HomeMy Public PortalAboutPostal Service: Valley County McCallr` Soon Loui'Fa ik-ae running a topping Placr "and bin wad
'
planning great things; a postoffice, a school, hotel, a town.
Thar winter her friendliness and Tom's fiddle made them
welcome in Long Valley's widely separated socia-1 life. No
one was ever turned from their door. Tom would come in
with -
"Ma, there is a poor devil out there that looks hungry.
I don't think he has any money - but?"
To which she would reply:
"Why, of course, Pa, bring him right in. There is
plenty left from dinner, and I'll put on the coffeepot. "*
That first winter was long and cold; their cattle died, all
with the exception of one cow; they ran out of flour and had
to haul it from New Meadows on a hand sled, but still a
destitute family invited for Christmas dinner was asked to
remain until spring. There was plenty of game and fish,
and the boys snowshoed and carried the mail on their backs,
down the Valley and from New Meadows to Council, to earn
a little money (very little). ben received only $12. 00 for
forty -two days.
The sawmill Thomas McCall built, eventually -was sold
to Hoff and Brown interests, the hotel materialized and
the town that Tom McCall, Newt Williams, and others,
helped to build was given the family name.
Postoffices
La rclo
The postoffice at Lardo, a mile -,vest, and been estab-
lished on November 30, 1889, with John R. Lane as post-
master, before the McCalls went to the Lake. Boyston's
general store wa _o ned there at an early date. McCall
did riot obtaitA'pQstoffice until considerably later.
* Quoted from Ennis- lvkGee McCall in the Statesman
294
m _:
A few months after tYxe Alpha Poet O£flce on ear
Creek was established in July 1888, the stage line was ex-
tended fifteen miles up the valley to the Levi L. Kimball
farm, -where as stated before, another office called Van
W\-ck was opened on March 14, 1888, with Mr. Kimball,
S*r, as Postmaster. On September 18, 1890 Sherman D.
"Lehner succeeded Mr. Kimball, and here at Van W\ck
across the river from the Sisk home, Long Valley's first
town sprang up. For a time, in the glare of the limelight,
Van Wyck boasted of a school house, a store, a hotel,
livery stable, newspaper and saloon.
The fact that Idaho City, the County Seat was 50 to 100
- or 150 miles away, depending upon the route and method
of transportation (by snowshoes, horseback, heavy wagon
or buggy) rnade it difficult for Long Valley people. There
were no telephones and it took at least three days for a
letter to reach the sheriff of any other County official.
Almost anything could happen in the meantime, and some-
times did. The improvement of roads, as is often true,
had a tendency to bring in some less desirable citizens,
but the early settlers themselves, were trustworthy and
law- abiding.
Center - 1889
At the Keeney ranch near the center of the valley, a
postoffice called "Center" was established July 23, 1889
with Chesney Keeney as postmaster (this was not far from
the present "Arling "), followed by " Lardo" at the Like on
November 30, 1889.
Roseberry - 1889
On April 4, 1891, Lewis C. Roseberry secured a post
office at his ranch east and north of the present Donnelly.
The village of Roseberry was started then.
Crawford - 18 ?0
The last pioneer office, that of Crawford, below the
Falls and across the river from the present town of Cascad
295
vff .s_703 e ': l i s 14-an as �u b t __ a t� t o i•W
the same rear Idaho gained Stateliood.
One -room schools we •-e located near these offices,
,xhich became centers for the various communities of Long
Valley. Later, Van Wyck and Crawford gave way to the
present larger community of Cascade and Donnelly has re-
placed Center and Roseberry-.
In the early years when snow was deep and roads un-
broken, settlers took to snow shoes. Children snowshoed
to and from school. The young people snowshoed to dances
n the evenings, danced all night, and snowshoed home the
next morning. There were literaries and singing schools
in the school houses, as well as dances, after they were
built, but before that people danced in the one, two and
'three- roomed cabins. The cookstove could easily be move-
ed out and beds piled one orr, top of the other to make roorn.
Fun they needed, fun they must, would, and did have. Here
the evergreens were cool and lovely in summer, but silent
and lonely in winter when the snow came straight down,
ready to bury all of them." They were even hornesick for a
good old Kansas blizzard that would at least wake them up.
Charles Henry, writing in the Idaho Statesman of
September 20, 1936, about early -day fiddlers, fairly car -
ries one away with his description of Long Valley's string
artists, and all night hoe - downs when the dancers could
forget the cold for awhile and dream once more of pawpaws
and persimmons. He wrote.
"Long Valley, in '92 could perhaps boast of more
fiddlers per dancer than any place in the world. Si
Morrow, who blacksmithed for half a century in High
Valley, estimated their number at 23, not counting
"Jewsharp Jack." This, out of a total population of 69
persons. Tom McCall has intimated since that this
goodly supply of dance music may have been the cause of
the long printers they had up there then. But Si, who
really loved fiddlers, was always rather apologetic
about this measly 33 per cent of there, and claimed that
quite a few of the resin artists couldn't stand the pace
and tunneled out during the big snow of 188.
Y'TF Utid peuy.c'
Evaline," "Fisher's Hornpipe" ar,d "The Devi:'s
Dreams" right along with the mild cow and the tea-
kettle when they crossed the Rockies; only some-
times the tunes got away and came in ahead of them.
Any kind of a peppy tune thnt.had gallop or jig enougl
to it to make 'em sweat and think of the Ozarks or
the sod shanty country, had the floor, and they could
hardly be blamed if they sometimes boosted the cool'
stove outside and merrily 'sashayed' time back to
where the trail started.
"When they had ample roorn they had their weake
moments and went through with the grace of dancing
masters, the minuts, reels and Rye waltz; but be-
cause 'Turkey in the Straw,' 'Arkansas Traveler'
and 'Set Your Foot Down,' could in a pinch be play-
ed on two strings those tunes grew dearer to the
hearts of the devotees of dancing as mother and
dad did it, than any others. In fact, the entire re-
pertoire of many of those pioneer fiddlers, accomp-
anied with a heavy pat of their foot, consisted of
those three selections only. "
The Reverend Mr. Washburn from Kansas was the 4
resident minister in the Valley for some time, but othe
drifted in and out, including one Benrry Smith, who taug
the school at Roseberry when their schoolhouse was fin
ed. Delighted with the Valley, he wrote to his old frier
the Clarence Shaw•s in Kansas, about the beautiful coup;
They drove through the next spring with covered wagon
founded a home below the Lake, headquarters for other
members of their family who came later.
The Shaws wrote to old Kansas friends, and in 1889
J. F. Coonrods of Columbus, Kansas, decided to join t
wanderin €, neighbors in the high western valley. Like t
others who came later in the eighties, they came by try
and brought their baskets of lunch and rolls of bedding,
Without doubt they rode in on an emigrant sleeper, an t
upholstered, uncarpeted sleeping car of that day, .tit.h
ing slat seats and bunks overhead where travelers cct:ii
spread their own blankets. There was room on a coal
in the end of the car to heat water or a coffee pot, or w
-�oA
?q7
Research document by Marie Spink adn Neil and Pearl Boydston.
Research document by Marie Spink adn Neil and
" ".TG 7 %! 71 !
--V,34
Jr* lfoxc.a PUME, IIAMAIM
2. MIEFi. AT'"
jir 401MIR VIOT A Ipswarr"
3. AMING
1 15-1
WDA C M jow G
4. CABS RTI-7-
I ()'a I, -1c 30
r 0. RALPH SIJLL
5.q.L3CAD:;**
1915
Mrs. E. jomw
6.' , "I
i ilp =i.%- 1,,13
7. CTV'-+ 'T
1 —1,15
Jame We2ws klcm
jom a
1 14-
IVA W, A rZ-,r
pZj&fjr MKIME Hms- in"
1902-19X
:37A NMW
+`
1.E 1�
1132-
WT CA LLMMn-I RALPH M4?
12 * ilaidii-
917
Jcbn lam 11. 3. WYDSMIJ
13& No 'W
BAUT CH
4s =
1 W?9-
JIM NAA TA IM T*CALL
15- W-"' �IME"— y
11184D,-19 3
1,-r,;4fIS RDSM"UM H.T, 9MsIT),-j
16. 30TH MUM913-196-9
AIZ; !T KOBB
17. STIEVIT3
19296-1957
HAfCj-,D BPIT.-,,,-Y
1 . SPIM
'I 't A, SPIM.-I
MG !, M 'Z CITY 04,-IcA4
Prod Loom
2r,, IUAr-Ti
1cU5-TA 3
I. aming
24. Arl. UM-
jg,,�-19V
Lm Kr Sul
X22
Iq e
. ylg_) 7
-M
ALBS ,NT
NT BE:
DAT'S ii-M pof,-jj!iST,:jjS
A G'YjRC=M Mg M�T OFM;-
DMPT. BY FaMT. A.
COTT=
"GHOST
TOWNS )LUD LI7P, W,:;-.Sn
o,
C2
s f,
y �•
.w
r
LONG VALLEY
EARLY POST OFFICES
HAYMAKER
1.UPPER ALPHA
1888 -1954
JIM HORNER FANNIE
2% LOWER ALPHA
JIN HORNER VIOLA HERRICK
3. ARLING
1915 -1941
RODA CARVER JOHN GOODE
4. CABARTON
1919 -1930
Edger 8. MCGRAGER RALPH STILL
5.CASCADE **
1915
Mrs. E. Jones
6.CENTER.
1889 -1910
CHESNEY KEENEY
7. CRAWFORD
1890 -1915
James Beers W.D. PATTERSON
,)8. ELO
1905 -1909
JOHN ELOHEIMO
Q9. DONNELLY **
1914—
Iva BLANKENSHIP MAUDE HOWE JONES
10.FERN
1902 -1936
EVA NEEBS
w. 11.LAKE FORK **
1932—
DAVE CALLENDER RALPH LEAF
12. Lardo
1889 -1917
John Lane W.B. BOYDSTON
13. NORWOOD
1915 -1941
WILLIAM WRIGHT BAULCH
14.McCALL **
1909—
JACOB KAA+TA TOM McCALL
15. ROSEBERRY
1889 -1943
LEWIS ROSEBERRY H.T. BOYDSTON
16. SMITH FERR.Y191 3�1969
ALBERT KOBB
17. STIBNITE
1929 -1957
HAROLD BAILEY
18. SPINK
1906 -1914
LADIA A. SPINK
20. THUNDER CITY
U -1914
Fred Logue
WAYNO
1905 -1913
Manning
rM.
2®. VAN WYCK
188$ -1917
LEVI KIMBALL
22, YELLOW PINE 1906 -1957
ALBERT BEHNE
** ACT�OSTOFFICES
DATES AND
POST14ASTERS
NAMES TAKEN FROM
A CHRONOLOGY
OF POST OFFICES DEPT. BY FRANK A. SCHELL
COT.T.&M OF SOTSIMN
IDAHO
"GHOST TOWNS AND
LIVE ONES"
LOCATED ON
THE MAP
Map of post office locations.
Johnson Airlins Keeps Primitive Jxeai Supplied With Food
Cascade News
December 6, 1946
Volumn xxx
Number 29
-46 . TAIK4#19M) i
(Special) — Thu +snows have piled, up on tho roads leadin, ^, into
Marren, Big Crcak, and Deadwood, and than airport at this lake resort
torn, itself feeling the bite of winters hAs bee=* headquarters for
an air mail line which will operate until the fist of May or therb-
abouts, when the thar:s clear the primitive area hit ~?ys.
r'_Us air mail line, run by the Bol; Johnson flying service of
Missoula, Montarsa, requires no air mail stamps, no beacons or other
navigational aids --- nothing but weather clearing the peals&, a pair
of skis, and sufficient space in which to land.
H,:ULS M9.n, SUPPLIES
L. runs once a week into Warren and Big Creek, &-id twice a month
to the dam at Deadwood, hauling mail, supplies and passengers, and
on the return trip perhaps brings out some sick person or an erpectant
mother needing hnspital care.
The service, with Warmn Ellison„ Bob FoC , &nd Eob..Jch=on him-
self acting as pilots, take, over the rural highway =il route whin
the win ter damps down on ,surface tra=port,ation...
IZ,a,.,-al, mail carriers bidding on the Warren -Big Creek run under-
stand that the contrast is subject to being taken over by Johnson
flyingjervica when the weather prevents further delivery by auto-
mobile.
171RST TRIP COKI.ETED
Ellison and Fogg, stationed at 11 --Call where they handlo the
forest service *& aerial work during the summer --- spotting fires and
transporting smoke jumpers and supplies -- -have fitted their Travelair with
skis and already have made the first trip to Marren, carrY09 soma
700 pounds of mail and supplies.
Warren and Big Creek, both communities of about 50 people -.- --
there's a coal mine at 'Warren and it isn't otruck ---- ^rovids landing
fields abcut 1500 feet in length. Ski - equipped aircraft axe the only
type that can get there in the winter. These fields awe both WA
at one end, that isb unless the pilot making the approach can discover his
mistake soon enough --- providing he has to go around ---he won't g^ around
because he won't have thar room., They'ra kncwra as "one shot" approaches.
TOYS SENT ON AIDLII - - --
Ellison and Fogg, both esperi.enced mountain pilots, make it
a practice to avoid mistakes. They have to.
The field at Deadwood is a little better, as a fellow might have
a chance to sake a go«arou nd there if he's caught by a vagrant air current
that changes the landing set -up in a matter of seconds.
The schedule usually calls for the trip to Warren and Big
Creek to be made on Fridays, but Ellison r. ays that is subject to the
weather.
The reason air mail stamps don't mean much on this line is
because much of the traffic originates either in McCall or Cascade.
The people in Warxzn order their supplies from McCall and the folks
in Big Creek get theirs out of Cascade.
Christmas toy's, for instance are sent on this mountain mail
liaee,
going in
sacks tagged
"fourth. class .Mat.l -01 16t1_!ar mail., from the
folks
"'outside,"
accumulates
in both postof` -1 oers until the weekly -
trips are made.
ONE MAN AT DEALWOCD
They Big CreeA Package e"h week runs a little leas t1 n the Warren
shipment, tallying some 200 pounds on the average.
Fly&ng time form McCall to Warren r._ R.d Big Creek avers about
30 minutesd to both placesy and it's about the same from Caocads to
Deadwood - -- where th# sole reoipient of this eervicO, ineidzntally,
is the watchman - caretaker at the dam.
On the way to Warren, E? l.ison and Fogg will drop m&i.l and supplies
a: Burgo orf at.d Secesh Meadows, where they co,!ld land if mcceesza -y
to deliver r-V. large amount of supplies to Jack Fernand„ their
customer there.
GROCMIES HAVE' PRIORITY
Passenger service cmn this air mail line depends on the amount
of supplies and mail to go in. "Reservations" My b- aaacalled an any
trip if the addel weiOA of e. passenger or two would make the journey
a bit on the rued side of they safety am gin. Ellison and roo, figure
it's better to got the groceries and the mad.Ang material in, than to
take a chance on added weight of some Paryirag customer-
But on the way out they'll take ti, to tho Tzarml+ -1 .s. c%pamity
of esven or eight people. "'Inci:'_ ^ntally," said ;Ellison, "this old
Travelair !e a good stretcher .ship.'"
The fields at Cascade and McCall ars carefully kept during
the winter months, for much may depend upon 'their inrtant availability
for wheeled airplanes as well as those on skim.
SNOFAT RTJ MAYS ROLLED
Ifter each enowfvail the fields ar3 rolled to es tight- pzzked mat
2
and after every mild thaw they are rolled again to pack the loosened .
enwo tighter.. In event the fields are not suirable for wheeled
aircraft a large X is placed in the center of the runways.
Johnson's famous Ford trimoter fleet is not used in the primitive
area on these winter runs. They're too heavy for snow work„ Work-
horse of this line which means so much to the r?oplo snowbound in
the nations'.largest primitive zone is the Travelair, w4i.ch will gvt
in and out of places where you'd think a shoehorn would tea necessary.
Pz
7aagokat 7&4d Rotocrew,
IN SPITE OF MOUNTAINS, CANYONS, SAGE
By Robert H. Forbes BRUSH WASTES AND HEAVY SNOWS
... THE MAIL MUST GO THROUGH!
BUCK, Les Curtis' saddle horse, stopped dead in
his tracks on Big Creek trail in the mountains of
Idaho. Ilis ears came to attention, too. Les knew
that something was stirring in the pines ahead, so
he dismounted to hike down the trail looking for
trouble.
All of a sudden, Myrtle, the pack mule, let out a
terrified whinny — almost a scream. She saw the
cougar whose scent had stopped the pack string.
The pictures on these pages aptly illustrate the diffi-
culties encountered in Idaho's mail routes. LEFT shows
mode of travel in Idaho's primitive areas. LONER shows
the ingenious "snow -cat" which is steered by the front
sled runners. The picture at TOP RIGHT shows the
famed mail run in the far reaches of Hells Canyon.
13
Without delay, both horse and mule wheeled
around in the narrow trail between mountain slope
and creek. Les was forgotten in the animals' haste
to quit those parts. He soon found himself sitting
in the middle of Big Creek watching two tails vanish
at a gallop up the trail they had just come down.
The cougar was frightened over it ridge by the
whinny, noises on the trail and Les splashing in the
water. But in a minute, horse, mule and the United
States mail which they carried were in the next
township.
It cost Les seven hours and four big blisters,
because of his wet boots, to round up Huck and
Myrtle and continue on his way delivering mail.
"Scenic Idaho" 1951
5 G e k 7 � ` i d / i v l 7 s , =
R e a d y M i x e d
W o r k S p e e d s U p !
W h e n w e d r i v e u p
w i t h l o a d s o f o u r
R e a d y M i x e d C o n -
c r e t e w o r k s p e e d s
a l o n g . N o h e c t i c h u r -
r y i n g , n o c l u t t e r i n g
e q u i p m e n t o n t h e
s i t e , n o e r r o r s i n
m i x i n g n o w a i t i n g
f o r b a t c h e s S A V -
I N G t i m e , t r o u b l e ,
e x p e n s e !
7 4 O Z a
J u s t b e l o w D e p o t o n C a p i t o l B l v d .
B o i s e , I d a h o
S u p e r b C u i s i n e F a m o u s O m a h a S t e a k s
C o m p l e t e F a m i l y F a c i l i t i e s f o r D i n i n g a n d F u n !
1 4
T h e e x p e r i e n c e w a s j u s t a n o t h e r o f m a n y d e l a y s
f o r t h e p o s t m a n o n h i s R . F . D . r o u t e b e t w e e n B i g
C r e e k p o s t o f f i c e a n d t h e M i d d l e F o r k o f t h e S a l m o n
R i v e r .
C u r t i s a n d h i s p a c k s t r i n g c o v e r t h e 3 8 - m i l e
t r i p t w i c e w e e k l y . T h e y d e l i v e r m a i l o n t h e t w o
d a y s b e t w e e n t h e p o s t o f f i c e a n d M i d d l e F o r k . T w o
d a y s t o c o v e r 3 8 m i l e s g i v e s s o m e i d e a o f t h e r u g g e d
t e r r a i n t r a v e l e d .
" O n t h e t r a i l , I s t a y o v e r n i g h t i n a c a b i n b e s i d e
t h e c r e e k a n d a t a M i d d l e F o r k r a n c h , s a y s L e s .
" W h e n t h e w e a t h e r a n d c o u g a r s d o n o t i n t e r f e r e ,
I p i c k u p o t h e r l e t t e r s o n t h e t w o d a y s i t t a k e s t o
r e t u r n t o B i g C r e e k v i l l a g e . "
M a i l d e l i v e r y i n I d a h o i s n o t a l w a y s t h e e a s y ,
o v e r - n i g h t j o b i t i s i n m u c h o f t h e c o u n t r y . H o w e v e r ,
i n s p i t e o f m o u n t a i n s , c a n y o n s , s a g e b r u s h w a s t e s
a n d h e a v y s n o w s , t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s m a i l m u s t g o
t h r o u g h . I n I d a h o , a s i n g l e t h r e e - c e n t l e t t e r b e f o r e
d e l i v e r y m a y r u n u p a b i l l o f s e v e r a l t h o u s a n d t i m e s
i t s p r i c e .
R e c o r d - b r e a k i n g s n o w d r i f t s a r e a p r o b l e m t o t h e
p o s t m a s t e r a t A s h t o n n e a r Y e l l o w s t o n e P a r k . T h e r e
t h e m a i l i s d e l i v e r e d t o I s l a n d P a r k a n d M a c k ' s I n n ,
I d a h o , a n d W e s t Y e l l o w s t o n e , M o n t a n a , b y s n o w -
p l a n e o r t r a c t o r w h e n d r i f t s b l o c k h i g h w a y t r a v e l .
T h e f i r s t , s u p e r - f a s t m e t h o d w a s t h e u s u a l m e a n s
o f w i n t e r - t i m e m a i l d e l i v e r y i n t h a t s e c t i o n d u r i n g
t h e l a t e w a r . T h e n e q u i p m e n t a n d m a n p o w e r t o k e e p
t h e r o a d s n o w - f r e e w e r e n o t a v a i l a b l e .
