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 | [...]esign was drawn by Cherie Ferrel. Cherie was born in Baker, Montana in 1950. She graduated from the Baker High School and attended the Montana State University, majoring in Commercial Art. She became a professional freelance artist in 1972. She now works as a freelance political cartoonist and caricature artist in Deadwood, South Dakota during the summer months .[...]ND FLY LEAF. The honorable mention in our Book Cover contest. The judges felt this entr[...]represenative of the area and the topics covered in our book that it merited a printing. Study the de[...]The artist, Helen Bergstrom Lacasse, was born in Fallon County and attended the rural school at Willard. She graduated from the Baker High School in 1933 and then she worked for the M.D.U. as a secretary for a time. She now lives in Portland, Oregon and is the mother of two children. For several years, now, she has been in a wheel chair with a crippling disease which has[...]the encouragement of her daughter who is majoring in Art in college. TO THE READER- -We have comp[...]as has been possible we have printed the accounts in the vernacular in which they were written. We |
| [...]Three ladies of the B ook Committee dress up in period clothes to sell books at Baker "CRAZY DAYS[...]of ''B ud'' P rice. Left to right, Mrs. L. Price in a dress dated at about 1900. It is of silk[...] |
| [...]er, Montana One of the community facilities in Baker which greatly compliments the cultural opportunities in the area is the museum at 227 South First Street[...]elf is the old Long country school built sometime in the early thirties. It was moved into town and s[...]t. The building opened to the public as a museum in the summer of 1970. The main floor is the primary[...]s. L. Price and Forrest Duffield are the members in charge of the museum. On March 3, 1968, Gle[...]ng of Fallon County citizens who were interested in an historical society.[...]y" was adopted from the O'Fallon Creek water shed in the county . O'Fallon Creek was named by William[...]he Missouri Fur Company by 400 Blackfeet Indians, in May of 1823, presents one of the most vivid pictures of Indian Warfare in the West. Charter Members of the soc[...] |
| Table of Contents In the Beginning (Far, Far Back), by Lorene Kirschte[...]by Gulnare Lutts . . ................... 21 Dead Man's Butte .......... . .......... . ........ . .. . .[...]......................... 89 Early Day Industries In and Around Baker, Gulnare Lutts .................[...]Facing Page 178 Family Histories , in Alphabetical Order .[...]543 Map of Territory Covered in O'Fallon Flashbacks, in Back of Book, by J es ie Hodges Price[...] |
| In the Beginning In the beginning Eastern Montana was part of[...] |
| IN THE BEGINNING Far[...]. It lay, on this particular day, not mirror like in its utter quietness, but as a great burnished shield, covered with the tiniest ripples. In all directions save one, it stretched unbroken.[...]ed surface of the water. But there is life in the scene. The warm shallow sea is simply teeming[...]knows? Probably both. They fall to the sea bottom in never ending succession, like tiny snow flakes ge[...]You shall all be oil and gas, bye and bye. In the far distant future, you'll come to light agai[...]kies were swarming with reptiles. The earth back in the far dim past was not as it is today. The climate was different. In most places it was tropical or sub-tropical, and[...]he reptiles could not have flourished . In the Age of Reptiles the great mountain systems ha[...]n. The Himalayas, now the highest mountain range in the world, did not exist. There were no Rocky Mou[...]know they did because we find their bones buried in the earth. These bones have been fossilized or tu[...]beings did not exist until one million years ago. Man's own recorded history is hardly 7,000 years old. The time back to the Age of Reptiles is like the distance in miles separating us from the moon. Cartoo[...]branches. The tail stretches backward and is lost in the smothering vegetation. Tyrannosaurus Rex was[...]much about this terrible creature and his habits. In 1900 Dr. Brown found part of a skeleton in South Dakota. More bones of a different creature were unearthed two years later on Hell Creek in Montana. That was when Montana was still the " Wi[...]de camp on Hell Creek. There, half way up a hill, in the layer of buff-colored sand, he found a complete skeleton of Tyrannosaurus. In 1908 Dr. Brown found another skeleton in these same Montana Bad Lands. All the skeletons stand among the most prized exhibits in the American Museum. Every year millions o[...] |
| [...]ther Nature said , "Something seems to say, In my deep old mother's heart, that there will come[...]This wise "Old Dame" was partly right, and partly in the wrong, Her mighty children b[...]o. But now, unearthed , mounted , restored , in museums there and here, We may s[...]of fear. (Poem by Lorene E . Kirschten in her book " History of Fallon County.)[...] |
| [...]a ualley just south of the Medicine Rocks. People in the picture are [left to right}: John Karc[...] |
| [...]Written in 1940 by Lorene E. Kirschten Signs of th[...]ures other than mere animals had passed that way. In the grasses, on the hill-tops, among the rocks, in dry washes and on exposed surfaces, in fact almost anywhere, one may find spear points a[...]hese have been found among the Medicine Rocks and in other places, though they are not plentiful. An[...]hot rocks. They also carried the meat and water in skin bags, so it is believed that the pottery mus[...]dian origin and no longer visible. [Editor's Note-in our story of Medicine Rocks is a picture of car[...]Many people have seen the patterns of rocks found in and around the country. They are not haphazard formations but have been laid in rings, squares and wedges and other designs, whic[...]definite purpose behind their placing. In many places on the plains have been found the rem[...]egend among the Plains Tribes that once, way back in the dim past, the Indians were very hungry. The[...]her how to arrange a " piskun" or buffalo drive. In the morning she reported her dream to the men of the camp. Since the Indians beleived in dreams , the instructions were immediately carri[...]clivity, secured large boulders and arranged them in two walls which ended at the edge of the cliff.[...]at no one is certain of having located a "piskun" in Fallon County, but over near the Dakota line near the south end of the Bad Lands area, there was in early days a location which suggests such a place[...]his location was discovered a number of years ago in the East Fertile Prairie section some distance north of Highway 12. A gre[...]ween two valleys, slopes toward the south, ending in a half-mile stretch of cutbanks and steep slopes.[...]ghly circular form. It was probably 17 or 18 feet in diameter and rose to a height of perhaps 20 feet.[...]ose of range stock that had drifted over the bank in a blizzard, because it is impossible for a column[...]he rings or wedges of large boulders lying on the prairie. These are the remains of buffalo pounds. The natives would place these boulders in a favorable location, then they would run the her[...]y beasts. Several of these pounds have been found in Fallon County. Some of the stones are now partly buried in the soil of the plains. Some people have seen the rocks laid out in squares. o one know their purpose, but it seems l[...]ed the same purpose. Northeast of Baker, in the eastern fringe of the Bad Lands, may be seen an ancient tribal trail. It begins in the grass land near the western base of a stony r[...]nues down the southeastern slope where it is lost in the rough surface of the valley. The trail is wel[...]would never do. The Indians laid out their camps in a definite manner, and they never built a camp on[...]on low ground. The most sensible explanation lies in the belief that it is the site of some religious[...]ng to think of the dusky-skinned natives, toiling in the heat of day or the cool of the evening, prepa[...]children emerge silently from the lodges and move in a slow and solemn procession up the steep trail t[...]they wait, with a dusky golden light. Watch them, in fancy, as all hands are raised toward heaven and the bodies sway rhythmically and gently as from each savage throat issues a weird chant. Rise, arise,[...] |
| [...]or tones die into silence as the sun rises warmly in full view. The people turn silently and process b[...]Little patches of brittle snow lie thinly nestled in low spots. Every now and again the long drawn bay[...]sh and flowers that have gone to seed. Everything in sight is decorated, on this morning, by a layer o[...]nce, gathering intensity as the sun mounts higher in the sky. Every object is heavily bejeweled. The l[...]the Red Men must seek a more sheltered spot. Down in a curve of the little stream is just such a spot.[...]their way down the slope, leaving a few squaws to cut up and transport the partially frozen buffalo car[...]the earliest known mountain inhabitants differed in both culture and physical characteristics from th[...]original grounds into the west. There was nothing in common between the tribes of the two sections until after the horse came into the possession of the Indian in the 18th Century. While remains of a primitive horse have been found in the west, in a fossilized state, none of them lived to develop[...]the white man, were descendants of those brought in by the Spanish Explorers. Some of them were left.[...]were not slow to see their value and lost no time in domesticating them. The horse made a great difference in the life of the Plains Indian. The Cheyen[...]from the Hidatsa group who occupied the territory in the lower Missouri River Valley, and who migrated[...]the trouble between the Red Men and the White Men in our section of the state. The Crows were a more p[...]ing driven to the flat top of a steep sided butte in Carter County, by an enemy band. The legend relat[...]that numerous human bones were to be found there in early times but few are to be seen now. There were sheltered places in the Bad Lands and along the streams where a winte[...]an natives. While we see few real Indians in our country now-a-days, there are quite a few Fal[...]ay, these changes were not always for the better. In fact, to use the words of an old song, the[...] |
| [...]modern, is the tepee rings which are so plentiful in the s tate. The tepee rings-rings of large stones, and usually found in groups of ten or more, have always been something[...]e Indians to hold the base of each tepee securely in place, and when a camp was moved the rings of stone were left in place. The wisest men of the Crow tribe of Indian[...]in of the tepee rings and that the rings were put in place by a mysterious tribe of "little people" wh[...]ft by the same race who left the picture writings in Montana. In many cases the groups of tepee rings are found on[...]studied the rings do agree is that they were put in place by an ancient tribe which was probably not in any way related to the Indians of the present day. Early man's inscrip tions on rocks at the south edge o[...] |
| [...]carving of thousands of dates, initials and names in the soft formations, has worn the rock worse than[...]ater long, long ago. These fossils are very small in size, so to find them you must go to a certain pl[...]south of the rocks. These rings are now imbedded in the earth and no one seems to know how long they[...]dlands area. Badlands are areas of mature erosion in formations that are very fine, loose, consolidate[...]One of the weird Rock Formations in the Medicine Rocks State Park[...] |
| [...]would star t to blow and cause a minute depre ion in the rock . After many years this depression would[...]y eroded sandstone which looks like molten silver in the moonlight, with the crannies in the rock appearing dark gray against the light and very black against t he silver, is very pretty to see. In fact., Theodore Roosev It. ca!Jed the Medicine Ro[...]at Medora, orth Dakota and used to camp overnight in them when he was herding cattle. The shap[...]rock calJed "the camel," but it was worn too thin in one place and so it crumbled and fell . Ot her ro[...]to t he size of an elephant. The Rocks also come in a variety of heights. They range from one foo t t[...]possible to start in a caue and go in.side and up and out until[...], swallows nest in the .holes. There is also a place calle[...]It is a huge hill of pure sand where one can roll in the sand or walk in one's bare feet or ju t it and ift it. through th[...]ine Rocks through the years. |
| [...]The livestock industry of Fallon County has in sixty years passed through three different stages[...]nt of the vast herds that once roamed the plains. In a few years they were all gone, and large herds o[...]except at roundup time. The cattle bought in Texas were at first trailed through to the northe[...]herd behind. The herd was well strung out and not in a compact bunch. The route taken from Texas or ew[...]e. At other times they were driven north to Dodge City, Kansas and then to Ogallalla, Nebraska. Ogallall[...]le were not Texas Longhorns. There would be a few in a herd, but most of the cattle were Herefords or[...]ge as large as some of our eastern states. In what is now Fallon County there was at that time[...]erd from Belle Fourche to the Little Beaver Creek in 1888, and he became the first foreman of the new[...]Hash Knife Ranch as it looked in 1920, given to tlu> museum by arah Kerr who's father was a Hash Knife cowboy in 1880. The other large ranches formed a ci[...]akota wa the L Ranch, owned by |
| [...]eek. The 777 Ranch was probably the largest ranch in this territory. They had 30,000 to 40,000 head of[...]Ranch was Mr. William Jones, who is still living in MedQra. At Wibaux, Montana, Mr. Pierre Wibaux had[...]he Powder River on the west to the Missouri River in the Dakotas. These were all southern cattle either trailed up from Texas or New Mexico, or trailed in from Wyoming or South Dakota. If trailed from Wyo[...]se some of the large cattle companies had ranches in these states. These cattle were mostly two year o[...]as one herd was shipped another herd was trailed in to take it place. The cattle trailed in here were mostly steers and spayed heifers, calle[...]dle the general roundup. The cattlemen would meet in Miles City in the spring and decide how the roundup was to be r[...]oughly covered by different "outfits" taking part in the roundup. Sometimes there would be several wagons in each of these territories. Each wagon had a wagon[...]the stock belonging on this particular range was cut out and turneq back on the range. With each of th[...]t. Here the cattle with different brands would be cut out and taken back to their home range, some to e[...]beef found on the range, fit for market, would be cut out and trailed to the nearest railroad where it[...]years were the first stage of the cattle industry in eastern Montana . The years of large scale operat[...]e on the range. The years when fortunes were made in livestock. The large cattle "outfits" qui[...]d for these large "outfits" for several years and in that way gained considerable experience in livestock. They continued to handle about[...] |
| [...]e Company for several years, .saved his money and in that way was able to start a ranch for himself. He continued as a stockman until his death in 1937. He had about 600 head of cattle when the d[...]led a herd of cattle here from Sundance, Wyoming, in 1890. These cattle were for the Standard Cattle C[...]trail driver and rider. He took Squatter's Rights in 1890 but continued to work for the cattle company[...]for fifteen dollars a head and the calves thrown in. His first brand was ine H ( C}-i ). He later cha[...]Yokley had 500 head of cattle, mostly herefords. In 1897 he bought 100 head of white faced cattle fro[...]to start for himself. Mr. Clark is a real pioneer in the cattle business. He has been in the west since 1880. He trailed a herd of 2,500 cattle from Lincoln , New Mexico to the OZ Ranch in 1880. This ranch was owned by John Conrad. There was only one log house in Sheridan, Wyoming at that time. It took Mr. Clark[...]s to bring this herd through. Mr. Clark took part in the roundup at Tongue River and Hang-Woman in 1881. In this roundup there were just as many buffalo as there were cattle. In 1883 he worked for the WI, owned by the Illinois-[...]ked as a representative with the Hashknife and HS in 1884. He later worked for Mr. Curtis Newberry and his :=::: ranch. He started ranching for himself in 1890 at Chalk Buttes in what is now Carter County. He moved to Pennel Creek in Fallon County in 1893, and has owned this ranch since. On the ranc[...]used the brand KN . Later on he became interested in sheep and at one time had 10,000 head. He also has a ranch in Jackson Hole in Wyoming, where he now spends most of the suinmers[...]ed the first cattle for them out of Fallon County in 1891. He was also along when the first shipment of cattle was made out of Miles City in 1882. The Northern Pacific Railroad had reached Miles City around Christmas in 1881. In 1925 Mr. Clark took charge of a fox ranch in Wyoming and in 1936 he started his own fox ranch at Plevna, Mont[...]iness. He is now retired, spends his winters here in Baker and his summers at his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Mr. Clark is in the best of health and can tell many interesting things in regards to the early WP.St. Mr . Richard Morris was born at Denver, Colorado in 1872. His parents came to that state in 1863 and he has always lived in the west and is surely entitled to be called a pi[...]age and started "punching cows" for J. W. Illif in Colorado in 1886. In 1889 he left Colorado and went to the Black Hills[...]yenne River range and hired Mr. Morris as foreman in 1890. Mr. Morris also worked for 777 trailing cattle for them from the Black Hills in 1892. He spent one summer with the VA ranch. In 1902 Mr. Duhamel started a ranch in Fallon County. 10,000 head of cattle were trailed[...]bout the last large cattle man to start ranching in Fallon County. His cattle were southern cattle which he had paid twenty dollars per head for in Texa . His brand was seven-lazy seven N . Like most of the big "outfits" he quit ranching in Montana in 1905, and was supposed to have made a million dollars in the cattle business. Mr. Morris took part in many of the big roundups and owned what was con i[...]he range. He sold this horse to a Commission Firm in Omaha, ebraska and it was still there in th yards in 1935. He started ranching for himself in 1906. His ranch is located ten miles north and ea[...]is brand was A lazy A I\:::' . Mr. orri now lives in Baker and is getting to be an old man but his mem[...]Mill Iron ranch. He started ranching for himself in 1 99 on his ranch between Westmore and Ismay, Mon[...]Mr . Hasty is also one of the first business men in the city of Baker. He owned the first restaurant here. At[...]five miles east of Baker and operates a dray line in Baker. The Fulton ranch is located on th[...]ine of Fallon County. William Fulton arrived here in 1890 and wa for some years employed by Mr. McKay a pioneer rancher in this vicinity. Mr. Fulton bought half interest in the McKay ranch in 1893 and the business was known as the McKay-Fult[...]sing mostly herefords under the brands D2 and KO. In the last few years Mr. Fulton and Mr. McKay have[...]here from Lead, South Dakota where he had worked in the mines. He bought the old MC ranch north of Ba[...]. Mr. Nels Rasmussen came here in 1907 and established a ranch on Little Bea[...] |
| [...]1910 were the second stage of the cattle industry in Fallon County. The large cattle companies had bee[...]nty of range up until 1910 when the settlers came in. In a few years most of the open range was gone.[...]rs which came from 1910 on were mostly interested in agriculture. They would take a homestead, build t[...]hem started small herds of cattle as a side line. In a few years some of them had as many as 100 head[...]st of the ranchers, who had been here since 1900, cut the.i r herds way down and started farming as a side line. Mr. Fulton is today the largest cattle man in Fallon County. He runs 300 or 400 head of cattle[...]w years ago, but the hard years had forced him to cut his herd down. Mr. Lewellyn Price, a Hardware Merchant in Baker, Montana, owns a ranch on the Little Beaver[...]nted to. This ranch has some of the best hay land in the country. Six miles to the south of Baker is the John Coldwell ranch. Mr. Coldwell came here in 1897 from Texas. He has been a sheep man most of[...]one time had several thousand sheep. He is still in the sheep business today and runs 2500 head of sh[...]me doubt as to whether the grass would come back. In 1938 and 1939 there was plenty of moisture, and t[...]will be several years before the cattle indus try gets a start again. Editors Note - AU the stockmen mentioned in this paper are dead now, but it is interesting to read about them. Livestock |
| [...]05] All the marvelous beauty of Montana in June was there for the beholder in the year of 1876 but it was unheeded by the |
| Dead man's Butte Dedication of monument at Dead Man's Butte in Pleasant Valley northeast of Plevna, Monta[...] |
| [...]The History of Dead Man's Butte |
| THE HISTORY OF DEAD MAN'S BUTTE Many persons living tn the vicinity[...]ing et.age all summer had -offered them Dead Man's Butte and the grave hi1s resignation, to take '&f[...]er of the Dave Pieper :hiomestead,. tional month, in the expectation of one mile east of the Cust[...]les northeast of the town of Plev• It was in the latter part of ·septem- na. The -s tory[...]n the trip the stage driver whose body rests in which ended In his death. It is said the lonely grave, ls t[...]z was one of the drivers of tho he asked Minor to cut his hair an.I stage line which then connecte[...]a long time. Minor did sent site -of Bismark in what ls now _so, and also loaned him ,a razor, wi[...]d himself. He also the preaent site of Miles City. The w.ashed his s.htrt, and tidied hims-elf[...]Dead start on his trip to the mouth of Pow- Man's Butte crosses Pennell Creek, to der River, hie hi[...]ye,Minor '. tion, about 35 years of age, and in- He then turned and followed the stago[...] |
| [...]the where he found a broken shovel and rifle in th~ buckboard. Chased by th~ ·hoe, tble only too[...]wards claimed that they had not th::m a foot, but in this &hallow grav~ intended ,t o kill him, a[...]coyotes and wolves. same run as Fritz, came in the next Senator McCone .then took up the[...]fo. emen of a bay crew that h-ad been they had .cut open, cutting off the riv• cutting hay fo[...]ad to F allon, and a ~ dinner re- a tm1all corral in ·the soft earth of a turned, watch[...] |
| [...]t hehind his own, and take pa.rt In t he soldiers. The Indians s,tory of the parade.. tragedy came out later In a round• a• It was _Long[...]cCone had the contract claim in behalf of the Indians, that for the ,stag,e l[...]over the hardy cension, was an Indian parade, in vtoll468rs who were broo.kln[...]nery, participated. At the live in peace. •1111111111111111111111111111[...] |
| Plctu,es of Pageant at Dead man's Butte loaned by Bru[...]l men who played the parts of Indians at the Dead Man's Butte Pageant in 1924. Left to right; Bill Hubbard,[...] |
| [...]northwest of Ollie, Montana. Sod house was built in 1908. Mr. Prouty with daughters Dessa and[...] |
| [...]Anna (Greiner) Prouty was born December 20, 1879 in Missouri. Father attended the Lutheran College at Decorah, Iowa and graduated from the Lutheran College at Jewell, Iowa about 1896. My folks were married December 20, 1897 in Iowa and I was born October 23, 1899. Father w[...]ked working outside, so decided to farm . One day in October of 1907, while father and mother were pi[...]the team right there and left the wagon standing in the field . They left that afternoon along with Jim Morris. Carl Rose had been out here in July, had filed on his homestead and had gone back to Iowa. I don't know how they got out from Beach[...]respective homesteads and then had to go to Miles City to file on them. My father's homestead was where[...]Nash home until our house was ready to move into. In April of 1908 my mother, Lou Anne (Greiner) Prout[...]came out on the train to Beach, North Dakota from Iowa. Carl Rose and my father met us at the depot in Beach with a team and sled in a snow storm. We spent the first night at a hotel in Beach and the next day we went out to the Nash place. It was a long cold trip. They had hay in the sled and plenty of blankets so we could crawl[...]ith was a twelve inch walking plow. Later in the summer when the wheat was nice and green and[...]no fences and they would have destroyed the crop in no time, but Mother heard them coming and saved the crop by shooting in the air with a double barrel shot gun. Tha[...] |
| [...]t that same summer. They would bring us milk once in a while which was a real treat.[...]ark, milking cows in 1909. We made many trips to the[...] |
| [...]low Cap Rock, 1909. Our first Christmas in Montana (1908), my father brought home an evergre[...]ner and Aunt Ollie Larson and Estel came out from Iowa to visit us. Cap Rock in 1909 before the cap fell off, it is west o[...] |
| [...]d this country so well that when they got back to Iowa they talked Grandpa Greiner and Uncle Merenus Lar[...]e Ollie town site was later. He then went back to Iowa to get ready to move out here. He later bought th[...]We were thankful to have plenty of coal and wood in for the winter. We also had plenty to eat as far[...]e on the hillside. I wasn't out long until I came in sick. I pulled my sled up by the west side of the house and laid there on it in the sun until someone happened to see me. I was b[...]. Grandpa Greiner built his first house and moved in. When I was able to be up in the spring, my folks took me to Grandma's house so they could clean and fumigate our house. We had been in quarantine all this time. Th[...]where he had the postoffice that was established in 1911. Lee Greiner, my |
| [...]y. He did many things to develop the town. In the spring of 1910 my mother (Lou Anna Prouty) drove from house to house over the prairie with horse and buggy to circulate a petition for[...]of Schools for Custer County came down from Miles City and they met at our house and organized the Beave[...]Beaver Valley School, built in 1911, picture taken in 1912 or 1913, first real school at Ollie,[...]yed the violin for the dances. He also had dances in his home. They would roll up the carpet and carry[...]a good time. George and Lola Rustad were married in April, 1915 and they had their wedding dance ther[...]Marie Rustad were the first couple to be married in the new settlement. That night the neighbors chivareed them and danced in Carl's new homestead shack. The first babies were Ernie Stark-born in November of 1908, Florence Prouty, born in June of 1909, and Glennie Prouty, born in April of 1911. The first baby born in the town of Ollie was Ollie Louise Wilson. She wa[...]son, the Hardware man. Her mother died of the flu in 1918. When we first came to Montana we dro[...]lie U.B. Church. My brother Glenn was born in April, 1911, and died of pneumonia in December of 1917. Both my sister and brother are[...]The Fourth of July, 1913, we drove to Baker in a wagon in the rain on gumbo, prairie roads to celebrate. We stayed two nights at the F[...]o was very drunk. She had a long dress which drug in the mud. By morning she was a mess. In 1913 my father sold his homestead to Mr. Martin f[...]old this place to Lee Greiner and moved to Nashua Iowa-Home of the Little Brown Church in the Dale. I have two brothers, F;ancis Prouty, a farmer near Nashua , Iowa, and Dallas Prouty, a businessman at Iowa Falls, Iowa. My father passed away May 30, 1952, and in 1956, Charles, our son Larry , and I w~nt to Iowa and took care of my mother during the wint[...] |
| [...]house built by Frank Stanhope at Willard, Montana in 1909, picture taken by Elmer Anderson of Willard, loaned by Mrs. Westrope, in the picture are Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stanhop[...] |
| [...]on Hanson A dugout is a rough shelter dug in the side of a hill or bank. The pioneers in America often lived in what they called half dugouts. That was a shelte[...]d each day with water and kept meticulously clean in most instances. The furniture was usually[...]atch and piece of leather. Locks were not needed in those times as the saying goes, "The latch string is out. Walk in. Make yourself at home."[...]Sod houses out from Plevna, taken in 1969, l.oaned[...]rigstad, Superintendent of Custer County at Miles City, in writing to this reporter, Marion Hanson, who is collecting history of sod homes in this part of the county, tells of her grandparents living in a dugout or sod house partly in Cheyenne Country in Oklahoma Territory in the 1890's. Her parents, after their marriage, lived in another sod home near Admore, Oklahoma before moving 65 miles south of Miles City and_another sod house that first was built for a chicken house but lived in for two years first. Their many neighbors also fo[...]rce. Mrs. Herigstad tells that after her marriage in 1935 she was teaching near Wheeler, Montana,a boo[...]eight miles west of Willard, tells of her living in a half dugout and sod home in Oklahoma before coming to Montana in October, 1909. Again a half dugout sod home was p[...]e. Albert Fost built a shack for his home in 1909 and a sod house for his stock, but often a w[...]town was still 15 miles away. I remember this as in the early 20's I fell through my father's straw r[...]Mr. and Mrs. Frank Stanhope and family came in 1909 and homesteaded east of Willard. They[...] |
| Jones Griffith came from Texas in 1901 and homesteaded in 1904 two and a half miles east of Baker on Sandstone Creek. In 1908 he built a two room sod house, each room abo[...]It boasted two nice clothes closets. It was cool in summer and warm in the Montana winter blizzards. He married Amanda Vincelette in 1906, and in 1908 a daughter, Pearl Griffith Degrand, was born, and in 1910, Raymond. Another son, Alan, was born later in the same sod house and when a daughter, Rose, came along, they were in a new home with natural gas. Sod house put up by Jones Griffith in 1908, the picture was taken between 1950[...]k walls still stand. There are several sod houses in the Webster |
| [...]nationalities and special groups of society came in such large numbers that they have been especial[...]notice also. Many Irish came into western Montana in the mining days and then drifted eastward. We hav[...]tired of the rapacious German nobles who lived in luxury on taxes of the land workers. Beginning in 1765, the Germans pioneered four continents. Th[...]irst the steppe of eastern Europe. They pioneered in Siberia, they pioneered in South America, and they pioneered the United States, Canada, and Mexico. And I mean pioneered, being in each of these far corners of the world · the f[...]habitants. One of the first migrations, in 1765, was of six villages from Hess, a province o[...]e Great, Empress of all the Russias. Catherine, in spite of her many sins, deserved to be called Gre[...]d pushed the Indians onto reservations, there lay in the middle of our country a great empty grassland. In the same way, when Catherine's armies had pushed[...]s of land for their services, had little interest in the cultivation of land. They were afraid to sett[...]nd community leaders. The Germans moved to Russia in great waves, whole villages sometimes, Catholics[...]stern Germany-one of the pleasantest countrysides in the world where there is plenty of moisture, tre[...]sod houses-as they were later to build sod houses in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas. Then the Germa[...]ipment they needed. And they prospered. In one hundred years their population multiplied sev[...]beria. They built villages, churches and schools. In the schools the children learned reading, writing, arithmetic and religion, all in German. A few of the schools had to teach Russian, but in general the Germans minded their own business and[...]there was no mingling and almost no intermarriage in over a hundred years between Catholic, Evangelica[...]r neighbors are poor, and taking no part whatever in Russian life, they naturally stirred up a good deal of resentment. By 1871 even the Czar, far away in Moscow and St. Petersburg, was resenting the Germ[...]us villages as foreign bodies -as so many cancers in the body of Russia. He decreed that the German boys had to serve their time in the military like everyone else. He also decreed that the Germans would have to learn Russian in their schools. At that time the Russians themselves had no public schools. In 1897, twenty-five years after the Czar had decreed that the Germans must teach Russian in their schools, the Germans were probably the only[...]e of 21 and had to serve from three to five years in the army. In the Russo-Turkish wars, in the wars with France, Germany and Japan, they wer[...]nd abused. The German's dread of military service in Russia was not from principle, but for the[...] |
| [...]al mass deportations , there are few Germans left in European Russia. In 1941, when Hitler attacked Russia, Stalin deporte[...]ttered them all over Siberia. He shipped them off in box cars without heat or food, and just dropped them off in the wilderness. There they either died or started[...]shelters, clearing land for farms, breaking sod, in a harsh climate in a raw land. Only lately have some of their relatives learned what became of them, in fact it is only since Kruschev issued a public apology to the German-Russian people in 1955, for what Stalin had done to them . This explains how the German Russians came to pioneer in Europe and Asia. After 1871, long before they went or were sent to Siberia in any numbers, they began to migrate to the New World. There are vast colonies of them in Argentina and Brazil. Almost as many of them migr[...]since there are temperate plains, open grasslands in South America as there are in North America, we know that the Germans turned those plains into fields as they did in the United States and Canada. It was the Great Plains of the United States that they came to in the greatest numbers. They came in the 1880's, the 1890's and early in 1900. Just as south Russia had been treeless and empty in 1770, the same was so in 1870 in Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakota Territory, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado in the United States and Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada. One hundred years after their beginnings on the Russian steppe they built their first houses of prairie sod on the American steppe and then replaced them[...]America's " wheat-and-meat" country was developed in much the same way as Russia's "wheat-and-meat" co[...]rmed and keep informed. We must have books. Books in which we can record accounts for all times. Books on ancestry are a natural outgrowth of an interest in one's forefathers, and as Americans we have becom[...]s, redeemed us and promised us a heavenly mansion in His Kingdom. We owe a definite regard, love and respect to all our ancestors who have cooperated with Him in bringing us into this world, labored and suffered[...]Given to the O'Fallon Historical Society for use in the book "O'Fallon Flashbacks," by Elsie S[...] |
| [...]ent form of entertainment. Old and young attended in wagons, buggies, sleds and on horseback; sometimes in a hayrack. They were held at homes, and a[...]houses. Our neighborhood was especially fortunate in having a bachelor man named Quincy Rawley who had[...]ng one large room for dancing. There was an organ in the kitchen and a big bed in the other for babies and young fry. And plenty of[...]lso "rattle the bones." Everyone "chipped in" to pay the music. This was the only charge at fi[...]e danced a variety of styles, including Two-stop, in which a large circle was formed and when the call[...]ie Duffield made up as a plantation mammy dressed in a gunny sacking gown. One girl dressed in lace curtains.) "Hard Times" dances were[...]men who did not care about dancing would hole up in a comer or in the kitchen and play whist while the ladies would[...]escorted to the outside to cool off. Tied in with a dance was sometimes Box or Basket Social,[...]t or Just for the "heck" of it. But that brought in the desired income so it was all to the good, and[...]. There were no dinky plastic bags in w~ch to encase the foods, so waxed pap~~ o[...] |
| [...]s played "mumble-de-peg. " Lemonade, made in a huge crockery jar ordinarily used for curing me[...]as available with slices of lemon floating around in it. Sometimes cream cans were used, or even porce[...]ater pails. After an ice house was put up in Baker out on the point of land near the south end[...]fter it, and then ice cream would be served, made in those old hand cranked ice cream freezers .[...]r work was over, the ladies took their chairs out in the shade of a storage building near the old log[...]Sheriff of Custer County, who happened to be down in this end at the time. We were still in Custer County at that time. Someone broug[...]was the finely dressed little visitor from Miles City. Among the neighbors, was a young married woman who, at the time, was a "lady in waiting." She had not accepted a drink and the visitor from Miles City questioned her as to why not. She continued to re[...]ng, ankle length skirt sweeping across the grassy prairie. Shock! And how! Home talent plays were another source of delight as well as income for projects in those days. There were no movies until some years[...]the U.M .B. (Unmarried Brothers Club) of Fertile Prairie. Some took the parts of women, even to wearing co[...]d Walter Anderson. Webste r Post Office and H all in background, picture loaned by M arion Hans[...] |
| [...]Can-can cuties-all men-Lion's Club Minstral show in[...]Social Literary Club of Fertile Prairie, 1915 or 1916, standing, left to[...] |
| [...]K. Hills and Ed Lake houses in background, 1936 or 1937.[...] |
| [...]Celebration at Plevna, Montana. Ladies foot race in progress, picture loaned by Wanda Geving.[...] |
| [...]Wedding Anniversary, May 25, 1909, picture taken in 1934, loaned by Margaret Murphy Anderson.[...] |
| [...]ightning became sharper and the thunder increased in volume. The people became restless waitin[...]mbardment from above, the rain came down. It came in sheets pounding the roof, the ground and the cattle huddled in the lee of a big cutbank. Lightning flash[...]voices. Then a light was seen shimmering in the darkness about a Inile to the southeast. Litt[...]and the horses are all dead, too." No one in the kitchen recognized the child. She was wet, mu[...]other rooms. Kind hands helped her to a chair and in the crowd of women was one who knew her. This may[...]old) on her lap and I was sitting on a little box in front of them. Mama likes to drive the team so Da[...]ortable and the people were grouped about talking in low tones; waiting for the return of the rig. The[...]athetically of the husband, sitting with his baby in the inhospitable night beside the body of his wif[...]they, for from this rig descended a man carrying in his arms a young baby. It George Chapm with his y[...]no sign of injury. A bier was improvised in an unused grain room and before long the s[...] |
| [...]herself for a few minutes to escape the confusion in the house. She walked around the east end of the[...]e sod had been ripped away from the rocks and lay in a tumbled heap at the base while a hole the size[...]ven out and there lay Mrs. Dean on the damp earth in a dead faint. Well, a cot was set up in the living room and she was put to bed. It was st[...]By daylight they were back with the doctor riding in his top buggy. How those men were able to make su[...]reminder of the tragedy of the early dryland era in Fallon County. A few years later both of the Martin girls, May and Violet, died in an epidemic in Marmarth and were buried together in the same grave.[...] |
| [...]POST OFFICES OF THIS AREA IN THE 1900's[...]was an expression heard many times years ago back in the late 1890's or early years of 1900. Town wa[...]I got my information from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The National Archives apparently kept a huge ledger in which they entered the name of the first postmast[...]the first postmistress, followed by Jesse Bush in January, 1916. In July, 1917, Roscoe Zink became postmaster. The post office was moved to Baker in April, 1918. Bisher post office was located abo[...], and it appears that the first office was opened in February, of 1908, and that it was rescinded or discontinued in March, 1908. As near as I can tell from the infor[...]ed or discontinued was on account of the change in name, because it shows right after Burt the Ismay office was opened in March, 1908, with Zetta H . Grey as postmistres[...]te. Subsequent postmasters were Truman Crandell in 1911, Mary Bonham in 1913; Mary Bacon in 1916; Roy Broman, 1927 and also in February, 1931. CABIN CREEK: The firs[...]d we see where one Leona Coldwell was appointed in 1915; Arthur Coldwell was appointed in 1916; followed by Alice Krokker in June, 1919; Hattie V . Hagen in May, 1920, at which time it was moved to Wibaux.[...]ave the distinction of being the only post office in eastern Montana built entirely of stone. The fi[...]until May, 1913, when Emma Stoner was appointed. In January, 1919, Herbert W. Lyman was appointed.[...]one time county commissioner of Fallon County. In December, 1919, Lula Collings was appointed postmistress, followed by Irena Lautzenheiser in November, 1921. It is interesting to kno[...]he Carlyle post office, but it is first mentioned in May, 1907 , at which time Arthur C. Knudtson was appointed. In September, 1908. August Clocksin was appointed. Following that, Nels P. Noben in 1909; Roscoe Clark in 1911; Grace Baldwin in 1913 and James Anderson after that. The indexes show different appointments; Clay Wiley in 1918; Slater in 1919; Bert Slater in 1920; Netty Jensen in 1921; Rosa Kenyon was appointed acting postmistress in 1921 ; Rosa Stuart in 1922, after which the postoffice was transferred[...]Bovee as postmaster. The office is not mentioned in the National Archives. It was discontinued and moved to Wibaux in 1911. The office is indicated on a map published in 1913, and the location is given as about 10 miles[...]ber, 1910. He was followed by Agnes F . Peterson in 1912, who was followed in 1913 by Agnes F. Moline. If one looks close one c[...]followed by Albert G. Westpahl, who was appointed in April, 1915, and Barney Heyings was appointed in June, 1917. I believe that the final Knobs postof[...]eying conducted a grocery store and meeting place in connection with the post office. MACKENZIE[...]ster on November 8, 1927. Nell L. Deniger Morland in February 1928. The records conflict as to dates,[...]rs and cowboys. Johnnie had a small grocery store in connection with the operation and if you w[...] |
| [...]ster. Following him Clarence Bisher was appointed in January, 1917 . OLLIE: This post office w[...]Leander Greiner as postmaster, and Arthur Prouty in 1915, then Charles F. Shepherd was appointed in June 4, 1917. PLEVNA: Edina was the name[...]inted December 2, 1903. This office was mentioned in the postal bulletin but was not in the index of the National Archives. S. Ford Robin[...]ppointed December 1, 1902. Ida Cook was appointed in March 1912. It was named after an original brand,[...]be changed to words and came out Tee Dee. It was in what today would be called about the center of the MacKay ranch holdings way over in the southwest portion of Fallon county. VIOLET:[...]ster as postma ster. John D. Miller was appointed in 1917. Roscoe |
| [...]Knife] spread, which ranged 65,000 head of cattle in Montana.[...] |
| [...]d the country to get support for the school. In 1912, a sod school house with board floors and a board roof covered with sod, was built in the Knobs country. It was called the[...] |
| [...]had, of necessity, to be administered from Miles City. We were part of District 12. Miss Mary Lee Wilso[...]his crossed the Montana-Dakota line near Marmarth in 1907. Miss Wilson carried a camera and took pict[...]ils, stayed at the Stewart's for a time. In 1907 a log school house was opened at a post offi[...]A bit later a school was opened at the Pugh ranch in the badlands northeast of Baker. Mr. Pugh was a trustee of District 12 for a time. School was carried on in the Pugh's bunkhouse and children from the Pugh,[...]Murphy. Later a school house was erected. In 1908, Baker's first school was opened with Mrs. O[...]next two or three years, other schools were begun in this open range. Many of these were only of a tem[...]y to handle and so far from headquarters at Miles City. Before long, new districts were established with[...]and many of these small schools are now no longer in use and have been sold, and converted to other us[...]of Rocking Chair Butte. Records show that in the school year 1913-14 Mrs. K. Seeley tau[...] |
| [...]i~eration hereinafter stated, to teach the school in said di.str~ct for ~he per~d .of .... ,~il;lJ?.,[...]or twen~y school days (including all holidays), in the manner following, to-wit:[...]id County, to be paid out !'f any school moneys in the County Treasury standing to the credit of sai[...]····················· |
| Log school house built in 1912 or 1913 on the Philips place[...]y. This is an early day schoolhouse built in 1912 or 1913. It was in the Rocking Chair Butte country just in the corner of |
| [...]Ruby Havens. Besides the above mentioned teachers in this district were: Inez Cleveland, Alice Fallon,[...]d Madge Gregerson. There was no school held in the district from 1933-39 or 1952-59 but with the[...]er a few years the school population dwindled and in 1924 that part of the district lying in Custer County was abandoned to District 38, Custe[...]law and returned to District 57. The district was in existence only 31 years and had a total of fourte[...]District No. 6, Slater and Eureka Schools In the 1913-1914 school year the school board consis[...]of Carlyle, Montana, as trustee. Two schools were in session. The Slater School had 22 pupils with Mrs[...]l was taught by Eva N. Kidder, who had 24 pupils. In the spring of 1914 Euphia Robinson and Jessie Slater passed the examinations for the eighth grade. In 1914 a petition for the creating of a new school[...]m and Mrs. Emma Howard, as there were 17 children in the proposed district. In August, 1916, the following petitioned to be tran[...]herva. Two and sometimes three schools ran in the district to meet the needs of the children. P[...]it was moved to its present location on Highway 7 in 1950 after having been closed for many years. The[...]san Hair, Mrs. Karl Wenz and Mrs. Elizabeth Puhr. In 1967-68, the last year the school was in session, the teachers were: Joan Griffith, Tommy[...]Wyrick School The Wyrick School was built in 1906, nine miles north and two miles west of Bake[...]losed for several years, the school was re-opened in the hard winter of 1949-50 with Mrs. Gladys Mosel[...]term with Mis~ Mildred Votruba as teacher. It was in session all through those dry years, closi[...] |
| District No. 8, Prairie Rose School The Prairie Rose school was built by "little" Frank Ondrasik in 1916. The first teacher was a sixteen year old Gl[...]Christine Bowers, Elsworth Hardy and a Bond boy. In a tragic accident the Bond boy was killed by his[...]hool also was changed three times over the years, in 1918, 1925 and 1953. Miss Rose Loger taug~t the last term in 1960-1961. District 8 was abandoned to District 41 in February, 1964, as required by law. Many[...]o. 8, Swabble Creek or Hilmont School Back in the early days, when this was Custer County, there were no schools in this community. The people became school consciou[...]er canvassed the country and made a trip to Miles City (then county seat) to confer with the county comm[...]house and purchase the books and supplies. In 1912 a school house of sod was built with a board[...]y, District 8, Fallon County, received $1 ,112.20 in General Fund and $10.13 in Library Fund and 26 census children. In 1918 the building was moved for the last time. Du[...]ur youngsters attended school at one time. In 1919 eighth grade graduates were George Co[...] |
| [...]• • an In 1948 the district was abandoned to District 12.[...]n December 9, 1913. This county was again divided in 1917 The_northern par~ w~s s~ill to be ~all~n[...]aV1ng had the distmction of bemg m three counties in only four years. District 11 had as board members in 1913-14; M. Westland, Fred Grey and Al F. Grey. M[...]The Railroad crossed the Montana-Dakota line in 1907 and grade work continued on westward. Milwau[...]mailed on train 3, November 6, Aberdeen, Miles City Railroad Post O[...]wn as the Eastside School, and school opened here in the fall of 1908 with Mrs. Olive Lucier as teacher. The first school program was held in the corrugated warehouse opposite the depot, then[...]l when, the following year, larger room was built in Baker. Ha! Ha! Yes, that building rapi[...]grades under Miss Jessie McGillivray as teacher. In the fall of 1911, some High School subject[...] |
| In 1912, Miss Carrie Bachtle came from Minnesota and took over the upper grades and High School work in the large room. She remained in Baker some years and became Superintendent of Bak[...]s Minard. In 1913, a $14,000 bond issue was made and the east[...]ce Daugherty, now Mrs. E. M. Garnett of Salt Lake City and Bessie Millard, later Mrs. Paul Collette of Baker and Los Angeles. Also, in 1913, Fallon County was created and the old schoo[...]on the north and east sides of town. Then in the late 1920's, the modern building now known as[...]School, picture taken 1934. In 1936, another extensive addition was built and eq[...]well equipped J:Iigh School plant is also located in south Baker. Bus service and hot lunch program ar[...], small frame room on the north shore of the lake in 1908. This building now |
| [...]Stanley Bruce There was many a tear evident in the eyes of alumni and former teachers and curren[...]inferno. The bell was later retrieved and mounted in front of the new school. Although the fire was |
| Early Day Pictures of Classes In Saker Schools 1919 or 192[...]her first and second |
| Prize winning fl,oat in parade, May 7, 1920, Baker Ukelele Club. Some of the peopl,e in the picture are: Mr. Jolley, Ward Grant[...]trustees, and F. R. Allen, Camp Crook, as clerk. In 1913-1914 the Upper Tie Creek School was taught b[...]taught by Ruth Meyer and Anita M. Ackley. In 1914-15 the Plain View School was taught by Rache[...]ns School, Sherwin School. District 15 was in Carter County near the southwest corner of Fallon County. In 1913-14 the board members were: J . R. Lane, R. H[...]Gilman School was taught by Lottie Sacht. In 1914-15 The Big Hill School was taught by Victori[...]. Josie Barrere was at the Griffin School. In 1915-16 Miss Minnie Mumedy taught the Griffin Sch[...]ool, taught by Maude !decker with 13 pupils. Then in 1921-22 the Webster School was taught by F[...] |
| The Trail Creek and Little Beaver Schools were in session through the 1920's and 30's. Mrs. Minnie Wolenetz taught many years in the district. Other teachers were Miss Helen E. N[...]k, Mrs. Mildred Sutton and Mrs. Mercy Rose. In 1948 the district was changed to District 14 and in 1948 District 14 was abandoned to District 5. Di[...]orris School" was built on the Berry Morris ranch in the badlands northeast of Baker, not far District No. 17, Wilfong School[...]as needed. It has been much improved and has been in constant use as a school and |
| [...]llerton, Heldt and Medicine Rocks Schools In those early days when Fallon County was divided f[...]Records show that District 48 had two schools in session in 1914. Mrs. Walter Anderson was clerk and on the s[...]of Ekalaka. The Fullerton and Heldt Schools were in this district. In the same district but with a separate school boar[...]ustees. There were 24 pupils at the Morton School in 1913-14 with Jessie MacGullivary as the teacher. The buildings were moved and schools were in session as needed by the community. Most of them were closed about 1940. In 1950 the Medicine Rocks School was moved to the White place. In 1955 this school was struck by lightning and it burned. That fall school was held in Mrs. Gail Grant's trailer house until December by[...]5 and made ready for use. The District was closed in 1961 due to the scarcity of children. Some[...]. Kaveny of Willard, Montana; 1917, Ermine Blake; in 1918, Tom Emerson and Violet Goodwin; in 1919, Fern Goodwin; 1920, William Morton, Clara H[...]rtse, clerk of District No. 19 shows four schools in the district, namely: the Carlyle School, made of[...]School with the lumber valued at $1,200. In September, 1917, part of District 6 became part o[...]gs place is now owned by Willard Malcolm. In 1919 Edna McFarland and Beulah Vincellette finish[...]The Beauer Valley School was built in 1911 and was the first real school in Ollie, Montana. Left to right: Jay Stark,[...] |
| Daily program for classes in the one room Beaver Valley School, 1910. Teacher,[...]7th The General Exercises given in the afternoon session were as follows: Monday - M[...]y, Cline, Bradshaw, Laddie Buttes Schools. District 22, Ridge, Wilson, Spring Creek, Crosser Schools. |
| [...]e Wills School of District 26 came into existence in 1917, the year the United States joined with the Allies in World War I. In September of that year the school opened with Miss Pauline Hall as teacher and 21 children in attendance. Before this the children had[...]interest or these new things called tractors away in the distance. Truly, the school was a compliment to the men in the district and especially to the school board.[...]by horseback, team and sled or·wagon or walking in spite of gumbo, blizzards and snow drifts. The school was very centrally located in the district close to Grandma McClain's place whi[...]chers who came to teach the school boarded there. In fact, one of these teachers married one of the M[...]Mrs. Blaser became clerk of the district in 1919 and I believe holds a record in the county as she remained the clerk for 33 year[...]nditions. Mrs. Van Hook taught the school in 1918. She had three children and lived in the teacherage, which was built at the same time[...]Roy McClain and others. Not so many of these live in the district now, but there still are the Sikorsk[...]ee R's learned so laboriously. Many of the people in the country and around remember the dances. Never[...]dancing the schottische. Highways change in this country like women's clothes styles, so afte[...]When Fallon County was established, District 27, in what is now Carter County, had as clerk Mr. Thoma[...]n and Ed Burnett, all of Capitol, Montana. In 1914-15 there were three schools in the district wit h the following descriptions and[...]Redhill School in 1930. Early matters acted upon by the Boa[...]District 28, Fallon County, involved an election in April, |
| [...]equipped and was open for a fall and winter term in 1915 "if weather will permit," with Miss Lyman co[...]One of the early school elections resulted in a tie vote for Mrs. S. H. See and G. 0. Everson.[...]on. They failed to appear. The matter was settled in a novel manner. After the parties had chosen heads or tails, Amos Greenlee tossed a coin high in the air. It came down with heads up and Everson w[...]g children were sent to the Morton School. In January, 1923, an election gave the school board[...]District No. 29, Dunham-Tonquin School In 1917 Charley Dunham, Pat Crow and John Karch, as[...]bile as clerk, decided to ask for a second school in the district. This was built on the present Highw[...]rst teacher and Mrs. Clocksene the second. In 1919-1920, when Clara Trandum taught, these pupil[...]a Good, Elizabeth, John and Charles Karch. In 1924, a new building was built on a location on t[...]Warren, Ruth Peterson and Edythe Stieber. In 1954 the Tonquin school was moved back to the ori[...]s this group had one of the few very active PTA's in the county. Some of the teachers in the later years were: Mrs. Caroline Abbott, Mrs.[...]r school. District No. 29, Crow School |
| [...]by Charlotte Lieurance Jones. District 33 in Fallon County was created August 31, 1913, with B[...]Ismay and T. J. Riley of Ismay. Records show that in 1915 the Riley School |
| [...]d Jinkerson, not in the picture Fred and John Fuchs, picture loaned b[...], Central, Sykes and Long Pine District 34 in 1912-14 had L. A. Leigh of Sykes, Montana, as cle[...]he Sykes School and the Long Pine School were all in session. These students were eighth grade graduates in the district: Eliza Sweeney, John Sweeney, Clara[...]The first school term began September 12, 1910, in the Lambert building, for which a rental f[...] |
| [...]Picture loaned by Ethel Berry Mitchell. In the spring of 1912, plans were completed for the new school building. One acre of ground in the Northwest corner of |
| . . In 1~26 it was decided to build a ~ew school house to better accommodate the children living in the south part of the dist~1ct. This school was k[...]Corners, moued in the 1950' s, picture loaned by Mrs. G. W. Sparks.[...]ussen, Brownson, and 101 The first school in District 36, Hidden Water, was built in 1910 about 12 miles south of Baker on the 101 Roa[...]Nora Marks was the first teacher. Other teachers in the early years were Eva Jacobson, Harry Woodruf[...]or about ten years and was eventually torn down . In 1931 a Hidden Water school was rebuilt on a site[...]th of the first school. Four schools were in operation at one time in District 36 but due to shifting of the population[...]undred dollars a month. Records show that in 1913-14 the Hidden Water School was taught by Har[...]nd that Florence Fleming taught at another school in the district with 6 pupils in attendance. Margaret E. Williams had 8 pupils at[...]Jacobson had an enrollment of 17 pupils. In 1914-15 Harry Woodruff taught 14 pupils at Hidden[...]Ethel Summers taught 10 pupils at unnamed schools in the district. In 1916-17, Mrs. Angela Branagan taught 7 pupils at[...]weeny taught 11 pupils at another school. In 1917-18, Lora Lee Tifft taught 6 pupils at the My[...]t Beaver No. 2. Other schools referred to in District 36 were the Rasmussen, Brownson and 101.[...]ver schools. Some of the trustees serving in the early years were: James Couser, A. J. Miller,[...]ce, 1919; Maynard Bruce, 1920; and May Lee Couser in 1921. In 1919 the census showed a population of 56 children in the district but by 1956 it had decreased to 30. In 1926 it was decided to run only one school, the M[...]month term. Miss Christine was the teacher. Then, in 1931 the Hidden Water School was rebuilt making these the only schools in operation in the district. In 1945 the Myhre School closed but the Hidden Water[...]1966 when it was closed for the last time. In 1966 the community saw the need of another school[...]church. This srhool also closed for the last time in 1966 when the Baker school bus began bringing the children in to the Baker schools. Mrs. Louise Williams was the last teacher in the Hidden Water School and Mrs. Pauline Ottema a[...]e were five pupils at first. School was held only in the summer months. Later there were three[...] |
| [...]Haagenson, were among the pupils that first year in the new location. The teacher was Hugh Wells, Sr. With the arrival of the ·Aarron Brownson family in the community, the school was no longer large eno[...]ttended. The schoolhouse was a busy place. In later years the population thinned, the older chi[...]hool, others to the Rasmussen School as both were in the same district. District No. 37, Gre~erson Sc[...]to complete the carpentry before the school term in 1912. The first pupils were May and |
| School programs in the late 20 's included pupils from the other dis[...]rott and Nellie Amock. The depression came in the early 30 's and many people left their farms[...]37, Willard School. The land for a school in Section 18 was donated to District 37 by Elmer Anderson. The Willard School was built in 1919 by Elmer Anderson, Fred Anderson and George[...]on as trustees. Taxable evaluation of all schools in the dis trict was $224, 917.00.[...]The first teacher, Miss Lois Conners, held school in t he Willard Hall until the present school was bu[...]ng t he 1920's the top attendance was 26 and then in the World War II Boom of the mid fifties the top[...]to be the Valedictorian of her graduating class in Plevna in 1972. The Willard School had the biggest attendance through the years of all four schools in the district. Ruth Helgeson , Leona Mullo[...] |
| [...]Dahl. Marion Fost Hanson, a former pupil, filled in as teacher several months the year Mrs. Ada Crow[...]day of school was quite often at Medicine Rocks, in one of the local draws, or at Wildwood Park, with[...]. . Each year playdays were h'eld in Baker where there was competit10n between the sch[...]all eight grades at Willard. Their children, two in each family, also completed all eight grades there, and had there been school there in 1973, Raymond Fost's granddaughter, Brenda, daugh[...]and Mr. Zink with Mrs. Norman as clerk. In 1915 four schools were running in the district. The Clark School with 14 pupils was[...]wina Eichenberger who had 14 students. In 1917-18 the children at the Chimney Creek School[...]well taught 6 children at the Rambur School later in the year. Miss Edwina Eichenberger had 18 pupils[...]t taught 12 pupils at the Norman School. In the school year 1918-19 Ida Mae Maxwell taught 6[...]Idecker. Only three schools were running in 1919-20. They were the Springvale School with 6 p[...]taught 22 children at another location. In May 1920 patrons petitioned for a new school with[...]No. 41 of Fallon County was originally organized in about 1911. It then covered four townships , inc[...]eastward to the Dakota border through townships 4 in ranges 59, 60, 61 and 62. M.A. Shreve, Bob Norma[...]and returned with lumber for the school. In 1917 the building was moved to a location one-hal[...]stood there, one of the three District 41 schools in the re-formed district, until 1956, when it burne[...]ell, 1912, and Leona Brownson (Mrs. A. M. Scoles) in 1918. The first group of pupils in[...] |
| [...]School. The Chimney Creek School was built in 1913. And is located south of Baker, about five m[...]randum was the first teacher. The second teacher, in 1914, was Beatrice Hall. The next two years wer~ taught by Lora Tifft. Miss Eichenberger taught in 1917. The next teacher was Mrs. Cora Blaser.[...]Hansen. District No. 41 , Yokley school. |
| In 1928 there weren't enough pupils near the school, so school was held in a little house moved to the Trandum Estate property. School was not held again in the school house until 1937. An election w[...]of Yokley School. The following are the teachers in the order they taught: F. W. Fatting, Lillian Kna[...]Faulk and Lola Blackburn. District 45, Pleasant Prairie, MacKenzie, Hay Creek, and Spring Creek Schools. A letter dated January 26, 1915 says in part, "There is one family that will not send the[...]to school send their children regular" . |
| maintain a school in the Spring Creek District. When this consolidated[...]y Koenig and Albert and Melvina Thompson. In 1954 it, again, became necessary to open a school in the Spring Creek end of the district and school was held in t he home of Mrs. Ethyl Meyers who taught the sch[...]ted so badly, t he Hay Creek school house was not in a suitable location and it was not feasable to mo[...]was purchased and school for the pupils was held in it, which had a kitchen and a bedroom t hus servi[...], Coal Springs School. Records show that in 1913 this district had a school with a school boa[...]. Crow. Miss Ethel Wheeler was the clerk. In 1916 LaVerne Foust was an eighth grade graudate of this district. In 1918 there was a Coal Springs School and the same year Mrs. (Bob) Mercy Rose taught a school in her home. The school was known as the Smith-Rose[...], a Hubbard girl and some Olsen children. In 1920 several families, including Frank Nichols, J[...]e eighth grade graduates of the district. In 1929 the Coal Springs School was located at t he[...]of Section 18, Township 9, Range 58 east. In 1932 Ira Sandborn was chairman of the board and N[...]se was t he t eacher . The district was abandoned in 1949.[...]Erwin Schweigert. District 50, Fertile Prairie School, by Mrs. Mike K.irschten |
| Fertile Prairie School, old picture, picture loaned by Mrs.[...]One of the young men who helped to lay the floor in the new building was later reported lost at sea w[...]Fertile Prairie School, on Highway 12 east of Baker,[...]t everyone caught cold! But all were joyful to be in the large new school room. During those fi[...]tt entered as pupils. This school has been in constant use through the ensuing years and[...] |
| [...][Golden Valley] by Mrs. Mike Kirschten. In 1909, the people in the area east of Baker, now known as Fertile Prairie, decided to build a school. Robert O. Dean was a[...]material, or most of it, was hauled over the old prairie roads to begin construction. Teams don't bum gaso[...]the other loads, the last one across, got hung up in waterhole creek! The old waterhole crossing was s[...]Wm. Ferguson. When the Dean-Young opened in 1909, Mrs. Olive Lucier, who had taught the first small school in Baker the previous year, was hired as teac[...] |
| At the opening of school in the fall of 1909, they had, still, no desks nor b[...]atrice Daugherty (Mrs. E. M. Garnett of Salt Lake City); Sadie Dean; Huldah Froebe; Mary Golden (Mrs. Wm[...]particularly cold. Dear Mrs. Jensen ; |
| [...]s changed to the Golden Valley School. In the earlier grades we took our examinations from[...]Lewis and me to graduate from the eighth grade, in 1913, we had to go two weeks to the Baker Grammar[...]le Axe". I corresponded with her until she died in Minnesota. In order to attend the Baker School without driving[...]s with us at our homestead. She drove us to Baker in a buggy which was drawn by her beloved mare, Dutc[...]led she stood before the group, with me trembling in my boots for fear of being punished for fightin[...]to the Young School brought me something of value in addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, which has stood me in good stead down through the years of my rather he[...]sure feeling that if going to the Young School in a Montana winter didn't get me down, nothing coul[...]ght: Margaret Murphy, Yellowstone School in Fertile Prairie Community, either Clinton Ridgeway, Bruce Ridgew[...]na were summoned to a mass-meeting at the Fertile Prairie Hall by the trustees of the school district, on J[...]for it. On July 8 the people went to the Fertile Prairie Hall to vote on the new school. When the voting w[...]for the school was on the homestead of Ervin Dean in the southeast area of the district. The land was[...]ssed. Since the district was now well established in its own rights, no special problems in securing labor or agreements on supplies w[...] |
| [...]ched to move the school to the students. In 1953 t he Fertile Prairie School was shifted a few miles east and a mile or[...]irschten, Ernest Lang and Ray O'Donnell families. In the spring of 1973, it closed its doors , and t[...]tly being used as a meeting place for the Fertile Prairie 4 H Club. The older citizens can now rep[...], serenely sunning. And round about, and in and out, Our grandchildren go running.[...]hnstone, Ridgeway, Ewalt or Curry Schools. In 1913 Dist rict 53 had as clerk W . F. Harrington[...]ldt. Plevna 's first school was st arted in 1910, in a one room building. It was located where the pum[...]l was taught by C. C. Conser. The school building in later years was moved across t he road from the s[...]south part of the present grade school was built in 1912-1913. It was a two-teacher school. For a tim[...]ol was added. This became a four year high school in 1924. The first class graduated from this accredited course in 1928. Roy Retrie was the superintendent. Delilas[...]was a member of this class. Mrs . Herbst is still in the vicinity. In 1932 the north part of the building was added. Al[...]as the grade school principal. Mr. Riddle taught in the school for a number of years. He later held the offices of County Superintendent in Fallon County and Clerk of Court. Membe[...]Plevna won the District Basketball Championship in 1934. Al Hims! was the coach. After 1 27 year interval, they again won the Championship in 1961. Brenden Murphy was the coach. In that year Doug Kem and Mike Klos were name[...] |
| Nick Wellenstein coached the basketball team in 1943-44. He still lives in Plevna, and has a grocery store t here. A Home Economics Department was added to the school in 1956-57. The lunch program was started in the spring of 1957 . Ann Quincer was the cook. The gym and shop were built in 1957-58. Milton Molsberry was the superintendent[...]were done. The new high school was built in 1959-60. The superintendent was S. C. Norem. Sinc[...]s three bus routes. The first (south) was started in 1956-57 with Lowell McGhie as driver. Mr. McGhie[...]he south route. Isadore Leischner took the route in April 1958 and has continued driving ever since. The north route was started in ·1958, with Morris Hoenke as the driver. Mr. Hoe[...]Henry Bohle started driving the west route in 1959. This was the first year for that route. He[...]n Follmer. Plevna is the only school open in District 55, for a number of years now. T[...]improvement was the remodeling of the lunch room in December 1972. The lunch room has remained in the original building since the lunch program was started in 1957. The present cooks are: Mae Bohle, Marjorie[...]Ringen, John Graf. High school custodians in the new building: Harold Leischner, Clarence Leis[...]was t he coach. Art and Kermit still live in Plevna. Andy moved to Billings a number of years ago. District No. 56 District No. 57, Westmore |
| [...]been closed for many years. District No. 66, Prairie, Park and Ehret Schools P[...]the Wenz District No. 72, Ash Coulee and[...]y |
| [...]ot on the Custer Trail from Wibaux to Camp Crook in South Dakota. The site provided an abundant grass[...]on ruts of these early pioneers can still be seen in the area. The Indians had generally disappeared f[...]ttle and sheep followed the demise of the Indians in the area, and a railhead was established at Wibaux 45 miles to the north. With the coming of the railroad in 1908, the homesteaders also came. What is today B[...]provide water for its steam locomotives. In 1904 Fred Hasty constructed the first building on[...]may were named for two of his daughters. In 1911 a petition was filed with the Custer County Commissioners requesting incorporation for Baker. In the subsequent election, 51 citizens voted for i[...]00. Petitions were once again circulated in 1913. The issue was secession from Custer County.[...]n County were taken when Wibaux county was formed in 1914 and more was taken for Prairie County when it was formed in 1915. R.R. Pearce was elected Mayor of th[...]ant industry of the area. Natural gas, discovered in 1912, both heated and illuminated the early commu[...]uence on the local economy. Presently the city offers a wide range of services and general facil[...]town area. A wide range of businesses are located in the community in addition to four public schools, a hospital, thea[...]" Baker is located 80 miles east of Miles City, Montana, in the extreme eastern part of the State of Montana,[...]h 7 extends north and south, intersection U.S. 12 in the middle of the town. The Chicago, Milwaukee an[...]h Baker and a small airport is located within the city area adjacent to the west side of the lake[...] |
| [...]L:-., InIn A'I[...] |
| [...]re of the humorous and other things that happened in those days in connection with the buildings. When I g[...]me that the period, from the time Baker started in 1908 up to the present time, was a time of terrif[...]gon days , as there weren't many buggies around in those times, and the freighters that used to come[...]carcity of parking space. We had parking problems in those days, too. We didn't have nearly enough room in the barns for the horses, so they were haltered a[...]s put on them. Horses were tied up all over town, in vacant lots, especially in the fall when there was more hauling. There was h[...]n Street. The saddle horses were tied up to rings in the sidewalks along the curbs. I ha[...] |
| [...]t south of the old Price store on the lake shore. In the spring if we had a heavy rain the water would come right up in the stalls. Some of his building protruded[...] |
| [...]tting the breakfast. That night when the men came in from the roundup, Russell made a charcoal sketch[...]street and the Price building were the only ones in that area. Machinery, barbed wire, posts and such[...]new Price store is. We had all that area. In 1913 when L.A. Conser, an attorney, had the paper[...]olid, then they took the blocks out and laid them in the sun to dry. These blocks were then used for t[...]lding was Bob Pearce's building. Bob had built it in 1909. It was in two parts. Pearce operated a grocery store on the[...]the post office. Shortly after I arrived in this town I went over to the post office to buy a two cent stamp so I could write to my folks back in Wisconsin. I laid a nickle down on the counter an[...]and Emil Lentz took over the side the grocery was in. The upstairs was used by the Pearce family as li[...]e a party spot. I remember once they came in from duck hunting. Charlie was unloading his shot[...]Meat Market. This was the first real meat market in town. LeMays built the building but died soon aft[...]which he suffered at a Grand Mason Lodge Meeting in Great Falls. The building was sold to a Miles City man who had it for years and rented it out[...] |
| [...]Mont. - Iq o 'l Main Street in Baker in 1909, looking north the Pearce Building on the ri[...]you proved your homestead up under) had an office in there. Jimmy Creel, who |
| [...]wool house so full that the railroad had to pull in extra cars to store the surplus in until it was shipped out.[...]neapolis. The traveling men spread the news. Once in a while the place would get shot up-all the light[...]ross from the depot was the Loverige house, built in 1908. As far as I know that was the first rooming house built in Baker. It was a long low building, around forty f[...], later known as the Fallon House. It burned down in later years, picture loaned by[...]Crook ran the bar. Bert Hitch had a lunch counter in the back. That was a lively spot, but then[...] |
| [...]night a fellow was out there and never showed up in town. The fellows began to wonder if he froze out[...]couldn't fool with her. The last I heard she was in the Black Hills. Heard they shot Denver and she w[...]Doc Young had a drug store next. Ed Lawler was in partnership with him as a druggist. Ed took care[...]of the Lawler Drug. The Niccum shop was featured in the Ripley's "Believe it or not" column with thei[...]enny Lang and her son. The Camp Crook people came in about then. Some names were: Ed Lake, Joe Doull,[...]Indian Mary's . She had a shack on the lake about_in line with the old Congregational Church. T[...] |
| [...]of Baker Lake Congregational Church [first church in Baker] on the right, picture loaned b[...]all the buildings on Main Street when I came here in 1912.[...] |
| Early Day Industries First dairy in Baker, Montana, 1914, owned and operated b[...] |
| EARLY DAY INDUSTRIES IN AND AROUND BAKER[...]by Gulnare Lutts Activities advertised in the Baker Sentinel of March 25, 1909, were:[...], picture loaned by the Museum. Advertised in the Baker Sentinel of November 26, 1909, were: Ca[...]Lew Jim owned and operated a restaurant in Baker |
| [...]re wonderful. His partner, Bo Sing, ran a laundry in the back of the cafe. It has also been not[...]rson wonders why one would be buying setting eggs in November. Mrs. Houston also did home baking and l[...]First jail in Baker, still standing, on U.S. Highway 12[...]small window on the west. This was the first jail in Baker Township, Custer County. Inside it was part[...]h and Gulva, North Dakota and at Wibaux and Baker in Montana. He called the system "The Connecting Com[...]he tried to save one of his linemen who had come in contact with a live wire. A third man died trying[...]. Smith. Miss Hazel Stark has the longest service in the Baker office. She served nine years as chief[...]as Mountain Bell. The dial system was instituted in 1964. A brick yard in the early days was not satisfactory as the materi[...]A cement plant, making cement blocks by hand, was in operation for a while. One building made of these[...]w National Bank Building. Two of these blocks are in the O'Fallon Museum at Baker. Frank Becker should be included in the story of Baker. He traveled back and forth on[...]promoter, and located claims. He took active part in the gas and oil development in the area. An early entertainment building[...]s were featured there. I remember coming to Baker in 1911 with Aunt Loretta and my father, riding on a[...]"Big Hill" on the old freight road, known as "the cut-off" my father chained the back wheels of the wagon together, in what was called a "rough lock," to keep the wagon[...]the back drop of Swiss Mountains. The entertainer in Swiss Cost?IDe came yodeling and strolling[...] |
| [...]the L. Price Collection. Baker is unique in this Great Plains area because of the lake which[...]Baker Lake, picture loaned by the Museum. In 1915 a flax mill was in operation, making a fiber from flax straw grown a[...]cken hatchery and a raw poultry processing plant. In the laundry a boiler of |
| start~ in 1914 or 1915. The first well was in the area of the present Lincoln School. It was pi[...]ion giving the ri~~t amount of force to the water in the pipes. · _The fi[...]m~ed ~~ Plevn~ and called The Ple~a Herald." Then in Baker a paper called "The Fallonite" was prmted.[...]tinel About 1916 Karl Pleissner came to Baker and in 1917 or 1918 he purchased and merged these papers[...]wife, Mrs. Margaret Latrhop, continued as editor. In 1963 she sold the old ne~s~aper b_mlding and lot[...]g, which had been t?e Pos~ Office for many years. In 1969 the paper was purchased by Jim Anderson and[...]derson and as of 1973 the paper was sent to Miles City to be printed for a short while.[...]L. Price. Electricity was established in Baker in 1914 or 1915 by Ernest Heinrich who generated the[...]on the "Dad" Monroe place one mile north of Baker in 1915, when Mr. Monroe was drilling |
| [...]o the Mexican Conflict, returned to Baker, served in the National Guard, then in World War I. When he came home he took ove[...] |
| [...]Own Hardware and John Deere Implements) was begun in 1910 by Lewellyn (Lew) Price, Sr. In 1913 he was joined in partnership by his brother-in-law Lloyd Owen. At Mr. Price's death in 1941 his son, Lewellyn (Bud) Price, Jr., took his father's place in the business. Now Bud's son, Dick, is also part o[...]Price Company was the first Ford Dealer in Baker, from the[...]m 1912 to 1952. Lloyd is still (1973) very active in the works and interests of the store. A fine new store was built in 1963 but the original store is still owned and us[...], whose constant vigil and effort keep the tracks in working order. George Polus came from Greece to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907, as a young man, to work with his uncle in the Railroad shops. When an extra work gang was n[...]st, he volunteered and thus came to this vicinity in 1914. He liked the country o well he decided to s[...]four men worked, pumping it up and down. In 1915 George became Section Foreman, from which he retired in 1954. In 1925 he went back to Greece to be married. They lived at Terry, at Tonquin, at Westmore and came to Baker in 1947. I believe the section house where they live[...]w the parsonage for the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Baker. George's son, Deme, started working with his father while in high school, then after graduation he served two years in World War II in the Medical Corps and returned to work with his f[...]George retired as foreman, Deme was promoted, and in May, 1973, will have served 30 years .[...] |
| Although the men now ride in an enclosed Motor Car they are always subject to call and must be out and work in all kinds of weather. Where George supervised 6 miles of section, Deme has 30 miles to keep in order with a much smaller crew. With heavier, lon[...]Dean Sinclair, father of Quency, bought the shop in 1918 and operated it at that location until 1946.[...]Dean and his son, Quency, built the present shop in 1945 and 1946, finishing it in time to be ready for the "spring rush". They star[...]cks made on borrowed forms. Dean Sinclair retired in 1952, then his son, Quency, took over full manage[...]ower, press drill, anvil and trip-hammer. In the Medical History of Baker there is a father to son story. Doctor Sam Weeks came to Baker in 1941, reared his family ; among them , Dr. Robert Weeks, who joined his father's practice in 1956. In 1967 Dr. Sam retired and Dr. Bob took full charge[...]t west of the Hospital is the Weeks Clinic, built in 1946. Dr. Robert Weeks now has served 15 1/ 2 years (1973). Another father to son operation began in 1924 when Mr. E.G. Samsel opened the Golden Rule Clothing Store which he sold to the J. C. Penney Co. in 1927. He then became the first manager of that store in Baker. He left Baker that same year, returning in 1952 when he opened the Samsel Clothing and Dry Goods Store.His son, Jack, joined him in the fall of 1969. They remodeled and enlarged the store in 1970 and when Mr. Samsel retired in 1972 Jack became the manager. The ownership of th[...]e his father established. Ed Lawler came to Baker in 1909 and worked as druggist with Dr. Young in a building at the site of the present Jackson Bar. In 1915 the Lawlers built and moved into the present[...], built the building now occupied by RusseU Store in 1909. They operated it as a General Store. In 1915 Joe Douell bought the store and Mr. RusseU had a fµmiture store in the rear rooms . In 1916 RusseU bought the clothing business and set[...]business. William O'Laughlin bought the building in 1923 and still owns it.[...] |
| Louie LaCross celebrates 80th In business here 56 years[...]th his father Frank LaCross and brother, Charles, in 1917. He went into the grocery business with his[...]Minneapolis after World War I, with his interests in the store going to a younger brother, Leon, who s[...]e early forties when he moved to Seattle. In 1943, Lewie became the sole owner of the Economy[...]on, Francis. This is one of the oldest businesses in Baker and can best be remembered by his always extending credit during the hard times in Baker's early years. On March 12, 1973 Lew[...]Heiser and its present owner, C.' Bernard Heiser. In 1965 when Clarence retired, he turned the management of the business over to his son, Bernard, who in turn acquired the whole spread in 1968. Bernard is carrying on the business in the tradition set by his father. There have been many businesses housed in the Heiser Building since it was built. It[...] |
| [...]tel Damon, now the Lake Side Hotel, picture taken in 1920, Mrs. Damon was a sister to Martha Mu[...] |
| [...]ssner Hitchcock, button was put out by Ekalaka in the fight for County Seat between Baker an[...] |
| [...]ompletion of the Milwaukee Railroad through Baker in 1908, the Milwaukee Land Company put on an intensive campaign to encourage homesteaders to settle in territory adjacent to the land serviced by them.[...]tarted. Some of the prospective homesteaders came in by passenger coach, looked over the area, filed their rights, later bringing in their possessions by box car, usually including a[...]rd and horses. Baker became a lively town in attempting to furnish everything the new "Honyock[...]papered shack, 12' x 16' with a box car roof all in a day for $200.00. Water was the next ess[...]per foot, using 5 1/2 inch heavy stove pipe made in Baker. Dave Barber was the first United S[...]by these new settlers, and business to attend to in the County Seat in Miles City, as all of southeastern Montana was Custer County[...]Yellowstone River, then to Terry and on to Miles City through rough hills. This route in 1915 became the first Yellowstone Trail, marked a[...]g the next 20 miles down Government Hill to Miles City. We give you this detailed story of what[...]d at that time, as this was similar to conditions in so many other parts of Montana being settled so r[...]e regular session of the 12th Montana Legislature in 1911 measures were passed whereby areas could pet[...]rt was serving when Fallon County was established in the fall of 1913. This act created considerable excitement and put life especially in Baker. The Baker Commercial Club really came to life in the meeting place, Lew Jim's Chinese Restaurant.[...]n and still are able to get their authority heard in matters of state. Before going into the c[...]a picture of just what life was like at that time in our area. We had no roads, just trails, very few[...]n entertainment, composed mostly of young people. In the summer months, baseball and rodeos were frequ[...]nce by team and wagon or saddle horse. Often deep in the wagon box was a jug of hot water wrapped up w[...]ttle Red School House" was a very prominent place in the life of the time, only out here they were always painted white. The dances referred to, were in the school houses, private homes and larger ranch[...]ected to the behavior which often was carried out in a school house. Some of the early halls were, Fertile Prairie Hall, Willard Hall, Calumet Hall on Milk Creek, Twin Buttes Hall in the Redman area, Jackson's Hall on Box Elder nea[...]l to the north . These were all used intensively in the county division campaign. Great rival[...]ght mention some of the players who come to mind. In the Webster team, sometimes called the Chimney Cr[...]Kramer were pitchers, L.E. Baker and Slim Niccum in the field, and best at bat, the Russell bo[...] |
| [...]Pat and Checkers Kaiser and very often a shipped-in, salaried pitcher. As to the cowboys wh[...]p class rodeos there were: Bert McAlbe of Fertile Prairie, Tom Conners, Alec Lesota, Elmer Clark in Ollie area, and Christ Jesperson of the Medicine[...]onally known riders and bull <loggers. In the early days, we were well supplied with post offices. Beginning in the north, upon the Northern Pacific survey sou[...]on the original Wibaux Trail, but upon a change in the road, it was moved to the Ford Robinson place[...], although rather out of our territory, but still in use, is the Mill Iron Post Office a landmark in the area. Details of the county divisio[...]vercome by the automobile. This makes a story all in itself. In 1912 the L. Price Company took on a Ford agency a[...]tank, as often barrels of gas have dirt or water in them". The first ceremony was cranking it up, bro[...]kerosene which was often used, smoked and smelled in cold weather. Some solved the starting job by pa[...]house, releasing the brake and letting the clutch in when it got to rolling fast enough. A bale of hay made a good bumper in the shed to stop it from going through the wall.[...]ed by a tank on the running board, allowing water in the upper section to drip on the carbide to produ[...]cans supplied the service. Kerosene could be used in emergency, up to a 50 - 50 with gas, but the exh[...]roblem. No demountable rims or wheels, so it was, in case of a flat, pry off the tire with tire irons[...]re of the different towns and localities involved in this county and county seat campaign. Starting w[...]ms who also took a homestead when he arrived from Iowa. Besides the above men, the business men who took an active part in the town and the political activities were Jess B[...]candidates for office who were spending much time in the country. Plevna was a lively growing[...]" Steffes Hotel and Stoddard Drug store. In Westmore, some citizens to remember were: J . J .[...]n. A real character! Ismay was every bit in size to Baker, being at the north railroad termin[...]rd and developed rapidly. It proved to be a thorn in Baker's side, when it came to the county division, because it remained true to Custer County, and opposed us in the county seat fight, with ambitions that soon in the future it might get a county of its own. Its[...]n of ranches and was the largest, finest building in this whole area, with a very large dance h[...] |
| [...]errill was a very efficient surgeon, who operated in Baker later. The Chunings and Debelons had a lar[...]nd the area citizens who put up such a good fight in the county seat fight, we would put at the top of[...]B. Sheldon, an attorney, W.W. Peck, Billy Friese, in hardware, Billy Rounds. a rancher, Ole and Marti[...]pitol area, C.L. Wood of Alzada, and Herb Albers in the bank are just a few who should be mentioned.[...]ea pulled hard for Baker. There were Walter Kees in the bank and his assistant, Fred Morris, John Tat[...]ocer, Archie Slater had a hotel, Dave Wilson was in hardware, succeeded by Al Haverson, Black's Drug[...]e Edgehill area that defeated Baker for the honor in 1913 . By all reason, it should have gone to Bake[...]far from the truth. As stated previously in this article, the 1911 Legislature set up the procedure necessary in establishing new counties. Petitions were drawn up and signed by at least fifty percent of the settlers in the area which was to compose the new county. Our[...]est side, which tied them to Custer County. Later Prairie County took some of the sections from us in the Mildred Area and south. Wibaux tried to get the jump on us by presenting a bill to the Legislature in the spring of 1913, for its new county, which pas[...]peration were also to be elected. One stipulation in the law was that no area could be taken closer than 18 miles from an established county seat, which in our case, was no problem. The petition with suffi[...]ransportation facilities, gave a hope for victory in the county seat battle. All through the summer an[...]nter of activities. To name some of them, Fertile Prairie Hall to the east, north to Dennis, apparen[...] |
| [...]ure but left and married an old school sweetheart in South Dakota. Bolton also had a dugout in the creek bank for the card players, raffle promo[...]ail line near the South Dakota line, Clark's Hall in the B. B. Gross and his tribe territory, who seem[...]ortly we lost some of our territory to Wibaux and Prairie Counties, which was another intricate job to be s[...]of Baker's determination to get the county seat. In 1914, the proper papers were filed callin[...] |
| [...]l..,ake in 1965. In 1924, six local men met in Baker to discuss the possibility of starting a ba[...]nt and L. K. Hills as Cashier. |
| [...]#35. As the boys returned home from World War I, in the summer of 1919, he put in considerable time and effort in promoting the idea of a post. Larry Busch, as cor[...]of such a request. The following names were sent in to Helena; Wade Goble, Lawrence Busch, Arthur Lo[...]The first anniversary of Armistice Day, in the Pearce Hall, later Graingers Hall, was when a[...]e discussion as to who should have the preference in managing the affairs of the organization. Some th[...]ans, and some thought it should be the volunteers in preference to the draftees. This discrimination had not worked for harmony in the service. For several months, after war was de[...]soldier: U.S. only for old regulars or volunteers in the regular army; U.S.N.G. for National Guard; U.S.N.A. was for National Army or Draftees. In the spring of 1918, the order came out for U.S .[...]elings were so obvious that the election wound up in an " hilarious " party. We then put on a[...]the Legion Quartet. It got together mostly to aid in the presidential campaign of Warren Harding in 1920. The first members were Denzil Young, Don Go[...]man and Swindal, were active until Bruggeman left in 1941. In these 21 years the quartet probably aided in 100 funerals, were given honorary membership in the Miles City Half Century Club and entertained at Highway 12 m[...]mon, South Dakota. Our next efforts were in getting old Company I reorganized. The summer of[...]loss of livestock. Some State and Federal Money, in drill pay, would help the community, especially boys who were in high school. Most of the veterans had had all the[...]uss and Second Lieutenant. They were commissioned in 1923, the year the banks closed. The old Flax Mil[...]he Armory. The Company attended State Encampments in Helena for three years, put on a sham battle in the hills south of town for the Fourth of July en[...]tended by a huge crowd. Interest began to lag and in 1926 the Company failed its inspection and the National Guard was given to Glendive. In 1923 all three of our banks were closed by the State Inspectors, as a result of losses in 1919-1920. Charles Russell, as receiver of the Baker State Bank, in attempting to liquidate some of its assets, offer[...]the Baker Athletic Club. This club was valuable in promoting athletic events. We went mto this whole[...]Petroli, the "Fargo Flash," who later performed in Madison Square Garden m New York City, wit~ a Cavena~gh of Glendive. This was our mai[...]. Lar~ gave him a Job..m ~he garage a~? put him in training, and advertised him as the "Pride[...] |
| [...]p their training and road work, week after week in the newspaper. The training was largely fictitiou[...]ift a fist and the referee awarded a draw. In this period of events, we must give credit to those who offered their help in staging many affairs: Bob Askins of Ismay, one t[...]the building and all equipment paid for. In 1928 George Hough offered our present building for sale. It had been built in 1914 by Mr. Olton of Terry, Montana for a theate[...]eived as feasible by many as it had had two fires in the stage end, was stained with smoke and exhaus[...]ooked pretty discouraging, but the town craved a city center; a good place for the activities it had fo[...]h side of the large wide entrance. The Legion met in the south room and the Auxiliary met in the north one: There was a balcony overhead for t[...]ntil the one behind the old high school was built in 1935. Otto Kuss, a nationally known wrestler of M[...]When the fair grounds were being built up in 1930, under J. 0. Hembre, County Agent, the Fair[...]have any Bingo stands. Holgar (Bunny) Trandum was in charge of the stand for the Legion, and a permane[...]very nice money into our treasury. They were held in the Lake Theater and one year we put on a performance in Ekalaka. Larry Busch was the Interlocutor and was[...]d sugar was 5 cents. We used up all the hamburger in town and made almost $100 profit. No inflation th[...]Convention at Baker was outstanding. It was held in November during the duck season. Three members, s[...]ccasion of special note was a District Convention in Ismay. It was held in the old Erlingburt building. The most interesting feature was going out back in the ice house and finding your own bottle or bott[...]Veterans of all wars. Their graves were decorated in Baker, Ollie and Plevna. These observances were held in the Lake Theater until our own hall was servicea[...]nterest m the years just previous to World War II in promoting activities to pay off the debt and he continued until we were able to burn the mortgage in 1944. We left the hall unencumbered for the new b[...]ld not be complete without the story of the "Last Man's Club." This was instigated by Joe Pugh, a local barber in 1941. We were in another war and another group of veterans would s[...]tipulation was that you had to be a Legion member in good standing for your name to remain on the roll[...]18 of the 64 may still be living but only 12 are in good standing. At our dinner in 1970 we had ten members present. The last[...] |
