Looking back: Lost ring found after 26 years and police search for boy who may have ‘suffered an overdose of radiation’

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Aug. 1 to Aug. 7 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

POCATELLO — Kids who were caught driving cars could be arrested, The Pocatello Tribune reported in an article The Rexburg Standard published on Aug. 5, 1915.

“There has been so much complaint of late to the authorities regarding the violation of the last state law which prohibits minors driving motor vehicles that officials are prepared to act on the next violation that occurs,” the article explains.

A “party of four youngsters” — the driver not older than 15 — “narrowly escaped” an accident on Aug. 4, 1915. The paper said a half-dozen other instances had come to the attention of officers and had been noted by other people during the past few days.

County Attorney Smith and City Attorney Merrill wanted the community to know “the law on the matter will have to be obeyed, and this will find unanimous endorsement from the public.”

“It has been a common thing to witness kids of the age of 15 and 16 years of age driving cars at a fast (rate) on the busy streets of the city, turning corners at a sharp angle, and in otherwise, jeopardizing the public, as well as the occupants of the car,” the local paper said.

The new state law said, “No person under 16 years of age shall operate or drive a motor vehicle upon the public highway.” This not only applied to city streets but county roads as well.

The penalty was a fine of not more than $300 or not more than six months in jail, or both.

1926-1950

GRANT — A gold ring that had been missing for 29 years was found in a field, The Rigby Star reported on Aug. 7, 1941.

During the summer of 1912, Mrs. William Sauer, who lived on a farm in Grant, lost her ring. She searched for several days but “decided it could not be found and gave up the search.”

On Aug. 2, 1941, G. W. Bidwell, Sauer’s son-in-law who then owned the farm, was working in a field near the house when he found the ring. Katie Bidwell, Sauer’s daughter, “definitely identified” it as her mother’s lost ring.

“The band was still bright on the inside, but the outer edges were somewhat tarnished,” the paper wrote. “It has since been cleaned, however, and looks much as it did before being lost.”

Sauer died in 1920, but her daughter planned to keep the gold ring among “her most cherished possessions.”

1951-1975

POCATELLO — Police were looking for a boy who may have “suffered an overdose of radiation,” the Idaho State Journal reported on Aug. 2, 1966.

City police were “laboriously tracing down leads to the possible identity” of a boy who turned on an x-ray machine in the Idaho State University geology department.

The boy was described as being about 12 years old with freckles and light hair that had a “shaggy crew cut.”

“One reason it is urgent to locate the boy is to learn how long he was in front of the machine,” police said. “This would determine the extent of possible injury.”

The incident was reported by geology instructor John C. Davis. He said he saw a boy come out of a physical science building room where the x-ray machine was located. Davis found all dials of the machine turned to maximum power, which “knocked the machine out of operation.”

Bannock Memorial Hospital radiologist Dr. E. Leon Myers said the effects of being exposed to radiation manifest 14 days to three weeks after exposure.

“The physical effects could be severe,” Myers added. “All depending upon the quality of the radiation intensity.”

Geology department chairman Dr. H. T. Ore said the 50- to 60-kilovolt x-ray machine was used for spectroscope analysis of rocks and crystals.

1976-2000

SODA SPRINGS — A truck was hit by a Union Pacific train in Soda Springs, the Caribou County Sun said on Aug. 5, 1976.

A truck pulling a trailer was headed south and “pulled onto the tracks, after stopping, and was then struck by the train.” The train was going approximately 30 to 35 miles per hour, according to police reports.

“The truck was torn loose from its trailer and spun around,” the Caribou County Sun wrote. “The trailer was on the opposite side of the tracks.”

The driver of the truck, which belonged to Circle “A” Construction, was Douglas Hutchison, 23. He was uninjured in the accident. Police cited him for failure to yield at a stop sign.