D u r i n g w i n t e r m o n t h s , L l o y d V a n S i c k l e a n d h i s
t e a m o f s e t t e r a n d w h i t e S a m o y e d d o g s c a r r y t h e
m a i l b e t w e e n D r u m m o n d a n d S q u i r r e l . T h e m a i l m a n
t h u s s e r v e s s i x t y f a m i l i e s i n t h i s e a s t e r n I d a h o a r e a
w h e n e v e r t h e r e i s e n o u g h s n o w , w h i c h h a s a l w a y s
b e e n f o r a t l e a s t f o u r m o n t h s o f t h e y e a r .
A t o u g h m o u n t a i n e e r o f t e n c a r r i e s t h e m a i l o n
s n o w s h o e s b e t w e e n p o s t o f f i c e s a t G a r d e n V a l l e y
a n d L o w m a n .
D e e p s n o w s c u t o f f W a r r e n , B e r g d o r f a n d B i g
C r e e k , m i n i n g c a m p s i n t h e c e n t r a l I d a h o w i l d s , f r o m
t h e n e a r e s t h i g h w a y o r r a i l r o a d f o r s i x m o n t h s . S o
f o r h a l f o f e a c h y e a r a l l m a i l , e v e n o n e - c e n t p o s t -
c a r d s , i s f l o w n i n f r o m M c C a l l .
B o b F o g g h a s p i l o t e d a T r a v e l a i r p l a n e o v e r t h e
r u n e a c h w i n t e r f o r t h e p a s t s i x y e a r s . I n s p i t e o f
" s u d d e n s n o w s t o r m s , f r e q u e n t f o g a n d e x t r e m e l y
l o w t e m p e r a t u r e s , " h e h a s h a d n o a c c i d e n t w i t h h i s
s k i - e q u i p p e d p l a n e i n t h a t t i m e .
D u r i n g t h e w i n t e r , a n o l d A r m y " w e a s e l " i s
b r o k e n o u t t o h a u l m a i l t h r o u g h u p - e n d e d n o r t h -
c e n t r a l I d a h o f r o m E l k C i t y t o D i x i e . A " s n o w - c a t "
i s u s e d b y t h e C h a l l i s T r a n s p o r t a t i o n C o m p a n y t o
m a k e t h e 8 0 - m i l e r o u n d - t r i p f r o m t h e t o w n o f t h a t
n a m e t o F o r n e y .
P r o s p e c t o r s a r e t h e p r i n c i p a l p o s t o f f i c e c u s t o m e r s
in the mountain wilderness around both remote
communities.
Summer does not ease the mail - delivery job for
some Idaho postmen. Hundreds of R.F.D. and "Star"
routes are contracted to trucks and automobiles as
in other parts of the country. Star circuits connect
post office, not postboxes.
But the motorboat runs in Idaho are unique.
A 30- foot -long boat putts to 130 mailboxes placed
on lakeside docks and floats of the Marine Route,
Lake Coeur d'Alene. Clarence Wiks, postman on the
44 -mile run along the lake's jagged shoreline, is also
the best friend of his patrons.
Clarence will do the shopping in town besides
handling letters. He was once a locomotive engineer,
so his help in the repair of anything mechanical is
valued.
A 95 -mile dash up the roaring Snake River, on
the River Route of the Lewiston post office, is un-
doubtedly the toughest R.F.D. run in the country.
River -wise Oliver McNabb makes the trip every
Wednesday aboard a 16 -foot open sea -sled powered
by a husky outboard motor.
Water of the Snake, at least at the upper end of
the route, drops an average of 12 feet per mile. It
rushes too fast for the formation of ice, so mail is
carried up -river the year around.
At first, McNabb tried to operate with an ordinary
boat of galvanized steel, but the Snake had too much
"white water" for the craft to last longer than a
month. Now a sea -sled stoutly made of Douglas fir,
marine -type plywood three - quarters of an inch thick
is used.
McNabb and a "deck hand," so named because of
the danger of sending a man up the foam - flecked
river alone, travel into the lower end of Hell's Can-
yon to serve 300 prospectors, trappers, sheepherders,
ranchers and hermits with their mail. The settlers
include the Allen Wilsons, "America's most isolated
family," living in Idaho 24 miles beyond the end of
the River route.
Hell's Canyon, forming the boundary of Idaho
and Oregon for 100 miles, is at least one thousand
feet deeper than the well -known Grand Canyon of
the Colorado River. But it has attracted little atten-
tion until recently because of its wild and unap-
proachable nature. The River Route takes the only
means of entrance into its ramparts.
THE END
TOP picture shows the Big Creek Store and post office.
CENTER, hungry for news from home these boys vaca-
tion at a boys' camp on Lake Coeur d'Alene, wait anx-
iously for Postman Wiks, and his boat carrying the mail
from home. BOTTOM, Lloyd Van Sickle and his team
make a stop at a rural school house along his route.
15
i
h�
Spawning Grounds
Early carriers risked lives to get mail through
By Jeff Fee
In the early days before
convenient modes of transporting
mail on the back country route had
been introduced, only a man with
the intense obsession that the mail
must go through could deliver the
written communications packed in
a canvas bag.
This canvas bag contained more
value to most back country folks
than all the gold -filed pokes hidden
in China town. It was their main
source of contact with the outside
world.
Few human beiggs who lived
then or now could match the
almost super -human stamina of
that rare breed they called the back
country mail carrier.
Packstring, dogteam, stagecoach,
horse toboggan, boat and the man's
back were the various aids an early -
day mailman used to deliver the
mail. Veteran mailmen on the
McCall - Warren route were Carl
Brown, Fred and George Scheifer,
Frenchy Yberry, Brad Carey, John
Routson and others. These men
had a knack for staying alive
throughout countless close calls on
the trail.
Only experience limited these
close bouts with death. For
example, a man with little
experience was once hired to take
excess mail from McCall to
Burgdorf via horsetobbagan. The
green horn made it to Burgdorf but
on the return trip he didn't arrive as
scheduled. John Routson, a long
time mail carrier, was pushing
through a blizzard when he
approached the Little Lake area and
found a man laying half sprawled
across a toboggan that was
harnessed to a horse, standing dead
still.
The situation was clear. The
greenhorn had given up and was
freezing, perhaps dead. John started
slapping, pounding and shaking the
dude. A glint of life came over the
man's face. Finally he got the man
to walk. John kept beating the
greenhorn's arms and hollering into
his ears that the toboggan was used
to carry mail and was not to be
used as a hearse. This made the
man pretty angry, but it helped to
restore his senses.
Once when someone asked John
Routson what it was like to carry
mail on the Elk Summit mail
route, he replied: "Carrying mail
over Elk Summit, a pleasant
vacation job in the summer, was a
man - killer in winter. The 60 -mile
route lay between Warren and
Clover. Camps were laid out every
10 or 15 miles for use in winter
when mail, not to exceed 60
pounds of first class matter, was
carried on a man's back. There a
carrier really battled the elements,
striving against the freakish whims
of nature.
"Some trips were made in the
teeth of roaring blizzards, with
sleet cutting the face like knives;
breaking trail from a mail camp, a
mile or two at a time (on webs)
and back to the same camp, that
night hoping to get through the
next day; fighting wet, heavy snow
that piled up on webs until they
stood on end and looked one in the
face; cold 40 below zero; taking
four days to make 10 miles in soft
snow and blinding storm;
heartbreaking miles. There is a
slogan, The mail must go
through.' At what cost has this
been done in the outpost of
America."
During the summer months,
Carl Brown took advantage of
transferring mail and other cargo by
boat from McCall to the upper end
of the lake. On one particular trip
he took a, passenger, Odebia
Routson, and die following is her
account of the trip:
"I boarded the stage, a motor
boat, so loaded with mail and baled
hay that only about three inches of
boat remained above the water. It
was a stormy morning, and the
lake looked rough. About midway
out, the waves assumed giant
proportions and I began to get
frightened. Carl Brown (who
piloted the boat) seemed calm and
collected, but I suspected that even
he was a bit nervous when he said:
'Now if we should capsize, just
grab and hold on to a bale of hay.
It will keep you afloat quite
awhile.'
"Small comfort this, for I knew
when the bale became saturated it
would sink like a rock. Of course
we weathered it and all my
brainstorming seemed foolish. But
nevertheless, the hack and team
waiting for us at Fisher Station
looked mighty good."
The above research was taken
from "Memoirs of an Old Timer"
by Adelia Park.
Spawning grounds
Early carriers risked
lives to get mail through
by Jeff Fee
In the early days before convenient modes of
transporting mail on the back country route had
been introduced, only a man with the intense
obsession that the mail must go through could
deliver the written communications packed in a
canvas bag.
This canvas bag contained more value to most
back country folks than all the gold - filled pokes
hidden in China town. It was their main source of
contact with the outside world.
Few human beings who lived then or now could
match the almost super -human stamina of that
rare breed they called the back country mail
carrier.
Packstring, dogteam, stagecoach, horse tobog-
gan, boat and the man's back were the various
aids an early -day mailman used to deliver the
mail. Veteran mailmen on the McCall - Warren
route were Carl Brown, Fred and George
Scheifer, Frenchy Yberry, Brad Carey, John
Routson and others. These men had a knack for
staying alive throughout countless close calls on
the trail.
Only experience limited these close bouts with
death. For example, a man with little experience
was once hired to take excess mail from McCall to
Burgdorf via horsetoboggan. The green horn
made it to Burgdo: f but on the return trip he
didn't arrive as scheduled. John Routson, a long
time mail carrier, was pushing through a blizzard
when he approached the Little Lake area and
found a man laying half sprawled across a
toboggan that was harnessed to a horse, standing
dead still.
The situation was clear. The greenhorn had
given up and was freezing, perhaps dead. John
started slapping, pounding and shaking the dude.
A glint of life came over the man's face. Finally
he got the man to walk. John kept beating the
greenhorn's arms and hollering into his ears that
the toboggan was used to carry mail and was not
to be used as a hearse. This made the man pretty
angry, but it helped to restore his senses.
Once when someone asked John Routson what
it was like to carry mail on the Elk Summit mail
route, he replied: "Carrying mail over Elk
Summit, a pleasant vacation job in the summer,
was a man - killer in winter. The 60 -mile route lay
between Warren and Clover. Camps were laid out
every 10 or 15 miles for use in winter when mail,
not to exceed 60 pounds of first class matter, was
carried on a man's back. There a carrier really
battled the elements, striving against the freakish
whims of nature.
"Some trips were made in the teeth of roaring
blizzards, with sleet cutting the face like knives;
breaking trail from a mail camp, a mile or two at
a time con webs) and back to the same camp, that
night hoping to get through the next day; fighting
wet, heavy snow that piled up on webs until they
stood on end and looked one in the face; cold 40
below zero; taking four days to make 10 miles in
soft snow and blinding storm; heartbreaking
miles. There is a slogan, `The mail must go
through.' At what cost has this been done in the
outpost of America."
During the summer months, Carl Brown took
advantage of transferring mail and other cargo
by boat from McCall to the upper end of the lake.
On one particular trip he took a passenger,
Odebia Routson, and the following is her account
of the trip:
"I boarded the stage, a motor boat, so loaded
with mail and baled hay that only about three
inches of boat remained above the water. It was a
stormy morning, and the lake looked rough.
About midway out, the waves assumed giant
proportions and I began to get frightened. Carl
Brown (who piloted the boat) seemed calm and
collected, but I suspected that even he was a bit
nervous when he said: `Now if we should capsize,
just grab and hold on to a bale of hay. It will keep
you afloat quite awhile.'
"Small comfort this, for I knew when the bale
became saturated it would sink like a rock. Of
course we weathered it and all my brainstorming
seemed foolish. But nevertheless, that hack and
team waiting for us at Fisher Station looked
mighty good."
The above research was taken from "Memoirs
of an Old Timer" by Adelia Park.
McCall's $60,000 Post Office dedicated at ceremony
Front row, left to right: Louise Buchanen, postmaster,
McCall; U. S. Congressman James McClure; John Roast,
Boise postmaster; Don Boos, mayor of McCall. Second
row: Boyd Moore, postmaster, New Meadows; Ace)
Leaf, postmaster, Cascade; Ralph Leaf, postmaster,
Representative James McClure of Idaho dedicated the
new $60,000 Post Office building in McCall last Friday
before a crowd of over one hundred people. The Con-
gressman presented Postmaster Louise Buchannen with
a flag which had flown over the Washington capitol
Lakefork; Ed Komp, postal service officer, Boise; Bob
Fogg, McCall Chamber president; Roy Fields, former
McCall postmaster; Warren Brown, Senator, Dist. 9;
Dr. John Edwards, Representative, Dist. 9A.
and the emblem was raised by a color guard of Boy
and Girl Scouts. The McCall- Donnelly school bond play-
ed the Star Spangled Banner for the flog raising and
several other numbers for the open house that followed.
(Star -News Photo)
~-
the first post office in Long
Valley the Horner farm
was in
house south of Cascade. The
settlers named it Alpha with the
hope that a post office at the north
end of the valley at Payette Lake
1
would become "Omega ". However,
the settlers at the lake decided to
S
forgo the Greek name and called
l \o
0o1 \ TE
their post office Lardo (although no
:::
::: .... ..... ..... .............. ................
one really knows why they gave it
To
History
that name).
Other early post offices in the
valley were Van Wyck, Roseberry,
Post offices
Spunk, Center, Crawford,
City Thunder City and McCall. Of
doubled
as
these, the only one still in
existence is McCall.
As settlements grew and roads
town center
improved, mail was brought in by
in
stage from Boise or Lewiston the
BY BEVERLY INGRAHAM
good weather. Even then it was
For The Star -News ( .4 • 51. 8 11
"Neither
sometimes weeks in transit.
Winter snows closed the roads until
snow, nor rain, nor
heat, nor gloom of night ..."
spring, so the mail was brought in
These words summon visions of
by people on snowshoes or skis or
heroic postmen struggling through
not at all in the worst weather.
perilous weather to deliver a sack of
Meadows was settled earlier than
mail. When Long Valley was
Long Valley and therefore had mail
settled in the 1880's and 1890's,
service sooner. When gold was
1862,
this indeed may have been how the
discovered at Warren in
mail arrived.
thousands of miners sought their
Trails were the only access to
fortunes there, and the post office
the area and most travelers arrived
followed them, at least in the
by horseback in summer and
snowshoes in winter. The earliest
summer months.
Some mail was carried through
post offices were usually in some
Meadows Valley to the west side of
farm or ranch house that happened
Payette Lake and on a trail to
to be in a convenient location -
Warren (now Warren Wagon Road).
close to a main trail and other
In the winter, weather permitting, it
was packed in on snowshoes or
homesteaders.
Rural free delivery was far in the
skis.
future, so everyone went to the post
(Beverly Ingraham is a
office to get their mail. The early
Long Valley resident who
post offices often became a kind of
has extensive experience in
social center. for the settlers. Since
historical research and
some post offices were in the same
preservation.)
building as the general store, people
could buy supplies and catch up on
the latest news while waiting for
the mail to be sorted.
WILDERNESS
POST OFFICES
' A HISTORY OF POSTAL SERVICE IN THE
WILDERNESS AREA OF THE SALMON
f RIVER MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL IDAHO
I'
BY
PETER PRESTON
L`
"SHEEPHERDER BILL" BORDEN, MAIL CARRIER, 1897
WARREN, IDAHO
HERITAGE PROGRAM
USDA - PAYETTE NATIONAL FOREST
McCALL, IDAHO
APRIL 1995
t
IDAHO
3154.750979632
PRE
"SHEEPHERDER BILL" BORDEN, MAIL CARRIER, 1897
WARREN, IDAHO
HERITAGE PROGRAM
USDA - PAYETTE NATIONAL FOREST
McCALL, IDAHO
APRIL 1995
I
IWILDERNESS POST OFFICES
ITABLE OF CONTENTS
'
PROLOGUE 1
1879 20
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2
'
EARLY SALMON RIVER CROSSINGS 3
23
MAIL ROUTES TO WARREN IN THE EARLY YEARS 4
'
HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY EARLY MAIL CARRIERS 6
28
INTO THE WILDERNESS 7
'
Postal Carriers
31
STAGECOACH ROBBERIES 8
ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, 1890 -1906 9
WAY STOPS ON THE WARREN WAGON ROAD 11
NOTABLE MAIL CARRIERS 14
THE PARCEL POST_PROBLEM 15
GOLD SHIPMENTS BY MAIL - 1933 16
RIDING WITH THE MAIL SACKS IN THE 1940'S 16
ONE OF THE LAST HORSEBACK ROUTES IN AMERICA 17
THE MODERN AGE OF AERIAL DELIVERY 18
EPILOGUE 19
APPENDICES:
1.
Newspaper Article by Norman B Willey,
1879 20
2.
List of
Wilderness Post Offices
23
3.
List of
South Fork Post Offices
28
4.
List of
Postal Carriers
31
5.
List of
Postal Delivery Methods
33
MAPS:
1.
General
Location Map
2
2.
Way Stops
on the Warren Wagon Road
12
3.
Location
of South Fork Post Offices
29
4.
Location
of Wilderness Post Offices
Endpiece
BIBLIOGRAPHY 34
' WILDERNESS POST OFFICES
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **
A HISTORY OF POSTAL SERVICE IN THE WILDERNESS AREA
OF THE SALMON RIVER MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL IDAHO
' by
Peter Preston
"Neither snow nor rain
Nor heat nor gloom of night
Stays these couriers
From the swift completion
Of their appointed rounds"
PROLOGUE
Attributed to the Greek historian Herodotus (circa 500 BCE),
describing the fidelity of Persian mounted postal couriers,
the inscription above is quite possibly more fitting to this
regional postal history than to few other places.
Postal service in the wilderness area of the Salmon River
Mountains in central Idaho, from its inception in 1863, was
one of the most demanding tasks in the history of the U.S.
Postal Service. In the early days, postal carriers were
stymied by winter snows, postal carriers froze to death on
their routes, and several carriers were robbed of the gold
dust and bullion they were transporting from backcountry
mines. Since the peak of activity in the early 1900's, only
a few miners and ranchers remain living in the wilderness
area; however, postal service is still provided by what may
be one of the more unique combinations of automotive and
aerial delivery in use today.
Geographically, this history covers the area of the north-
eastern part of the Payette National Forest, south of the
Salmon River, including the historic mining town of Warren
and its environs, and the backcountry area now identified
as the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness.
This history includes a chronological narrative and location
map, and appendices including (1) a transcript of an 1879
newspaper article, (2) detailed locations of the post offi-
ces and identification of early postmasters, (3) detailed
locations of the post offices on the South Fork of the
Salmon River, (4) a chronology of known postal carriers, and
(5) historic and current methods of mail delivery to Warren.
(1)
"WILDERNESS
POST OFFICES"
IN AREA OF
SALMON RIVER
MOUNTAINS
(SEE END MAP)
aVIISTON
LIB - -.
W9156k
. BOISE
SNP
IDAHO
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Salmon River Mountains of central Idaho were uninhabited
by Euro - Americans until 1861, when gold was discovered at
Florence on the north side of the Salmon River. Prospectors
ranging out of Florence in 1862 discovered gold on the high
plateau on the south side of the Salmon River, at the cur-
rent townsite of Warren, 50 miles northeast of McCall. As
the gold camp of Warren (originally named Washington) was
populated, postal service was provided at least by 1863. In
a short time, prospectors ranged out of Warren to the back -
country of the South Fork of the Salmon River, the Big Creek
drainage, and the high plateau of Chamberlain Basin. Isola-
ted mines, homesteads, and tiny hamlets were established in
this vast wilderness for which the U.S. Government was obli-
gated to provide postal service, a most colorful and perhaps
unique chapter in the history of the U.S. Postal Service and
the Payette National Forest.
(2)
EARLY SALMON RIVER CROSSINGS
The gold seekers finding their way to the Salmon River Moun-
tains did so by traveling from the north, from Lewiston
across the Camas Prairie, to establish the gold camp of Flor-
ence on the north side of the Salmon River in 1861. Mail and
freight were brought to Florence from Walla Walla to Lewis-
ton by river boat, then overland to Mt Idaho (Grangeville)
on the Camas Prairie, then by pack animals on the Melnor
Trail (for Mose Melnor who established the trail) to Flor-
ence. At this time period there was no communication or com-
mercial connection with the Boise Valley communities to the
south, due principally to the ruggedness of the intervening
terrain. Striking out from Florence, prospectors ventured
south, crossing the deep Salmon River canyon to climb the
steep mountains on the south side to find rich "diggings" on
the high plateau in 1862, at the current townsite of Warren.
The mining camp was quickly populated and freight and mail
service began in 1863 as an extension of the route from
Lewiston to Florence.
Crossing the Salmon River between Florence and Warren was a
major obstacle for men and pack animals, which was the mode
of transport at that time. In 1863, Frederick and Susan
Shearer established a homestead and ferry on the Salmon
River at the mouth of Elk Creek, now identified as Elkhorn
Creek. Shearer's Ferry was a major crossing point for almost
30 years. A hostel was established by the Shearer's to ac-
commodate travelers and they raised vegetables and fruits
to be sold to the residents of Warren. The postal route
passed through this point for many years and it was here
that mail was transferred from one carrier to another, and
later from wagon transport from the north to human or pack
animal for the tortuous climb up the trail to Warren. U.S.
Post Office ''Shearer's Ferry" existed here 1874 -1888, ten-
ded by the Shearer's. The ferry was essentially put out of
business when the State Road Bridge was completed in Decem-
ber 1892 at the mouth of French Creek.
