Looking back: Mother, daughter deliver babies the same week; and two Idaho Falls men go missing on Mt. Borah

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Dec. 1 to Dec. 7 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

FIRTH — A woman was badly burned at her home after throwing kerosene into her stove, The Bingham County News reported on Dec. 7, 1916.

Mrs. Sundquist, of Firth, threw the kerosene in the stove, and it ended up exploding. The burning oil landed on her face, neck and hands. The skin on her lower limbs was also scorched.

When the flames caught her, she ran out of her house screaming for help and threw herself into the snow. When neighbors arrived, they helped her smother the flames on her clothing.

The neighbors got her medical help, and the paper said she was resting as easily as could be expected.

1926-1950

IDAHO FALLS — A mother and her daughter were in the hospital at the same time having their babies, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Dec. 3, 1940.

“This is a story about mothers and babies, and you must follow the details rather closely so as not to become confused,” the article reads. “In brief, two mothers, a daughter, two sons, a brother, a sister, a nephew, an uncle, a grandmother, and a grandson are involved, despite the fact that only two babies were born.”

The incident involved Mrs. A. E. Rose, 43, a resident of Humphrey, Idaho, and her daughter, Mrs. Ralph Stosich, 22, of Idaho Falls.

Rose gave birth to her 10th child — a boy — on Nov. 29, 1940. Earlier that week, Stosich gave birth to her first child, also a boy. Stosich was the oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rose.

“The strange case finds both mothers in the same room — No. 409 — at the Idaho Falls LDS Hospital,” The Post Register mentioned.

It continued, “Mrs. Rose’s son becomes the brother, of course, of Mrs. Stosich and the uncle of Mrs. Stosich’s child. Mrs. Stosich’s son, in turn, becomes the grandson of Mrs. Rose and the nephew of Mrs. Rose’s child.”

Rose’s son weighed seven pounds and Stosich’s son was eight pounds.

1951-1975

POCATELLO — Pocatello High School students were being fined for throwing snowballs, the Idaho State Journal reported on Dec. 4, 1952.

“Pocatello High School student court has a swift means for dealing with snowballing on the campus,” the Journal wrote.

Those who violated the school regulation against throwing snowballs were “cited into student court” and fined $1, according to the school bulletin.

1976-2000

MACKAY– A search for two Idaho Falls men believed to be missing on Mt. Borah was going to be called off if search parties didn’t find new signs of the two, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Dec. 1, 1977.

The missing men were Guy Campbell, 21, and Vaughn Howard, 22. Howard was working for an Idaho Falls rental store and Campbell, Howard’s brother-in-law, was an employee of the city of Idaho Falls at the time they disappeared. They had been missing since Nov. 26, 1977.

Custer County deputy Bob Esterholdt said about 50 people, including expert mountain climbers, were lifted to upper reaches of the 12,662-foot peak by helicopter and dropped off in two, three and four-man teams.

He said a two-man team was set down on the upper saddle about 500 yards from the summit Wednesday morning and confirmed the men had not signed the log on top of the state’s highest peak.

On Nov. 29, 1977, about 150 people were involved in searching for the men. The men’s basecamp was sniffed out by a bloodhound from the Bonneville County Search and Rescue unit. A tent, sleeping bags and a backpack were found in the camp, which was about 8,000 feet up the mountain.

“The dog followed their trail about a half-mile from the camp, but he lost the scent when the snow got deeper,” Bonneville County sheriff Blaine Skinner said. He added the scent was probably four days old.

An airplane took infrared photos of the mountain’s higher reaches in hopes of discovering indications of body heat. But Skinner said the photos revealed nothing.

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