By the time Idaho First National Bank moved to its new building, Carl Shaver had purchased the Merit Store and renamed it “Shaver’s Foodland.” Bill Daniels told me after the bank moved out, a crew from the Boise Cascade sawmill came over with heavy equipment. They tore out a section of the west wall, cut out the big concrete and steel vault and hauled it away to use as a dynamite storage vault. This may have been the one that sat along the Middle Fork Road for a long time.
Shaver remodeled the old bank space to provide for a bigger dry goods section. It is still evident where the wall was between the former bank and the main store; part of that wall is still there, and there are steel columns under the opening. In 1974 the Odd Fellows Hall just east of Shaver’s was torn down and the grocery store soon expanded into the resulting vacant lot. Also, at some point around this general time, an addition was built onto the west end of the Shaver’s building. At some point a single roof was built over the entire structure and a new front constructed that generally gave the building the appearance is has today. It would be interesting to see what is left of the old Sam Criss store brickwork.
After the failure of the Meadows Valley Bank in 1932, New Meadows was without a bank until 1981 when Treasure Valley Bank opened there on May 1st.
In 1989 several Idaho First National Banks in Idaho became West One Bank, including the Council bank.
The Idaho State Bank in Cambridge became a West One Bank in 1993.
The Council bank made news in 1998 when it installed a cash machine outside the bank. The terminology for such machines was still evolving, and such machines soon became known as ATMs (Automated Teller Machine).
In December 1995 Idaho West One banks came under the ownership of U.S. Bancorp, and Council and Cambridge banks became U.S. Bank branches.
Old First Bank Building
For some reason, the old First Bank of Council building (106 Illinois Ave.) was referred to in 1926 as “the Hancock building.” That year the Adams Co. Light and Power Co. moved into the building. The power company moved out in October of the following year (1927) and Gene Perkins moved in with his cigar and candy store.
From 1938 to 1939 the building served as the Howell Co. furniture display room. The Adams County Bank moved in 1940, but moved out the next year.
By 1960 the building housed the Radke Furniture Store.
Adams County Leader, April 6, 1962: “Frank Kanady is the new manager of the Radke Furniture store in Council. Ervin Bernard, manager of the Radke Furniture store in Cascade, will assume direct supervision, and also become a stockholder in the Council store.”
During the 1965 - ‘67 period, the building was again referred to as the Hancock Building. It seemed to be vacant, but was occasionally used for parties and dances.
In 1967 S.H. “Skeets” Beall purchased the Council Rexall Drug store, which was the old Winkler Drug Store on the NW corner of Illinois and Galena. Beall moved the store contents to the old First Bank building, which he remodeled and operated as a drug store.
Skeets Beall died in December 1968. Lynn Pearson bought it about that time and ran it as the Rexall Drug Store until he retired in 1998.
After Pearson retired, my sister, Elaine Fisk Lacy Whitney, bought the building in 1999 and ran “Buckshot Mary’s” there.
At the moment I don’t know when Elaine moved out. She sold the building to Lyle Sall who had a lot of remodeling done, and it became a fitness center. The fitness center moved out fairly recently, and this old building that has served Council for 115 years is currently vacant.
100 years ago
January 23, 1925
“Several sled loads people went to Midvale Friday evening to see the basketball game between Huntington and Midvale.”
“Four carloads of hay were shipped from the Oregon hay yards last week, consigned to Nord & Co., at Tamarack.”
“Ski riding is fastly becoming popular as a winter sport, especially among the young people of the country. Some old hands at the pole and the many beginners are to be seen mostly every evening practicing.”
“Matt Dillon was down from Mesa Thursday, on business.”
75 years ago
January 19, 1950
There will be a polio benefit dance January 28. Mrs. Chris Marti has been appointed as community chairman of the March of Dimes drive in the Cambridge area this year.
A boy named Malcolm Ralph was born January 14 to Rev. and Mrs. R. D. Brubaker at the Weiser hospital.
A daughter named Janet Laree was born January 12 to Mr. and Mrs. James Robinson at the Council hospital.
From an article printed in the Record-Courier of Baker, Oregon: when Tim Goodale’s wagon train camped near present-day Cambridge the route ahead was very mountainous and rough, and they debated what to do. Packers from Boise to Umatilla told Goodale that feed was plentiful, but in the Burnt River Canyon was very short; but if they would do some work on the trail they could get to Brownlee Ferry on Snake River and go through these two valleys and get back on the old Oregon Trail near Flagstaff Hill. “This was told to W.W. Lloyd by Orville Wood, who was a brother of J.B. Wood, who later lived at Pine.” “They decided to send men over this trail to Brownlee and look the country over. Mr. Brownlee returned to their camp with the men and offered to Ferry the train across Snake River without charge if they would make a road from Cambridge to the ferry, which they did. Mr. Brownlee crossed them over and told them he would pay each able-bodied man $2.50 per day in gold dust to make a road up what is now known as Brownlie Canyon to the top of the Zig Zag Hill. His proposition was accepted and the trail was made, and that was the beginning of the road that now leads to Brownlee.”
49 years ago
January 15, 1976
Died: Lora Higgins, 83, of Cambridge. She married Harry Page in 1910 and they moved to Council in 1934 where they farmed. He died in 1938 and she married J.A. Higgins in 1939 at Council. They moved to Cambridge in 1960. He died in 1974.
Died: John Ader of McCall.
Died: Jonathan Earl McMahan, 79, of Fruitvale.
Died: Russell H. Merk, 72, of Weiser, formerly of Fruitvale.
Died: Lola Jones, 58, of Council. She has lived in Council since 1957. She is survived by her husband, Woody Jones and two daughters.
Died: Kenneth Johnson, a former local resident.
25 years ago
January 20, 2000
The Indian Valley store closed. Store operator, Lynn Johnson, who rented the lower level of the hall for her business, has moved everything out into storage until able to relocate to another building. Lynn bought the store business from Sherry Bullard and took over the business October 1996. The owner of the building refused to let Lynn preserve the hall and more than doubled the rent.
Died: Julia Josephine “Jo” Bitner, 80, Midvale. She was born in 1919 at Midvale, the daughter of Joseph and Julia Alice Hartley Brown. She graduated from Midvale high school in 1937 and married John Bitner in 1938.
