Montana Historian 2012 by Rey Advertising

Issue 4 2012-2013

IN THIS ISSUE west yellowstone: past & present montana moonshining Bozeman trail historic montana weddings the life & crimes of george frankhauser

Photographs courtesy of Donnie Sexton and the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum

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The Bozeman Clinic Serving Patients in the Gallatin Valley Since 1930

Some of the most important people in a town are its physicians, and doctors have been calling Montana home since its earliest days. From working at military outposts to running modern hospitals, medical professionals touch every part of the region’s history. One of the longest, continually operated medical providers is the Bozeman Clinic, which has called Bozeman home since the beginning of the 1930s. Dr. Bernard Heetderks started the Heetderks Clinic in Bozeman in 1930, after taking over Dr. Clem Seerley’s local practice. Dr. Heetderks trained in medicine in Chicago before heading off to serve his country in France during World War I. Following the war, he worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad hospital, treating the workers laying the tracks to connect the country. In 1936 Dr. Roland G Scherer joined his brother-in-law at the Heetderks Clinic following his work for the Mayo Clinic. The two doctors practiced together for two decades until Dr. Scherer departed in 1955. By then, Dr. Heetderks’ son, John, had finished medical school and was ready to join his father at the clinic. Dr. John had previously served in the Navy before studying at Montana State University and the University of Minnesota where he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1954. Following his education, Dr. John decided to join his father back in Bozeman. Though it remained a family business, they renamed the clinic to The Bozeman Clinic, cementing its connection with the town. Soon after, in 1957, another son, Dr. Albert De Heetderks, known as Dr. De, united with his family at the clinic. Dr. De also studied at Montana State and the University of Minnesota. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science and M.D. from Stanford University in 1954. The father and two sons continued to practice together, often dressing in a suit and tie to make house calls or deliver babies in the middle of the

Montana Historian

night. In fact, Dr. Heetderks mixed many of his own medicines for patients using meticulous notes he kept in a small notebook. Such was a doctor’s life on the frontier. The family continued to practice together until 1969 when the eldest Dr. Heetderks passed away at age 74. His sons continued to grow and modernize the practice through the years, offering a broad range of medical care and surgical procedures. Writing about the Clinic in the 1980s, the doctors noted that The Bozeman Clinic “offered quality diagnostic and treatment facilities including a clinical laboratory, with registered laboratory personnel; a radiology department with hospital grade diagnostic x-ray equipment including [an] image intensifier under the direction of registered x-ray technicians.” Dr. De retired in 1987 and left the clinic in the hands of his brother. Dr. John continued the practice until 1995, by which time the number of physicians had grown and were ready to take the reins. Dr. Gabor Benda joined the clinic in 1989 and was soon joined by Drs. David McLaughlin and Leonard Ramsey before Dr. John retired. Today, the clinic has expanded to seven physicians specializing in the full spectrum of medical care for the whole family. The clinic has added Drs. Larry Sonnenberg, Heather Wheeler, Steven Roberts, and Christine Mitchell to provide a unique breadth of individualized care under the banner of a single practice. The Bozeman Clinic offers everything from pregnancy care to minor surgical procedures, continuing the clinic’s long tradition of offering compassionate care to the Bozeman community.

P R I VAT E LY O W N E D A N D S E RV I N G PAT I E N T S S I N C E 1 9 3 0

features Publisher

Head West

Editor

West Yellowstone

The Historical Walking Tour

West Yellowstone

General Manager

I Do

Design

A Hard Man

Mapping Montana

On The Ball

Fire Water

Surveying the State

A History of the Ball Watch Co.

Moonshining in Montana

Last Chance Gulch

Montana's Most Historic Mile

A Helena Gem

Bozeman Trail

Coco Nisbet

A History of Montana Weddings The Life & Crimes of George Frankhauser

Will Genge

The Past, Present & Future

Mike Rey

The Early Days of West Yellowstone

Great Northern Town Center No Shortcuts Through Montana

Living History

The Living History Museum

Jared Byerly Shane Reber

Contributors Rich Aarstad Don Baide Ellen Baumler Dave Berghold Karyn Bonderud Tom Cook Will Genge Remy Greco-Brault Alison Grey-Germain Megan Jacks Dave Kinsey Martha Kohl Josh Lockie Tara Martin Judy Merickel Alan Nicholson Babs Noelle Katrina Roberts Clyde Seely Brian Shovers Jan Stoddard Dale Williams

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Published By Rey Advertising 3220 Hillcrest Drive Bozeman, MT 59715 406-539-1010 reyadvertising@q.com

On the Cover

Montana Historian

N.P. Train on bridge, Yellowstone River near Billings, MT, 1894 Photography by F. Jay Haynes. Photo Courtesy of Montana Historical Society, Catalog, H-3156

M o n t a n aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pre m i e re I n t e r ior Desig ners

{ bedding lamps jewelr y bath r ugs antiques } 2504 West Main Street, Bozeman | 406.585.5839 Mon-Sat 10-5:30 | montanaexpressions.com

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a letter From The Editor Montana Historian 2012/2013 ne of Montana’s greatest qualities is its balance between journey and destination. Whatever you enjoy more, getting somewhere or being somewhere, Montana is sure to delight. Throughout its history, Montana has provided riveting journeys and unique destinations to all who have entered the territory, and this edition of the Montana Historian showcases both sides of the experience. Getting here was the original challenge in Montana. Gold served as a powerful lure for the adventurous, but mountains and inhospitable Indians made the trip to the source both treacherous and dangerous. Most chose the long routes, either north along the Missouri River or south from Salt Lake City. But when you are racing to stake your claim, extra months on the trail could mean the difference between fortune and destitution. An early prospector turned entrepreneur named John Bozeman knew there was a faster way, and blazed a more direct trail that bore his name. Seeing the promise of a faster route, the government set up forts along the way, but the displeasure felt by the displaced Indians led to both roadside ambushes and tragic battles that were in many ways the catalysts for the years of fighting that followed. We follow John Bozeman from his early days pioneering the trail through his last, killed on an excursion from the town that took his name. Later, railroads made passage to Montana easier and safer. One, the Oregon Short Line’s “Yellowstone Special,” helped shuttle visitors to West Yellowstone and caused a town to rise up at its terminus. Longtime resident Clyde Seeley tells of his experiences riding the train into town and later living in E.H. Harriman’s personal car. Trains carrying people also frequently carried money, making them ripe targets for some of the most outlandish robberies (and attempted robberies) in the Wild West. Rich Aarstad tells the story of George Frankhauser, train robber and prison escape artist and, according to a Leavenworth Prison deputy warden,“the hardest and shrewdest prisoner I have ever tried to draw a confession out of.”

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But not all Montana’s early characters were thieves and fortune hunters; many were regular folks just trying to make a living. Some had fled the Civil War; other simply wanted a new start. Life in Montana’s early history is hard to imagine today, even for those who still maintain close connections to agriculture. The Museum of the Rockies’ Living History Farm brings life to the experiences of early settlers. A fully working farm staffed by volunteers, visitors can touch and experience life on a homestead using all the tools and practices of Montana’s early settlers. And there is no better way to experience old Montana towns than by walking through them. This edition of the Montana Historian feature guides and highlights for two of Montana’s best walking tours, Last Chance Gulch and West Yellowstone. As long as people have come to Montana, they’ve found their loves. Weddings on the prairie were not an ornate experience as they often are today; however, even settlers took special care for the special day. Our Historic Montana Weddings section highlights the evolution of weddings in Montana from gowns to bouquets and everything in between. We hope you enjoy this latest edition of the Montana Historian as well as Montana itself, whether it’s a part of your journey or turns into your destination. - Will Genge, Editor

THE OREGON SHORTLINE RAILROAD, THREE BEAR LODGE

THE EARLY DAYS OF WEST YELLOWSTONE by Clyde Seely

A short, followed by a long whistle, of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yellowstone Special,â&#x20AC;? could clearly be heard in our little farmhouse over a mile away. Every morning at 5:30 we could almost set our clock, as the passenger train approached the railroad crossing. It was on its way to West Yellowstone, 70 miles north, delivering several hundred anxious visitors to Yellowstone National Park. That same whistle marked the return that evening at 8:00 PM as it was returning loaded with people who had just spent a few days or a week in Yellowstone. I was a little boy in the early 1940s and had no idea what an important part that whistle and train would have in my life. It was the impetus that eventually would shape and provide a livelihood for me and my family for the rest of my life. The hard work ethic of farm life was good

Montana Historian

training for building and operating tourism related businesses in West Yellowstone. I was 19 years old, in 1958, when my dad drove me to St. Anthony, Idaho to catch that train. We arrived just in time to see it pulling out. We had missed it. We knew the next stop would be in Ashton 12 miles north, so Dad, in our little old 1950 Chevy truck, raced the train and eventually beat it in time for me to run inside the depot, get a ticket and board the train on its way to West Yellowstone. The train started off slowly and began to wind through the mountain terrain past Warm River, and through the tunnel in the mountain by Bear Gulch. I kept wondering

when the train was going to speed up, above what I thought must be about 20-miles-an-hour, but it never did. I would move from one side to the other in order to admire the scenery in the early morning sunlight. It was beautiful.

Montana and rode the stagecoach 60 miles to their sightseeing splendor in Yellowstone. The train with passengers arrived in 1908 and the place that was later named West Yellowstone began to invent itself in order to take care of the passengers of the “Yellowstone Special” and other visitors.

Then we were passing the corrals and loading ramps for livestock at Big Springs. I remembered when I was about 14 years old loading sheep there onto the double-leveled livestock car. We started loading these reluctant participants about 4:30 in the morning. There is a trick to loading sheep. They have a characteristic of not wanting to lead, but to follow. To push them up the long ramp into the car was like trying to push them with a rope. So, I would grab one by the hind leg and drag it backwards up the ramp and then the rest would “follow like sheep.” We were shipping them out to market after having spent the summer on the sheep range along the north side of Mount Sawtelle, just north of Henry’s Lake in Island Park.

My ride on the “Yellowstone Special” ended at 8:00 AM. I was a little late for work, but Three Bear Lodge, where I was working for the summer as a laundry boy, was nearly across the street from the large, impressive depot. My brother was the one that was really hired for the summer. However, he fell in love and got engaged. He wanted to save the money from this job, but also wanted to stay home to foster that relationship. Since we never paid on the farm, I volunteered to take his place at Three Bear Lodge. It was my first paying job. I worked the entire summer for $1.25 an hour and sent him home everything I made. He received the money, got happily married, and I established a relationship with the Wilsons that changed the rest of my life.

I did not know at the time about the significance of Big Springs concerning the train that I was riding. For you see, when E.H. Harriman commissioned a railroad line to be built from St. Anthony to what would later be known as West Yellowstone, the railroad was built as far as Big Springs the first year. Big Springs (headwaters of the North Fork of the Snake River) became the terminus for the summer of 1907. Passengers could ride to Big Springs on the train and then take the stage about 20 miles to Yellowstone. Up until then, they disembarked at Monida,

I was gone after that first summer for two years to England on church mission. Then I went to college to become a teacher. Linda, a cute little girl with long brown hair that I knew when I was a little boy, suddenly became beautiful and the girl that I married in 1962. After we were married, I wanted to introduce my bride to the Wilsons, so we drove up to West Yellowstone and to Three Bear Lodge. They asked us to come back and work for them. I wanted to finish school and needed the money so we first

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of all worked for them one summer, then pretty much ran the place, then leased it from them and later signed the papers to buy it. While I was in England, I watched on the “tele” all about the earthquake near West Yellowstone, August 17, 1959. A large amount of damage was done to the train depot (I believe $35,000). Union Pacific fixed up the building but never reopened it. By then Passenger service was dwindling. It had fallen prey to increased automobile traffic and lessening demand for train travel. When I returned to work at Three Bear, Mike Wilson, my employer, was the president of the Chamber of Commerce. The town was not incorporated and was pretty much run by the Chamber and volunteer organizations. Passenger trains had ceased to run. The question then became, what would happen to the property and the beautiful buildings that belonged to the Union Pacific. It was the intent for Union Pacific to sell the land and all the buildings. That would have been a great loss for this little town. I remember Mike got all stirred up about this. While he was in California for the winter, he uncovered a law that stated, if a railroad abandoned its operation within a municipality, the property would automatically revert to the municipality. Not many will remember how close we came to losing this property to private enterprise. In my opinion, if Mike Wilson had not dug into the law books and found an old law, West Yellowstone would have been a vastly different place. In order for the property to revert to West Yellowstone, it had to incorporate. After it was officially incorporated, this unbelievable strip of land over 300 ft. deep that ran the entire length of the town from East to West, with all the beautiful buildings reverted to the newly incorporated town. (Now the Oregon Short Line Terminus District site, numbers 1-9 on the Historic walking tour map.) Eventually, the Union Pacific Depot became the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum, the Baggage Building became the police station and the newly elected town council met in a part of the awesome 1920s Dining Lodge. The Girls Dorm burned down in 1980 and the Boys Dorm became the Guy Hansen Medical Clinic. Since that time the City Office/ Fire Station, a town public works facility and The Chamber of Commerce /Public Lands Building, and the Povah Center, a Senior Citizen/ Community Center, all came life nearby. A garage was built in 2011 to store the Senior Citizens bus and office. In 2012 an Emergency Service Building was completed and the historic Forest Service Cabins built in 1906 were moved to the east end of the property. Before our little town was named West Yellowstone, the Union Pacific property and buildings were the point of arrival and departure for thousands and the focal point and heartbeat of the town. It continues the same today. West Yellowstone

Montana Historian

Madison Avenue, West Yellowstone • April

would be a far different place if it were not for that short statement that Mike Wilson found in the law that caused West Yellowstone to be able to buy this property for, I believe, $1.00. As was mentioned, my life at Three Bear began as a laundry boy, a summer job. Three Bear Lodge was originally built in 1932 by Wallace Bomier. Since then it has had three fires, one in 1941, one, the day we bought it January, 2, 1970 and Feb. 15, 2008. The fires of Yellowstone, so horrible at the time, seemed to cleanse and cause life to start anew, and such was the case with Three Bear Lodge. The 1941 fire completely destroyed the wooden cabins of Three Bear. Mike Wilson would later rebuild it as a two-story motel with a gas station and later in 1955 remodeled the old lodge building and re-opened it as Three Bear Restaurant. Three Bear quickly became the place to dine as Roy, a real showman in his tall white chef’s hat, flipped the char broiled steaks. The flames leapt high behind the glass as the guests watched in amazement. After graduating from Idaho State University, I began teaching the sixth grade and leased the lodge in the summer. We boarded it up after Labor Day and opened it again in the spring just in time for Memorial Day. At least that was the plan. Then on Jan 2, 1970, Mike and Frances made it possible for us, just a couple of kids, to buy Three Bear Lodge. I came home from school, we signed the papers and put them in the mail and went back to school. At 2:00 PM, someone came running into my

classroom and told me the lodge was on fire. Sure enough, by the time I got there flames were coming out of the back of the motel and the laundry and seven rooms were burned. I had to quit teaching and my friend, Frank Turner and I rebuilt. Because we did the work ourselves, we were able to get more mileage out of the insurance money and completely remodeled the exterior as well. Three Bear now had a new look. Until then, West Yellowstone pretty well closed up for the long winter months. It was a sleepy little town where people pretty much played cards or curled up around the warm wood stoves and waited for spring. A few ingenious souls spent the winter inventing ways to get through or on top of the snow. Snow planes converted vehicles to primitive snow coaches and finally Harold Young got special permission to take a bombardier snowcoach and some Ski Doo snowmobiles into Yellowstone.

moved it in 1995 when we built the Holiday Inn around it. It became the namesake of the Oregon Short Line Restaurant and is truly a museum piece. It is now featured at Stop #10 on the Historical Walking Tour Map. The 2008 fire at Three Bear was more devastating. We needed to tear down the unburned portion of the early 1900s building. It was against my upbringing to throw away anything useable, so we salvaged and recycled all of the wood. It added much character to the common areas and was used to hand make all of the furniture in all of the new rooms. The new Three Bear Lodge has many displays that honor its past and will live on, well into the future. The hard work of farm life in my youth was good training for what was to come. West Yellowstone was in its infancy and opportunities for growth were abundant. Since those 1958 laundry boy days, my “American Dream” has become a reality. I have been blessed to build or purchase and operate at one time, nine businesses with the help of over 200 employees and Bill Howell, a partner in some of those operations. My wife and family, Yellowstone, and service to our Community and Church, are the things that I love and make every day exciting. And I wonder what still lies ahead in our lives and for West Yellowstone, as I can still hear in my mind, “A short, followed by a long whistle.”

I bought a used snowmobile and couldn’t believe how a new wintertime world opened up before me. I rode into Yellowstone and up to Two Top and began to realize what an awesome experience winter really was here in West Yellowstone. I decided to keep the lodge open the next winter. Armed with a typewritten suggested itinerary and a few 8X10 photos, I got on a plane and flew to Minneapolis. I began “cold calling” on travel agents and snowmobile clubs.“You just have to come and see for yourself Yellowstone in the winter,” I would say – and they did. Soon the fleet of 15 Scorpion snowmobile rentals was expanded, and I could not take care of everyone, so encouraged my neighbors to stay open and rent snowmobiles. But this is the beginning of the story that will be told elsewhere in this issue of the Montana Historian. Time passed quickly as we raised our little family of five in this tight little community. We first lived in the apartment above the motel. While we were building our home on Obsidian Avenue, we bought and lived in the Oregon Shortline 1903 executive railroad car next door. At the time, we had no idea this was a historical railroad car. We put a queen bed and crib in the observation room and each of the kids had a stateroom of their own for a bedroom. Later, we found out this executive car was built for the Vice President of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1903. The elegant woodwork and craftsmanship was a masterpiece at the time and was build at a cost of $16,685. It traveled the rails until it was finally given as a retirement gift to Superintendant Manson in 1935. It sat on a stone foundation until we

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West Yellowstone

Historical Walking Tour By Clyde Seely

Introduction Part of the charm of any community is the richness of its past. Sadly, thousands of towns are born, exist and some even fade away into dusty streets and the creaking old shells of the buildings of yester year. Others live on, but the passion of the past is lost because their stories have never been told. The story of West Yellowstone, Montana is now being told. This spring, The West Yellowstone Economic Development Council Inc. (WYED) is unveiling this spring The West Yellowstone Historical Walking Tour, after months of research, writing, designing and producing. WYED has implemented a multifaceted approach to honoring, preserving and displaying stories of the past. Patterned after the Freedom Trial in Boston and other historical walking tours, its story will not only be told but also engraved into easily readable plaques, maps and trails of historical significance for those who come to visit. This hands-on, entertaining, and historical experience includes the following: A Walking Tour Map Brochure will be available throughout town in unique brochure racks handcrafted and recycled from 1920s wood. The Map Brochure will follow a painted sidewalk bear paw trail leading to and explaining 21 different historical sites. Attractive destination plaques showing historical photos and synoptic stories of the past will be at each location. Some of these locations will have interesting self-guided tours inside the historical buildings.

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%$**$*( %8,/',1* Tourists arriving by train to travel through Yellowstone brought with them mountains of trunks and bags. However, they were allowed only 20 pounds of luggage per person for the trip into the park on stage coaches, and later, in the yellow touring buses. In the 1910s, their excess baggage was stored in the east wing of the Depot, as shown above. By the early 1920s, the daily number of visitors arriving to West Yellowstone by train had climbed to 300-400. The increased visitation and the need for a women’s dressing area led the railroad to construct a separate baggage building in 1922. This building was used to store luggage until passenger service to the town stopped in 1960. In 1969, the baggage building was deeded to the Town of West Yellowstone as part of the transfer of ownership of the railroad district.

Prior to the Town’s incorporation in 1966, law enforcement was provided by the Gallatin County Sheriff. West Yellowstone’s jail was a small 10 foot square concrete bunker with small openings for windows. Deputies often had to resort to some unusual detention methods when the jail was filled with the many over-zealous partiers from the local drinking establishments. These partiers sometimes found themselves handcuffed to a fence or tree. The police department, started after the town was incorporated in 1966, transformed the baggage building into its headquarters in the early 1970s. Until 1993, when new town offices were built, the police shared this building with the town’s administrators. The Police Department remains in this building today.

West Yellowstone began as a sleepy little town, a bedroom community for summer travelers that were brought here by a passenger train called the “Yellowstone Special.” Like the bears, it would also nearly hibernate over the long winter months and wait for the train’s enormous rotary snowplow to open the tracks and another season. This was the “Spring Campaign.” This modern tourist-friendly town has been resilient to change and is a forward thinking community. Like the many fires in its history (indicated on the map), the firestorms of change have caused West Yellowstone to be proactive and keep up with the modern conveniences and friendly atmosphere for which West Yellowstone has become so well known. West Yellowstone will now be forever unique as one of the few towns that has preserved and displayed for future generations the colorful stories and lives of the past. Not a ghost town of days gone by but a town that honors its history and makes the changes necessary to thrive in the future with Yellowstone at its doorstep. The focal point of the walking tour is the Oregon Short Line Terminus District. The Oregon Short Line branch of the Union Pacific railroad terminated its line here in 1907. The Yellowstone Special, as it was called, brought rather affluent people from as far away as the East Coast to the doorstep of Yellowstone. They stepped off the train at the beautiful

Union Pacific Depot, now the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum, now Stop #4. The “Beanery Queens” greeted travellers here and later served them breakfast in the large dining Lodge, featured on the tour as Stop #6. Tourists’ excess luggage was stored in the baggage room (Stop #5), which was later converted to the Police Station, and they were off by stagecoach and later gasoline driven open-air buses on tours throughout the Park. These were multiday tours in which all the unbelievable natural phenomenon and wildlife could be witnessed firsthand.

The steam engine would turn around and take on its water supply from the 50,000gallon water tower that is still visible today at Stop #9. In the afternoon the stagecoach tours would begin returning just in time for dinner. Over 300 guests could be served, after which they would board “The Yellowstone Special” and were off to tell their stories of one of the most spectacular places on earth.

Monida to Yellowstone crossed the nearby park boundary. The location of that crossing and the surrounding area were known as Boundary.

Terminus, the name given to the ending point of a railroad line, applied to this location as the rail line progressed to the soon-to-be town site.

