2008




US: Idaho Potato Museum in Blackfoot Inducts Four Into Hall of Fame

Frank Fullmer and Sim Johnston have both passed away, but their families accepted their awards. Both were instrumental in the industry more than 50 years ago. Johnston brought 28 miles of sprinkler pipe to irrigate the high desert, and both men farmed thousands of acres.

Albert Wada and Chris Abend were also honored. Abend is a farmer, shipper, processor dehydrator, frozen producer, and markets product for the industry. He says he's honored to represent his company, and be recognized with legends of our state's world leading industry.
Source: kpvi.com
Publication date: 3/21/2008

2003

Ray DeRoche is credited with starting and saving the chipping business in Idaho by encouraging growers to raise potatoes specifically for the chipping industry, pushing for new varieties more suited to that purpose, and along with Garn Theobald, started a shipping business, R & G Potato Co. Inc., which caters to them exclusively.

L.A. Gillette was one of the founders of Potato Growers of Idaho. He strongly believed in collective bargaining to achieve fair commodity prices for growers. In 1987, he was selected grower of the year by Potato Grower of Idaho magazine. He served three years on the National Potato Promotion Board and was a member of the National Potato Advisor Council.

LaVerelle Stecklein served on the National Potato Council, the Idaho Potato Commission, the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Marketing Committee and was a lifetime grower of the Idaho Potato. He served as chairman of PGI’s contract bargaining committee for more than 20 years, negotiating for the best deals possible for himself and fellow growers.

2001

Dr James R Davis

Ray Rockwood

Frank Stoddard

Earl M Tanner

2000

Dr. Joseph J. Pavek

Hal Abend was one of the first in the industry to use rubber rollers to prevent bruising. Later, he bought one of the first electronic sizers in the country, and in the 1980s he was the first U.S. potato packer to use computer-operated scales for consumer bags.

Don Bass made national news when he let radio personality Arther Godfrey know that potatoes were not fattening as he stated on his radio show. It’s the toppings people put on their potato that is the fattening part. Don served as president of the Idaho Grower Shippers Association and was the IGSA’s Russet Aristocrat in 1976. He was also active in the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.

Allan F Larsen was active in numerous commodity organizations, including Potato Growers of Idaho, National Potato Council and on the drafting committee for the National Potato Promotion Act which resulted in the creation of the National Potato Promotions Board.

Clarence Parr is a Heyburn-area grower who retired from farming in 1980. He served on the Idaho Potato Commission, the National Potato Promotion Board, Agricultural Committee of the Federal Energy Office, the USDA’s Potato Advisory Committee, Potato Growers of Idaho as well as Idaho Water Resources Board.

1999

Orval and Vernal Forbes invented a mechanical potato harvester during World War II because of a shortage of field workers. Their bucket concept was gentle on potatoes.

Paul Hansen, a retired J.R. Simplot Co. vice-president, was the creator of preseason contracts, which provided farmers with a price they could depend on and processors with a supply they could depend on.

Darryl Harris began Potato Grower magazine in the basement of his house in 1972. Now national in scope, it remains the flagship of several specialty magazines.

Kurt Kandler, a preeminent Ashton-area seed grower, was active in Potato Growers of Idaho and on the Idaho Potato Commission and pushed for legislation requiring seed to be certified.

Winslow Beck Whiteley was the first in the Oakley area to build log spud cellars and the first to irrigate with pivots. In 1955, he became the first president of the National Potato Council.

1998

Elden Hall of Rigby was one of the first to mass produce harvesters. His Hallway Harvesters were manufactured in Idaho Falls until the company was sold.

Howard Kelly of Blackfoot was one of the well-known potato growers and cattlemen.

Masa Tsukamoto is a Blackfoot grower who invented a better way to cover and uncover trucks loaded with potatoes. One of his proudest moments was when he was named a life member of the Potato Association of America.

Miles Willard of Idaho Falls was instrumental in the development of potato flakes in the mid-‘50s.

T.S. Vanderford of Aberdeen was one of the first of the big-acreage growers, and one of the first to vertically integrate into the packing business.

1997

M.L. “Gus” Gustaveson almost single-handedly built the customer base for SunSpiced Potatoes. As president of Basic American Foods, he is heralded for his strong commitment to his employees, customers and growers.

Carl Johnson of Blackfoot built the first harvester to shake the dirt off and bag potatoes. A founding member of Potato Growers of Idaho, he was among the first to recognize the need for collective marketing of potatoes.

Merthen Miles developed the Milestone Seed Cutter, enabling growers to plant many more acres than was possible when they cut seed by hand. The basic principle of his original cutter is still used today.

Lloyd Searle, a Shelley-area grower, was one of the first growers to fumigate to improve quality and yield. He also experimented with new potato varieties.

J.R. Simplot has been involved in every aspect of the potato industry. His company developed frozen French fries and today is one of the world’s leading processors of frozen potato products. He owns plants in four states, as well as in China and Australia.

1996

Preston Atchley, and innovative seed grower in the Ashton area, was among the first to use sprinkler irrigation and forced-air systems in potato storages.

John D Hansen was a Magic Valley grower whose diversified agricultural holdings became a model for modern agri-business.

Carl Hobbs got tired of moving potatoes with a fork, so he and his brother, Leo, developed the first self-propelled potato piler, which they called the Spudnick. The Spudnick company now sells potato pilers and loaders worldwide.

Joe Marshall was legendary as a promoter of Idaho potatoes. He was an extraordinary man of many firsts but, by his own assessment, his finest accomplishment was helping organize the Idaho Potato Commission.

Walt Sparks was a pioneering potato storage researcher at Aberdeen who almost single-handedly extended storage seasons from a few months to almost a year.