Idaho Grows as Some Small Towns Fade from the Map

My mom grew up in a place where the population never exceeded 150, and is probably even smaller today.  There wasn’t a traffic light, and I’ve mentioned before that the general store served as the Post Office and gas station.  The kids who grew up there shared a bond that lasted long after many moved away.  I grew up in a larger town five miles away, but we shared the same school, where they made sure everyone knew where they were from!

What's Lost is a Larger Sense of Family

I was an outsider, and I felt it whenever I visited my cousins.  I also respected the bond they had with their neighbors.  There are many similar places in Idaho, and unfortunately, many of them are fading away.  A couple of years ago, CNN did a story about Bliss becoming a possible ghost town, despite some business activity off the highway exit.

Memories Eventually Fade Away Too

This week, I came across a story about Avery, in the panhandle, and near Wallace, as the crow flies.  Near a map, but getting there is an adventure.  It looks like a beautiful drive, but at the current rate, in a few years, it may be abandoned.  As often happens, the younger people leave and don’t come back.  Idaho is growing, but primarily in urban and suburban settings.

What’s lost is some very rich history.  Tales of early settlers who carved lives out of rock and sometimes parched soil.  Maybe economies will change again, and these small outposts will once again get a new lease on life.