“Well, You Know, Honey, When I Started...I Hired Them for Brawn... Today
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J.R. Simplot’s contributions to Ada County are impossible to calculate. Two great businesses are headquartered here, their employees creating lega- cies and gifts to the community in their own names and in the name of J.R. Simplot and Micron Technology. Our landscape contains Boise Hills Village, Somerset Ridge, Columbia Village, the Marriott Courtyard, the Basque Block, and Idaho Ice World, thanks to Simplot enterprises. His hilltop house and flag have gone for a future gover- nor’s mansion. (Simplot to Legislature: “Here it is. You fuss with it.”) J.R. Simplot’s deliberate investment in One Capital Center was the pivot making it happen, the first private project in Boise’s downtown redevelopment. Simplot invested in the Grove Hotel, its privately owned arena (a rarity in the United States), and the Idaho Steelheads, too. Every corner of the BSU campus -- and at Albertson College of Idaho next door -- offers more to the community and to students with the help of J.R. Simplot. Most of the good things about life in Ada County have J.R. Simplot’s optimistic vision and constructive “share” stamped upon them some- where... ...the BSU Pavilion, Boise State University Athletic Center, St. Luke’s and St. Alphonsus medical centers, Ronald McDonald House, Boise and West Boise YMCAs, Aquatic Center, Silver Sage Girl Scout Council, Idaho Botanical Garden, Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital, Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, Salvation Army, Philharmonic Youth Symphony, Idaho Children’s Chorus, Women and Children’s Alliance, Idaho Humane Society, Idaho Theater for Youth, Bronco Athletic Association, Beaux Arts, Boise Public Library, Idaho Black History Museum, Lee Pesky Learning Center, Little League Baseball, Optimists Youth Football, Humphreys Diabetes Center, Discovery Center, United Way, Learning Lab... “We want to do our share.” Photos courtesy of the J.R. Simplot Company, Micron Technology, The Peregrine Fund and J.R. Simplot University of Indiana. The Ada County Board of County Commissioners is pleased to present its first annual Making History Award to J.R. Simplot. His contributions to the econo- my, culture, youth, students, and future of Ada County have been constant, creative, and construc- tive. We thank him. a ble for elementary school classrooms. school elementary for ble Steamship Norma, Massacre Rocks, and others. The audio tapes became avail- became tapes audio The others. and Rocks, Massacre Norma, Steamship aided b aided dramatic sound effects. Other episodes of The Idaho Story told of told Story Idaho The of episodes Other effects. sound dramatic y actors read their parts in a historical tale of Idaho entitled “Incident at Arco,” at “Incident entitled Idaho of tale historical a in parts their read actors The Simplot Company Radio Hour. To the surging strains of a musical intro, musical a of strains surging the To Hour. Radio Company Simplot The A evening in 1952, 7:30 p.m. KDSH (later KBOI) Radio was airing was Radio KBOI) (later KDSH p.m. 7:30 1952, in evening y Sunda esents...” pr Company Simplot J.R. “The ledge above the J.R. Simplot corporate offices at One Capital Center. Capital One at offices corporate Simplot J.R. the above ledge I 2005, a nesting pair of peregrines hatched five chicks in a box on a on box a in chicks five hatched peregrines of pair nesting a 2005, n and young peregrines began arriving in Idaho in the summer of 1982. 1982. of summer the in Idaho in arriving began peregrines young and project. Simplot pledged a multi-year commitment, multi-year a pledged Simplot project. dehydrate, and process potatoes. And onions. His labor His onions. And potatoes. process and dehydrate, they needed funding help to carry out the out carry to help funding needed they r isks. Eventually he found better ways to sort, grow, store, ship, store, grow, sort, to ways better found he Eventually isks. Colorado over a period of several years. But years. several of period a over Colorado that life, it was to make his own money, take his own his take money, own his make to was it life, that P eregrine Fund’s breeding center in center breeding Fund’s eregrine the cows and separated the milk.” When he broke with broke he When milk.” the separated and cows the opportunity in 1980 to obtain 90 birds from the from birds 90 obtain to 1980 in opportunity horse-backing...the plowing...I fed the pigs and milked and pigs the fed plowing...I horse-backing...the 1970s, the Idaho Fish and Game Department had an had Department Game and Fish Idaho the 1970s, “Hell, I was a man at fourteen! I farmed, I did all the all did I farmed, I fourteen! at man a was I “Hell, unsuccessful