A spaceship approaches its deceleration window after many generations in space. However, belowdecks a mystery is brewing, and secrets bound and hidden since the ship left Earth start to unravel.
Creating and Conserving the Constitution
Library Foyer Exhibit
May – June 2022
Creating and Conserving the Constitution is a touring exhibition that illustrates the historical context of Idaho’s Constitution and recent conservation efforts.
Following a successful fundraising campaign by the Idaho State Historical Society and the Foundation for Idaho History, the Idaho State Archives worked with the Preservation Lab at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library to conserve the Idaho State Constitution in a multi-year project. The process included paper conservation, removing laminate from two of the pages, surface cleaning, tear mending, tape removal, humidifying and flattening the document, and attaching a new custom binding.
ISHS partnered with Idaho Public Television (Idaho PTV) to document the history of the Idaho State Constitution and the conservation work, as part of the Idaho Experience documentary series, titled Idaho Constitution Revealed.
By partnering with public libraries across the state, the Idaho State Archives now seeks to provide access to this important government record. Beginning in Spring 2022, the exhibit will travel between host libraries with installations lasting two months in each community. The exhibit consists of four display banners, a replica of the State Constitution with display case, QR codes linked to related
documents made digitally accessible through the Idaho State Archives’ online platform, and a copy of Idaho PTV’s documentary.
Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) and Idaho constitution expert and ISHS board of trustees member, Ernie Hoidal, came to the Library for the opening of Creating and Conserving the Constitution.
He and other panelists discussed the multi-year conservation effort and the history of Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889. Learn about the delegates from Alturas County (which includes present day Blaine County) who contributed and debated ideas to be drafted into the constitution and discover how you can access this vital piece of Idaho history and many others in your own home.
Exhibit Creating and Conserving the Idaho Constitution
The new Foyer exhibit explores the Idaho State Archives’ work in partnership with the Preservation Lab at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library.
Discover the multi-year conservation effort and the history of Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889. Learn about the delegates from Alturas County (which includes present day Blaine County) who contributed and debated ideas to be drafted into the constitution and discover how you can access this vital piece of Idaho history and many others in your own home.
On display in the Library’s Foyer from until June 25, 2022.
Book Review: Coming Home to Nez Perce Country
Regional History Librarian, Kelley Moulton, recommends Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimíipuu Campaign to Repatriate their Exploited Heritage by Trevor James Bond.
Growing up in Lewiston, Idaho (which is in North Central Idaho and is about a 6-hour drive from Ketchum depending on the weather and the route chosen), I remember the Nez Perce National Historical Park located just outside of Lewiston, home to items that represented the Nez Perce people and their heritage.
These items are part of the history and culture of the Niimíipuu people and, though I didn’t know it for the longest time, they have been through a history of exploitation that carries across generations.
It was these personal memories, along with my own nerdiness which is encouraged by my job as the Regional History Librarian, that brought to my attention Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimíipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage by Trevor James Bond.
The book looks at the 150-year history of what is now known as the Wetxuuwíitin Collection (formerly the Spalding-Allen Collection) as it was shipped across the country to Ohio then back to Idaho. It details the drama which would follow as the Niimíipuu people fought to repatriate the items from the Ohio Historical Society.
I appreciate that Bond uses history of the items as well as their importance to the Nez Perce people and their culture. He examines reasons why certain decisions were made when it came to fighting to retain the items here in Idaho in the traditional land of the people who created them using oral histories and speaking with tribal members. He explains the relationship between the Nez Perce Tribe and the National Park Service, who house and preserve these heritage items for the Tribe.
The ending point of the book is set in June of 2021 at the Nez Perce National Historical Park at Spalding, Idaho where the collection was renamed Wetxuuwíitin, which means “returned after period of captivity” in the Nez Perce language.
The collection was removed from exhibit in 2019 for a well-deserved rest period, but if you are interested, the items in the collection can be viewed on the Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal.
Book Review: Little Bear
Librarian Laurie Loudenslager recommends Little Bear written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.
I first read this book as a little girl and now my daughter has a copy.
There are four short stories about Little Bear’s adventures, from playing in the snow to his birthday party with friends: Hen, Duck, and Cat.
In the former, the friends all make birthday soup together. In the subsequent story they go to the moon. The last story in the series about about little bear’s wishes.
The illustrations by Maurice Sendak is wonderful.
This is an “I can read book.”
I recommend this book to all.
Find Little Bear stories here.
Little Bear Books
- Little Bear (1957)
- Father Bear Comes Home (1959)
- Little Bear’s Friend (1960)
- Little Bear’s Visit (1961)
- A Kiss for Little Bear (1968)
- Little Bear and the Marco Polo (2010)
Warm Springs Preserve
Appreciate our Past, Honor Our Present, Create Our Future
Wendolyn Holland, author of Sun Valley: An Extraordinary History, will share the history of what most remember as Warm Springs Ranch, with photos and stories that shed light on those who came before. The 65-acre parcel along the south side of Warm Springs Creek has a rich history from its earliest days of settlement, connecting the canyon from the Philadelphia Smelter out to Guyer Hot Springs to its more recent and more familiar incarnation as the much-beloved Warm Springs Ranch the Simpson Family hosted for decades.
Warm Springs Preserve committee member Ali Long will also join us to share the process and plans for the future of the 65-acre parcel, which has most recently, and ongoing through its purchase in 2020, been offered up as a public park and off-leash dog area. The City of Ketchum is currently working to preserve the area as an open space in perpetuity for the community.
Space is limited, so register in advance to save your seat. The program will also stream on the Library’s Vimeo and be available to watch live or later. Click here to watch on Vimeo.
