Idaho Connections to National Events

Idaho Connections to National Events

How to use this page

This Idaho Connections to National Events Inquiry Kit highlights digital resources curated with Idaho educators in mind. This page features examples of ways to connect major events in American history to Idahoans’ lived experiences, curated by librarians, and links to larger collections teachers and students can explore.

The larger collections used in this kit are:

About Placing Idaho in the National Narrative

Understanding Idaho’s past within the broader context of American history helps reveal how national events shaped local communities and how Idahoans contributed to larger historical developments. Residents of the state experienced many of the same challenges and opportunities that affected people across the nation, including the devastating effects of the 1918 influenza pandemic, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, participation in the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, and military service and home-front activities during World War II. Examining these events through an Idaho lens allows students and researchers to see how national stories unfolded in local places, connecting the state’s history to the wider American experience.

Many students will recognize the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, though they may not know anything about the national program that brought young men from all over the US to make improvements to Idaho’s landscapes. In fact Idaho benefitted from more CCC camps, per capita, than any other state in the country. The CCC soldiers built roads, bridges, state park facilities, and much more.

Students who experienced the COVID 19 pandemic and subsequent public health protocols can reflect on how an earlier disease, Influenza, changed lives in 1918. Some precautions, like closing schools, were very similar. The US’s involvement in WWI, however, made some conditions very different. Idahoans contributed to America’s success in WWII, and students can reflect on the realities of that war through photos and an oral history interview with a veteran and former Prisoner of War, Mark Brooks Calnon.

A photo taken in approximately 1935 which features a young man standing in front of a sign advertising for Lake Chatcolet, in Heyburn State Park, which was the site for CCC Camp #SP-1.

A telegram from Biwer Secy informing President Lindley that the State Board of Health has closed all public and private schools, and enacted a quarantine on on state institutions.

A coin minted by the United States Mint for POW remembrance and a certificate of authenticity addressed to Mark B. Calnon.

Featured Digital Collections

All of the linked Digital Collections follow a pretty standard format. You can learn more about how to navigate a digital collection, with K-12 teaching in mind, at How To Use.

1918 Flu Pandemic Collection

The link below will take you the 1918 Flu Pandemic Collection. Designed like a digital museum exhibit, this collection brings together historic photos and documents related to the public health emergency caused by influenza. Included is evidence of both how the University of Idaho responded, as it tried to keep students safe, as well as how the residents of Moscow felt.

You can learn more about how to navigate a digital collection, with K-12 teaching in mind, at How To Use.

Explore the collection

Highlighted Items

Red Cross Volunteers marching in the World War I Armistice Parade on Moscow Idaho's Main Street in November 1918.

A page from Esther E. Thomas' university scrapbook describing the time of the the influenza on campus. On October 21st, she mentions that all the school has closed and there are 40 cases of the flu and she spent all day bumming at home. She is desperate for something to do by the second day, and starts nursing by the end of the week.

A clipping from the October 30, 1918 edition of the University of Idaho's Argonaut which discusses the role of quarantine in preventing the spread of the disease among female students.

Mark Brooks Calnon Collection

The link below will take you the Mark Brooks Calnon Collection. Calnon was born in Meridian, Idaho and graduated from U of I before enlisting in the Army during WWII. In 1943 his B-17 was shot down and he survived the bailout only to be taken prisoner by the Germans. The collection includes materials collected by Calnon for his personal scrapbook, as well as an oral history interview about his experiences as a POW.

You can learn more about how to navigate a digital collection, with K-12 teaching in mind, at How To Use.

Explore the collection

Highlighted Items

A telegram addressed to Mrs. Jessie S. Calnon informing her that her son was taken as a Prisoner of War of the German government.

A photograph of Mark Calnon on his 95th birthday. Soon after this birthday, Calnon was interviewed by film maker Denise Bennett regarding his personal history as a WWII pilot and Prisoner of War. The interview is available for listening and accessible in the digital collection.

Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho Collection

The link below will take you the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho Collection. Commonly known as the CCC, this federal program was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression. Young men from across the US were employed by the government to restore millions of acres of devastated forests and other exhausted public lands. While they sent much needed money home to their families, Idaho’s landscape was meaningfully shaped by their hard work.

You can learn more about how to navigate a digital collection, with K-12 teaching in mind, at How To Use.

Explore the collection

Highlighted Items

An interactive map of extant CCC structures in Idaho.

Six CCC men sitting in the barracks at CCC Camp Big Creek #2, F-132 in Wallace, Idaho in approximately 1938. CCC members cut and split wood for burning in the barrack's heating system, which is visible in the photo.

A political cartoon from the July 25, 1941 edition of the Cascade News which depicts the artist's attitude towards government spending at the time. The cartoon depicts congress blindly fishing while a cat, labeled as, wasteful non-defense spending, steals the fish, labelled as revenues for national defense.

Kooskia Internment Camp Scrapbook

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which called for the incarceration of more than 100,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in the US. In addition to Relocation Centers, commonly known as internment camps, the government operated Detention Camps for those people of Japanese descent categorized as disruptive. One such camp was located in Kooskia, Idaho.

You can learn more about how to navigate a digital collection, with K-12 teaching in mind, at How To Use.

Explore the collection