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The Connie (Terrell) Belle Collection comprises of over 70 photographs dating circa 1900 to 1960's, primarily documenting the Terrell and Stevens families as they lived and worked in Boise, Idaho. 

Connie (Terrell) Belle was born in 1937. She is the daughter of Clara (Stevens) Terrell (b. 08/30/1910, d. 11/22/1998) and Warner Terrell Jr. (b. 02/04/1909, d. 7/22/1987). Clara and Warner Jr. married in 1935. Warner served in the United States Navy during World War II and, following the war, was employed at the Owyhee Hotel as a waiter and later at the Arid Club. Clara worked as a coat check during special events at the Owyhee Hotel, Arid Club, and Hillcrest Country Club. Connie and her younger brother Warner III (b. 08/05/1939, d. 11/19/2020) grew up in Boise’s River Street neighborhood and attended Boise schools 

Clara (Stevens) Terrell was born and raised in southeastern Idaho. Clara’s parents, George and Margaret Stevens, were early-day farmers in Rigby, Idaho where they grew potatoes, beets, and hay on a family-owned, 40-acre plot in the early 1900s.  The Stevens family moved to Boise, Idaho circa 1933 after Clara’s father, George, developed rheumatoid arthritis and struggled to continue to farm in the cold winters. Once in Boise, George operated a timber business, gathering wood in the mountains near Idaho City and using a cart and horse to haul loads back to Boise where he sold the wood as kindling. 

Warner Jr. was born in Boise, Idaho to Warner Terrell and Rosalie Gudger. Warner and Rosalie moved to Boise in the early 1900s and were the parents of two children, Zenobia and Warner Jr. Rosalie passed away in 1917 while Zenobia and Warner Jr. were still young children. Warner Sr. later remarried and had one more son James. Zenobia and Warner Jr. attended Park School until the eighth grade, and then transferred to Boise High School where they were among the first Black students to graduate. 

Image credit: Connie (Terrell) Belle Collection, MS082-D01-034, Boise City Archives