Don't disparage one of Idaho's great small towns

The first year I moved here, there was an incident on Main Street involving two women in a fender bender. Instead of rushing out of their cars to blame each other, they both emerged to apologize profusely and peacefully. They each made sure that the other person was all right, and then gave each other sweet bear hugs. After that, they agreed that they should meet together soon, because it had been too long since they had seen each other.

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This remarkable event defined for me what the essence is of everything good about Ketchum; and perhaps for what is great about many small western towns: good people who care about each other, more than they do for their measly worldly possessions. Therefore, it grates at me, when I hear intermittent comments that disparage the town and townspeople of Ketchum (and the Wood River Valley). Some will say, "I have no desire to visit Ketchum, or any of the people up there." That's too bad, because if you take a closer look, this pedestrian-friendly town offers much for young and old, rich and poor, sick and well.

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Like most Idaho towns, Ketchum has changed over the years. Yet, it retains many high-quality aspects of a hardy Western town. When it comes to weather, Ketchum is in the top 10 percentile of sunniest towns. The people here are equally sunny, and there is ample reason for this. A river runs through it, offering opportunities for enjoyable fishing and water sports. We have a popular YMCA. On summer Tuesdays, a vibrant farmers' market attracts vendors and customers from throughout southern Idaho. After that, energetic music performers play freely til twilight in our Forest Service Park.

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For the spiritual, Ketchum has more than a handful of sacred places to worship. When someone becomes severely ill, or is in a crash, our community often bonds together, helping with fundraisers.

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Wagon Days brings a festive weekend of olden-times coming alive, as craftspeople, blacksmiths and storytellers demonstrate their trades and speak their lore. Wagon Days also features the largest non-motorized parade in the west.

Ketchum's Community Library has an extensive regional history section, with helpful staff and an oral history program. The library also hosts frequent lectures and enlightening events, featuring respected authors and adventurers from near and far.

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Ketchum has dozens of fine restaurants. We have movie theaters; nine (and growing) outdoor parks, live stage and Huck Finn-like swimming holes. Free newspapers, magazines, maps and wi-fi are abundant. We also have a water park, bringing boundless glee to splashing kids. On the edge of town, Sun Valley Co. has installed a gondola for uplifting BaldMountain rides.

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This list of what good things our fine town (and valley) has to offer is much longer than this, but I hope for now this gives some hesitation to those who are quick to sneer at lively Ketchum.

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I sometimes wonder if some of Ketchum's harsh critics have even spent much time here.

~ ~ ~

After July’s candlelight vigil march for Bowe Bergdahl, the local soldier captured inAfghanistan; I sat with some friends, one of whom described an image she thought best captured Hailey's essence. One of the men attending the ceremony had left his tools in the open on the back of his truck, parked in front of Zaney's Coffeehouse, where the event began. The tradesman had drawn a large cardboard sign, asking passersby to leave his tools alone, because he was standing for Bowe. And the aura of respectfulness that evening permeated the atmosphere so thick that nobody dared tamper with his tools. Then we agreed that we all look forward to the day when Bowe can return to this pleasant valley, where his friends and family can openly share with him, some strong bear hugs.

Don't disparage one of Idaho's great small towns

The first year I moved here, there was an incident on Main Street involving two women in a fender bender. Instead of rushing out of their cars to blame each other, they both emerged to apologize profusely and peacefully. They each made sure that the other person was all right, and then gave each other sweet bear hugs. After that, they agreed that they should meet together soon, because it had been too long since they had seen each other.

This remarkable event defined for me what the essence is of everything good about Ketchum; and perhaps for what is great about many small western towns: good people who care about each other, more than they do for their measly worldly possessions. Therefore, it grates at me, when I hear intermittent comments that disparage the town and townspeople of Ketchum (and the Wood River Valley). Some will say, "I have no desire to visit Ketchum, or any of the people up there." That's too bad, because if you take a closer look, this pedestrian-friendly town offers much for young and old, rich and poor, sick and well.

