Cassia County Trivia Answers

I thought I should post these while I have a chance. Thanks to Catherine for playing.

1. How did the town "Declo" get its name? Originally it was called "Marshfield." "When the town applied for a post office in 1917, the general post office in Washington, D.C. said there were too many towns with the name Marshfield. No one could decide on a name, so a group of men visiting the Gillett Mercantile decided to take the initials of the first five men to walk into the store and form a name. The first five men were August Detlef, George Eldredge, James Cooley, Hyram Lewis, and Carl Osterhout" (66) -- hence DECLO. Hey, they could have gone with AGJHC.

2. What was the full name of the college in Albion? Albion State Normal School (ASNS) 1893-1951.

3. When was alcohol illegal in Burley? Alcohol was illegal in all of Cassia County by 1909, long before prohibition. Law enforcement officers confiscated moonshine and whiskey stills to pour out the contents and destroy the equipment (44). But they didn't get it all.

4. What was "Diamondfield Jack Davis" accused and found guilty of? Right on this one Catherine, "murder" (said in a sinister voice). He worked for the "Sparks-Harrell Cattle Company in the late 1890s" and was responsible for keeping sheep off cattle land. "He was accused of killing two sheepherders" (12). He was found guilty on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to hang. His pardon arrived only hours before the execution was carried out, even though others had confessed to the murders (12).

5. When did Burley become the county seat? Nov. 5, 1918. They started petitioning in 1912 and even invited the entire town of Oakley over for dinner in order to win their votes. Oakley came to dinner, but they still gave their votes to Albion (36).

6. The Chadwick building built in 1917 had a pool hall and cigar store on its ground floor; what was upstairs? "Upstairs was the Kettering Sanitarium. The patients were treated with electroshock therapy" (41).

7. The corner of Main and Overland where men gathered to exchange gossip used to be known as what? "The Loafing Corner" (45). Mom remembers going with her dad and siblings on Saturday nights to watch drunks bumbling and stumbling around there. They would take some Pepsi and peanuts and be entertained for free.

8. Intersections of roads used to have signs warning people against what crime? I'll have to post this picture when I get a chance because it's funny. It's a huge pillar in the middle of the road that reads "Drive Carefully. Don't Commit Manslaughter" (48). "Manslaughter" is written in exaggerated, pretty cursive.

9. How many known Jewish families settled in Burley prior to 1930? According to this source, three families (52).

10. How many children were necessary in a community before the state would send a teacher?
Apparently Cassia County residents don't just ask to borrow each others' cats. They borrow kids too! It took a minimum of 10 children for the state to send a teacher (60). A family in Declo "brought a Rasmussen child home to live with them. This gave them 10 children between themselves and their neighbors. They only had to 'borrow' the child for one year, as more families moved in (60).

11. What was the original name of "Elba"? Beecherville

12. What was the reasoning for the town name "Malta"? This source explains that "it seemed like an island in a wide expanse of sea, so they named it Malta after the island in the Mediterranean" (79).

* Source: Images of America: Cassia County. Valerie K. Bowen and the Cassia County Historical Society. Arcadia, 2009.