A second Salmon River crossing of that era was the Wire
Bridge, so named because it was a cable - supported suspension
bridge, four feet wide, anchored into the rock on either
' side of the river. It was located at the bottom of the east-
ern trail from Florence near the mouth of Meadow Creek (the
lower portion is now identified as Wind River). The bridge
was built in 1864 by Stephen Fenn, Gus Woodward, and James
' Hunt, where Hunt had established by 1867 a hostel called
the Meadow Creek Ferry House. By 1867 James Hunt and part-
ner F.G. Hart were operating an express business on this
route, carrying freight and mail between Warren and Lewis-
ton. The bridge was taken down by high waters several times
� I
(3)
in its life and immediately rebuilt. The bridge had a succes-
sion of owners, the last being brothers James and John Carey
(not related to rancher- author John Carrey of Riggins). The
wire bridge, like Shearer's Ferry, ceased to be of use when
the State Road Bridge, at the mouth of French Creek, was com-
pleted in December 1892. The Wire Bridge was knocked down by
high water in 1894 and not rebuilt.
MAIL ROUTES TO WARREN IN THE EARLY YEARS
When the gold miming camp at Warren was established in 1862
the isolated community had a hunger for news from "civili.-
zation", resulting in mail service beginning in 1863. Mail
was carried by individuals contracted by the U.S. Govern-
ment who made the trip from Lewiston, through Florence,
across the Salmon River, and up the tortuous trail to Warren
on horseback and on foot. The arduous trip took about nine
days in one direction, a distance of 170 miles. The mail car-
riers did their task under the worst of conditions and their
service was much appreciated by the Warren residents; how-
ever, their payment by the Government was irregular in the
early years, causing the carriers to periodically quit.
On 28 January 1868 a U.S, post office, named Washington, was
established at the Warren mining camp. This action provided
security for items of value being sent from Warren by mail,
especially gold dust and bullion which could be registered.
The theft of registered mail was a federal offense and had
some effect on deterring robberies, but not entirely. The
post office name was officially changed to Warren on 14 Au-
gust 1885, acknowledging the camp's discoverer James H War-
ren.
Warren was initially commercially tied to Lewiston by the
transportation route through Florence that existed at that
time. By 1872, with the establishment of the territorial
capital at Boise City, in the southwestern part of Idaho
Territory, some Warren residents began looking in that di-
rection for commercial connection. It was noted, for exam-
ple, that for Norman B Willey (who later became governor
of Idaho) to attend the Legislative Council in Boise, re-
quired a 500 -mile journey through Lewiston and Walla Walla,
where the direct distance was about 120 miles. In 1872 a
road from Boise through Long Valley was proposed but not
pursued. Also in 1872, Dr Charles A Sears, physician and
postmaster at Warren (Washington at that time), proposed to
build a toll road from the Boise Valley up the Weiser River
to Meadows Valley (current site of New Meadows; in early
days known as Meadows, Salmon Meadows, or Little Salmon
Meadows, the source of the Little Salmon River).
(4)
Supported by public interest for a mail route from Boise
to Warren, the U.S. Post Office Department advertised on 14
October 1873 for a contract carrier for a mail route that
would follow the Weiser River from Indian Valley (near Coun-
cil) to Meadows, thence to Warren. The first four -year con-
tract was won by Solon Hall, who had built the first toll
bridge across the South Fork of the Salmon about 1872. In
early 1874 Hall moved his family to Indian Valley, the south-
ern terminus of the route. Hall, his son Edgar, William J
Kelly, and Tommy Clay were the carriers, backpacking forty
pound loads on the 125 -mile route. Hall built a series of
cabins at 18 to 20 -mile intervals along the route and Kelly
cleared a trail along the west side of Payette Lake. This
route turned out to be a particularly difficult one, with
the section between Payette Lake and Warren snowbound at
least six months of the year. As a result, mail deliveries
on the Weiser River route took as long as two weeks, much to
the dissatisfaction of the Warren patrons. The northern
route to Lewiston continued in operation with a nine to ten
day transit time. In 1882 the contract carrier fee adver-
tised by the U.S. Post Office Department was $2780 per year
from Lewiston to Mount Idaho (Grangeville) and $1770 from
Mount Idaho to Warren.
In 1878 the Weiser River route was taken over by Calvin R
White, using his Meadows Valley homestead as his base of
operations (he subsequently established and became postmas-
ter of Meadows Post Office in 1882). In 1879, Norman B Wil-
ley wrote a most descriptive newspaper article about the
Weiser River mail route which is reprinted as Appendix 1.
Mail carrier Tommy Clay moved his family from Warren to
Meadows in 1880 and William Baird joined the ranks of mail
carriers.
As a result of continuing difficulties with the Weiser River
route, it was discontinued in 1886. Mail service to Warren
was continued to be provided from Lewiston, George Shearer,
Warren miner and son of Fred Shearer (Shearer's Ferry), be-
came the sub- contract mail carrier on this route in 1886 and
moved his family and base of operations to Mount Idaho, At
this time mail service to Warren was provided twice weekly.
The Weiser River route was reinstated in 1893 and the north-
ern route from Lewiston was permanently discontinued in
1894; however, a direct mail route from Meadows to Grange -
ville was established in 1902, following the Little Salmon
and Salmon Rivers. The route from Meadows to Warren was im-
proved, which followed steep Goose Creek to Payette Lake at
Lardo, then followed the west side of the lake to a stopover
spot at the upper end of the lake called "State House ", ano-
ther stopover at Little Lake (now Upper Payette Lake), then
Warm Springs (Burgdorf), and on to Warren.
(5)
HARDSHIPS ENDURED BY EARLY MAIL CARRIERS
For a 1940 newspaper feature, former mail carrier Edward I.
Osborn of Meadows, provided some handed -down family stories
about the hardships experienced by Tommy Clay, whose son
Henry Clay, also a mail carrier, was Ed Osborn's stepfather.
One of the incidents involved the provisioning of the line
cabins in 1875. When Tommy Clay's pack string reached a ford
on the upper Weiser River (at the current location of the
Evergreen sawmill at Tamarack), a pack of twelve wolves was
feasting on a dead horse. One bold wolf leaped on the saddle
of one of the pack horses, ripped the canvas with its claws,
and consumed a chunk of bacon. Wild animals often gave trou-
ble in the winter, but Tommy Clay never carried a gun, rely-
ing on a knife.
Each cabin along the mail carrier route had a supply of bees-
wax, tallow, and sperm oil for dressing the skis essential
to winter travel. The scents of these dressings attracted
wolves, wolverines, and bears. On a winter mail run the car-
rier found that the first cabin had been ransacked by a wol-
verine, with all foodstuffs eaten and flour scattered on the
floor. The mail carrier went hungry that night, with the
thought that he would eat at the next cabin the following
day. At the end of the next day, he found that cabin also
ransacked. The carrier bravely endured his hunger, believing
he would find food at the next cabin. The third cabin had
also been robbed of food, so the carrier finally stumbled
into a Council Valley homestead, faint from hunger, at the
end of his fourth day without food.
In another winter incident, the mail carrier prepared extra
food at one of the line cabins, so that it would be ready
for him when he stopped there on his return trip. Although
the carrier was unaware of what had happened, the weather
warmed and some the food he had prepared became tainted. He
ate the food, went to sleep and, during the night, awakened
with great pain from food poisoning. By morning most of his
illness had passed and he went on to the next cabin.
Tommy Clay's daughter, Minnie Clay Dryden, told the story
that her father did not show up in Warren on the planned
date in February 1879 for his wedding to widow Elizabeth
Osborne. There was much anxiety and a search party was sent
to look for him; on the third day after the planned wedding
date Tommy arrived in Warren, having been delayed by winter
snows; the wedding took place and everyone celebrated. (The
Clay's moved from Warren to Meadows in 1880, taking up resi-
dence in Goose Creek House [Packer John's Cabin]).
(6)
In an interview for a newspaper article in the September 25,
1941, issue of the Lewiston Tribune, William E Warden, mail
carrier on the Mount Idaho - Warren route in 1886 -1888, told
the following story, "I carried the mail to Warren for three
years, winter and summer and would doubtless have been on
the job longer if I had not sustained critical injury (in
the spring of 1888). My horse stumbled on a bridge crossing
Secesh Creek when it was at flood stage. He fell with me and
I struck in such a manner that I was paralyzed from the hips
down. My dog always accompanied me on the mail route. The
dog sensed trouble and ran back down the trail about two
miles to the pack camp operated by Jim Welch. He mounted a
mule, followed the dog and found me paralyzed. Other men fol-
lowed him, they built a stretcher and carried me to their
camp. A doctor who had turned prospector was called (Dr.
J.O.M. Ford). All he could do was fill me up on morphine.
They carried me on the stretcher all the way to Grangeville.
After undergoing treatment for two years at Portland I final-
ly regained use of my limbs."
A story is told by John Carrey about Joe Davis who carried
mail on the Warren - Edwardsburg -Big Creek route beginning in
1918. On one mail run Joe "had the horses tailed together
and no halters, just ropes around their necks. When he was
coming around the grade from Elk Creek, which used to be
high on the hillside, one horse pulled back. That started
the whole string to pulling back. Finally the third horse
from the rear broke loose and went over the bank end -over-
end. All three horses were rolling at once until they came
to a tree and wrapped around that. Joe came running to our
house (Tom Carrey Ranch, now USFS South Fork Guard Station)
for help. You should have seen the U.S. Post Office scat-
tered all over the hillside and one horse dead - choked.
When we could not gather it all up (the mail), Joe said,
`the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C., could come
and get it; "'
INTO THE WILDERNESS
'
By 1872 several ranches had been established in the lower al-
titude of the South Fork of the Salmon River, about twelve
miles by trail southeast of Warren. These ranches produced
foodstuffs for the residents of Warren and became stopover
'
spots for prospectors working their way east into the Big
Creek drainage and Chamberlain Basin. New mineral discover-
ies led to a minor boom beginning in 1891, with hundreds of
'
miners transiting the South Fork. The volume of traffic and
backcountry activity first led to the establishment of a
mail carrier route then the Hall Post Office on the South
'
Fork in 1894. The Thunder Mining boom in 1901 led to the
establishment of the Roosevelt Post Office there in 1902,
followed by Edwardsburg (Big Creek) in 1904. The Hall Post
Office was discontinued in 1899, but two other South Fork
'
post offices followed, Comfort and Brewer. See Appendix 3
for a description of the South Fork post offices.
'
(7)
The backcountry route went easterly from Warren, descending
over 4000 feet to a stopover on the South Fork, ascending
5000 feet on the Elk Creek trail to Elk Summit, down to Ed-
wardsburg for a stopover, then down Big Creek and up Monu --
mental Creek to terminate at Roosevelt. When the town of
Roosevelt was abandoned, the mail route was reterminated on
lower Big Creek, at the Clover Post Office, established in
1914.
During the winter- of 1901 -1902, mail carrier Crosby "Curley"
Brewer received $100 per month for twice - monthly mail deliv-
ry to Thunder Mountain, paid collectively by the independent
miners and the Dewey Mining Company. Brewer built several
small cabins along this route, one on the Elk Creek trail
known as "Smokehouse" because its fireplace always smoked.
This was a difficult route, especially the tortuous Elk
Creek section. The winter hazards on this route are reflec-
ed in the deaths of at least three mail carriers in the ear-
ly years. It was on the Elk Creek trail that "Three Finger"
Smith's 14 -year old son Bobby froze to death carrying the
mail in February 1890. In December 1902, mail carrier Frank
Payne was killed in a snowslide on the Edwardsburg side of
Elk Summit, and in January 1914 mail carrier Perry Watson
was killed in a snowslide on the Roosevelt trail.
STAGECOACH ROBBERIES
With the general knowledge that the mail in and out of War-
ren carried gold dust, gold bullion, and other registered
valuables, the mail was occasionally robbed in transit, but
not often as everyone knew everyone and it was very diffi-
cult for a robber- to exit the area without being caught. As
illustrations, the following newspaper accounts document two
of the robberies„
Idaho County (Grangeville) Free Press, November 12, 1897:
"Mail Robbed - On November 2, the mail was robbed about 4 :30
up Steamboat Creek at the Big Corduroy (about 7 miles west
of Warren) by one man. He took all the registered mail and
letters on the incoming mail to Warrens. It is estimated
that the robber got away with at least $4000. A sheriff's
posse of eight men are out but it is raining and doubtful
if they will catch him tonight. He had about an hour's start
He wore a grain :sack for a mask and one on each foot up to
above his knees. He had a fire by the side of the road and
no horse in sight. He was armed with a Winchester rifle and
made the mail carrier cut the (mail) sack .... Later, all let-
ters and registered mail was found at the scene of the rob-
bery, all opened. No trace of the robber yet."
WI
Weiser City Leader, July 8, 1905:
"Stage Is Robbed By Lone Highwayman - On Friday morning,
July 7th, at about 8 :30 a.m, the outgoing Warren- Meadows
stage was held up by a lone highwayman about three miles
this side of Resort (Burgdorf). The robber stopped the
coach and at the point of a gun forced passenger George
Patterson to cut open the mail sacks and he took out all
the registered mail. The stage contained three passengers,
one of them M.B. Graye, Warren postmaster, and it followed
there was a rapid collection of valuables from the passen-
gers. The robber was unknown to the driver and passengers.
As soon as he had finished his purpose, the robber rode off
into the mountains in the direction of Warrens. He was un-
masked and made no attempt to hid his features. The postal
authorities have been notified and efforts will be made to
capture him. It is not known how much money he secured from
the mail sacks. A messenger brought the news to Lardo from
whence it was telephoned to Meadows."
Idaho County (Grangeville) Free Press, October 5, 1905:
"Stage Robber Caught, Bullion Recovered - A dispatch from
Boise reports the capture of the stage robber who in July
held up the stage between Warren and Meadows. Postal In-
spector Thomas J. Clark and Special Inspector Fullenwider
have recovered sixty ounces of gold bullion worth about
$1200 stolen from the Warren stage. The bullion was found
buried near the government fish hatchery in the vicinity
of Ontario (Oregon). It was discovered that the box had
been sent from Meadows by express to Frank Pope at Ontar-
io and the inspectors suspected that this contained the
stolen gold and placed Pope under arrest, put him in the
'sweatbox' and he finally confessed and led the officers
to the spot where it was buried. John Gideon was arrested
for the holdup and is held in the state penitentiary in
Boise awaiting trial before the federal court. It is un-
derstood that Pope will not be prosecuted. The bullion is
the property of the Golden Rule Mining Co. operating near
Warren."
ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, 1890 -1906
In 1890, the year that Idaho Territory achieved statehood,
a road improvement plan began which called for building a
wagon road from Mount Idaho to Meadows by way of Warm
Springs (Burgdorf). The wagon road route was generally to
follow the existing pack trail through Florence, down to
the Salmon River on the western route from Florence, cross
the Salmon at a bridge to be constucted at the mouth of
French Creek, up the steep grade by the Knott ranch on
French Creek to the head of Lake Creek, and down Lake Creek
to Warm Springs. From Warm Springs the wagon road route fol-
lowed the trail south to Payette Lake, to Lardo, then down
Goose Creek to Meadows.
(9)
Constuction of the wagon road, in four sections, began in
September 1890. ".burning the existing trail into a wagon road
from Warm Springs to Warren, a distance of about twenty
miles, was not part of the State Road appropriation, so the
miners and merchants of Warren collected $2000 to have the
road built with ]Local labor. The route was completed with
the opening of the steel State Bridge, crossing the Salmon
River at the mouth of French Creek, in December 1892. The
road work cost $32,240 and the steel bridge cost $9009.
Due to neglect of maintenance the steel bridge collapsed
in November 1901 and crossing the Salmon River reverted to
a ferry at the bridge site, operated by A.T. Reynolds.
At the beginning of the Thunder Mountain boom, the area
was accessed by the existing trail from Edwardsburg down
Big Creek then up Monumental Creek; this was the early
mail route. In 1900 -1901 the Three -Blaze Trail (so called
because of the tree markings) was established to shorten the
distance to Thunder Mountain for prospectors and suppliers
coming from the north. This trail came through Dixie on the
north side of the Salmon River, crossed the Salmon at Camp-
bell's Ferry, through Chamberlain Basin to Big Creek, then
up the existing grail on Monumental Creek. The portion of
this trail from Campbell's Ferry to the Big Creek trail is
identified on current USFS maps as the Chamberlain Trail.
This trail was not used as a mail route, except possibly for
privately - carried mail.
A State - funded wagon road was built in 1904 to Thunder Moun-
tain (Roosevelt Post Office) on a southern approach from
Long Valley through Knox, generally following the old Cas-
well trail. Mail service to Roosevelt by the southern route
was discontinued in January 1904 because the carriers, under-
estimating conditions, were not able to maintain the supply
stations along the route. As a result, mail service to Roose-
velt reverted to privately - contracted carriers from Warren
by way of the South Fork.
In 1905 a State - funded wagon road was begun to take the
place of the lone -used trail from Warren to Edwardsburg
by way of the South Fork. The 35 -mile route was completed
in late 1906, including a substantial log bridge at the
current bridge crossing at the South Fork Guard Station
(the 1906 bridge, as well as several others that followed,
were periodically washed away by high water until the
current steel bridge was built in 1936). This new wagon
road expedited mail and freight delivery to Edwardsburg
and beyond, however, Elk Summit remained a formidable
obstacle for mail carriers for the many months of deep
winter snow.
(10)
At an unrecorded time, a wagon road was extended from Ed-
ardsburg down Big Creek to the mouth of Monumental Creek,
then up Crooked Creek about three miles to reach the Snow-
shoe Mine. During its time of use, probably until the early
1930's, this wagon road facilitated delivery of mail to
Clover Post Office (also Cabin Creek) on lower Big Creek.
This Big Creek wagon road reverted to a trail with the es-
tablishment of the Idaho Primitive Area in 1931, which has
since become the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilder-
ness, a designated roadless area.
WAY STOPS ON THE WARREN WAGON ROAD
Although the road from McCall to Warren is today a paved
highway to Burgdorf, and a fairly -well maintained gravel
road from Burgdorf to Warren, it is still called the Warren
Wagon Road. In the early years, a number of way stops were
established along this 50 -mile route for mail carriers,
freighters, and people on the move. These way stops were
especially important as winter refuges and included small
cabins and hostels or inns where one could find meals and a
bed. The following is a listing of those way stops, not all
of which were in use during the same time period. Distances
from Lardo are approximations.
Mile 10: State House - Located at the north end of Payette
Lake, this site could be reached by boat or trail in the
summer /autumn, or across the frozen lake in winter. A mail
carrier's cabin was built at this site around 1876 by Solon
Hall and /or his carriers. At least by 1888 the State House
hostel had been built and was operated by a man named St
Cyr. With the construction of the Warren Wagon Road, the
State House hostel was an important way stop in the 1890's.
State House provided beds and meals (25c) for travelers and
feed for pack stock. Ezra "Lou" Baird took over the mail
contract in 1906 and is noted to have purchased State House
in May 1906. Carl Brown took over the mail contract for 1910-
1914 and 1916 -1917 and became owner of State House. Frank
Hendricks and wife, former Warren residents, are noted as
the operators of State House in 1918. It appears that it was
around this time that State House ceased to be a useful way
stop as automobile travel had begun, covering more miles in
a day's travel.
Mile 13: Fisher Station - Located at the crossing of Fisher
Creek. Reportedly built by William (Bill) Cadby who was
known to have moved to the South Fork by 1905 to establish
the South Fork Hotel, thus Fisher Station would have been
in operation at least by the early 1900's. The last opera-
tor of Fisher Station was Mary Blackwell Carrey Dustin
(great grandmother of author's wife Sally Preston), wife of
Bailey 0 Dustin. The Dustin's moved to the South Fork, to
the former Pony Smead Ranch in 1912, to take over the South
Fork Hotel from Bill Cadby; thus, Fisher Station ceased oper-
tion by 1912 and the building subsequently fell down.
(11)
Map: Old Way Stops on Warren Wagon Road.
70 SALMON Rl ✓ER,
VIA PRENCH CIPF-Ek
02-MILE
NoliSE?
