MTFCA Forum

Herb sent me a photo of an IF Harley sign. It got me digging and I found some images of the old Blasius Bros, Harley Davidson dealer. A 1935 photo of Broadway shows the dealer sign on the left. This is a painting I did from a later photo and sold to a local who remembered them better than I did. I found this photo of Mary Blasius and Sam Joe with their motorcycle and sidecar 1,000 mile away in Wallace, Idaho for an Eagles State Convention. No relation https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=6ccd726c ... RtbA&ntb=1
Joe's brother, Charlie was a real character and I wish I could find more on him.
It's hard to find old photos of many old Idaho Falls haunts so I enjoy them when I do.
Rich

I remember Blasius Bros. Cycle Shop in that same location.

Am I the only one who looks at "downtown" street scenes like this and
think "What happened to America ?"

No,you aren't.
I watched a couple episodes of the tv show Crime story a few nights ago. Nice full size cars, women dressed well with nice hair. Men wearing decent clothes,not their pajamas. no you are not the only 1 that wonders what happened.

No Burger you are not. Along with everything else we seem to misplaced our manners and respect for ourselves and others.

Small Town, America is everywhere. It's just impossible to see it from the interstate or from downtown LA. I'd wager to say that if someone lives within 40 miles of a coastline...by choice (and most Americans do) they'd be bored silly here. And for that, I give Thanks.

Only 40 miles from here to a town just like in Rich's post...

People are funny, Scott's photos remind me of the fellow who came into the gas station outside of Yellowstone and asked, "Why don't they cut down the trees so we can see the scenery?" (1960s)

Rich, I think those folks grew up to work for the Dept of the Interior, and they DID in fact cut down all of those trees along the east entrance!

How long before the buffalo are declared a "climate hazard" and removed to cut CO2 and methane emissions?

It happens slowly with increasing population and "progress". The above photo is very near 1935 when my grandparents moved to Idaho Falls. My earliest memories, that first block on the right had been nearly entirely razed and rebuilt. That has happened again in intervening decades. The "new" bank on the next corner (1928 I believe) has been lost to progress, many locations are now parking lots. Across the street, in my time, the Rio Theater was razed and rebuilt as a faceless concrete cube which was faced with corrugsted metal painted barn red and covered with a neon display that proclaimed "Rio" with a swashband a Mexican Sombrero (?!?). The drive in the '50s to "modernize" saw the rest of that side of the street remodeled a la mode. So it goes. Most change is slow enough we tend not to notice, but there's no end to the assault of "utility" and bad taste against the architecture of that 1890-1920 era. I find most attempts at preservation/restoration well intended but misguided. The authentic ambience is generally lost. But hey, I'm a purist brass snob !!

It's called progress Rich.
I can't find a photo of the fantastic, neon Harley flathead sign that hung in the alley/street behind Blasius Bros. Not even one like it amongst the thousands of HD signs can be found. Friends tried to get it after the shop closed, but no luck. The shop became a liquor store for several years.
I did manage to find this, of the Hub Bar sign. It too went somewhere, I'm sure. Black and white doesn't do it justice. It reminds me of the time we drove our nieces, 4 and 5 by the place with and inebriated Santa exiting the bar. Neon was so enchanting. As a child I was fascinated by neon in the family's store windows. Touching it gave a shock, mild compared to a car ignition.
Pocatello, ID is doing a great job of resurrecting some of their old signs like the Chief theater one. So sad so many are lost.

Mint Bar in Sheridan, WY has some really nice neon:

When the Hub Bar closed, there was an article in the paper. Some feller from California bought the sign to put in his collection. Sic transit.

I laugh at the slogan, "Idaho Falls' Only Western Bar".
In true Western tradition of a saloon on ever corner, "back in the day" there were east to west then turning corners, The Grand, The Russet, The Mint, (the Hub), The Samoa Club , The Bon Villa, a bar in the old Porter Hotel, all frequented by ranchers, cowboys, sheepherders and laborers in droves especially on sale days at the Idaho Falls Livestock Commission. You don't get much more "Western" than that. I'm sure I missed a couple.

I suppose the wheels, faux log facade and saucy neon cowgirl roping a highball appealed to tourists. Oh ! I forgot the "B-western" batwing doors ! Lol. Adding to the ambience, one could frequently encounter old Frank Keefer, Tom Mix Stetson, unlit cee-gar stub clenched in his teeth, .45 Colt strapped on his hip. The Keefer twins provided us kids with much fun and wonderment when we were growing up.

They went from the Main Street to the strip mall and the large malls with many large stores. Then they went to on line shopping. The bank was lost to on line banking. The large cities in the west are trying to go back 200 years and become like London and New York with subways, trolleys, and busses. They are even planning a building in San Diego where you never need to go outside! There will be retail stores on the ground floor with offices above that and residences toward the top. All you will need to do is go up or down the stairs or elevators! This will be near the airport, however, the palm trees are too tall and interfere with the flight path! The people who are in power don't really think things through. They only see one side of things. I like the smaller towns where people get to know each other.
Norm

There isn't room here to talk much about the Keefer Family. I lived a block away from them not knowing the wild tales of their earlier years. Just one story of when they lived on the rugged island in the middle of a growing Idaho Falls. "... Fred had a pet bear that slept crosswise in bed with him, making it difficult to sleep. The bear escaped and was captured by the Tautphaus Park Zoo. Fred was allowed to visit the bear and got a welcoming hug". A photo of Fred. Here is an hour video of them if you have the time.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=db4d9d09 ... JzLw&ntb=1
The boat they got back and forth to the Island was still there in the '80s. We noticed it had a 4-cyl engine in it. I thought it might be an NRS engine from a distance. A fellow finally recovered the boat and a friend acquired the engine. It turned out to be a marine engine much like a Metz and similar to a T.