Frank's Pinback—and now there are four.

It has been awhile so I better get on here and post something. I seem slower and time seems to be moving faster!

My 1st pinback of Frank.

Some of you might remember a small Whitehead & Hoag pinback button with Frank Steunenberg on the front and dated July 17, 1894, April 14, 1896 and July 21, 1896 on the back. I acquired it years ago for a song and it has always been one of my most prized, and seemingly most rare, possessions. In all my online travels, I only knew of two others in existence, one with a fellow Idaho collector and another as part of a set of governor pins produced by Whitehead & Hoag in the 1890's. Now I know there are at least four and probably still others buried in attics and bureau drawers.

Besides the link above, you may have seen both mine and Frank's pinbacks down in the right had column of the blog. I am always on the hunt for more of Frank's pins.

John's Pinback

On the right, the only pinback button I have ever been given. Not looking for any more.

Surprisingly, one of Frank's pinbacks popped up on eBay a couple weeks ago, starting price, $9.99. Although there are not very many folks knocking down the auction house doors to get a Steueneberg pinback, I always know there is a handful of us Idaho collectors lurking in the shadows. I have made no secret of my desire to score another one of Frank's pins. The $9.99 starting bid or something under $100 was hoped for—but then again this was only the forth pinback of Frank known to exist in the world so who knew what it might go for.

Frank's 2nd pinback. Not quite as good
as #1 but cost a lot more.

Being determined to take no prisoners, I set a pretty high snipe on this one, hoping against hope to sneak in as a winner far below my maximum bid amount. I can't reveal everything to my friendly Idaho collectors so will keep that figure to myself.  Lets just say forget $9.99 and at $100 I was dreaming!  Frank's value seems to have increased considerably over the years.

So now there are four of these pinbacks that I know to exist and I have two of them. Yes, I am still on the hunt, as I need at least three so each of my kids can have one. Then when I am gone, they can decide to keep the pin or put it up for auction. By then, it might be bringing in a small fortune or all of us crazy Idaho collectors will be gone—and Frank will once again be had for a song.

Complete set only a $1. This a copy taken from online of a brochure of Whitehead & Hoag pinbacks.

You can also get a peek of Frank #1 in the December 2006 issue of The Advocate in the bottom right hand corner of page 8.

Related blog post:
Saturday, October 9, 2010
No Neckties Allowed #2 - Steunenberg pinback, Big Trouble...again, and a readers comments

A "new" Saratoga may cost a little more than "$40,000 on construction and furnishings"

It looks like the Friends of the Saratoga over on Facebook are looking for more details on the hotel. References to the Saratoga are sprinkled throughout Big Trouble, with the more telling and interesting excerpt below coming courtesy of Google Books. The photograph also comes from Big Trouble and you have seen it on this blog and elsewhere. Maybe I will call it my official "Friends of the Caldwell Bank and Saratoga" picture. After all, both the bank and hotel are forever entwined in our family history and I can never think of one without thinking of the other. 

From Big Trouble: The Caldwell Band, led by the famed 'musicologist' Professor A. T. Gordon, posed here in late 1905, a few months before Steunenberg's assassination. They stand at the town's most prestigious intersection, Seventh and Main, looking toward the Oregon Short Line depot. On the left is Frank Steunenberg's Caldwell Banking and Trust Company; on the right, the Saratoga Hotel."

BTW, the bank building is currently listed for $250K. Double or triple that to include upgrades, restoration and bringing it up to code. I do keep hoping, wishing and dreaming! I am a friend of both the Caldwell Bank and the Saratoga.

The excerpt is from a favorite passage about Governor Steunenberg that gives the reader a feel for the Saratoga Hotel as a focal point and social center of the town in 1905. Fortunately, it is available on the preview pages so I don't have to type this one. Go down to the third paragraph on page 42 where it begins "As the governor crossed Seventh Avenue..." and read the subsequent four or so paragraphs. If you are receiving this as an email notification, you may not see the pages below and will want to click on and come to the blog for viewing. May take a few moments to load.

The Wild West History Association throws a Roundup in Idaho

Frank S. probably c.1890's Idaho legislature.

This year’s event takes place Wednesday through Saturday in Boise at the Riverside Hotel and in Idaho City. Article by ANNA WEBB — awebb@idahostatesman.com

"....For example, Bob Sobba (who worked in law enforcement for 36 years, including serving as the chief of police in Caldwell) will give a talk about Idaho's 'Trial of the Century' after the assassination of Gov. Steunenberg in 1907."

Bob will also be doing a presentation on Orchard and his life at the Idaho pen. Check it out if you get the chance and send me some comments and pictures for posting on the blog.

