Some people make commitments, but never follow through on them. But since Gene and Kay Caldwell and Brent Bowen are not that kind of people, generations of the Malad Valley will benefit from their efforts. A beautiful tribute to local veterans has been produced because Kay made a promise to her father many years ago, The result is a beautiful full-color book named Oneida County Idaho Military Veterans.
The story begins years ago, when Kay’s father, Dale Reese, insisted that a more complete supplement be produced to honor all the veterans from the Malad area who served in the military. Dale was a teacher in the public school system, first in his hometown of Malad, then later in Las Vegas, teaching History, English and later Film Making in high schools. Dale admired a book, called The Red Book published in 1949 by The Enterprise newspaper, which spotlighted over 600 veterans of World War II, and wanted it updated, including those who served in more recent times.
The Red Book displayed those who were killed in action in a special blue-toned section of the mostly black and white book. Gene’s mother, Faye Caldwell, cut and pasted additional snippets from the newspaper onto the blank pages located in the back of the book, which was a valuable resource. Kay made a promise to her dad that she’d fulfill his dream of updating the book, including those who served in the Korea Conflict, Viet Nam and other, more recent conflicts. Now, fully seventeen years after Dale’s passing, his dream is finally being realized.
Dale was always extremely involved with Veteran affairs, and was instrumental in planning and erecting the Veterans Star memorial in downtown Malad’s Main Street. It took a while to get the project going, but people know that when Kay commits to doing something, the job will not only be done- it will be done right.
Kay’s dream began to be realized as she involved her husband, Gene, in the project. Since Gene had actively served in Malad’s American Legion Post 65 for over 72 continuous years, “It didn’t really take a lot of convincing to get Gene aboard,” Kay remembers. During the Korean Conflict, Corporal Gene Caldwell served in the Cryptography department of the U.S. Army’s 24th Infantry Division. His job was to monitor, intercept and make sense of communications from the enemy. He has been actively involved in veteran’s affairs since his release from the military.
Gene stated, “I guess I’ve served in almost every capacity of the Legion through the years, including four years as the post’s commander.” But not alone. During the years Gene served in the American Legion, Kay served right beside him, planning details and implementing ideas, as he served. In fact, Kay served for years in the Legion’s Auxiliary, an organization which involves veterans’ spouses and family members.
Between Kay and Gene, their vision began to gel, and a plan to make it reality began to come together. Neither brought an abundance of experience in publishing to the table, though Kay is quick to point out that she served as editoron her high school’s annual staff many years before. Early on, they realized their envisioned product would have to be a different kind of book, unlike anything they’d seen. They knew they lacked a lot of the skills needed to compile a book, but that didn’t deter them. What they did know from the very beginning is that completing the task would involve an enormous amount of work.
They enlisted the help of their friend and neighbor, Brent Bowen, who had become proficient in many computer skills. Self-taught, Brent was not afraid of committing lots of hours to this exciting project. As the three friends went through the original Red Book, they made a mental checklist of what they wanted included, and just as importantly, what they did not want in the book. Brent was delighted to find his dad, Ren Ray Bowen, who served in the Navy during World War II, included in The Red Book.
From the very beginning they knew they wanted full-color photos, but converting the grainy original photos to acceptable color seemed like it would be an impossible dream, since The Red Book’s photos were taken from newspapers. Newsprint is extremely grainy, and notorious for lacking clarity to maintain image quality. In addition, many of the photos were in extremely poor condition, but the trio was determined to create the best quality book possible.
Brent discovered many techniques that could enhance image quality, but it took a lot of work. Most photos required working in at least four different programs to convert low-quality images into vibrant colors. Since he had no textbook to follow, he learned on-the-fly, as he toiled through approximately 1,800 images. Brent says, “It took a lot of trial and error to find what worked well and what didn’t turn out that great.”
The team had to establish protocols to realistically display different colors and styles of military uniforms, image backgrounds and other detail, since they rarely had colorized photos to compare to. The countless array of hair colors and skin tones, each presented its own unique set of challenges. But restoring photos was far from their only concern. Decisions had to be made on what to include; how best to incorporate civilian photos; how to honor those who served in more than one war; daily facing decisions regarding layout, design elements and text styles- list went on and on, growing larger by the day.
The motivated trio met together on nearly every workday, discussing what to do next. Brent sought out constant input and direction from the Caldwells on how to go about his very arduous, labor-intensive tasks- “after all, it was really their book.” He found he worked best during the earliest hours- that was when his mind was clearest and could be left uninterrupted in his work. Most days started about 2:00 am, continuing until he simply had to stop, exhausted, for more than two long years.
Finally, the project neared completion. Countless hours had been expended in compilation, making executive decisions and editing and refining techniques. But, it’s important to state that creating the book was not a linear function. Many tasks had to be redone time and again as new ideas and techniques evolved. When the compilation and colorization were complete, they still had to learn an entirely new set of skills to index and organize the final project.
Amazingly, the job is now complete, beating their deadline of November 11, 2023. This hardcover treasure is now available, with nearly four hundred pages, acknowledging the service of local veterans.
The entire community is indebted to our fearless trio in making this priceless book available to the Malad area. Many thanks to the donors who gave along the way and supported and encouraged along the way.
Sources: Staff interviews with Gene Caldwell, Kay Caldwell and Brent Bowen during 2022 and 2023.
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