McCammon, Idaho: Dr. Susan Rugh and the History of Motels and Family Travel in the American West - a podcast by Dax Jacobson

This second episode of the Rural Towns Project Podcast is the companion to the episode with Aaron Hunsaker on the Harkness Hotel in McCammon, Idaho. In this episode I talk to Dr. Susan Rugh, Professor of History and Dean of Undergraduate Education at BYU. We talk about Susan’s background and love for the rural American West, her research interests related to the history of family farms, family businesses, and family vacations in the American West (including her fascinating book Are We There Yet? The Golden Age of American Family Vacations). We also talk about the increasing number of immigrant families who own hotels in the West - including Vic Patel, who owns a hotel off of every I-15 off-ramp in Utah! We talk about McCammon, Idaho, the Harkness Hotel, and the blood, sweat, tears and sense of place that it takes to make a business work in small rural towns. We end with talking about areas ready for research and exploration in the rural American West (like restaurants and other mom and pop businesses), a resurgence in the American West road trip, and end, of course, with my Road Trip Music Question. 

Further episodes of The Rural Towns Project Podcast

Further podcasts by Dax Jacobson

Website of Dax Jacobson