Here is the full schedule of events. 

Related blog post:
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Wild West Assoc. Convention, Boise, ID July 10-13, 2013

Fred Stocks, 1934 ~ 2013

Fred at the sawmill

I learned from cousin Bill Crookham this week that Fred Stocks, husband of my cousin Brenda Steunenberg Knowles Stocks (my mom Brenda's namesake), had passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Although I did not know Fred well or get to see him very often over the years, I am pleased we had the opportunity to visit a few short years ago when he and Brenda traveled from Le Sal, UT to the residence of my father & mother, John Sr. & Brenda Steunenberg Richards, in Paso Robles, CA. Cousin Brenda's father and mother were Abe Knowles & Doris Steunenberg Knowles, Doris being my mothers older sister and one of the five children of Francis and Julian Steunenberg. Click on the obituary below to read about Fred.

Fred Stocks, 1934 ~ 2013: Fred K. Stocks, age 78, passed away at Moab Regional Hospital on June 10, 2013, in Moab, Utah, after an extended battle with Alzheimers. He was born Oct. 13, 1934, in Moab. He was the second of...

Political and Civic Affairs

Political and Civic Affairs (click this link)
~THE STATE SEAL—THE TEST OATH—ASSASSINATION OF EX-GOVERNOR STUENENBERG — STATE INSTITUTIONS—STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY —WESTERN GOVERNORS' SPECIAL—TERRITORIAL OFFICERS OF IDAHO—OFFICERS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO~

Check out more interesting excerpts, information, resources and genealogy at Idaho Genealogy Trails. 

Dynamite Diplomacy: Silver Wars in the Coeur d'Alenes

I was browsing the Internet and came across a website designed by 2011 National History Day participant Hannah Weekes. Somehow it had escaped me over the past couple years but better late than never. You will find the link toward the bottom of this blog entry following a little more information from the Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS).

Hannah put together a nice website with excellent resources. I was pleased it included some good music from our favorite Idaho musician—Gary Eller aka Bona Fide, Chicken Dinner Road, Frozen Dogs and whatever other incarnation he shows up in with the likes of Rue and the boys. Click here for a music sample from Hannah's website.

From ISHS 2011 Annual Report: National History Day Students Shine

"The first national evaluation of National History Day (NHD), conducted this year, found that NHD students are better prepared for school, more sought after by employees, and have a more mature perspective on current events than their peers. The result did not come as a surprise in Idaho, where NHD is alive, well, and much appreciated by teachers and students. For 27 years, ISHS has coordinated the program in Idaho; annually more than 1,000 Idaho students participate. This year, 43 of them attended the NHD contest at the University of Maryland, where Hannah Weekes from Rocky Mountain Middle School in Idaho Falls won as the Outstanding Idaho Junior for her website, 'Dynamic Diplomacy: Silver Wars of the Coeur d’Alene’s.'”

Great work Hannah! I regret that I don't believe we got to connect during the time you were working on this project but I see you found your way to my blog. I hope it was useful to you.

Friends of The Saratoga Hotel, Caldwell, Idaho

JTR Collection

I had an email exchange this past week with a fella named Bert from Caldwell, ID. Bert has this cokamany idea about rebuilding the historic Saratoga Hotel that burned down in 1990. Crazy? Maybe. Seems a little far fetched but can't say as I haven't dreamed of seeing the Saratoga's resurrected across from the Steunenberg Block building on the corner of 7th & Main. It seems Bert even has a Facebook page going to support the idea. Check it out and make a comment. Click "Friends of the Saratoga" on the Facebook link below.

Friends of The Saratoga mentioned you in a comment. Friends of The Saratoga wrote: "Welcome aboard John T. Richards Jr., thank you for chiming in and for giving us some inspiration through your writing and passion for our history."

Below is a excerpt from my trip to Boise and Caldwell for the Premier of Assassination: Idaho's Trial of the Century at the Egyptian Theater on November 7th, 2007. Just happens I was sitting upstairs in the then Acapulco Restaurant that occupied the top floor of the Caldwell Bank & Trust building where my great grandfather Frank Steunenberg had his office. Here I am dreaming too as I gaze out the widow imagining Frank doing the same and the Saratoga right where it use to be across the street.

John imagining the Saratoga.

