have witnessed the passing of many good men and good women who lived here a portion of that time. Some of them were loved and admired as one loves and admires a brother or sister, but I do not recall anyone who has left us that was loved and admired more than Dr. Frederick S. Kohler. It seemed to me in those last days of his that surely our good old friend would be spared to us, that his life would be prolonged to the people of this community. But that was not to be. Those of us whose melancholy duty it was to follow his remains to this, his place of burial, will never forget the sad faces we saw upon the people whose affection for him brought them to his grave. The old, the young, the rich, the poor, all were here to mourn over the remains of their departed friend. His kindly greetings, his devotion to his neighbors, his courage to do what he believed to be right, endeared him to all. We have missed him, the whole community has missed him and I fear Nampa people will never know his like again. We have merchants who understand that business much better than he did, we have physicians better schooled in medicine and surgery, but none among them who is held in higher esteem than he was. I can pay him no higher tribute than to say: he wore out his life in the service of the people of this community.

"Here then lie the remains of a man from whom boys can draw inspirations of truth, honor, courage, fidelity and patriotism and learn the duty one owes to his country. His patriotism was not a phrase, it was genuine. It was the true American kind, for patriotism is half lost to view when we simply call it 'Love of Country.' He gave to all his warmest love and his most earnest prayers. He endeared himself to everyone, so stood in the doorway of many hearts. He plead the cause of the widow- and orphan and remembered those who were poor and destitute. He won back men and women who were slaves to the drink and drug habits and saw noble aspirations of awakened manhood and womanhood arise in the breasts of those he had reformed. He gave the city of Nampa part of these cemetery grounds, asking nothing in return. He watched in many a sick room where there was no friend to soothe the fevered brow or mark the swift beating of the pulse. He met the poor and oppressed on the highway of life, saw them struggling up the hill, praying for the journey to end, but always gave them what assistance he could. He put aside ambitions, lived not alone for self but for the good he might do others. He halted in the places where men were busy with the affairs of life and gave words of en-

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History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume II, Part 47

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