Boise, ID

“Well,” said my husband. “Do you want to do anything special today on your birthday?” My first response was “Oh, I don’t know. We don’t need to do anything. I have plenty to do here.” Then my more adventuresome side kicked in and I said, “You know, it would be a good excuse to visit something in the area that we haven’t taken time for.” With that I pulled out the file of “day trips” that I have been saving since we moved to Caldwell. My choice for the day was the Basque Museum in Boise. The Basque sheepherders had always held a certain interest for me and having a Basque boss a number of years only added to my curiosity about this special group. But life had kept me from pursuing that interest. Fortunately we are between inversion gray days and the drive to Boise in the sunshine was a welcome winter outing.

 The Basque Museum is close to a cluster of museums right off Capitol Blvd. in downtown Boise – 611 Grove Ave. – to be exact. It is easily reached taking the connector off I-84 toward town which becomes Myrtle St. Take a left on 5th Ave.  In about 4 blocks you will be at Grove and the area that includes Basque restaurants, a Basque market with deli, the Basque Culture Center, the Museum and the oldest brick house in Boise which in the early 1900’s became a boarding house for Basque sheepherders during the off-season.
Even the sidewalk in the area catches your attention. Carved into the concrete are the scores and lyrics of Basque songs and other important symbols. Unfortunately during the winter months, the boarding house is only open for tours on Saturday so we were limited to viewing it from the sidewalk and taking note of one of the four “arbolas” or trees that have had significance in Idaho Basque history. One of the songs on the sidewalk was about the tree, Gernika arbola – a song equivalent to our song “America the Beautiful.”

Entering the well-kept Museum, we were greeted by a friendly face and voice. Being the middle of a Wednesday, we were the only patrons and the museum administrator had extra time to chat and answer our questions as we browsed the gift shop. The contents were much better than the usual foreign-made souvenir racks in many places. I fell in love with the wall plaques and sculptures. Books, CDs, tee-shirts and many other things of interest were there as well. But we didn’t go to shop. The gift shop is just a few steps from the interpretive museum.

In the museum, easy to read wall plaques give concise history to match the displays. Much to my surprise, sheepherding was one of those occupations that immigrants often fall into because they desperately need a job to sustain themselves and send money home. I couldn’t help but chuckle at one of the quotes on the plaque, “I herded sheep for 6 years and never liked it. But what else could I have done . . .There was absolutely nothing to do but chase those stupid, idiotic, filthy sheep day and night 7 days a week for 365 days a year.” For those of us from the era of 40’ luxury motor homes, the sheepherders wagon looked cramped. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, one of the standard issues on the supply list for a wagon was 4 gallons of wine. But the wagon did look like it could be kept reasonably comfortable on a frosty spring morning by using the wood stove.

The current exhibit illustrates the importance of ship building and whaling as occupations for the Basque people. The ships on which Columbus sailed were built by Basque shipbuilders and the crew included Basque sailors. Basque whalers date back to the 15th and 16th centuries and many of the techniques they developed continued to be used suring later whaling ventures which are more well known historically. Whale oil was incredibly valuable for providing light for European homes. A barrel of whale oil could command the current US equivalent of $3000 or considerably more. With several hundred barrels on board, a load could bring in today’s equivalent of $13 million plus. Informative displays, including a video, talk about archeology especially in a Labrador bay, the building of the barrels – wooden staves with wooden bands, the rendering of the oil and other products from the whales, the construction of the ships, and the challenge to the men and their families with the long separations. Much of the whaling was done in the north Atlantic off the coast of Labrador under dangerous conditions. Many men never made it back to their home in Spain. In fact some of the best records that help us to understand the history of Basque migration to Canada come from the wills that were left by the men.

The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday. Admission is reasonable – today it was $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors, $2.00 for children 6-12 and under 6, free. An online check, www.basquemuseum.com or a phone call, 208-336-2671, close to the time you want to go would probably be a good safety net for accurate hours and admission fees and what exhibit is currently on display. Presently, on First Thursdays the museum and home are open in the evening and free. I wouldn’t recommend this outing for children younger than middle or high school as there isn’t too much to keep the interest of younger ones. But I definitely will keep it in mind for a return visit as well as a place to share with out of town visitors. A return trip to the area to eat at one of several ethnic and interesting-sounding restaurants is in my future, and I will be watching even more closely for information about Basque dancing events so that hopefully we can attend. Another immediate outing needs to be the local library for more about this fascinating culture.