The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1914-03-06
THE OBSERVATORY.
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A while ago | was driving mo
Caldwell and picked up man to ride
with me; he was an utter stranger;
later | learned his home was out
east of Nampa somewhere, and that
he had been hunting for good horse.
He began talking about Canyon
county; said he had a relative down
west on Deer Flat somewhere and
from all he had learned about this
region he thought it must be hne
place for home and in which to
raise a"family of children; this man
was born and raised in Ohio and
knew what constituted a good COM
munity with healthy public sentiment;
he emphasized the absence of open
saloons, and the presence of acad-
emies for higher schooling, and above
all, such a college as he understood
we have; then he went on to speak
of the class of residents he had met
and learned about.
am not an "Old Timer" as a res
ident of our good city, but | have
known it quite number of years;
back in the Cos | used to occasionally
stop off here, and remember some
things; in those days there were sa-
looms enough to make a full measure
of misery; | recall being told of
homesteader down Roswell way who
sold out REIMBURSEMENT" and re-
ceived some hundreds of dollars; at
home he had a wife and five or six
barefoot children, all of whom suf-
Tered for the comforts, not to say ne
cessities of life; he got his money
and started home through Caldwell /; |
he visited the saloons and when he |
got home had lost every cent of his |
money; | have often tried to imagine |
the feelings of a drunkard's wife, |
but have never happened to be |
brought very close to one in such |
circumstances; it seems to me it |
must be about as sad as one can i'm
lgine; | presume knowing ones can
still get Intoxicating liquor in our
city, and presume some of us could
point to within "a row of apple trees"
IS to where it might be secured if
one had been thoroughly initiated in
all such mysteries; but one fact
IS sure; we have no legalized place
Tor liquor selling and are not likely
to have again. Then as | used to
come on the train from the west, or
going out in that direction, | used to
see a row of small houses, the cur
AIMS on whose windows advertised
hem; their absence benefits the
Town; and have an impression that
The closing OF the Pacific Hotel was
no loss to the town; old Timers"
who travelled much through the west
I'm country in the Sos and COS recall
some OF those old Pacific Hotels with
more or less OF pleasure; but the one
II Caldwell, in the last of the DAYS
yhen IT was situated across the track
rom the present station site, was
spared without any loss to the COM
nunity good.
Then in passing l marked the
building for the College of Idaho. and
hen wondered if | would live TO see
q tull-grown college. / had known
omewhat about the long string OF
UGH colleges from Harvard near Bos-
on stretchinS westward, and had
.nown how some of them had he
AN with few books in one small
DOM with one teacher and two stu-
ents, and had grown into distinc-
49, S~g q SACdl uCdl 10 NV tar
astern friends about our fair civ
nd high grade county, our fine pubIi,
uildings and our high-class citizens
t city and county, but above an
ut our College OF Idaho, and its
are president, and the associates he N
as gathered around him. One who I
as travelled widely and had an oDpor- :
unity to compare different commnn-
les cannot fail to see the dist;nr, G
ltiuence OF this college ali throngb
ms region. If | had children to BE- J
ducated | would rather have tben,
such an institution where tbev
.ould feel the personal influence ~ =
ieh man: Anyone who has much Y
ndied mems lives will have obseryed
lat in almost every case some ona
erson has made a lifelong imnres
on IN the youthful days. / persop
~ knew the great college president
ARK Hopkins, of whom former nro.
ent Garfield said emphatic w p'e
gard'ng his personal influence. he