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HomeMy Public PortalAboutVan Wyck, IdahoVANWYCK, 60 YEARS AGO AS I REMEMBER IT. M. HASBROUCK We rode into this little villaqe or June 20th, 191 '), by te?m from New Meadows, cominM th?t far by train and then on the stave horse driv -n into town. It h: ^d been a 1^te spring after lots of winter snows and the f�-'rmers were still plowing the fields for bountiful fall crop of grain. My f?ther h?d come to take over the management of S. and S. Co. Store,which was typical of the times and the only one in town, where everything wes sold or traded to the people, Now, I redly mean hardware, shoes, dryFoods and even a coffin, sto one who might need it, end T might say the thin^" lance that my plavm?tes or I ever indul¢lged in. altitude to stav for the summer, hoping it would but here I am after 61 years. everything, groceries, red upstp irs ready for any - aiways subdued any arro- We had come to this hi -h relieve Mothers h^Tr feT,cr, On the west side of the town, the places of business started with the livery stable and barn operated by Owen Coonrod. This an important integral of the local economv, he takin7 care of the teams of freighters end travelers, and the local people housed their own to ^ms and buggies there Then 7oin7 on to the north, was the Emery Hotel and Post Office. M,rnv a wood chicken dinner we had there under the management of the Emerys. Next was the Meat Mar'aet, a small, d ^rk,building, saw dust covered floor *� :ith only the ice cut the precedl.ng winter to preserve the meat. A thrifty German, Ode Koven owned and operated it and with typical Berman thrift only one quarter of beef w ^s available er a time, so if it happened to be a hind quarter, everybodtr in town ate steaks for dinner, but if i.t were e front quarter we settled for roast or boils. He Vans the dictator of our daily meat diet. Then there was a tiny building that Harry and Art '9ean sold green veget^bles their f =Ither raised In Sweet and brought up by team. Thev were a reel treat, unless one had his own garden as this "76s the only source of s,,p _ly and then only in season. Go9_nc* on north there "i'=e some private homes and then_ the Green Hotel, and then the Saloon, the den of iniquity, where thhere bras activity from early morning until the early -2- hours' of the following morning. Now we come to the village blacksmith, run by Mr. Kostic anoth vital phase of everyday livinm for both farmers and travelers. Next was the Kretchmer Candy Shop and restaurant, then. the Va.nw,yck Times, our local peper, edited by Judge Kimball, a venerable gentle- man who also ected es legal advisor to all as we had no local attorney. Then came the drug store, operated by the Tha.meAs and I can still remember the delicious ice - cream sodas. I suppose they got the ice cream from the cre :pmerg in Crawford. Somehow we di.dit pro to end from these neighboring towns extent for very special reasons. With a few morehomes, this ended the west side of town, coming batik across the main street, on east side was the home of a Mr. Bechtel, then the Odd. Fellows He 11 a very large b- ildin7, lower floor had a stage for shows and we had some good ones, both road shows end home school entertainments, box suppers and sociables. The upstairs was the main lodge room, and best of a the dance hall. Many a good story those wells could have told, some not so Food but amusing. They used to say every dance or celebration ended in a wedding or a fighting brawl, end sometimes both. Coming on south was the ?itchey home and dairy farm. They fyrnished us with milk and cream, but many residents had their own cows, who roamed the streets and area at will. Then came our wprehouse and store bui_ldi.n -. which completed the places of rusiness. There were home of all sorts on the babk streets, but there was no street manning, people just built where they warted. The school house set over to the west, a 2 story bu ldinF, but the upper story was never completed, and event"elly it `:ra s removed. There were two teachers, upper and lower grades. Life was peaceful and slow moving in those days, no tensions little social activity but lots to remember. There was the Christman, that Father ordered a crate of oranges for a special treat. Jesse ButledFe, a local boy, who later went far in the Forest service, came into the store and my father rave him en orange, and after showing him how to peel it, Jess ate with zest and