| [...]group to pass away. The idea for the "Last Man's Club" was instigated by the experience of a detachment of English Colonial Soldiers in World War I who were stationed in the Dardenells at Gallipoli guarding against the[...]n understanding of what Fallon Post # 35 had done in its first 26 years, 1919 to 1944.[...]*KILLED IN SERVICE *George Abrams[...] |
| World War I tank, Bud Stamen standing in front of the tank, picture loaned by Vio[...] |
| [...]A review of my last five days on the front line in the Muse Argonne defensive sector of World War I. I was a Buck Private in squad 1 or 2 of Company H. 317 Infantry of the 80[...]ied side arms, a 45 Colt |
| [...]Armistice meeting of the generals. As we arrived in New York harbor we sailed past the Statue of Libe[...]ed for a spell. From there we went on to New York City where we unloaded. I spent two days sightseeing in New York City, then I boarded a civilian train for Fort D. A. R[...]anch line south to Ollie, Montana. I arrived home in Ollie about four P.M. March 24, 1919. I went dire[...]by her job and I went out to the farm to help put in the 1919 crop. That ye·ar there was no rain, so no crop. Three of us boys put in 400 acres of crop. Dad furnished the horses, seed[...]The summer was hot and dusty. The wheat had to be cut with a header. When we settled up my share[...] |
| [...]by Alice Newell The City of Baker organized its first fire department in January of 1922. At a meeting held at that tim e[...]until 1928. One of their first goals was in acquiring finances for the construction of a new[...]ld on the main street of Baker on the 4th of July in 1922. In the fall of that year the department ad opted ew[...]he annual Fireman 's Ball. These dances were held in the Masonic Hall, locat.ed above the Old Bank, and in later years in the Legion Hall . For a number of years this even[...]need of a more updated method of fighting fires, in 1928 the firemen canva ssed the town and enough m[...]ntil 1929 wh en the department, together with the city, purchased an electric fire siren which was mount[...]iously injured and the fire hall severely damaged in an explosion of unknown origin the year before. A[...], Bakken was able to return to his duties, while, in the meantime, plans were forrnulat.ed and carried[...]h great enthusiasm they moved into their quarters in 1946. AJso by this time more equipment had been a[...]of the most up to date volunteer fire departments in the state. Emil Ravey served as fire chief for fourteen years ending in 1936. After acting as assist.ant chief for one year, Vic Grainger was elected chief and served in that capacity for thirty years. He retired at the[...]iciated as chief and at the present, Leon eweU is in charge.[...]Fair, a fair with a reputation of being the best in eastern Montana, was started in 1925. Actually the fair program was begun with the bolcling of community fairs in 1923 · 1924 when J.O. Hembre wa county agent. By[...]tand were built. The old exhibit building went up in 193 . Early officers of the fair board include Bo[...]rry Burns. Mrs. Margaret Carrington, who resigned in 1957, served for many years as secretary. Her more than 25 years of service in county affairs won her state-wide recognit[...] |
| [...]Fallon County Library Baker, Montana, built in 1969. Mrs. Bea Siring in picture. picture loaned by Alice Newell.[...] |
| In 1922 Mrs. Brewer, then the president of the Baker[...]o take charge of the books which by now had grown in number to 300 and were housed on the shelves of t[...]mmissioners, the mayor, the superintendent of the city schools and the president of the Baker Woman 's C[...], later increased to $400, and sometime later the city added a sum of $100. T his plus personal gifts an[...]dget of the local library for many years. In 1931 an at tempt was made to establish a county l[...]1941 the library had outgrown the small building in which it was housed so the Library Board undertoo[...]this time worked for a mere pittance. The board , in addition to its regular duties, acted as janitors[...]stagnant. A means of progress came along in the form of the Library Services Act. This made f[...]he creation of a federation of libraries to share in the services of a bookmobile, to provide centralized processing of books, to set up a program of in-service training for all participating librarians[...]ty to provide more and better library service and in 1959 joined Custer. Garfield. Carter a.ad Powder[...]eration of Libraries with Carnegie Public Library in Miles City as the Center. For the first two years the cost o[...]ry to serve all of Fallon County-became a reality in an unbelievably short time. This is our " big step" forward from the modest 30 book beginning which in 49 years has outgrown five locations and increased in number to 10,640 books, 550 records, 60 periodica[...]an annual circulation of aJmost 26,000 and housed in an edifice of which a!J of Fallon County c[...] |
| [...]Dr. Young was the first doctor to reside in Baker. He arrived in 1909, Doctor Potterton, dentist, arrived the same[...]Elizabeth Hospital was built by Sanders and Scott in 1910 which marked the beginning of self-s ufficiency in medical matters for Baker. The Lang House was tur[...]a hospital. Dr. Hogeboom joined the medical field in the community about 35 years ago, and Dr. Sam Weeks moved here in 1941. Dr. R. T. Joyce, dentist, came to Baker in 1928, replacing Dr. Potterton who retired.[...]rial Hospital on the west side of town was opened in 1953 by the Lutheran Hospital Association. It was[...]en the county association assumed res ponsibility in 1956, Mrs. Coleman Krockker became manager and di[...]d from the Ford Foundation for equipment. In later years a nursing home has been added in connection with the hospital and an intens[...] |
| [...]lied me with the annual records of extension work in the county from its beginning and since our fami[...]on for Cooperative and Home Economics was started in Fallon County, Montana in August 1920. At that time a few farmers and business men who had observed extension work being done in other counties in the state met in Baker to form a tentative Farm Bureau organizatio[...]and the Extension Department of the State College in the employment of an extension agent for Fallon C[...]ring World War I special agents had been employed in Fallon County in cooperation with nearby counties. The work done at that time, however, was largely emergency work in connection with the war. A full time Coun[...]ers. Organized extension work was started in Fallon County in the summer of 1921. In the fall several communities were organized. They[...]Project leaders or demonstrators were selected in each community. With the help of the county agent[...]cruckens, swine and cattle were found and shipped in from the outside for the 4-H projects and many fa[...]operation. The Banks, also, were behind projects. In the early years the Railroad gave many free trips[...]day next. Forty one members attended camp in 1927. They were: Donald McPhee, Arthur Martin, Se[...]. tate Club Leader and Miss "Bobbie" McCoy, Miles City. The girls that year learned to tie and dye while the boys learned a lot of knots in rope work. Papers receiving weekly press[...]ticles were sent from time t.o time t.o the Miles City tar. Billings Gazette, Great Falls Tribune, Spoke[...]tend the ational 4-H Boys and Girls Club Congress in Chicago were Frances Spriggs, Frances Sbartz, Law[...]during the arly years and it till is being used. In the tw nties farm help was located and today one[...]hows were held . The farmers were most interested in bringing in th ir bes t di plays. Today the Fallon County Fai[...]Harriet Cushman was State Poultry pecialist in early years and she tested chickens at Geo. McHoe[...]years were: veterinary ervice, silo information, prairie dog poison , poultry feeding, canning, smut trea[...]ring and cutting. big team hitches. hay measuring in tack , iceless refrigerators, trench silos, sept[...]Present day information is till sought. In 1926 the Chicago Milwaukee Railway put out a broc[...]people and why they crone to Montana and stayed . In one typical township where trus survey wa made th[...]of the homesteaders did not stay long. In October of 1926 at the annual jackrabbit hunt in the Ollie and Carlyle community . Carlyle only ca[...]oning was done. Free poison bait was provided for prairie dogs and at present very few are in the county. Many will remember th[...] |
| [...]home nursing and civil defense were projects used in both 4-H and homemakers clubs. E. R. Hoff, the present county agent, arrived in 1947 fresh out of college and settled as a single man in Baker. After getting settled he went to Miles City to get married. He and Margaret were parents of s[...]school. Reggie, the oldest, is now a county agent in the western part of the state. The three youngest are helping their father now in a motherless home.[...]for information. Agri-business is broadening out in every facet of the agricultural state of Montana[...]s well as farmer-rancher. Big Sky Montana is rich in informed people, good crops and livestock. good s[...]ime and work was directed toward activitie to aid in the war efforts. They served for the Red Cross an[...]ds to a nutritious diet, were featured . In 1947 the club was reorganized . The members continued working on community projects and also took part in more of the projects presented to the clubs. Amon[...]ther of the Year,'' and given things to the needy in their own community. One project which see[...] |
| [...]rk. Some of the members have taken an active part in t he Home Demonstra tion Cou ncil activities . Mr[...]Congregational in the background, picture[...]e. T he Baker Homemakers ' Club organized in 1940, and was the first home demon tration club in Baker. Of th 12 chart.er |
| [...]mproving the leisure of both adults and children. In keeping with this they have been most active in anything that might promote the local library. Th[...]eate the Fallon County Library. This has resulted in improved library service to the entire county. They have included their families in their activities by entertaining them at least twice during the year. All in all , members of this club feel that their well-r[...]s gave a home talent play at the Hall: had floats in the Fallon County Fair Parade at Baker ; m[...] |
| [...]year they had a bey at the State School at Miles City. The members collected games, puzzles, thread and[...]s . The Club has two charter members still in the club. They are Mrs. Jessie Steig and Mrs. Harry Hanson . Outgoing officers in 1972 were Mrs. Jack Sikorski, President; M[...] |
| [...]Written in 1951 or 1952 by Mrs. E velyn B. Hitch Alm[...]f the C.M.St. P&P.Railroad, some of the few women in the new town felt the need to "keep abreast of th[...]socially and mentally," as they phrased it. Thus in 1911 they first met together as a tiny group and in February of 1912 organized a study club with the[...]red by the individual members for group meetings. In 1913 this small group realized that perhaps other women-many recent arrivals in town-might like to join the club, and at an open[...]nd the membership was limited to twenty. In 1916 the club decided to federate with the Genera[...]at their membership limit was a disadvantage, and in 1918 membership was open to any woman interested in furthering its original four declared objectives.[...]m the very beginning the club has been interested in all matters pertaining to personal and civic welf[...]still a very small group, its members were active in the Red Cross and the other national war efforts.[...]er workers. From this beginning came our present city library with seven to eight thousand volumes, its[...]mposed of club women entirely. Very early in its history the club built and operated the first tourist camp-a crying need in the early days of the town when distances between[...]ight say t he only-playground equipment which the city owns was purchased and presented to it by the Wom[...]am. Likewise now it cooperates with the Red Cross in bringing the Blood Bank. During the dreadful depr[...]'30's the club provided free milk to the schools in the three county towns; and the various times whe[...]. it has recently cooperated with the Lion's Club in an attempt to build a swimming pool for Baker, an[...]convert the lake into a permanent park area, and in many other ways has tried to beautify the town.[...]has encouraged its members to take an active part in citizenship-urging each election year that they b[...]its local activities, the club has never shirked in its duties to the District and State organization[...]of its members have acted as Department Chairmen in the M.F.W.C., performing their duties fajthfully[...]School ages. For the Jubilee Celebration in Baker, we entered a float in the parade. We have donated money for furniture f[...]wo years. 1972 -1973, we have sponsored the Miles City Community Concert. From this brief review[...]n 's Club has played a vital and influential part in the life of the town and entire county. It[...] |
| [...]The history of the Vigilantes of Virginia City in the 1860's has always been a thing of pride to Mo[...]eorge Farwell, Grandma Newberry who as a girl was in Virginia City at the time. The above might have had an[...]chers. The word was passed out, calling a meeting in the Pearce Hall (later the Grainger Hall) in 1911. To their surprise twenty seven were present[...]They decided to apply to the Grand Lodge in Helena for a temporary dispensation to organize,[...]formed brothers of Yellowstone Lodge #26 of Miles City to attend meetings here and assist members to be[...]work of Montana Lodges, as many states vary some in their ritual. At Grand Lodge annual convocation in Butte on September 19, 1912 the Charter was issue[...]or the three degrees of Masonry of the Blue Lodge in the fall of 1912 was Lew Price. All meetings were held in the Pearce Hall until the completion of the Baker[...]s the Masonic Hall. Many social events took place in the hall, Masons and their ladies organized the A[...]zation of the Baker State Bank, after its closing in 1923, the new officials decided they needed more[...]e, located about where the Super-Value is located in 1973. In 1935 a fire put the lodge out of another meeting[...]ere it met until the new Masonic Temple was built in 1955. In 1922 the lodge bought 80 feet of the west half of[...]Co. who desired more space for their operations. In 1929 the Mountain States Telephone Co. purchased the balance of our buildings. In 1954 after the many moves that had been necessary[...]agen, architect of Billings and a maternaJ figure in Ma onic activities, who provided the plans and sp[...]our, with privilege of the Lodge members to pitch in and help at any time. When completed they stated[...]5 a.m. pouring cement, hauling cement from Rapid City. The brick and tile trucking was donated from Heb[...]equipment was donated to place the steel girders in place that supported the upper floor and the lami[...]es laid the corner stone and dedicated the Temple in the summer of 1956. The necessary loan fo[...]ancake and Sausage Supper,·· the first Saturday in April and always well patronized by our appreciat[...]contributes to, as the Masonic Home for the aged in Helena . the Vigilante fund for emergency[...] |
| [...]e year and be succeeded by the Senior Warden next in rank . To give a Ii t of these in the past sixty years would be too lengthy a list,[...]ed an extra year on account of their profficiency in degree work should be mentioned-Laverne Livingsto[...]ends of R. K. Munsell , the public address system in memory of Rex Flint, the tape recorder and new Ma[...]ent of annual dues and they remain a Master Mason in good standing as long as they live.[...]and L.C. Burns, The first burial was made in December, 1910. H. S. Jossel donated fifteen acre[...]of this was sold for a Catholic cemetery. In 1927 a fence was built and a name placed above th[...]credit is due him for his work and interest. In 1958 a county wide movement was underway to raise money to pipe water from the city wells to the plot. In 1972 water was piped to the cemetery and Fred Sch[...]taker, sees to the keeping of the grounds. In 1973 the Cemetery Board members are Vic Gr[...] |
| [...]ake Congregati.orwl Church, first church building in Baker built in 1910, children unidentified.[...] |
| [...]by Alice Newell It was in June, 1928, that the American Lutheran Church cam[...]ker. The name of the former Lutheran congregation in Baker was t he Scandinavian Evangelica l Lu thera n Church. In reality Lutheran Church work in the community is almost as old as Baker because it was back in 1910 that t he first Lutheran worship services we[...]that time asked him to conduct services at Baker. In the spring of 1910 he held t he first services al her home. Services were conducted in Norwegian and English alternately in the homes and later in the summer Pastor Eidgsvig began holding services in the Willard community where they also met at t he[...]ther men who conducted services from time to time in these communities were pastors J . A. Wanberg of[...], a Home Mission was orga nized. Work was started in the Baker, Willard, Ollie, and Carlyle congregati[...]dive and Belfield). The Reverend Anderson resided in Baker a nd served thi charge from 1916 to 1919. T[...]dsen who carried on the work here until his death in January in 1922. A seminary student by the name of Jacobsen was in charge of the work here during the summer of 1922[...]pastor. Occasionally a Pastor S. Dale from Miles City held services in Baker and Willard, as well as the Reverend Far et,h who stayed several weeks in Baker baptizing children and confirming a class of young people. In 1925 Baker, Willard, and Webster became part of t[...]were served by the Reverend Olaf E ng h. In 1928 after the organization of the American Lutheran Church the first concern was in securing property fo r a church so when a public[...]of 1,951.00. The first church services were held in t he newly remodeled building July 29, 1928. Dedi[...]the church flourished - there was great interest in all areas- Mr. J .0. Hembre was the first Sunday[...]the fir t janitor. Records show the first baptism in the American Lutheran Church of Baker was Marie L[...]to go to t he church. Much had been accomplished in the short time Pas tor Tollefson had been here an[...]his r signation wa accepted and became effective in Sept. 1930. Pastor A.R. elson was ordained and ins tall in t he Baker Lutheran Church, in Sept. 1930. With the depr ion which followed the church also suffered . Finances fell to their lowest level in our 20 year history. The congr gation f It much g[...]lf-sacrificing pastor and regretted his departure in April 1934. He was followed in May of that ame year by the Reverend J . E . elso[...]allow the mov ing of t he parsonage from the lot in t he south end of Baker to the lot east of t he c[...]of the Reverend Wanberg who had conducted rvic , in lhi area in years before, was in charge of this parish during the summer of 1937.[...]l from this congregation and took up the work her in ov. 1937. By the following year t he finaJ paym e[...]e nation· economy t he church also prospered and in 1942 alteration were made in the church a weU as an addition to the chancel an[...]After the Reverend Buldseth 's resignation in 1942 the congregation wa without a pa tor for a y[...]lf of Wibaux held ervic s from time to time until in 1954 when the Reverend Oliv r J ones was called.[...]e they reali1..ed the need of a larger church. So in the pring of 1958 a ground breaking ceremony was held on the site given by 1 Hansen and in March of 1959 we saw the moving into the new chur[...]Pastors from neighboring parish also participated in the service . Pastor Jones. with his family, left Baker in 1960 for Butte where he had accepted a call from[...]The Reverend Edward Roe arrived with his family in Baker in January of 1961. During his ministry the rongr<'g[...]quarters built across the street from th church. In January 1962 the new parsonage was dedicated foll[...]Pastor Roe and his family left to make their home in Seattle in ovember. 1967 where he would continue his work .[...]rt time . pon a rail to the Reverend Earl Barnard in 1innesotn. we were fortunate to get an immediate re ponse. The Barnard family arrh·ed in Baker in January 1968. Under Pastor Barnard[...] |
| council in 1968. In 1969 an improved feature in the church was the converting of the plastic windows in the west and south parts of the building to Terrazo. On a light side, in 1970, was the start of a series of soft ball game[...]icine Rocks Park after the two groups have joined in a picnic. In 1917 the church chancel was enhanced with colorful drapes, of four sets, in the liturgical colors of green, purple, red and w[...]ful services of the past thirty years as organist in October, 1972. In the summer of 1973 it was decided if the congrega[...]he present pastor of the American Lutheran Church in Baker.[...]by Mrs. Art Wang The Assembly of God Church in Baker began in the summer of 1957 when the Reverend Roy Fischer[...]na and moved to a site on South First Street West in Baker where a basement had been poured. Th~re the[...]e to build the new church at its present location in East Baker at Eighth and Colorado Avenue, under t[...]istories of the church written by Evelyn B. Hitch in 1958 and by Mrs. Sam Weeks Church[...]lter for themselves and a livelThood as well. Yet in the midst of the rigors of meeting the physical n[...]ame year. The first minister did not come in frock-tailed coat to serve the parish, but SHE came from her homestead. She had been in Civil Service, working among the Indians before she "took up" her homestead in this area. Also she "had done preaching". Her nam[...]fir3t Sunday School and church services were held in a one room school house that was located on the n[...]adies Aid was organized at the home of Mrs. Hitch in October, 1909. Mrs. Hitch tells us that many time[...]s building later became the first Lutheran Church in Baker. One of the early day ministers was the Reverend George Buergi, whose home was in Plevna. It was during his pastorate that the Ladi[...]with Mrs. Frank Warren as president. The Aid met in the homes of the members. The Reverend Jos[...]e work of the church. The church was built in 1910 and named the Baker Lake Congregational Chur[...]o a dwelling . This was the first church building in Baker.[...] |
| In 1914 the Methodist Episcopal church was built. La[...]united to form t he Community Church and now meet in the former Methodist buildi.n g on Sout h First S[...]icture taken in 1968. The first church clerk was John Fi[...]Superintendent for many years and Mrs . |
| [...]group met at 6:00 o'clock p.m. Meetings were held in Grainger's Hall with baptisms made in the Baker Lake, Little Beaver Creek and Miles City. Paul Boomer, a student from Northwestern Bible School, was summer pastor and then in October the Reverend Verne E. Steel arrived to be[...]irst Anniversary dinner was held with 140 persons in attendance. In 1933 a committee was appointed to draw up a const[...]h was completed and presented to the congregation in December. In 1934 lots were purchased and a basement, 30 x 60[...]reet West. The fellowship moved into the building in October and a Women's Fellowship group was formed. In 1942 the Reverend Arthur Allen arrived. and began[...]broadened and a summer camp was created. In 1945 a parsonage was obtained in the form of a gift from Carl Losing. It was a far[...]being used as the church. The building was begun in 1947 and the dedication of the new church was held on March 24, 1948. In 1964 the Reverend Peterson began broadcasting mor[...]he church and are now serving the Lord or working in some field to advance the cause of Christ and in educational fields, include the following: Mary J[...]First Catholic Church in Baker, built in 1911, picture loaned[...]The church of St. John, the Evangelist, was built in 1911 by the Catholic church members of the commun[...]Fallon. Previously this area was served from Mile City by the Reverend J . J . O'Carrell. In 1919 the Reverend . J . Richard became the pastor of St. Anthony's in Plevna and at the same time The Reverend W. P. Fi[...]A new church and rectory was built at Baker in 1958.[...]town .'· Sunday afternoon services were started in the Willard School, thirteen miles south of Baker[...]. pas tor of the Medicine Rocks Methodist Church. In 1922, during baying time, the Reverend Harris secured the ass is tance of the Reverend J . F. Simson in conducting evangelistic meetings in the Willard Hall . Later a Wesleyan congregation[...]at Willard . After five years of meeting in the Willard School and Hall the meeting place was[...]hool. located fourteen miles southwes t of Baker. In 1929 the present building was built on a h[...] |
| [...]After the Montana Homesteaders moved to the city in 1939 the church building was moved to its present location on South First Street West in Baker. Here it continues to hold services. The pa[...]tion house at Westmore and the Polus family lived in it at Westmore for years.[...] |
| [...]a natiue of Ireland, popular stage driuer in Camp Crook, South Dakota. Father o[...] |
| [...]CAMP CROOK, SOUTH DAKOTA In 1881 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wickham moved to South D[...]and lived until he was 94 years old. He is buried in the Camp Crook Cemetery.[...] |
| [...]first to have a post office which was established in 1892. His home was a meeting place for scho[...]s. Charles Dickson, Anwoth Dickson, Clara Walters in the dark dress. Picture from the M[...]ena Linden. There was an old General Store in Knowlton in 1904 where one could buy many things such[...] |
| Several ranchers bought homes in Knowlton so their children could attend the Knowl[...]y, bought a house which was located down the hill in back of the general store. The Dragseth Post Office was established in 1900 on the Dragseth Ranch by Stinus Dragseth, my father. It was discontinued in 1904 and moved into Knowlton because there was no[...]by Mable Lawrence Kochel Knowlton in 1906 was a thriving village. It possessed a hotel[...]one coming from Ekalaka and one coming from Miles City. The stages were "spring wagons" or "buckboards".[...]f the horses overnight and the drivers rested and in the morning the drivers turned around and returne[...]ka run. Going from Knowlton towards Miles City the stage crossed the Powder River at Mizp[...] |
| [...]s The Medicine Rocks Church was organized in 1918 following special meetings held in a large tent in the "Rocks" . The Rev . George McGovern, and the[...]The Rev. E dgar came to fill the pulpit. In 1920 the Rev. L. D. Harris moved his family to th[...]The Rev. R. J. Eling was the first pastor to live in the parsonage, which had been purchased on the ol[...]The Rev. Archie Buell came to be the pastor in 1934. The family lived in the Clarence Jolly house while a new parsonage was being built near the then new highway in the early thirties. The difficulty in building in the thirties is clearly told in the old church treasurer 's book. This parsonage[...]The Rev. Helle followed the Buells as pastor in 1941. The Rev. T. S. Lee came in 1942 to fill the pulpit. He oversaw the moving of[...]The Rev. and Mrs. Sollie came as newlyweds in the fall of 1945. They were followed by The Rev. Erwin Anderson, The Rev. Herman Vreugdeuhil family in 1949, The Rev. Clyde McHones, The Rev. Walter Kem[...]isselbecks, t hen The Rev . Ellis Sollie returned in 1958, followed by The Rev. Welbert Kidds and The[...]ng with his new bride. A small cemetery is in the church yard. A number of infants who died in the early years and old timers are buried[...] |
| [...]w, Anton Slater and Hans Haydahl had taken claims in 1907. After the 1/2 section law came into effect in 1910, Lee Greiner bought the relinquishments of A[...]then to Carlyle, Montana and finally on to Ollie. In 1911 Mr. Greiner was appointed the first postmaster of Ollie. In 1955 the Ollie Post Office was closed because so[...]around more freely than on the railroad. In April of 1912 the Ollie United Bretheren Church was organized with services being held in the school house two miles south of town. The Lut[...]about that same time. School was started in May of 1910 in the homestead shack of Hans Haydahl. The building[...]center of the school population. The first steps in getting a school district established was by peti[...]to Ollie. This report became a reality when late in August of 1915, the train started running. The track wa laid out at the terminal in a Y so the engine could back into the round house and come out headed in the opposite direction. The train left Ollie each[...]son, orth Dakota all day, then came back to Ollie in the late afternoon. The railroad personnel consis[...]foreman , roundhouse foreman and section crew, so in later years it made quite a dent in the population of Ollie when the railroad[...] |
| [...]church. The later church was built and dedicated in 1920. There were t wo lumber yards; t he Mandan L[...]entertainment it was used as a school. The grades in the main hall and high school on the stage. Miss[...]. Dave Wilson had the first hardware store in town and his was the first baby born in Ollie. I t was named Ollie. Mrs. Wilson died in the l 918 flu epidemic and Mr. Wilson later sold[...]bury t he dead. The cemetery was laid out in 1916 when little Dorothy Kees died of diphtheria. Board walks were built in the main part of town which was lighted by electr[...]two doctors; Dr. Brewer and Dr. Templeton. In recording church activities it should be noted th[...]oy and Walter Johnson who were casualties or died in camp of the 1918 flu . There were many boys who d[...]at Ollie, Montana in the early days, picture fuaned by Mrs. H enning Steen. Businesses in t he town were: T he Toggery (men's clothing), Go[...]s and eals, and an ice house where ice was stored in the winter and |
| [...]st Sherva's Garage were destroyed by fire. In March of 1953 Percy Bryson carried out the ashes[...]ps and started to burn. Percy rushed to the creek in back of the house to get some water to put out th[...]Written in 1954 by Charles F. Shepherd Golden Star Lodge #126 was organized in August 1917. It was the greatest single thing that ever happened in Ollie. Golden Star was known state wide and broug[...]ization from the start and new members were taken in right along. I think we reached the eighty member[...]at eight P.M. sharp and George West, who believed in promptness in organizations, was there to see to it that we wer[...]if not present it's your hard luck. You can't get in without the pass word. " AU through the tw[...]supper for the lodge members and their families . In 1928 we sold the rabbits to the Dickinson Iron an[...]the country for hog feed . On one occasion in Gudsoss Grove, three miles south of Ollie, the Lo[...]a speaker from Ekalaka, Lawyer Sheldon. I think. in the least, we put on a good spread as I wa[...] |
| [...]of our local order. At one time I held an office in the Grand Lodge. I was the only one to have that[...]nd motion pictures. The Opera House burned in the thirties. We put $800.00 into the purchase of[...]th all free labor, excepting for the mason helper in the basement, moved the building to its present location, put in maple flooring and converted it into a basketball[...]ent teams. Floyd Richert played many games in that building. He was our preacher at the[...] |
| [...]Taken from the Plevna Golden Jubilee Book printed in 1959 The name Plevna in the Russian language means "City of Churches". At one time Plevna had six churches. The first building that was erected in Plevna after the coming of the Milwaukee Railroad[...]The Borgerding State Bank was incorporated in 1914 and was later called the First State Bank of[...]ugans ran a store in Plevna, Kenneth was the 100th person in Plevna. Picture l[...]adge Wilson. A. C. Mikalson built a store in 1914 which was later operated by Mrs. Albert Hepp[...]sages. Walter Plath was the first Depot Agent in Plevna. He organized a good band and in later years led the Terry Cowboy |
| [...]onter drug store was purchased by Ed Lentz and he in turned sold to Ed Lawler who sold out to William[...]to Baker. Originally there were two bars in Plevna. One was operated by O'Brien and Rabe and[...]e also took care of the Town Hall which was built in 1917. This hall at one time was considered one of the largest dance halls in Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana. Jack al[...]er Shop for many years. He was active especially in school, having bee.a clerk of the school board fo[...]t was one of the first doctors. Dr. Blakemore was in Plevna for a while but then he moved to Baker. William Baker built the first harness shop in Plevna but when modern machinery came along he closed down. The first blacksmith in Plevna was Mr. Silvernale and then John Howe buil[...]tation was operated by Adolph Mehlhoff which was, in later years, taken over by Phil Huber who was als[...]scontinued when Homer French built a new creamery in Baker. Phil Huber owned the Calumet Hall which wa[...]eld there. The swimming pool was started in 1935 with donated labor and materials. The Town H[...]t fit to drink, so the Milwaukee Railroad brought in water in tanks. In the latter part of 1916, the school board along w[...]of drilling a well. The first well was completed in February of 1917. No pipes were laid so Jack Doyl[...]e office was installed and the first lines strung in 1912. This was a joint project between the busine[...]n. He also started the first electric light plant in the town.[...] |
| [...]zed November 25, 1917. The first meeting was held in the Plevna school house. Mr. Ludwig Bechtold was[...]embers present. A new church building was erected in 1919 and enlarged in 1939. In 1953 a new parsonage was built on the church grounds and in 1958-1959 a beautiful building was erected to the[...]NA The original Catholic Church was built in 1914. Up to that time services were held by Fathe[...]ed by Otto Meyer and Ed Herde. These were shipped in from Wisconsin. The Parish house was built in 1918. The first resident priest was the Reverend[...]ool superintendent. The first parsonage was built in 1917. In 1927 the Emanuel Church built a new church building and in 1951 a new parsonage was built. In 1958-1959 the church was moved south of the parso[...]Plevna, Montana In the first two decades of this century, southeaste[...]ttled by homesteaders. This area, one of the last in the country to know the rush of homesteaders, in[...]and guidance at the homes of friends or relatives in South Dakota, these people pushed on west to ob[...]kee Railroad , a debarkation point for families in search of land. As their ancestors had[...]ct worship services and administer the sacraments in the homes of Lutheran families. The home of Joseph Markwardt was one of these frequently used. In 1914, on April 26, the congregation was officia[...]t as first trustees. Worship services were held in the school house with Pastor William Gevers comin[...]was constructed. Among the family names prominent in the beginning years of the church were Bergmann,[...]p changed drastically. From a baptized membership in 1917 of 117, there were only 56 remaining in 1923. From that time on the membership total rema[...]ommunion records began to show names now familiar in the membership: Ehret (1917), Hoenke (1917), Lei[...]ges of pastors. Sometimes the pastor was resident in Plevna; more often, pastoral services were shared with the congregations in Fallon and Marsh. In 1965, the congregation decided to call an Intern.[...]young. We appreciate all he did for us. In the years when Peace Lutheran was served from Fal[...]only every third week . Often services were held in the intervening weeks with laymen conducting the[...]With the congregation predominantly German in membership, services were conducted in both English and German if the pastor was able to do so. German services were a rarity. In the late 1940's the church began to grow substantially in membership. In 1941, there were 56 confirmed members, and by 195[...]he church building was no longer large enough, so in 1950-52 the church was substantially rebuilt; a n[...]ors. Sometimes a house was rented for the pastor. In 1955, the church members purchased the present pa[...]y for special church needs . They were a big help in all the painting and cleaning necessary. The ladi[...]gers have changed the name. Current membership is in the[...] |
| [...]upstairs. There were many good times and much fun in that hall. Anyone could rent the hall for a dance[...]ers of other denominations held services upstairs in the hall. Then hard times came with 6 or 7[...] |
| Westmo,e First buildings in Westmore, Montana, 1909, now a ghost |
| [...]" Montana was opening up for homesteaders in 1909. The Chicago-Milwaukee Railroad was complete[...]ta had heard the word while attending a gathering in their community. A Railroad Promoter from Wilmar,[...]land was part of Custer County at the time. Miles City was the county seat. The county was later divided[...]r, Ekalaka and Plevna to set up a county seat and in the long run, in 1914, a group of men went to Ekalaka and brought[...]celebrate. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Fost had traveled in a wagon and were invited to spend the night with[...]son. Freighting grain in 1920, taken in front of T~d Bergstrom's home. Mr. "!'7i~t[...] |
| [...]outside and dancing prevailed. Picnics were held in the gulches at cherry picking time, fishing on Li[...]s held when a traveling minister came out. In 1909 Fred Anderson, one of the original boys from[...]few married men. The first post office boxes were in his bedroom. He proceeded to add groceries and ot[...]Stage coach and mail in front of the Willard Post Office, 1910, picture l[...]by William Bergstron. In 1915 after Fallon County was straightened out, th[...]scrip insisted that a good hard wood floor be put in for dances but otherwise the |
| [...]t the hall. The first session of school was held in the hall where it was kept until the Willard School was built across the road from it in 1917. Ladies during World War I met at th[...]s were served with babies and husbands sometimes in attendance. J. 0. Hembre was the first County Agent. He organized a Homemakers Club and 4-H Clubs in the community in 1924. The ladies learned to can and use their pr[...]shelter belts. J . 0. Hembre organized a tour and in 1924 touring cars made stops at the Nels Lees, William Steig and Albert Fost homes inin Nelsen ' San'ord[...] |
| [...]he young men had to go to war. A few who had been in the Civil Conservation Corps were called to the[...]ced many to sell their land and move. Social life in the community was at a low ebb. The hall now was in disrepair:The Willard Store was now owned by the[...]ot luck suppers, carnivals and Christmas parties in the hall. A propane hanging heater was installed[...]The third generation of the fifties were now in grade school and enjoying the same entertainment[...]younger generation with their cars and the shows in town cared less for dancing. Country schools clos[...]pupils or lack of good teachers. Bringing in the 70's school buses are in. Young men completing their service are coming ho[...]nity will still be thriving with the young people in charge. The hall has again been repaired and futu[...]ng the 40's as managers. There was again a change in the Baker-Ekalaka Highway and again the store and[...]were Glen Tucker, Mrs. Harrington, Eddie Cook and in 1949 the Co-op sold the business to Harry and Mar[...]. Hanson became the tenth postmaster. She has put in 24 years (1973) at the job. Randal and Russel Hanson in front of the Willard Store and[...] |
| [...]44-Jack Guth, the famous "Steer Montana" man, was in town for the circus. He says Baker is one of the[...]Okes Ames of Lafayette, Oregon, prominent Fertile Prairie matron will observe her 79th birthday July 16. Sh[...]a great deal of water, are doing well this season in this locality. A number of folks have reported th[...]ing to talk about, but the lovely Peonies on view in the Grainger's Cafe grew out at the Albert Fost f[...]s. W. H. Blakemore recently killed a baby rattler in her yard and thinks its mama, brothers and sisters may be in the vicinity and kiddies had better be careful.[...]ek to work at the M.D. U. booster plant, went out in the garden to pick beans for his wife. As he bent[...]1947-There was a mangy coyote or coyotes who went in the Eurica School and shot the pictures of George[...]d him darling one day, but if she had knocked him in the head and fed the milk to a good pig, she woul[...]to Ireland. You all know we have the best country in the world. A few years back we had the biggest steer in the world, we have the biggest gas field in the world, and now here is Ed Randash with quadru[...]to spend the wmter when they can stay right here in Eastern Montana in the Balmy Belt at Baker. A Big Let Down[...]shment Poem found in an old Bible of an Aunt of Cecil Combrink'[...] |
| [...]Of the hundreds of flowering plants that grow in this area we can show such a few. Most of these w[...]on soil that has been cultivated, but will abound in rocky virgin sod. 175 -A. Yucca, Soapwee[...]s used the root as a shampoo or soap for clothes. In Like dandelions the salsify is good eating[...]rs. The peeled root could be eaten raw or cooked. In |
| [...]ost of them could get together. three sons-in-law were unable to come, but the clan bclon'lS lo the proud couple in the center, Finally on Saturday, May thirtieth, Ricgcrs oldest Rieger-who arrived in this country seventy-two-year-old German-born Ado[...]y-nine, whose archal ranch between Miles City and Baker, three relatives, including in-laws, in his photo- first progeny, a son, first drew breath . in 191 I . in eastern :Montana. ;-.;ext morning every- gra[...]sons, nine daughters, fifty-eight grand- in nearby Plevna, then returnc-d to the[...] |
| [...]1923. My I was born December 31, 1908 in Wibaux, Montana. My parents were Mr. and Mrs. Cha[...]High School. I did not go to college, but engaged in moisture. the farmer-stockman occupation. We lived in a friendly community, frequently visiting On[...]forth with the neighbors. Often dances were held in Columbus, Montana. We are the parents of six chil[...]f her parents, the Jack Mellors, north of Ekalaka in Carter County. She was born on January 13, 1917.[...]octor available. As anticipated, " Katy" was born in the midst of a howling blizzard. She was delivered by her father without complications in a homestead shack on the Montana prairies. K[...]rom the Baker High School and acquired her degree in Social Science from the Montana State University. On September 9, 1939 she married Gerald Agler in Baker. They have three children: Linda Jo, Molly[...]Mary Elizabeth in the wheat field on the farm.[...]The latter spent their winters in St. Paul.[...]eler my third and fourth. Later I attended school in[...]coast. We lived in Seattle and Portland for two years, then we[...]made our permanent home in Redmond, Oregon. In 1929 I went into nursing school at the Good[...]Samaritan Hospital in Portland. After I married Lloyd Allen in 1932 we made Portland,[...]United States. Mary Elizabeth Thompson Allen in garden on the farm nine Our two sons[...]our miles north of Plevna, Montana. Picture taken in 1910. grandsons are Wayne and P[...] |
| [...]g Oakes Ames moved from Manson, Massachusets in May he could on mechanics and before[...]ine by scale and a four miles northeast of Baker. In September of that year he stationary engi[...]The couple lived there until they moved to Oregon in about 1926. Oakes passed away in 1941 in Lafayette, Oregon. Emily Ames lived until 1953.[...]hires. Oliver and Lewis both served their country in France during World War I. After returning from France, Oliver married Ina Zigler from South Dakota in 1920. They made their home on the Wilfong place a[...]les northeast of Baker until they moved to Oregon in 1941. Oliver and Ina had three children; Alice, Gladys and Oakes K. Oliver passed away in 1968 and Ina died in 1973, both in Oregon. They left behind three children, nine gra[...]t- grandchildren. Lewis married Fern Goodwin in 1921. They moved to Oregon later on where he passed away in 1959 leaving his widow and two daughters; Elaine[...]ancis joined the army when he became 18 years old in 1918. He is now living in Oregon with his wife, the former Laurel O'Brian.[...]L ANDERSON Montana was open to homesteading in 1909 and Elmer and Mathilda Roget were among the[...]. from Murdock, Minnesota to come and file claims in the[...]Elmer Anderson standing in front. first child in the family. He was born June 3, 1912.[...]Elmer, passed away in 1927 from mastoids and Alden was[...]ly , Albert Fo st famil y, Fred Anderson family , in developing pictures. This was a family hobby whic[...]attended the first school at Willard. It was held in Social life in the early days consisted of the family the Willar[...]ars was put across some chairs to write on. in Minnesota while he was living with his gra[...] |
| [...]Anderson place. Mattie Anderson, Alden and Euelyn in foreground. In 1927 Alden, along with his cousin, Raymond Fost,[...]left for the west coast |
| [...]o Portland, Oregon where he lived until his death in Pearce store, which also served as Baker's first post office, 1955. Hazel died in Billings on February 6, 1971. Mary Jane onl[...]their fun, at the expense of is currently living in Billings with her husband and children. one ve[...]land around Baker, and in those days, scattered sightings of Life in the founding years of a Montana town wasn't[...]out of her teens. The her sister were visiting in the homestead shack when they year was 1909, and[...]la, left heard an ominous thundering sound in the distance, growing Minnesota for the new town[...]ter had heard that destroy everything in their way. And nothing short of a homesteaders were needed in eastern Montana, they were miracle cou[...]tarpaper shack , and Shortly after arriving in Baker by way of the Milwaukee thundered by o[...]f it! Railroad, Mattie was hired as a pastry cook in a small Adventures were many for[...]misfortune was destined to come their way. In 1911, shortly Lloyd. A full month's work of cooki[...]Mattie the sum of $27.50, a good amount of money in 1909. with their first child, Ella, her sister, was stricken with The first step in establishing a homestead, was to have a typhoi[...]ve as home, cost Mattie $120, which she must live in sister's case was definitely terminal. But Ma[...]terrifying premonition in a dream that her husband, Elmer,[...]would die. Not long afterward in 1927, Elmer passed away of[...]a mastoid infection. He was buried in his home state of[...]children. Her eldest son , Alden , then in his early teens, kept[...]the farm running until Mattie's marriage in 1931 to Fred[...]children : Alden, Evelyn , Lois and Edna live in San Diego,[...]Kochel, resides in Bowman, orth Dakota. Mattie and Fred 's[...]son , Jack, lives in Miles City , Montana. Mattie Roget Anderson homeste[...]oon was next door to the cafe on homesteads. |
| [...]and Elmer. Later he succeeded in having a post office established at his place sel[...]I bought a relinquishment on 320 acres located in Fallon remains that name to this day, although it[...]operated a Clarence Chatterton. I moved out in March of 1917 and General Merchandise Store in connection with the post office started farmi[...]Fred has a sister Mamie (Mrs. William Bergstrom) in Baker and two brothers, Walter, on a farm south o[...]Some neighbors in Knobs community-Chatterton brothers[...]In the spring of 1921, I returned to Minnesota where[...]Nelson for a 195 acre farm in Minnesota, taking over a[...]res to the farm. Anderson and Clarence Chatterton in picture. I practiced div[...]wife) passed away in 1945, I rented out my farm to Ardell[...]Magnusen (my nephew) and lived in an apartment in part of After graduating from Minnesota Agri[...]80 acre farm through 1916. In 1960 I purchased a 12 x 50 Rollo-Home trailer house In the fall of 1916 I went out to Willard, Mo[...] |
| [...]ine met was the wonderful experience, getting out in a new country and Methodist Sunday Sc[...]Denmark five years before and settled in the town of Bristol, Celanders, the Dan Williams,[...]names I can't recall. After all, that's 40 in the winter put up ice for the railroad and the lo[...]They remained in Bristol for another year, and in August[...]To provide for his family, Hans worked in Ismay, where[...]a pick and shovel. In the wintertime he cut and packed ice for[...]met with all the usual perils of the homesteader. In Ed Celander[...]started school in Ismay that fall of 1923. During the winter[...]a severe stroke in February of 1933. It paralyzed his right[...]institution at Warm Springs where he passed away in 1938. Katherine remained in Ismay with her family and with[...]anaged to keep body and soul together. She worked in the This lady, together with her brother Joh[...], came to the United States from their birthplace in Project Manager. She also cooked for the hot lunch program Oslo, Norway, in the fall of 1905. An older brother, Rasmus, in the Ismay school when Mr. Herbert Goetz was the S[...]sly , and intendent. had taken a homestead in South Dakota, near the town of Bristol. It was th[...]come, by steamship, to the new land. live in her house with the youngest boy, Clarence, until he Upon arrival in the new country, the three of them had to enlisted in the Air Force in 1941. learn to speak the English language and get themselves some In June of 1941 , she married August Swanson and two[...]her at years later they moved to Miles City. In May of 1951, Gus the Brooker Hotel. Later, as she[...]hultz), home at 115 North 8th and remarried in April of 1957 to who was the head cook at this hotel. Anna and John worked Oscar Waite. In March of 1960 he passed away following a a[...] |
| You will find her still living at her home in Miles City, When we reached Miles City we crossed the Yellowstone but she has had severa[...]Ferry at Buffalo Rapids. Our teams so active, but in good spirits and glad to see all her many[...]the ferry boat with me in the saddle. We had three hired men[...]a cowboy from Great Herbert Arnken was born in Germany on January 17, Falls. It was[...]on to the teams and 1920. His parents still live in Germany. During his boyhood saddle horses[...]was over. The trail went by way of Ekalaka, In 1939, at the age of 19, he was drafted into the M[...]ll, Service, where he remained until his capture in 1943. He was married a Sioux Indian woman named Ekalaka. They lived in sent, at that time, as a prisoner of war to a P.O.W. camp in southeastern Montana. The town of Ekalaka w[...]summer of 1902 that I first met Waitman Germany in September of 1947.[...]ter known as "CY Scout." At the time he was In 1948 he married Frieda Fuchs, who was born in 1920. repping for the C Y. Bob Divine was[...]She was the daugh ter of Johann Fuchs, a farmer in East was owned by J.M. Carey and broth[...]drive some of the loose horses and (after WW II) in 1945 the family escaped to West Germany.[...]ut States, settling near Plevna. Making the trip in February of that did not bother me too much[...]build our new log house. homesteaded near Plevna in 1909. (It was still Custer County The two-[...]new house was finished. In 1952, Herbert bought the Mikelson place. Frank Sp[...]nd J erry Smelter were their neighbors. Dry years in the early 50's made it diffucult to make a living on the farm so they sold out in 1957 and moved to Baker. The couple have two children Barbel and Larry. Herbert is now engaged in oilfield and workover-rig service. Mrs. Arnken is[...]H FAMILY By Beth Ash McElfresh In the spring of 1901 Frank Ash, our father, trailed[...]Montana to Little Beaver, |
| chuck wagons and cowboys in groups of twos and threes. The Ash[...]n), Maud and Ina were the girls and around a bend in the creek I came, suddenly, upon a little log[...]Beth had attended schools in Oregon and Montana. me to tie up my horse and come in and meet Mr. Spry. They had two small children, a[...]four children. Grace, the Boxelder, Montana. In 1914 Ash and McEJfresh as partners oldest was married to Tilden Martin. They had one baby in the cattle business, moved the ranching operation[...]Custer County, north of the Yellowstone River in Montana. and Ina. These children and I grew up to[...]Jessie and Joy attended high school at Miles City. It was In 1904 after Dad lost one band of sheep he went int[...]o go to dances near the ranch than school parties in cattle business and ran cattle the rest of his ra[...]Miles City. However, they rode the thirty miles horseback to[...]the roundup in Miles City to help celebrate the Fourth of[...]was married to F.H. Shenefelt of Divide, Wyoming in June[...]tional Park. Here life for the family was new and in North Dakota, 1902. Given to the Baker Museum by[...]e Shenefelts adopted a grandson (eldest daughters in 1971 . son of Francis, born in Australia in 1944) named Frant T.,[...]who joined the family in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Here Mr.[...]Shenefelt was still employed in government service and THE FRA K ASH FAMILY IN Jessie was employed in nursing. MONTANA and NORTH DAKOTA[...]Laramie. She has taught many places in both Wyoming and Frank and Mary Ash came fro[...]four years Joy has taught at the to Little Beaver in southwestern orth Dakota in 1902. Big Hom School at Big Horn , W[...]n. Joy Frank L. Ash was born near Ashville, Maine in 1859. He went has devoted her life to children and education. west, first to California, in the late 1800's. Mary Hedgepeth Ash was born in Nodaway County, Missouri in 1864. She also Frank L. Ash deceased ovember, 1928. W.W went west in the late 1800's, where she taught school in McElfresh deceased May, 1948. Mary Hedg[...]All three Ash sisters reside in Sheridan, Wyoming. government surveys went throug[...]eir two daughters, Beth and Jessie. Beth was born in the state of Washington and was thirteen years ol[...]le Beaver. Jessie was born at Big Timber, Montana in Hedgpeth and wife, Jane, came back to M[...]01. Little sister Joy was born at Wibaux, Montana in 1902 Grandfather became a Methodist[...] |
| [...]L. were his initials and the last three in North Dakota and Montana. Mr. Carey said it was o[...]ek, Montana. Tom We lived on Little Beaver in the southwest comer of Ridgeway ran o[...]Spring Ranch. I could ride and brand cattle, and in later birthday, so I was allowed to put up my ha[...]Published in the Marmarth Mail about 1914 Dad sent two cowboys to the Badlands for a Christmas In 1908 the people living along the Beaver Creek rea[...]ppointed clerk, and Doc. Spry as treasurer. some in sleds and some in wagons, came from miles around. Sch[...]ee by Mother. For music we had was held in a room of Bradac's house. two violins and the caller, Henry May, played the mouth harp In the fall a neat little school house was put up an[...]ded and encouraged by Supt. Saxvik, they sitters" in those early days. Everyone brought their children[...]building of a small house for the teacher to live in. turkey with all the trimmings that go with roast[...]e decided to use the $100 received from the state in still intermission that my engagement to Waitman[...]ht colored matting was placed on the At one in the morning Dad came in to tell the guests that floor . A large screen[...]is all that could be desired and steadily to heat in the oven. These were placed in the wagons and improving, as each year sees ten or fifteen dollars ' worth of sleds, packed in hay. Children wrapped in blankets were new books added, aside from the textbooks, which are new nestled in the hay and warm rocks for the long ride home. and up-to-date. Much supplementary work is to be had in all It was a lovely party of sixty-six year[...]and Ina Seaman, two deeply interested in the school and its affairs. Mrs. Spry has life-lo[...]teachers. Besides this, wintered at home and one in the Badlands. The band in the her large and helpful library has al[...]always proven herself faithful and efficient in the care of her[...] |
| [...]art. Last , Devasher, and t he fun began in real earnest, for when calves, but not least, com[...]ys as As the population increased , sections were cut off and it the children now have of f[...]ummer of district. The creek is unsafe many times in spring and fall, so 1911 , in Litt le Beaver, North Dakota. in 1911 it was decided to build another school house[...]. The school was built and paid for, the teachers in each school paid $60 per month, janitors hired an[...]substantial financial IN NORTH DAKOTA - 1913 basis. This year it is planne[...]Written to Skidmore, Missouri paper in 1913 on the fi.J:st grade roll of honor.[...]nd Editor of The New E ra. faithful in t heir work. An epidemic of whooping coug h could[...]he most Skidmore might be interested in knowing how we fared severe illness can keep t he[...]ing t ime to write to each of missed a single day in t he three consecut ive years taug ht by t[...]storms of the season. In fact, it was a regular or'wester, a T[...]chinook" wind began to blow and the snow vanished in those parts and all had an exceedingly good time.[...]the rooms . We had put everything in the house up out of reach of humorous wrestling c[...]ightly. My incubator was setting in the house filled with eggs. I At the call to[...]Hotel De Ash, which is so ably either in the blizzard or the flood . One brave old hen ima[...]and lost her life. activities were again taken up in the corral. In the afternoon, Mr. Devasher gave way to To[...] |
| [...], Ohio floods, chinook winds, Equinox and in Bozeman. I am presently employed by the M.D.U. at[...], happy Editors Note: Jerry Ash/,ey died in November of 1973 and is year, I will ring off.[...], Montana, a distance of 35 miles north of Miles City on July 8, 1916. My parents were Mr. and Mrs. Jo[...]or the L-7, the 101 and the Turkey Track outfits in the early 1900's. The Turkey Track outfit ran st[...]W.B Frankland family in 1921.[...]1915. My parents came to Montana in 1910 and homesteaded[...]I was the only child in the neighborhood for several years, but[...]ful farming and the Milwaukee Railroad near Baker in 1908. winters seemed long and severe. The 30 miles of prairie roads[...]riding to the rural school on Hay Creek to Miles City. My mother passed away when I was only a in a buggy or sleigh with heated bricks to keep my f[...]I attended the rural school north of Miles City and high because, 'Wonders of Wonders', they served Jello! I had school at Miles City. I did not go to college but went to work. three woolen serge dresses which I wore with a collar and In those days we used to go by team and wagon to Miles City cuffs. The collar and cuffs were cleaned ev[...]loomers until One of my memories is of getting up in the dusky, early Easter. Our Christmas[...]n I covered with lighted candles, each in its own little metal was 18 years old I rode 40 miles to Miles City so that I could snap-on holder. ride in the parade when they had their Jubilee Celebration in I shall never forget the Christmas that[...]. What a thrill that come, but father met him in the woods where Santa gave him was![...]e graham crackers and cream since I was not In 1937 I married Marion Cain. We had two children, one to suffer! I also enjoyed riding to town in the lumber Marge and Dareen. This marriage did no[...]n and having a treat of lemonade with' real ice ' in it. divorced in 1945. After that I worked for the Fulton Ranch[...]ead until I was 7 years old. I for several years. In 1950 I married Dorothy Frankland[...] |
| [...]career. Grandad " Att" Atkinson was born in 1836 and his son, Charlie, was born in 1875 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our family weather[...]sion without diffuculty Grandad At t worked in Toron to, Canada and had a gold as my father had[...]which was presented to him by t he time. I taught in both rural and town schools in Fallon predecessors of the Sin ger Sewi[...]e Att, then came west and worked on t he railroad in t he heat a rural school. We used Alladin lamps w[...]to Baker I have memories of walking across the " cut across" with my boyfriend after a Scout dance, of eating potato soup in the basement of the high school where our devoted[...]There, too, was the fun of practicing and singing in Operettas and the thrill and excitement of the fi[...]ed t he program of the Chaut auqua which was held in a huge tent set up in t he vacant lot on the west side of the Community[...]In 1891 they filed squatter's rights on the present[...]the first winter they heard of the gold discovery in[...]In 1893 they returned to their land in Montana only to find[...]ne else was on t heir claim. They were successful in[...]which were later sold to the United States Army in World[...]which they owned. They also were big sheep men in 1896, but they lost all of their sheep in the winter of 1898.[...]several of the original ranch homes in the community such as[...]er, Emersons , Hiscock and the original Old Stand in[...]Charlie Att married Hattie Bergstrom in 1911. Hattie[...]came west from Murdock, Minnesota in 1909 and took up a[...]estead along side of her brothers, Ted and Henry, in the[...]vivor of three boys and three girls. He now lives in Baker[...]Grandad "Att" died in 1918. My father, Charlie " Att", died in 1935 and mother, Hattie died in 1936. All are buried in[...]to the pupils. H e also built the L . Price home in Sidney, Montana; Dorothy Speelmon of Helena, M[...]The original house still stands in the hjJJ and is owned In ovember of 1949, I married Jean D. Hanley at by Richard Atkinson. Baker, Montana. He was killed in action in Italy during hjs tour of duty in World War II . Then in ovember of 1950, I ELDRED C. BAGLEY AND FAMILY was married to Gerard L. Ashley at Miles City , Montana. was born at Astoria , O[...]esbyterian grandparents had homesteaded in Oregon, but my parents Church and later I attende[...]Churches of were not stockmen. They worked in the logging industry in Baker and Plevna.[...] |
| [...]hores there events and to shows. Then in the fall of 1931, through the were to be done an[...]at Portland, Oregon, following which I engaged in the work of had putting on the faculty play[...]years of age we came to this vicinity. This was in October of 1971 and we came by station wagon and U- Haul, and settled in Plevna. We experienced no problems in establishing our home in Plevna, as we received much help from people near us. While still in Oregon and Idaho, we used to attend box socials.[...]ch the parade. Much of our time is employed in Hospital visitations, in the Ministry of Correspondence and in conducting Bible Eastside School T[...]Jensen, and Esther Enseleit. We love living in Montana and in Plevna. The children are really enjoying their sc[...]are putting down After tet.ching in Baker, I returned to my home in roots here. We are all happy in the fellowship with folks in Billings and taught the first grade at the Garfield School Baker, Miles City, Wibaux and Ekalaka and we thank the[...]ck to Billings and finished teaching while he was in Hotel in Devil's Lake, North Dakota where I was born June the Medical Corps of the Anny. He returned home in 1945 6, 1910. When I was nine years old we moved[...]the Dutch Girl Ice Cream Co. until his retirement in 1972. We High School and then attended the Easter[...]s. The next year I went into the Carlyle, Montana in the fall of 1930. I had 18 children in all school system where I taught the first gra[...]went to Baker for social until I retired in 1972.[...] |
| [...]ed the University of Oregon and the In 1923 we farmed with horses. I drove three horses[...]y plow and Sam drove six horses on the gang plow. In Bookkeeping Service and lives at home with us. P[...]sity of Oregon too, and is now working on Sam cut the grain early in the morning and in the evening he her Master's Degree in Journalism at the University of would s[...]lked the ten cows again. I carried the Minnesota in Minneapolis. She is Education Editor of the[...]n and close from our Champion at Washington D.C. in Junior Bowling place to the highway. Competition when she was a senior in high school. Mariella On July 26, 1923 we lost our first baby, a boy named ,b owls in three leagues, Orville bowls with 'The Sons of[...]ovember 20, 1927 Lois was born. Norway' and I am in a Social League and a Woman 's League. We have lots of fun and get lots of exercise. I have been active in the Central Presbyterian Church serving in the Sunday School, Bible Study Group, Church Circle and the Deacons. We also are in a Square Dance Club. My first taste of square da[...]ler, wasn't he? It was fun anyhow! We were in Baker last summer on our way to South Dakota. It[...]KLEY I, Daisy, was born at Viola, Wisconsin in 1891 to Franklin and Katherine Crainer. I was one[...]Sam Barkley heading wheat, 1927. placed in mother's arms and they were buried on Christmas D[...]In 1927 we had a real good crop and the prices were good At 12 years of age I went to Garden City, South Dakota so we were able to pay all on our land . In 1928, Sam and to live with my father's only siste[...]yant's lived on a farm five miles north of Garden City. the following year Sam bought a new truc[...]ur son Cleo was born brother, Roy. I later worked in the J. C. Talor Dry Goods September 1, 1930 on his mother's birthday at the home of Store there. In the fall, late November, my father drove his Mrs. Alice Cartwright in Baker. team and wagon up from Ludlow, South Dakot[...]place to pasture. Then I went back to Garden City where I worked in the Farmer's Co-op Store for three years. It was[...]rkley, who had just been discharged from the Army in 1918. On May 22, 1922 we were married and came to[...]bought a half section of land from R. S. Hamilton in the Willard area for $19 an acre. Different peopl[...]Cleo married Beatrice Elmore of Ekalaka in the First[...]Becky married Alvin Croy and they are living in Baker and Sam Barkley's home on t[...] |
| [...]rooms on one side. They lived in this dwelling until 1917 when Sam was a memb[...]boys. All but three of the children still reside in passed away on May 25, 1965.[...]eeda live elsewhere and Annie I make my home in Baker, attend the Wesleyan passed away in 1969. Methodist Church, visit those more lonely t[...]Mr. and Mrs. Bechtold were interested mostly in the the Senior Citizen gatherings when not visiti[...]d anyone who came along. No matter who are living in other states. The winter of 1972 I spent in what they had to eat, Mr. Bechtold always inv[...]year. There was no electricity to freeze meat in those years. There were picnics at the Rock[...]at Willard Hall, Mr. Bechtold passed away in 1934. After his father's ball games and chokecherry and plum picking in the dra ws, death, Ernest ran the farm for[...]married Jake we have traveled around a lot being in the Navy. I keep busy · Schweigert, Ernest ma[...]ring the depression, my father having passed away in 1927, the family went to the west coast and lived and worked in the berry orchards. About the time of WW II my si[...]ther Alden was and found work as a wire installer in Consolidated Aircraft. We also f< :id part-time w[...]Baker-Frank in white hat. Given to museum by Forrest[...]Mrs. John W. He came to Montana in the winter of 1908 by Milwaukee Losing. Left to r[...]ha, Alma. After arriving in this vicinity he worked as a sheep-camp[...]ll be alive today. left Russia to come to America in 1905. They lived in Selby, When he first came out here Fran[...]Morris residence. Berry Morris was a rancher in 1909. Frank[...] |
| [...]ND MRS. HENRY G. BECKMAN Church, the first church in Baker. In a letter written to Bud Henry G. Beckman was born on October 7, 1883, in Price before Frank's death, he said that Bud's mo[...]born to Carl and Bertha Beckman. He grew up in Minnesota boys should be good boys and as he reac[...]to Canada where they farmed for two years. In July of 1908 Frank was also active in the oil and gas development of Henry, his brother John and a friend, Oscar Ness, came to the country. In later years Frank retired and moved to Baker. They traveled in a covered wagon. Oscar and Aleck Arizona where he married Alice Atwood in 1957. Beckman (another brother o[...]come to Baker Frank Becker always advertised in the Fallon County beforehand to check the[...]ll take time to meditate and pray. I want to live in such a kindly understanding way That at the close[...]nkind May only thoughts that bless and heal dwell in my mind. Let Thine own love control and guide my[...]y. In late 1908, a sod house, 14 ft. by 30 ft. was erec[...]lived in this sod house until 1912. At this time a[...] |
| [...]r childhood near Camp Crook and Capitol, Montana. In 1912, at the age of 17, she moved to Baker with h[...]. Dorman worked for several years as a blacksmith in Baker. Father Carl Beckman passed away in 1914 from |
| [...]rry E. Bergeson was born at Albert Lea, Minnesota in[...]in 1913 in a "horseless carriage, " a Ford Model S touring c[...]rt Bellis where the first gas well was discovered in Cabin Creek We took up the business of farming and proceeded to fill |
| [...]ead which was eight miles east of Baker, Montana, in the Fertile Prairie Community. I attended school in the nearby rural school through the[...]High School from which I graduated in 1927. I rode my horse[...]ote articles on Horticulture which were published in the "Montana Farmer" of those days.[...]ture, and joys of visiting and had tied him in the stable and when I returned I discovered enter[...]problem as Baker was eight miles away. Sometimes in and having my face brushed by those heels o[...]Cowboy, a real one. Coal and wood were available in the badlands, which horseman, by the nam[...]Walter remained Madison Square Gardens in New York City. on the place until 1935. At that time, they deci[...]e homestead until depression was beginning to set in. Mrs. Bergeson lived in i934, a terribly dry year that killed many[...]he remained until she passed anchor. away in 1940. Walter work~d in the logging. indus~r!'. Some of their neighb[...]r and I joined their famil y at Twin Falls, Idaho in 1910. The family later returned to Crookston, Minnesota from where they had come. In 1919, both my parents succumbed during the flu epidemic of that year. So in 1920, at the age of 10, I came to make my home wi[...]Walter B ergeson With His Model A Ford In 1935[...] |
| I took to the woods, so to speak, and worked in Western MRS. JOHN HENRY BERGST[...]Ida Lee was born November 4, 1886, in Hawley, After all this I went into the shipyards[...]ing. After six spent her childhood years in Hawley where her father was a years at the shipya[...]oeing Plant blacksmith. Later she clerked in a store and worked as a where I have remained eve[...]one operator. After that she did secretarial work in an auditor's office in a northern Minnesota county court house. My sister, Agnes Wilder, was a nurse in a hospital in Her parents had a desire to prove up[...]they came west by way of the Milwaukee shipyards in Seattle, she and a nurse friend came out there fo[...]Bergstrom at Miles City. They had six children: John Henry[...]rides a hobby but not a horse. She is interested in art and 13 great grandchildren and one gre[...]Hobby Horse." We go to horse shows, the in their neighborhood ; and of course, there was lot[...]ly Celebrations. beautiful horses . I have ridden in some rodeos. One I At t he present time, Ida is retired and living in Baker especially recall was at Renton, Washington[...]In memory by Helen Bergstrom Lacasse[...]he worked as a bookkeeper for a hardware firm in Crosby, orth Dakota. In 1909 he filed on a homestead, sixteen mile[...] |
| [...]children were born to this couple; the first died in have all the clothes we need for the next two[...]ey-dorey". Lois Magnuson Redman, was also reared in their home. There We got $200 .00 when we[...]all suffer. Nothing like Ted was interested in the government and progress of having a g[...]20 County Commissioner, served several sessions in the State miles north of the South Dakota line in Custer County. This House of Representatives and one term in the State Senate. county is bigger that the state of Rhode Island and is the In 1936 he was appointed Postmaster at Baker, a posi[...]tana. It is about 700 miles to which he resigned in 1937 to accept the position as Warden of Minn[...]alf mile the Montana State Prison at Deer Lodge. In 1941 he became from the stage road that ru[...]so you know the roads continued until his death in Portland, Oregon on August 27, to town are t[...]over the road is Estelle continued to live in their home in Missoula, immense. We could have our mail left in a box up the road if Montana until her death on[...]nts. for three months. The telephone her husband in the Sunset Memorial Gardens of Missoula.[...]wo miles to the woods and coal mine. All we do is cut it and mother, and was the greatest teacher we ev[...]induce some of the young people to with free-hand cut-outs remained with her through out the co[...]ones were daily visitors after we right here in our midst, both sheep and cattle. Muller's ranch[...]bands of sheep, from 2300 to 3000 in each band. Have seen all[...]s, his always open and if the herder is not in, to go in and cook up integrity and his "good neighbor poli[...]red to. He was our public I was in town last Thursday and Morse, the Banker, servant[...]adjoins the townsite so he eats in town. In fact, his house is[...]ur country, so he treats us HOMESTEADING IN FALLON COUNTY[...]Baker, Montana, April 11, 1909 We left the city (Minneapolis) at 6:45. When we got as[...]ve not been west we got the nicer the weather and in the western part of[...]make you feel at home. We can seeding. We arrived in Miles City, Montana at 10:30[...]Fort Keogh. It has been and desk. We have been in there until 9 or 10 at night and[...]They pay for our meals and such when we are in town. on the banks of the Yellowstone River. The soil all around Miles City looked very light and dry, mostly a sandy clay[...]l. They were sprinkling the streets then, so soon in the had dinner. We had fried potatoes, ham,[...]and spring, so it must be a fright for being dry in the summer. We crackers, but we can do away wi[...]ting spoke to a number of people and they said it gets as hot as used to eating without side dishes so we never notice it 115 and 120 degrees in the shade.[...] |
| [...]an we have for a sheepherder one day. He has been in this country for 20 years year previous. an[...]The natives use them for other place of business in Baker. One of the saloons has a neckties or belts. They skin them and use that with the meat market in the same room, and the other has a barber[...]home, I will wear the shop, so if we want a hair cut we have to go to the saloon.[...]ne grow! Have seen Eagles, Antelope, Coyote, Prairie Chickens Hank and I have bought ch[...]alled going to have these shacks fixed up in style and comfort. Tell "Buttes" and creeks are c[...]o the best country "honyoks". Wish you could look in on us and see no table there is, no ma[...]This afternoon we have been fighting prairie fires and I have been in town three days and two nights this past[...]here anq the Medicine Rock:s, just across I came in to help him unload. We have worked harder since[...]rom Wills road and ranch. It hurried a lot of hay in bunches, coming up here than for a long time.[...]nged horses :and went right on again. While in town the other day, Morse offered me a position[...]out his- grain and when we nearly thing a person gets for nothing in this state is fresh air. had a load on, the blacks .struck out, and left us. In crossing Hank and Albert have their shacks[...]the reach broke. and hayrack, load and all landed in painted the floor a light brown and have cozy hom[...]legs were bruised but otherwise the inches and on in the well, we find all kinds of petrified wood.[...]that lucky. When we got this fixed, I looked over in afternoon to pass the time away. I'll look over o[...]He could not get it into an envelope so put it up in a roll. We demon. By this time there were a[...]he can't look at it that way. Wish we could write in Swedish it out. The only way we can reaso[...]day. I am going to stay at home and write letters in the Morse, the banker, keeps his books now, but he is going to forenoon and in t.he afternoon I will mail them and go and get qu[...]art can round up the cows and do the chores in time. Have picked with and more later. He has a f[...]some porcupine quills and will enclose them in an envelope in TYJ)('writer, roll top desk, and all this[...] |
| [...]and we hauled using two wagons to haul with. In the winter spent the day chasing her. Found her in Wiley's pasture. I we split the fogs[...]oyed riding and am going to ride Croppie to Baker in the I'll bet some of those posts are still there. In •16 and •17, we morning, together with Curtis[...]delegates from had fair crops and also in '18, but on August 1, 1918, we had a out here to[...]e so fine, and if and cleaned everything in its path. That was the first year you are always[...]ckly since we said goodby, and In the fall of 1918, I shipped a car of locoed cattl[...]now and that time. It will seem different to you in thin. In Dec. 1918, I had a sale and sold some good cattle[...]that a person just can't help years. In 1919, we had no rain all summer and no crops, the[...]good crop in '22 but not so good in the '20's and '30's. In the HISTORY OF WILLIAM A. BERGSTROM[...]farm and moved onto it. In '35, we had a light crop, '36 we west of Roundup, Montana, on Dole Creek in the Wheaton were dried out again, and I worked for the M. D. U. Co. for 30 area. Then in the fall of 1913, I came to Baker to visit my days to get a grub-steak for the winter, in '37 we had a fair brothers, Henry and Ted, and my[...]Ranch They came on a Sunday afternoon in big black clouds and ate in Carter County. My brother, Henry, went back with[...]up and helped me build a 15 by 32 feet barn. Then in light crops. In 1940, I bought a 1928 International 15-30 March o[...]All through the 40's, and six cattle. We arrived in Roundup in the early hours of[...]to our new home. I had two for barley. In 1943, we bought the Henry Juve 1 1/2 section boys from Minn. in the car with me who were a great help,[...]and in 4 or 5 years had it paid for plus most all other[...]id, "Don't you know that rented some land and put in some crop which made pretty life starts in the 50's?" In the fall of 1947 I rented the farm to good . Then[...], Lowell. We had a wonderful crop and good prices in sulkey plow. That first summer I built a 14-16 ft[...]'48. In 1950 we bought a house in Baker and moved into town with a 12-16 lean, on t[...]e I became an agent for Farmers' Insurance Group. In In ovember I went back to Minn. to get my bride,[...]ck, Minn. pneumonia. She was in the hospital for 5 days and developed Thanksgiving Day , ov. 26, 1914. We visited around in acute leukemia and died on Nov. 7,[...]ed, Hattie, and their to Dick O'Conner in 1966. Edith and I had 5 children, 3 girls, famil[...]s, all are living except Dorothy, who passed away in too . After that we left for our new home at Roundup. Miles City in 1958. Eileen, Dorothy, and Myron were born in[...], what a place you have brought me to. ot a tree in sight anywhere!" We drilled a well that sum[...]ter from a neighbor, which was three miles away . In the fall of "14" I had rented 40 acres and plowed it, and in 1915, I put it into oats. It was a wet year. It rained every day but one. In the month of June, the 40 acres of oats made 104[...]. per bushel. I also had wheat, barley , and flax in which did very well , too. It was such a cold sum[...]hrough Montana. I broke up quite a few more acres in fall of 1915 , and the sod was so wet and[...] |
| In the fall of 1962, I married Mamie Faulk. She and I had over the family farm since his father's death in 1958, and grown up together on neighboring farms in Minnesota. In Bernice, Mrs. Clifford Rollo, of Frederi[...]ho grandchild. homesteaded at Willard in 1909, and a sister of Estelle Sig pl[...]and after that my education and Sig was born in Langness, Norway on March 26, 1889. occupation was in the "School of Hard Knocks!" He was educated ther[...]ame a pilot and followed the business of Aviation in nineteen, but disliking the sea and the dangers,[...]many hundred·s an uncle, Ludwig Strommen, living in Chicago, came there in of acres of crops in this area. 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Strommen were about[...]e one son, Charles Scott Bethel. them get settled in the Willard Community. Sig, with little The town of Newville, N. D. is no longer in existence and money in his pocket, worked for the homesteaders putting in I have now put in over 40 years of flying planes, so have fences an[...]I was born in Carter County April 1, 1914 . Here I lived[...]until I was 12 years old, when the family arrived in Baker in[...]January of 1929. We traveled by truck and located in North[...]me, Mr. and Mrs. Strommen and Mrs. Elmer Anderson in front. In 1921 , he married Mrs. Thea Oliason, a wid[...] |
| My parents homesteaded in Carter County in 1917, but could entertain-or scare-his gra[...]usan and Pearl authentic war whoop in later years. Hufford and they did farming and ranching before In 1870 the William Bickle family and Maryette's com[...]lked and herded the stock. Fall Our neighbors in Baker were John and Maud Cozad, Bill found them in Iowa, where they wintered along the and Mable Seaman,[...]Mississippi, continuing to Kansas in the spring and locating Wash, Mr. and Mrs. Ostroff, and George and Vic Grainger. in the Solomon Valley near Beloit, Kansas in June of 1871. I attended grade school and high school in Ekalaka and Dave Bickle's next move wa[...]nd on the Bar T and I married Jack G. Plummer in 1934 at Ekalaka, Montana also on the 777 ranches. The fall of 1880 was wet and cold; the and in 1959 I was married to John B. Bethel. My children[...]lummer cattle to be sold to Dodge City; possibly a factor that (Widdicombe) and Charles[...]le Montana when spring came. Hufford, died in 1938, and my mother, Susan Tuckness[...]found Dave working for the TD ranch Hufford, died in 1960. on O'Fallon Creek, in present day Fallon County. This[...]winter of 1886. Winter came in October that year, the storms[...]and blizzards continued in force and by the spring of 1887[...]most of the cattle in Montana were dead. With the spring[...]Dewey and Marshall bought 600 mares in Texas, had them[...]Dave invested his savings in a band of sheep which he ran in partnership with Kenneth McLain whose home ranch[...]He lived the next seven years here in a small log building, his[...]Whipple ( a good man with the broadax) and Dave cut logs Dave and Carrie Bickle at their wedding[...]Hardware in Terry, a round trip of over 120 miles. THE B[...]er lambs There were few family owned ranches in southeastern were kept and bands of wether[...]were run for Montana when David Bickle came here in the early spring of the wool, wool being the[...]now. years of age. Born in Wisconsin in 1858, David Bickle was the son of Shortl[...]ickle was born land they were using as range, in particular the watered in Devonshire, England in 1827. After his father's accidental portions. T[...]is to survey eventually to the United States and, in due time, by overland and map his purchase whic[...]section of dry land trip, to their Welsh friends in Wisconsin. At the time of for every section[...]New York state, where Maryette was born at Oswego in were married in Armington, Illinois. Mrs. Bfcltle (Carrie) was 1839, migrated to Jackson County, Wisconsin in 1856 and the daughter of Frederick and Me[...]ughter of the Henline-Hainline family who arrived in Indians were Dave's playmates as a child; he learned to shoot America sometime around 1690, settling in the Yadkin Valley the bow and arrow and to[...] |
| [...]and their descendents through this prairie country the year before. It took me two settled in Kentucky, southern Illinois and Missouri.[...]ng of towns along the right of way, Dave invested in the line and all trains stopped for them. several businesses including banks in Terry, Ismay, and On September 15th, we went to Miles City to be married. Baker. He served as President of all three and was president At that time Miles City was the county seat of Custer of the Bank of Baker at the time of his death in 1946. County, which at the time included the whole southeastern The Bickles built a home in Ismay in 1907-08 and there corner of Montana. Mr.[...]tone Big Foot's Bar. Just about everybody in town turned out to and is owned and operated by A[...]ourth generation here. Both ranches are presently in the cattle business exclusively. Editors Not[...]LYDIAN HYTHECKER BIFFLE I was born in the Fertile Prairie Community about 5 miles east of Baker on April 9,[...]m at Claremont, Minnesota and came to the Fertile Prairie homestead location in 1908. We stayed on the land for three years after which we moved into Baker. Our neighbors in Baker were the Hiscocks, Ovens, Kirkpatrick and O[...]a small girl, I recall carrying water from a well in our Barber Shop and two room house built by Or[...]they were being east side of Main Street in Baker-1909. dug in the fall. I went to elementary and high school in Baker. I remember the winter of 1920 when the sno[...]e were only four buildings on that depression set in during the early 30's and people really went[...]dren; Richard church the first Sunday in a small school house on the north James, Dixie Le[...]e Thomas, our youngest son, passed away of cancer in 1970. speaker. I attended Ladies Aid f[...]y. In 1910 public land around Baker was opened for[...]homestead filing and the homesteaders moved in. The barber and used to go as far as Terry or Eka[...]ounding about 9 miles northeast of Baker in the Fertile Prairie[...]ORA BLANCHARD worked in the barber shop. Minnie and I held down the I, Anna V. Williams, was born in Cleveland, Henry homesteads. I had[...]bicycle back and forth. We 'proved up ' in 1913. In the spring barber shop in Moline, Illinois, and came west to look fo[...] |
| [...]er, Fern, was born. She hosts' came in and Milton invited him to come over and sit graduated from Baker High School in 1930, and worked at with us and[...]. They now live at Rengely, resulted in my marriage to Mr. R. G. Hibbard. in Miles City. Colorado. Our son, Ora Leroy, was born November 26, 1913. in May, of 1961. My husband. a Montana resident. since He also graduated from Baker High School, and served in the 1915 , still has a suspicion that the supper-table invitation U. S. Air Force in World War Two. He passed away at[...]been ' rigged ' just a little by our two friends. In any case we be ide his father. Ora Lee Blanchard, r. , in the family plot are both happy and contented and comfortable at our home at in Bonnievale Cemetery at Baker. Ora, Sr. had passed[...]ur good friends Illinois to make his home with us in February of 1934 when everywhere. his mother passed away in the home state of Illinois. Gerald grew up as a member of our family in Baker, where he graduated from High School, and then served in the U. S. MR. AND MRS. ED BLASER Marine Corps in World War Two. Gerald married Helen[...]pened for filing and settlers boys. Their home is in Miles City. several year[...]1888, and came to Montana in 1916, by train. My father homesteaded in South Dakota, about 30 miles southwest[...]d and bookkeeping, and a few years of office work in[...]Ed Blaser was born May 23rd, 1886, in West Virginia , a[...]father, his mother remarried and the family lived in[...]worked part time in a grocery store, then as a clerk for a[...]Picture loaned by Emily Chilton Matth ew. In 1942 , Mrs. Hilma Eilek Kuehn and myself bought o[...]r moved into t he thea tre build ing. |
| [...]sections joined our claim on the north . We In the spring of 1910, Ed and his step brother, Jack bought the east half of that section in 1917, then we had a Eichenberger came out to b ui[...]ead, and after digging and shipped everything out in an emigrant car, and several pla[...]Ed Blaser's barn-built in 1918. In 1915 the weather was favorable for good crops and In 1918 we built our barn on that . P. land and the[...]had years of little rain, poor |
| In 1928 we took a little 16 month old boy to care fo[...]dren are able to do, together with making changes in our lives. Herb went to school in our district, to high school here in Baker, and then took a course in the Kinman Business University of Spokane, where he received a degree in business administration and has a position in San Francisco. We had hoped he would be interested in farming and take over our farm some day, but he w[...]on and my grandson, Steffan, and family also live in California, near Los Angeles, and I have a little[...]ms occasionally-all a part of a farmer 's worries in farming.[...]folks came by train to Plevna in 1912. They came to secure a[...]where they engaged in farming and stock raising.[...]I came to the vicinity in 1913 at the age of 23. During the Ed Blaser, Roy[...]bad. We marketed our wheat in Plevna and shipped stock to[...]where we continued in the farming and stock raising[...]ning my husband was gone, he'd had a heart attack in his sleep. I stayed on the farm until fall, and w[...]le, and farm, as I felt I couldn't stay Montana in April of 1912 in an emigrant car from Artas, there alone. I moved[...]Y Theodore remained in South Dakota. I was born in Odessa, South Russia, on Sept. 20, 1890. My paren[...]Some of our close As a boy, I went to school in Odessa up to the fifth neighbors were the Gevings, Breens, Doering brothers, grade and then worked in my father's flour mill until he Frieds, Hubbards, McHoes, and Charlie Clark who lived in a migrated to America. After reaching the[...] |
| [...]t up a barrel and show them what he wanted. In 1918 he married Barbara Steinback and she brought[...]her: Martha, Ida, and Jack; the other 3 |
| I was married to Forrest Bradbury in Minneapolis, BR[...]eparation for the Laird-Norton Lumber Yard in Eagle Lake, Minnesota from my husband, I returned[...]took part in the town's activities, did some surveying and[...]e drew pen and ink pictures and lived on 1st West in a house now owned by Mrs. John and made toys. Weinschrott. Our family lived in that house until my grandparents passed away and[...]order for Fallon County for many years . She died in 1962 and I continue to live in the home on 2nd Street. My son, Dennis and m[...]e children. I made a trip to Alaska to visit them in recent years and this summer ( 1973) I plan to meet Carolyn in Detroit Lakes where we will visit relatives in that area. I am a member of the St. John 's[...]and enjoy working at the center and participating in the various activities. I belong to a Card Fourso[...]mily , visit me now and then. I enjoy living in Baker and glad to be in " Good Old Montana! "[...]were invited. My mother had taken dress-making in school so[...]she made the beautiful gowns. She was also active in the[...] |
| [...]ey could use and caused some damage and delay in the building of the house. some to sell.[...]n advertising the plan to "almost give away" land in wind and the snow. The stove was kept bur[...]nothing because it would get to 50 degrees below in Montana's advantages and benefits. As the hot Cal[...]y father, they decided to had been tied in the shelter of the house and were safe. When sell their property and go to Montana. While still in the snow melted, it was beautiful.[...]ght an Eastman Kodak. He had his own prairie fires and there was no dry grass. The prairie was nice dark room and was able to capture many h[...]g The San Francisco Earthquake rattled the dishes in the across our place and ponds 1/2 m[...]hbors cupboard and I was asked to ride on a float in the house where water was obtained both fo[...]until a well could be dug. A stop in Minnesota was made to sell their furnishings[...]have a house built before my least headed in the right direction. Wood and lignite coal were m[...]chers lost some stock a group of Lorraine (Baker) in February 1908. c[...]grindstone and shoot their pistols at targets in the yard. One We carried large suitcases of[...]e horse but he recovered and several months trunk in the ditch and told us to go to the buildings and[...]Late in the year after the fall work was done we had to[...]heavy for the horses to pull. The we were there. In a couple of days a rancher gave us a ride for[...]a load meant fewer trips. The wood was tied $15. in a lumber wagon . We had to sit on our baggage but[...]wagon to go through if the horses kept the wheels in horses. He found them at a ranch where the[...] |
| [...]and horses would be lost. to call some men in off the street to hold me down while he The oth[...]sed, that day, my hair which was always worn in braids was let part way up the other side. From[...]e longer ones. Some of the This first year in Montana was rough. They had to dig girls[...]o mother who was still young. - - Getting caught in the wagon several miles, dig a well, make shelter[...]steps, under the leaves of the turnip I wanted - in the path arguments as to where it would be locat[...]lights - - - on my brother's birthday in May when the snow nice and warm we walked but wh[...]e and water standing everywhere - - - a terrible prairie or when it was very cold, Mother would take us in a blizzard with wind so strong it almost t[...]pulled - - Dad's blacksmith shop of sod. He cut even sized blocks and by one horse. Mother would put us in with blankets over us laid them like bric[...]. Because my father was ill, Mother worked hands in the blizzard when she couldn't see the road or fe[...]Every Monday was wash day. Early in the morning a Lucier was our first teacher.[...]f the A Sunday School was organized and met in the school. range, filled with water, co[...]he taught us many of this water was put in a wash tub and the clothes washed in new songs. Missionaries traveled over the county[...]e helped boiled their clothes before rinsing. In the winter time lines bring new babies into the world and helped friends prepare were strung in the house to hang the clothes on to dry. As loved[...]purchased; such as soda The cook range was in continual use. A reservoir was crackers in large boxes the size of an apple box, dried fruit[...]warm. It was often set in a big dish pan, wrapped in a blanket[...]sweet rolls were as large as our hamburger rolls in snap on candle holders which we had brought with[...]One other thing that was always found in the kitchen presents were usually practical cloth[...]r, a wash pan and a always homemade toys and once in a while a beautiful doll. soap dish. The[...]tone boat (covered wagon style), dressed the cats in doll of ordinary sized pillows. We did not suf[...]being nights, it was the getting up in the morning that was rough. pioneers. When[...] |