"For dinner Caley and I headed for the Caldwell Bank and Trust. Well not a bank anymore and the arches and nice brick work were long ago covered. It is now home to the Acapulco restaurant. The bank makes up part of the Steunenberg Block. We wanted Mexican food and this proved to be a good stop to feed both the historical and hunger needs. The downstairs where the bank was located remains vacant, hopefully the future home of a thriving business as efforts to revitalize old Caldwell and complete the Indian Creek project continues. I have an old cabinet photo of the inside of the bank with AK Steunenberg standing at the cashier’s window. It is hard to picture it now, but it looks like the original ceiling remains in tact. Upstairs in the restaurant is where Frank Steunenberg had his office and would have sat surveying the then major intersection of activity in a growing Caldwell. As we sat in the window booth staring out, I imagined the Saratoga Hotel still across the street (regrettably burned down in 1990) and Harry Orchard watching out the window from room #19 in December of 1905 with a clear view of the Governor’s office."

Caldwell Bank & Trust on the left and Saratoga Hotel on the right along with the Caldwell Band. Library of Congress.

The link below from Google maps shows the corner today where the Saratoga had been located. Click on "view larger map" and pivot the street view around to view all four corners and the train station. Nice parking lot.

View Larger Map
Just remember Bert, I have sat upstairs in the Caldwell Bank building where my great grandfather Frank Steunenberg had his office. If you ever get the Saratoga rebuilt, I would like to sit by the window there too and am putting in my reservation now for room #19 where Harry Orchard stayed while keeping his evil eyes on the governor's movements and planning his dastardly deed. I never got to do that before the Saratoga burned down. Sounds pretty crazy I know, but I like to retrace the footsteps of history as close as possible. A couple guys can always dream—can't they?

I will keep following the Indian Creek red brick road and see if it ever again leads to a Saratoga Hotel in Caldwell or just to a parking lot on an empty corner. 

Related blog posts & other links:
Monday, January 28, 2013
7th Avenue, Caldwell, Idaho pre-1906

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Caldwell Commercial Bank/Bank & Trust Co. 

Saturday, July 2, 2011
7th & Main Street Caldwell, Idaho - Panorama

Friday, August 1, 2008
Automatic Teller Bank from the Caldwell Banking & Trust Co. Ltd.

Saratoga Hotel (after the third floor was added)

Assassination: Idaho's Trial of the Century (IPTV website).

Teaser: Coming soon—a few pieces of Saratoga Hotel souvenir china. I might even part with a couple if I can ever find the Saratoga Hotel again. 

Boise Idaho Real Photo Postcards

Just going through some of the continual piles of stuff that seem to accumulate immediately following the last clean up. Here are three RPPC's from Boise, Idaho. They are not postmarked and are early divided back era 1907-1914. They do not have white borders as what you see is a part of the blog formatting. Click on each one to enlarge for viewing.

A reader (Jackie) has identified this as the Collister mansion. See comment section below.

A winter scene of a Boise street. Perhaps looking down a portion of Warm Springs? I have not searched extensively online or through my Boise books, specifically some of Arthur Hart's, but I guessing I will find it eventually if one of you don't come to my rescue first. 

Ancestry.com

The photo above appears to be a rather large home in a winter scene with snow on the ground. I have not been able to specifically identify the home but looks to be quite the place so I hope it has survived.

Update 9/13/14: Thanks to Jackie, we now know this is the Collister house in Boise, ID. There doesn't  seem to be many pictures around but I found a couple others on Ancestry.com. Jackie says the house no longer exists as was razed in the 1960's. I will have to do more research on Dr. George and Mary Collister.

 And here is a bit more info on Dr. Collister from our neighbor Revue Guru (AKA Evan Filby) over at South Fork Companion.
This is an enlarged detail from the post card. I have leveled it out as the original (or the photographer!) was leaning a bit as can be seen above.

And a couple courthouse photos below.

 

We can see that the postcard immediately above is of the original Boise courthouse (no longer there) where the Haywood trial took place. 

This one was sold as a souvenir of the trial with the inset of the courtroom. You have seen them before as I have quite a few of the souvenir version. All the above cards (except the one from Ancestry) are from my private JTR Collection.

Happy Father's Day

Hope you all had a Happy Father's Day. I did...and daughter Caley's 21st Birthday too.

Sampling various eats & beverages on a beautiful day at Montaña De Oro.

Documents by William "Big Bill" Haywood - Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Sabo-Tabby

As you have noticed, now and then I have posted articles or documents from various sources. Most of the items come my way through Google Alerts or just during the course of browsing. I try not to pay too much attention to one particular viewpoint over another although I am just a mere human. Any items of interest, if not abusive or derogatory in nature (with due consideration for the time period or conflict) are welcomed. They are offered here as a resource for further research. 

The following come from the Industrial Workers of the World website. 


Documents by William "Big Bill" Haywood:

The General Strike (March 16, 1911) [Official IWW Literature].