then said, Hey, Mr. Madden I'd like another one of them rutebages. The school platys we had all with the most elaborate of cost"mes. -3- The Fourth of July celebrations, eith in Vanwyck or loseberry, going bT team and not doing too much except ma�.Tbe a few horse races, foot races, ball Fame, but always the big dance in the evening. Now comes the railroad, and the town was one wide open place, the Mexicans ever .)Twhere, usually drinking. One di.dnt dare leave home after. dark. The pattern of life was changed, even ausing the end of the town. One of the things to do was to walk over the hill to what was to be Cascade and watch the train come in. Exciting ?, 1pTe� 1 I guess. ' -e hid such viscious electrical storms in those dais, there was the time that 2 sheep - herders were killed by lighting as they slept at the base of a t ^11 tree, and the time lightning* struck the Tom ?' orthi_ngtor_ home, tearing off the corner, jumping across the road the split a telephone poll right down the full length. The thrill of the freight wagons coming in with all the new merchan- dise for us, the Downdendsbringing in the sacked �r ?in in the fall with four horse teams with Ha,fold and Bill riding the load on top, to trade for supplies and sell, when Dora 7obb st6pped on a needle, with it penetrating fax into the ball of her foot,George Emory had to hold her down while Dr. Noggle cut it out i, ;ithout anaesthetic, the time Cher the whole town was enraged thinking, and perhaps it was true, that Bechtel burned his 17reen Hotel down for the insurance, nearly burn!-n7 the whole town. Mrs. Kretch- mer was in bed with a new b ?b7,T and the men carried her out into the street, bed and ?11 as she h -^dnt been down the the alloted ten days. This 1 ^ter created intense excitement when a local business man threptened Bechtel, saying he would shoot him if he ever came into town agpin., Coon the word was passed around the B., was on his wayrp and with some liauor the local man was encouraged to fulfill his threat, which he did. I saw the shooting with Mr. B., top-ling to the ground from his bu-gy, into the street. He lay ill for weeks, but eventually recovered. After the jail sentence was duly served, the man came home ?nd Cascade w ?s being born, he went to the eastern home for a trip, only to be killed by a car. The entire town was in sympethy with John Emory as that fire cre?te(9, a holocaust. a. rnd, finally the memory of the gypsies and Indians coming into town. My father called me in from my play to help w ^tch and see if thev tr -edtto take anything. I imagine they did, but we never cau -ht them, and frankly T was always worried a little about my own welfare. We,-, life fun in those days, well, .yes it was funnand can envone wonder why we, who knew Vanwyck are always filled with nostalPria to see the old landmarks and memories covered by the murky waters of Lake Cascade. '""his is the price of progress I guess. P.S. I neglected to mention the Baptist Church, which tic7s located in the area across the road from the sccool house and was the center of our religious and social activity. With a very dedicated minister, Rev. John Schenk we enjoyed services every Sunday in Sunday School and Church. An annual picnic and various programs filled our need for social outlets. This building- was later removed to Cascade, where it was used first as the one room school for ei -ht grades and then later became the county court - boom. 192 V.Iz WYCK Cascade Dews---- - Old Cppy of Cascade News Brim Memorie.3 of 'pan hXck Vol. XXXVI May 4v 1951 #40 the a'`..ove picture of old VanWyck 'nascent of the early days of Lnd the Cascade News from a following items vcra Octaber 213, 1915 edition of -the Cascade New3 was taker. from -f Yif_inner wall of the Floyd Sugar ae idence recently while they were 1i�udeling a partition to make re- pairs. ' ' Another item announces the ad- I D:mmett to settle them comfort: Comes ne'ax o. an earthquake in dition of a new brick chimney to' in that city. He returned 'TI: this issue of the local Do--r of z^ the Lefever home. years ago. Southwestern Idaho felt Willard Graham (now of NVash- der (Old 7'hunler City.) three distinct shocks, F- kiturday ev- ington, D. C.) returned to the low- Dr. Noggle was the mananc: ening, Oct. Z, 1915, according to the er country to join his Fiarents at the VanWyck Drug swore. Di: caper. Buildings swayed, the ground Ny;,s& Ore., following sryveral c. eekv that particular