The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1924-06-19
ARCO CELEBRATES
CRATERS OF MOON
SNATI0NAL PARK
Hundreds of Visitors See
America 8 New Scenic
Wonderland

Wonderland
Arco was the base of operation
last Sunday for New He'll. God
blessing was to be asked for the new
ly we'd stun in the melting pot TIL,
center Of the second largest Law,
field in the world, the newest BIZ
area of lava in America, it affOrdl
the most stunts and has at least wo1
a bride in congressional action.
is now set up as q national mOnu
ment or park, the fiftieth one to bs
authorized by legislative action. Will
an area of 80 square miles it viii
vote next fall, to be allowed to ex
tend itself to- include 12O square
miles.
Sunday morning Arco village was
alive with cars. With % miles Of
good road itching to be used in the
direction of the moon, Arco and Its
guests rose early and stepped on
FER. For hundred years the Big
Butte has been landmark for
I travellers in the Snake river valley
and Cinder Butte Is one of the means
of anchorage to those who board
and room on the Arco plains. Both
buttes were in position Sunday morn
ing, basking in the sun.
Jim Demerris is an old resident
of Arco. Merl Shannafelt is another.
During the Panama exposition they
together went up in the Tower OF
Jewels at San Francisco to look
around and get their bearings. Merl
gothic first look, and Jim is said
to have asked, do you see Big
Butter" And when Merl answered
ic a
exclaimed my Lord, we are lost"
But all the Jims and the Shame
felts felt secure Sunday morning
double SO; for there was the Big
Butte on the left and the Cinder
Butte ahead Some ten years ago
Arthur Ferris and Jim McKelvy of
Lost river were sOjOurning in Mex
leo and were thrown into jail just
to prove that Mexico had a govern
ment that was functioning. Their
cell had one window but it was high
up. Finally the desire to see out
was so strong that Arthur boosted
Jim up while he looked out upon the
landscape. Jim's expressions OF
pleasure made Arthur anxious as he
stood holding Jim's foot, and he ask
4 ed "What do you see?" And Jim
Responded, "Oh Gee! Everything.
What would you like to see most?'
and Arthur replied, 'The Cinder
Butte"
Arthur was very happy Sunday
morning. He saw whole flock OF
cinder buttes and was among them.
The clustered about for miles, the
big one and all the little ones. AS
the cars entering the new park
swung around the curves on fine Gin
der roads, lodging ancient pines and
submerged and jagged peaks OF black
lava on one side, they skirted the
frozen rivers and straights of once
hot lava that froze in the rushing
act.
Thirty years ago Mr.. Stead wrote
a book, eff Christ Came to Chicago
and some other man wrote another
book, IF the Devil Came to Chicago"
The first book had wonderful sale;
the second one was suppressed. Then
some uncanny cuss, we've forgotten
his name, issued a book bound in
asbestos using the title, Hell up to
date"
That brings us to the speakers
stand on the slope of one of the Gin
der buttes where husky ones were
unloading ice. Lemonade was sell
ing briskly and ice cream cones go
ing like hot cakes. In the shade OF
a group of pines trees one to three
feet in diameter, people were luxur-
iating, or something, on giant mat
tress of fine cinders and pine needles.
In every direction were parties
stringing around and over the lavas,
going into and out of tunnels and
craters and marveling at what they
saw. With a field glass those that
looked like insects in the distance
proved to be humans, and as they re-
turned to headquarters nearly all OF
them carried specimens too rare to
be left behind.
ARGOS newspaper and it's CONNER
cial club put on the celebration, and
it's sons and daughters sold Craters
of the Moon buttons to help cover
the expenses of feeding the multi
tude. Half of the visitors carried
their own lunches excepting coffee,
and sixty gallons of that was Kept
hot on the camp fire at noont1me.
The service committee passed out
900 plates of food and when all the
multitude we're fed there were still
left some five loaves and four fishes.
The speakers were lined up by
cracker box in the shade of pine
Tree, ana the program pe6dH. OteO
Hoebel of the Arco commercial club
presided and promised the audience
that if any speaker talked for more
than ten minutes the cracker box
would be jerked out from under him.
E. w. Schubert, president of the
Craters of the Moon association, gave
the opening address and reviewed the
history of the work of making this
new park known to the world. He
also reviewed the values of the tour
ist travel to the localities and states
having scenery or natural attrac-
lions. Some states have little or
none and they are glad to go where
there is something. California
tourist trade brings them some
twenty million dollars more annual
ly than the sales of their six best :
staple articles produced on their