Patty Pierose (III)

On her motivations to study history, and her research:

“The project I have been working on concerns the Prisoner of War Camps in the Magic Valley during World War II. Italians, Germans, and some Russians (called Mongols by some newspaper reports) lived and worked at the Rupert Prisoner of War Camp from late 1944 to 1946. Branch or site camps existed all over the valley, and I am particularly interested in those. My father had said there was a camp at Filer where we lived and that POW’s worked in his fields. My mom said they were so very young and though she wasn’t supposed to feed them, she often baked cookies, bread and cakes for them. Thus, I had always been interested in the fact that a POW camp was in Idaho…so I began reading what I could about camps in the United States and then more specifically in the west…In part, I am pushed by the fact that very few people know that this camp existed outside of Rupert and also that people keep trying to associate it with the Japanese Internment camp in Jerome county. I have taught myself a great deal about researching…I have collected many photographs from people, a particularly significant set of photos of prisoners in the fields. It was illegal to take photos of prisoners for national security reasons, so I prize those...I’m still researching, though the text is pretty well finished about the Magic Valley. Now in the spring I am moving on to the Treasure Valley sites.”

Patty Pierose (II)

Part II of an interview with Patty Pierose, who tells us about one of those moments in class when you say to yourself, "Aha!":

"Holy Cow Moments...the one that leaps to mind happened in Todd Shallat’s class. I was researching the Oakland fire in the early 90’s, and I was stunned to find out that Proposition 13 came into play. A cap on taxing of the especially valuable homes in the foothills left fire services woefully underfunded. Then the wealthy homeowners turned on the city for not protecting them. So, in the aftermath, a great number of changes came into play; insurance prices rose, which meant everyone had to pay for the wealthy to have left their cities in disastrous shape. Also, the 1989 earthquake had an enormous impact on homes in lower income areas, but no one rushed to help them out (of course). Jill Gill is fond of pointing out that the sin of greed is mentioned more times in the Bible than any other one. I mean the thing is, I would not have picked the topic as near and dear to me, but I ended up teaching myself so much about a relatively recent event…"

Kimberly Cochrane Blogs From Russia

This is it.

Student Focus -- Patty Pierose (I)

Periodically (very periodically) we will be posting interviews with history students. Brian Lawatch gamely answered some questions for us earlier in the semester, and now it's the turn of Patty Pierose. Today, the first installment. The question (drumroll...) "What drew you back to the university, and the study of history, after a bit of time away?" Her answer:

"I really just began at Boise State because the description of Dr. Gill's American Religious History interested me….I took it for graduate credit as that was the only spot open. I had already done some reading about American religion and how and where denominations took root, so it was an avocational interest with me….Gill is a great professor: she's organized; she is wonderfully enthusiastic; she can handle a delicate classroom question with great skill and finesse….After that is was "Katy, Bar the Door" to quote my farmer father. I decided to get a third degree, an undergraduate degree in history. For THE Fun OF IT. People crack up when I say that. Zirinsky and Gill told me I should go for a Master's Degree in History, but my ancient 20 credits of mostly American History left me feeling like I didn't know enough. I should have done it… I'm still having a wonderful time….I can't really have a bad instructor or class because as an adult learner, I know exactly how to learn and I don't stop at the grade. I mean, I want to be challenged and held to a decent, strong standard, and I'll keep reading everything, so mostly it's on me."

Come back soon for Patty's history class "wow moment"...

Phi Alpha Theta in Action

News (and pictures) from the field:

Phi Alpha Theta held a Reel vs. Real event on November 7th at Papa Joe's (the film was "Cross of Iron," and the host was Dr. David Walker).

One day later, Phi Alpha Theta President Megan Jamison and PAT member Hanako Wakatsuki ran the hot chocolate/coffee station at the Idaho Military History Museum's Veterans Open House and Night Fire. Somehow they managed to meet up with Abraham Lincoln, who allowed a photographer other than Matthew Brady to snap his picture.