| [...]ts received and the number of years of experience in became trunted neighbors and friends.[...]In most of these rural schools you built your own fi[...]lunch. After school you helped the slow was back in time for me to go to High School in 1914. She students and prepared the sche[...]e next day for all bought a lot and built a house in Baker (still standing) across grades. At one o[...]eighter. He knew all the "Old excepting in the summer and vacations when I came home to Timers" in the area surrounding Glendive, Wibaux,[...]was always Marmarth, Belle Fourche, Alzada, Miles City and Baker. happy when they let me dri[...](they had sheep and hay. later a hotel in Baker), another sister, Mrs. Houston Murphy (owne[...]nk Hasty (owned a way station near Fertile Prairie and a Ladie's Club, the S.L.C. was organized. Gle[...]nd the practicing was the which he prized highly. In the herd was a beautiful dapple most fun.[...]an outlaw mare. No one could tame her or keep her in an nail driving and wood sawing contests wer[...]were sold A Community Hall (Fertile Prairie Hall) was built 1 1/ 2 for $1 a head, some died a[...]o dances there and didn 't get home We lived in town in 1914. Mother and Fred commuted till da[...]s were spent on the farm. Bunks were built in the corner of the hall and as the children One sp[...]cause confusion. and was allowed to leave school in April to teach a Summer Company I l[...]School south of Ismay on a Temporary Certificate. In those played "hookey" to see them[...] |
| [...]arade, and a tank which was distant. In spite of poverty there was happiness, peace and u[...]Their home in Carter County was a homestead, the first I taught 2nd grade in Terry for three years and while house was[...]on his and Kenneth D. They moved to Baker in 1930. They rented a father's side was the 2nd Gov[...]and finally bought a home from E ngineer but was in the Hardware Business wit h his family Pa[...]home, slowly and painstakingly. They Bartell Roy. In 1952 my hu sband and I bought a home in always raised a good garden and Mayme[...]Paulos. Their neighbors in Baker were the J.R. Smolas, the[...]The first years in Baker were difficult since it was during[...]masonry work. Even in " hard times " people had to have[...]me repairs done and he finally became established in a good trade in construction work, doing brick and block laying[...]His sons joined him in this type of work, doing business as[...]Mayme and D avid B riggs I n Front of Their H ome in B aker DA YID B . AND MAYME BRIGGS.[...]ons at B aker |
| [...]AND D ODD A. BROTT Although I was born in South Dakota, I'm really a native Montanan. My hu[...]to kitchen and tar papered as so many homes were in those days . Those were the horse and buggy days, and the doctor made house calls even in the inclement weather, no matter how cold or deep[...]ded of uncle Gates Wetzbarger Five in South Dakota - 1929 request of wanting to see wha[...]t Enid, Dale, Lester, Mervyl and Dick in Front for?[...]Our meals were in the lunch box and consisted of[...]Lemmon, South Dakota, in a tourist parkway. Those[...]fortunate enough to have a tent slept in tents, mostly they rolled up in bedrolls or in the car. There was a friendly fellow[...]who volunteered a space in his tent for brother Lester to[...]was mounted on the backend of the car in those days, so we I was never to have the p[...]e as started out without a spare tire and much in prayer that we he developed pneumonia and passed[...]From farming, Dad took over operating elevators in were getting more home sick by the mile. ot even a Tulare and Crandon, South Dakota. Then in the year of 1925 jackrabbit jumped out to[...]arm of my horse or even a farm stead was in sight. What a relief to mother's uncle, Ed Polbro[...]dom, finally see the town of Miles City. ow this wasn 't so bad Montana, which is ten mil[...]ahead to get established, then we followed later in the month north we went the worse it got, ju[...]means of transporting goods accustomed to. In later years bands of s heep dotted this area at t[...]of my brothers, Lester, Enid, were kept in better repair then they are at present. It's pret[...]h of a ghost town now , but don't tell them that. In time[...] |
| [...]union with Dad, but I'll never forget horses in there. They were the wild range horses picked up[...]d to be sold to horse buyers. Thus a were built in those days. My uncle being a bachelor had all[...]was the gelding from Ray Goodwin that he had used in and for heat, unless the furnace was going, and[...]a fatal event going to school one day cornbread in the oven, one of those black pans that were so[...]over-end down a hill with my brother common back in those days. They baked enough cornbread so[...]er it was cold cornbread and milk, quite a change in small saved him. He lost his lunch and his[...]Somehow mother soon had things under control, and in week when I had the flu. Many the time I[...]oard the horses then they would entangle in the rope. Then too rather than by his chair, so[...]which they thought was ugly, but in time he outgrew this to a all day job. We kids t[...]se. He took me the rest of my school years along In the span of three years there were many community[...]re large bands of sheep all around us. and stayed in the teacherage during the week would use the[...]we were the in between ages. We also got in on the lambing- In the Fall of 1929 we moved to a cattle and sheep ranch out time which in those days took place in April, and always seventeen miles west of Cohagen, the owner lived in came the wet rains and snow. To ke[...]not very My brother "Dick" and I were still in grade school. My roomy for twin lambs and t[...]ad to use oldest brother stayed at a private home in Cohagen to go to them and to cut out prospective mothers and leave them high schoo[...]f the weather was inclement. milk cow was allowed in town and chickens, too, if kept A[...]the next green draw. We had lots of Buffalo Grass in that They too could do janitor work to help pay f[...]vely to go. Thus milking time. We had a fenced in pasture but the grass got[...] |
| pretty short in dry years with horses and cows both running[...]e ripped up to make Our lighting in those days was a kerosene lamp on the coats, skir[...]and mittens. I went barefoot until my wall in the kitchen with a reflector behind it to throw t[...]. Dad light anywhere. A kerosene light in the dining room was our had a awl and shoe last w[...]y this light and Monarch range and a coal furnace in the basement. This didn't the bugs l[...]ll board inside and lapsiding outside and nothing in between the walls, so you can imagine how cold it[...]at cave for lunch. We dreamed about fruit in the magazine or seed as eggs and butter didn't ke[...]was the large supply of fruits and on the prairie it was an every day event to kill several. The ve[...]after them to scare them off, especially in the spring of the garden was a family project. If[...]would invade the made a special trip to the Miles City gardens, which they had bedground if it was[...]Ifwe, as a family, got to go to Miles City once a year we sell, and didn't get much for them[...]926 Chevrolet, but the roads weren't much to live in those days. We never went to a doctor, didn't[...]gh we didn't cross the Little Dry creek either as in a hurry. I had my first tooth filled at age twelv[...]see rough country go up into the One winter in particular comes to my mind, altho there M[...]I can still recall how I invariably got in on the churning were still in country school and due to the deep snow they job. I churned butter in the old style dash churn the barrel postponed school to be made up in the spring. We ran out of churn and the m[...]as a community mine where several families worked in the Somehow I was always at the crank.[...]and the lid came undamped and horses floundered in it and they were on top, the one leg cre[...]d fall through. It was 30 say I was sure in the dog house. It never happened again. below zer[...]e best, and very willing. Dad mother moved in to operate a cafe and put the family in took good care of his horses. We had the bob sled[...]to load it with. When we Jordan and Miles City, so mother cooked for all these truck got to the[...]crew. That was the "dirty thirties" and thistles in the gallon pail and we had coffee and cold sandwi[...]Midget died and my brother and I put her in a special burial say how bitter cold it was as it[...]nd no teachers to teach you , or sure looked good in the once empty bin. At the end of the c[...]at guess riding five miles to school toughened me in. Sitting out imaginations.[...] |
| [...]There weren't any sheep right in this locality, and no[...]coal better than chop wood. Dodd worked in the timber on the[...]sed on :10ppers and what Jordan, Brockway, Miles City and Ingomar. they could p[...]built a large high school and a salt. This was in the cold part of the year so kept very well. lar[...]s the table and I still have the sad irons I all in Jordan except the gym. It was during the summer o[...]rd, ebraska to visit and to try and water in it and then proceeded to wash and then rinse afte[...]vailable before my schooling, and he went to work in the tunnels at Fort I could wash clothes[...]nstantly worried about his safety and wash. In December 24th, 1937, a daughter Norita was born.[...]terminated and on Dec. 14 , 1935 we were married in the have all the special care and hospi[...]use turned into a private hospital. Mostly church in Miles City. (The church which I was confirmed in.) Obstetrics, any other doctoring was transf[...]hrough deep snow and another new and city. When I was at home I had used the old style and[...]is grown. eedless to say we wash for and in winter time the only way to get them dry was didn[...]s fast as it wishes. I was blessed with wonderful in-laws, a phrase which got hot and never held[...]the house was The year my mother was hospitalized in Jordan with the cold. Many a time that[...]over as cook so I knew how to bake one time in particular Dodd stood ready with a pail of[...] |
| [...]d to be carried from up on the hill and I was now in the This Fordson was unpredictable. The hired men[...]ailable up until the time before the right touch! In 1936 Dodd purchased a new Fl2 McCormick[...]e the attachment was available to use in the chicken house. From the grocery equipment. He[...]Brentwood I delivered eggs. It was work. In 1941 our son, for a Farmall tractor. It was next to the Farmall 20 in size. In Gary, was born. Now I got my first wash machi[...]s to me. later on we put cement in and around it like a jug. At that In December of 1936 Mother and Dad Brott decided I[...]e Indians we hired from Pine Ridge, South Montana in their Model B, 1932 Ford sedan. They were oil[...]vertheless it was good to see the folks, and they in turn chickens. Somehow they never got ti[...]f roast was a treat, altho' mother Brott had In the spring of 1939 we moved from the valley to th[...]the time and shared with me many a table land, up in the pines and on a place completely isolated[...]m neighbors. A canyon was the only way of getting in or care for the teams of horses then I[...]ent to put out for the only Indian in the community that was hired that would work hoppers, but seemed a million moved in to take their place, and stay with a job. The whole family of seven lived in a tent and some didn't bother to poison so their[...]ave water. Space won't allow me to food and moved in to eat us out. This was also hard on the[...]pick our corn. In 1944 Dodd purchased a new Model G John[...]which he even did custom work with. In 1940 he had[...]purchased a new McCormick Deering grain binder; in 1944 he[...]purcha ed a model C Case combine then in 1946 he purcha ed[...]ry. 1939 - Threshing at the Dodd Brott Farm in N ebras ka Dodd's folks had an ice house where it was an annual |
| [...]nd to get up that canyon as it was full and In 1946 the landlord put in a cistern and pitcher pump no place to push the snow, and get the truck in that was to into the house so we had cold water[...]of them, I said tried!! The last timber we cut for firewood I helped Dodd on the crosscut, and w[...]as going to gas and fuel oil. The combines coming in made help hard to find to thresh so did the chan[...]ombine. There sure were many pros and cons. In 1947 Dodd got me the O'Keefe and Merritt gas rang[...]Dick, and his to eat as we had the chickens in crates and hoped to keep wife. Dick gave his life for his country in 1944, and now rests them from freezing. It would be late on the other end of the in the National Cemetery at Brest, France.[...]mily relationship, and could we get the truck in there with the chickens on it so they the many friends we had there in Nebraska, but Dodd won had to carry them in and took two guys with a lot of man out and much[...]y those heavy crates of chickens. Schuetzle place in the fall of 1948. I wasn't doing any pushing so w[...]as the winter of the big blizzard. We were snowed in, we had sold the cattle and livestock all except[...]d when I got bent a real sore task to unbend, and in a way funny. Norita took sick with pnuemonia so t[...]Winter of 1949 - Plevna, Montana cattle in the canyons. We stored the eggs in the root cellar, Gary Brot[...] |
| [...]r tractor to open up the road as much as school in 1956 and that June became Mrs . Elmer Fried. They he could and to help get the truck in here that had the now have three childre[...]Our son, Gary, graduated from Plevna high in 1959. He down on the floor to sleep on. The only heat we had was the is married and lives in Miles City and they have two children, range left in the house, and the place had been vacant for[...]ng something, as Terri says she knows where daddy gets Dodd managed to get to town for some sacks of co[...]er ability, "From grandma." didn't last very long in that severe weather and this big Son Ken graduated from Plevna high in 1970 and thus house. My years of using a coal and wood range came in far is our great helper on the farm, and we really need him as handy as the gas wasn't in and would be a while before we Dodd had so[...]lowed him up a bit. timber would really have come in handy now. The water system wasn't working either so I melted snow to use. The cold water was piped in but froze up and then there was a flowing well so[...]r along with us and used it up until the REA went in, then sold it to my uncle Elmer Trumbo who lives in the Missouri Breaks, better known as Hell Creek.[...]an that forty by twenty chicken house, especially in the spring of the year when the frost came in. Angus calves in the feed wt -Brott Fann For many years eggs were shipped to Brentwood then Marvin Moore of the Miles City hatchery set me up to bring We run An[...]chore, then for seven years I kept the Log Cabin in eggs until out hogs also so have two electric[...]on her, guess that's why she went to town. In the succeeding years Dodd had a L.A. Case, a H .D[...]f it is a wet year, the recently our son Gary put in a washer and drier, so I can water level[...]ifferent, we had started the summer fallow method in[...] |
| [...]e years. Having taught Norita and Gary each here in Montana they were mostly spring wheat growers a n[...]t is the mainly Pastors. grown wheat in the area and every where else. T he first few ye[...]ushel crop was a bout t he ·limit poss1bie then in some areas; also the grasshoppers were bad, they[...]ad smut hit ou r wheat one year, due to dampness in the early morning. The winter of the big b[...]ved terrific hail storms, baseball size here and in Nebraska, the loss of chickens a nd a calf or tw[...]ll time duty . Dodd regrets he didn't get to put in another three years but I didn't have any regrets[...]Aaron and Ellen Brownson came to Montana in 1915. They were both born and raised in Wayne County, Ohio·· Aaron in May 1867, and Ellen in J une 1866. They were 49[...]Aaron always had a desire to go west, so in the spring of 1915[...]when Newton Eicher drowned in the Little Red Butte Creek[...]called Aaron in Ohio and said here was his chance to come[...]He finished putting in the crop and then started to build Ju t re[...]a new house for the family. Mark and Ethel came in July and he and I attended the class reunion at Cohagen of 1923 to 1915, and Mrs. Brownson came in time for the children to 1948. The first reunion they had ever had . In 1948 the high start school. Mary and Leona[...]of the children were already married and stayed in the East. over the United States that we hadn't[...]They experienced many hardships. In the summer of reminiscing.[...]almost finished My brother Dale was killed in a pedestrian car accident when a big wind[...]it, so they had to start at Seattle, Washington in 1967. Mother Brott passed away at over again. This also was a poor crop year. age 82 in 1967. Dad Brott passed away at age 84 in 1970. My · dad passed away at age 78 in 1969. My mother is staying at a In the spring of 1920 they moved to the L. Price Ranch private home in Miles City where we brought her back to east of[...]m Seattle when Dad passed away. Mother will be 91 in to move, so they had to dig out of one of the biggest snow December 26, 1972. She is in good health and we bring her storms on[...]s on down often to spend a week with us. She is in a wheel chair, this ranch and then their son Mark took over the since a hip injury in 1968. management when they retired in the 30's. Mark and his wife, All six of th[...]ez Corey, ran the ranch until they moved to Baker in the Tom, Fred , Rolland and James .[...]early 40's. He was Partsman and Foreman in the John Deere I have been active in the Plevna Congregational Church part of[...]d to for a good many years now and also teaching in the Sr. High Bozeman .[...] |
| [...]In the spring of 1913 my dad, William Bruce, made a[...]homesteaders. We arrived in Marmarth, orth Dakota and[...]ht For Lew Jim, The Chinaman, Who Had A Restarant In Baker Some of the neighbors near the Price[...]always drove to church. Mrs. Brownson was |
| [...]orse from the Rasmusson ranch policeman. In 1929 we had farmed 200 acres of land, part of it[...]his back and bowed his neck and I couldn't remain in my my older brother and myself. seat. You know!" My brother ,Clarence, was born on the ranch in late December of 1913. The years from 1913 to 191[...]ll along the whole side. You see! Duncan was the man's name, and needless to ·say Mr. Duncan didn 't ma[...]South of us about five miles lived the Coffmans. In the twenties their only girl was going home from[...]Barns, Corral and Old Windmill at W. S. In 1920 the neighbor to the south of us became quite[...]m being gassed. Dr. Young got as far as our place in a car then decided to go the rest of the way by[...]the lantern After 1938 conditions improved in the ranching industry and and walked around in front of the team and just disappeared. my[...]e fairly successfully until 1957 There was a high cut bank there and down he went. There was when he passed away. My mother had preceded him in death a lot of snow so he wasn't injured but they came back to the in 1946. Dad classified Death as a great adventure f[...]a death I bought my brothers' interest in the ranch and I still year after that.[...]own it. I married Peggy Heistand in the fall of 1940. About 1926 a Wildcat Drilling Co. drilled near our place and struck natural gas. In 1928 the M. D. U. built a pipeline Peggy 's side of the story; from Cabin Creek to Rapid City, South Dakota. The winter of When I was[...]wder River and well on our place. The crew lived in a tent but they managed coming to various places in the Dakotas and Montana with to stay fairly comf[...]s a coal fire going. orbeck drilled several wells in Fallon County. familiar expression. He was later one of the cowboys in the In the fall of 192 I got a job with the Gas Company "Wild West Riders" in the W. F. Cody show. (now the M. D. U.) riding th[...]e job. One day it was 20 below and I got cold out in the eastern Montana. After completing my formal[...]graduating from Eastern Montana Normal School in Billings, pretty good and I was eating a sandwich[...]he bank above me, gave way and School in the locality known as Minnesota Valley which is c[...]coyotes brother, Bill Heistad, brought me in a 1928 "Chivey" car. It are not dangerous animals[...]ings for many years for the M. D. U. Miles City and Baker. There were few cars and narrow roads.[...]f mules and Mr. William Harris walking along side in lots, no trailer houses, a swamp right in town, dusty roads, no order to keep himself warm.[...]th a widow Mrs. Homer (Ella) Young. My room was a in the ranch. We bought the Seaman Homestead, the glassed in but airy front porch with no storm windows[...] |
| [...]o the Court House and pass the State Examinations in we enjoyed many social trips to town, to church a[...]location to its present location in Baker.[...]to sing in the various church choirs with out ever going to[...]Catalogue. I was the janitor and built the fires in the[...]e talking stopped, and they smiled shyly, brought in the lunch pails and dashed out to play.[...] |
| [...]Baker High School, I drifts of snow as the grader cut through the high drifts again attended Omaha[...]I came home and started teaching music in the high simply got out big wooden sleds pulled b[...]Principal but I still teach piano. In 1958 I was awarded the When May Day came a[...]ement. In Baker I have given freely of my time and musical[...]ature to the whole community, and have sung in the Community Study Hike as prescribed by the Sta[...]oir for years. I am a member of the Masonic Lodge in first one nearly proved a disaster for the teach[...]he Baker High School, and I were married at Miles City, might say that the pupils and the young teacher[...]as too dark to study regular lessons. Baker City Council, representing Ward 2 for 14 years (1953 t[...]ourthouse Library as a teacher of English in the Baker High School. often as possible. Not hav[...]Montana I was born December 11, 1888, in Norfolk, Nebraska. I Dakota Utilities Company and lived in Baker. attended school and Business College in Norfolk where I In the faJI of 1940 I married James Bruce. The son o[...]ned the Electricial trade. I worked for my father in the William and Barbara Bruce. Our three children[...]but from different buildings. homestead in Carter County, Montana, just about twenty N[...]ox Elder Creek. I spent the the "Old High School" in 1960. Bradley graduated in 1965 winter ofl916-17 on the homestead;then my wife, Edith and and from Montana Tech. in Butte in 1970. Stanley graduated the two cru1dren, Fritz and Jane, stayed on the homestead to in 1971 and is attending Montana State University. prove up on it. In 1918 I came to Baker and went to work for[...]Fritz Carmichael installing Delco Light Plants in Fallon, ancy taught the Wills School for t[...]r, and Custer Counties. Mr. Carmichael was killed in the Glasgow Air Base where she met and married M.[...]I built a house in Baker in 1920 and continued to operate I have been an[...]The records will show that I served on the City Council children, to Lorin and Edith Bruggeman at[...]Commerce at which time I was instrumental in getting some brother, Donn. At the age of two I c[...]on the Fallon County Fair Board and was in charge of the Ekalaka on the Box Elder Creek.[...]Hoes, Gib Ziedler where I entered the first grade in 1919. I have been attending and Keith Sime. the Baker Schools in one capacity or another since that time.[...]helped organize the had fun swimming and skating in and on the Baker Lake. I first golf club in Baker which was in 1924 or 1925. I still play remember the fun we had playing " cowboys and Indians" in golf. the " Hitch Pasture" - now the Hitch Addition to the City of In 1942 the Montana Dakota Utilities took over the Baker. I played in a dance orchestra for many years. We B[...]yed at barn dances and at halls at Baker, Fertile Prairie, transferred to Wolf Point as the Division M[...]. from the company in 1953 and then spent four years building[...] |
| [...]friend were frosting the wedding cake Department in Helena in 1957. in the kitchen while the ceremony was being performed in the In 1964 I retired and we moved from Helena to Billings. other room. I joined the Masonic Lodge in 1938 and have my membership Mr. Barber had a sheep camp up on the edge of the Bad in Lodge Number Three in Helena. In 1952 I joined the Lands, northeast of Baker and one time he sent Mr. Bruha Scottish Rite in Helena and the Al Bedoo Shrine in Billings. up there with a load of feed and su[...]d I are now living at the St. John's Lutheran in the winter of 1912, which was a hard one. There was much Retirement Home in Billings, Montana. snow and he became lost on the old prairie trails of that time. My wife, Edith Stears Bruggeman, was president of the After roaming around in the bad lands in the bitterly cold Baker Women's Club 1927-1928. S[...]farther. He unhitched and tied the horses in the lee of the tourist camp on the east side of B[...]had to keep walking or She played the piano in the Lake Theater for the silent he would free[...]younger brother over here. Joy and Donn were born in Baker. Mrs. Bruggeman (Edith) On a tripoack to Chicago, he became acquainted with passed away in 1973. Miss Barbara Pergler. Barbara was born in Chicago in 1890[...]He played violin in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and MR. A[...]taught piano and stringed instruments to children in that Mr. Bruha was born at Klatov, Czechoslo[...]and night school where she took a there. When not in school he helped around the farm, such as sec[...]mpleted elementary school, he studied three years in a trade class, learning the Blacksmithing Trade w[...]ny, often going barefoot and carrying their shoes in order to save on shoeleather. Before marriage, his father had spent 13 years in the Military Service and two elder brothers had been slain in warfare by the Turks. Not caring to become involved in warfare, Theodore decided to migrate to America. He had an older brother in Chicago so he borrowed money from a cousin to mak[...]. After a somewhat rough ocean voyage, he arrived in the U. S. and continued on to Chicago arriving there in the spring of 1905 at the age of 19 almost 20.[...]ksmithing, he had no problem obtaining employment in an iron foundry there. But a depression hit Chicago in 1906-1907 and many men were unemployed, so he and[...]marth, North Dakota. Marmarth In Her Wedding Dress at that time was a rail head fo[...]a during 1907 and on west through to In 1915 Mr. Bruha persuaded her to marry him. He had the camp now known as Baker in 1908. leased some land in the Bad Lands about 11 miles north-east By n[...]f Baker, and Mrs. Bruha filed on a 160 acre claim in that on 160 acres of land five miles south of Mar[...]w~re married. he attended the rural school in that area, in order to learn He tore down his shack on[...]blacksmith and work shop. It still serves in that capacity. He experience in the ranching industry. He worked on the 101[...]nd Ashe ranches among others and spent five years in the more rooms as the family grew.[...] |
| [...]raised in spite of low prices for livestock, cream, eggs, a[...]that the little ones could be put·down for a nap in the[...]which is on the South Side of town. Their son-in-law, Herbert the buildings, in a barrel, later they placed a small pump in a Scheuler, remodeled the home and here they[...]after a long illness. Mrs. Bruha still resides in their home in house; the first in that area to enjoy that convenience. The S[...], dry summers, clouds of Iron, Montana in 1918 but by the time their son Clyde was grasshop[...]grew up and attended grade school and high school in (pleasant work) Ha![...]Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1953. Merri found our Montana[...]lived in Arkansaw, Wisconsin when she was born on[...]February 13, 1934, but when Merri was in grade school the[...]L. W. (Larry) Busch was born October 19, 1894, in Hastings, Minnesota, and lived in Ipswich, South Dakota Caring for the stock and[...]m busy so they before coming to Montana in 1910, where he lived with his didn't get to go to[...]After graduation from the Hastings High School in 1913 get-to-gethers at the Archie Stowe's or othe[...]onnell School for P.T.A. entering the Army in 1918. On his return from the service in affairs there. Also there were the expeditions for gathering 1919, he worked in county offices in Baker and later went into wild fruits and berries[...]of He married Nellie Lou Beaverstead in Glendive which they were members. The school hous[...]September 1, 1928. Nellie Lou was a teacher in the third away so the children either rode horseback or drove a team . grade at the East Side School in Baker.[...] |
| [...]1957 and Ruby has taught private music lessons in addition[...]Mrs. Clara Callen is now living in a Retirement Home at[...]Larry opened a real estate and insurance business in Baker in 1929. He was elected as a Republican to the Montana Legislature in 1934, and served as a member of the House in the 1941, 1943 and 1945 sessions. He was elected as a senator in 1947 and served in every The Ross Cameron Family s[...]Colin He retired from the insurance business in 1960 to devote Virginia And Alan[...]llon County Fair Board, Sandstone Lodge, AFand AM in Baker and Al Bedoo Shrine in Billings. MR. AND MRS. ROSS CAMERON Mr. and Mrs. Busch moved to Bozeman in 1964 and lived in the Hillcrest Retirement Home there.[...]Ross and Janette Cameron moved to the Baker area in[...]their children were born. They lived for one year in Coer internment was in the Bonnievale Cemetery at Baker. d'Alene, Idaho, prior to coming here. Ross had been here in Nellie Lou survived her husband by a little[...]they knew in Minnesota---the O'Donnells, Myhres, Steens, Chapt[...]in August, 1930. The homesteading days were past, so Ross married and lives in Bozeman, Montana.[...]rented a succession of farms in the Baker area over the next[...]es near O'Donnell's. born at Red Elm South Dakota in 1925. A. W. and Clara had In the fall of 1939, they moved to the Chadderdon place homesteaded in South Dakota. They moved to this vicinity in near Ollie and in 1942 into Ollie, where Ross did carpenter 1946 wh[...]ork and Mrs. Cameron resumed teaching. She taught in the Bagley Elevator, which position he held un~il[...]sports fans and could ?es~n moved to Baker in 1952 where they continued carpentering at all the[...]ing until retirement. Their four children grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota until his death.[...]ral schools, as well as Marion came to Baker in 1947 when he was 22 years of schools in Baker and Ollie. ' age. In 1948 he married Ruby North, the daughter of Mr. and Terry and Colin were together in the Marine Corps Mrs. Victor North. Ruby grew up in Baker and attended the during World War II , returning to Ollie in 1946. Terry local grade school and the Baker High[...]In 1950 he married Rosemarie Ulven from Moorhead, Marion and Ruby have lived in Baker where they and Minnesota, ~ho sp[...]with relatives at (?llie, family have been active in community affairs such as; whe[...] |
| [...]Montana College; and homesteaded in the Chalk Buttes area in 1912. After their Gary and Linda at home .. They farmed in the Ollie and Big marriage, they move[...]employed Hill communities before moving to Baker in 1954, where for 2 years as town marshall. He then went to work as Terry went to work in the sheriff's office. He is presently[...]at Ollie. O'Loughlin. He continued in this work until the summer of[...]1924 when he was seriously injured in an elevator accident. Colin returned to Ollie after serving in the Marines. He Mr. O'Loughlin quickly c[...]ngine and caboose worked for farmers and ranchers in that community before from the Milw[...]th and conveyed managing the Farmer's Union Store in Ollie and the Occident Mr. Carey to Miles City, but the injury proved to be fatal. Elevators in Ollie and Thelen, North Dakota. They have two[...]l Co. for nineteen years. Jean, who taught school in guarantee of the amount of 300 regular[...]es for Fallon County for several years, now works in the Clerk of the service rendered! Court's office. They also have a farm in the Big Hill Mrs. Carey the[...]Dillon, and went back Virginia taught school in Ollie and area before marrying to teachi[...]ond grade at Baker for four Ralph (Buck) Shepherd in 1948. They farmed in the Ollie and years at the end of whic[...]lyle communities and now ranch on Box Elder Creek in Fallon County Clerk of Court. She[...]ounty. They have five children---Scott, who works in 1943 at which time she retired and went to live in Evanston, Wyoming; Patty who is married and teaches in Jamestown, Ill. North Dakota, Gale[...]lege and Ross and Jan at home. Alan enlisted in the Anny Air Force, returning to Ollie where he engaged in carpenter work with his father. He went to work for L.R. Moline in Baker where he has worked for 23 years. He married Lolita Yokley in 1953. They have two children, Terry and Pam, both[...]olita also taught school here and presently works in the welfare office in Baker.[...]Esmond, all of whom grew up in Baker and graduated from[...]High School, and all served in the armed services. Later,[...]ersey and Esmond and Cecil Carey in Greece-1962 wife, Meredith[...]In 1961 , James was sent to England and his mother[...]o them at West Bend, and visited him in England ; then on around the world, Iowa, on March 18, 1892. When her mother, Rebecca Markin making stops in Egypt, India, Japan and Hawaii and so on and two older sisters came to this area in 1908, Cecil remained back to San Francisco. This was in 1961-62. For a year she in Iowa and continued her education. She had completed[...]ia earlier years at West Bend and then went on to Iowa State on a business trip and all the fam[...]ered a heart attack and passed away very suddenly in to what is now Carter Co. where she taught[...] |
| [...]ath, my mother, Cecil Carey, returned to teaching in the[...]School education. During the 1940's we all served in the[...]I married Mattie L. Hendy at Berkeley, California in[...]Brother James married Betty Bryant in 1945. They have[...]Meredith Robinson in May of 1946. They have 3 children and[...]ss and Professional Women's Club which was active in Baker for a number of years.[...]19, 1918 at Baker, Montana. My father homesteaded in Carter County in 1912 in the Chalk Buttes vicinity where he raised stock. In 1916 he married Miss Cecil Markin, a young lady who had come from Iowa and who was teaching school in Carter County. They soon left the Chalk Buttes co[...]James and Esmond , joined the family circle. In 1924, my father , Edward Carey, who had been[...]1919 as manager of the Columbia Grain in Baker. There were so many young friends around the Elevator, was fatally injured in an elevator accident. After neighborhoo[...] |
| [...]e hiked along the barn. Sandstone Creek in the summer, and in the fall waited Most of the men[...]company for every meal, it was a pretty would be in uniform for Uncle Sam.[...]guy mixing grasshopper poison in the little exhibit building[...]t the Fair Grounds. The building was used for 4-H in the FERDY CARLSON[...]r Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Carlson left Minnesota in 1906 to smell good. I told them that if I[...]er I would homestead near Scranton, North Dakota in hopes of having a eat it. I was very thorou[...]believe it was a mixture of saw dust, Minnesota in 1903 before they moved to North Dakota.[...]James Bright Carter was born April 5, 1854, in Cherokee July came around it was always celebrate[...]s, and his wife, Alice Jane Brewer, whom he In 1930 Ferdy Carlson and Edith Alice Langh were married in 1881, was born June 10, 1866, and was also born in married at Medora, North Dakota. They had five children; Texas. One son, Rufas, was born in 1882 and died a month Fern Myhre, Shirley Sieler,[...]lla Kono and Carol later. Aither was born in 1884, and Luther in 1885. Plum.[...]y Indians who were still a bit hostile, and In 1932, when Ferdy was twenty-nine years old, he[...]ightning, but they went doggedly moved his family in a Model T Truck to a farm southwest of on. They arrived at their destination in the fall of 1886 six Baker.[...]was He settled near the McCleary ranch in what is now very hard to keep going during these[...], along with her two brothers, Jin and mile trip. In 1937 things began to improve and since then the George Brewer, struck out in a covered wagon. They also had Carlsons have pros[...]ng that it took them one whole day to a nice home in Baker which is located fairly close to the[...]s never been since and probably just arrived in the country by the name of Brewer. Bright never b[...]rode out to meet them. Lydian Biffle in her cafe. We lived on the farm but went to school in Baker at the Eastside School in the late thirties. I Mrs. Carter and her[...]summer, as Bright was away on a job. Indians came in the had to take my lunch to school. Sometimes I f[...]fall to hunt in the vicinity and came to their home and was noticed in time, Dad could usually reach in his pocket[...]did without hesitation. She lived in fear all the time as a was sort of scary. To walk[...]Berry (Ella) born in 1887,died in 1966, Grover, 1889, and now I would like a hambur[...]ke. She brought a big delicious hamburger. I in return gave living in Dewey, Oklahoma, Orrie, 1891-1958, Mrs. Lewis her a very sweaty dime that had been held very tightly in my Foss (Florence) 1893-1968, Esther, 1895-1[...]living in Miles City, and Mrs. Fay Shepherd (Lorena) 1905 size should have a glass of milk, too. This was "thrown in" on the deal. It seemed the milk was so much better than what we and living in Livingston, Mont. After living in Montana for eight years, the Carters had at home.[...]forced them to move again. This time they settled in Dam. It was quite a project in its day. I suppose with the Fallon County and farmed in the Big Hill Country. Mrs. heavy equipment of today it could have been built in a week Carter died there at the age of 52.[...]retired. He lived various places until his death in 1940, at needed the work badly. The W. P.[...] |
| Jim Brewer remained in Baker where he ran the old of Fallon. In the winter he would run the snow plow in all Baker House, later known as the Fallon House,[...]to work for the M.D.U., drilling gas wells. home in Texas.[...]Booster Plant, east of town, until his retirement in 1950.[...]Robert and Alice were active in the Community Church,[...]Worthy Matron in 1941. She also enjoyed Woman's Club and[...]death in 1958. Robert and Alice Cartwright, 19[...]d Alice Cartwright were married October 20, 1910, in Dodge Center, Minnesota. One daughter, Neva, was born in 1912. In 1914 Robert and a brother-in-law, George Hitchcock, moved their stock and household goods via freight car, to Baker, Montana. In the spring of 1915 Alice and Neva came by train and took abode in a claim shack about 4 miles west of Baker. The ye[...]Robert Cartwright Good Hunting In The Forties[...]Neva received her education in the Baker School ystem[...]and graduated from High School in 1930. To further her[...]Dakota where she met and married Earl Jornson in 1934. To[...]union two daughters, Sherry and ancy, were born. In[...]Loutzenhiser in 1961.They moved to Dodge Center, Minn. 1916-Cousins Ruth Hitchcock and Neva Cartwright in front where their home now is. Daughter Sherry passed away in of Cartwright homestead[...]1966. ancy is married to Bruce Nord and lives in Kasson,[...]Minnesota. They have a son, Derrin. In the spring of 1916 they moved into Baker at the p[...]ing her accident, and she does get out years, and in 1918 went to work building roads for the c[...] |
| [...]Jacob and Mary (Young) Speelman, were both born in what was then Virginia but is now West Virginia. They were married in 1858 in Grant County, Indiana and around 1865 they homesteaded in Iowa. I was born October 25, 1880 in Cherokee, Iowa, t he youngest child in a family of four boys and six girls. In 1883 I came with my folks to the• Montana Territory in a covered wagon. They settled on the Powder Rive[...]orses of this drive and they were wintered there. In[...]both deceased; Frank and a boy and girl who died in[...]us after his parents and sister lost their lives in a tornado, Ida Speelman Castlebe[...]After my husband's death in 1941, our son Frank ran the Later my father took a place on the head of Speelman ranch. In 1945 he married Margaret Argo, and I moved to Creek in what is now Carter County as it was a good place[...]randson, Fulton hay. He wintered his cattle there in 1886 and there was such a Castleberry, his wif[...]live on the old ranch home. Crook, South Dakota in the spring of 1887. There he started a blacksmith[...]Hosea Cate was born near Melrose, Wisconsin in 1869. w move there and start in business since Camp Crook had As a young man he went to Iowa where he met and married another hotel owned by M[...]daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kreager. had none. In the spring of 1889 we moved to Ekalaka and I[...]ns Valley, Minnesota where they farmed have lived in the Ekalaka area since that time. The only other for several years. They lived for a time in South Dakota, businesses in Ekalaka then were Brummet's store and Whit McCoon, Sask, Canada and moved to Carlyle, Montana in Terrill's Saloon.[...]nd then to I had started school while living in Camp Crook. The Minnesota Valley in 1909, where they homesteaded about 12 elementary[...]t between miles south of Baker. He served in the capacity of Locator the David Russel ranch an[...]and located many of the people who settled in that area. about the same distance for all the school children. ljalaka, He was instrumental in getting the first school in that Russell's wife, was an Ogalala Sioux girl an[...]Dad left the community and lived and worked in various and May and I would even try riding those[...], Justice of the Peace. placed in a home, where he remained until shortly before hi[...]Benjamin Franklin He passed away in September, 1946. Castleberry and Margaret (Reese)[...]ounty, Georgia. He LeRoy, and Gladys. In the spring of 1915, Mother's house lived as a boy[...]ed. It was caused from a faulty chimney. We lived in a youth he went to Texas with two other young men[...]l frightened by a noise out the trail with a herd in 1885. He returned south and made a in the barn (we were deathly afraid of one of[...] |
| [...]ter enjoys flying his plane to Baker to take in the Fallon County breakfast.[...]and ashes. It was also extremely dirty. However, in the summer there was om other alternative. We wo[...]wball," and hitch him to a stoneboat, and go out in the pasture to pick up "buffalo chips". Now a sto[...]r. Buffalo chips were dried cow droppings. In the fall of 1917, Mother traded the farm for a hotel in town. It was called the Fallon House. That was w[...]literally throw him out into the street. In '17 and '18 when the flu was so bad, the hospital[...]Ed Celander came to Montana the first time in 1910. He show that kids are kids, whether it was 90 years ago, 60 or in came with his uncle, Emil Wedell, to his hom[...]On December 31, 1910, he was married to Anna in-law, Belva Keech. My Mother said "You know Anna, I'd Jeannette Nasset in Minnesota. They came to Montana the like to have[...]ped out along the trail. It was so with an infant in her arms . She said she found it on the train early in the spring they woke up mornings with snow on the[...]father) came. My mother married Elmer Cate in 1919. Besides the He was a carpenter a[...]they all moved to the location and set up resides in Santa Rosa, California. Iva Mae, the adopted girl[...]have been a hardship, but to Mom it was a winters in Arizona.[...]ld cope with any emergency that came homesteaded in that neighborhood. He and his wife, ora,[...]Our house was big by homestead standards. Most in Wisconsin. They had no children. Henry and Alden[...]or father was a colorful stockman and homesteader in the Camp the first years, as there were no school houses as yet to act as Crook area in 1883.[...]tary school at Camp Crook and In 1913 Edward was born. Mother had gone back to the[...]ival as Mrs. Wedell was a school, he attended the Iowa State College at Ames , Iowa. registered nurse and the neares[...] |
| In 1914 the Sipma family came and settled about 3 mi[...]od and enough to really neighbor with. I was born in 1915 with just quilts, as we slept on th[...]r, Grandfather Nasset and a sixteen year old aunt in fire. Fresh fish cooked over an open fir[...]day dinners. This was among Harley was born in 1918, with Father and Mrs. Dad the clo[...]as Mother played. We had many good singers in the knew. He used to tell us about meeting Abraha[...]o had a very good before he went into the service in World War I. When he[...]In late summer we usually went berry picking. This w[...]ether. If there was any wild fruit, we were in driving distance of Matt was on hls way to France[...]erries and Plums. All made good signed. He stayed in France six months while the soldiers jams and jellies. who had been in battle were returned .[...]y quarter or fruit. Dill pickles were made in a 15 gallon barrel and mustard half section. It was during this period that dances were held pickles in a 5 gallon keg, and probably a few water mellons in in our house. Mom's brothers, Matt and Henry both pl[...]to be canned, fried down, or salted or smoked. In summer there was always music. The dances were held in the winter there was an occasional mess of sage hen, grouse or prairie when people had time on their hands. There just w[...]ll as the fryers Mother raised. Mother made to do in the winter time, so that was a time for fun and c[...]There it hardened and then was cut into bars.[...]had was strong alkali and was used only for stock in[...]refrigerator. We used it to hang fresh meat in about ten feet[...]Heying's left, sometime in the thlrty's, I think, the post office Box Elder[...]e to another until it was made a John Oscar Sipma In The Tree rur[...]liams, Edward Celander afraid to go in.[...] |
| tried to go meet her brother who was in school. For two February 10. Bertha pa[...]ew weeks later of a nights every one kept a light in the window and food ready ruptured append[...]rman Vonde, was killed when his horse got tangled in a wire fence and drug him to death. Mrs. George d[...]were moved, but the Mermis house we used to dance in. There was a bed in one room, where small children and babies were pi[...]ought lunch and at midnight the coffee was cooked in a boiler. For these dances we used to wrap the organ in blankets and take it along for Mother to play. Je[...]had an instrument he always took it along. In time there were only the Sipmas, the Glen Bushs and In December of 1926, Anna Jeanette was born. Again,[...]Mom went to stay with Mrs. Wedell, this time in Ekalaka. families close. After Matt N asset came[...]r breakfast she lots of snow and even in dry weather the roads weren 't good. would take us "kids" in the buggy and drive to where she was[...]d to push the car down hill! I don 't know set up in the yard. Planks across two sawhorses served as a[...]it remove him again. After there were a few cars in the country would look like a cow trail. We[...]In February of '27 Dad came down with pneumonia and Prairie Rose School. It was built in '17 or '18. It was on George Bower's place betwee[...]d already missed one month of Nichols places now. In 1920 we were old enough to go to[...]d a half months ; whatever there was money enough in[...]we went to Baker to school. Mom and we kids went in Monday morning and home on Friday night.[...]r of 1930 Mother was married to Andrew Dad stayed in the country. We had bought a new Model T[...] |
| [...]while went to the parents. This helped in many ways. The Mother was in the hospital, I sold 30 dozen cases of eggs for 7[...]ents a dozen. James Peterson was born April 23rd, in '31 and and mov~d away. There were many o[...]on to the place. Lawrence Peterson was born in August of '32. Now the the drifting sand so that the plants were cut off at ground drought was in full swing, too. People had to sell ·some of the[...]light the lamps in mid-afternoon. We hung blankets over the stock to[...]do_ors and windows to keep the sand from sifting in. Mom What little crop there was, was usually cut for feed, as well as said ~he ah':'ays wanted a sand box for her kids to play in but[...]ot like this.We usually had one big rain sometime in the green Russian Thistles and Sunflowers (they s[...]In the mid-thirties the Fort Peck Dam got underway.[...]he early things, then the grasshoppers would move in[...]ents, the Sipmas, ~ e Matt and Sam they grew well in the sandy soil but didn't get very big with[...]was completed, Matt and Sam ow, we did as in the homest!:)ad days. We had picnics[...]stayed and worked on ranches in the same locality. Later and went swimming when w[...]in the area. I worked most of these depression years, coming potential dance hall. There were card parties in the winter and[...]nd Mrs. Elias Traweek taught us how to pull taffy in One summer when I was home the ho[...]afternoons were spent cooling off in the Traweek Dam. It working winters they batched in Holger's shack and must have bee[...]mandolin. Even the little harmonica had its place in our gang. Since there wasn 't much mon[...]s neighbored more. It was four wandered in usually would get ridden on a weekend then miles[...]no horse was used much and we road was good only in dry weather, which we had lots of. didn't have to keep them in and feed them. o one horse was[...]used more than one day . In January of '34 Helen Peterson was born and Billy in In the winter the jack rabbits were about as thick as the 1937. Sometime in the early thirties the government[...]s out and shoot them. One winter people who lived in the country were very lucky.They had[...] |
| [...]The memory of Gladys Williams was education in Minnesota and attended college in Mankato. still too vivid in our minds. In December 22, 1904 George and Astrid C. Pederson[...]ed, and Gladys. went into the service. Edward was in the Medical Corp and At the age of twenty-six George and family came in an Harley in radio. Jeannette finished high school and was[...]each as many other girls did with only a Baker in the Fertile Prairie Community and there they set up high school diploma. in the business of farming and ranching.[...]Some of their neighbors in that community were the The summer of '44 w[...]Sid Goldens, the Tom hay sling broke and hit Andy in the neck and broke it. He fell R1dgeways, the D[...]rs there were Edward's medical training stood him in need. He realized it many good times at the Fertile Prairie Community Hall was the neck or back that was inju[...]to town for the ambulance. He was then In 1919 the Chapins took a trip back to Ruthton and taken to the Holy Rosary Hospital in Miles City. Harley got Tyler, Minnesota to visit relati[...]m the army for a month to come home light" in the lives of the children. afid help. After he re[...], 1924. as they got out of high school. Both were in communications. Helen went on to school taking up nurses training, graduating in '56 at Aberdeen, South Dakota, and it was while w[...]es and shrubs and flowers. The yard was a picture in the summer, and they enjoyed the student nurses[...]a claim for a homestead south of Baker in 1910. Their land Andy died from a stroke at his home in '58 at the age of was just south of the Barkley[...]get a start and have land of their own. They live in Bozeman. He also works for Bell Telephone.[...]Edward married Vivian (Collie) Kreager. They live in walking. In the winter time it was too cold to walk so he[...]hool too steadily for a couple of years. He Baker in the winters and on the homestead in the summers.[...]attended the Hidden Water School, the Fertile Prairie School, I, Delila, married Russel Smith of[...]and the Eastside School in Baker. He also attended the Baker were also early[...]High School. area. We have lived in and around Baker most of the time. Russel is now[...]en he got his first job driving a Mother is in the Baker Rest Home. After many strokes[...] |
| [...]WILLIAM CHILTON I was born in Marmarth, North Dakota, April 27, 1909. My father[...]Chilton. I have one sister Emily Chilton Matthew. In 1908 my father and mother came to Baker, Montana, to work in my Uncle Robert Pearce's Store. They lived up abo[...]time I was born there wasn't a doctor or hospital in Baker so my mother went to Marmarth, North Dakota[...]'s Store-Baker, Montana-1909 James Chilton Worked In The Store And He And His Family Lived Upstairs With The Pearces-Third Man From Left Is James I lived in Baker until I was fifteen years old, then the |
| EMILY CHILTON MATTHEW I was born in Baker, Montana, January 17, 1911. My parents were James and Mae Chilton, they were among the first settlers in Baker. I have one brother, William Chilton. My father and mother have both passed away. My father in 1950 and mother in 1955. The family moved to Seattle in 1924. I attended grade school in Baker and high school in Seattle at West Seattle High. I worked in the accounting department of Sears Roebuck in Seattle for several years, then moved to Oakland, California where I worked in the accounting office of General Motors. I married John T. Matthew a California building contractor in Oakland, where we reside.[...]Taken In 1923[...]They and six children, came to Montana in 1915 and[...]Anna ; Mattie is still living in Texas with a daughter. Connie[...]Montana and at Lavina, Mont. He died at Lavina in 1960 and[...]Chicago. Lillie died in infancy. June married Leslie Knight,[...]They were married in 1910 and had five children ; Vivian, Robert Pearc[...], Royal, Connie, and Donald. June and Leslie were In the Back And Chap Chilton House In Front divorced in 1919 and June Clellen Knight married Raymond Thes[...]ert, Edna, Ionia and Bill, Chap And Emily Chilton In Front Of The Chilton House Clair.[...] |
| [...]managed the Grainger's Cafe in Baker during World War I.[...]d during her lifetime. Once, when she was a child in Illinois, a neighbor lady came to help[...]new baby. The neighbor "The City Of Trees" lady was kneading bread and the childre[...]riving and prosperous town. There were boulevards in the together.[...]lard, them. Since Marmarth was known as "The City of Trees", Mont. In the community were three families by the names of[...]nd cooked for the Army at Fort Keough. They lived in Saturday afternoon you could get a large b[...]ved at the Range full of rolls for 10 cents. In the years of the depression, my Rider's Museum or[...]Wells lost his job at the Milwaukee Shops. cooked in resturants in Miles City and other towns before Things were really[...]Stew" and coffee in tin cans. Many "bums" knocked on our[...]"bumming" around the country trying to find jobs in[...]t at tin cans. We were taught to never load a gun in I[...] |
| [...]own on cardboard or scoop shovels. Taken In 1948-From The Top Of Pretty Buttes |
| [...]s, married Levi A. Simmons from Rutherford, Tenn, in Ill. We had one son Donovan Lee who was born in Chicago. On the way back to Marmarth to visit my father who was ill in the Vet's Hospital in Miles City we[...]son, Donovan, and I returned to Marmarth to live in 1952. I married Drury Phebus at Baker, Mont. wher[...]n. Raymond Clinton Wells, my father was born in Sundance, Wyoming on April 18, 1877, the child of Clinton Henry and Lottie Wells. In the Adams Memorial Museum at Deadwood, South Dako[...]Their Wedding In August-1919 from Akron, Ohio in a Model T Ford, which they had[...]They spent the first winter in the Sig Bernson house. It[...]a drafty house. In early spring they moved in with Gilbert's[...]In 1927 they bought a relinquishment on a desert cla[...]lly land. Gilbert Gustave Clocksene was born in Crystal Lake Early neighbors were the C[...]isconsin and driven to Baker to be loaded in cattle cars. Business College at aperville, Illin[...]thodist minister's family, The Reverend in the fields to avoid the hard, deep drifts. Albert[...]l 29, 1898. She received her elementary schooling in rodeo at O'peechee Park below Congar Hill t[...]passed through taking fences, dams and anything in its way- she met and married Gilbert who had gone[...]ollowing the snow of Gilbert came to Montana in the spring of 1915. He took the winter befo[...]over his brother Arthur's homestead, now located in the load or two of trucked hay . northwest corner of Carter County. In 1918 his brother Harry 1938 had prospec[...]d and Gilbert returned east. moved in just before harvest. o one could forget the groun[...]hay. After the birth of three daughters : Winetta in Ohio, Janet in It proved to be wasted effort because the cows refused to eat New York and Delores in Pennsylvania, they returned to the the hay[...]Willard area. A fourth daughter, Joan , was born in Montana. " hoppers" lifted and sailed away in clouds! They arrived at the home of Gilber[...] |
| [...]HARRY CLOCKSENE would testify. Weeding the trees in the hot sun seemed an endless task.[...]was the home state of Harry Clocksene. His In 1938 Gilbert bought a used Rumley Oil Pull tracto[...]re girls. There were two sets of twins. The In the late forties they were able to build a home w[...]lbert, Harry's brother was only seven anniversary in 1969. Their four daughters and sons-in-law years old. An older sister stayed home to assist the father held an open house in their honor at their home. with the family and she also took .in sewing. Twin sisters,[...]In 1917 Gust Clocksene, along with Harry and sisters[...]hens delivering eggs to customers in Ekalaka. Mr. And Mrs. Gilbert Clocksene[...]ing. They often rode to the Willard Store and In the spring of 1970 they sold their holdings reser[...]They were often hired the buildings, to their son-in-law and daughter, the David to help when a[...]ived. Susie married Francis Enoses. This was done in hopes that one of their four Ginsback[...]andsons would one day farm it. They bought a home in place across from the Fred Andersons.[...]er, where they spend of the Medicine Rocks. In later years she lived with her the winters.[...]r and cared for her ill sister. Sadie passed away in 1971.[...]Crismon was sheriff of the Cherokee Strip. In 1897, he came to Montana (Miles City) and took the stage for Ekalaka and[...]l to the shaping of Gilbert Clocksene Home In Portland, Oregon his life.[...] |
| [...]rs, Arkansas, on March 15, 1885. There were eight in our[...]Franklin Brewer, born in Tennessee on January 15, 1834. My[...]mother's name was Frances Elizabeth Garner, born in Texas[...]My family lived on a farm along the White River in the[...]are covered with water because there is a big dam in the[...]in and I don't want to. I would rather remember it a[...]The house and Jim Hunter gave him his start in the ranching barn were made from black walnut and there wasn't a nail in business-a bunch of sheep on shares. At the end o[...]bought the sheep and moved to the place at Baker in 1904. blacksmith and did all the neighborhood[...]ented, or built the first sorghum mill, or press, in the He married Frances Jane Brewer in 1906 at Rogers, country and all the neig[...]ur sons were born of tfus union:John usually in September when they would bring their cane to be[...]be the same man because he was the Holmes' death in August, 1949, he finished the term as best in the country. His name was Tommy Clifton, a Sherif[...]drain it out and put it in wooden barrels to be used as a sweetener in cooking and for syrup, taking the place of sugar.[...]were about sixty pupils in the school and one teacher taught[...] |
| [...]e We had neighbors on all sides of us; in fact, so many that on July 24, 1906. We hired a t[...]hinking back, I ranch with, and, we made the trip in one day. It was hot and can just see the old[...]the railroad sure had ruined the country, brought in the think I could ever get used to the open count[...]Our third son, Russell Coleman, was born in Baker on We had a lunch fixed, but, we met a frei[...]a trailer Harper. Walter Leo, was born in South Dakota on February wagon. He hauled from Wi[...]re. Nothing would do but we have new range in 1917. They went down into South Dakota on the din[...]ved down and quite a few other ranchers were down in that made coffee. I have never drunk coffee (neve[...]lon County. A lot of the land was let with no hay in it![...]range. I mean it wasn't fenced John died in 1955 and is buried in Bonnievale Cemetery in and there were lots of cows and horses belonging to in Baker. My oldest son , John lives in Minot, orth Dakota ; different ranches. We got our mail in Ekalaka and generally Bob lives in Jordan, Montana; Russell lives in Glasgow , someone would bring it as they were going by. Montana, and Walter lives in Baker. Our first son, John Leroy, was born on July 28, 1907, in I have seen many changes in my time and it has been a Wibaux. After that, it[...]t stores were opened Alex Collie was born in Ismay, Montana on January 19, by Bob Pearce and B[...]rs. Dave Collie who had homesteaded on everything in them : groceries, hardware and the like. I think Fallon Creek in 1910. that Horace Sparks had the first livery bar[...]Bucklin had homesteaded and started near Calumet in 1910. was the first school in Baker. Lois gr[...]which was close to her home. In the summer she had to help After the railroa[...]r's. Generally , we attended high school in Baker.[...] |
| Alex and Lois have one son, Alex Collie, Jr. They live in In 1914 he became a citizen of the United States. He[...]home for a modern ranching family. married in the living room of the David Bickle, Sr. residenc[...]in Ismay on May 6, 1915.[...]her mother passed away in 1904; after which time she went to[...]milking the cows and working in the fields. Alex Collie Home Taken In 1972 |
| [...]House In The Back To The Left Is The[...]O'Fallon Creek. In the early summer the neighbors would get[...]Picture Taken-1953 Edna Marshall Collie In Front Of Her Original Homestead Shack Which Was Built In 1912 girls received 65 letters and the other one[...]00 from |
| [...]They were all in the same area. Louis, (L.A.) was married and[...]beginning to end in Bozeman. They were a great and good[...]Office in Plevna during the 1920's and early 30's. She was in[...]h of the family, and when later, 79 and is buried in the Bonnievale Cemetery at Baker. Edna the family left the land and lived in Baker, it was Aunt Hattie still lives in their home in Baker. who came an[...]In 1933, C. C. was chosen as a member of "The Roosev[...]C.C. as he was called generally, was a native of Iowa, term of service, he spoke before many farm groups in many born on Feb. 20, 1875. he was the son of El[...]rs. "the Team" when he suffered a heart attack in March of 1939, His father by this time had passe[...]work of the local games which were popular in this locality in those fanning the land.[...]All during boyhood he had been much interested in berrying expeditions with the family .[...], but History and Science, and as he grew older, in politics. All his was greatly interested in and very fond of his nieces and life he enjoyed m[...]man. C.C. received his elementary education in Iowa, and later the family moved to Clark, South Dakot[...]h he attended the University of Minn. While still in the east, he taught in high school at Louis Agassiz (Agazee[...]team there. admired. He was born in Iowa on Nov. 5, 1869. His parents After settling[...]the were Ely and Rebecca Conser. grade school in Plevna. He enjoyed this very much and he At the age of 15, he rode in a cattle car looking after the was able to make t[...]ark, S. D. area pupils. At times, he also engaged in the carpentry trade. He where the father became active in politics and also set up a believed in electing the best man for the job, regardless of[...]r farm products. To this end, he was instrumental in work in his early years in this vicinity . organizing the "Farmers Elevator Cooperative" at Plevna in He received his education in Iowa and at Clark, S. D. ; his early years there. He l[...]v. 7, 1897 at Montevideo, Along with others in the area, he experienced the Minn. The[...]of the "dry cold" variety, farm and one in Baker. unlike that of Iowa and Minnesota. Mr. Conser arrived in Ismay, Mont. in the summer of Some of their neighbors of ea[...]erle, the Kearney family followed later in early fall . They remained there for a and the W[...]d His brother, L. A. Conser had homesteaded in 1908, the established a newspaper called "T[...]ll came two years later. opened a law office in the front section of the print shop. Here[...] |
| he handled many local cases as well as a few in Helena where 1894 Ira Cooper married Anna[...], Roy, Lois, Alice and Lottie. All were born In 1910 he also acquired a piece of land in the same in Merrillan, Wisconsin except the youngest daughter[...]rother, C.C., his mother and his was born in Fallon County, Montana. two sisters were located a short distance southeast of Plevna, In March, 1911 the Ira Cooper family homesteaded the Mont. He desired to own a piece of land in a developing area. South 1/2 of Section 28[...]of Ismay. His early years were spent mostly in rural areas of Iowa, Ira resided there until his death on Janua[...]the activities that normally accompany City, which was caused by a broken hip of long standin[...]rne, Sweden and came to America at the age of 12. in Baker and Ekalaka. He retained ownership of the "[...]ife, Nettie, passed farm until she sold it in 1940. Her boys were good workers away in 1914.[...]exico cropped up. was a true pioneer in every sense. She made her own soap, Baker organized a National Guard Unit; Company I; in bread, butter, raised chickens an[...]rugs to supplement the family income. She Border in 1916.[...]material by the bolt and made the shirts for In 1920 he was married to Mary McConnell who[...]re born last and she operated a Womens' Wear shop in Baker, and later, in desperately needed help with the[...]nty Judge at solved this problem in her own unique way. As each son Buffalo, S.D.[...]f twelve he spent an apprenticeship of about In ensuing years, he made trips to Bozeman to visit a two years helping her. She taught each one in turn the skills son, Eldon; and to Milwaukee to v[...]e traveled by car December 22, 1946 at Miles City. or train, but since air travel was then not in general use, he Christina Cooper, moth[...]e to Fallon never did get to visit the eldest son in California., While he County in 1911 and lived in a little house nearby. Anna was with his daughters in Wis. he passed away in March of Cooper cared for her until he[...]as 1 great-great grandchild, none of whom reside in and took a homestead of 320 acres whi[...]filed homesteads later in the same area. Mr. And Mrs.[...]stina Hollenbeck. They were Jesse and Ira Cooper. In Montana in 1892 and dreamed of living there some day.[...] |
| [...]undup were a standard toilet article in the little house out back. The when they camped[...]Washing meant pumping the water, carrying it in pails to the Speelmon invited the two ladies int[...]ent. As they house where it was heated in a boiler on the stove. All the were short of sea[...]he sat but not for long! for soft water. In the winter .frozen long underwear was Underneath[...]a large pan of bread dough. brought in to dry by the stove.[...]Gale and Bernice moved to the B.B. Jones place in 1924,[...]In September 1934 the couple moved to Bonner's Ferry[...]Idaho where Gale engaged in farming and logging until his[...]nes Cooper-1923 Gale married Bernice Jones in Baker on June 28, 1923. |
| [...]ins at that time and for Baker High School in 1926, as a stenographer for various law extra pre[...]firms . She also worked as a revolving clerk in the offices of up and put in the little old city jail until morning. On one the County Clerk[...]organization gave help to needy families in Fallon County. gypsie women wore garments in which they could cache She also work[...]One effective way of sheep purchase program in the summer of 1934. The drought dealing with them was to start putting the women in jail. years had left precious little feed and water for the stock. In a They were quick to figure it was better to leav[...]Mr. Corbitt was a butcher by trade and worked in that range cattle in Fallon County were shipped out under this capacit[...]asonic Lodge Verol worked for the City of Baker from 1954 to since he was a young man. H[...]cember 1969, first as Water Collector and then as City school board, the church . board and has been- an[...]years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Corbitt were active in the Baker J. R. and Verol have both been active in. the Baker Community Church and leaders in its work. Mrs. Corbitt will Community Chur[...]s a past president of the Baker Chamber of active in the Baker Woman's Club and Order of the Eastern[...]has been active in the Lions Club, having held the offices of D[...]Bob recalls one particularly thrilling incident in the Mr. and Mrs. Corbitt celebrated their si[...]land that is now part of the Baker Air Port. Late in August, T)leir eldest son Harry married Evelyn McLec;>d in April, Bob and Harry w.ere home alone eating[...]yclone 1925. Miss McLeod was a Commerciai teacher in- the Baker moved in taking the roof off over their heads and landing[...]thre.e sons, :Hairy, Jr.; Tom and neatly in one piece about one hundred feet east of the house. Richard. The Harry Corbitts left Baker in 1927 . .They have Bob says this is a "never to be forgotten" experience. lived in several places in Montana, . N9rtp. _Dakota, Kansas, Bob and Verol have lived in Baker all of their married and Nebraska. Since hi[...]assed away on September 26, 1966 following a fall in which she sustained a broken hip. Mr. Corbit[...]1. . I was born in Rosemont, Minnesota on May 11, 1909. I The C[...]grandchildren and sixteen great : : . was fourth in line in a family of six girls and three boys. My grandchi[...]ool and ours was two miles from our home. parents in March. 1917.[...]walked four Bob C(?mpleted Baker High School in 1926 and went to miles to high. school. -D[...]lege during the winter months for the stayed in town and worked for my room and board . I took next two years. In the sprqig of 1928 he went to work in the extra subjects so I could finish in three years. In those days Bank of Baker. The first of January 1929 found him in the girls played basketball and competed a[...]I attended the Wisconsin State College in River Falls for 1931 at the church parsonage by t[...]Congregational Church. course in 1929, teachers we~ more plentiful than they are In July 1933 Bob went to work for the Gas Developmen[...]any money his appointment as Field Superintendent in 1950. He held for fun or frills while get[...]After teaching school for one year in Minnesota, I Bob and Verol had two daughters[...]hree granddaughters boarded the train in St. Paul and rode all day and all night to and th[...]train at the same time, all planning on teaching in one of the with the grandparents, J. R. and Verol[...]27 (I think) rural schools that were in Fallon County in 1930.[...] |
| [...]of Webster and would start in March. I got the position and[...]west of Willard. We left Baker after tlark in a Model T Ford loaded with our luggage and his g[...]ter and his wife, Sally, to spend my first night in Montana. Dr. Foster was a dentist from the east who had come west to raise cattle and to live in the "wide open spaces." I woke up the next morni[...]orning Sally Foster took me to my boarding place in a horse and buggy. I spent the next several mont[...]es Corey, who were some of the early homesteaders in The Twin Cities and now I was out in the country where I Fallon County. We[...]we felt that next year basket socials and dances in the school houses. In the fall would be better. That winter was[...]aker and St. Paul. Many of these stops in those days it went quite a long ways on bu[...] |
| Sometime in July, Ray was lucky enough to get a job with the[...]ob Graham on the other. When the cold weather set in, Ray was laid off from work. He and Walter Schors[...]at winter our second child, Norma, was born. In the winter of 1934-1935 we had moved into a moder[...]to do as so many others were doing - go on relief in order to live. Just when things looked the darkes[...]The Corey's home after it was remodeled in 1943. the term at the ·crow School eight miles n[...]ng until he had to go back to Saco. This was in 1941-1942. Then came the war years and we work in the spring, then Mrs. Sinclair took over. The children returned to Baker to stay. in this school were the Koenigs, the Sielers, the Gevings and In the spring of 1949 the teacher at the Fertile Prairie children of the two Sinclair families.[...]contract for the next year. With the children all in school That winter turned out to be a severe[...]blizzards and low temperatures. I had to stay out in the decided we could use the money for her co[...]years. In 1953 the Baker School System added several[...]graduated from the Eastern Montana College in Billings. Norma worked in the office at Penney 's and later as a[...]from Bozeman in English and taught at Northern Montana[...]Bozeman and then enlisted in the Navy Flight Program.[...]before enlisting in the Army in 1966. He served in Vietnam[...]due to the death The Corey's first home in Baker- 1937. of his father who[...]llege after his discharge We had been living in rented houses until the summer of from the[...]Hill. We into the Odes Lovec house in Baker. The Fertile Prairie enlarged our small house in 1943 to accomodate our growing School is the only one that is still in operation. With the family .[...]Our first son James, was born January 1937 and in the rural children are being brought[...]the boys were delivered at home by Dr. Hogeboom. In August of history of this area will soon[...]and completed our family . In the early 1960's we began to see our way clear to[...]e new home that we had been planning on. We moved in M.D .U . as a common laborer, truck driver[...] |
| [...]ers. Nonna married Robert Tatarka. They live in Bozeman and have eight children. James marri[...]nner. They have four children. He teaches English in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Howard married Iris Gilbert. They have two children and live in California where he is a co-pilot for TWA. P[...]1963. This is my twentieth year of teaching in Baker. I hope to |
| In later years they raised sheep, at one time in her mother proved up on the homeste[...]Rocks Ranch. They spent their last years in Baker, the last part of it in Violet Stultz went to a country school wh[...]passed away, logs. The school was started in about 1915-16 but is no longer September 1941, Ma[...]them) the George Cox spent his early boyhood in the Knobs North, the Blake, the Gr[...]ity about 30 miles southeast of Baker. School was in Abernathy. By 1923 many had left the cou[...]There seemed to be more time, in those days, to neighbor Ruth was a daughter[...]missioner from 1924 to '30, and parties in the evenings at different homes. People might was[...]seven years at the Myhre, Tonquin, Bechtold, and Prairie enjoyed the pot luck lunch that was al[...]out to be were lots of picnics, most often in the Medicine Rocks which good citizens, and knows[...]Mart Cretsinger and Violet Stultz were married in hardly missed a day. Many were snow bound. Other[...]MRS. MART CRETSINGER Mart Cretsinger was born in Guthrie County, Iowa in 1905. He grew up and went to elementary school there. He came to Montana with his parents in August of 1926, to join a brother who was living in the Medicine Rocks vicinity and has lived in that area ever since. Violet Stultz was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and came with her parents and[...]Violet Stultz attended school-built In the spring of 1938 they moved to their pre[...] |
| [...]neral store new highway between Baker and Ekalaka in the fall of 1941. in the building now occupied (1973) by Russell's Clo[...]y carried a variety of goods! It was homes parked in the Cretsinger's yard for several months. amazing what one could come up with in there! They enjoyed getting acquainted with them.[...]One day a group of customers was in the store. Among A number of men in the community took steps to help them[...]salesman. The fellow clerk of Mr. Crow get RE.A. in their part of the country. It came in ovember was a man of much more generous[...]Pat's and , of course, correspondingly slower in his comforts of town life.[...]The Cretsinger's daughter married Merlin Chester in came trotting back with the needed merchandise. The September of 1954. The wedding was in the Medicine Rocks salesman, observing[...]ow I believe it! " Merlin finished his enlistment in the Navy, then they came Naturally, this[...]to Montana. They have three children and now live in Pat was a quick worker so it did[...]a life partner! This was in the person of Miss Ada Raske, who[...]had also arrived recently in Baker, and they were married at Miles City in 1908.[...]She had been born at Stillwater, Minn. in 1889. At the[...]Lloyd Cafe. They made their home in Baker for several years,[...]more daughters arrived in due course. They had a half section[...]In 1926 Pat was elected to the office of Assessor of[...]interested in geology, and he landscaped and arranged[...]sults of his loving labor and care are still much in evidence.[...]After retirement, they lived at this home in South Baker, taking part in social and community affairs. They especially[...]successful years of teaching. In the year of 1869 life began for Thomas S. Crow, a[...]Bud Price at their home while their parents were in the vicinity of Baker. He came on the newly built[...]a soaking rain. It followed a Milwaukee Railroad in 1908, its first year of operation. very[...]for the place arrived . Since there was no place in which to lodge, they was be-spangl[...] |
| Mr. Crow became ill in 1952 and passed away the year of My father was a farmer, builder and contractor in the 1953. Mrs. Crow preceded him in death, also in 1953. Westmore area. He built the home of Andrew Shaeffer in Their daughters are: Leila Limm, Eloise Hosm[...]Gail Morris, and Barbara Faus. was built in 1917 (Fred Klos lives there now), the home of Joe[...]Riley north east of Westmore in 1918, and the Baptist Church[...]remember the locations. He also did some building in My dad, Jones Griffith, came out to Montana in 1901 Mildred. from Texas. He drove cattl[...]rried on December 24, 1906 at the Catholic Church in Glendive, Montana. They lived on a homestead which he had acquired in 1904. It was about three miles east of Baker, out[...]at the Vincelette Ranch. I attended grade school in Baker and got my high school education at Baker a[...]Arthur De Grand and I were married at Miles City in 1928. We lived on "Art's" folks place, the Henry[...]Anna's) place where we lived for thirteen years. In March of 1948 we bought the " Andy" Freising ranc[...]h to our son, Arthur, Jr. and his wife, Margaret. In 1970 I moved to Baker where I now make my home.[...]Picture taken in 1963-Andrew Shaeffer home built in 1916 ARTHUR H. DISTERHEFT[...]and Augusta Disterheft, lived at Dickinson, N.D . in 1908 when I was born. In 1909 they Looking for greener pas[...]iles from Plevna. It was a pretty back east in the company of the Shafric family. When we got pl[...]here for about five years. north west of Westmore in 1911. The new place was From[...]d wind . It was quite a hardship to get to school in the winter time but in the summer we could take shortcuts between[...] |
| [...]ood dog when on a drinking spree. A true Westmore in 1938 and that same year we came to California. fact. I worked as a carpenter and was initiated in the Carpenter's Later after we built[...]wards into the Mill-Wrights, from which I retired in took a spade and dug a post hole in the lower part of the land 1971. Am now enjoying[...]iodine in it and caused my brothers and me to have large[...]er 1 inch out of my neck so we got by passed away in 1963, Bertha Trulsen lives in Cudahy, with the water. I think it[...]ater. Finally we dug a California, Olga Orr lives in Lynwood, Calif., Victoria Sturgis 32 or 33 ft. well and got the same water. After finding the lives in La Mesa, Calif. and Louise Thompson lives in Mt. first water we took a long auger 20[...]ot and Shasta, Calif. My brother John passed away in 1929. went down, way deep and didn[...]thresher set up in or near the middle of a field and then about[...]which cut only about 6 or 8 inches of the heads and the hea[...]keeping the machine in working order. I , myself, used to[...]horse machinery. The combine cut the grain into lengths[...]loaded as in other threshing. I haven 't threshed for over 40[...]a good wiJl of most of the farmers in and around Baker while Mr. and Mrs. G[...]oys can borrow the money and pay I was born in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Sept. 2, 1891. In[...]our holdings- I section, 1/2 section, in three different parts Sanders started the Elizabeth Hospital in Baker. Mr .[...]steam engine pulling a grain Early in 1918 John and I went to the army. They put me sep[...]hrough. It was burning lignite coal and set in H . Co. 23rd Engineers. I asked that John be with me. the prairie afire. The sheep herder and one of my brothers Army doesn't want two brothers in same Company unless the fought that fire until af[...]1918. I did only 3 days of soldiering as I was in Hiway reason I never liked steam threshing.[...]an. On a threatened . But otherwise I was in coveraJls most of the time, week's drunk vacation[...]y brother said "Yes, " calling old "Hed" McGinnis in - the table was and self were in camp. We were getting mess from the set for two.[...]K.P . says, "Where are you called his dog, "Come in Son." "Oh. I didn't know - that 's from?" I[...]. couple brothers from Baker, Montana, also, in our Co. (Med Anyway after both had their meal he paid for two meals, Corp.) They 're in the kitchen." I made myself known and than[...] |
| brothers to be in one Company but they were and my brother,[...]first man on the section for John, and self were in another. about two years. Then I started work on the City of Baker Near the Argonne I drew from Commis[...]steady. Finally I quit and pumped city water for some time. English underwear. I could b[...]alls so big I buttoned them over Gloudeman in the Little Brown Church in Iowa. They went to my head. Well I took them to my was[...]usan and Sandra German girl who was a tailor. She cut the overalls to fit me (twins) and Tracy. After Pauline died in 1963, I finally sold and had enough left to make suits for her boy. everything in Wisconsin and moved to San Diego, too. Oh, I[...]vernment, paid our transportation, meals and room in a nice Hotel in Nice. Sure was nice-we could pick oranges and lem[...]Pauline Hall. I rented a farm, the Gillette place in Fertile Prairie. We were married May 21, 1921 and lived there 3 y[...]took our wedding trip-to the Gillette farm. In about 3 weeks I was in Baker and there was Isabel. I asked, "What[...] |
| [...]. Some of these activities were I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 18, 1897. f[...]Once I carried a pair of pigeons in a gunny sack on my been stirred by the spirit of[...]ighbor boy as a birthday present. We had a flock city folks for a sampling of country life, they decide[...]of doves at our place. Our family was involved in all these with many others, at the time of the opening of the Railroad activities. and Public Lands in this area, to join the Westward[...]"! School course was now available in Baker, so I enrolled there. On the way we fell in with a group of migrants from Shortly[...]which persuaded us to join them . So it was, that in May of I graduated from the Baker High School in the spring of 1908, when I was 11 years old, we landed in this vicinity by 1916, one of three graduat[...]d (later Mrs. Paul Collette). We were homesteads in the locality now known as Fertile Prairie but Baker's first graduation class. I then enrolled in the at that time was facetiously referred to as[...]further education. homes and proceeded to set up in the farming of the virgin After lea[...]in some business enterprises, while Mother and I took part in Some of our neighbors were - the Frank and[...]Aid and the Womans' Club. I was always interested in piano Johannas Krohn and bachelors Samuel (Happy[...]ensuing dances were held often until the Fertile Prairie Hall was built. years my father passed away. My mother resided in My father dug a well which proved most unsu[...]en for a visit. As for me, I found myself settled in already existed. This was our permanent location. We Salt Lake City and employed in the office of Edward Muscoe purchased a milk cow[...]hat she Garnett who was Court Reporter in the Federal Court of Salt shortly would become a milk cow-so we waited for the blessed Lake City. I worked as his transcriber and as a Secretary to event while I carried milk from the neighbors in a tin pail. My G . D. Johnson the Federal Judg[...]k cow". When she had 1929 at Salt Lake City, where I have made my home up to the looked her o[...]ise you to go buy a present time (1973 ). In later years my mother came from milk cow". Which he did . The calf did arrive in due course. Minneapolis to live with us. In the last few years death has City farmers! Ha![...]t and television. I walking plow and when all was in order, joyfully ordered belong to a Co[...]e leap and run. Dad went winding cities in the United States and to Canada to play in Bridge one way and the plow flew off at an angle.[...]cedar post. which she dragged about ~s she grazed in the lush born at Iantha, Missouri on May 5, 1892. I grew up in the grass of the prairie. It was never any trick to catch her when sm[...]I arrived in Baker, Montana in May 1917 to stay with So we became a part o[...]and got into Ekalaka, Montana. My brother-in-law took me around the their fields in the morning, but we soon learned why. Ha! We[...]h trails I had received my primary education in Minneapolis and occupied quite some time.[...]s at the Dean Young School on brother-in-law in the field loading grain, making hay and Fertile Prairie.[...]There were many social activities taking place in those In the meantime my parents and brother had arrived e[...]Woman's from Missouri and helped me in proving up on my Social and Literary Club ; a Bir[...]trips to Belle Fourche, Sou t h Dakota in covered wagons to[...] |
| bring back supplies for a General Store in the Belltower area. MR. AND MRS. CHA[...]I took a job My parents were both born in Minnesota . My father, cooking for the Allen's Sawmill in the Tie Creek area to earn Charles Duffield, was born in Windom, Minnesota , in 1891. the lumber for building my homestead house. and during the He came with his parents to Montana in the spring of 1910. fall and winter of the sever[...]mic I worked at the They brought with them in an emigrant car machinery, Camp Crook Hospital.[...]a cow, chickens and household goods, and settled in from Sykes to the new post office of Belltower. Riding the Fertile Prairie area east of Baker. horseback after dark, when t[...]filed a claim just over the line in Slope County, North With my parents help,[...]of grain and Dakota. That is where I was born in 1918, also my sister put in a garden, but there was such a severe drought tha[...]hand. It amounted to one wagon box was born in Marmarth, N. D. full. My parents, my brot[...]r work because of the crop failure. I found work in the Belle Fourche Hotel where I worked for two ye[...]cook, office girl and manager of the dining room. In the meantime, my parents, having given up as hop[...]rd Coons who was visiting his brother, my brother-in-law, helped my brother and me through much of tha[...]Duffield Homestead just east of the Montana line in children were born. They are Edward W. Coons, Jr.[...]st, but soon acquired f~ur Ekalaka and was snowed in so long that the neighbors[...]z~d for Mother was born Laura Lynn, in Owatonna, Minnesota treatment of cancer in Helena, Montana and Chicago, in 1894. She came to the Fertile Prairie Community in 1916 to Illinois, I sold everything but our land[...]at year Chicago where we remained until his death in October ?f with Mr. and Mrs. Sam Duffi[...]m the George Chapin family who had lived in the Fertile Prairie our area, the farm equipment, household goods and[...]My folks, Charles Duffield and Laura Lynn, were in Baker, Montana, rented for a short period then bought married in Owatonna, Minn ., on July 8, 1917. While they land and established our home here in the spring of 1935. were in Minnesota being married, Dad's crops were[...]no buildings on it now. In the early years of their marriage, Dad pent a win[...]hard times of the 30's, I worked whenever in Marmarth, running a drayline with Jim Van Aken. w[...]about that time, was s pent milking cows and loom in 1939 and have used it almost continuously, weavmg[...]o school, the My son went into the Service in 1943 and my two[...]ck on the farm and from Baker, and I were married in ovember of 1944. . planting and har[...]ll the work was done At the end of the war in 1945, we returned to our home m[...] |
| [...]milk cows. During the years we School at Fertile Prairie. We drove seven miles to school with also[...]attending Business College in Miles City, and Linda, Richard When we lived in Marmarth and after we moved back to[...]ow teach Sunday School and work with the children in instruments they had, and we would play up a stor[...]lessons, for about 18 months from Mrs. Ted Lowery in Marmarth. In the early 30's there was a man in Marmarth, with just one arm, who could really pla[...]ffield Our family used to go to the Fertile Prairie Hall to FORREST J. DU[...]to a barn dance, southwest of Garden City, Minnesota was the scene on which I |
| [...]section crew repairing Milwaukee Railroad tracks in the vicinity. Later, during a cycle of dry years[...]ring families had already settled. There I worked in a sawmill and lost part of one of my fingers on the job. I saved my money and in 1920, I returned to Baker and purchased the plac[...]L. Howard and farmed it. I spent 1942·43 in the Armed Service, stationed at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. In 1955 I bought a home in Baker and in 1957, I sold my purchased place east of Baker, bu[...]ato patch there where I enjoy many pleasant hours in the spring and summers. I recall many, many[...]s at an old log ranchhouse, and later, at Fertile Prairie Hall, including Box Socials, and Zetta Bu[...]sion Howard, Forrest and Grace. thrown in, but we took it all in stride, and profited by our In 1910 they decided they wanted a piece of land of[...]their belongings I am now retired and reside in Baker. My parents have on an emigrant car[...]s Deacon for a number of years; also have in the Fertile Prairie area next to Mrs. Duffield's parents and acted as[...]poems and musical selections, he was herding in that area. They always raised a garden and visiti[...]Nursing again Mrs. Duffield set up a "store" in her home where Home. I love to go out to the home[...]could get some necessities. She also sold Watkins in my potato patch! So I keep busy which is good med[...]hese well made rugs graced the floors of Hospital in Baker. Funeral services were held in Bak.er and many friends and neighbors far and near and were a source of burial was in the Fertile Prairie Cemetery. The plot of land for welcome income f[...]d where he They did their trading in Marm.a rth during the first lived as a young boy[...]ere to be had by driving 6 or 7 miles near Garden City, Minn. They took up the business of[...]ily enjoyed dances and attended many of them In 1896, Sam was married to Miss Jessie Howard at in the old log house of Quincey Rauley's, and, after 1912 or Amboy, Minn. She had come from Red Oak, Iowa, where she ' 13, at the Fertile Prairie Hall where they sometimes served was born[...] |
| [...]orhood card and birthday clubs and of the Fertile Prairie Farm Association to attend along with horse racing I was born in Redfield, South Dakota, February 28, and school affairs, in which activities the Duffields took part. 1891[...]had both been married before and had While in Minnesota, they attended the Presbyterian[...]marriages. My father, Christian Church and later, in Baker, the Community Church. Eichenberger, was born in Switzerland, brought his family to Their fi[...]y shack the United States and settled in South Dakota. My mother covered with rubberoid ro[...]Rosette (Blaser) Eichenberger, was also born in Switzerland, still stands. In later years Mrs Duffield had a small house in came to the United States with her husband, J[...]served on the School Bqard of District No. in West Virginia. When the grand parents in Switzerland 50. They donated a plot of land on th[...]hearing that my mother, whom he had known in Switzerland, Their son, Forrest, now cares[...]rents are resting there. Mr. Duffield passed away in 1937. resulted in their marriage in Chicago in 1889. My father's Mrs. Duffield made her home wit[...]er home until 1964, when she followed her husband in various people, and John Eichenberger[...]tha, Edward and Louis became the family to reside in[...]mber his · Horace E. Henry came to Fallon County in June 1909. C.H. kindly ways with me; te[...]southeast of Baker. They returned to their homes in Britton, men 's singing group while in Switzerland. I remember his South Dakota. In the fall C.H . Duppler came back and built a[...]liked better than others. Miss Gertrude Chappell, in hardware and implement business.[...]1947-51. He died on School Mis tress in a village school not far from Bern, February 16,[...]the neighborhood kids, and finally the children in three rural Church , Charity Chapter Easte[...] |
| My sister, Bertha, and husband had homesteaded in lonely - Not with my "big family" th[...]My youngsters have taken over the business places in money to finance a trip to see them. Speaking of[...]rs and new button, patent-leather shoes. I stayed in Fergus County and taught there several years. Whi[...]ERSON EILEK [KUEHN] homestead, but that not being in my line, I later relinquished My homes[...]Eichenberger and working as a Milliner in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Every Ed and Louis Blaser were all in Fallon County on their plots spring and f[...]work on hats. By making copies of hats shipped in from New brought her to Baker. We lived with "Lou[...]stress at Bisher, Montana. In 1909 all the talk among the Milliners was I taught three rural schools in Fallon County; the homesteading, so o[...]ebster School and the Wills working in Valley City North Dakota, as we "City Girls" School. While I was at the Webster School[...]ay Corey was one of my students there. City was as far west as I got. During the winter[...]cate" by examination. While at the summer session in position and came to Baker which wasn't much of a town at Glendive in 1920, some trustees from Lambert, Montana[...]mother see. Some folks I boarded with in Valley City bad already liked to be near them, I applied for work in Baker. I was filed on the north-half o[...]he locaters took offered and took the sixth grade in 1923. Such fine me out to see th[...]to miles south-west of Baker. We rode in a little buggy with one Baker in 1924 as Superintendent of Schools, and he advance[...]marked with stones. Christmas Vacation Time in the year of 1926, I was granted a Y[...]cipal, when he left I became In the meantime I had married William J . Eilek at M[...]d until 1944, at which time I became the City, Montana on May 12, 1910. My husband went out to[...]"Dolly." In 1949, the trustees of District 12 in Baker, came to ask me to resume teaching. I consi[...]boys and girls .. I estimate that when I retired in 1956, that about a thousand boys and girls and I shared many hours together. Many have kept in touch with me and many look me up when they come[...]sharing the lives of your children with me. In 1959 to celebrate my retirement my nephew, Herb |
