Idaho State Historical Society

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week at the Idaho State Museum to celebrate the 2026 Esto Perpetua Award recipients.

This year’s honorees represent the traditions, festivals, organizations, and community celebrations that continue to bring Idaho’s history to life across generations. In this commemorative America250 year, it was especially meaningful to recognize the people and communities preserving local stories, strengthening civic connections, and carrying forward the spirit of Idaho.

Congratulations again to all of this year’s awardees, and thank you for the work you do to ensure Idaho’s history continues to live, grow, and inspire.

Before Smokey Bear became America’s best-known wildfire prevention mascot, campaigns like this carried the message.

“Your Forests. Your Fault. Your Loss.” was inspired by a painting created by artist James Montgomery Flagg for the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention campaign, part of a broader early 20th century effort to encourage Americans to protect the nation’s forests and public lands as recreation and tourism rapidly expanded.

The poster reflects a time when conservation campaigns relied on direct language and striking imagery to connect personal responsibility with the protection of shared natural resources.

More than a century later, the message still feels familiar. As Idahoans head outdoors this summer, these historic reminders offer a glimpse into how Americans have long understood the importance of caring for forests, trails, rivers, and public lands for future generations.

Before pharmacies became aisles of snacks, greeting cards, and prescriptions, drug stores were some of the most important gathering places in American communities.

Early drug stores evolved from apothecaries where pharmacists mixed medicines by hand using herbs, chemicals, and handwritten formulas. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, they had become neighborhood hubs offering everything from prescriptions and perfumes to soda fountains and lunch counters.

In many towns, the local drug store was part pharmacy, part diner, and part community center. Some of America’s most recognizable soft drinks, including Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper, even got their start at pharmacy soda fountains.

As chain pharmacies, grocery stores, and big-box retailers expanded, many of these classic drug stores slowly disappeared. But for generations, they were places where everyday life happened just as much as medicine.

What Idaho drug store do you remember most from your community?

Photos: 77-69-12 PocatelloStoresDrug(Pixley Drug), 70-105-77-Stores-Drugstores-(Nyall's-Family-Remedies), 76-165-10-Coeur-D-Alene-Stores,-Drug-(Clement-Wilkins), Boise - 1957 - Save-Mor Drugs - 3636 State Street - Okay Foods 3634_Leo J Leeburn_001, Idaho State Archives

Join the team at the Idaho State Historical Society! We are hiring an open full-time classified position for a Maintenance and Operations Supervisor.

The Maintenance and Operations Supervisor plans, directs, and performs skilled maintenance and repair of historic sites and statewide buildings and properties including the State Archives and ISHS Administration located in the Idaho History Center, Idaho State Museum, Bureau of Reclamation building, Table Rock, Historic Assay Building, Old Idaho Penitentiary (OIP) and OIP campus and historic buildings, and ISHS historic sites properties throughout the state. This position will also lead skilled trade areas.

Apply today at history.idaho.gov/careers. This job posting closes June 15.

As Idaho approaches the 50th anniversary of the Teton Dam collapse, Idaho Experience presents a powerful new documentary examining the devastating failure that forever changed eastern Idaho.

“The Teton Dam Disaster” shares the lasting impact of one of the worst engineering disasters in U.S. history, remembering the lives lost and the communities forever changed.

“The Teton Dam Disaster” premieres June 4 at 8:30 p.m. on Idaho Public Television.

Idaho’s story lives on through the traditions, celebrations, and communities that bring people together year after year.

In commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Idaho State Historical Society is proud to honor the 2026 Esto Perpetua Award recipients, recognizing festivals, organizations, and community traditions that strengthen civic life and carry Idaho’s history forward across generations.

Congratulations to this year’s honorees:
• American Dog Derby, Ashton
• Paul Bunyan Days, St. Maries
• Chief Lookingglass Pow-Wow, Kamiah
• Grangeville Border Days, Grangeville
• Idaho Days, Franklin
• Idaho Veterans Parade, Boise
• Jaialdi, Boise
• Shoshone-Bannock Indian Festival, Fort Hall
• National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival, Weiser
• Wagon Days, Ketchum
• Wallace Fall for History Festival

Join us as we celebrate these incredible Idaho traditions at the 2026 Esto Perpetua Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at the Idaho State Museum in Boise.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. | Program begins at 5:30 p.m.
Ticket purchase includes a summer BBQ, reception, and no-host bar.

Tickets are $30 and available through May 31. Seating is limited.

Learn more and purchase tickets at history.idaho.gov/events.

The Idaho State Historical Society is now accepting applications for the Community Enhancement Grant Program.

This program supports Idaho organizations working to preserve, interpret, and share the state’s history through projects like:
• Collections management
• Educational programming
• Public access improvements
• Interpretive enhancements
• Heritage tourism initiatives

Grant awards range from $500 to $2,500 with a required 1:1 match. Applications are open to eligible Idaho nonprofits, tribal governments, and local government entities.

Since 2008, the program has invested more than $540,000 into communities across Idaho.

Application deadline: July 1, 2026 at 5 pm

Learn more and apply: history.idaho.gov/grants/ceg

Questions? Email [email protected]

Happy National Bike to Work Day! 🚲

Long before it was a trend, Merle Wells made it a statement. Idaho’s former State Historian was known for riding his bright pink bicycle to work and around town, dressed sharp in a suit and topped with a cowboy hat. Equal parts bold, practical, and unmistakably Idaho.

Today, that iconic pink bike is part of the Idaho State Historical Society’s permanent collection, preserving the story of a man who truly rode to his own beat.

On July 4, 2026, Idaho will make history. On our country's birthday, the national America250 Commission will bury a time capsule at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. The National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Library of Congress invited all US states and territories to submit one document and one object for this momentous occasion, and Idaho jumped at the opportunity. Nestled amongst other metal, ceramic, and natural objects will be a polished Idaho star garnet—our state gemstone. This, along with a letter from Governor Brad Little, will remain buried in a stainless-steel capsule until July 4, 2276.

Time capsules let us choose what we want future generations to know about us, like a national “message in a bottle” for America’s 250th birthday. Idaho's America250 planners intentionally chose the star garnet to represent the Gem State. This stone's star only shines when held to the light, symbolic of the way studying history reveals new meaning when we take the time to really look and examine the past. By placing this gem beneath Independence Hall, we are, in a sense, tucking a piece of Idaho into the nation’s foundational bedrock and, with it, sending forward a quiet message that history does not sit behind us; it anchors us in the present and prepares us to make better decisions about the future, no matter how distant that future may seem.

Today we honor and remember Governor Dirk Kempthorne and his lasting legacy on the state of Idaho. From championing Idaho’s state parks system to supporting early childhood education, Governor Kempthorne will be remembered as a dedicated and hard-working public servant who cared deeply for the people of Idaho.

To learn more about his years as governor through photographs and historical records, explore his collection at the Idaho State Archives Research Center.

https://idahostatearchives.libraryhost.com/repositories/7/resources/4224

Photo citation: AR2/30 Box 50 Folder 67 (Idaho State Archives)