)25(67 6(59,&( &$%,16 In 1907, the Union Pacific’s Oregon Shortline route reached the western boundary of Yellowstone National Park. Its terminus and tracks were within the boundaries of the Madison National Forest. Around this terminus, businesses and residences were built, all requiring special use permits from the Forest Service. Thus, the Forest Service became the managers of the town. The temporary nature of the permits caused concern for the residents and business owners, as they could not be assured of the long-term use of the land. Following many years of pressure from the permit holders, President Woodrow Wilson signed an Executive Order removing the town site from the forest in December 1919. This order reserved an administrative site for the Forest Service within the town’s boundaries. In 1924, four buildings were built – a house, an office, a barn, and a garage. Known as the West Yellowstone Ranger District Headquarters,

Stop Numbers 10-21 are privately owned businesses that sprung up to accommodate the needs of the park visitors. Some are still in their original condition, and some have been replaced as a result of fires. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 were somewhat reminiscent of the fires that damaged and sometimes destroyed these old wooden historic buildings. Like the fires of Yellowstone that caused a rebirth, likewise the fires in this little town caused the old to make way for the new. Such fires are clearly indicated on the walking tour map where plaques with photos of yesteryear show how “it used to be.” The locations of eleven of the successful “Buffalo Roam” full sized painted buffalos still remain in town and are also indicated on the walking tour map. In 1969 the Town of West Yellowstone received deed to the land and historic buildings of the Oregon Short Line Terminus District. The town is continuing to preserve those buildings as well as locate new town facilities. Just a few of the Highlighted Attractions West Yellowstone Name Story West Yellowstone has had five names throughout its history. Before there was a town here, the stagecoaches bringing passengers from

these log structures represent extraordinarily high-quality craftsmanship of a distinctive style of corner joinery. The new office served an important role in the transition of the town from government land to privately owned lots. The post-1924 sales of the platted lots within the town originated in this office, and were likely completed in the Forest Supervisor’s Office in Sheridan, Montana. The Ranger Station remained at the administrative site in town until 1959 when a new station was built just north of town. The buildings in town were then used for storage and housing. In the early 2000s, the Forest Service identified the administrative site as surplus property, to be sold to raise funds for land conservation. Beginning in 2010, the four original log buildings were moved from the old administrative site four blocks northwest of here to this more secure location in the Oregon Short Line Terminus Historic District.

Riverside was the official name for the town’s first post office, opened in 1908. This name referenced the nearby U.S. Army’s Riverside Soldier Station, located along the Madison River inside the park. Many locals thought this name was misleading for the town, since the town had nothing to do with the soldier station and was two miles away from the river. Furthermore, there was no connection between this name and the town’s location onthe edge of Yellowstone National Park. Early in 1910, the town’s name was officially changed to Yellowstone. This name caused concern for the other towns located at the park’s entrances. Some felt that the name misleadingly indicated that this was the only entrance to the park. Thus we arrive at the town’s current name — West Yellowstone. This descriptive name was given to the town in 1920, shortly after the lands within its boundaries were removed from the Madison National Forest. The town owes its beginnings and its early growth to the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad developed alluring advertising brochures and posters featuring cartoon bears and the Union Pacific shield to promote Yellowstone. In 1913, the West Gate became the busiest entrance to the park, an honor it still retains today.

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Three Bear Lodge President Calvin Coolidge issued the first land patent to this site in 1925. The original Three Bear Lodge was built in 1932. Its rustic cabins were burned in 1941 and then rebuilt. Mike and Frances Wilson later purchased Three Bear in 1944 for $25,800. The Wilsons converted the Lodge into a modern motel. Three Bear Restaurant was first opened in 1955 when the building shown here on the top was remodeled.

The transition of Three Bear to what it is now began in 1958 when Clyde Seely started working as the laundry boy. Clyde and his wife, Linda, bought Three Bear Jan. 2, 1970. That very day it caught fire. Clyde was also teaching school at the time, but had to quit teaching in order to rebuild. Having witnessed first-hand the beauties of Yellowstone on his snowmobile, he decided to keep the Lodge open in the winter. This was made feasible by marketing “Yellowstone in the Winter” packages, complete with lodging, meals, snowmobiles and later snowcoaches. Three Bear has been remodeled or rebuilt many times. After the third fire, which occurred on Feb. 15, 2008, the unburned wood from the old historical buildings was salvaged. All of the room furniture and the common area decor were handmade from these recycled materials. The charm and rustic elegance of the past has been captured for generations to come. Three Bear was reopened in July 2009 and received the EcoStar award for its recycling efforts. Please come in and enjoy a self-guided tour.

:$7(5 72:(5 Prior to the construction of the Water Tower, water was hauled from the Madison River (two miles east of here) and sold for 25 cents a barrel. Water was often saved and reused and spit baths were common. With the increased need of water for the steam engines and to mix concrete for construction of the Depot, water was piped from a spring 2 ¼ miles west of town. The Water Tower, built in 1910, is the tallest structure in the town, reaching a height of 70 feet. Its tank, which is 20 feet tall by 24 feet in diameter, can hold 65,000 gallons of water and sits atop a 50 foot tower. The tower provided water for the steam engines like the one shown

Oregon Short Line 1903 Named for the year it was built, the Oregon Short Line 1903 was constructed for $16,685 as an executive rail car for the Vice President of the Union Pacific. In reference to E.H. Harriman’s Presidential rail car, the Arden, which was built in 1900, some who rode on OSL 1903 said,“We out bested Old E.H. on this trip.” The charm of the wooden exterior and interior construction was typical of that period. It was retrofitted in 1915 and was renamed OSL 150 at the time. In 1935, the car was given as a retirement gift to E.C. Manson. He sat it on a stone foundation next to the forest, just 3 blocks west of here. After various owners used it as a summer home, Clyde and Linda Seely

Montana Historian

in the photo above, railroad buildings, and some of the town until private wells could be drilled. Rock was added to the exterior of the pump house in the 1920s to match the facade of the Dining Lodge. These old steam engines and wooden passenger cars were welcome sights and sounds. “The Yellowstone Special” with its familiar whistle allowed thousands of excited visitors to experience Yellowstone for the first time. By 1955 diesel engines began to replace steam engines thereby eliminating one of the primary uses of the tower’s water supply. The 1959 earthquake caused damage to the railroad buildings, and passenger service ended in 1960.

purchased it in 1975 and lived there that summer. After many paint jobs of various colors it had lost its identity and looked like “just an old relic,” while on the inside its immaculate condition was maintained. Finally, its real identity was revealed when the above photos were discovered in the Smithsonian Institute. One shows the completed car in front of the Pullman Factory, the other an interior shot with the original furniture. In 1995, this museum-quality rail car was placed here and the Seelys and Howells built the Holiday Inn around it. Please enjoy the self-guided tour of the inside of the rail car.

Winter, West Yellowstone and Yellowstone Park

Intertwined past, present & future by Jan Stoddard

When the park was first formed, early guides lead their clients into the park by following the course of the Madison River through the area that would one day become West Yellowstone. Stagecoaches delivering mail upgraded to passenger service by 1880. Before it became a city, the area was called the “West End” or “Boundary” as the west entrance to Yellowstone Park. West Yellowstone was designated as an official entrance to Yellowstone Park in 1907 and then quickly boomed as a railroad travel destination. The Union Pacific Depot was built in 1908 and opened in 1909 to service arriving railroad guests. These guests would depart the train and stop for meals and refreshment before departing with a stagecoach touring company into Yellowstone Park. The original depot building is still in use as the Yellowstone Historic Center Museum. These early Yellowstone tourists and their need for transportation, food, lodging, and retail items were the reason West Yellowstone came into existence. Originally the town was called “Riverside,' even though the location was two miles from the Madison River. It wasn't until 1920, that “West Yellowstone” became the official town name. However, Yellowstone Park’s early “tourism season” was very abrupt and weather dependent, starting in mid-June and ending by early September. Harsh weather including deep snows and cold temperatures keep tourists away. Initially, winter activities in Yellowstone were centered from Mammoth, the park’s winter headquarters. Early park rangers were assigned to back country responsibilities and often traveled thousands of miles on skis and snowshoes, regardless of weather. Early skis were wooden, wide, long and heavy, up to fifteen feet long and one inch thick. Blinding snowstorms, sub-zero temperatures and difficult terrain were the norm. Ten to twelve rangers and their families were usually stationed out in the park, ranging from 60 to 90 miles away from Mammoth. One of these ranger outposts was located approximately seven miles in from the west entrance.

for other jobs or for cities with winter schools. Those left behind stocked up on groceries and waited out the winter often with little communication or access to the outside world. In the early 1900’s, the only way residents of West Yellowstone could receive mail or emergency supplies was by ski or dogsled or tractor from Ashton, Idaho. The only roads out of town leading north to Bozeman, MT and south to Ashton, ID were not even plowed until 1935, one year after these roads were paved. With no roads, dog sledding became both transportation and entertainment. This first American Dog Derby race was held in 1917 and went from West Yellowstone, Montana, to Ashton, Idaho. Mail was brought into town from Henry’s Lake via a twenty-mile dog sled ride in each direction. Interestingly, dog sledding never became an option for transportation in Yellowstone Park. It was eventually banned from within the park in the late 1970’s “to protect the dogs from snowmobiles.” By the late 1920’s, the park’s first mechanized vehicle was in use to bring supplies and mail back-and-forth from Mammoth to Cooke City. This vehicle resembled a tractor and used a screw/auger for a track making for a very slow and bumpy ride. With the advent of automobile engines, a new type of winter transportation evolved in Yellowstone – the snow plane! Early snow planes resembled an air plane without wings or a tail and no wheels, just two or three skis. A mounted engine behind the cabin drives a propeller. Instead of a braking system, the pilot would open the door and drag their foot through the snow. These ‘planes’ simply blew around on the snow without ever taking off at up to 140 m.p.h. It was always a good idea to give these planes plenty of room – in front and in back! Most of the early snow planes were home-made and simply designed to go where cars couldn’t and held just a pilot and passenger. These homemade vehicles made by local resident flew into the park in the just for fun, such as running across Yellowstone Lake.

Winterkeepers also stayed in Yellowstone Park throughout the winter, taking care of hotels and buildings located in the Lower Geyser Basin, Old Faithful, Canyon and Norris. At Old Faithful, heated geothermal waters keep a summer greenhouse heated and the plants watered.

By the 1940’s, airplane engines replaced the car engines in these planes, allowing for commercial use. The first passenger snow planes came into the Park from West Yellowstone in 1948-1949. Thirty-five passengers on nineteen snow plane trips became the first official over-the-snow vehicle winter tourists to the Park.

In communities surrounding the park, most families would leave in the fall

In the meantime, a Canadian industrialist named Joseph-Armand

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2011

Bombardier was hard at work developing a vehicle that could travel over snow using a caterpillar track system. The first designs for snow-vehicles were just Ford Model T’s with the undercarriage replaced by tracks and ski’s and used for rural mail delivery. Bombardier created a revolutionary track system that consisted of a toothed wheel covered win rubber and a rubber and cotton track that wrapped around the back wheels. The snowcoaches were nicknamed “Bombs.” During this same time, debate raged in the Park as whether to plow the roads for winter visitors to alleviate the increasing heavy summer traffic. The final decision by administrators was to allow oversnow vehicles rather than automobiles “largely because plowing park roads would make them into ‘snow canyons’ – plowed trenches with tall berms of snow on the sides that would be difficult for passengers to see over” and would trap wildlife.

Courtesy of Yellowstone National Park Service, photo by JA Tyers, 1979. Photo of the Madison Warming Hut at Madison Junction in Yellowstone Park and early snowmobilers.

The Bombardier snowcoaches were first used in Yellowstone in 1954-55 by operators Harold Young and Bill Nicholls from West Yellowstone. At the economical price of just $15.00 per person, it was a “good tourist gimmick.” Young and Nicholls continued to operate through the 1950’s with up to 500 passengers each winter. A fleet of Bombardiers was manufactured between 1952 – 1981 for use in Yellowstone Park. They are still used today (with modifications) by Yellowstone Alpen Guides in West Yellowstone, Montana. The first snowmobile prototypes emerged in the 1940’s. By 1955, a company, “Snowmobiles of West Yellowstone,” had contacted the Yellowstone Park Company) the park’s current concessionaire) about operating snowmobiles between West Yellowstone and Old Faithful. Mass market adoption by the emerging baby boomer segment first came in the early 1960’s when Joseph-Armand Bombardier’s design improvements accommodated mass production. Winter season 19631964 brought the biggest change to winter transportation in Yellowstone when six over-sized snowmobiles (Polaris “Snow Travelers”) made six trips into the Park that year. These early days of Yellowstone oversnow winter travel presented many challenges. Up until 1971, there was no grooming. You simply followed the ruts made by previous snowmobilers or took turns breaking a new trail. Longer-tracked snowmobiles, like the Ski Whiz, could stretch from rut to rut, but the shorter tracked ones, like the Moto-Ski, would drop down into the ruts. It was exhausting work. By the time, you reached Old Faithful you were exhausted. In those days, you could swing “off the road” but no one ventured there because the machines were heavy and just not designed for any powder riding. Besides, you didn’t have enough energy to go off the road. Most people also pulled trailers with extra gas (generally four 5-gallon cans), tools, belts and other suppliers. The gas station at Old Faithful was not open in the winter. The only warm building open at Old Faithful was the public restroom. If the weather was rough, you could find snowmobilers huddled together eating a lunch or sleeping there overnight. While there were plenty of bison on the roads, there were very few other vehicles.

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Snowmobile clothing as we know it today was non-existent. No snowmobile helmets, cold weather suits or special boots. You had to layer on clothes starting with insulated underwear, multiple pairs of socks, pants, sweaters, many socks and mittens, and your warmest coat. Snowmobile boots consisted of shoes and overshoes with wool socks. The Park Service began working with Midwestern snowmobile organizations and snowmobile manufacturers to buy a groomer. Grooming the road from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful would make the trip more comfortable and also promote keeping snowmobilers on the groomed roads rather than using smoother surfaces that were off the road. By February 1971, a groomer had been purchased and was grooming on a regular basis. The National Park Service also worked with the lodging concessionaire to open the “Campus Cabins” building at the Old Faithful Snowlodge for overnight winter visitors in December 1971. The Old Faithful Inn would have been too expensive to winterize. This Snowlodge was later razed and replaced with the existing building that is open now in winter. Outside the park, West Yellowstone has also begun to change. In 1970, Clyde Seely made a decision to keep Three Bear Lodge open year round. It was the first motel in West Yellowstone not to board up the windows and shut down for the winter season. He purchased a fleet of 15 Scorpion snowmobiles that were used for special events the first few years and later added a full-time rental fleet for Yellowstone tours. Other businesses in West Yellowstone added winter lodging and snowmobile rentals. The word spread quickly, especially through the Midwest where snowmobiling had already become established. In a March 1st, 1970 the Mansfield, Ohio News Journal headline announced, “The RUSH IS ON! The city of West Yellowstone, Montana, has proclaimed itself snowmobile city!” Traveling over the snow into Yellowstone’s wintry interior is a neverforgotten experience. Erupting geysers and hissing vents propel amazing clouds of steam into clear blue skies. Eagles abound, buffalo pass within your arm’s length, and hunting wolves are much easier to spot against the backdrop of snow-packed meadows. With limited traffic and a fraction of the people from other seasons, this singular experience becomes a much

more personal one. This unique experience is one that inspired early winter adventurers, and still does today. By the early 1990’s, as many as 1,600 snowmobiles and snowcoaches were entering Yellowstone in winter. In just three years, this increased to over 90,000 visitors on snowmobiles and 10,000 in snowcoaches. With these increases came growing concerns about the impacts of winter use and a lack of research to identify and measure these impacts. In 1990, the National Park Service issued a Winter Use Plan Environmental Assessment, but did not make any significant changes. In 1997, the National Park Service (Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks) and forest service agencies issued the Winter Visitor Use Management: A Multi-Agency Assessment, which was a preliminary summary of the issues and concerns related to snowmobile use in Yellowstone and the surrounding area. These concerns included noise pollution, air pollution, and wildlife impacts. One of the wildlife impacts was concern over bison use of the groomed roadways. That same winter, Yellowstone experienced an extremely severe winter with 150% above normal snow impact and freezing rain creating a layer of ice that the bison could not break through to feed. The bison began to migrate out of the park, some using groomed snowmobile roads. Concerned about the spread of brucellosis to cattle, the State of Montana killed the bison leaving the park. That winter, more than 1,000 bison died either from the conditions or by being slaughtered. As a result, wildlife protection groups sued the National Park Service in federal court over this winter slaughter. The suit was settled out of court and included the agreement park officials would write a new Winter Use Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In 1999, a rulemaking petition from environmental groups asked the National Park Service to ban recreational snowmobiling in Yellowstone and all other national park units that allow it. The following year, the Park Service announced a phase out of most snowmobile use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks on grounds that the machines damage the park's air quality, wildlife, natural soundscapes, and the enjoyment of other park visitors. However, the Park Service was sued over the decision to ban snowmobiles and the decision was overturned by a federal court in Cheyenne,

Wyoming. As a compromise, the Park Service offered a recommendation for managed winter-use based on for guided-only entry by snowmobiles of "best available technology" (BAT), with limits on number of snowmobiles and snowcoaches per day. Once again, they were sued and a Washington, D.C. federal court overturned the decision. A 2004 temporary plan limited use (720 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches a day) and required commercial guided-only access aboard BAT. This plan was held in place through Congressional support from 2005-2007. In 2007, the Park Service completed a new winter-use plan, which allowed up to 540 commercially guided, BAT snowmobiles and 83 snowcoaches a day into park. This plan was challenged in Federal court. In the interim, the park reverted back to the 2004 temporary plan. By 2009, a new temporary winter use plan was created that reduced limits to 318 guided snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches a day, with a provision to continue these rules through the winter of 2010-11. In early 2010, the Park Service began the process to create a permanent winter use plan. A public scoping was held that winter to identify the purpose, need, and objectives for the plan as well as the alternatives to be considered and the issues to be analyzed in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). By July, a draft range of alternatives to be analyzed in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was released with a specific DEIS released in May of 2011 prior to the Final EIS (FEIS). This included a one-year rule for 2011-2012 winter use based on the 2009 limits. The park and NPS immediately begin work on a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to further analyze additional issues raised during the public comment period and will release a new SEIS by summer 2012. The intent is to have a final, long-term regulation for winter use in place before the start of the next winter season (20122013). Ideally, this plan would be acceptable to all parties including special interest groups and not result in continuing litigation. The past thirteen years has weighed heavily on West Yellowstone. Initial increases in year-round visitation escalated construction of new lodging properties resulting in expansion of other businesses and services as well. But, constant and continuing changes in equipment, limits, and guiding requirements created confusion for winter travelers. Many were uncertain if Yellowstone Park was even open for oversnow travel. Subsequently, there has been a significant decrease in winter visitors to West Yellowstone, primarily snowmobilers, since 2002-2003. The immediate future is uncertain. What is certain is that the Yellowstone winter experience is like no other and need to continue. Since oversnow access started, West Yellowstone has been at the forefront of new ideas and technologies, adapting to meet the needs of Yellowstone and its visitors. Additional reading and resources: “Snowshoes, Coaches, and Cross Country Skis: A Brief History of Yellowstone Winters,” Jeff Henry.

Courtesy of Yellowstone National Park Service, photo by J Schmidt, 1977. The community of West Yellowstone has always closely with the National Park Service. This photo shows volunteers shoveling snow onto the west entrance road so snowmobiles could travel oversnow even in low snow years.

“The Development of Snowmobile Policy in Yellowstone National Park” by Michael J. Yochim, Yellowstone Science, Volume 7, Number 2, 1999. Visit the Yellowstone Historic Center in West Yellowstone, Montana for more exhibits, historic vehicle, and photos.

2012/2013

A History of Montana Weddings by Martha Kohl

In autumn 1905, the Kalispell Bee advertised a wedding contest, a chance for one lucky couple to marry on the grandstand of the Flathead County Fair. The brave pair would receive over two hundred dollars worth of prizes donated by Kalispell merchants, including “everything from the county license to the wedding dinner … a picture hat for the bride, furniture and bric-a-brac, groceries, dream robes, even medical attendance one year after marriage.” Three couples submitted their names, and the paper kept the winners secret, promising only that they were “well-known, longtime Flathead County residents … young and good looking, both of them, and their appearance under the wedding bells will be a grand surprise on Friday afternoon.” In this reality show of yesteryear, four thousand people turned out to witness the marriage between Maggie Pierson,“attired in a pink silk gown and … a large white picture hat” and farmer Harry E. Crossley, and to offer their congratulations in the Fair’s floral hall. Few Montana weddings were as public, as quirky, or as much of a spectacle as the Crossleys’ fairground ceremony. More typically, Montana brides and grooms married at home, in church sanctuaries, parsonage parlors, or judge’s chambers. But whether a couple married in front of two witnesses or their family and friends, weddings are worth remembering. And wedding stories are worth telling, since even the simplest story opens a window into the past. Imagine, for example, living in 1872, in Bozeman, Montana Territory (population approximately 575). Now imagine marrying, as did Miss Leonard and Mr. Langford on a Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m., October 24. Your wedding guests will throw a large, formal ball for you the following Wednesday, so after your church ceremony, you invite a few select friends to call at your new house for a pleasant informal gathering. Toward the end of the evening, however, “a crowd assembles with trumpets, bells, kettles—anything in fact that will make a noise. They take position around the house … make the most horrible noise you can imagine…. It is kept up, until the bridegroom appears, takes the crowd to the nearest barroom and treats.” This custom, called a chivari and understood to be a community’s way of welcoming young people to the institution of marriage, remained common in Montana into the 1930s. For their part, Mr. and Mrs. Langford dreaded, but expected it. According to one account, “Langhorn had been threatening to shoot; but he took it more sensibly. The bride showed herself for a moment, and Mr. Langhorn treated according to custom, when the crowd quietly dispersed.”

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The rise and fall of chivaris reveal just one way weddings have changed from earlier times. The Friday, June 7, 1935, wedding of Butte miner Tom McHugh and store clerk Julie Harrington suggests another. The couple originally planned to marry a day earlier, on June 6, but then someone told Julie that Father Nolan, her parish priest,“was graduating the 8th grade at our Mass.” When she called the priest, he confirmed the rumor.“So,” she remembered, I asked him if we could have another Mass, and he said there was only one. I asked for another day and he said ok. We couldn’t have Wednesday because Ceil and Vince Petrino had that, so we had to take Friday. … We ended up at Gamers for poached eggs for our breakfast—no meat on Fridays then. [At that time Catholics abstained from eating meat on Fridays.] Prohibition was getting over so our reception was cheese, tuna fish, and moonshine. We had the reception up home and it was a beautiful day. No priest today would ever suggest combining a graduation and a wedding, which makes the story of the McHughs’ wedding both illuminating and thoughtprovoking. How much else has changed over the last seventy-five years? Montana Historical Society There is no one single Photograph Archives, Helena historic set of Montana traditions, but very few Montana brides experienced the large formal celebrations most people imagine when they think of a traditional wedding. Lutheran pastor S. J. Fretheim lived in Plentywood in northeastern Montana at the height of the homesteading boom, and between 1910 and 1919 he officiated over 300 weddings, 250 of which were held in the parsonage parlor. Often couples traveled alone to obtain his services, perhaps catching a ride to town on the milk train before walking to his house and knocking, unannounced, at his door.