weeir, Mrs, F heaved, fixtures rattled and many here in the employ of the Short people were frightened and ran into pine. Callender made a business t=i! the streets. John Lccnble took his family to 'Doke Palley. ALL GRADES of the Van Wyck, Idaho, school lined up for this photograph in 1914. The townsite of the once thriving Long Valley community is now on the bottom of Cascade reservoir. This photo is owned by W. G. Noggle of Klamath Falls, Ore. emember Van Wyck? F�nrlv_Dav Br ochur e Promotes Valley As Place to Live Long . �.x By MARY JANE WILLIAMS Longing for a little peace. and quiet? Or maybe just a great place to grow tim- othy ... the ideal spots are in Long Valley, according to a small booklet put out in the early 1900s. L o n g Valley as Seen Through the Camera ", is a small pictorial booklet,. per- haps once used to entice set- tlers to the area. The descrip- tions of the places were as colorful as any travel folder could ever be. Who could wish for more than to catch a limit of fish in two hours at Big Creek? Or to have been the proud owner of the Kentucky Home at Thun- der City? Then there is the magnifi- cent city of Van Wyck — now buried under Lake Cascade — the booklet's writer was truly eloquent: No artist ever painted a Picture as beautiful as the valley that nestles the "Good Old Town of Van Wyck" where dwelleth the "Dove of Peace ". If Van Wyck is not enough for you, a quick look at what Roseberry had to offer might decide just where you would Sawmill and flour mill at Payette Lake. settle: The Hotel Roseberry was a fantastic structure, es- pecially with a line -up of gen- tlemen on the front porch. Roseberry also boasted a school, flour mill, and bank. The booklet mentions that with the coming of the rail- road McCall "will become one of the leading towns of the state," .however, more space is devoted to I ardo. As most McCallites know, Lardo is on the west bank of the Payette River, and not quite a town these days. If all this is not enough, wouldn't you love to lounge on the front porch of what is now Cougar Mountain Lodge when it was called "Smith's Ferry on North Fork of Pay- ette River "T" The photograph shows two ladies visiting, while two other small groups look on . . . n o highway, no snowmobiles, no hamburgers! was E2kxen in +iiu at ine van w,yck, .tuano, springs. 'rne develo ient was owned by J. C. Jamison. The Van 11'yck itiitEs3701�' >4vertd by Cascade reservoir. 10. Drivers of the teams in the foreground are identified F. A. Coonrod and Paul Liming. The picture was sub- mitted by Bud Coonrod of Boise. THIS 1910 POST CARD shows customers lined up before ,/ the bar at Carter's Saloon in Van 'Wyck, Idaho. The Van Fnrt1�P,fll'4 fj Q Wyck townsite was covered by water with-the construction y _ _^_ of Cascade Reservoir. Owner of the photo is W. G. Nobbic M:minfb r;,li�. HOT SPRINGS are .rather common in Idaho, And this photo was taken in 1910 at the Van Wyck, Idaho, springs. The development was owned by J. C. Jamison. The Van Wyck townsite is now covered by Cascade reservoir. IDAHO YESTERDAYS Little Town Fades Away By ARTHUR A. HART Director, Idaho Historical Museum If ever an old Idaho photo- graph looked like something from a movie western, the one reproduced today does. It shows the interior of a saloon at Van Wyck, Idaho, around the turn of the century, at a time when Van Wyck was the leading commercial center in Long Valley. The completion of the Idaho Northern's line to Payette Lakes in 1914 marked the be- ginning of Van Wyck's de- cline, although few could have realized it at the time. As was so often the case when a railroad by- passed an established community, a new town grew up on the tracks which took away its business. In Van Wyck's case, the new town was Cascade, two miles west. At the height of her glory, the little town boasted a popu- 1 a t i o n of more than 300 people. By 1920, she was no longer even listed in the Idaho census, and Cascade had reached 299. A nearly identi- cal shift in population oc- curred farther north in the county, where Roseberry died out and Donnelly came into being. Idaho saloons, for over 50 years, resembled the one at Van Wyck; all had certain features in common. There was first of all the gleaming wooden bar, more or less or- n a t e , depending upon the class of . customers it at- tracted. It was usually outfitted with a brass foot rail, and was well supplied with shiny brass spit- toons. Here, we can note in passing, the bar