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ITD Vault: 25 years ago
Feb./March 1990

Wayan residents contribute to all aspects of their community

When anything happens in a place as small as Wayan, Idaho, it is certain to be noticed. The District 5 sign crew learned this when they went there to install the new John Grey historical sign.

Wayan consists of an Idaho Transportation Department maintenance station, a cash store, a couple of houses, a one-room school which houses kindergarten through grade six. The students came out to make suggestions and comments and figured as long as it was their sign they should be in the picture.

It seems that ITD and the Grays Lake School have a lot in common. If it weren’t for the contributions of ITD employees Brian Muir and Dave Smith, the school’s student body would be reduced by more than one-third. The entire staff and student body consists of Ellen Carney, teacher, Linda Stoor, aide, and 11 students.

The John Grey site was part of the new Historic and Scenic Route program in conjunction with the Idaho State Centennial celebration. The sign honors John Grey, who discovered the valley on Idaho 34 near Wayan.

The text for this sign was written by the Idaho Historical Society; fabricated in the ITD Central Sign Department; posts were made by Prison Industries; and it was installed by District 5 employees — Wayne Curtis, Cindy Van Horn and Clell Bennett.
The sign crew enjoyed meeting the students from Grays Lake School, appreciated their comments and enthusiasm, and hope the chicken pox epidemic has run its course and everyone is back in school.

Editor’s 2015 Note: The John Grey sign still exists at Wayan and is located next to the Cariboo (no, that's not a misspelling) Mountain historic site sign. At the time the sign was installed, the school was functioning and a small store existed just up the road from that location. Today, the store has been converted to a residence, one of just a handful, and the school house is boarded up and closed. ITD maintains a one-person maintenance station there.