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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Ex-Idaho Justice Pens Memoir

One of the major voids of Idaho's 150-year history has been the lack of books by and about Idaho's political movers and shakers. Only four memoirs written by statewide elected officials come to mind. Three were written by former governors - Robert Smylie, Don Samuelson and Phil Batt -- and one written by former territorial Congressman and U.S. Sen. Fred T. Dubois. The Dubois memoir, while incomplete, is the best of the lot and includes the only eyewitness account of President Benjamin Harrison's signing of the bill making Idaho a state. In addition, there have been a handful of biographies of Idaho politicians, including William E. Borah, Frank Church, Cecil Andrus and James McClure. Add to that list a newly published memoir by former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Byron Johnson. Johnson, who served on the Supreme Court from 1988 to 1999, titles his book "Poetic Justice: A Memoir." It is an appropriate title since he is also a very serious poet/Marty Peterson, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (Kyle Mills' Lewiston Tribune photo of Marty Peterson)

Question: Do you know much about Idaho history?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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