Like most Idaho towns, Ketchum has changed over the years. Yet, it retains many high-quality aspects of a hardy Western town. When it comes to weather, Ketchum is in the top 10 percentile of sunniest towns. The people here are equally sunny, and there is ample reason for this. A river runs through it, offering opportunities for enjoyable fishing and water sports. We have a popular YMCA. On summer Tuesdays, a vibrant farmers' market attracts vendors and customers from throughout southern Idaho. After that, energetic music performers play freely til twilight in our Forest Service Park.

For the spiritual, Ketchum has more than a handful of sacred places to worship. When someone becomes severely ill, or is in a crash, our community often bonds together, helping with fundraisers.

Wagon Days brings a festive weekend of olden-times coming alive, as craftspeople, blacksmiths and storytellers demonstrate their trades and speak their lore. Wagon Days also features the largest non-motorized parade in the west.

Ketchum's Community Library has an extensive regional history section, with helpful staff and an oral history program. The library also hosts frequent lectures and enlightening events, featuring respected authors and adventurers from near and far.
Ketchum has dozens of fine restaurants. We have movie theaters; nine (and growing) outdoor parks, live stage and Huck Finn-like swimming holes. Free newspapers, magazines, maps and wi-fi are abundant. We also have a water park, bringing boundless glee to splashing kids. On the edge of town, Sun Valley Co. has installed a gondola for uplifting Bald Mountain rides.

This list of what good things our fine town (and valley) has to offer is much longer than this, but I hope for now this gives some hesitation to those who are quick to sneer at lively Ketchum.

I sometimes wonder if some of Ketchum's harsh critics have even spent much time here.

~ ~ ~

After last July’s candlelight vigil march for Bowe Bergdahl, the local soldier captured in Afghanistan; I sat with some friends, one of whom described an image she thought best captured Hailey's essence. One of the men attending the ceremony had left his tools in the open on the back of his truck, parked in front of Zaney's Coffeehouse, where the event began. The tradesman had drawn a large cardboard sign, asking passersby to leave his tools alone, because he was standing for Bowe. And the aura of respectfulness that evening permeated the atmosphere so thick that nobody dared tamper with his tools. Then we agreed that we all look forward to the day when Bowe can return to this pleasant valley, where his friends and family can openly share with him, some strong bear hugs.

Don't disparage one of Idaho's great small towns

READER'S VIEW KETCHUM
(Revised version)

The first year I moved here, there was an incident on Main Street involving two women in a fender bender. Instead of rushing out of their cars to blame each other, they both emerged to apologize profusely and peacefully. They each made sure the other person was all right and then gave each other sweet bear hugs. They then agreed that they should get together soon, because it had been too long since they had seen each other.

This remarkable event defined for me what the essence is of everything good about Ketchum, and perhaps for what is great about many small towns in the West: people who care about each other more than they do for their measly worldly possessions.
Therefore, it grates at me, when I hear intermittent comments that disparage the town and townspeople of Ketchum (and the Wood River Valley). Some will say, "I have no desire to visit Ketchum, or any of the people up there." That's too bad, because if you take a closer look, this pedestrian-friendly town offers much for young and old, rich and poor, sick and well.

Like most Idaho towns, Ketchum has changed over the years. Yet it retains many high-quality aspects of a hardy Western town. When it comes to weather, Ketchum is in the top 10 percentile of sunniest towns. The people here are equally sunny, and there is ample reason for this. A river runs through it, offering opportunities for enjoyable fishing and water sports. We have a popular YMCA. On summer Tuesdays, a vibrant farmers' market attracts vendors and customers from throughout southern Idaho. After that, music performers play freely til twilight in the Forest Service Park.

For the spiritual, Ketchum has more than a handful of sacred places to worship. When someone becomes severely ill or is in a crash, our community often bonds together, helping with fundraisers.

Wagon Days brings a festive weekend of olden-times coming alive, as craftspeople, blacksmiths and storytellers demonstrate their trades and speak their lore. Wagon Days also features the largest non motorized parade in the west.

Ketchum's Community Library has an extensive regional history section, with helpful staff and an oral history program. The library also hosts frequent lectures and enlightening events, featuring respected authors and adventurers from near and far.
Ketchum has dozens of fine restaurants. We have movie theaters, nine (and growing) outdoor parks, live stage and Huck Finn-like swimming holes. Free newspapers, magazines, maps and wi-fi are abundant. We also have a water park, bringing boundless glee to splashing kids. On the edge of town, Sun Valley Co. has installed a gondola for thrilling Bald Mountain rides.

