My father, J. Wendell Stucki was for many years the chairman of the Department of Farm and Home Science (later called the Department of Agriculture) at Ricks College.  He served as a counselor in the Rexburg Stake and was the first President of the Ricks College Stake.  He also had a small farm and a prize herd of registered Jersey cows. 

 

In the 1940’s & early 1950’s the Rexburg airport was located on the hill just south of the main administration building of Ricks College.  On the only road going up the hill on the left was the radio station KRXK, a National Guard armory and a large cement water tank, and on the right was the airport hangar and runway.  The airport was moved out near the Snake River west of town and the land came up for sale.  Our dad, J. Wendell approached both the Church and the college authorities asking them to buy this adjoining land.  They were not interested, so even though he really could not afford it, he bought it.  He may have obtained an option or actually took title, but then he went back to the authorities and proposed that if they would buy that property he would lease it and move his prize herd of Jersey cows from Sugar City and it could be known as the Ricks College Dairy.   So it was done and in 1951 or 1952 he remodeled the old hangar building into a modern walk through milking parlor and moved his Jersey herd from Sugar City up onto college hill where they stayed for about 30 years, until dad retired and the facility was moved out west of town.  My oldest son Wes milked cows there in 1980 while he attended Ricks.

 

It was due to our father, J. Wendell Stucki’s vision and persistence that the Church acquired the property where the temple is now in the final stages of construction.  His seven children and our spouses are thrilled to see a temple being built where we milked cows.  We look forward to attending the dedication and to performing sacred ordinances at the temple while we are in the area."