Mr. Milaskey wrote of the proposed Harriman Square:
"It was decided that this area would be located at the intersection of Fourth and Leadville, and that it would be named in honor of the man who is the indisputable 'father' of the greater Ketchum-Sun Valley area: W. Averell Harriman."
I would like to say that, though I am unfamiliar with the plan for a "Harriman Square" to which he refers, I support Tom Hudson's concept of a community square, which, in his plan, is located at Fourth Street and East Avenue, including the portion of East Avenue between Fourth and Sun Valley Road. I also support the Fourth Street Historical Corridor concept as put forth by the Hudson plan. What I do not support is the name "Harriman" Square.
Despite the fact that this naming has been backed by funding from "Harriman and other influential residents of the Ketchum-Sun Valley area," I do not think it appropriate that the founder of Sun Valley should be honored in such prominence in a town where he did not appear until 50 years after its establishment.
To quote an old T-shirt, "Ketchum Is Not Sun Valley!" Therefore, I feel that the name "Harriman Square" should be scrubbed in favor of "Lewis Square." The Lewis family played a major role in the founding and history of the city of Ketchum. Isaac Lewis was one of Ketchum's first founders (along with Albert Griffith, Charles Swan, T. E. Cohecy, and J. O Swift), and he helped to plat the city beginning in 1880. His son Horace owned the Lewis Fast Freight Line, whose wagons are featured in Ketchum's signature event, Wagon Days.
Ketchum has its own history apart from the Sun Valley Resort and should honor its own historical figures, just as Sun Valley should honor Averell Harriman.
Jeanne Flowers
Ketchum
