Malta, Idaho – population 200

I don’t know why, but every time I tell someone that my family lives in Malta, Idaho, or that I’m going there or that my mom grew up there or whatever, I always add on “population 200.”  I think it tells you a lot about the place.  It is a small town.  But the local high school is in the town, granted a lot of other small towns go to that high school.

My mother grew up there.  She was the Senior Ball Queen.  She was a 4-H Grand Champion four years.  She was on the yearbook staff.  She was the oldest of five children.  She grew up on a dairy farm.  She was once pooped on by a cow while milking just before a school dance.  She milked cows, cooked meals, and did laundry.  And then at 18 she moved away and never moved back.  Which is pretty crazy to me because my mom LOVES it there.  No, she really does.  I think that she would still live there if she could.  And every time she goes home to visit she asks about all the people she once knew and wants a tour of the town and who lives in what house, whose married, who has kids, grandkids, and who has died.  In fact she still reads the local newspaper.  It’s really cute (my mom reading the newspaper – not the newspaper itself).

All of my mother’s brothers and sisters live in or near Malta.  They live in the country.  Growing up, I was always the “city cousin.”  I remember my cousin writing me letters and telling me about playing in the irrigation ditches during the summer.  I didn’t know what an irrigation ditch was and had to ask my mom.  Actually, I’m still not sure I know what it is.

So, when I go to visit, I see it through a whole different set of eyes.  The following pictures are what I find interesting and beautiful about Malta, Idaho – population 200.