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Show e - mrwmmmmmm fBOJMiMW j A- by JOANNE HINKEL Photos bv Randv Haves i Tater Times IN Blackfoot, Idaho "FreeTaters for Out-of-Staters" This catchv billboard lures hundreds ot rraclers cverv day to the smali town ot Blacktout. Idaho, during dur-ing the summer months. Just ott Interstate 15. en route to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park, Blackfoot lays claim to being one of only wo museums in the world dedicated to the potato. At the Idaho Potato Expo, you'll find the world's largest potato chip. listed in the Guinness B"A of Vi'tirld Retards as a potato "crisp." Created lor a Pnngles promotion in the early WMOs. it's more than 2 feet long, and outweighs a quarter pound hamburger. There's also a potato signed by former Vice Prcsi- Thomas (cor). Call (r), and a visitor with the record potato chip. r T.- - i "i i i ' -i . E J I Bill I VmLri i I tt" ftJ -A XV YVJ J". I I T i. ' -i Pgr Ar. fat Blackfoot, Idaho, proudly displays its priorities in front of the popular Idaho Potato Expo building. dent Dan Quayk. commemorating his infamous "potatoe" spelling-bee blooper. ' Potatoes are a huge part of our economic bast." says Sandy Thomas. Idaho Potato Expo director. "Idaho leads the world in potato production, and southeast Idaho produces more potatoes than any other parr of Idaho. W'c refer to Blackfoot and Bingham Giunry as the potato capital of the world.'" Like most of the state, the Blackfoot area primarily prima-rily grows the tamous Idaho Russet potato. Visitors to the Expo learn why the state is so successful at developing it. Blackfoot 's 4.500-foot elevation provides pro-vides the perfect combination of warm days and cool nights, w hile the light volcanic-ash soil makes a rich growing medium. The nearby Snake River provides irrigation water, essential in Blackfoot s high-desert climate. It allows moisture levels to be precisely regulated, reg-ulated, a key to potato quality. To the 9,646 residents of Blackfoot. potatoes arc serious seri-ous business. Idaho produces one quarter of the nation's potato crop and southeast Idaho, where Blackfoot is located, produces half ot Idaho's output. Not surprisingly, surprising-ly, potato fields, fresh pack sheds, and dehydration processing pro-cessing facilities are major employers for the area. "We were looking for something to pull people oft the interstate, something that was unique to Blackfoot," Black-foot," says Rex Call, retired from Blackfoot's Basic American Foods potato processing plant and one of the founding board members of the Expo. "Like many communities, we struggle with a downtown' problem prob-lem the movement ot businesses away from the city's center. But the Idaho Potato Expo brings 25,000 paving pav-ing visitors downtown every season." Housed in the old stone Oregon Short Line Railroad Rail-road building, the Expo uses large mounted photos and simple explanations to illustrate even- aspect of modem-day potato growing and processing. Other exhibits trace the history of the potato, from its origins in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia and Peru to the development of the famous Russet Burbank. One large room devoted to antique farming equipment, much of it horse-drawn, features every thing from planting potato seed to digging bud-protruding potato tubers. Local families have also donated donat-ed a variety of antiquated processing devices, some of them invented locally. How many ways can you use a potato? Visitors to the Expo come away with new ideas about this American Amer-ican carbohydrate staple. They can sample potato fudge and potato ice cream, made on the premises, and buy locally made potato hand lotion, "Tuber Humer" postcards, and potato-print gift-wrap. A potato-sack outfit made for a local rodeo queen is on display, as well as a sample of Teton Glacier Potato Vodka, distilled and bottled in Rigby, Idaho. While Blackfoot residents enjoy a lovely two-mile greenbelt, a top-ranked golf course, and skateboard park, it's the Potato Expo that pulls the majority of travelers into town. "The absolute favorite 'photo opportunity' is the giant potato outside the building," says Thomas. "We also have a small plot of potatoes, so they can see what a potato plant looks like. This year, we're hoping to add tours of local potato farms." Joanne Hinktl is a freelance miter frvm Boise. Idaho. Free Taters for Out-of-Staters DA HO rw 0K BlMkftot lltlOW f f i Blackfoot is on 1-15, 26 miles southwest of Idaho Falls.The Idaho Potato Expo is open dairy June through September and by "y appointment the rest of the year. To f learn more about it and to get the recipe" for Potato Chip Cookies visit the website at j wwwjda.netlusenlpQt&toexpo - ; or call (800) 782-S00L :: 1' if . :- M - V i ,.s |