Robin—Spotlight City

Simple but Not Easy

Story and Photos by Jean Wolford

I was six years old when my family settled at the base of Old Tom Mountain in Robin. The community, which I imagine most people have never heard of, is on a little stretch of land tucked away in southeastern Idaho’s Bannock County. No stoplights or stores for miles around. Just open sky, rolling fields, and a handful of families who work the land as their parents and grandparents did before them. That’s Robin. And for me, it’s home.  

The area was originally known as Garden Creek, named for the cold, clear stream that flows down from the mountain. But in 1881, when Joseph E. Campbell applied for the community’s first post office, he submitted instead the name Robin—which has lasted ever since. The first recorded settler, William Jenkins, arrived in 1876, laying the foundation for the town we know today. 

Winters in Robin weren’t just cold. They were relentless. The kind that turned breath into clouds before it left your lips, with wind that could knock you off your feet if you weren’t careful.  It did just that once, when my brother was two, and Mom had to go running after him. 

Snowstorms and blizzards were so fierce that my dad once had to tie a rope around his waist just to make it to the barn, while Mom gripped the other end at the house. And when the snow piled too high, the snowplow driver would scoop my brother and me up from the school bus at the end of our drive, almost a mile from our house, and deliver us home like it was part of his daily route.

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Jean Wolford

About Jean Wolford

Jean Wolford is a professional photographer whose focus is family photography. Jean, who lives in Star, also specializes in personal branding and product photography for businesses and is a social media manager for businesses and nonprofit organizations. See more at www.jeanwolfordphotos.com

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