On June 5, local resident (Gloria) Jean Thomas was awarded the prestigious 2023 Esto Perpetua award for her contributions to preserving the history of Malad City, Oneida County, and the State of Idaho.

The Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) and its board of trustees recognized 12 individuals with 2023 Esto Perpetua awards. The award is given annually for outstanding accomplishments in preserving and promoting Idaho’s heritage. The Esto Perpetua award gets its name from the state’s motto, “let it be perpetual.”

The ISHS has acknowledged the inspiring professional accomplishments, public service or volunteerism initiatives, and philanthropic endeavors of more than 200 individuals and organizations throughout the state since creating the award in 1999.

“Each recipient has demonstrated a truly exceptional level of achievement in their efforts to preserve a part of Idaho’s heritage,” said ISHS Executive Director Janet L. Gallimore.

Awardees are nominated by their peers and the ISHS board of trustees selects recipients based on the award criteria.

In past years, projects have included the preservation of the Taft Tunnel along the 15-mile route of the Hiawatha, restoration, and conservation of historic buildings such as the ZCMI in Soda Springs, the pioneer-era cabins in Samaria, and acknowledging teachers and professors who inspired students to explore and research local and state history. Past recipients from Oneida County are Fay Cottle and Luke Waldron.

The organizational skills of Gloria Jean Thomas were evident at a very young age. Her sister, Lucie Thomas Washburn, relates that Jean started a bank when they first started getting an allowance.   Lucie says, “We (she and I) got a dime a week; I think Boyd got a nickel. You could tell where she was headed from that start—at age 6!”

Raised in Malad by two school teachers, Boyd and Edith Thomas, Jean excelled in high school, graduated from Malad High School in 1969 as co-valedictorian and National Merit Finalist.  She received B.A. degrees in English and music from Idaho State University, graduating in 1974 with Highest Honors.

She received an M.S. in College Student Service Administration from Oregon State University, MBA from Colorado State University, and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Brigham Young University.

Dr. Thomas worked as a professor at the University of North Dakota when, in 1995, her father suffered a stroke. When it became apparent that he could no longer live alone, she left her position and returned to Malad to care for him, her mother having passed away. She had just been nominated for advancement to full professor at UND. She was granted a leave of absence from UND from January 1996 until she resigned in May 1997.

While caring for her father, she was able to continue her career at Idaho State University, teaching school law and finance and higher education law and history. Dr. Thomas joined several organizations in her local hometown and eventually found herself heading those organizations.

Because of her background in English and as a college professor, Dr. Thomas started writing grants, deciding that if the money was out there, Malad should get its share. The Malad community has received over $11,000,000 in grants for several organizations, including the local schools. Among these are grants for the Oneida County Relic Preservation and Historical Society (Oneida Pioneer Museum), the Malad Valley Welsh Festival and the Samaria Heritage Park. All of these are organizations that celebrate the community’s rich heritage of the pioneers who settled in the Malad Valley, many of Welsh ancestry.

That Welsh history of Malad Valley became a huge interest to Dr. Thomas. In 2005 she helped organize the first Malad Valley Welsh Festival, which has held an annual celebration every year (except for the Covid

years of 2020 and 2021). She has served as Chairman of the Malad Valley Welsh Society since 2005 and as chairman of the Malad Valley Welsh Festival, a three-day event, since 2008.

The Welsh Society holds three gatherings a year for members to learn more of their Welsh heritage, and every year a celebration is held for St. David’s Day. She organizes committees to include all ages of the community to celebrate the Welsh Festival. Some of the activities held for the Welsh Festival are choral programs for children and adults; piano ensemble concert; children’s Welsh art and poetry competitions where the winning artists display their art and the winning poets recite their poetry; an adult poetry competition where a bard is chosen; an adult writing competition for short stories; sessions where those attending can learn about Wales and their Welsh heritage; wagon rides through the town where historic buildings are highlighted; pioneer games for children and singing, dancing and historic displays.

In 2001, Jean became a board member of the Oneida County Relic Preservation and Historical Society and became Chair when Fay Cottle retired in 2013. Since that time, she has organized a fully functioning board and helped obtain grants for the preservation of the large collection of crayon portraits and vintage clothing and quilts donated to the museum. She has also obtained grants for maintenance of the historic building that houses the museum.  She was instrumental in helping Luke Waldron obtain grants for the Malad Valley Heritage Square in Samaria, which has grown under the leadership of Mr. Waldron, where old cabins have been restored displaying pioneer heritage items; and annual events are held to display these historic treasures.

Jean became a member of the board of the Oneida Education Foundation in 1997. In 2001 she became chairman of that organization. The OEF started in 1988 with two scholarships and now has 47 endowed scholarships and three endowed funds for curricula. In 2023, $36,800 was awarded to 42 Malad High School graduates. Professionally, she has written and published several peer-reviewed articles and one textbook. She shares her musical talents freely, having taught piano, clarinet and organ for many years. She plays the organ for her church and also volunteers to play for the local Presbyterian and Catholic churches. She has a special interest in the Malad First Presbyterian Church, the oldest church/school building in Malad, built in 1882. She writes news articles for the local weekly, The Idaho Enterprise, and reports the news from the Oneida School Board. She has been recognized locally for several awards, including Malad City/Oneida County Volunteer of the Year and the BSA Community.

This year’s group of awardees have continued the tradition of illuminating Idaho’s history through their work. The 2023 Esto Perpetua awardees were honored in Boise at a program at the Idaho State Historical Museum:

Kimberly Rice Brown, Post falls

Richard Caron, Wallace

Dr. Sydney Freeman, Jr., Moscow

Gary E. Strong, Potlatch

John L. Bertram, Boise

John Hiler, Mountain Home

Ronald L. James, Twin Falls

Drusilla Gould, Fort Hall

Dr. Gloria Jean Thomas, Malad City

Robert M. Allen, Terreton

Dr. Hope A. Benedict, Salmon

Dr. Mary E. Thompson, Blackfoot