Hall Of Fame To Induct 12 People, Five Businesses

Twelve remarkable people and five corporations will be inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will be held Saturday at the University of Idaho. The theme this year is the inductees’ role in bringing international attention to the state.

Included is the late poet Ezra Pound, who was born in Hailey in 1885. He aided other writers such as Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce.

“This couldn’t be better,” said Florence Blanchard, president of the Ezra Pound Association. “We are thrilled to have Pound’s home state acknowledge him.”

The group wants to buy the Hailey birthplace of Pound, who supported fascism in World War II and was institutionalized for years.

Also on the list of inductees are Olympic downhill champion Picabo Street; Carey’s Mary Thomas Brooks, the first woman to direct the U.S. Mint; Olympic decathlon gold medal winner Dan O’Brien; and eight-time world champion calf roper Dean Oliver.

Also to be inducted are Vernon Baker, winner of the Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II; Terrel Bell, former secretary of education; Ezra Taft Benson, president of the Mormon Church and former secretary of agriculture; Vard Chatburn, Idaho’s longest continually serving legislator; George Gittins, a southeastern Idaho pioneer; Jack Lemley, who engineered the tunnel under the English Channel; and Norma Zimmer, singer on “The Lawrence Welk Show.”

Five corporations will be inducted for their roles in Idaho: Potlatch, Boise Cascade, Basic American Foods, Union Pacific Railroad and Morrison-Knudsen.