Clearwater Historical Museum has gift suggestions for Dads, Grads

Stop by the Clearwater Historical Museum, 433 Bartlett St. in Orofino and pick up copies for those special people. It is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through the remainder of May. In June, hours will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Those who are from out of the area may call 208-476-5033 or email clearwatermuseum19@frontier to make arrangements for purchase and shipping.

Six of the available books are highlighted in this article: The Intermediary: William Craig among the Nez Perce by Lin Tull Cannell; White Pine Wobblies and Wannigans: A History of Potlatch Lumber Camps by Tom Farbo, The Clearwater Story: A History of the Clearwater National Forest by Ralph Space, Tales of the Clearwater by Samuel Swayne, And Five Were Hanged: And Other Historical Short Stories of Pierce and the Oro Fino Mining District by Layne Gellner Spencer and illustrator Robert W. Spencer, and White Pines and Fire: Cooperative Forestry in Idaho by A.B. Curtis.

A summary of each of those books is below:

The Intermediary looks at what happens when two cultures clash and one person tries to get them to live together. William Craig tried to broker peace between the native Nez Perce and newcomers from the East. Craig was a native Virginian that became a mountain man, married into the Nez Perce Tribe and immersed himself in two cultures on a collision course. His story shared for the first time, is one that mixes bravery, cowardice, courage, deceit, intrigue -- and timeless lessons about the challenges awaiting those who would be peacemakers.

White Pine Wobblies and Wannigans recounts the history of how the huge sawmills built at Potlatch, Elk River and Lewiston made the production of logs a top priority. Creating a place for the ‘lumberjack’ to eat, sleep and occasionally play while producing logs was in itself a high priority operation.

Follow the logging and the lumberjacks’ world as he moved from camp to camp to camp. This book provides detailed chronological and geographical record of 185 Potlatch logging camps from 1903 to 1986. Over 400 photographs, mostly from private collections, provide a record of people, places and events in the Potlatch logging operation.

The Clearwater Story is written in the lives of individual people. Space gives readers a glimpse into some of these lives. He has preserved a look at the life as it was in early day Forest Service and a reminder of some of the triumphs and tribulations of the Indians, explorers, miners, homesteaders and others who preceded the Forest Service.

This work is a great help to the student of local history and will be a good historical reference for those who want to learn about the heritage of Clearwater National Forest.

Tales of the Clearwater is an accumulation of stories and tales from the area. Swayne grew up in Canada, but spent most of his life in the Clearwater Region beginning with his work for the U.S. Forest Service during summer breaks while studying law at the University of Idaho. After he married Zoa L Shaw, they made their home in Orofino. He participated in and recorded these stories which document the growth of the Clearwater Valley.

And Five Were Hanged: And Other Historical Short Stories of Pierce and the Oro Fino Mining District allows readers to choose any chapter first as they check out the short stories about the early days in the Pierce area and western life. Readers young or old will find entertainment between the covers.

White Pines and Fire is the story of the white pine logging industry in Idaho and the continual struggle each year against the forest fires that threatened it. The men engaged in this work were rugged individuals of the Paul Bunyan type who were led by equally sturdy leaders with the far-sighted vision of protecting and managing this great natural resource.

Here is the story of a unique system of cooperative timber protection devised in this region which became a pattern for similar systems throughout the United States.

It is related by Albert B. Curtis, the man who had over 50 years’ experience with forest fire protection in Idaho. ‘Bert’ tells the story in his own style, narrating history as well as anecdotes of the lumberjacks of a bygone era.