They came, they saw, they retired

GRANGEVILLE — Judy and Scott Scribner sat on their deck in the late morning sun recently and surveyed the skyline: the emerging green wheat fields, the purple mountain ranges and the deep blue of a winter sky.

“This is what it’s all about,” Judy said. “The view.”

Well, admitted Scott, it’s about a little more than that. But the Scribners agree that such vistas, along with the colorful life in a small town, are what drew them to move here after their retirement in California.

According to a recent report by Blacktower Financial Management, Idaho has become the sixth best state for retirement in the U.S. The ranking was based on crime rates, cost of living, life expectancy, property prices and population age.

Those are among the very reasons Scott, 83, and Judy, 79, decided to uproot themselves from California, where they had lived and worked for 31 years and move to the Gem State in 1991.

Scott worked in the meat packing and retail business and Judy was a licensed practical nurse who worked in nursing homes and a jail near Auburn, Calif. Married since 1957, the couple raised their three children in California and, for the most part, were satisfied with their lives there. At least at first.

Auburn “was a historic place; part of the gold rush country and all the towns were, like, 25 miles apart,” Scott said. “Things were just starting to grow and, in the course of the 31 years we lived there, it went from just a small town like Grangeville to a bustling, traffic-crazy, developed place.”

The Scribners weren’t unfamiliar with Idaho. Scott’s father, who had been a fireman in Seattle, retired and moved briefly to California. Within just a few months, the Scribners recalled, Scott’s parents realized they could not afford to live in California on a fireman’s pension. So, following the advice of friends, the elder Scribners moved to Bonners Ferry.

Scott and Judy visited them there and, on their way back home, they passed through Grangeville and were immediately struck by the small town.

When the urban spread of middle California got to be too much, the Scribners decided it was time for them to move. Their children were grown, Scott had retired, and Grangeville seemed the logical place.

“We were free to go anywhere we wanted to go … but when we added up all the pluses and minuses, Grangeville was always the answer,” Scott said.

Cost of living, he added, was a big factor.

“In the long run, with a small retirement income, you can get by really well” in Grangeville.

Following the move, the Scribners worked to embed themselves in their new community. Judy, who was in her early 50s at the time, continued to work as a nurse at the Idaho County Nursing Home for some years. Scott was busy laboring at their home, building fences, clearing land and tending a few head of cattle. They got involved in the Idaho County Cattlemen’s Association, the county fair board, the museum board, the Syringa General hospital board and other service organizations. They also started a barbecue catering business, which they continue to do from time to time.

These activities helped them make friends and ease into the community — which can sometimes be a challenge in Idaho for transplants from California. For awhile, whenever they were asked where they were from, they skirted the issue.

“We didn’t come right out and tell people,” Judy said. “A lot of times we said that we were originally from Seattle — that was our answer.”

“But we used to work in California,” Scott added.

Their involvement in the community and genuine affection for the people and the lifestyle, however, quickly overcame any prejudice that might have been there.

“We didn’t try to bring in our California ways,” Scott said. “I know a lot of people that will try to say, ‘Well, this is the way we did it in California,’ and that isn’t the way to make friends.”

The Scribners have noticed other transplants who immediately get involved in the community, volunteering and helping out however they can. Those people are usually successful and readily become a welcome part of the community, they said.

“We’re trying to assimilate ourselves into this community instead of trying to make the community change,” Scott said. “We like it like it is.”

What they’ve noticed, also, is that friends of theirs who visit from California also become intrigued with the area.

“The people that come to visit us from California, they start looking at real estate right away,” Judy said. “They love it. We take them on four-wheeler trips, and we go huckleberrying and a jet boat trip and all these fun things … and they go away wishing they could move to Idaho.”

The Scribners return to California once in awhile to visit their family, including their three children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. But the traffic has only gotten worse, and they’re always eager to return home.

“We travel around, and we’ve been to lots of different places, but we kept coming back to Grangeville because it’s complete,” Scott said. “It’s like Mayberry. It’s a different culture here. It’s friendlier; it’s easy to get acquainted with people here. We’ve got a hospital, we’ve got a theater that plays a movie every day, it’s got two or three little restaurants, it’s got little coffee groups in the morning, and it’s got the (Idaho County Veteran’s Center).

“And our outdoor recreation is right here in our backyard. The four seasons aren’t that extreme, and how can you beat it? It’s perfect. I never looked back, and I’ll never be an old-timer here because old-timers here are really old-timers.”

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.