Mary Ella Hickman Prophecy and Fred's Dry Wheat Farming

In the "History of the Neeley Ward" compiled by Norma Christensen Weber in Legacy of Faith: Our Jubilee Year authored and published by the Public Affairs committee of the American Falls, Idaho Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in American Falls, ID in 1998 there is an interesting description of a prophecy given by a "Mrs. Kohlhep." The dating is difficult to tell, as Norma jumps from topic to topic, and not always in chronological order. The information proceeding the one with Mrs. Kohlhep is in 1934. If the following story was a Mrs. Kohlhep in 1934, it is difficult to know who it could refer to, since none were living in Idaho by that point that are related to me. However, there is good evidence that suggests it was earlier:
(1) The golden grain prophecy makes no sense in 1934 and would not have been ridiculous.
(2) Norma discusses the building of the OSL RR, which was in the late nineteenth century.
(3) Fred Kohlhepp is mentioned as introducing grain, and he died in 1919.
(4) Most importantly, she dates Mrs. Kohlhep's wosrds as coming true shortly after 1904 when the American Falls branch (this was actually in 1906) was established.

I think this clearly points to a late nineteenth century dating, and with the Kohlhepps being part of the ward, and the history noting Fred, it only makes sense that the Mrs. Kohlhep is Mary Ella. So on to the interesting account. It reads on page 36:

A Warm Creek irrigation company was formed and built wooden flumes to carry the water to all of the homes in the Neeley area, and each family bought shares according to their needs. There was much contention and back biting in the little ward over the water. Mrs. Kohlhep prophesied in tongues that if they didn't stop quarreling, it wouldn't be long before strangers would move in and take over the land. She also said that all of the land between Neeley and Rockland would be as one big field of waving grain. People laughed and thought her a little queer because there was no water for the land, and they couldn't picture raising grain without water. The Oregon Shortline railroad was built through American Falls which created a good market for wheat. Fruit orchards were planted. Stately lombardy poplars were planted for wind breaks. Our house was a log house with a sod roof and one year father was replanting his tulip bulbs and had more than he had room for, so he tossed the rest of the bulbs onto the roof. Much to the delight of everyone passing by the next spring, we had tulips blooming on our roof. Soon homesteads were being taken up and dry land wheat was being grown. Fred Kohlhep was the first of these to try the wheat. His home was just above Indian Springs on the Cold Creek. The old log school house was now too small, and so a new church was built in about 1899. The bricks were made and burned on the sight and were a soft orange red color. Clay from the warm stream proved to be ideal for this. Sandstone for trim came from the stone outcrop on the eastfork of Cold Creek. The new church was completed in 1904 and within a shorttime and when the church became a branch of the American Falls Ward, Mrs. Kohlhep's words had come true.

This account shows the prominence of spiritualism within the Kohlhepp family. I had read in some of Annalee Kohlhepp Skarin's mystical writings on how her mother prayed in tongues, but I wasn't sure what to make of the source. That this History substantiates Annalee's claims shows that Mary Ella was known to some extent for her spiritual gifts: prophecying and speaking in tongues. She was also known for them coming true to some extent, even if thought of as "a little queer." It makes it less surprising that Annalee thought she might have spiritual gifts herself, such as healing, and eventually as she conceived of it, the power of translation.

Besides this, it does note Fred being one of the first for introducing dry wheat farming into the region. It also notes where the Kohlhepp's home was: "just above Indian Springs on the Cold Creek."

There are also some fun pictures of ward buildings and histories of the wards Fred and Mary Ella attended in the book. I have uploaded the account of the prophecy and ward building pictures below.