efforts to reintroduce them in the in them reintroduce to efforts unsuccessful d aily exercise in brawny, tiring and unrelenting labor. unrelenting and tiring brawny, in exercise aily state’s population of the birds to zero. After zero. to birds the of population state’s J.R. Simplot’s childhood on his father’s Declo farm was a was farm Declo father’s his on childhood Simplot’s J.R. g rine falcons. By 1975, DDT had reduced the reduced had DDT 1975, By falcons. rine in Venezuela sharpened his interest in pere- in interest his sharpened Venezuela in Today [we’re] after brains.” brains.” after [we’re] Today P erhaps vivid memories of those parrots those of memories vivid erhaps started...I hired them for brawn... for them hired started...I that dam.” that “Well, you know, honey, when I when honey, know, you “Well, of parrots living off living parrots of “And the birds! Millions birds! the “And the many ways his ventures have enriched Ada County. Ada enriched have ventures his ways many the B oard of Ada County Commissioners is pleased to thank him for him thank to pleased is Commissioners County Ada of oard entrepreneur. He has called himself a venture capitalist; and the and capitalist; venture a himself called has He entrepreneur. o Ada County. County. Ada f softly into one another. But the historic original is J.R. Simplot, the Simplot, J.R. is original historic the But another. one into softly employees have persisted, consistent contributors to the economy and vitality and economy the to contributors consistent persisted, have employees enterprises, and the boundaries among them sometimes blend sometimes them among boundaries the and enterprises, and bad years, but Simplot remained. Deliberately. He, the company, and the and company, the He, Deliberately. remained. Simplot but years, bad and Simplot name is affixed to a vast complex of personal and business and personal of complex vast a to affixed is name Simplot at the center of a worldwide enterprise. Downtown Boise has had its good its had has Boise Downtown enterprise. worldwide a of center the at S implot: the man, the company, the spouse, the father. The father. the spouse, the company, the man, the implot: staff of two. In 2006, the headquarters staff numbers 700 people, the brains the people, 700 numbers staff headquarters the 2006, In two. of staff Simplot has been making history in Ada County. County. Ada in history making been has Simplot S implot moved his headquarters to downtown Boise in 1947. He had a had He 1947. in Boise downtown to headquarters his moved implot t he texture of community life more interesting than before. J.R. before. than interesting more life community of texture he problems for his employees during World War II. II. War World during employees his for problems that educate, that improve, that solve problems, and that make that and problems, solve that improve, that educate, that b er. Ventures in real estate began when he had to solve housing-shortage solve to had he when began estate real in Ventures er. over half a century, he has deployed his share in ways that build, that ways in share his deployed has he century, a half over ture and livestock, food processing, mining and fertilizer manufacturing, lum- manufacturing, fertilizer and mining processing, food livestock, and ture b eyond. But his home is in Boise City and Ada County. Here, for Here, County. Ada and City Boise in is home his But eyond. He created and founded the J.R. Simplot Company, engaged in agricul- in engaged Company, Simplot J.R. the founded and created He elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, in Canada, Australia, Mexico, China and China Mexico, Australia, Canada, in Northwest, Pacific the in elsewhere s atisfaction -- from the labor exerted. labor the from -- atisfaction J .R. Simplot has distributed his “share” widely around the State of Idaho, of State the around widely “share” his distributed has Simplot .R. continued unrelenting, but it aimed to wring more and more efficiency -- and -- efficiency more and more wring to aimed it but unrelenting, continued Decades later, Simplot gave Idaho Public Television $250,000 toward its golfing, to make the deal. “They just came up and I said I’ll take 60 percent Endowment. He helped underwrite Idaho Public Television’s histo- and you guys take 40 percent and we’ll just build it.” Just like that. The Center ry series, “Proceeding On Through A Beautiful Country.” opened in 1986. After that, video tapes enhanced school lessons in Idaho history. “The little woman “It’s a helluva place talked me into it.” to ski.” While J.R. Simplot refers to it as Bogus Basin. After a rough new road con- “toe dancing,” his wife Esther Becker nected the end of Harrison Boulevard to the resort Simplot, calls it ballet.