25 YEARS AGO

An art exhibit inspired by Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve opens in Ketchum Monday, Dec. 31.

25 YEARS AGO

25 YEARS AGO

25 YEARS AGO

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

John and Charlotte Miller of Challis have been very busy folks getting organized for a huge class reunion and having a few family members come to visit.

Poppies were blooming at their peak in a Challis backyard on a recent afternoon as May gave way to June. In the background are the cliffs above town and a few of the many rain clouds that have been scudding through Round Valley this spring.

Lilacs bloom in a Challis yard next to a smelter pot formerly owned by John Ivie. His family isn’t sure where this piece of Custer County mining history came from but said it’s too heavy to move so it remains a fixture in the backyard.

Sparks from a power saw being used to cut metal reignited debris last Friday in the old Challis Mormon church now owned by Wayne Davis. The church burned last November and Davis is salvaging parts of it. Charred wood has an ignition temperature 100 degrees Fahrenheit below that of unburned w…

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

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Challis Lions Club members Tommy Gionet and Tom Johnson weed the flower beds at William Cobbley Senior Citizens Center after lunch on a recent Friday. The Lions Club recently won a statewide award for signing up new members and for the number of civic improvement projects it does around Challis.

Travis Quast. Name sound familiar? I think not, but he is the new publisher for our own Challis Messenger. He came for a visit and was in awe of our town and loved it. He was born and raised in Burley. I have to say I was impressed with this accomplished man. He loves Idaho, he understands t…

A new sign on U.S. Highway 93 south of Challis points visitors to the newly remodeled North Custer Museum just a block off U.S. Highway 93 up Main.

Emarie Thayn gets one hand up into Custer County Sheriff’s Marine Deputy John Haugh’s patrol boat, while Kennady Hill gets a hand up from Haugh and teacher Dina Fisher. Waiting his turn for the boat tour is Cyzer Zollinger. Haugh presented water safety information to preschool, kindergarten …

Once again we are getting ready to send a high school graduating class out into the world. And, oh, what a world. It can be scary, beautiful, easy and downright difficult, but I hope each and every member of the class of 2018 finds what it is in this world that helps them to have a productiv…

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Elma Bradbury of Challis has made a historic move. Elma has sold her home and is in the process of moving into town. As long as I have known her (all my life), Elma has lived in the country, yet not too far out. We wish her the best in this new chapter of her life.

Jamie Hill uses a power washer before painting his building at 301 Main. The rooster tail of spray is water from the power washer, not errant paint. In the process of the face-lift the white stucco facade lost a few layers of grime along with moss and lichen. The building, built in 1879, is …

Irene Lambert of Idaho Falls spent the weekend in Challis visiting her sister Cheryl Philps along with her mother, Ina Lambert, David and Cindy Philps and sons Merritt and RJ.

Scout the fox and Smokey Bear, mascots for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and the U.S. Forest Service, stand back to back. The two mascots were a hit at the May 3 archaeology day at Land of the Yankee Fork State Park attended by area schoolchildren. May is Idaho Archaeology and…

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Lilacs are blooming all across Challis, filling the air with their sweet scent. This bush on North Avenue was loaded with fully open and ready-to-open blossoms.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Brandon and Kathy Jones wanted to go four wheeling with anyone in the community who likes to explore our wonderful mountain desert terrain. They made it their goal to start a club, and the Rocky Mountain Crawlers 4x4 Club was born.

Kathy Zamba and Carla Kempen, looking like Smurfs in their blue suits, scrape the north side of an old building on the Challis Forest Service compound. At right, firefighters Jace James and Bill Pierson are working on the west side. All are wearing masks so they don’t breathe in lead from pa…

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

An osprey pair set up housekeeping on a nest pole downriver of Challis. One minds the nest while the other comes in for a landing.

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I love hearing what you’ve been doing. I love it when you send in your stories or let me know I need to contact you. Both my phone number and email contact information are usually printed at the top of the column. You can also drop a postcard in the mail. My address is P.O. Box 1095, Challis.

Stanley Taekwondo Club held a belt promotional April 18.

Jan Hardman of Challis received a surprise the day her daughter Aletia and son-in-law Chad Workman came to pick up her and her groom, Alan, for a birthday dinner. Waiting at the Masonic Hall in Challis was a surprise birthday party just for her. The celebration was a terrific success. Lots o…

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Kade Bruno had a spirited horse in the saddle bronc riding at Saturday’s high school rodeo in Challis. He placed second in the event during the Challis High School rodeo held Friday and Saturday. It was the first rodeo of the season.

Instructor Rosemary Smith works with Challis youths Kayleigh Wright and Riley Miller at the April 13 youth painting class in Challis. Students learned various art techniques from Smith in the program that was funded with a grant from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation’s Leverag…

Challis Junior High School cowboy Cody Lloyd had a good, long, high-flying ride in the bull riding competition at the Challis High School Rodeo last Saturday. Although junior high competitors’ scores don’t count in team scores, Lloyd had the best bull ride Saturday, rodeo club adviser Jennif…

The Challis city street sweeper makes a pass down a nearly deserted Main Street in this April 11 photograph. It didn’t have nearly as much sand and gravel to sweep up after last winter, which wasn’t as snowy as the previous year. But plenty of dirt has still managed to accumulate along the m…

Deaviney Bowen, Garrett Millick, Azia Yeomans, Delilah Mulliniks and Ross Sheppeard have fun during an acting workshop sponsored by Challis Arts Council’s education in the arts program. The workshop was run by actors from Idaho Shakespeare Festival’s traveling cast — Shakespearience. The act…

Tomorrow is my three-year year anniversary writing the column. Very excited. What a ride it has been! It’s been lots of fun following in the footsteps of some great people. It’s a real honor to be involved in people’s lives.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Cooper Erickson, Shakespearience actor Jaime Nebecker, Garrett Millick and Marianna Bastos play a game during an April 5 acting workshop in Challis. The workshop took place between a school and public performance of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” The play and workshop were brought to Challis…

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