Growing Up in Idaho

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Talkin ‘bout the good ol’ days! True stories about experiences growing up in the wilds of Idaho back when there were no seat belts or bike helmets. Everyone owned a gun and knew how to shoot. Hippies riding ‘choppers’ was a thing, and every driveway had a muscle car and a pickup.

Jeff Hicks


    • Feb 4, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 18m AVG DURATION
    • 28 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Growing Up in Idaho

    Breakneck Trail: Treacherous Times in Old Idaho

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2023 13:27


    Harry Hicks tells the story of riding the Breakneck Trail along the Salmon River (The River of No Return) in the 1920s. He had to trust his horse Robin and his excellent riding skills to stay alive. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    Shooting Roadrunner: My First Lesson in Gun Safety

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2021 8:50


    When I was three years old, my dad came home one Saturday morning from working as a deputy sheriff and accidentally left his gun on the living room chair. When my brother and I got up to watch cartoons, I noticed the gun. I figured it would be useful to help coyote stop Roadrunner. Listen-in and find out the rest of the story. #GrowingUpInIdaho #CoyoteandRoadrunner --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    Mike Hicks' Police Stories II

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2021 47:55


    Mike Hicks takes us on another mental journey back to the good ol' days of the 1960s in Boise, Idaho, when he was a deputy sheriff. His police stories of that era were a hit during his career as an Idaho educator in Salmon. Stories of crazy people doing crazy things are a hit, but there's a moral lesson in nearly every tale. Listen in and take a walk down memory lane! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    Idaho Police Work in the 1960s

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2021 39:36


    Mike Hicks was an Ada County deputy in Idaho in the 1960s. Those were the days of hippies and when the drug culture was just beginning. Mike tells of his experiences as a policeman, patrolling the streets of Boise and surrounding communities. He relates how it felt having near-death experiences. Also listen-in as he discusses the need to arrest a vagrant rabbit outside of town! #IdahoHistory #AdaCountySheriff #BoisePolice #TalkinBoutTheGoodOleDays --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    police idaho boise 1960s mike hicks ada county
    Trials and Tribulations Moving to Yellow Jacket

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2021 12:57


    This Hicks family was looking for some good luck. They couldn't get enough rights to water to keep their ranch running. Their foray into logging ended. Now they needed some good luck for mere survival. Yellow Jacket Mine in Central Idaho was ramping back up, so they loaded their wagon, hooked up the big team of horses, and headed out. Moving in the early 1900s was fraught with danger; survival was reliant on smarts, know-how, and luck. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    Healed by an Indian Woman

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2021 18:24


    Young Harry was sick with Bright's Disease and Dropsy. He was near death; the local undertaker came by to pick up his body even though he wasn't dead yet. Harry's mother put the run on the undertaker. A Native American Indian woman came by and said, "I can fix the boy!" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    The Art of Life: Take Me Back to Salmon!

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2021 8:27


    Sometimes we all get nostalgic for the old times - maybe remembering when we were kids growing up in our hometowns. I certainly have those moments! This show is about one such incident where I recalled the memories surrounding the Salmon River and my hometown, Salmon, Idaho. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    Dan King: Doing Dangerous Work as a Kid

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2021 17:58


    When you grow up in the country, sometimes you're expected to do dangerous things to get the job done. Listen in as Dan King talks about his experiences as a kid working as a core driller on a rig in Idaho. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/growing-up-in-idaho/support

    Police Stories from the 1960s

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2021 24:18


    Mike was a deputy sheriff in the good ol' days when drugs were taking off in Idaho back in the 1960s. It wasn't "Mayberry" anymore. Listen to some wild and crazy stories of policing during that era. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/idaho/support

    Let the Beatings Begin! Discipline in the Good Ol' Days

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2020 31:00


    With the looting and destruction going on in big city street protests today, you have to ask yourself, would this happen if those participants were spanked and disciplined as children? Every generation has their problems and answers are not easy, but we can agree - discipline teaches respect. Listen in as Jeff talks about the good ol' days growing up in Idaho when kids still got their butts kicked and spankings were as common as drinking cows' milk.   --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/idaho/support

    Salmon Air: Larry the Hippie Mechanic and Other Great Memories

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2020 44:38


    When you're a teenager, you will do anything to make a buck. When you grow up in Idaho, those jobs are often dangerous and varied. Listen in as Jeff talks about his life as a line-boy for Salmon Air Taxi in Salmon, Idaho in 1980.  --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/idaho/support

    Surviving in the CCCs

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2020 18:17


    It was 1935 and young Harry was out of work. So, he did what a lot of other young men were doing; he joined the CCCs. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a place to earn money, learn new skills, and stay out of trouble. A lot of men between the ages of 18 and 25 were doing that in those dark days of the Great Depression. Listen in as he tells of his experiences in the CCC camps in Central Idaho. Narrated by Jeff Hicks.