For some couples, the wedding itself was the extent of the ceremony. Many, however, returned home to a wedding feast, lovingly prepared by their mothers and sisters. Fretheim remembered,“Wedding receptions in early days were among the main social events of the community. … They were so numerous for a while that the bachelors (those who were still at liberty) could eat enough lutefisk and lefse at one wedding to last them

till the next couple was ready to give another reception.” Sometimes both wedding and reception were held at home. Camilla Anderson, whose family homesteaded in eastern Montana, remembered her sisters’ double wedding, held June 1, 1910:

train, and a long tulle veil when she walked down the aisle of the Helena cathedral to marry millionaire mine owner Thomas Cruse in 1886. Brides like Mary Sheehan Ronan were more typical. Ronan who wore a homesewn pearl grey dress for her 1873 wedding to Helena newspaper editor and later Indian agent Peter Ronan.“I had dreams of a white dress with a train, a bridal veil, and a wreath of orange blossoms, but when the time actually came I considered conventional things inharmonious with the simplicity and unconventionality of our way of living,” she recalled.

Everyone was Fantasies of white weddings grew invited to the during the twentieth century, fueled by wedding, and about that happily-ever-after Hollywood movies, many came. They came on Society-page reports of celebrity horseback, in buggies, and in nuptials, and a growing wedding wagons. … Two huge tables were set industry. (In 1934 the first magazine up, seating possibly thirty to thirty-five devoted entirely to bridal fashion was people at a time. Dinner was served for published.) However, the stark realities several hours—from noon to nightfall, of the Great Depression and World to new groups continuously. Everyone War II meant that such weddings were wore his Sunday-go-to meeting best, out of most Montanans’ reach. As one and in our family, Dalma had sewed Brockton, Montana, bride remembered Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, Helena them all. … I can still see the wedding about her choice of a salmon-colored, cake, a round, three-tiered fruitcake ankle-length satin dress for her 1932 baked right at home, which was about twenty-six to twenty-eight inches wedding: “I could not in good conscience buy a fancy white dress that I in diameter and weighed maybe thirty to thirty-five pounds. would wear only once and then pack away in a trunk. The one I chose I could wear to dances later. I wore it a lot. Many women at that time wore The Andersons came from Denmark, as did the Rev. Fretheim’s lutefiskonly blouses and skirts when they were married.” eating parishioners. In fact, in 1920 two-thirds of Montanans were immigrants or the children of immigrants. And as a state comprised of It was not until after World War II that church weddings with whiteimmigrants – except for members of Montana’s Indian tribes, who had gowned brides became common. In the 1950s a booming economy and their own marriage customs – Montanans primarily took their cues from technological innovations – like the development of nylon (much more the Old Country when it came to planning weddings. In rural Europe, affordable than silk) – brought formal weddings formerly reserved for the from whence many Montana immigrants came, workers interspersed upper class into reach for ordinary Americans. long grueling days in the fields with raucous community celebrations. In Anaconda, Croatian immigrants continued the tradition, with “two to What does it mean that wedding traditions evolved over time and three day celebrations … [of ] feasting, drinking, singing, and dancing.” continue to do so? Simply that weddings, while shaped by the desires of individual couples and families, also reflect larger cultural and historical Red Lodge Finns abandoned the three-day festivities that marked circumstances. As such, they offer historical voyeurs both good stories and nuptials in rural Finland, but still sometimes celebrated marriages with new insights into the lives of our forbearers. Wedding stories illuminate large processions escorting bride and groom to the site of the wedding. In the lives of those who came before. And since weddings remain an 1898, for example,“fifteen bridesmaids and a like number of grooms-inimportant ritual today, a look at how attendance,” led by the Miners’ City Band, marched with coal miner Gust they have been celebrated in the past also Sikkila and Alena Bloom from “from the home of the bride to the [Finnish sheds reflective light on our own lives Temperance] hall, where Reverend Alek Sandstrom married the couple.” and choices. Whether accompanied by a procession or celebrated with lefse and lutefisk—or tuna fish and moonshine – weddings of old rarely matched our current cultural ideal of a fancy “white wedding.” Such weddings existed, but they were reserved for the wealthy. Margaret Carter, sister of attorney (and later Montana senator) Thomas Carter, wore a cream-colored silk dress, trimmed with Spanish lace, a court

Martha Kohl is a historical specialist at the Montana Historical Society. Her book, I Do: A Cultural History of Montana Weddings, was recently published by the Montana Historical Society Press.

2012/2013

What is The Gift Worth Giving?

It’s LOVE, of course.

by Megan Jaacs

“Through marriage vows, two people start a new life together— perhaps the ultimate expression of love between two individuals. So, in order for us to help perpetuate the love, we’ve decided to gift it in the form of an unforgettable wedding day to a deserving, loving Montana couple,” - The Gift Worth Giving Founders.

photo by Larry Stanley

The three founders of this gift—Larry Stanley of Montana Wedding Photographer, Megan Jacks of After 5 and Weddings, and Jena Silverness of Silver Lined Weddings —work in the wedding industry. In different ways, they each help couples create their dream weddings, watching true love evolve. And now they have created a program to give a dream wedding to a deserving Montana couple that may not be able to afford their own. The first wedding was given to a Dillon, Montana couple on July 10, 2011. In this, their second year, the founders have chosen a deserving couple from Livingston, Montana. This year’s wedding will take place on June 12, 2012, once again at Springhill Pavilion. The Gift Worth Giving is a dream wedding being given through the combined efforts of over 40 wedding vendors and is valued at over $40,000. For more information, please visit www.thegiftworthgiving.com.

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Receive a Special Gift Bag from Jakare Skincare (with purchase of invitation package - $50 value)

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www.speedyprintboz.com

SMILE by Tara Martin & Lucia Stewart

Few things in life are as immediately gratifying and enduring as a photo booth. Step inside the booth, draw the curtain, and enter a magical, candid world of spontaneity, face-making and pure joy with the moment. The first automatic photo machine was created by a Siberian immigrant, Anatol Josepho in 1925 and placed on Broadway Avenue, New York City. Over 7,500 people per day gathered to get an 8-pose strip for 25 cents, fleeting moments in time captured as self-portraits. An attendant, wearing white gloves, directed the patrons inside the booth, to look left, look right, look directly at the camera. In 1926, Josepho sold the rights to his machine for one million dollars. An industry was born. There was nothing quite like the early black-and-white booth— a private, anonymous mini-studio, fitted with a sixteen-pound camera behind a reflective glass pane. You pull the curtain, and 3, 2, 1 FLASH, readjust, 3, 2, 1 FLASH, new pose, 3,2,1 FLASH, uncontrollable laughter, 3, 2, 1 FLASH. Inside the vintage booth, a laborious but completely autonomous process created the timeless strips. Mechanical arms gently dipped and hoisted “positive” pre-treated paper into developing, bleaching and fixing solutions — all at just the right frequency and duration, finally ending in a complex drying process. Minutes later, a photostrip would dispense from a slit in the side of the machine. Giddy with excitement, the “sitters” would grab the photostrip, still sticky and smelling of the characteristic chemicals, laughing and joyous with the treasure betrothed in their hands.

Crowds gather. Photostrip joy. Laughter. Big Sky Photo Booth is a “digitalretro” photo booth company based in Bozeman, Montana. They provide portable photo booths for all occasions—photographic entertainment that dispenses an instant, priceless keepsake. “Every age-group loves the photobooth. Grandmas, cousins, old friends and new” says owner Tara Martin.“It is very important to us to remember the vintage quality and style of the original booth and strips. We have re-created that texture. You create the moments. ” Jackie Wichman, a 2012 bride, used the strips as wedding favors. “Our guests loved having that special token.” And just as in days past, an attendant directs patrons to the booth, the alluring curtain is drawn, and a memory is snapped. FLASH.

It was a luxury to sit for the booth. People had no other way to capture who they were – to share and remember a special day or just an everyday moment—no iPhone, digital camera or even a personal camera. The instant Polaroid wasn’t invented until 1946. By the late-1970s, photo booths significantly declined, many of them discarded in junk heaps when the major supplier of paper and chemicals decided to stop production. Despite their ubiquity for most of the 20th century, an estimated 250 original chemical booths still exist. Today, photo booths have morphed into the age of digital photography. But the spirit of the original photobooth endures. Still capturing cherished moments in time behind a curtain. Sitters still adjust their hair and cast a glance into a reflective surface. Stealing kisses. Inner comedian.

2012/2013

The perfect gown is one of the most important parts of the wedding to most brides. They want a dress unique to their certain style that makes them stand out on their special day. The wedding dress we know today has evolved throughout the centuries. Long white or ivory strapless gowns in satin, lace, or taffeta fabrics have been the modern trend, but it wasn’t always the case. Medieval weddings were arranged among nobility, becoming more about politics than love. The bride’s appearance reflected directly on the family so no expense was spared to create ensembles of expensive furs, velvet, and silk in a wide array of rich colors. In the 1300s the traditional wedding gown was the cotehardie or “bold coat.” It was a close-fitting garment, laced in the back or front, with long, tight sleeves, and a full slit in front to show the underdress, which also carried a train. They were made with silk brocades and worn with a gold belt encrusted with jewels. The bride wore a ring representing eternal vows and true love; a brooch as a token of her chastity; and a garland worn over loose, flowing hair for virtue. Although bridal white is relatively new, there were historical precedents. Henry IV of England’s daughter, Princess Phillipa, wore a tunic and mantle of white satin, edged with velvet and ermine, at her marriage in 1406. Anne of Brittany wore white at her marriage in 1499 while in 1527, Margurite of Valois married in white ermine and covered by a blue coat with a five-foot train. When Elizabeth of Bohemia married in 1613, she and her maids were robed in white and silver tissue trimmed with silver lace. Her train of silver and sleeves, encrusted with diamonds cost her father James I of England and Scotland a fortune!

Thanks to Queen Victoria’s marriage to Albert of Saxe-Coburg in 1840 in a relatively plain white satin gown with an 18-foot train, a new trend was born. After their official wedding photo was published around the world, white wedding gowns became the new tradition of elegance and purity walking down the aisle. Today a bride is able to choose from a variety of white and ivory colors even stemming over to more of a blush to complement skin tone, all well staying within the means that form around the tradition of the white gown. With so many elements form around the actual wedding gown, accessories have always been just as important to complete the look of the ensemble. Most brides keep this old Victorian Wedding tradition.“Something Old” symbolizes a link to the bride’s family and their past. The item most often will be a family heirloom that the bride will wear or carry on her wedding day. Perhaps a piece of jewelry or a hanky from Grandma. The bride may also choose to wear a family member’s wedding dress to honor and represent an old object.“Something New” represents good fortune and success for a wonderful new life. A bride may choose to say her shoes are new or use her wedding gown as the new item. Many choose to wear a new piece of jewelry. This newly purchased jewelry may be handed down as “Something Old” to one’s future children’s weddings.“Something Borrowed” symbolizes the love and support of family and friends in times of need. A borrowed object can be a token from a friend such as a lace handkerchief or a wonderful piece of family jewelry, to be used just for the day.“Something Blue” is an object that symbolizes faithfulness, and loyalty.“And a sixpence in her shoe” completes the Victorian rhyme and is a blessing for wealth.

a history

wedding

gowns by Karyn Bonderud

There is an old poem about how the color of your wedding dress will influence your future: “Married in white, you have chosen all right. Married in grey, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen. Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”

Montana Historian

White is also the color of the historic brick home standing strong since 1885 that sits at the end of 15th street in Bozeman, Montana. A home that historically throughout the years has served the community as several businesses which continue to thrive in downtown Bozeman. Today, it is a place you can visit if in search of a white wedding gown as the home of Eskay Bridal. Even though styles have evolved through out the centuries, certain bridal traditions still remain true today.

Bridal . Maids . Prom . Tux (406) 577-2259 1439 West Babcock t Bozeman MT, 59715

eskaybridal.com

by Remy Greco-Brault photos courtesy of Labellum

Flowers have been used in weddings for centuries throughout the world. The ancient Romans and Greeks adorned the heads of the bride and groom with floral garlands. India and Thailand both have similar customs, but the floral garlands are made into necklaces to be placed around the neck or over the shoulders of the couple. These practices were meant to bring good fortune along with symbolizing hope. The bridal bouquet was also an integral part of ancient wedding ceremonies. Brides carried tied clusters of fragrant herbs, spices and garlic. These aromatic bouquets were symbols of fertility and purity, and the strong fragrance was meant to stave off evil spirits, thus allowing the newly wedded couple to start their married life together. The Boutonniere is said to have originated during the Crusades. Knights would pin a piece of their lady love’s dress onto their clothes to remind them of home. In 16th Century France, it became tradition for the groom to wear a small cluster of herbs and spices on the front of his wedding attire. These were usually made of one or two items that were found in

Montana Historian

the bride’s bouquet, and were also meant to turn away the bad spirits. By the late 1800s boutonnieres (French, meaning button hole) were commonly worn by men all over Europe and the United States for special and momentous occasions. The wedding boutonnieres continued to complement the bridal bouquet with similar flowers and were placed on the lapel of the groom’s suit. The wedding of Queen Victoria, to her first cousin Prince Albert in 1840, changed the western idea of wedding flowers forever. Queen Victoria carried a small bouquet of

white Snow Drop Flowers (Galanthus) because they were Price Albert’s favorite. Victoria also attached white orange blossoms to her white wedding dress. Brides of this time didn’t wear white wedding dresses because white was an expensive colored fabric. But Victoria’s expensive white wedding dress and fragrant blooms set the tone for the Victorian bride and bridal etiquette for decades to follow. Every bride wanted to have the sweet, powerful scent of orange blossoms at her own wedding. The days of herbs and spices were gone. When orange blossoms were not available, brides had wax replicas made and included on the bride’s dresses and in their bouquets. If Snow Drops were not available other fragrant flowers were assembled into bouquets for the bride to proudly display as she took her vows of marriage. The early woman settlers and homesteaders of Montana, in the middle to late 19th century, were well aware of the day’s highest bridal fashions and trends. Many of the contemporary flowers were not available in Montana, nor could many families afford such extravagance for their weddings. Instead, bouquets were composed of garden flowers such as roses and lily of the valley and lush green foliage. Depending on the bride and groom’s cultural heritages, many still wore a floral head wreath along with their bouquets and some grooms wore a boutonniere. Some photographers would provide a faux or fresh bouquet for the bride purely for their wedding photograph. In 1887, The Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog offered an option for those discerning Montana brides to order their head wreaths and

bouquets. Still in proper Victorian fashion, brides could purchase their wax and orange blossom bridal accessories for less than a dollar. In the late teens and early twenties of the 20th century, the elite brides carried large bouquets and had florals created for their entire bridal party. Bridesmaids and other female attendants carried small nosegay bouquets, while the groom and his groomsmen wore boutonnieres. Some brides even wore large hats, very in vogue, with extravagant flower displays. But, during WWII, many brides decided not to carry a bouquet and instead only wore a corsage to match the grooms’ boutonniere. This was a departure from the more fanciful wedding ceremonies and décor during very real and turbulent times. Postwar brought forth the modern bridal movement across the country. Weddings were celebratory events and flowers a must have addition. Most brides could now afford those elegant white wedding gowns and the bridal bouquet was once again the principle accessory for all brides. The modern bridal bouquet has truly become a direct reflection of a bride’s personality and style. Bridal bouquets are now found in every possible color combination, shape and style. Bouquets today can be floral, made out of jewels and crystals, or some entirely made of feathers, and beyond. But, the romantic, all white bridal bouquet, first donned by Queen Victoria, remains to this day the most requested and loved bouquet. Remy Greco-Brault is the owner of Labellum, a contemporary flower boutique in Bozeman, MT.

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ONE THOUSAND

WORDS Since the development of photographic film by George Eastman in 1888, we have used photography to capture and preserve our special moments. Particularly, photography in weddings has become as essential as choosing the brideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dress or finalizing the marriage license.

minutes, the photographer would have captured a single image, and my grandparents would have picked up a print several weeks afterwards. In that time period the prints were occasionally tinted, but more often they were black and white and proudly displayed in the home.

We have also seen changes in the ways people experience wedding photography because of the development of photographic technology. A wedding in the 1900s is hardly the same as a wedding in the modern day.

For my parents, the experience was very different. Married in the 1960s, photography had advanced enough that the equipment was now more mobile, allowing photographers to be on site and active in capturing the event. Rather than going to the studio, my parents hired a photographer for about 45 minutes to an hour to capture the wedding ceremony. The photographer would then develop the images and present my parents with a wedding album. From that album, they were then able to order the quantity and sizes of the pictures they desired, while the ownership and rights of the

My grandparents, for example, were married in Miles City, MT in the 1930s. In that era, images were captured on sheet film, which required longer exposure times to produce an image. Unlike modern weddings where the photographer attends the event, my grandparents went to the photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio to get their wedding portrait taken. In about 10

by Josh Lockie

Wedding Photography Through the Generations

Montana Historian

film negatives remained with the photographer. In the early 2000s, I photographed my sister Kiersten’s wedding in Arizona. Digital photography was on the horizon, and as a result, the experience of wedding photography was about to change. Rather than having the photographer primarily capture the wedding ceremony, I arrived beforehand to capture all aspects of the day. From the preparation and the “first look” between the bride and groom, to the ceremony and the reception afterward, I was there for 10 hours to capture the whole experience on film in several hundred pictures. When presenting my sister and her husband with the images, I printed 5 x 7 proofs of all the pictures in an album, and also transferred ownership of the film negatives (shot on 35mm film) to them. Now that they had full control of the negatives, my sister and her husband could choose which images to print and display within their home.

It is interesting to note that before the mid 2000s, it was common to have only one photographer at a wedding. When Kathy and I married, though, we both knew we wanted the very best for our wedding photos. We were thrilled to have Chris Rebo of Rebo Photography as the primary photographer, who brought along a 2nd and 3rd photographer to help cover our wedding day. Chris and his team did a fantastic job in capturing the nuance and essence of our preparations and celebration. As is common in the modern world of digital photography, we received approximately 1,000 pictures on a CD with the license to make prints for our personal use, while Chris held the digital copyright. Within such a digitized age, the wedding photography experience continues to change. Without a physical album, couples rarely enjoy their wedding pictures away from a computer. It’s been over two years since our wedding, and Kathy and I still haven’t made time to print physical prints or design an album! As I’ve reflected on generations past, as both a family member and photographer, I feel that the wedding photography experience truly has come full circle. I now see more than ever the value of having a physical album of pictures. From seeing my grandparents’ proud display of their wedding portrait, to reminiscing over my parents’ wedding album, I have realized how sweet it is, still, to have a physical account of wedding photos to enjoy and pass on for generations.

Known for geysers, waterfalls and wildlife, Yellowstone is the site of some of nature’s most beautiful displays. Why not make it the site of your most beautiful day? Whether your ceremony is held outdoors in nature’s full glory, or in the historic Union Pacific Dining Hall, it’s sure to be the wedding of your dreams. Our wedding specialists at the Holiday Inn West Yellowstone make sure every detail is perfect – from flowers and music to special requests. And of course, Yellowstone is a destination full of activities that your wedding guests will delight in. So dream big and watc h it all come tr ue in the magic of Yellowstone.

Go to VisitYellowstonePark.com or call 877-404-4597 to get one step closer to the perfect wedding you’ve always imagined.

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Montana Historian

ORTHOPEDIC SERVICES

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Shortly after the first gold prospectors came to Montana in search of their fortunes, ranchers and farmers came to provide food and doctors began to arrive to treat various illnesses and injuries. In the rough-and-tumble frontier towns, some prospectors quickly learned they could make a living pretending to be a doctor. By the end of the 1800s, these quacks had been run out of town and real doctors such as Dr. Henry Foster setup practices. Dr. Foster performed Montanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first caesarian section in 1893 and established Bozemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Sanitarium in 1896. The Deaconesses of the Methodist Church purchased this Downtown Bozeman building in 1911, marking the beginning of Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. During its inaugural year, the hospital admitted 245 patients and delivered 27 babies.

A Century of Caring

Bozeman Deaconess Hospital Turns

100

Soon the Deaconesses established a School of Nursing to help staff the hospital with qualified nurses and more doctors began arriving. By 1947 the hospital had outgrown its home. The local community raised $50,000 towards the $225,000 renovation cost, kicking off the continuing tradition of generosity demonstrated by the Bozeman community towards the hospital. The new renovation added 32 additional beds. In 1956 the hospital purchased 400 acres on the edge of town as an investment that would prove brilliant a few decades later. In 1960 the hospital renovated again. This renovation added air conditioning, new operating tables, lights, an automatic sterilizer, and safety features to the surgery rooms.

That year the hospital admitted 3,413 patients and delivered 643 babies. The first addition to the 1956 land was the Hillcrest Retirement Home, completed in 1963. Still in operation today (though rebuilt in 2001),

Hillcrest has been serving local seniors for nearly 50 years. The next major change for Bozeman Deaconess Hospital came in 1983. Again overflowing with patients, the hospital needed to decide whether to renovate or rebuild. Following rounds of spirited debate, the hospital board of directors decided to rebuild the hospital on the land purchased in 1956. The decision allowed the existing hospital to continue operating and left the new hospital plenty of room for future expansion, which it has already utilized more than once in the three decades since. The new hospital opened in 1986 with 82 beds and great local fanfare. Since then many visions and revisions have kept Bozeman Deaconess Hospital on the leading edge of the medical world.

Its Cancer Care Center opened in 1994 and has since undergone renovations and adapted to new technologies and treatment methodologies. In 2010 Bozeman Deaconess Cancer Center became accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and joined the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Network, a group of care centers that shares knowledge, best practices, and patient consultation to provide the highest quality care possible. In 1998 the hospital opened a new 10-bed emergency room. The recent population explosion in the area has led it to capacity, and the hospital expects to open a new 25-bed facility by the end of 2012, thanks in large part to the support of the community, which has raised nearly $8 million at the time of publication. In the past century Bozeman Deaconess Hospital has gone from a small community hospital treating miners and farmers to a multi-dimensional care facility that continues to grow and evolve for its patientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; benefit. As a not-for-profit hospital, Bozeman Deaconess Hospital continues to provide medically necessary care for the entire community regardless of their financial situation. A century later, Bozeman Deaconess Hospital remains a vital member of Bozeman and the surrounding community.