F�
BtJ RG b o 2F
( WARM S PGS)
5scgsN
WAKJZE N
STEAM BOAT
suMM IT
6694
(MILLER 'S
CAMP)
MEADOWS
sy
J(
Q�
cL
sec�sN �
5UMM IT ��
6 376 v
(MAIL r-AR -KrE2 e-A81A1)f STUAW MEADOWS
v4
u PPER PAYETTE I-A >? '4 EAS•r
CLItma PAYETTE LAKE)
v w
(MAIL CA R21EA CAIN� ) Z
7t
(IgAi- FWAY H 005 E) i
� o
.p
. (FISHEiL S7N)
STATE HoUSE)
LrTTC.E
PAY ETIM PAYETrE
LAKE LAKE
S� Ord WAY STOPS ON
CR.EaK WARREN WAGON ROAD
Hous>:�
MC CALL . MC CALL = CUR-RENT 14ABITATiON
(MEA Ao vVSj �ooS� CLA o� . (L,�RDO) = OLD PL ACC NAME
To NI:W A•PRY SCALE: Y+ )MC44 = t MILE
MEAboWS TO
(12)
a
q
i
WARREN
�
SUMMIT
6974
Tn EL,K
suMMIT
(Fa RK
GR
14DTI:L)
�l'�
J(
Q�
cL
sec�sN �
5UMM IT ��
6 376 v
(MAIL r-AR -KrE2 e-A81A1)f STUAW MEADOWS
v4
u PPER PAYETTE I-A >? '4 EAS•r
CLItma PAYETTE LAKE)
v w
(MAIL CA R21EA CAIN� ) Z
7t
(IgAi- FWAY H 005 E) i
� o
.p
. (FISHEiL S7N)
STATE HoUSE)
LrTTC.E
PAY ETIM PAYETrE
LAKE LAKE
S� Ord WAY STOPS ON
CR.EaK WARREN WAGON ROAD
Hous>:�
MC CALL . MC CALL = CUR-RENT 14ABITATiON
(MEA Ao vVSj �ooS� CLA o� . (L,�RDO) = OLD PL ACC NAME
To NI:W A•PRY SCALE: Y+ )MC44 = t MILE
MEAboWS TO
(12)
Mile 16: Halfway House - So named as it was half way between
McCall and Burgdorf. This way stop appears to have replaced
Fisher Station. It was in operation at least by 1916, as it
was here that Charles C Zumwalt based his McCall to Warren
mail carrier contract, subsequently taken again by Carl
Brown, including Halfway House. Jasper Harp and wife were
noted as operating Halfway House in 1932, with Jasper carry-
ing the mail for contractor Esten Freeman. During winter op-
erations, at least by 1933, a caboose -style sled was drawn
by a caterpillar tractor (see Appendix 5), driven by Ennis
Johnson from McCall to Halfway, then Jasper Harp on to War-
ren. This way stop was used at least to the late 1930's.
Mile 19: Mail carrier's cabin at Upper Payette Lake - In use
in the late 1870's, but quite probably fell in to disuse by
the early 1890's when the Warren Wagon Road was completed.
Mile 22: Squaw Meadows - A mail carrier's line cabin, pro-
bably in use from the late 1870's to the 1890's. The cabin
was still standing in 1932. May be the same as the Upper
Payette Lake cabin but identified by a different name.
Mile 32; Warm Springs /Burgdorf - Acquired by Fred Burgdorf
as a homestead about 1871, Warm Springs was used as a casual
way stop on the Salmon River - Warren route. In 1881 Burgdorf
opened a large hotel and spa complex, taking advantage of
the hot springs at this site. At the junction of both the
northern and southern access routes to Warren, Warm Springs
became a significant resort for many years; hence the name
"Resort" for the post office established at this place in
1898, changed to "Burgdorf" in 1915. Fred Burgdorf sold the
property to James Harris in 1923 and is currently owned by
Jim's grandson, Dr Scott Harris of McCall. Burgdorf was an
important way stop for the mail carrier, especially in the
winter, until the post office here was discontinued in 1945.
Mile 39: Twelve -Mile House - Located at Secesh Meadows,
about twelve miles west of Warren, hence the name. A board-
ing house and saloon was built by a Hubbard (perhaps Millard
Hubbard) to accommodate the miners digging a placer ditch
through Secesh Meadows. Clem and Fanny Blackwell (parents of
Herman Blackwell) arrived in Warren in 1903 with a band of
sheep for slaughter. Fanny stayed to operate the dining room
at Twelve -Mile House from 1903 until 1905. In the early
spring of 1905, Clem's younger sister, Mary Blackwell Carrey
Dustin, arrived from Oregon with her family to take over the
operation of the dining room from sister -in -law Fanny. How
long Mary Dustin stayed at Twelve -Mile House is undetermined
but it is known that Mary subsequently was the final opera-
tor of Fisher Station. Prior to 1918 Alex Beaton became own-
er /operator of Twelve -Mile House, and remained so for a num-
ber of years. At some point in time, long -term mail carrier
Jack Fernan and wife Ethyl established a homestead at Secesh
Meadows which became the way stop until the early 1940's.
(13)
NOTABLE MAIL CARRIERS
The mail carriers, identified in Appendix 4, were an especi-
ally resourceful and hardy lot to deliver the mail under the
most extremes of conditions. Notable among them were:
William "Sheepherder Bill" Borden - Bill Borden was one of
the most colorful mail carriers of the mountain region. The
sketch of him on the cover of this history, taken from an
1897 photograph, illustrates the size of the load that he
carried; also note the length of the skis that were used in
that era. Bill is believed to have been born around 1864, a.
descendant of Gale Borden famed for canned milk. Bill was
well educated, with a divinity degree from the University
of Michigan. He could converse on any subject, but seemed to
be content as a reclusive bachelor. He was primarily a pros-
pector who found a number of rich claims in the Big Creek -
Thunder Mountain area; but he never developed his claims, al-
ways selling them to large mining interests. He lived on the
South Fork of the Salmon, and from that location he carried
the mail, at least as early as 1897 to and from Warren, He
became a lifelong friend of Carl and Ida Brown in 1908 when
Bill blew a hole in his chest with a too -short dynamite fuse
and Ida nursed him back to health. In 1909 he is noted as
mail carrier for Ezra Baird, the contractor, for the winter
run from Lardo to Warren. How long "Sheepherder Bill" car-
ried the mail is not known, but it was many years. Bill
retired to a small cabin on the lower South Fork, about ten
miles downriver from the Dustin Ranch, where he had a small
garden and a whiskey still (Bill was a hard drinker!). In
February 1932 Lavelle Thompson and three friends passed by
Bill's cabin heading downriver, On his return, Lavelle found
the cabin burned and Bill and his dog dead, victims of an
exploded still. So ended the life of one of the more inter-
esting mail carriers of the Salmon River Mountains.
Carl Brown - After a year or two of mining work for William
Edwards, postmaster at Logan /Edwardsburg, Carl Brown took:
the Warren - Edwardsburg mail contract in 1909, using the cur-
rent site of the USFS South Fork Guard Station as his base
of operations, which he and wife Ida also operated as a trav-
eler's way stop. He was paid $75 per month for a weekly
round trip in the winter, and $150 per month for two round
trips in the summer. Carl used his own feet, often with skis
or snowshoes; dogsled; packstring of horses; horse -drawn
wagon; and later, on the McCall - Warren route, a motor launch
on Payette Lake, and a 1917 Oakland touring car. In the
spring of 1910, he and his family moved to McCall, where he
secured the McCall - Warren mail contract from 1910 to 1914,
and 1916 -1917. In 1914 Carl Brown became business partner of
Theodore Hoff (great uncle of author's wife) in the opera-
tion of the logging and sawmill business in McCall. In 1933
(14)
Carl Brown became the patriarch of McCall, taking over the
sawmill that was the lifeblood of McCall until the late
1960's. Carl was also a state senator, representing Valley
County in the Idaho State Legistature.
Carrey- Dustin Family - The mail carrier role of the Carrey -
Dustin family spanned three generations. Bailey 0. Dustin
and wife Mary Blackwell Carrey Dustin arrived in Warren in
the spring of 1905, along with her children by a first mar-
riage to "French John" Carrey. In 1912 the Dustin's acquired
the former Pony Smead Ranch (now known as McClain Ranch) on
the South Fork which was used as the base of operations for
Bailey Dustin's mail carrier contract from Warren to Edwards -
burg for the years 1912 to 1916. Working for Bailey were his
Carrey stepsons Raymond (Rame), Bob, and Tom (great uncles
of author's wife) and Bailey's son -in -law John Wolliston.
Mary Dustin's granddaughter, Marjorie McCall Deasy, states
that "Uncle Bob (Robert H Carrey) did all the work, Bailey
Dustin didn't do any hard work." In 1924, Mary Dustin's
youngest Carrey son, Brad, took over the Warren - Edwardsburg
mail contact, then added the McCall Warren route in 1934,
operating both routes until 1946. Brad Carrey's driver- assis-
tants included his wife Margaret, daughter Mary (Mende), and
son -in -law Willard Gribble. Mary Dustin's nephew Herman
Blackwell was also a stage driver -mail carrier in 1906 -1907
between Meadows and Warren.
THE PARCEL POST PROBLEM
On 1 January 1913 the parcel post handling methods and rate
structure was radically changed. The new rate of 5c for the
first pound, then lc per pound thereafter up to 50 pounds,
was a boon to the backcountry mail patrons, but at the same
time, an almost disasterous problem to the contract mail car-
riers. The mail carriers doubled as freight haulers, receiv-
ing most of their income by that means. The freight rate for
a 50 -pound sack of flour, for example, was $2.50 prior to
parcel post. The same 50 -pound sack of flour cost 54c post-
age and had to be carried as mail for which the contractor,
at least in his mind, didn't receive adequate compensation.
In another example, in 1914 Arthur "Kid" Garden at the Clo-
ver Post Office on Big Creek, had 1000 pounds of wheat and
oats seed mailed to him by parcel post.
It is probable that the parcel post situation was the cause
of Bailey Dustin's problem with federal authorities, as re-
ported in the Idaho County Free Press, dated May 13, 1915:
"Mail Carrier Indicted - Because he attempted to defraud the
Post Office Department in manipulating parcel post tonnage
on the route on which he holds a contract, B.O. Dustin of
Warren was under investigation before federal grand jury
Tuesday at Moscow (in northern Idaho) and a true bill was
(15)
found against him. Judge Detrich ordered a bench warrant is-
sued for his arrest and fixed his bond at $300. Postmaster
Patterson of Warren traveled over a thousand miles to offer
testimony, going via Weiser. Dustin has the route between
Warren and Edwardsburg, a distance of 40 miles. It is al --
leged that he received parcel post matter addressed to him-
self sent from Boise and other points and because his resi-
dence is 15 miles from Warren (at the former Pony Smead
Ranch on the South Fork), he received the matter at the
Warren post office and stored it in a warehouse within the
village. Dustin was paid per the hundred pounds he carried
on his route and this illicit practice defrauded the govern-
ment without having carried the mail."
By whatever means, Bailey Dustin beat the rap and continued
as the contract carrier, as indicated in a following article
in the Idaho County Free Press, dated December 16, 1915;
"The mail contract between Edwardsburg and Warren remains as
it was with Bailey Dustin on the job. This line is signifi-
cant as it seems to handle over 100,000 pounds of incoming
and outgoing parcel post this year and much more stored at
Warren, having reached here after the trails closed over Elk
Summit. Supplies from Boise early in September never reached
Edwardsburg and has caused considerable inconvenience to men
who depend upon -the (mail) service for their winter's grub."
GOLD SHIPMENTS BY MAIL - 1933
As an illustration of the use of U.S. Postal Service for the
transportation of gold, the Warren Creek Dredging Company,
in the month of 'February 1933, sent $44,000 in gold bullion
by parcel post from Warren to the San Francisco mint. The
bullion was sent as gold bars, eight inches long, four in-
ches wide, and an inch and a half thick. Such a bar of gold
was valued at $10,000, the postage for which was $11.50.
RIDING WITH THE MAIL SACKS IN THE 1940'S
Sally Preston, as great granddaughter of Mary Blackwell Gar-
rey Dustin, was born into the mail carrier family. Sally was
born in McCall in 1938 and, as a child, had numerous experi-
ences of "riding with the mail sacks" in the 1940's. During
this period Brad Carrey was the contract mail carrier from
McCall to Warren and Big Creek (old Edwardsburg). Sally was
very close to her great uncle and knew him as "Daddy Brad ",
and to Brad's daughter Mary (Mimi) Mende.
During the summers in the early 1940's, Sally would ride
with Mimi in a pickup truck from McCall to Warren with the
mail and supplies for the Carrey mining activity. Brad was
reworking the tailings in Warren Meadows, dredging for mona-
zite and other heavy metals during the early part of WW II.
(16)
Mimi and Sally would stay overnight in Warren, and would of-
ten make the mail run to Big Creek and return, stopping at
mail drops along the way. The Lou Thompson family, and other
ranchers on the lower_ South Fork, picked up their mail from
a box nailed to a tree where the road reached the South Fork
at the old Smead /Dustin Ranch.
During winter mail runs, Sally would ride with mail and sup-
plies in the sled - mounted covered "caboose" drawn by a cater-
pillar tractor over the deep snow. On those trips when Sally
was a passenger, "Daddy Brad" Carrey was always the tractor
driver. The caboose had benches for passengers and a small
stove provided heat. Sally remembers one of the frequent
passengers being George "Curley" Moser, married to Sim Wil-
ley's daughter Argie, and that Curley operated the dredge
for Brad Carrey. The winter sled trip to Warren, starting at
the west side of Payette Lake, took two to three days, depen-
ding on weather and surface conditions. The primary stopover
was Burgdorf, which was still an active post office at that
time. A hot meal and a warm bed was always available from
the Jim Harris family at Burgdorf, a welcomed respite from
the winter cold. From Burgdorf to Warren was the second
day's run, stopping at Jack Fernan's place at Secesh Meadows
if necessary.
Beginning in the mid- 1940's, mail would be delivered by air,
along with other supplies, to the Forest Service backcountry
outposts. On one occasion Sally made this trip with her fa-
ther Don Park, a career USFS employee, to the Chamberlain
Ranger Station. The trip to Chamberlain would be made in and
out the same day in an antique Ford tri -motor aircraft, but
well- suited to the backcountry .lob, piloted by the late Bob
Fogg and Jim Larkin for Johnson Flying Service.
ONE OF THE LAST HORSEBACK MAIL ROUTES IN AMERICA
The Cabin Creek Star Route is the next -to- the -last mail
route in the United States to have been served by a mail
carrier on horseback (there currently remains a mule train
route serving Supai, Arizona, on the Havasupai Indian Res-
ervation in the bottom of the Grand Canyon). The Cabin Creek
route, which had its origins with the Thunder Mountain gold
rush of 1901, began at Big Creek (old Edwardsburg) and fol-
lowed Big Creek downstream (east) about 30 miles, serving
individual mail boxes of miners and ranchers along the way,
terminating initially at the Clover Post Office at the mouth
of Garden Creek, and subsequently at the Flying W Ranch at
Cabin Creek. As late as 1950, mail carrier L.E. "Les" Curtis
was plying this route on horseback, a two -day trip in each
direction, with the turn - around point at Cabin Creek. In re-
cent years the former privately -owned properties, in what is
now the Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness, have
(17)
been purchased by the USFS to be consistent with the wilder-
ness designation. Only one seasonally- occupied property
remains on this route: the former "Cougar Dave" Lewis /Jess
Taylor Ranch, now the University of Idaho Wilderness Field
Station, which has a landing strip and is provided mail
service by aerial delivery on an as- needed basis.
THE MODERN AGE - AERIAL MAIL DELIVERY
Delivery of mail by air to snowbound backcountry hamlets be-
gan in 1931. An airstrip was created at Warren Meadows in
November 1931 by A.A. Bennett, Bennett Air Transportation
Company of Boise, assisted by the Warren residents. Christ-
mas mail was taken by rail to Cascade where it was then
loaded on a ski - equipped plane for delivery to Stibnite and
Warren.
By the mid- 1930's, Missoula -based Johnson Flying Service be-
gan occasional winter delivery of mail to Big Creek and War-
ren, as a supplement to the primary task of hauling cargo to
backcountry locations. In 1945 Johnson Flying Service estab-
lished operations at McCall Airport, with the late Bob Fogg
as principal pilot and operations manager. The aircraft em-
ployed were antique Ford tri- motors and Travelairs, but well -
suited to operations on the short backcountry airstrips.
With the termination of the Cabin Creek Star Route as a
horseback route about 1950, Johnson Flying Service won the
contract for delivery of mail by air to the few remaining
ranches on that route, including Dewey Moore, John Vines,
and Jess Taylor. By 1954 the USFS Chamberlain Ranger Station
and Cold Meadows Guard Station had been added to the route
for mail delivery while those posts were occupied from late
spring to late autumn. In the 1950's other aerial delivery
locations were added and eliminated on the Cabin Creek
route, depending upon activity at the site. These sites in-
cluded Crofoot Ranch, Campbell's Ferry, Mackay Bar, White -
water, Allison Ranch, Shepp Ranch, James Ranch, Wilson
Ranch, and the Golden Anchor Mine.
At the Golden Anchor were caretakers Nolan and Margie Deasy,
Sally Preston's ,runt and uncle. During the winter, weekly
supply deliveries would be made up for the Deasy's in the '
McCall stores from a radio - called shopping list. As the Gol-
den Anchor Mine does not have a landing strip, the supplies
would be bundled for a parachute drop of a bit over 100 '
pounds. The supplies included their mail and foodstuffs,
which included breakables such as shell eggs and milk in
bottles, but they always survived the air drop. However, ,
Sally remembers that their Christmas presents from her
family would all be non - breakable, just to be sure.
(18)
In 1975 the 30 -year domination of the backcountry air mail
service by Johnson Flying Service came to an end. Arnold
Aviation, based in Cascade, with Ray and Carol Arnold as
owner /operators, took over the mail contract in May 1975 and
remain the current contractor. The summer route now has few
stops: the University of Idaho Wilderness Field Station at
the Taylor Ranch, Big Creek, and USFS Chamberlain Guard Sta-
tion. Two regular stops remain on the winter route: Big
Creek and Warren. Burgdorf is an occasional winter stop.
EPILOGUE
This history came to be written as an offshoot of a yet -to-
be- completed history of the Blackwell- Carrey- Hoff -Park fami-
ly, of which Sally Preston is a member. While researching
the family history, it was found that the family's involve-
ment in the area's postal history, covering three genera-
tions, would be of general historical interest. The real
truth is that the author became fascinated and captivated
by the bits and pieces of recorded postal history and the
recollections of Sally Preston and others which added per-
sonal flavor to this unique account.
(19)
APPENDIX 1
The Idaho
Statesman
BOISE CITY, IDAHO TERRITORY
MAY 3, 1879
ROUTE FROM INDIAN VALLEY TO WARRENS
April 15, 1879 Warrens, I.T.
The mail route from Indian Valley to Warrens, after leaving
the former place, generally follows the valley of the Weiser
River to Council Valley. About 8 miles above Council Valley
the wagon road practically ends. The trail most traveled
goes over the mountains west of the river, in and out among
the gulches and descends to the Weiser again at Fort Price
(now Price Valley /Tamarack). From there, there is a good nat-
ural road into Little Salmon Valley (now Meadows Valley).
This valley is one of the prettiest tracts of agricultural
land yet unsettled. Open prairie with excellent grass and no
sagebrush. The surrounding hilly country is heavily covered
with pine, spruce and tamarack. There is hope that a couple
of townships will be surveyed this summer, so long as author-
ities are surveying tracts of land in the canyon of the Sal-
mon River. Snow fell here about 18 inches the past winter,
but ground is nearly bare now and plowing will soon commence
Wild geese, swans, ducks and cranes abound and make the air
vocal with their discords. Salmon do not come up into the
valley but trout are abundant. Towards the northern end of
the valley is a hot springs (now a privately -owned recrea-
tional site, known for many years previously as Zim's) that
a large volume of hot water flows out of the ground suffi-
cient to keep the stream (Little Salmon) open in winter for
a mile or two below.
Mr. Calvin White (later contract mail carrier and postmaster
at Meadows) commenced work here on the first of last June.
He built a fine double house, fenced and broke about ten
acres and raised a crop of wheat and barley, some potatoes
and other vegetables. His wife (Lydia, died 1891 at age 45),
the only woman in the valley, with their seven children
lived here during the entire Indian troubles of last summer,
not wholly unconcerned it is true, and fortunately without
molestation. Other settlers establishing themselves here„
with stock, etc, are Messrs. Jennings, Jolly, Cooper, Wil-
liams and Smith, and more are expected.
Meff
APPENDIX 1 (Continued)
In the early days perhaps thousands passed through (Meadows
Valley); it is on the direct road from Lewiston to Boise Ba-
sin. The Goose Creek House at the foot of the mountain, a
mile (east) from White's was a noted hostelry, and abounded
in good cheer in those days. Here some of the earliest
political conventions of the (Idaho) Territory were held. It
has not been inhabited for many years and is now in ruin.
(Goose Creek House was at or very near Packer John's Cabin
Historical Site) ,
At daybreak on Friday morning, April 11, Thomas Clay, the
mail carrier and myslf, struck out from Cal White's hospit-
able mansion for the Payette Lake. The only occupant of the
Goose Creek House was a gray owl. A couple of miles up the
mountain the snow grew deep and thenceforward snowshoes were
our only practical means of locomotion. The trail just
skirts the northrn end of Long Valley which stretches south-
ward farther than the eye can reach. Back in the hills on
the east side (of Long Valley) are the mining camps of Lake
City, Copelands, etc, and a dozen or more men make good
wages there during the summer.
The lake was still frozen, but the last rains have raised
its surface so as to leave a rim of open water. Once upon
the ice, however, we had about 10 miles of fine traveling.
In every direction now a bleak wilderness of snowy mountains
surrounds the lake. Salmon swarm up the Payette (River) as
far as the lake in vast number, but do not pass it. Redfish
are scarcely seen below it. The redfish spawn in August and
September along the sandy shores and up all the creeks of
any size and have been taken in large quantities. Those who
have occasion to pass over the lake when the first sheet of
ice form in the winter tell marvelous tales of the abundance
of piscatorial life in the clear and silent depths.
At the head of the lake the mail carrier has a comfortable
cabin where he stops overnight (later this was the site of
the "State House" hostel). Then another day's tramp brings
us to a similar lodging place at the Little Lake (now Upper
Payette Lake). Here snow has increased to 7 feet in depth.