Evidence and Cross Examination of William D. Haywood in the Case of the USA vs. William D. Haywood et. al (Date Unknown) (PDF File)

Industrial Socialism (with Frank Bohn; Date Unknown)

Testimony of William D. Haywood Before the Industrial Relations Committee (Date Unknown) (PDF File)

Added 6/10/13: Haywood Photographs from the IWW

Documents related to Governor Steunenberg:
 
Chapter 15 - Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone
... Idaho where they were charged with the murder of Governor Steunenberg. No legal steps to arrest these men, who were going about their ... One night a bomb, attached to his gate, killed Governor Steunenberg. Rewards of thousands of dollars were offered for the arrest of ...

The Trial of Bill Haywood
... for ordering the assassination of former governor Frank Steunenberg, fifteen years of union bombings and murders, fifteen years of mine ...

Revolutionary Tendencies in American Labor - Part 2
... and Pettibone, engineered the murder of Idaho ex-Governor Steunenberg, and left-wing IWW militants preoccupied with defense and ...

The Legacy of the Bunker Hill Mine
... the miners and their families. Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg, who had been elected with WFM support the year before, called in ... wood. A few years later, in 1905, Steunenberg was killed by a bomb. A petty criminal named Harry Orchard, who ...

Terror in the Gold Camp: The Crimes of Albert Horsley

Terror in the Gold Camp: The Crimes of Albert Horsley by Beth Dodd.
Albert Horsley, remembered by his alias Harry Orchard, committed mass murder near Victor back ... Harry Orchard was born Albert Horsley in Ontario in 1866.

All Eyes on Idaho

All Eyes on Idaho  Pacific Northwest Inlander Haywood Trial (J. Richards collection) Way back in 1907, the Steunenberg murder trial pitted the forces of labor and capital against each other and had an anxious nation holding its breath.

Walter Johnson - The Weiser (Idaho) Wonder sold on eBay

I see there has been quite a lot of action on my Walter Johnson, The Weiser Wonder, blog post. No doubt a lot of searches have been going on in the past week regarding the Johnson postcard on eBay (this link will be active for awhile but I will include the info below).

Ended: May 27, 2013 11:22:58 PDT
Winning bid: US $2,083.85
[ 27 bids ]
Shipping: $2.50 Standard Shipping
Item location: Saint Joseph, Missouri, United States
Seller: woody64

As you see, it sold for over $2k. It went sailing right by me at about $800 as my snipe did not even get into the bidding. That's a lot more than a Steunenberg gate postcard and I thought those were getting pricey!

So who out there was the lucky winner?




To the right is my Walter Johnson card. Must be worth at least 1 cent.


Update 6/2/2013 - This 1909 card of Johnson (left), referred to as his rookie card, just sold on eBay for $6,085. I would still prefer the 1907 Weiser Wonder card, being it is Johnson's very first, that he was in Idaho playing baseball during the Haywood trial, and he provided some much needed entertainment for one Clarence Darrow.
From eBay: 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson ROOKIE PSA 3 VG (PWCC). Among the Most Important Pre-War Issues in the Hobby.                      
Ended:
Jun 02, 2013 12:22:05 PDT
Winning bid: US $6,085.00
[ 32 bids ]

"There will be thoughts and memories of things they will want to save, and stories of all the heroes that are buried in sandy graves." -- Cal A. Steunenberg, Sgt., U.S. Army Signal Co.

You have seen it before but it is a treasured item that I always enjoy looking at and reflecting on during Memorial and Veteran's Days.

Cal Steunenberg somewhere in the Pacific WWII.

A few related blog posts below:

Monday, September 3, 2012

Dog Tags, Ribbons & Pins.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day 2012

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Jule"Juke" Steunenberg killed in air crash 7/20/1946

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Sergeant Cal Steunenberg, 40th Infantry Division, 185th Infantry, 2nd Battalion

And check out my Fold3 account below. I recommend clicking on "Spotlights."

www.fold3.com

Mother's Day 2013

Happy mother's day mom. We miss you but always have you nearby in our hearts.

My beautiful mom, Brenda Steunenberg Richards.

From all of us. You did good and we have all managed to make it to senior citizen status.

From the left-Gary & Beck in the back & Kris & John in the front. Circa 1954. 

Related Blog Posts: 

The Cross Story-Frazier Farmstead Museum

Saturday, March 22, 2008 

Brenda Steunenberg Richards-The Graduate-Class of 1936-Honorary Diploma September 2004

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Brenda Steunenberg Richards

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Brenda Steunenberg Richards

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Four Score Ten Years and Counting...