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A Hard Man The Life and Crimes of George Frankhauser by Rich Aarstad

As with most good crime stories, it started on a dark and stormy night. Fall rain muted the train headlight’s attempt to penetrate the drizzle as the engineer and fireman went about their duties in the early morning hours of September 12, 1907. The Great Northern Railway’s Oriental Limited had just pulled out of Rexford and was approaching the Rondo siding when at 2:30 a.m. two masked men dropped from the tender and into the cab of the engine. They ordered the engineer, Silas Shutt, to stop the train about a mile and a half past Rondo in a rock cut. With a gun in his face, Mr. Shutt complied as his fireman Fred Pearson looked on. Once the train stopped, the train robbers pressed Shutt and Pearson into unwilling service as they carried dynamite and fuses back to the express car. One of the men kept the passengers on board by firing shots indiscriminately down the sides of the train. After the train stopped, mail clerk Philip D. Lang and his assistant Robert P. Sims heard a knock on the mail car door. When Lang responded, a muffled voice informed him to open the door immediately or face the consequences. Lang opened the door and a masked man pushed the business end of a gun into his face and ordered him and Sims out of the car. Shutt, Pearson, Lang, and Sims were forced to watch as the bandit set explosive charges to blow the door from the express safe. The ensuing blast not only removed the door of the safe but also the sides and roof of the mail car as well. Expressing disappointment with the amount of cash found in the safe, the two gunmen ordered Shutt and Pearson back to the mail car, and Lang and Sims to the passenger coaches. Shutt and Pearson watched as the two bandits ransacked the mail car, cutting open the bags of registered mail and removing several packets containing large amounts of cash. Satisfied with the amount of cash they now had in hand, the two bandits disappeared into the darkness. As they departed Pearson exclaimed,“They will have Draper and his hounds after

Montana Historian

you in the morning.” Draper, a Spokane detective, had several bloodhounds well known in the Pacific Northwest for tracking criminals. While they disappeared into the night, the brakeman walked five miles back to Rexford to report the robbery. When the superintendent for the Great Northern received a telegram from Rexford informing him of the holdup, he organized a special train and sent it up the line with Flathead County Sheriff William “Billy” O’Connell and a posse on board to track down and apprehend the bandits. A week went by and law enforcement and railroad detectives still had no leads. Draper’s bloodhounds had lost the trail of the bandits at the banks of the Kootenai River. The bulk of the posse retired from the search and only railroad detectives and a few diehards remained combing the countryside for clues. This prompted the Daily Inter-Lake to wax, “Like wraiths they appeared out of the night carried out the robbery and vanished... Which way did they go, west into the Yaak Wilds, east through the Pinkham Creek Breaks, or north across the Canadian border?” With a good head start in remote country prospects of an early capture were doubtful. As word of the robbery spread, the general manager of the Great Northern in St. Paul, MN authorized a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the train robbers. Meanwhile, newspaper headlines in Eureka, Libby, and Kalispell announced the theft of $40,000 from the Great Northern’s Oriental Limited. The Tobacco Plains Journal reported the next day that three suspicious characters boarded the train in Eureka bound for Rexford. The newspaper published the following description of the three men.“One a tall man about 6 ft. 2 in., raw boned, brown moustache. Another a medium height man, about a week’s growth of beard, 5 ft. 8 in., dark hair, soft hat, dark clothes. The third was about 5 ft. 11in., weight 175 pounds, light clothes and a derby hat.” An eyewitness who was picked up riding “blind baggage” claimed he saw two men go over

$5,000 reward

for the arrest and conviction of the train robbers the tender into the cab of the engine shortly after the train left Rexford—a testament to the unreliability of eyewitnesses. Their downfall occurred a mere three weeks later not far from the scene of their crime on a train ride from Bonners Ferry, ID to Spokane, WA. Two sharp-eyed railroad detectives, T.B. Enright and John S. Delaney, watched them spend large amounts of cash while quaffing generous quantities of whiskey in the dining car. The two suspects fit the physical description of the Rondo holdup men, and, acting on impulse, they took them into custody. When Sheriff Billy O’Connell heard of the arrest, he quickly worked a deal with Spokane city police officers who allowed him to take the men back to Kalispell without waiting for extradition papers. Although they tried to conceal their identity Sheriff O’Connell identified one of the men as George Frankhauser, a recently released convict from the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge. Frankhauser had served nine years of a fourteen-year sentence (1898-1907) for stealing liquor from railroad cars at Jennings, MT. Law enforcement also identified his accomplice as Frank Charles McDonald. It was suspected that both men spent time in the “Kootenai River area trapping and hunting,” which explained the ease in which they eluded capture. Authorities recovered $14,395 from the two men, some of the money still in wrappers from the Commercial National Bank of Chicago; that left a little over half of the money missing. In December 1907, U.S. Attorney Carl Rasch contacted Albert J. Galen, Montana Attorney General, and informed him that a grand jury in Helena had indicted Frankhauser and McDonald on federal charges for robbing the U.S. Mail. As such the U.S. Attorney’s office was prepared to prosecute the two men if the state of Montana would consent to surrender the men to federal authorities. Galen, after consulting with Governor Joseph K. Toole, advised Flathead County to release Frankhauser and McDonald into federal custody for the purposes of prosecution. They based their argument in part on the cost to bring both men to trial, which Galen estimated at $6000 per man if they demanded separate trials. Marshal Arthur M. Merrifield traveled to Kalispell and transported the prisoners to Helena. The grand jury indictment set their trial date for March 23, 1908. Meanwhile, Frankhauser and McDonald had plans of their own. At 6:00 a.m. on March 21, 1908, Duke McGregor, the Lewis and Clark County day jailer, made his way to the county jail to relieve Deputy Harry

Hay and the night jailer. Speculation ran rampant through the community with their arrival in Helena that confederates of the two holdup men planned to break them out of jail. Rumors circulated that McDonald was Harvey Logan, the notorious Kid Curry, who had not been seen for several years; another claimed that McDonald’s brother was in Helena posing as a soap peddler as he plotted his brother’s escape. As such, Sheriff Jim Shoemaker had ordered two guards during the night watch to foil any attempted jailbreaks. At 7:20 a.m., Bessie Hawkins raised the shade on her window at 18 North Rodney and watched in amazement as two men scaled the wall of the jail yard and moved down the street. She informed her neighbor, Roy Sanborn, who walked to the jail and informed Duke McGregor of what just transpired. McGregor checked the basement first and then “murderer’s row” and discovered several bars cut out of the window and two prisoners missing. Frankhauser and McDonald were on the run. Marshal Merrifield and Sheriff Shoemaker organized the pursuit, and the posse began tracking the movements of the escapees by following reports from concerned citizens who reported seeing two suspicious men making their way south out of town and up Dry Gulch. Witnesses reported seeing them leaping from sagebrush clump to sagebrush clump in an attempt to mask their scent from bloodhounds. Sheriff Shoemaker carried the pursuit over MacDonald Pass as far as Elliston before giving up the chase. The rigorous pursuit prompted one posse member to state, “not a stone was left unturned. Every hole, every clump of bushes, every gully was closely searched,” but Frankhauser and McDonald eluded capture. Helena residents began questioning how two men managed to escape from the closely guarded county jail without arousing the suspicions of their jailers or alerting their fellow prisoners to their actions. It seems no one heard anything during the time it took Frankhauser and McDonald to saw through two 7/8 inch steel bars, remove the screen from the rear window and then climb over the kennel that housed Sheriff Shoemaker’s seven bloodhounds before scaling the jail yard wall to freedom. Deputy Hay admitted checking murderers’ row several times but did not see anything suspicious. He even admitted hearing strange noises during the night but thought they came from outside the jail. Meanwhile, Duke McGregor confessed to checking the inside corridor twice between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. without noticing anything amiss. Obviously, the employees

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of the Lewis and Clark County jail had better days. G.R. Metten, Helena jeweler and metallurgist, examined the bars and pronounced them of inferior quality to laminated steel, being more brittle and even easier to cut than iron. Mr. Metten told the Helena Daily Independent, “I do not understand how the noise of so much sawing of steel bars failed to attract attention.” Many wondered the same thing and questioned Sheriff Shoemaker’s theory that the criminals had received assistance from the “inside.” Yet, twenty-five prisoners, two jailers, and a deputy sheriff all swore they saw and heard nothing during the jail break. Frankhauser and McDonald’s escape left the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s office scratching its head in befuddlement.

for placement in the mailbags on September 7 for shipment to Spokane. Law enforcement officers from Spokane, Kalispell, and Helena testified to their involvement in the case. The two railroad detectives, Enright and Delaney, recounted their investigation of the crime scene at Rondo and their arrest of the two suspects a month later. Defense attorneys, Balliet and Horsky, on the other hand, claimed that eyewitness identification was impossible due to the rain and dark of night. As to the claim that lives were put in jeopardy, Mr. Horsky claimed,“The government failed to prove that a single person’s life had been placed in jeopardy and no blood had been spilled.” They also questioned the veracity

Ten months later Helena residents watched in amazement as George Frankhauser once again returned to town in the custody of federal authorities. Authorities had picked him up in Moorhead, MN for stealing from railroad cars. However, his partner in crime Charles McDonald still remained free. It is safe to assume that the Lewis and Clark sheriff’s department searched Frankhauser thoroughly before

Mr. Balliet referred to the railroad detectives as a

“pack of sleuth hounds” locking him up for the second time in a year. The federal court in Helena appointed noted Helena attorneys S.A. Balliet and A.J. Horsky, Jr. as counsel for the defense. The case caused quite a stir in Helena as spectators crowded into the courtroom to watch the trial unfold. The Helena Daily Independent reported,“Frankhauser was the center of attraction. His every move was watched during the day with hawk like eyes [by those attending the trial]. … Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was manifest in the fact that Frankhauser is such a little fellow, appearing a pigmy in the presence of the tall and powerful officers.” U.S. District Attorney James W. Freeman outlined his strategy in his opening remarks.“We will have a witness who will show his [Frankhauser’s] mask slipped from his face at the time of the robbery and who will identify him. We will show that they robbed the mail at Rondo and the money was taken by the use of weapons, pistols and guns. If that is proved we ask that the verdict be guilty.” Judge William H. Hunt presided over the trial as twelve men sat in judgment of George Frankhauser. The trial lasted several days as evidence mounted against Frankhauser for the September 12, 1907 robbery of the Oriental Limited. The prosecution painted the diminutive defendant as the ringleader of the robbery, giving orders to his accomplice and threatening the lives of the four railroad workers with calm dispassion. The prosecution strengthened its case by bringing in witnesses to testify to the packaging of the money

Montana Historian

of the testimony of the two railroad detectives. Mr. Balliet referred to the railroad detectives scathingly as a “pack of sleuth hounds” whose primary motivation was a guilty conviction so they could bask in the glory of the public, gain favor with the Great Northern, and, more to the point, get the lion’s share of the reward. After all, they had admitted under oath that they had already applied for their share of the reward money. Eyewitnesses testified before the court to a tale of drunken revelry and excess. By all accounts the two men slipped into a pattern of drunken carousing after they made off with the stolen money. Their trail led from the Kootenai to Butte where they laundered a portion of their loot and then proceeded to spend large amounts on alcohol and other pleasures. Pearl Raymond, described by newspapers as “a woman of questionable character,” testified that she and a companion had accompanied Frankhauser and McDonald on a four or five day holiday to Utah; from there they made their way back north to Spokane, WA, minus one of the feminine companions, before moving east to Bonners Ferry, ID. While in Bonners Ferry, they passed themselves off as mining engineers as they spent more time in local watering holes drinking large amounts of alcohol and spending their stolen loot. They visited the saloon of Thomas Riley “where they spent money in bunches producing one of the greatest nights of revelry brought to light in the northwest. Women, saloon men

2011

and bandits drank champagne, wine and beer until they were inebriated beyond description.” Their behavior aroused the suspicions of liveryman Jesse Howe who alerted Great Northern detective T.B. Enright of his suspicions. Frankhauser and McDonald invited Howe to travel to Spokane with them. Perhaps thinking of the reward, he agreed. As they waited for the train to depart Bonners Ferry, Enright and fellow detectives, John Delaney and D.B. McFee, boarded the train and took the two men into custody. Sheriff McConnell transported the two men back to the Flathead County jail in Kalispell. While state and federal offices sorted out the particulars of who would prosecute the two defendants for the train robbery, Frankhauser and McDonald began working on escaping from the jail. Frankhauser claimed that two unidentified women visited them in the Kalispell jail and passed them two saw blades. During their weeks in

Frankhauser’s deposition proved enlightening. He exhibited a strong sense of loyalty towards McDonald, refusing to reveal the location of the remainder of the stolen loot in case his partner ever attempted to recover it from where they concealed it. However, his testimony also depicted him as a callous individual. His casual descriptions of theft and breaking and entering helped solidify his reputation as a “hard man,” an appellation assigned to him by none other than Frank Conley, warden of the Montana State Prison. Frankhauser further enhanced this reputation when he described the two men coming across a grave marker while traveling near the Milk River.“We went over to read the inscription on the grave. This inscription said ‘Dear little Willie has died and gone to Heaven.’ I wrote on the bottom,‘You most always some times can’t tell; dear Little Willie might have gone to HELL.’”

Mr. Horsky claimed, “The government failed to prove that a single person’s life had been placed in jeopardy and no blood had been spilled.” the Flathead County jail they managed to cut their way through two bars before the arrival of Marshal Merrifield ruined their plans. Both men concealed the saws on their person during transport but according to Frankhauser, Sheriff McConnell alerted Marshal Merrifield by wire that the two men had saws on their person. As such, when they reached Helena, Merrifield and Shoemaker strip-searched them. During the process they found McDonald’s saw but Frankhauser managed to get his past them by concealing the saw blade first in his discarded clothing and then picked it up again once they issued him inmate clothing. Although they only had one saw blade left, they put it to good use. Ten days later, two days before their trial was supposed to start, Frankhauser and McDonald made their break for freedom. Newspaper accounts reveal that the search parties concentrated on the area west of town and over the Continental Divide. However, Frankhauser stated that they moved north through the valley following the Great Northern and the Missouri River to Fort Benton, MT. From there, they stole a canoe and several hundred pounds of provisions from a warehouse and prepared to float down the Missouri to freedom. Their plan came apart two days later when they abandoned the canoe and supplies after becoming suspicious of a boat that appeared to be following them. Forced to move cross-country, they survived by stealing from homesteads and sheep camps. While Frankhauser had indicated early on that McDonald had died in a train wreck, he admitted that the two men became separated when law enforcement officials in Moorhead tried to take them into custody. He returned several weeks later in an attempt to find McDonald, a trip that resulted in his capture.

Montana Historian

Jury deliberations began on January 26, 1909 and lasted two hours and twenty minutes. They returned to the courtroom at 6:03 p.m. Jury foreman Charles P. Jennison read the verdict—guilty on all counts of the indictment. The reporter for The Helena Daily Independent wrote,“With the same imperturbability which has characterized the defendant since he was first brought to trial, Frankhauser accepted his fate. The muscles of his face never moved.” At thirty-eight years of age, George Frankhauser was sentenced to life at hard labor in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, without the possibility of parole until January 1924. Frankhauser arrived at Leavenworth on the night of February 1, 1909. Because of the late hour, prison officials conducted a body search and then placed him in a cell for the night. The next morning they had him bathe and “passed through the regular Prison routine and assigned to Cell no. 1111” as prisoner number 6298. After guards removed him from the temporary cell a search revealed two safety razor blades and a quarter that he had brought into the prison. When questioned, Frankhauser demonstrated how he could fashion a saw out of the two razor blades. Prison officials confiscated the blades and put the 25 cents on his prison account. Two months later during an evening check, one of the guards caught Frankhauser crawling through the window of his cell. They discovered that he had sawn through two of the bars and managed to remove them.

He also had a railroad timetable for Kansas City, black mask, shears for cutting wire fence, and long strips of overall fabric to make a rope. He confessed to Deputy Warden F.H. Lemon,“My plan was to cut the bar on the window use the shears for the wire, scale the derrick standing at the east cell wing, use my rope to drop down into the unfinished cell wing, then the rest was easy. My plan was to make Kansas City as soon as I could, make a hold up, get a little money, then work my way carefully to British Columbia, where the country is wild and I am familiar with all the good points.” Major R.W. McClaughry, Warden of the penitentiary, ordered Frankhauser clothed in prison stripes and until further notice required Frankhauser to wear an Oregon Boot of “suitable size until further notice.” In Frankhauser’s case, the Oregon Boot kept him from crawling through any small spaces he might find interesting or useful for escaping. He was also placed in solitary confinement .

In Deputy Warden Lemon’s report he included Frankhauser’s description on how he obtained the saw. According to Frankhauser, he received the saw from fellow prisoner William Morgan, a former resident of Montana: The saws were sent in a magazine this way:--The staples that bind the magazine are drawn, a saw placed in the magazine, new holes are made with a nail or needle to hit the hole in the ends of the saw, then the staples are driven through the book, a small piece of paper is pasted along the edge of the saw and the trick is done and you can turn the leaves all day and not discover the saw.

the Oregon Boot but also spent several weeks in solitary. In December 1910, the warden finally ordered the removal of his Oregon Boot and Frankhauser’s escape attempts ended. George Frankhauser died on February 9, 1921 from complications due to peritonitis-exhaustion following the rupture of an intestinal obstruction. He is buried at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth. Trains and prison played an important role in the life of George Frankhauser. He served nine years in the Montana State Prison for stealing liquor from freight cars and a mere eight months later he and Charles McDonald successfully held up the Great Northern Oriental Limited making off with $40,000 only to be arrested by railroad detectives while riding a train through north Idaho. Even after breaking out of the Lewis and Clark County jail, he and McDonald could not stay away from trains—following the Great Northern’s high-line route as they made their escape from Montana and across

North Dakota. Less than a year after the escape a railroad detective in Moorhead, MN arrested Frankhauser for breaking into freight cars; by January 1909 Frankhauser was once again a guest in the Lewis and Clark County jail awaiting federal prosecution for robbing the U.S. mail bags on the Oriental Limited and received a life sentence for his crime. Federal authorities transported him to the U.S. penitentiary at Leavenworth via train and fourteen years later George Frankhauser, by all description a “hard man,” died in prison. Life had come full circle. This article previously from Graphic Tale of Most Daring and Successful Train Robbery in the History of the Northwest, State Publishing Co., Publisher (Helena, MT, n.d.). Author unknown.

He admitted to having the saw since the fall of 1909 but could not recall what magazine it was hidden in or where it came from. In concluding his report, Deputy Warden Lemon stated,“I think this man Frankhauser is the hardest and shrewdest prisoner I have ever tried to draw a confession out of.” For his escape attempts, Frankhauser not only wore prison stripes and

2012/2013

Mapping Montana Two Centuries of Cartography

at the Montana Historical Society

In 1974 the National Archives’ head map librarian, Ralph Ehrenberg, visited the Montana Historical Society at the request of librarian Harriet Meloy to determine how to arrange, catalog, and preserve the Society’s collection of over five thousand map sheets. Ehrenberg used his final report to extol the virtues of the collection. Although one-fifth the size of collections at University of Montana, Montana State University, and Montana Tech, the maps housed in Helena had significant historical value in their coverage of early territorial, state, county, city, agricultural, geological, and railroad features. Over time, everyone from genealogists, historians, and land-use planners to novelists and filmmakers have pored over these maps. The story of this map collection begins with the establishment of the Historical Society of Montana and its library in 1865 and the legislative resolution passed on December 17, 1864, that charged a committee to hire “a competent person to draft a map of the Territory at as early a day as practicable.” On images courtesy of Montana Historical Society

by Brian Shovers

December 21, Captain Walter W. DeLacy was commissioned to do so within fifteen days for a sum of $625. At age forty-six DeLacy had already had a remarkable career, first as a civil engineer building railroads in the 1840s in Illinois and Missouri, followed by service in the Mexican War, including surveying a road from San Antonio to Chihuahua, Mexico. In May 1858, DeLacy arrived in the Pacific Northwest as a member of Captain John Mullan’s team to survey a military road between Fort Walla Walla and Fort Benton. DeLacy tried his hand at gold mining in the early 1860s but returned to cartography in 1863, platting the towns of LaBarge City (Deer Lodge) and Fort Benton in 1864. His meticulous work on the 1866 map of Montana provided the new territorial government with the outline of the nine counties and the distances between major rivers, mountain ranges, and towns as well as the location of roads to forts and the goldfields. In his monumental six-volume Mapping the Trans-Mississippi West, 1540-1861, Carl Wheat praised DeLacy’s work, saying,“He wrought a memorable map of a new Territory, and had he never done anything else, he would have given us sufficient reason to honor his memory.” DeLacy’s maps—his original of 1865 and his 1866 revision (both ink-on-linen) as well as versions of the map published in 1870 and 1874 by C. B. Colton of New York and those by lithographers J. Hutawa of St. Louis, Friedenwald Co. of Baltimore, and Rae Smith of New York—formed the core of the Historical Society’s map collection when it published its first catalog of collections in 1891. In addition to the DeLacy maps, the nineteen listed in the catalog included an 1853 map of the United States, an 1883 Government Land Office map of Montana Indian reservations, and early maps of Helena (1866), Great Falls (ca. 1890), and Custer County (1884). Over the last century, however, the Society’s map collection has grown to over five thousand individual map titles. Railroads have played a significant role in Montana’s growth and development, a fact

documented in the collection by a number of colorful promotional maps promoting homesteading. Among them is a series of detailed maps of rail lines published by the Montana Board of Railroad Commissioners depicting every siding along the eight major railroads serving the state beginning in 1908. Earlier maps (from 1870 to the 1890s) show proposed routes and the subsequent rail lines built by the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads. In 1909 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway became the last major railroad built through Montana. After the Milwaukee Road declared bankruptcy in the early 1970s, it donated to MHS a complete set of its right-of-way maps, which contain detailed station plats, bridges, and adjacent structures.

complete set of Montana Sanborn maps to MHS in the late 1950s, and the collection has been added to since that time. The maps document over two hundred Montana cities and towns between 1884 and 1961. As this brief overview of the MHS map collection reveals, a thorough understanding of Montana would not be possible without graphic drawings showing the relationship between communities and geographic features that affect travel and commerce such as rivers, mountains, and plains. As Carl Wheat wrote,“It is not that the maps are always correct; in most instances they were far from accurate by present standards. But, with all their faults—sometimes even because of them—they, better than any other documents, illustrate the story.”

Maps showing historic ranches and ranchlands represent another important facet of the collection and are essential documents in understanding Montana’s early settlement. For example, in the 1880s, Granville Stuart (the first secretary of the Historical Society) joined capitalists A. J. Davis and Samuel Hauser to create the DHS Ranch, one of the last great open-range cattle ranches in central Montana. The MHS Research Center holds a manuscript map drawn by Stuart of the ranch in 1882. The map collection also contains a detailed 1884 map of southeastern Montana drawn by William Gaw, illustrating cattle ranches, wagon roads, military forts, reservations, battlefields, and coal deposits. Mining for gold, silver, and copper has been a significant part of the Montana story from the beginning, and the Society’s collection contains literally hundreds of maps, organized by county, of mining claims and underground operations. There are a large number of maps created by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, the largest producer of copper in the world at the turn-of-thecentury and by the Granite-Bimetallic Consolidated Mining Company, a significant silver-manganese producer located at Philipsburg. These maps are especially useful to the researcher since the MHS Research Center also holds massive volumes of the companies’ business records in its archives and photographs related to mining and smelting operations in the photograph archives. Probably the most heavily used of the Society’s map collections is the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. Founded in 1867 by Daniel Alfred Sanborn, a surveyor from Somerville, Massachusetts, the Sanborn Company commissioned surveyors across the country to record building footprints and the buildings’ predilection to fire. The maps are large-scale, lithographed street plans at a scale of fifty feet to one inch that show the outline of each building, outbuildings, location of windows and doors, street names, property boundaries, railroad corridors, building use, and composition of building materials. The Library of Congress donated the

To tell this story in Montana, the Society opened an exhibit in December 2011 entitled, Mapping Montana: Two Centuries of Cartography, featuring 50 significant and unusual selections from its collection of historic maps created over the past 145 years. According to exhibit curator, Brian Shovers, the common thread unifying the exhibit is that almost all of the maps were produced to promote Montana and its resources, from Lewis & Clark to maps of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. The exhibit in the Museum lobby will be up until May 2012. Individual maps can be examined in the Research Center reading room during regular business hours, Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m.–1 p.m., and a small portion of the Historical Society’s maps can now be viewed online in the digital archives, the Montana Memory Project, at http://mhs. mt.gov/research/MTMemoryProj.asp. Brian Shovers is manager of the Montana Historical Society Library and curator of its extensive map collection.