This list of what good things our fine town (and valley) has to offer is much longer than this, but I hope for now this gives some hesitation to those who are quick to sneer at lively Ketchum.

I sometimes wonder if some of Ketchum's harsh critics have even spent much time here.

After Hailey's candlelight vigil march in July for Bowe Bergdahl, the Hailey soldier captured in Afghanistan, I sat with some friends, one of whom described an image she thought best captured Hailey's essence. One of the men attending the vigil had left his tools in the open on the back of his truck, parked in front of Zaney's coffeehouse, where the event began. The tradesman had drawn a large sign, asking passersby to leave his tools alone, because he was standing for Bowe. And the aura of respectfulness that evening permeated the atmosphere so thick that nobody dared tamper with his tools. Then we agreed that we all look forward to the day when Bowe can return to this pleasant valley, where his friends and family can give him strong bear hugs.

Good people make a community, and the spirit of that community is exactly what should define our towns. Those who have lived here long enough, know the truth is, that the Ketchum community is blessed with salt-of-the-earth type neighbors, who often bond together constructively. Come visit us soon, so you can dispel the rumor for yourself, that here, we are not all a bunch of rich jaded California snobs.

In strong support of Ketchum

The first year I moved here, there was an incident on Main Street, involving two women in a fender bender. Instead of bolting out of their cars to blame each other, they both emerged to apologize profusely and peacefully. They each made sure the other person was alright, then gave each other sweet bear hugs. They then agreed that they would have to get together soon, because it had been too long since they had seen each other.

This remarkable event defined for me what is the essence of everything good about Ketchum and perhaps for what is great about many small western towns. People who care about each other, more than they do for their material possessions.

Therefore, it grates at me, when I hear intermittent comments that disparage the town and townspeople of Ketchum (and the WR Valley). Some will say, “I have no desire to visit Ketchum, or any of the people up there.” That’s too bad, because if you take a closer look; this pedestrian-friendly town offers much for young and old, rich and poor, sick and well.

Like most Idaho towns, Ketchum has changed over the years. Yet it still retains many high-quality aspects of a hardy western town. When it comes to weather, Ketchum is in the top ten percentile of sunniest towns. The people here are equally sunny and there is ample reason for this. A river runs through it, offering opportunities for enjoyable fishing and water sports. We have a popular YMCA. On summer Tuesdays, a vibrant farmers-market attracts vendors and customers from throughout South Idaho. After that, live-music performers play freely til twilight in the Forest Service Park.

For the spiritual, Ketchum has more than a handful of sacred places to worship. When someone becomes severely ill or is in a crash, our community often bonds together, helping with fundraisers.

Wagon Days brings a festive weekend of olden-times coming alive; as craftspeople, blacksmiths and storytellers demonstrate their trades and speak their lore. Wagon Days also features North America’s largest non-motorized parade.

Ketchum’s Community Library has an extensive regional history section, with helpful staff and an oral history program. The library also hosts frequent lectures and enlightening events, featuring respected authors and adventurers from near and far.

Ketchum has dozens of fine restaurants. We have movie theaters, nine outdoor parks, live stage and swimming holes. Free newspapers, magazines, maps and Wifi are widely available. We also have a water park, bringing boundless glee to splashing kids. On the edge of town, Sun Valley Company is installing a Gondola for thrilling Bald Mt. rides.

Sometimes Ketchum shopkeepers can be found purchasing items from other stores within town. They then will mark the items with a helpful sign, indicating where such a product can be found in this town.

This list of what good things our fine town (and valley) has to offer is much longer than this, but I hope for now this gives some hesitation to those who are quick to sneer at lively Ketchum.

I sometimes wonder if some of Ketchum’s harsh critics have even spent much time here.

~

Postscript:

After Hailey’s candlelight vigil march, last month for Bowe Bergdahl, the Hailey Soldier captured in Afghanistan, I sat with some friends, one of whom described an image she thought captured Hailey’s best essence.

One of the men attending the vigil had left his work-tools in the open on the back of his truck, parked in front of Zaney’s, where the event began. He had drawn a large sign, asking passerby to leave his tools alone, because he was standing for Bowe. And the aura of respectfulness permeated the atmosphere so thick that evening, that nobody dared tamper with his tools.

