William S. Hall papers

William Sargent (Bill) Hall was born in Sheridan, Montana, on June 12, 1886, the sixth of nine children. His father was Sargent Hall and his mother was Sarah Etta Richmond Hall, known as Aunt Sally to her many friends. Sargent Hall died in 1900 and Aunt Sally started a boarding and rooming house in Rochester, Montana, where she was assisted by 14 year old Bill and several of the older children.

In June 1904, Bill went to work at Frank Scherrer's Men's Clothing store in Rochester, Montana. He moved the store to Acequia, Idaho in August of 1905. Aunt Sally and the three youngest children, Jeanette, Drella and Victor, joined Bill in Acequia in 1906. They homesteaded a ranch near Acequia, where Aunt Sally was postmistress and storekeeper.

In 1909, Bill went to work for the Meyers Brothers Hardware Store in Gooding, Idaho. He met Elizabeth A. Weber of Gooding and they were married on August 12, 1913. Their honeymoon was a camping trip to the Sawtooth Mountains. They moved to Acequia, Idaho in 1914 and Bill worked for the Producers Association in Rupert, where he was in charge of the hardware department and window decoration. Their only child, a daughter, Willa, was born on March 16, 1920.

The family moved to Boise in 1923 and Bill worked for the Idaho Hardware and Plumbing Company. He was in charge of builders' hardware and the decoration of the windows. He entered various window competitions, winning a number of first and second places.

They returned to Rupert in 1926 or 1927, where Bill worked for Gregary Hardware Company. In 1928, Bill, Carl Hockaday, Jim Hockaday, and Charles (Cy) Huggins scaled the Grand Teton Peak.

In the early 1930s, Bill owned a gallery in West Yellowstone, MT that featured his oil paintings and hand-made souvenirs. With the Depression, he went back to work full time as manager of Reeds Rite-Way Store in Rupert. Bill and Elizabeth belonged to the Oddfellows and Rebeccas.

The family returned to Boise in July 1935 and remained there for the remainder of their lives. Bill died in 1982 and Elizabeth died in 1984.