Share your ‘Cece story’: Boise State’s Andrus Center will host ‘History Harvest’ for book project

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — It may have been an unseasonably hot early May day outside the Albertsons Library at Boise State University, but inside its climate-controlled special collections and archive room, a handful of Idaho’s most experienced politicos were huddled among stacks of cardboard boxes and reference books.

They were there to jumpstart a book project that aims to help retell the story of Idaho’s longest-serving governor, Cecil D. Andrus – before it’s too late.

The book will feature chapters of narrative essays written by the vanguard of some Idaho’s most notable political insiders, including journalists who covered Andrus, staff who worked side-by-side with him, conservationists who helped shape his environmental policies and beliefs, and Idaho politicians who have followed in his footsteps.

But they have an unique plan to gather material for the yearlong writing project. And they need your help.

In early November, the Andrus Center for Public Policy will hold an in-person, two-day “History Harvest” festival – think along the lines of PBS’ beloved “Antiques Roadshow” television program – where Idahoans will be encouraged to bring in anything and everything related to Andrus.

They’re seeking photos, letters, newspaper clippings, artifacts, campaign materials, mementos, and, most of all, personal stories.

“With a team of volunteers, we’ll record oral histories, digitize materials, and have conversations that allow us to construct an inventory of historical resources and use this to reconnect with communities and preserve the memories of what makes our state uniquely Idaho,” according to the Andrus Center.

The festival, which will include the involvement of Boise State students, will take place Nov. 6-7 at the university. A scholarly workshop with the book’s authors, which is open to the public, will also be a part of the event.

Drafts of the chapters for the book are due in January, and they will be formatted by BSU’s graphic design senior capstone students during the spring semester of 2027.

The project’s main mission, said Emily Wakild, is to collect these items and memories and store them in perpetuity for new generations of Idahoans before those that worked so closely alongside Andrus pass on. Wakild is a professor of history and environmental science at Boise State, and serves as the Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Chair for Environment and Public Lands in the School of the Environment, College of Arts and Sciences.

“Nobody writes about Idaho except Idahoans, right?” Wakild said at a meeting of the authors on May 4. “And we’re getting more and more Idahoans by the day. And so thinking about who they are, how they’re changing Idaho, and what they’re encountering when they move here, is part of the driving force behind (the book.)”

“We want to share the stories of an Idaho that existed when Andrus was governor for the people that will be here in 20 years,” Wakild added.

Who was Cecil D. Andrus?

Andrus, the last Democrat to serve as Idaho’s governor, died at age 85 in 2017. He was the only person to serve four terms – a nonconsecutive 14 years – as Idaho governor.

But his service to the state and nation extended far beyond that one role.

After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, he was concerned about the direction of Idaho’s public schools and ran for the state Senate in 1960 at just 28 years old, winning the seat.

That began a longtime tenure in state politics, with his first stint as Idaho governor from 1971-1977. Serving as governor would eventually help prepare him for his role as U.S. secretary of the Interior in the Jimmy Carter administration from 1977-1981. He again was elected Idaho governor from 1987-1995.

Who will be involved in the Andrus book project?

Many of the contributors to the book project are some of the people who knew Andrus best, personally and professionally.

Wakild said the book will contain short vignettes and longer essays from people in Andrus’ orbit, such as longtime Idaho Statesman environmental journalist Rocky Barker, Andrus chief of staff and author Marc C. Johnson, experienced outdoorsman and writer Steve Stuebner, retired executive director of the Idaho Conservation League Rick Johnson, Andrus administration staffer and chairman of the Andrus Center’s Board of Governors Andy Brunelle, longtime educator and retired Idaho State Board of Education President Linda Clark, veteran Idaho journalist and former president of Idaho Businesses for Education Rod Gramer, and Andrus’ granddaughter and Idaho state Rep. Monica Church, to name a few.

“Most of you will do this inherently, but we’re trying to get as many voices into the story as possible, and as many different experiences that people had,” Wakild told the authors at their May 4 meeting. “It doesn’t all have to be positive. We are not looking for a hagiography or only celebrating the things that worked. The pimples are allowed; the warts are acceptable. We’re thinking about how to treat the struggles for what they really were; that’s an important part of it.”

Gramer said he may be the only living journalist to have covered the four terms of Andrus’ time as governor and hopes his chapter will serve as a “meditation on Cece’s leadership.”

“What I want to do is focus on Andrus in terms of … the key components of leadership: vision, relationships, collaboration, accountability, leverage and drama,” Gramer told the authors.

Many of the chapters of the book will deeply dive into how Andrus worked hard over decades of public service to protect the outdoors and conserve its wildlife and open spaces for generations to come. Andrus was initially a logger by trade, and enjoyed fishing, hunting, hiking and recreating all of his life, up to the very end, Johnson said.

“Cece Andrus was so many things to so many people in this state. He shaped so many things,” Johnson said. “Part of it was a style. Part of it was the way he exhibited leadership. Part of it was the fact that he hadn’t finished college. He was a working dude. He acted like a working dude, and he trusted people, and he ultimately trusted me, and we became very close.”

Johnson said they worked closely together for years to earn protections for the White Cloud Wilderness near Stanley in central Idaho. The White Clouds were designated as a wilderness area in 2015, and in 2018, the area was renamed as the Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness in his honor. The designation and how it came into existence has served as a model for how to protect public spaces across the U.S., Johnson said.

“Different than any other form of public land, Wilderness is established as an antidote to expanding settlement and growing mechanization, a place where ecosystems remain undeveloped and intact, natural processes unfold without intervention, and humans may visit but not stay,” according to the U.S. Forest Service map of the White Clouds.

That’s how Andrus wanted Idaho to remain, at least as much as possible, several of the authors noted.

As more people move into Idaho, Waklid said she hopes the book and History Harvest event will welcome new and old residents alike with warmth and a sense of place and community.

“What we’re trying to do is lay the groundwork for people to … embrace memories and nostalgia … from a different time,” Wakild said, “and to think about a future time where people might work civilly together and be able to accomplish things through compromise.”