| My husband was a Recruiting Officer in the Army and come. We were almost as gla[...]em leave as by that when he resigned, the officer in charge said, "I always time we were tir[...]hey enjoyed their horses and roamed far homestead in a new country. "We didn 't know how long we[...]en "broncs." Bill, my husband, would harness them in to live on it for one year and still prove up aft[...]would climb into the wagon and he'd get the lines in that we did.[...]The Miles City Land Company broke up thirty acres of There w[...]land for us and planted flax, but a heavy frost in August do, but we were young and had hopes that t[...]We had the change, and they did. When you got up in the morning and all thlrty acres for our own[...]had water in it for sometime. BiU Eilek and dog in front of homestead shack Our closest neighb[...]m Plevna come |
| [...]d Emily Bernhardt thought they would like to In nineteen fifteen we were saddened by the death of[...]become stock raisers so they filed on a homestead in Wibaux four year old Jimmie. County in 1918. Later they moved into t he town of Wibaux[...]Their daughter, Sara, was born in Wibaux in 1917. She[...]Wibaux County High School in 1935. After graduating from[...]becoming ·an R.N . in 1939.[...]In 1940 she married Thomas Eilek at Baker. From this[...]husband 's death. Tom, who had been in business with his[...]her, Mrs. Art Kuehn, at the Eilek's Ready to Wear in Baker, died suddenly in 1969. Mr. and Mrs. William Eilek[...]run the business. In the thirties we had severe drought for several years which was very discouraging. In 1933 Bill had a severe heart attack, so we decide[...]he attacks were quite frequent and he passed away in 1939. In 1943 I went into the clothing busin&ss. Some years later my son, Tom, joined me in this business, Eilek 's Ready-To-Wear. Tom passed away of a heart attack in 1969. In 1952 I married Art Kuehn and we live in Baker. We both feel Montana is the best state of[...]Mrs. Engberg was born in Chicago on ovember 30,[...]1872. She was married to J ohnny Engberg in 1900 in Minneapolis, her home, and in 1909 they came to P levna to[...]in the winter of 1911-1912, but they continued gener[...]arming and ranching until Mr. Engberg passed away in the[...]g of 1917. His brother Arvid leased the property. In[...]Little Green tore" in her home on South First treet West,[...]especially to orphanages and children in need. Her fancy[...]work took many prizes at the county fair in earlier years. My d aughter, H elen Eilek Gibbs, lives in Wyoming and Illne s in the spring of 1956 caused her to close her shop. my son, Bob Eilek is retired from the Air Corps and lives in After a short period in the hospital, however, she returned Paradi[...] |
| [...]rial Hospital at the age of 84. No School in 1936. Jobs were very hard to get; after two years[...]wheeled 1530 McCormick Deering tractor in 1938, a 1926 Anderson, L . Fredric Bruggeman, Jac[...]Janet Muriel Clocksene was born April 12, 1923 in hurried beside her Johnny (as she always referred to him) in Houghton, New York to Gilbert and Winifred Fero the family plot in Plevna. Cl[...]North Dakota in the public schools and later taught second[...]grade in Hood, Oregon.[...]Little Beaver School had been moved in to take its place.[...]beside Highway No. 7 and reopened. In 1970 they began[...]is all foreign to them. Walking to school, riding in a[...]sitting on the hay - pleasant memories, but in real life left E OS[...]sted fingers and toes. Rattle snakes were common: in the By Janet Enos[...]ng but a water snake. David and only son in a family of three children. His sister, Ethel, remembers going to church in the buggy. He also remembers also homesteaded in the Webster area. taking the cream to Calumet in a two wheeled cart and Barton moved with his parents to Athol, South Dakota getting the mail. in November 1891. He spent from March 1903 until July In high school David and Janet could not afford the fads 1908 in California. In 1910 he filed on a homestead in the[...]y have seen that their Calumet community. He came in an emigrant car, bringing children coul[...]Walter Evers was born on January 5, 1891 in took her to ew Jersey, Florida, South Dakota and[...]In 1909 Walt and his brother, Harry, came west to work. In Montana she met Barton Enos and married him on[...]me he came to this Mary and Barton, Jr., who died in infancy. vicinity. In 1961 they retired and turned their farm and ranch In 1910, Andrew and Mathilda Evers came to the Ferti[...]o their son, David. They moved to Spearfish, Prairie area and took up a homestead because they wanted[...]be near their sons. Some of the neighbors in that community in August 1959. Mrs. Enos returned to Baker to make[...]Duffield. They are both laid to rest in the Medicine Rocks Walter had at[...]but after coming to David John Enos was born in the family home three Montana he worke[...]1918. He father's profession was painting in addition to being a attended the Medicine Rocks S[...]from the Baker High Walt served in the army during World War I.[...] |
| [...]he call of duty while stringing telephone dances. In fact he played for dances until he left Montana in lines behind enemy lines. He was also awar[...]Heart but claimed this was for getting hit in the head with a On April 19, 1927, Walter Eve[...]. either that or an irate Italian father. married in the Congregational Parsonage at Baker, Montana. He married Mazie Harlan and has lived in Kalamazoo, To this Union were born a son and a da[...]David and Ella Good was born nephews. in Mitchell, South Dakota on April 28, 1910. Roberta was born in 1916. She grew up trying valiantly After leaving Montana in 1934, Walt worked as a Hop to do eve[...]and went through the earthquake in Helena, Montana during FERGUSON FAM[...]that time. She worked in Baker in an office for several years.[...]tana and they had William Ferguson was born in 1886 at Albia, Iowa. He three children, Patty, Francis, and[...]nd as he put it, William, Jr. was born in 1918. He was mechanically wanted to play football[...]eferred machines and and worked for the railroad. In 1908 he came to Montana and science to fa[...]was a fighter plane pilot during some other jobs in the now very new town of Baker. It was[...]e not so many years before he got very interested in trotting Breedlove. They have six childre[...]ive red headed daughter, body repair shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mary, who was known around t[...]as "Dolly," was a Verna was born in 1922, attended the local rural school much greate[...]est as the spent the next few years riding in pickup trucks and chasing day was long." He was always interested in seeing that his boys. She worked in a local office for several years and children got[...]trying to write such things as family histories. In the 1940's he and his wife moved into Baker where[...]She lives on a farm northeast of Baker. worked in one of the local stores. He sold the home place a Lois was born in 1924. She was our little baby for short time afterwards and continued to live in Baker until his several years and as was noted, a constant companion of her death in 1965. He was an avid traveler and always managed[...]ibited this pastime. He had a great deal of faith in Pat Murphy and they have one daughter,[...]Montana and was one of the first to be interested in Pat are known throughout their neighborhood for their great the oil discovery in this part of the country. An oil well was interest in young people and the great amount of work that dr[...]nd 4-H and etc. good well. He was a firm believer in the fact that early ow along a[...]there came a morning air was the healthiest, and in his younger days 5:00 wonderful surprise to the Ferguson family in the form of a A.M. hardly ever saw him in bed ... especially if some of his baby girl[...]was a baby in the house that everyone kept forgetting her[...]no and etc. As soon as she Raymond was born in 1914. He led a typical life of a boy could g[...]mbered by his and are presently living in Livingston, Montana. They have oldest sister for building a still in her clothes closet during five children: Rhon[...]. This thriving business was unfortunately nipped in the bud, so he went back to the farm and tried various other difficult Mary Golden was born in Ashton , South Dakota on wavs of making a living.[...]Mary (or Dolly as she was known) and her landing in Africa and then walking through Italy. He has[...]bicycl<> next time he tours homesteaded in the spring of 1909. Sid had come up before Europe[...]d had the claim shack built but the stove was out in the[...] |
| [...]joyed his shotgun and rifle. Many a meal was made in the kids to a close Badlands for a picnic and to climb the those days of the luscious prairie grouse and sagehen that fell gumbo buttes. Sh[...]imers still talk about her chicken and dumplings. In daughters out of what ever hand-me-downs an[...]the old had one of the biggest libraries in the country. Any kind of favorites , skunks. In fact my early memories of Grandpa in reading was enjoyed. They also enjoyed pla[...]ter usually had a faint touch of skunk around him in their neighbors. They had about two miles[...]ing to school and Mary usually had this job in the spring and fall, was a profitable pastime as[...]lly trying to keep a bit of of the older families in the community, and at one time had peace between the two men. In later years both served on about 30 pupils. It wa[...]al political committees, and always tried to help in with Lorene Hibbard. The friendship lasted throug[...]were little they usually went some place in the winter after[...]the crops were taken care of. Winters were spent in Nebraska,[...]Kansas and etc. Mom always said that she sat in train[...]always bounced back. She died in October of 1971 just before[...]They had their own 22 rifle and In 1905, I with my sister and her husband went to M[...]ung fall, then worked for my uncle in his general store in cowboys of this country. Morningside and Sioux City, Iowa until July. Mary finished the eighth grade at the Dean Young I filed on a homestead in Colorado in March 1906, and school and was starting to become a young lady. The eligible established a residence in September. I worked in dairies in bachelors of the country had started to beat a pa[...]oon got the upper hand and they proved out in March 1908 and was married to Kathrine were married in September 2, 1913. Mary was sixteen years Steffes on February 3, 1909 and we moved onto a farm in old. Bud was the delight of each new batch of school teachers Minnesota. In October of 1910 we moved to Montana. I went in the country, and finally married one of the lovely ladies .. in an emigrant car and took 100 bushels of spuds as they were Miss Clara Harner. They did not live in this country very scarce in Montana that year. My wife took the passenger much, but spent most of their lives in Oregon. They have one train. We moved in with my wife's parents, Mr. and Mrs. son, William[...]oved on to his posts. We traded my 160 acres in Colorado to a Mr. Peters for own homestead when t[...]which was 2 1/2 miles built his new frame house. In these days people did a lot more southwest of[...]but some one came to as a desert claim in 1914. We sold our other rights and their place fo[...]hildren, and being of an energetic and to it in the fall of 1914. I drilled a well, built a house[...]ing nature it was to her they took their problems in fenced the land. I improved the l[...] |
| [...]am active in Senior Citizens which meets twice a week.[...]Ferrie's New Home Built In--1930[...]from Bismarck, orth Dakota to Fort Keogh at Miles City, Montana. "Fritz" was killed by a band of four In[...]at a stage station two miles east buried the body in 1880.[...]onnecticut , arrived in Baker in 1913 on a Halloween ight The Ferri[...]from Belle Fourche, . D. Riding in three canvas covered[...]w belonging , were his wife, Belle, 3 son , In the early 1920's one Senator Conser met Senator[...]rs, Irma , Flo sie and McCone from Dawson County. In visiting he found that Marjorie. They[...]e of his braves was testing his Arriving in Baker they tayed at the Bill Hedrick home marksma[...]e direction of Senators still standing in Baker and Plevna. He built the Bechtold and Conse[...]rt can 't remember who played the part of "Fritz" in the and Dave Good farms; the " High " sidewalk in Baker. In buckboard. There was a large crowd at the Pageant[...]te to " Fritz". Charle left Baker in 1921 to live in Oakland, California In 1948, our son Anthony got married. They wanted to[...]arm so we sold him the place and moved to Cresco, Iowa 1958. where I was born and have a lot of[...]his children , Irma, Kelly and Russell s till liv in Steffeses have lived here for quite a while and have relatives California. Marjorie lives in Miles ity , Montana.[...] |
| [...]Otto Follmer was born in Siberia on November 21, 1909,[...]to George and Emelia Follmer. In 1910, when he was eight[...]over rough prairie roads by team and wagon.[...]Klukas, had come to this vicinity in 1910. They had TOM FITZSIMMO[...]he did all the things a little girl on a farm can Iowa in the spring of 1910. He took an emigrant car to Is[...]continued to live at the family then returned to Iowa and loaded the box car with the family home[...]doing their chickens and some furniture. He rode in the caboose of the traveling by team and[...]eighborhood out to the shack. We stayed overnight in our tent and since I picnics as well as the Fourth of July celebrations in the was so young I thought ,it great fun. None of[...]The next morning we all started for our new home in our wagon. Since the shack was thirty miles away[...]"Charlie". We soon found out that we were really in the "Wild West", as we saw several herds of antel[...]and this scared us some but we felt safe with Pa in the tent with us. Aunt Mildred Lamb and brot[...]mer had to |
| The first of 22 young men and women to go west in April Minnesota. Her grandfather, who had served in the Royal 1909 were Albert Fost, Ted and Henry Be[...]this country as a learned officer, later to Miles City but liked the looks of the land they had come[...]other. The ladies then went to Baker and worked in Mate was even open for homesteading. Fost's land[...]bill. While they were there Anna Blanchard came in and She found a homestead a mile south of them, b[...]back steps of the restaurant so they could get in to work in nine children born to John and Mary Fost at Murdo[...]uary 7, 1881. The family were encountered in the general store. farmers. He spent his young li[...]also handled the horses, so he took his first pay in Minnesota.[...]put in 70 days the first year. Aside from the cost of ga[...]ought his own outfit. Albert Fost's Homestead In The Willard Community--1909[...]family sewing from farm to farm . She also worked in a |
| [...]s the and baby. first one to serve. As in all new systems many things were Social life of a young family included many picnics in the tried out. Many of the people were interested in chickens so Chesmore Gulch, dances at t[...]Otto Fost went into the Army in 1918 and on returning summer of 1925 Albert Fost[...]n home he bought a farm in the Willard Community just south hand. A day was[...]east of of the T.T. Lunder ranch. In 1922 he married Leila Foote. Baker showed up alon[...](twins), Richard and Wayne. There are 19 resulted in a modern chicken house.[...]were the T.T. were candled through a little hole in a piece of cardboard held Lunders, the Ed Burkes, the Walter Mangolds, the William in front of a lamp. They were sold to the Baker Hatc[...]am Shreves. Sundays were times of sent to a Miles City hatchery.[...]The County Fairs were held during those years in the Fourth of Julys were spent at[...]into town. In 1970 he passed away.[...]OTTO AND LEILA FOOTE FO T Land in eastern Montana was being taken up fast by[...]m 1909 until Otto arrived from Murdock, Minnesota in 1916. He had come to visit his brother, Albert an[...]Leila Foote was eight years old when she arrived in of Plevna in 1912. Their son Emil was born at Plevna on Montana with her parents Henry and Mary Foote by train in ptember 3, 1913. Their clo[...] |
| [...]. The Klos family had homesteaded south of Plevna in 1909. William Fulton, Sr. Photo by L. A. Huffman of Miles City Clara attended a rural school, the Prairie Rose School and helped on the farm as a child. Th[...]ys attended United States to live. After being in school to the age of church on Sundays.[...]a month to get enough money He landed in Philadelphia while still in his teens and to buy a few pieces of second-hand machinery. worked in several areas. He worked in Florida and later was The couple lives about six miles south of Baker and over in St. Louis, Missouri for a while. Then he got a job at the years have been a great help to their children in 4 H clubs.Marissa, Illinois and still later worke[...]Mount Corroll, Ill. Duncan Mackay had an interest in a ranch seven children: Arlee, Raymond, Delilah, Linda, Dennis and on Milk Creek in what is now Fallon County, but then of Colan. The[...]r County. William Fulton came to the Mackay ranch in[...]nth. Montana was then one of the best wage states in the Union. In Illinois, Mr. Fulton's first wages as a farmhand[...]d people just got their mail occasionally. Anyone in[...]bought an interest in the ranch. Duncan sold his interest to a[...]d House on Ranch were turned in on the deal when the partnership was formed.[...]N and each continued in the ranching business. William Fulton was bo[...]ry Stevenson 25, 1903 and they lived in the same location on Milk Creek. Fulton. His fath[...]ons He was an organizer and stockholder in The First and his mother's family was in the woolen mill industry. One National Bank of[...]tributor to the pioneer telephone line from Miles City to[...] |
| [...]husband in Montana. Here "Carrie", met David Bickle and[...]they were married in 1899. In April 1901, I came to visit the[...]les and help my sister with the ranch housework . In[...]November, 1902 I returned to my folk's home in Armington,[...]My husband had been living in the original log building, but[...]was the nearest but Mrs. Caton was then living in Miles City[...]ches. Ekalaka, to the creamery and grain elevator in Ismay, he From the first I liked th[...]bracing subscribed to the first wool house built in Miles City and was air. When my father and mother came to visit in 1904 I had a a member of the Elk's Lodge there.[...]ranch operation until they sold ranch homes in the area, and of course we traveled with a out in the nineteen fifties.[...]I had a brother, Lon Fluss in Ismay area. Later he had a[...]went in two rigs to the Medicine Rocks and had a picnic.[...]with Some of the Children. The Four Fluss Sisters In Back-Left To Right Bertha-Mrs. Left to r[...]William Fulton, Sr. Carrie-Mrs. Dauid Bickle, Sr. In Mo11t . H elen, {Mrs. Bob Askins, de[...]ma Lancaster Of Minier, Jr.-Miles City, Montana-Mary, /Mrs. Waren St. Joh11- Illinois-She Neuer Liued In Montana Spokane, Wa[...]USS FULTO Two of my sisters came to Montana in the eighteen nineties. Della was marrried to Geor[...]en our oldest purchased land along O'Fallon Creek in the Ismay area. My child was ready[...] |
| [...]up shop in Baker in its very beginning. They owned the[...]a they sold out and ranched at Plevna. In 1932 Dick purchased[...]Richard were born during their years in Baker. attended elementary and high school there.[...]Joan tells that she attended all her eight grades in Baker the Presbyterian church there. and then in 1936 she graduated from Dickinson High School[...]Ann and that ended her education. She worked in the office of the George): Helen M. (Mrs. Bob Ask[...]Coco Cola Co. until she married James E. Gabe in 1940. Their (Mrs. Lee Castleberry); Mary M. (Mrs. Warren St. John); three children were all born in Dickinson. When James William F. (married Davena[...]him to Worthington, Minnesota in 1950 where he and his wife[...]still live. Joan says in 1957 she went back to work as cashier[...]Dickinson. Brother Richard is married and lives in Los[...]and just completed four years in the avy, Virginia Jean[...]Ireland is married and also is an English teacher in Jr.[...]1936 where she had spent several years in the grades with[...] |
| [...]I would sing. City where they lived for 13 years. Dennis and Cheryl I married Cortland, in Iowa in 1934 but came to live on graduated from Custe[...]he Gaer family now the homestead for a few years. In 1936 I remember uncle resides in San Diego, California. Albert Fost walking severa[...]My parents Henry and Rosella Gatzke were ranchers in[...]Plevna, for five years. Then in 1970 we bought the Edward[...]David Good was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Courtland Gaer, Evel[...]Ella Rose Bast was born in Shannon, Illinois.[...]Baker. They moved onto their new place in 1919. This wa[...]David died in October of 1952. Ella th n sold the horn ranch[...]into Baker where he ided until her d th in[...]orway in the early 1800's. They settled in Roch ter Hill which i near the pr ent City of Roch ter, Minn ota. Elmer Anderson Family. Lef[...]ene Kochel, Jack Westrope Kasson, Minnesota in 1 92. Glen, Selma, Georgiana, Gilbert,[...]w re born into the family while Cort wa born in a covered wagon on it way from th y[...]rk, Minn ta. Poor Sansark, South Dakota to Iowa, July 21, 1910. He bought the h alth and a d[...]on prompted Baker, Ekalaka Mail and Freight route in 1946 and had the Gregor Gr ger on t[...] |
| [...]homestead, and Ray was born in Baker.[...]lumber wagons and as it bogged down in the creek crossings,[...](one of the first in the area ). The school was known as the[...]staples as the horses were usually busy in the fields .[...]Selma Gregerson married Flace Smithen Phebus in[...]. Three children were born to this union : In the fall of 1910, Gregerson rode the Chicago,[...]kee, St. Paul and Pacific railroad to Bowman, .D. in[...]Their two search of land to homestead. The area in and around[...]Georgina Gregerson passed away in Baker in 1930 and be available to homestead. A tract of l[...]Gregor Gregerson passed away in Baker at the age of 82 on filed on by a doctor who resided in Minnesota seemed the best[...]ctor agreed to relinquish any rights he may have in the land for the sum of $50.00. Gregerson filed o[...]inning of a wheat and cattle ranch which remains in the Gregerson MR. AND MR[...]Leischner Gregerson returned to Minnesota in about a week in [Mrs. Is adore Leisc[...]attle could not be Commings, Kansas in 1872. His parents, James and Mary wintered in Montana unless hay was available and so sold Lambert Greenlee had homesteaded in Kansas and raised nearly all of his livestock. T[...], a grain binder, a potato Champion Corn Husker in Kansas. He got his schooling at planter and other[...]ould have taught school but oldest son, Glen rode in the car to tend the livestock and prefer[...]Father first came to this part of the country in 1910, at to be allowed to travel in the emigrant car and several dollars the age[...]"Railroad Bulls" to southwest of Baker in the Lame Jones Community. overlook the infraction[...]to construct a barn married at Miles City, Montana on May 19, 1914. which served as the fir[...]stad who lived at Fosston, Minnesota at the In the spring of 1911 Georgina Gregerson and her time of her birth on September 22, 1894. In 1910, when she children, Gilbert, Emmet, Harry, G[...]y came by railroad train and took a claim on land in the husband and oldest son, Glen .[...]nity close to the Traweek ranch. Mother had In the summer of 1911 , Mrs. Gregerson contacted Pastor received her education in Minnesota so after coming to Skenlos of Spokane,[...]her folks and come and conduct religious services in the area. One of the then later when she[...]le continued living and Charles Anderson families in attendance. on my f[...] |
| [...]n she was just a little baby so my folks took her in as a member of our family. Mother was a goo[...]and mother. She enjoyed going to church services in the country school and belonged to a Mission Circle in the 1930's. Mother passed away August 19, 1[...]omemaker and a good neighbor back when they lived in the country and later when they lived in Baker. While my parents lived on the farm mother[...]how during the depression, the grasshoppers came in clouds, and how poison was put out to kill the gr[...]ing whole flock of turkeys. During mother's years in Baker she Anniuersary-1959 was always sew[...]never needed by family or neighbors. She believed in the old adage" A friend in need is a friend indeed". My father, Amos G[...]bably one of the oldest "Old Timers" ever to live in Baker. He lived to be 100 years old which birthda[...]ed to t he post office every day to get his mail. In his later years he was a gardener. His garden and[...]well known and liked by everyone. He passed away in April, 1973 at the age of 100. The Greenlee[...]Before their marriage in 1909 George was employed on a Taken from an a[...]farm and ranch and Elsie was a teacher in the grade schools. By Elsie Griffith in the April 1959 issue. After their marriage they farmed for a year in Wisconsin and[...]ranch and assisted with the many duties involved in Some of those years were not easy to take,[...]ranch work. He graduated from Ismay High School in 1933. Then there were those mostly "honey and cak[...]we treasure. other means of livelihood. In 1934 George was employed by And we will remember[...]By Elsie Griffith In 1935 George went to work for the Montana-Dakota[...]Utilities Co. on the pipeline. In the spring of 1937 he was[...]red to Cabin Creek as plant operator and Elsie wa in February 25, 1959 George and Elsie Griffith celeb[...]wedding anniversary. Today, as the Griffiths sit in their for nine years. George was promoted to[...]modern conveniences, Cabin Creek plant in 1944. they have time to reflect on their 50 years[...]eir privilege to work with and for many furnaces, in the shacks of the homesteaders who were brave[...]valued through the enough to pioneer the western prairie. years. In the spring of 1910 George and Elsie moved to[...]at abin Creek during Montana and took a homestead in Custer County (now Fallon the years they[...]es changed from dusty, windswept yards to an home in the wide open spaces. Their new home was quite[...]They watched the different from their first home in the wooded hills of the interesting and e[...]t of the oil fields and beautiful Kickapoo Valley in Wisconsin. saw[...] |
| [...]seam s tress in a dress making shop owned by a Mrs. Casey. It[...]shop was spent in sewing in private homes. This enabled her[...]Opera Singer and sang for the Kaiser in Germany. Mother[...]remained in Minneapolis until shortly after her marriage to[...]Cabin Creek 1957 In the fall of 1957 the Griffiths moved to Dickinson[...]plant. |
| [...]a mile away and where the sheep had been running in it. and a place where one could buy some coal.[...]d be used. Later the hesitant about getting off in such a deserted looking place Hinmans got[...]was there, so everything water from there in a barrel on a stone boat. Soon another was alri[...]u se. It was all papered and fit to try and live in yet, so they walked out a ways east on the inside and was cool in the summer. I thought it real and stayed at the[...]ery cold and Mother said it was a In 1914 another carpenter, a Mr. Ferris, moved to town wonder they didn't freeze to death as the boards in the floor and many new houses sprang up. Mom[...]ree months before they arrived. All included in the price of the house. This house still stands a[...]is part of the house my brother Martin lives in altho it has Beach with horses and wagon and do the buying. Late in the been remodeled many time in these 58 years. During the time summer word was circulated that Bob Pearce would open his we lived in the shack I became very attached to it as Mother[...]do some buying only to find the shipment cut out paper on the shelves and rugs of the floors,[...]got bare, but of course that was remedied in time. enough potatoes to last all the next winte[...]with the shortage of wood and coal many a night in the house was below freezing. When they first came they could only "squat" on a quarter section, but in a few weeks they could have another quarter so t[...]o be so close as getting around wasn't very easy in those early days. By late fall Mother was e[...]decided to go to her mother who was then living in northern Minnesota. If she had stayed here I would have had the distinction of being the first child born in Baker, but a few days after my birth Gerald Hitc[...]here and must have been braver than Mother. In December Mother returned to Baker with me. Dad ha[...]e house was very damp and uncomfortable re ulting in a very cross baby. Mother told of keeping the fi[...]nstantly. She finally TM Gunder on Homestead in 1915 howing a few of the got the house dried out and we all survived the cold winter. stacks of grain in the background. Getting started on the home[...]the neighbors helped one another to get the In 1909 more people came and settled near by. My[...]ble out ide a there just wa n't room for everyone in got their homestead about five miles to the south[...]le After the spring's work was done in 1916, my Mom and to the west of us. Martha later[...]he Egbert Hinmans from ilbank, South Dakota moved in went to Minneapoli . George[...] |
| [...]his might or the house would have gone too. In 1917 all the young bachelors in the neighborhood left for the War. We knew some w[...]ed with my folks for the rest of ms life. He died in January 1966. During the winter my sister became[...]ured appendix and was cared for by a local doctor in the Baker Elizabeth Hospital. The next winter she[...]. When they got home she seemed to be alright but in less than two weeks she was sick again and died o[...]ging, so they A typical Sunday gathering in 1917 taken in front of the couldn't get to the cemetery until t[...]L to R: Olaf Selden, Melvin Larson and Priscilla in[...]few hours she drove up in a Model T. touring car with side[...]were planted in check rows so they could be cultivated. The[...]t take long before I had sold my load of milk and in celebrations. I will always remember the first ci[...]e bills and me each a parasol which had been made in Japan. I had mine as most people bought[...]lives were really great. We experience eating out in a public place. splurg[...]nt to Minnesota and bought car loads of installed in our house. We didn't have running water, but[...]e price dropped to 5c a lcitchen range for a bath in the tub. The tub did have a drain quart Some[...]d built close to the well, with stove and boilers in which to heat delivered them around town for 5[...]to those bills aren't paid to this day . In spite of all adversity we have to do all the washing in the house. lived happy[...]e moving at our home. One day that in the twenties, Esther and Martin. summer of 1918,[...], who with husband buy a car. George and I waited in suspense. Sure enough, in a had homesteaded here but had moved to orth Dakota in[...] |
| [...]the Baker School. In 1942 I entered the United States Army[...]and soent most of my time in Arzew, Africa with the[...]On my return in 1944 I married Freda Hoffman, daughter of[...]just waited your turn. Sometimes rains would set in and The Homestead in 1916 showing the house, granary and[...]decided he would buy his own outfit. Late in the summer of[...]o liked the job so well they The Gunderson family in 1929. Standing l to r: Esther, Ida, re[...]em . ice job for a 14 year old Selden, graduated in 1934 after he had served three years in the Marines. During the "Dirty Thirties" as that decade became known, the Gundersons succeeded in piping natural gas to their home, built an electric line of their own with poles cut and hauled from the forest south of Ekalaka and[...]n telephone line. We were living just like people in town. Dad and Mother lived on the homestead until they retired in 1950, but they just moved closer to Baker in a house they had built during the Depression as[...]about when their household goods finally arrived in the summer of 1908 s he uncrated her[...]t is still intact and runs fine as I have kept it in homestead, and she kept her promise.[...]f the many memories I have of our ever gets a large enough building I will make them a[...] |
| [...]DER GUNDERSON In 1912, Gunder married Martha Gustafson. She passed[...]Frances Mae Bertsch away in 1915. They had one son, Gilbert. He lives in Gunder Gunderson was born June 16, 1887 in Solar, Lemmon, South Dakota and is a ja[...]of the Lemmon cemetery. America by boat. He lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota about Gilbert marri[...]had one son and two three years and came to Baker in 1908 at the age of 21 years. daughter. Howard and wife, Evelyn, live in Minot, North Brothers John and Gunder were s[...]Baker. This husband, Ludwig Schmidt, live in Bison, South Dakota. land is about two miles from the city limits. Filing of They have a boy and a[...]il 1909 and Fallon County Wolf, live in Ashley, North Dakota. They also have a boy and be[...]The work was hard was born on June 24, 1898, in Harrisburg, South Dakota. Her because most of it[...]Lee Everson. It was helped build the first church in Baker which was the about 1908 when M[...]Church. Iowa. In 1910, she came with her parents to homestead[...]were eight children in the Everson family; Merrill, Clarence,[...]expressed themselves in the life of Mae as she provided a[...]In 1953, she became a dealer in Watkins Products[...]Mae was willing to give her time and help in many ways.[...]Mae started a Resale Store in Baker which was another[...] |
| [...]\ After being in the dairy business for 34 years the folks[...]was sold to Mark Brownson. They in turn bought the home[...]Mark owned and moved into Baker in 1953.[...]Brad, Lennie, Conrad, and Patti. In 1960, a traffic accident[...]completed duty in the service having served overseas in Germany. Conrad is in the service stationed in Fort Lewis.[...]Patti lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Raymond lives in Idaho and is working on a ranch. He[...]and Kimberly. They bought a home here in Baker. Don is in They went into the dairy business in 1919. There was no the Coast Guard stationed in North Carolina. James is in electricity at that time so all the milking was d[...]ing and night. All Richard passed away in 1955 of Hodgkins Disease at milk was bottled by a[...]overs made the age of 23 years. Lester died in infancy. out of cardboard which had been ordered[...]re Connie and husband, Rudy Jensen, live in Colorado pressed in place. Milk was delivered to the houses for 5c a Springs, Colorado. Connie works in the supply department of quart, then 8c and 10c respectively. In the winter time the Community College in Colorado Springs. They have three weather was bad[...]ring Cline attend college. Sherry is in elementary school. Larry blizzards one depended o[...]Frances Mae and husband Ted Bertsch live in Baker. As times got better the folks built a new barn. It was Frances Mae had worked since 1967 in the Hot Lunch a wonderful improvement. It had a l[...]ir music. Everyone had a Elementary Schools in Baker. She married Ray Allerdings great time.[...]the former George Huber farm. Teddie Lee is in High School and in Stage Band which is the highest honor in band. She also performs in the Drill Team.[...]Paulyne and husband John Schmitt live in Sidney,[...]Josephine and husband Harley Celander live in[...] |
| [...]Thomas George was the third one to join us in 1955. He Many thoughts of the folks enter th[...]they have a farm. wonderful home in Heaven. Thank You God for this and for Marcella Faye came in 1957. She is in high school and is our wonderful parents. very active in sports, band and 4-H.[...]too, is in high school and takes part in many school activities THE MARTIN GU[...]In March of 1960 Ida Jo made her appearance. She is in June 10, 1922 I was the sixth and last chi[...]grade school and is in the band with the older girls. She is the home o[...]Gunderson, one mile south of very busy in 4-H and other school doings. I am very proud of[...]Mae Michaelson and I were married. Linda grew up in this mother was my mother's sister had died, wer[...]red helpers and my Uncle homesteaders in the south country near Webster. We have "Skeeter[...]dull moment. During the summers they all pitch in and raise twelve years old he had attended school in Wisconsin and was a large garden. Then canning is in order. We process our meat very desirous of us t[...]e to they would have them. enjoy life in the country.[...]unty's smallest un-incor- I started school in Baker, where I got all my school porated[...]ething that just happened as the years training, in the fall of 1928 ~d Mary Ann George (Fulton) came along. Years ago we moved a house in from the Fried was my first teacher. As I grew o[...]nted it out. We had a large bunk I knew everyone in town and where they lived.[...]odeled that for rental property. Since then In the late thirties and early forties my parents ha[...]eople who live here have the advantages of living in town work done. Then April 8, 1942 without warnin[...]ion varies with Selmer (Sam) died. Our family was in a state of shock. Then the renters so I[...]ALBERT GUSTAFSON To cut down on the work the dairy was closed out late in By Ethel Gustaf[...]wonderful crops. in 1908. Albert was born in orway on ovember 19, 1895. June 24, 1949 Le[...]y Father H.S. He had attended school in orway and one term in Ciebattone at the Catholic Rectory. I had been ra[...]with his parents Lutheran and never did join her in the Catholic faith. In 1950 from Oslo, orway. Mr. Gustafson had br[...]d moved closer to town and we moved into in the U.S.A. and most of them were in Minnesota. This then our old home. A few years la[...]for the machinery which was who located in the Kalispell, Montana area. He decided to destro[...]could speak were born to us. Gregory John arrived in 1950. He graduated English but they had[...]ey from the Baker High School and attended Vo-Tee in Helena were from the same county in orway. John at that time bad for two years and is[...]filed on a homestead close to Baker. He spoke in glowing three children. He is now my partner on t[...]unty. It was "a real gold home on 1st Street West in Baker. mine." In 1951 Velora Ann, just a beautiful little girl, jo[...]a restaurant and a general store, all in tents.[...] |
| [...]Northern Jim Walkers and the Olaf Seldons. In later years there was Pacific Railroad. This meant another trip to Miles City to the the Fink family on the Mark 's farm and[...]land 2 1/2 miles south of Baker. Seldon place. In those days everyone for miles around was He moved[...]yed to eat and they were always welcome. they had in filing and proving up on their homestead.[...]med and had dairy cattle. At one time Albert In order to prove up on his land Gemerius had to bec[...]d have to answer for the grasshoppers came in such numbers that they darkened the Judge. The Ju[...]purchased a team of horses, made~ ~od barn in Baker and grew up at the present farm home. They are in the hillside and proceeded to break up the prame.[...]Baker was our closest school. We took them in the Model by the corner marker left by the govern[...]e no graded roads or snow plows. Most of the time in to the "Badlands" with team and wagon to cut cedar trees to winter we went with a team an[...]and meat, and vegetables if neighbors would come in to help, then_ they wou1~ return the you coul[...]they, along There were good things too. The prairie bloom~~• they with you, hoped and prayed[...]re members of the American Lutheran Church. Baker in 1915. I came in July of that year, my brother, Mark, In the early days we made our own entertainment. was[...]grade school at Smithville, Ohio and high school in Wildwood park was closer and we went there o[...]a, Marmarth, Belle Albert and I were married in Baker on December 18, Fourche and any pl[...]ation. Our favorite 1918. After a short honeymoon in Miles City, I came to t~e was the big circuses that us[...]break of day with teams and wagons. They went out in the hills northwest of town. Sometimes they had t[...]Jack Guth was born in Minnesota. He ran away from[...]Dakota, where he was a jocky and rode race horses in[...]He came to the Fertile Prairie community in 1911 and[...]ne was never taken to shows. Group picture taken in 1920 at the Price Ranch • Albert[...]nd chasing sticks. He spent all his visiting time in |
| [...]ime on New Years Eve, when the Town the steer was in "Wonder Land," on the Laurel Road at[...]pillow as a posterior, wrapped Dick, bare naked in a blanket and put him down in an old baby buggy. Mr. Gullidge came[...]telling every one about the lovely baby in the buggy. The[...]nce never dreamed that there was a real live baby in[...]the buggy. At the very last moment A.O. reached in the[...]I was born in Montecello, Minnesota November 23, 1896[...]to Clarence Edmund and Gracie May Bishop, in a creamery. Picture loaned by the museum at Baker[...]had pink eye when we were living in Montecello. They made[...]was 9 years old and we were living in Litchfield I managed to ARTHUR 0. GU[...]stick a very sharp, thin, narrow pen-knife blade in my left MYRTLE G. GULLIDGE 1881 · 19[...]ersity and Chicago University and came to Montana in hit me in the right eye. It hit so hard the eye felt pushed[...]s I had been told, I ran into a rope belt which I in Terry. Montana was just being settled at this tim[...]tect my face and the Gullidge took an active part in the development of the State. rope belt[...]He was one of a group who promoted the forming of Prairie sympathy, just a scolding. My folks[...]was near county and later represented that county in the State sighted. It wasn't until I was going to school in Rockford, Legislature.[...]for glasses. My The Gullidges came to Baker in 1924, Mr. Gullidge parents were t[...]this position for 21 years until his resignation in 1945 to take were living in Litchfield an optician noticed how badly I the position of High School Supervisor in the office of State needed glasses and p[...]them for me. Superintendent of Public Instruction in Helena. After I got the gl[...]en I was 9 years old. and he was an ardent worker in politics. Both were At[...]n carefully to noises, civic-minded and took part in many city, county and state in order to recognise them and know where they were[...]t, most distinct graduated from Baker High School in 1926, attended the sight reader in the school, including the teacher University of M[...]later On the last day of March in 1910 my mother and I came to married John Dougher[...]oin my Both Mr. and Mrs. Gullidge are buried in Bonnievale father where he was working near Carlyle. He was working Cemetery in Baker.[...]was Mother's first ride in an automobile, a Ford, and my[...]cooked for the "plow crew" , and we lived in a one room cook Superintendent of Schools, a boy[...]ends name) was having fun flying paper aeroplanes in the study near Carlyle while my fath[...]hall for a minute . Mr. as a steam engineer in a saw mill seven miles east of Ekalaka. Gullidge stepped quietly in the door, stood there with his chin Papa got a team and wagon and came to Carlyle after us. in his hand , watching the performance, then when al[...]ir names and came when I called them paper planes in the whole school.[...] |
| In the fall of 1910 Papa hauled lumber out to the cl[...]we moved to the claim. The wagon reach broke down in stay at my house. I was supposed to walk[...]end the night, but because a bobcat had been seen in the 1910, the coldest day of the year, they went[...]dn't walk by myself. the wagon into the snow, put in a new reach, loaded it back A neighb[...]all, who lived east of us. material. In this way she knew I was alright. A widower[...]ele Road ran through our claim from in and saw a blind rattle snake by the door. If I had gone in it northwest to southeast. It was a wagon trail w[...]to bring my 22. Steele hauled supplies from Miles City to Ekalaka. This trail I had been told by th[...]snake outside and cut off its head and rattles. The rooster,[...]any time. I told the chickens they could go in now, but Mr.[...]signal and in flew the hens all at once.[...]out in the sun. I stepped back and stepped on another ra[...]In 1915 the family moved to Baker. Papa drove the te[...]had a sunburn. Mama and Papa rented a restaurant in Baker[...]run by am Cohen and Tom Bums County Commissioner in Baker in the early 20's. Mama respectively. cooked in the hotel in Ekalaka and I went to work along with[...]ma would go back to the claim and Hackett in Baker. We had a room in the Fallon House which stay until the loneliness got so bad then we would go back to burned in recent years. In July, 1917 our first baby, a son, was the hotel a[...]dishes again. The nearest house stillborn. In the fall of 1917 we moved to Thunderhawk, South t[...]o Agar, then to Huron, outh Dakota where a houses in sight, so it could be very lonely. daughter, Rose Ellen was born on June 3, 1919. In 1914 both parents left me, by myself, to stay and[...]eye on the cattle so that they wouldn't Baker in the fall of 1920. On March 9, 1921, a son, Daniel[...]ay alone. A neighbor Edmund , wa born to me in a building that was then known[...] |
| [...]Spanish · and interpreted at a Mexican man's court trial in[...]In 1928 the family moved to Baker. We lived on the n[...]Both children went to school in Baker and both[...]Bishop Cafe. in the country to feed his pigs.[...]as a rooming house near the I stayed in Baker and did laundry work and kept the Lakeside[...]kids in school. Three weeks after the birth of my so[...]school. Suttons sold the place but left my folks in charge of families, broke. They wouldn't fi[...]Rose graduated in 1936 and married Ernest George Kruger in 1937. Daniel enlisted in the Army in November of[...]In the spring of 1941, Mama and Papa moved back to[...]Baker. They lived in a house by the railroad tracks at the end[...]Mama died in 1942 and Papa in 1946. In 194 7 I went to[...]icago to vi!Sit my son and family for two months. In 1948 I[...]bought a sheep camp wagon and moved it in Rose's back yard and in 1953 I moved the house to the present location[...]n to it. At present it is three rooms and a bath. In[...]April 1973 I will have lived here for 20 years. In front of Lew Jim's place after the blizzard of Ma[...]since been moved. Rose entered |
| In the summer of 1949 I went to school for the adult blind in Bozeman on the campus of the University. In the summer of 1950 I returned to the school for 5[...]letter from the library and the congress wants to cut the amount of money that is needed to keep the library open in Helena. At the age of 76 lam nearly blind. I[...]He came to Montana in 1908 to visit his brother,[...]Courtney Hall, who had homesteaded in the Ollie community.[...]In the spring the young couple traveled by horse and[...]started . Their first son was born in August of 1912. A few days I[...]cook stove, caught fire and everything went up in flames. ISABEL HALL[...]finding a school neighbors had seen the smoke in the distance. near their place to teach . Besides, it would be interesting to be in a new land and meet different people. She stayed on teaching in various parts of the county for about seventee~ y[...]W1sconsm. When she and Mrs. Pat Crow (Ada) taught in Westmore in the 20's the train service from there to Baker pr[...]ent. One of her very early schools was held in the back P8:~ of a cafe until the school building[...]or Frank Becker. Hotel Damon, now Lakeside Hotel, in eyes.[...] |
| [...]us and very tasty. There were many good times in spite of hardships . There were lots of picnics,[...]with oyster stews and Saturday night dances. Even in below zero weather the families bundled up in bob-sleds and drove ten or more miles to dance or[...]h on July 24, 1942 at the age of 53 and is buried in the Bonnivale Cemetery at Baker. That fall Ethel[...]ome for a dog. Mrs. Hall's six children keep in close touch with her. from Ismay in 1950. He chose a nice spot two miles farther They are: Raymond of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Bernard south from the ot[...]n, li'r-Jlg at Boyes, Montana Oklahoma; and Bobby in Redmond, Oregon. where[...]partner in the King Construction Company.[...]Bob retired from the farm in 1959, moved to Billings and[...]bought a small home in Billings Heights. He was looking[...]to enjoying his retirement but suffered a stroke in[...]the fall of 1960 and has been paralyzed and in a wheel chair[...]ever since. He is now 84 years old. Lena is in good health and[...]eaver from the V 0. Our brother, Tom, was Georgia in 1900. They homesteaded five miles south of Ismay born in Ekalaka on February 7, 1901. My father's brand wa[...]ther, Frank, and after working near Jim died in Miles City, Montana in 1940. Then Ella there for a time they moved to eastern Montana in 1880 and moved to Ismay and later to Miles City where she passed established the ranches which were to be their homes for the away in 1961.[...]heir lives. My Uncle Frank died of a heart attack in[...]1910 and my father also died of a heart attack in 1924.[...]My mother, Mary Hunter, was born in southern MR. AND MRS. R.L. HAMBY Scotland and came to Montana in 1891, with her sister, Grace, "Bob" Hamby came to Montana in 1907 from Georgia to join their brot[...]above the Hunter place. his ranch, then he worked in the coal mines out of Miles City. In the summer of 1893 my father had a four room, log After serving in World War I he went back to Ismay and[...]and sheds. He and my mother were married on Italy in 1910 and to Montana in 1918. Lena was a waitress in Christmas Day 1893 and set up housekeeping. Except for the Prindle Cafe. They were married in Plevna in 1921. They some narrow boards in the living room, the materials for the bui[...] |
| [...]system installed after the coming of electricity in 1949. Before that our water supply was a strong b[...]l over it. We had to carry the water to the house in pails. Although the water was very clear and cold[...]he pails brown. We got soft water by melting snow in winter and catching rain water in a barrel placed at a corner of the house under the eaves in the summer. The water in this spring never Mr. and Mrs. Charles Emerson and son, Tom, at Long Beach, froze solid in the winter nor dried up in the summer, so there California, the winter o[...]aised enough vegetables were away at school in Miles City and in Long Beach, to feed us all summer and we stored the rest in a root cellar California, where we finished[...]anything. Webster, when I was in the teens. A baseball game was the When it b[...]g, 2 1/ 2 the players looked for the ball in the sagebrush. Dances were niiles north of us. It[...]ved twice and is now (1973) held there, too, in the hall above the post office and store. It bein[...]was a long, ill-ventilated room and much too hot in the Mr. Melvin comes up from Colorado to farm. We[...]ned $60.00 a month, I believe. We drove to school in a two-wheel cart pulled by one horse, a big light[...]summer days and wished I could go outside and lie in the shade of the school house. The school had lar[...]s Miss Minnie Burns, who later married a sheepman in the Marmarth area, named Francis Barber. He erected a substantial brick building in Marmarth, which is still standing and bears his n[...]At Ekalaka Fair, [920. Charles Emerson in suit talking to teacher was Miss Morna Cooke from[...]taught H enry N ewbary. Mrs. Emerson in the coat, back to the our school two or th[...] |
| [...]ather and parents of Richard Atkinson now living in Baker) , the Vamers, the Traweeks, the Yokleys a[...]with his legs grotesquely sticking up in the air. One quick[...]nday at Atkinson's. Mr. Atkinson and Mrs. Emerson in us a cou ple of "bum lambs", which we kept in the yard at the the cart. Riders, left to right,[...]after them a A few side-lights on ranch life in the early 1900's. while in vain pursuit and was no doubt out of breath, Moth[...], with the nearest doctor, for a good many years, in thought ··they would be the better of a little exercise." I've Miles City. One of the accidents I recall was the time my li[...]en, lunches made and etc. it was when he tumbled in head first . I rushed to the house for seven or eight o'clock before everything was in readiness for Mother and she fairly flew past me[...]m was I don't know. but one morning she got In the fall of 1903 Mother took a trip to cotland fo[...]the ones that would be used were was on his knees in the kitchen cutting "shavings" from a c[...]ent over to were twenty to twenty-four horses in this bunch . During the kiss him, he made a quick[...]once or twice a year. These were used for saddle cut my toe next to the big toe on my right foot, wher[...]and old colloquial expression. I'm sure he was in the "dog house." Whether or not it cured[...] |
| [...]I, Jean Emerson, married Alexander Hamilton in Baker, Montana in 1926. "Alex", as his friends called him.[...]was born in South Scotland on June U, 1891. In 1900, at the age[...]merson, 19/5. named Pedro. was one such animal . In the summer of 1915 |
| [...]e ranch and wen t to school at Knowlton and Miles City. After our marriage we lived on th e E merson Ranch and raised stock. In later years we sp ent much of our time at our home in Baker and our son Tom ran t he ranch . Tom is t h[...]ation to live on the original ran ch. "Alex" died in the winter of 1973 at the age of 81. I still live in our home in town. Besides our son Tom, we had two daught[...]or a nominal fee. We still have the deed recorded in Elizabeth was born at Baker on December 26, 1915.[...]early telephone systems in the west, The Dakota Central[...]operator in Baker and wrote some articles for a magazine[...](maybe t elephone). We lived in Baker until Daddy developed[...]died in Lakeland, Florida at the age of 53.[...]Our mother died on January 3, 1969 in Lakeland of[...]to see her where she lived , in a large house her father had left to her; in a beautiful section of south Lakeland . When[...]of the Russell Department Store. They lived first in I am in real estate, as my father was, in the central part a pink house with an " out house" in the back. The girls grew of growing Florida.[...]brokers. I am considered quite successfu l in t he better types Crackers. I (Virginia) remember[...]t 3 1/ 2 blocks from the Dutchman. He died in 1953 of a heart attack. I took my school but one[...]rom school. We had a August 7, 1941 in Jacksonville, Florida. He worked in wonderful garden on " Pretty Street". There were[...]mith Douglas Company and also worked for carrots. In the winter time we ate lots of macaroni and chees[...]ewed chicken of which I preferred Salt. in California. the American Cyanamid Company, the wi[...]Phosphate Company, Western K napp World at Miles City but mother had all three of us and she managed Engineer Company and was compared , in his home town of to scrub floors right up to the[...]Herber t Hoover an We used to go on picnics in an open Model T Ford. I engineer who bec[...]estate and insurance business written up in our local papers. I am busy with the J unior and[...]Edi tor's note- Dr. Young was the doctor in Baker in on it. We have always kept it and being th[...] |
| [...]Among the pioneers who came to Southern Wisconsin in home in town where Mrs. Hanratty and the children lived e[...]y during the school year. She also took in other children besides Hanratty. They settled on[...]a The couple then set up housekeeping and farming in a neat good frame home to replace the o[...]njoyed attending school and neighborhood appeared in the family circle on November 27th, 1879.[...]irs Tom did all the interesting things a boy in a large family as well as visiting and entert[...]new Nick Madler home. attended grade school in the rural school in that community. Close to the building[...]r her eldest son, Percy. Mr. Hanratty passed away in completed he obtained work as an engineer on a sh[...]n Stanhope While there, he became interested in a young lady while live on the homeplace,[...]he is a art of homemaking. The young couple lived in Duluth for logger. several years.[...]Alice, Mrs. Wendell Holmquist, lives in Bozeman. Mr. In March of 1913, they came, with two young sons, to[...]wo other married sisters, Times staff in Baker, where he married Alice Hanratty after Mrs.[...]already she graduated from High School in Baker. They later moved living on homesteads near[...]Catherine, Mrs. Gene Wellenstein, resides in Baker where Mr. Wellenstein is engaged in the banking business[...]many changes both in the church and the country.[...]this country in 1913 from Minnesota where he was employed[...]ker, Montana on June 16, They acquired land in the bad lands about 12 m1Jes 1929, to[...]isters. northeast of Baker and proceded to set up in stockraising and I attended the elementary school in Baker when we lived farming . They acquired two daughters and another son. It in town and rode horseback to attend the O'Donnell S[...]thy years, and drastic winters, and 12 miles over prairie place until the 1960's and always just had a trail to follow and trails for many years was a challenge in itself, but they had to make our way ar[...]up and George Jenner families . All the children in the neighborhood mamed Jean F. tanhope on ept. 25, 1950 in Miles City. attended a sod school house set up by the parent[...]homesteaded on Cabin Creek in 1927 and moved to Baker in During the first years, Mr. Hanratty put hi[...]15, 1932. She received her education in the Baker chools. We[...] |
| [...]affiliated with the Catholic Church and take part in its activities such as CCD and KC and Altar Socie[...]o helped with many wedding receptions and dinners in the church basement. She is also a 4-H leader and both daughters spent many years in 4-H. Homemakers Club is another interest of hers.[...]g classes and went to a lot of dances . Walt rode in a few rodeos when he was a young man. We took part in the school picnics, 4-H activities and community[...]up picture taken at Millie's homestead. The buggy in big game hunting each fall in the western part of the state[...]Clark, Deanna D. Hanratty (Griffith) living in Bozeman now North Clark, Audrey Hans[...]lege. Roberta L . still at home but working in town. Beverly Jean, Denice Lorene, and There[...]y Abbie Clark, and the school house was completed in 1912.[...]d the snow got too deep, our father would take us in the[...]rses]. Albert and B elle Han sen at their home in Baker, 1948.[...]isture, hail storms and grasshoppers. homesteaded in the Bisher Community south of Baker,[...]ohnson, Richard Clark later fil ed on a homestead in the Knobs Ed Chapman, Ed Varner, Dick[...]which I cannot recall. I was born in Cresbard, South Dakota, and was about[...]and school programs which were a big thing in the early days Phyllis , were born in Fallon County. We all completed our[...] |
| [...]ta to live with Millie. Millie Clark standing in the door of her homestead shack, Abbi[...]d a large living room and a piano. There In 1922 the Hansen family moved from the home t ad to |
| Group picture taken in front of Millicent [Millie] ClarkLee's house in Baker. Left to right; Belle and Albert Hansen and[...]d, Audrey and Fred, 1945. farm until he retired in 1959. He passed away February 2, |
| Inga Kristengaard, age 22, taken in Norway, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Tronstad, taken in 1914 at their[...]nobs. 1911, joining their older brother, Hans , in the Webster community. He took a homestead in the Knobs area on what Orvin Coxes, th[...]After Harry left for America I went to work in a factory When the children were grow[...]factured fishing articles and took sewing lessons in time. C?arles Hansen and I were married in February, 1943. the evenings. I happened upon a want ad in the paper for a We resided on what was t[...]n and sewing. The fare purch~sed a home in Baker and retired . Mr. Hansen passed would be paid in full, to be worked out later. The lady I was[...]fore I was recommended continued to live in Baker. for the job. I boarded an ocean liner, the White Star Line, in I have 21 grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren . My Frondheim in early March of 1913. The ocean trip took[...]I enjoy approximately three weeks and we landed in Quebec, Canada co'?~any and my time is[...]c I went by railroad to Chicago knitting. In many years of babysitting, I've become known the[...]Harry came to Circle for me, and we were married in Glendive on July 3, 1914. We came back to his hom[...]ker area, and Henry Tronstad of Milwaukee, Wiscon in. fy husband, Harry, passed away January 6, 1924 o[...]Han s Hanson, 1911 , threshing in the Webster community. In 1925 I married a local bachelor, Andrew Anderson[...]derson Hans Hanson came to Montana in 1909 to homestead in passed away December 26, 1927 of pneumonia. I sta[...]tractor and did much of I.he first plowing in that. community. the depression and many b[...] |
| [...]lived in the Willard community. They farmed the L.F.[...]mestead . There he met his wife. The family lived in the[...]who both came and homesteaded in 1909. She attended[...]ant very little money for extras. It meant living in[...]The Hansons lived in Glendive, Montana and Hettinger,[...]ssie Munday, They bought a garage business in 1946 in Baker and in 1949 cooks at O'Peechee Park near Ekalaka. 4 H C[...]Postmaster. Two sons were raised. Russell was in the Navy were anxious to get on his crew. A broth[...]Agri-business and came back to assist his father in Mrs. Anthony Schour and son, Harry, of St.[...]emakers Club and the out to help when illness was in a iamily. Mrs. Hansons health Lutheran Church[...]rs. Schour was her companion. in Seattle. They visited the Black Hills, Yellowstone Park, Hanson decided to move back to Minnesota in 1918 and went fishing in Minnesota and never missed a Fallon County with h[...]were taken to display. Marion's Marvin, was born in Minnesota. In 1928 the family came hand made crafts also served as pin money when sold in their back. They lived in the Willard community fanning and then cou[...]ith her and several day long hobby displays in Baker. Learning sister Mrs. Gussie Munday cooked[...]Civil Defense courses Mrs. Hanson passed on in 1939 and in 1941 Mr. Hanson were given at the Community[...]help. One time a young man came with his clothes in shreds in need of a phone. It took a day to find his car in the deep[...]bolts and a skunk came in behind. A young child had fallen[...]off a step. Her mother brought her in on a tractor and a rush[...]trip was made to the hospital. A little old lady in her 90's[...]My father, WiJliam (Bi!J ) Harris, was born in Cassel, Ontario, Canada in 1879. He moved to Wisconsin where he Harry H[...]met and married Pearl Kramer. They moved to Baker in 1910 came to the Webster community with his mother in 1916. He when my older brothers were small[...]ells. The first winter was hard on the Schorschs. In 1918 his mother and step father, Hans my[...]e cold Hanson, moved to Minnesota returning again in 1928 and and snow. One time she[...] |
| [...]ing Bill, who was quite as a communicator team in January 1943. We moved to small and trying to hel[...]rage, Alaska to begin communications training and in snow. With below zero temperature and a strong wi[...]have made it. My dad was working Alaska. In the next eighteen years we moved eight times to in Baker and could not make it home because of the d[...]various stations from Juneau to Nome and points in between. snow. He hauled mail and express for many years with a Some of the stations were in small villages and some were wagon or sled. Many[...]at the time we were living at that was a sad day in our house. We had them so long, they Moses Point in the Bering Sea where there was no school. The wer[...]the to last a year so they could be brought in by boat before the depot, and later down the stre[...]e over. Any fresh groceries that we got had to be in. flown in as it was the only means of transportation. Needl[...]hich was first located on Main In 1960 we moved back to Anchorage and stayed there Street next to the Baker Hotel and then in the building where for the next seven years,[...]e Dry Cleaning Shop is now located. They sold out in 1934 Roberta, the youngest of the four, graduated in 1966. In 1967, because of Aunt Lena's poor health. In 1936, my folks bought with all the girls grown and living in the "South 48" we the News Stand between Russell'[...]with FAA to and my mother ran it until her death in 1939. Washington D.C. and we[...]ly living just across the My childhood years in Baker were happy times, bicycle Potomac River from D.C. in Alexandria, Virginia at 19 East riding, sleigh rides, swimming in and skating on the Baker Myrtle Street. L[...]s, Chautauguas, picnics at Medicine Rocks, dances in the Legion Hall and the usual school activities.[...]as 12, my extra curricular activities were mostly in the music field · piano, MR. AND MRS. FRED HASTY band (in which I played the tuba) and Glee Club. Highlight[...]Fred Danial Hasty, my father, came to Montana in the Glendive, Montana, basketball games and etc.[...]from two to five loaded freight Lloyd. Don worked in the Keirle Garage and later for the wag[...]nty Mountain States Power Company. He passed away in 1967 in horses hitched to the front one. On ste[...]ms working there. The Washington, until his death in 1965. Bill is currently working horse camp wa[...]ek booster plant at Baker. Roger is driving truck in the men could get them untied from the[...]I. At one time Dad had an interest in a saloon and cafe in I attended school in Baker, elementary through high Lorraine and later in a livery stable. school. When I graduated from High School in 1938, I He homesteaded just east of where the M.D.U. power worked in the News Stand and as an usher in the Lake plant is now. His sister '[...]rt of his parents homestead is now Beauty School. In February of 1940 I was offered a job in a part of the Stanhope Addition to Baker. Two other sisters, Beauty Shop in Seward, Alaska . When I phoned to tell my[...], Frank, move I should make. He and Lloyd arrived in Billings the had a way-station southeas[...]only time I had any of Kingmont in the fall of 1907. Early in the spring of 190 , he misgivings about the trip[...]lady who made the trip and Victor, followed in a passenger train as soon as they from Seattle to[...]s my first trip on a ship and for homesteaded in the vicinity which became known as Fertile the ne[...]a crop seeded and fenced and made etc. 1 arrived in Seward on March 1, 1940. The Beauty Shop shelters for the stock . The grain wa cut with a reaper , then was on the ground floor of an apartment building ; small but tied in bundles by hand with straw that had been soaked in very clean and modern . I worked there until my marriage to water for ties , and then et in shocks. They hauled their fence Robert Lei[...] |
| [...]Hasty farm in the early 20's after the house had been rebuilt[...]in 1917.[...]was hired in the spring, I can remember seeing four plow[...]teams at once in our east field. Most of the green broncos[...]In 1916 the house burned. They started rebuilding in the Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hasty, 1914.[...]fall and the present house was finished in 1917.[...]was a lifetime member of the lOOF Lodge and In 1914, she returned to Montana and married[...] |
| The Fertile Prairie Community hall was built to the east W[...]Yellowstone busts through the mountains; built in one corner by the stove where they could sleep wh[...]. HEDGES written by Oliver G. Hedges in 1969 Back to the Powder R[...]My parents, Judd P. and Barba Boggs Hedges, lived in Ekalaka, Montana in 1888 when I was born on September[...]e fit. 28th of that year. My father was a dentist in Ekalaka but he did own some livestock. My first school was in a log cabin a[...]s up Russell Creek. Later I finished grade school in Ekalaka.[...]d four girls. As a child he lived with his family in several small towns in South Dakota., in Iowa and then back to South Dakota where in his early teens he worked for[...]In 1914 or 1915 Clarence came to Montana and took up[...]homestead in Fergus County. This land is still in the[...]panies there was no such place as Baker, Montana. In my early days I used to work large herds of cattl[...]e was the largest shipping point for range cattle in the United States. I rode for these large outfits[...]World War I. Shortly after returning from the war in 1919, I was employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railway, in the Police Department until I retired in 1953. I am now in the Harvest Home for old folks in Portland, Oregon. My health is gone. I took on too many cold winters in the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. I'll be 81 year[...]ilds her lair; where In 1917 when World War I started, Clarence enlisted in there's rattlesnakes and sagebrush, the Army and saw service in France. On his return from grey wol[...] |
| [...]agement of the business over to his son, Bernard. In 1968[...]t he lounge. In 1949 he and Ruth built the Heiser's[...]Apartments and in 1956 they built anot her t hree units onto[...]it. This was when the big oil boom was on in Baker and living[...]away in November of 1968. Clarenc[...]a time after the war he worked as a boiler |
| I received my elementary and high school education in located ten miles south of Willard an[...]rom Stockham and then attended Peru State College in Nebraska the Medicine Rocks. where I[...]gree. I received my A. M Degree In later years more land was added by buying or leas[...]rom Redfield. Anna later became Mrs. Art McClain. in 1933. I was Superintendent of the Baker Scho[...]school was completed and the new High School was in the process of being completed. I enjoyed my work in the education field. I was a school superintendent for 35 years. In 1961 we moved to Three Forks, Montana where I was Superintendent of Schools for nine years. I resigned in 1970 and since that time I have been in the Insurance work in Three Forks. I am a past president of the Ba[...]Bertha and Albert E. Watson did not homestead in Nebraska but they were stockmen. I, Marion, join[...]ney State Teacher's College at Kearney, Nebraska, in part of the house built in 1912 or 1913. order to become a teacher. We, Mr. Heftie, our daughter, Beverly and I, went to Baker in 1945 - Mr. Heftie had been asked to fill the posi[...]small white house, still remains. It was repaired in 1951 by Our neighbors in Baker were; Mrs. John Weinschrott. J.J . Staff. The big barn was built in 1916 and the big house Mr. and Mrs. Ed Lawler and Mr. and Mrs. L. Price (Bud). was built in 1917. Nels Nelson from Ekalaka was the We ha[...]later. Beverly was married in the Baker Community Church, which was our church preference when we were in Baker. Being a school administrator's wife f[...]19, 1974 of a tumor on the brain . She is buried in Nebraska. MR. AND MRS. ARNOLD HELD[...]Dakota on September 28, 1908. |
| [...]but attended seemed to go better and they stayed in Montana. school in Plevna. Some of their early neighbors were Mrs. Jones and her In 1926 Henry Hepperle and I were married at Plevna.[...]he Jollys and the Schneiders. Henry was born in the Ukrane of South Russia in February of In later years other neighbors were the Barbridges, the 1906. In October of 1923 he came to Plevna with his parent[...]and then a business man in Plevna for over a half century, Picnics were[...]amily lived through some very hard and the north. In the early years church services were sometimes dangerous years in Russia. Through World War I, then held at "The Ro[...]evism and then Communism. Arnold passed away in February 1950. Bessie has stayed Father[...]s a successful farmer and a big land with friends in Billings since 1962. o[...]sts. They had two daughters. One passed away in infancy Their home, being the largest in the village, was used as a and Irene teaches at P[...]worked in a paper mill.[...]died in childhood, Burnette who married Lawrence Liming o[...]Ames, Iowa; Dolores who married Stanley Erlenbush of[...]In 1940 we bought the Helgeson place north-east of[...]Baker - now the Ernest Lang place. Later in Baker Henry did[...]We are members of the First Baptist Church in Baker,[...]he son of Marie T. and William E. Hempel was born in 1937 in West Columbia, Texas. He grew up and acquired his[...]niversity where he received his B-BD degree. In 1969 Bob came to Baker as the minister for the Ba[...]does some painting Herbst, came to Montana in 1910, when Earnest was six and home decorating.[...]came to Montana in the fall of 1909, when Delilas was twenty-[...]aded and first lived on the south- I was born in Artis, South Dakota on May 12, 1908. My wes[...]lace." parents were John and Magdelina Krueg, who in the spring of Herman Korth and Fred Livingood[...]as two years old, came by train to Plevna, in emigrant cars on the Milwaukee Railroad from Siou[...]d. They located South Dakota. They landed in Westmore, Montana which[...] |
| [...]at that time. One was a stayed with a family in Westmore and attended school. ln store with livin[...]ee more miles south of him. brother-in-law. It was at Korth 's auction sale that Pete Ch[...]. The Korths bought a house in Ismay but having less to Korth put up a tent[...]was hauled with wagons to if they were in favor of getting a school. These people got where[...]ent about getting a rural school. The Korths In November Mrs. Livingood, Mrs. Korth and her little moved back to the farm and got a spot in the northeast corner girl arrived in Westmore. The families worked to get shelters[...]School was held in Jack Paul's shack the winter of 1917 and An[...]s. Four people laid claim to parcels of land in this section. After Thorsen proved up he rented h[...]as soon as he could. More homesteaders came, In the fall of 1909, Pete Herbst came to Plevna on t[...]erbst's house, 1914. The far right part was built in 1910. In the spring the Herbst family left Ipswich, South[...]. Pete had been a carpenter, barber, worked on an Iowa |
| [...]Red Wing" on the violin. She went to high school in Plevna. Her folks bought a new Four[...]By this time the grownups would take part in nail driving contests, foot races, Yellowstone Tr[...]had celebrations, too. Card parties were held in the dining Delilas would pick up Mildred Brummer[...]f people turned out for take her along to school. In 1928 Delilas was one of five to these. In winter people thought nothing of going with horses graduate in Plevna's first 4 year class.[...]omen and children would keep warm children stayed in Plevna with relatives and went to school. wi[...]kins. The girls and Joe attended high school in Plevna, as Pete Wedding anniversaries were always celebrated. For the Herbst was postmaster in Plevna from 1933 to 1953. special[...]place of flowers . There was as much fun in preparing the He thought that gathering eggs was fun especially if he "Mock Wedding" as there was in having it. found a nest in the barn inhabited by new kittens or[...]many fond sometimes he would find a bird 's nest in the corner of the memories to cherish because the families worked together barn with eggs in it. He would check each day for fear he a[...]ever they went. The younger children were wrapped in Both the Herbsts and Korths used headers to cut grain. blankets or covered with coats and pu[...]out which woman box . A box to stand on was built in front of the wagon box so fixed and decorated[...]nload the box. They thought this a quicker way to cut grain than with the binder. Then the combines cam[...]Stephens, from Oklahoma to Montana. They came in 1913 by[...]of Miles City. They built a very large half dugout and made[...]their gracious and happy home in it for over a quarter of a[...]Cheyenne Country in 1892. They made their home in a large[...]laying the first tracks from Dallas to Kansas City, Missouri. They lived in a dugout covered by a tent.[...]re called the Twin developed by Mrs. Nannie Korth in about 1916. Some of the Territories, and in 1907 joined together to become the state P eople[...]rritory and the and Herman Korth . D elilas Korth in front. Comanche Country the[...]ces were held at the school house usually someone in Indian Territory . Then my parents moved by[...]to the Comanche Country , and I was born there in 1906. Our someone would cord on the piano. When Charles Huber lived Oklahoma homes tead in the Wichita Mountains joined that on the Moire place, before the coal heater was set up in the of Bill and Addie Stephens. Grand[...] |
| [...]worked on the dam. (The place where McCone City was nearby.[...]) Charles Waddell married Willie Carpenter in 1914. They came by train to Montana and filed o[...]ed Ollie Hourigan and they came by train to Miles City and filed on a homestead that joined that of his brother, Charles, in 1915. Pauline Isaacs and family came by train in 1916. Their homestead joined that of her brother, George. They all stayed with Bill and Addie in the half dugout home until their log houses were bult. Charles and Willie lived in a dugout covered with a tent, but for only a few[...]her husband and two boys came by train to Miles City. Yancey finished the half dugout on Charles's homestead. He and the boys lived in it many years. Wesley and Eural were the boys.[...]ncle Helmer Herigstad home at McCone City, Montana, 1936. George's on June 3, 1918. That[...]olks bought a Half dugout and tent. McCone City is now under Fort Peck relinquishment from anoth[...]Their house had burned down and they were living in a half dugout that was built for the chicken hous[...]er, Melvin, was a victim of the flu Miles City, and were home ·at last. Helmer worked in the car epidemic. After that my mother had poor[...]waukee shops from that time until moved to Miles City in 1920. My father gave up his dream of illn[...]later. Teachers having a ranch, and went to work in the roundhouse at the were scarce, too, during the war. I taught in and near Miles Milwaukee shops. A few years later, my other brother, City. I was an office manager at the State Industrial[...]years near My sister, Antoinette, was born in Miles City in 1926, Ismay and the Fallon County line. I had many friends in that and I graduated from Custer County High Sch[...]rodeo at Bob Askin 's ranch, and took in the platform dance school on Pennel Creek north of Ismay, Montana in Custer that night. In Miles City I have taught in each of the County. I had attended summer normal school in 1925 and elementary schools, the high school, and the college. again in 1926 and earned the 24 co11ege credits that were[...]of the few who years, then worked part-time in the same office as deputy for passed them! I was[...]etired . One summer I helped the Carter anywhere in Montana. (By teaching regular terms and[...]n't get from Eastern Montana Co11ege at Billings in 1958. ) anyone else to take it. A[...]He built several houses at I've attended dances in many ranch homes, schoolhouses, various locations in Montana. I now have a small real estate community halls as in Westmore, Ismay, and Twin Buttes. bu[...]pe of business because of some of the dance hal1s in Miles City. My father, my brother, Lonnie, and hardships we lived through in dirt houses, tents , dugouts, many friends played for dances. I gave many dances in my and such when we were young. It di[...]schoolhouses. There were rodeos (called roundups in those when we carried in coal and wood, and carried out ashes and early days in Montana) and community picnics. Occasionally[...]ys had to be hauled or there was a church service in a home, a school, or a hall. carried ,[...]es that Helmer Herigstad and I were married in Sidney, we enjoyed after we had our home in Iiles City. Montana in 1935. I was teaching in the Midway Community Yes! I've[...]grandfathers , Waddell and Pittman, helped lived in it for many years. It is in use today as a garage. Texas win her independence from Mexico. The other two, In the spring of 1936 Helmer decided to quit farming[...]his place out, and we went to Fort Peck. We lived in a during the gold rush of 1849. They all survived and helped tent covered dugout in McCone City that summer, and he settle T[...] |
| [...]of westering merchants and Bailey. She was raised in San Francisco. They all live in promoters. Baker and its environs wa[...]ching elite, and even a My sister and family live in Reno, evada. corpora[...]tate It was a truly lively area in which to operate a bank highways. I never cease t[...]de it. in the world! Life has been wonderful, but I wo[...]n to the trails again. My first airplane ride was in a small plane build a nine hole golf cou[...]d during the roaring twenties. My most recent was in a jet from Pearl Lake and others in developing the new Christian Los Angeles to Monta[...]! Science Society (first meeting in the old Hubbard Hall and[...]niches in the school rooms and playgrounds of the old south[...]My father, Judson Hiscock, early rancher in the Ekalaka[...]area of then Custer County, first came to Montana in 1891[...]working for ranchers and the convent in Rosebud County. He was born in Adover, New Brunswick in 1868, of English[...]ancestors, who had settled in Maine over a century before.[...]He bought his first ranch on Otter Creek in 1895, sold in[...], and returned to Maine and New Brunswick working in[...]the woods. The next year he came back to Miles City and Herigstad family, 1969. Left to right, front[...]g and irrigate a piece of ground. All he business in the site of the old Baker State Bank.[...]two-handled scoop and L. K. Hills of Miles City was one of the executives who would do the job in his spare time. They laughed and headed up this h[...]t him fellow participant was L. E. Rushton. In no more than a day, and before the first snow, 39-year-old Kirk, born and raised in Michigan, but by now a true Montanan, made the 135 mile trek from Miles City to Baker through Terry, Mildred, Ismay, Plevna, v[...]o new a town. It was, perhaps, fifteen years old. In its short span of existence, this growth t[...] |
| [...]Mr. Bennett and a band of sheep from Mr. Hunter. In time he added to his holdings, built no less than six stock and irrigation dams, ran horses on Powder River in the days of roundups, and experienced the range w[...]One of my experiences teaching school in a one room[...]Jeanette Price drove me out in her father 's car to find the Judson Hisco[...]Missouri, one of four sisters who came to Montana in the grain. When I addressed him, I wa[...]nineties. Katherine married Henry Smith a Miles City my knees, red lip stick and bobbe[...]h it and a Jeweler, Mrs. Jack Taylor had a hotel in Ekalaka and Mary " flapper " of the tw[...]try, as it was late Custer County was divided---in the horse and buggy days. and no man teacher in sight. Mother, thanks to Dad's water suppl[...]on a hot summer day people came people in the community. It was one of the most interesting miles for ice. During the time of the economic disaster in the and challenging times of my life. Teach[...]ALBERT AND EVELYN B. HITCH interested in the R .C. Carters Co. along with Mr. Beasley and Albert Hitch had the first restaurant in Baker. It was in Frank and Charles Emerson. He became interested in Polled partnership with his cousin Mar[...]vived the terrible years of the was in connection with a saloon run by S.F . Way, and was drought. Finally he sold out in 1942, still full of vitality at 74, located dow[...]where the Corner Bar is and came to live near us in Dillon. Dad was a great story now. Th[...]tle on the way to market, such as Chicago, riding in the cheap rooming house for the teamste[...]would have a little game. One down in recent years. Mr. Hitch also had the first meat m[...]was asked ho_w he market of any kind in Baker. had slept. "Never slept a wink ; all those[...]Mrs. Albert (Evelyn B. Hitch) came to Baker in n' sixes. September 1909 and son Gerald was born in October of that My father died in 1957 in Dillon, and my brot~er, Gene, same year making him the first baby born in Baker. A in 1964. Mother is alive and well, watches th[...] |
| [...]MacLay and in the summer and fall of 1915 I worked for[...]miles south of Knowlton in the Pine Hills. When I left the[...]and became a good cow-horse in a very short time. I could go[...]d bought from the Jarrel Evelyn B. was active in Eastern Star, the Community horse outf[...]Bree's spread was me. The family came to Montana in 1912 by train, wagon and located. on foot[...]road when Don came to at the time. We homesteaded in 1915 in the Powder River a point in the road where he had to skirt a sort of hummock[...]it caused the sleigh to slip The first year in Montana was good and we had a fair sidew[...]was put to use. The sleigh After two months in the ninth grade, I dropped out of had to[...]re busy wi:;h school and went to work with my dad in the woods. In the that, Albert La Bree came along on his saddle horse. He winter we sawed logs, and in the spring and summer we wanted to know what we "dam fools" were doing out in this peeled bark from the Hemlock trees for leath[...]ea how Rhinelander, Wisconsin, at Bozeman College in 1920 and cold it was. He said it was[...]was 25 below and believe me that cooled us off in a hurry. Mr During the depression years I li[...]time. Our social life in Montana was scarce as there were very In 1971 I made trip back to Montana and looked up fe[...]Protestant but had no church Lamberts in Baker and the Adam MacLays at Miles City. near. My first real thrill came after my d[...]and Emma Fredrika (Fendeis) Hogeboom , was born in the early spring breakup of the ice. The water le[...]oneer stock as his grandparents had migrated from in the trees higher up along the banks. The stream was still Wisconsin in 1883 to the Hillsdale Township, Faulk Coun[...] |
| [...]Alpha and is listed in the Who's Who in the West.[...]My father, Harry Hoke, came out to this country in[...]Westmore. In the fall they went back to Boone Iowa. The[...]there were nothing but trails in those days. An Indian Dr. Clayton[...]Squaw, who had gone to the Carlyle Indian School in Pa., got[...]farm. He played, did the chores, hunted, worked in the fields, made fences, helped roundup and move[...]school and attended some high school at Rockham. In 1921 he graduated from the Redfield High School[...]th Dakota. Clayton 's record of achievements in collee:e and Medical School is quite impressive.[...]cum Laude · from the University of South Dakota in 1925, his B.S. Degree ·cum Laude· in 1926 and graduated from the Rush Medical College in 1929 • Alpha Omega Alpha.[...]s internship at the Washington Boulevard Hospital in 1928 · 1929 and an internship at the Durand Contagious Disease Hospital in 1928. Mr, Yeager[...]shelter and dig wells. They Borgers were married in Chicago, Illinois. needed a wheelbarrow, and the little Maxwell broke down , so In April of 1936 Dr. and Mrs. Hogeboom shipped their[...]hole seven miles. Later he bought a team and fair city.[...]ecame better. Dr. Hogeboom found the climate in this vicinity not very They lived in a tent most of the summer un t il the house diffe[...], then the horse barn was built and fencing done. in getting his practice established which he attribu[...]ns. loss in cattle and had to haul around 120 loads of straw[...]e a bit of farming on some of practicing medicine in Baker. Over the years he has had an the pla[...]s a member of the Baker Chamber of school in 30 or 40 below weather, we would have to g[...] |
| [...]Roman Riding. In the spring, in March, we opened in the Coliseum in Chicago after one rehearsal. Everything clicked![...]There were over 100 people in this circus. They had a groom[...]beautiful draft horses to pull the wagons in the parade. The[...]in the bedroom where you dressed. E ach act had its[...]d I don't know as my brother and I never did stay in town whenever a bad storm was on and we went to s[...]ruck a lot of the Western States. I discovered it in a yearling on the way to school about 1 1/ 2 mile[...]e. When nothing happened to the hogs we were back in the cattle business again. As I grew older[...]There were two large horse barns with 140 stalls in each, an elephant barn and about 30 elephants. Th[...]gh their routines and training during the winter. In the Horse Ring Barn we put th rough[...] |
| [...]th of June and came back home to Montana. I rode in rodeos at Ollie, Wolfpoint and several[...]his grandfather, other places. That fall I played in the Dakotas with George Harry, brought his p[...]Miami wife Mary Redell Hoke were both born in Pennsylvania in Rodeo, I joined a rodeo. At first we put on one or two shows a 1844 and both died in 1916, Mary in August and Hiram in week for Curtis and Rizler at Apolocha, as they built November. They are both buried in the cemetery at Apolocha and Hialeah to start with. In the spring we played Westmore, Montana. the[...]loin beef steak that day. After that we were in fairs again. They were all weekly fairs and large[...]balls thrown from a running horse up ahead. I was in this circuit for two years . In August we played a fair at Pocomoke City, Maryland. There I married Agnes Maser who was with the Rodeo, also. We left and played rodeos in Kentucky, Ohio, ebraska and Mr[...]'s ranch but by the next spring I had a bad disc in my back and was unable to ride for two years, so[...]by Wanda Holbrook Geving trapped in the winter and worked for the M.D.U. for two[...]Forsyth, Montana and worked as a 1879 in Forest City, Iowa and Jesse Leon Holbrook, born mechanic and body man at the Teepee Garage. I worked there May 24, 1879 in Albert Lea, Freeborn , Minnesota. They were for 6[...]h the Army married February 13, 1902 in Albert Lea. Soon after they engineers. We went to[...]a and were married they moved to Waterloo, Iowa and my father Southern Yukon Territory to survey[...]ership contracting paint jobs. to Forsyth to work in the garage again. In the spring I went I was born September 28, 1903 in Waterloo, Iowa and to Gooding, Idaho where I ran a Body Shop for[...]my sister, Mona, was born February 13, 1905. In the fall of 45 , right after the War, I came back[...]he fall of 1911 my folks decided to go some place in the Montana and bought Dad 's ranch and ranched u[...]lked about a t hen sold out and built a Body Shop in Plevna. ow I have homestead for so long th[...]elling the my home there, but I spend the winters in Old Mexico as I furniture . Dad was surpri[...]p a homestead . Mother, Mona and I went to Forest City.[...] |
| Iowa to live with my mother's sister while Dad was gon[...]tana to visit with some friends who used to live in Waterloo. They were a couple who would settle pe[...]tle there which he decided to do. He came back to Iowa where we were and stayed for a while. Then he ca[...]Mrs. Jesse Holbrook in front of homestead cabin, 1915.[...]my parent's pictures in it. Wanda Holbrook in Montana, 1914.[...]tractor and Jesse Holbrook on drill driving |
| [...]her. Dad came home late as the storm had kept him in town. We didn't get much sleep that night, but we[...]it was fun. It would not be daylight when we left in the morning and would be dark when we got home. W[...]ld, we moved into Plevna and went to town school. In the spring when it warmed up we moved back on the farm. Our school in town was a one room building and our teacher was[...]19 · A t the Holbrook 's. Back ro w: Wanda In 1914 we had our own school. The men of the[...]everyone else was, so one summer Dad went back to Iowa to work for a while. The folks through fine. Then we all pulled the wagon across. You know in Iowa thought we should move back there, but we childre[...]idn't want to and neither did Mother. We liked it in our little Mona and I were ready for high school the fall of 1920, so home in Montana. Our relatives thought we were crazy to[...]started school there. There were not want to live in a bleak country like they thought Montana[...]yer, the principal, Miss We had made friends in Plevna such as the Lunds, the Knox and[...]when I went into Weinschrotts, and the Kearneys. In the summer when the high school and[...]er another day. That was quite a few people to be in our small one room home. Dad put up a large tent and he and Mother and some of us children slept in the tent. We turned the house over to the company[...]ugh the years. There were lots of good times in our school. We had ice cream socials, box socials[...]lways had large crowds . We had lots of love in our home, very little money, but our parents were[...]and make the clothes over for us. She took pride in what she made for us and we were proud to wear th[...]school parties and we had a girls School. It was in the winter and there were eight of us in a basketball team. We played several towns[...]cross. It was full of snow as there was no water in it much . that time of year. We knew th[...] |
| [...]Al~ert Ge~ing family picture, Wanda and A lbert in front Albert Geving, Wanda Holbrook wedding - 1923 - on the Bob Children in back: left to right, Charles, twins B essie and Rose farm in the Coal Springs area. Left to right Mr. and[...]Hulda Marie (Johnson) Hooker was born in Sweden Four generations: Jesse Holbrook, Wanda Ho[...]Cox. United States in 1889, first to Chicago, Ill. In 1897, after the[...]and homesteaded near Miles City. In March 1939 Mother passed away. It happened so fas[...]sick of a cerebral hemorage. ranched 27 years in the Jordan area, where their five children Father[...]k into his own home and ate east of Miles City. In 1935 they moved to the old Vincellett his meals w[...]ranches in the country but was a very pretty place to Uve. I[...]ild flowers like roses, sweet peas, tiger lilies, in August of 1940.[...] |