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YOGO SAPPHIRE MINE Judith Basin, Montana by Katrina Roberts, age 12

In loving memory of Mike Roberts 1957-2012

When Charlie Russell first came into Montana and met Jake Hoover who took him under his wing, it was the beginning of the western art and yogo sapphire. The finest sapphire and the finest art in the world bar none. While Jake and Charlie were prospecting for gold in the Little Belt Mountain outside of Utica, Charlie was more interested in painting and drawing the scenery than prospecting. After a few years, they parted ways and Jake continued prospecting. As Jake stubbed on little blue pebbles, he decided to send them to Tiffany's in New York. Tiffany's called these blue stones the finest gemstone ever found in America, and as Jake and others started mining these stones, Tiffany's started putting them in jewelry for the next 40 years. An English company purchased the property and mined it until 1923, sending over ten million sapphires overseas, some of which ended up in the crown jewel. Then in the 1960s new owners purchased the property and more

Montana Historian

modern mining began, continuing through the 1980s. At that time a small group of locals started the vortex mine. They sunk a shaft, better known as a tunnel, 280 feet deep. In the 1990s the shaft was expanded to 400 feet below the surface, and in 2002 it closed down because of economy.

Then an eccentric gold miner named Mike came in 2004 and started mining. He built a "maw and pa" small mine approach into the operation. This helps protect the mine from the economic peaks and valleys that typically have major effects on mining operations.â&#x20AC;¨ As long as he can make a living, have fun and play with his three kids, Katrina, Nick, and Amber, and their mom, Laurie, Mike is happy with the mineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s small scale, even if production varies from year to year as to how much ore he pulls out. The Roberts family now enjoys working with Special Olympics, and all of the athletes who participate in the games. Nick Roberts is one of those athletes. He enjoys participating in the games, all over the State, including places as distant as Bozeman, Whitefish, and Billings.

YOGO SAPPHIRE MINE Judith Basin County - Hobson, Montana

History The Yogo Sapphire Mine is located outside of Hobson, Montana in the Little Belt Mountains of Judith Basin County.

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Mining Yogo Sapphires has been in effect since the late 1800s and continues today as a simple-mining operation by the Roberts Family of Great Falls. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re encouraged to patronize gem and jewelry stores across the region that carry Yogo Sapphire Jewelry and loose gemstones.

Visit us online at www.yogogems.com

Montana Historian

On the Ball by Dave Berghold photos courtesy of Ball Watch Company

“Carry a Ball and Time Them All.” This was the original advertising slogan used by the Ball watch Company of Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1890s. This became the origin of the phrase “On the ball,” for if you carried a Ball watch, you were on time and “on the ball!” The story begins with a tragedy in Kipton, Ohio. It was the scene of a railroad calamity that spurred on the advancement of standards that would unify, regulate, and ensure the safe travel of cargo and passengers on the U.S. rails. It also transformed the country socially into four separate time zones, a change that was met with great apprehension and some confusion. Still, the history of Ball Watch Company stems from one inordinately industrious and significant entrepreneur. Webster C. Ball assisted in paving the way to a more unified and industrious nation than most men of his time. He not only was instrumental in unifying the new United States time zones system, but Ball also established a system of keeping the railroad system, an aggressively growing infrastructure symbolic of the budding growth of the country, into a cohesive system. Like any formidable entrepreneur, Ball was also instrumental in establishing a system of maintaining standards for railroad timepieces. The first explorers in the Montana Territory were primarily trappers and adventurers. With the exploration team of Lewis and Clark, came a whole new meaning to the Wild West. Soon thereafter, the riches and beauty of the land of Montana gave way to the development of wagon trains with miners, ranchers, trappers, gold seekers, shopkeepers, and anyone who was adventurous enough to take a chance at establishing himself in this new frontier. Those with the greatest financial backing often made the most, but there were still others who managed to carve out a niche market and become highly successful.

The ones that were able to look into the future, the real visionaries if you will, saw the light at the end of the steep mountain pass. And in this case, that tunnel was one that would escort a locomotive across this vast landscape of Montana’s plains and snow-capped peaks. These were the industrialists. They ventured much and sometimes lost everything, but their story, their legacy lives on. In 1891 a passenger train and mail train collided. The devastation was nothing short of a national railroad calamity. It was, according to most accounts, the unfortunate result of one conductor’s watch running four minutes slow. Without being able to move off the rail line in time to let the other train through, the result was a collision that resounded nationwide. Single rail lines were the norm in the early expanse of the west. These single rail lines were cheaper to build than double rails, so it was the trainmaster’s job as well as the timepieces that were carried by the conductors of each train, to be sure that the eastbound train and the westbound train arrived at a location in such a way as to allow one to pass the other in a timely manner. But timekeeping standards were of utmost importance. Prior to the advent of the telegraph, signals of the exact time were only a guess: one that was often based on a pendulum clock at the local station or some other “regular” measure of time. In 1891, following the Kipton accident, Webster C. Ball was put in charge as Chief Inspector of the Lake Shore Lines. It was his task to establish new requirements for railroad timepieces and hire and train the timepiece inspectors. His initial findings showed that the Lake Shore line was lacking any uniformity. It appeared that each line had it’s own “standard time,” meaning seventy or more “Official” times. Some lines operated their schedules by the local church bell or factory whistle. Many of the communities established along these lines had their own “local” time that was set by the sun. Within a period of about four months, Ball had established a standard of uniformity and was now prepared to inspect about 2300 watches that were to be used on the Lake Shore Railroad.

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OUR MONTANA HERITAGE Values & Work Ethic Ingrained for Generations

We are proud to provide you service from one of the largest groups of predominately native Montanan real estate professionals in the state. We specialize in farm and ranch properties as well as recreational and sporting properties. Our lives are dedicated to working this land, through real estate, land stewardship and recreating under the Montana big sky. When you work with one of our Ranch & Recreational Group agents, you know that your real estate transaction will be represented by a professional who is deeply rooted in Montana's unique markets and communities. Douglas Gillies (great grandpa) haying at Green Ranch with a horse drawn sickle bar mower Sheridan, MT • 1932 Photo courtesy of Leah Olson �

� George Heath (great, great grandpa) and his family at the Heath Homestead & Sheep Ranch Ringling, MT • 1916 Photo courtesy of Dan Reddick

� Marshall Pilotte (father) with his 1941 Dodge Polson, MT • 1941 Photo courtesy of Don Pilotte

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Jim Thompson (grandpa) stacking hay in the Bitterroot Valley Hamilton, MT • 1949 Photo courtesy of Michelle Van Dyke �

After this, the notice went out: “No employee will be permitted to go on duty until their watch fulfills standard or they are provided with a watch of required standard.” The standard had been set, and it was Ball’s Official Railroad Standard. In about 1895 Ball became Vice-President, Director, and Mechanical Expert at the Hamilton Watch Company. This partnership was most likely due to Ball’s need for good quality timepieces, and Hamilton had a solid reputation in the industry for making excellent timepieces. As he did with other American watch companies, Ball insisted that the watches he purchased not only be tested and offered final adjustments in his workshop, but he also insisted that the face of the watch, the movement of the watch, and the case be sold with the Ball trademark Ball Watch Co. Official Railroad Standard. So it was not only the advent of better technology derived from the trains that were running along the northern plains, but also the acumen of individuals like Webster C. Ball that laid the foundation and standard for precision railroad transportation. The availability of coal and its grade would offer better performance and economy for the trains that were running passengers and goods from one side of the country to the other, but it was also this same kind of ingenuity that propelled Ball to make it absolutely essential for the timepieces to be the regulating factor that

made these passages safe and secure. A good timepiece was essential, a tool of the trade. No longer was a fine timepiece an object to be admired as something for the supremely wealthy establishment and to those with great means. Now it was a tool of substantial importance to those who were transporting goods, services, and individuals from one station to another. When the first rail line, The Northern Pacific, came into the Montana Territory in the early 1880s, it was met with great enthusiasm. As more and more of the country spread westward across Montana, towns sprung up as centers of commerce. In most cases, not far from the center of the town was the train depot. The depot was where the excitement was. Visitors, relatives, supplies, mail, newspapers, and the like, almost certainly would arrive at the depot on a regular schedule. National and world news traveled faster, in great part

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due to the elaborate web of iron rails that stretched across the Treasure State. The Northern Pacific, The Milwaukee Road, and others connected communities that otherwise would only been accessible by horseback or mule train. Shorter lines would connect with the larger main lines to enable smaller outlying communities to share in the same efficiency of transportation of passengers and goods.

Despite the efforts made by Webster C. Ball, accidents still occurred, but very few were as a result of substandard timepieces.

The collision of two trains in 1906 in Austin, MT, was caused by mechanical failure. In Box Elder, in 1878, a flood washed out a bridge causing the train to crash. In 1908 in Glendive, a train collided with a burned out bridge and crashed. In Meyers and Rancher in 1905, water washed out a concrete bridge and caused another calamity. In all of these cases, lives were lost and the injuries were many, but none was directly related to poor timekeeping. From a Montana Railroad Company timetable, dated 1907, there reads a caution.“No train having the right to the road must leave any station where it should meet a train until five minutes after its time and it must be observed at every succeeding station. The five minutes are allowed for the variations of watches.” No matter what rail line it was, the Northern Pacific, the Turkey Trail Railroad, The Yellowstone Park Branch Line or the Jawbone, and no matter what these lines carried, be it passengers, coal, wood, iron, or mail, they all had to run with great accuracy and care. The one most important piece of equipment that ensured the safety of these trains was the accuracy and dependability of a good timepiece. Webster C. Ball and his ability to unite over 170,000 miles of rails across the United States, Canada, and Mexico with standards of timekeeping had the forethought to secure his place in history and westward expansion. In the early 21st century, the legacy of Ball Watch Company was revived, offering timepieces with supreme accuracy, durability and reliability as those offered by its company’s founder. Utilizing mechanical Swiss movements, some with chronometer certificates, Ball Watch Company has adjusted its slogan to read: “Accuracy in Adverse Conditions.” Dave Berghold, owner of the Last Wind-Up in Bozeman, is a life member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, a member of the American Watch and Clockmakers Institute and has operated a business in Downtown Bozeman since 1990.

Montana Historian

WHAT MAKES A COIN VALUABLE? by Dale L. Williams

Determining a coin’s value requires examination of many factors. The two most important are rarity, which means how many of these coins exist, and grade, how much wear does the coin exhibit. Let’s talk about rarity first. In 1893 the beautiful Morgan silver dollar, which was minted from 1878 to 1921, was struck at the Philadelphia Mint and the San Francisco Mint. Rarity depends on how many were struck at any given Mint that particular year. Using our example above, the 1893 Philadelphia Mint produced 11,150,000 Morgan silver dollars while the San Francisco Mint Morgan struck 293,000 silver dollars. It is obvious that the 1893 San Francisco Morgan silver dollar should be more valuable based on mintage alone and that indeed is the case. To show how important mintages are in determining value, the 1893 Philadelphia Mint Morgan silver dollar in Mint State 65 condition is worth $4,000 while the 1893 San Francisco Mint Morgan silver dollar in Mint State 65 is worth $195,000. The number of coins struck at any given Mint is one important component it determining a coin’s value. The second important consideration in determing a coin’s value is grade or condition of a coin. Most coins can be found in many grades, the highest

grades costing the most. Coin collectors have always had limited budgets with which they can afford to collect coins. How much wear a coin exhibits determines not only its grade but helps in assigning a value to it as well. The nicer the condition of any coin the more valuable the coin becomes. Let’s continue to use the 1893 Morgan silver dollars as our examples to show how grade or the amount of wear a coin received help determine its value in the market place. In the grades of GOOD (G) to ALMOST UNCIRCULATED (AU), there are 16 different grades! One might ask,“how in the world can anyone place so many grades on a circulated coin and then know exactly what grade coin that coin may be?” It takes experience and a trained eye. Dealers who have been in the business many years and literally have examined thousands of coins will be right 75% of the time or more. No one dealer can be perfect all the time. To show how wear or the grade of a coin affects value, the 1893 Philadelphia Mint Morgan silver dollar coin in VERY GOOD (VG-8) condition is worth $250 while the San Francisco Mint Morgan silver dollar in VERY GOOD (VG-8) is worth $2,800. If you continued up the grading scale, the disparity in value grows and grows. One can now see how important rarity combined with the grade of a coin is in determining a coin’s value. There are other factors which go into determining a coin’s value as well. One of the first noticeable things one will see on a coin is strike. Is the coin well struck or weakly struck? A weakly struck coin has a negative effect and will lessen a coin’s value. The New Orleans Mint produced the least desirable examples of Morgan silver dollars. Their examples are notorious for being weakly struck. A coin in pristine condition but weakly struck makes it less desirable to own from a collector’s point of view. It will also be a graded lower than a well struck example. Another important factor which goes into determining a coin’s value is eye appeal. The easiest way to describe eye appeal is to say how pretty the coin is. Although “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a cliché, coins fit that description. Comparing two coins in the same Mint State (MS) grade, one coin can be many times more valuable than the other. Color, luster, strike and toning are all factors contributing to the determination of what a coin is ultimately worth. In summary, the best way to determine a coin’s grade is to have it professionally graded by PCGS or NGC. These third-party grading services charge a fee for their expertise and for encapsulating the coin. This process makes the grades accepted in the marketplace and thus easier to sell at published prices. Collecting coins makes a wonderful hobby that can be enjoyed for a lifetime and even included as an activity with a grandchild.

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In 1946,

George Dieruf founded Powder Horn Outfitters. George’s mission was to serve hunters, fishermen, and outdoor enthusiasts with the very best of authentic products and knowledgeable service from his home in Bozeman, Montana. Over the course of the next 64 years, the Powder Horn has done just that. The Powder Horn has become a Montana landmark and a trusted source for a full range of top quality hunting, fishing and outdoor gear. And, as always, it’s supplied with a generous serving of true Montana-based experience, humor, and expertise. George Dieruf was a legendary hunter and outdoorsman. His real-life adventures are the stuff of fiction and have spanned across the lower 48 to Canada, Alaska, and Africa. George’s collection of mounts, from North America to Africa, remain on display at The Powder Horn and must be seen to be believed. In a tribute to George and his family, hunting friends from all around have kindly chosen to display some amazing trophies of their own alongside George’s on the walls of the Powder Horn. George Dieruf passed the Powder Horn torch to his sons, George, Jr., and Ivan, as well as George’s good friends Bill Beyl, Greg Byrne, and others who have helped to serve Powder Horn customers for many years. Not surprisingly, George and Ivan are highly accomplished hunters, competitive shooters, and outdoorsmen in their own right. You won’t find a more knowledgable hunter and firearms expert in the country than George Dieruf, Jr. Many of the trophies taken by George, Jr., Bill and their friends are also on display at the store, and are only a small sampling of the combined experiences afield amassed by the multi-talented Dieruf family. Bill Beyl, the shop gunsmith, is one of the top competitive trap shooters in the nation, and a leading authority on fine shotguns and rifles.

In late 2006, the Powder Horn teamed with another well established Bozeman business, Schnee’s Boots & Shoes. By teaming with its Bozeman neighbor, both the Powder Horn and Schnee’s greatly strengthened their ability to provide customers with a full spectrum of top-quality hunting and outdoor products and services. One of the many shared advantages included a fine location to showcase Schnee’s catalog products within the 12,000 square foot retail floor of the Powder Horn in the heart of downtown Bozeman’s historic Main Street. For those of you who can’t come in to say hello in person, give the friendly and knowledgable customer service of Schnee’s Powder Horn a phone call at 800 922 1562. Be sure to drop in and say hello when you are in town, visiting Yellowstone, hunting and fishing Montana or just passing through. If he’s not out scouting or hunting himself, you can usually find George behind the gun counter or helping someone get outfitted for some quality time outdoors. Bill Beyl is usually tucked away in the “comfort” of his gun shop at the back of the store working on someone’s new or used rifle or fitting a shotgun. At first he may appear a tad crotchety, as he may have only run 199 out of 200 at some big trap shoot the day before, but once you get the courage to say hi to Bill, or any of the bunch, you are sure to get a good story or two along with some of the best expertise around when it comes to sports afield in Montana or anywhere else for that matter. Montana Historian

Powder Horn Outﬁtters, circa 1946

Photo courtesy, Bozeman Pioneer Museum

[ SCHNEE’S \

VISIT POWDER HORN OUTFITTERS IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN 2010 51 To Get Your Free Schnee’s Catalog, Call 800 922 1562 or click schnees.com

Danhof Chevrolet: 1937- 2012 A Tradition of Small-Town Values & Customer Service by Alison Grey

In 1937, Joe Danhof decided to purchase a Chevrolet dealership in Amsterdam, a small farming community about 20 minutes west of Bozeman. When Joe, 21-years-old at the time, went to the bank, he was denied the necessary $2,000 loan to purchase the franchise. A local farmer loaned him the money instead. He set up shop in the Old Amsterdam Garage, a humble building that could fit three vehicles and four if you were lucky. The nationwide demand for automobiles was high at the time, and Joe sold the most modern, innovative and practical vehicles available, all back when a new car cost less than $1,000. While the models and prices have changed over the years, Danhof Chevrolet continues to operate with the same small-town values the business was founded upon. The dealership remains family-owned and operated, headed by Joe’s son Dean, who has worked here since 1976, and his granddaughter Carly. The staff here is also much like family, a group of dedicated and knowledgeable folks, many of whom have been employed here for years and sometimes decades. The dealership has long been an integral part of Amsterdam, a town named for the Dutch population that settled here in the late 1800s to grow malting barley for the nearby Manhattan Malting Company. Joe based his business on family values and customer service, important ideals in this close-knit community centered largely around family, church and community. His operating premise was simple: provide his friends and neighbors with a quality product while making a decent living for himself, focusing on exceptional service and not just the sale. “Joe was an excellent businessman and a good friend,” said long-time Amsterdam resident Hank Dyksterhouse.“He was a goodhearted man who

helped a lot of people. Dean is the same way.” According to one story, when a local boy went overseas to fight in World War II, he left his car for his girlfriend to drive. When the soldier heard reports that she was driving around other men, he asked Joe to sell the car. Joe sold it and saved the money for the young soldier when he returned, years later. “He would do anything for anyone,” said Carly.“He was a member of church, a really good listener and everyone went to him for advice. In 1977, Danhof outgrew its original building and moved about 100 yards away to a newly constructed facility where the business now operates. Today, Danhof sells new and used Chevys, has a state of the art body shop and a modern parts and repair department. While the business has changed over the years, it remains true to Joe’s original values, maintaining the long-standing reputation for providing quality products at a fair price with personalized service. The staff often develops close ties with their customers; it is not rare to see multiple generations purchasing their cars at Danhof Chevrolet over the years. Today, there is a black 1933 American Eagle in the lobby, a car Dean purchased after Joe died eight years ago as a testament to his life and dedication to the business. “My dad loved people and enjoyed helping them,” said Dean. “Today we wish to carry that tradition on. Here at Danhof, we wish to solve the problem, not assign the blame.” Find Danhof Chevrolet at 6605 Amsterdam Road in Manhattan, visit www.danhofchevy. net or call 406-282-7231.

Danhof Chevrolet. Family Owned & Operated Since 1937.

1933 Chevrolet American Eagle

6605 Amsterdam Rd. • Manhattan, MT • 59741 • 406-282-7231 Open Monday - Friday: 7:30 - 5:30 & Saturday: 9:00 -3:00 (Sales only) www.danhofchevy.net

HOMESTEADING IN BIG SKY

just after the turn of the century

Members of the Crail family c. 1906 (l-r) Lilian Crail (on horse), Augustus Franklin Crail, Sallie Creek Crail, Sallie's father, Abraham Creek (seated)

Established as a homestead by Augustus Franklin Crail starting in 1902, and occupied by Crail family members for nearly 50 years, the Historic Crail Ranch remains as a tangible reminder of the life of the earliest settlers in the Big Sky area. The Big Sky area and the Gallatin Canyon were first explored by nomadic tribes such as the Shoshone tribal band known as the "Sheepeaters," who made the Yellowstone Basin and Gallatin Canyon their home. Beginning in the late 18th century, Spanish, French and British trappers left their mark on the area with place names like Spanish Peaks and Yellowstone (from the French roche jaune).

Montana Historian

After the establishment of Yellowstone Park in 1871 and the coming of the railroads to the Bozeman area in the 1880s, the first roads were cut up into the Gallatin Canyon to facilitate logging of pine trees for railroad ties.

By the 1880s, ranchers began moving herds of sheep, cattle, and horses into the meadows in what are now Big Sky, 320 Ranch, Taylor Fork, Daily Creek, and Black Butte drainages. President Theodore Roosevelt, recognizing the value of preserving wild lands, set up the Gallatin National Forest in the Canyon, carefully leaving flat meadowlands, including much of what is now the Big Sky Meadow Village area, available for homesteading. By the late 1890s, under the provisions of the Homestead Act, a few ranchers had begun the process of building cabins

and establishing 160-acre homesteads in the Big Sky area. Augustus Crail was one of those pioneers.

Celebrate our ranching heritage

Crail Ranch open for free tours, noon - 3:00 pm

Visit the original settlersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Saturdays & Sundays during July & August homestead and museum Special events at Crail Ranch Summer 2012: -XO\ Â&#x2021; KIDS FLYFISHING located on Spotted -XO\ Â&#x2021; ARTISANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MARKET Elk Road in Big Skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s -XO\ Â&#x2021; OLD FASHIONED COMMUNITY FUN DAY -XO\ Â&#x2021; THE CRAIL RANCH BAKE SALE Meadow Village.

www.crailranch.org

July 28 Â&#x2021; COLORS OF KYRGYZSTAN AXJ Â&#x2021; OLD TIME FIDDLE MUSIC AT THE RANCH $XJ Â&#x2021; CRAIL RANCH HARVEST CELEBRATION

A project of the Big Sky Community Corporation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity created in 1998 to promote, acquire, preserve and maintain land, parks, trails and easements.