at Van Wyck was hardly high - class. Instead of brass spittoons, the place is rather sparsely furnished with wooden sand boxes. There is ample evidence that the customers at Van Wyck missed the box at least as often as they hit it. In fact, the floor is so splattered throughout, we must reluctantly conclude that many tobacco chewers didn't even aim. An enormous mirror usually backed up a good saloon bar. The one in the photo is small, but a rich wallpaper pattern makes up for it. In some first class saloons, we could expect a .big oil painting of a nude lady back of the bar. At Van Wyck, she can be seen at far left in the alcove where the card game is in progress. One of the things that makes this an unusually good photograph is that it shows better than any other we have seen the kind of other recrea- tions offered by a saloon. There are many references in old newspapers to both card - playing and pool- shooting in saloons, but virtually no pictures of the gamesters in action. An enlarged detail of the left side of our picture shows at least seven men around the billiard tables; four more are playing cards — probably poker, since there are stacks of chips before them. rip l of t 4 q"s to be a fully carved lion, hold- ing up his corner of the table. We may assume that three of his friends are doing the rest of the job. The big round stove and long run of tin stovepipe are typical of such places in those days. The lighting fixtures ap- pear to be carbide. From a perusal of Van Wyck's only newspaper of the period, it seems highly likely that this is the Pioneer Sa- loon. Its advertisements urged men to go to Carter and Halt- er's place, where they could get pure Kentucky whisky and the "celebrated Nampa Cres- cent Beer.'' They also claimed that this beer was making Van Wyck famous. How fleeting is fame! Gamesters "whooping in up" in the old Van Wyck saloon ;e. Monday. NovemUet� 29. 1971 Saloon in heyday of Van W�yck, Idaho, off eyed variety of facilities f or recreation x All Van Wyck trail, over West Mountain offers spectacular scenery, including meadows, timber, creeks and water falls, and rocky mountains, Memories Surface From Lake Cascade VAJI -- - 1JG1lGQ {.- waters of Lake Cascade lies the pioneer town of Van Wyck. It may not have been a utopian Atlantis, but it is re- membered with sentiment by those who once lived there. Mrs. Elting Hasbrouck re- cently reflected on the town beneath the waters and Cas- cade (the town which took its place) for the Inter- mountain Historical So- ciety's continuing series of "old timer reminiscences." It was a different world 60 years ago ... in 1912 . when Mrs. Hasbrouck's fa- ther brought his family from Ontario, Ore., to Van Wyck, by team, train and stagecoach. "Life was peaceful and slow moving, with little so- cial life and no income tax," Mrs. Hasbrouck recalled. "Cows roamed the streets at will, and people just built where they wanted to build." Mrs. Hasbrouck's family took over the general store and soon was selling "any- thing anybody might need" ... from flour and oil to shoes and clothing, "and even a casket upstairs. That always sobered my friends when we played up there," Mrs. Hasbrouck said. Other small businesses flourished there as well. Mrs. Hasbrouck can vir- tually resurrect the town from its watery depths, with her street -by- street descrip- tion;' giving listeners a fleet- ing impression of the sights, sounds and smells of days long gone. to it, the old- fashioned meat market complete with saw- dust floors, refrigeration supplied by last winter's ice and the proverbial penny - pinching proprietor. "He would only have one quarter of beef available at a time," Mrs. Hasbrouck said, "and he dictated our daily diet. If it was the hind end, the whole town ate steak. If it was the front end, we all ate roast or boils." Next came a fresh vege- table stand run by the Bean Brothers; next to it the Green Hotel, and then the saloon ... "That den of in- iquity," Mrs. Hasbrouck said. "There was activity from early morning to early the next morning." Beyond the. saloon stood the blacksmith's shop, the candy story, the Van Wyck Times office and the drug store "with its delicious ice cream sodas." The Odd Fellows' Hall was the town's social center, hosting road shows and home talent shows, box sup- pers, sociables and dances. "Every dance ended with a wedding, a brawl or both," said Mrs. Hasbrouck. She and her friends at- tended a two - teacher school