| While living in this vicinity they were members of the Aug[...]Baker Community Church and Mrs. Hooker was active in the which had been left by people who di[...]sterilized and put to good use at canning and In 1944 they sold their ranch to Harold Wyrick and[...]deaths. Mrs. Lynn Householder was born in September 1928 at Hooker died in 1957 and Mr. Hooker in 1961. Ismay. He attended a[...]are Lavender, is at wagon to the school in Ismay. present living at Baker where she is Home[...]In 1955, Lynn married Doris orth at, Baker and they[...]rk Householder came to Montana for the first time in 1909. He went to Miles City where he worked in the roundhouse of the railroad. He tired of that and caught a freight train to Dakota. In 1911 Park came to the Fallon County country in an emigrant car with his father, a brother and wife and her folks, the Tom Wests. In 1915 he met Augusta Bluske at a community social. They discovered that they had something in common as she was from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, a town near Park's old home. In 1916 he went to Wisconsin and they were married.[...]Park used to recall that the first year he was in this country, he was getting ready to go to a dan[...]p had been through the country and had walked off in his shoes! Perhaps his need had been greater. In about 1917 some friends of Augusta's, named elson[...]ly trusted this newly found friend . Years later, in ancestery on February 9, 1889. My father having[...]to be brought ancy Coutts. I was the fourth in a family of six girls and one into the house in 1928. Park stated later that the faucet boy, being born in Rock Valley, Iowa. My elementary should have come up in the center of the dining room table. education was in Rock Valley. We then moved to ioux Falls, Ha![...]being to become a school teacher. livery barn in Ismay; butchering hens for the May Butcher[...]ery store. These bought their supplies. Ten in a fine buggy pulled by a horse named ellie. I rec[...]o ride with their livestock, so this two weeks in ovember making my wedding clothes at my became the trip east to visit relatives in Wisconsin . sister annie's (Mrs. Herma[...]Gardens were planted and jars were filled. Iowa. This is close to the Missis ippi River .[...] |
| [...]ey was the only one to marry. dances in the living room. We would take the furniture out[...]Falls. One of our children, Gladys, was born here in 1916. chorded on the organ for John Howe (on[...]ordians). Charley Falls which now is all built up in swell houses. called the square da[...]held in other homes and school houses. In those days you[...]In the winter we would pack a bob sled with hay, war[...]school in Plevna, staying with my sister, Nannie Korth,[...]In the spring of 1924 the Springdale Extension[...]members each. In 1929 the three clubs went together as so One month after Gladys was born, in April, we moved by many members had moved away[...]rain to the Plevna area and worked for my brother-in-law of us left, so we called it the 3 in 1 Club and I am the only and sister, Herman and a[...]ft out of the three clubs. A year from this In October 1917, Uttle Elizabeth, age three years an[...]be went to Ismay after Doctor Carey. he is buried in the cemetery west of Plevna. In 1918 we borrowed 1600.00 to buy enough farm imple[...]couple of years, then we rented the Plath place. In 191 we bought our first auto, with curtains on th[...]y to ioux Falls and worked for friends, returning in the spring to the Plath place to continue our farming. In 1921 we moved to the Moore place, seven miles nor[...]3 in 1 Club - 1965. Taken at the Ed Rieger home. Left[...]moved Plevna, Montana -July 4, 1915- Sack race in progress back to Plevna and worke[...] |
| Evelyn married Willard Malcom in 1937 and they have Don 't tell fo[...]ead . Lynnda and James. Willard was born at Miles City, Mont ana in 1911. His folks , Jim and Althea Malcom moved to[...]ry. Willard has five Just pin one in my bu tton hole; sisters and one brother, Russell[...], at Walkins. Gladys married Pat Murray and lives in Savage, Instead of when I 'm safe[...]Curt. They live at Missoula and Curt who is 17 is in the Navy. Kenneth married Eva Jane Owen of Baker.[...]ed at girls, Marsha and Debbie. Kenneth enlis ted in the Air Force Fargo, Nort h Dakota when I was born on August 9, 1903. In in 1942 and flew all over England, Germany and Franc[...]took up a homestead near there. They had as Bulge in Belgium and for the Cherbourg Invasion in France. neighbors t he Ferguson , the Stark, t he Hartse, the Bowen Kenneth was killed in an airplane accident near Miles City, and McKann families. Montana March 12,[...]socials, and Fourt h of July Celebrat ions coming in the spring.[...]I m arried Carol Evelyn Stark in her mot her 's home in[...]custodian at the Washington School in Baker and drove the[...]ool Bus for four years. I am now retired and live in[...]community. In the spring of 1915 brothers George and Henry Charley and I bought a house in 1946 in Pievna and lived Huether and families arrived in Plevna, Montana with their there twenty years, th[...]The Fallon County Senior Citizens was organized in the agency at Plevna they had previously pur[...]ay. The day (which happens very seldom in this country) and this wa Reverend Barnard of the[...]world . In spite of drought and cold winters, when the snow[...]ey was Catholic and our children progressed. In 191 a son, Albert, was born on May 2nd. are all C[...]enry and sewing, crocheting and best be expressed in this poem. tatti[...]Another memorable time was being in partnership with I may be better off t[...] |
| This was in 1918 and the only one in that community. Only to Katie Heuthe[...]ppreciate the excitement of 1973. She lives in her home part time and with her daughters it which Henry loved to talk about. Years later, in the during the winter months. thirtie[...]students at Baker and living at home. the cooking in these instances. Threshing period was usually[...]eather permitting Dakota, and they live in Missoula, Montana. They have four same.[...]Neighbors were dependent upon each other both in work Helen Kay (Mrs. Paul Hecht) of Tiburon, California; and in social life. Some of the close neighbors were Geo[...]hood gatherings. Often worship services were held in Dennis of Baker; Beverly (Mrs. Lyle Neary)[...]d live at Baker. The children are; Kay (Mrs. In the winter months neighbors would go visiting at[...]ctors, cars and trucks finally became more common in the neighborhood. However because of heavy snow a[...]batteries were taken out of the cars and stored , in the wintertime, to prevent them from freezing. In the spring the batteries were replaced in the car MINNIE E. IDEKER[...]I was born in Creighton, Knox County, Nebraska July In 1934 , the Montana Children's Home brought a new[...]fifth of eight children. I attended grade school in Nebraka home. His name was Russell Thomas. Russel[...]I came to Baker in 1911 and lived on the Findlater place friend of his in 1946. The Plevna Bank closing its doors in[...]vna community, as many had all their life savings in it, however in 1940 the bank with my sister Lavina Cox. I we[...]en on the weekends I would ride horseback to In 1935 Henry became part owner of the Plevna Ford[...]were good and I Gardens were alway s a must in the country, and in the attended all their dances. I taught other rural schools and fall " Water Melon Raids" were th e In Thing. Usually a gang then I married John[...]e present Nichols ranch as a bride. annual caller in t he fall was the Chicken Thief. One could hear[...]way by Harvey and Grace. shot gun blasts in the air which caused them to lose the In the spring of 1919 the little Williams girl started after chickens while on the run . Dogs played a big part in the cattle and wandered off and got lost. A spring storm came up. average home, too. Salesmen, in those days, were very The alarm was[...]dogs orders and the was found dead in the buttes by the Howell place. The little salesm[...]vited to eat with the family when calling. in ovember of 1923. I remained on the homestead, ren[...]Chris Ideker and I were married in 1927. T wo children The home place was sold to Walter Huether in 1951 and were born to this union, Dick and Mary Ann. The Prairie the Sandon Farm and Ranch on the Big Hill, where[...]heir grade school Henry Huether passed away in April 1959. He and Katie education t here. All the children graduated from the Baker were living in Baker at t he tim e. Their next door neighbor,[...]girlhood friend of and son Jim . Katie's in E ureka, South Da kota. I reside in Baker.[...] |
| [...]nesota, on Morris and his family in their Overland Car. Our mode of September 10, 190[...]or many years. Dances were came to this vicinity. In 1914 we arrived here by train and often held in the Morris home. It was a sod house ingeniously s[...]darkened and Mr. Berry, dressed in outlandish clothing sat[...]warm and cozy in the winter and very sunny in the summer.[...]Christmas cactus which bloomed in all it's glory at Christmas[...]were unable to get to Sunday school in town. The Hart vig H elgeson family in front of their home. Left to |
| [...]The I was born on March 8, 1900 at Exira, Iowa to Mr. and youngest child was Norman age one year. Children in the Mrs. Peter Jacobsen. When I was eleven yerars old in family were Jake, Sophie, Jona and N[...]es at Ismay, wagon to a homestead on Cabin Creek in Montana. Our Montana and had them l[...]ich was 1 1/2 miles from the homestead. children in our family. Lora, the youngest one, was the only[...]d a platform to load the hor<:es on the one born in Montana.[...]ir cabin was a large room with curtains built by in Plevna and the school house. Mother stayed on the[...]kmg. We had a cow and some Fertile Prairie Hall was across the road from the chickens and four horses . We only farmed a little bit and cut homestead where dances and church services were held. Ben prairie hay. Our barn and chicken house were made of sod.[...]of cottontails, jack Esther, married Frank Yonash in 1918 and they lived .in rabbits and sage hens those first year[...]d a beautiful daughter born to loan on the place in 1916 and moved back to Minnesota where them who lived only a short while. Henry was serving in the she ran a roommg and boarding house with my h[...]e The mortgage was foreclosed and we stayed in married again and raised 4 sons. He worked for the railroad in Minnesota. I went back from time to time to work[...]retired and lives with wife, hand . I met my wife in Montana in 1930 when she was Edna, at Seattle.[...]y were small- 10,8 and 2. Tom remarried and lives in Peter, was born in Westmore, Montana. Thmgs didn't Or[...]ed. I took what work I could get until I got work in Dakota. He worked for the Jackson Hardware f[...]Colleen all married and have children living in the Los[...]Sophie married Kenneth aylor. She lived in Lewistown[...]own several Auto Parts stores in Montana. Their son,[...]minister and now lives in Oregon.[...]many ranches in Montana.[...]Bernt and Mina Jacobson moved away from Baker in[...]with a partnership. They lived in a small cabin west of his[...]homestead . Jake Jacobson in front of his mail truck which ran between[...]der, is on the running board. He was later killed in a ranchers . They had a cook car where the hel[...]second son, Walter, was born in the cook car. He lived about[...]omestead. Bernt C. Jacobson was a seaman born in Norway in 1866 Jake took over the mail route from E[...]of 21 years. He later moved to Baker and in 1918 left for Aberdeen, South married Mma Graft also from Norway. They settled in Dakota. He was a teamster for the C[...]g Co. Then Madison, Minnesota where they farmed . In 1907 they came in 1930 he moved to Sioux Falls where he was employe[...]the Sioux Valley Hospital as Steamheat Engineer. In 1936[...] |
| [...], branding bees and ounty Fair . They took part in all neighborhood activities and church affairs at[...]and often vi ited and entertained friends. In later years, as age advanced, they began spending winter in Miles City and finaJJy after a few years, they sold the place and retired to their hometown in Wisconsin. either wa in very robust health and they were among relatives there. Mr . Jenner pa sed away rather uddenly in 1969, and r. Jenner continued living on in their home there until the Jesfield twi[...]( teensland) J field. He came to the United tates in 1 93 and worked near Canton and Winona, u[...]n rvold on March 13, 190 . Chri tin wa born in Hjelmeland tavanger, orway on January 13, 1 83. he came to the United tate in 1903. The Jesfield had four children; Minnie, B n[...]ics were held, 1926. Christine and Austine. In 1912 they moved to Fergu FalJ , innesota and in arch of 191 they moved to Ollie, Montana where[...]MARY J LI JE PER 0 ranched until 1951. They lived in Baker until 1952 when they any ye[...]o them on ugust 24, 1 3. he gr w to ight ing in the Black Hills .[...]hter and th r , and was later employed in the grocery store busin , son-in-law Austine and Henning teen . Austin[...]her to "get out and rough They were preceded in death by a daughter Christin it ''. o she came to Montana in 1914, by train, and then by Mengel who pas[...] |
| [...], branding bees and County Fairs. They took part in all neighborhood activities and church affairs a[...]and often visited and entertained friends. In later years, as age advanced, they began spending winters in Miles City and finally after a few years, they sold the place and retired to their hometown in Wisconsin. Neither was in very robust health and they were among relatives there. Mrs. Jenner passed away rather suddenly in 1969, and Mr. Jenner continued living on in their home there until the Jesfield twins, A[...]teensland) Jesfield. He came to the United States in 1893 and worked near Canton and Winona, South Dak[...]ervold on March 13, 1908. Christine was born in Hjelmeland Stavanger, Norway on January 13, 1883. She came to the United States in 1903. The Jesfields had four children; Minnie, Be[...]ics were held, 1926. Christine and Austine. In 1912 they moved to Fergus Falls, Minnesota and in March of 1918 they moved to Ollie, Montana where[...]ARY JULIA JESPER 0 ranched until 1951. They lived in Baker until 1952 when they Many years[...]them on August 24, 1883. She grew to sight seeing in the Black Hills.[...]aughter and there, and was later employed in the grocery store business, son-in-law Austine and Henning Steen. Austin died[...]her to "get out and rough They were preceded in death by a daughter Christine it". So she came to Montana in 1914, by train, and then by Mengel who pas[...] |
| [...]to "rough it", and among other things, she slept in a tent for several years during the[...]nourished albeit there were times when money was in rather low supply, when came the years with low prices for their In 1957, they left the homestead and moved into Bake[...]Emily Ella, who Jesperson continued to live in their home in town. he wa a passed away as a small girl in 1927. member of St.[...]Soper families. They attended a rodeo at Willard in 1917 in Bonnievale Cemetery. Her son, WilUam and w[...] |
| [...]n after it. It was a two although born Dec. 1918 in Iowa, has lived all his life at the day trek and p[...]ace his father homesteaded east of Baker, Montana in not only rained, but hailed enroute.[...]ly to discover that the hail had 'touched school in Baker. In 1947 he married Lillian Klouda of do[...]den, Dan Phillips. minimum of a mile and a half. In winter time a horse drawn Several other neighbors were somewhat farther away. sled could be used or in very rare instances an automobile. In 1912 he was married to Miss Johanna Anderson at[...]ed necessity. Good times were had at the Fertile Prairie Hall stock. During the years they had thr[...]sons still Highway 12) which is still standing (in 1973). Whist parties, have the original home[...]this The babies and younger children were placed in a loft-like vicinity . Eight miles is qu[...]d wood, but Henry stated that their biggest In the hard days of the drought and depression, his[...]se not too far from home. worked and later served in World War IL A younger brother, Later, h[...]s into town again for High School and, Louis, was in school at the time, and later he too served in the again, the transportation problem had to b[...]back door, Refuges. He then returned to Baker in 1943, where he was a ride in the badlands to see the deer and antelope. The ri[...]oyed as a buHding contractor until his retirement in grain being combined and hay being cut for winter feed , wild 1960. berries ready t[...]s are all happy Mrs. Jensen preceded him in death in 1949 and the eldest remembrances. son, Earl in 1958. Henry passed away on Nov. 5th, 1972. H[...]e and a Charter Member of O'Fallon Historical the City-County Planning Board and the O'Fallon Historical[...]ere are 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren in[...]son, .D . where he had an uncle living, and then, in 1910, he decided to hit still farther west. So, in the company with his brother, Walter, and a frie[...]les northeast of Baker and built a one-room shack in which the three young men batched it the f[...] |
| [...]tory telling gentleman by the name of (killed in World War II), Irene Wiman, Monte Sipma, Bull Joh[...]daughters and during school years his wife lived in with the assistance of Mrs. Katie Clark.[...]spent playing together, especially in old vacated homestead[...]licent Roy Johnson was born October 22, 1891 in Freeborn Clark furnished the music for[...]ey Creek School and other social gatherings. In 1899 he moved with his parents to Hartland, orth[...]Community dinners were held almost every Sunday in Dakota where he grew up and received his schoolin[...]e summer at the Webster Hall with a baseball game in the He came to Baker, Montana in the spring of 1913 and afternoon. Among t[...]s. D.K. Rice was at the Webster tore were married in Miles City, Montana in December, 1913. and Post Office at the[...]Twifords, the Varners and two children in the flu epidimic of 1918, had two of the and the[...]first trucks in the community and we would all pile in the Roy and the family moved from the Chapma[...]remember one time coming home from a ball game in an old when they moved to the former Mann place.[...]In the winter we traveled by team and sled. Twenty[...]decided to go for a swim. We left our clothes in the wagon.[...]old Hattie Johnson passed away in June of 1953 and Roy homestead.[...]Johnson , by then retired and Jiving in Baker, passed away in[...] |
| ovember of 1970. His farm holdings are still in the family as they are now owned by Merle and Joy[...]garet (Maggie) Hoonsbeen was born on February 27, in the winter of 1919 and several horses died.[...]ath of her husband she continued to make her home in[...]children; Lloyd, Bernice and Arthur. Arthur died in infancy. Their first home was in Hixton, Wisconsin along the banks of the Trempea[...]e a barber shop, pool hall and meat market. In 1908 Bert B. Jones came, with the first homestead[...]en they moved to Los Angeles, California. He died in California on July 19, 1955. Albert (Bert) Jones was skilled in several trades, among them barbering, butchering,[...]s and watches, cobbling shoes and was a carpenter in Los Anleles. His hobby later in life was the knitting of miniature articles, and he took great pride in his baked beans.[...] |
| [...]ty, Wisconsin and died on March 26, 1951 at Miles City, additional wide open spaces to be explor[...]the family missed the big orchards we had in Wisconsin and the hazel farm south of Sechlervill[...]black walnuts and butternuts we had been able to in the logging camps near Spokane, Washington and Sa[...]rdes of Creek, Custer County, Montana. He engaged in grain hungry mosquitoes. farming[...]half of the section had been homesteaded by Mrs. in 1886 in Wisconsin. His parents were George Stoltz and[...]e Hoffman who after her husband and daughter died in Juliette Letson. He homesteaded 320 acres in Fallon County, Wisconsin came, at the age of 65, to take a claim in Montana, Montana. This land was the north half of[...]going by and tried to have them I was born in a log cabin on a farm near Viroqua, s[...]a bit of visiting or maybe to help her Wisconsin in the last year of the "Gay Nineties". I have no[...]and later the Fred Isaak family, who Early in the year of 1912 my father decided to go west to[...]file on a homestead . My brother , Hugh, brother-in-law, see. Forrest Munyon (Flossie's hu[...]er, Frank Munyon and two other young men followed in an emigrant Mina ofholz was th[...]he Pennel Creek or car arriving at Ismay, Montana in April 1912. Frank Munyon Riley school. F[...]de a horse from her had already filed on a claim in Lame Jones country claim to the s[...]tting about 30 miles from the one my father chose in the Pennel there early enough in cold weather to have the school room Creek distri[...]yrtle Munyon), Lola, Victor and I went to Montana in well liked by children, parents and neighbors. May. Ada stayed with our great-aunt in Wisconsin. I was the firs[...]help her with some of the lower cla es. In return she would years old, had been very busy bu[...]it. didn't. was a hard worker and a firm believer in the rest of us helping seem likely that I wou[...]njoyed school so this arrangement plea ed me very in Montana was dropping seed potatoes in a newly plowed much. It was also bene[...]of school for two year some Thinking of it in later years, I realized that moving to a representatives of the Westmore chool canva sed our homestead in Montana was not a pleasant experience for[...]lars would attend their high Mother. She had been in poor health for a number of years schoo[...]e her. The first summer and fall most of us slept in a tent which chool was a two year accredited in titution. Thr others was almost as large as the h[...]hool that fall. had to move into the house. Space in the house was very They were Arthur C[...]limited until a new three bedroom house was built in 1918. also went on horseback but travele[...]orized, barrels with water from the well, put lye in it, let it stand were learned while riding.[...]with it's legend of a "Wild carried to the house. In those days we couldn 't go to a store[...] |
| [...]Three in the class graduated in 1920, the first and only 4 year[...]Saturdays when in my senior year. Banking hours were[...]different in those days, at least in Westmore. When Mr.[...]lberg moved elsewhere the next summer I was alone in the[...]City Bank came to stay for two or three days at a time[...]In November 1920 the teacher of the Lundis School, l[...]he Premo attending Normal School at Miles City. Hotel and Restaurant and worked for my board. Mr[...]I made inquiries about the owners onJy four left in the class. Helen Riley dropped out to begin[...]n from the East had leased the land, teaching, so in May, 1920 Lloyd, Bernice and I were the only[...]My father still spent part of the time in Westmore. He ran the livery barn in Westmore and also farmed the still[...]nd two small girls came A branch of the Miles City Bank had opened in to stay at father 's place until[...]again at the Durheim Helberg. I was offered work in the bank after school and on School[...] |
| [...]rried December 27, 1922 by Mr. Landis at his home in Baker. Lloyd 's father had gone to the west coast[...]Lloyd's sister, Bernice, married Gale Cooper in June 1923. Their first home was on Aunt Kate Hoffman's claim. In December 1923 my sister , Ada, married Ira Cooper[...]ek and were there until t hey moved to Washington in 1934. Pennel Creek B aseball team. Front row:[...]Hugh Lieurance, Ed Eichman and Paul Stoltz. In the fall of 1923 a young man who had been hired t[...]EMMETT AND MABEL [HU TERI JORDAN |
| [...]went to Roy, Montana in the Judith Basin, in the spring of[...]retiring in 1958. Then came back to Miles City to live in 1960,[...]passed away November 10, 1969. Both are buried in Calvary Cemetery at Miles City. First home of Emmett and Mabel Jordan on O'F[...]h of Ismay. The log He came to the Ismay Country in 1905 and worked for Emmett and Mabel Jordan on[...]Jordan hauling pipe for the gas line out of Ismay in the |
| where they moved in 1915 is the present home of Ray Cooper. home[...]ana, and attended college at Marquette University in destroyed by fire and the Jordan 's moved to the western end Wisconsin where I earned my degree in Dentistry in 1928. of Ismay, where they lived for many years.[...]to Baker Montana where Emmett was deputy sheriff in Custer County and also carried I worked with[...]d Sacred Heart Academy dentist. at Miles City through the grades. She attended St. Martin's As a boy my best recreation was taking part in any type Academy along with three of her brothers[...]own spending money. I have always been interested in[...]Four of the Jordan's sons served their country in World tried to help in the promotion of all types of recreation for War II; Matt in the Navy and Mike Dave and Charles in the young people. Army.[...]goll and since my retirement and since living in Kalispell, I was born in Briggsville, Wisconsin in 1906 to Thomas Montana, I try to take time and play more often. and Eileen Joyce. In 1910, when I was four years old, my In 1940 Phyllis elson and I were married[...] |
| [...]names of the four in question are; Oscar Bergan, myself Phyllis a[...]Bergan. Bozeman where she got her degree in Home Economics. After Among the stockmen who had lived in this community graduating from college s he went to Baker in the fall of 1939, for years, I will mention[...]s or homesteaders near by was daughter Stephanie, in Miles City. Fred Fletcher[...]of Webster, Montana. owned the Watt's Drug Store in Baker. They had one The s[...]dys snowy winter that started early in November of 1910 when Turner, lived with them and[...]Carter. While working in the Assessor's Office, I married[...], 1939. HE RYJUVE |
| had been sending the local news paper to us in Russia. At first This time when I re[...]yes to me. So we pla nned reached Eureka, S . D. in 1905. t o[...]drilling wells, but I didn 't want to stay there in Dakota. Elizabeth and I reached our[...]ou t by " Free Land " was being advertised in Montana . I freight. John Wenz ha[...]ry now and then he would bring u s a load of coal in father, John and Andrew Wenz, Fred and John Aller[...]Shreve A terrible blizzard came in March with lots and lots of ranch was (Herb Strau[...]Later in March I went back to E ureka to get some of t he W e all stayed that night in a building, the Green Dragon things I need[...]lot of m en laying sacks of wheat. My in-laws gave us a brood sow, 3 bred cows around. It[...]to go out. I could pay later , which I did in 1912. We bought corn and The Railroad Co. was bringing in rocks t o re-inforce the dam. fla x out h[...]on t he east Elizabeth put t he corn seed in as I made the furrows. half of Section 14 and fil[...]hole I 'd dig another one close to it and in time the water on it.[...]a long time. I dug two or three B ack hom e in Dakota my future in-laws and my folks wells. I dug a well[...]homestead. t ried to discourage me from settling in Montana--ooooh Mama moved t he dir[...]ever. One Sunday, you know, I went down in the hole. It was harvest t here, I came to look it over. Again in October I came a 4ft. x 4ft. hole. And whe[...]nd me. I could have It was nothing to walk for us in those days. When we got died down t[...]sheared by hand in those days. They ate the grass down to[...]cut that green . I did a couple times, but the mice w[...]remember Ma had the hens setting right in the corner of the[...]chicken coop. She would come in with the little chicken in[...]J bujlt a big sod building before I seeded in the s pring.[...]with force - it was so tough. Then you laid it in place for the J ohn Karch, Sr[...] |
| [...]they hadn't had anything to eat yet. It was 10:00 in the here. Then I covered that with more sod. Sometimes it rained morning. I went in and told Mama about it. We had some in there, but not much. Warm · it was so warm in the winter chickens and in no time butchered a couple. By one o'clock we ti[...]). I to buy wire. My letter to my Dad and father-in-law asking for asked him for $10.00 He hesi[...]ed 5 bu. of wheat to the acre. I saved it yet was in good shape. I went to Baker to see the butcher[...]any more, but I broke up another we put her in it when we went visiting. I built a sled that 5 acres in June. I let what wasn 't seeded lay idle for the rest could be hitched to the team to go in. One morning when we of the year. went visiting in the sled the ground was white, but when we[...]ome there was no snow. all over the place. Except in the cropland · it was fenced. Then Mor[...]he tried to drive them off his seeded wheat in the ground I left idle the summer before. place t[...]brought 10 bu. to the acre. There was pretty good in the creek. So I went to town · to Prices. I had[...]ght I sat on the had the livery barn in Baker · had shipped in some winter southwest hill and watched aJJ night.[...]decided to try it, so bought 5 bushels. I didn't in the dark but before daylight came they started to[...]it. I know. So I was sitting there all night and in the morning I brought the wagon home behi[...]h a Nov. 1, 1911. Now we put Betty and John in the buggy when big rifle ridig on a saddle horse[...]quarter mile away. His wife, (Livingston' s) was in camp cooking and she looked up and saw him. She p[...]by shooting aJJ around him. Jesse stuck his rifle in the door and says, "By sundown I want you out of[...]theast. They rounded up those horses and put them in Jesse's corral, but Jesse said, "'By night I want[...]and I went to see Mr. Price, the hardware dealer, in Baker. We asked him if we could get a header. He[...]box. John Wenz was the driver for it and I worked in the header box. Andrew Wenz was driver on the hea[...]little crops we went around to the neighbors and cut theirs. We had a hard time crossing Sandst[...] |
| [...]and wood. For a few years we got the coal from a cut bank on Sandstone. You just had to chop it out a[...]went by. One time, tho', we put the little lambs in a tub in the house while we went away. The puppy must hav[...]We didn't do that again. Sometimes the lambs got in the garden · oh, my! Every year except t[...]ood team but they were a little wild. I wanted to cut hay one day and hitched them to the mower. Mama[...]ied lives there now. There was lots of rain in 1914. Jess Sales broke up that Vio[...]When John was old enough he got the work horses in. straw.[...]orse quite a ways before finding them. We always in Plevna about some money. We needed a bigger house[...]kept the saddle horse up - either hobbled or in the barn. If that little shack. He told me to build a big enough house. I the work horses were in the small pasture he could take a didn't want to[...]lf mile south of the shack. We put them in their stalls and grained them. used rock to set[...]again when Bertha The girls were in the house getting breakfast. It was ready for was[...]us when we came in from our chores. Then in 1915 it was so dry, so dry! I tried to plow down there in the flat where Green Acres is. I had Louise Follm[...]o the ground very good. We and drilling in the spring - haying in the summer and plowed it up and the next day I to[...]the sky was so hazy. It water, put them in the barn and feed them before we went in started to rain. I finished seeding it but the dr[...]got 10, 25 or 30 would work an hour later in the evening. bu. to the acre.[...]place to old Jim Walker. Mr. Walker them in his mouth and shake them to pieces. Three differe[...]over the bites. barn just east on the hill. In Dec. 23, 1916 Ida was born. This time Mrs. Katie[...]t rid of him. I took him Our Betty took sick in March of 1924. She was so sick. I to the[...]his hind legs and cried so. I went for the doctor in Baker. He couldn't do much for her. co[...]lives. Dave Flagg was married to In May of 1927 we had a bad blizzard, but it[...] |
| [...]d There wasn't any grass and the dust blew a lot. In 1934 we from high school there. She then we[...]We leased the Bruce Burt place from Pat Kaiser in 1934 was then called the Spearfish Normal. Her advanced He'd bought it a few years before. In 1939 John, Jr. decided schooling was taken at Columbia University, New York City, to buy it. That's where he lives now.[...]Ithaca, New York. Charley married Lily Schell in 1936. Their children are: Arnold, Janice, Bonnie, James, Marilyn, Sandra and Shari. John served in the 20th Air Force during World War II. He marrie[...]ice. Ida married Richard Follmer who also was in the Air Force. They have a daughter, Ann. Vio[...]sons are Stanley and Jerry. We moved to Baker in 1950. Bertha lives with me there. Mama died in 1966. I have thirteen great grandchildren. AR KERR |
| [...]f sacked oats for us. Extension Agent, she taught in a grade school and for a time We made[...]Scheibers the first night. It was a was dietician in a hospital.[...]with a dirt floor but it sure looked good to In extension work she first worked in New Mexico and us after sitting all day cramped up in the cold. It sure got us was first to introduce it to Roosevelt County. Later she was in out of the wind. Well, he fed us. He was a bachelor and not Home Demonstration agent in New Hampshire, New York too clean b[...]them broken bones, so many weeks have been spent in hospitals. trying to out pull the other.[...]ries and tired horses enjoyed along with her work in women's organizations and 4- and a scary cr[...]full. Well I remember my first entry in the old log ranch From Hawaii she traveled w[...]France. Later an excursion Marshall Rife was in the south-room, feet up on the big wood took her[...]heater and a Bird Dog asleep beside his chair. I in Holland, and again to Puerto Rico. She visited Yu[...]Agent. During that time she established a home in Baker. When she retired as Home Demonstratio[...]But none have been the home In 1972 she finally chose complete retirement and[...]to live at Hillcrest, a beautiful retirement home in As Charley Russell said Bozeman, M[...]k Kinsey the Wolfer, was raised on the Loup River in Nebraska and came to Montana following the wolves[...]t too much for Mother, she went back to her folks in Ekalaka. She got a job cooking for a lambing crew[...]of the Fulton-Bickle-Mc Kay Partnership. We were in the sheep wagon when a band of sheep was killed by drifting snow, right behind the wagon, in a May snow storm of 1909. The next spring found u[...]r. Memories are a wonderful thing. There's a time in my life, 60 and more years ago that's clearer tha[...]es and on down Marshall Rife Ranch house in 1901 , where Bob K in ey grew through the Red Hills to Charley Clark 's[...]was the Rife Brothers Ranch. This ranch wa built in 1901.[...]I married Dollie Ferrel at Baker, ontana in 1927. other and we two brothers were at t[...]er month. homesteaded 22 miles north of Baker in th Will reek A four-horse freight outfit coming through from Baker, which community in 1910. They had a home tead cabin with sod on was[...]The now was gone though Dollie was born in thi cabin in 1910. he grew up as a drifts remained and[...] |
| [...]The calves will lay in the sunshine[...]But the old with the grey in the hair. The cabin where Dollie Ferrel Kinsey was born in 1910. Mrs. This is the way that it should be Ferrel is in the door holding son, Allie. Son, Emil is standing The good things in life never last in front of her. The men from left to right, Herb Ha[...]s graze before and after school. The people lived in vil1ages and their land lay in the outer areas with no fences;[...]LIFE for those in the community. When he came to America he had[...]fashioned the shirts. The horses are in the warm stable Later, he went to an aunt and uncle in a near-by viJJage The cattle are hugg[...]He landed at ew York City, and after passing customs, And thinkin o[...]arranged, he went to work for Theodore Braun in Fertile Prairie a few miles e:ast of Baker. This was in the spring of Well it won't be long till it's over 1914, and he was 21 in the fall. Spring wilJ come with a rush[...]red with water to get a start in horses and machinery to launch out on his[...] |
| [...]d the language, The two men had come out in February, built the two owned a white saddle hor[...]al windy, chilly, year, and Mrs. Hibbard, being in poor health, decided to go overcast March mo[...]h a widowed sister. wide open prairie about 5 miles southeast of Baker, and we S[...]ready to convey us to home was destroyed by fire in January, 1971. our new "home[...]adies occupied the about six miles east of Baker in the Fertile Prairie area. Here one seat, with the sleepy lad betwee[...]took up their stations in the rear of the wagon box. His experience[...]ks have followed the line of a majority of others in our snow, although the ground was frozen har[...]e southeast wind with Mrs. Kirschten to Missoula in 1955 to the graduation of wrenched Minnie's[...]d never seen her before, said He took part in Community Activities and many[...]s, which went charging Brothers Club) of Fertile Prairie, and is a member of St. John,[...]we were told, was a fire-break to protect us in case of prairie[...]Hibbard and Ed Hanratty, having gotten us arrived in this vicinity March 13, 1909 and I became 14 in the settled and arranged a b t they could for[...]for operations. o we two four miles east of Baker in the Fertile Prairie area (known at ladies and kids were left to "[...]cker, James and Mike During my earlier years in Wisconsin I lived the "life of O'Donnel, Tom[...]se and With them I came to Baker as stated above, in the spring of a buggy, o we had old Jerry.[...]of our neighbor would, nobody There were six in our party; Mr. and Mrs. Elmer[...] |
| [...]ed for awhile. In the summer of 1909 there was bounteous moisture[...]l and and seemed to be sufficient in the two or three following groceries. When we sta[...]illed livestock as a late March blizzard had done in the him for a ways toward home. Then I ran aroun[...]o embarrassed and was illness in the family. disgusted, that the cantankerous old[...]ter (later on, Mrs. act as Librarian in the High School. Later, I also taught Mike O'Donn[...]the Badlands northeast of classes in Junior High and a course in Montana History. Baker to visit at a friend's hom[...]was not far away. In earliest days we mined lignite and When the[...]old Storm King Mine this side of Miles City, and in more recognized. It was not too awfully far off b[...]recent years, simply from a coal car right here in Baker. had a fence to follow. My uncle and I beca[...]object down by our gate and friends in Dakota. lane entrance. When my uncle went to investigate, here was old Jerry in his harness, standing and waiting to be let in. Oh boy, were we in a dither. We waited a short time to[...]Kirschten to set out in search, when we heard voices corning from the[...]opposite direction which we recognized as theirs. In a few minutes they were there and no damage done[...]'l'hPy nlaved for whatever the crowd "chipped in" for the four horses, a walking plow and a couple[...]ther neighbors triangle. Later, at Fertile Prairie Hall music from Baker was would take their horses[...]sometimes hired. We'd also attended dances in Baker. country during the threshing season. At ot[...]y sometimes come to our school or Fertile Prairie Hall for other settler did. We used a hand pump u[...]he windmill horse back rides, and picnics in the Badlands, berry and plum project. Pumping by[...]ers owned cars, there were trips to Miles City, Roundup and to open-some buried in snow. Both Elmer A. Hibbard and M[...]ies. the Great Depression years as he passed away in 1925. In Fertile Prairie had many clubs. There were the Fertile 1926 Mrs. Hibbard turned the operation of the place over to Prairie Farm Association and the Womens SLC (Social Mike[...]up on current issues and widowed sister. She was in poor health . Though later she things of interest to women in general; there was the U.M.B. returned here and made her home in Baker for a time. She Club I Unmarried Brothers) though we facetiously dubbed passed away in 1936. Both my uncle and aunt are buried in them the Useless Montana Bums or the Um[...]hist Mrs. Hibbard did much practical nursing in the earlier Club. and we must not forget[...]ports, learned naught, but this did not deter her in her services in the least. parliamentary procedure and studied current events as well Both were active in the community affairs of those days.[...] |
| [...]ten man remarked that even the cattle of Fertile Prairie wore blue I had started school in a small Wisconsin town, ribbons on their horns. Never a dull moment, and so many continued in grade school in St. Paul, and later in Fertile delightful things to do at such small expense. Prairie. I was among the first 5 pupils who took the firs[...]a hard blow to the early School work in Baker in 1911-12; 1912-13. They only offered 2 ranchers when the "honyockers" came in to fence the open years at that time,[...]hospitality came up top. and began teaching in the fall of 1913. l attended summer One of[...]ear old daughter, sessions at Missoula, Miles City and DiJlon , where the my playmate, over to invit[...]I taught 13 years in Custer and Fallon Counties, 2 years remarked loud[...]of which were in Plevna and 4 of which were in Baker. them damn honyocks after another squaah meal.' All with a twinkle in his eyes. Ha![...]was offered work once more in Baker. Again I joined the No mention of pas[...]School, as well as teaching classes in spelling, music and defend ourselves against ratt[...]ry . This covered another 13 years and now , pail in which we stowed the treasures of the plains. We w[...]ancis William and other pre-historic remains. The prairie, at that time was[...]School in this locality. All graduated from Baker High[...]s. Buffalo skulls were concentrated course in general agriculture and stock raising. sometimes[...]getting lost. It was a rather Eastern in Billings. He also took some courses while in the common occurrence in those days of wide open spaces, Air Force. Frances graduated at Missoula in t he Forestry especially when there was snow on the ground . Department, majoring in Ranch a!'ld Range Management. One of the ti[...]m earned a diploma there. James served in Army Ridgway ranch over near the Dakota line to bring home a Communications in Japan and Korea ; Eugene as M.P. in the quarter of beef that we had purchased. It was a couple of days Air Force in England ; Joseph in Signal Corps (Army) in before Christmas and quite pleasant weather. Ther[...]Boulder, Montana . Suddenly old Jerry dug in his toes and stopped , nor James[...]a sophomore had come up against a low spot filled in with deep snow. I at Baker High ; hane D[...]olate creams that a boy friend had given me while in Joseph (Joe) married I adia Bert[...]e four children: Jean Elaine; I had been carrying in one hand had sprung a leak and that Kay[...]a dozen. My uncle had not arrived and we put in a restless nig ht. By morning the storm had clear[...]My husband, Edwin M. Knipfer, was born in East Uncle had started home the day before b[...]area. Finally, he turned back homesteaded in Fallon County on Horse reek in 1907 or on his tracks and was able to retrace eno[...]to get 190 . He came back to Massachusetts in 1910 and 1912, and back on the packed road[...] |
| [...]were their witnesses. There was 18 inches of snow in Baker and we left on Friday to drive the 42 mile[...]eaver Creek. We reached home· a log cabin built in a hillside · about four P.M. on Sunday. That eve[...]ould dig all the snow off the roof and make paths in between the duties of doing the chores. On May 19[...]Strangford, Wanda J ardee, all living in the vicinity, and Chesnover had gone to town for[...]Ronald Knipfer, and me. It is A big storm came up in the afternoon, rain, hail and much[...]ntil I got out.We went up the hill and across the prairie and finally wound up at Dad Finley's shack. The d[...]k an iron wedge and broke the padlock and we went in and stayed all night. Ed and Jack and their[...]kota for five years. After the blizzard and storm in the winter of 1949, when the Army had to come and[...]us to go up to Bozeman to be near them . We went in 1950 and Ed passed away in 1952. I have lived in the St. John's Lutheran Home in BiHings, Three room log house built by[...]who was a wood carver. Massachusetts in 1897 to work for an uncle. Joe Herrmann,[...]horses numbered 1500 head. The Miles City and met with the Superintendent of Schools and ranch headquarters were on upper Spring Creek, now in thus the first schools were[...] |
| [...]when the kids got to throwing dirt at each other in school she made them eat the dirt. One boy told h[...]now own, April 30, 1908. in Custer County, Montana.[...]to Andrew Bucking hay on the Knipfer Ranch in the early days. and Sara Lawrence. We mad[...]uld try their fortunes further west. to speak of. In July Dad , with the help of my Uncle Warren[...]rbiville, Uncle Charlie Turbiville, Carl Miles City, Montana. Loger, Albert Ott and Joe Artesies, tra[...]to the Since the Milwaukee was not yet in operation in this Indian Reservation near Promise, S. D., a distance of over area, we traveled from Miles City by team and wagon to a 200 miles, to summer and w[...]n at home to care for the ranch and the was in March of 1906. Knowlton was at that time a thrivi[...]There were several families living We all pitched in to help with feeding, milking, and cleaning t[...]udents going to school under one the barns. Later in the summer Carl Loger came back to help tea[...]feed. four miles. Sometimes I stayed in Knowlton a few weeks at a[...]came in fast to prove up on homesteads. They were called[...]any kind at that time except for ilent Movies in some of the[...]at the dance in Knowlton Hall but mostly a "fiddle" and a[...]piano were played. If anyone had a large room in their home,[...]wash the dishes, get the water, bring in the wood, milk the[...]were down in the draw below the houses. The first settlers[...]e winter of 1919-1920 was cold with lots of snow. In located . My father had to dig a well whic[...]ed with very good, too. My folks kept milk in a spring house in water. Walking through the corral to the b[...] |
| [...]elp ing with the ice houses. The ice was cut in the winter and stored in housework. The nearest High School was at Miles City. sawdust in the ice house. It came in handy for lemonade and[...]homemade ice cream in the summer time.[...]other old timers. M able L awrence also in the p icture.[...]the horse market deteriorated. My father Indians in those days although there were never any around[...]m. The cause of death was never known. especially in the summer time. They were mostly relatives of Ek[...]one coming from Ekalaka and one coming from Miles City. It came by stage which was a spring wagon or buc[...]e of the horses overnight and the drivers rested. In the morning they returned to Ekalaka and Miles City. Passengers and mail were· transferred here, too[...]. No amount of clothing could keep a person warm in the winter if he had to ride all day. There was a[...]es were exchanged for the tired ones on the Miles City run. I believe the Hill Ranch was an exchange dep[...]them, the old "spotted dog·· or "son-of-a-bitch in a sack ... This was a boiled suet pudding with ra[...]y a picnic held at Knowlton or near dried apples. In the Knowlton hills were many wild plums,[...] |
| [...]g home. Many of the cowboys didn 't work in the winter so they his cattle off the range, bran[...]ting the neighbors take care of him. He is buried in the house so they had someone visiting mos[...]e hunting and always bad plenty of venison in the winter and a at the farm. Our little bunch of cattle came running over the fine garden and chickens in the summer. hill to the corralls and barn as fast[...]died, Sam Kochel was there of 75. Both are buried in the Miles City Cemetery. helping. It was the winter of 1915-1916 with lots of snow and In 1914 I was married to James Kochel of Miles City, no telephone. Sam made a casket for Henr[...]arried, we rode down on the Mizpah to a big dance in a neighbors attended the service. They sang[...]nd feeding my chickens when a coyote came rushing in and buried him on his own place wher[...]ter After Jim and Mable were married Jim cut wood and him but he never dropped the chicken. For many years we sold it to a couple of schools in the winter. He always had a could hear coyotes ho[...]big wood pile. Jim was a hard worker. In the winter he dug coal and in the summer he farmed . There were several dry[...]hen they didn't get a wheat crop. They had a crop in[...]Plowing in the good old days, the way Jim Kochel plowed.[...]In 1923 Jim and Mable left, the homestead and moved[...]Oregon where Jim worked in the saw mills. They moved back Jim was born in Hopkins, Missouri on October 9, 1892 to to[...]; came to am and Kate Kochel. He went to school in Missouri after the Baker and ran a dray line for a while. Jim went into the work was finished in the fall . There he finished the eighth sheriff's office under Bill Franklin, who died in office. After grade.[...]appointed heriff by the County In the summer of 1907. when Jim was 15 years of age. Commissioners. He served 1 years in Lhis office. The Sam and Kate Kochel brought thei[...]children all finished high school while living in the jail. In the Miles City from Missouri in a railroad car. Among the early years no one ever locked t,heir houses. When living in furnishings was an organ which Jim 's sister, Oll[...]night Jim Sam came out ahead of the family, lived in a tent, cut logs. and Mable were wakened by a flashlight in their face . A hewed t,hem on two sides by hand a[...]up a story house. This was by far the nicest home in the prisoner. Another time a deranged rancher walked in and[...] |
| [...]me. It was a day in December and there was snow on the Mable and[...]a team! Our two little girls had his headquarters in Dillon where they lived for over 20 and[...]ghbor's home and of Baker ; Arron Reid was killed in World War II over brought her to u[...]ives at Bowman, North Dakota and put in his appearance! Robert Vernon , who married Merna[...]After Jim 's death Mable moved back to Baker in 1972. some 10 miles northwest of Baker. Here our last 3 children She is residing alone in a house near her daughter. were b[...]purchased a comfortable home in Baker where I have since[...]box socials in the early days. I am now ( 1973) in retirement but that doesn't mean that[...]my children and their families living in this vicinity; The[...]December 24, 1884. Pearl Shishkowsky was born in Odessa, as herding sheep, raking hay, driving hea[...]sia on May 5, 1885. Daniel and Pearl were married in had a runaway while engaged in these labors. Besides these, I Russia on Ja[...]three of their seven shildren, helped around home in caring for my brothers and sisters. Ann[...]or the career of homemaker. In 1909 the family migrated to Quebec, Canada. From[...]there they came to the United States and settled in Herreid, Java, South Dakota. He soon came west an[...]walking plow and some small hand tools. In the fall of 1909 wagon. Here we set up in the business of farming and raising the fa[...]ough the years that followed . Some was in this vicinity that their other four childr[...] |
| [...]George. The neighbors were most generous in helping dig a large Sophie Kreager, be[...]and his |
| [...]and socials were frequently held, socials in particular, to help at close of life's[...]presented and especially enjoyed in the community. It was When from this ea[...]that we must plod. In December of 1912 Laura married Andrew Kreager[...]ighter grow who also lived in the Minnesota Valley. They were married in and lead to Mother, Home and God.[...]r. At one time, all eight children had homes in Minnesota from Browns Valley, Minnesota in the spring of 1909. His Valley. Henry Kreager (be[...]dy. They later moved daughter and son-in-law, the Bert Cates, while several of his to Wash[...]lihood and Charles Noftsker. She came to Montana in the spring of[...]their hardships that winter was about two years in the Fertile Prairie community. By the the heating of the shack. In Minnesota, wood was the main time Laura came her[...]very well in the stoves they had brought with them . In the After filing on the land in the fall of 1909, her father and fall they had[...]ck, machinery, and lumber and returned to Montana in After living here only a short whil[...]wagon while homestead. Laura, her mother, sister-in-law, (Sam's wife) and driving over frozen g[...]a broken neck. A year or two later his Minnnesota in April of that same year. They would have[...]later that they Sophia Kreager lived in the Valley. They were Lillie Cate, arrived. For s[...]y found Frank and Andrew. themselves in the black of a cold, rainy night. With no other[...]They built the first school in District 36. Between them they for Uncle Bill You[...]g sod for the Laura continued her schooling in a nearby school with[...]used until a two room frame house was built in 1917. were, Gertrude, Verne and Leonard Kreager,[...]natural materials in another way. He combined soft gumbo Greasy childr[...]Andy and Laura's first child, Walter, was born in the sod school has met its doom as most of the county schools have house in the spring of 1915 and Denzil, the second son was[...]away. born in the early summer of 1919. In order to be nearer to In a few years time this area was pretty well settle[...]There was always plenty of entertainment in the community. The Noftskers lived close enough t[...]back and forth . Church services were often held in the school functions. A team of horses was[...]aying a violin and a guitar the Barkley place and in order to have some music, Laura's often[...]nces around the country. At organ was hauled over in a wagon. one of the many times her[...] |
| In the early years a small church was built in the midst Heiser Bar now is. The corner bar[...]. Many of the earlier restaurant used to be in later years. Emil and Ed Lentz homesteaders had e[...]mestead shack) balanced the corner where The work in defense plants. Andy and Laura, with their sons,[...]This Walter and Denzil, and their families worked in different building was built of rock. a[...]er, that's lost his life near Saarbruken, Germany in 1945. When the war for sure. Here is where[...]ter the Bert house was built, present location of City During these reminiscences many happy and h[...]here the Jackson Bar now is. friends were playing in a water hole that was drying up but[...]My father, Henry Kreager, had arrived in Baker in came home from the field in the evening with tired and March of[...]wife of Hosea, who had homesteaded in Montana in 1908. contents and refill the tank. If the wind b[...]approximate fifteen miles to Baker in a cold northeast rain. manually. And the times in the winter when Grandma Myhre The 8th[...]rst winter there was lots of snow and quite cold. In no time she would be reseated and laughingly they[...]y and I were still living at home with the folks, in our take off again.[...]al just previously mined was wet and didn 't burn in the Minnesota Valley had scattered including the[...]sisters. The Kreagers decided to make their home in The s pring of 1910, brothers[...]reaking plows, two water their home until he died in July 1959. wagons an[...]ra married Jack hutta of ew machine in the south country but since none of the farmers Brighton, Minnesota and they made their home in Baker. had much money, we didn't mak[...]und was a horse-powered one owned by participated in the many , many events of those early years is Dick Foster. now in the possession of her grandson, Clarence Kreager.[...]That fall, October 2, 1910, my father was killed in a[...]October, my father was laid to rest in the Baker Cemetery. MEMO[...]of June. Everything Much lat.er in her declining years she stayed with my looked so[...]moved we t of Baker, he moved wit,h them, As in all western early towns, the saloons outnumbered passing away in March 1933 al the age of 9 and was placed other e[...]Foot located where the beside my father in the Baker Cemetery.[...] |
| [...]our meetings were in the news paper, there were lots of[...]r. Coleman Krokker was born October 11, 1883 in Coleman Krokker at ch[...]za, Hungary. He had eight brothers. After serving in the Austria-Hungary Army he came to the United St[...]Coleman, Jr. was born at the Brackett Hotel in Ismay went first to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to v[...]1913. The whole community had a picnic he worked in the mines for two years. From Lancaster he[...]wn. The Doctor, Mrs. went to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. In 1905 he went to St. Paul, Ryan (who ra[...]Great Northern Railroad. only ones left in the town that day. When the folks returned Coleman and I were married in February of 1912 and from the picnic[...]tion to soon after that we left for our homestead in Montana which the population of the com[...]les northeast of Ismay. We planted a garden early in the spring and in the late summer the range cattle cleaned it up. W[...]out so I was kept busy warming the metal staples in the oven. Most years we had good crops, but[...]. Matson and I went to Ismay. Her horses had been in the pasture all winter and they played out[...]and hauled coal to the folks who were sick in bed. under water. The horses went over the bank a[...]and cold. He snow was driven throug.h the cracks in the house and the saw a shack in the distance and thought he would find shelter st[...]chest. S.O.B.! Don't go in there or you"U freeze to death." He went Abo[...]times together, but after a while some of City, Montana for 17 years. He retired in 1969. the ladies wanted to start another club " c[...]he notices of willing to share with anyone in need . They fought the[...] |
| [...]ed east of him, tend some of the sheep on shares. In the told him that he had only part of a l[...]egain his health. there was no food or protection in the river beds during the Hans slept outdo[...]so much better that he filed on a homestead in 1903. Jack Jack Krcma, his wife and daughter came to Montana filed on a desert claim in 1912 about three miles from Hans. and filed on a[...]Piwitt sold his of the girls were Grace and Inez. In 1913 Inez and Bud Foley cattle for $16,000. He deposited the money in a new bank at were married. They lived on the wes[...]. In 1910 Catherine Weaver filed on a homestead and wa[...]e with an aunt, a Mrs. daughters and a home in Seattle, Washington. In 1912 she Amundson. Cy left his homestead and we n[...]miles from remarked that he had a girl in mind who would marry him. Hogans. Along with thei[...]of Jack an heir when he left to serve in the army. Hogan's section. They had three childre[...]homestead and worked for Steve Macumber. He died in the Bill and Florence Anderson arrived in Beach, orth flu epidemic of 1919. Dak[...]nnesota about 1910. Mr. Anderson had had training in the repairing of cars, mostly Model T 's. He rented an Automobile Shop. Ed Rohner and family arrived in the country about that same time and Ed went to w[...]r Bill Anderson left the homestead and took a job in due to the cold weather. Titus sent two four horse teams to Ismay in an Auto Shop where he sold cars, worked on cars[...]and did the advertising. Later he moved to Miles City and did but many were too weak to survive.[...]Mr. Titus was an extremely tall man. When he sat in a Florence went to work at a tein's Clothing Store in Model T Ford his knees were up around the t.eering wheel on Miles City about 1918. She later married Andy Udgaard.[...]e herded sheep for Titu . Alex was 18 years In 1910 Ed Rohner, his wife, Jo, and their daughter,[...]to live on their homestead. into service in the Royal avy at the outbreak of World War Ed was born in Switzerland and Jo was born in orway. Mrs. I. England discharged him a[...]ted Rohner was tubercular and went to Minneapolis in 1913 to States whereupon he joined the United States Infantry and stay with her in-Jaws. She passed away there. The daughter,[...]he war and continued to herd sheep until hi death in about time, then she returned to Minneapol[...] |
| [...]me beer; leaving Schwabenland. The climate in the Ukraine is somewhat like the sheep alone. Th[...]ed some bottles with tea that of Oregon. In the Ukraine the families were farmers, because h[...]e self of course, didn 't know there was only tea in t he bottles. He, sufficient, weaving their[...]and gloves. There was some specialization as in shoemaking. Mat Pettigrew homesteaded on C[...]jumped ship on his way from England and landed up in Along with his farming John's fa[...]not a educated their children 'in the German language in the church citizen he couldn't prove up on a home[...]izen. This was language was also taught in these schools. during World War I , so he joined[...]pril overseas. A German sniper got him and he was in a first aid 6, 1906. Within eight days[...]America. At that time there was a great everyone in the tent. Mat was killed, of course, a nd it took his political unrest in Russia and many people left their old sister 15[...]and brother, of 1911-12 he turned his sheep loose in the bad lands in that Magdalena's came. This was reason[...].re their first two Mrs. Mercer hadn't been in this country very long. She children wer[...]creek and Cabin Creek was bank In 1910 they came by train to homestead six miles so[...](Mrs. Theophil Ruff) and Erna (Mrs. and her baby. In crossing Cabin Creek the water was so deep[...]he homestead was that the horses started to swim. In the process of swimming moved to Plevna[...]neck yoke and began (Mrs. Krueg's sister-in-law). They sold the homestead to to flounder . Bi[...]bank and yelled for Mrs. Henry Schell in 1916 and bought land seven miles to the Mercer to[...]Congregational Church of Plevna. Both are buried in the Ranch. The camp tender took the supplies to t[...]oung widow leased her land and established a home In traveling along the hounds jumped a huge wolf. When the in Plevna for herself and her three little girls, ag[...]e supplemented her income from the land by taking in cut his throat with a jack knife. He skinned out the wolf and sewing. In those days there were no patterns as we know put[...]learned to drive this monster. At that camped out in Smoky Swamp. They both aJways carried[...]iron rod with a loop not the first woman in the Plevna area to drive a car. Mrs. on the end.[...]nds. They Krueg passed away at her home in Plevna Sept. 25, 1949 of a would work at a big ra[...]go homesteading in Montana, "He will be back in a year."[...]Baker, the first week in April 1910. I built a house 14 feet by John Krueg (Krieg) was born Dec. 17, 1884 in the village 18 feet and moved out there b[...]fer was about 10 acres of land and put in flax , It got to be about two born May 9, 1883 in eusatz near Odessa. Both stem from[...]at froze it German ancestry. Both familes settled in the Ukraine in the all out.[...] |
| [...]The neighbors in our part of the country were very good[...]at helping each other. We exchanged work in harvest and threshing time. In 1912 we neighbors went together and built[...]In 1923 we finally got mail delivery three times a w[...]post office which was Willard, eleven miles away. In[...]early days to the present our country has country in the fall and worked at harvesting and threshing.[...]we dido 't have Commissioner and served in that capacity until December 31, many expenses si[...]Homestead" but have lived in Baker since 1942.[...]of Ismay. In 1926 he and a friend, Carsie Crosby , went to[...]section of land in 1910. At that time it was Custer County but[...]today there are 32 sections lying in three counties.[...]er, they have six children. John bought the ranch in 1945[...]La Art Kuehn homestead, 1916. Kitchen part built in 1910; the Bree's, Larry LaBree's, Julie's, Jordan 's, Johnella's, rest in 1916.[...] |
| [...]t: Mrs. Matt Munroe, married Laurence Lambert in 1970 and they live at Deer Mrs. Danielson, Bertha[...]Julie graduated from Custer County High School in In 1940 John moved his family to Ismay where Emmett 1969. She attended Miles City Community College for two started to school but the next year they stayed on the ranch years and Miles City School of Beauty where she graduated and boarded Emmett at Pat LaBree's where he attended in May of 1972. She married Dwight Livengood of Plevna in Fallon Creek School. When Jordan started he also stayed at December 1971 and they live in Miles City. They have one Pat LaBree's during the week. The[...]ch on Emmett married Ora Elmore of Ekalaka in 1957 and Friday nights. In 1947 when Harold was old enough to go to the[...]Tana. Jordan school near the ranch and the pupils in this territory had to lives on a ranch, better[...]about go to the nearest town. John bought a house in Ismay from 10 miles west of the John LaBree[...]changed hands many times over the years. It is in Custer school until 1953. Emmett graduated in 1952 and went to the County and has been owne[...]son, Harold, who had bought it from his father-in-law Jack boarded with Mr. and Mrs. Frank Freese.[...]Hanley. Mr. and Mrs. Hanley had bought it in 1960. in 1958 and Larry in 1960. The girls Johnella and Julie Jordan married Rene Frye of Ekalaka in 1966. They have attended the TeeDee School throug[...]Edward (Buddy) and Lee Tat. attended high school in Ekalaka boarding most of that time Harold and Linda Hanley were married in 1965. They with Bun and Peggy Castleberry. She graduated in 1966 and moved to the Henry place in 1966 where they lived until then attended Billings Business College in Billings and Harold's death in 1968. He was found frozen to death on[...] |
| [...]one fourth mile from the Quam place on the Miles City - Ekalaka road west of Ekalaka. He was 28 years old, a Veteran of the Vietnam War, and discharged in 1965. He is buried in Sunset Gardens at Miles City. His companion Harry Smith who was working for hi[...]er Jona Rae. Three of the LaBree boys served in the U.S. Army. They are Larry, who spent his years in the states, Harold, who went to France and German[...]on several miles from a coal mine, putting up ice in the old log ice house, churning pounds of butter and hanging it in the spring along with pails of milk and cream, to[...]ts and a carbide iron for ironing clothes. Later, in 1954 we got electricity. The old wood and coal stove has long been gone Anna LaBree and family in the 1930's. Left to right; John, and replaced by[...]us Evelyn, Frank, Minnie, Charles and Pat. in 1961. John and his sons belong to the Montan[...]National, Southeastern and they live in rural Ismay. They have one boy Frank Sibley of Ca[...]ton, Montana and Janice Range Rider Reps of Miles City. Carlisle, mar[...]t teacher on Powder River and the Miles City schools for a projects. number of years as well as in California. She is now retired.[...]Julie Livengood of Miles City. Mrs. Evelyn Jerrel of Miles City has three children: Jim[...]Pat H. LaBree married ellie Asbury and they live in[...]Ekalaka. One son Sibley died in 1941 at age five.[...]One experience the LaBree family had in 1904 was when[...]their son, 2 1/2 years old was lost in the badlands clo e to the[...]after much searching. Mr. LaBree died in May 1925 and i[...]hn and Frances LaBree, 1970. in Miles City.[...]ranch until she moved to Miles City in the early 1940's, where SIBLEY AND AN[...]en on roundups and various activitie that Montana in 1899 from Minnesota and located in Eastern took place. She baked numerou[...]ead a week, Custer County. The family homesteaded in the Ismay- churned pounds and pound[...]anned many jar of Knowlton area. He filed on land in 1910 and had open range. meat and scrubbed on the washhoard. Mr. LaBree and Anna Lee were married in 1897 in Minnesota. Anna Lee LaBree was born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, August 22, 1880 to[...]Francis B. LaCro s was born April 12, 1916 in hurche They had five child ren , all girls ; Siby[...]lks came to Baker, girls are all married and live in the Seattle, Washington area. Montana where hi father went into the grocery bu in ss[...] |
| [...]ss, establishing the and completed in July of 1919. The first three children, Economy G[...]Phyllis , myself, and Robert were born in the homestead shack "Fran", some people sti[...]grew up and Relvin and Rodney were born in the big house. During the attended both grade school and high school in Baker. After building of the house, wh[...]e up so they could keep an eye on me. I was In 1949 he married Julie Bennett in Miles City , about 2 1/2 years old at the tim[...]t. Mom always said .she didn't know how Dad In 1969 the family business was incorporated with[...]Mom and Dad both worked in the fields and my sister, ovember 12, 1925. Mr. Bennett was a sheepman in the Phyllis, was official baby si[...]hing but d--- old bad lands." She likes it! In Julie's own words, "opposites attract - quiet , i[...]Fran and Julie live on South First Street West in a house built by Doc Young. Francis works at the grocery store and Julie teaches Spanish in the seventh grade.[...]ing the first winter of our schooling, Mom stayed in in Dallas, Wisconsin. At the age of 18 he left his p[...]during the winter months and we had rooms to work in a logging camp at Pine Island, Minnesota. In 1906 at the Crosby residence. One morning there was a gas leak in he went to York, North Dakota as a farm hand unti[...]the three doctors in town, Dr. Young, Dr. Brewer and Dr.[...]Robert and Arda Larson home. It was completed in 1919. He was united in marriage to Arda Young at Springfield, |
| My parents bought their first car in 1921. It was a Buick We had lots of won[...]of that and I remember riding around the pasture in it so Dad neighbors were the Dave Goods, th[...]tles, t he John Gundersons, t he that were put on in the winter time. It was about that time[...]tling it and delivering it than his share in building up the west. It was a shock to every mor[...]easy, everyone when he suddenly died in 1958. After his death , my especially in the winter time. It seems like we had such a Jot[...]low didn't manage to get out interest ed in the ranch . She saw a need for a flori st s hop in our way, the road was blocked. We would start out in the Baker and took a course in flower arrangements and Buick and Dad would shove[...]d a homemade box on a sled interested in antiques and really enjoyed going to auctions to[...]f hers was to start an an t ique the milk to town in that and put the horses in a stable near shop bu t she didn't get that done before her d eat h in 1967. the school until we were ready to come home in the afternoon. Robert Larson still liv[...]lives in Baker and drives ou t to help Robert with the ran[...]I live in Miles City and go home to t he ranch as often as[...]le cart and I remember how much fun we had riding in that. My mother always encouraged us to bring fri[...]the town of Plevna, Montana in March of 1910. In the car he Bruce Burt was one of our neighbo[...]homesteaded the ea t 1/ 2 of Tragedy struck in 1928 when Phyllis died of leukemia.[...] |
| in a good crop, this along with building fences and[...]My father, Otto Leischner, came to Montana in 1914 The first school in Plevna was a very small building f[...]ol was I attended elementary school in District 66 and at Baker. built which had 4 rooms. I finished the 8th grade in Plevna I didn't attend high school. and took my exams in Westmore. My 4 years of High School I spent three and one half years in the service during were taken at Terry.[...]Plevna. Lillian E. Janz and I were married in 1946 at the[...]American Lutheran Church in Baker on August 30.[...]the ranch where we lived for twenty-five years. In October of I was born in Little Falls, Minnesota, on September 5, 1971 we moved to Miles City where I am Custodial 1888. The family moved to Duluth, Minnesota, a few years Supervisor in the Miles City School System. later. I was a cashier in a drug store in Duluth for a number of We have two c[...]. Then I went to Harvey, North Dakota, and worked in a James graduated from the Plev[...]attended the Miles City Community College for two years I was marri[...]degree in Secondary Education. He is now Assistant We traveled by train to Marmarth, North Dakota, in Manager of the Town and Country Store in Billings. He 1908 and took up a homestead near my mother's and married Kathryn Taylor in 1970. She is a Dental Assistant. brother's homest[...]nck. The family attended the Miles City Community College for two years still owns the ho[...]ry at the Bank of Baker Ed had a drug store in Marmarth in a two-story brick and is still work[...]esent post office 1970. They live in Baker where he is a City Policeman. building. We roomed upstairs. About 1909 Ed came to Baker to work in a drug store. About 1910 we built a home in Baker where I still reside. Picnics and general social gatherings were held at different ranches in the early days. The Mulkey Ranch (101),[...]owned by Darrel Johnson, saw countless good times in John Leischner was born in Seimentahl, South Russia to the 1920's. The Yokle[...]and Mrs. John Leischner, Sr. on February 7, 1874. In Ranch and Lang's Ranch were popular places. Lots[...]due to weather and States. He lived in Parkston, South Dakota at first, then roads.[...]He married his first wife, Emilia Koening in 1892. They Fourth of July celebrations would be real big affairs in had five children ; Edmund, William, Paul,[...]rch 18, 1910 at Lehr, North Dakota. They too good in the early days.[...]on Auxiliary. I was farmers and stockmen in Logan County, orth Dakota in a charter member of the auxiliary. The high point in my 1886. Their daughter, Bertha, was born to them in South Legion days was when I was district preside[...]After the family settled in North Dakota, Bertha helped[...]Lehr, North Dakota. material that you would snap in place in case of bad weather. When John was t[...]les The thirities were very bad for business in this area, but south of Plevna, Montana, where they lived in a tent while those who s tayed on, both farmers a[...]In 1910 both John and Bertha became Charter Members There were many highlights in the county - discovering of t he Plevna[...]elections and the discovery of oil at In 1928 they moved the family into Plevna so that the Little Beaver by the MDU in 1936 or 1937. children[...]active during their lives. graduated from school in Baker and went on to college. Jack Bertha was a very busy housewife and was very active in the owns the drug s tore now and Anna Mae lives in Illinois. church until the last few years. She had made quilts for all her Ed died in December of 1951 at the age of 71 .[...] |
| [...]Baker, Montana. Mr. Lentz owned a clothing store in Baker. The place of business was on the west side of Main Street in a building which sat on the lot which is now occu[...]Picture loaned by Opal Long Emerald, swimming in Baker Lake, 1915 or 16. Left to right, Mrs. Latha[...]schools and graduated from the Baker High School in about 1920. She evidently went to Hollywood soon after graduation as we find a picture of her in the 1921 Film Fun Magazine when she was a Mack- Sennettor. In the 1940's she became a well known dress designer[...]ng from Los Angeles Paper, Irene. the MGM Studios in Hollywood and owner of IRENE'S,[...]eased originals through some of the finest stores in the United States. In the Creating fashions with world wide imp[...]on, June Allison, Claudette Colbert, Sometime in the thirites she was married to Elliot[...], Ingrid Bergman, Joan Gibbons, screen writer who in later years suffered a stroke Crawford, Paul[...]l wardrobes when she she went to MGM for a career in fashion designing. finally g[...] |
| [...]settlers in Carter County and Carter County was named after[...]them. They took up land there in 1892.[...]My folks came to this country in 1900 and homesteaded Designer 1rene[...]dren; Jewel, Virgil Mike, Eugene ing to cut her wrists.[...]farming . Show in Beverly Hills and MRS. !RENE GIBSON[...]Plummer, Aleta "l am sorry to do this In Mrs. Gibbons designed Rae Plummer and Darla Gae Plummer came to live with us in this manner. Please see that clothes[...]writer Elliot Gibbons) Is Mayer Studios In the 1940s taken care of. Take care of[...]illness, police said. Recent films in which! her creations were used in- BER BUSINESS mana- c I u[...]he had been best known for her adher- In Ill health for about two ence to the princip[...]Norway. They were married in Miles City in 1894. I had four unveiled her latest creations an[...]ause it was on a Hotel after apparently trying to cut her wrists. railroad[...]e nearest school. She left a note which said in part; "Please see that Elliot Knowlt[...]." from Miles City to Ekalaka with teams and wagons. Several Sh[...]'s families built houses in Knowlton where they could live illness, he[...] |
| [...]o quit teaching because of Arthritis. I was in the eighth grade when a school was built near[...]d we had many Knowlton when he passed away in 1958 and willed the place neighbors by then and[...]ister, Betty, and me. We sold it to Bill Bonlware in wait a year for my sister, Hannah, so we could go to high 1959 after which I bought my home in Baker where I now school together. W.e went to Miles City where I took a live. teachers' training course and was ready to teach when I gi;aduated in 1920. CT Ranch, owned by Stinus Dragseth, six[...]nd, John and Thelma came from Wisconsin and |
| [...]ure the roof wasn't leaking. I couldn't make crop in 1927. It was a good one.[...]ly Louise Knipfer With a little extra money in his pocket, Carl decided to (Strangford now) saddled up two horses and we rode over visit his parents in Slyvania, Austria. His stay was from[...]was soaked with mud. OH! I was mad . expired in March, and I was unable to obtain one until June,[...]brothers, sisters, friends and country. I arrived in over there for our honeymoon. There were no d[...]s for five and one half days. I bade them goodbye in name was "Daisy." That fall and winter[...]reek to clean with. The floor had one inch cracks in it and it[...]k from cow manure. We fixed up one room and moved in being approved by the health authorities I was[...]Illinois to visit a the next spring. This was in the dry 30's.[...]zero. The house in the Kraft place had no floor. We had a was from[...]pe that went through the roof. We had to friend in Sheboygan. She agreed to meet me and help me get[...]leave space in the roof around the pipe for fear of fire. I'd[...]build a fire in the stove and in a heavy sheep skin coat look up We arrived in Chicago at 11 P .M. one night after three[...]. I I was sick and went to see a Doctor in Baker. This was went in and showed my ticket to a lady. She opened a door[...]r seen a black man before. It was a strange place in coyotes, I couldn't visit anyone and I didn't[...]ied. I stood there too not. I said no. We were in the Doctor's office; Carl, I, the scared to move[...]ted until 2 A .M. for my train. I finally arrived in thought I said no because I was afraid, so she[...]I had ordered a Chicago Newspaper written in Slyvanian receive the telegrams until two or thr[...]ddress. He laughed and indicated he him in my language. I told him that I had my appendix kn[...]red with weeks later I received a reply in Slyvanian. The letter said he dirt. I couldn 't t[...]l since I couldn't speak wife stopped him in town one day. She was really mad and so English a[...]I remember when our son, Henry, was born in ovember l stayed at the Knipfer ranch for t[...]no not if I was going Bud Stangford home) to live in until we got ours fixed up. It to gi[...] |
| [...]in 1967. They have a daughter, Theresa Lynn, and a s[...]In 1968 I bought a house at 107 South Side Lake in[...]t back. I could hear them laughing and singing in the kitchen. They finished the jug after Henry[...].A. for a dam. The application was accepted and in September of 1936 they started building the dam[...]rses. I fed six or seven men. Two of them slept in the chicken house. They repaid me by helping wa[...]old Backeus house, 1935. Henry Loger and turkeys in morning. Tuesday morning I was up doing the cho[...]e that he needed something for it. Henry told me in my language and I gave the man something for his[...]of the headgate. Henry was there also. He stood in silence for a few minutes watching the water run[...]eir traps. They had caught a skunk and had put it in Carl's bed. When I got back to the house the skun[...]John J . Long, 1872-1961. Buried in Bonnieuale Cemetery, Preacher Backeus died in our front yard beside his old Baker, Montan[...]A A Henry were hauling coal. Henry was a Freshman in high By Opal 0.[...]d received her degree at Billings. homestead in the area six miles south of Baker going th re[...]eight years before marrying Arthur early in 1909 from adison, Wisconsin. He filed on a quarter Straub from Plevna in 1964. They have one girl, Alice Elaine,[...] |
| [...]om town. Later lignite was hauled from an Montana in 1906 and 1907 and established the town of Baker adjoining property by team and wagon in chunks three or and constructed a dam below some springs to form a lake of four inches thick. In summer we carried water from the mile water so th[...]ee buggy was obtained, then it was hauled in five gallon Railway while at Madison. As an employee, he could get free gasoline tins. In winter these tins were filled with ·snow to tran[...]ugusta, a cow, 2 young pigs, a half cooking in summer. dozen chickens and household goods. All three sisters were born in Wisconsin near Madison, although each in a different location. There was myself, Ruth[...]py together. I, being eldest, was the main helper in the[...]roamed the prairie. There was a spur of badlands nearby and[...]s, the other, E.A. Mulkey had cattle and had been in the[...]age of 14 before child labor laws and she worked in the mill to the age of 26 when our father married[...]learning to shoot game for the table. There were prairie chickens, sage hens, cottontails and jackrabbits, an occasional goose in the fall . Antelope were glimpsed on rare occasio[...]repared hominey, potatoes, refried pork preserved in its own fat, lots of homemade pickles and in the spring, fresh garden vegetables. Our f[...]frequently those early winters with snow sifting in around the windows and the windows frosted in plumes and George Long on the rig[...] |
| [...]by gradu ated from t he Holy Names Nursing School in moved elsewhere. That was the intention of our father but he Miles City . stayed to file on another one quarter section and to buy a In 1917 a small pox epidemic swept through Baker but[...]a member of congress represent ing was in a mild form . I could count the pocks I had . On ly a few the Baker area in the state capitol at Helena in 1938 and 1939. people were broken out all o[...]as born dead to our parents. Another son was born in Miles City by Caesarean section in 1913. He was named George and went to schools in Baker and Marmarth.[...]is wearing the too old, too long dress told about in stepmother had sent us several of her cast off dresses and the article. Minnie Pratt was killed in a car wreck on Water shoes. The dresses[...]dressed in the fanciest dresses and shoes and started to walk I went into Baker to work and helped do housework in to Baker to ride by train to Marmar[...]ecided to carry the name of Baker. I later worked in a candy store and soda shoes and w[...]fountain on Main Street run by people named Dapp. In 1916 I looked a bit strange to Marmarth folks in our too long dresses married a Baker man, Roy Smith, in Miles City but the and ~igh heeled shoes. B[...]as too immature showmg us the caboose in which he slept while on his train for marriage.[...]ere he lived at the Ruth attended high school in Baker and the State end of his[...]e enjoyed the meals. It was altogether University in Missoula in.1916 and 1917. She was a teacher in an enjoyable trip. a small country school near Baker in 1918. R uth Long taught the Hidden Water School in 1918. The |
| [...]mostly on jack-rabbit (they were good to eat in those days),[...]In the spring of 1911 each family got 1 milk cow, 3[...]Loran, Wedding Picture, 1909 Loran in North Dakota. We bought 3 more hens for 50 cents[...]from Russia with nine children leaving their home in Rosemary Varner, Elenor White, Laura Carter[...]ship "Kaiser Wilheim Der Gorse", the fastest ship in the world at that time. It took seven days to make the crossing to New York in that November of 1903. They went by train from Ne[...].F. Rambur and his pet antelope - Loran Buildings in the lined with heavy building paper. There[...] |
| Ziebarth, Geroline Hudson, Cornelius, Jr., Winona died in a car accident when she was 17 and Virginia Stad[...]activity. Box socials and card parties were held in the School House. As the youngsters grew up they[...]ght sandwiches and cake. The men dropped 25 cents in a hat to pay the musicians. Gottlieb Kingsley pla[...]ve him They had built a new house in Baker in 1962 so when come to our Basket Socials because he would bid "sky high," John retired in 1963 they moved to town where they have[...]ind a sheet. One at a John is interested in the church, loves to read and travel[...]d at the Webster Hall. School first started in Rambur's house. The little Red[...]My father, Jacob Ludwig, came to Montana in 1910 to other than ours, were the Ramburs, the Colbos and the homestead, because in Montana he wouldn't have to clear the Northrups.[...]land of trees and stone as was necessary in Wisconsin. He In 1915 we had a good crop but the government put it[...]cattle but John Howe. He had difficulty in getting enough good water Black leg set in and all our young ones died. They burned[...]d etc. He did farming and raised dairy cows. them in the straw stack. We had a small crop for a few ye[...]mber of dry years when he had to buy hay for then in 1919 we lost all our old cows. Eggs sold for 5 ce[...]earest doctor dozen and pork for 3 cents a pound. In 1922 grasshoppers and was fifteen miles awa[...]year we had a good My mother came out in 1915 and I was born on the farm crop but lost eve[...]geese and chickens. Two of the girls got married in sometimes doing field work, and in the home. I attended the one year and the other the next. C. B. had a light stroke in his Lincoln Rural School and the Plevna High Sc[...]anyhow. His arm got better after a few months so in school I attended college at Billings and M[...]vens Point and Superior, Wisconsin to become time in town he got a job on what they called WP A Progra[...]ad There were social activities in and around our stroke but lived three years more. He died at home in 1940. community. We attended St. Anthony's Church in Plevna and were very active in it especially helping with the Bazaars.[...]in 1906 but many people had come west to squat on la[...]a home for a family. Tom was the John worked in the Kohler Company for many years. so[...]y until they bought the Beck place north of Baker in Since there were other families , also squatters, school 1946. In 1947 they came back to Montana where they farmed was in session in a log house between the T.T. Lunders and u[...] |
| [...]at the Willard Hall and later in Baker. Eight children were born in the family; La Verne at age 13 died in 1930. Emelyn, (Mrs. Wilford Lindstrom), Roger,[...]and his health failed. He passed away in 1941. Lillie raised[...]while a girl in Minnesota, Oscar Sjelstad. They make therr[...]home at Miles City or at his home at Sunberg, Mn.[...]Norway. In 1903 when the brothers decided to come to Baker,[...]Montana they left Torvil's wife and children in Hawley,[...]nt Willard Store. The two men will be referred to in this Tom and Lillie Lunder, 1917.[...]that had and Mrs. Elmer Anderson living here and in 1916 she came to taken several months of wo[...]with their belongings, live stock and family all in one car. So of the others. Tom and Lillie married in 1917 at Murdock, we are told. Minn. The[...]e house and set it on away to the Willard school. In good weather _the childr~n rode fire: so the first house burned to the ground. The family ponies. In winter they were taken by sled if the porues .got[...]whist. standing and has been in use through the years. Besides farming Tom had about the only truck in the[...]s, digging water wells, or always dressed in a suit, white shirt and tie. He had great truckin[...]orked as a barber on a strength and engaged in seemingly numerous land deals and traveling carni[...]gambled and telling stories and held the children in suspense up to the end. played cards with the b[...]Alfred, Thomas Lunder married Lillie Roget in 1917, Harry, made bread.[...]elvin. and Gilbert. The family was included in the dances at Willard and T[...] |
| [...]Ekalaka. The Lunder children attended school in a log school house located on the Grandpa Shreve[...]ded that school and also the Willard School. In 1936 Mr. and Mrs. Lunder joined their younger son[...]94 at Lisle, Minnesota . My folks came to Montana in 1908 by train. They wanted to come west for my fa[...]I now live in Baker where I keep active with church,[...]ork. At first we went to Sunday school and church in the school house until the Ollie U. B. Church was[...]needed . Father and mother both helped neighbors in need when I was at home. I worked with other people in the community to establish a school and a church.[...]picnics due to the small homes and lack of space in the chool house. Later on there were programs, p[...]October 17, 1923 Rudolph Lutts and I were married in my mother's home in Ollie, Montana. We had five children. They[...] |
| [...]Joe's and The Madlers sold their property in Austria-Hungary and Rosa's had two small ro[...]ey to migrated to the United States and settled in the Dickinson, come, but before she receive[...]orth Dakota area where they continued farming. In eager to be on her way. She borrowe[...]took the hotel and saloon. Young Joseph, still in his teens, worked as a train to Terry, Montana[...]nt was the accordion, which There she sat, in the newly built but still unfinished depot, he[...]wondering what her next move was. and dances in the vicinity of Dickinson. It was through this[...]y that he met Miss Rosa Lampi, whose family lived in himself as Frank Becker. She discovered tha[...]the farmer found work as a gardener and yard man in the vicinity. The daughter found employment in the city.[...]d Joe was 26 at that time. It was too late to put in a do, Rosa enrolled in a Convent School for three months to crop that summer as the men had arrived in June of 1909. It learn the English language. She[...]was a good season and there was an abundance of prairie and later she worked out as a "hired girl." hay which they cut and sold to the livery barns in Baker. In about a year and a half the family had sufficient[...]m with wood, stone house, such as was the custom in Austria-Hungary. posts, lignite coal a[...]n't have to worry about traveling much experience in the skills and arts of homemaking which[...]ld put to good use later. After the wedding in 1904 Joseph and Rosa Madler continued working in Dickinson. When Mr . .Berry purchased the Jordan Hotel in Glendive, Montana, he sent the couple out there t[...]ll as lamb, beef and pork to be used at the hotel in Glendive. When the Milwaukee Railroad was pu[...]r and have a " look-see. " This decision resulted in Joe and ick Madler and one of the other feIJows filing homestead rights in the Baker area. They returned to Dick[...] |
| [...]d away. rigorous winters including one that began in October and Mrs. Madler now lives in retirement in her Baker home lasted into May. They managed to s[...]ney was 12 per cent. Some of their neighbors in their new home were William (deceased),[...]north of Baker, Montana in the spring of 1909. It was their[...]others. I was born at their home in 1918 to join two brothers[...]I was always very interested in farming and the times were[...]They farmed Altar Society meeting at the Madlers in the early thirties,[...]rations often came just when the entertained them in their own home. There were P. T.A. corn was in need of cultivation. meetings, box socials and dances at the school or in the We were members of the St. John[...]to participate in. Mrs. Madler always raised a big garden and m[...]youngest and only girl in a family of five. She was born at[...]anley. His wife did the baking for the restaurant in her[...]became an assistant to her sister-in-law. They made many[...]ones were in greater demand. They made huge jars of[...]The chocolate topping was made in huge basins because it[...]was the most popular topping. Later Bertha worked in the[...]the home. When she lived. in Stanley she used to complain[...]me for them to go to high school I bought a house in summer months with Henry Jensen in the carpentry trade, south Baker and we moved into it in 1964. Since then I[...] |
| [...]CK] MADLER operation of it while the family stays in town.[...]s. John Weber of Billings), Rita Austria in 1884. There he lived and worked with his family ([...]young man migrated to are both attending college in Bozeman, Montana. America wit[...]Dickinson, North Dakota and worked for farmers in that[...]where he worked on a ranch and also was engaged in the MR. A D MRS. JOSEPH [JOSE] MADLER[...]carpentry trade at times. I first put in an appearance on my parent's homestead[...]Germany. She was employed as a waitress in a restaurant lgnatz ( ick ) and Margaret Madler.[...]farm for awhile. grew to young manhood, assisting in the farming operations: Nick and a[...]o this milking cows, feeding pigs, making hay and in doing a community. They took land a[...]nce from the O'Donnell School arrived later in the summer. So they became "honyocks." It House,[...]as no was too late to plant crops in 1909, but it was a good summer problem. My parent[...]ugh we and there was an abundance of good prairie hay. They cut did have milk cows and pigs. I did not go to high school, as I hay to sell to the livery barn in Baker. So they had money was more interested in the farm activities. saved to buy grain seed for the next spring. In June of 1938, I was married to Miss Olga Tronstad[...]Mrs. Madler raised a family of 10 children, Baker in the Bisher area . A young woman of orway had also[...]ing years, who all attended the O'Donnell settled in that neighborhood and somewhat later, Harry[...]Mary, in Glendive; Joseph (Jose), north of Baker, Frank,[...]orence, Jane and ov. 14, 1921. She attended the Prairie Rose School and then Eva. attended Baker Hi[...]tions were made to the original became interested in a homemaking career so did not go on to sma[...]n, who are: discouragements as the others in the locality. At one time the Carol J . Brush of[...]years; recalling the May blizzard of 1927 and one in the They were Catholics and took part in the church's spring of 1919-1920 which killed sh[...]and piano for his famHy and they enjoyed music in the home. fire wood during my boyhood.[...]gelist Catholic not recover. He passed away in Dec. of 1929. The family Church at Baker and take part in its activities. Through the continued to ca[...]We also like to travel and have done away in 1934. some of that as welJ as a little hunting an[...]The children are all long grown and living in other was music and we heard it often. We still e[...]the localities, Jose being the only one now in this area . evening at home playing the ac[...] |
