Mr. Stephen E. Martin, Leland Beckman Foundation

IN THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AT IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY

Leland D. Beckman is the founder of the Leland D. Beckman Foundation, a charitable trust located in Idaho Falls. Both he and the foundation have for many years been the benefactor of local charities, community, and educational programs. This scholarship endowment was started at Idaho State University in December of 1989.

Mr. Beckman left his home in Tennessee at the age of seventeen, and found work as a farm hand in Texas. He first came to Idaho in 1914 to visit an uncle. His uncle lived on the Pine Creek Ranch in the Swan Valley area of Southern Idaho. He stayed there for about ten days, then set out determined to learn the trades of iron working, blacksmithing, and welding.

When World War I began, Mr. Beckman enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the French Theatre of War. While in Europe he read the school books used by the French and British to see what these nations were teaching their children.

Following the war, he was employed by the CP&O Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad as a bridge builder specializing in metal work. In 1924 he returned to the Pine Creek Ranch in Idaho to make his home.

While he had only three years of formal schooling, his father had taught him to read and Mr. Beckman became a rapid and voracious reader. He read extensively concerning the history of civilization and the works of the early philosophers. Through correspondence classes, he studied geometry, trigonometry, and calculus.

Mr. Beckman lived in the Swan Valley until the last four years prior to his death, when he moved to Idaho Falls where he could take better care of his health.

Leland D. Beckman was a quiet, unassuming man who was always interested in helping others. He was a great believer in training people in skilled craftsmanship. He stressed the importance of providing specialized training close to home.

The Leland D. Beckman Scholarship Endowment is designed to help single female students in the Idaho State University College of Business who have dependent children at home. Many generations of students will honor Mr. Beckman for providing this special financial assistance when they needed it the most.