Preston, Idaho, Home of Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite is a resident of beautiful Preston, Idaho, in the USA.

The area was settled by westerners with the arrival of Mormon pioneers – some of the early ones called Preston “Worm Creek” because they figured the waterways in the area resembled worms – even though the place was far from uninhibited at that time. In early 1863, an American Colonel and some of his volunteers attacked the village of the Shoshoni Indians a few miles off today’s Preston because they thought they were troublemakers for defending their home. Now you might argue “finder’s keeper’s, and the Shoshoni were already there” but some people back then had different thoughts, or rather, they preferred to not think much in the first place. When the bullies arrived in town, the Shoshoni probably screamed “gwidape” (please refer to the Shoshoni Dictionary for a translation), lost the fight, and the end result we now call the Utah Bear River Massacre – the shoot down of all the Shoshoni families after they were out of ammunition. Afterwards, the Colonel and his volunteers burned down the village, stole the horses, and let the Mormons file the whole thing under “intervention of the Almighty.”

During the 1940s, the Second World War created a shortage of farm workers in the Idaho region and elsewhere. The US government thought it would make sense to import Mexican workers, the so-called “Braceros” (strong-arms), and put them into hastily erected camps. There they were served bad food, received ridiculous pay, weren’t allowed to see their wives, and during winter, the wind made sure the workers’ climate was below refrigerator temperatures. As a special sign of gratefulness, in some Idaho towns “No Mexicans” signs on restaurants greeted the hungry immigrants. Surely, Pedro’s forefathers would have been active in the resulting strike in Preston, Idaho in June 1944 or just left. Of course, you might think the strike made the US see their faults and redeem their actions. But, no, not really... they put the Mexicans into jail where they would now work for no pay at all under even worse conditions. Ah, the Fabulous Forties!

Today, pastime in Preston largely circles around Rodeo, golf... and shopping. In the meantime, due to Napoleon Dynamite’s fame, the city is selling all kinds of Napoleon memorabilia, including “Preston, Idaho – Home of Napoleon Dynamite” postcards.

Sources:
Preston, Idaho homepage.
The Pacific Northwest.
The Bear River Massacre.

Philipp Lenssen on Thursday, Dec 8 2005 reg. Napoleon Dynamite.