2012/2013

Montana Historian

Good Food and Good People Since 1979

The Bozeman Community Food Co-op Wallace St. ~ 1980

by Alison Grey Germain

The Community Food Co-op has come a long way from its humble beginnings on South Wallace Avenue. Back in 1979, the Co-op started with a few people on the fringe looking for a way to buy cheap rice. Operating out of a tiny shack heated by a wood stove, it was originally named Crossroads Food Center. In addition to health food items, customers could purchase motor oil and anti-freeze or even order nonstocked items like stoves and automotive supplies from the store’s many catalogues. And thus began the Co-op’s journey, introducing a new and revolutionary way of doing business to Bozeman residents. Equally College Store ~ 1990

membership, environmental awareness, nutritional advocacy, support of local agriculture,” still ring true in its business practices to this day. With its commitment to giving back to the community, supporting sustainable practices and operating as a democratic business model, the Co-op was clearly more than “just a grocery store.” And the community embraced it. Today, it has grown to a $15 million-plus annual business with two locations, an offsite kitchen and warehouse and over 20,000 member owners. Still, the road to get there has required a couple moves, a major remodel, plenty of ingenuity, a few big risks and downright luck. By 1984, the Co-op had clearly outgrown the space on South Wallace. In the spring of that year, it legally changed its name to the Community Food Co-op. With the help of member-owner loans, bank loans and an abundance of volunteer labor, the store moved to a larger space near Montana State University. The move allowed the Co-op to double its inventory and sales continued to grow at 20 percent annually. This was also the era of the Co-op’s more radical food politics. In one such demonstration, Co-op staff borrowed pesticide barrels found next to the train tracks in Belgrade. They stacked the barrels two or three high at the Fairgrounds during the county fair and hung a sign that read, “What’s in your food? Eat Organic.” Within a few hours, the Co-op got a call to remove the barrels because they were “making people sick.” The point was made.

owned and operated by its member owners, the Co-op operated under the premise that economic success can come with social justice. All of the elements of the original mission statement,“Emphasizing open, involved

By 1992, the Co-op had again outgrown its space. That year it moved to its current location at 908 W. Main, and did so on a shoe-string budget. For example, to get more shelving for the store, staff went to an alley behind a local pet store, took their discarded shelving and cleaned them off at a car wash. They even had a booth at the annual Sweet Pea Festival

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selling black bean burritos, the profit of which amounted to the entire capital budget for the year.

Old West Main ~ 2000

It was a risky move to open up shop right across the street from Safeway, a formidable presence for the flagship organization. However, with a strong commitment to organic and local food, the Co-op was able to thrive in the new location, quickly becoming a popular community gathering spot. In 2002, a major expansion project, funded by member owner loans, was completed. This expansion doubled the retail space of the store and added a coffee, juice and dessert bar with an eating area upstairs. April 2011 marked the opening of Coop’s second retail outlet, the Co-op Downtown, located in the heart of Bozeman’s historic business district. Co-op Downtown is a small city market featuring an extensive deli. Offerings include a hot bar, daily soups, salad bar, grab ‘n go, and a sandwich counter.

Throughout the years, one thing has remained true of the Co-op: It is member owned and grown. Community is the backbone of the Coop, allowing this unique business model to secure long-term viability, resiliency and growth. Go Co-op! For more information on the Co-op, visit www.bozo.coop.

Montana Historian

O N TA N A L I V I N G B I G S K Y R E A L E S TAT E

B i g S k y R e a l E s t a t e . c o m | 4 0 6 9 9 5 - 6 3 3 3 | L o c a t e d i n B i g S k y To w n C e n t e r

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This information is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change, withdrawal and approval of purchase by owner. All information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed by Montana Living - Big Sky Real Estate, independent investigation is recommended. For properties being purchased at The Club at Spanish Peaks approval for membership is required prior to closing. If you are currently working with another real estate agent, this is not intended as a solicitation.

2012/2013

by Mary Murphy

One enduring image of the American West is that of a cowboy saddled up to a bar, sipping on whiskey, fuel for the coming bar fight. The rough and tumble days of mining for gold and life in a boomtown created this picture, and many Montana bars still proudly show the battle scars from the old days. Many Montana mining cities were known as “wide-open towns.” This moniker did not refer to the expansive vistas of Big Sky Country. Instead, it meant that a man could indulge himself at a house of ill repute, gamble in any of the saloons, or drink himself into a stupor in plain sight at all hours of the day.

Men typically dominated the saloon scene. Drinking, however, was not confined to only men. Many women drank at home, often sending their children to the saloon to fetch beer or wine. Saloons also had begun to cater to women as their numbers grew in the west. Many established “winerooms,” specific sections of the saloon where women could gather for a drink.

In 1907 the Montana state assembly voted to prohibit winerooms and prevent women from saloons altogether. The theory was that winerooms were incubators for prostitution, but the vote signaled a larger trend in the country towards Prohibition. In fact, Montana passed prohibition in 1916, four years before the federal government caught up.

And this type of city was not merely a bygone relic of the early boom days immediately following a strike. Instead, up through World War I towns such as Butte, at the time the largest city between Spokane and Minneapolis, were famous for the debauched lifestyle enjoyed by many residents.

Though Prohibition might have been in effect, even its champions quickly realized they were fighting a losing battle. In 1920, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union admitted that Prohibition does not prohibit in Butte. As evidence by 1923 more than half of the 250 saloons that were in operation before Prohibition were still open, essentially unchanged, though they now advertised soft drinks instead of liquor. Besides those open soft drink parlors, there were countless speakeasies and clandestine distilleries catering to those looking for quiet paces to drink.

While prostitution and gambling were typically confined to certain districts or bars somewhat out of sight, nearly everyone was fond of a drink and one could be found nearly everywhere. Drinking was such an integral part of life in Butte that when Montanans statewide voted at 58% in favor of statewide Prohibition, Silver Bow County was 58% against, joining dissenters such as Deer Lodge and Helena.

Initially, the authorities tried to enforce the laws, though they met resistance from all over. Police were less than thorough in pursuing liquor related crimes and juries were not eager to convict. By 1926, Montanans had given up on the law and the state repealed Prohibition with a 53% majority. Silver Bow County was even more excited to repeal, with 73% in favor.

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Rather than curbing the drinking culture in Butte and throughout Montana, Prohibition actually helped reinforce it. Sending alcohol underground helped expose its appeal to both sexes. Towards the end of Prohibition, new nightclub style establishments popped up in Butte. They resembled the cabarets of east coast cities more than the gritty saloons of the west. Importantly, they were designed to cater to both men and women, offering privacy and intimacy not available in saloons. These were clubs designed for more than just drinking. They also offered dancing, gambling, and dining, perfect for a night out with friends. One customer noted that the nightclubs “lack the vigor, the hairy chests and the call of that wild that you’ll find in the city. Women may gamble side by side with their men and loll at the bars with them.” Bootlegging itself also became an occupation for many women. While men worked in the mines, many women tended illicit stills at home. One case involved a three hundred gallon still operated by eighty-year-old Mrs. Lavinia Gilman.

According to Mary Murphy,“Prohibition effectively created new social spaces in speakeasies and nightclubs; this allowed a redefinition of sex roles in one of the most gender-segregated arenas of leisure – getting together for a drink.” The repeal of Prohibition actually led to greater control over liquor distribution than prohibiting liquor altogether. New laws were enacted to monitor and tax liquor sales, taking the industry back to its legitimate roots. Because you could now buy liquor legally, there was less incentive to produce your own and the industry grew up and consolidated. Laws prohibiting distilling and difficult permitting processes remained in effect for many years following prohibition and its only in the last decade or so that these have begun to be relaxed. Following the success of craft brewing during the 1980s, new liquor distilleries have opened throughout Montana since licensing laws were revised in 2007 to encourage smaller, local operations. The Flathead Valley, for example, is home to four of the eight Montana whiskey distilleries. The illicit moonshining operations that grew to supply visitors to places such as Glacier National Park have been replaced by reputable distilleries infusing a sense of Montana into their creations. Murphy, Mary. “Bootlegging Mothers and Drinking Daughters: Gender and Prohibition in Butte, Montana.” American Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 2 ( Jun., 1994), pp. 174-194. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2713337.

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2012/2013

Montana Historian

2320 N. 7th Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715

val@midwest-welding.com p: 406-587-5417 f: 406-587-5821

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2012/2013

Owenhouse Ace Hardware: The helpful place since 1879 by Alison Grey

For more than 130 years, Bozeman residents have trusted the folks at Owenhouse Ace Hardware to provide them with everything from buggies, wagons and plows to modern tools, appliances and lawn mowers. A valuable and integral part of the Bozeman community and surrounding areas, Owenhouse has survived the tenure of time, from the days of hand labor and foot travel to modern tools and motorized transportation. Evolving from a farm supply store to a full-service hardware store, the business continues to operate on its long-standing reputation of providing quality products and great service, before and after the sale. This tradition has garnered it the phrase heard lovingly among locals: “Ace is the Place.” Opened in 1879 by Mr. Frank Benepe and Mr. Davidson, the store focused mainly on providing farm supplies like buggies, wagons, harnesses, hay and grain. In 1890, saddle maker Mr. E. J. Owenhouse purchased an interest in the business, then called Benepe-Owenhouse Hardware, where he would work for nearly three decades. In 1905, the store set up shop at the corner of Willson and Main, where Chalet Sports is now located. The words “Benepe” and

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“Agricultural Implements” are still visible on the west side of the building. The business eventually moved to the present location at 36 East Main. Over the years, the building has been modernized and expanded, including the transition of the carriage and auto shop into the current bike repair shop. To increase their national buying power and remain competitive, Owenhouse joined a national co-op of independent hardware store owners in 1964, a move to help this locally-owned business compete with the influx of larger chains. The history of ownership here is one of long tenures. Current owner Larry Bowman purchased an interest in the business in 1975 from the owners at that time, Louis Spain Sr., Lou Spain and Larry’s father-in-law Bud Williamson. Soon afterwards, he was joined by Phil Adams, who had an ownership interest from 1976 until 2000. Louis Spain Sr. retired in 1988 and Lou Spain in 2003. Continuing the store’s tradition of family operations,

Larry’s son Eric is currently active in the business. In 1982, Owenhouse purchased the building next door at 26 East Main, formerly housing Woolworth’s and later Coast to Coast. The building was extensively remodeled, creating the space where the current hardware section of the store resides. As business continued to grow, Owenhouse Ace Hardware opened a second store in 2008 on West Main, next to the Gallatin Valley Mall, at 8695 Huffine Lane. The building may be new, but the business continues to operate based on the same traditions and values that brought the original store its longevity and success. A 1955 booklet entitled,“Story of Owenhouse Hardware Company,” stated that “business is more than mere business; it is a form of expressing the good life.” As one of Montana’s longest run businesses and an icon of Historic Downtown Bozeman, this philosophy has certainly rung true. Generations of families have patronized the store throughout the years, all enjoying the same friendly attitude and knowledgeable, personalized service. With over 130 years under its belt and many years to come, there is certainly promise that “Ace will always be the place.” From bike repair to shelving and storage, the staff at Owenhouse Ace Hardware is ready to assist you with all of your hardware and home improvement needs. Find them in Historic Downtown Bozeman at 36 East Main Street or West Bozeman at 8695 Huffine Lane, on the web at www.owenhouse.com or by calling 406-587-5401.

Dinos, Drusy & Rocks (oh my!) Prehistoric Treasures of Montana by Babs Noelle

Dasha Bough, age 11, might only fully realize what a special summer she had last year once she has the ability to look back through a bit more time. Thanks to a certain remarkable keepsake, she will certainly be able to remember what happened during her dinosaur dig at Montana’s Milk River last August. Her “Eureka!” experience should serve as a reminder of our state’s rich prehistory, one which has left numerous organic and inorganic treasures in its geologic wake. And absolutely anyone can find one of these treasures and enjoy its enduring beauty. Participation in a Jack Horner dino dig is certainly highlight enough for any kid, but Dasha’s individual discovery of a tyrranosaurid tooth instantly tied her to the dramatic geologic events of the Cretaceous period some 75 million years ago, and also to the more recent history of Lewis and Clark (the latter of whom named the Milk River for its unusual white color), and to Joseph Leidy, who in 1856 was the first known person to locate a similar fossil. Paleontologist Jack Horner allowed Dasha to keep the fossilized tooth, since it was an orphan lacking a more complete, accompanying skeleton. Such an object is so ancient, so interesting, and yet so personal. Dasha’s mother, Jill, closed that circle in a way that humans have since time immemorial. She decided to have the tyrranosaurid tooth made into a piece of jewelry for Dasha. It was my privilege to craft the pendant that Dasha will enjoy for many years to come. As is my tendency when working with “found objects” of prehistoric significance or gemological wonder, I try to leave very little of my own mark as a designer on the finished piece. After all, it is the object itself that is so striking. In the case of this tooth, everything about it is compelling and interesting: its amazingly smooth exterior, its subtle bands of earth tones, as well as its clearly intact and sharp serrations. While discovering intact dinosaur teeth might require far more luck (and paleontological expertise) than most of us possess, there are thankfully a number of Montanans, self included, who keep our eyes peeled for fossilized dinosaur bone, petrified wood, agates ranging from translucent to drusy, and sapphires of remarkable beauty. Staying within the same epoch as Dasha’s discovery, there are all manner of gem-quality fossilized dinosaur bone fragments. Unremarkable as fossil specimens, these partial pieces of dinosaur bone have been vividly colored by the particular minerals that buried the original animal. With the exception of shaping them so that they will not pierce one’s skin when worn and polishing them to bring out their unique palette, these colorful wonders are wildly different from each other. That uniqueness from piece to piece is courtesy of the different original bone structures, the minerals present, and the rate of fossilization. Whether finding one myself or plucking an extraordinary one from a willing seller’s collection, I am always taken away by these beauties. Most people seeing one for the first time cannot believe that they are not dyed. Nope: you can thank iron for the red and orange hues, uranium for the yellow and green, and manganese for the blue and violet.

Montana Historian

Thankfully, the same geologic events that fossilized the dinosaurs also preserved some of their contemporaneous plant life. The Hell Creek Formation has yielded a number of true-to-originalform petrified Metasequoia from "Agates have fascinated man for thouthe Cretaceous sands of years and are now one of the world’s most epoch, some 65.5 million years ago. popular gemstones. Perhaps part of this fascinaOther species tion lies in the fact that no two agate nodules are went through ever exactly alike. The range of their colors, patthe century-long petrification terns and shape are almost endless and yet all have process later, thought to have been formed by the one natural so much of the petrified wood process. This variety is true of no other gemstone you will find however rare or exclusive it is." throughout -from Scottish Agates by Montana can be as “new” as 3 Nick Crawford and David Anderson million years. Petrified wood scratches about as readily as amethyst or other quartz, but its durability can be quite high. Because all the organic material of the original wood was replaced with quartz but retained the wood’s structure down to a microscopic level, a tightly-grained piece of wood, once petrified, yields a very durable, very tough gem. As such, it is a wonderful material to inlay in jewelry. And since wood grain is a natural and familiar pattern without frills, men are particularly drawn to it. Much like fossilized dinosaur bone, petrified wood comes in a variety of colors, again courtesy of the trace minerals present during its formation. My favorite variety, which is sadly not so easy to find, is “burned” petrified wood, which has a very dark brownish-black color due to the presence of carbon, most frequently present due to the wood having been burnt before it was buried at the beginning the petrification process. Keep your eyes open! You can find petrified wood all over the state. From my place on the Yellowstone, I have located everything from small, beautiful, river-worn chunks suitable for pendants to full trunk or limb cross-sections. Whether inlaid into a ring or decorating your coffee table, they are wonders caused by floods and volcanic ash millions of years ago. Unlike fossilization, which takes life forms from the earth and subjects them to Mother Earth’s processes, other treasures are formed deep below Her surface. Quite some time after Dasha’s dinosaur roamed the earth, approximately 50 million years ago, Yogo sapphires were forming deep in the earth in a metamorphic crustal source at temperatures exceeding 900 degrees Celsius. As the resulting magma cooled slowly over time, atoms of oxygen and aluminum

(the building blocks of sapphire) combined and crystallized. The crystals were contained within a distinct, vertical dike 7000 feet below the earth’s surface. Eventually, the sapphire crystals were brought much closer to the surface by another burst of volcanic activity. As Mike Roberts, the owner of the Yogo sapphire mine likes to say,“Humans aren’t meant to be underground.” He ought to know. Working the sapphires out of the hard rock is unusual in the world of sapphire mining anywhere in the world, and darn hard work. Thankfully, he does it anyway. Unlike most sapphires, which are found at secondary sources due to water flows or decomposition of host rock, Yogos are contained within their primary source rock. East of Utica, Mike Roberts goes about 300 feet deep into the earth to extract these blue beauties that have been one of our state’s official gems since 1969. Sharing the honor of Montana’s state gem is Montana agate. Easier to locate and extract from the earth, and a relative baby at 2 million years old, Montana agates, unlike the Yogo sapphires trapped within their primary host rock, are prolific travelers. Some travelled hundreds of miles, floating down the Yellowstone and other rivers to their final home. Montana agate originally formed in the Yellowstone National Park area as a result of volcanic activity. A tremendous amount of silica-rich ash was spewed over a wide area. When things settled down, volcanically speaking, and the rains came, the mineral-laden silica water flowed into the pockets and cavities in the ash. As the flows of water slowly filled the air spaces with liquefied silica, Montana agate was created. Any cracks or fissures in the agate were then further filled by other water-borne minerals, which produced the color variegation that marks a fine Montana agate. Another crystalline wonder that occasionally occurs is the formation of tiny quartz crystals within a larger agate. These crystals are called drusy, and they make for a very different gem. Rather than being polished to a smooth surface, the drusy surface of an agate is left in its natural state, with the sharp, sparkly crystals exposed for all to see. Any cracked or otherwise structurally compromised Montana agates invariably crumble apart during their tumble down the Yellowstone. So, provided your search for agates sticks close to the river, the intact gems you will find are mostly strong and durable, as they survived the trip. Add to that the tight, cryptocrystalline internal structure of agate, and you have a gem that exhibits a lovely finish once it is polished. While most often forming as nodules or veins, Montana agate is typically cut into slices that show their semi-translucency and colorful bands and plumes. This little slab of earth we call Montana has produced a very rich variety of prehistoric wonders. Whether sparkly or sleek, tyrannosauric or woodsy, they are within your reach. Find your inner Dasha, and perhaps join me for a search on the river sometime.

Going to the Sun Highway & Tunnel, Glacier National Park, Infrared, circa 1930s

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WORK OF ART AND A PIECE

OF HISTORY PURCHASE AUTHENTIC PRINTS FROM ORIGINAL SLIDES & NEGATIVES AT

Babs Noelle is the owner of Alara Jewelry in Downtown Bozeman. SOURCES Sinkankas, J. (1959) Gemstones of North America, D. Van Nostrand Co, New York. Reiner, T.A. (1941) “Agates of the Yellowstone River Valley, Montana”, Rocks and Minerals, v. 16, no. 9, p. 319-325. Crowningshield, R. (1963) “Fossilized Dinosaur Bone,” Gems and Gemology, Summer, XI: p. 41-43. Daniels, F.J. (1998) Petrified Wood: The World of Fossilized Wood, Cones, Ferns, and Cycads, Western Colorado Pub Co, Grand Junction, Colorado. Voynick, S.M. (1987) Yogo: The Great American Sapphire, Mountain Press Publishing Co, Missoula, Montana, p. ix – x.

WWW.FRANKBYERLY.COM OR ASK YOUR LOCAL GALLERY IF THEY CARRY THE FRANK BYERLY VINTAGE COLLECTION

2012/2013

Explore Helena’s Last Chance Gulch

Montana’s Most Historic Mile By Ellen Baumler

Tucked along the crooked path where Last Chance Stream once meandered, Helena is the town that gold built, an honor no other modern Montana city can claim. While other gold camps boomed and dwindled into ghost towns, veins of yellow metal transformed remote Last Chance Gulch into Montana’s golden capital. The “Queen City of the Rockies” lives up to its nickname, coined for its flamboyant, extravagant buildings and the wealth that built them. Helena’s nineteenth century architecture dazzles, its gold rush history compels, and its diverse streetscape speaks to the spirit that is still at the heart of the West. Gold captivated the discoverers who, in 1864, took one “last chance” that paid off. By 1869, Last Chance and other local veins yielded millions. The gold played out, but Helena thrived. Today above ground, riches just as precious stud the Queen City’s crown. Strategically located in the cradle of the Helena valley at the base of the Rockies, the Treasure State’s capital city is not just the ho-hum hub of state government. The heart and center of Helena’s modern day pulse is its

picturesque downtown. The most historic mile in Montana is a physical reminder of the grand legacy of capitalists, millionaires, and politicians who helped author Montana’s future and the humble roots from which many came.

The Helena Historic District, one of the town’s six districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places, includes the downtown area. Before miners disrupted its natural setting, the gulch was a wild, green tangle of trees and brush that grew along the banks of a rushing stream. Generations of Native Americans hunted along the corridor where rattlesnakes, grizzly bears, deer, and antelope abounded. The four miners who happened by were on their way to Virginia City, out of provisions and down on their luck. They had unsuccessfully prospected the gulch before, but decided to take a final swing though the area. On July 14, 1864, they set up camp along the stream bank and began panning. They found significant “color.” Soon other miners trickled in, a few at a time, panning, sluicing, and hastily building shelters on their claims. The discovery men became known as the Four Georgians for reasons the community soon forgot. Historians speculate that since one of the miners was from Georgia, where gold was mined before discoveries in the West, they were probably practicing a Georgian method of placer mining. In the great frenzy to get at the precious metal, miners soon stripped the landscape of everything green, churned up the soil, and built their buildings along the claims that followed Last

Last Chance Gulch looking north from Broadway circa 1904. MHS Photo Archives Pac 74.104 336

Montana Historian

Chance Stream through the gulch. In October, residents gathered to properly name the mining camp known as Last Chance. After some discussion, they dubbed the new settlement Helena after the Scott County, Minnesota, hometown of one of the men. Last Chance Gulch produced 19 million dollars’ worth of gold in the first four years. Only so much gold lies close to the surface, and so when placer mining was finished, hydraulic mining changed the landscape even more drastically. Workers used powerful pressure hoses to viciously wash the hillsides. Montana’s capital city thus rose from the mining camp. The historic layers tell of the journey from gold camp to capital city. A walk through Helena’s colorful history begins at the [1] Pioneer Cabin, 212 South Park Avenue. The oldest home in Helena with a documented construction history, miner Wilson Butts built the back room in 1864. His brother Jonas built the front portion in 1865. The two parts were once two separate cabins. Jonas, his wife, and three daughters lived in the front cabin until a hurdy house opened across the street. The gold camp was no place to raise three girls, and the family moved on. The two cabins were later joined together to make a single dwelling. Continuously occupied until 1937, the cabin’s restoration in 1938 became one of the first preservation efforts in the West. The caretaker of the Pioneer Cabin lived in the house next door until the 1990s. The remaining log wall on the Caretaker’s House reveals that it, too, was once a miner’s cabin. By the 1880s, it had become a brothel, marking the boundary of the red-light district that stretched all the way north to 70 South Park Avenue. Now under state ownership, the Montana Heritage Commission manages The Caretaker’s House and the Pioneer Cabin.

