Looking back: Man accidentally kills his wife; 14-year-old girl praised for reviving toddler

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Aug. 18 to Aug. 24 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

BLACKFOOT — A man accidentally shot and killed his wife, The Bingham County News reported on Aug. 20, 1914.

Mrs. A.T. Stewart, who lived near Blackfoot, along with her husband, planned to kill a chicken hawk that was reportedly annoying them. The husband said after dinner, he had his wife go to an adjoining room to grab some cartridges while he took down a single-barreled repeating shotgun that was hanging on the wall.

He had taken two cartridges from the gun and thought there were no more, but as his wife entered the room from an unexpected direction with a box of cartridges, the gun discharged. She was struck in the breast and killed instantly.

Dr. Davis and Ed. Thoreson arrived on the scene as soon as possible, only to find “a dead woman and a broken-hearted husband.”

Coroner Peck was also notified and, after a thorough investigation of the premises and facts, found that the event was “without a doubt accidental and deemed an inquest uncalled for.”

“The bereaved and distracted husband has been absolutely exonerated and has the sympathy of the public,” the article reads.

Stewart, an Idaho native, was 30 years old at the time of her death.

1926-1950

RIGBY — A young Rigby couple thought their baby had been kidnapped but it turned out the baby was actually being cared for by a stranger, The Rigby Star reported on Aug. 20, 1936.

The couple left their 1 1/2-year-old baby sleeping in a parked car on Main Street while they went to a show. While the parents were away, the baby woke up and started crying.

The repeated cries of the baby got the attention of people outside the car and they notified Officer Geo. Call. With the parents not around, the officer suggested the lady who had heard the cries take the baby and care for him at her nearby home until the parents arrived.

“This she gladly did and the little one immediately stopped crying,” the paper wrote.

At some point later, the parents returned to their car and when they opened the door, they saw their child was gone.

“They immediately sent in an alarm that their baby had been kidnapped and were much concerned,” the article reads. “The night officer did not immediately tell them of their baby being in safe hands and concluded to let them do a little worrying for such neglect.”

The baby was eventually returned “safe and sound and quiet” to his parents. That’s when the officer proceeded to give a lecture on the duty of parents to their children, one of which is not leaving a 1 1/2-year-old baby alone in a parked car.

1951-1975

BURLEY — A 14-year-old Burley girl was credited with saving the life of a two-year-old girl who fell into an irrigation ditch, The Burley Herald reported on Aug. 20, 1953.

Jeanette Neiwert was playing near the ditch with her three-year-old sister when she fell into the water and was pulled under a bridge. The sister ran across the road to the Wilson home screaming that her Jeanette had fallen into the ditch.

Kenny Wilson, 14, who had recently completed a Red Cross swimming course at the Burley municipal swimming pool, swam under the bridge. Although he wasn’t able to rescue the little girl, he ended up pulling moss loose from around her. This allowed her to float away from under the bridge.

Charles Wilson, Kenny’s father, pulled the girl from the canal. She had been under the water for more than five minutes. That’s when Diane Wilson, Kenny’s sister and Charles’ daughter, came to the rescue.

Diane began artificial respiration and sent for help from the fire department. The fire chief and two firefighters showed up and worked on the child with a resuscitator.

Jeanette was eventually revived and a local doctor rushed her to the hospital. She had to be given more oxygen but the doctor said she would recover.

Diane said she learned artificial respiration in her physical education classes at Burley High School in 1952. She said her teacher taught her a new method in which the resuscitator sits at the head rather than straddling the person being worked on.

Diane was praised for her fast-action of applying artificial respiration to Jeanette. The doctor who cared for Jeanette said that if possible, someone should award a medal to Diane.

1976-2000

REXBURG — Elementary students in Kansas raised funds to buy books for Rexburg children to replace the libraries lost in the Teton Dam flood, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Aug. 22, 1977.

Kansas City students made it a “Children of Kansas City to the children of Rexburg” project. They made hundreds of items in 1976 — such as sewing kits, book markers, spice hangers, piggy banks and cookbooks — and sold them for .25 cents each to help purchase books.

A check for $80 was given to Dr. Mary Hess, who was serving as president of the Idaho State Council of the International Reading Association when the flood waters hit. Hess presented the check to Mrs. Frank Jacobs, Madison County librarian, to buy children’s books for the new library that was under construction.

After the flood, Hess brought blankets and clothing to Ricks College to give to the flood victims, but was told by one victim they also needed books for their children.

Hess, who at that time was also head of the reading center at Ricks, went to her office and gathered children’s books for flood families. She then reached out to IRA councils throughout the world for assistance.

“More than 60 councils from throughout the world donated books,” Hess said. “More than 250 boxes of books were received containing more than 7,000 books.”

Over $700 in cash came from IRA councils for books. Schools and libraries in Utah also sent more than 35,000 books.