Hi! In today's newsletter you get to meet some great Boise people: Bryan Lee Mckee, a Boise historian with a massive photo collection; the Louie family, whose deep roots formed what we know now as Garden City; and Kate Tracy, a writer from Eagle and the author of this story. Enjoy! -Marissa

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If Bryan Lee Mckee had it his way, the “B” on Table Rock would be painted white all year round, because when he was little he could see it from his backyard and it was always white. Boise schools would teach Idaho history every year, not just in the fourth grade, because it’s by far the most interesting of all the histories and the only history class in which he ever earned good grades. And the shrubs at the Boise Depot? They’d all have to go; they weren’t there originally and they are taking over the rock foundation, leaving no room for people to pose for a classic depot picture.

Mckee holds no public office in Boise to make these kinds of decisions, but his influence in the city is still substantial. Six and a half years ago, the cedar roof repairman looked at his collection of 40,000 old photos of Boise and other Idaho locales, wondering how on earth he’d share them with others.

The result is the Facebook group, “Boise & The Treasure Valley” All of Idaho’s History, which is now more than 38,000 members strong. The group, he says, is motivated by one thing and one thing only: his deep love and fascination with Boise, where it came from, and where it’s going.

So how does a 52-year-old roof repairman end up with thousands of old photos of his city?

It all started with a boy and his bike.

As a youngster, Mckee was always on his bike, sometimes riding as far away as 10 miles from his home on the Boise Bench near the airport.

“If my mom knew how far I’d ride, she’d probably tan my hide,” he said.

Mckee grew up with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. He was eager to help the family earn some extra income and rode all around Boise working at a fruit and vegetable stand that rotated locations around town. After a few years of helping at the stand, Mckee found himself witnessing a fight between a father and son at the Boise airport. The father was visibly angry at his son for not doing his job, and the son took off in a car.

“The dad looks at me and says, ‘Hey, you want a job? My son’s fired,” Mckee remembers.

"An afternoon drive on the highway, minus the construction traffic, 1910.
This highway near Nampa doesn't look like much, but the orchard seems to go on for miles."

-Bryan Lee Mckee (original post)

The job opening was for an airport skycap, the person responsible for handling passengers’ luggage upon their arrival at the airport. With his mother’s permission, Mckee accepted; he was seven years old at the time. He would bike to the airport after school dismissed at Hillcrest Elementary School, and do his homework during breaks between passengers.

“Back in the ‘70s, $300 in tips was good money. In the summertime, I was there from 5 a.m. until midnight. I basically lived at the airport in the summer,” he said.

"Idaho State Penitentiary. Boise, Idaho.

This is what the area looked like in 1940."

-Bryan Lee Mckee (original post)

Mckee credits this early job to his many Boise connections that fueled his passion for documenting Boise history through photographs.

“I ran into a lot of people that were from Boise. That’s really how I got to know people; being at the airport at a young age, everybody gets to know you. Next thing you know, you’re at their houses and they’re showing you pictures,” he said.

At age 11, Mckee said he’d built quite the reputation for being the resident kid historophile, asking seemingly everyone he met questions about their homes and what they knew about the town. Eventually, he traded out his collection of comic books for his growing stash of historic Boise photos from his neighbors and other Boise acquaintances. He held onto many of these photos — including one scene of Ann Morrison Park’s opening day in 1959 — eventually posting them in his widely popular Facebook group.

"Candy Land Playground. Ann Morrison Park.

Boise, Idaho. Late 1960's.

Lots of memories there, pinched fingers & kids getting hit on the head.

They were taken out in the 70's."

-Bryan Lee Mckee (original post)

“To me photos, truthfully, they’re worth more than gold. You’re sitting on a pile of gold when you’re sitting on a bunch of photos,” he said.

One instance particularly stands out to Mckee from his childhood. In 1977, the construction of the US Bank building had begun, and there was Mckee with his bike, watching as construction workers entered the side of an underground wall cut into the foundation along Capitol Boulevard in the direction of a Chinese restaurant (what is now Goldie’s). He said the workers came out of the underground hole with their arms full of chairs, lanterns and glass bottles. A worker drove all the artifacts away in a truck.

Mckee is convinced he witnessed proof that Boise’s Chinese tunnels existed that day, something that has continued to fascinate him — and the rest of Boise. It's a topic that’s frequent on Mckee’s Facebook page.

Much like an ever-growing digital time capsule, the page contains hundreds of posts, photos and stories of the land on which Boise swells today and the people who lived here before us.

Like the Louie family.

"The Louies were Idaho pioneers who gardened in the area that became Garden City and gave it its name.

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Andy Louie, representing the fourth generation of his family to raise vegetables there, accepted the proclamation on behalf of his family and graciously pointed out that other Chinese families also were part of the area’s garden history and should be remembered.

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Mr. Louie’s wife, his son and two grandsons were present, representing the fifth and sixth generations of the family to live in Idaho. Other Chinese friends also attended the occasion, which included the public unveiling of a large, abstract collage honoring the Louie family and other Chinese gardeners from whom the town and Chinden Boulevard take their names.

