Transportation

12/27/17 – Modern Day Research Trips and the Famed Golden Age of Travel, Part 2

The hustle and bustle of holiday travel is upon us. The surge of families with small children and less-experienced travelers at airports across the country means busier terminals, shorter tempers, and heightened levels of excitement…for some. As a result, the holiday-induced shift in travel patterns has me once again thinking about aviation, so get ready… Read the Rest »

7/26/17 – Modern Day Research Trips and The Famed Golden Age of Travel

My job description at SHRA clearly outlines that travel is required. In fact, all historians with SHRA can expect to travel and work away from the office roughly 25% of the time. This is to be expected of a job where we are in search of rare documents that likely exist in only one repository… Read the Rest »

6/21/17 – The New Mexican Automobile Runway

While sifting through documents at the New Mexico State Archives on a recent research trip, I encountered references to “automobile runways,” a phrase I had never heard before. At first I ignored the term; it was not relevant to our immediate research topic. However, by the fifth or sixth mention of the runway I was… Read the Rest »

5/18/16 -Traveling Through the Mountains…on Camel Back?

I have always found the history of transportation in the West exciting, but as a historian, I find this subject increasingly relevant not only because it tells a story about changing technology and regional development, but because it also speaks to the power of individual ingenuity and innovation. While I was conducting research for an… Read the Rest »

11/4/15 – Teaching Business with History: A Case Study on Garrett Freightlines

Idaho’s history is rich in many ways, but one facet of the state’s history that seems to strike a particular chord with me is the history of its abundant legacy family businesses. I first came across this history as a graduate student at Boise State where I focused my thesis research on the history of… Read the Rest »

10/7/15 – Book Review – The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck

During the 15 years prior to the Civil War, historians estimate that more than 400,000 pioneers headed west via covered wagon. In the summer of 2007, I found myself driving from Western Washington to Rhode Island, a true “coast-to-coast” crossing, using a modern vehicle. My dog Griffin kept me company and from Utah to Iowa,… Read the Rest »

9/16/15 – A Quick Look at the Gas Tax

This summer I traveled extensively for work, and as a result I found myself shuttling to and from the airport at odd hours of the day (and night). And while each trip was somewhat of a blur, whether it was because of catching a 6:30am flight or arriving back home well past nightfall, there was… Read the Rest »

12/15/14 – Then & Now Fairview Avenue

Because most of our projects focus on the built and natural environments, SHRA researchers often find themselves researching at the unique intersection between environmental and urban history. In early 2014, our research led to 1950s photographs of Fairview Avenue in Boise, Idaho, a road that is now a major thoroughfare in the Treasure Valley. One… Read the Rest »

7/23/14 – World Cup Reflections

In the months leading up to the 2014 World Cup, headlines abounded with speculation on Brazil’s readiness. As thousands of tourists descended upon the various host cities, it was clear that Brazil’s infrastructure was not up to snuff. Barely finished stadiums, hastily constructed airport terminals (one of which was under a tent) and numerous uncompleted… Read the Rest »

5/23/14 – Breaking Trails at the Dawn of the National Parks System

Editor’s note:  Today’s blog post is from Jennifer Stevens. My 12-year old son recently asked me why I read the obituaries in the paper. I didn’t have to think very long before I answered: I love people’s stories. Environmental history is – like all history – cut from the cloth of people’s stories. Human interaction… Read the Rest »

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