Looking back: Fire burns prominent building to the ground and water balloon shatters school bus window
Published at
IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of June 3 to June 9 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
MCCAMMON — A fire broke out in a hotel in McCammon and the building was burned to the ground, The Blackfoot Optimist reported on June 5, 1913, from an article originally published by the Pocatello Tribune.
The fire happened around 2 a.m. at the Harkness Hotel, which was one of the oldest buildings in McCammon at the time (it’d been at that location for more than 30 years). The local paper said every effort was made to save the building but the water supply was “so inadequate that the effort was useless.”
“Had there been any wind the result might have been very disastrous to the town, but fortunately it was very quiet, and even the surrounding trees were little more than scorched,” the article reads.
It was thought the fire started from a defective chimney flue. Aside from a small amount of furniture, nothing was saved.
The hotel was operated by Mrs. H.O. Harkness. She said a tin box that had been given to her by her husband was burned in the fire.
“She had been given instructions to not open the box until a certain time elapsed, and yesterday was the time,” the article reads. “She found in the box $500 in gold, about $1,000 in currency and a number of valuable papers.”
Before she went to sleep the night of the fire, she put the box under her pillow and forgot about it when the fire broke out.
“The hotel was one of the landmarks of that section of the county,” the paper mentioned. “Today there is much criticism on the water system of the town, and a decided demand for better protection.”
1926-1950
BLACKFOOT — A 60-year-old Blackfoot man died of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever after being bitten by a tick, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on June 3, 1932.
Harry Hamilton, a prominent cattleman in Blackfoot, was bitten by a tick while on the desert west of Blackfoot two weeks prior to his death.
“He was ill three days before being brought to his home,” the paper said. “He had been unconscious since his arrival.”
1951-1975
RIGBY — A school bus was damaged by a water balloon thrown from a passing car, The Rigby Star reported on June 5, 1975.
The bus was operated by Jefferson Joint School District No. 251. The impact of the water balloon was estimated to be at about 100 miles per hour, as the two vehicles were approaching each other at about 50 miles per hour.
“The impact scattered glass into the face of the driver, Mrs. Judy Foster, and cut the driver’s daughter who was seated directly behind the impact area,” The Rigby Star wrote.
Foster was enroute to the Midway Junior High School to pick up students and was about one mile south of Lewisville on the Rigby-Lewisville Highway when the balloon was thrown.
“Material damage is estimated at $60,” the article explained. “Mrs. Foster was unable to make identification of the offender. A reward is being offered.”
1976-2000
AMERICAN FALLS — A 14-year-old American Falls girl was missing and her parents were asking the community for help finding her, the Idaho State Journal reported on June 8, 1976.
Anita Joyce Coslow climbed out a bedroom window and ran away. She was believed to be seen in Fort Hall after running away, but her mother, Mrs. Walter Simpkins, said she had no confirmed reports of her daughter’s whereabouts.
“If her daughter reads this, (her mother) asked her to please call home,” the Journal stated.