Re: A Signifigant Narrow Gauge Lokie Comes HOME!

Hi Skip,
Yes, Jim was quite a guy. Quiet, modest, but he was on a first-name basis with a lot of influential people. Arthur Hart, director emeritus of the Idaho State Historical Society, Tim Woodward, the 40-year veteran "Idaho Statesman" feature writer, Phil Batt, former governor to name a few.
He talked about You quite a lot too. I believe he considered you a bona fide old time boomer - which appears to be an accurate assesment. We must have just missed each other at Sumpter. I was actively involved from 1977-1986, then moved to the east coast for a few years. Got re-involved about 6-8 years ago. Hope we get a chance to meet one of these days.
Jim was also, I think, a helluva writer. If he had chosen a field with more popular appeal than local history, he likely would've been famous. He was that good.
Another little-known factoid about Jim, He lived here for years and died a green-carded alien. Born and raised in Colorado, I think, he moved to Austrailia as a young adult during the Vietnam conflict, loved it, took citizenship and planned to live out his life there but eventually moved back to Boise to care for his elderly and ailing mother (who in fact outlived him). His great hope was to retire from ITD and use his inheritance to build a tourist railroad and mining interpretive center on the old Boise-payette R.O.W. in the vicinity of Idaho City. Sensing an opportunity to enlist a strong back and weak mind, he had asked me to assist with this project. Sure do wish he'd lived to undertake it.
with best regards,
Jeff