house. Though their life was simple, it was not without childish delights. One Christmas her father ordered a crate of oranges. They showed a neighbor boy how to peel and eat the fruit. "He downed it with great relish and then announced, `Hey, Mr. Madden. I'd like another one of them roota- bagas!' " "One of the big things was to go up to the top of the hill and watch the train come into what is now Cascade," Mrs. Hasbrouck continued. And there was the thrill of seeing the freight wagons ar- rive with new merchandise for their store. Little Van Wyck was not without its violent days, also. "There was the time Bechtok burnt his Green Ho- tel for the insurance and nearly burnt down the whole town," Mrs. Hasbrouck said. "The local businessmen threatened him, saying they'd shoot him if he ever came to town again. Soon word was passed around that Mr. B was on his way in. And, with some liquor, a local man was encouraged to fulfill the threat — which he did!" "I saw the shooting," Mrs. Hasbrouck went on. "With Mr. B toppling to the ground from his buggy. He lay ill for weeks, but eventually recov- ered." Though the towns could recover from violence, few withstood the onslaught of progress, and with the com- ing of the railroad, patterns of life changed. The little towns of Van Wyck, Thunder City and Crawford were by- passed and gradually aban- doned. Cascade sprang up around the train stop and grew rap- idly. People literally picked up their businesses in the small towns and trans- titer planted them to the new lo- cation. Mrs. Hasbrouck's family moved the general store. The Bean brothers' vege- table stand, the drug store, the Emery Hotel and the bar - tier shop all left Van Wyck for Cascade. The post office and community center came from Crawford, and new homes and businesses The Van Wyck Baptist Church was moved ... and became a school house. "We had to provide our own desks," Mrs. Hasbrouck said. "That was the most motley collection of furni- ture! In came the Boise- Payette Lumber Company whicTi, along with mining and farm- ing, soon dominated the area. Modernization brought the installation of a city pump and the local drug- gist's homemade power plant. "There wasn't a' night when the lights didn't go out, but at least we had them," Mrs. Hasbrouck remarked. Rapid development neces- sitated the creation of a county seat. "Previously we had to travel through, two other counties to reach our own county seat in Idaho City," Mrs. Hasbrouck said. "So, in 1917, Valley County was created with Cascade as the county seat. w Ca& 9 i,5 / or r` Ca.L VAN WYCX I ul, 3 � 917 Z FoM d in about 1832, Van WYck was one of- the earnest towns in valley County. It was situated about three-quarters Of a mile north-vast of the present town of Cascade, and now lips beneath tke C.scade Reserviore with The airsb post office was established in 188, Levi Ximba ll ser;ring as the post master at t'skat time. The first etore in to a was owned and operated by h Oaks. The S. and S. Company S•0ore carried Georg Ralph � ids, .. �d had a coffin gnocaries, , hardware # shoes, dry 80 stored upstairs. Oren Coonrod rauz a livery stable and t =�°°n and was a Meal .part of the 100::11 econogr, takes cab of freighters teat-,,and-travelers. The ry Hotel and the Green Hotel were pcz alar lodging est$bli nts. tie Roven operated a meat market'with saw dust covered floors and ice cut the wjjr er before which was stored to keep the meat c old during the summer months. Ear. t Bean had a € 1 ve,at able store d sold au(j vegetables: `and fnAt t mt were in season brought up from Sweet, . - "Mr. Kostic a� blac'zsmith Copp and of c-"ad b the toad boasted -of >d saalocn, a ,�arcxg stogie was - .ctpe°ted by the Th =arts wa3 le K:'etchmar Carey Shop aYci resturC -:4 t and a dent*.. "PailOr- �ud was the caitor of the r�wspaper the Van Wyck "Times. The Odd pillows Slaoll was a co nity center for social events." Upstairs there wms a lodge mom and a dance hall. The Witchsy home had � a f ;rovicied. rdl k prod"; ets t4- those that didn't have a alk cort. The 66hool house was a two- stor,;l building. r�h4� there were two tea dhers, one each for the upper Ond 1OWGr grades. The Baptist Church was L -ai.lt in 1903- - A.? so to acrve the people was a justice of the Feace end a Jail. Vain Wy4.:k waS xe site of the first election !:-n the area La 1888® Hall at the Steve Sisk hom.. with a turnout of 11 voters® in 1913 the town was f" lie d with men working on The