This reminded me of an incident, where another friend described the essence of true Hailey, by simply saying it’s a place she feels is safe for mothers and grandmother’s to walk around town, without fear.

In strong support of Ketchum

300 word version

Intermittently, I’ve heard comments that disparage the town and townspeople of Ketchum. Some will say, “I have no desire to visit Ketchum, or any of the people up there.” That’s too bad, because if you take a closer look; this pedestrian-friendly town offers much for young and old, rich and poor.

Like most towns, Ketchum has changed over the years. Yet it still holds many elements of a true western town. When it comes to weather, Ketchum is in the top 10 percentile of sunniest towns. The people are equally sunny and there is ample reason for this. A river runs through it, offering opportunities for enjoyable fishing and water sports. We have a popular YMCA. On summer Tuesdays, a vibrant farmers-market attracts vendors and customers from throughout South Idaho. After that, live-music performers play freely til twilight in the Forest Service Park.

For the spiritual, Ketchum has more than a handful of sacred places to worship. When someone becomes severely ill or is in a crash, the community often helps with fundraisers.

Wagon Days brings a festive weekend of olden-times coming alive; as craftspeople, blacksmiths and storytellers demonstrate their trades and speak their lore. Wagon Days also features North America’s largest non-motorized parade.

The library has an extensive regional history section, with helpful staff and an oral history program. The library also hosts enlightening weekly lectures with respected authors and adventurers.

We have dozens of fine restaurants. We have movie theatres and live stage. Free newspapers, magazines and Wifi are widely available. We also have a water park, bringing boundless glee to splashing kids. On the edge of town, Sun Valley Company is installing a Gondola for thrilling Bald Mt. rides.

I’m out of words, but I hope this aids those who are quick to sneer at Ketchum.

Bridge over Muddy Waters

Seeing how treacherous the Big Wood looks lately reminds me of an incident five years ago; before they smashed Ski View Lodge into smithereens...

That year, it was another wet spring and one late afternoon, there was a tap at my shack door. It was Rapping Tim[i] and he brandished a large chainsaw. Tim was a skilled jack-of-all-trades and he needed some assistance. The wooden bridge he helped construct twenty years before, was taking a beating from dozens of logs stuck and bobbing beneath. With Trail Creek running furiously, it was clear this logjam would soon become worse.

Tim asked if I could ‘spot’ him, and as he wheeled back his chain cord, I noticed his sneakers were without tread. Then as he stood close to me over the bowed and slippery bridge, to speak over the raging creek, I smelled whisky on his breath; and I’m sure of that, because I had rum on mine at the time.

Tim courageously cut into the logjam. After several minutes, he eventually freed several. I was amazed to see him operate the chainsaw skillfully, with the running blade mostly submerged. This reminded me of underwater chainsaws invented out of necessity.

Tim faced downstream as he meticulously sliced away at a fallen Tamarack. Meanwhile the upstream started providing weighty backlogs, to press precariously against the old bridge. I envisioned that at any moment a large cottonwood could come rushing downstream, fly up off the stuck logs and knock Tim into the muddy water.

Maybe that’s why he wanted me to stand there. I was to warn him of flying logs. I wasn’t doing anything else besides standing there on the slippery slope. Perhaps he wanted me there as moral support, or maybe I was to perform a miracle rescue, while simultaneously speed-dialing 911, as Tim slipped in Trail Creek’s drink.

Despite Tim’s epic efforts, that year, eventually enough logs battered into the bridge braces to swipe it away. Looking back at it now, I think Tim just wanted me there as an eyewitness for that memorable experience. He took a lot of pride in that legendary footbridge and wanted it to last. I miss it as much as I miss the sunny days of our tumbledown shack. And often when I pass though that area, I glance down to where it used to cross Trail Creek and then pine a little for the old Ketchum days

---

[i] Not his real name.

