Joan Davies

Raised on a farm in Jerome County, Idaho, Joan always had sheep.  Their flock was an extremely important part of her family farm.  “Truly, sheep have been a part of my entire life since childhood. That is how I learned to love them as pets on a farm and all sheep could do - like keeping us warm,” she shared.

While Joan was growing up, a man named Al Rosa and his mother brought their sheep from Pocatello to the farm next door to winter there and have their lambs. “We took pies to the herders and, in exchange, we would get bum lambs and raise them,” said Joan.  “We got to know them well, they were friends and this was a cycle that happened every year. A domestic thing that happens in agriculture - globally - for thousands of years.  This is part of the genius of why the Trailing of the Sheep Festival is so important to us as it brings so much education about things for all nationalities of people.  This includes bringing stories from the high Himalayas to women’s stories, out to people everywhere that don’t have that opportunity to be grounded like they used to be,” she added.

After having sheep at home, doing 4H in school and then moving to Hailey, Idaho, Joan worked for the University of Idaho Agriculture Extension Service for eight years.  She worked with the wool growers and learned the weighing and selling of wool.  “It seems like the sheep from the standpoint of living with them, to all the practical things it takes to raise them, has been woven into my life,” Joan shared.  When John Peavey was running for office, he invited members of the community - including Joan - out to trail the sheep with him.  “It seemed like such a fun thing to do and it evolved,” she said.  “It was a time of sharing such good stories and we all thought ‘wouldn’t it be fun to collect pictures for people coming to the event to share over coffee just like the days at the merchant building in Ketchum,’” added Joan.

She was there at the first “coffee chat” and she was there for the founding of the Festival.  She helped with the educational classes, cooking classes and advertising with the team.

Joan has been the tie that binds education to the community for over two decades, working exhaustively to change the picture of post-secondary education in the Wood River Valley. For Joan, who remains deeply involved in many aspects of the community, from emergency services to chambers of commerce, getting immersed is just a part of being fully engaged in life.

Joan is still managing The Greenwood Farm (where she grew up) that her parents bought in 1929.  The home she was raised in is still there, and a year-and-a-half ago, her son bought the 160-acre homestead that had been divided up and reunited the lands. Joan has three sons and with their children, all spent time on the farm.  “It was a wonderful place to take kids to learn so many things. They all have pleasant memories,” she concluded.