Before crossing Park Avenue, note Fire Tower Hill across the way where Helena’s beloved icon, the Guardian of the Gulch, commands a panoramic view. In the early mining camp, wooden cabins crowded together were often victims of terrible fires. Watchtowers served the community from 1868. This one, built in 1874, replaced an earlier structure that burned. Cross Park Avenue and follow the sidewalk past the Lewis and Clark Library and take a right. The [3] Colwell Building at 62 S. Last Chance Gulch marks downtown’s south end. The Four Georgians made their great discovery on this corner, July 14, 1864. Appropriately, then, the first bank chartered in Montana Territory, the First National Bank, located here in 1866. Upon its demolition in 1886, testing of the mortar taken from this ground revealed a high gold content. The French Second Empire–inspired three-story rooming house, now called the Colwell Building, replaced the bank in 1886. The new building was symbolically known as “Uncle Sam’s Block” because of the site’s financial history. Last Chance Gulch, historically called Main Street, received its present name in 1954. City officials decided the new name would be better for tourism. The south and north sections of the walking mall were the product of 1970s Urban Renewal. Buildings on the west side of the South Walking Mall from 46 to 32 South Last Chance Gulch are the oldest remaining portion of Helena’s historic commercial district. They date from the 1860s and early 1870s. New storefronts, added after 1883 when

Follow the brick alleyway a short stride up the hill where [2] Reeder’s Alley, an unusual collection of tiny row house apartments, once offered miners better shelter than the poorly-chinked log cabins along the gulch. Pennsylvania brick mason Louis Reeder built this little neighborhood between 1875 and 1884. At one time thirty-two one-room apartments spread along the narrow alley in various buildings. Fewer than half remain. The Montana Heritage Commission manages and maintains Reeder’s Alley for the State of Montana. These tiny apartments, the Pioneer Cabin, and other small cabins that still dot Helena’s historic neighborhoods recall the early days of the gold camp. They are a reminder that for every miner who struck it rich, many did not. Beyond the Stone House at the top of the alley, the 1893 Morelli Bridge is the state’s oldest timber bridge. A little farther west, Mount Helena Historic District offers recreational opportunities. Miners harvested its trees for cabins and sluice boxes. In the 1890s, lightning blackened its barren slopes. On Arbor Day in 1899, Helena schoolchildren, armed with baskets of evergreen seedlings, began its replanting. Stroll along the upper alley between the charming tenements, the take the stairway down. Once again on the alley, the privately owned Yee Wau Cabin, sits at the foot. It is the last physical remnant of Helena’s substantial Chinese settlement.

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the Northern Pacific Railroad linked Helena to the “states,” illustrate the difference the railroad made in Helena’s appearance. Cast iron storefronts and plate glass display windows shipped by rail replaced the common French doors of the early period. The [4] Dunphy Block at 38 South Last Chance traces its origins to the 1860s. It was reputedly Main Street’s first two-story building. A bowling alley in the basement, for men only, was the first in Helena, installed in 1869. Mining magnate Thomas Cruse opened his bank in the 1880s; the safe is still in place. Remnant rubblestone walls at the rear reveal the early origins, while the stylish façade reflects 1890s remodeling. The bright yellow [5] Trolley dates to the arrival of the Northern Pacific when Joseph O’Neill began a taxi service using horse-drawn trolleys like this one. For ten cents, passengers rode brightly painted trolleys between the Northern Pacific Depot, a mile to the northeast, and downtown. Great Falls legislator Charles Bovey and his wife, Sue, were great collectors of Montana’s early treasures and spent a fortune buying, restoring, and replicating buildings in Virginia City and Nevada City, Montana. The Boveys donated this trolley to the people of Helena. On the east side of the block, the [6] Boston and St. Louis Blocks at 19– 25 South Last Chance Gulch recall a more clandestine history. Although the Boston Clothing Company, purveyors of “gentlemen’s furnished goods,” was the first occupant of this flamboyant 1890 commercial block, upstairs were gambling and furnished rooms. When Helena’s high-

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Downtown Helena, Inc. 225 Cruse Ave., Suite B Helena, MT 59601 (406) 447-1535 www.downtownhelena.com

Montana Historian

class red-light district a few streets south closed during Prohibition, by 1927, the women had resurfaced on the Boston Block’s second floor. Well-known madam Ida Levy located upstairs. She moved next door to the St. Louis Block in 1933, and Pearl Maxwell operated the Royal Rooms in the Boston Block until her death in 1953. The handsome building was a worthy companion to the flamboyant Novelty Block, which once stood north of the St. Louis Block. The Italianate style St. Louis Block, built in 1882, housed a number of businesses including a bank, saloon, and Gamer’s boot and shoe shop. Upstairs, where the Ghost Art Gallery’s frame shop is today, longtime madam Ida Levy’s entrance was the best-known back door in Montana. Her successor,“Big Dorothy” Baker, took over when Ida retired in 1953 ran the house until its final raid in 1973. At the north end of the South Walking Mall, Kinetic Fountain, also known as The Prospectors, by Lyndon Pomeroy visually demonstrates how miners across the west worked their claims. Up Broadway hill to the east, the grand 1885 Masonic Temple at the northeast corner of Jackson underscores Helena’s strong Masonic presence. Masons first organized in the camp in 1865. The steep tin roof of the 1875 federal assay office is just a little farther up the street. Helena had just become the territorial capital, and the assay office, one of only five in the nation, was a symbol of Helena’s new importance. Federal architects designed the building, thereby establishing a federal presence. The 1886 Lewis and Clark County Courthouse at 228 Broadway, which served as both territorial and state capitol, is beyond the assay office a little farther up the street. Across Broadway, the [7] Women’s Mural is the gateway to the North Walking Mall. Painted on the side of the Livestock Building in 1979, the mural commemorates groups and individual women who contributed to the greater community. A Native American, suffragists, painted ladies, schoolteachers, and pioneers, as well as rodeo star Fanny Sperry Steele and guitarist M. J. Williams, represent Helena’s diverse women. Women planned, designed, and painted the mural intending it to last no more than a dozen years. Recently stabilized, it has become a permanent landmark. Architectural pieces and parts of some of the 200-plus historic buildings razed during 1970s Urban Renewal form benches and ornamentation along the north walking mall. The fortunate survivors have stories to tell. The fanciful [8] Atlas Block at 7 North Last Chance Gulch has special significance to the Helena community. F. J. Shaffer and James Stranahan

Parade on South Main Street (Last Chance Gulch), circa 1875. MHS Photo Archives 953-595

designed this remarkable building to symbolize Helena’s early incendiary disasters. An insurance company built the ¬Richardsonian Romanesque–style block to advertise its fire insurance. Winged salamanders— mythical creatures like phoenixes that fire cannot destroy—cavort atop the building while ¬stylized flames lick across the ¬top at the cornice. Atlas, centered midway up the façade, bears the symbolic ¬burden for the ¬policy holders.

Helena was well known for its hospitality and many elegant hotels. New Year’s Eve, 1913, saw the grand opening of the [9] Placer Hotel at 15–27 North Last Chance Gulch. Its inaugural ball competed with the Montana Club’s traditional New Year’s Eve “Smoker” for men only (see # 14). Wives insisted on attending the Placer’s gala event. The next year, the Montana Club’s celebration was for couples, ending the traditional all-male New Year’s Eve celebration.

George Carsley designed the Placer in consultation with his famous mentor, Cass Gilbert. Political deals were made in its rooms and many a legislator called the Placer home during the sessions. The hotel even hosted John F. Kennedy in 1961. The Placer (now condominiums) and the Iron Front a block down are Helena’s only remaining historic hotels. The second home of the [10] First National Bank at 101 North Last Chance Gulch, chartered in 1866 (see #3), combines Romanesque, French Second Empire, and popular Victorian-period stylistic elements. St. Paul ¬architects Hodgson, Wallingford, and Stem designed both this and the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, between 1885 and 1886. Brownstone shipped via the railroad from Bayfield, Wisconsin (the stone that made New York’s Fifth Avenue Brownstones famous), trims both landmarks. Find the whimsical fish downspout and the legendary thumbprint of bank president Samuel Hauser in the circle (between the arches) on the west façade. More likely, the thumbprint is a mortar adhesive that once held a terra cotta medallion. Sculptor John B. Weaver’s 1976 The Bullwhacker, in the center of the mall, recalls a character once familiar on the streets of Helena. Before the advent of the railroad in 1883, goods essential to survival arrived at Montana’s remote gold camps by ox train or mule team. Bullwhackers kept the lumbering teams moving. The oldest standing commercial storefront north of Broadway is the [10] Goodkind Block on the corner at 139 North Last Chance Gulch. St. Louis architect F. D. Lee designed this beautifully restored building in

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1884 for prominent businessman Colonel C.A. Broadwater. DecoÂŹrative windows and a pressed-metal cornice, typical of the 1870s and early 1880s, enhance the faĂ§ade. Locally produced soft brick recalls the early attempts to construct fireproof buildings. The Goodkind brothers operated a wine, liquor, and cigar business here for many decades.

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Fire not only swept through the early community, but also invaded Helena in the twentieth century. One terrible event in 1928 nearly claimed the entire [11] West Side of the Block from 34 to 46 North Last Chance Gulch. Lightning struck a rooftop and the resulting fire was quickly out of control. Roomers in the upper-floor lodging houses moved trunks, grips, and all they could carry out into the falling rain. The rain drenched everything but the fire itself. The Granite, Lalonde, New York and Gold blocks, completed in 1929, replaced the lost structures. Their rapid completion reflects the confidence of local merchants who reinvested. These four newer buildings also showcased modern architectural trends.

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The Parrot Confectionery, still operating in a storefront of the Lalonde Building, was among the first tenants. Herman Fligelmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New York Store at 44-46 North Last Chance Gulch, designed by George Carsley, operated here until 1958. A tiny tailor and seamstress perched on the second-story corners advertise his clothing business. The centered family crest and shields of medieval Florentine clothier guilds remind shoppers that Fligelmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offered a long tradition of quality. George Carsley also designed the Gold Block next door at 50-56 North Last Chance Gulch. The tile roofline of the Gold Block is the only downtown example of the newly popular Mission style. The Power Block at 58â&#x20AC;&#x201C;62 NLCG, built in 1889, was the only survivor of the

Montana Historian

1928 fire. “Merchant prince” T. C. Power made a fortune freighting goods out of Fort Benton and upon statehood in 1889, was one of Montana’s first two US senators. The grand Power Block, designed by ¬Willetts and Ashley of ¬Chicago, represents the transition from Romanesque Revival to the Chicago School. Note that the corner door and window openings correspond to the floor numbers. The 1914 four-story annex facing Sixth Avenue features two copper-framed storefronts. Two blocks farther north down Last Chance Gulch, another older commercial section survived urban renewal. The 1889 Iron Front Hotel at 415 North Last Chance Gulch, featuring an elaborate, locally-cast ironwork frame, once served Great Northern Railroad passengers who stepped off the trains a few blocks still farther north. Numerous scattered “ghost signs” advertising Eddy’s Bread and other products from the early 1900s recall a bygone era. Standing at Sixth and the end of the walking mall, the lofty twin spires of the St. Helena Cathedral are barely visible. The 1914 Cathedral’s 56 magnificent stained glass windows, crafted by Munich artist F. X. Zettler, are the finest examples among those extant in the United States. To the west up 6th Avenue at the corner of Fuller Street, the [13] Montana Club, a nationally renowned elite men’s club founded in 1885, competes with the Power Block for dominance of Helena’s skyline. The first club building opened on this site in 1893. It burned in 1903, leaving only the ground-floor arches.

The present club building, designed by nationally renowned architect Cass Gilbert, literally rose from the ashes of the ruin in 1905. Swastikas at the threshold today have a different connotation, but members carefully chose this universal ¬symbol to wish all who entered peace and prosperity. It’s still a private organization, but no longer exclusive to men. The Montana Club cordially invites prospective members to make a reservation and sample its ambience. Step back in time and experience the quiet elegance of superb dining in an atmosphere unrivaled in the Northwest. From its gold rush roots to its cosmopolitan downtown, Helena’s historic mile is a richly woven tapestry with a varied palette. Legend has it that the mother lode still awaits discovery in the underground streambed that still flows beneath the historic streets and buildings. Snuggled along the narrow gulch, nature certainly could not have chosen a more picturesque niche. Discover Last Chance Gulch for yourself. You’ll agree that it’s one of the best-kept secrets in the last best place. Montana Club, circa 1893. MHS Photo Archives 953-326

2012/2013

Abandoned and Avoided to Vibrant and Thriving

Helena’s Great Northern Town Center by Judy Merickel & Alan Nicholson

A once abandoned area near the center of Helena’s downtown had parents of the 1970s and 80s warning their children to “never travel through that weed-filled, transient-attracting rail yard on your way to the swimming pool”. Abandoned areas of cities’ central districts were common across the country, after decades of urban sprawl caused people to abandon historic downtowns. Recent years, however, have seen a revitalization of these areas. In Helena, this once deemed blighted area between residents in the historic mansion district and the city swimming pool, is now known as the Great Northern Town Center. It highlights recent revitalization efforts with careful, mixed-use planning to foster community and a new cosmopolitan feel where one had never before existed. The land on which the Great Northern Town Center now sits was the former site of the depot for the Great Northern Railroad. Downtown developer, Alan Nicholson, became interested in the land in the 1980s. He had been working as a developer in downtown Helena since the mid-1970s and recognized the land’s potential for restoration. It was a barren place, home to several abandoned buildings and a recycling center. His offers to purchase were ignored by the then owner, Burlington Northern Railroad. In the mid 1990’s, Kay McKenna, Helena’s mayor, spearheaded an effort, funded by the City of Helena and the Helena Improvement Society, to create a plan for development of the land by the city. But the land appraised for less than the new owner, Montana Rail Link, was willing to sell it for and the city, constrained to maximum appraisal price, could not proceed with the purchase. Nicholson then stepped forward and purchased the property from the famed Montana entrepreneur Dennis Washington, owner of Montana Rail Link.

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solid 50 feet below the surface. Looking down they learned it was an old railcar lodged underground. Unable to remove it, they wound up choosing a different kind of elevator.

By 1998, Nicholson presented his plans for development to the city. The first option was to extend a street through it and sell plots to large commercial companies and develop quickly. His preferred option, however, was to do a proper urban development with the city’s help. Realizing that a plan similar to the one previously drafted by stakeholders was the right course of action, the city agreed to a loan for infrastructure such as roadways and the sewer system from a tax increment fund for about two-thirds of the anticipated cost. The city also agreed to buy back land and build a raised parking lot in order to accommodate the anticipated needs within the development. The vision of the development was to follow a five-part definition of what makes a great place: 1. Where the people are 2. Where you take your friends and people you love 3. Scaled for people and accommodating to automobiles 4. A place with integrity, vitality, a sense of permanence 5. With varied and interesting architecture, a feeling of safety, and convenience In order to meet these criteria, Nicholson worked with the city to develop new zoning rules to allow the development to offer everything from a movie theater and a bank to a carousel and condominiums. Infrastructure construction began in 1998 and the site’s history soon manifested itself in at least two interesting ways. The first historical find was several feet of ash beneath the land’s surface. The major commodity the Great Northern Railroad transported was coal. Years of coal cars travelling through the area left the ground covered with ash. The ash had to be removed to steady the ground for development to commence. Secondly, during construction of the Expedition building, crews digging into the ground for the supports for a hydraulic elevator hit something

Montana Historian

As the development has proceeded over the last decade, the surrounding area has benefited tremendously. Influenced by the integrity and class of the Great Northern Town Center, new buildings have sprung up, including a new Federal Building and Federal Courthouse. In addition, Carroll College’s new buildings now point towards the development, instead of in the other direction as they did previously in order to avoid the unsightly view of the neglected land. Following that, several more commercial buildings developed, including a large accounting firm, real estate offices, law firms, and a state-of-the-art, Gold LEED certified building for Montana State Fund. The centerpiece of the Great Northern Town Center is the carousel. Completely hand-built, the carousel is one of the world’s most stunning, with vibrant, hand-carved animals and adornments. Judged by the National Carousel Association as the finest new carousel in the United States, the Great Northern Town Center’s carousel features animals that call Montana home: buffalos, big horn sheep, antelopes, otters, bobcats, a grizzly bears, a cutthroat trout and more. Playing off the rivalry between Montana State University and the University of Montana, the bobcat is chasing the grizzly bear around the carousel. In addition to the Carousel, today the Town Center houses the most up to date convention center in the city, the nation’s 10th Best Western Premier Hotel, an interactive museum of science and culture (ExplorationWorks), unique boutiques, galleries, salons, restaurants and some of the Northwest’s top accounting, financial planning and engineering firms. As the Great Northern Town Center continues to grow, it is helping to write the next chapter of the history of Last Chance Gulch while enhancing connections to the past through its outdoor Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and building names such as Expedition, Discovery, Compass and Artisan Blocks. The Great Northern stands as a testament to Nicholson’s belief in Helena’s future as a thriving community.

2012/2013

The

Bozeman Trail No Shortcuts Through Montana by Will Genge

Montana Historian

When a prospector discovered gold in the mid1800s, it was hard to keep it a secret. The town of Bannack, Montana sprung to life nearly overnight after some wayward prospectors discovered gold in a creek during their travels. Soon after, hoards of eager prospectors descended upon what would later become the State of Montana with gold fever. Of the many problems those in search of riches would encounter, one literally loomed above all others: the Rocky Mountains. While trappers and Indians had roamed the mountains and valleys of the region prior to the discovery of gold, there were few finished roads or passageways that would take you to the desolate outposts teeming with prospectors. Soon after the discovery in Bannack, Alder Gulch (later Virginia City) and Last Chance Gulch (later the state capital, Helena) let out their secrets, which only served to enchant the dreams of young men happy to escape the raging Civil War back east. Coming from the east, however, the Rockies stood tall in the way. Initially, the only ways to get to these gulches of Montana was to stay south over the North Platte road before cutting north through Utah and Idaho or from the north via steamboat on the Missouri River to Fort Benton. Each of these routes took travelers far out of their way but offered safety and a mostly well-known path. The majority of travelers, however, werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worried so much about their own safety; they feared arriving too late to miss out on the best claims. John Marion Bozeman knew this feeling very well. He was 12-years-old when his father left his family, a wife and five children, to join the California gold rush in 1849. The family never heard back and presumed him dead. John followed suit as one of the earliest responders to the 1862 gold rush. Like his father, Bozeman fled Georgia in 1860, leaving in the dust his wife and three daughters for the gold mines of Colorado. He was too late for his liking and by 1862 he ended up in Deer Lodge valley hot on the trail of new gold. The next year word of the find at Grasshopper Creek, soon to become known as Bannack, Bozeman Pass circa 1950's, photo by Frank Byerly

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reached his ears. Again he was too late for his tastes and decided to undertake a new occupation, guiding the wide-eyed emigrants whose tastes he knew from his own experiences.

and wary, they eventually found their way back to Deer Creek Station to recover. Soon they were recruiting would-be prospectors to try a new route through the country to reach the mining camps. While there was no shortage of travellers, many feared the perils of travelling through unpatrolled, Indian country. After a few weeks, they gathered a troop of around 40 wagons and 90 men ready to follow Bozeman and Jacobs through the unknown country.

He teamed up with a more experienced guide, John Jacobs, and Jacobs’ eightyear-old daughter to scout a new route through the mountains and across the mighty Yellowstone River. In the spring of 1863 the group left the Three Forks of the Missouri, descended through the Gallatin Valley, and emerged through what later became known as the Bozeman Pass on an eastward course that would later serve as their gateway to gold country. During their scouting a group of Indian warriors came across the helpless scouts, took their possessions, and abandoned them in the wilderness with little more than a few destitute ponies. Famished

One of the men was a lawyer named Samuel Word who detailed the expedition in his diary. Word’s initial impression of his guides makes it clear that Bozeman himself was by no means the expert:

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Montana Historian

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We have 3 guides – John Jacobs, Boseman & Rafeil, the latter is particularly our guide to the Big Horn – the others will assist him & then take us on. Jacobs is a mountaineer who has spent 21 years of his life in this country & who came through from Bannack City specially to guide emigrants on through. Bozeman is a Georgian who has been here only about 4 years. He was impressed, however, by the prospect of cutting the route from about 800 miles via the Oregon Trail to around 450 by following the new guides. He estimated it would save his group over a month in travel. The group set off on July 3, 1863 and had two uneventful weeks. On July 20, they camped near present day Buffalo, Wyoming for lunch and finally encountered a crew of Sioux and Cheyenne Indian representatives, which numbered around 150. The Indians demanded the emigrants turn back rather than violate existing treaties protecting the land as Indian hunting ground. They promised no harm would come to the train if they turned around but threatened attack if they continued. The group waffled with Bozeman urging them to continue. Many of the men were frightened, and the group wasn’t large or experienced enough to convince

them all to continue without support. They decided to take the trail back. For the next few days, they retraced their path, optimistic they would encounter a larger group to join forces and restart their trek forward. None came, and a dispatch sent to try to secure military aid for their journey also came up empty. Upon learning they would have no help, most of the men decided once and for all to forgo the new path and return with their scalps. As Word noted,“Ten boys of ours started out this morning, going thru to Bannack on horseback, packing their grub. Think it is dangerous, doubt their getting through with their horses, if they do with their scalps.” The three known members of the crew were George W. Irvin, II, Mike J. Knoch, and John Bozeman. The journey did not start well. On just the second day, the team’s one packhorse feel into a deep gorge, losing all the supplies. The men carried on, light and quick, travelling only at night. Irvin noted of the leader,“There was one, however, who know no such word as fail. It was John Bozeman. He succeeded in imparting to us some of his restless energy and by inspiring us with his indomitable courage the march was again taken up.” Though the journey was arduous and perilous, the group encountered little further difficulty and before August was over they crossed the newly named

2012/2013

Bozeman Pass and made their way to Alder Gulch successfully. The next year three separate groups are known to have taken the Bozeman Trail to Alder Gulch. These three trains consisted of nearly 1,000 men, with Bozeman leading the first. He had returned to the Platte road by June from Salt Lake City and was busy recruiting a wagon train to follow him back through the route he had pioneered the year before. While Bozeman was leading his group, John T. Smith and his group ran into Bozeman along the way. At first, Bozeman asked that the followers pay $5 for each wagon for Bozeman’s assistance in making the journey. Smith and his crew balked at the suggestion. The next day when they met again, according to Smith, Bozeman “told me he needed assistance in looking out the route and that having heard that I was a good woodsman he hoped I would join him, as he had no one who could be of any assistance in his train, and besides he expected trouble with the Indians.” Bozeman proposed to waive the fee but Smith again declined in order to not arouse dissent within Bozeman’s group that was paying their way. In the end, Smith and Bozeman agreed that the groups should travel a bit apart but camp together each night to appear as formidable as possible should they encounter hostilities. The trip turned out well and the group avoided any troubles with Indians. Bozeman and Smith returned to the Gallatin Valley, which Bozeman

Montana Historian

had thought would be a perfect place to raise cattle. They came upon a wagon train camped at the site of the present-day town and on August 9 participated in a meeting to establish the town which would bear his name.

33 acts allotting charters to establish ferries, roads, and bridges. Two of these directly linked the Bozeman Trail in hopes of establishing a safer and more accessible path.

