Looking back: Attempted jail break, lost boys found and teens arrested for trespassing
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of June 19 to June 25 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — Prisoners in the county jail tried to “saw their way out” of the building, the Blackfoot Idaho Republican reported on June 19, 1908.
However, their escape failed after a woman named Miss Shaw (it’s unclear who she was at the jail) heard the “grating noise” while sitting in her office writing a letter.
“(She) informed the officers who made an examination of the cells and discovered a hack saw and some other devices had been smuggled in by some means,” the local paper explained.
1926-1950
POCATELLO — A son shot his father on Father’s Day, the Idaho State Journal reported on June 19, 1950.
“A scar on his hand will remind him of what was probably the most unusual Father’s Day incident in the area,” the article reads.
Blaine Burrows, 41, who lived north of Pocatello, was shot through his palm with a .22 caliber bullet fired by his son Thomas, 17.
The youth was being held in the Bannock County Jail on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. He claimed he didn’t know why the shot had been fired.
“We hadn’t been arguing or anything,” Thomas said.
Blaine’s brother said the family could “give no reason for the shooting.”
“He said the father had been reaching up to turn on a light, when the son had entered the room with a rifle in his hand and the shot resulted,” the paper mentioned.
Blaine was in the hospital after losing a “considerable” amount of blood.
1951-1975
RIGBY — Two 12-year-old Rigby boys went missing after a picnic with their mothers in Kelly Canyon, The Rigby Star reported on June 19, 1958.
After the picnic, the two boys, Jackie Treasure and Brent Morgan, left for a hike up the canyon. When they didn’t return “at the time for leaving for home,” a search began.
“More than 50 people, including men on horseback, combed the canyon and a plane came in to look for them,” The Rigby Star wrote.
The next day, after a “night of anxiety,” the boys were found safe at home in their sleeping bags by Mrs. Morgan.
“They had walked the distance home after coming out of the canyon,” the article states. “Friends everywhere rejoiced at the safe return of the boys and tired searchers were also glad that a family picnic did not end in tragedy.”
1976-2000
POCATELLO — A group of teenagers were arrested on charges of trespassing, the Idaho State Journal wrote on June 22, 1977.
Brent Avery, 19, Kim Peck, 19, Kim Hronek, 18 and two 17 year olds were suspected of swimming in the University Racquet Club pool around 11:30 p.m. A club member made the complaint, according to the article.
“Avery, Peck and Hronek posted $25 bond, and the juveniles were released to the custody of their fathers,” the paper said. “Court action is pending.”