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This week, City Cast Boise is talking about Boise's Bike Bars. Will they be able to convince host Frankie to try one? Listen here! ​

Last week, Boise got its newest cultural site: The Erma Hayman House, located at 617 Ash Street.

The home is the last single-family home on its block – a reminder of a neighborhood that once was. Today it stands as a tribute to Erma Hayman, the fierce woman who lived a long and full life there, and the many Boiseans who lived their lives within the neighborhood.

Meet Erma

Erma Andre Madry Hayman was born on October 18, 1907 in Nampa, Idaho. Her parents, Edward and Amanda Andre, had moved from Missouri to Montana to Idaho, where they settled in Nampa and had 13 children. Erma was the twelfth.

The Andre family had a dairy farm, which Amanda ran while taking care of the children, and Edward supported them with whatever jobs he could find in town. The family was very musical and had a family orchestra, in which Erma played the piano.

Erma grew up and moved to Boise in 1927. She married Navy Madry on November 3, 1928, and the couple moved to Seattle. Erma and Navy had three children together: Barbara, Jeanne, and Frederick. Sadly in 1935, Navy passed away of leukemia. Following his death, Erma returned to her hometown of Boise with her children.

In 1943, Erma remarried to a man named Lawrence Hayman. In 1948, the Hayman family bought a small house at 617 Ash Street after racial discrimination prevented them from buying elsewhere in Boise.

The Hayman house

Located in the Lover’s Lane Addition (now known as the River Street neighborhood), The Erma Hayman house is the last standing single-family home on its block. The single-story, one-bedroom home is approximately 900-square-feet. Erma lived here until she was 102, housing her children and grandchildren, hosting dinners and parties, and opening her door to anyone who needed help.

The Lover’s Lane neighborhood was the most culturally and ethnically diverse area in Boise for most of the twentieth century. It was home to working-class families, the majority of Boise’s African American residents, and immigrants from the Basque Country, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Japan, Russia, and elsewhere. (You can learn more about the neighborhood’s history through the River Street Digital History Project.)

Erma fiercely embraced her neighborhood and neighbors. Her door was always open and she cared for everyone as if they were family.

“She was known for going around and taking care of her neighbors when they were sick, or just being someone who was very much an advocate for her own community,” said Kristen Hill, Cultural Sites Program Coordinator for the City of Boise Arts & History Department.

Despite facing discrimination, Erma always worked hard. She worked at Lerner's clothing store for 20 years. She was a riveter at Gowen Field. She served as Chair of the neighborhood council for years and advocated to have the stoplight on River and 13th Streets installed. Until her late 90s, she drove for Meals on Wheels delivering food to her community.

“From everything I have heard, she was sort of like a quiet activist," said Kristen. "She wasn't, you know, getting crowds riled up or anything like that, but she knew what she stood for and she was very solid in that.”

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Preserving Erma’s home

Erma lived in her home on Ash Street until her death in 2009, at age 102. When Erma passed, her grandson, Richard Madry, approached CCDC about preserving the house in a way that honored the legacy of his grandmother and the neighborhood.

The City of Boise Arts and History Department acquired the home in May 2018 and got to work planning its future. Just last week, on Thursday, September 22, the project came to fruition.

Most of the house is in its original layout. The kitchen has been shrunk significantly to add a second bathroom, and renovated into a small commercial kitchen to support culinary events. While much of the house has been updated, a handful of charming original touches remain. An ornate light switch cover is still up in the kitchen, a small heart shaped rug still sits in front of the oven, and a series of small decorated plates overlook the kitchen up on a high wall.

Art installations within the home nod to the history of the neighborhood and the people who lived here. A mural of photographs and illustrations spans the largest wall in the home, showcasing the many people who have inhabited the land and spaces where the house stands.

Lilacs are a reoccurring theme throughout the home, a nod to Erma’s exquisite garden that once surrounded the house. Today there is just one remaining lilac tree on the south side of the house. In the corner of the main room is a floor-to-ceiling installation of a lilac tree, lit by purple lights at night to be visible through the windows. Each window is covered by an opaque photo of Erma and family members who lived there, which will also be backlit to be visible at night.

The future of the Erma Hayman house is embedded in community, just as it always has been.

“It's a huge goal to be a community center. Not only a place where we're recognizing the history of we see or what the history of this neighborhood is, but also providing a space for our entire community to come in and feel like it belongs to them,” said Kristen.

“It's a place where they get to tell their own stories. And it's not just the past – it's the present and the future.”

Boise State Public Radio did an awesome radio interview about Erma Hayman, which you can listen to here. Erma's home is now open to the public, and you can visit Thursday-Saturday, 11am-5pm.

Thanks for reading!

With love from Boise,

Marissa

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