All this region is now completely silent.
The bears and eagles live upon the redfish, and the deer and
elk upon the very luxuriant grass and in early winter some
very fine pine- martins and fishers may be taken, but now
they are all gone, there is not even a rabbit track. In
these mountains mountain sheep are said to dwell. I have yet
to meet the individual who has killed or even seen one, yet
shreds of what is claimed to be their white wool are often
found.
(21)
APPENDIX 1 (Continued)
From the Little Lake the route winds over the mountains,
crossing the divide (Secesh Summit) that separates the wa-
ters flowing into the Payette from those flowing into the
Salmon River, to Warm Springs (now Burgdorf Hot Springs) on
the principal road from Florence to Warren (it was at this
point that the trail from Meadows Valley intersected the
more well -used trail from the Salmon River to Warren).
Here our host, Fred Burgdorf, never fails to furnish the
weary traveler a square meal and we find ourselves in the
presence of a marl who can mix a cocktail to some purpose.
During this summer Fred plans to get a fine hotel built.
Another day's snowshoeing of 20 miles brought us to Warrens,
where you must either stay or turn around and go back again.
There is no place to go unless you strike out into the un-
known mountains.
The mail has been carried by Thomas Clay this past winter
without a break or failure. The snow in Warrens basin is
nearly gone, and placer mining has commenced. There has been
nothing doing in quartz (shaft mining) the past winter.
An old pioneer of this camp, Chas. McKay, was found dead
lately near his cabin on the South Fork of Salmon, 14 miles
east of here (Warren), under circumstances which indicated
that his clothes caught fire while in bed and that in making
for the river nearby or returning from it he fell and died.
N.B.W.
(Norman B Willey)
Author's note: Norman B Willey was a Warren miner with po:
ical capabilities, later becoming governor of Idaho. He w
a frequent contributor of news about Warren and descripti,
articles to the Grangeville and Boise newspapers. His sty
of writing was poetic, capturing the imagination of the r
er, as illustrated above. The parenthetical notes were ad
for clarity and identification with current place names.
(22)
APPENDIX 2
' HISTORICAL POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN
THE SALMON RIVER MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL IDAHO
The following is a list of U.S. Post Offices that have exis-
ted in the area of the northeastern part of the Payette Na-
tional Forest, in the Salmon River Mountains. Bits of histor-
ical and locational information are noted where significant.
tThe listing of Postmasters is not complete for all locations.
WARREN (formerly WASHINGTON) P.O. (1868 - present)
' Located at the current townsite of Warren. Mail service began
in 1863 with gold strike. U.S. Post Office established as
Washington on 28 January 1868. Name changed to Warren on 14
' August 1885. The post office at Warren was discontinued for
a short period (27 April 1868 - 27 July 1870) for reasons un-
known, but has been in continuous operation since that time.
'
28
Jan
1868
James Cronan
27
Jul
1872
C.A. Sears
19
Dec
1873
Aaron Friedenrich
06
Dec
1874
Benjamin F. Morris
17
Aug
1880
Hermann Segall
28
Mar
1881
Victor Hexter; assistant Martin Collins
06
10
Dec
Oct
1888
1889
Edwin F. Robinson
Walter L. Brown
28
Apr
1893
Fred T. Morris
28
Nov
1893
George L. Patterson
11
Feb
1898
M.B. Graye
'
05
Ayg
1916
Marjorie B. Woody
15
Sep
1917
Walter V. Martin
29
Jul
1920
Jesse Root
'
06
Apr
1926
Otis Morris
27
Jul
1931
William Newman
15
Jun
1938
Claude Hinkley
'
31
Jul
1943
Juanita J. Oberst
O1
Jun
1944
William Newman
15
Aug
1944
Otis Morris
01
Nov
1955
Jack W. Pickell
'
O1
Aug
1983
Janet Monson
' KNOTT P.O. (1903 -1909)
Located on the French Creek trail to Warre
T24N, R3E), three miles upstream from the
Creek on the Salmon River, Established 14
' continued 31 January 1909. Appears to have
station on the route from the Salmon River
t 14 Mar 1903 Alice C. Wiley
05 Mar 1904 A.F. Reynolds
06 Aug 1904 Charles Waldron
' 29 Nov 1907 Merril C. Post
(23)
n (NW 1/4, Sec 36,
mouth of French
March 1903, dis-
been a transfer
to Warren.
APPENDIX 2 (Continued)
BRADY P.O. (1909 -1911)
Established 4 June 1909 to take the place of discontinued
Knott Post Office, sole postmaster Dave Rea; discontinued
28 February 1911. Incomplete information in postal archives
shows location of this post office on the north side of the
Salmon River on the west side of the mouth of "Fulerton
Creek ", a name no longer extant. Site may have been at cur-
rent Allison Ranch or Spring Bar.
SHEARER'S FERRY P.O. (1874 -1888)
A ferry was established in 1863 by Frederick A. and Susan
Shearer near the mouth of Elk Creek (now Elkhorn Creek),
crossing the Salmon River on the trail from Florence to
Warren. The mail route passed through this place beginning
in 1863 and was the place where mail was transferred from
one carrier to another. U.S. Post Office "Shearer's Ferry"
was established here 19 June 1874 with Fred Shearer as post-
master. The property was sold to Arthur H. Warden who, along
with his brother Will, had the mail carrier contract on the
nothern route. Arthur Warden became postmaster on 4 May 1888
but the post office was discontinued on 21 May 1888. The pro-
perty was sold in 1889 to Orvil and Flora Howard. Fred
Shearer repossessed the ranch and ferry in 1891, but the
establishment of the State Road Bridge in 1892 at the French
Creek crossing essentially put the ferry out of business.
The property was later acquired by Jack Howard, hence the
current map name Howard Ranch.
BURGDORF (formerly RESORT) P.O. (1898 -1945)
Located at the current site of Burgdorf Hot Springs. Known
from earliest times as Warm Springs, on the trail from the
Salmon River to Warren. Taken in 1871 by Fred C. Burgdorf
as a summer dairy farm, a thriving hotel and spa resort was
established there by 1881. Post Office "Resort" established
1 June 1898, name changed to Burgdorf 16 November 1915, post
office discontinued 31 Jul 1945. Post Office was located in
the hotel building.
01 Jun 1898 Fred C Burgdorf
16 Nov 1915 Jeanette Townsend Burgdorf (Fred's wife)
06 Mar 1917 Grace Exum (subsequently wife of Henry Hoff,
grandfather of Sally Preston, author's wife)
07 Jan 1920 Helen Luzadder (Mrs Edward Luzadder, fondly
remembered as school teacher for many years
in McCall)
20 Sep 1922 unrecorded
09 Aug 1923 James Harris (purchased property from Burgdorf
currently owned by grandson Dr Scott Harris)
(24)
APPENDIX 2 (Continued)
MC CALL (formerly ELO) P.O. (1905 - present)
Located at the townsite of McCall. Established 31 March
1905; first postmaster Jacob Kaanta; name changed from Elo to
McCall 13 July 1909, for early pioneer Thomas McCall.
LARDO P.O. (1889 -1917)
Located at old Lardo townsite, where Payette River exits Pay-
ette Lake, across the highway from Shore Lodge. It is from
this location that the Warren Wagon Road departed for Warren,
following the west side of Payette Lake. Post Office estab-
lished 30 November 1889, discontinued 15 October 1917, with
McCall Post Office taking over the former Lardo service.
30 Nov 1889 John Lane
19 Sep 1894 Thomas McCall (for whom town is named)
12 Jan 1903 William B Boydstun (P.O. was in his store)
FRENCH CREEK P.O. (1914 -1915, 1937 -1944)
Located at the mouth of French Creek on the Salmon River. Es-
tablished 8 May 1914, Elinor A Harrington postmistress, dis-
continued 30 September 1915. Post office re- established 1 May
1937; postmasters Clifford Hinkley for the first year, fol-
lowed by his mother Edna Hinkley; discontinued 31 July 1944.
Incomplete information indicates there was at least an infor-
mal post office here 1933 -1937 to serve the large Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at French Creek.
ROOSEVELT P.O. (1902 -1915)
Located about 25 miles east of Yellow Pine, on Monumental
Creek. The townsite of Roosevelt was established in 1901 at
the beginning of the Thunder Mountain mining boom. Post Of-
fice established 19 February 1902, discontinued 30 September
1915. The mining boom ended in 1907 and a mud slide in 1909
dammed Monumental Creek, inundating the town, but the post
office remained in opeation until 1915.
19
06
09
15
27
O1
21
Feb
Sep
Jun
Dec
Sep
Jul
Dec
1902
1906
1905
1906
1907
1908
1911
William L Cuddy
Joseph B Randall
Warren M Dutton
Harry S Austin
Gertrude P Wayland
Tirza J Wayland
Ester H Busby
' EDWARDSBURG (formerly LOGAN) P.O. (1904 -1918)
Located at the former William Edwards ranch, near the conflu-
ence of Logan Creek and Government Creek, about a mile south
' of the Big Creek landing field. This was the terminus of the
early trail, and subsequent wagon road, from Warren via the
South Fork of the Salmon River and Elk Summit. Established
' 17 August 1904, name changed from Logan to Edwardsburg 25
February 1909, discontinued 14 January 1918; William Edwards
was the sole postmaster.
' (25)
APPENDIX 2 (Continued)
CLOVER P.O. (1914 -1929)
This was the terminus of the Big Creek mail carrier's route.
Located on lower Big Creek at three locations;
1. Established 5 June 1914, with Viola M "Auntie" Garden as
postmistress until 16 October 1920, Located on ranch of Ar-
thur "Kid" Garden on a small flat at the mouth of Garden
Creek. Detailed maps show "Vines Airstrip" at this location,
named for later owner John Vines. The property has been re-
purchased by the U.S. Forest Service.
2. The second location of Clover P.O, was at the ranch of -the
Elliot brothers, on a bald knob between Garden Creek and Cox -
ey Creek, about three miles by steep trail from the mouth of
Garden Creek. The Elliot brothers were nephews of "Auntie"
Garden. Joseph B Elliot became postmaster on 16 October 1920;
upon Joe's death, brother Ernest E "Hardrock" Elliot became
postmaster on 31 August 1926 until the official post office
was discontinued 15 March 1929. A hillside airstrip named
"Mile High" was established here by Lafe Cox for big game
hunting, but the airstrip is abandoned and the property was
purchased by the Idaho Fish and Game Department for big game
winter range.
3. The third location, but not as an official U.S, post of-
fice, was about four miles down Big Creek on Cabin Creek, a
mile up from its mouth. This location is the original site of
the Caswell brothers' ranch, dating from the 1890's. A succes-
sion of ownerships led to Merle "Blackie" Wallace, during
whose tenure a post office building was built to serve as the
terminus of the Big Creek carrier route. At that time, in the
1930's, there were still several active ranches on lower Big
Creek. After Blackie Wallace the property was acquired by Rex
Lanham and was operated as the Flying W Hunting Lodge, served
by the currently operational Cabin Creek landing strip. The
property was repurchased in recent years by the U.S. Forest
Service. The post office building, more commonly known as the
Cabin Creek Post Office, was still standing in good repair
when visited by the author in July 1994.
BIG CREEK P.O. (1936 -1951)
Located at the former Big Creek store (now Big Creek Lodge),
immediately south of the USFS Guard Station at the Big Creek
landing field. The Big Creek Post Office took the place of
the former Edwardsburg Post Office. Established 13 May 1936,
discontinued 31 December 1951. While the post office has been
discontinued, regular mail service is provided by aerial
delivery.
(26)
APPENDIX 2 (Continued)
YELLOW PINE P.O. (1906- present)
Located at townsite of Yellow Pine, on the East Fork of the
South Fork of the Salmon River at Johnson Creek. Established
5 October 1906 with Albert C Behne as first postmaster.
PROFILE P.O. (1914 -1921)
Located at the Willson Mine at Profile Gap, about half way on
the road between Yellow Pine and Big Creek. Established 11
July 1914, discontinued 31 January 1921; Earl Willson was
postmaster.
STIBNITE P.O. (1929 -1957)
Located at Meadow Creek Mine, on the road to Roosevelt, about
12 miles east of Yellow Pine. The mine was a major producer
of antimony (derived from stibnite ore) until the end of WW
II, at which time over 600 people were living at the mine.
Established 29 May 1929, with Harold D Bailey postmaster;
discontinued 7 July 1957.
CZIZEK P.O. (1940 -1942)
Located at the Golden Anchor Mine in the Marshall Lake Mining
District. Named for Jay A Czizek (1864 - 1938), Idaho's first
State Mine Inspector and developer of the Golden Anchor Mine
and other Warren -area mines. Established 27 September 1940,
' with Helen Caldwell as postmistress; discontinued 30 May
1942, with termination of mining activities as result of WW
II restrictions.
RIGGINS P.O. (1901- Present)
Located on the Salmon River, on US Hwy 95, near the mouth of
the Little Salmon River; first postmaster was Richard L Big-
gins, believed to be brother of John T Riggins, founder of
the town.
MEADOWS P.O. (1883 -1966)
Located on the east side of Meadows Valley, at the foot of
the Goose Creek grade on State Hwy 15, about two miles east
of the junction with US Hwy 95 at New Meadows; established 7
September 1883, first postmaster was Calvin White, who used
his homestead as the postoffice. Meadows was unique in its
day as the meeting point of three mail routes: north to
Grangeville, south to Weiser, and up Goose Creek to Lardo
(McCall) and Warren. With the establishment of the rail head
at New Meadows, a new post office was established at that
location which supplanted Meadows Post Office on 30 Dec 1966.
EAKIN (c1908 -1911)
Not an official U.S. Post Office, but a so- called ''pigeon-
hole" post office at Mackay Bar on the Salmon River, at the
Eakin ranch; "postmistress" Ellen Eakin.
SOUTH FORK POST OFFICES: See Appendix 3
(27)
APPENDIX 3
POST OFFICES ON THE SOUTH FORK OF THE SALMON RIVER
Beginning in the 1860's, a trail extended eastward from War-
ren into the backcountry that is now, for the most part, the
Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness. The trail
dropped into the canyon of the South Fork of the Salmon
River then climbed out over Elk Summit into the Big Creek
drainage. The trail became a wagon road, then an automobile
road as it exists currently. Since earliest times, the
crossing point on the South Fork was of strategic signifi-
cance as a rest stop for prospectors, freighters, and mail
carriers. During the 1890's and early 1900's there were
three U.S. Post Offices on the South Fork at five different
locations, as shown on the accompanying map, and described
below.
HALL P.O. (1894 -1899)
1. Site 1 for Hall Post Office was at the current location
of the USFS South Fork Guard Station. Solon Hall established
a ranch at this :location prior to 1872, and subsequently a
toll bridge known as Hall's Crossing, hence the name Hall
Post Office. The Hall Post Office was established 12 March
1894, with Minnie A Day (wife of Ben B Day) as postmistress.
Herbert M King was named postmaster at this site 16 Septem-
ber 1895, followed by Simeon A (Sim) Willey on 22 January
1896. Upon Sim W:illey's departure for a new homestead far-
ther up the South Fork, the Hall Post Office was moved to
Site 2. In 1909 this site was the residence of Carl Brown
and his base of operations for his mail carrier contract
between Warren and Edwardsburg (Big Creek). This site was
also the 1910 residence of the author's wife's grandmother,
Mary (Mamie) Carrey McCall, followed by her older brother
Thomas J Carrey who arranged a land exchange such that the
property was returned to USFS administration in 1925.
2. Site 2 for Hall Post Office was the former Smead Ranch
at the mouth of :Pony Creek, now known as the McClain Ranch,
about a mile and a half north (downriver) from the South
Fork Guard station. When Sim Willey departed, Amasa D "Pony"
Smead was named postmaster on 26 August 1896. Pony Smead
died in early 1899 and the Hall Post Office was discontinued
on 14 June 1899. This site was later the second location of
Comfort Post Office, noted below.
(28)
Map: old post offices on s FK Salmon River.
To WA2Z-5N
*e-
po -
N
r ` J (SM EAD RANCN)
(S. F K . 1-I oTE L)
( D U ST( N RANCH)
HALL P.O. C51rE2)1$96 -1899 _ o
COM PO1zr P. o. (stTF 2) 006-1907
' HALL P, o. (sr7,E t) 1894- 1896
(HALL'S CRDSStNG) ■ -- SOUTH FORK GUARD STN
(SHI EFFR RAN CR)
(CARR.EY R.A N C14)
I � r
Bmw5P- P a. 1914-19)6
(CURI.I;Y BQEINEP- RANCH)
crzEEtc I If ,
OLD POST OFFIGFS ON
S FK SALMDN RIVER
SCALE: Z IN = 1 M 11.E
coMFOKT P.O. (s,rF 9 1903 -1906
1 (TyREr-F1NG -FR SMITH /ZANGN)
7-D BIG CK
_J
k
� CR�F
(29)
APPENDIX 3 (Continued)
COMFORT P.O. (1903 -1907)
1. Site 1 of the Comfort Post Office was at the former S.S.
"Three Finger" Smith Ranch at the mouth of Elk Creek, about
a mile and a half south (upriver) from the current South
Fork Guard Station, The Comfort Post Office was established
on 7 October 1903 with Lawrence J Phelan as postmaster (he
later became manager of Burgdorf Hot Springs). Upon Larry
Phelan's departure Earnest W Heath, who was a back country
mail carrier, became postmaster on 15 January 1904. This
site later became the homestead of Bradford J Carrey, long-
term mail contractor and great uncle of author's wife.
2. Site 2 of the Comfort Post Office was the same as Site
2 of the discontinued Hall Post Office, the former Smead
Ranch at the mouth of Pony Creek. At this time it was known
as the South Fork Hotel. Charles S Smith, son of C F "Frank''
Smith, was appointed postmaster 22 March 1906. The post of-
fice was discontinued 27 June 1907. This site became the
author's wife's great grandmother's (Mary Blackwell Carrey
Dustin) residence in 1912 and subsequent homestead.
BREWER P.O. (1914 -1916)
Located at the homestead of Crosby "Curley" Brewer, on the
west side of the South Fork, about a half mile south (up --
river) from the South Fork Guard Station. Established 9
April 1914 with Curley's wife Annie Brewer as postmistress.
The post office was discontinued on 15 February 1916 as a.
result of Annie's death.
(30)
APPENDIX 4
MAIL CARRIERS TO WARREN, IDAHO, AND OTHER
' POSTAL ROUTES IN THE SALMON RIVER MOUNTAINS
Beginning with the establishment of the town of Washington,
which later became Warren, in Idaho County, Idaho, a postal
' route was authorized to serve the community. As mining ac-
tivity increased in the area, other routes were added. The
following is an incomplete listing of poatal carriers on the
' several routes, which are coded as follows:
MTI - Mt Idaho (Grangeville) to Warren via Florence; from Mt
Idaho mail went to Lewiston, thence to Walla Walla.
INV - Indian Valley (Council area) to Warren via Meadows
' Valley and Payette Lake; Indian Valley route connected
to Boise via Weiser.
EDW - Warren to Edwardsburg (now Big Creek); route via South
' Fork of Salmon and Elk Creek.
MCL - Meadows to McCall (and earlier Lardo) to Warren via
Burgdorf
' BIG - Edwardsburg down Big Creek to Clover (Cabin Creek);
Early route began on South Fork of Salmon; early route
included Thunder Mountain (Roosevelt), route later
known as Cabin Creek route.