| [...]food My folks, Frank and Anna Klauzer, lived in and with homemade clothes, b[...]'t have anything extra. Dad came to Montana in 1911 to homestead and lived We kids were satisfied to find an apple with a dime in it at there until his death in May of 1937. He raised cattle and Chris[...]y brother started to school we had a one-horse me in Cumberland. We joined him in the spring of 1913. I still buggy with 2 wh[...]room house with a built on shed, to store things in. Half of it was used for coal and some wood. More[...]n later. It was my job, after school, to get in the wood and coal, carry water, take care of the[...]Annie at the corner. from one bought in the store.Our vegetables always did well[...]ving and Christmas time we butchered, dry picked in the mornings but had neighbor children as companions on them and packed them in wooden boxes or barrels which the way home. That[...]and Co. at Chicago, fll. We farmed with weather. In the winter time I stayed wih an old couple and[...]baler. I did a lot of hay handling even in the winter time when them. We did put up some hay[...]Anyway, after the children had Thistle which was cut half grown . The cattle would eat this go[...]. I sure did and still do Dad went to Baker in the spring of 1920 to get some hay. like to[...]k and it took me less than two hours. A good walk in the was flooding and he couldn't get across. Ther[...]erty , but I kept my household thing and put them in a the horse was dead. house in Baker which I had bought. The crops were pr[...]to Victoria, Canada, to Seattle, where I went up in the Space They sure were lucky that no one got si[...]shington, to the Sacramento VaIJey, doctor's care in those depression years .[...] |
| [...]years I homesteading went, but I was a pioneer in my own mind. I really enjoy traveling.[...]to a new life. I was going to Montana. I am in good health most of the time and I don't believe[...]engaged as a housekeeper by L. Price Sr. and his in complaining, as it doesn't do any good and you ma[...]nesome that I did not think I could stand to live in[...]but I did and found much beauty in the hills and the sage[...]rld War II. Annie Malenousky's home in Baker.[...]My social life was limited but I did work in the |
| [...]cnic excursions and we went on many of them. In the 30's, Miss Fern Carrick, the Music Teacher at[...]med and boarded with us, and she was instrumental in drawing me out into the flow of life outside the[...]roup of young folks to some of the Musical Events in surrounding towns. These trips were usually in the spring. So! I learned to love the natural bea[...]ng at the school. Since music was the last period in the morning in the music building and since Miss Carrick was the teacher he was often allowed to lie in the class room until class was over. He also attended all the operetta practices in the evenings and never once howled. He was a good[...]it was held in the living room of the Price home and I was[...]41 when " Uncle Lew" (as I called him) pas d away in[...]March 7, 1941 , thus ending my r sidence in Baker ome[...]Later I joined the WAC and served my country in that[...]when Mr. Price, r. wa in California Bud caJled to k h r if[...]she lived and received her education. In 1882, she married at the Price's, left to right · L . "Bud" Price, Jr., Leroy "Bud" George W. Markin in Jasper County , Indiana.Th y had 5 Blancha[...] |
| [...]education in a country school in Carter County and then[...]attended the Carter County High School in Ekalaka. After[...]In 1935 Magnus and Olive B. Dean were married on[...]came to Montana in July 1916. Olive was born at Grant, Iowa on June 18, 1915, so she was just thirteen months[...]There were quite a few neighbors in this vicinity. Some of[...]and ranching her father also did some was made to Iowa. It was from here that Mrs. Markin came f[...]a wagon and four horses between Ekalaka to Baker in 1908 accompanied by her two daughters, Leona and Baker. Some of her duties on the farm were to help in the and Lucille. She homesteaded 480 acres a coup[...]ck wild fruit south of Baker. Her son, Fred, came in the spring to put in to be used in jellies and jams, make butter and help with the c[...]rty here. canning. Daughter Cecil, came in 1912 after having completed her Sh[...]e Cross and Fallon Creek country Teacher Training in Iowa. The 3 girls all owned property in schools. At first there were just four or si[...]rance Union Group. She spent 35 years of her life in (Catholic) Church at Ekalaka. this community, either on the farm or in Baker itself. They have three child[...], Karen Ann, Carla Rae had most of her experience in Iowa before coming to Baker at and Tyler Lynn all[...]nd from Frankfort, S . D. by emigrant car in 1909. They filed Mrs. Shreve.[...]homestead claims. They spent the first winter in the Art In 1943 she traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska to live th[...]uilt their homestead shacks on their claims. away in November 1945 and it is there she is buried. In 1910 Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Akers and son, Donald, cam[...]Then in 1911 Mr. and .Mrs. B.T. McClain, parents of Art[...]y purchased the Jess Curry land for homesteading. In 1908 they were induced to take the homestead.[...]gnus was born at Ekalaka many of the babies in the neighborhood, while Mrs. Dave on July 26, 190[...]he ranch where he helped take care neighbor in need. She enjoyed nothing better than to plan a o[...]Dayle Martin married Victor North and lived in Baker the nearest railroad which was north at Bak[...]here to teach the Sawyer School. They now live in Chico, a few box socials, some Fourth of J[...] |
| Wesley and his wife, Eloise, and their daughter live in Bernard and Mae have four children. Donald and his Coeur d 'Alene, Idaho. Their son lives in Moscow, Idaho. wife, Dorothy , have eight children. They live in St. Paul. Norval and his wife lived in Spokane, Washington until Minnesota where he is Plant Superintendent of a silico sand his death in 1952. plant. Larry and Connie have six children and they live in Bernard married Mae Foltz who came out here[...]sota to teach the Wills School. She taught school in Appraisal Service. Joanne is now Sister Marie Bernard, a Baker for several years and they were married in 1930. member of the Sisters of Charity of[...]they live at Marmarth. Jim is the men all pitched in to pay the fiddlers. Usually it was employed in Bowman and he has also taken over the livestock J[...]nksgiving dinners, birthday parties purchased in 1942. Mae is teaching in the Marmarth School. and showers.[...]and were married in Miles City, Montana. I was born there in[...]d four sisters and one brother. We went to school in[...]When we sold the ranch in 1959 I was married and[...]nd loaded three emigrant cars with our belongings in Farmer's Union Co-Op Oil Co. from 1937 to 1942. In 1945 he September 1910. Our destination was B[...]orth purchased Duppler's Implement business in Baker and he Dakota where we arrived a fe[...]blowing great clouds of dirt; filling our eye and In 1953 they moved to a farm at Marmarth, .D.[...]some 40 or 45 miles south and west of Bowman in the[...]We lived in a tent while the hou e was being built. It wa[...]There were many homesteaders coming in and soon there[...]fences, breaking sod, putting in a few acres of crop and[...]made ice-cream . ome of the people had put up ice in[...]<1awdust which had been hauled from the saw mill in the[...] |
| [...]for our cattle. ·'Crook" was quite a town back in those days, with a bank, a And the w[...]ad to buy our own books. In an entirely different way The country at t[...]line in N.D. and then only after he had killed thousands[...]grind on a windy day. We left the homestead in the fall of 1919, after the big drought and took over Granddad Mattie's farm in Minnesota. After Granddad's death I returned to the west in the twenties but none of the family ever returned[...]d finished the grades at the Painter chool. In 1931, I married Florence A. McManigal at Glendive[...]11/ 2 years. Our daughter, Audrey R. Mrnak, lives in Havre, Montana. She attended the Baker schools fo[...]aywald I am now retired and have lived here in Baker many years.[...]I was born at Audubon, Iowa and when I was eighteen The following is a poem written by Louis McManigaJ, years old, in 1915, my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Rumelhart brother of Florence Mattie. It was published in The Dakota decided to come to Montana and[...]a farm in the Webster Community for a few years, then to a[...]died in 1941. We are living in the Bad Lands[...]Christensen north of Baker in 1929 when Ford died. I moved By our[...] |
| [...]elen Jean. Robert died October 15, 1957. I stayed in Missoula for a while then moved to Coeur d'Alene,[...]log cabin on Box Elder, near Sykes, Montana in 1909. ROY AND ARIEL McCLAIN[...]. Roy's father had been in the Marmarth, North Dakota newspaper. living on rented land in South Dakota and his mother was a school teacher. They homesteaded near Willard in 1909 and Oct[...]at Roy received his grade school education in a rural school the turn of affairs recent[...]aware of the and later graduated from high school in Baker. Then he fact that the marr[...]attended the Eastern Montana State Normal School in which had been planned to be o[...]d to be executed according to the plan laid In 1936 he married Ariel Ruth Cox in Baker. She was out by the good Mrs.[...]. Her parents could not be obtained in due time. were Urvin E. and Bertha I. Cox. The fa[...]home on the morning of the homesteaded near Knobs in 1910, when Ariel's father, a 20th[...]Garner of that city. They then drove to the home of the Ariel r[...]where a nice supper awaited them . Then came and Prairie Rose Schools and then graduated from the Baker[...]s by Mr. Spry who explained the situation. months in the winter time.[...]am pry announced congratulations in order. At the e words t.he dried up in 1933 and the crops failed, but there were better[...]ose as one man. The bride was beautifully attired in times, too when Ariel rode horseback, used skiis in the winter white silk with an orange wreath, white gloves and white and swam daily in the summer.[...]g for the turkeys. She attended passed on in order and were seated at tables well filled with[...]ed was carrying lunches to the men as they worked in the fieJds. She also had to help with the housewo[...]Ekalaka. Box socials were held at the Hilmont and Prairie Rose School. Roy remembers the distress as w[...]the Baker Museum in 1971 He is now employed by the M & M Supply Company in B eth and Scout McElfresh in the dining room of their new Baker.[...]home on Box Elder in about 1909[...] |
| [...]d of The presents given to the bride were of cut glass, fine sheep. They farmed and gardened[...]tting out a supply of lignite coal from the mines in the Bad[...]then the coal was loosened with picks or in some cases by MR. AND MR . TIMOTHY E.[...]dynamite. This was then loaded in wagons usually pulled by[...]ears on the McGinnis, were Minnesotans who lived in East St. Paul, place .. 4th of July celebrations, school picnics and programs, Minn. in the early 1900's. Mr. McGinnis was engaged in berry picking jaunts, visiting neighbo[...]e was a lot of plastered and papered their walls in those days. music in the air. They even had a dance or two at the hous[...]try their fortune farther west. They had friends in the Fertile summers, things did not seem so attractive. That 9 miles Prairie area who had been their neighbors in St. Paul as well over prairie roads was a long drag in bad weather to have to as friends from earlier d[...]cGinnis gave piano and his vehicle which he used in his work, and his faithful mare, mandolin les[...]rs missed them but of course still saw them often in anywhere around, as she knew enough to walk away[...]another little boy, a Mont.; George F., Daly City, Calif.; Robert E., Tucson, babe in arms.[...]When they reached Baker, they set up housekeeping in a Charles Harding McKenzie was born in Coronation, two room house near the tracks not fa[...]hortly after his father had of the Hoke residence in Baker. Getting work in his line was passed away from an injury rec[...]yer McKenzie, brought her two home for themselves in the house now standing next to the littl[...]as born there. The two little They lived in a dugout built into a hillside in the vicinity girls started school in Baker. of Steve's Fork. It had one room, sodded up in front, bare dirt fter a time, "Mac" got a[...]re was a spring not far away. The boys were Baker in the edge of the Bad Lands. His nearest neighbors[...]Little Porcupine. After that there was young pig in a crate that was on one of the loads. Out[...] |
| [...], an old timer and teller of tales, who lived out in the bunk house and helped about the place. When the younger children were all in school, Gladys Rasmussen was hired to teach. She had grown up in a half dugout on Lodge Pole Creek west of Porcupine. In the spring of 1934 she and Charles were married.[...]swelled to over $1,700.00 before it was paid off in 1971. They left the ranch. Charles worked at odd jobs including a session with the WPA. At Miles City he worked for the Milwaukee Railroad and as a lumber clerk. In 1957 Mr. Sweet, of Mitchell, South Dakota contact[...]He needed a manager for the Fullerton Lumber yard in Baker. Charles accepted. The family moved to Baker, living in an apartment at Elwood McLeod[...]f the Economy Grocery |
| They had all the usual homesteader's problems in Dakota in 1903 helping to build a bridge across the Little[...]cash daughter of very early settlers in western South Dakota. income.[...]"Ella," as they were known, were married at In later years Jack and Minnie Mellor moved to Baker[...]the original Old Stand Saloon, in Ekalaka. With the John Mellor was born in Baker, Montana on August 3, impending ar[...]rest and moved his wife and son, Arthur, (Buster) in between Ekalaka and the Medicine Rocks in 1909. They to Baker. He purchased two l[...]just south of the comer opposite the Baker Hotel. in Baker were the Bob Lowrey and the Jess Barstow fa[...]grew up and attended grade school and high school in a Millinery Shop. Baker. After finishing h[...]Fallon County, "Red" served as of Montana and is in the Life Insurance business. under[...]Alzada area. The formation of Fallon County, 1940 in Moberly, Missouri. They have four children; Ronal[...]Sheriff, "Red" still served the Alzada area. In later years he They have in recent years made their home in Billings, worked for William Beck, and Peter[...]terms, the small frame school in the east end of Baker. The[...]of Roy and Gretchen Mengel came to Montana in 1915[...]September 11, 1967, Ella who did not enjoy 1916. In 1918, when Eldon was two years old, his parents[...]renewing acquaintances and seeing changes in the area, farm, and went to grade school and high school in Baker. He brought much pleasure in his last years. graduated from high school in the middle of the big depression. He raised poul[...]n he entered the Army. He served over five years in the Army and received a Com.mission. While in the service he was stationed in the United MAUD PLUMMER BOWEN M[...]and China. In 1863 Levi and Harriet Plummer took up a homestead[...]turned home from the Service he worked for in Shelby County, Iowa. They wanted to make a home for the Montana Dakot[...]February 18 1888. I grew up on the farm and In 1947 Eldon and Guy Thomas formed a partnership[...]ed Christine high school education at Harlan, Iowa, I taught a country Jesfield in 1947 at Billings, Montana.[...]ldon had three children; Ray, Irene and In 1907, when I was nineteen years old, I married Mu[...]Bowen at Irwin, Iowa and in 1908 we came to Beach, orth In 1957 he was instrumental in forming the Empire Dakota on the orthem[...]. We took up a Broadcasting Company · KFLN Radio in Baker. homestead in the Golden Valley area of North Dakota close to[...]the Montana border. Since we had no house to live in at first, Frances Kron on March 11, 1967 at Blue Earth, Minnesota. we had to live in a sod house belonging to a neighbor, until we[...]e with Art Hepperle got one of our own built. in 1966 and moved his other business out there so it[...]been started yet. In the fall we would go 21 miles to Beach[...]ead My husband was killed in 1918. We had seven children Earl C. (Red) Metheny arrived in Billings, Montana, one of which was born after the death of my husband . In from his childhood home in Maquoketa, Iowa, in February order to feed and clothe the ch[...]two months prior to his 16th birthday. He settled in the in the fields and run the farm myself. The children[...]n. As soon as We moved over into Montana in 1920 where our he was of legal age he prov[...] |
| [...]and 3 great, great grandchildren. I now live in Baker, Montana where I have many friends and wher[...]child of Merl and Leone Scoles, born Jan. 1, 1921 in the home of Ethel Kenion, a midwife in Baker. My mother says I cut my teeth on the saddlehorn as she wrangled the ca[...]s. Social We was school box socials and prairie rodeos at When I started high school in Baker I worked for board and Grandpa Browns[...]passed away in August 1972. my wages with the folks. From Willar[...]ichard Elsberry Morris first saw the light of day in Denver, Colorado, in the year of 1873. His parents[...]homesteaded near Denver in 1868, and then, when Berry was[...]years of age, they moved to a location near Rapid City, . Dak. in 1880, where they were occupied in the stockraising[...]brother, Robert (Bob) and his family located in the same[...]set. up for himself in the ranching industry. In 1903, he married argaret Drie bach , who had been[...]They were married at Rapid City, outh Dakota. ome[...]lfong, Charles ( horty) bear and R. 0 . Dean In 1943 I was married to Floyd Minard and two boys[...]rom tho e early ranch days that became my hu&>and in 1948 and besides rafaing my two sons, Berry[...]the Morrises built a roomy , comfortable home in Baker, My sister and I joined 4-H Club when I was[...]Eric Berglen, children who attended school in Baker and s pent. summer on the Dan Gundersons, t[...]nsons, the Roy They took an active part in the affairs in the early day Johnsons, the Tronstads, the[...] |
| [...]age. When the barn was completed, before putting in stalls, they initiated it by giving a big barn d[...]nd was engaged with Frank Becker and E. A. Mulkey in real-estate deals and in locating incoming homesteaders on land. Wh[...]representative. Their family was educated in Baker except that some of the elder children went[...]of the Masonic Lodge and of the Episcopal Church in Baker. Mrs. Morris passed away in 1919. Hugh Morris in front of family sod home. That was a difficult ye[...]nt cyclone wind swept the area northeast of Baker in 1922 which caused great destruction on the ranch[...]his second wife. She passed away at Yakima, Wash. in 1969. They had no family. Both Richard E.[...]Mary is at Yakima, Wash. where her husband is in partnership with her brother, Richard Morris in a trucking business there.[...]few years, but the Depression was on. Gail taught in Wibaux, Montana, and as soon as I was able to tra[...]ding a horse, playing where we soon engaged in the trucking business, and Gail with my sisters and brothers, going to school, mostly in once again turned to teaching school. W[...]ch. After 22 years in the trucking business we sold out and On Mar[...]beth Gail retired. We still make our home in Upton, but we go south Crow at Wibaux, Montana. Gail had arrived on the local with the birds in the winter and touch down at Cordes Lakes, scene[...]ated. We home of her parents, Thomas and Ada Crow in Baker, have made trips back to Baker. Montana. Her family lived in Baker for a few years and then Gail and her 4 sisters were together at Baker in 1952 moved to a farm 6 miles northwest of town.[...]when their father became ill. We have in our possession, 3000 She was one of the five[...]hardly wait until they were out of sight gift in 1908. so they could cook up a batch of fudge. We hope to visit Baker again in the near future. (1973)[...] |
| [...]as married to Ella Blake at Fairboult, Minnesota, in In 1922, Mr. Moshier became co-owner of the Baker 19[...]ce of Mrs. Moshier's, who lived became active in politics, serving as Mayor of Baker from in Baker and attended school here for a number of ye[...]sioner in 1939 in which capacity he served until 1945.[...]to the Mayor's office in which he served from 1947 to 1949.[...]Following Mrs. Moshier's death in 1948 he continued to[...]Agency. In 1952 he closed out the store and devoted full tim[...]Roy Moshier spent many years in Public life and devoted[...]and surrounding areas. He was keenly interested in every day[...]developments of the gas and oil industry in Fallon County.[...]orn April 1, Roy Moshier by their home in Baker 1887 the fifth oldest in a family of fourteen children. She was[...]born and raised in Carrington, orth Dakota of French[...]English parents. When she was sixteen years In the year of 1913 when Roy was 35 years of age, they old she married Peter Dale Morton who was born in came to this area and took up a homestead, 30 mil[...]k of Dakota. They spent their first year in Steele, orth Dakota moisture, poor crops together[...]k. While on the homestead they had ;Lily stayed in teele and helped his folks on their farm. as neig[...]iam Pickens, Albert Jardee came out from Miles City on the stage. tayed all night at the and Mr. and[...]owlton with Bill Gerhart and his wife who ran was in the vicinity east of the Medicine Rocks. After pr[...]They changed horses three times up on their claim in 1917 they moved to Baker. between Mile City and Ekalaka. be stayed at t he Taylor[...]herding s heep there. In June when shearing started Dale[...]most of the winter of 1906 and 1907 in a log house south of[...]between Ekalaka, Terry and Miles City. In 190 Lily and[...]August 13, 18 6 in teele, orth Dakota came from Steele[...]work and Ella Mo shier by their home in Baker sheared sheep. Lots o[...] |
| [...]Robert L. Morton was born on the farm in a 1/2 dug out along the creek June 2, 1910. In the fall of 1914 they built a[...]house on the homestead. In 1948 Bob Morton moved the[...]In 1914 Morton's kept the school teacher Miss[...]ttenberg and from then on until the school closed in 1948[...]away December 19, 1916 and was buried at Steele. In[...], A Minneapolis coal burning steam engine, worked in the Lame Jones and Milk Creek area, 1911. Johnny[...]Milk Creek Club, 1913. Some of the ladies in the picture are:[...]d retired . During George and Lily Morton's years in the Milk Creek area they were active in all community[...]loved to hunt and fish. Mrs. Morton was active in Home Bottom picture, A Rumley oil burner plow out[...]Demonstration work in the earlier years. Juve, worked in the Webster area, 1911. Morton's 1916[...] |
| [...]h on August 17, 1954. After his death Lily stayed in Baker until her death May 8, 1969 at the age of 8[...]s death when she moved to the Golden Valley Manor in Beach, North Dakota. The eldest son, William, married Mary Lyman in 1933. During the 1930's depression he left the farm and went to work for the State Water Board in Helena. He still lives in East Helena after retiring from his job in 1972. He has 2 children, Mary Jo who is a teacher[...]m, Jr. who works for the state highway department in Helena. His wife, Mary, passed away in 1952 and he is presently married to the former Ar[...]zest for life seldom seen in people her age and she always said Bill, Bob[...]she lived in the present not the past. We heard few tales of[...]lived on the bad times. Morton farm and in Baker all his life except for a few years during[...]ining land from . Jame J . Morrow arrived in Mildred, Montana (at that William Johnson. On May[...]rn to them. trme a part of Custer County) in April of 1908 to homestead She married James Cook[...]red. He built a hous - 14, and Paul 13. She lives in Richmond, California. On actually a tarpaper hack-in preparation for the arrival of December 17, 1934[...]children; Karen o the hard-surfaced floor in the new hou e wa lab rock laid James 18, Dean 15, Ann 7 and David 4. They live in Cowley, on a dirt subfloor. Wyoming where C[...]1936 Edith was born. She married Raymond Carlisle in 1963. They have two children Dawn 9 and Shawn 8. They live in Greelee, Colorado. Three years later the last of[...]27, 1965 Bob married lvina Howe. They now re ide in Baker where Bob is civil defense director. In 1959 he had a sale and sold his house to C. L. Askins and they moved it just north of Baker. In summing up Lily, Dale and George Morton's[...] |
| Jim 's family arrived in Mildred on June 8, 1908 by itself. Afte[...]to put Rowland , Russell and Luard. Also included in the emigrant each one to bed. She introdu[...]through 1916 four more children were born - Lorna in and school activities in their home to keep them busy and 191 0, Mar garet in 1912, Fred in 1914 and Donald in 1916. The entertained. children of school age attended school in Mildred 1 1/2 miles For approximately t[...]ll income from the farm and cattle. As a home and in the late afternoon t he same procedure was[...]y from home much of the time so that the followed in rever se and the children were returned safely[...]h, she always managed to find time to make polio. In July of 1916 Margaret died of pneumoni a.[...]n 's school programs or help direct and take part in a[...]Early day Mildred, Montana. In 1917 the family moved from the homestead to the |
| [...]nose to the grindstone he more than did his share in married and was living in Laurel with his wife. Leith (t he community affai[...]er Leith Will) and Lorna were married a nd living in board , church board and cemetery commit tee. H e[...]rs that working on t he highway between Miles City and Glendive. plans were made for the new school building and , as is t he Finally, in 1934 t he Morrows sold their home to Waldo Clark case in any community where an expenditure of money is[...]needed new school building. The building is still in Keit h, Mildred, Dorot hy and Doris, moved to[...]1934. Don married Agnes Wagner , a classmate in Glasgow, in morning Mother and the boys went to work hauling[...]so A series of moves found t he family in Bi llings for several t he flat rocks were laid up wit h gumbo and straw mixed to years. In 1942 they moved to Orem, Utah where J im worked t[...]t he as a master plum ber u ntil his death in 1957. Rowland and walls by fall and dozens of neighbors gathered to help t hem fam ily had settled in Billings then in Coeur d ' Alene, Idaho. with the raising of the r[...]F red was working for a construction company in Colorado had been bought and the lumber a nd hard[...]d later went with this same compa ny to a project in the used to complete the upper struct ure. There[...]ne where he and his wife, E lla, (the former Ella in eastern Montana who still remember t he great dan[...]ll of Terry) lived for four years. He now resides in hay loft provided .[...]during World War II-Bill and Keith in England and Don in[...]ombing mission over Germany and spent many months in[...]Inez Older, two early day pioneers in Prairie County) are living in California. Bill and family lived in Wallace, Idaho for[...]years until ovember of 1972 when Bill was killed in a[...]mining accident. Dorothy married and lives in Rapid City,[...]settled in Orem, Utah near their parents. Jim died in 1957 and Lorna in 1970. Both are buried in Utah .[...]Fred . Morrow was born in 1914 in Mildred, Montana Uncle Fred Morrow's homestead, t[...]of Mildred in 1908. He was one of fifteen children, six of[...]whom died early in life. Automobiles were scarce the country ov[...]shack with a rock lab floor built by his father in 190 . This Model T might be found in the yard and it was always ready was his h[...]father and seven children - bought a home in Mildred and transportation now and then. Jim Morr[...]ity but because everyone the family drive him out in the country to see his homestead. was always[...]odeos, dances, picnics and other events succeeded in starting the car, but it was necessary to turn it which drew people from the entire area . around in the yard before going out through the front gate.[...]vidly the gathering amidst a tangled mess of wire in the middle of the garden. of slab rock fro[...]walls of the barn . eighbors and friends assi ted in the wire from the car's wheels. The easterner. wi[...]0's and the 1930's-yet Fred's stories of his life in Mildred apparent that actually the grass w[...] |
| [...]ll of the chances as the riding contestants. In describing his life as a boy Fred told of handlin[...]of the hay rack into the loosely loaded thistles in order to pack them down- especially true when the[...]ble had to be spent for more important items. But in spite of the hardships that at the time seemed unbearable, Fred looks back on the years in Mildred and the big house down in the trees near O'Fallon Creek with fond memories and no regrets. In 1934 Fred left Mildred to earn his own living dri[...]1945. truck re-oiling the highway between Miles City and Glendive. It was at this time he met his fut[...]n preparations for a November Ella was born in Terry in 1917. Her father died when she opening. While working in the building before the opening an was eight and[...]fame was her ancestral chart tracing her ancestry in a these words, "Young feller, I've got[...]one thing schools and graduated from high school in 1935. She had had Baker doesn't need it's[...]store! I'll give you a different life than Fred in that she was an only child, and as about six m[...]r side of the coin a leading such, was fortunate in not having felt the effects of hard business man in Baker, Martin Russell, came to see him and times[...]Store was opened November 25, 1945 and continued in her high school years Ella was pianist for a dan[...]om was Fred's brother, Don) Lawler Drug. In 1965 Fred changed the store affiliation from and played for dances in Terry and the surrounding area. Coast[...]a at Berkeley, California for two years. In 1945 shortly before their arrival in Baker, another During this time Fred contin[...]for Wunderlich daughter, Diane, was born in Miles City and in 1949 a third Construction Company and was sent to[...]as heard to remark, " othing is better than In March of 1937 Fred and Ella were married in Denver, two datighters-unless it is three daughters!" Colorado. In those days there was no such thing as a vacation Fred and Ella both became active in the life of the with pay , but Fred did succeed in getting one day off in which community and worked for the betterment[...]ll construction work many served as Mayor in the 1950's as well as taking his turn as moves we[...]Commerce, the Lion's Club and finally found them in Durango, Colorado where their first ot[...]school board and has daughter. Carolyn, was born in 1940. In 1941 Fred was sent been a member of the[...]President of the Rocky Mountain Fair Association in 1964 parts department. Since the company carried[...]t of the Montana Hardware and Implement inventory in Panama in excess of one million dollars this Association in 1971 and 1972. He has been a director of the posi[...]ter association for ten years. After living in Panama for four years Fred, Ella and Ella did her share in local organizations serving as their daughter, Ca[...]dent of the Baker Woman's Club and Baker location in which to open a hardware store. When Baker,[...]eastern Montana were of and Worthy Patron in 1952. Fred served as Master of the the dry, depre[...]Church serving many years as officers of arrived in Baker. Seemingly their worst fears were realized[...]Baker High School where they had been active in every phase[...] |
| [...]cut and stacked and later made into bundles to be use[...]fuel. With drought, grasshoppers and blizzards in that flat[...]fresh in their minds they discouraged us in the thoughts of homesteading in a new country.[...]nductor, B. Spalding, decided to go out there. So in[...]supply of groceries in one room of their home. Fred Morrow family by the home in Baker. Left to right, of high school life but particularly in the music department. |
| until he finished high school in 1936. The fall of '36 we moved I attended grade school at the Johnston Rural School to Rapid City, S. D. where Edward entered The School of[...]e Carter County High School at Ekalaka. I Mines. In the spring of 1937 we moved to Minneapolis,[...]ta and became a school teacher. At first I taught in rural We bought a grocery store and operate[...]de at Baker, Montana. of 1942. Edward was married in 1941 to Anna May Barnicle Claude Moseley and I were married in the church of Minneapolis.[...]Ekalaka on June 29, 1931. We had two girls; In the spring of 1942 Edward enlisted in the Air Corps. Ann (Mrs. Henry Haagenstad[...]t attack on the winter and come back and help him in the summer. In February 2, 1965. 1947 we sold the store. We had decided to spend 3 months in I have four grandchildren; Cathy Ha[...]. Our last trip to Montana was I live in my own home in Baker where I have lived for in 1956. I still own the ranch out there and it has[...]son and has been for 35 years or more. Our lives in Montana were busy and happy years. Edward wa[...]years. He has now bought a lovely Apartment House in The earlier settlers that came to[...]eland, Florida. His daughter, Susan Furman, lives in took squatter's rights. My uncle an[...]William Tull and family, left their home in Illinois, and came grandchildren. Chuck Moscrip is married and lives in San to Montana in 1909 to homestead about 40 miles south and Francisco where he is a lawyer. Mary K. their youngest is in east of Baker, Montana in a section of the county which was high school.[...]Elder Creek. After the Tulls settled in Montana, Mrs. Tull's homesteaded in Montana, but am so very grateful that God[...]came has guided and cared for me all these years, in sickness and out to the Knobs area and took up squatter's rights (that is to sorrow, in health and happiness.[...]n public land under regulations by the government in William G. Moscrip passed 2way in Lakeland, Florida order to get a title to it). December 12, 1963 and is buried in Memorial Gardens in However a little later Conard George was exploring in Lakeland.[...]LY Conard. In 1908 my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Burch, decid[...]way to the Ridgeway Community on Box Elder Creek in Montana. My father filed on a claim and started t[...]read so I spent many enjoyable hours with books. In the winter time we went coasting, had skating par[...]country dances and Christmas Community programs. In the summers we swam in the creek and reservoirs, attended local[...]and the crops were Three Corners marker in the Knobs Vicinity, Many people "Great," so there[...]re was a great loss of Montana . People in the picture, right to left; Evelyn Most, livestoc[...]eek was a mile wide and the water was a foot deep in our house. John George Most[...]neighbors were; H. W. Ewalt, John in their senior years and homesteaded near their son[...]ors, the Carmacks, Carl Schuyler Most. In 1917 George W. Most came out to Knobs Burc[...] |
| [...]proved up on the piece of land. He sold his home in Illinois and moved his family out to Montana in March of 1918. Here they farmed and ranched for m[...]dma Most, as they were better known, passed away in their full years. Grandma in her 88th year and Grandpa in his 95th year. They are both buried in the Bonnievale Cemetery at Baker, Montana. Their son, George Most, passed away in 1945 after a short illness and was buried beside[...]5 miles south of Baker on Box Elder Creek. Notice in Baker and lived there for several years, at which time her the long prairie grass. health started to fail. She then moved in with her daughter[...]at that ranch for several years. She passed away in the 88th year time. and is buried in the family lot.[...]lks, "Come see our sons and one daughter all live in Sioux City, Iowa . Schuyler[...]tarted off Montana. Gladys taught several schools in the Knobs[...]before they moved to Troy. She also taught school in[...]but he turned around and bought from Iver Hyland in 1939. They still raise cattle and[...]anty, hit a ''blow out," and the buggy took lives in Baker and runs a transmission shop. Ruby Most[...]an awful bounce. Phillips lives in Bremerton, Washington and Orel Most[...]out. I was still holding on to the Ancelet lives in Medford, Oregon.[...]the house for These early settlers now live in modern homes, and the[...]t time he had bucked around ranches have enlarged in acres and much farming and[...]they came in the house, Jeannette told them she had hitched[...]chair in a corner, and wa my face red . Father looked at m[...]thought it wa a luxury. The cars were f w in th[...]K APP we got to ride in it occa sionally. 0 . H. Knipfer owned a seven[...]pas enger car and it wa about the first car in the country. Office. Mail days were Mondays. Wedn[...]As I said before we came out to Montana in March of rode horseback usually after the mail. I was planning on 191 . The depression hit us in 1919. There was no grass for riding the saddle ho[...]we will all go for the mail." General worked well in living for hi family. the fields with four[...]ched to a We moved back to the homestead in the spring and put buggy . My father had told me not to hitch General to the in a crop and managed to stay on th place thr[...] |
| years. We had bad years again in 1935-36 and many cattle after they[...]River. Then they cut across country to our place. Carl Logar,[...]"He's probably froze to deat h in a snow bank." He thought[...]ith him prolonged sub-zero weather causing frost in the spine of the and told t hem that Dona[...]ev eral of the neighbors and he Donald left in his car taking Gene Frates with him. He[...]g at our home. home. They left early in the morning of January 31, 1935.[...]y. It was an old str aw stack. Perhaps it walked in Donald and Gene. They got as far as the Urvin Cox was three years old, so we put straw in wash tubs and carried home. Mr. Cox told them maybe the snow plow would come it in a sled to the feed trough s so the wind wouldn 't[...]dred head of Cox and Lloyd Young went with Donald in his car. cattle. Twenty-eigh[...]or. He said, "Fellows we aren't going any further in the car," so they decided to walk.[...]e to come right home, so as to be with the cattle in case a wind came up and blew the roads shut again[...]ad to mortgage rus Dad 's truck and also his car, in order to buy the truck. This took a few da[...] |
| [...]FT MONTANA " By Orel Most In twenty years I grew up Within Montana State[...]ething better I tho't would be a sin. In the spring we planted. No rain from north or south, And hoppers ate the thistles That grew in spite of drought. We tried again-we tried in vain With hopelessness about. The hop[...]They could not drive us out. Then winter in her fulblast came With howling wind and sno[...]il our cattle froze to death While standing in the barn. E.[...]e". I would have stayed no doubt. But in the year of thirty-six, That winter drove m[...]ar to me, Cattle Co. in 1892, that he was placed in charge of range And then be on my way.[...]The first herd of Hereford cattle arrived in Montana Oil was struck, the news was spread from Morecroft, Wyoming in the spring of 1 . They were That lig[...]e were two year old steers and Have kept it in the spout. spaye[...]care of the herds stayed in Ekalaka or at Mr. harles[...]Res. Worker-1940 Elijah Mulkey was born in La Fayette County, Missouri on March 15, 1862. Hi[...]Eastern Montana. He was taken from his home in Missouri to Texas · the land of large herds of c[...]rider and handler of horses. When only 17 he was in charge of a large herd of cattle and was made forema.n in charge of men for one of the large cattle compani[...]e Standard Cattle Company whose headquarters were in Texas but whose forty thousand head of livestock[...]al western states. While still a young man he was in charge of tramng herds from Texas to the M[...] |
| In 1890 the Standard Cattle Company decided to construct a few buildings on their 101 Ranch in Montana. Logs were cut in the Pine Hills of Carter County and hauled to the[...]A log house was built for the men and poles were cut with which to construct corrals for the saddle ho[...]greeted by Mr. Mulkey in the true western spirit. The 101[...]baptismals were often held in the waters of Little Beaver[...]In 1905 the homesteaders and small ranchers began[...]en used by the Standard Cattle Company and it was in 101 Ranch Roundup Camp.[...]operations in this part of the country. Accordingly the[...]f head of horses and After Mr. Mulkey was put in charge of the Montana 101 sold them some c[...]s were finished Mr. and Mrs. Mulkey were then in the ranching business for under his supervision.[...]the best planned and built ranching headquarters in head of cattle and continued to play a prominent part in the the northwest.[...]rn one child, a girl, whom they named Violet, and in whose honor the The operation beca[...] |
| [...]and children. To this end he lived his Montana in a Model T Roadster in 1935. They had lived in life. He died March 5, 1937 at the age of 75 year[...]grocery store in addition to having a ranch and doing some[...]came to this community. He remembers that it was in[...]The family lived in town and considered all of Fallon[...]school in Baker and worked all the time. There were no[...]In 1944 JK married Rebecca Woolsey at Billings.[...]hurch (Congregational) and have the Bowling Lanes in Baker, Mrs. Lewis {Esther] La Cross, Mrs. Leo Bums, Mrs. Baker. There are five children in the family. They are Jay Comstock, Mrs. Doctor [E[...]knew his cattle". It seems there was one cow in the herd of operation of the ranch until her death. In later years there Herefords at the L. Price R[...]Wesley Francis Munsell was born in Redwood County,[...]Rus ell Kelly Munsell . In December of 1934 the R.K.[...]school education in Minnesota. He finished high school in Baker. After finishing high chool in l 936 he ran the market[...]She grew up and got her education in Plevna. After[...]activilies. she helped in her Dad 's Hardware Store. From the[...]In 1943, "Wes" and Agnes moved to the former Walker[...]farm which is six miles soulh west of Baker. In 1946 they moved to Miles City, Montana to run the Miles ity Packing Pict[...] |
| He is active in livestock organizations and in 1968 was We lived throug h all the t[...]a tricky Nature as well as the depression of the in 1969 was chairman of t he Board of Directors. Bes[...]g the days of the W.P.A. And after 1938, when our in civic, school and church organizations.[...]fire, times were Agnes has also been active in and held offices in church, "terrible tough ". Many people gave[...]r one at the fair. When the animal organ and sang in the choir at the St. John's Catholic Church[...]exhibiting it in sideshows. My older brother, Harry Houston,[...]lly, Janice, Joseph, Deborah steer is now in a museum in Wyoming. and Richard. There are six grandchildren[...]years came, our parents had to have us boarded in Baker,[...]other's There were dances at the Fertile Prairie Hall where a double homestead was a short distanc[...]bunk had been built over the coal bin, in one comer near the that they Jived and operated a[...]to sleep while the elders gayly danced the hours in very early days, she had a flock of large, meaty[...]team at an ea;:ly age. I always found pleasure in driving, feathered legs and said that the Black Langshan chickens riding or training horses and in using them in doing the field wore "chaps "![...]s. We now raise My family left this location in 1918 and moved to a site ponies which we so[...]y proceeded LaTonne Rae, presently working in a bank, Daniel Van. and to farm and build up a he[...]My mother was a charter member of the Baker stop in to water their horses, and at times, Mother fed a[...]a few days. in 1972.[...] |
| [...]mentary education. My childhood was spent in all the usual pursuits enjoyed by small growing[...]Montana-Dakota line and 12 miles east of Baker; in the Fertile Prairie Community. Our daughter LaTonne Rae, has earned many awards in 4- H and school work, as well as trophies for s[...]raduated from a Secretarial Course and now works in a bank. Daniel Van, and Patrick James have also won awards and trophies in 4-H and school work, and also for the showing of the ponies. They are still in school. Our church is the Baker Communit[...]1887 We have long enjoyed the involvement in the Fertile Parents of Martha Murphy, Maggie Damon and Addie Dean. Prairie 4-H Club. We have enjoyed many dances and it was[...]husband! We have enjoyed school In the fall of 1897, Bill Damon, a sheep man living[...]November 2, 1897, we arrived by train at FaJion, in a called a ''Toe Party" or "Toe Social." Also I[...]his ranch. The big 4th of July Celebrations held in Marmarth when I was neighbors were scar[...]rrived I enjoy writing poetry and have won in a poetry contest at the "jumping off place." as well as in a short essay contest, but I do not find time to engage in this activitiy as often as I should like to. I wa[...]r Cowbells when the Baker Livestock Auction began in 1970 and our group has bad the lunch counter sinc[...]THA MURPHY - MY LIFE TORY Written in her own words in 1959 I, Martha Angela, was born May 22, 188[...]nd Sarah Hasty. Two of these eleven children died in infancy, (George and ellie). In the preceeding years, seven more have passed away[...]re the only two of the family still living. In 1892, my father, mother, three brothers, (Fred, F[...]on Creek. Later sold to Ida. married and remained in Maine. One brother, Seth, also Pope brothers of Miles City. It was located near where the stayed in Maine and passed away a year later. In 1893. town of Mildred now stands. Pi[...], Ida May and Martha husband and family joined us in Minneapolis. Murphy, age 1[...]Winchell , a son of my father's sister, ranching in Montana. He shipped cattle to Chicago Mr. Damon maintained a Road Ranch in conjunction each fall and would stop and visit us in Minneapolis, urging with his bands of shee[...]he us to come to Montana. It was Reuben 's sister-in-law that freight wagon drivers an[...] |
| [...]ice to me, and I did see them quite often working in Minneapolis was drowned, so the folks went back[...]ody was never recovered from the water. in so many ways, for which I shall always be gratefu[...]rder came to the sheep camp, and my husband In the pioneer days, people could build where ever t[...]a board floor in it, with a table, chairs, bed and cookstove, Ranc[...]ing buildings. At this time all was free In early June, we moved back to the ranch, but hadn'[...]of water in it. together until spring roundup. A chuckwagon f[...]rom where they were I finished my schooling in Glendive in 1900, when the tied to the wagon, so Al held the reins of the remaining one, town was very small. In fact, the first trees were being[...]left afoot. This horse could be either planted as city water had been installed.[...]As the storm continued and the water rose in the creek, times getting together, sometimes trav[...]ross the storm still continued, we took brothers in 1902 and bought a place on Johnny Creek in the shelter in the Hunter and Anderson shearing pens. These Bad[...]akes. Our wedding trip was a short one into Miles City by train. The following fall of 1907, we moved to the Phillips While in Miles City we had our wedding pictures taken. Ranc[...]this We spent our first year of married life in a home in the man. Our second baby, another boy, was bo[...]appeared on Al's temple. He had cut it while shaving and it Our first baby, a bo[...]o go out with the sheep, and did into Miles City for medical care, but had no beneficial results,[...]s had gone to Glendive to so consequently, in August, he decided to go east for care. He spend[...]There the doctors decided it was While they were in Glendive they were snowed in . cancer. Not too much was known[...]this disease, at that time. He grew worse, and in June of 1909, out a new herder, which he said he[...]All the time that Al was in Illinois for medical care until I Clark had[...]forgotten what their names were, but I it, in conjunction with the retaurant she managed[...] |
| [...]31, 1909, and was laid to rest beside his father, in the family plot at Rockford, Illinois. I re[...]ilk, cream and butter, etc. to my customers. In three years time, I had completed proving up on m[...]e marker of Roy Houston, died - 1910, first grave in and the south half by Jack Baker.[...]ows but two. This sale was the first him to Miles City for surgery, when he passed away in my auction sale I had ever seen. arms. His little grave was the first one in the Baker cemetery. I continued on my place,[...]We continued to live on the place, and in the fall of 1917, together with my folks and seem[...]homestead of320 acres, and in the spring of 1918 moved onto In 1911, I met Jim Murphy, who had come to Montana[...]er This was known as the Fertile Prairie Community. Fred, building roads. Our friendship g[...]our home in June of 1938. We came back to the dai[...] |
| Jim Murphy home which burned in 1928. Pat Murphy standing in the doorway.[...]in Clay County, Minnesota to Martin and Ovedia Myhre[...]s had immigrated to the United States from Norway in[...]Hawley, Minnesota in the early 1870's.[...]right-of-way in eastern North Dakota. Many of these trees The Mur[...]till growing along the Northern Pacific Railroad. In the Mother Murphy, Margaret, Mary, Pat kneeling w[...]s to be relinquished he bought it and boys served in the Armed Forces, Harry in the States and " proved" up on it. Pat s[...]. In the spring of 1911 Dad returned to Minnesota wher[...]passed away October 22, 1953 and was laid to rest in he and Oline Braseth were married and they im[...]age on came back to the homestead. They lived in the existing June 4, 1953.[...]ively. They, too, had settled and raised a family in the[...]t he machinery in order to get the harvesting and threshing[...]rain all awaiting the threshing machine to lumber in and[...]b. Martha Murphy receiving her 50 year membership in the With the many new families in the community it wasn 't Royal Neighbors o[...] |
| [...]besides the children and bed them down in various places but not before Myhres, having chil[...]Brownsons and the Henry DeGrands. In 1927 our Mother's health began to fail and after[...]and years. By then the depression had set in. The future must Willard communities and often participated in their events. have looked bleak, but like[...]of its baseball team and on In 1932 Dad was approached by friends to try his han[...]the rivals competed, with at politics. In ovember of that year he was elected to the friend[...]Fallon County Board of Commissioners. In the next six years In about 1928 the community realized the need of a[...]church. Religious services occasionally were held in the had brought about. He saw neighbors buckle under and many schoolhouse and in the Webster and Willard halls. Again, moved away from the community. A new era had set in. As friends and neighbors gathered and built the[...]of the farm land lay idle and to add to the Baker in the late 30's it was referred to as the Church on[...]Before long another era set in. War clouds were forming on Myhre's church[...]d from the Sunday School and Laides Aid were held in the homes and in . rough "30's" we were deeply involved in another World War. the community halls with a vis[...]e family after another saw their sons off to war. In our services. "Laides Aids" weren't confined to t[...]te neighborhood four different families lost sons in a Usually the whole family would go. While the la[...]er gather and be given Confirmation instructions. In about 1928 boys from the Minnesota Valley c[...]their the American Lutheran Church was organized in Baker and lives in World War II were Denzil Kreager, John Bergstrom[...]Dad continued to maintain an interest in farming, some social life, too. The Fourth of Jul[...]ping.. .it would likely be the only time office in 1938 but was defeated. He was re-elected in 1944 and they would take off until Thanksgiving. Thus, on the Fourth again in 1956, making a total of 18 years served in this many gatherings were held throughout the cou[...]By this time his health began to fail and he went in Picnic lunches were prepared and shared by[...]Wenz, Joe Steffes and Kenneth Rustad. seldom went in the early years. In later years the A. W. Brownsons, who lived about four miles from us on Little In 1943 Dad married Iva taff Brownawell. Iva was the[...]taff who had also Fourth. The day would be spent in visiting, playing baseba!J, homesteaded south of Baker. At. the time of his death in 1959 rodeoing or whatever pastime was most popular at the time. he made his home in Baker. Many celebrations ended with dances in the evening. Odin and Oline M[...]well (deceased) whose children are, Leon, Calvin, in the community, socials of some sort would be held[...]ladies would prepare Myrtle, who died in 1955, having been born and died on accordingly .[...]dates of the month as Dad. tasteful lunch placed in a uniquely decorated box or basket. I[...]d, South Dakota. bring out the lames' specialties in pie-making. These would Curtis, who rued in 1944 while erving in the Air Force. also be auctioned off. At a "shado[...]children are, Odin, Mary Alice and Paul, lives in Baker. highest bidder. While a "toe social" invol[...]are, Curtis, Clayton , Moureen and Melody, lives in Miles socials the lady would have prepared[...] |
| [...]at Deadwood, South Dakota until a close in to meet some of the fellows ' "Old Grandad ". Every once in friend of his was killed in the mines; after that he didn't want a while some one would invite the others in to meet their ''Old to work in the mines anymore. He went to work for the[...]yed this . Other recreations were going to school in Deadwood. After graduating from high school I[...]with the Town Team from 1938 through 1941. In 1935, when I was 27 years old I got a position at the Martin Russell Clothing Store in Baker, Montana. I bought myself a 1933 De Soto Co[...]. (Doc) Mrs. Jim Kochel , and I were married in the t. John's Joyce - a dentist, George Sanderson · a teacher, Chauncey Catholic Church in Baker. We have three children: Joseph (Chan) Sore[...]Co., Bill Coey · Coach, I served in World War II with the 15 th. Combat John Parker·[...]antry from June 1943 to ovember 1945. Was wounded in teacher and Florence Reid , Rhoda Saterthwait, Be[...]auzvicka both did the cooking for several in the Clothing tore. I was in that business until I retired in years.[...]. Jenny and Jody in front.[...] |
| [...]ON came to Virginia City, Montana. After reaching Virginia City, she cooked for the miners. One of the early day[...]23, I went by car to Baker, where I each day in ma king bread for the miners. The cost of flour[...]were William and Margaret Scott. They homesteaded in Wibaux County, Montana in 1907, so I was but 2 years of age when we came to[...]getting to rural school and later to high school in Wibaux. I did enjoy riding my horse during my chi[...]After high school I attended four summer sessions in Miles City and then taught 4 years in the Wibaux County schools. Times were financially[...]Montana, which at that time qualified me to teach in Montana City Schools, so in 1928, I went to Baker to teach at the East Side S[...]here until 1936, when I went to Billings to teach in the Garfield school. While there, I obtained my B[...]rsity of Washington and earned my Master's Degree in Psychiatric Social Work. Next, I supervised Child Welfare Services in 22 counties of Montana before I was appointed as[...]re Services. While I held this position, I worked in[...]ge to George Farwell, Sr . They made their home in passed in 1947. Virginia City. From this union were born t hree children. I was married to Roy 0 . Nelson at Plentywood in June Hatty, George, Jr. and Sarah. Their marriage ended in 1947. We had one daughter, Margaret, in 1948. She is now a divorce. In years to come, George Farwell, Sr. died of Librar[...]Governors Ford, Bonner buried at Nevada City, Montana. and Aranson, also doing much community[...]Start Program. His father was in the sawmill business at Portage,[...], Catherine Otto. The first Otto, Franty involved in community and church activities. Otto, came to America, arriving in ew York City from During my years at Baker I was a member of the Baden-Baden, Saxony in 1742 and settled on a 100 acre farm Congregationa[...]ny. He had been educated as a physician and Miles City to the rodeos.[...]the name of Crawford. In 1858 his mother and step-father EDNA CRAGE FAR[...]D ANIEL [C. D.] NEWB ARY Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. While traveling through Iowa by Grandson John H. Gilman[...]pened until C. D., 16 years. and came to Virginia City, Montana by wagon train drawn by John, 14 yrs. came to Virginia City, Montana in 1865. During oxen. She earned her fare by cooking[...]877 the boys were Bull Whackers. train. They left in May of 1864 and arrived in October. The They freighted from Virginia City to Salt Lake City during trail across the plains went by Omaha and Salt Lake City. the gold rush days. C.D. had many[...] |
| [...]nd received recognition from Washington D.C. In the year 1877 on January 18, C.D. married Alice May Wilton at 4:00 in the afternoon near Virginia City or "Doby Town" in Madison County, Territory of Montana. She was the[...]ice Wilton. Her father died shortly after serving in the Civil War. They lived on a ranch on or near R[...]years they had six children. Catherine, who died in infancy, Carrie, Adele, Otto, Henry, and Alice.[...]nths old. Mrs. Alice Newbary was buried at Nevada City, Montana.[...]like out and C.D. was on his own. He started in cattle and horses a mother to Alice, became the h[...]the grass for the horses and cattle Assembly in 1900. He belonged to the Odd Fellows and the was[...]alk Buttes, about 20 commenced to fail fast in September and on ovember 11, miles south and a li[...]laka, Montana. 1919 he passed away in Ekalaka. He was buried by the IOOF Before C.[...]arwell's daughter, Lodge and lies at rest in the Ekalaka Cemetery. His Hatty, married Jim Shoe[...]daughter, Alice ewbary Hedges, passed away in 191 at the and George. George died at Mullen, Ida[...]They are married and live at Ennis, Montana. In the year of 1891 C.D. left Ruby Creek and started for Eastern ontana in the early part of the summer. They had two wagon[...]ld meat three times a day. When they got to Miles City they hired a ferry to get the wagons across the Y[...]r. The horses had to swim across. Then from Miles City they were on the trail again and finally they cam[...]ttes. Mrs. George Farwell became Mrs. C.D. ewbary in iles City in 1893. The children always called her "Auntie[...]n, George, was always regarded as another brother in the family. George Farwell, Jr., dressed for his wedding in 1901.[...] |
| [...]married Lizzie ewbary" bought a home in Baker. The ranch was leased out Kimball and Georg[...]and rye for feed . Their spent her later years in Baker, a highly respected lady and in family consisted of two children, Georgia and She[...]sioner for Fallon County an active part in the community affairs. She belonged to the before[...]County was Naomi church group. She lived in Baker until she became ill formed he again served[...]ll, Jr. passed away Feb. 26, 1971. is buried in the Newbary family plot in Ekalaka. She was 86 Mrs. George (Clara) Farwell, Jr. is living at her home in years old at the time of her death. She wa[...]ved here earlier and this probably had much to do in her[...]was only a few months old her husband was killed in a tractor[...]Cresbard, she and her small son came to Montana in the[...]miles south of Baker, in what later became known as the[...]and he joined the service. In a few short months he was in the thick of battle and he lost his life in the battle of the Argonne Forest in France, by then the mother had married Hir~.m[...]ly to have it broken again by her death. She died in the[...]High chool in Baker. Living in an active community there[...]joined with other schools in the district and put on programs[...]included in the form of entertainment. It was a community of[...]Ties had always been closely kept with kin in South[...]eventually attended an Automotive School in nearby[...]ell, Mr. George Farwell, Mrs. Sherrill In the winter of 1932 Elmer and Alice Myhre,[...] |
| [...]d the pay was Denzil Young, now practising law in Baker) got off the train small. That first year E[...]t one of the neighbors which paid $30.00 a month. In Uncle Bil1's and Aunt Elizzie's, (Uncle[...]en he was grease. They set off across the prairie to Uncle Bill's home in hired by C. H. Duppler Implement. This business was later the Fertile Prairie community, carrying the children and a sold to Be[...]n were born to Elmer and Alice Newell: in due time they did arrive. Leon, who is emplo[...]two folks helped work the land, living in their own shack in the children and live in Rudyard, Montana, where Bob teaches. same yard. Russell is employed with KFLN Radio in Baker, is married to My uncle, Alber[...]here my married to Richard Kosmicki and they live in Billings. grandparents homesteaded , but just what year I am not sure, Elmer died in June in 1966. Alice lives in Baker and is I do know it was about the sam[...]wn drifting tumbleweeds, yet Life in the new land was harsh, they toiled hard and with[...]dscape. Our thinking is clear like our clean prairie air, pure future home for their children,[...]p. eedless to say they quietly put their teams up in the Montanan.[...]re gotten or when Fallon and Carter were settling in FalJon County by calling it "my remembering.··[...]d Anna oftsker, came to Montana born in 1920 there were a few cars around. from Minnesota in the spring of 1910 with my grandparents,[...]some of my Montana, so there are 7 in the family and al1 living today, at father's brot[...]es l"m not the time of this writing early in 1973. sure. Charles lives in Custer, Montana. He is married to My parent[...]y is the 21st of July, he of early settlers in Minnesota Valley. They were married in was born in 1907 near Wells, Minn. and named after his[...]hildren grandfather oftsker. Elnora was also born in Minn. on Sept. at the time, Clara Lee and[...]after they were married. Charles, Jr. was killed in Montana. My mother, grandmother, Aunt Laur[...] |
| [...]n are now married and have on the hill in 1929 1 mile south of Mrs. Wayne Traweeks. The fam[...]has since been moved to Baker. Elnora lives in Baudette, Minnesota. She is married to[...]d looked George Colbo. He and Elnora were married in 1927. They left forward to, as we all looked forward to the sack of candy that Montana in 1932 and farmed near Wells, Minnesota for a[...]e Christmas time. They then owned a grocery store in Frost, Minn. before program when Vernold J[...]oing to northern Minnesota to go back to farming, in the fall speak. He marched up the platform,[...]d Elnora. Viola altar rail, tucked his chin in his hand and proceeded to recite, and Helen were[...]h to the amusement of us younger folks. were born in southern Minnesota. The children are all married[...]len is near International Falls, Minn . Walter is in Texas. restless sitting still. We had quite a system worked out. Not David is in the Air Force so he and his family move all over.[...]someone would come out and herd us all back in again. They were married in 1938. They are living in Baker as are I can remember, one ye[...]services were held. The cooking was done in a large tent and Irvin was born April 24th[...]s there were people from many places. homesteader in Minnesota Valley. They were married in 1935. This day it was my mother's turn to[...]especially liked. We, as their own, Julia Ann is in Wisconsin, Royal is in Florida, usual slipped out and went far enough away we knew no one Fem is in North Dakota. Irvin and Evelyn are living in would come after us. Well, kids bein[...]to going up and stealing I (Belva) was born in 1920 in the log house. Clara Cate mom's cake, Boy![...]ring me into this world as she had helped so many in where her cake went and didn't know until[...]om we told her. called for childbirth in those days. I was married to Ralph Keech fo[...]rother and sister went to the Hidden Water Minn., in 1942. We have four living boys, our one daughter[...]rest of still living at home. Wayne spent a year in Vietnam with the us started going to the Myhre School 2 miles south of our special forces in 1968 and 1969.[...]e he was taught. The 7th and 8th graders in those days, in order to serving in the armed forces in Korea from 1968 to 1970 he met pass, had to take state exams in the spring. How we envied and married a Korean gi[...]ing a link bed-spring Schuetzle place, I was born in August 24, 1920 and they fastened to a buggy frame and pulled by one horse. This was moved there in ovember. Pearl was born February 14, 1924. in the fall and spring. During the winter of that te[...]e Myhres, the Kreagers, the Clifford were married in 1945, they have 4 girls, Evelyn Ann, Henry[...]d Swede moved to Both schools were in district 36. My sister, Pearl, and I and Whitefish, Montana in the fall of 1947. They are still living you[...]rs, the Jordans, the Engstroms, the Kreagers town in time, after, I'm sure, much shoveling. He is marr[...]privileged because still at home. They are living in Auburn, Washington. we went to a on[...]we played like pump-pump pull My father died in 1943 and my mother is still living, at away[...]i-I-Over, Hide and Seek, and this writing. She is in the Dahl Memorial Nursing Home at many more. In the fall and spring there was always work up Ekal[...]baseball, in the winter there was always a fox and goose ring[...]o go outdoors, Williard Hall to church on Sunday. In those days a dance was there were a[...] |
| [...]s at the Myhre school. would come in, where as a rule, one room had been cleared as[...]how and many more. The older folks usually joined in with noon climbing up and down the steep banks ac[...]acher so by the time she arrived we were all back in the would be served, usually pot luck, and if lunch happened to school yard. In the winter we would go down the hill and slide[...]school houses as well as different places in Baker and Plevna. I remember a pie social th[...]se. years back. We carried our water in, in pails and the waste Anyway , I remember I took mincement pie, mom wanted me water out. Bathrooms in the country were unheard of, so to take a cream p[...]y until it came everyone had the little house in the back. Our ironing was time to eat my half. I[...]oven by the way they sizzled when served for heat in the winter as well as the coal heater that[...]r, to tell if they were too hot or too was set up in the fall and taken down in the spring, a few had cold. furnaces but ver[...]ng checkers, cards, reading or some horses in the field at the same time pulling the different[...]urselves. I of machinery. Grain used to be cut with a binder or a header don't recall ever being[...]when he was hauling grain to the elevator in the 20's, I Country Gentleman, Montana Farmer and[...]25 or 26. We had a 24 model T truck and he longer in print. There were no phones in the country then needed someone to go a[...]l 101 road played flat iron. Flat iron was played in this way the checkers along the edge of the b[...]e south of the were placed so they came to a peak in the center of the board John Long place, now owned by Bill Fried. I could visualize in a v shape. The players then moved or jumped until[...]ways down. first one to get his checkers in place won. We also played Fox In later years tractors and combines made their and[...]earance and fewer hor e were needed . Time to put in the During the spring and summer our entert[...]ame shorter and the farms began to different than in winter. In the winter we went riding scoop be larger[...]bad thing about lignite was it made so many In the summer many hours were spent riding horse back ashes and clinker . Some wood was used in the summer for or looking for wild flowers and bi[...]was scarce. A lot of people burned buffalo chips in ride on the cattle or take water or what-ever was needed in the the summer as they were plentiful and mad[...]would take an old tub or boiler to carry hot job in the summer and the pump handle would be terribly them home in. If we were near the road , how we would cold in the winter. We didn't have a wind mill like mo t[...]it may seem, was more a time for socializing than in the spring or summer. Everyone was too[...]but did. I can remember when the drouth came in the early 30's in our neighborhood in the winter we would get together and[...] |
| [...]coach that wasn 't completely submerged in water. Just one Herefords but he sold most of the[...]was. Elnora said it was a horrible feeling to be in total We did have some hay from the hay meaclow w[...]one has seen or were written about the tragedy in different national experienced a true drouth it i[...]es. There also was a movie made called Four Girls In about the way things really are. As crops were pl[...]the dust creeping into everything and everyplace. In broke in 1947, when he was 5 years of age. 1935 we were fortunate to get rain and things were growing in My uncle, Albert Wetzel, never was marr[...]for different people after leaving his homestead in 1935 before July in our community wiping out everything over a large retiring to Baker. He passed away in 1964. area. We had been to Andy Kreagers for the[...]n the house looked like PRAIRIE HERITAGE someone bad taken a small ax and hit it[...]the Whipper-will a 'callin' carry on. The saying in this country is "maybe next year· ·.[...]er Somewhere out of sight, struck in that area in the form of grasshoppers. I was out[...]n I heard a rustling like a of t he prairie rose in bloom, breeze in the trees only there were no trees around. I look[...]r the lowly cricket, up and the grasshoppers came in in clouds. They settled over Sing its h[...]nd'a low, stripped, they even ate the onions down in the ground. It was When I can see the[...]nerally a time of When the prairie sings its song, neighborhood gatherings, the men[...]gers or For every evening on the prairie, Brownsons. In later years they became more of a family[...]our share of sickness and accidents In the land of my birth. through the years. My fathe[...]eg crushed at the knee and it had to be amputated in 1929 the night before Thanksgiving. This happened[...]JOE AND LOUISE GOLOB NOGADE longer in use. He was coming home from town after dark and In the 1880's the parents of Joe and Louise and thei[...]amilies came to Pennsylvania from Austria to work in the lights. He was out cranking the truck and it[...]ort time later Anthony, had to remain in the native country, Austria. Everett Sleeth and his wife came along and took Dad back to Work in the mines shut down. It was heard that there Bake[...]ld Mom . They gave Dad first aid was work in Arkansas. Louise's father and her future brother- in Baker then Mom and Aunt Laura Kreager put Dad in the in-law, Lawrence Poderjay, along with many others wa[...]arrying their picks and shovels. After the family City where they amputated his leg above the knee. He got was finally established in Arkansas they sent for the two girls around from then on with a peg leg. in Austria . They welcomed a new sister, Augusta.[...]Joe Nogade and Louise Golob were married in Arkansas Elnora 's son, Walter, were in the bad passenger train wreck In the fall of 1909 the family and four little girls left Altus, that the Millwauke railroad had in 1938. That wreck Ark. for a new life in Montana with barrels of meat and happened east of Miles City in a usually dry wash. At that canned fruit[...]were found many months later on In the spring a large garden and lots of potatoes and sandbars in the Yellowstone River many miles from the site[...]f the accident. Elnora and Raymond happened to be in a came early while the potatoes were still in the ground. Mrs.[...] |
| Nogade and little girls picked all they could in the snow. The She remarried and another daug[...]ers at Savage. The oldest of the put the potatoes in the cellar under the house. The father was Nogade sons, Harry, is a farmer in the St. Philips community working that fall in the harvest fields around Beach and so[...]he Crit Feelys and the their homestead in the Mill Iron community on what is Harry Williams[...]ol During his early childhood helping in the garden, chores was needed. A log house was bu[...]ool took up most of his time. With eight children in only an 8th grade education. School lasted only t[...]Montana and again went into the enjoyment on the prairie by dressing up in light clothing and coal mines, the kind of work his father had done in Arkansas going away from the buildings. The antelope would come when leaving there in 1909. right up to them. They never did see any li[...]Frisinger, in the Wibaux country, became his wife while they[...]ogade planted a 40 acre field of lived in Bear Creek. A daughter, Lois, and two sons, Clint[...]cher neighbors eight grandchildren. cut the wires and during the night both the oats and[...]men and those nice looking cowboys. worked in defence plants. They came back to Montana near[...]y, bought a farm and his farming was well A prairie fire gave the family quite a scare. Mother and[...]s also been a hobby of his. Winters now are spent in whipping the Buffalo Berries off onto a tarp was[...]ing from the thorny bushes. Leaves were blown off in the wind or skimmed off the water when the berrie[...]up for the large families' winter . D. in Oct. 1909 at the age of five. She was the eldest[...]hters of Joe and Louise Nogade. Her father worked in. There was never anything wasted. In the winter the girls the coal mines until work shut down in Arkansas. Her mother helped their mother make qui[...]ed father took a homestead on Horse Creek in the Mill Iron flour sacks. The sacks had red hear[...]were born on the homestead. and the sacks buried in a snow drift and by spring they were nice and whi[...]younger children, carrying water and coal in and helping was wool taken off of dead sheep, was[...]prepare for the long winter. School was in a log cabin built by family was warm and snug in the "comfey " homemade quilts. her fathe[...]the squeal of the pig. Besides preparing the meat in year were made to town for supplies, sp[...]led the ears, tongue and heart. In 1922 she was married to I.G . Frisinger at Beach. They In 1918 the family all had the flu. There were no do[...]lived to attend high school. She cooked in a restaurant and also about half way to Baker on a homestead with her family. Her clerked in a drug store. She was a widow thirty years before sister Anthony , Mrs. Hans Hanson, came in 1916 and her she married Frank Gonskorwski who also ranched in Wibaux sister, Augusta. Mrs. Joseph Munday, came to Baker in County. They now make their home at[...]The family moved to Red Lodge and Joe worked in the clerking in a department store in Oakland in 1970. coal mines and the family received a higher[...]One of her dear teachers, Lucille Wilkenson, in the Mill Fifteen grandchildren joined the family . Joe died in 1955 Iron school is alive and she corresponds with her. at 76 years of age and Louise died in 1966 at 80 years . Abraham L. Fri[...]Richey, The family scattered. Hattie lived in Wibaux County a Montana. His family consi[...]d wife and three sons live iJt Austin, of Schools in Richland County for 20 years, retiring in 1972. Texas. Ira is on the Police Fo[...] |
| [...]back in Missouri, but I had gone to a School for Barbers[...]and moved to Baker where I went to work in a barber shop[...]his education in the Baker Schools.[...]I was very interested in baseball, so after moving to Niccum Barber Shop,[...]nine" for quite some time. Barber Bud Butler. Man in the chair is probably a Baseball[...]played many games on Sunday afternoons Busch, Sr. in the chair. Chair No. 3: Slim Niccum is the[...]h as the 4th of July. barber and William Moscript in the chair. Bud Butler was I had many good years of life in Baker and enjoyed them later found murdered and h[...]1888. I was 22 years old when I came to this area in 1910. I located on a homestead 2 miles north and[...]I was married for the second time in 1939 to Matilda[...]Editor' s ote: Later Mr. iccum ran a barber shop in[...]is a Barber Shop in Baker, Montana run by partners named[...]RMA Left to right; Charles Dunham and Slim Niccum in front of TO WHOM IT MAY CO CER : H[...]request for a sort of a biography of our barbered in Baker in 1915; had a homes tead between Baker life in eastern Montana, I will do my best at making up a[...]cum and Ora report as the questions in the questionnaire bring back Blanchard.[...] |
| First, I want to say that my early life spent in what is We lived in a double family house in Minneapolis and the now Fallon County, Montana, a[...]ad two newcomer remain among my fondest memories. In those early friends. It was[...]old country. Real early in March in 1910 my dad put his sixty I was born in Minneapolis in 1896. My parents were acres of brush[...]did not meet each other until after their arrival in brush that covered it. However, it w[...]ay is a prosperous dairy country. Well, the three in Minneapolis, so he figured it would be a good pla[...]Pacific bound for Glendive. coming to Minneapolis in the late fall of 1880. The army at I sh[...], and especially having plenty of Indian troubles in the west, particularly the Montana, where we were sure cowboys would be in the flesh. territories of Dakota and Montana. My dad discovered that We all hated the city with all its squalor and poverty. On by joining t[...]ree year hitch he would be given arrival in Glendive they found out that the railroad was his[...]. It sounded like a gold on and paid for in five years. That sure did not set well with mine[...]heard of a new town about 80 miles south of In the winter of 1890 the Indian massacre at Wounded[...]m caught a train to Terry where the two Territory in April 1890 from Fort Snelling, Minnesota via roads met, but to their dismay when arriving in Terry found mule train. During the winter of 1890[...]tance with their heavy overcoats and Indians were in a pitiful state. My dad and his Company took[...]ot to Baker eventually. It was a new town no part in the slaughter but it sickened him so that he neve[...]meal cost 35 cents, but 35 cents was 35 cents in those days. buried in a trench lik.e cordwood. I have been to Wounded[...]the square and To get back to my childhood in Minneapolis. It might be would drive them[...]e Scandinavians, particularly Norwegians, but the city of people were all unfamiliar with[...]e Minneapolis was a melting pot for every country in Europe. Dad and his two friends chose[...]ir own. My dad was discharged from the army in 1891 at Fort I forgot to mention th[...]veral Hans and Elias Tronstad . Elias died in about one year, but vocations until he got marrie[...]It was embarassing too, but the oldest, lives in Billings, bas been a widow for sometime. we soon[...]ng that he had to quit. Shortly after the turn In the meantime the realtor had been able to sell Da[...]north of Minneapolis. ride free in his car, especially where t here was lives[...] |
| [...]water in the house, had one of those old fashion hand pumps, We had another friend in Minneapolis named Paul but it sure[...]t west and away We were not long in getting things settled and livable. from the city. He was a single man and had been around quite We got quite a lot of hay in 1910. When the team got broke a lot. He proposed to Dad that he smuggle us three boys and in, we were able to plow some, and build a sod barn[...]places we were likely to be chicken coop. In 1911 we got a good crop of potatoes and caught wa[...]ly vegetables. I went to work for Traweek in the fall of 1910 and sidetracked to allow through[...]hose days. Two passenger It was also in the spring of 1910, when the Clarks, the trains d[...]milson, the Manns and many others took homesteads in the couch set up in the car, also a bed for sleeping. At a division[...]knew how. in their homestead house, and it was not long before[...]r, North Webster became postmaster. It ran in the little house until Dakota, and stayed with so[...]ady and very religious. Those Upon arriving in Baker, we were side tracked, a number were[...]and unpainted. No doubt it will simply collapse in due time. at a settler's named, Mell Eggrick. They had lived there for The only vacated place in the country is my folks place. The several years. We no more than got in the yard to the water house and barn are still in good preserve. trough where the cow took a big d[...]pretty hard on three small boys to walk over the prairie. Jim was only nine but stood it as well as any o[...]to eat. That is exactly how Montana people were in those days, even now, its heart warming to think of it. When we came in sight of the 101 Ranch (Mulkey) we all got a thri[...]forget the beautiful scene that met our eyes. The prairie was a lovely rolling sea of green grass, green as[...], after the winter of 1909. The men were not long in digging a cellar, by hand shovel, too. On his fir[...]et of The 7N' {Rafter 7 NJ Ranch, Norman's in 1923. harness and a wagon, but the horses were st[...]hers," but if lucky . When the folks left Montana in 1936 they had five I remember cor[...] |
| [...]"Bug." Her mom and dad were fine people and lived in the The Norman School was built in about 1913 on one Willard community ne[...]about how some of the younger people, ill fated. In the late su=er of 1924 a freak cyclone, about[...]t cost they had ruined. The schoolhouse was right in the path of the any one much as each girl's p[...]as an act of rent, and groceries were brought in from home for the most God that school was not in session. The Zinks were not at part. My m[...]d smashed it as though it were a cracker box, but in one comer of where the barn had stood was a setti[...]ol. It was the only freak cyclone anyone ever saw in that area, but many of us saw hail storms that al[...]Oliver Ollie, the oldest, took a business course in Miles City. Helen holding the lines, Jim on one of the ho[...]ding this school army buddy of Ing Norman's in France. According to Ing, he were the Coreys and[...]Besides the Varners there them hidden back in the Bad Lands. were the Albert Hansen children, A[...]. Then came the year of 1916 and it was a "banner Prairie Rose School, that had quite an enrollment with al[...]erson, after Harry's death. They under way in Europe and prices for farm products had one son,[...]to find a livery barn to keep your horses in. I was in orth moved to Denver. All the kids I have mention[...]y looking country I saw. Russian.thistles covered in that whole area. It was Mrs. Varner's "desert cla[...]ll of the fields, and many farmers were forced to cut them for of the Vamer 's are dead now excepting E[...]I sure want to see compared to 1934 and in the midst of the Depre sion. There Herbie and his[...]. He and were quite a lot of cattle left in the country but nothing at all my boy were the gr[...]e sure for them to eat. The major companies in the east were glutted was a nice boy. Art[...] |
| [...]t and the New Deal had old time ranchers in and around Ekalaka who referred to the to step in and take the cattle off the farmer's hands. A cal[...]mit. We had to trail them to oldest town in that part of the state and should be entitled to Baker. About eight of us threw in together for the drive. I be the county seat. One night there was an Ekalaka Rally in had close to 100 head, counting the calves. I ha[...]r, water, hardly anyone spoke. The same ache was in our hearts, and and other natural resources, when some one piped up in the some of us felt like crying. I know I did.[...]The cattle were sorted over, after a fashion, in the Baker lake full of water in Baker, beside ten or twelve cottonwood stockyard[...]seat and remembered all the hungry people I saw in France and also as there was much bragging in the old Baker Sentinel, the local a child in Minneapolis. We must give Roosevelt credit,[...]der "chaos next to ruination." It sure showed up in Baker, as we River. Everyone was willing to let bygones be bygones. were then living in town as I was awarded the Webster-Baker[...]ughter, and her boy friend came to Baker married in Baker in December of 1926. an[...]ekeeping on the south side of town near the In 1935 we had gotten sick and tired of those dust a[...]ghter's boy friend was a crook and a sand storms in the country, we even had to shake the dust[...]t a railroad any W.P.A. work, but I did not mind in the least, as other being built from Marmarth, up Beaver Creek to Ekalaka. folks were in much worse shape than we.[...]t to mention that I had to register for the draft in 1915. early 1917 , and in the spring of 1918 when I was working on a[...]everyone wanted as many "shares" as possible in the coming show their good will. All of us did no[...]said, I was only 19 but dances, but he was killed in France. I must not forget Sandy there was[...]people that smelled like Replinger, who was also in the bunch. He sure was a good dead fis[...]de of me I knew they were phonies, scout. He was city marshall (Baker) for a year or so later on. b[...]t Webster and a big 4th of July meals were served in a dining car, I think it was our first meal celebration was planned , and the lots were put up for sale. in a railroad dining car, for me it was.[...]and some the state was Custer County, with Miles City as the county years later, died there. I[...]Beaver Creek. He was going to have a spur put in from the much bickering about the west side as it[...]ter's Junction. He would name of Custer and Miles City was already the county seat. put up an e[...]any laughs. One night I was going to a dance over in[...] |
| [...]sit Creek, and it sure could get treacherous in the early spring. It down and he would make a cup[...]size of a river salt sack, put whole coffee beans in it and pulverized them just over a twenty-f[...]and large chunks of ice. While the Hayings were in town that Chris Niter was a kindly, good hearted[...]et loose, and when they got to it, it was minded. In reality he was a widower and had a grown son[...]f which Chris was very contents likely ending in the Little Missouri at Marmarth if it proud. Bob[...]e, when the commissioner, and he was instrumental in getting the 101 wagon box floated off leaving the running gear, the four road in the late 1913-14 which surely was a big convenien[...]anaged to hang on to the lines for all the people in the south country. The Niter Road was and g[...]buried in the same cemetery as my brother, Oliver.[...]r. Mulkey died a sad death during the Depression, in Baker. He had a cancer in an ear and suffered terribly for[...]everal years. Violet, the daughter, preceeded him in death a[...]let post office had Ing Norman's first pigs owned in Montana. He buught them long since been[...]rs. I the long rides and the long hours he put in as a cowpuncher. was back in Fallon County for a short visit in October, 1972 It was really pitiful , and I almost came to tears in sympathy and I visited Harold Tronstad and family[...]had some close neighbors. One in particular, who lived across There were many[...]Kingsley and Katie knew how to keep him in line. They long way from Baker from where they bo[...]of Mulkeys were the Loran and the away to school in South Dakota, but, Jess , the younger boy S[...]idge built across Little Beaver Julia died in the bad winter of 1919. My mother nur ed h[...] |
| [...]he Myhre School about a mile. indulged in during the night in town. Emil Swanson was There were the Noftskers ,[...]y others. This was called He would sing in Swedish and would prevail upon Matt to Minnesota[...]valley was Hidden Water sing a song in German. I was just a kid and stood in the Creek, where we always stopped to feed and wa[...]aster Fires took their toll in those early days-the very first transportation. It sure was something to get to Baker in a one I can remember was of the Flasted[...]contend with. the ground in the fall of 1910. The next of any consequence[...]. Hi-ways and Free-ways like we being in North and South Dakota harvesting. It seemed that[...]y of school at the Myhre School. The in November, in 1921, and it was getting plenty cold. Dad families were all there and a picnic was in progress. othing built a fire in the cook stove and as was customary filled the to[...]lking, so my mother would do that, be was helpful in This can give the average person an idea how hosp[...]g the separating, open hearted the early settlers in south eastern Montana however. The two girls were still asleep in the bedroom. Ollie were.[...]was soon due to be married to Al Selle of Miles City, and[...]hings both humorous and otherwise that took place in afire. When the folks came out of the bar[...]My parents and brother, Jim, moved to Washington in had presence of mind to break out the[...]the two girls got out, barefooted and in their night gowns. then. My brother, Oliver, and[...]terical. Poor Ollie lost every stitch of Jim died in 1954 , and Oliver in 1962. her wedding tr[...]Almost every community boasted a baseball team in the plans were to be married at the home[...]kers as saw the smoke were not fong in coming. Before night scads of manager and promote[...]people I would like to mention who were prominent in the early days . There was Hans Hansen. I remembe[...]girl. Albert Fost was the foremost horticulturist in Fallon County, always having a beautiful dfaplay[...]the oldes t being Mike, who was married and lived in the Calumet country. He married Nellie Lambert. The Lamberts lived in the Calumet area . Molstads also had two older gi[...]n, Tom, Roy, and Alice. Ma Norman standing in doorway. She was cooking for son, Alice la[...] |
| [...]full I've mentioned that we moved into town in 1935, renting coal bin. The Cameron's still live in Baker, I talked to them a cheap house to begin with. In early 1936, Fallon County by phone last fall, 1972. decided to hold an auction on Baker city lots for the lack of In early 1941 I applied for and received a farm secu[...]My lease on the Wolverton place would be up in 1945. hired Tom Lunder, who had a good dual wheel[...]Land Bank land was bought by the Koenig the house in town and set it on my lot. I also hired Percy[...]stic life-nil. My wife, Olive, had taken a school in means and the result was that I got myself in debt up to my Entiat, Washington, that[...]orker our daughter left Fallon County in the summer of '44. Olive's with deep snow and bit[...]y then I had accumulated folks lived in Spokane, 150 miles east of Entiat and the north m[...]to be out of debt and plenty of money in the bank. We had a below not uncommon. I will lea[...]we had good rubber on the truck. We got to Entiat in due near the amount of snow as the north road had. One car after time and in good shape. The very next day after arrival I another was torn up, in getting the mail through, and I had went to work in an apple packing shed, as the fruit harvest repai[...]sale. Elmer Newell and wife had was in full swing, and anyone able bodied, male or femal[...]to help me on expected to hit the ball in the fruit harvest. Even the schools those mail tr[...]but peaches, pears, apricots, as I was so deeply in debt. Elmer told me not to worry about[...]nyway. He sure was a good I worked in the packing shed until the end of the year when s[...]d worked for the fruit was all packed and in cold storage. me awhile on the farm before he and[...]for C. H. Duppler, the right to work in Civil Service for the avy near Bremerton farm mac[...]ow and had to up to teach. The War ended in late 1945 and many Civil be suited.[...]il Alaska. The wife sued for a divorce in Wenatchee, and l did routes were so drastically cut that I wanted no more. I'd had not a thing to contest it. Late in the same year I received a my fill of carrying ma[...]Anchorage saw where it was the end for me to live in town and I began and landing in Seattle in a matter of hours. The folks then looking for a f[...]There were plenty of deserted lived in Everett, Washington. Mother had suffered a stroke[...]at a loss what to do after the funeral , as I was in good buildings, water, and a windmill. I sold my house in reality a man without a home, but I went back down to town at a terrible sacrifice in order to get at least partly out of Seattle an[...]hat was left the street, I saw a sign in a window, "Carpenters Wanted" at of my farm machi[...]s six cows and a Ross Dam, which was up in north western Washington on the few calves. This all took place in the fall of 1938. I still had Skagit River.[...]the road and gave permission to a family to live in the them and stayed a year. In the spring of 1950, I signed up for buildings so[...]ed to and Leon LaCross , who used to be in Baker and a brother of Spokane. This family I spo[...]re about to graduate from the college in Pullman, Washington, real neighbors. Terry has be[...]ss was a good scout. He helped me all winter long in graduated from college, and as a member of the ROTC, moving machinery. In the fall of 1938 we took in Hans received his commiss[...] |
| [...]and ranching in 1921. My wife and I were married in Baker in 1928, and we have lived in Fallon County ever since. Our son and his wife[...]In closing I'll use an old phrase often heard back h[...]when I was a boy. It is to all you folks in Fallon County. May[...]Caroline Esther Hanratty came to Montana in 1911 to be[...]nd ; Oliver Esther didn 't last long in this land of bachelors and she Norman, lefr back[...]Richard O'Donnell. They were married in Miles City in June[...]ears. His later witnesses. years were spent in a Veteran's Domiciliar at Prescott,[...]ys can always find to was buried beside my mother in Everett, Washington. do. Jim be[...]Well, this about concludes my story of early days in candy every time they came from town o[...]y an Indian romance of the "old 101. " I now live in a veterans ' home in Squaw who had lost her baby and gone a bi[...]animals. I was born in Wisconsin in 1892. My parents In 1908 Jim and Mike went to Montana and worked homesteaded there in 1896. I grew up and received my around Beach, N . Da.k. on threshing rigs. Then in 1909 they elementary and summer ormal Sc[...]the necessities to start a new life in a new country. With them farmers.[...]ght some of their big Minnesota horses. They In 1927 at the age of 35, I came to Plevna , Montana[...]homesteaded north and east of the town of Baker. In 1912 teach near there. I subsequently married J.[...]o~le and talk. Jim never married. His soul object in long distances over poor roads to do business or[...]nes." and to have an occasional rip-roaring party in one of We enjoyed local rodeos, 4th of July celebrations along the local bars. In later years Jim 's capacity for drink was with ou[...]ast of Baker. We are alcohol went down his throat and he swore to never touch now retired and live in Baker. ano[...]d for money was if it experience as a homesteader in Fallon County. wou[...] |