railroad that was being built from E=ett to McCall. railroad established a depot at Cascade.,-The result of the railroad was the ending of Van Wyck, Crawford, and Thunder City which were all bypassed and the esta blish=nt Of the new town of Cascade. i D� Q ° C. Mc Cam 141rs�or j,ccz�- fi^ol,e c tt pojx 3 C ^. *ade He Ma=h 10, 1922. Cam a r+, YAY 49 1941t Volu= 10=0 M,,mber 40, Picture. I►� , t"f -llS a Sc� �� A 0am_g+ , t"g f- imsnts of the L© sy Real BOtatO l6Q�yt publiahad in 1907. Euette rsRr " A yt 49 '949. F ►� W.v k,___6A �3 AM � s I Remember t, by M. Hasbrouck, P�;�es 1��® �Fz? I Spawning grounds TheFirstwedding was a q uickie by Roxanna Allen As June begins, so begins the month famous for wedding dates throughout the country. The first wedding that took place in this area did not occur on a warm spring day surrounded by signs of the earth renewing and reviving itself from its long winter's rest. It happened huddled next to a stove on a cold winter's day. A middle -aged couple appeared at the drug store in Van Wyck being operated by Justice of the Peace Beers. While getting warmed up, the judge asked the couple what he could do for them, whereupon, they answered that they wished to get married. This being the first request to perform such a solemn ceremony, the judge was totally unfamiliar on just how he was to go about the act. But, deciding all was fair, he told them to join hands and asked them the following questions: "Do you want to marry him ?" "Yes," came the bride's reply. "Do you want to marry her ?" "I reckon so," said the groom. "All right, you're married." They departed, married and as happy as could be. 'I L Va'-n-'Wyck homestead under lake When Mary Ruth Allen was in grade school in Van Wyck, her teacher would set aside one day each spring to take the students to the river. They would watch loggers jump from one log to another as they floated downstream. "Boy, was that a thrill," Ruth, 85, recalls, explaining how they used poles with spikes to guide the logs. "It was amusing for us kids to stand there and watch those men. It was entertaining as all get - out." Ruth was born in Lyle, Kan. in 1894. Her father, John Hillmon, moved his family first to Oklahoma — "Dad was sunstroked twice`- ^and then to Idaho.. Ruth was eight years old when she first saw Van Wyck in 1902. She went through eighth grade at the one -room schoolhouse in Van Wyck, located one mile to the west of Cascade's present boat dock. Cascade didn't exist then. Neither did the Cascade Reservoir that covers Van Wyck, which was founded in the late 1890s. Van Wyck's hotel, post office and telephone . switchboard were in one building, Ruth remembered. There was a dry goods and grocery store, a blacksmith's shop, a printing office, the IOOF (Oddfellows) Hall and a saloon. Only one street ran through; Van Wyck and Ruth doubts if there were ever more than 150 people living in the town before it moved to Cascade about 1915. Loaves of bread were turned out by the dozens in Stiburek's bakery, now part of Cascade's Ponderosa Plaza. Ruth's father, who was born March 5, 1855, was a farmer with 160 acres about one - quarter mile from the school. "It was a very lively town," Ruth said. "There were loggers, sheepherders -- it was pretty lively... (and) rough at that time. "There was quite a bit of gambling ant everything that went with it, I gutss. I was just a kid." There were dances in the Lodge Hall every Saturday night, dances that Ruth didn't go to until she was 16 or 18. Ruth's brother, George, and Alicia Allen were the first couple to be married in Cascade. That was June 7, 1914. Two years later, Ruth married Alicia's brother, D. K., in Van Wyck. D. K. came from Utah with his father in 1913. They hacked ties for the railroad that left Cascade in its wake. When D. K. arrived, he lived at the foot of the sheeptrail on West Mountain where the tie camp was located. "They lived in tents the first and second winters," Ruth said. "Everybody thought they couldn't do it, but they did." Estimating that there were 15 to 20 men in the camp, Ruth adds that they used two wagons and six horses to do the job. Once the railroad arrived and Cascade started, Van Wyck joined Crawford to the northeast and Thunder City to the south in moving to the new city. Ruth believes that about two - thirds of Van Wyck's buildings found their way to Cascade. Horses brought the homes and buildings to the new city. "They would jack them up and put them