Gooding County Historical Society

GOODING COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P. O. Box 89, Gooding, Idaho 83330
[email protected]
TELEPHONE:
MUSEUM – (208) 934-5318 – answering machine is attached
JOANI PAULS – (208) 934-5366
KRIS QUIGLEY – (208) 490-7466

Let me start out with an apology. We messed up the date for our June Speaker Night and tried to correct it by putting the date on a sticker on the outside, but there were still people who missed the Speaker, who was very good. Even my proof reader missed the date. We are sorry, but to keep us on track the Speaker Night is every third Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM. There will not be a speaker for the month of August, due to the fair.
The next thing to bring to your attention is the date on the label of your Time Piece©. This date is your membership expiration date. If it is close or past due, just let us know and we will be glad to get your membership renewed. I did hear a comment from a person who supports the Museum, but is not a member. It was said that they did not want to join, because they did not want to have to work. WE do a lot of fun things and enjoy just being at the museum. We always have a pot of coffee on or there is water in our donated fridge (thank you Todd Bunn) to drink. Join us and come and visit anytime. We will not make you work, but we will entertain you.
I just picked up a sign that pretty well describes us at the Museum; “YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE CRAZY TO WORK HERE, WE TRAIN YOU.”
We are just days away from celebrating our Nation’s birthday. During this time there will be parades, reunions, fireworks, and family gatherings. Please take the time to remember all of the sacrifices that have been made to protect us and keep our Country free. Freedom doesn’t come free. God Bless America. And please remember to keep all of our service men and women in your thoughts and prayers as you enjoy the holiday.
Our speaker night was a great success, even with the blunder on the date. Mr. Howard gave us a lesson on the Iroquois Indians. The Iroquois Indians were actually 5 different tribes of Indians who came together as one big tribe. Even though they were joined together as a big group, they still lived as individual tribes. There were 10 chiefs elected from each tribe. They came together twice a year, or more if needed, for a tribal council. As a council they could vote to go to war, not declare war, or for any other big decisions. Mr. Howard described how this is like our current government and gave credit to the Iroquois for how our government was formed. The Mohawk Indians asked to join the tribe and were granted admittance, but with the stipulation that they had the protection, but would not be allowed a vote at the council. Eventually the Iroquois were killed out, even with the full force of their tribes. I’m sorry that I am not as good with this story, but we truly are grateful to Mr. Howard for his time & knowledge.
During June the Museum has received more artifacts from donors in the community. The most interesting item, in one donation, from the Ralph Lucke, Jr. estate, was a clock from the International Time Recording Company of Endicott, New York. The clock had been salvaged from the old Gooding High School and ran the bell system there. The pendulum wall clock has a date of 1926, and is now hanging in the Museum. With a little cleaning and polishing, to spruce up its appearance, it will be a great addition to the history of Gooding County. We would also like to thank the young men that brought the donations to the museum and unloaded them as well.
The Museum also has another pendulum wall clock that came out of the old museum downtown. It is a clock from The American Clock Company that according to the card inside it was donated by Bob Brown. Mr. Brown was in the Idaho State Penitentiary (we do not know why), and was pardoned by Governor Frank Gooding so he could help put in the plumbing for the city of Gooding. If anyone know the story of Bob Brown, would you please let us know? We would like the information for our research center.
For those of you who have not been out to see the Museum in the last month, we now have a railing on the ramp to the Thorne Creek School. With this ramp, we will be able to allow public entry and also be ADA compliant. We still have a lot of work to do on the school house itself, but the next phase will be to get the building scraped and then stained. We will be going back with a white stain, partly because of the delicate condition of the wood, but also to help preserve what is there. We are getting the measurements of the window glass and removal of broken glass and frames for replacement or restoration. Remember that we had vandals break windows on the side of the school; and they have not been brought to justice yet. The front door is refinished and back at the Museum through the generous donation of Mel Bryns of Hagerman. The door has been sanded down and painted, as well as having the window replaced. More to come. We will be doing the work of scraping the building ourselves and would greatly appreciate any and all help donated. This is your School and History. Let us know when you can help and we will get set up for some work as well as a good time with friends.