POSTAL CARRIERS
' 1862 -72 MTI James Hunt (also W P Hunt, possibly brother)
1866 MTI Franklin Shissler, apparent subcontract to Hunt
' 1867 MTI Hunt and Hart
1873 -76 MTI Theodore Schwartz
1874 INV Wm J Kelly
1874 -78 INV Solon Hall
' INV Thomas Clay (apparent subcontract from Meadows)
1878 -82 INV Calvin R White, contractor
INV Thomas Clay (Meadows to Warren)
' INV Edgar Hall (Solon's son, Indian Valley to Mdws)
1882 MTI Campherson, of San Francisco, contractor
1886 MTI V H Pease, of Carson City, contractor
MTI George M Shearer, subcontract
' MTI William E and Arthur Warden, 1886 -89 subcontract
MTI Harry Shissler, 1889 subcontract, assisted by
Russell Hogan
' MTI W D Yandell, 1890
MTI Harry Shissler, 1890 Shearer's Ferry to Mt Idaho
MTI Wm Hutton, 1890 Shearer's Ferry to Warren
1890 BIG Bob Smith, froze on Elk Creek trail Feb 1890
' 189? BIG Earnest Heath, later postmaster at Comfort
1892 -93 MTI Gordon Bros, Shearer's Ferry to Warren
1894 MTI N V Jackson, French Creek to Warren
' 1894 MTI route discontinued September
1897 EDW William ''Sheepherder Bill'' Borden
(31)
APPENDIX 4 (Continued)
1901 -02 BIG Crosby "Curley" Brewer, $100 per month private
contract by miners to Thunder Mountain,
1902 BIG Frank Payne, killed in snowslide 19 December
1902 INV John Esten Freeman and Calvin White (they also
had contract for Meadows to Grangeville)
1906 EDW G E Ritter
1906 MCL Ezra "Lou" Baird, primary contract
1906 MCL D A :Long, Burgdorf to Warren
1906? MCL Herman Blackwell, stage driver Lardo to Warren
1907? MCL Herman Blackwell, stage driver for Ross Krigbaum
from Meadows to Lardo
1907 MCL + EDW Blair and Son; carriers include Bert Ail -
port, Chester "Chet" Stephens, William "Sheep -
herder Bill" Borden
1909 EDW Carl Brown, lived on South Fork of Salmon River
1910 -14 MCL Carl Brown, owned State House, lived in McCall
1911 EDW Carl Brown
1912 -16 EDW Bailey O Dustin family, incl stepsons Robert
H (Bob) Carrey, Raymond M (Rame) Carrey, Thomas
J (Tom) Carrey; son -in -law John Wolliston, plus
Freeman Nethkin; Dustin family lived at "South
Fork Hotel ", former Smead Ranch, on South Fork
1916 MCL Charles C Zumwalt (lived at Halfway House)
1917 MCL Carl Brown
1918 MCL Michael "Frenchy" Yriberry, principal contract;
driver Clyde Fulton, in Cadillac automobile;
Bill Borden, Warren - Burgdorf in winter
1918 BIG Joseph Elliot (subsequently Clover postmaster)
1918 EDW Joe Davis
1919 EDW Art Fernan
1919 -20 MCL Ed Kesson, stage driver Fred Stiles, R L Page:
1920 BIG John Routson
1923 MCL George Shiefer
1924 -46 EDW Bradford J (Brad) Carrey
1926 -30 MCL Michael Yriberry and J Esten Freeman contract:
1932 -34 MCL Esten Freeman purchased Yriberry interest,
drivers Jasper Harp, Faye Johnson, Jack Fernan,
Ennis Johnson, Tom Parks, Floyd Gordon, Ward Fry
1934 -46 MCL + EDW Bradford J (Brad) Carrey contract; drivers
wife! Margaret, daughter Mary (Mende), son -in -law
Willard Gribble; 1937 drivers included Douglas
Kerr, Floyd Gordon, Carl Krigbaum
19 ? ? -50 BIG L E "Les" Curtis, last horseback mail carrier
1945 -75 BIG Johnson Flying Service, pilots Bob Fogg, Jim
Larkin
1975 -95 BIG Arnold Aviation, owner /pilot Ray Arnold
(32)
1
APPENDIX 5
' METHODS OF POSTAL DELIVERY AT WARREN, IDAHO
Beginning with the first mail delivery in 1863, to the pre-
sent time, Warren, Idaho, has had probably the most varied
and unique methods of delivery in U.S, postal history. The
varied delivery methods were /are a result of the remoteness
' of Warren and deep winter snow there. The following have
been or are current methods of mail delivery to Warren:
1. Man on foot, with backpack; in winter the postal carrier
would use snowshoes and /or skis, depending upon conditions.
2. Man mounted on horse or mule, with saddlebags; in winter
the horse or mule would sometimes be fitted with snowshoes.
The snowshoes were pieces of wood about twice the size of
the animal's hoof, with nails in the bottom for traction.
In the early 1900's an iron snowshoe was developed and used.
3. Man leading one or more pack animals loaded with freight
and mail.
4. Wagon loaded with freight and mail, usually drawn by
mules because of their strength, sometimes horses.
5. Cable- secured ferry or barge, crossing Salmon River.
6. Cable - suspended tram, crossing South Fork of Salmon.
7. Motor launch, on Payette Lake between Lardo and State
House at the upper end of the lake.
8. In winter, an open sled drawn by mules, sometimes fitted
with snowshoes.
9. Sled, pulled by dog teams.
10. With the advent of dependable automotive vehicles around
1918, automobiles and trucks were used as conditions permit-
ted; in later years the pickup truck became the standard
mail carrier during summer months and remains so currently.
11. Beginning in 1933, winter transport was by means of a
covered sled, or caboose, drawn by a caterpillar tractor at
about 7 mph. The caboose carried freight and mail and passen-
gers on benches, warmed by a stove. The trip from Lardo
(McCall) to Warren took two to three days, depending upon
conditions. This means of transport was in use up to the
early 1940's.
12. In 1939 an automobile -type vehicle, called a snowmobile,
was introduced for winter use; it had a pickup truck body,
skis in front for steering, caterpillar -type tracks at rear
for driving at up to 40 mph.
13. In 1931 aerial delivery began on an irregular basis dur-
ing winter months and is now the regular means of winter de-
livery. Ski - equipped light aircraft will sometimes land at
the Warren airstrip, sometimes the aircraft will drop the
mail on a low pass. In the past, mail and supplies were some-
times dropped by parachute. Currently, during summer months,
aerial delivery is employed for remote locations on the
''Cabin Creek Star Route ".
(33)
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR "WILDERNESS POST OFFICES"
Carrey, John: "Moccasin Tracks of the Sheepeaters" in Sheep -
eater Indian Campaign, Idaho County Free Press, Grangeville,
Idaho, 1968.
Elsenson, Mary Alfreda: Pioneer Days In Idaho County (2 Vol)
Caxton Printers, Calwell, Idaho, 1947 (inludes recapitula-
tions of reports in old newspapers, such as Lewiston (Idaho)
Tribune) .
Fuller, Margaret: Trails of the Frank Church - River of No
Return Wilderness, Signpost Books, Edmonds, Washington 19,87,
Helmers, Cheryl: Warren Times, Henington Publishing Co, Wolfe
City, Texas, 1988 (includes recapitulations of reports in, old
newspapers such as Idaho County Free Press, Grangeville;
Idaho Tri- Weekly Statesman and Idaho Daily Statesman, Boise;
Payette Lakes Star, McCall; etc.).
Hendee, John C, et al: The University of Idaho Taylor Ranch
Wilderness Field Station, College of Forestry, Wildlife and
Range Sciences Misc Pub 15, Moscow, Idaho, 1993.
Hockaday, James M: History of the Payette National Forest,
U S Forest Service, McCall, Idaho 1968,
Jordan, Grace E: The King's Pines of Idaho, Metropolian
Press, Portland, Oregon 1961 (biography of Carl Brown family)
Parke, Adelia Routson: Memoirs of an Old Timer, Signal- Ameri-
can Press, Weiser, Idaho, 1955.
Ramsey, Guy: Postmarked Idaho, A List of Idaho Post Offices,
Prepared for Idaho State Historical Library, Boise, 1975.
Schell, Frank: Ghost Towns and Live Ones, A Chronology of the
Post Office Department in Idaho, 1861 -1973; privately printed
1973 (in Idaho State Historical Library, Boise).
U.S. Postal Service: History of the United States Postal Ser-
vice (Publication 100), Washington DC, 1993.
U.S. Postal Service Archives: Microfilm records of Idaho post
offices, in Idaho State Historical Library, Boise, Idaho.
(34)
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Continued)
PAYETTE NATIONAL FOREST, U.S. FOREST SERVICE, MC CALL, IDAHO,
CULTURAL HERITAGE SERIES MONOGRAPHS:
Jones, Melanie: Mining History on the Payette National Forest
July 1990.
Jones, Melanie: Wilderness on the Payette National Forest,
September 1990.
Preston, Peter: Crossing the South Fork, December 1994.
Reddy, Sheila: Warrens, The Mountain Dream, March 1993,
Reddy, Sheila: Death of the Wind Spirits, February 1994.
Waite, Bob: To Idaho's Klondike - The Thunder Mountain Gold
Rush, 1901 -1909; December 1994.
ORAL HISTORIES, CORRESPONDENCE, AND INTERVIEWS
Blackwell, Herman: Oral History, recorded 28 June 1978,
McCall, Idaho, Public Library.
Deasy, Marjorie: Interview with Peter Preston, August 1994.
Harris, Bill: Correspondence, 30 October 1994.
Preston, Sally: Childhood recollections of "riding with the
mail sacks," as told to Peter Preston, 1994 -95.
State of Idaho, Transportation Dept, Boise: Correspondence,
5 December 1994.
Thompson, E Lavelle: Interview with Peter Preston, Aug 1994.
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES
Burton, Greg: "Inhabited Ghost Town," in Lewiston (Idaho)
Tribune Newspaper, 24 July 1994.
Forbes, Robert H: "Remote Areas of Idaho Get Their Mail," in
Spokesman- Review Newspaper (Spokane, WA), 8 February 1948.
Highley, Lee: "Sturdy Mail Carriers Fight Blizzards, Wolves
and Famine To Maintain Route to Warren," in Idaho Statesman
Newspaper (Boise, Idaho), 21 July 1940.
Larson. George C: "The Salmon River Run," in Flying Magazine,
(Volume 97, Number 2) August 1975.
Rodenbaugh, Beth: "Idaho Women Aren't Snowbound...," in Idaho
Statesman Newspaper (Boise, Idaho), 19 March 1950.
(35)
Map: Salmon River post offices.
{' f
1
(FLOKENC� P. o.
i862- 1888)
.Z P.O. 1914 -
(BP -AbY P. o. \ i sR�PA 0 Al
y t9O9 - l911� ' (WIRE B1z.IDGE)
t
t + GOLDEN AM C,140 2- M) i4E
?-J GINS P.O. _
; (CZ1Z.E►� P-0- 1990 -4Z)
1901- PRESF_NT
r �-
(sHE R
ARE'S i Z (KNOTT P. o.
F1 =R-)Ri P. o. c) n
1874 -1888) �° I9o3 - a9) (BUR- G -DOP -F P. o,
oC IS9$- 1945
Z
O
4
�u
N Ew--,�L
ME=ADOWS
sikL�
(MEADOW5 P.O.
/g83 -)966)
(LAP-Do P.O.
1889-1917)
K,�
f e u
3
FAYET7'E
t_AkL
q0�/
z
P
m
d
L I LK C,&
SUMMIT
(LAKS FDKK G.S.)
MC CALL P -a.
1905-- PaSENT
(EA KIN
t9o8- I
MA CKA\l
WAKKEEN P. o .
/186B- PR.�:SENZ
sEr✓ aPPENbIX 3 1 �
FOP- SOUT14 FOP-K'j
Po 5T oFr- ICES I
���,oN
5t ;-
YELLCW PI
1906- t'R
rn
Y
°Rk OF SSE? �o
KRASSEL G.S.
Map: Wilderness post office on Salmon River mountains-Idaho
1
i� �1x1E N
1
(EA KIN "P. 0
t9o8- 19 (1)
MAC -KAY BAR,
1 �
1 :t4 P. 0.
PRESENT
r �
LI 1
1�
zo
r
(CAMPBELL'S
Fa R p--1
i
t
t
CNAM$ERLAIN
O* t 1" f C,
1J
FRANK Cu URCH
N�
'P
(EDWAICDSF3UR�f (BIG CR-EEK
P.O. t9o-4 -19113) P.D. 1936-51)
PP -0FJLC
GAP 7605
ROFILE P.O.
1914 � 1921)
1 ;LLt?w PINE P o.
)06- PRESENT
MONUMENTAL
SSE' G�R� 5UM14 IT
1 � �
°Z •
V3 (ST 18 N (TE P. O .
(92.9 - 1957)
t�
1 t�
41
V-
u1
t
,f I
TAY L O P- RA Al
UOFr FIELD STN +
WILDERNESS t
IL
(ROOSEVELT P.O. iu
19o2-1915) o
+ THUNDER MOUmTAINJ
WILD92N9S S POSY O FI CSS W
SALMON RIVr=iZ MOUNTAINS - IDAINC
+ MC CALL = CLJPPENT PLACE NAME
• (LARAo) = OL.b PLACE NAME
APRX SCALE: 3/16 1NCN = 1 MILE
j�
�
�►
��
R
+ COLD MEADOWS G.S.
O
N A�
, ��
RIVER
R
OF RETURN
Q
y A-�Io
^I
1
(CLOVES- P.O.
ELK
SOMM1 r
��' �`
-�
1914-1929)
��
(CABIN CREEK F
(EDWAICDSF3UR�f (BIG CR-EEK
P.O. t9o-4 -19113) P.D. 1936-51)
PP -0FJLC
GAP 7605
ROFILE P.O.
1914 � 1921)
1 ;LLt?w PINE P o.
)06- PRESENT
MONUMENTAL
SSE' G�R� 5UM14 IT
1 � �
°Z •
V3 (ST 18 N (TE P. O .
(92.9 - 1957)
t�
1 t�
41
V-
u1
t
,f I
TAY L O P- RA Al
UOFr FIELD STN +
WILDERNESS t
IL
(ROOSEVELT P.O. iu
19o2-1915) o
+ THUNDER MOUmTAINJ
WILD92N9S S POSY O FI CSS W
SALMON RIVr=iZ MOUNTAINS - IDAINC
+ MC CALL = CLJPPENT PLACE NAME
• (LARAo) = OL.b PLACE NAME
APRX SCALE: 3/16 1NCN = 1 MILE
NOTE OF THANKS
The McCall Post Office staff
uld like to thank the Chamber
o1 Commerce, the McCall = Donnelly
igh School Band and director, and
e many others who contributed
toward making Friday's open house
a successful, memorable occasion.
Louise Buchanen, Postmaster
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1969
McClure to speak
at P.O. opening
McCALL — An open house at the
new McCall Post Office announced
for this Friday, May 23, 'between
1:30 and 3 p.m. by Postmistress
Louise Buchanen will be highlighted
by a brief talk by Idaho's 1st Dist-
rict Congressman James McClure.
The M -D high school band is also
scheduled to perform, and a combi-
nation Boy 'Scout -Girl Scout color
guard will open formal ceremonies
in front of the building. The McCall
Area Chamber of Commerce is arr
ranging refreshments in conneetion
with the function, to i6ich everyone
is cordially invited.
, FRIDAY, )IAY-2$, 1969
McCallites
To Dedicate
Post Office
$60,000 Structure
Brings Recollection
Of Past Facilities
By MARG COCHRANE
Statesman Correspondent
McCALL — The dedication'
this afternoon of McCall's new
$60,000 post office will mark'.
more than 70 years of progress
in mail delivery to this once -iso -,
lated community.
Rep. James McClure will
present a new United States
flag, the high school band will
play, and the Chamber of Com-
merce will serve refreshments
during the open house from 1:30
to 3 p.m. The dedication cere-
mony is expected to take place
about 2 p.m., according to
Louise Buchanen, McCall post-
master, who extended an in-
vitation to the public to attend. 1
There will be those admiring
the handsome, tree - bordered
building who will recall that the
post office was not always so
fancy — that mail was often de-
livered in a bar, a log cabin, or
any convenient spot. At the turn
of the century, two post, offices
served the Payette Lake area
— one at Lardo, across the out
let of the Payette River, where
Tom McCall, for whom the city
is named, was unofficially the
first mail distributor.
Down the valley at Timber
Ridge, the Finnish settlement
had its own post office. Mail for
both sites came by wagon
through Council and across
West Mountain to reach the
lakes.
The Finns, in 1910, moved
their post office to McCall,'
which was officially known as
Lakeport, and in the next quar-
ter- century, the postal service
migrated from building to build-
ing, from the site of the present
McCall Drug down the street to
the Payette Lakes lumber, and
back again. One former post of-
fice building was moved to the
mill area and converted to an
apartment house, still in exis-
tence today as Peck's Apart-
ments.
' SATU Z4,1969
Post Office
(Dedicated
AtMcCall
M c C A L L— Rep. James I
McClure, R- Idaho, Friday dedi-
cated the new $60,000 McCall
Post Office to "more service
and the future growth and well
being of the community."
He told the crowd attending
dedication ceremonies that the
postal service would unveil
plans for a Post Office re -orga-
nization next Wednesday.
McClure termed the postal de-'
partment a "vital link in the
chain of information" and said
it is providing the best service;
in the world despite the stagger- i
ing growth of the amount of;
mail handled.
The congressman said that re- i
organization plans for the de-
partment do not reflect a criti-
cism of local Post Offices or of
the people who work in these of-
fices. He praised Idaho's postal
employes.
He presented Postmaster
Louise Buchanen with a flag
which had flown over the Wash-
ington capitol. The emblem was
raised by a color guard of Boy
and Girl Scouts as the McCall-
Donnelly school band played the
Star Spangled Banner.
Among those attending the
ceremony was Ed Komp, Boise
Regional Postal Service officer.
...-M—cCallites
%- To Dedicate
i�lost Office
;3$60,000 Structure
Brings Recollection
Of Past Facilities
By MARG COCHRANE
Statesman Correspondent
McCALL — The dedication
this afternoon of McCall's new
$60,000 post office will mark
more than 70 years of progress!
in mail delivery to this once -iso -I
lated community,
Rep. James McClure will
present a new United States
flag, the high school band will
play, and the Chamber of Com-
merce will serve refreshments
during the open house from 1:30
to 3 p.m. The dedication cere
rnony is expected to take place
about ? p.m., according to
Louise Buchanen, McCall post-
master, who extended an in-
vitation to the public to attend.
There will be those admiring
the handsome, tree - bordered
building who will recall that the
post office was not always so
fancy — that no was often de
livered in a bar, a log cabin, or j
any convenient spot. At the turn 1
of the century, two post offices
served the Payette Lake area
— one at Lardo, across the out-
let of the Payette River, where
Tom McCall, for whom the city
Is named wa; unofficially the
first mail distributor.
Down the valley at Timber!
Ridge, the Finnish settlement
had its own post office. Mail for
both sites came by wagon.
through Council and across)
West Mountain to reach the!
lakes.
The Finns, in 1910, .moved)
their post office to McCall,;
which was officially known as'
Lakeport, and in the next quar-
ter- century, the postal service
migrated from building to build-
ing, from the site of the present
McCall Drug down the street to
the Payette Lakes lumber, and
back again. One former post of-
fice building was moved to the
mill area and converted to an
apartment house, still in exis-
tence today as Peck's Apart-
ments.
_P s awnin rounds Mail got thro ""g g g
ny Koxanna Allen
It's been a long winter, and the only company
you've had is your dog and the crackling fire. All
at once your hear the buzz of a plane and know
that the long awaited letter or the package from
Sears and Roebucks has finally arrived.
During winter months the most welcome sight
in the back country is the mail carrier. The mail
carrier's trip is not always the easiest journey but
he makes it and knows that at the end of the trip
he is welcomed with a hot cup of coffee and a hot
hearty meal.
Carl Brown hauled mail between Edwards -
burg and Warren with two big dogs and a sled. He
often broke trail for the dogs on snowshoes and
kept his eyes open for he never knew when a snow
slide would rumble down a mountain. After he
lost that contract he came out to McCall and
bought the contract from Lardo & Warren, which
he carried for four years.
Before the road was completed to Yellow Pine,
the early settlers of the area would take turns
bringing out the mail. Some of the trips were a
little rough going even with the use of dog sleds.
Dan Drake would always remember how he
spent the Christmas holidays in 1917. He was
carrying mail into Yellow Pine on horseback.
Just as he got beyond the summit the snow got so
bad that his horse got swamped. He left the
animal and made his way about seven miles to the
Johnson Creek Station and returned with hay for
the horse to feed on until he could get back, and
then proceeded on snowshoes on into Yellow Pine.
He arrived Christmas eve and left to return to
Cascade the next morning. He finally reached his
horse that had been stranded for four days and
got the poor animal out of the snow. Drake
snowshoed the rest of the way into Cascade with
40 pounds of mail, arriving Dec. 31.
In 1919 a contract was advertised for a mail
carrier to Yellow Pine. The contractor was
required to give once a week service during the
entire year and was not required to carry over 600
pounds of mail each trip during the period from
July 1 to Oct. 31 and not more than 50 pounds from
Nov. 1 to June 20.
Henry Abstein was awarded the contract Dec.
1, 1919, and Albert Hennessy made the first trip.
He had to break trial through five feet of snow
over Cabin Creek Summit.
The schedule was that the mail was to leave
Yellow Pine Monday morning and arrive at Cas-
cade Wednesday evening and was to leave Cas-
cade Thursday morning and arrive at Yellow
Pine Saturday evening.
In the early 1930s the post office at Big Creek let
a contract for the winter mail route. The mail
carrier rode his horse through the snow until the
drifts were too deep and he would snowshoe the
rest of the way. The trip would take a full day and
the return trip would take the same amount of
time and end at Cabin Creek.
In 1930 George Stonebraker held the mail
contract to Yellow Pine and Stibnite. He etched
out an airfield at Stibnite and purchased a six seat
but it wasn't easy
Bob Fogg and his mail plane
were a welcome sight to Otis Morris
and friends wintering in Warren
Bellanca airplane. Ray Fisher piloted the first
trip to Stibnite Nov. 30, 1930.
In 1933 Vernon Brookwalter maintained a clock -
like schedule between Cascade and Stibnite flying
a Ryan monoplane.
Jan. 25, 1935 Bob Johnson, out of Missoula,
Mont., established base operations at Cascade
and started flying mail from Cascade to Big
Creek and Warren. Johnson Flying service
moved to McCall in 1945.
In 1946, Warren Ellison and Bob Fogg, flew the
mail into Warren and Big Creek once a week and
twice a month to the dam at Deadwood where the
sole recipient was the caretaker of the dam. The
rural mail carriers understood the route was to
be taken over by Johnson when weather pre-
vented travel by automobile.
Ellison and Fogg flew the first trip into Warren
in 1946 with 700 pounds of mail and supplies in a
Travelair fitted with skiis. The landing field at
Warren is 1,500 feet in length and takes a "one
shot" approach. The field at Deadwood was
described as " a little better."
