Ellen Baumler's Blog, page 19

The Christies Recall Some Butte Adventures

Longtime Butte residents Colin Leys Christie and his wife, the former Ruth Lindsay, reminisced on the occasion of their seventy-fifth wedding anniversary in 1972. Ruth was the daughter of Judge John Lindsay who came to Butte in 1895 as legal counsel to Marcus Daly. Lindsay was later one of Butte’s two district judges. Christie was the son of Alexander Christie, a partner in Leys Jewelry, a family business established in 1888. Colin Christie became a certified gemologist and was the manager at...

Boxcar Adventure

Emma Gardner was a homesteading wife who came with her husband and children to the brand-new town of Ryegate in what would later become Golden Valley County. Like many families during the homestead boom, the Gardners came by boxcar. It was a seven day trip from their home in Minnesota, and the boxcar was loaded with all their earthly possessions including chickens and cows, furniture, children, and the family dog. Traveling in a boxcar in warm weather, especially with livestock, could be very...

Friday Photo: Watermelon

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 82-23.42Nothing says "summer" like a juicy watermelon. The women who enjoyed this one are, unfortunately, unidentified.

The Camp at Last Chance

After the four discoverers staked their claims at Last Chance, Helena’s early story continues. The Georgians christened the new diggings “Rattlesnake District” for the snakes that were everywhere. A monster rattler with ten buttons on his tail, nailed to a post, warned of the danger. A monstrous grizzly bear that made nightly visits at the gulch’s south end, gorging on the chokecherries along Last Chance Creek, inspired the name Grizzly Gulch.  The howling and barking of wolves and coyot...

The Real Last Chance Discovery Site

Today—July 14, 2014—marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery at Last Chance Gulch by "the Georgians." Reginald Stanley seems to have been the spokesperson for the group, and reading his account leaves little doubt about the location of the discovery site. However, back in 1920, a committee researched the discovery site and came to the erroneous conclusion that the its location was at Sixth and Fuller, exactly where the Montana Club is today. The Montana Historical Society was in on this “...

Happy birthday, Helena!

This sign will be unveiled at the south end of the walking mall on the anniversary of the strike.Helena's 150th birthday is on Monday. It was on that day in 1864 that the four Georgians struck gold at Last Chance. I'll be celebrating tomorrow (Saturday, July 12), and I hope you'll join me. I'm going to give a talk called "The Town that Gold Built" at the Montana Historical Society at 12:00 pm and again at 2:00 pm. The Society will be serving birthday cake and ice cream at 1:00 pm, and kids ca...

Grant-Kohrs Ranch

Johnny Grant and his wife Quarra, a Bannock woman, brought 250 head of horses and 800 cattle to the Deer Lodge Valley where they settled in 1859. Indians, Mexicans, Canadian Metis like Johnny himself, and whites soon joined the Grants in the Deer Lodge Valley. It was a lively, ethnically diverse settlement called Grantsville.

Johnny Grant
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 942-460Floods took the Grant’s cabin in 1861 and the family moved to the new settlement of Cottonwood. In the...

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Summer makes you think of ice cream, but have you ever wondered where it came from?
It has a longer history than you might think. The Roman emperor Nero used ice brought down from the mountains to mix with fruit. In the seventh century A.D., the Chinese introduced milk and ice mixtures which were then brought to Europe. Sorbets and ices were popular at French and Italian courts. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Dolly Madison served “iced cream” at their tables. Home cooks and ice cream...

Friday Photo: Happy 4th!

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, Lot 26 Box 8 Folder 5, Mines and Mining photograph collectionHappy Independence Day! This patriotic boy climbed into a bucket on the Montana Coal and Coke Company’s tram line in Electric, Montana.

Marie Gibson

Sixteen-year-old Marie Gibson’s marriage was on the rocks, so she joined her parents on their homestead near Havre in 1914. With the encouragement of neighbors, including legendary cowboy Long George Francis, Gibson began trick riding in local fairs and rodeos for prize money to help support her children. Her professional debut came in 1917 at Havre’s Great Stampede. She married for a second time in 1919. Her husband, rodeo veteran Tom Gibson, retired to the family homestead and Marie went on...