| [...]e his death. Just 3 days before his Ferguson in 1946, and immediately started to follow in his death he rode his horse down to Ray's (a neph[...]k, Laureen, and Mike and Esther were married in Miles City in 1912, and Matthew. One little girl, Mollie died at the age of one year. promptly on schedule in 1913 the first little Irishman made Ray and[...]l. mile from Mike's home. She went to high school in Baker and later went to California. She was[...]as the next arrival, and did his best to Harrison in California and they had one daughter, Kathleen.[...]was born. Mary then returned to he got lost in the fog and couldn't find his way to school and M[...]etc. He worked for the U. C. Cattle Co. in Utah and Nevada worked at different jobs in Baker. In 1945 Mary married Tom and made one flying tr[...]M.D.U. Co. and married Ruth Mary presently living in Billings, Montana. Mary is all Irish, Star[...]St. Patrick's Day. Robert joined the family in November of 1914. The Margaret was the next in line and a beauty she was from O'Donnell babies w[...]curly) and beautiful eyes. Bob started following in Mary's and never did manage to reach an awk[...]him everyone is supposed to. Her main object in life as a little one to be sure he didn't get sidetracked, as he never believed in was to protect her brother Herb from the neigh[...]After graduation from high school she worked in Baker and things that are necessary to be tried a[...]They live north and east of Baker. They firm hand in raising the younger brothers and sisters using[...]Barbara, and Steve. He served in World War II, and married Erma Koenig. They have[...]e. He started driving tractors and trucks when he in the 1918 flu times.[...]wheel. After his graduation he Ruth was born in 1917. She was truly one of the stayed[...]n with spinal meningitis as a Carole Olsen in 1957 and they have five children, Scott, Todd, yo[...]hten and Elizabeth blessed the O'Donnels in 1936. She raced the Aunt Julia and the untiring e[...]big brothers and sisters a bit spoiled (now who in the world O'Donnell was in Minneapolis undergoing serious surgery for c[...]ys open to another kid or two. Rose was born in 1919, blue eyed, black haired and loved to be a t[...]Esther, or Mother O'Donnell as she was known died in was the very closeness between the children and the fact that December of 1950, and left such a vacancy in the there was always room for one more, and never[...]d the next summer. attended Baker High and worked in one of the local banks for Mike continue[...]the old some time. She was her mothers right arm in her later days, a home place where Mike had br[...]ver knew a bad kid, Raymond joined the ranks in 1922. Another "Black but they might be[...]Baker -comfort to daughters and daughters-in-law alike ... of course High. He tried to not get too involved with his school work in sometimes we never did find a "good age!" Mike[...]as hunting, slipped away to join Esther in July of 1971 at the age of 91. In trapping and trying to ride crazy horses. He served a hitch in addition to his nine children and their[...] |
| [...]ich, the paren ts of William Ohlrich, were living in Miffin, Wisconsin when he was born in 1890. As a boy William helped on the farm and with harvesting in the summer. In the winter his duties included taking care of the livestock and other farm chores. In 1910, the Ohlrich family moved to Montana by emig[...]ich to go the great distances to the towns. In spite of the difficulties in get.ting settled and making a living they had goo[...]Probert and William Ohlrich were married at Miles City, Montana on June 12, 1929. Jennie was the da[...]n, North Dakota. Jennie was born into this family in 1896. As she was growing up, she attended a rural[...]d, Minnesota and State Teachers College at Valley City, North Dakota, after which she became a school teacher. In 1924 , when she was twenty-eight years old, Jenny[...]nd Ruth Alice. The Ohlrichs were both active in community affairs. William belonged to the Odd Fellows Lodge, the Veterans of World War I of Miles City, Montana, the American Legion Post 35 and the Last Man's Club of Baker and the ational Guard. Jennie[...]Potterton in front, 1923. MR AND MRS. SVEN OL[...]atertank hill, ice skating on the lake were born in orway. They came to the United States about in the winter time and swimming in the lake in the summer, 1875 and were married in Chicago in 1877. They homesteaded picnics at Medic[...]to the ranch at E kalaka to near Helena, Montana in 1884 and moved to the Ekalaka, visit our grandparents and going to Chatauquas. Then in Montana country in 1906. My grandfather died in 1937 and 1929, when I was· eleven years old and Ashley was nine, our my grandmother died in 1938. They had eleven children, four mot[...]d childhood changed into of whom are still living in 1972. Four died in infancy. My womanhood too fast. We had[...]r Dahl, Barbara live with us until we were in high school, then with Dad's help (Mrs . John Bra[...]ll living. My mother, Stella Olsen in 1936. (Potterton) taught school in Fallon County and was County In 1937, Dad and Ashley moved to Wisconsin and I liv[...]and their family until Doctor E . J . Potterton in June of 1917 . I was born in Baker Marjorie married Eddie Nelson in July 1940. I worked for the on June 5, 1918, and my sister, Ashley, was born in Baker in Montana Dakota Utilities Company until I was married in 1921.[...] |
| we lived in nine Montana towns. This was when he was My dad worked for the Carbon Black Plant in Baker working as an engineer for the State Highwa[...]and for the United States Engineers. He enlisted in the Navy located. He worked for them until the M.D.U. Company came in 1942 and served until October 1945--most of the time in the to Baker and bought the business. He the[...]ed and built a mobile lived for a year and a half in Wisconsin before we moved to drilling rig mounted on a truck which was used for many Denver, Colorado in August 1944. Ashley and I both had years. Dad worked for the M.D.U. until his death in 1942. Civil Service jobs and worked at the Fitzsi[...]he Colorado our home, so we moved to Fort Collins in 1947. Our childhood diseases, so we had whooping cough, measles, oldest daughter was bom in Denver in August, 1946. She is chicken-pox and small pox. It seemed we were in quarantine now Mrs. Joseph Carral and the mother of our only most of that first year in town. grandchild. They live at Mt. View, Californ[...]good job of feeding us on such a Diane, was born in May 1949. She graduated from the s[...]im milk for ten cents a Colorado State University in 1971 and is working in Denver. gallon and made chocolate pudding[...]d This past summer (1972) she and I spent a month in Europe beans, boiled "spuds", and bought[...]f food as I grew up but I still meeting relatives in Oslo and Haugesund, Norway. What a lik[...]ich has left him disabled. He Growing up in Baker and attending the grade schools is able to[...]time. At other times she swam and fished in the Baker Lake I began work as a secretary[...]ried they ran a grocery Colorado State University in 1961, a position which I still and General Store in Marmarth until 1952 at which time they hold and e[...]fee Shop. Mountains and we feel fortunate to live in such a beautiful They are members of[...]ys and hobbies. and are faithful workers in that organization. Dad came from Wisconsin in 1952 and made his home in the Their children consist of two[...]the Baker High School. Both of them live in Missoula. Judy home with Ashley and her family in Denver now. He lives and works with her parents." celebrated his 89th birthday in December 1972.[...]h a week end of parties. Here is her life's story in GORDON AND HELE OLSON[...]Ole ielson on March 16, of Marmarth, North Dakota in 1908. Martin had a Men 's 1884 at Sommers, Wisconsin. In May of 1890, when I was six Store in Marmarth called Martin Olson Men's Outfitters. Th[...]Montana for my sign from this business is hanging in the O'Fallon Museum at mother's health and[...]t Passenger train like the little one in "Petticoat Junction," horseless carriage in Marmarth. It was of the type that was exce[...]mill on the Custer Trail south of Fort Keogh, out in the Pine wasn't driven much. Most of the time it[...]the .P . tracks. The closest neighbor youth to do in Marmarth those days. Gordon went[...]the week. School was held three months in the fall and four As he grew older Gordon worked in a grocery store as a months in the spring. For me, the first year was the worst[...]it: so I just served as Water Commissioner on the City Board. sat there. There were eight or nine children in the school who In 1939 he married Helen P . Stark at Baker. This is[...]ironed . Some of them were dirty, from Minnesota in 1915 and lived north of Ollie, Montana on though, with big hole in their s tockings. The second year my the H[...] |
| [...]allowed to pastry and short order cook in the mornings until the Chef dance until I was 15 and then only at dances held in the got to work. This was just until t[...]th me. It was "good old help. Montana" in those days; not rough as some people think. If a[...]ker High fellow was drinking or even had a bottle in his pocket, we School. After graduation[...]overnment moved the dead Railroad in Chicago; Vera worked as a Telephone Operator; sol[...]al Miles took the soldiers from Fort Keogh. Miles City Hospital in Chicago. said they were "drunks" but the worst "d[...]heir names on the Honor the cowboys and the Miles City fellows. General Miles had Plaque at the Baker High School. Alice, who passed away in them moved, then Miles City saw its mistake because no January 1973, chose to have a recognition pin in preference to money came in. The town asked the General to bring back the[...]Honorary Diplomas for graduating all the children in our I married William J. Olson at Glendive, Montana in families from the Baker High School. T[...]When my husband retired from the railroad in 1948 we station east of Baker) as section foreman[...]where I still live. I have lived near Railroad . In June, after school was out in Miles City, the four the railroad all my life. Mr. Olson[...]and enjoy doing fancy work to Baker and we lived in the section house here for 29 years. and ba[...]the children, the six Two more children were born in Baker. It took me two grandchildre[...]I was born in Eigenfeld, Russia on May 17, 1902 and at 8[...]rge Follmer Mr. and Mrs. William J . Olson, taken in the 1930' s in front of decided to go to Montana in the United States. My mother's the section house[...]re, so things were much better here than in Russia. We came then one of the section ha[...] |
| [...]n Overlock and family first came to this vicinity in[...]took a position as Science Teacher in the Junior High School[...]became a minister for the First Baptist Church in Baker.[...]fficult to cope with the distances to be traveled in this "Big[...]Marvin was born in 1937 in Harmon, Maine where he[...]in 1963 and they have two daughters ; Marilee Ann an[...]The Overlocks had trouble adjusting to the water in Women's Missionary Society, First Baptist Church[...]e inadequate. They returned to their native Maine in[...]I was married to Jacob C. Opp at Plevna, Montana in the First Baptist Church where I am a Charter Mem[...]'s Missionary Society. We purchased our home in Plevna where we raised 5[...]levna until 1958 when he was transferred to Miles City. He The 0. J. Owen family left Wisconsin in 1908 and worked there until he retired from the railroad in 1962. I numbered themselves with the "honyoker[...]hen, so I worked at the Holy Rosary homesteads in southeastern Montana. Mr. Owen worked as a Hospit[...]In the very early days Mr. Owen wrote a poem entitle[...]group, died fairly recently in Phoenix.[...]When Owen Jones Owen (a very Welsh name), died in[...]local newspaper said, "One of the colorful lives in[...]education. Yet he took a keen interest in politics on every level, was a leader in many civic enterprises, and was an[...]Church. He loved to sing, and believed in keeping Sunday;[...]We celebrated our Golden Wedding Anniversary in Edwin, fourth in line, drowned in Baker Lake in 1920. A November 1970. My husband passed away Mar[...]nt down with him. Several am living by myself now in my home in Miles City. years later Ben saved a person who was drowning in the same Our children are: Emil, married to[...]rried to Rudy Helen taught a rural school in Fallon County after high Sieler; Ruben, ma[...] |
| Montana. After graduation, she taught in Forsyth and was married to Donald Wilson, a drugg[...]ter, now Mrs. Jim Markin-, of Phoenix. Helen died in Tucson in 1966. Ben, who was christened Bennett Benjamin and later known as B. B., stayed in Baker for some years after high school. He worked[...]Plains where he became a successful business man. In 1943 he married Mrs. Helen McCann, who had one da[...]died of a heart attack while playing golf at Sun City, Ariz. in March, 1972. Floretta also taught in rural schools in Fallon County and later worked for Lucy T. McLemore of the Baker Sentinel. She married Austin J. Compton in 1927 and they were divorced in 1936. Floretta and her three children lived in Idaho for many years as she taught in the Blackfoot schools for 1 years. Floretta often[...]received her degree from Western Montana College in 1959. She is now residing in Idaho Falls and her only living daughter, Mrs. Jo[...]getting the Fallon Memorial Hospital in operation, was and worked in Forsyth before her marriage to Herbert[...]ool board, am a Past-president of Fallon Goodrich in 1937. The Goodrich family had also lived at County Homesteader's Club, participated in the County Baker. Eva and Herb have made their ho[...]ifty years member of the many years. Eva has been City Librarian for 11 years. They Masonic[...]as had a love for music. He served In 1925 Laura Yokley, the daughter of Robert Yokley,[...]Sr., an early day cattle driver and rancher in the Ekalaka Spokane for several years. In later years he usually divides country, and I were married in Miles City, Montana. his time between Colorado and Arizona.[...]Laura went to grade school in Ekalaka and then when it married .[...]as time for high school the family moved to Miles City for Mrs. Owen made her home in Plains for many years and the school[...]raduated from the Custer County passed away there in May, 1955.[...]I feel that it was a privilege to have grown up in that part of the country As a boy I hunted and fished in the virgin land of Hiawatha. I[...]received my elementary and high school education in Alta Foote, daughter of Henry[...]was Michigan and graduated from Carroll College in Wisconsin. born in 1902 at Audobon, Iowa. When she was very young In later years I attended Morticians College in Chicago. the family moved to Minnesota and then in 1909, when Alta While going to school and in later life I was interested in all was six years old the family came to Monta[...]homesteaded 14 miles south of Baker. eighty-two in September of 1973.[...]Hosea Cate, Hank At the age of twenty-one, in 1912 I came to Baker, Gregors, Frank St[...]f, Ben Huber and Montana on the Milwaukee Train. In Baker I went into Andy and Frank Kre[...]families. While growing business with my brother-in-law Lewellyn (Lew) Price, Sr. I up she atte[...]worked I sold the homestead and volunteered in the United for the Ben Hubers in the summer time stacking headed grain States Army in 1917. I was accepted as an[...]itress for Officers Training and was commissioned in Organization in Baker and then she moved to Mildred, Montana where also of the First Armored Tank Corps. At first I was kept in the waitress work was found. There she met[...]ast I was sent overseas Paddock. After living in Glendive for two years the couple in the spring of 1918. I served in Europe until the Armistice moved to a farm on the Powder River. They rented and in ovember of 1918.[...]lped organize the Fallon Bitterroot Valley in Montana to farm and work in the logging Post No. 35 of the American Legion and was Post industry. Otis was killed in June 1957. Commander. I have been active in the various organizations For 27 years Alta worked at the McNeal Nursery and the of the city and county. I was City Treasurer, was active in Bitterroot Creamery, after which sh[...] |
| [...]the Navy in World War II, in August of 1943. During my years in Baker I worked as Scout Master for a troop of Boy[...]work in the Baker Community Church. These days in Baker[...]. 1st, 1973, I went to work as a $1.00 a year man in the[...]Minnesota State College. Helen has been teaching in recent[...]Willard Community for the Fiftieth School Reunion in 1968. The Hidden Water, the Gregerson, the Lunder and the Willard schools were all in one district. About 150 persons gathered at the W[...]as been to the east coast five times, Worlds Fair in New York, to Key West, Florida, got her feet wet in both oceans and she dipped her hands in the Gulf of Mexico. Montana traveling will fill h[...]17 , 1889 at Beaver City, ebraska. MR. & MRS. PAUL 0. PEAR[...]After graduation from high school in Beaver City, Superior, Wisconsin, was the •town where I first put in an ebraska, and a job as street car conductor in Los Angeles, appearance at the home of my parents[...]rother, Drury Hamilton Phebus, Pearson . That was in 1906, and that was where my childhood in a homesteading venture in Eastern Montana. was spent doing all the things a[...]Sumatra, Montana. Flace S. Phebus enlisted in the U.S. Superior, Wis. I then was employed in the Banking Business. Anny at Forsyth, Montana in 1917 during W W I and served[...] |
| in the same Outfit as ick Wellenstein, an early Fall[...]ilwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad at Miles City, Montana. Phebus was transferred to the job of warehouse Foreman at Baker, Montana in 1920. Flace S. Phebus and Jess Hayes, the S[...]ad" business from 1920 until the two men retired in the 1960's. Flace Smithen Phebus and Selma[...]rst week of Flace S. Phebus was very active in the Democratic Party school, the school[...]essman Arnold Olson made my education in this country! Dan O'Brien had a the statement, "F[...]en to teach very bard to find a declared Democrat in Fallon County". my brothers, Gottl[...]addressed him as "Mr. died in 1921 and could read and write in both Russian and Democrat''.[...]he said he could never Phebus acquired land in the Medicine Rocks area of learn t[...]sh. My mother died at the age of 82 Fallon County in the 1930's. Land often sold for 50 cents per[...]f our neighbors spoke German, church pay for land in this area. Phebus spent his retirement years in services were in German, and even thtl banker, Mr. Hims!, politica[...]rman so it was bard for us to learn English. away in 1967 and is buried in the Baker cemetery. Church was held in houses and finally a little shack was[...]built, and every one attended. In 1916 we joined the Peace[...]everyone in the community attended. On the 4th of July a big[...]the children who were still at home, left Russia in April of 1912 and traveled across Europe by trai[...]My father was used to paying 10 cents for these in Russia but after the exchange of rubles to pound[...]irls who didn 't speak English tried to buy bread in a saloon. It didn 't take long for them to get chased out of there. In Chicago, all of the immigrants were locked in a room overnight. We never knew why. We stopped in Eureka, South Dakota to visit Father's brother, M[...]d two brothers, Matt and Jake Ehret, were already in Fallon County, so we moved into a 10 by 12 tar-paper shack on a homestead near theirs. This was in July 1912 and we had a barn built right aw[...] |
| [...]Frederick Pinnow who had come over from Germany in 1913. We moved to the Sheehan place which we ren[...]here and I lived there until I moved to Billings in 1960.[...]at the Home Place, 1953 Lillian in Front of her Husband, Bob Joseph, Delphine and[...]now and Arnold Pinnow Standing Behind his In those days we worked hard farming and life wasn't[...]We raised up to 24 acres of potatoes for sale and in 1936 Maier, Kathy Joseph, Wanda Maier, Maggie[...]Pinnow, Kim and Steven Pinnow. it was published in the Montana Farmer. Our entertainment was[...]lvin, both at home. manage the Holiday Inn Motel in Carrol, Iowa; Delphine is married to Raymond Maier and they f[...]oncordia College this year. She spent four weeks in Europe last year where she visited Pinnow relatives in Dusseldorf. Roland Maier graduated from the Baker High School in 1972 and Wanda Maier, Steven and Kim Pinnow, Craig and Brain Pinnow are students in the Baker schools. Scott is a fifth grader in Carroll, Iowa and Neal, Arnold's boy, is a busy three year old.[...]to Europe and they also visited Pinnow relatives in Germany and behind the Iron Curtain. Lillian and[...]armers south-east of Baker. Some of the neighbors in the vicinity of their ranch were; Lloyd Young, E.[...]ed on June 22, 1952 at Pinnow, at Miles City, Montana. As I was growing up I Polk, Nebr[...] |
| school at Plevna, Montana, where I participated in most of went to Chicago and worked for a[...]good position in the South. However he felt the negro was a V[...]r 1, 1960 problem, so instead he took a job in Eureka, South Dakota. at Plevna. I am an Elder of the Peace Lutheran Church at He arrived in Eureka in October 1911 and experienced Plevna.[...]singing group and enjoyed many occasions in and out of town more acreage to it in order to make it more feasible in performances. The group made quite a reputation f[...]ion" ability. The Manner Choir sang only in German and Karl but we have had to contend with the weather and inflation. sang star roles in some of the dramatic works. He was also an We were hailed out in 1962 and in 1964 we experienced one of alderman. the to[...]He met Mary Haftle at a college party in the spring. the children ten miles to school.[...]but were farmers and to Baker, Montana in the latter part of 1915 and immediately ranchers[...]high "The Baker Sentinel." His sister-in-law, Martha (Mrs. school education she attended t[...]and two children, Karl, Jr. and Ella, arrived in February School. After finishing high school she[...]Montana State College at Billings. In April of 1916 he received the papers on the claim[...]He worked in Baker for "The Baker Sentinel" until Karl Ri[...]tine Pauline Singer Pleissner on October 31, 1882 in Butte Tipton and changed the name to "The Fallon County Reichenbach, in Vogtland, East Germany. Times." In 1922 he purchased the building of the defunct[...]er started up again. Then he parents were engaged in tapestry weaving. His brother was purchased "The Plevna Herald" in about 1928 and "The Albert and his sisters were Martha, Bertha, Anna, Hedwig Baker Sentinel" in 1930, thereby assuming control of all the and Ell[...]publications in the Fallon County. This guaranteed him He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith, contracts for county[...]of the "Plevna Herald". The driving back and In 1892 he moved to Baden Baden in the Black Forest forth on printing days[...]Mr. Pleissner served as City Clerk for several years and He was a good student, excelling in penmanship and was an active booster fo[...]literature. He had speech World War II. In 1940 he became a director in the Bank of difficulty in school because of nervous stuttering and took Baker, and was vice president in later years. treatments to overcome it by inhalin[...]laws were being made and with the Meistersingers in Germany and later in South revised, he was unable to recei[...]g for a walk with his however he had filed in 1910 and 1919. He passed the parents and friends[...]ny mind of analysis and logic. The examining In September 1900 he was called into the army for tw[...]worked as a Plevna. lithographer in Stuttgart to broaden his experience.[...]spent numerous vacations in Minneapolis, Fargo and Of his first marriage[...]o had a daughter, Elisabeth who is still teaching in Germany World Fair in 1933 where he met the still known Sally Rand . an[...]Karl left Germany and came to the United States in 1910 some indoor plants, and enjoying the grandchildren and the settling in New York City, filing his application for great gra[...]ld not join the union, he smoking, which he did in 1950, and one can always picture could not obtain[...]uring this time he attended him with a cigar in his mouth continuously, or perhaps a pipe[...] |
| school at Plevna, Montana, where I participated in most of went to Chicago and worked for a[...]good positfon in the South. However he felt the negro was a V[...]1, 1960 problem, so instead he took a job in Eureka, South Dakota. at Plevna. I am an Elder of the Peace Lutheran Church at He arrived in Eureka in October 1911 and experienced Plevna.[...]singing group and enjoyed many occasions in and out of town more acreage to it in order to make it more feasible in performances. The group made quite a reputation f[...]on" ability. The Manner Choir sang only in German and Karl but we have had to contend with the weather and inflation. sang star roles in some of the dramatic works. He was also an We were hailed out in 1962 and in 1964 we experienced one of alderman. the t[...]He met Mary Haftle at a college party in the spring. the children ten miles to school.[...]but were farmers and to Baker, Montana in the latter part of 1915 and immediately ranchers[...]high "The Baker Sentinel." His sister-in-law, Martha (Mrs. school education she attended t[...]and two children, Karl, Jr. and Ella, arrived in February School. After finishing high school she[...]Montana State College at Billings. In April of 1916 he received the papers on the claim[...]He worked in Baker for "The Baker Sentinel" until Karl Ri[...]tine Pauline Singer Pleissner on October 31, 1882 in Butte Tipton and changed the name to "The Fallon County Reichenbach, in Vogtland, East Germany. Times." In 1922 he purchased the building of the defunct[...]er started up again. Then he parents were engaged in tapestry weaving. His brother was purchased "The Plevna Herald" in about 1928 and "The Albert and his sisters were Martha, Bertha, Anna, Hedwig Baker Sentinel" in 1930, thereby assuming control of all the and Ell[...]publications in the Fallon County. This guaranteed him He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith, contracts for county[...]of the "Plevna Herald". The driving back and In 1892 he moved to Baden Baden in the Black Forest forth on printing days[...]Mr. Pleissner served as City Clerk for several years and He was a good student, excelling in penmanship and was an active booster f[...]literature. He had speech World War II. In 1940 he became a director in the Bank of difficulty in school because of nervous stuttering and took Baker, and was vice president in later years. treatments to overcome it by inhalin[...]laws were being made and with the Meistersingers in Germany and later in South revised, he was unable to rece[...]for a walk with his however he had filed in 1910 and 1919. He passed the parents and friends[...]ny mind of analysis and logic. The examining In September 1900 he was called into the army for tw[...]worked as a Plevna. lithographer in Stuttgart to broaden his experience.[...]spent numerous vacations in Minneapolis, Fargo and Of his first marriage[...]o had a daughter, Elisabeth who is still teaching in Germany World Fair in 1933 where he met the still known Sally Rand. and[...]Karl left Germany and came to the United States in 1910 some indoor plants, and enjoying the grandchildren and the settling in New York City, filing his application for great gr[...]d not join the union, he smoking, which he did in 1950, and one can always picture could not obtain[...]ring this time he attended him with a cigar in his mouth continuously, or perhaps a pipe[...] |
| [...]nse of knowing three other children in the family. They had left the coal fields the proper move in times of stress and when conflicts arose.[...]ays friendly and did not desire home in the west along with a number of other coal miners[...]the Sartz family for several months before In later years she was troubled by arthritis, diabetes and homesteading about 20 miles south of Baker in 1909. she suffered through three major heart att[...]did not pay One of her greatest joys came in 1932 when some friend went into cattl[...]Mode of transportation was by wagon or sled in winter. to write, edit, and use of vocabulary ga[...]became a neighborhood tradition In 1916 her aunt, Mrs. Anthony Schauer, and son, at[...]Harry, came to live and in 1918 another aunt, Mrs. Joe She never deman[...]Munday, and family arrived. They made their home in Baker. she also died without ever wanting.[...]Marriage for Katherine came in 1921 at Beach to Peter many a day. Her sense of[...]union. In 1929 she went with other family members to Detroi[...]he married Bill Robertson becoming a instrumental in leading her children to becoming good[...]cared for her mother for many years citizens and in spite of many illnesses that befell the family,[...]After graduating from Marquette Dental School in I recall the time when eil, my brother, di[...]ad the great desire to go west and special place in "Mom's" heart) because shortly after he was[...]he became very ill and she almost lost him. Again in his of Wisconsin. I took the Chicago M[...]his feeling surfaced, so she had a difficult time in Montana in 1910 to take the State Board and get my license[...]Provided! Ruth suffered a near fatal in Dentistry. From there I went to Baker, Montana wh[...]any times I could detect the heartaches and tears in " om " because she wanted so much that things be[...]n she so faithfully wrote family members and then in turn had to wait weeks for a reply. How happy eac[...]P.M. she evidently felt pain, lay back on her bed in a ladylike manner and passed away . I foun[...] |
| Baker. I played football both in high school and college so Many good[...]Stella died in August 1929 and I continued my practice[...]youngest daughter. I have spent the last 21 years in Colorado[...]to be near my daughters, 17 of which I lived in a cabin on the[...]Ashley, in Denver. People who formerly lived in and around[...]re. I met my wife, Stella Olsen, at a dance in Ismay. She was |
| at the M.D .U. Co. It was in 1946, while working at the Ruth Montgomery Pratt was born and lived in Iowa. Fitzsimmons General Hospital, an Army Hospital[...]he was a graduate of Coe College of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. in the service.[...]my own After his discharge, we were married in April 1947. He business which was roastin[...]ling served his apprenticeship to be a Mortician in Denver and one it to restaurants and instit[...]went with the year of School of Mortuary Science in Milwaukee. Upon his Culligan Water Conditioning Company in Wausau, graduation we returned to Denver. He received his license in Wisconsin when it was a new business. I ha[...]e made Denver our home ever franchise. In 1963 I sold my franchise and went into since. A daughter, Dixie, was born in February 1950 and a retirement. son, Warren, in January 1954.[...]ansing, Michigan to Samuel and Minnie Pratt. In March of 1912, when I was nine years old , my mother, my sister, Minnie, and I boarded the train in Owosso, Michigan to come to Baker, Montana to joi[...]ction 13 near Willard. I was very interested in how they had the machinery hooked up for travelin[...]the back of that. The packers and harrow were put in a wagon along with other necessary equipment. Thi[...]elena. John used for cooking and eating. We slept in tents. Minnie and I Henry Price and h[...]rd miles away. We could get five barrels of water in the wagon at a time.[...]ranch under the brand ~ (Crown rabbit and fry it in the skillet which was secured on the W[...]used I attended grade school and high school in Baker. Over to buy butter from Mrs. Drag[...]ed people from My sister, Minnie, was killed in 1915 in an auto accident England. on Waterta.nk Hil[...]es Army for Cavalry being the first person killed in an auto accident in Fallon Horses and the money was given to[...]Government County. She and my parents are buried in the cemetery at to supply a Hospital[...]At one time Col. Price owned the old Hills house in Baker. In the spring of 1921 my folks moved to Great Falls,[...]d at many different things including lumber mills in Oregon and Washington, the J . C. Penny[...]e" and living at the County Farm at Miles Company in Great Falls, and as a National Park Ranger in Yellowstone Park where I met my wife. While I was on duty City, Montana . at Yellowstone Lake I stood guard over President Coolidge as he slept in the Lake Hotel. Ruth, my wife, worked during her college summers in the Yellowstone Park as a waitress in the LEWELLYN AND EV A A. OWEN PR[...]ends as Lew) was born played the flute and played in many symphony orchestras. January 7,[...]e family which settled at an early date in that community. His lodge for President Co[...] |
| [...]ister of the Methodist faith of the Wesleyan Body in Wisconsin.[...]18 years old, his schooling being that securable in the county. At Escanaba, Michigan he went i[...]ion. He attended the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago after that. Mr. Price came to Baker in 1910 to establish himself in the hardware and furniture business. Having prospected several towns for a location, he decided to settle in Baker (the future metropolis of Fallon County). H[...]ing which he owned. The business was incorporated in 1917 with Mr. Price, President, 'fhomas Lloyd Owe[...]n, Secretary. Lewellyn or "Lew" served Baker in several public affairs; member of the School Board, Member of Town Eva attended school in Ironwood and then went to Council, President of C[...]-President of teachers college, and taught in various school. After she and the same for severa[...]American Lewellyn were married she taught in the local grade school at Red Cross for Fallon County during World War I, Chairman Foster City, Michigan, which was a town wholly owned by of th[...]d store and a Master Mas on and passed the chairs in Blue Lodge o. 84 was timekeeper and paym[...]came to Montana after Mr. Price was established in his holder and president of the Baker ational Bank and was one business in Baker. She was very active in the early forming of of the first directors and l[...]Sunday Schools and Ladies' Aid , and served in most of the married in June 1898 at Foster City, Michigan. Miss Owen, a offices. Sh[...] |
| Order of the Eastern tar of Baker and served in a ll the at my birth. My parents were[...]se where my family and health failed and she died in May of 1925. I now live. I have lived in the house most of my life excepting Jeanette[...]day. S he of twenty months. attended school in Baker through high school from which she graduate[...]y at Evan ton. Ill. where she received her degree in music in 1924. After graduating from college, Jeanette returned home to Baker where he taught music in the Baker High School and kept house for her fath[...]the year before) until her marriage to Ward Grant in 192 . After their marriage Ward and Jeanette went[...]Hilliar Grant, both of California. Jeanette died in Indio, California in 1957.[...]Lewellyn Price died March 7, 1941. at his home in Baker. He had just returned from a month's trip t[...],Jeanette and family . He made the trip annually in February to renew his ties with his two grandsons Mr. Price was buried beside his wife. Eva, in the Bonnievale Cemetery at Baker. He used to stan[...]The L. Price Family H ome, Built in 1913. Dad Seeley was the August 21, 1913. Fallon[...]ontractor. Members of the Price Family have Lived in the parents were Lewellyn and Eva A. Price. The h[...]e Since it was Built, Carriage Hou se-Garage born in was a small house which was near the alley downtown Combination, stall for cow in the Back, Addition on orth across from what is no[...]ny lot . Doctor Young officiated Taken in 1942.[...] |
| [...]als and equipment. There were horses, elephants, in front of the store. It dispensed five gallons at a time and giraffes and animals in cages on wagons and always there was pumped by h[...]the performers My parents were very active in the Congregational and the animals in the cages. The larger animals walked. The Church[...]the circus. parents and then being put to sleep, in the hay behind the I went to the old[...]at Bozeman , Montana and graduated from gathered in a circle to form the arena. Picnics were often there with my degree in Electrical Engineering in 1936. Since timed for baseball games as every to[...]e Boy Scouts under came home and worked in my father's store until Mr. Eph James Mann, the s[...]acher. I'll never Keirle offered me a job in the Baker National Bank. I became forget the hike[...]hen the cashier resigned. After my father's death in school was out, we would camp near Ekalaka and Me[...]he We built a new store building in 1963 to expand our floor freight or mail truck an[...]pokes of the wheel. It flipped him a complete tum in the air and back on rus feet. Such a surprised do[...]dchildren, three boys and three girls. Circus Day in Baker, Montana I have been active in community affairs, serving as City[...]s for As I remember, one of the biggest days in Baker was 30 years. served on the sch[...]s would stop here for feeding the director in the Baker ational Bank. 1 have also been active a[...]ey had to make a stop anyway, they would in the Baker Community Church and was a tru tee for[...]st Hi torical Society. of the young boys in town would go down to watch and try to[...]e were always Hodges on January 5, 1914 in Taney County. Missouri. Her[...] |
| [...]e age 5 and Marea age 3, came to Rosebud, Montana in to Virginia City, Montana and on to Helena, Montana. T his Novemb[...]was soon after the Civil War. He worked in Helena for a Railway to Huntley, Montana where they changed to the Colonel Babcock in t he construct ion of the Broadwater Northern Pac[...]Rosebud. After a Natatorium Resort Complex in Helena. H e went to Billings, time at Rosebud and[...]r, came up from Texas to school and Normal School in Billings, and all three became work in her grandfather's boarding house. school teachers. Jessie came to Baker in the fall of 1934 to teach the second grade at the[...]n (Bud) Price, Jr. and Jessie Hodges were married in the living room of the L. Price home, the house w[...]er of the Baker Community Church (Congregational) in 1939. They went to the World's Fair (Century of Progress) in San Francisco, California on their honeymoon.[...]Bismarck, orth Dakota. They left Ohio in 1880 with their[...]a Menley whom he married. They lived in Billings for a while member of the American Legi[...]iety. County in Billings in 1897. Richard Lewellyn Price , was born on[...]a's grandparents, John and Elizabeth Haush Miles City. Montana . He attended grade school and high[...]at a German Seaport on the College of Education in Billings. Dick is associated with his orth[...]with a communicable father. L. Price. Jr. "Bud", in the L. Price Company. which disease, one at[...]everaJ was founded by his grandfather, L. Price, in 1910. weeks . By the time they were free to leave they had run out of In 1967 Dick Price and Linda Giesick, daughter of Mr[...]and Mrs. Elmer Giesick of Billings, were married in the First America. At first. after reaching[...]Billings , Montana. settled in Nebraska and had three more girls added to the[...]orn April 5. 1945 at Billings. family there. In 1914 they went to Billings. Montana where She att[...]re added to the attended Montana State University in Bozeman from 1962 to family and then a s[...]her of Linda was 1966. She earned her B A. Degree in Hom e Economics. After born on the place[...]r Michelle Lee. Linda has some pioneer blood in her background. too. Dick was the President of the Baker Lion ·s Club in 1973. Her great. great grandfather. Dave B[...] |
| [...]ina's brother, Lieutenant Steve Snyder, was kiUed in of the Baker Community Church and is a member of[...]Vietnam while heading his company of Marines in Battle. He O'Fallon Historical Society. is buried in the cemetery at Arlington, Virginia.[...]often, Regina acquired her education in various countries. She received her Degree in Microbe-Biology from the[...]Colorado to work in a laboratory at the Denver General[...]State University. Some of their duties in the laboratory were[...]as Day, 1973, at Grandpa and Grandma Price's Home in Baker. Left to Right, Bill, Michelle and Tom Pric[...]enver, Colorado where he received his B.A. Degree in Business Administration. He went on and got his[...]p Springs, Maryland, were married at Camp Springs in 1966. The wedding Lew Price was born to Bud and Jessie Price when his reception was held in the Officer 's Club at the Andrew's Air brothe[...]In Dec. 1914 Margaret Wiggins. daughter of Thomas[...]and Margaret Wiggins who were farmers in Toronto. Canada[...]years in Canada . In 192 I they came by train to Baker and[...]attended grade school in Baker when the family moved there . The James Ll.oyd Price Family, 1973, Left to Right, Rel(ina, In 1941 the family moved to Polson where \IVm . Proc[...]Marcy and Jamie passed away in 1969.[...] |
| [...]experiences in those days. Mr. and Mrs. William Proctor and[...]sister and brother-in-law, Leona and Wesley Thompson.[...]nna and I were married at Spearfish, South Dakota in[...]1913. We lived on the homestead until we retired in[...]other means of transportation . When he arrived in town and[...]whole month - October 1st. Margaret Proctor in Com Field on Farm at Mackenzie, |
| City, Monta na. Donna passed away three days a fter bi[...]they were born. All the children attended school in Baker time. un t il 1961. Edward, Jr. gr[...]rch at Baker. School. Dean and Ed , Jr. were both in Cub Scouts and Our children are Elle[...]Montana in the fall of 1941 from Yakima, Washington .[...]Sheldon had completed his education in Diesel Engineering and radio in 1937 at Seattle, Washington. I, Martha, had[...]received my degree in nursing at Miles City the same[...]Howard place and Sheldon set up his business in Radio and[...]Electrics. I continued with my nursing. In 1943 Eph Keirle[...]ing quarters was built upstairs. After a Hospital in Miles City, Montana. There were three girls and few y[...]nna, passed away three days after birth. but in 1948 Barry and son, age 5, were drowned in the Baker The other three are shown here with the[...]ng the After his graduation from high school in 1960, Ed, Jr. usage of 110 Volt appliances in the homes. In 1948 Labor Day attended the Dickinson State Colle[...]a reality and the complete modernization of In 1961 the family moved to Great Falls where Edward[...]arts Business. After his marriage to In the fall of l 957, after much experimenting, by K[...]da, Montana, Ed, Jr. was Sheldon, in trying to bring television to this fringe area of associated with his father in the Auto Parts Business. He is Baker, witho[...]· the picture and sound came in clearly. Weather conditions The three remain[...]ried to Kenneth Seay, who is In 1946 John Giesler, who had been discharged from t[...]stern Montana College at Billings School in Chicago, came to work for us as Service Technicia[...]and last fall we celebrated his 25th year in our employment. Wayne Forder and they live on a r[...]Walter Coldwell of Baker, an electrician in the avy, Dean graduated from the College of[...]emel Field Sales Representative for Genuine Parts in Spokane. He Faulkner from Boston, got married and moved on the ranch now lives in Livingston, Montana where he purchased the[...]completion of Sandstone Lodge 84 of Baker. In 1956 during[...]Temple was dedicated . In 1952 Sheldon was initiated into the[...]Scottish Rites at Billings, Montana. In I 954 I was Worthy My folks, Mr. and Mrs. Ole[...]l~d #60, O.E .S . Our meetings were held in the upstairs of the twenty three miles south and[...]order of the Rainbow Girls was Glenwood Minnesota in 1906. On the homestead I went to acti[...]ve many years of service, such as : ellie tou In 1927 Elma Martyn and I were married at Ba~er. We[...]from 1927 until 1952 Meetings were also in the Grainger's Hall until the new when we[...] |
| [...]threshing machine in the country, and all the farmers who Scouti[...]t threshed. (This was the first threshing worked in the Scouting Program from the time Butch started[...]They threshed for all the farmers as a Cub Scout in 1953 until 1968, during which time both they could that fall and finished up in the spring. They went sons, Butch and Tom, recei[...]e, the troop grew to be one of the largest troops in outfits were brought into the country. The threshing season Montana, having 66 Scouts in Troop 229. The troup was also lasted from[...]l January. known for its many Blue Ribbon Honors in "Scout-A- Ramas" and camping. Many vacations we[...]. Last fall we celebrated 31 years of being in business in Baker by serving Anniversary Cake and snacks fro[...]We have three children. Kay Linda was born in 1942 and is a Certified Public Accountant. Her hu[...]Shelly, age l. Sheldon Lee (Butch) was born in 1945 and has his degree in Business Administration. He is employed by the An[...]teaches English at the C. M. Russell High School in Great Falls. They have one daughter. Jacqueline,[...]Arriving in Ismay the family pitched a tent and set up[...]housekeeping. They lived in the tent until a house could be[...]Written by Helen Redman Rieger In the fall of 1910, Winfield Scott Redman and his w[...]uded cattle and brought with them to Montana in 1911 . horses, machinery and household goods. On[...]preciate this fine country. If anyone in the area went into Ismay, they would milk.[...]always bring the mail for everyone in the area and leave it at When the Redmans arrived in Ismay they had a steam the Redman place. The local mail route was started in 1920, powered threshing machine loaded on[...] |
| [...]big event. 1946-47 the coyote packs moved in. The sheep would be When the Redmans first c[...]bout 5 1/2 miles. The school district was divided in 1917 still the coyotes would come in and kill sheep every night. and the Spring Creek[...]Winfield spent many a freezing night sitting in the cold ice District #39 and Martha Zehm was the[...]Winfield is living with his daughter, Alice, in Minnesota and high, Granddad and Uncle Fenner would ferry the kids across Robert lives in Billings. Jetta died in 1958. the creek with Old Billy so they could go t[...]Margaret Olivetti in 1920. They had three daughters, Winfield Redman,[...]y Isabella, Lillian (Bug), and Marie Ann. In 1935, Marie Ann Redman holding Alice, Winfield wi[...]mestead. Winfield Fenner was very interested in the Indians and he did a great and his wife, Amy[...]them. A few summers he brought some of the little in 1911 and a daughter, Alice, born in 1913. Amy died in children from the reservation and kept.[...]on, June 7. 1921. They had one son, Charles, born in 1922 . Winfield kept accumulating land and[...] |
| Fenner was one of the first farmers in his area to own a the Fulton Ranch. When the H[...]hop, also, and he did a lot of the homestead in 1919 and moved into Ismay. During the blacksmith[...]he railroad. They moved back to the area of made in the shop. In those days you didn't run into town for the old homestead in the summer of 1921. A daughter, Mary, repairs. Y[...]ones were gathered up and were used to freeze in the area trying to make a living for the family a[...]ream ... What a treat--ice cream could find. In 1924 the family moved to the Anderson place toda[...]was born. The Fenner spent his last years in Billings with his daughter family lived in a tent at the time, doing their cooking (Bug) Mr[...]to the old Anderson house. lives with her family in Houston, Texas, Bug still lives in Finally when there was no work to be found[...]the table the family moved to Baker in 1928. In August of Going back to the year 1919, Win[...]ate Hamilton, went to Canada to look over City where she planned to spend a few days. The day sh[...]not having any land of his own stayed and worked in Canada her. She wrote one letter to her da[...]ime Stella threshing crew. Coming back to Montana in 1921 Ted stayed wrote back to her mother at Miles City, her letter came back at the family homestead to[...]heard from her. Not Ted married Stella Hall in 1925, they rented a section of having the mone[...]dren back to his did . They moved onto this place in 1931 and their daughter, old home town in Indiana. Helen. was born that same year.[...]Hazel came down with a sore throat. Hazel was reluctant to[...]throat. Within the week Hazel passed away . Glen and Gen[...]right, Stella, Son, John, was killed in a car accident in 1953 . Glen Hazel and baby Dorothy, 1909.[...]moved into Baker and worked for the County. In the spring[...]en and Genoa Hall turned black and was in critical condition for several weeks. who came to Montana in May of 1912 from Indiana . Glen After a long and painful time in the hospital he did recover worked for Ray[...] |
| the rest of his life. Glen passed away in Miles City in 1971. the stack. The rattlesnakes liked to[...]eod, sometimes we would kill five to ten in one day. Dorothy lives in Ekalaka, Mildred in Billings, Earl is in Com picking was one of the less desirable fall jobs. This Indiana and Mary and Betty live in Ekalaka. was a time when a good team of horses was priceless. Dad In 1929 Granddad Scott Redman, at the age of 75, die[...]and of a probable heart attack. Ten years later, in 1939, Granny tied the reins up on the wago[...]d he loved the the wagon box. mountains. In the fall of 1927, Ted purchased a new truck and[...]o the wagon with a fork by hand. A sling was laid in the[...]ig fall order from Sears and Roebuck catalog came in the[...]ew coats, mittens , longhandle Threshing, putting in the winter supply of coal and before und[...]piece of farm machinery Ted bought was a tractor, in 1940, this was a General Purpose John Deere. This[...]this was quite a job, especially if he didn't get in until way after dark and maybe have four or five[...]irl I can remember the year the grasshoppers flew in. They were so thick that the sky was cloudy. the[...]hick on the heads of H elen. grain that in seconds the head would be gone. We always raised oats for feed for the cattle in the winter In 1937 everyone in our family except my dad came time. The oats were usually cut with a binder and had to be down with the scarlet fever . The doctor came out from Ismay placed in shocks and then hauled with a team and wag[...] |
| [...]e had to Bill Redman was killed in a pickup accident in 1953. Ted move out and go stay with Granny while we fumigated the died in December of 1967. Ethel is m arried to Bill Myers[...]they live in Billings. T hey have two daug hters, B arbar a an[...]went to school there for 5 years, ranch in the Ismay area. T hey have a son , Steven and a[...]a. Christmas time. One incident that stands out in my mind about my first school year was: Bille Lee, a foster child raised by ate and Ethel Hamilton, in the seventh grade at the time, thought I had s[...]ld me to double up that little fist and hit him in the eye as hard as I could. So I did. He came to[...]t for us to go to the Hay Creek School. In the winter time the only place we ever went was t[...]and then play all day Sunday and head for home. In a couple of weeks, weather permitting, we would[...]ng. When we got tired we rolled up on the floor in a blanket and went to sleep. In the summer ti.me most Sunday afternoons[...]h and Lydia arrow. He could hit a silver dollar in the air with a 38, most of [Parents] the o[...]to our house for This chapter in the history of Fallon County really all dinner and some card playing. In the afternoon the men began in a small Dakota town on a blustery February day in decided that they would go out and hunt some dee[...]les from the place and this was Mound City to marry the eldest daughter, Lydia. On the whe[...]p, blowing the pickup, they put an old car seat in the back and took off. snow that was[...]he wedding George driving, Paul Oster and my dad in the front seat, was to be the next[...]le about Cousin Pete, he was couple snowed in. Two blustery days passed and on the my Dad's ne[...]r side that had to be crossed. In March of 1917, Adolph, Lydia and their 6 children[...]ed up with three broken They arrived in Westmore where they spent a few days with ribs a[...]pper Place". three fellow sitting on the car seat in the back were thrown The house had two[...]"stone boat and barrel'' from about a half In 1954, the coal buckets and wood boxes and water[...]y good for watering the stock. Of course the Then in 1956, Mid-River Telephone Co-op brought telephone[...]ht" la makeshift candle made by putting some lard in a[...] |
| small container and a wick put in made from pieces of old the Federal La[...]trips to town for supplies or to church were made in Now the children were trudging off to[...]none are long forgotten guided children in the halls of learning. In other t ha n, what else but a Model T.[...]help when they his chores finished in time he still walked the three miles to weren[...]ol. The older children started to school in Plevna. A long There wasn 't much grocery shopping in those days. trek on foot while the weather pe[...]then as homemade bread is today. Eating in a cafe was the church. Each of the children sa[...]o make money to keep his voices helped lustily in the musical renditions and then home fami[...]and in between if the need arose. One steer and several hogs Soon a new school was opened in the country near home were slaughtered[...]nd then there was the and the children enrolled in the new Korth-Carrington School. cutting[...]nd the children were responding In those early years a doctor at the house was a very rare in the usual first grade manner. Each child shouted[...]her. Ben made several flying trips to the doctor in finally mustered the courage and when a picture[...]arty "sheef" which of course paper put in a saucer of water to poison flies .) His mother[...]back into his shell. back of his throat and risked the danger of bleeding to death[...]birth to all her babies at home with her In the fall of 1924 the family moved to the Westmore[...]Ruth and Theodore. Teddy was, of all things, born in a surround a section of land and start walking t[...]sides. ever to be forgotten While farming in the Westmore area times were tough. a[...]r was also sport enough to one we had been living in . Three bedrooms, a bathroom which cl[...]Hoover School which had an unfinished upstairs . In the fall this upstairs was filled with e[...]th The whole familv was verv active in 4-H work . Mrs. pumpkins. squash and other things[...]p at least every other day . As holder in Chicago. In their turns. Leon. Edwin, Marie. Paul and of the[...]orn to shreds by a payment to Windy City to meet Celebrities. dine in fine restaurants and[...] |
| stay in fine hotels. Most of the family also attended Sta[...]e only house on the "new place" was a functions in Bozeman and of course the yearly adventure to[...]on a Sunday Hundreds of melons were raised. In the fall when the melons afternoon. Seems someo[...]l the scared out of their wits and each took off in a different garden had to be hoed, this[...]Plevna Congregational Church and was cut down. active in all phases of the church. All took their turn at choir In the fall of 1936 the children enrolled in the Ismay and Sunday School. Mr. Rieger was for[...]power enough to make members of the family sing in the same choir and occupy some of the hills so part way up the hill everyone but the pews in the now remodeled church.[...]ly hill was made. Then they would pile back in and on the way in Fallon County. There was the year they were grant[...]pallets in the rafters. Two railroad boxcars were moved onto[...]for known as Tootsie, had always called her own. In the scuffle[...]to have running water in the house, this meant having a the flower bed. T[...]the outdoor outhouse. In 1948 a large light plant was solution of Lysol a[...]more hauling in ice and carrying out the water. But still had da[...]houses at" Riegerville." Along with hauling in coal, there was sort of thing always happened to[...]ne month after the difficult birth of living in Ismay. Her husband, Milton Davis, was also part o[...]the history of the county. His father arrived in Plevna in 1910 the rest of the children who always knew th[...]ely a town. Mr. Davis and Mr. Joe would be there in time of need along with the stern but loving[...]at someone else had beaten both of father. In 1932, just before the "dirty thirties", we had a[...]o the elevator by team and went to school in the first school in Plevna, C.C. Conser was wagon. Wheat would be traded for a ton of flour in the fall, his teacher. this was to do the[...]bably the Riegers were the only family that could in 1928 was $1.10 a hundred .[...]the government was buying up subs. One item cut from a local newspaper stated, "The all the cattle in the country and destroying the older ones.[...]-25." There followed the time the Riegers started in the cattle business, by buying 20 statistics and scoring of the various girls which in itself head from C.C. Ayers for the total sum of[...]jobs were done to earn a little money. In 1957 Mrs. Rieger was honored at a tea of the One[...]. Even though the event was shadowed by memories in Plevna and he used the ice to help keep his meat. He would of her son, Paul , who had been killed in action as a Lt. in the pay five dollars a load. What he didn'[...] |
| at various events she was also flown to New York City and and they had three children. Their home is in California. entertained at the National Mother[...]r Another great event for the family came in 1959, when for years. Then sold his shar[...]d to the members of the family who still lived in the area arranged Plevna where he had an interest in a Service Station . He is a family reunion. Pe[...]ly the Mayor of Plevna. sleeping bags to sleep in the loft of the barn or wherever an Ed[...]tself. Also journeying from afar living in the big house on the Ranch, which was split in two came a man from the Saturday Evening Post,[...]ave seven Bickel. For a couple of days he slept in the loft with the children, all are mar[...]nger was, each thought he was a friend of someone in return from the war. They lived on the ran[...]"Face of the Fish and Wildlife. They are living in Oregon at the America" spread across a double p[...]rie left their boys to look after the Commander in Paul's unit in Europe saw the picture and sent ranch. T[...]as planned for worked for a lumber company in Miles City and Harlowton August. Mr. and Mrs. Rieger were living in Miles City with The last several years they lived in Billings, where Ben is their daughter Phina and[...]oldest is married, the other two are in college. Rieger was in fairly good health, he had been working in his Dorothy, while working at the State Orphans' Home in little garden during the afternoon, that night w[...]and died during that night. Cain. They live in Big Timber now where Jim is in the Mrs. Rieger followed her husband in death the following fall. real-estate busi[...]ther was added seven children. They live in a cozy mountain cabin good old family reunion wh[...]Lilly. after work stops in Miles City, and with sister, for the trip. In the "Story of the Rieger Family" music played a big Dorothy, in Twin Bridges, met and married Bob True, a part in their lives. They had a small hill-billy band at[...]young teacher from Spokane Washington, who taught in with Paul on the guitar; Claudia picking out chor[...]n paper. Many a this last year in Colorado getting his Ph.D. Their home is in hoe-down rang through the rooms and rafters as th[...]cals by Dot, Claudia, Lilly, Phina and all filled in former Helen Redman of Ismay. They live[...]e and her husband. Wilfred "Wolf" Henderson. live in one way or another, but Lilly proved to be able to put it to in southern California. They had twin boys, one of w[...]the dishes were being washed his life in the services of his country. There are four other[...]nearby strumming her guitar children, six in all. Elsie is manager of a Safeway lunch and singing songs that she had written. The big thing in the counter and her husband is in charge of trustees of California music came when Lilly , Claudia and Phina formed a trio in prisons, supervising work crews. Miles City and sang on the local radio station for a. y~r. Pruna is a registered nurse in a Billings hospital. She is When Phina was out of[...]mmg, married to Lyle Horr who is in the real estate business. They Ruby filled in for awhile, but soon there were no more Sunset have two daughters and live in Billings. Valley Girls on the Sunday radio.[...]formed a partnership an optical company in Miles City. They are living in and bought more land. The horses having been ret[...]six children . Bud ran a Service Station in Plevna for several to a spot under the cottonwoo[...]e three units of years and is now engaged in farming and ranching. tourist cabins, then a gas[...]g. Ralph Hatch from Miles City. They are now in Billings and As the children grew older th[...]college at the University of Montana . He is time in C C Camps that grew up all over the nation . Paul[...]Engdahl. a Jordan girl. They live in aint Marie, Idaho. They married and the fa[...] |
| [...]BOB AND VESTA ROBINSON, OUR LIVES IN BAKER[...]Standard Oil of Indiana. I drove up in a little Whippet sedan. LUCILLE D. [H[...]City and was advised to take the Custer cut-off in preference Although my parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Hythecker, to going by way of Billings in order to save quite a few miles homesteaded in the Fertile Prairie area east of Baker in 1908, in distance. About halfway to Miles City I came to a stretch I never lived on a farm. Father and mother were married in of road which had been surfaced with boulders varying in size 1901 in Minnesota and came to Montana because they from that of a base ball to that of a foot ball. In bouncing over wanted some land of their own.[...]e a rear spring and after another mile or so In 1912 my parents moved to town and I was born on the other rear spring broke. I was in a real predicament. June 28, 1915. I was born and raised in the same house in Fortunately there was a bar.bed wire fen[...]ne and Frances. City. There I left the car to be repaired and continued on to My father died in 1931 and my mother married Michael Bak[...]lwaukee train . I was met by Harry Mathews, Romey in 1939. He passed away in 1941. Manager of the[...]. I went through the grades and high school in Baker, and I stayed with the Mathews that night and the next day was Salutatorian of my graduation class in 1933. After high moved into the Baker Hotel[...]unty Superintendent of Schools for Fallon In the meantime I rented one of Eph Keirle's houses across County in 1949 and have held that position for twenty-three[...]been paying $6 a month in Midwest with gas, electricity and I attended[...]travel in my work . In Midwest the wells were spaced 36 to a I can[...]s liding down Water Tank section. while in Baker they were 10 miles apart . I was totally Hi[...]re children . As we grew older we confused in the directions too. I remember Harry Schroth enjo[...]n Creek alone I wound I married Leo K. Riley in Baker on June 27. 1939. We up in a little town, which I later learned was Carlyle.[...]ewhere along the line. Superintendent has kept me in touch with youth over the T[...] |
| [...]er when our crews were working on In 1940 I became Worshipful Master of the Masonic th[...]asshoppers from eating on the Shrine in Billings. handles. I have seen the grasshoppers in piles a foot deep In 1950 I was elected president of the Fallon County[...]and Gene Hoff. I never got to serve in this capacity as I was[...]Company in charge of pump stations at Cabin Creek and[...]the field and town border metering and for years in[...]charge of drilling activities. The big excitement in my work came in 1936 when the M.D.U . discovered oil in the Little[...]profitable oil production in the Northern part of the Cedar[...]We think of our 19 years in Baker as a period of great[...]elementary and high school education, graduating in 1944. I[...]Aleta Hansen. In 1945 she enrolled at Bozeman College for Picture Loaned by Lena Linden, Grasshoppers in the Thirti-es one semester after which she[...]rried Esmond Carey, son of Edward and Cecil In those days we had to create our own fun and[...]ts a night for lights and The Careys live in Castro Valley a few blocks from us, heat. It was[...]ties Rob, Regan, Rene and Esmond. and once in a while we would go down to the Sand Rocks or[...]laka. Reminds me of that old song, active in the Senior Citizens groups and I am a member of t[...]oined the Chamber of Commerce soon after arriving in Baker; I think it was called the Commercial Club[...]and said that at Midwest my job was to put lime in the outdoor toilets . Sometime later I became se[...]y o. 12 and is hard surfaced the entire distance. In the meantime we tried surfacing the road with scoria, a soft, red rock found in abundance in the hills around Baker. This worked fairly well b[...]d to be replaced . Sometime during our stay in Baker I was elected as chairman of the Con[...] |
| EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF CARL ROGET[...]na held a great deal of attraction for both of us in After working for the Highway Departm[...]the Auto Body and Fender Trade School. With this in the auto repair shops for Eph Keirle and Leo and[...]ledge I hoped to obtain a job. Disappointment was in Bums, and also Mr. George Hough. I am grateful t[...]me. Jobs simply were not available. Portland was in those days of great depression, it was not easy for the held in the grip of the depression, too. business men or[...]best move would be to go to Grand Coulee, In 1929 I bought or was trying to buy 320 acres in the Washington. Roosevelt (the great hu[...]e up the land. During this time I rented a house in Baker and got there. It would be a gia[...]The carpenters were in demand there and I joined them.[...]My best talent I knew was in the field of mechanics, with this in mind we left for Oakland, California in 1939. My wife's[...]plentiful in California.[...]interested in one another. They seemed to be like a big family[...]ey a statement of their appreciation for the way in which the snow problems were handled during a ve[...], the Carl and Elsie Roget in their Wheat Field in the Willard employees, had done a wonderful job.[...]more and purchase some One time I remember in particular was when we were land in Montana. This time our venture has proved to be plowing snow, it was 56 degrees below zero at five o' clock in successful. Now we have an investment for our[...]my We have a very reliable renter in Wilford Lindstrom and he is experience.[...]linger and I took the push-plow, at five o' clock in the having a wild cat oil well drilled on[...]t to Willard all of went down to 10,000 feet in depth. It was a gamble for them fifteen miles.[...]standing there full of lights on the lone prairie, added to the roads on the prairies as some of th[...]r tax them, either. Ekalaka had been snowed in for as much as a whole The oil c[...]has taken over must have been the most satisfying in the whole world . They, our lease.[...] |
| [...]We are now living in Oakland, California in the house[...]and she and her husband, Frank Soles, live in an apartment in Oakland. Oil Rig on Roget Land in Willard Area Like Chet Huntley says, Montana[...]Ole Roget posed with horses and sled. His sister in sled, Mrs.[...]Breckenridge in sled. Elmer Anderson who took and[...]de veloped pictures in his home later accompanied this group[...]First cars in the Willard Community were in 1916. Ole[...]Roget poses with a couple. He homes teaded but in 1918 he[...]on his place. The land had no snow in the winter. Following[...]the war he chose to take care of his parents in Minnesota. At[...]the age of 75 he married a widow in Norway and went there to[...]John was born in Murdock, Minne ota the 5th child of[...]John married Katherine Blake a farm girl in the[...]edicine Rocks community at a church wedding there in |
| [...]orked many At first we lived in an apartment in the rear of the office years on the railroad. A family car accident and a long time in building for about a year. Being between tw[...]f Postmaster was a barn man at Ft. Keogh at Miles City for several years. and Mrs. K. 0. Lentz.[...]., Dr. Gordon Christ Jespersons. We lived in that location until we moved Roget at Woodbridge, CA. and Dr. John J. Roget at Belle to Miles City. Center, Ohio. Several of the grandsons are study[...]The Rogstad home in Baker. While in Baker we belonged to the American Lutheran[...]Winnie and Doc while we were living in Baker. I remember that the Baker |
| [...]time. Her boy, Clark, was the first baby born in the hospital.[...]dored by all of us. Robert W. Rose Homestead in the Coal Springs area, winter Late in August the sky became a smoky smudge and the In July Pauline and Alice Hall, Mercy's sisters, bra[...]ning to |
| [...]en would sally forth put them at our feet in the sled and covered us with a couple with their[...]imes it was so frosty it seemed we were enveloped in a were really a native scrub juniper growing som[...]awaited their return. Fires of the "cedar" wood in the cook was sure to be in bloom by then, to wear to church. stove were so[...]The three Rose Girls at the <v-X Ranch in about 1920. Left to[...], Alice, Carol and "Jo" with the cinnamon dog In the fall of 1917 the congregation of the Coal Spr[...]d Church voted to build. The meetings, being held in the Coal Springs School house, were out[...]ificent picnic grounds near growing it. Every man in the countryside, who could, lent a their log house. It was located in a tree shaded draw near good right arm in its construction. Even the Reverend R.[...]was Ice Cream Time. I think everybody put up ice in the[...]ing to Coal Springs Church, 1915, church was held in Coal between the places. Almost everyone b[...]anch. Old Dick and Billy out in the emigrant car-perhaps Lady,[...]Such an advent the Medel T proved to be! Early in the stop by on their way to church. We'd all be r[...]ing the into one rig- a team and buggy or bobsled in winter. If it rag". Should Dad or shouldn't he go to Rieb's auction in were the latter there'd be plenty of straw in the sled . Mother Westmore and bid on the car.[...]uld have heated rocks or flat irons, wrapped them in paper, early. We waited and waited, a[...] |
| sout heast where you could see the road. Sometime in t he schooling. Mot her decided to teach in our home ('19- '20). Our afternoon we spied that[...]other would teach t he 4th, 5th and had lant erns in front that burned kerosene and once later it 6th grades in Westmore while Dad worked on the section. ran on[...]Joe Litturno used to come a high school in those days. down the west hill with his car full of kid s. His car didn 't have In 1922-'23 Mother ta ug ht t he Clark School. After[...]ight side. I used to got us established in t he b asement of the schoolhouse, he wonder how[...]tires were a headache. Dad patched tubes and put in boots. Geving, Aileen and Willie Bre[...]east of Baker. Alice and I went to stay with them in March.[...]get his family and in June we said good-by to Montana.[...]to us. We came back in 1928 to live in Baker. except[...]sephine, who entered St. Agnes ' School of ursing in Fond[...]or the LaCross Grocery, then did electrical work. In[...]other jobs ran out. He again became Assessor in '54. James[...]Mother helped in her way . She was a " natural born "[...]following in Mother's footsteps we became teachers.[...]Although Josephine was an R. ., her skill in an office R. W. R ose and his ho[...]Curtis Lee mith of Lincoln , eb. They lived in ew Mexico[...]and Arizona for a time coming to Baker in '43. Curtis worked About this time (1917-'1[...]er taught the Abelt School west of us. It started in February and during the cold weather she and Jo s[...]d to go, too. Mother promised me when it was nice in the spring I could . I did. The desks seated two[...]ughter, Diana, son, R obert is home from the west in the buggy Mother usually sang as she in the toy car. clicked the reins on Old Dick. One W[...]children, Roland , arol Jo and Terrance now live in crossing. Their children and Earl Smith were in need of Baker.[...] |
| [...]ning Earl Rose invited me to a Montana. They live in Dallas, Texas. Thanks[...]were married. Starbuck of Valier, Mont. were wed in San Diego. Their The night we wer[...]wo witnesses with us. They John and Jennifer live in Long Beach, California. were Fred[...]Roy Phillipi's home in Baker. He was the minister for the[...]found the choir in practice so we went to the Court House[...]cross town. I remember the bright snow glittering in the[...]one unlocked. There we had our simple ceremony in the[...]a real interest in her teachers and said she must have known[...]After a night in the Bridal Suite at the Baker Hotel we[...]time off, so our honeymoon was spent in the sheep wagon.[...]I also taught in later years at Fred Fuch's school, at the[...]In 1941 we moved to Portland, Oregon where he worked[...]in the shipyards. Later we lived at Silverton and Da[...]Oregon, where he worked as a welder. He retired in 1964. In 1967 we spent six weeks in Baker, Montana. It was a[...]in a trailer house near Las Vegas, evada.[...]12, 1862. He came to America in 1883 and settled at[...]Muskegon, Michigan where he worked in a lumber camp.[...]Norman. Oliver. Alvin, Arnold and Elmer. Dakota. In 1929 I decided to see a bit of the world . Montan[...]member of the Lutheran Church. Wills Creek School in Cabin Creek Flats. My students were T[...]Pete Pratt and John Perry and the small son in 1938 at the Odd Fellows Hall at Ollie. The tables[...]n and 47 great-grandchildren at the time of Iambs in my school yard and they slept overnight in the Christ 's death, 1957 . Anne had died in 1955.[...] |
| [...]at Ollie until it closed in 1930. Then I went to Medora, orth[...]In 1948 Mary and I moved to Baker, where Mary is a[...]beauty operator and I am in the painting profession.[...]rueg were married on April 18, 1906 at their home in[...]Odessa, South Russia and migrated to this country in April of that year. They were in the Artas, South Dakota area for[...]others all died in infancy. In the year 1916, father bought[...]years of married life as my father passed away in the flu[...]emic of 1918. Then mother had an auction sale and in the[...]ool 1 1/ 2 miles west of our farm. I was enrolled in the 4th gra'de at Plevna in the fall of 1919. There I continued[...]my education until I graduated from high school in May 29, Golden Valley Oats-1918-Christ Rost Farm[...]hand and helping in the harvest fields . Harvesting then wa s[...]In the fall of 1929, I attended the then Miles City ARNOLD ROST[...]ut by the time I was born on January 31, 1904 in Clay County, I completed this, jobs[...]e went to a homestead s pent some time cooking in the Holy Rosary Ho pital at south of Ollie which was to be our home. We had to travel by Miles City. On June 6, 1937 I was married to Theophil Ruff, team and wagon to get to our land. Our first night in son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ruff of Mildre[...]ent at the Pete Hartse place which was one in that area, where he farmed, until the fall of 193[...]bought through the estate after she passed away in 1947. we stayed with the Ed W angs until the hous[...]there and graduated in 1959. After one year of college at A[...] |
| [...]ciated with where she graduated from high school in 1964. She took a 12 the Baker National Bank while the family lived in Baker. month business course at the National School of Business in Rapid City, South Dakota. She was married on June 11, 1966[...]s. 1950. She completed both grade and high school in Plevna. I acquired my grade school and high school education in She was married on May 23, 1969 to Floyd Ehret, s[...]After the family left Baker in 1937 and moved to Butte,[...]ana I was a sales girl at the J. C. Penny Company in that city.[...]After our marriage we lived in Butte for a year. My[...]in San Francisco, California, Salt Lake City, Utah and then[...]active in church work scouting, and bridge, and have also[...]done much volunteer work. We have vacationed in Montana[...]Mother and Delphine, my younger sister, moved in with and Janice. us in 1962 and were here off and on until Delphine's death in[...]ve on this farm since we bought it. once taught in Baker. Mother is living with us at the present. T[...], I have been employed as clerk stationed in Guam, is married and has two sons. at Morrows Ace Hardware in Baker since April of 1961 and Richard is a doctor and is doing his residency in still hold that position. Dermatology at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. We have both been and still are active in the Emmanuel He's married and has one son.[...]the Carol is married and lives in Manhattan Beach, Ladies Aid, taught Sunday School[...]more than 16 California. Her husband is in the Antique Business, and she years also some Bib[...]her being an Airline Sund~y School classes, sang in the church choir, was church Hostess we have had many trips in the United States, secretary many years, treasure[...]now is one of the Greece, Spain and Portugal in Europe. At present we are Deacons. This is a shor[...]and is interested in every sport, especially skiing. I was born to[...]n at Baker, Mike is a junior in high school. He plays football, golfs Mont[...] |
| [...]autiful state. Mother taught piano lessons in Butte and after Dad died in 1948 she has been here with us. She is still aler[...]s ill so many years. My sister, Jean, lives in Darby, Montana. Her husband's last name is Thoma[...]Margaret De Grande and I were married at Baker in My parents, Knute John Rusley and Albertina[...]John Robert and Truman Gary Rusley. Rusley, were Iowa and Minnesota farmers. I was born at[...]ve days we enjoyed going to the Downer, Minnesota in December 1904. When I was six years Ame[...]card parties and ice skating. There had to offer. In April of 1910 they settled on a homestead[...]the Picture? House on Rusley Farm Built in 1914[...]and then others were cold as had been encountered in Minnesota, but it was harder very dry. I was in Baker during the 1932 "price plunge", to get to t[...]Martin Leo Russell was born April 11 , 1889 in Miller, the cleaning of the barns. South Dakota. In 1910 he came to Baker and homesteaded on I s[...]er where I finished for William O'Loughlin in the local elevator. grade school and graduated from the Baker High School in On ovember 28, 1912, he was marrie[...]Mary Severson in Miles City, Montana.[...] |
| [...]operated Russell's Clothing Store. In 1933 he became a[...]Vice-president in 1945 and President in 1950.[...]fellowmen. He made the name Russell mean quality in every[...]952 I was born in 1918 in Baker, in our family home which is[...]still standing in the 300 block on South Second Street West.[...]were Martin Leo Russell and Birdie Severson In 1916, Mr. Russell opened a furniture store in the back[...]brother, Richard. My father established located. In 1923 he discontinued the furniture business, Russell 's Clothing Store in 1916, which is still located on[...]main street in Baker.[...]b YEAR S1RV1H<. Yoo Wm, UAlllV MtncMAMOIS£ IN EAsH!lN MONTANA Martin Russell Home on South Se[...]Russell's Clothing S tore in Baker, Montana as it looks today.[...] |
| [...]ether when we were small died and are buried in St. John's Cemetery at Baker. We have youngsters[...]s, and camped out on the way down and then stayed in tents when we were in the Hills. I attended the old Baker High Sc[...]lay wagons, and we loaded our books and materials in them and had a caravan over to the other side of[...]h school. The highlights for us when we were in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades, were the Operettas a[...]leged to be able to take one of the leading roles in these productions. Carnivals were big events that took place when we were in high school. We had them every year and each stud[...]the classes. I was kept busy three or four years in Eugene Russell Family on Margo's Wedding Day,[...]s President. I took an active part Right, Jane in front of Marge, Eugene, Margo, Suzanne and in the Music Department, playing trumpet in the band and Lynn singing in the Glee Club. When I graduated in 1937, I was honored by having my name placed on t[...]later, my Our family interests have been in Scouting, and I was oldest daughter, Margo, was g[...]aster for many years. I have taken an active part in the name was also placed on the Plaque.[...]n who organized Spokane, Washington and graduated in Accounting. I spent Radio Station KFL . I now serve as Vice-President of the several years working in various stores before joining the Empire Br[...]ead, Long Island, New York and Terceiras, Azores. In 1942, I married Miss Marjorie[...]as born on a home tead one mile came back to live in Baker. south[...]a few years as a ecretary and as a bookkeeper in the Billings[...]ried to the fonner Ella Irene Mendenhall of Miles City,[...]Allen Duane, who is engaged in ranching with his father after[...]having served in the U . S. avy Air Force in Vietnam and[...]Street West, 1972 Rustad, and the land in the Ollie Community known as[...]Kenneth was elected Fallon County Commissioner in I joined my father in the Russell's Clothing Store and am ovember[...]ther and mother have both breaking a record in tenure in this office in Fallon County. He[...] |
| [...]of t he Bureau of Land every quarter section in the Ollie community. Management, the U. S. Dep t of t he Interior, and presently In later years, three of George's brothers settled n[...]Ollie. Em il settled just across t he stat e line in North Dakota. Regional Mental Health B oards. He[...]wers Emil "stuck it out". Gilbert died in March, 1944. George died Association. in April, 1961 and is buried in Baker. Sons Kennet h and Kenneth states he[...]ing machines George's wife, Lola, resides in Baker (1973). and cook cars to harvesting with se[...]es; surely the most exciting and adventurous time in the history of eastern Montana. Proud moments in his life have been in the meeting of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Vice[...]uring the fall of 1907, each filing on a quarter in the same section. Later on, George's sister, Mar[...]ht their Paddy Ryan at Miles City Roundup, 1925. supplies. By wagon trail, this was a distance of about 30 miles. In 1915 the Northern Pacific Railway built a spur li[...]ice house, saloon Cowboy. It was at the Miles City Roundup in July, 1925. and about all of the services essenti[...]Lola Opperman at Baker the bridle reins in his left hand and a flashing quirt in his on April 7, 1915, and to them three sons were[...]. It was a gallant ride by the first place winner in that (1916) , Hubert (1918) and Ralph (1922).[...]er. The drought of 1919 was a disaster to in all of them. The small, slender cowboy had ridden[...]the farmers having borrowed and tied in all the important world wide rodeos in recent heavily to buy feed for their cattle and s[...]r of 1919-20. Oregon and later in London, England. He was a native son of Geo[...]e from the horse and tied the animal in nine seconds flat. Some Democrats as only 10 Republican votes were cast in the Ollie record! Some man! First place winner in the bulldogging precinct in 1932.[...] |
| [...]that year miles, most of the time. Sometimes in the winter the snow as he was awarded the Sweepstakes prize for placing first in was pretty deep . Once in a while when the snow was very all events. I am g[...]in the snow. NOTE: The above was written many years ago for an In the summer time I had to help in the fields on the English assignment. The part ab[...]at he was things for entertainment. Once in a while we went to a dance one of the greatest co[...]Emma Heberle {Schell] in her parent's home in outh MRS. FRED SC[...]ry Heimbuch homesteaded at Harreid , South Dakota in 1902. They raised a few cattle, a little grain In 1923 I married Jacob hell at Mound City , outh and horses. Their daughter, Caroline Chris[...]e bad. During the depression helped with the work in the house and on the farm . the price of wheat was very low and we had to haul the wheat In 1934 at the age of 25 Caroline came to Plevna,[...]in 1909. Elsewhere in this book are photostatic copies of the[...]er she had "proved up" on the land . homesteaders in South Dakota in about 1902. They wanted to My mo[...]icinity and established a ranch on Fletcher Creek in December 26, 1900. I grew up on the farm where my father 1880. My mother wa born in that area on the Little Beaver raised catt[...] |
| I was born in 1930 at the Hildreth House, the hospital at gre[...]remember going to barn dances, school that time, in Baker, Montana.[...]I grew up and attended elementary and high school in Baker and then attended college in Bozeman for a time and then took a short course in agriculture.[...]When not in school I worked on farms and ranches[...]my life. One time when I was riding in the Medicine Rocks While growing up in Baker we, my sister, Mary Hunter[...]shelter was a fairly good-sized hole in the base of one of the memorable experiences. We[...]sandstone rocks, so I decided to crawl in and wait until the Church (Congregational) in Baker and many activities, such[...]storm blew over. I had been in there about five minutes when as church suppers,[...]ing dances at Mill Iron, Willard, the Legion Hall in left in a hurry. Baker, Ekalaka, Green Acres (old Wildwoo[...]and children, Horace, Mary Hunter Tom was in the army . As I recall, it was the winter of and[...]the home place at the \') ranch . We got caught in the The Fourth of Julys were always spent in Baker, worst blizzard I ever saw and no place to go except some Ekalaka, Plevna or Miles City and of course we always had corrals and an old building on Martha Colbo's land in the[...] |
| [...]ng, the CharHe and hungriest sixteen year old kid in the country for the next two days, as Alex could[...]rying to cheer me up by saying there were pigeons in the News Stand for several years then[...]zard didn't break up Montana where we were in the Hardware Business from 1961 soon. If you have[...]around a band of sheep you will to 1965. In May 1968 we moved to Denver when Horace went unde[...]the Mike Thielen and Bently Sinclair families. I cut the mustard. "[...]On May 29, 1955 Bernice Schell and I were married in and things were pretty tight. I recall the winter of 1951-1952 the German Congregational Church in Plevna. We have three when the snow wa[...]emember all these years is the We now live in Denver, Colorado where I work for the[...] |
| [...]I has deposited in the GENERAL LAND OFFICE o~ th~ ,Vnited States a C[...]of the southeast quarter of Sec- In testimony whereof I,[...]nder my hand, at the Cityin the year |
| [...]between Ekalaka and Baker. A sign in front of the place said[...]by truck 20 miles was a long distance. They cut across[...]Kelley and Gail go by train to Miles City where his daughter was critically ill Moore. in the hospital. Needless to say he was glad for the[...]he worst of the George A. Schettler was born in Winona County grasshoppers came like a big, black cloud rolling in from the Minnesota and came to Montana in 1916 where he filed on a east. People thought it was smoke from the oil wells but it homestead in the Webster Country. He served in the U. S. came closer and closer and the Schettlers were in the very Navy from 1917-1919. After returning to[...]place which is about five miles south of Willard. In eaten. It was cloudy and cool so the hopp[...]day they began to until retirement from the ranch in 1953. swarm like bees, hitting the sides of the house making it In 1928 he married Mabel Kessler who taught school in sound like hail hitting. They finally rose and left just as Carter and Fallon Counties. She was born in Cass County, they'd arrived but left de[...]ough Missouri, where she was reared and educated. In 1925 she pitch fork handles. Everything[...]Coreys, Schorschs, McClains and many others were in their picnic spot and a lot of Indian Lore was as[...]ent to a celebration at Opeechee Tee Dee schools. In Fallon County she taught the Pa[...]oud came up from the Tommerdahls. This school was in the Webster community southwest. In a few minutes it began to hail. And How! and the[...]r store and post office. feet or better in the draws. Above the store was a large hall which[...]the Lunder, the Willard and the Moore in 1953 and they make their home on the ranch. They[...]ne of the schools mentioned are being used. in Baker. Recently she tried to locate the spot[...]Hazel is a teacher. She married Elmer Schell in 1957 and Rocks School stood and all she found was part of an old they make their home in Casper, Wyoming where Elmer is bedstead and a fou[...]The Schettlers retired from the farm in 1953 to Baker Some of the years on the ranch[...]the the farm for some time and Mabel taught in the Baker Mart Cretsingers, the Art McClains, the Dave Martins, the schools until retiring in 1971.[...] |
| [...]In 1940 they moved to Plevna where Ed and Otto[...]ND SCHEUFFELE born in 1941. In 1943 Otto and Ed moved their business to Ed[...]The twins, Raymond and Robert, were born in ovember of 1943 and Shirley was born in January of 1948. In 192 Ed's parents purchased the Joe Riley place we[...]The Scheuffele home in Baker.[...]high school. Victor went to college in Billings and now lives in[...]oper Reuben attended Jr. College in Miles City and is now a place.[...]after working in the oil fields for a while. Raymond joined the[...]Navy. He and his wife and three girls are in Bozeman where place. This was during the depression and dry years, so they he is finishing a course in Electronic Engineering. He will had to harvest th[...]eed for the cattle, but since they graduate in the spring of 1973. had water for a garden they were able to raise lovely Robert was in the Air Force where he spent some time in vegetables. Vietnam . He and his family live in Lynwood, Washington The snow was deep the da[...]ot to Baker. They have two boys. This was in February of 1937. When Victor was two year[...] |
| [...]and later in the summer some were stored in the barley or[...]melon a whole melon was enjoyed. In later years, after the[...]by Rose Sieler Jacob Schopp was born in Odessa, Russia on May 11, 1876 to Jacob and Marga[...]hildren, Elizabeth, Caroline and Adam, to America in 1903. They lived in Bridgewater, South Dakota for a few years and, then they came to Montana in 1912. They settled on a place which was owned by[...]d lumber to the homestead for it was still winter in April.[...]t" toys, but the family had The family lived in a 14 by 16 foot shack where they all fun anyway. The big hill behind the house was a built-in-ski- slept on the floor in the one room. As soon as the ground resort and much time was spent in skiing in the winter. Other could be broken up, the sod hou[...]farm chores kept everyone muscular. Hauling water in a[...]stone barn, part of which is still in existence. As the family[...] |
| [...]nd Lewis Annsworthy. There were nine children in the Schopp family, seven of which grew to adultho[...]ryn Christman, Anna (Mrs. Herbert Christman) died in 1934, Christian (Chris) who married Emma Singer died in 1972 and Rose (Mrs. Arthur Sieler). Mother Sc[...]for themselves. One time they beat up my brother-in-law and[...]of the dirty foreigners. I, Louisa, was born in New Lustdorf, Russia of Germa.n In World War II we lost our son, Vernon, in Italy. He parentage, in 1894. My father, Fredrich Straub, was a farmer[...]ng a convoy of prisoners and the and a blacksmith in Russia. He was also a Deacon in the convoy became mired in the mud. He got out of the truck and church. I received my education in New Lustdorf and was a stepped on an enemy[...]e lake when I was young. Church on the prairie which was later moved into Plevna. Leaving our homeland in 1914 was a heartrending Every Sunday[...]y gatherings kept us going and our faith in God kept us again. Two of my brothers, some frien[...]ly and mentally sound. fearful journey to America in 1915, when I was 19 years old. I enjoy living in Plevna. My favorite hobby is raising We were desp[...]possible. I have taken an air line to Salt Lake City, Utah, had an uncle living there.[...]I enjoyed the trip very much. Schuetzle, and in 1916 we were married and moved northwest I do enjoy company dropping in to visit and my church of Plevna, Montana to live with my in-laws. We built a shack gives me the spiritual[...]and later we built a two body. room house. In 1927 we purchased the large Charley Millard[...]Robert of California, Elsie of home and felt lost in such a huge mansion. Much later we Dickinson, Vernon who was killed in Italy, Lilly and Art both moved into Plevna where Christ died in 1954. of Plevna, Helen of Miles City and Rueben of Salt Lake City.[...] |
| [...]ecamt? terribly ill and had to spend about a year in the hospital in Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Christ Schuetzle and[...]and Art. Two after thoughts, Helen and Rueben not in William Schultz[...]ool he came back to live |
| [...]We lived on rented farms and in 1905 we moved to the[...]In August of 1910, my father came to Fallon County[...]staked out a homestead. He bought an emigrant car in[...]machinery. In Baker, Hosey Cate was available to haul[...]steaders to the open lands. This day Mr. Cate had in his[...]In Oct ober 1910 the family came to Montana, bringin[...]hold them at night and herded them during the In 1962, on Thanksgiving Day, William F. Schultz day. E arly in October we had a blizzard and some of the passed away. I still live in our home. homesteaders[...]also bad to get some hay cut to feed the stock during the[...]A. MERL SCOLES In 1912 our barn was struck by lightning and once ag[...]town. Money was scarce so I joined the Gene In 1898 the family came to Bangor, South Dakota. I w[...]e used sheepshears and a remember the first night in South Dakota. I got the croup good man co[...]is last five dollars to pay the doctor. sheep in a day. The best I ever did was ninety-five and that In Indiana we loaded an emigrant car with some house[...]e winter. My mother was so homesick. In 1912, I also homesteaded four miles south of Dad'[...]In 1912, when there was a homesteader on every half[...]had fourteen different school teachers. When not in a purse to be given to the ma n wh[...] |
| [...]North Dakota. horse shoe was always in progress. In 1912 our first school house was built and then we[...]ouis Stuempges, Glen Bus h and Beatrice Hall. In August 1918 I was drafted and spent the time unt[...]B aker, 1948. L . Price home in background. P utting up hay, 1911. B ill S eaman[...]migrated from Illinois to the Williston area in 1906, where[...]k up homesteading. Marjorie was born at Williston in |
