Sheep Stories

In the fourth episode, we turn to the remarkable dogs at the heart of sheep herding. Through historical interviews, we hear how border collies and great pyrenees guide, protect and care for the bands – and perform feats that can astonish even the most experienced herders. Bred for this work, these dogs are more than helpers on the trail. They are essential partners whose instincts, intelligence an...

In the third episode, we explore the pressures that have challenged sheep ranchers and put their way of life at risk, particularly as the industry entered the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Through interviews with sheep-ranching families from across the Wood River Valley, we hear the different paths that brought them into the industry – and, for some, ultimately led them out. Their stories re...

In the second episode, we explore how sheep ranching helped shape the community of Ketchum. While sheep were not the first industry to bring people to the valley, ranching became deeply woven into the town’s identity and way of life. Through historical accounts and memories – including stories from Lane Mercantile – we hear how the sheep industry brought people together and helped build a communit...

The first episode explores historical accounts to learn about the land that sustains the industry, even today. The Wood River Valley has an extraordinary landscape that allows for sheep ranching to be successful, and is directly due to the mountains, prairies, forests, rivers and lakes that create such an expansive area for migration, particularly in the spring and fall. The landscape agrees, not...

This season of “Sheep Stories,” produced in partnership with the Community Library’s Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History and Boise State Public Radio, takes you deep into the archives to uncover the stories behind Idaho’s enduring sheep-ranching tradition. Drawing from more than 25 years of audio and video recordings from the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, these four episodes explore t...

The third and final episode of Sheep Stories, brought to you by the Community Library’s Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History in Ketchum, Idaho. In this episode, we hear from the Peruvian immigrant herders. Compared to the Basque and the Scottish, their history in Idaho is much more recent, but their stories sound very similar to those that came before. Music by Santiago Jimenez Jr., Dee...

The second episode of Sheep Stories, brought to you by the Community Library’s Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History in Ketchum, Idaho. We explore Basque immigrants, how they came to Idaho, and their experiences working with the sheep. The Basque Country, a small region of both Spain and France on the Bay of Biscay, is home to a distinct language, history, and culture – one that has also...

The first episode of Sheep Stories, brought to you by the Community Library’s Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History in Ketchum, Idaho. We’ll hear a little bit about how sheepherding works, some of the crazy stories from herders, of the early Scottish immigrants who started herding sheep in this area, and how the Trailing of the Sheep Festival got started. Hosted by Vance Cunningham. Music...

This new podcast from the Community Library’s Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History in Ketchum takes you deep into the history and culture of an industry that shaped the region. Across three episodes, archival recordings and voices from the Trailing of the Sheep Festival bring to life the journeys of Scottish, Basque, and Peruvian immigrants who have herded sheep here for more than a cent...