Looking Back: Father dies after being kicked in face by horse; 5-year-old boys start fires inside J.C. Penney
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Oct. 19 to Oct. 25 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — A man was driving down the road when he came across a car that had flipped over and an unconscious man lying nearby, The Bingham County News reported on Oct. 21, 1915.
N. Lewis was returning to Blackfoot from Idaho Falls when he stumbled upon the scene involving J.W. Killian. Homeless people had reportedly gone through Killian’s pockets and took some money and valuable papers.
Killian was “considerably bruised about the head and body” and taken to the hospital.
“He could give no explanation of the accident which confined him in the hospital for several days,” the paper mentioned.
Lewis somehow got back the valuable papers and money from those who stole the items. He gave the papers and money to the doctor caring for Killian who then gave them to Mrs. Killian.
1926-1950
BURLEY — A husband and father was immediately killed after being kicked in the face by a vicious stallion, The Burley Herald reported on Oct. 21, 1926.
The incident happened on Oct. 20, 1926, around 10 a.m. Fredrick James Nye was hitching horses to a load of hay while his son was holding the horses. While trying to fasten one of them, a stallion “became unruly” and kicked Nye, almost removing his head.
“The passing of Mr. Nye will be felt by all who have ever met him as he was a man of sterling qualities and made friends, of the lasting kind, wherever he went,” the article states. “He tended strictly to his own business, but at all times had time for his work in connection with the LDS church, of which he was a highly respected member and never missed an opportunity to help his fellow man.”
Nye left behind his wife and nine children.
1951-1975
POCATELLO — A woman collided with an Idaho Falls police car, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Oct. 25, 1975.
Carol Lea Lee was charged by Idaho State Police with failing to stop at a stop sign. Lee crashed into the patrol car belonging to officer Orvid Kay Edwards.
Damage to Lee’s vehicle was $350. Damage done to the patrol car was $600.
1976-2000
POCATELLO — Two five-year-old boys set fire to a rack of shirts at the J.C. Penney Co. in Pocatello, the Idaho State Journal reported on Oct. 21, 1977.
The boys had gotten out of a nearby parked vehicle in which they were supposed to wait. They entered the store’s restroom and quickly started a small fire with paper towels and toilet paper.
The boys then lit the shirts on fire. There were 31 shirts that burned before store employees extinguished the blaze.
The boys weren’t charged due to their age but their parents were going to possibly get a bill for damages, the paper said.