Comments on: Thoughts From Half A Century Ago

By: The Wolf

The Wolf — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 16:15:05 +0000

Mr. Editor;

Great article! I would love to read more about your experiences with the Statesman, BPD, City Hall, etc. in those days.
Maybe make it a regular feature here.
Or, dare I say it, a book?

By: JoJo

JoJo — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 15:17:41 +0000

Gee, with all these old-timers, my stories pale in comparison. My family came to Boise in 1974 from the Midwest. We lived a few months in Boise (my house at the time is now Goody’s up in the North End, and Paul J. Schneider’s oldest son was my best friend), until my dad got a job teaching at Vallivue, and we moved to Nampa. Everything that has happened bad in Boise happened to Nampa as well, just different. When Boise Town Square opened in 1988, I was working in Karcher Mall, and literally watched it die. The best finger steaks in the Valley were at the Country Inn in Nampa, which is now an Albertsons gas station, the field where I used to kick up a couple rooster pheasants on my way to junior high is the Nampa Rec Center, and Walmart paved over my fishing hole from when I was a kid.

I understand the changes, and why they happened. Doesn’t mean I don’t miss what we lost…

By: Tom Titus

Tom Titus — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 22:39:16 +0000

Thanks Dave for the memories!! A few nights ago I was lost in thought of when I arrived in Boise, June 1977. Actually months earlier I had previously flown into Boise during spring break from the University of Wyoming and my former hometown of Laramie, Wyoming. I had applied on a whim thru job interviews for a position of DVOP (Disabled Veterans Outreach Program) with the State of Idaho, which was a new Federal Program to hire Disabled Veterans like myself. Little did I know, based on my military service and education that I would be selected for the position covering the area from Nampa to Weiser including Emmett. Moving to Boise in 1977 was a venture in itself, I was not used to the heat and lower elevation (Laramie Wyoming where I grew up was 7,250 feet and cold), but I quickly assimilated into Boise life! My first house was on Saratoga Drive near the old Tate’s farm/dairy and my house was the 12th one in the new subdivision. So here I am today, 41 years,5 months and have lived in 4 houses in various areas of Boise. My only son, SPC Brandon T. Titus was born at St. Lukes,graduated Borah HS,gave up college scholarships to enlist in the military and sadly he was the 1st Soldier/Veteran to be buried in the new Idaho State Veterans Cemetery when he KIA, August 2004. So much has changed in Boise, some not so good, but I am home here and really miss those places you shared in your recollections. Thanks Dave, for the memories and the smile you brought to my face!!

By: Clancy

Clancy — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 22:36:51 +0000

Great post and it gives great perspective to your slant on the news. My perspective is a bit different and usually lambasted in the comments hear and elsewhere.

I live and work in the Northend and Downtown, which is a different reality from what is happening in most of the valley. I moved here after college and bought in the Northend while it was still affordable. I mostly ride my bike to work, stores and fun within 2 miles, so parking and congestion are no bother. When I do travel out to the mall area or Eagle Rd, it usually is not a pleasant experience due to traffic.

But I do understand the change as I grew up in McCall and that place is no where near the same today. Cascade is much closer to the McCall that I remember.

By: Kent F Goldthorpe

Kent F Goldthorpe — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 22:10:49 +0000

Thanks. I came to Boise shortly after that and took the same turn off the same road but I never did make it to City Hall or the Statesman. I couldn’t drive past Manley’s.

By: Porcupine

Porcupine — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 21:32:20 +0000

Lets see if any one can beat this
born 1950.. St Lukes downtown ( of course there was only 1 St. Lukes
Jolly time kindergartner by Morris Hill ( now close)
Jefferson Elementary
Moved To Adams Elementary
East Jr. High ( the old one when they were still burning coal for heat)
Boise High School
Boise (State)College

Lived in Boise or Idaho City since….

By: Jake Watson

Jake Watson — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:05:01 +0000

Love it… one of my favorite posts. Thanks Dave!

By: Diane C Stearns

Diane C Stearns — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 20:02:47 +0000

I think I have you all beaten…
I arrived in Boise mid-June 1970 at age thirty (the Interstate wasn’t even completed). That makes me a really ole’ broad now… Since I moved from the Mid-West, I had never seen flood irrigation, barbed-wire fences, hills or mountains. We bought a 2,750 square foot house on one-third of an acre on Morton Drive just off Mountain View and paid $30,000. I can’t imagine what the value of that home would be now… For a treat, we would walk up Ustick Road to Delsa’s Ice Cream shop.
I worked for Albertson’s General Office for ten years when it was above the grocery store that was located where the bank is now at 16th & State. After saving enough for my two boys to attend college, I worked nights cleaning commercial buildings and then spent the weekends holding open houses for McLeod Realty, so I could graduate from BSU, which I did in December 1984.
After that, I obtained a position as a Workers’ Comp. Consultant at the Idaho Industrial Commision which was at 3rd & Main, and I remained there until retirement.
Boise used to be wonderful years ago, but now it’s one traffic jam after another, the price of housing is unreal and certainly not affordable for the average family.
Oh, how I long for the good ole days…

By: bikeboy

bikeboy — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:53:50 +0000

I was born in the old St. Alphonsus Hospital you make note of. 65 years and 4 days ago. (Let me thank you taxpayers – you’ll be taking over my healthcare in the not-too-distant future!)

I was whisked home – to a new house right across the street from where Gary Richardson lives now. (Unless he’s moved…) Boise’s population was maybe 50,000. The tallest building in Idaho was Hotel Boise – now the Hoff Building. The big venue in town was the Boise College Gymnasium. The west edge of town was Curtis Road.

My dad was an OB/GYN – his office was in the Idaho First Nat’l Bank building on Idaho between 11th and 12th (now US Bank). Soon after, he and his partner built their own office at 121 E. Fort St. (The Boise Little Theater was built across the street soon after, using the same bricks as Dad’s office.)

I attended Roosevelt Elementary, East Jr. High (where Dona Larsen Park now stands), Boise High. Toward the end of my BHS years, they started building the new Boise Cascade Building… little did I know at the time that many years later I’d earn my bread working in that building (just passed 24 years).

When our esteemed Guardian editor came to town, Hillcrest Plaza was sparkling new – the biggest shopping center for 300 miles in any direction! I was riding dirt bikes in the foothills – ruining the environment! (Since then, it’s been SAVED! Now that same real estate is covered with subdivisions, as far as the eye can see.)

Mayor Bieter wants to make “Boise the most livable city in the country.”

From this old-timer’s perspective, we’ve been headed in the WRONG direction for many years – certainly for his entire tenure as mayor. I would gladly give up my Connector and Taco Bell Arena and parking garages and Boise Towne Square and 50 strip malls, to live in the town I grew up in.

(Thanks for the happy nostalgia, Dave and everybody else!)

By: Elizabeth Carmody

Elizabeth Carmody — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 19:43:55 +0000

Dave, it is as though I were in the car with you as you approached our city for the first time. Oh, boy how I remember what it was like back in the day and my, how things have changed. Having been born here (St. Luke’s, 1951) and privileged to live here most of my life, I can recount so many good and bad decisions by our city leaders that have left a permanent mark on this city we call home. The trouble is, once you start changing the landscape, there is no going back. It is so sad to witness the type of growth occurring in Boise and our neighboring towns. For the record, I am not anti-growth but would like to see a display of more responsibility and accountability on behalf of our elected officials. We will never return Boise to what it was, but may we reflect on it and embrace that sense of missing the allure of a small city where life was just plain simple. Yes, Boise will never be the same but it is not too late to do the right thing.