Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Hailey Welcome Center gets donor

Matching funds to support historical exhibits


By TONY EVANS
Express Staff Writer

This pair of leather gloves, used in years past at the Hailey Fourth of July Rodeo, will be included in a historical exhibit installed at the rodeo grounds Welcome Center in January. Courtesy photo

Thanks in part to a $3.5 million bond passed by Hailey voters two years ago, the town’s rodeo grounds have been rebuilt to include a modern skate park, and perhaps one day a hockey rink.

A 1,700-square-foot Welcome Center, which cost Hailey taxpayers $322,000 to complete, will also house the Hailey Chamber of Commerce. A mural by local artist Tom Teitge will soon be under way in the gallery area of the building.

The city also plans to salvage and celebrate some of the historical significance of the area, which has hosted many activities since the founding of Hailey, in exhibits at the Welcome Center.

The city won a $4,000 grant from the Idaho Humanities Council last summer to fund the exhibits, which are planned to include rodeo accessories, posters, film clips and photographs. So far the city has spent a total of $34,175 on the exhibits, including historical research.

More financial support in that effort was obtained recently when an anonymous donor pledged to match up to $50,000 in donations for the acquisition of artifacts and memorabilia.

Dawson said the Hailey Parks Foundation has raised $1,000 from another anonymous donor, which will be added to $2,500 in funding from the city and a $2,500 grant from the Idaho State Historical Society.

“The total of $6,000 will be matched by the donor,” Dawson said. “We’re putting together exhibits as we’re able to fund them.”

Anyone who would like to make a donation can call  Dawson at 788-4221, ext. 18.

The historical exhibits, when they’re completed, will feature three wall panels focused on three phases of history at the rodeo grounds. The entire exhibition is titled “Coming Together Through Time.”  

City Administrator Heather Dawson said the first phase will focus on the period from 1903 to 1947, called “From Sage Brush to Race Track,” when the city used the area for horse racing.

The second phase will focus on the period from 1947 until the present day, when the Sawtooth Rangers riding club held the Fourth of July rodeo at the arena, as well as other equestrian events throughout the year.

The third phase will include a celebration of the world-class skate park built at the rodeo grounds 11 years ago, and the beginning of a nearby hockey rink, which remains incomplete, pending an anticipated donation from a person who has chosen to remain anonymous.

In other Hailey news:

( The City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed renaming of the Hailey rodeo grounds to Werthhiemer Park. The new name would be displayed prominently on signs at the rodeo grounds.

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com




About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged:

  • Spam
  • Ones violating this site's commenting policy
  • Clearly unrelated
  • Personal attacks on others
Comments should not be flagged for:
  • Disagreeing with the content
  • Being in a dispute with the commenter

Popular Comment Threads



 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.