Kyle Keckler
News Editor
Throughout one’s time at Idaho State University, they may come to notice the many memorials, gardens, and seating areas that litter ISU’s campus, and especially the lower quad. These spaces provide room for students to relax on campus and take in our fine Eastern Idaho climate. Alongside seating and flowers, these features typically feature a plaque or inscription dedicated to the group, individual, donor, or movement behind their creation. For the curious pedestrian, this kind of signage, while also adding character to the space, provides insight into the multi-faceted history of the university, the actions of Bengals past and present, and their impact on Idaho State.
One of these spaces, however, bears little resemblance to the others that surround the quad. Situated between the Administration building and Gravelly Hall, at the intersection of two of the busiest walkways on campus and hidden in the shade of a pine tree, sits a disused and forgotten patio, bearing only a small concrete bench and little else for the on-campus pedestrian. Recessed from the sidewalk and oftentimes bathed in shadow, there is little to draw the attention of the passerby, and the small, log-cabin-esque bench is far from inviting for anyone looking for a place to sit. It stands out from the other clean, landscaped, and accommodating seating areas across the quad and is totally devoid of any signage. However, it may appear now, though, the patio clearly was once more than it is today, with the remains of now-removed features still visible in the concrete pad. Square impressions in the concrete form a semicircle on the far end. A circle of concrete occupies the centre of the pad, and a row of Russian Olive trees just beyond it further drenches the space in shade.
The Bengal intended to discover the purpose and meaning of this patio. So Dr. Mark McBeth, a professor within the political science department and longtime member of the campus community, was contacted, and said in an email that “[The patio] used to be a memorial to Korean War veterans but it was removed without any information during the Vailas administration (former ISU president). It was removed around 2010… There were four stone monuments to veterans and those killed in that war. I never understood why they were removed and why nobody talked about it.” Dr. McBeth also shed some light on what he recalls as a period with a marked increase in campus alterations. “It disappeared around the time… a Bengal tiger… created by students in the 1960s was removed from in front of Reed Gym, the ‘I’ from Red Hill was also taken down… Also in Graveley, near the big mirror in the lobby, there used to be a plaque saying that the building was built by President Franklin Roosevelt’s Work Project Administration, but it disappeared during a remodel of the lobby around the same time.”
To gain a better understanding of the motivations behind the removal of a war memorial from the quad, The Bengal also reached out to the President’s Office, to which Vice-President of Operations Brian Sagendorf responded: “ISU used to have a couple of war memorials that were falling into some levels of disrepair. One at the site you mentioned, another was in front of Frazier Hall. As you mentioned, these memorials were removed sometime around 2010 as the University created a new, consolidated war memorial next to Cadet Field…” Confirming this, an ISU News article from 2011 titled ‘Idaho State University breaks ground on new Veterans’ Memorial at Cadet Field’ states “The new ISU Veterans’ Memorial will preserve veterans’ history at ISU by consolidating a World War I memorial and a Vietnam Era memorial on the Pocatello campus,” specifically mentioning that “The dedication plaque from the Vietnam Era memorial, built in 1968 near the Administration Building, will also adorn the new memorial.” And that plaque can still be seen today, situated in the center of the new memorial, flanked on either side by four plaques from the original World War I monument.
The patio, then, was once a war memorial for those who lost their lives in the Korean War, which, alongside a World War I memorial near Frazier Hall (whose foundations can be seen today near the front entrance), was demolished around 2010 as part of a campus-wide series of renovations, with this particular memorial being part of a consolidation of war memorials to the ISU Veterans Memorial which today stands on the south-western corner of Cadet Field, outside the front entrance to Rendezvous.
But what of the space now? Situated under good shade and in a heavily trafficked area on campus, the patio seems to be an ideal location for a seating area or any kind of campus infrastructure that could take advantage of the foot traffic the path sees. As for potential uses, Dr. McBeth stated, “I wonder if ISU would consider restoring the memorial; it would make a good story for ISU, which is now a veterans’ sanctuary.” Whatever the fate of the patio, it can be hoped that some use will be found for the space, and that ISU will make the most out of this little piece of its history.
