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The Blue Bucket Inn
In 1924, Dean of Women Permeal French constructed the University of Idaho’s first student center, the Blue Bucket Inn. Designed as a place for students to socialize, the two-story brick building was situated on Deakin and Idaho Avenues. The origin of the name is unknown; although, two theories, each a reference to Idaho’s mining past, have been suggested. Gold prospectors were said to have struck it rich when they had discovered enough nuggets to fill a blue bucket; others say the “Blue Bucket” is a legendary lost gold mine located somewhere between the Snake and John Day rivers. Whatever the origin of its name, in 1924, the building did indeed look like a blue bucket due to the blue-leaded glass that shielded the light at its front entrance. The first floor of the “Bucket,” as it was affectionately called by its patrons, including Moscow’s Jean Rudolph who graduated from the University in 1942, were a soda fountain, tearoom, kitchen, and two dining rooms. On the second floor was a general recreation room that was popular for dances; this room had a fireplace and two cloak rooms. Mrs. Walter M. McCrea of Kendrick was the first manager of the Blue Bucket Inn. In January of 1925, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Ralph joined Mrs. McCrea in its management. Later that year, Elsie Nelson, a native of Latah County, became manager. In 1927 or 1928, Robert G. Wood assumed management and directed the building’s first remodeling. The exterior front was changed to what could be called an “Old English” style. A reception hall was added at the front, and interestingly a few years later, the first floor tearoom was removed. Perhaps the end of Prohibition had something to do with that decision because after 1933, beer was sold at the “Bucket.” But it was the second-floor ballroom, described as “elaborate, spacious, and wonderful” in the September 23, 1924, edition of the University of Idaho student newspaper, the Argonaut, that was the “talk of the campus. The Argonaut also reported “an orchestra, to be known as the Blue Bucket Orchestra, has been engaged to play every Friday and Saturday nights.” A few years later, the second floor was remodeled for use exclusively as a ballroom. The members of the Blue Bucket Orchestra, sometimes known too as the Blue Bucket Band, were not professional musicians. Generally, they were University students who played primarily for their pleasure and that of their classmates. According to UI alum James G. Towles, during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, the Orchestra performed “all the popular tunes of the day featuring the style of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Kay Kyser and other popular orchestras.” For an entire semester’s worth of tickets, students paid the “staggering sum of $1.00,” adds Towles, now a retired District Court judge. And although the attire was not formal, the “students who attended these dances always dressed up in suits and party dresses,” says Towles. As a University of Idaho student from 1938-1942, Jean Rudolph says she and her buddies would “go to the Bucket and wait for somebody to put a nickel in” the jukebox. She adds that when she was a student at the University an orchestra did not routinely perform at the Blue Bucket, only for special events, she explains, did an orchestra and a chorus line make an appearance. The University of Idaho purchased the Blue Bucket Inn in 1936, and over time, it became known as the Student Union Building. Although the original building was razed in 1963 to make room for a bookstore addition, the University continued to use the name for a series of cafes and snack bars that were housed in the Student Union Building. Two years ago, with the completion of the UI Commons building in the core of the University campus, the Student Union was re-adapted for use by the University's administrative departments, such as Admissions and Financial Aid. Return to Our Stories...
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