    Cool and Crappy Jobs

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 23:25


    What kinds of cool or crappy jobs did you do as a kid back in the good ol' days? Bucking hay bales, moving sprinkler pipes, and riding the range were only a few of the things kids did in my neck of the woods. Listen in as Dan King talks of his job as a kid working on a drilling rig. There was no such thing as child labor laws; if you worked hard and smart, you were treated like a man regardless what age you were.

    When Camping Can Get You Killed!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 11:03


    The beaver ponds was a famous meeting place for the kids in town; it was also the place where my brother and I liked to camp when we were kids. One night, an earthquake in Yellowstone Park set in motion some events that nearly ended our young lives. Listen in to discover what can happen to humans during freak events of nature!

    Honest Woes of Deer Hunting in Idaho

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 17:47


    When you love to deer hunt, but not for the reason to shoot deer, then you're naturally going to have some cerebral dissonance going on! Listen in as Jeff tells the story of woe and misery as he embarks on the greatest hunt and hiking excursion known to man. Will he survive? Talk of 'The Birds and the Bees' might have saved his life!

    When Modern Pioneers Moved to Idaho

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 10:58


    The Brown family moved from Lovell, Wyoming to Salmon, Idaho in the early 1900s, using covered wagons, riding horseback, and hauling stuff in a couple old broken-down trucks. They even managed to throw in grandma's old player piano. But moving has its problems. Listen in as Jeff tells the story.

    Tough Guys

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 14:11


    Sherm Williams experienced growing up in Idaho during the good ol' days. Listen in as he tells the story of what it really means to be a man.

    The Horrible Horse Slaughter and Overcoming Bright's Disease

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 9:12


    When you're a kid, you gotta have something to believe in. Harry's first job was riding the range; reality came crashing in when he discovered what his boss wanted him to do. Sickness in the 'good ol' days' often ended horribly. Harry had a bout of Bright's Disease and met the Angel of Death.

    When Harry Met Doris: Old-fashioned Love Affair

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2020 16:53


    Back in the good ol' days, love and romance took on a different flavor than in modern times. For example, how many grooms have you heard of that are expected to fight his bride's dad before the big marriage ceremony? Check in as Harry takes care of all the preliminaries before he marries his sweetheart, Doris.

    Life in Yellowjacket Can Kill You

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 13:48


    Harry was a young boy trying to stay alive in the wild mining camp of Yellowjacket, Idaho. When you make enemies in a rough-and-tumble place, you must might find yourself at the wrong end of a hangman's noose. 

    Dangerous Life Near Forney

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 11:51


    Harry did what he could to survive as a young boy living in the rough-and-tumble Central Idaho in the early 1900s. Listen in as he talks about his adventures and scrapes with danger.

    dangerous forney central idaho
    Log-skidding the Old Fashioned Way

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 9:33


    Before loggers took their timber out with large tractor-skidders, they used horses and chains. Many men lost their legs, fingers, and lives doing this dangerous work. Listen-in as Harry talks about skidding logs with his horse.

    The Great Hicks Migration

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 13:41


    Robert L. Hicks and his wife Annie were sick of the aftermath of the Great Civil War and yearned to breath air nobody else was breathing. So, they loaded up their wagon and headed west. Despite all the tribulations, including gunfights, they settled in the Camas Prairie of Central Idaho. This is their story.

    The Flu Epidemic: 1925

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 7:46


    For Harry Hicks, getting the flu and dealing with sickness had its price. It was 1925, and the doctor had nearly killed him once already. Would he survive this next bout of illness without the undertaker coming to the door?

    Trip to the Camas Prairie

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 12, 2020 18:19


    In 1925, Harry was a young boy when his family visited the vast Camas Prairie in Central Idaho. He was able to taste watermelon for the first time and learn what it was like to travel in the back of an old Model T pickup.

    Shooting Roadrunner; Great Police Stories

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2019 20:23


    Just trying to help Coyote kill Roadrunner. A young boy disobeys his mother and gets hit by a car. Police respond to a violent domestic dispute. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

    Big BSers, School Paddlings, Getting Lost in the Forest, Car Wreck

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2019 14:53


    Mike and Jeff reminisce about the old days when kids got paddled in school, getting lost during a hunting trip, and wrecking the family car.

    1960s Police Stories

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2019 24:18


    Mike Hicks reminisces about his days as a cop in Boise, Idaho in the 1960s. Those were the days of revolvers, straight night sticks, and saps!

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