The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1916-10-06
Successful Farmer and
Stockrnan at Goshen

James Christensen, the county
commissioner lives in Jameston near
the foot hills. Mr.. Christensen's ex-
perience furnishes an example OF
what man of industry and energy
can accomplish when working stead
lily to a purpose. He came to that
locality in 1889 and pitched his tent
in a sea of sage brush and went to
work to wrest his living from it.
He has a wife and family and they
are all partners in whatever is done,
and partners in happy sense OF
equality and mutual interest. They
all work, and the daughters can
handle saddles horses and teams II
necessary. If Mr.. Christensen is
short a man to drive the moving
machine, one of his daughters can
take a seat on the machine and down
as much alfalfa in a day as man
and do it WELL The youngsters
learn to do all kinds of work for
the love of doing and because 1t
might at times be necessary to do 1t.
In the 27 years that Mr.. Christen-
sen has lived in this county he has
gotten somewhat ahead of the game,
"enough to winter on Sixteen
hundred acres of fine land adjacent
to the foothills, 1900 head of sheep
at Democratic war prices, $50 horses,
$50 cattle, ~ work teams, 10 saddle
horses 300 hogs, 500 tons of hay,
1875 acres of potatoes, six potato cell
lars rangino in size from 3Ox5O feet
up to 35x100. Then there are few
other things thrown in such as a
large modern stone house, a big
barn, a water system with windmill
and 6,OOO-gallon tank, 5000 bushels
of grain in the bins and 1000 yet to
thresh, big family car and a few
other trifles. For pin money he sold
7O5 lambs that brought him $4,316,
and his 1900 sheep brought him 50
apiece from the wool clip. He has
already harvested 10 acres of pota-
toes that one of his tenants was
handling on the shares, and after
dividing with the tenant and paying
the expenses of marketing it left him
$50 an acre net; SO we repeat, HE
has enough to winter on
Mr. Christensen began his business
career at the age of nine years, and
trailing sheep was his job. He served
out his apprenticeship full and long
for other people and then for him.
self, looking after and building up
his own little herd. During summer
showers and winter storms he has
met the elements single-handed in
the mountains and survived their as
saults and is strong and active. He
is one of the successful men who was
not hampered with rich parents nor
inheritance. Necessarily his educa-
ton so far as books go was rather
meager and intensely practical. When
people emphasize the Importance OF
giving their children higher educa-
ton or the trimmings not found in
the district school Mr.. Christensen
is apt to remind them that all those
things may be good, but that they
are not essential to success II the
youngsters have the seeds of success
in them. He has served two terms
as member of the board of county
commissioners and is chairman OF
the school board in his district. Like
many other successful business men
of Idaho, his service in official life
has been to some extent schooling
for him, and has helped to round
out his natural abilities. He is one
of the happy men of the county who
has laid hold to deserve success, and
fortune has dealt kindly with him
in the effort.
Besides being successful farmer
and stockman, Mr.. Christensen under
stands the weather. 1t was one of
those windy days the last week of
September that we saw him at his
home and pumped" him about
various things. We asked him when
it was going to rain, and he said
a rain was due about the first of Oc-
tober. Right around the first
said he, there will be rain in the
valley and some snow in the hills.
We always get it right around the
first of October, and you can depend
on it, ,.