5 minute read

Growing up in

from Magic Valley News, July 2023

Hagerman Valley by Lora L Lewis (copyright)

(Continued from May) Sponsored by Magic Valley News

Back in the summer of 1921, a young married homesteaded a piece of property in a northern mountain area. Unbeknownst to them the winters were extremely cold and harsh. As they endured the winter, snow piled up past the windows to the roofline. There seemed to be nonstop blizzards. It was nearly a full time job digging out paths with snow many feet high on both sides of the walkways. However, in order to keep the property, they had to remain on the site for one full year. It was a relentless, exhausting experience for the couple to endure the severe winter, not to mention to keep a food supply.

Springtime brought snow melt. The dirt roads seemed to take forever to clear out. The couple decided they’d had enoughwinter mountain living! Johnny Jones, a sheep farmer, heard about the area on a wonderful meadow and bought it at a reasonable price. Since it had already been homesteaded for a year, he didn’t need to stay through any more winters.

Johnny married Ethel Justice in the spring of 1922. Florence Mary was born May 2nd, 1923 and her brother Bill August 2, 1926. As the children grew, summertime was an exciting time for the Jones family. They packed up and headed north from Hagerman every summer. Florence remembers the little camp house they stayed in. It had one main room with grey cement floors. In the northwest corner stood an adjustable round wooden table with claw feet where the family ate three meals a day. In the evenings they sat around the table playing card games.

Centered on the opposite side of the room stood a deep double white porcelain sink. It held water carried from the nearby stream where Johnny would assist

Ethel washing dishes after supper. There was no refrigerator so behind the sink, on the wall there hung a simple cupboard painted light bluish-green, encased with strong wire mesh around the outside. Night air circulated around the food where it would stay cold. Any food supplies that needed to stay cold throughout the day were placed in the nearby mountain stream. Most canned food was kept in the storage shed.

A black camp stove burned red hot where cooking took place. Boiling water in an oversized dented stainless steel teapot was ready to be used for coffee or hot chocolate. A shiny round tub available for scrubbing clothes was filled with several pots of steaming water heated on the cook stove. The same tub was used for occasional baths and more than one would use the same heated water. It was a lucky individual who got to use the tub first or even second! Of course, everyone’s privacy was respected.

In the corner a few feet to the left of the stove was a double wide bed with squeaky wire coil springs. The only extra small room was barely big enough for another double bed and a single bed for a child.

Going out the back of the camp house, a squeaky screen door would slam shut whenever someone walked through. Leading to a back porch on a wall to the right hung various leather workhorse collars and bridles. Many bib overalls and extra warm woolen jackets also hung on the large rusty nails.

The outhouse was quite a hike out back. It was not a fun event to get up in the middle of the night to walk out there.

Growing up in Hagerman Valley (continued from p38)

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One could think of many kinds of creatures that could be lurking about. High pitched squeals from a lone hawk could set a heart pounding. Glowing eyes often appeared in the meadow, as a wave of thunderous hooves clambered through the forest.

A covered sheep wagon sat close to the camp house and trail. One of the sheepdogs usually came up to walk alongside Florence when she walked through the night. If any wild animals were close by, the friendly Collie would let her know. Its sweet disposition calmed her spirit as she put her hand onto its soft black and white fur.

The Collie brushed beside her leg when they walked together through the darkness to and from the camp house.

Mornings, Florence and her brother Bill often watched the sheep in a nearby meadow. Where one sheep would go, the others follow. For example, if a lamb wandered toward a cliff, they’d all follow! Border Collie Shepherds protected the sheep. It was fun to see the dogs watch over the sheep and round them up.

Border Collies are one of the smartest dog breeds in the world. They are intelligent, loyal, good natured and trainable. Collies lay low and run smoothly around the sheep. Most of Johnny’s sheep dogs were a mix of Australian Shepherd. They worked the sheep a little more aggressively. If a sheep wandered a little away it might receive a soft nip on the ankle from a Shepherd Collie. This would send a clear message to go back to the band.

These sheepdogs were accustomed to familiar Basque commands. If there were danger the dogs worked together making the sheep to form a tight bunched up circle. If the sheepherder wanted to move the band of sheep to another grazing spot, he called out a command and gave a specific signal. The sheepdogs organized and kept the sheep together, moving them quickly. The dogs in the back pushed the sheep forward. The ones on the sides kept the sheep bunched up. The Shepherd Collies had a special bond with their Basque sheepherders

During the winter months the sheepdogs were kept in a warm place at the Hagerman ranch. Each space was approximately eight feet wide, twenty feet long and eight feet tall. The backs of the kennels had covered roofs about five feet off of the ground and eight feet long for shelter and shade. The sides and top of the spaces were made of wire netting to keep the dogs safe. A few highly intelligent dogs were used to protect the lambs from feed-trucks and horse-drawn wagons. When new puppies were born, a cat was placed in the kennel to live with the mama dogs and babies. Many wild cats ran around the ranch barn, grain bins, lambing sheds and hay stacks catching mice. Since puppies were raised with a kitty buddy, when grown the dogs never chased cats away.

A sheep wagon seems simple, but they are far from that. (continued in August)

Brian W. Moore

Kurtis T. Moore

Owners/Operators

OFFICE: 208-734-6602

CELL: 208-280-0724

TOLL FREE: 877-734-6602

Fax: 208-733-6469 bmoore@mandmelectricllc.com www.mandmelectricllc.com