The second train to leave for the Bozeman Trail in 1864 became known The federal government interceded and in the spring of 1865, closed the as the Townsend train after A.A. Townsend who was named captain. This large group contained 150 wagons, M O N D A Y - S AT U R D A Y 1 0 A M - 6 P M ďż˝ S U N D A Y 1 1 A M - 4 P M 369 men, 36 women, and 56 children. On July 7, the group stopped for breakfast banks of the Powder River. As they were breaking camp to continue the journey, a group of Cheyenne Indians approached, demanding to eat. The group complied and the Indians left after their meal.

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A small group from the train set off in search of a man who had gone looking for an ox that had disappeared. The Cheyenne surrounded the men and a fight ensued in which four of the party were killed and one was wounded. The third and final train of the year found the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graves, which had been opened, the naked bodies of the dead men lying on the ground nearby. With the fall and winter of 1864-65 came the first territorial legislature of Montana, which convened in Bannack. Among its measures, the legislature passed

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trail to emigrants in order to launch a campaign against the Indians in the area. General Patrick E. Conner established Camp Conner, later changed to Fort Reno, on the bank of the Powder River, establishing a military presence along the Bozeman Trail. The following year, emigrant travel resumed and over 1,000 people took the Bozeman Trail west through the mountains. These changes brought to life the bloody conflicts with the local Indians and transformed the Bozeman Trail from an emigrant road to a military. John Bozeman himself setup a ferry on the Yellowstone River. It got off to a poor start when he was not prepared for his first travelers who had to wait 2 days for the ferry to be ready. Then one of the first ferries had a problem, which drowned a man, a boy, and a horse in the strong current. The next day Bozeman successfully steered 45 wagons across the river without a hitch. Elsewhere, however, conflicts between the Indians and the military escalated. The epicenter was at Fort Phil Kearny in northeastern Wyoming. Colonel Henry B. Carrington of the 18th U.S. Infantry established the fort in July 1866 as the largest of three forts setup to protect emigrants on the Bozeman Trail. The other two were Fort Reno near Kaycee, Wyoming and C.F. Smith near Hardin, Montana. There were many memorable fights in

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Montana Historian

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the area within two years forever altered the history of the Bozeman Trail and Indian relations in the area. The first took place on July 20, 1866 when a group of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors attacked a wagon train of civilians and soldiers, most of whom were unarmed and 9 of whom were women and children. This battle is known as the Crazy Woman Battle for taking place at the Crazy Woman Fork of the Powder River. Lieutenant George M. Templeton and the men held off the warriors until nightfall when release finally arrived. Just two soldiers were killed in the battle, but it was an eerie preview of what was to come. That winter played host to The Fetterman Fight. On December 21, 1866, a group of Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota Sioux staged a daring ambush three miles from the fort. First, the Indians took siege on a wagon train and Captain William J. Fetterman and 80 of his men went in help.

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A small group of Indians, led by a young Lakota Sioux warrior named Crazy Horse, decoyed the men over a ridge into a trap. More than 1,000 warriors waited for Fetterman to pursue over the ridge, and he obliged, directly violating Carrington’s orders.

Thirty minutes of carnage followed, resulting in the loss Fetterman and his entire command. The bodies were found that afternoon, stripped and mutilated. This defeat stands as the second worst for the U.S. Army during this time, trailing only the Battle of Little Bighorn.

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Though the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad put an end to the need for the Bozeman Trail’s dangerous passage, and all three forts were abandoned in 1868. These forts, established to protect passage on the Bozeman Trail, changed the course of history in the region by escalating hostilities, which led directly to the next decade of war between the U.S. Army and the native peoples. As for John Bozeman, after settling in the town of Bozeman, he left town on April 16, 1867, with Tom Cover to accompany Cover to Fort C.F. Smith on the Big Horn River. There had been troubles with Indians in Montana over the winter, and Bozeman’s adventurous spirit may have gotten the best of him. Before he left, Bozeman asked a friend to send his watch back home to his mother in Georgia should he not return. Four days into the journey, the pair made a noon camp along the Yellowstone River when they spotted 5 Indians approaching. According to Cover, Bozeman mistook one of the Indians for a friend, allowing them to get too close. The Indians drew and shot Bozeman twice through the chest, killing him on the spot. Bozeman’s remains were returned to and buried in the town that took his name. His pioneering spirit embodies that of the people who headed to Montana in search of adventure. From his first journey through the Bozeman Trail with a small band sneaking through dangerous territory at night until his last day, his spirit and courage were his guide, and he still stands as one of the true pioneers of his era.

2011

The Bozeman Trail: References Burlingame, Merrill G.“John M. Bozeman, Montana Trailmaker.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Mar., 1941), pp. 541-568. Organization of American Historians. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/1897956. Doyle, Susan Badger.“Journeys to the Land of Gold: Emigrants on the Bozeman Trail, 1863–1866.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 41. No. 4 (Autumn, 1991), pp. 54-67. Montana Historical Society. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4519428. Fort Phil Kearney State Historical Site. Wyoming Division of State Parks. http://philkearny.vcn.com/index.html. Johnson, Dorothy M.“The Bloody Bozeman: The Perilous Trail to Montana’s Gold.” Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, MT. Seventh Printing, May 2006. Utley, Robert M.“The Bozeman Trail before John Bozeman: A Busy Land.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Summer, 2003), pp. 20-31. Montana Historical Society. http://www. jstor.org/stable/4520511. West, Elliott.“American Pathways.” Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 51, No. 3 (Autumn, 2001), pp. 20-31. Montana Historical Society. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4520343.

Montana Historian

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C. Sharps Arms Co. has over 30 years in the business under the same management. We have never failed to produce the best in quality and accuracy, constantly improving our methods of manufacturing, quality of materials, and expanding our product line to better serve our customers, whether they are recreational or target shooters, hunters, or firearms aficionados, or historians. Virtually every rifle we produce is a special order rifle and the number of options we offer cannot be incorporated into one rifle. We however have our limitations; I cannot fathom why anyone would want scope blocks on a classic Sharps Rifle or for that matter a recoil pad. When it comes to the cost of our rifles, the customer receives more for his money than any other similar rifle produced in the world. Producing actions and parts from solid steel is more expensive than casting; we do it because the end product is superior in material, strength, and accuracy. We use Badger Barrels with cut rifling and hand-lapped only because they are the best in the marketplace; we could produce a button rifled barrel for 25% or less of the cost of a Badger Barrel, but it would be considerably less in quality and performance as well as material. We use all air-dried walnut. Kiln-dried walnut is more available and less expensive; however, it is also much more fragile and has a greater tendency to split with age. Wood is not a perfect product at its best, but you will never see plastic or laminated stocks on our rifles; yes, we have had requests for just that. We do not offer antique finishes simply because the Sharps Rifle Co. did not have such a finish. Buffalo hunters, target

shooters, sportsmen, as well as the US Military, all received new rifles with a new finish. If Quigley would have ever been, he would have owned a new rifle and done his best to keep it in that condition simply because it was the most expensive rifle of its time and you can bet it was cared for. Antique finish came about after many decades of neglect and lack of care. Hollywood doesn’t always get it right. The craftsmen at C. Sharps Arms are among the best you will find anywhere in this country; their pride in their work, attention to detail, their willingness to teach our younger workers and be an example of showing our best is the least they tolerate. Our custom rifles have stood among the finest ever produced since we started our custom shop in 1979 and C. Sharps Arms are without a doubt the rifles most copied because we are simply the best. Other producers of similar rifles may have more rifles in the marketplace, but our goal is not to produce the most just simply to produce the best. I often do record searches for customers and in completing the search I give the original price: one such rifle shipped in 1989 sold for $995.00 new, purchased used in excellent condition for, $1850.00 in 2005 and current replacement cost would be approx $2300.00. What else could you have purchased new, that would have appreciated accordingly? Certainly not gold, a computer, or a video camera. The only thing that comes to mind is a Rolex watch- do you think quality has much to do with that? We have often said in our marketing, “Quality doesn’t cost- it pays” and we can prove it.

John Schoffstall President C. Sharps Arms

the Gem Gallery

Specializing in Montana Yogo Sapphires “At the Gem Gallery, we pride ourselves on distinctive custom jewelry and superior customer service."

Gem Gallery is proud to feature a major collection of natural Montana Yogo Sapphires. Produced from only one working commercial mine in the world, the Vortex Mine, located in central Montana, the Yogo Sapphire exemplifies a truly rare gem. Ninety-five percent of the world's sapphires are treated with heat to achieve the brilliant colors for which sapphires are known, but the gorgeous Yogo sapphires featured at the Gem Gallery are never treated. To gemologists they are among the finest of completely natural sapphires in the world. The history of Yogo Sapphires started back in 1885 when prospector, Jake Hoover, was looking for gold in the Little Belt Mountains of Montana. Along with gold, he found little blue pebbles that were identified as not just pretty stones, but excellent quality, natural sapphires. Hoover eventually sold his stakes of the mine to his partners, who then sold their interests to a British Company, creating the English Mine. In 1896 a section of land that Hoover deemed unfit for mining, was staked and turned into the American mine. The American Mine was far less successful for several reasons. In addition to frequent ownership changes, the mine was located in rough, rugged cliffs that were hard to access. The few rough stones that were acquired, lost value because of the poor quality of cutting available at the time. The American Mine was eventually purchased by the English mine, combining the two. Over 13 million carats have been mined from the late 1800’s into the 1900’s. Tiffany’s of New York created many fabulous jewelry pieces with these sapphires and exhibited them at the 1900 World Fair. By 1922 the combined mines began to fail. Synthetic stones were introduced on the market, which reduced the interest for sapphires worldwide. To top it off, in 1923 a severe flash flood forced the mine to close. At that point the mine was put up for sale.

Montana Historian

-Don Baide, Owner

The mine was eventually sold for back taxes, and the property passed through many owners’ hands. For many years, the mine was left open to the public. Locals picnicked in the area and collected the blue pebbles. To this day people are still making jewelry from the Yogos they found during that time period, when they could search for sapphires on their own. The next few owners closed off the mine to local rock hounds. In 1984 four local residents followed a wood cutting trail and stumbled upon a section of the mine that had been previously disregarded as not worth mining. They staked their claim and began to mine what is now known as the Vortex Mine. There are two narrow veins of Yogo bearing ore in this mine. In 2004 the Vortex Mine became dormant and closed. During the spring of 2008, Mike Roberts, a second-generation hard rock gold miner from Alaska, successfully acquired the Vortex Mine and its claims. He is currently mining commercially at the 400-foot level. The mine is environmentally friendly. No mine water ever leaves the mine site and no chemicals are used in processing the ore. The Gem Gallery takes pride in being part of the mining, cutting and designing of custom pieces of these magnificent Yogos Sapphires. Owner Don Baide is a fourth generation Montana who has been professionally cutting gems and designing jewelry since 1970. He personally selects all of the gems for his gallery. He has a direct connection with the Vortex mine and owns two mining claims at Yogo Gulch that he works himself.

The Gem Gallery invites you to view their extensive collection of Montana Yogo Sapphires. Their talented goldsmiths can help you in creating your own piece of customized Yogo Sapphire jewelry.

Still Living History The Living History Farm at the Museum of the Rockies by Dave Kinsey William Tinsley came to Montana with the first wave of settlers in 1863 in search of land at the age of 27. This was even before gold had been discovered at Bannack, which put the Montana Territory and its opportunities firmly on the map. He returned home to Missouri before making a homestead, but he returned the following spring with his brother, Joseph, and sister-in-law, Martha. They settled in Virginia City, a town filled with prospectors and the epicenter of the Montana gold rush in the mid-1860s that transformed the formally quiet territory. It appears that one motivation for the brothersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; journey was to escape the Civil War. The war was tearing families apart across the nation, and this was especially vivid for the Tinsley family. Shortly before he left for Montana, raiders from the opposing side burned Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s barn in Missouri where both he and his brother lived. Among the group of pillagers was another Tinsley brother, John. Martha restrained Joseph from firing at the attackers, but the wound formed, and shortly thereafter, the older brothers left to Montana to start fresh. That first year Joseph and his wife lived in their wagon box from the journey to Montana. While in Virginia City between 1865 and 1867, William worked various jobs, including for Wells Fargo. By 1867, however, he was ready to move on. On January 1, 1867 he married Lucy Ann Nave. A fellow Missourian, Lucy was born June 12, 1844. When she was twenty, she and her family left Missouri in the same group with the Tinsleys for Montana via the Oregon Trail. In Virginia City Lucy and her two sisters operated a dress shop. When she married William, she left the shop, and the new family made its way to Willow Creek. They moved into a small, homestead cabin, which would be their home until they outgrew it with eight children. Joseph and Martha Tinsley also left Willow Creek with William and Lucy and setup their own homestead nearby.

In 1869 the Montana land survey finished, opening land for settlers to stake their claims. On March 20, 1877, William Tinsley filed the final proof of his Homestead while still living in the original cabin. As their family grew over the years, William Tinsley and his family realized they would need to upgrade to larger home. Between 1888 and 1889 the patriarch and his family cut and hauled logs from the Tobacco Root Mountains near Mammoth. In true pioneer fashion, they built the home themselves, using only what was at hand from the surrounding land. The home not only survived eight children but nearly a century outside in the Montana elements, a claim not many structures can make, especially those built

by a single familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steady hands. The home stood firm in Willow Creek until 1986. Instead of being torn down, the Museum of the Rockies undertook the project of moving it to Bozeman to serve as a living testament to a bygone era. In order to preserve the home as authentically as possible, the whole two-story building was loaded onto a trailer for the ride to Bozeman. Over the next few years, a team worked to restore to the home to its original condition and prepare it for its second life as a Living History Museum. Living History Museums are unique in that they encourage hands-on learning.

Montana Historian

John Tinsley

led a decidedly different life than his older brothers. He joined the Union Army during the Civil War and participated in the burning of his brothers’ barn. Later, he, too, headed for Montana and settled in Townsend. By 1872 he was in jail with a life sentence, convicted of killing a man in a dispute over cattle ownership. Fortunately, Benjamin Franklin Potts, an infantry brigade commander for the Union Army in the Western Theater of the Civil War became the post-war governor of Montana from 1870 to 1883. Another Union leader, President Ulysses S. Grant, appointed Potts. Following a petition effort led by one J.C. Stuart, Governor Potts pardoned John Tinsley after a just year in prison. “Regardless of the fact that Stuart had rescued him from a fate worse than death, [John Tinsley’s] base ingratitude asserted itself a few years later when he became his benefactor’s bitterest foe,” wrote a Townsend newspaper article from January 2, 1901. John lived in Horse Creek, Montana until 1897 when he moved to California. According to same newspaper article from January 2, which was aptly entitled The Tinsley Tragedy,“The dispatches of last Thursday told of a terrible tragedy which occurred on the streets of Los Angeles, Cal., that day, when John W. Tinsley, well known throughout this part of the state, shot and killed the woman he had deceived and wronged and then sent a bullet through his own brain, thereby ending his miserable life.” The paper notes that John had “shamefully deserted” his first wife and family in Townsend, convinced his second wife to sell her property, stole the proceeds, and abandoned her via a note that advised her she would never see him again. Tinsley then fled to California. Undeterred, his second wife, to whom he referred as Mrs. Anna P. Tinsley, followed him to Los Angeles and filed suit for her money and divorce. Perhaps realizing the finality of his predicament, Tinsley authored two letters detailing his plan to kill his wife: In the opening of one he wrote,“If I meet Mrs. Anna P. Tinsley today I will take her life and then mine.” And in the other, “I expect to meet Mrs. T at the M.E. church south tomorrow, and then I will do the work. I hope there is no one that will say I am crazy, for my mind is as clear as it ever was … I would like to be buried by the side of Anna P. Tinsley, but I suppose my wishes will never be gratified.” Tragically, John Tinsley followed through with his plan and murdered his wife before taking his own life, abruptly ending the life of a man “People here who know [him] best pronounce[d]… a bad man.”

DINOSAURS, PLANETARIUM, KIDS DISCOVERY CENTER, MONTANA HERITAGE & HISTORY, MUSEUM STORE, & MORE

...Montana’s most entertaining museum... — Lonely Planet Bozeman, Montana 600 West Kagy Boulevard 406.994.2251 museumoftherockies.org 2012/2013

Most museums display historic artifacts; Living History Museums utilize them. According to David Kinsey, the Living History Farm Manager at the Museum of the Rockies, the main goal of the Tinsley home and its surrounding farm is to bring the turn of the twentieth century to life. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a memorial; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hands-on, open-air museum. Rather than abstract instruments whose purpose, feel, and use must be imagined in the abstract, the tools at the Tinsley home are actively used every day, both by the volunteers who maintain the farm and the visitors who have come to learn. Visitors (and the volunteers) return to the 1890s. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t merely imagine life back then; they experience it. The museum aims to answer otherwise intangible questions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How does it really work?â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x153;How did it fit into the daily lives of people over a century ago?â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x153;How does it fit into our lives now?â&#x20AC;? It does so by providing visitors with a profound understanding the day-to-day life on the Montana frontier that the Tinsley family lived and physical experiences that emphasize the progression to life today. They learn how the basic tools of the past led to the innovations that have since changed our world.

One key to this is that the farm and its tools are not merely used as a display. Interpreters donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t point to something in a case and explain its purpose. Instead, the farm uses 1890s technology to grow all its food, raise its livestock, and cook a noon meal enjoyed each day by the volunteers who work the farm. Though visitors canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t savor the meal themselves, there is no more visceral farm to plate experience than seeing the harvest from those very fields prepared in front of your eyes exactly as it would have been in the 1890s. Each summer volunteers of all ages from around the region spend their days just as the Tinsleys did. They farm the crops, tend to the animals, fix what breaks, and prepare their meals using exclusively the tools and tactics of the era. In fact, the farm itself is comprised entirely of crops and livestock that would have been available on the 1890s homestead the Tinselys kept. The only difference is that the volunteers explain and teach visitors about what they are doing as they do it. Though they take part in training to understand the tools and the Tinsleysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives, their active use of the farm gives them a unique understanding of their subject, from its trials to its triumphs, that they share with visitors to enhance and invigorate the experience. Each summer a small army of volunteers bring the Tinlseysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; home and the frontier of the American West to life. The Living History Farm at the Museum of the Rockies is one of the rare places where time stands still, not only to appreciate but also to experience. It stands as a testament to the pioneer spirit lived by William Tinsley and his family and a visceral reminder of Montana life just over a century ago.

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Montana Historian

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WHERE MONTANA HISTORY COMES TOGETHER The Montana Historical Society by Tom Cook, Montana Historical Society

Those who have a passion for Montana history have chosen wisely. It is the story of all of us who have called this great land home. The panoramic prose that speaks of this special place is made up of thousands of memories that call out to you from their home at the Montana Historical Society. Wisdom comes from all that has gone before us. Montana’s Museum with all of its wonderful art and artifacts is but the gateway to all of the ways that the Montana Historical Society serves the cause of Montana history and heritage. Once you come to love Charlie Russell’s paintings in the Mackay Gallery, the Montana Homeland’s story of 11,000 years of history in this land and other exciting and constantly changing exhibits, you are only beginning to understand the vision that awaits you. Montana’s memory is protected and constantly refreshed by a staff that loves to help you find your own special piece of history and to share it with others who share your passion. Diaries, letters, historic photographs, maps, private and public records, historic newspapers, and millions of other gateways to history open up to you in the Historical Society’s Research Center. Everyone – from genealogists, to authors like Ivan Doig, to filmmakers like Ken Burns, to people like you – is welcome to find their own historic gems. It is not uncommon to hear “Wows” and “jackpots,” or see broad smiles and some tears as people turn back the pages of history. The Society’s State Historic Preservation Office works with people across Montana to save historic buildings and places and to help interpret them to enrich the stories of communities. The preservation office provides support in historic renovation projects and works with archaeologists to uncover and protect history that is being discovered all the time. It administers the National Register of Historic Places and assists the public in qualifying for it. The Outreach and Interpretation program uses all of the Society’s collections and stored knowledge to provide public programs, events, curriculum support to schools, the annual Montana History Conference, capitol tours, interpretive signs across the state and other services. Education is at the heart of the Society’s mission. Taking Montana history statewide to all Montanans is central to that cause. Getting the Montana story to the public is also served by the Montana Historical Society Press. It publishes two or three books a year on the history of Montana and the West. Most recently it published “Hand Raised: The Barns of Montana,” and “I Do: A Cultural History of Montana Weddings,” which both won awards. It is also home to the

Montana Historian

nationally award-winning “Montana The Magazine of Western History,” which features new and groundbreaking articles by the foremost academics and researchers in the business. Although it is all about history, the Society knows that it is also serving future generations. Using its research and museum collections and the knowledge of its staff and educators across the state, the Society published “Montana: Stories of the Land.” It is a textbook that has been distributed across the state that also stands alone as a good read for anyone interested in Montana history. It has won numerous awards, especially for providing the Native American perspective on Montana history in every chapter. The Society believes that a knowledge of the past is critical to creating good citizens for the future. We know that you share our passion for Montana history because you are reading “Montana Historian.” Many of the Montana stories you read about are written by people who begin their search for the past at the Montana Historical Society. We encourage you to continue your quest to unlock the stories of the past. If you have not been to Montana’s Museum located just east of the State Capitol in Helena, we invite you to come see where your story lives. If you have, come again because the exhibits and programs are always changing. When you come, take some time to visit the Research Center or learn more about our other programs. You will find people who want to tell you the Montana story and more importantly to listen to yours. If you want to learn more about the Society, you can log on to www. montanahistoricalsociety.org, We invite you to subscribe to our awardwinning magazine and become a member by clicking on Membership Program at the top of the home page, or by calling 406-444-2918 for more information. Join us in celebrating the past and making some new history together.

2012/2013

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Montanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history is rich with remnants of its booms and busts. These gems of western history were built by gold seeking settlers, ambitious miners and hard working ranchers. Take a walk back through time at one of the Treasure Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ghost towns.

Alder - Laurin: 800-829-2969 Anaconda - Cable Mine: 406-563-2400 Bannack - Bannack State Park: 406-834-3413 Big Sky - Karstâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Camp: 800-943-4111 Boulder - Elkhorn State Park: 406-495-3260 Clancy - Lump Gulch: 800-743-5362 Drummond - Garnet Ghost Town: 406-329-3914 Elliston - Greenhorn Gulch (Austin): 800-743-5362 Helena - Rimini: 800-743-5362 Lewistown - Giltedge: 406-535-5436

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100

Montana Historian

Kendall: 406-535-5436 Maiden: 406-535-5436 Yogo Gulch: 406-535-5436 Marysville - Marysville: 800-743-5362 Missoula - Coloma: Mystery Camp of Garnet Range: 406-329-3914 Philipsburg - Granite Ghost Town State Park: 406-542-5500 Saltese - Taft: 406-649-6400 Townsend - Hassel (St. Louis): 406-266-4101 Virginia City - Alder Gulch: 800-829-2969 Nevada City: 800-829-2969 Virginia City: 800-829-2969 White Sulphur Springs - Copperopolis: 406-547-2250 Zortman - Town Site of Zortman and Landusky: 406-654-1776