Remember that the fair is just under two months from now. Start getting your antiques rounded up, and thinking about the categories you want to enter them in. We will help also get them entered. Bring your stick on address labels for your tickets, to keep from getting cramps in your hand, when writing your address over & over. So be sure and circle August 15th on your calendar as the day to bring in and enter all those winning antiques. This year’s Fair Theme is “Fair-A-Dise”. Otherwise, the theme is paradise. We will have Fair Books in the 2nd week of July and don’t forget, the Antiques Department is giving out two special rosettes; one for the best fair theme and the other for best museum theme, “Early County History”. We will need sitters for the fair and also on Monday and Tuesday when we take in the antiques and during the judging to help move the antiques around. If you can help, please let us know.
Our Speaker Night this month is Wednesday July 20th at 7:00 PM. Our Speaker will be Liz Haugee from Twin Falls. Liz is a Community Education Representative for Idaho Power Company. As 2016 is Idaho Power’s 100th birthday, Liz will be here to speak about their Centennial. Remember that all of us are a part of this birthday. Let’s all mark this date down and come support the Museum and learn about a milestone in our Counties’ and area’s history. Of course, Speaker Nights are always free and refreshments will be served following the conclusion of the presentation.
MUSEUM VISITOR
Last Saturday, the museum received a visitor from an out-of-state member of the Gooding family. Jean Gooding, from Valrico, Florida, came to Gooding to see other members of the clan and visit the town named after her family. Jean is the great-granddaughter of William Gooding, who stayed in Michigan and did not go west as his brothers did. John Gooding brought his family of seven children from Devonshire, England and settled in on a small farm in Michigan in 1867. The children’s mother had passed away before the family came to the United States. The children’s care was overseen by an aunt. The children’s father was said to be quite stern and bossy which led to Frank Gooding deciding to leave home. Frank had to sign a promissory note for the amount he could have earned by the time he was 21, so that his father would give his permission for Frank to leave. Otherwise, he could have been arrested and brought back to the farm. At the time, children’s earnings belonged to the parents.
William Gooding stayed in Michigan and became a wealthy farmer. Jean Gooding will be sending us a picture of John and Elizabeth Gooding, the Gooding Brothers parents. When the Museum receives it, I’ll announce it in the Timepiece. It was a fun afternoon visiting with Jean and we hope she will visit again.
DIM-A-LIT
One of smaller exhibit is a vintage brass and porcelain dimmer socket that was used for early electric lights. It was made by the Wirt Company of Philadelphia and has a patent date of Nov. 24, 1908. It would allow the amount of electricity that would reach the light bulb by pulling on the outer two cords on the socket. This way you could save your light bulb by not applying the electrical current all at once. We have put this socket on the light hanging in our updated electrical kitchen display. With the 100th birthday of Idaho Power, we have removed the wood burning stove and ice box in the kitchen with an early electric stove and refrigerator.
Before we leave the kitchen area, I would like to give you a recipe from a cookbook put out by the Idaho Historical Auxiliary in 1970. They had taken this recipe from an old cookbook in 1890. Anyone with a lawn will appreciate it.
BOILED DANDELIONS
Use the first shoots of the dandelions. They are not fit for food after they blossom, as they then become bitter and stringy. Cut off the roots, pick them over carefully, and wash well in several waters; then put them in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, add a teaspoons of salt, and boil one hour. When done, drain and chop fine; then put them in a frying pan, add tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper to taste; stir until thoroughly heated, and serve with egg sauce.
BIG THANK YOU
The Historical Society would love to give a big Thank You to the Bliss Garden Club. If you notice the west side of the Museum, we now have plants and white rocks decorating our landscape. They do a wonderful job for us and we really appreciate it. We also have another bit Thank You to Ken Wilson. Ken comes to spray the wonderful weeds that seem to like us here. He has sprayed already several times this year.
I would like to thank Steve Quigley for all of the work he did on this Timepiece. If it is humorous, that piece came from him. In fact, he wrote at least 60 % of the newsletter this time. My creative juices were not flowing.
We will be open during the Basque Picnic on July 17th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Please come out and support the Basque Association and come see us at the Museum that Sunday as well.

Speaker Night at the Museum June 2016