| [...]ley Sheehan moved from Wisconsin to Baker Montana in 1911 and took up a The Sh[...]amily. "Bill" attained some of his schooling in Baker and some CHARLES F. SHEPHERD in Tacoma, Washington. He went to college in Minneapolis, by Dessa P[...]He was graduated from the Baker High School in 1933 Charles F. Shepherd was born in Carrol County, Iowa in and he and Margaret Engstrom were married at Baker in 1893 to Eli and Martha J. Shepherd. When Charles was still 1935. In 1935 and 1936 Bill attended the Northwestern Bibl[...]aret and Bill had nine children: all of them born in school at Richland Center, Wisconsin. He also attended the Baker except the oldest, she was born in Mineapolis. University of Wisconsin. While in Baker he worked at the Baker Drug, for the French[...]years. In 1916, Eli and Martha Shepherd moved to Ollie, In 1961 he passed his Bar examinations and has[...]e Riggs place, the Stuart Ranch and practiced Law in Baker, Virginia City and Philipsburg, all in another section of land near by. Montana. He is the Granite County Attorney and the Philipsburg City Attorney and he owns the Flint Creek Abstract Company in Philipsburg, Montana. After they left Baker,[...]are twins. William Sheehan raised his family in Fallon County during the 30's, 40 's, and 50's. T[...]life and most of their social life and as he says in his letter, "I will always be grateful to the Lor[...]Elizabeth Harrison Shephard, was born at Rumbolt, Iowa on January 24, 1888.[...]Postal Clerk. and then went to college at Dakota City, Iowa to become a druggist.[...]Charles drove a Model T Ford out in August of 1916 to As a child and young man, Gordon took pleasure in[...]ided to stay. Being a Civil Service Man, swimming in the river, playing baseball, fast ball and going[...]Uncle Chriss. where he clerked in the post office until he was appointed Gordo[...]1910. In 1918 Charles was drafted into the army and Clara[...]ft Haker for the army on June 24, 1918 and served in Arrabelle or " Belle" grew up and got her element[...]He helped his folks on the farm that summer and in the college at Missoula, Montana.[...]ght the Horse Creek School. The Grants lived in a small town where she loved to Charles and I (Dessa Inez Prouty) were married swim in Green Lake, slide down hill, skate, and go into t[...]ost office and helped there most of the time In 1910 Mr. and Mrs. Ben Grant came to Montana by[...]an Science Faith. had a large walk-in locker, which was kept cool by ice which B. D . Grant owned the building in Baker where the old they had put up in the winter. He delivered fresh meat to the post o[...]ty Times moveg into that building. places in the country. In ovember he sold this business.[...] |
| [...]from Ollie. We drove up in the Model T Ford with the top[...]rs old. We got as far as the middle of the street in[...]come and take us to Ollie. We partly dried out in the depot[...]Carlyle in 1923. He spent several evenings learning to climb[...]At one time we had thirty-five business phones in Ollie[...]besides the residence phones and phones in the country and[...]When the depression CaIDe in 1929 and 1930, busin.e ss[...]dn't and still others had their phones taken out. In August 1920, Charks Shepherd, Fay Shepherd and Al[...]Office in the Post Office and took care of it ourselves. In 1945[...]iscontinued the business and a toll phone was put in A. In 1921 Charles farmed with his folks again and I[...]before he left he took Charles, myself and in Ollie and Baker and graduated from high school in ashua, Charlotte, our daughter, for a ride over the town and Iowa in 1960. surrounding country. At this celebration we[...]er once a year to make money for the church. In the early days of Ollie, when the train crew all[...]away. He was working in the field that morning and[...]nothing " . In 1927 we had hail so no crops again but there was[...]her husband is a Captain in the Air Force. They have one son,[...] |
| [...]ry and his family graduate, and has taught school in Baker for several years had just returne[...]ed Betty's and Jerry's Silver our place in Baker and all the children were at home. Wedding[...]He and she is bookkeeper at St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, passed away August 8, 1971. Mo[...]Larry was married to Judith Helm June 9, 1961 and in Ekalaka. He also belonged to the American Legion Post #111 July of that same year he volunteered in the Air Force and at Ollie, later at Baker and also at Nashua, Iowa. left for camp on November twentieth. He served in the Air I belonged to Daisy Rebeka[...]cules C-130 Cargo Trahsport Plane. In 1970 we bought a home in Baker where I still live. He was stationed at Tachikawa, Japan for three years and spent most of this time in Viet Nam and various places. His Favorite poems spoken often by Charles F. Shepherd family was also in Japan for three years. They have two children; Lo[...]The Man in the Glass When you get what you want in the battle for self, In 1969 Charles and I celebrated our Golden Wedding.[...]o to the mirror and look at yourself Jerry's home in Baker.[...]And think you're a wonderful guy, but the man in[...]Can't look him straight in the eye.[...]If the man in the glass is your friend .[...]If you·ve cheated the man in the glass.[...]mid-March in 1916, in their move from Richland County,[...] |
| [...]e area. Their temporary home was married in the summer of 1920 in Seattle. They returned to on the Carl Crosby place about six and one half miles Fallon County in the spring of 1926 to help his parents with south[...]d the their farm and ranch operations. In the fall of 1941 they Frank Riggs place a quarter[...]Fay Shepherd married Lorena Carter in the fall of 1921. to Montana in 1915 and viewed the magnificent wheat fields[...]J. B. Carter family. that prompted him to invest in some land. Little did he They lived a[...]east of the Big Hill. The flu realize that crops in southeastern Montana were un epidemic in 1918 claimed Lorena's mother and she made her pre[...]ext few years. Fay and Lorena looked so wonderful in 1915 was damaged considerably by had[...]Verol Shepherd met Bob Corbitt in her senior year in The years that followed were not very productive. Mr. Baker High School. They were married in October 1931 and Shepherd bought more ranch land.[...]idered a Mrs. Martha Shepherd lived in Baker with her daughter, land mark in earlier years. This was an attempt to combine Vero!, after Mr. Shepherd passed away. In 1929 she bought farming and ranching in the hope that something could be a lit[...]years. Mrs. grasshoppers were playing a big role in shaping these years. Shepherd was always b[...]ies many people had moved away. Mr. in her home until time to go to the hospital. Quite a few Shepherd passed away in March 1928, before good crops and babies were born in her home. Several elderly ladies made prosperity[...]erself and others. Her hands one to attend school in Montana. She rode an old wind were[...]ence attending school with boys and girls ranging in age from six to sixteen. It wasn't until years la[...]yard. Peter D. Shishkowsky was born in Kiev, Russia on One recollection stands out and t[...]old " Paint" to give them a lift Shishkowsky. In 1910, when he was 18 years old, Peter came the fi[...]by railroad to eastern Montana and located in the Webster ahead of her. This worked fine until[...]s of their own so they filed on a homestead in the same vicinity holding onto off balance and all three girls plopped to the in 1912. Their closest neighbors were the Malenowski[...]mselves up from the Bulk Service Station in Baker, Montana. ground. No one was hurt, but a pr[...]n its way home. A bent up dinner bucket with dirt in it Baker. Gertrude's parents, Edward a[...]e. also settlers in the Webster Community. She was born at Harv[...]ook car and grain Montana, John who died in 1946, Rosalie Shaffer who passed wagons resembled a caravan approaching and the place was away in 1973, Laura Koenig of Casper, Wyoming and Betty j[...]o. There are eleven grandchildren Growing up in the twenties holds many pleasant[...]Gertrude Varner Shishkowski passed away in 1950, but togethers in the homes, community picnics in the summer, her husband survived her by 19 years. He died in 1969. the 4th of July dances on the open air pavillion and dances at the country school houses in the winter. Live music was very much a part of th[...]y drove to the Wildwood dance hall west of Baker. In the winter time there were dances at the[...]by Mr . Art Tronstad over into offices in 1929. This was the hall over the old Bank[...]nder of Baker building. Old time dances were held in the old Shreve settled in the Ekalaka area in 1902 south of where Hubbard Hall over the Hubbard[...]Willard is now located. there was a dance in progress at both places on Saturday My grandfather was born in 1858 near Salem, Ohio, the night.[...]second of three boys. His father died in 1864 and some time The Shepherd's eldest son, Charles, joined them later in after his mother moved with her three sons[...]ed. He married home. He married Dessa Prouty late in 1919. They had three my grandmother there in February 1882. Before 1890 they daughters , Charl[...]d their two small boys, William and Curtis, moved in a son, Larry.[...]They Floyd Shepherd went to Seattle sometime in 1919. His had the Decker Post Office an[...]other, Grace Anne Shreve, was born Pughs, to that city. The Pughs were early day settlers and there in August 1891.[...] |
| [...]bought land in Indiana from the government for two dollars[...]She attended elementary and high school in Indiana. As[...]In 1914, at the age of 21, Nellie boarded a train an[...]Shreve in his parents home, which was about twenty miles[...]about ten years ago when William was killed in an accident.[...]or along side of the road when a car hit him In 1902 they came to the Ekalaka area "settling" on[...]and isn't able to work any more but she is alert in mind After moving to the Ekalaka area grandf[...]I start~. Grandfather bought and ran the creamery in Baker, and grandmother took maternity cases. In the flu epidemic of 1918-1919 she had flu patients everywhere. They moved back to the farm in the twenties and lived there until his death in 1932. Grandmother lived there by herself awhile,[...]Grandmother died at the Christian Rest Home in Dillon, April 1951 at the age of 84.[...]Edward was born in Scotland, South Dakota to Adam[...]herine I Gutjahr) Huber. He came to this vicinity in 1910[...]children were born to the family. In all there were 13 children Mr.[...] |
| [...]coalmine cave-in claimed the life of Leo, age 20. One of the[...]hours later in Peoria, Ill.[...]During World War II, four sons served in the armed forces, two of which served in the Infantry overseas. Edward,[...]ion. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in[...]l 1939 when they an infantryman, served in Hawaii. Tony and Simon served as moved to Plevna[...]ldren could go to high Military Police in the United States. school.[...]at the Weinschrott Dam. His wife died at her home in plowed with walking plow and horse. The home was[...]kemia on February of the first threshing machines in the neighborhood, but Jost 29, 1968 at the[...]Emil, Simon and Hable farm in the Plevna-Baker vicinity.[...]homemaker living in Baker. Benjamin is an Interior[...]teacher. Both live in Billings, Montana. Ruth, the youngest[...]daughter, is employed as Postmistress in Plevna.[...]away where singing and prayers were the program. In the MR. AND MRS. DEAN SI[...]of a pastor one of the laymen filled the pulpit. In later Dean Sinclair and Anna M . Clark we[...]rs of the Baptist 20 , 1895. They lived in Money Creek, Minnesota till the fall of Church of[...]by emigrant train to Beach, orth responsibilities in the church.[...] |
| [...]to the Sinclair farm early in March. We lived there one year,[...]We moved to Billings in 1937 where we lived until 1943.[...]worked in the Kaiser Ship Yards until the end of World War[...]Dean Sinclair In October 1945 we returned to Baker and Quincy join[...]his father in the Blacksmith Shop; later we bought the[...]where they built a tar-paper shack her death in 1948. We made a home for Dean until his passing to live in until they could build a house. Mrs. Sinclair and the in 1956. children lived on the farm and the boys did[...]Our three youngest children were schooled in the Baker Sinclair worked as a blacksmith for Mr.[...]them graduated from the Baker High School. a shop in Baker. Later they built a house in Baker, so that they would be closer to school.[...]CLARENCE SIPMA real active in it until he sold it to his son, Quincy, in about I, Clarence, was born at Gascoyne,[...]brothers and sisters to the homestead located in southeast needed room and board while teaching or[...]Times were hard and in the winter of 1919 my folks lost Mr. and Mrs. Dean Sinclair were active in church work many of their hor~es. and Dean[...]orse at the age of seven. I rode horseback Church in Baker. to the Gallager School until I was in the sixth grade. Then I Mrs. Sinclair passed away in March 1948 and Dean went to the Prairie Rose School. passed away in November 1956.[...]horses in my spare time. I planned to have one ready to[...]ct the fee of five dollars; as I needed the money in order We were married August 31, 1924, in Baker, Montana. to attend the dances w[...]ek School The Reverend Arthur Seebart officiated, in the study of his near Mill Iron, th[...] |
| [...]In 1942 we bought the Chapman house and moved it to[...]farming in a small way. We sold the sheep in 1947 due to[...]Richard Sipma was born Oct. 17, 1868 at Pella, Iowa to[...]later moved to Sioux County, Iowa where they were original[...]Holland at the age of thirteen) at Orange City, Iowa in 1892.[...]ine children were born to them. Stuart of Hull, Iowa,[...]Clarence Sipma's farm and ranch home, 1966. In June 1937 I married Monte Johnson at Miles City. |
| Richard Sipma and son, Jake, came to Baker in 1913 and And many are the children who possess the books and toys picked a homestead in the Knobs area, built a shack and Giv[...]ma and often there were treats. spent the winter. In the spring of 1914 the family came by Lo[...]John and Karen Sliper moved to Ollie, Montana in[...]Jived there on a farm until they sold their farm in[...]Norway in the 1800' s. Karen passed away in 1962 and John in[...]Their son, Peter, joined the army in 1940 and served his[...]country until 1945. He served 2 years in the Pacific Area[...]during World War II. He married Gladys Ames in 1941 and after the war they settled in McMinnville, Oregon where they[...]Electrical Contracting Corp. which he started in 1959. Ann worked in Washington, D.C. during W . W. II. She[...]was married to Raymond Foster in 1942. After. the war they Hauling water at the Si[...]d, about 1925, built their home in Dalton, Georgia. Raymond passed away Clarence Sipma driving, Annetta standing, two Nessett in 1967. children seated. Karl married Anna Mae Couser in 1941. They lived near[...]John, Wade and Connie to Darby, Montana in 1959. The Sipma children first attended the[...]m along with their own. Richard Sipma passed away in Miles City following surgery in 1934. Mrs. Sipma fell and broke her hip in 1934 and was on crutches the remainder of her life. She lost her home by fire in 1936. Grandma Sipma as she was known to all who knew her was a kind and loving person. She passed away in 1953 at the age of 79. A tribute in her memory was written by one of the[...]Jesse Smith came to Montana from Wisconsin in April Grandma Sipma[...]Plevna. He Jived in a tent while building a 10' x 14' shack fo[...] |
| "Everything was exciting to me as I had lived in a We all worked together at thr[...]time and we had fun mixed in with work. We took down our There was a Sund[...]e only around 5 miles away and many times we went in a wagon together. In the winter we did ride to church with the sled. We used straw and horse blankets or quilts to wrap up in. Both families went in one sled. That meant one team of horses instead of two teams out in the cold and it was pleasant to go together. We w[...]cedars" and camp out. It was a long ways but they cut cedar fence posts and fuel to help start our lign[...]y place. We bought just two dollars worth of coal in the 8 years we lived there. I don't know whe[...]e one. My folks evidently saw t o it that one got in my things. We had lots of Jeannette Rankin[...]league picnic near W ibaux in about 1918, Miss Rankin was I don't remember[...]Congress, she was elected from Montana in 1917. it over the fence wire.[...]Earl went to school the year Mrs. Rose taught in their[...]grades one and two. He now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has[...]family. Two girls are in college." Ada and Arthur Thomas. Ada was a si[...]esteaded north of Jesse's place on My father gave me Old Tom so I had a[...]Frederick and another little boy, who died in infancy. |
| [...]quicksand bogs and to keep them from bogging in the Red Laura Sears was born in Ottumwa, Iowa on November River, which was so salty th[...]We heard about the FREE homestead land in Montana June 14, 1892.[...]cided that it was for us, "A home of our own!" So in They came to Fallon County in March 1909 and September of 1909 we were in Waurika, Okla. chartering an homesteaded north of Baker. In 1933 they moved into Baker emigrant car to[...]. Moses G. Berry; Mr. Mr. Stroud passed away in 1939 and Laura married and Mrs. Ben She[...]t Frank Smith on October 16, 1949. He passed away in 1954, cost two hundred dollars for the car[...]On September 14, 1909, our oldest son was born in the age of ninety.[...]s, wagons, horses, cows Hospital. She was skilled in handwork of many kinds, and chickens.[...]r many friends and relatives. it was held up in St. Paul for livestock inspection for two or[...]Mrs. Loverage, who ran the only rooming house in Baker at[...]stable. When the emigrant car came in Mr. Sheffield and Mr.[...]BERNETTA A. SPARKS I was born in Camden County, Missouri on July 30, 1891; the old[...]Elder and brothers younger than I. We were living in what is known as talked my folks into coming[...]nd Oklahoma). We moved there by arrived in Baker they had left word with the Pollock 's to c[...]to housed for the winter. We lived in Mrs. Hatton's house for Petersburg, Oklahoma in a buggy to be married . one month while ours was being built. Our home was partly in We share cropped for R. A . Manton of Claypo[...]had a shed over the door of boards with a window in After the cotton was picked, longhorn steers were turned in the south side. There were shelves along each wall in the to fatten on the cotton stalks. These steers[...]uld store many items. While we were and ridden on in the winter months to keep them out of the[...] |
| [...]e from Halloween night and hid some of the tools. In Oklahoma Oklahoma. We didn 't have a c[...]land was planted to oats the first year and move in before winter set in. When the boys heard this they when they we[...]parents moved back South in 1916, but we stayed on. The[...]rant B erry, Father of l/emetta Sparks. Logs were cut and hauled with horses. in abou._t 1910. We took what was called squa[...]mportant since well drilling hadn't been heard of in this |
| [...]AND MRS. JOSEPH F. SMOLA to town to buy groceries in an automobile instead of once a I, Joseph[...]vakia, on October year for the next year's supply in team and wagon or sled. I 18, 1895. My parents[...]of Tailoring and Cleaning at which time I worked in[...]trade in Chicago, Illinois.[...]moved west in 1905 and homesteaded south of Mandan,[...]Melvina married Fred Korneychuk. She was killed in a[...]The Joseph Smola family home when they lived in Baker. car accident. Lillie married Vernon G[...]by car to Baker Montana, where we met no problems in Purple Heart. . getting established in the Tailor and Cleaning business. This George gave his life in World War II on battlefront m was in 1925. We remained in Baker many years and all four of Italy.[...]Jo seph Smola in front of his building on Main Street, Bake[...] |
| Ladies Aid. She was also active in the Rebekah and Royal living here two more sons were born; Howard in 1912 and Neighbors Lodge and I -belonged to the Odd Fellow's Lodge. Donald in 1916. We now live in Portland, Oregon but we do get back to[...]In the fall of 1923 the barn burned, killing five co[...]vin Youngs was saved. The cows and team were tied in ANDREW JACOB SPEELMON[...]gave a south of the present Baker Drive-in-Theater, before they picture which he took of the 18 year old cowboy, who was retired to Baker in 1934. He worked at several jobs before about to mount the large white horse. Andy was born in poor health forced complete retirement. Celia died in October Cherokee, Iowa, January 20, 1876. He moved to Montana via 1951 and Frank died in December 1954. covered wagon and saddle horses, w[...]Aldie married Pearl Croniger and they now live in Joliet, Mrs. Jacob Speelmon and nine brothers and sisters, in 1883. Montana. Roy died in 1921 while the family was living in They first settled on the Powder River about 12 m[...]Baker. Franklin married Loris Gillian. He died in 1961 at of present day Powderville. They lived in a "dugout" the first Pasco, Washington after w[...]winter and subsisted mostly on turnips and beef. In 1885 the Washington. Robert married Betty Thomas and they live in family moved to Speelmon Creek where they establi[...]Camp Crook, South Neary. They live in the Stanhope Addition east of Baker. Dakota and c[...]s. They preferred town life. Boys grew up rapidly in those days and by the time Andy had reached the a[...]Montana in 1909. To them was born one son, Arthur and three[...]remembers very little about their ride over the prairie to their About 1903, Andrew Speelmon went i[...]ouse with his brother, Moreau B. They specialized in raising they lived in. Later the family built a two-story frame house c[...]School where he finished the eighth grade in 1920. Baker, Montana. He managed the Columbia Ele[...]In 1916 when Bob and his father were taking Fred Minor about 1940 when he retired. He continued to live in Baker and Frank Haagenson to the Box Elder Community to look until his death in 1964. Survivors include his widow, one[...]octor. There were no Spring Creek, near O' Fallon in 1894, taking numerous bones shattere[...]After Aldie, Bob's brother, moved to Cabin Creek in the FRANK AND CELIA STANHOPE[...]ed by Franklin D . Roosevelt both born and reared in Iowa. After their marriage they lived August 12, 1938. This is possibly the last homestead in in Iowa and Minnesota before coming to Montana. Fallon County. In the spring of 1909, Frank came to Baker by train[...]to this vicinity (Turner) Thomas, was born in Casey County, Kentucky on the year before and all[...]enridges south of Baker, filed on Missouri in the spring of 1913. a homestead (the present John[...]ry Lifes Certificate. She taught school two years in They arrived in Baker on October 9, 1909 by "Emigrant Mis[...]" and that same evening they rode sor'.h over the prairie School in 1928. on a wagon load of lumber, about 12[...] |
| [...],:-s, the O'Loughlin through high school in Minneapolis. We had no college Elevator and later[...]iting for Betty returned to school teaching in 1950 and when she us "high schoolers!" retired in 1969 she had spent 22 years in the class room. She still substitutes a day now and then, "just to keep in practice" . She is also an active member of the F[...]elongs to the Hospital Auxiliary and participates in the activities of an Extension Homemaking Club.[...]o Jo Ann Berry. They have three children and live in Eureka, California. Dale is a partner in the accounting firm of Bean and Stanhope. L[...]elman homestead cabin, 1914. Company-specializing in oil field welding. Neal is married to Mary L[...]yed at the Anaconda Copper Plant at In 1914 we decided to homestead in Montana. Traveling Yerrington, Nevada. by train in August of that year we both filed on land on[...]this Roger is a pumper for Shell Oil Company in the Baker land is rough bad lands-good mu[...]our land with the first · steel posts seen in this part of the Lane was married to Sandra[...]e is still good. All of the boys and one son-in-law were in the service, serving a total of 2 1/2 years for Uncle Sam in Alaska, Germany, Korea and Viet Nam as well as in the United States.[...]by Bruce Steelman I was born in Montevedeo, Minnesota on January 7, 1894.[...] |
| My brother, Clyde, and I had a double wedding in Baker they traveled into the bad lands to cut cedars for fence posts. in 1917 at our uncle Charles Silvernale's home. He was a They went from one cedar pocket to another in search of the blacksmith in Baker for years .[...]wife was Flora Ives. We had no children. She died in posts are still in use in some of the fencelines on the farm at 1930.[...]be the country to live in. He admits now that this country We broke o[...]d plow and proved up had some surprises in store for him, but being of hardy stock our claims. We had very good years in 1915 and 1916. There he has survived the[...]ood with the bad". We enjoyed it. We danced in Plevna and at the Clark School. We had box social[...]nd we didn't get rich farming. We were hailed out in 1919, so we "pulled up stakes" and went to Idaho to fight forest fires. Back in Montana in 1922 we were involved in a pageant and set up a stone marker at Fritz's gr[...]f the northeast comer of our land, known as "Dead Man's Butte". As part of the pageant, we reburied the b[...]custom steel products. I did this until I retired in 1969. We live in our home on the west side of Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. We do quite a bit of hunting and fis[...]s. Fred Steen, February 6, 1930. Wedding picture. in good health. We hope to keep going for some time, yet. We still go to the old family cabin in northern Minnesota which was built in 1913. I got a nice buck there this fall . W[...]n brothers and sisters. Any one who has ever been in Hawley can well imagine how desolate this country[...]homestead, tar paper shack. store and post office in Carlyle. Carlyle, at the time, was located a[...]bottom. The discouraged . As soon as they arrived in Montana Fred and sod blocks were plowed[...]p and as long as Andrew filed on adjoining claims in the Ollie area in 1908. they could carry, usually tw[...] |
| [...]later bought this quarter section. they lived in one s.r.anty. These shanties were built in the summer of 1908. In these one room shanties there was one bed, one[...]of wooden orange crates or wooden apple boxes. In those days every thing was shipped in this manner. The crates were always put to good u[...]hauled coal all winter (1908-1909) and piled it in the field in the amounts they thought they would use. They then cut sod and covered over the coal. This was to keep[...]n left. plow. This was a very heavy load in the heavy soil. They The q[...]acre, Mr. Tatley came out of his house and said in his rather the two homesteads. He also fenced Ma[...]oke" or plowed. They now had eight head of In 1909-10-11-12 besides tending their land Fred wor[...]hich was · One Sunday In 1912 they had a well dug. The drilling rig was a[...]re laying on the south side of around in a circle, turning the drill bit into the ground m[...]sked Christ well that is still in use was hand dug by Fred. The pick marks Christe[...]his thirty foot well. engine?" Christ pointed up in the sky and said, "When the In 1917 they needed a stock well so they hired a man[...]on was right and got the men up to start the fire in the rig. He drilled the well which[...]s it was a big pipe, 1 1/4" in size, but anyway they had gotten experienced at t[...]othing." They ran the pipe from the well by In 1909 Fred and Andrew were anxious to lease more[...]the west and the first cold day in the fall when the pipe froze and there they south of them belonged to a doctor in Illinois. Fred wrote to were. Still[...]of course. The next year the pipe was in such disrepair that Fred would fence the land. Th[...]ee wires on it. The doctor never saw in the pipe. Fred did try to fix the pipe by[...] |
| [...]: Breakfast; care of their horses. They came back in January and decided bacon or side po[...]d and butter, they could just as well have stayed in Minnesota, as the and coffee; lun[...]en brother's header and header box, the grain was cut[...]moving the horses around a corner. Grain In 1913 Fred started his business. He purchased an o[...]s was a header box it was stacked in large stacks and threshed surveyor who also help[...]p the flies off the team. Andrew had no interest in machinery at all, so it was up to Fred to operat[...]ses were so little and very inconvenient." In 1914 Fred figured to have his sister, Jenny, and Marie Rustad cook for the crew in the cook wagon. He planned to feed four ti[...] |
| [...]men who came to help Fred came with their In the summer of 1919 there was a complete drought,[...]Creek. there was no threshing to be done at all in this area. Christ They were very dependable m[...]hen the rig got there the wheat was standing tall in for threshing were; wheat-IO cents a bushel; oats-6 cents a the fields and no one had cut his wheat because all of it had bushel; barley-8 cents a bushel and flax was 4 cents a bushel. rust in it, and there was nothing in the heads. They unloaded, These prices stayed t[...]c Clure to cook. He was for the men to sleep in in bad weather, otherwise they would a good cook b[...]hy" and not liked by any of the "sack out" in the hay stacks, on the ground, in the wagons, in men.[...]g shipped it back to Montana. They all came home in October outside. Smoking was the main cau[...]with the wagons, hay and horses. Fred drove back in his 1913 Cadillac car with the steering wheel on the right side. Fred had left his threshing rig in North Dakota. In 1919 some friends wrote that he should come and[...]and Fred. Fred bought a gas powered engine in 1920 but left it in Montana when he shipped back to North Dakota. Whe[...]Hannah Steen, Laura Wang, Jenny Steen, Fred Steen in threshed until the time combines came into[...] |
| [...]fed well, and Fred depended on his In 1914 Fred went to Beach, Nort h Dakota for parts[...]Ollie. A.M . to prepare the breakfast. They slept in the cook car on a · Corrine Erdahl came to America from Bergen , Norway in roll-away bed. They would bake bread every day, p[...]ime. She came wit h a friend, E nga this was done in a cook car which was 10 feet wide and 20 feet St oraker. In Norway they were raised together and attended long. The stove stood in the back end of the car. One long t he[...]s was fastened t o the wall so the table when not in use could be about and remembers t hese time[...]e paid their fare, There was a long opening in the roof above the stove. almost $200.00 each, and in r eturn t hey would work for him This opening was[...]or and his brother. They were met in Beach by the banker, Ole closed. A screen was ove[...]king odors he took them by car to t he uncle in Golva. Their working for and grease. The girls ap[...]t too well, so bot h girls went warm it would get in there. The girls also had to drive t he b[...]Inga had married and rem ained in Beach. Corrine's employer in Minneapolis was Orrie Whitehead. The family[...]on t he third floor in the storage area. There were five[...]were done in the basement. Quite an undertaking for one[...]man, began to feel the tightness in the economy even at this[...]In June of 1928 she bought train fare to ew York City[...]o waited on the Laura Wang [Holder] taking a bath in the old wooden wash table, dusted so[...]responding with Corrine and had Laura worked in the cook car for one year. She tells of[...]r destination the bread had were married in the orwegian Lutheran Church in risen, of course, and had run all over and on to[...]abbed a wad of about a week, traveling in Fred 's Graham Page automobile. dough and[...] |
| [...]he poor roads that were blocked by and were stuck in the mud so badly that they had to hire a s[...]time they were running short of money In their late years, Fred and Corrine retired to Bak[...]ried Robert Bergstrom, they have three will" (ha) in order to get some gas. He later got the watch[...]om So now, as Fred and Corrine sit in their living room Ollie and fixed up with a kitch[...]a bride on the moon, they reminisce as if in a dream, of their many in 1930's had obstacles to overcome which were much[...]its heels came a wonder what the Lord has in store for the rest of this century. severe drough[...]fully, wash their feet, wrap the heads, pack them in barrels and ship them to Chicago. Turkeys were a[...]d to do was to be willing to do the work involved in raising these birds. During these "hard times" people in and around Ollie became very discouraged. Some of[...], so began the decline of Ollie and Carlyle. In these years Fred and Corrine had three children.[...], 1938 and who died five days later. He is buried in the Ollie Cemetery. Andrew had never married but had his place separate from Fred's. In 1935 he contracted and died of pneumonia. This wa[...]The Henning Steen family, 1947, Baker Lake in the back R.E.A. crune through and so came the con[...], left to right, Henning, Austine, Don and Gloria in electricity brought. There were also some very go[...]Montana in 1922 and worked for his brothers, Andrew and[...]Steen place and bought this farm in 1946. They purchased a home in Baker in July of 1960 and sold the farm to a nephew,[...]Francis Madler, in 1968.[...]Austine graduated from high school in 1928, then[...]ed at the J. C. Penney store and Teacher's Agency in Baker. After moving to Baker she worked in the Fallon[...]and Don who married Nadine Everson and now lives in Elmer Wang, Mrs. Austin Jesfield, Mrs. Elmer Wang[...]terrific snow storms, closed roads and illnesses. In Charlotte Steen, Le Roy Wang and Dulane Wa[...] |
| [...]Kuehns, the George Mortons, the Carl Holmes Miles City, eighty miles away, for an emergency[...]other We had plenty of problems in getting established but we snow storm completely[...]Son Donald graduated from the Baker High School in Community Church in Baker, picnics at O'Peechee Park, 1948. He bought the former June Billington farm in 1951. He Ekalaka Park, Wildwood Park and M[...]d to western mentioned parks. Australia in 1965 where they bought two ranches with leases[...]Gloria graduated from the Baker High School in 1957, Helen Louise Stieg Ayers and Arthu[...]ren and two great grandchildren. was a beautician in Baker for 2 1/2 years before moving to[...]am and Catherine Steffes, came to Plevna, Montana in 1910 and took a homestead. I, Joseph, was born in St. Lucas, Iowa on June 17, 1889 and came in an emigrant car to Montana and located eight miles south of Plevna. I filed on a homestead and kept busy in proving up on the land, such as erecting building[...]It seemed there was always a shortage of moisture in the summer and some of the winters were hard and[...]ns. I had gone to elementary and high school in Iowa and to Duluth, Minnesota to learn the harness trade, before I came to Montana. In 1914 Rose Doonan and I were married at Ipswich, S[...]Wisconsin . The family lived in the city. I was born in Marinette County, Porterfield, Wisconsin[...]23, 1897, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Seth Rawn. In Everal, in California, but her memory is very keen. She 1905[...]me stock and also farmed. I attended grade school in Berry from thi~ course she taught school in the rural or country Township of North Dakota and then went to high school in schools for a few years . She attended[...]stal Normal to prepare herself for teaching in the lower grades. clerk and a telephone operator. She taught again in the country before she got a job teaching As[...]m there she went to Holcomb and Ridgeland, worked in those days.[...]I were married on January 3, 1921 at In June 1917 Tina was married to Henry Stenerson and[...]as asked My husband had filed on a homestead in 1919 or 1920. It to substitute at the littl[...]War I Veteran, he never had to live on the land . In 1923, always available, as substitutes we[...]teaching very much and gave of her time in teaching summer section 10·4-58 and then[...] |
| [...]rs. Stenerson's had graduated from Normal School in 1907, had taught former pupils was[...]then on she Bergstrom was a statue in a play. The time came for him to substituted off[...]crip and Everal Henry Stenerson passed away in the mid-sixties. Stenerson were ready for the tests. All but Everal had the While living in Montana, home began on the farm. For mum[...]Everal several years Henry ran a grain elevator in Baker and was the was in a play in high school did she get the mumps. postmaster an[...]y and Tina Stenerson west coast. There he worked in the carpenter trade and as an became parent[...]aymond Fost and Edward Moscrip. All four of them city in Wisconsin to the prairies of Montana. This was a test graduated from the Baker High School in 1936. in many ways, but as she says, " Where there's a will, there's In 1936 and 37 Everal assisted her father as postmas[...]and in the Co-op Store at Willard. In 1937 she was married to They had their good[...]s! Their until Donald entered the service in World War II. He was children were really happier than the children are nowadays. killed in action. It took so much less to make them happy[...]ts. Yes! It was a California. happy time in spite of it all. Helen, now Mrs. Helen Rye, lives in Tacoma, These sons and daughters have a wonderful heritage in Washington and Shirley, now Mrs. William[...]living in Cornichael, California. Tina is thankful sh[...]school or just traveling carved her initials in the sandstone sides and coming back to Baker. Th[...]ttended dances at the Having married in the depression there was very little Willard Hal[...]Ollie or Fertile Prairie and Willard was a real treat and the Their[...]a couple. children, Mary and Frank, Tina taught in school. Today's life is different and the families have missed a In 1932 one of the Stenerson daughters and several o[...]for high school. The family rented a large house in Baker and thirteen persons lived in the house. Eight of them lived in the three rooms upstairs and did their own cookin[...]rson except were residents of Sibly, in Oscelola County, Iowa, where they Mrs. Stenerson came down with the chi[...]sons thought a Sunday drive and In 1915 my family came west to Montana and located o[...]a homestead 18 miles north of Billings. I came in 1916. wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Shreve.[...]I received my grade school education while still in Iowa. As lovely and a trailer was hooked on behind the[...]I helped around the place and was much interested in 26, most of them students, from Willard who were going to baseball and played a lot of it. school in town, to ride in. Their parents were expected to be I did my hitch in the service during the 1st World War at the party[...]any of the parents did and then I worked in an elevator at Windsor, North Dakota. I not come.[...]the group was snowbound . Edwin In 1927 I was married to Julia Bartkowski at Nelson,[...]of John years, and Mr. Stenerson drove to Willard in a sleigh and and Catherine Bartk[...] |
| [...]ldren education at "The Little Red School House" in the country. were reaching high school age[...]as studying English. I began high school in Baker, Mont. but my sister Alice Later she worke[...]e Bagley I taught school for a time in Wyoming and became Elevator there for six years. While we lived there Mrs. interested in writing. Among my works were textbooks used Stevens was active in 4 H work and Homemakers Club in Wyoming Schools, 2 books of children's stories, a[...]hildren, educational articles for We lived in Miles City for a time then on to Baker by car magazines, a[...]y. where I again worked for the Bagley Elevator. In all I spent In 1930 I was married to Lynn Jensen, but this marriage 21 years as a grain buyer. We arrived in Baker on August 5, ended in divorce. I later was married to Paul Stock, a Cody 1938. We encountered no problems in getting settled and oilman. Mr. Stock held a great deal of stock in Texaco. We established here. were active in many philanthropic enterprises, including the My next work was in the Fallon County Court House Yellowst[...]nd two girls. The two youngest children were born in Baker. issues scholarships. All of them are[...]rld Furniture Company, Raymond , Jr. an architect in Denver, War I. I worked in public relations in the W.A.C. during Colorado, Joyce the wife of Dr.[...]at Boulder and I now live at our home in Cody, Wyo. from May to Cathleen, an Arts and Craf[...]Sunrise Drive near the Catalina Mts. in Tuscon. Arizona, for Elizabeth Hospital ; as cler[...]Memorial Hospital for fifteen years. She retired in March of 1971. Julia and the children are me[...]greeted this world, on August 4th, children in a family of 10 of whom I was the eldest. We had 1908 in St. Paul, Minn. There we lived with our parents,[...]not survive, and a baby brother, Georgie, City. We had three children: Margarite J. Rieb (Baker) ; who was a babe-in-arms when we came to this vicinity in Mable K. Rieb (Berger); and Phillip W[...]now live in Miles City and the son lives in Anaconda . We girls were in our 5th year when our father decided he I never had any other line of work in all these years wanted a piece of Uncle Sam's lan[...]years after which we sold out by trade. He set up in Baker for a time and earned enough to and moved to Miles City to retire. I had no children by my settle on a ho[...]second marriage. We had begun school in Baker, but after we moved to the During the years in Tyndall I can remember the box homestead, my fath[...]ocials at the school house. Later, after settling in this area a good sod schoolhouse where their children went to grade we found pleasure in attending dances in various school school. A good frame building was[...]ys on the homestead, we often enjoyed City. neighborhood picnics, dances, musical sessions,[...]vagaries of nature and long distances In spite of dry seasons and some cold, snowy[...] |
| [...]s old. We went to Bremen Germany from and settled in the Willard community. They returned to their[...]th my dad's uncle, Henry Straub. retired to Miles City. There[...]ved near the present Sportsmans Dam. In March of 1916 my parents moved to Vananda, Mont. The family was active in Church affairs and the children to take u[...]Albert Fost's threshing crews. He was interested in the mechanical line. Miss Olga Konorski came[...]miles to school. She left the community to teach in other places. Butte, Montana was her retiring home. She still retains her land in Fallon County. FRED STRA[...]Ha ving lunch in the field at the Fred Straubs. |
| [...]ssons at our school. They stayed at our place, so in the evenings Dad took lessons from Rodemacer's Sp[...], but we were taught to ring it only when needed. In the spring when the creek was swollen to the bank[...]3rd. Wedding Anniversary. to eat breakfast, lunch in the field was enhanced by watermelon which mother had grown in her garden. They loved them, as they were a real[...]PAULSTRAUB Watkins Man would drop in with horse and buggy. We always looked forward to his coming because he usually I was born in a small village named New Lustdorf near stayed th[...]rse roundup always fascinated us Odessa in the Ukraine of South Russia, in January of 1893. youngsters. We'd hang over the fence and watch the sorting There were 11 in our family, 2 of which died as young and branding[...]blacksmithing. He passed away in 1913. My brother, Fred,[...]Fred learned from our Uncle Henry in America that we could[...]would assist me in getting from Odessa to Bremen, Germany[...]equivalent in Russian money. The adventure began on July 7[...]delays, and hiding in woods. We finally arrived at a Russian[...]e. arrived at Baltimore, Maryland in the U.S.A. the latter part[...]Wishek, N . D. for a time and in 1915 I married Joanna Sophia buggy-that is until[...]ub died November northeast of Plevna. In 1926 we purchased land of our own 16 11, 1966 and[...]ntil we retired 1971. Brother Richard passed away in 1933, Rudolph in 1966 and moved into Plevna in 1953. and sisters Emma Straub Wenz in 1950 and Rosalie Straub During these years we obtained our American Himing in 1966.[...] |
| [...]elmet. in a cook-car. The cook-car was a complete kitchen o[...]attending church services. I went to grade school in Russia Ray was always interested in baseball and played on the but I had no opportuni[...]ond opposite the Dennis Hall very much interested in books and lessons and I really on[...]. From the age of nine I was very much interested in history and loved to read the Bible. After I was[...]oth young and old. At 18 I became much interested in religion and in singing with other people. I have always tried to help and love my neighbor. I still like to go visiting in the homes of friends and relatives and at the Hospital and Nursing Home. My wife passed away in 1960 and I have continued living in our home in Plevna. I often visit friends and have taken several trips. I have attended reunions in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and North and South Da[...]an orphan he went to live with an aunt and uncle in Melrose, Wisconsin. Here he worked on his uncle'[...]all, rode running horses at the county fairs and in the winters cut timber in the woods. At the age of 21 he married Jane Orton. They lived in Princeton, Minnesota and then in Minneapolis where he worked for the fire departme[...]trained horses that were used at that time. In 1909 he came to eastern Montana and too k a homes[...]World War I, he and Chris Jesperson bought horses in Fallon and nearby M r. and M rs. Ray Sutton, 1934. counties to be used in the war zones. He was a County Commissioner of Fallon County for six years and during In 1947 , when Mr. S utton 's health began to fail,[...]Clyde Pugh and Albert Sherva, is buried in Belle Passe Cemeter y near W oodburn, wher[...] |
| [...]ber 5, 1873 to Mr. and Mrs. 0. F. Lamb of Walker, Iowa. She received her schooling in Marion, Iowa and at the age of 17 began her teaching career in the rural schools of Iowa, South Dakota and Utah. Her life read like a story book. When teaching in Utah she and several other teachers hired a driver and covered wagon and spent the summer vacationing in Yellowstone Park. In 1910 she came to Montana and took a homestead in the Lame Jones country. At times she hauled her g[...]upplies for the winter months. She taught schools in Fallon County until she was elected the first County Superintendent of Schools in Fallon County. She served in this office for five years. She married Ray E. Sutton in June, 1923 at Baker in the home of Shirley Donovan, the minister being t[...]o Mitchell, Oregon where she taught for two terms in a lumber mill town school. She and Mr. Sutton lived in a little one room log teacherage. After Ray[...]sold their little home at Hubbard and returned to Iowa to make her home with her sister, Ellen. She[...]away August 27, 1962. This little poem was in one of her diaries. Lord, Thou knowest that I am[...]peak My father, Abe Tennant, was born in April of 1877 near |
| [...]cture from the Baker Museum. Elias Traweek. In 1938 I trailed a bunch of sheep to the ranch I am[...]cent years when we went to both sheep and cattle. In 1967 I sold a large part of the ranch due to the[...]rn Nov. 26, 1873. Elias came to Sundance, Wyoming in live on the ranch, the original log house is in the left 1891. He worked on a cattle ranch for h[...]pah Creek, about thirty miles eas t of terms in country school, then later in Ekalaka and Baker. Miles City. Range work later brought him to a YT winter[...]her with ranch work over the years. camp located in the southeast corner of present Fallon Elias and Maude spent their retirement years in Baker. County.[...], known as Tom, and Everett, known as Dick, In 1900 he married Lela Maude Johnson of Jericho[...]as, and still lives on the family Yokley, living in the vicinity of the winter camp. He then[...]hey have four years before tractors came into use in th.is part of the country. children, Howard , J[...]mas, and Timothy. Roger Wheat was hauled to Baker in horse drawn grain wagons. mar[...] |
| [...]Administrator of t he F allon M emorial Hospital in Baker, Montana for a period of ten years.[...]held in a small room of t he Lunder bunkhouse. Lillian[...]d Leo Burke. My father, E d Burke, was born in Ireland or ew York More friends and neighbors, Elias Traweek, Dick Traweek, City June 5, 1884, the youngest of five children. The Burke and Tom Traweek. family home was at Muscatine, Iowa. His mother died when he was six months of age. H[...]nois. When he was nineteen our family made to Iowa and Illinois to visit my Dad 's he went "WEST" to[...]and relatives. We visited at Muscatine, Iowa with my Dad 's her husband lived. He worked in a general store owned by his brother and family, uncle, aunt and two cousins, then on to brother-in-law. It was there he met and married my mother.[...]youngest of three children and to Muscatine, Iowa. the only daughter of Annie Jane and Morris Alexa[...]I graduated from the Baker High School in 1927. I Shreve. They lived at Decker, Montana on[...]they moved to the Ekalaka area. She store. In May 1942 I returned to Baker to work at Grainger[...]Cafe. Art Tronstad and I were married at Miles City high school and taught on Powder River in 1908. She and my February 3, 1943. We operate the place his father had taken father were married in April 1909. as a homestead in 1914 and we live on and operate the place In March 1912 they moved to the Willard commu[...] |
| [...]Norway to Houghton, Brown County. South Dakota in 1886[...]Rony 's childhood was spent in the rural area near[...]hton, South Dakota. He attended elementary school in[...]Rony enlisted in the U. S. Army in April, 1917. He was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone for two years, being[...]discharged in 1919. Frances and Art T ronstad, Wedding[...]Rony H . Tunby while in t he United S tates Army during[...]World War I , in t he Panam a Canal Zone.[...]America in a short while but Helga remained there until she[...]he attended St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing in Fargo, |
| [...]had spent one night sleeping on the ground in the badlands.[...]was interested in conservation; he was way ahead of present[...]picnics, dances at the school house and in WestmorP,. Also[...]Our folks were always interested in county, state and[...]icult times and added Helga Nygaard [Tunby] shown in her Red Cross nurses to the joyfu[...]ttended there and when a car was working we In 1928 they bought the farm which was then known as[...]on was rough on our It wasn't until in the 1950's that the folks got a good well folks,[...]working on the highway. One of these pups in one litter. That was a catastrophe as far as Moth[...]ok at the turkeys and they would fall In 1935 Maurice broke his leg during play at Dry For[...]ing day, they School. He spent three months in traction in the old did raise 200 one year. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker. Mother stayed to care for him We didn[...]y to Because my sister, Helen, and I were now in charge of the try to borrow some money. Da[...] |
| [...]ttended quite a few one daughter. births in the country, but was always relieved when the[...]Helen Margaret married Delmar J. Jensen of Baker in doctor arrived. 1947. They live in Baker where Delmar is employed by the After Roy finished the 8th grade he began high school in Montana-Dakota Utilities Company and Helen as a nurse Plevna, boarding out in a home there. That fall he contacted (part[...]Elphie Ruth married Kenneth D. Briggs of Baker in of us had whooping cough. So Roy didn't go back to high 1945. They lived in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for 21 years and school. Th[...]Gordon stayed and helped moved to Miles City, Montana in 1967 where both were on the farm . The following[...]employed at the Pine Hills School. Kenneth died in October, the 8th grade. That fall the folks made[...]ve two daughters and one son, and one would move in to Baker with the children so we could get a[...]l houses there until they were able Montana in 1948. They live in Spokane, Washington where to buy a home. Mother first worked at housecleaning in order Hank is employed by Kaiser Aluminum.[...]n she began and one daughter. filling in as a nurse-at the hospital and this led into full[...]Maurice 0. married Mickey Roe of Kokomo, Indiana in employment until she retired.[...]Edith Erika married DuWayne Johnson of Baker in folks . It was a lonesome and rough time for Dad[...]from Westmore to year term, beginning in 1964. He didn't run for a second term. the farm[...]nd clothes because her postcard didn't reach Dad in time for him to know they were coming.[...]school Mother and we children moved to the farm in the spring and back to Baker in the fall . Later we spent time at both places th[...]the four oldest of us graduated from high school in 1942 the folks were presented with an honorary d[...]except for the anxiety of having Roy and Gordon in the military service during World War II. During this time Helen was in Fargo taking nurse's training under the Cadet Pr[...]g through her nursing, a tribute was paid to her in the FALLON COUNTY TIMES after her death in February, 1966, which stated in part ... " One never heard of Nurse Tunby, nor Mr[...]own others who have had extremes of circumstances in their life, and too often such a person, when the[...]and show a bitterness. This quality had no place in Mrs. John Venell, Sr. as[...]ell, were homesteaders at Ash Creek, South Dakota in stayed on the ranch until her death on February 2[...]9, 1902. While he was still at home John attended in 1949. They live in Bozeman where he is employed with the el[...]nd two daughters. In 1920 he left South Dakota and went to St. Paul,[...]Minnesota where he worked for his uncle in a Drygoods Store South Dakota in 1946. They live in Minneapolis, Minnesota until 1927. whe[...]· John R. married Pearl Holstrom in St. Paul in 1925.[...] |
| Their daughter Jeanette was born in 3t. Paul on September 26 yrs. I was remarried in 1957 to Wm. Freeland in Miles 21, 1926. City. We had been married only four years when he passed In August of 1927, John and Pearl moved to Baker, away of a heart attack. In the fall of 1962 I sold my home Montana where Joh[...]Plant east there and came to California City, California where I am a of Baker. While they wer[...]smog and last Christmas we the plant closed down in December of 1929. had 4 in[...]Vincelette, a farmer in Quebec province, Canada, was born in Canada, but later lived in Maine and Massachusetts, and[...]Savage, also a farmer in Quebec region. Their children were[...]excitement over discovery of gold in the Black Hills region.[...]his sons were employed in the Homestake Mines.[...]After a few years of employment in the mines, Charles[...]and his sons became interested in a stock ranch near Deadwood, and invested in Hereford cattle. Arthur was[...]drowned while they lived on this ranch. In June 1903 the[...]to operate the postoffice for some time. Company. In August of 1950 the company transferred John[...]before coming to Montana. Azarias returned to St. in 1965. He plans on making his permanant home in Worland. Onge in November 1903 after they had settled on the MC[...]D. and Juliette Thompson, who was a farmer in that locality, lives in Kalispell, Montana; John, Jr. who never married and having come there from Iowa. Azarias and wife came to the is at home with his[...]l who is married, has three Montana ranch in early December, their household boys and lives in Tempe, Arizona. belongings loaded in their wagon . It was during mild winter[...]e ranch, the several rooms being I was born in the Pennel Creek district, the oldest child di[...]ollowing year Arsidas of Thomas and Cecil Breen, in June, 1912. I lived in that and family built a small house near[...]e nearby, and Azarias and married Adolph Visborg in January 22, 1929. We were family es[...]. Amanda died when these children were very In 1927 I won an all paid trip to Chicago on my 4 H[...]ford Hurlburt) , and Arthur, Jr. Frank who lives in Utah, and Cecil who lives in Riverside, Raymond married Rose Schultz of[...]two California. Raymond was killed at the Bakery in Baker in daughters, Lucille (Mrs. Ed Sikorski, Jr[...]Korneychuck). grandson and will be greatgrandma in March. Arsidas Vincele[...]Eva Doody of St. Onge, S. I lost my husband in 1955 after we were married nearly Da[...] |
| [...]ueffele moved into the Plevna and Ismay community in Panter). These families later moved to Oregon.[...]coming from Long Lake, S . Dak., and were engaged in[...]was Administrator of the Fallon Memorial Hospital in Baker[...]Paul and Roy Vincelette, both married, live in Billings,[...]r Eugene. After selling their farm north of Baker in 1930, children are Marilyn, (Mrs. Donald[...]cabin tourist court. They spent their later years in Billings, Montana. They had a son, Gary, and da[...]I was born at Dickinson, North Dakota in 1904. My[...]rents, Henry and Romanie De Grand came to Montana in[...]south of Baker in the Hidden Water Community. Our[...]Pinnow. We had migrated to Montana in a railroad car full of[...]and Mrs. Schenck in Baker. We used a team and wagon to do[...]the delivering in. In 1922 I was married to William J. Wagner in Baker.[...]squatter in 1903. Bill had come from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.[...]1920. His first house was a dugout in the creek bank where the[...]Azarias, married Sylvia Morris, In later years when the county was being surveyed, h[...]had sixteen wagons with two teams of homesteaded in the Ollie community in 1908, coming to horses per wagon, which amounted to sixty-four horses in all. Montana from Iowa. Their children were Sylvia, Carlyle,[...]e and Zola. The Morris's moved to Custer, S. Dak. in door and noticed a large patch where the[...]night before when he time later making their home in Billings, Mont. Their went to bed. He[...]for his winter's supply and his mail. On arriving in and ranched in this vicinity; Tom and Gladys continuing to[...]er would have the groceries ready retired to live in Baker. Tom and Gladys had three sons_; whe[...]. John discovered he had forgotten to put in the baking powder.[...] |
| Now baking powder is an important item in the winter's supplies, especially if it was going[...]ARTT.WANG Arthur Wang was born in 1904 at Ulen, Minnesota to Edward and Lena Wang. In 1906 his father, Edward, took the Northern Pacifi[...]e homesteaded south of the present town of Ollie. In 1907, Lena and family came with the household goo[...]school in Spokane and Cabrille, Washington; after which she[...]attended the Seattle Art Academy, Bible College in San[...]worker for the Assembly of God in which she is active in[...]singing and directing the music. She has worked in this capacity in Idaho, California, Washington and British[...]In 1951 at the age of 36 Mildred came by automobile[...]times at the school in 1952. One time for three weeks and the Picture lo[...]Wang, she has been busy as an active member in a He grew up and attended the Ollie Grade Sc[...]hairman for Christmas Craft Tea for two neighbors in that area were; 0. J. Jesfield , Carl Rost, John[...]lities When World War II developed he served in the United Company in Baker. States Army in the 2nd. Armored Division. He served from 1942 to 1946 in North Africa, England, France, Belgium and German[...]rn at Oceola, Pennsylvania, Mildred was born in the "tent town " of Tonasket, November 9, 1870. When he was one year of age his parents Washington in 1914, to Arthur A. and Helen Johnson. Mr.[...]Telegrapher for the Great Northern time. In 1878 Edward was in Ulen, Minnesota. On July 24 , Railway there and d[...]k when the family was 1896 he was united in marriage to Miss Lena Dahl. To this moved to Brit[...]rn ; three sons, Elmer, Art and While living in Canada Mildred attended elementary Alber[...]Alice Wang school at Nelson. She says of her life in Canada-"Had a Mastin . wonderful time in the summer swimming, hiking, fishing, He came to Montana in 1906 from Ulen, arriving by picking wild flowers[...]ach, North Dakota . He claimed a panning for gold in the Kootenay Lake, Columbia River and home[...]use Pem.1 'O'-Reille river valleys and mountains. In the winters and was ready for his family when they arrived in Beach in we skiied and skated."[...] |
| [...]June 22, 1870 in Lexbig, Norway, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.[...]ls M . Dahl. Her family came to the United States in 1881.[...]The last five years of her life were spent in a rest home in Miles City where she died in 1959.[...]Daniel Austin Wash was born in Walla Walla County,[...]nd other shopping. Chittenden Wash, in Washington and Oregon. In 1889 Joe G. Besides farming, Ed Wang built or helped build a Wash (born 1860 in Texas), with his oldest son, William number of homes in the community as it grew. He also ran a Littleton Wash, seven years old, and his half brother-in-law, blacksmith shop in Ollie for years. Samuel George Van Schuyver, drove a herd of several In December of 1934 he and his wife, Lena, moved to[...]Domain on Crazy Woman Creek. In 1896 they moved into[...]bronc rider in Wyoming and this was before the days of such[...]as Sioux City, Iowa.[...]married June 7, 1911 in Buffalo, South Dakota, making their home in South Eastern Montana, except for two years on th[...]After two years in Wyoming, Mr. Wash moved his[...]family back to Montana and took up a homestead. In the[...]ker, Montana so He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Faith the children would be[...]is death. Fair Board, was in law enforcement, and the late years he[...] |
| spent working as Montana State Brand Inspector in Sout h 1914 with living quarters and off[...]St. Paul, Minn.; Chicago, Ill. and the last years in the t hree It was in continuous operation until 1944. northeast counties of Montana. In May, 1947 , Mr. Wash succumbed to the many weakening attacks of asthma. Mrs. Wash, born in Hill City, S. Dak. , came to Montana as a small child with[...]. Mrs. Wash fell victim to cancer and passed away in July, 1965, and was put to rest beside her husband in the family plot in the cemetery at Camp Crook, S. Dak. This cou[...]outheastern Montana from Wyoming and South Dakota in covered wagons as children, wit nessed a territory in the raw develop into a productive stock and farmi[...]Their greatest problems in adjusting or getting[...]was pastoral with fruit trees in abundance and a more[...]temperate climate. Whether they lived in orth Dakota or[...]Montana, one of the first things they did in their new homes[...]J ohn Weinschrott, Sr., 1939, taken while he was in the Senate They met and planned box socials,[...]traveled many miles by horse and buggy (later in a 1912 MR. AND MRS. JOHN ADAM WEINSCHROTT Ford, the first car in Plevna) to attend these community John Adam[...]functions . The family was also faithful in attending the Saint also John, was born in Bachovar, Hungary in November Anthony Church in Plevna and later Mrs. Wein chrott 1886. John's pa[...]s Church after moving to Baker. of Opportunity" , in 1897. They homesteaded at L~for, North[...]play of fireworks. As one of the sons had started in Hungary and then went on and got his college[...]y sports minded. The Fourth of July was not In 1906 John Weinschrott and Frances Herold were[...]parents, Mr. and when it came to pounding in the bridge plank. Mrs. Peter Herold came to Ameri[...]ories of the children are the Lefor, North Dakota in 1898. Frances had four years of summer picnics at Medicine Rocks. Then there were the education in Hungary. She completed her education at Lefor.[...]ere married they hard all through the week in order to relax and meet with moved to Plevna, Mon[...]he week ends. January 20, 1911. Their first night in Plevna they stayed in Mr. Weinschrott was one of the first "power" farmers in the Section House and then they moved to the Town Hall and Fallon County, and was very interested in soil conservation set up housekeeping there. They[...]better farming . He was a stockholder and officer in the partitions for privacy. The store building an[...]a Grain Producers feed . The other establishments in Plevna at that time were ; a Association and was sent to Washington D.C. as a lobbyist in Grocery Store, a Bank, a Post Office and one othe[...]y a Mr. Collins. The two story building was built in his death in 1943. Through these years he also served a[...] |
| [...]d for many years served as school at the Prairie Park School in District Number 66. trustee of the Plevna School[...]Because there were so many in the family he was hired out to The couple ha[...]do various jobs as soon as he was old enough. In 1931 he went Anna Hannah of Seattle, Helen Buzzet[...]Muth of Santa Ana, Calif., Agnes Munsell of Miles City, Joe store, hotel, garage, and restaurant in Plevna. Mr. Buergi of Whitefish and Charles of Bi[...]butcher an animal, dress it out, and bring it in to the ice Mrs. Weinschrott now lives in her home in Baker. She is cooler. Then he would have to cut the meat as it was needed. 85 years old and in good health. She still enjoys crocheting, Th[...]friends. in a lifetime. He also clerked, cleaned up, helped out in the[...]arage and was general handy man, working from six in the[...]st brick building, a hotel, twenty was based in Aberdeen, S. D. and was sold to Barber Truck thr[...]r's death during the 1918 flu epidemic her In 1917, at the age of 19, he came to Plevna, Montan[...]ince paid out help her go on to college. In the fall of 1932 she enrolled in every dollar plus Sl.10 interest.[...]Normal School which is now Eastern Montana In 1920, for entertainment, they would go for walks on College. In the fall of 1933 she started teaching. After that[...]two years were lamps, the water had to be hauled in cans, there were no required to teach. Wi[...]through one year. Her first school been used to in Minnesota where they had had electricity, was the Dry Fork in District 33. There were 16 children indoor plumb[...]water heating. enrolled in eight grades. The first graders were Reinhold On June 27, 1922 icholas married Merva Ridgway in Straub, Marie Louise Tunby, and Albert[...]ghth graders were Emma Straub and Johanna Straub. In Merva Ridgway was born at Camp Crook, South Dakota 1936 she went to the Prairie Rose School and after three years on January 18,[...]ird and fourth grades Ridgway, homesteaded there in 1895. Her father was the for the next t[...]not even by Bob Askins, the Worlds mother in Plevna. For a time Karl operated the Farmer's Cha[...]Cooperative Cream Station in Plevna. Cream stations are a " ick" was Tow[...]eam. The cream was tested at water works were put in and the gymnasium and high school the sta[...]ng a farmer at heart, After the bank closed in 1931, he started writing he leased a few acres of land to do a bit of farming. In 1941 he insurance and opened a Grocery Store. Whi[...]for rain, those at the bank Baker Grain Co.) in Baker and they moved to Baker in 1942 had to pray for all the farmers, too, as eve[...]gave up teaching because their first child, bank in those days.[...]and the next owner sold it for should be paid for in six years. $6000[...]ing and higher. that his family has helped in all those years to bring better Finally[...]where they moved in 1946. While they were living here the " ick"[...]second son, Douglas, was born on July 31, 1946. In 1949 they James, Richard and Robert. There are ei[...], 1911. He was the Standard Service Station in partnership and later he took it fourth of[...] |
| Karl was elected County Com.missioner in 1949 and were available. For many y[...]was eighty years old at the snow, wind and cold. In 1951 the county crew (3 men) started time. to plow snow in October and were still plowing in March. The county road funds were depleted and Fe[...]arge equipment to help clear roads and bring feed in for livestock. A book could be written about events that took place during these times. In 1955 Karl was elected to the State Senate and served two years. In 1957 the family moved to Helena as Warren served[...]on his farming operation. Douglas joined his dad in this when he returned from military service. In 1961 Erna went to work in the court house and was appointed deputy county assessor in 1963. In 1967 she was elected county treasurer and in 1971 she became deputy treasurer. Karl and Erna were both baptized in the Congregational faith and confirmed in the Emanuel Congregational Church of Plevna. In 1966 they transferred their membership to the Baker Community Church and are both active in the various activities of the church. Warren C. Wenz was born in Baker June 17, 1943. He graduated from the University of Montana, Missoula with a degree in business and is a graduate of the U. of M. Law Sc[...]George West and one of his grandchildren. reside in Great Falls, Mont. where he practices law with the firm, Marra & Wenz. Douglas J. Wenz was born in Baker July 31, 1946. He Maude West was well known around Baker. She kept enlisted in the army after graduation from high school. He[...]roomers, for many years was manager of the served in Germany with NATO armies in the Signal Corps. Ladies Ready to We[...]After her husband's death she spent six years in Billings into farming with his father. He married[...]the daughter of Robert and alterations. In 1964 she moved to Moorcroft, Wyoming where Charlotte Bergstrom. They live in Baker and have one son, she lived with[...]t same year. Damon. Bradley W. Wenz was born in Baker Sept. 29, 1949. He graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in business in 1972. He married Sharen Mirehouse of Augusta, Mont. June 17, 1972. He is employed by the Federal Land Bank in Billings where they make their home.[...]n February 25 , 1875 to Mr. and Mrs. Harvey West. In 1892 he moved with his parents to Alliance, Nebraska where he grew to manhood. He engaged in farming and later worked as a brakeman and conduc[...]mber 29, 1899 George and Maud Emory were married. In 1912 the couple moved the family to Hot Springs, South Dakota where George was engaged in the draying business. In 1916 George and his oldest son, Leon, and a friend , C. 0 . Brady, emigrated to Ollie, Montana in wagons drawn ~y mules and horses. Here he did dra[...]01. After hauled . The rest of the family arrived in Ollie by train in July. receiving his schooling at Ollie and Baker, he went west for In 1921 George, Maud and family moved to Baker for employment. He worked in construction in Oregon for a time, school advantages.[...]re he was head mechanic During his residence in Baker, George was active in in the Ford Garage. He married a school teacher and[...]and a variety of other jobs that lived in Burns until Leon's death in 1961. There were two[...] |
| [...]ie and John Westrope bought his land in the fall of 1915, Baker. He was killed while work[...]hone operator and as a Department In 1931 Fred Westrope married Olga M. Anderson and Treasurer for four months. In 1929 she and James Wham, they had a son, Jack D. Westrope, now residing in Miles City. who was manager of the Sawyer's Store, were married in the Fred and Mattie still reside on their farm just south of West's home in Baker. Jim was transferred to the Glendive Willard. Their grandson, Clinton Westrope at Miles City, is Sawyer's Store in 1930 and in 1932 they moved to New attending Jun[...]job Castle, Wyoming where they lived on a ranch. In 1941 they with a T V and Radio station th[...]ONCE IN A LIFETIME Jim's family home where they cared for[...]Bailey Wheeler was unable to live alone. He died in 1961.[...]I'll never forget a stormy night in October 1915, when I Marguerite and Jim had[...]was teaching in Montana. Edith Wham Wood.[...]from me had been Vernon LeRoy West was born in Ollie, Montana on[...]home. We were traveling in a covered buggy drawn by two Baker. He married Edna Thom, a nurse, in Baker where he[...]alo hide overcoat and had plenty of robes, Stores in several cities and then he was killed on June 5,[...]akes came like a Wayne Woodrow West was born in · Ollie, Montana[...]rough riding, too, and we were sure we were in and out of a[...]We often heard of folks getting lost in a snow storm in[...]buggy Jack D. Westrope at his place east of Miles City, Montana, he wheels. They seem to know we are[...]onal whinny of the horses and the eerie howl In 1886 and 1887, T. R. Westrope and Skragens shippe[...]loser, added to the 5,000 bead of cattle to Miles City, Montana. From there the atmosphere that wa[...]strope and just ached. It seemed we sat in that white space for hours and Skragens built a sod and rock house in which they lived. The hours. winter of '86 a[...]"I learned a little in high school. " Then he added, "How T. R . We[...]It may have been one of the coldest proposals in history Iowa, where be died in 1902. Later in 1915, T. R. 's son, John but really, it[...] |
| [...]the school house as well as at the various homes in and the rig turned around, the team seemed to kno[...]n, and some good hay. box socials held in the homes or at the school. I did not dance[...]a, came I was married to Mona Holbrook in 1924 at Plevna, to Plevna, Montana in 1914 to teach a rural school in that Montana. She is the daughter of Mr. an[...]Holbrook who also lived in the area north of Plevna. Her[...]sized horse drawn sled. We kept warm in it by using a buffalo[...]d my Uncle " Dit" Sanborn, Lloyd Wheeler in his Overland car, 1922. Archie De[...]HEELER daughters , live in Denver, Colorado where he is employed by My[...]let Company, and where he is active at their home in Litchfield, Minnesota on December 17, 1897. in church work. Later, in 1909, my parents had a wish to get out into an open, Les, his wife, Wilda, and their two sons live in Bozeman, free country and as they possesed a spir[...]ok up farming and possessed enough people in sports. cattle to cause a few problems, such as a[...]My father, Waren J . White, filed on a homestead in I received my elementary education at the Coal Springs March 1910, and our family came to Baker in an emigrant car School. I did not attend high school but George Warner, an in September of that year. My two brothers were Bart[...]chool subjects at elson White. Coal Springs. In later years I went to a Mechanic's School at[...]r mail until the We met a number of problems in getting established on mail service[...] |
| [...]of news eased the home. I started in the third grade in that early school on a loneliness for all concern[...]string" passed from one to another in tum. The Warren White sod homestead shack, ab[...]was hauled from many miles |
| [...]day morning George, my brother, took me to school in an[...]Early in the afternoon a strong wind and dark clouds came[...]rolling in and by 2:30 quite a bit of snow was coming down.[...]In a short time the parents came and took the childr[...]I hurried and carried in several buckets of coal from the shed[...]got up at four o'clock in the morning and threw another[...]ucket of coal on the fire to keep from freezing . In a day or[...]cold and felt like a corn crib in the terrific wind . I spent most[...]until 12 o 'clock and was up again at 4 in the morning. I had to[...]get up as it was too cold to stay in bed. This went on until[...]Friday afternoon when George came in a bob-sled to take me[...]horses in the barn and covered them with bll!nkets as they[...]the Warren White homestead and everything in the community was at a stand still. The week am a tax-payer in Fallon County and am a member of the[...]In 1936 John Wild, a native of Des Moines, Iowa and at[...]remodeled a home on the east side of Baker. In 1945 we I was born in Minnesota and Mother brought me to de[...]ourselves, sold our house and the homestead late in 1908 when I was six weeks old. I move[...]ontana. We were there about a year started school in Baker when I was seven years old, walking when we sold out and bought another Night Club in Helena, the mile from home and carrying a lunch.[...]ver knew for sure if I got there until I returned in the in 1966 and returned to Baker. evening because we li[...]d owned the forty acres joining Baker since 1936. In Lunch" program was started in the Baker schools sometime 1956 I start[...]st Addition to Baker. There during the time I was in the grades by "Old Dad Seeley" who are six[...]So far two more additions have been dining place. In cold weather it really added to our cold added to the city. All water and sewer lines are put in before sandwiches.[...]and my teacher's certificate I taught five years in Dawson, there can be more additions as[...]unties. My last term was at the ew In 1967 John and I built our new home and we plan th[...]veling to add a little spice to the 1 lived in the school house, going out on Monday[...]ng Friday after school. During the fall, possibly in early November, one of my pupils, ~agrum Johnson, who was in the third grade, became very ill. Her parents, Mr[...]endix. GENEVIVE ELLEN WILLIAMS In a few days she passed away. Her mother had come f[...]years before and insisted Moore Williams in Renvile County, Minnesota on May 30, things should be cared for similar to the ways done in 1882. Norway. Mrs. Ferdy Carlson, my mo[...]I received my education and grew up on a farm in Nicolet Gustafson and possibly some others got to[...]e satin. Some milk cows and get up early in the morning and bring in the other material was used to cover the outside.[...]R. Williams at New the cemetery and dug the grave in the hard frozen ground. Ulm, Minnesota, an[...]ere Wibaux, Custer County, Montana. We settled in the Willard borrowed to seat the people and many[...]. There was usually much ever experienced . Early in January on a beautiful, sunshiny snow[...] |
| [...]les passenger train with my mother at midnight in Ismay, being to Wibaux.[...]Eggleston in Ismay. No sidewalks, nothing but mud and[...]in the mud and with my face in the mud. I was five years old[...]and myself wintered there in the house that's still standing.[...]until 1910. typhoid fever. The neighbors all came in and cut the grain On one trip in the winter time my grandmother, mother and thresh[...]n with her. My grandmother, who grew up in pioneer days in Michigan, She also was a mid-wife and delivered t[...]er the horses, and thereby got family while I was in bed. acros[...]About tbat time (I was six years old) a prairie fire for the night on their way to Baker and brin[...]and my were so many people who were ready to help in any way they folks,knowing nothing about fighting prairie fire, went out could.[...]the cats had licked the frosting all off the pie, in 1907. This was where the A. W. Bickles presently live. Mr. but they said "Bring it in, and we'll eat it anyhow." And they Hasty met her in Fallon with a buckboard , since the[...] |
| [...]nt ry so well, she remained here until her deat h in 1960. I still remain on her homestead, fa r[...]y parents, Evelyn and Sam Longnecker, homesteaded in Minnesota in 1879. I was born in Walnut Grove in 1881. I attended school in Morgan and Albert Lea, Minnesota becoming a teacher. In 1904 Albert Gregerson and I were married. We had two children, Evelyn and Genevieve. Albert died in 1914.[...]I married Mr. John Wilson in 1920. We lived on a farm[...]Evelyn Wilson, my daughter, is a nurse and lives in[...]and husband are missionaries in Bogota, Colombia, S. A.[...]Washington. Elmer and Guy are dead . John lives in Grass Valley, California and Archie in Seattle, Washington.[...]I live in an "Old Folkes Home" in San Diego but spend a[...]My parents and I decided to come to Montana in 1915. We had a box car because we had our furniture and my mother's and father's stuff. We lived in Plevna, building a house there in 1915 on a lot next to my sister who was Mrs.[...]was born in Palnupa, Missouri on December 10, 1906. In I could write a lot about my life in Montana those first 1914 , when Earl was[...]rain to Baker, Montana. At first the family lived in Baker friends are all gone.[...]Alley setting pins. He also I taught school in Fallon County from 1916 to 1940. so[...]find While I was teaching the Ohlrich School in 1918 and ti.me to play with friends[...]Later the Wisemans moved to a farm in the Fertile My children were in a program on Children s Day. I Prairie vicinity east of Baker where Earl was kept busy r[...]ded the rural school There were many picnics in that area , but I did not until he f[...]Alice M. Parent and Earl were married in Baker on berries, chokecherries and wild plums ev[...]I surely do know all about burning lignite coal in my Alice is the daughter of Louis and Auxilia Parent who home and also in the stoves of all the schools in which I lived in St. Martin, Canada, Province of Quebec whe[...] |
| was born, April 11, 1908. In 1914, when Alice was six years little 120[...]er folks came to Montana to settle on a homestead in needs. It was only one-half mile from sc[...]rs, poor roads, not too good be useful in farm activities acquired their education. trans[...]tate for 20 years and its love was dances, both in the country and in town. boundary lines had designated it the third largest in the Her education was acquired in the rural school of her Union. The Indian[...]hborhood and her high school education was gained in reservations. Vigilante Days and Custer[...]After coming to Baker, Alice worked as a waitress in history, trappers and hunters had ended bu[...]had been located in the Rockies, cowboys were happily riding T[...]children: Leona Mae, Dalbert the range in a last stand to hold Montana as a cattle country[...]the Northwestern train at Sioux City, Iowa, to see this great[...]olenetz, were born respectively and respectfully in the[...]rest to them at Hardin, so they spent little time in Every available acre must produce its limit in bushels, returning to Baker. They foun[...]comers. They registered at the only little hotel in town and vines. The gardens are fringed with ch[...]hels of apples, peaches who had been located in this part of the country for a little and pears.[...]hers did not welcome allotted Oklahoma homestead in the Oklahoma Rush them They ca[...]last census Montana had plenty of settlers, in fact too many owners. During this time the Dakot[...]y winners. After a trip to see his described land in said spaces. Few or no fences, roads or schools. In fact the land of drawing, he decided that he wou[...]family than he. However he went on to see lands in Colorado. He of three kiddies, who yet[...]r and saw ahead of them. advantages in the " Wide Open Spaces", which could not be[...]d around and headed back for Baker. He was on had in such restricted areas as Iowa was rapidly becoming. his own now and w[...]oing he railroad continuing its way west to Sioux City and a bus line again was looking at the Little Beaver Valley country 26 being built east across Iowa to Chicago and cars were also miles sou[...]er. Dark over-took him at a neat little appearing in the market. These new methods of travel[...]y they showed him the only land left possessions. In other words, my grandparents felt it was a[...]squatters sun. A Mr. Earnest Wright from Eastern Iowa thought their and "Honyocks" th[...] |
| Gramps liked the valley and also its people. In fact they as "Honyocks". Lignite coal, free for[...]Charles Hamilton. The second term 40 pupils were in around and then decided that if he was going to get in, even attendance and this required a man tea[...]at each meeting place, elections were held in it and both corner. It could be held by the occu[...]tion and Gramp acquired 4 forties straight in a line and two direction are to be turned[...]and also Grandfather passed away in the fall of 1942, but gave them the new friends[...]Grandmother still made her home in the same little ranch With this accomplish[...]home that was built. family arrived early in the spring. They took a look around F[...]green glasses when he women were first in line to do what they could to win the wars first[...]of the pretty green lawns, gardens and early June in Mothers went to work at relief and Red Cross Work, and even the Iowa homes, and became a little homesick, but at least[...]er. new well, and the pump they had brought from Iowa, and Now my brother and I do her[...]stock while sh-a lives in retirement on the homestead during As they[...]where Gramp We now have electricity in our homes , T. V. sets, and Uncle Elmer had start[...]k and gave feed and care for this world in the exciting atomic age-and Gramp a receipt to as[...]ext? other white settlers who might try to locate in our valley. This material was compile[...]ed by the Baker Chamber curbing. The pump was put in and the boys became a walking of Commerce[...]orded water for house use citizens residing in the town and vicinity of Baker, Montana. and stoc[...]aper was written as a thesis by Byron corrections in fences and farm lines were made. Homesteader[...]parents became Homesteaders teaches Math in the Baker Junior High School. Mrs. M. K. i[...] |
| [...]s shortly after World War I. He I arrived in this world in the state of Minnesota in had come to Baker to teach. He organized and taught in the January of 1889. My parents were Louis A. a[...]re married Conser. When I was nine years of age in 1908, my parents in December of 1920 at Baker. During the following y[...]sota and migrate westward, where my lived in Baker, where our two eldest sons were born. We father hoped to possess himself of a piece of land in a enjoyed life in Baker, taking part in social affairs. With other developing area.[...]was just one year old. They traveled In 1923 we moved to Wisconsin where Bill went to o[...]y, Normal School and obtained a degree in Education He Montana, where we lived for a year[...]g year we moved to Baker, High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We moved there in where he once again established a newspaper, "T[...]ed to live there while we reared and Then, in 1910, the family moved on to a homestead 1 1/2 educated our children and Bill followed his profession. In miles southeast of Plevna, Montana. They did not[...]le at school stock raising business, but engaged in farming. All during and despite the best e[...]tions, with the band music, the They are now in the Eastern United States. They manage to races[...]s and Bill's families I had started school in Minnesota, continued in Ismay, closer and Bob is only seven miles away. later in Baker and then in Plevna. One of my memories is of I have made frequent trips to visit my children in their walking the 1 1/ 2 miles cross country int[...]when the whole Robert Louis-born in Baker, is now an engineer with Mc family, along[...]h, fell on his hands William Colso-born in Baker and is a graduate of and knees into a bed of cactus in our yard, and when my Marquette Univers[...]d is now a Physician mother killed a rattle snake in the garden with a hoe. and Surgeon at Delavan, Wisconsin. He also served 4 years in Several years later, what a thrill it was when Dad bought Army Medical Corps in World War II. an Overland Car! I learned to drive[...]manager of a service station in a suburb of Milwaukee. Another joy was taki[...]. She was the aunt of my served two years in Army Intelligence. He is now employed school mate, Irene Lentz, who in later years became widely in the Treasurery Department of the United States in known as "Irene", the Hollywood dress designer.[...]I completed grade school and entered high school in Marjorie Beth Mendoza, her husband[...]Captain, is a sales represenative for I B M in Atlanta, German Teacher impressing on our minds t[...]ct accent! Then there was the declamatory contest in which I recited Kipling's " Ballad of East and[...]so well Robert Lee Yokley was born in North Carolina on except for the fact that I lost[...]igrated to Texas and Ball Team was all rigged out in black sateen bloomers and became a cowbo[...]to Montana and Wyoming for the 101 Ranch outfit. In cancelled because of a measles scare, but sympath[...]les south of what later became Baker and was then in After graduating from high school, I spent a most Custer County. In 1893 he returned to Butler, Missouri and rewardin[...]n from schooling of the children was in Ekalaka. Upon Bob 's being Baker. I next taught 2[...]trict of C~ster County, the family moved to Miles City Mike Kirschten ) Esther Wheeler and principal, Le[...]of the big cattle operators of the area. At In the fall of 1919, I became acquainted with[...] |
| [...]there were no cattle trucks in those days. It was not until He passed away[...]first Model T Ford. What a treat that was buried in the family plot in the Custer County Cemetery was! at Miles City. Upon his passing this area undoubtedly lost its[...]R. Denzil was one of the first homesteaders in the Fertile Prairie country. In 1909 he came to Montana with his parents, filed o[...], then returned to Minnesota to obtain his degree in law at the University of Minnesota. He returned t[...]ame a member of Company "I" and served as private in the war with Mexico. He then served in the First World War and was discharged with the r[...]he was associated with his uncle, P. C. Cornish, in the practice of law. He took an important part in the formation of Fallon Post 35 American Legion o[...]orney for Fallon County at different times. In December of 1920 Denzil Young and Dorothy Hurley[...]ied at Baker. Dorothy's parents were homesteaders in North Dakota. She attended the State Teacher's College at Valley City, North Dakota. She had come to the Baker, Montana vicinity in 1919.[...]of Hillsboro, Oregon. The children grew up in Baker and both attended the My folks filed on a claim in 1909. We were allowed 320 grade schools and gradu[...]the 101 Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the territory. For 15, 1955.[...]miles around there was nothing but prairie land. In the Dorothy, who had been a school teacher[...]distance one could see a sheep wagon nestled in the marriage, took up school teaching again. In 1965 she retired sagebrush or beside a hill for protection. earby was the and now makes her home in Hillsboro, Oregon. During her sheephe[...]oving home life cattle ranches dotting the prairie. This was the time of with husband and children,[...]stringing barbed wire in order to determine our section lines.[...]buildings at that time. That first winter in Montana there[...]was a lot of snow. We lived in a tent until it got too cold then[...]by my uncle, Hosa Cate. honored to share a place in the " O Fallon Flashbacks". I can remember traveling by covered wagon in Minnesota and Iowa when I was five years old. Later, my mother, two[...]rived at Baker one of my uncles , A. W. Cate, was in towr, getting a load of lumber to start building[...]ing roads and steep hills to his home. They lived in the upper part of the barn, the hay loft, until t[...]dark by the time we got to my uncle's home. In a week or so our father arrived with our s[...] |
| [...]father had bought the lumber to In the night or early morning, when the first faint[...]hen burned would cause a liquid In a few years my parents had a beautiful shelter-be[...]istrict or someone unlucky enough to be caught in a blizzard. The did not have funds for more than[...]I can remember that we had thirty-four students in one room and supplies to last all winter,[...]re married, Everyone had a coffee grinder in his home to grind the coffee except for two uncl[...]ephone to call a doctor or call our we all lived in Minnesota before we came to Montana, and it[...]y one knew his friends for miles around, and was in Custer County at that time. After the counties we[...]gether for a "shingling-bee" if divided we lived in Fallon County. My mother wrote the[...]ses while coming home from town In the twenty-three years my parents lived on this[...]her had done. Two of the front of the slant-wise cut runners to keep the runners our father's[...]"There's a place for everything and everything in its place". spring for drinking and from a nearby[...]my brother became ill and had to sell vegetables in the " root cellar" to keep them firm through the[...]d. It was sold to a neighbor. It has been winter. In the fall we went several miles to pick plums,[...]father would butcher a couple of hogs and a steer in Home". the fall-so-the ranch provided the[...]here was no church as yet, and services were held in our He is Frank Kreager of Seattle, Washing[...]both my brothers are gone. Of all the old timers in my family was small but served the purpose. Mothe[...]Russell Haagenson and I were married in 1918. He had held a church office. My aunt's father, Mr. Noftsker, was the come to Baker in 1915. We have three daughters, one son, minister.[...]and two great grandchildren. For recreation in those days, we had picnics. The men My parents faced their problems and joys hand-in-hand, played horse-shoes and had baseball games.[...]s, house parties and dances about every two weeks in the winter we look back on and call them[...]Lloyd R. Young born November 13, 1897, Forest City, raffles, which were a lot of fun. We went several miles to these Iowa came to Baker as a young man 12 years old with hi[...]_It was on a Halloween Night in 1913 when Marjorie arrived at the dance. There we[...]nd Fems, born February 24, 1901 arrived in Baker from Belle I walked five miles to a[...] |
| [...]at their last home, 805 N. Custer in Miles City. Lloyd and Marjorie Young, 1941[...]Rear view of the Lloyd Young house in town. Lloyd and Marjorie were married in Terry, Montana Four of their six children live in Miles City; Melvin, |
| [...]to town and All are married- three still in Montana and one in Ohio. Perry found other work.[...]en. We had lost two baby boys by death and in 1936 had a The family attended the Meth[...]Very few picnics could be recalled, once a circus in teaching by a shortage of teachers when James wa[...]s when the first World War was teaching position in Montana he would go with me. I got the over her father bought some flags in town and she and her position at the Lambert Sch[...]e a story. This man explained that he was working in North was over. Their other neighbors were t[...]the Lambert School. The next year, I taught in N. D. and expected to teach in a town school but after some misunderstanding the[...]to help her out, so I have taught fourteen years in Fallon and Carter Counties, which were from forty[...]s. My son's father died from a heart attack in Baker in 1953 when James was sixteen. In 1955 Mervin Young and I were married. The next ye[...]I started to teach school again. When he was sick in November 1960 I got a substitute teacher. After t[...]r three months. In recent years she has cooked for school lunches, 4 H My son married while in the service of the U. S. and now camps and in the hospital. She is now retired to the Flathead[...]on and his truck I taught twenty-five years in North Dakota and gardening. They mak[...]der, have been baby sitting. I like at Miles City. In 1973 she brought her husband out to the to be wit[...]anson a school mate of Mary 's at Willard School in the early 1920's. Mary's parents were John and Helen Zeilstra. She was born March 1, 1909 at Miles City and came to the Willard community in 1914. Her father bought the ranch of Mr. Whiley of Miles City who had several such holdings in the country. They came down by train and out to t[...]ther was a nurse, and helped deliver many babies in the area. In 1923 her father was badly injured in a cave-in at a coal mine, and was no longer able to farm . In the summer of 1924 they sold out and moved to Miles City, where her parents lived for the rest of their li[...]ome until there was a school at Willard. Mary was in the 4th grade by then. She had a saddle horse and helped with work on the farm and in the house. For school they drove a buggy. Her high school was in Baker and Miles City and she went on to Eastern in Billings. She taught school two years.[...] |
| Plowing up the prairie, loaned by the Museum.[...] |
| [...]Martin Gunderson family, taken in 1970, loaned by Ida Wild.[...]homesteaded in the Willard Community. Gertie was a sister[...], 1920, to J im Murphy, she died in 1910 and is buried at Plevna, loan[...] |
| [...]Service garage north of the tracks, expl-Osion in 1944, happen[...] |
| [...]burn. Clearing away snow on First Street West in front of the Harvesting on the Hans Marker place north of Baker in the |
| in the contest between Ekalaka and Baker for[...] |
O'Fallon Flashbacks Book Committee, O'Fallon Flashbacks (1975). Montana History Portal, accessed 16/03/2025, https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/5602
