HomeMy Public PortalAboutLong Pin Conservation LeagueReflections Star-News March 16, 1983.
The anwer to the Long Pin riddle
- by Randall Brooks
th rn railway along which the quite a train. I've heard some
A piece of historical trivia has four towns were located. stories ' that the people used to
bothered me ever since I started` At one time, the P.I.N. railroad have quite a time on those trains.
writing the sports page lfor The Y had dream$ of a line from Canada But there were always two teams
Sfar -News last year. The question. to Mexico, with New Meadows as at hodie and two on the train.
I ,been.; asked of me several a divisional railhead before The Long Valley and PIN
hit . Why the Long Pin f.eague? does Long Pin mean?
High school" sports have been a
part of community life in the area ` New Meadow 4ounci Cambridge and
sur'roundi g_McCall for nearly as � �
lon as- there have been high ,
7 _ Maiale orim' ed the p��'t , ne. named
�schodls: It began with school - f
';t a s -such as the Cascade :- ='
Rambler_ s taking on t4xi teams e after the Pacific Idaho Northern railway
like the one in Hoseberry in the
early 1920s. along which the four towns were located.
The competition, mainly, '
basketball, flourished and soon
what was then called the Long
Valley League had a regular heading downriver in either direc- leagues, according to Campbell,
schedule beween the Ramblers, tion. The train never got any far - merged in the mid -19?0s while he
the Donnelly Pirates and the Vik- ther than New Meadows. was going to high school in New
ings of McCall. Even the "Vikin- "They used to .change the Meadows. That brought Cascade,
ettes" had a regular schedule in schedule of the trains to carry the Donnelly, McCall, New Meadows,
the early 1920s. teams and people to games ", said Council, Cambridge and Midvale
While the Ramblers were, busy X l ampbell, who went to New together to form the original Long
playing games at Hurd's Hall, the Meadows High school in 1935 -1936 Pin league. Riggins did not have a
Cascade gym, teams on the 7and has stayed in,touch with high team at that time, but began
railroad line from New Meadows school athletics. Campbell has entering the annual Long Pin
to4eiser had lined up competi- operated a film service for high tournaments in the 19406 and
tion of their own. New Meadows,. school teams from his Boise home entered the league soon after.
Council, Cambridge and Midvale on for more than thirty years. During this time, the Long Pin
had formed the PIN league, nam- ".In those days the train started League played six -nian football, a
ed after the ' Pacific Idaho- Nor -' in Meadows," he said. "It was game "noted for its need for
r i e
speedy and - skillful players as
opossed to the messy pileups of
11 -man football as played in Boise
Valley," according to , reports
from the a 1938 issue of the
Payette Lakes Star.
= In. 1945, Stibnite High- School
was added to the league and re-
mained there until the mines in
Stibnite closed. The McCall Vik-
ings were a dominant team in the
league for many years. The con-
troversial merger with -Donnelly
High School in 1943 brought a new
name, the Vandals, and enough
? n r.,.: w� 4� GSA
J�. a1�Al..11 �.s VV 111w a♦ rr ...��.
called Donnelly- McCall high
school a virtual dynasty.
Membership in the Long Pin
League remained stable through
the 1950s. The league switched to
eight -man football in 1950. Even-
tually, Stibnite left the league and
Riggins was added.
The Donnelly - McCall Vandals
remained in the league until they
joined the, Western Idaho Con -
derence when the WIC was form-
ed in 1977.
Today, members of the Long
Pin league are Cascade, Meadows
Valley, Council, Cambridge,
Salmon River ( Riggins), Garden
Valley and Midvale.
David Spann, Al Becker answer questions
Agencies note 25 years
of Conservation Tour
It couldn't have been a better day
to learn about the environment. The
sun was shining as bright as the
faces of 120 local sixth -grade stu-
dents.
The Long Pin Conservation
League celebrated its 25th anniver-
sary this May — a program started in
1970 by then New Meadows
District Ranger Joe Frazier. Al
Becker, coordinator of the program,
has kept the tour up to date by in-
cluding current issues like recycling
and the threatened Chinook.
Each spring, area sixth - graders
come to the Round Valley Ranch,
north of New Meadows, for a day of
learning in an outdoor classroom.
They talk with "teachers" from the
U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land
Photo courtesy Payette National Forest
answer questions.
Management, Southern Idaho
Timber Protective Association,
Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho
Department of Fish and Game, and
Boise Cascade Corp.
Students learn to respect and un-
derstand rivers, how insects and dis-
ease kill trees, and that soil is the
"staff of life" of the forest. This
year, the students were even treated
to a demonstration jump by the
McCall Smokejumpers.
The importance of environmental
education for kids is something Al
Becker doesn't take lightly. "I really
value youth and sharing environ-
mental education with them,"
Becker said. "They grow into adults
pretty quickly."
And that is precisely why educat-
ing students is so important. They
are interested in their environment
and even bring their learning home.
"I think the kids impact their
parents," Becker said. "They go
home and tell their folks what
they've learned. I know one kid
who taught his parents about access
to the forest. Our future is in these
kids."