Looking back: Farmer dies after being gored by ‘mad bull,’ and rancher accused of first-degree murder

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of July 21 to July 27 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

ABERDEEN — A well-known Aberdeen farmer died after being gored by a “mad bull,” The Bingham County News reported on July 23, 1914.

E.D. Arms died from injuries sustained during the attack, but the article didn’t give details.

The paper mentioned Arms died the same day his son was born. Arms’ wife, formerly known as Miss Mabel Johnson, was described as being well-known in Blackfoot, where she taught school.

“(She) has the sympathy of many friends,” the article reads.

1926-1950

ARCO — An Arco rancher was accused of first-degree murder in connection with a construction worker who was found dead, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on July 24, 1932.

John “Scotty” Patterson was in the Butte County Jail awaiting his trial. He was accused of killing Patrick Henry Givens, 64, whose body was found in an irrigation canal on July 7, 1932.

Officers said Givens lived at Patterson’s ranch when he was unemployed, but it’s not clear when that was.

Patterson was bound over for trial on the charge of first-degree murder at the close of his preliminary hearing before Judge James Martin on July 23, 1932. The state called three witnesses, including Sheriff Charles Mecham, Dr. J.R. Egbert and S.J. Merrill, who was employed at the Mackay dam spillway and identified Given’s body. No defense witnesses were presented.

The murder was committed near the Butte and Custer county lines, and the county attorneys for both counties were going to cooperate in the prosecution.

1951-1975

FORT HALL — A benefit dance was organized for a 14-year-old Fort Hall girl who needed an artificial foot, the Idaho State Journal reported on July 22, 1952.

Judy Ann Brangham’s right foot was severed June 24, 1952, when two cars — one of which she was in — collided head-on between Pocatello and Fort Hall.

Brangham’s mother, Hazel Davis, was a single mother with four children. The Fort Hall Latter-day Saint church decided after Brangham came home from the hospital to sponsor a benefit dance to help the family.

The funds collected from the dance were going to help Brangham get a new foot, which was going to cost $275. The paper said this would allow her to “enter Blackfoot High School this fall.”

The article mentioned that less than a month after the accident, the teenager had made “remarkable progress.” She was able to get around on crutches and dress herself.

“But what she needs to erase the searing memory of the accident is an artificial foot,” the paper states. “The benefit dance is the means of supplying this.”

The dance was planned for Aug. 1, 1952.

1976-2000

REXBURG — The old gymnasium at Ricks College was destroyed by fire, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on July 27, 1977.

The fire started after sparks from a demolition worker’s cutting torch ignited materials on the top floor. No injuries were reported. The only other damage reported were two cracked windows in the Romney Science Center.

The three-story structure, built in 1919, was under a demolition contract to Grover Construction Co. in Shelley. The paper said the building was a “Ricks College landmark.”

The building was closed in April 1977. It had most recently served as the Bureau of Reclamation claims office, music and math classrooms. It had originally included a gymnasium, auditorium and swimming pool, and was the only basketball court in the area for some time.

It was home to the Ricks Viking basketball team for years until they moved to Madison High School. Years earlier, it was also where high school district tournaments were held.

Chuck Frost, director of physical plant for the college, credited Ricks College Police with evacuating the construction workers when the fire broke out.

Physical plant personnel helped firefighters in wetting down the Romney Science Center to prevent the fire from spreading. College personnel were also stationed on top of the Hart physical eduction building to control flying sparks.

Three trucks from the Rexburg Fire Department responded to the scene and had the fire under control within about an hour.

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