The flying time from McCall to Warren and Big
Creek averages 30 minutes to both places with
drops.made at Burgdorf and Secesh Meadows. It
took about the same amount of time from Cas-
cade to Deadwood.
Even today the mail plane is a welcome sight
during the winter to the folks in the back country.
Mailman says route was first -class
By Maureen Robertson3�� /�
The Star -News
Bill Willard remembers that the idea of starting a
rural mail route in Valley County in 1956 was greeted
with skepticism.
"A lot of people thought it wouldn't work," said
Willard. "I thought, `well, I'll see if I can make it
work.' "
Willard did make it work, and he has kept the mail
coming on the rural route between McCall and Don-
nelly for the last 271/2 years.
Now it is up to someone else to drive the backroads
along Farm -To- Market roads delivering letters,
newspapers and magazines. Willard is retiring, effec-
tive Friday.
As much as he wanted to uphold the post office
motto of getting the mail out under any condition,
Willard said he failed on a few occasions.
"I think there were three days I didn't go in, and
three other days I couldn't make the whole route,"
he said.
The mail on Willard's route is being delivered by
substitute carrier Mary Shaw. A permanent replace-
ment for Willard has not yet been selected.
Willard was a teacher when he and his wife, Han-
nah, moved to Valley County in 1952. They lived in
the little cottage that still stands next to what was
once Elo School, currently an unoccupied building
off Farm -to- Market Road. In addition to teaching at
Elo School, he taught at Wood Grove, Roseberry,.
Lardo and Donnelly Junior High schools.
"A family joke has been that, after Bill taught
there, a school was closed," Hannah said.
Willard's mail route is officially called Rural
Route 1. It was and continues to be the only rural
route operated directly by the McCall Post Office.
Other routes from the post office are done by con-
tract carriers.
If it was not for the Happy Hour Club, a group of
neighborhood women living along what is now Farm -
to- Market Road, the route may never have existed.
Hannah Willard recalls that club members Helen
Cruickshank and Annalee Melton pushed for the
route with petitions and letters.
While the number of roads as well as patrons has
increased, the route remains the same today as it was
more than 27 years ago: from McCall south on
Highway 55 to Donnelly, east to Roseberry and north
on Farm -to- Market back to McCall.
The ride used to be "down one road and up the
other" but now includes various turnoffs to reflect
increased population and developments, Willard
said. He left mail at 74 boxes when he started. Now
there are more than 220 boxes to serve.
As much as he wanted to uphold the post ottice
motto of getting the mail out under any condition,
Willard said he failed on a few occasions.
"I think there were three days I didn't go in, and
three other days I couldn't make the whole route,"
he said.
The mail on Willard's route is being delivered by
substitute carrier Mary Shaw. A permanent replace-
ment for Willard has not yet been selected.
Willard was a teacher when he and his wife, Han-
nah, moved to Valley County in 1952. They lived in
the little cottage that still stands next to what was
once Elo School, currently an unoccupied building
off Farm -to- Market Road. In addition to teaching at
Elo School, he taught at Wood Grove, Roseberry,
Lardo and Donnelly Junior High schools.
"A family joke has been that, after Bill taught
there, a school was closed," Hannah said.
Willard's mail route is officially called Rural
Route 1. It was and continues to be the only rural
route operated directly by the McCall Post Office.
Other routes from the post office are done by con-
tract carriers.
If it was not for the Happy Hour Club, a group of
neighborhood women living along what is now Farm -
to- Market Road, the route may never have existed.
Hannah Willard recalls that club members Helen
Cruickshank and Annalee Melton pushed for the
route with petitions and letters.
While the number of roads as well as patrons has
increased, the route remains the same today as it was
more than 27 years ago: from McCall south on
Highway 55 to Donnelly, east to Roseberry and north
on Farm -to- Market back to McCall.
The ride used to be "down one road and up the
other" but now includes various turnoffs to reflect
increased population and developments, Willard
said. He left mail at 74 boxes when he started. Now
there are more than 220 boxes to serve.
Willard received the temporary appointment as
rural carrier in 1956 and then the permanent appoint-
ment. Before that, residents went to post offices in
McCall, Lake Fork or Donnelly for their mail.
Willard has watched cow pastures become
developments and first -class postage go from three
cents to 20 cents.
"It was a real penny post card then (1956) and you
could send Christmas cards without a message for
two cents if they weren't sealed," he said.
Willard, 57, has uncountable stories to relate
about his career. He has snow - plowed his way to the
highway, given people rides, found unusual messages
in mail boxes and pulled cars out of the snow.
"But I've been pulled out, too," he said. "Just
this year, Chester Scheline pulled me out."
The day last winter that found just about everyone
outside skidding on ice, Willard's Jeep slid sideways
more than once.
"I went off the road three times in less than one
run," he said.
Willard made his own mail hawk with a pole and a
clamp so it would be longer and could reach mail
boxes over snowbanks. He also used a tennis ball and
a string to keep the passenger door open.
Bad weather had a way of tacking another
11/2-hour onto the route, but Willard has safety
badges to verify he never had an accident on a mail
run.
Before United Parcel Service came to the area,
Willard found himself delivering everything from
baby chickens to a queen bee.
To say that the sound of Willard's Jeep meant a
great deal to his patrons is an understatement. He
recalls one man who had ordered a rifle and was ap-
parently so anxious to get it that one day "he stood
up on the fence post to see if I was coming with the ri-
fle."
One winter, he found a note from a woman on the
route asking him to drive back and forth in her
driveway to pack the snow so she could get out.
Residents have remembered Willard at
Christmastime and also treated him to fresh berries
and cinnamon rolls. To him, the job was more plea-
sant than unpleasant.
"There have been a lot of nice people," he said.
"If you enjoy the outdoors, at least part of the job is
outside. It's been enjoyable to see the crops planted
and harvested."
$ 6TPS Wca - n - /"Ttl�'T7/ /Q B'7
Early mail carriers faced
formidable task in rugged Idaho
Mail service has been a major
public concern throughout
Idaho's history. When the mail
has been delivered on time, with
maximum efficiency, people have
taken it for granted. When, for
any reason, the mails have been
delayed, people have complained
bitterly. Knocking the postal serv-
ice — like knocking elected offi-
cials — is a tradition not likely to
change.
The American postal service
was established even before the
Declaration of Independence. The
design of a system to replace the
British Colonial post was pro-
posed by a committee headed by
Benjamin Franklin and adopted
by the Continental Congress
meeting in Philadelphia. On
Christmas Day 1775, the British
and Rocky Bar usually had to rely
on mail carriers with backpacks
for part of every winter. It was
dangerous work, for nobody knew
when a heavy snowstorm might
trap a man in a mountain pass in
sub -zero weather. These moun-
tain mail carriers were some-
times a town's only link with the
outside world for several weeks.
In late April 1885, Banner's car-
Idaho history
system ceased operation and
Franklin became the first U.S.
postmaster general.
Mail delivery in early Idaho
was a difficult business. Since
most of the population lived in
mountain mining camps sur-
rounded by rugged terrain, winter
snows frequently disrupted serv-
ice. When roads permitted pas-
sage of stage coaches most mail
was carried that way.
rier man was able to make his
first spring trip on mule back.
This meant that magazines and
newspapers could be delivered
again, for only letters could be
carried by backpack.
Other disruptions in mail serv-
ice came when stage coaches
were robbed, attacked by Indians
or delayed by serious accident.
A feature of mail delivery in
In fact, a government mail con-
tract was all that kept some com-
panies in business, since passen-
ger and fast - freight competition
was intense. When the first snows
began to block roads runners had
to replace wheels. When sleighs
and horses could not get through,
men carried the mail on their
backs and skied in.
Silver City, Idaho City, Atlanta
early days was the number of let-
ters that accumulated in post of-
fices awaiting addressees to turn
up. Mining camp populations
were largely transient and much
mail never got delivered. Papers
regularly carried lists of names of
those with mail waiting.
Arthur Hart is director emeri-
tous of the Idaho Historical Soci-
ety.
• l�bS � �NcL/ U� /��.i�
T 5 p J r7 -
��;v.�
Vo 1,-1"7/10
V ell t,ul
By Stephen Dodge
The Idaho Statesman
It's really just a worn patch in the grass.
Pine trees guard it on one side, the jagged
whitewater of the Salmon River guards the
other.
Six or seven lazy elk watch placidly from
below as the nosy intruder falls upon their
rest.
This is the Thomas Creek airplane run-
' way, a short, dirt track on a rugged precipice
20 miles from the nearest road, 40 miles from
the nearest town. You approach it at 70 mph
in a single- engine Cessna 206, the "pickup
truck of the backcountry ", your left knee
bumping against the throttle control.
"This one can be pretty tough in the
wind," says pilot R.C. Cross as the ground,
now showing individual rocks and ruts rip-
ping by, continues to rush at you. "It can be
pretty hairy."
You pray for dead calm.
R.C. skirts the plane across the river,
misses a knobby hill by about five feet, and
then leaves your stomach in the clouds by
dropping the last 100 feet with sudden speed,.
a shrill whistle emerging from the weathered
dashboard to warn of approaching stall.
At the last moment the plane pulls up and
settles smoothly on the dirt runway. Com-
mercial airline pilots landing on paved run-
ways aim for such soft landings.
And, for one shining moment, you under-
stand what it's like to be Cliff Claven, postal
If you go
Reservations for Arnold Aviation's
mail route are taken April 1. Flights will
be sold out within hours, so advance
reservations are mandatory.
Prices are $50 per person with break-
fast served at Big Creek, one of a half -
dozen or so stops.
Trips are Thursdays during the sum -
mer months. For more information call
Arnold Aviation at 1- 208 - 382 -4844.
carrier extraordinaire.
But one warning: Arnold Aviation's mail
route is not for those who hate to fly. But if
you are looking for a truly Idahoan adven-
ture — filled with glorious vistas, lots of big
game and some great back - country personal-
ities — it's a true Rocky Mountain high.
The mail plane flies every Thursday from
Cascade during the summer, stopping off at a
half -dozen dirt runways in the Frank Church
River of No Return Wilderness area.
For $50 per person you can join the back -
country Pony Express for a day, delivering
mail to remote camps, meeting Old West
style ranch hands, flying past mountain
goats perched above dizzying drops.
Some of the sights are unavailable any
other way. There are no roads, no signs of
civilization. Just steep, imposing ridges cas-
cading into rugged white water, all un-
touched for thousands of years.
Passengers meet Bob and Cathy Gillihan
of Big Creek, who will treat you to a heaven-
ly, homemade breakfast (such as apricot
waffles with heavy cream, served with
scrambled eggs) in their rustic log cabin.
And passengers meet R.C., the likeable
pilot who has been running the mail route
for three summers. He is part pilot, part `
comedian, and part flight attendant, all help- i
ing polish the memories.
"Here's the first rule," he says as you first
board the plane in Cascade. "If the pilot
says, `Get out of the plane!' don't say `HuhT
"You'll be talking to yourself."
You'll need the humor when the plane,
which seats a pilot and four passengers,
takes off with a shudder and shake.
During midflight, when asked about a
blinking light on the dashboard, R.C. says "it
just means the gas tank is on empty."
Then he laughs as he points to forest -fire
damage whitewashing whole mountains or
gold mines still being worked.
The mail route has been the subject of a
National Geographic film. People from New
Hampshire and other Eastern states routine-
ly fly to Cascade just to embark on its
adventure.
"But you know what the wild thing is ?"
asks R.C. as he unpacks ice cream at one of
the stops. "I'm getting paid for this. Is that
wild, or what ?"
Yeah, but only half as wild as the scenery.
We ' /IOrvs - i /161's-
New McCall postmaster
a Postal Service veteran
BY JEANNE HEINS
The Star -News
Driving through McCall just
once was enough to bring Frank
Stewart here full -time.
Stewart was named postmaster
at the McCall Post Office on Sept.
30 after serving almost three years
as postmaster in Chugiak, Alaska.
He and his wife, Lynne, had been
in McCall only once before, when
they drove through the area about
seven years ago.
"We came back because we
liked the country," Stewart said.
Stewart is originally from Sil-
ver Creek, N.Y. He has worked for
the U.S. Postal Service for 18 years,
working as a clerk, carrier, super-
visor, and finally postmaster in dif-
ferent locations around the coun-
try.
"Being a postmaster is all I ever
wanted to do," Stewart said. "I
hope the people here are as happy
to have me as I am to be here."
The Stewarts have a daughter
Frank
Stewart
New McCall
postmaster
and grandchildren who live in
Hagerman. They look forward to
seeing their family more often.
, Stewart said he hopes to main-
tain the high quality of Service at
the post office in McCall, and cre-
ate a place "where customers want
to come and where employees want
to work."
He replaces former postmaster
Al Apodaca, who retired earlier
this year.
`ilie r-
McCall P.O.
may move to
edge otown
There are two locations near down-
town that have been identified as
Citizens appeal to potential sites for the new post office,
Shimun said.
Idaho's congressmen,
senators to intervene
BY ROGER PHILLIPS
The Star -News
A U.S. Postal Service official last
week said the agency is negotiating to
put in a new post office near Shaver's
supermarket in McCall. The revela-
tion re- ignited the controversy over
where McCall's post office should
be located.
The city received a "courtesy" call
last Thursday from Postal Service
officials that the agency has entered
into negotiations with the owners-of
The Marketplace at McCall to relo-
cate the McCall post office there, City
Manager Gary Shimun said.
The Marketplace at McCall is lo-
cated along Deinhard Lane at the south
end of the city and has Shaver's and
PayLess Drugs as major tenants. The
mall is owned by J.R. Simplot Co.
The McCall City Council passed a.
resolution at a special meeting last
Thursday night discouraging the re-
location of the post office near
Shaver's and encouraging postal offi-
cials to remain downtown.
John Walters, a real estate special-
ist for the U.S. Postal Service in
Denver, Colo., said Tuesday there has
been no final decision made on the
new post office location. But he did
acknowledge the post office was con-
sidering the Shaver's site.
"It's kind of premature to say that's
the site were going to take,"
Walters said.
When asked what other areas were
being considered, he replied that it's
"not public information," and would
not elaborate. "I wish there was more
to tell you, but there's not," he said.
One proposed site is behind
Ridley's near First and Washington
streets, and the other is south and east
of Mill and Hemlock streets across
from Brundage Mountain Ski Area's
business office. The current post of-
fice is located at Second and Lenora
streets downtown.
Shimun said Walters told him
Tuesday the Postal Service preferred
the Shaver's site, but also considers
the property near the Brundage Moun-
tain office a viable option. The agency
was not interested in the area behind
Ridley's, Shimun said.
Walters said that when a final de-
cision was made, he would announce
it by calling Shimun, but gave no
indication when a decision would be
coming.
Concerned citizens in McCall are
not waiting for that call, but are pep-
pering Idaho's congressional
delegation with telephone calls, let-
ters and faxes demanding that the post
office remain in downtown McCall,
council members were told last week.
At the meeting last Thursday, Ken
Twergo, a real estate agent and mem-
berof the McCall Downtown Planning
Subcommittee, urged that the city
unite in its support of a downtown
location.
"They (the Postal Service) need to
know this is an important issue to the
community. Otherwise they're going
to walk all over us," Twergo said.
Rick Fereday, co -owner of May
Hardware and chair of the downtown
committee, said in a press release that
the post office is instrumental in re-
taining a centralized downtown
business district.
"The absence of a post office will
deal a severe blow to the viability of
the downtown area and that's not in
the best interest of McCall,"
Fereday said.
`T� LDLtG� Ylt�l�� rTc�YJc c4 P — l / a2 171 /7
McCall City Council
In approving the resolution, the
Council notes that "(1)ocation of
approves resolution
the Post Office outside of the down -
deterioration
to
the downtownten
on Post Office siting
The Council also notes that the
City's Planning and Zoning
Commission has adopted a down -
MCCALL —The McCall City Council last Thursday night approved
town plan that calls for the loca-
a resolution that expresses "the city's strong concern that the McCall area
tion of the post office in the cen-
Post Office remain at a location in or adjacent to the central business dis-
tral business district.
trict in the zoning map of McCall."
"In a small town such as this
That resolution follows in the wake of the expressed preference of the
one the post office serves an impor-
U.S. Postal Service to build a new post office for the city of McCall on
tant function of facilitating inter -
land at the McCall Marketplace, which is owned by Idaho industrialist
action among citizens and pro -
J.R. Simplot.
motes the economic health of the
The resolution, which carries the signatures of council members Marilyn
central area ...," the resolution
Arp, Ralph Colton, Lance Eckhardt and Dean Martens, asks the U.S.
states.
Postal Service to locate a new post office in or next to the central busi-
It also directs McCall City
ness district. And, of the three sites that council members know about
Attorney Ted Burton to fully
they said their first choice would be the so- called Smith Site, which lies
explore whatever legal remedies
directly to the south of the McCall Public Library and the McCall City
might be available for the city,
Hall.
and also directs city staff to take
"A second choice would be the so- called Hehr site south of Hemlock
such steps as may be necessary to
Street, although the latter would damage the ability of the City to finance
bring the resolution to the atten-
Urban Renewal Improvements," the resolution states.
of the relevant public author-
itie
ties.
It also directs the city's staff
to determine what other similar-
ly affected cities and towns there
might be, and also to consider
what steps the city might be able
to take to facilitate the use of either
of the two sites closer to down-
town.
Petitions to kee p Post Office downtown
MCCALL —The latest development in
the Battle over where the city's new Post
Office will be located has moved into the
petition area.
Supporters of moving the Post Office to
a proposed new location near the corner of
Deinhard Lane and Idaho Highway 55, in
the Marketplace at McCall development,
presented petitions to members of Idaho's
Congressional delegation, and others, bear-
ing the signatures of 50 or so citizens who
supported the move.
Opponents of the move, who feel relo-
cating the Post Office out of the downtown
core would mean economic disaster to down-
town businesses, then delivered their peti-
tions, carrying more than 800 signatures of
people opposed to moving the facility out
of downtown.
"People are sitting up and paying atten-
tion," McCall City Attorney Ted Burton
said Tuesday.
The McCall City Council has come out
strongly opposed to relocating the Post
Office out of the downtown area, and Burton
has been acting as the city staff's lead per-
son on the matter.
He said city officials are of the opinion
that they need to do an even better job of
getting the word out about what the situa-
tion is. He said recent publicity has really
sparked a lot of public interest on the issue.
There are some bigger issues that citi-
zens need to address, he said. They are
deciding:
• Who's in charge of planning the City
presented
of McCall, citizens and city government,
or the U.S. Postal Service?
• Where do we want our downtown to
be?
• What is in the best economic interest
of the city over the next couple of decades,
and he said he means the health of the town
overall. If one person gets rich while oth-
ers are starving, then the city is failing, he
said.
John C. Walters, the Postal Service's
Real Estate Specialist from the Denver
officewho is handling the proposed relo-
cation, said Tuesday that he is working to
develop what they call a "10 percent plan"
of what the proposed facility might look
like on the proposed downtown site south
of McCall City Hall.
That site was rejected earlier as having
too many problems to work.
But Walters said he promised city offi-
cials that he would prepare the rough plan
to see what the problems might be, and then
bring that back to the city.
"We don't think it will work, but we said
we'd take a look at it and see, and bring it
back to them to see if we can try to work
with them a little bit," he said. "We're try-
ing to see if it's an option, there's a lot of
hurdles to cross with that site."
Meanwhile, he said they are still pro-
ceeding to get some of the preliminary work
done on the Deinhard site, although he said
the Postal Service has not closed a deal with
the J.R. Simplot Company for the land, nor
will it until some other options are explored.
P.O. officials
40
promise new
look at move
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
A delegation from McCall on
Wednesday succeeded in persuading
U.S. Postal Service officials to recon-
sider building a new post office
downtown.
The four - person delegation trav-
eled to Washington, D.C., to lobby
top postal service officials and Idaho
congressmen.
The group included Bob Scoles, a
retired pharmacist and former owner
of McCall Drug; David Peugh, a local
land planner; David Kellogg, current
co -owner of McCall Drug; and McCall
City Attorney Ted Burton.
The four talked with three Idaho
congressmen and two top postal ser-
vice officials for nearly two hours.
Peugh said Wednesday by telephone
from Washington, D.C. that postal
officials have agreed to "re- look" at
every proposed downtown site to re-
locate McCall's post office.
"The post office is very willing to
work with us and try to find a home
for our post office in the downtown
area," . Peugh said. "They realize now
hgw important this issue is to us."
Attending the Wednesday meet-
ing were Sen. Dirk Kempthome,
R- Idaho; Sen. Larry Craig, R- Idaho;
Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R- Idaho; U.S.
Postal Service Facilities Vice Presi-
dent Rudy Umscheid and Denver
Facilities Manager Keith Lashier,
Peugh said.
"We had a good working session,"
Peugh said. "We have strong support
from our congress people and they
realize this is important to us. They
(Idaho's congressmen) asked the post
office to sit down with the city and
work out the problem."
A meeting between postal offi-
cials and the McCall City Council has
been set to begin at 11 a.m. March 13
in the lower level of McCall City
Hall. Denver postal officials will dis-
cuss site selection at that meeting,
Peugh said.
