Looking back: Rexburg farmer crushed to death; former Pocatello man appears on national television

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

SODA SPRINGS — All the prisoners in the Bannock County Jail came close to escaping, the Soda Springs Chieftain reported on Jan. 30, 1913.

Sheriff Lowry and his deputies returned to the courthouse around 11 p.m. from a “search and seizure” and brought with them “a bunch of suspects.” The suspects were taken to the basement by jailer Lewis.

While doing so, Lewis discovered a gaping hole in the brick wall connecting the two sides of the jail. He then found one of the bars of a window on the west wall sawed through.

“Had the discovery been delayed half an hour, it is believed that all of the 25 prisoners incarcerated in the Lowry bastille would have made their getaways,” the article reads.

The prisoners were searched, and three steel saws were found.

1926-1950

REXBURG — A Rexburg farmer was crushed to death, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Jan. 30, 1946.

W.L. Trost, 38, was on his farm one mile southwest of Rexburg when the accident happened.

Madison County Sheriff Harold Matson said that Trost was doing his chores and must have been hooking up a team of horses to the sleigh when the incident occurred. It’s believed the horses attempted to get away, crowding Trost against the wall.

“When he failed to come to the house, Mrs. Trost went to look for him and found him pinned between the hay rack and the wall,” Matson stated.

He was found at noon about an hour after the accident was believed to have happened.

Mrs. Trost called a neighbor, William Hines, who was forced to hook the horses to the back of the sleigh before the body of Mr. Trost could be removed.

1951-1975

POCATELLO — A local woman was going to be facing a first-degree murder charge after her ex-husband died, the Idaho State Journal reported on Feb. 1, 1952.

Jordan E. Mitchell, 31, died from a bullet wound. Josephine Fort, 33, divorced Mitchell two weeks before the shooting and was being held by Pocatello Police on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. Detective Chief Guy Nelson said she would be charged with murder.

Mitchell was shot in the stomach during an argument over a missing $20 bill. He was taken to Bannock Memorial Hospital where he died.

1976-2000

POCATELLO — A former Pocatello man was going to make an appearance on national television on “Good Morning America,” the Idaho State Journal reported on Feb. 1, 1977.

Gary Smith was an environmentalist and author of a book called “Windsinger.” The book featured text and pictures by Smith about his experiences in Pocatello, the Sawtooth Mountains of Central Idaho, on Okinawa and as a park ranger in the canyon lands of Southern Utah.

Half of the “Good Morning America” two-hour show was going to be dedicated to an environmental presentation which was going to include an interview with Smith.

His parents, who were living in Pocatello, said their son flew to New York City Monday to prepare for the interview.

Smith was 33 years old and a graduate of Pocatello High School. He was living in Utah at the time he appeared on “Good Morning America.”