on skids," she said. The young Allens moved onto a ranch on the west side of what is now Cascade Lake when their older son, Pat, was four months old. They stayed, after raising two sons and two daughters, Ruth Allen until' 1942 when they moved to a house in Cascade. Their youngest son, Jack, was killed, in England in 1944. Their two daughters, Julia and Georgeana, have moved to Iowa and Washington. Pat stayed in Valley County. He lives south of Cascade, where Thunder City was, and is one of three county com- missioners. "Compared to this, those were the good old days," Ruth said. She remembers the mass move from Van Wyck to Cascade as an exciting time. The house that Horace Patterson, also 85, lives in in Cascade was one of the homes taken to the new city. Transportation was by horse and buggy when Ruth was a girl and young woman. The Allens bought their first car when their older daughter was a baby. "I'm not going to tell you about that," Ruth said, leaving one with the impression that she must have had some interesting experiences with that car. the .IW�S . ( Contintied from Page B -22) _ The move to Cascade was not easy. N the snow and cars were ignored during When her husband would go to work on the winter " '` fences or sell lots in the West Mountain" a; "At that time there was so much area Ruth would bring her old'eat and more snow," Ruth said. "It would go' "stay all day. I'd take a lunch for all of right over the fences," us. I wasn't about to.do anything over By March .the snow above the fences' here. I just couldn't. I didn't think I' x was so set that "it yeas dust like - belonged over here." avement - " � >V, 1A V7 that, Ruth` said 3 p - D. IC farmed : ranched for a: - Time changes everything, you know. I fr living. f _ xdon't 'want 'to be anywhere :else now. "'` ... "In the'1summertime lie_ had to have -" : Her daughters want her to live with help,',' Ruth said; adding ttiaththey grew ` them; "but shoot:' As long as I'm able to'" grain, hay- and potatges' and raised a take care of myself, I'm going to stay lot of cattle." Surplus crops were sold here, she said. < „ � .. � ����� ; Band plays as u marches toward Cascade School 4::Fass? at Stibni ` £ Y:; Ruth means what she says. In 1976 ' Ruth'used to drive a buckboard to her home turned. She rebuilt it on the Cascade. In _the winter; she put a dash same site near Cascade ScliooT board over. the front oOtt ickboard , When the reservoir was built in the . to seat the chil&ren' . She would places late 1940s most of the ranchers and ..�.U+ hot rocks in -the da`shboa d to1"keep the farmers sold out: to the government.` kids warm:JuhaYand ;Pat would play Ruth's husband and Ed Davis declined. and talk. They got along just fine. I had They gave the government an ,4 an old .team thit,` a trustworthy as easement over their land that was to be , could be." i nundated. It the lake is ever drained, r Because: they: raised just:` about . Ruth explains, .the land boundaries of everything they ate, commodities such the Aliens and Davises will be exactly as sugar,. flour; °cereal and salt were what they were before the lake. about the only staples they would buy. After the reservoir was built, there "I had a big garden," she continued. - were no roads to West Mountain. Ruth "We raised chickens,, remembers D; K. buying a to- person We always butchered our own ;meat. It ; rubber boat so he could take supplies to was `reall}� an independent life and I a renter across the water just loved it out there:" She rarely goes to the west side of the It was along time before the Aliens lake, even now tha t there are 'roads .- had a telephone - "that was something The. area has ` grown "by leaps and , �;. wonderful... We had no electricity at all bounds," a development that, Ruth ' � ` 4 Courthouse wgrkers take a until after,we moved,to town... , said her husband foresaw. �"' break fi &&h4& obs to ose, for icture in 1918. 