Peugh and the other McCall resi-
dents who attended the Washington,
D.C., meeting acted on behalf of Post
Office Vision, a private citizens group
working to keep the post office down-
town. The group's air fare and hotel
rooms were paid for by
private citizens.
"We have strong
support from our
congress people and
they realize this is
important to us. They
(Idaho's congressmen)
asked the post office to
sit down with the city
and work out the
problem."
David Peugh
The four men took with them a
petition signed by more than 900
people opposed to relocating the post
office from McCall's central busi-
ness district.
Since February, the postal service
has told city officials that their pre-
ferred site for a new post office is at
The Marketplace at McCall on Dein-
hard Lane because land located there
is big enough to build a 16,000 square
foot building and parking.
But Peugh said. top Washington
U.S. Postal Service officials said on
Wednesday that no contracts have yet
been signed with owners of that site,
and "no agreement has yet been
made."
In the past, postal officials also
rejected requests by city officials to
locate a substation downtown hous-
ing post office boxes but build the
main mail- sorting facility on the out-
skirts of town.
Postal officials instead offered to
locate a "contract station" downtown
in an existing business. The station
would sell stamps and be a drop -off
point for letters and packages, but
there would be no post office boxes.
That offer was refused by city of-
ficials two weeks ago who said they
wanted a downtown postal presence
or no new post office at all. Postal
officials have said they will still pro-
ceed with building a new post office
because the need for a new facility in
McCall is too great.
Post office to
move ahead
with build
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
A new post office will be built by
the end of the year somewhere in
McCall even if city leaders oppose a
new facility that is not downtown, a
U.S. Postal Service official said.
Last week, the McCall City Coun-
cil passed a resolution telling postal
officials to either. discuss more op-
tions for relocating the post office in
the downtown area or not to build one
at all.
But the need for a new post office
in McCall is simply too great to drop
the city "off the list" of communities
slated to have new post offices built
this year, said John Walters, a U.S.
Postal Service real estate specialist in
Denver.
It's not up to the city," Walters
said. "The need is there. There's poor
working conditions, terrible parking
and our trucks can't get in (to the
current location)."
Postal officials are still consider-
ing building a new post office at The
Marketplace at McCall on Deinhard
ing
Lane but have also now agreed to take
a second look at a site behind McCall
City Hall, Waiters said.
"We don't think that site (behind
city hall) will work, but we'll sure
give it a shot," Walters said. Postal
officials will look attopographic maps
of the downtown site and see if the lot
is the right size and shape for a 16,000
square foot building and parking.
The U.S. Postal Service has also
agreed not to acquire a site at The
Marketplace until the site behind city
hall has been considered, Walters said.
"We're not going to go behind the
city's back," he said. "We want to try
and make this work."
Earlier, the postal service rejected
a request by city officials to locate a
substation downtown housing post
office boxes and still have the main
mail - sorting facility built on the out-
skirts of town.
Postal officials instead offered to
locate a "contract station" downtown
in an existing business. The station
would sell stamps and be a drop -off
point for letters and packages, but no
post office boxes would be there.
'i =t p S+ar- /�%py✓s - f 319?'
•
P.O. r
downtown
substation
P.O. officials say
contract station
with no mailboxes
'best' they can do
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
U.S. Postal Service officials this
week rejected a plea by McCall lead-
ers to consider building both. a mail
sorting station on the south end of
McCall and a downtown "substation"
to house post office boxes.
Building a downtown post office
box facility was deemed "not accept-
able" by U.S. Postal Service
operational officials in the Spokane
District Office because it would "re-
quire too much manpower," Al
DeSarro, a postal service media rela-
tions officer, said on Tuesday.
Instead, postal officials said they
will work to set up a downtown "con-
tract station" and will proceed with
building a full - service post office in
The Marketplace at McCall on Dein-
hard Lane.
The downtown contract station
would be housed inside an already -
established business and would be a
place to buy stamps, mail letters and
pickup packages. No post office boxes
would to available, DeSarro said.
"We went back and did the best we
could," DeSarro said. "Frankly, this
is a good offer and a good compro-
mise to the situation."
Last week, DeSarro and John
Walters, a real estate specialist for tha
U.S. Postal Service, met with city
officials and explained why a site at
The Marketplace, which houses
Shaver's and PayLess Drugs, had been
selected to build a new post office.
At that meeting, city officials tried
to persuade Walters to reconsider
building a post office downtown or to
at least build a facility downtown for
residents to pick up their mail. Walters
promised to return to his Denver of-
fice and plead McCall's case.
But the decision to proceed with
the site at the south end of town,
combined with a contract station and
not a substation was made by officials
in Spokane who are "looking at the
needs of McCall," DeSarro said.
"In most communities the size of
McCall, a contract station would not
even be offered," DeSarro said. "The
U.S. Postal Service is trying to do the
best they can."
But the postal service's "best" was
not good enough on Tuesday for City
Manager Gary Shimun. Shimun said
city leaders will continue to lobby the
postal service and Idaho congress-
men to work on building a post office
downtown.
"A contract station is not what
we're looking for," Shimun said. "It's
just a place to sell stamps and send
packages. Because it will be con-
tracted, it also has the potential of
moving around. It's not something I
will support.",
DeSarro said the U.S. Postal Ser-
vice will act "swiftly" in advertising
for a place to set up the contract sta-
tion and to let bids for the new post
office on Deinhard Lane. Postal offi-
cials are hoping to have the new facility
,_built and open by-the end of the year.
/ Ivp WS — 3 71q7
Post office names downtown
"We want to appease the
needs of the community,
and if we have to build a
smaller post office to do
that, then that's what
we'll do. "
- U.S. Postal Service Project
Leader Ed Bavouset
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
The search is on for a new down-
town McCall post office site after
U.S. Postal Service officials pledged
last week their "first preference" is to
relocate in the central business dis-
trict.
During a meeting last Thursday
between four Denver postal officials
and the Post Office Vision Commit-
tee - a six - member panel appointed
by the McCall City Council - postal
officials agreed to essentially start
over in the search for suitable post
as top
prly iori
office sites.
Postal officials have given the Post
Office Vision Committee 30 days to
search for suitable sites in the down-
town area, and they will then reprint
a general advertisement and solicit
bids for land primarily in the McCall
central business district, U.S. Postal
Service Project Leader Ed Bavouset
said.
A smaller, "custom" post office
instead of a large, "modular" unit
will now possibly be built on a down-
town site, Bavouset said. The custom
post office would be about 12,000
square feet in size, down from an
original building plan of 16,000
square feet.
Postal officials have also reduced
the total site size to a range of 50,000
to 80,000 square feet, down from an
original building plan of almost
116,000 square feet.
The reduced office size stems from
the decision to build a facility to
accommodate 10 -year needs, not 20
years, Bavouset said.
"We want to appease the needs of
the community, and if we have to
build a smaller post office to do that,
then that's what we'll do," he said.
"That's why we're here - to meet the
city's needs."
The comments from postal offi-
cials last week were a welcome
change to city leaders, who were told
by the postal service last month that
a site for a new facility had been
selected at The Marketplace in
McCall on Deinhard Lane.
That prompted an outcry from lo-
cal citizens who wanted a post office
downtown, leading to petitions, the
formation of the Post Office Vision
Committee and a trip to Washington
D.C. to lobby the Idaho congres-
sional delegation.
Since then, postal officials have
pledged to work with the city, the
public and the Post Office Vision
Committee.
Making up that committee are:
Chair David Peugh, a local land plan-
ner, May Hardware co -owner Rick
Fereday, Realtor Ken Twergo, Mail
Boxes and More owner Kathy Show-
ers, City Attorney Ted Burton and
City Engineer Jackie DeClue.
A new facility is still planned to
be built this year, Bavouset said.
��( ,
= r
M c C a l l ] . t e l l s P . 0 0 0
B u i l d d o w n t o w n
o r d o n o t . g
B Y J E A N N E S E O L v e t l a s t w e e k , b u t w e O u n a n s w e r e d .
P o s t a l R e a l E s t a t e S p e c i a l i s t J o h n
T h e S t a r - N e w s
T h e b a t t l e b e t w e e n c i t y l e a d e r s W a l t e r s d i d n o t r e t u r n m e s s a g e s
a n d t h e U . S . P o s t a l S e r v i c e o v e r
b u i l d i n g a d o w n t o w n p o s t o f f i c e
l e f t b y T h e S t a r - N e w s .
M a n y o f t h o s e w h o a t t e n d e d t h e
e s c a l a t e d l a s t w e e k w h e n t h e
M c C a l l C i t y C o u n c i l p a s s e d a r e s o -
c o u n c i l m e e t i n g b r o k e i n t o a p p l a u s e
a f t e r c o u n c i l m e m b e r s p a s s e d t h e
l u t i o n t e l l i n g p o s t a l o f f i c i a l s t o e i -
t h e r d i s c u s s m o r e o p t i o n s o r t o " f o r -
r e s o l u t i o n .
K e n T w e r g o , a m e m b e r o f a
g e t t h e w h o l e t h i n g . "
M c C a l l M a y o r B i l l K i l l e n s a i d
c i t i z e n s g r o u p t r y i n g t o k e e p t h e
p o s t o f f i c e d o w n t o w n , s a i d t h e
p o s t a l o f f i c i a l s m u s t e x p l a i n h o w
c o u n c i l m u s t k e e p b l a n k e t i n g p o s t a l
w i t h l e t t e r s i n s u p p o r t o f a
a n d w h y t h e y c h o s e t o b u i l d a n e w
o f f i c e a t T h e M a r k e t p l a c e a t
o f f i c i a l s
d o w n t o w n f a c i l i t y .
p o s t
M c C a l l o n D e i n h a r d L a n e a n d w h y
" W e n e e d t o k e e p t h i s i s s u e a l i v e
a d o w n t o w n " s u b s t a t i o n " f o r p o s t
b o x e s i s n o t a p o s s i b i l i t y .
o r t h e y ( t h e U . S . P o s t a l S e r v i c e ) a r e
g o i n g t o r u n o v e r u s , " s a i d T w e r g o ,
o f f i c e
L a s t w e e k , p o s t a l o f f i c i a l s s a i d
a r e a l e s t a t e a g e n t w h o p r o p o s e d
t h a t a d o w n t o w n p o s t a l f a c i l i t y w a s
t h e " S m i t h s i t e " b e h i n d M c C a l l C i t y
n o t " e c o n o m i c a l l y f e a s i b l e , " a n d
H a l l f o r t h e n e w p o s t o f f i c e .
o f f e r e d o n l y t o s e t u p a d o w n t o w n
" c o n t r a c t s t a t i o n " w i t h o u t p o s t o f -
T h a t s i t e a n d a n o t h e r s i t e n e a r
S k i A r e a
a d a g e M o u n t a i n c o u
f i c e b o x e s .
o f f i c e f o r
n o t g o o d e n o u g h , " K i l l e n
s a i d a t t h e F e b . 1 2 c i t y c o u n c i l
a t i o n b y p o s t a l o f f i c i a l s .
M c C a l l r e s i d e n t B o b S c o l e s s a i d
m e e t i n g . " W e w a n t a s t a f f e d , d o w n -
t o w n f a c i l i t y w i t h p o s t o f f i c e
t h e c i t y s h o u l d i g n o r e t h r e a t s f r o m
" p o s t a l o f f i c i a l s w h o h a v e w a r n e d
b o x e s . "
c i t y l e a d e r s t h a t c o n t i n u e d o p p o s i -
t o b u i l d i n g a n e w p o s t o f f i c e
" A l l o f t h e i r p r o p o s a l s a r e u n a c -
a n d t h e y n e e d t o s i t d o w n
t i o n
o n t h e s o u t h e r n e d g e o f t o w n m a y
c e p t a b l e .
a n d d i s c u s s t h i s w i t h t h e c i t y , "
l e a d t o n o p o s t o f f i c e b e i n g b u i l t a t
K i l l e n s a i d . " I f t h e y ' r e n o t w i l l i n g
t o d o t h a t , t h e n f o r g e t i t . W e d o n ' t
a l l . -
" L e t ' s n o t b e b l a c k m a i l e d . I f
w a n t a n y t h i n g . "
C o p i e s o f t h e r e s o l u t i o n t e l l i n g
t h e y ( t h e U . S . P o s t a l S e r v i c e ) m a k e
u s w a i t a n o t h e r 1 0 y e a r s - s o w h a t ?
t h e U . S . P o s t a l S e r v i c e t o e i t h e r
T h e n w e ' l l d o i t r i g h t i n 1 0 y e a r s , "
d i s c u s s a d o w n t o w n f a c i l i t y o r t o
S c o l e s . s a i d . " I f w e l o s e o u r p o s t
t h e n w e l o s e
t a k e M c C a l l ` o f f t h e l i s t " f o r t h e
o f f i c e - d o w n t o w n ,
c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a n e w p o s t o f f i c e
s o m e t h i n g t h a t i s i n t r i n s i c t o o u r
w e r e s e n t t o p o s t a l o f f i c i a l s i n D e n -
. d o w n t o w n . "
rrrah - `{``f� Y 7
CITIZEN INITIATIVE
900 appeal to Postal Service
MCCALL — More than 900 peo-
ple have signed a petition urging
the U.S. Postal Service not to re-
build the post office outside the
center of town as it has in other
American communities.
Post Office Vision, a group of cit-
izens and city officials, collected
the signatures and sent copies to
the congressional delegation and
postal officials.
Representatives of the group
will travel to Washington D.C.
this week to meet with Sen. Dirk
Kempthorne, R- Idaho.
Ss-far - "eyls
7`3
y7
Angry McCall council
abandons fight for
downtown post office
BY JEANNE SEOL
The Star -News
McCall City Council members last
Thursday ended the fight to keep the
McCall post office downtown.
Council members expressed dis-
appointment last Thursday over the
U.S. Postal Service's decision to build
a new post office on Deinhard Lane
next to PayLess Drug.
Last week, postal service officials
announced anew, 12,000 square -foot
post office with 4,200 boxes would be
built on an empty lot owned by J.R.
Simplot in The Marketplace in
McCall.
City leaders had urged the postal
service to instead build a facility down-
town, arguing that a downtown post
office was a key to a healthy economy
in McCall. The new facility will re-
place the current post office located at
the corner of Lenora and Second
streets downtown.
"I'm not interested in pursuing it
any further," Mayor Bill Killen said.
"There is no real benefit from whin-
ing over it. They've stated what their
decision is and it's not going to
change."
City Manager Gary Shimun and
City Attorney Ted Burton said the
city could take complicated steps to
sue the U.S. Postal Service - a quasi -
federal entity - but would have to
prove that the agency acted in "bad
faith" by choosing the Deinhard Lane
location.
Shimun said he was particularly
angry over a traffic study prepared for
the postal service by Inland Pacific
Engineering, Inc. of Spokane, Wash.,
that recommended the Deinhard Lane
location because of traffic congestion
downtown.
"I would get my money back if I
were the postal service because the
study did not take into consideration
any of our future road projects or the
ones we're currently working on other
than Railroad Avenue," Shimun said.
The city plans this year to start
building a new boulevard to replace
the current Railroad Avenue that con-
nects Third Street to Pine Street. Fu-
ture city projects include the Dein-
hard- Boydstun Connector and a road
connecting Pine Street to Wooley
Avenue. The Spokane firm, in its re-
port, did not consider how those the
future projects might ease traffic con-
gestion downtown.
Shimun was also disappointed
about how postal officials "disre-
garded" new city information that he
said showed limited soil contamina-
tion on two potential post office sites
downtown between Pine and Hem-
lock streets.
Postal officials last week elimi-
nated both a site owned by the McCall
Urban Renewal Agency and a parcel
owned by Richard Hehr of Manhattan
Beach, Calif., after an environmental
specialist declared they showed a "risk
of contamination." The urban renewal
site was favored by the city for relo-
cating the post office.
"We even offered to spend money
to remediate the urban renewal site
and they still weren't interested,"
Shimun said. "They wanted to make
their decision now."
"Basically, they chose to elimi-
nate anything that would have helped
them choose the urban renewal site,"
Shimun said. "They made their deci-
sion three months ago and didn't want
to toy with us anymore."
USPS officials announced in Feb-
ruary their plan to build a new post
office on Deinhard Lane east of PayLess
Drug, but reconsidered after city lead-
ers lobbied for a downtown site.
After a four -month renegotiation
process, postal officials last "week
again announced they would build a
new facility on Deinhard Lane.
Al DeSarro, a postal service media
relations officer, said in a telephone
interview from Denver on Tuesday
that postal officials "tried to do the
best they could and did so in this case."
DeSarro said postal officials spent
the last three months legitimately
meeting with city leaders in an effort
to work with the community.
"Honestly, there would not have
been this much involvement and dedi-
cation from the postal service if we
had not really wanted to look at the
situation again and start over,"
DeSarro said of the decision to build
on Deinhard Lane.
"We really do appreciate all the
work the people in McCall have done
and we want to move ahead posi-
tively. We're going to get you a first -
class post office that you badly need,"
DeSarro said.
Construction on the new facility is
expected to start next spring and be
completed by fall 1998.
New McCall Post Office opens
Customers to the new McCall Post Office await
service at the customer counter, bottom, and
look over the new postal store, left, on Monday
during the post office's first day of business.
Postmaster Frank Stewart said Tuesday the
opening went "pretty smooth, though we're
still searching for stuff we normally knew
exactly where to find." The 14,800 square -foot
post office replaces the 3,700 square -foot build-
Star-News Photo by Tom Grote
ing at Second and Lenora streets downtown and
has 80 parking spaces compared to six spaces
downtown. Customers will find 3,876 boxes, com-
pared with 2,202 boxes available at the former
building and Old Town Market. One new feature
is a bank of 100 key- operated parcel lockers where
customers can pick up parcels day or night. Also,
petitions will be circulated this summer for down-
town business owners to start delivery there.
Idaho senators
ask postal
Contradictory decision
service to save
The senators noted that
this decision contradicts
backcountry
Potter's own testimony just
three months ago before a
Senate subcommittee of the
mail route
Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental
Idaho Senators Mike Crapo
and Jim Risch want the U.S.
Affairs. ;
We must make our services
Postal Service to reconsider
available at the same prices, in
ending backcountry air
mail service to dozens of
both easy -to- service locations
and locations so remote they
Idahoans living in the Frank
can only be reachedby mule, by
Church River of No Return
swampboat, orby bush plane,"
Wilderness.
Potter said.
The senators have added
Despite that testimony, the
their voice to protests against
Postal Service notified pilot
the proposed ending of the
Ray Arnold that it was ending
air mail service provided by
his $46,000 contract to provide
Arnold Aviation of Cascade.
service to 20 sites in the Idaho
Rep. WaltMinnick,D- Idaho,
backcountry on June 30.
already has contacted the post
The letter also points out
serviceurgingthecontinuation
that backcountry residents
of the backcountry mail
who now vote by mail could
flights.
be disenfranchised from
In a letter to Postmaster
participating in the electoral
General John Potter, the
Crapo and Risch noted that an
process.
Arnold, who has flown
alternative of USPS - provided
the route for 34 years, also
Post office boxes in Cascade
often brings medical supplies
for the disaffected customers
and food to the backcountry
is "not practical."
residents.
"Asking residents to use
C r a p o and R i s c h
a post office box in Cascade
acknowledged that talks
would require them to travel
with postal service staff
over 120 air miles or drive
have been discouraging, but
multiple back road mountain
looked forward to continuing
passes to access mail," the
a dialog.
senators wrote. "It is not only
dangerous, but prohibitive in
the winter months."
Postal service
restores
backcountry
mail service
BY TOM GROTE
The Star -News
Mail delivery by airplane
will continue for residents of
theback country east of McCall
after a decision last weekbythe
U.S. postmaster general.
Last month, the U.S. Postal
Service said the contract with
Arnold Aviation of Cascade to
deliver mail to remote ranches
and lodges would end June 30
as a cost - saving measure.
That announcement drew
theireof Idaho'scongressional
delegation, which protested
the decision to U.S. Postmaster
General John Potter.
. Last week, Potter reversed
the earlier decision, saying
in a letter that acceptable
service to backcountry
customers could only be
achieved by continuing the
air mail contract with Arnold
Aviation. The service hasbeen
operated by Ray and Carol
Arnold for the last 34 years.
"We are greatly appre-
ciative that Postmaster
General Potter has taken the
time to study the situation in
Idaho's backcountry and
See ARNOLD, Page A -6
Arnold
(Continued from Page A -1)
recognizes the reality - not
just on the ground, but in the
air," said a statement by Sen.
Mike Crapo, R- Idaho.
Carol Arnold said she
was "greatly relieved" by the
decision.
"I am more happy for the
people who are getting the
mail, because we aren't going
to be doing this forever," she
said.
The postal service pays
the Arnolds $46,000 per year
to deliver mail three times a
weeek to 13 customers in the
winter and 19 customers in
the summer.
Arnold thanked the con
gressional delegation for their
intervention and said popu-
lar support shown since the
proposed cancellation was
announced had been 'phe-
nomenal."
The controversy rekindled
the kind of national and
international attention the
wilderness mail service. has
drawn over the past three
decades.
Carol Arnold said news
stories on the contract cancel-
lation had b een run by National
Public Radio and the Associ-
ated Press.
Reporters from ABC and
the New York Times had been
scheduled to visit in coming
days, but Arnold was not
sure if their interest would
wane after the contract was
renewed.
61,�/ar