I think of all the places in Idaho
that feature Greek architecture.
There are a few out there.
There's the columns at the Capitol building,
a couple of buildings in downtown
Boise have some of those ornaments,
and there's an amphitheater at the
College of Idaho to just name a few.
A couple people send in some suggestions
today naming the Capitol building
of those teases that we showed you,
and even boisi high school,
but today's where it's at
takes us to eastern Idaho.
Do you recognize those columns if
you bend to the campus of Idaho
State University in Pocatello,
you've likely seen them,
but maybe you don't know why they're
there just sitting atop Red Hill.
A big part of being a Bengal.
It's not as classical of a
story as you might expect.
Towering over Idaho State University,
just above the giant orange IR,
the literal pillars of the Pocatello campus,
4 iconic Ionic Greek columns that
one could be convinced once stood
for something sort of symbolic.
I mean, one could imagine by reading the
ISU new student orientation web page,
the three connected columns
represented students while in college,
supported by friends and classmates.
The 4th standalone structure.
Represented the student after graduation.
Ready to exert their ISU education
on the real world.
And yeah, not so much the real
story of the Red Hill pillars
is a little less embellished.
They began fastened to the
front of a Funeral Home.
McCann's Funeral Home to be exact,
the oldest in Pocatello,
which started in 1916,
those pillars stood in place until
1966 when owner Jack Henderson
wanted to relocate and he donated
the pillars to the university.
There they sat in storage for five
years until the Alumni Association
decided to drag them up Red Hill.
Hello everyone,
my name is Ty Hobson. Sorry.
Hello everyone, my name is Ty Hobson.
This spring I'll be graduating ***
laude with a bachelor's degree
in both history and marketing
ties. Connection to the columns
is stronger than school spirit
so I came up here to the top of Red
Hill today to present in front of
these pillars because my grandfather
built them many years ago and that
story has always filled me with an
immense sense of pride in this school.
Ty said growing up, he'd always
heard the story about his great
grandfather William Sheldon Lish,
who was kind of a handyman.
He grew up during the
Great Depression and so.
He was a Carpenter,
but had done so much in his life.
Building houses, anything you know,
construction wise.
I think that just putting up the
pillars was something that he fell
into like many of the things he
did just because he was handy.
A story he shared during
his graduation speech.
My grandfather passed the year
I started at ISU, but his spirit
has given me the encouragement
I needed to make it here today.
His work ethic inspired me to persevere.
His story has shaped my own
unique form of Bengal pride.
It's gotta be pretty special for you though,
to hike up there and stand.
Next to these pillars that your
great grandfather helped build and
you being the first to graduate.
Yeah, it was cool. It's like the the
most poignant thing when you're there,
and I think it's a cool symbol
to help everybody feel good
about what they're doing there.
My grandfather.
He had very important words to
him were scatter sunshine and
when you look up at the pillars
there's always some beautiful sun.
Beams coming through them I think
that is kind of his lasting legacy
scattering positivity all over the world.
Ty's Grand Father passed away in 2015.
The pillars are kind of rite
of passage for students at ISU.
It's tradition for new students
to make their hike up Red Hill.
The trail for their first year picture.
Then there's the homecoming tradition
of hiking to the pillars just before
midnight to become a true Bengal.
Then at midnight, maybe you share
a kiss with a significant other,
becoming each others true bangle.
If you get my drift.
Or maybe just because sunsets
are pretty cool from the columns
is a good reason to go up there.
Either way,
the pillars are where it's at
at Idaho State University.