1 P. olf ec'ias� s�.s { LC►w town Y an W yclf, l YV ! . by Linda Hansen MCCALL —` `There's nothing as fun as talking about old times," chuckled Mrs. Eltinge Hasbrouck as she settled into her seat, ready to tell "The Story of Vanwyck and Cascade." Her rapt audience of both Cascade and McCall residents filled every seat in the high school room last Thursday evening, anxious to hear Mrs. Hasbrouck read two papers she has written about the areas. "Vanwyck, 60 years ago, as I remember it ... was a little village that is now covered by the murky waters of Lake Cascade." With obvious affection and nostalgia for the small town, Mrs. Hasbrouck recalled how her family rode into Vanwyck by team from Ontario, Oregon, in June, 1912. Her father had arrived to manage the S. and S. Co. store, a general store so typical of the "the olden days ", stocked with everything from clothing to caskets. The family had intended to stay for the summer only, but Mrs. Hasbrouck recalled with fond delight ". . .here I am after 61 years." She invited her willing audience to stroll down Memory Lane with her, touring the Main Street of Vanwyck. Vividly remembering every detail, she pointed out the livery stable and barn where local people housed their teams and buggies. The Emery Hotel and post office was just "the place" for a fine chicken dinner and next to that was Ode Koven's meat market. Mr. Koven was a thrifty German who chipped ice the previous winter to preserve the meat he sold. All Mrs. Hasbrouck's listeners were able to compare today's produce departments in our local stores with the tiny "green grocery" run by Harry and Art Bean. Going on up the road, Mrs. Hasbrouck pictured the Green Hotel and with a twinkle in her eye, recalled the inevitable saloon, "that den of iniquity where there was activity from early morning until the early hours of the following morning." Also a "stable" in every village long ago was the blacksmith, and next to that, was the Kretchmer Candy Shop and restaurant. The town had no attorney, so Judge Kimball, editor of the Vanwyck Times, was "much obliged" to lend his legal services to the townspeople. The tiny village of Vanwyck also sported a drug store that "dispensed" real ice cream sodas, and an Odd Fellows Hall where town folk "entertained, "and where "every dance or celebration ended in a wedding or a brawl," ac- cording to Mrs. Hasbrouck. A dairy farm right on Main St. and the S. and S. Co. store completed the speaker's "tour" around town. She stopped for one last look at the old schoolhouse and the Baptist church where much of the town's activity took place. Whatever happened to that "peaceful and slow - moving" small town? The rumble of a freight train dropped off its most important passenger in town one day - Progress. Because of the railroad, "the pattern of life was changed, even causing the end of the town," stated Mrs. Hasbrouck. Drinking "railroad bums" littered the streets, keeping the townspeople inside after dark. But memories linger on - of the excitement of electrical storms that killed two sheepherders and destroyed homes, of the Downends bringing their sacks of grain in the fall to trade for supplies, of Dora Robb stepping on a needle and having it extracted without anesthetic, of Mr. Bechtel burning down the Green Hotel just for the insurance money, and finally, of the gypsies and Indians who roamed into town, much to the fear and delight of the children. The story of Cascade follows the demise of Vanwyck in 1913. Originally owned by W. D. Pat- terson, father of Horace Patterson, the town consisted of only six blocks. Back then, Cascade "was rich, lush pasture land with few fences and lots of statley pines on the hill above" It emerges as the "new town" born of three old villages - Thunder City, Crawford, and Vanwyck. Buildings from each of the villages were moved to the present site of Cascade, with "much speculation as to where the best sites would be." Cascade became the county seat in 1917. Mrs. Hasbrouck's "tour of the past" concluded with 'her wistful words: "The days I write of were good days, and I'm glad to have lived at that time, to see our forests in their virgin state, our roads not so heavily traveled, our wild game unmolested, and fishing such as one never sees anymore. Progress is good but it takes a toll" - as we all can see. Just look around you. t Valley town memories recalled The Gem Hotel in Van Wyck - 1907 MAIN STREET, VAN WYCK, Idaao, 1910. Picture taken by J. E. Tham- ert, druggist. Picture was taken for Eunice Sloan, (Mrs. Thamert) a grade school teacher from New PIymouth. Left is Fisher Hotel, later Emery Hotel, now in Cascade. J. H. Em- ery, standing at corner of Hotel. Boyse Meat Market (Boyse home was between hotel and market out of sight. Next is Van Wyck Hotel, burned April 13, 1913, April 14 J.H. Emery stood in front of the meat market and shot Bechtel who was sitting in a hack about where the buggy and team stands. (Photo and information courtesy of Mr. N.G. Noggle.) * .