POCATELLO — Walter Mallette and Lance Holladay said their book, “Pocatello,” traces the history of the Gate City from the town’s early days as a stage coach stop.
Holladay was born and raised in the Gate City and now works as a deputy for the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office.
“I’m third generation, I love it here,” Holladay said. “People always think of the railroad when they think of Pocatello, but this was a stage coach stop long before rails were ever laid here in the valley.”
In fact, Holladay’s ancestors operated one of those stage lines.
Still a number of photographs in the book depict Union Pacific’s influence on Pocatello.
Mallette, a freelance writer, spent time in Pocatello as a youth and maintained fond memories of the city after he left in 1983.
With his father serving in the US Army, Mallette divided his time between the U.S. and Germany and now lives in Mountain View, Calif.
“I appreciated living in Pocatello,” Mallette said. “This was a community that always accepted me as I was.”
The two authors signed copies of the book at the Walrus and Carpenter Saturday — simply titled, “Pocatello,” the book is part of Arcadia, Publishing’s “Images of America,” series.
Holladay and Mallette met and began talking through the site “Remember Pocatello When” on Facebook.
“We thought why not just put together a book of photographs of Pocatello,” Mallette said.
The two collected hundreds of photographs from the Bannock County and State Historical societies, as well as special collections from Idaho State University. More than 200 images in all — the photos range from 1885 to about 1970.
“I noticed how wonderful the buildings in Old Town were,” Holladay said.
Holladay said a number of amateur historians also contributed photos for the publication — the book was complete in about 18 months and hit the shelves last Monday.
“We have enough photos to do a second book,” Holladay said. “But we’ll just wait and see where this goes.”
While no plans for a second book are in the works, “Pocatello” is gaining popularity locally.
“People are proud of their connection to Pocatello,” Holladay said. “They are really excited about the book.”
Will Peterson, owner of the Walrus and Carpenter located at 251 North Main Street, said the book has been well received.
“Sales have been really good so far,” Peterson said.
The book sells for $20 at the Walrus and Carpenter and it’s also available at Amazon.com.