Idaho Parade Hitches

Wagon Days is one of the largest non-motorized parades in the West. Last year it went up in smoke during the Castle Rock Fire. But, this year the Budweiser Clydesdale draft horses participated and were the highlight for many observers. After Ketchum’s grand parade, they even set up a visiting station at the Reinheimer Ranch, where people could meet and greet the legendary horses. I had planned to break open a fresh Bud, right when the horses sauntered by, to see how they would react. Had I heard the slightest whinny, I would have interpreted it straight from the horse’s mouth, as “Hey big guy, way to go with our product there!”

However, I didn’t make it up there in time, as I was Idaho support for Burning Man, watching a friend’s pit bull and soaking up the Bellevue suds. After the hitch-wagon parade, I asked around and it looked like it went off without any glitches.

This is not like some other years.

Legend has it that back in the 70’s, some fisticuffs broke out, resulting in the parade’s cancellation for several years, until in 1990, longtime Ketchum mayor Jerry Seifert played an integral part in bringing this celebration back to the community.

Interestingly, the first year of the parade’s revival, there was a new quandary. Should they hold a simulated shootout during Parade week, after a real shootout occurred, which killed two locals?

From a 1990 special, N.Y. Times report by Timothy Egan:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D71F3DF933A0575BC0A966958260&n=Top/News/U.S./U.S.%20States,%20Territories%20and%20Possessions/Idaho

“So there was great excitement in and around this Sun Valley community when organizers of the annual Wagon Days celebration proposed reviving an elaborate staged gunfight as part of this year's Labor Day festival.

Then, on the second day of summer, a real gunman drove into Ketchum and began shooting people at random with his shotgun. After a car chase, the police captured a suspect, John Mitchel Odiaga, of Boise, and charged him with killing two Ketchum residents.

The staged shootout will go on as scheduled this weekend, but the real-life shootings have raised troubling questions about the mythology that the festival will celebrate.

''It's one of the great contradictions of the West, this idea of heroic shootouts,'' said Scott Preston, a poet and scholar of Western writing who edits the White Clouds Revue, a quarterly literary journal, from his home just south of here. ''When you get right down to it, a lot of the Old West gunfighters were nothing more than psychopaths.''

Mr. Preston said towns like Ketchum, with its choreographed shootout, have sanitized what was a brutal crime. ''When you see it happen today, as we did this summer here in Ketchum, you see it for what it really is,'' he said.

John Rember, a writer who lives north of Sun Valley in the mountain hamlet of Stanley, said residents need to reappraise their images of the American West. ''A good many of our symbols, such as the Marlboro Man, are noxious and deadly,'' he said. ''In Ketchum, they had some real-life bodies in the street this year. That may be ordinary in the big cities, but it isn't here. Now that some people are making a connection between the real bodies in June and the fake bodies on Labor Day, it's very painful.''”

Interestingly, 3V3T5 and I were here in Idaho when Odiaga went on his rampage. We were visiting Markus over in Mackay and it was the first time both of us visited Sun Valley on a quick trip to Pioneer Saloon. Although I don’t recall hearing anything about the violence, when we were breaking open fresh buds in 1990,

Ridin' around like Wagon Dazed Doggies

I thought it was ironic that a drive-by-shooting took place here, when this was exactly the type of thing we were looking to escape by leaving Washington D.C.

Ten years later, there were some more Wagon Days woes. The morning of the parade was cold with snow and rain. Unfortunately, some moisture seeped inside an old cannon, which result in a horrific explosion; and blew off some fingers of the man who was demonstrating it. Meanwhile I was down at my old office, with a plan to crash the parade by riding a scooter through one of the gaps, while wearing a disguise. Besides an old WW1 gas mask and Air Force jump suit, I had picked up a six-foot long blond wig from the Barkin’ Basement Thrift Store. I heard the cannon explode and the silence that followed for about twenty minutes, but I didn’t know that a Wagon Days participant was suffering from a severe injury.

I got into position on my scooter at the upper end of town, but something in the air didn’t feel right, so I decided to cancel. Two hours later, I heard what had occurred, and wondered how the emcee could have carried on, as if nothing had gone wrong. Later on, I did get the chance to ride the scooter in Hailey’s 2003 Fourth of July parade, circling around and offering suds-support to our small contingent. That parade is best remembered for Elbie’s fabled rocket ship car. (#3)

It was good to see many people in town enjoying this year’s festivity. I hope that the parade will continue to be a success more often that not. It’s such a legendary parade that more should be written about it.