BY KAREN BOSSICK
Learn about Kittie Wilkins—the “Horse Queen of Idaho”—when the Hailey Public Library kicks off a series of talks celebrating remarkable Idaho woman.
Idaho State University Professor Philip Homan will discuss Wilkins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, in a virtual talk.
To attend the talk, RSVP to Kristin.fletcher@haileypubliclibrary.org.
Wilkins owned a vast horse ranch in Owyhee County that made Idaho a household word in 19th century America.
A woman of superlatives, she was boss of the Wilkins Horse Company, owner of 10,000 range-bred horses and the only woman at the turns of the 20th century whose sole occupation was that of a horse dealer.
She had the Victorian charm, education, prejudices, style and tastes of a late 19th century wealthy, urban woman of the East. But she preferred life as a single ranch owner.
“Idaho has been home to dozens of women who accomplished remarkable things far ahead of their time,” said Kristin Fletcher, the library’s adult programs coordinator. “Kittie Wilkins was definitely one of them. A single woman with a knack for raising specialty horses and a sharp business sense, she was highly successful in a man’s business.”
Homan is a Ph.D. student in ISU’s Department of English and Philosophy, focusing on the literature and history of the New Woman of the 19th Century American West. A fifth-generation Idahoan, he has studied Wilkins extensively and is writing her first biography.
RICHARD BLANCO Q&A ON THURSDAY, TOO
The Community Library will livestream a Q&A with poet Richard Blanco at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 23. Blanco read some off his extensive poetry at the library on July 16. To attend the Q & A, visit https://www.comlib.org/event/blanco-qa/