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In April 1871, the Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman observed: “The China population are planting gardens here pretty extensively. They are so patient and puttering that they do well.”

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The Chinese, who came to Idaho in the gold-rush days, had not been miners at home. They were peasant farmers from small villages in the fertile deltas of Guangdong Province in south China.

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When mining or other employment ran out in their new country, they turned to what they knew best, and at which they were highly skilled.

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Louie Ah Su, great-grandfather of Boise’s Andy Louie, illustrates well the pattern. He was a miner in Boise Basin in the late 19th century before he came to Boise and started a small garden in the city’s north end. By then the population of towns like Idaho City and Placerville had dwindled and most of the Chinese had left. When Ah Su went back to China, he sent his son Do Gee to take over the gardens in Boise.

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Louie Do Gee leased land along the Boise River in what is now Garden City. His sons, William and Tong, came to Idaho from China in the early 1920's and successfully operated the Louie Gee Gardens until 1946, when the incorporation of Garden City forced them to give up the land they had leased from the Davis family, descendants of Tom and Julia Davis.

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A 1920 history of Idaho describes the Davis property: “The Thomas J. Davis Estate embraces large realty interest, including about 700 acres of fine lands in the Boise Valley along the river just west of the city – lands that are most fertile and productive and which include the beautiful and famous Chinese gardens, visible to and admired by all travelers on the Nampa Interurban Railway line, which follows the crest of the hill above the gardens. These Chinese gardens are all on the Thomas J. Davis estate and constitute one of the most beautiful sights in the valley of Boise through the summer seasons.”

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Do Gee returned to China a few years after the 1920 history was written and died there in 1942. Son Tong remained in Boise and operated the popular Shang Hai Low Restaurant on Capitol Boulevard until his death in 1951.

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Son William and his son-in-law Philip Lee reopened the Louie Gee Gardens on 30 acres of land at Strawberry Glen. This business prospered, with all of the children working hard as they grew up.

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William’s son Andy came to America from China for the first time in 1949. He was assisted in coming here by Margaret Cobb Ailshie, publisher of the Idaho Statesman, who had met him while on a tour of China. Andy joined the family garden operation in Boise. He joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was stationed in an Army hospital in Germany for two years. He would eventually earn a degree in pharmacy from Idaho State University and do graduate work in administration at the University of Colorado. He retired in 1997 from a position as administrator at Holy Rosary Hospital in Ontario, Ore.

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Louie Gee Gardens closed in 1964 when Andy’s father, William, retired and Philip Lee went back to California, where he operated a successful supermarket. Louie Do Gee delivered fresh produce."

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-Bryan Lee Mckee (original post)

These days, things look a little different for Mckee. For one, he can’t ride his bike anymore, as he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2017 and spinal stenosis last September. Mckee now spends much of his time in a wheelchair. Some of the activities he used to do to show his love for Boise — like hauling 10 gallons of paint (white, of course) up Table Rock to paint the “B” for the 10th time — are out of the question now.

“This (Facebook group) is one of the biggest hobbies that I have right now. It keeps me occupied, keeps my mind off all the illnesses I have got going on,” he said.

You’ll still find that curious spirit in Mckee that was in him as a young boy out on the street. Just as they did 40 years ago, people still recognize Mckee, stopping to say hello to “Mr. History” and maybe trying to stump him with a history question about Idaho.

“There’s a lot of people in my group that knew me as a little boy, even school teachers that taught me are in my group,” Mckee said. “They find it very fascinating that I am doing something with my life like this.”

"Check out this rare photo! Sign reads...

Actors Roost Restaurant.

Ted McKenna prop.

Best home cooked meals in Boise 25¢

Genuine Mexican chili con carni. Short orders.

Boise, Idaho. 1915 photo."

-Bryan Lee Mckee (original post)

Mckee’s collection of photos is down to 19,000 right now, as he had given away his earlier collection of 40,000 with the intent that they’d be donated to the Idaho State Historical Society (the individual Mckee gave the photos to failed to donate them, and Mckee does not know what happened to them). He always encourages folks in his Facebook group to share the photos of old Boise they might have.

And now, he’s hoping to create some history of his own.

Twice a week, Mckee and his wife Daniela go out and take photos to “map everything with a camera,” from the Idaho Botanical Garden to the Boise Rose Garden at Julia Davis Park to what once was the JUMP building’s dirt construction site.

“I have a Nikon; he has an iPad,” Daniela said. “He really works hard for this group. He really loves what he’s doing.”

“I really love my town where I live and I think it needs to be documented more,” Mckee said. “Bringing the present to the history that I do, makes the group more popular.”

Sometimes, the Boise boom concerns Mckee, who hopes the City of Trees can strike a balance between growth and historic preservation.

“Saving what we have left, and progressing to the future is always a good thing, as long as it’s done right,” Mckee said.

Thanks for reading! Today's story was written by Kate Tracy. Photos are courtesy of Bryan Lee Mckee. You can join Bryan's Facebook group here.

With love from Boise,

-Marissa

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