Joe Anne Returns to Hailey, Reviving Her Angst

Joe Anne returned to Hailey, Idaho. Hailey welcomed her as if she were that little girl sitting on her daddy’s lap. All of her memories of her dad were in this town. Her mother still lived in the house they had all lived in together. There were old timers that had known her father and could tell her their memories of him. Joe Anne had graduated from Hailey High School in 1952. Several of her classmates and friends still lived in the area.

*Hailey High. Photo originally posted by Jeannie Savelberg Bradshaw

She took a job as a legal secretary in Ketchum, the town 15 miles north of Hailey. Ketchum was at the base of Baldy Mountain, the center of Sun Valley skiing. Ketchum catered to the tourists and to the rich. Joe Anne hated Ketchum with vehemence. It seemed extreme and stemmed from teenage rivalries between the Ketchum School and the Hailey School. While working there, she complained with disdain of the high priced amenities as well as too narrow streets and terrible drivers. She befriended Lucille, who worked as a bank loan officer. They ate their lunches together. Lucille also lived in Hailey. Eventually, Lucille and her husband, Martin, became the couple that Jim and Joe Anne socialized with on most weekends.

To ease my transition into a new school, Joe Anne tried to introduce me to a daughter of one of her high school friends. At another’s home get-together, I was taken to meet this little girl. She was shy and quiet and politely said 'hi' to me. Her mother and her aunt had been good friends of my mother. When I was older, I was told of a slumber party my mother had as a young teen in which they got a bottle of some alcohol and all drank too much. They drank themselves sick! Well, as I was just meeting this little girl, her already established friend walked up between us, took her hand from mine, and pulled her away to play in another room. At school that week, I walked up to Shy Girl at her locker and said 'hi'. Domineering Girl walked directly over, said, “Don’t talk to her. We don’t like her,” and said “C’mon,” indicating they should walk away. Shy Girl looked at me then turned and walked off with Domineering Girl. At this point, a split was put into place that lasted all through high school. Domineering Girl was part of the popular group, possibly its Queen Bee. I was not accepted into the popular group.

We attended the Catholic Church for a while. Joe Anne even volunteered and I accompanied her to the church on Saturdays to clean. I dusted the pews and she swept the wooden floors. However, I believe she never felt worthy and it was easy for her to assume she was being judged. I remember being at a church service with her one morning when the priest was trying to get everyone fully engaged. He wanted everyone to sing. My mother was insecure about her singing and thought she sounded terrible. She was singing, but quietly. The priest turned directly to her and urged her to sing louder. He insisted until she did. She was embarrassed. Embarrassment turned to anger. She never returned to the church for services. She said she couldn’t stand the hypocrisy of some who presented as good church-going Christians.

Several of her good friends were members of the Catholic Church, so Joe Anne remained connected in spirit. There were gatherings and events at the hall next to the church which Jim and Joe Anne would attend. The Catholic Church put on a St Patrick’s Day celebration annually which they always joined. My grandparents had met at a St Patrick’s Day dance, both of them having an Irish background. Joe Anne was proud of her Irish heritage and needed to honor her parents’ tradition. I had been baptized as an infant and went through the first communion ceremony when we were in Hailey. I stopped attending weekend mass, but continued to attend weekly catechism after school. I only went to mass when I occasionally accompanied my grandmother to the Christmas Eve service.

Joe Anne enjoyed her job as a legal secretary. She was good at it. Her verbal and written skills (vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, typing dexterity) were valuable. She was intelligent. James Reed started out in Hailey with his own appliance repair business. They were very poor at this stage in their lives, but they had hopes and dreams. They were very happy for the first few years in Hailey.