Ellen Baumler's Blog, page 50
July 27, 2012
Friday Photo: Filling the Water Barrel
This week's photo shows a chore done by thousands of Montana homesteaders.
Montana Historical Society Photograph ArchivesGenevra "Gene" Fornell fills the family water barrel at Leroy in eastern Montana in the spring of 1913.
I hope you get all your chores done so you can go play this weekend!
Montana Historical Society Photograph ArchivesGenevra "Gene" Fornell fills the family water barrel at Leroy in eastern Montana in the spring of 1913.I hope you get all your chores done so you can go play this weekend!
July 25, 2012
Moss Mansion
The beautiful Moss Mansion in Billings—now a house museum—is a twenty-five-room residence built in 1903. It was the longtime home of the Preston Moss family. New York architect R. J. Hardenbergh, whose work includes New York City’s Waldorf Astoria, designed the elegant mansion. Mahogany and walnut woodwork, an onyx fireplace, rose silk and gold leaf wall coverings, and stained glass windows are among the luxurious details.
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 2004-17Preston M...
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 2004-17Preston M...
July 23, 2012
Bannack School
Did you go to Bannack Days over the weekend? Here's a Bannack memory in case you missed it:
The Masonic Lodge in the ghost town of Bannack was designed to serve a double function as a fraternal meeting hall and a schoolhouse. The odd combination was really not so strange. Masons were a strong presence in Montana Territory and education of children on the frontier was one of the first considerations in the earliest mining camps. A double ceiling and floor between stories kept the ground floor s...
July 20, 2012
Friday Photo: Camping in Glacier
Happy Friday!
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 956-454These women traveled through Glacier National Park in 1917 on a horseback tour led by dude-rancher Howard Eaton. Here they pause their chores for a photo of "Ladies Row."
P.S. Mary Roberts Rinehart wrote about a similar trip in 1916.
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 956-454These women traveled through Glacier National Park in 1917 on a horseback tour led by dude-rancher Howard Eaton. Here they pause their chores for a photo of "Ladies Row." P.S. Mary Roberts Rinehart wrote about a similar trip in 1916.
July 18, 2012
Prairie Figs
Johnny Grant, founder of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch, was the son of the factor at the Hudson’s Bay Company fort near Pocatello, Idaho. Johnny’s memoirs, wonderfully edited by Lyndle Meikle under the title Very Close to Trouble, are full of interesting historical anecdotes. One memorable footnote recounts the story of a green Missourian who came into the fort store. Johnny’s father decided to have some sport with the unsuspecting traveler. Castorums are beaver glands that trappers used as bait. The...
July 16, 2012
Hog ‘Em
Hog ’Em was originally the name for the town of Springville, one of the first-named towns in Montana Territory. With gold discoveries in the mid-1860s, greedy miners staked out claims over such a wide area that miners named this camp Hog ’Em. Other local camps were Beat ’Em, Cheat ’Em, Rob ’Em, and Sinch ’Em. Hog ’Em was known as the “father of the ’Ems.” When the post office came to Hog ‘Em, officials didn’t like the name so they changed it to Springville. Springville took its name from near...
July 13, 2012
Friday the 13th Photo: Rodeo
Some days just don't go well.
From Montana Views. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives PAc 76-82 3-C-206Location, photographer, and date unknown, though the clothing of the boy on the fence points to the 1950s or 60s. Maybe someone can identify the rodeo arena or the cowboys?
From Montana Views. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives PAc 76-82 3-C-206Location, photographer, and date unknown, though the clothing of the boy on the fence points to the 1950s or 60s. Maybe someone can identify the rodeo arena or the cowboys?
July 11, 2012
Paul Maclean’s Unsolved Murder
Norman Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It, has an interesting back story. As youngsters, Norman and his brother Paul lived in Helena and Missoula where their father was a Presbyterian minister.
From The Norman Maclean Reader, University of Chicago PressThe brothers were fighters and daredevils, and some still remember their antics. Paul later worked for the Helena and Great Falls newspapers, earning a fine reputation as House reporter during the 1930s legislative sessions. In 1938, No...
From The Norman Maclean Reader, University of Chicago PressThe brothers were fighters and daredevils, and some still remember their antics. Paul later worked for the Helena and Great Falls newspapers, earning a fine reputation as House reporter during the 1930s legislative sessions. In 1938, No...
July 9, 2012
Smoking Boomer
Some dispute the story of Fort Benton’s famous dog Shep, whose statue sits along the banks of the Missouri River. But here’s a dog story to rival Fort Benton’s, and there are pictures to prove its truth. The railroad town of Harlowton was a division point along the Milwaukee Road where the railroad’s electrified section originated. In 1940, a big, burly dog rode into the Harlowton rail yards on a Milwaukee train. Roundhouse Foreman Phil Leahy gave him a meal, and the two became fast friends....
July 6, 2012
Friday Photo: Picnicking
Happy Friday! Doesn't this picnic look idyllic?
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, Farms and Farming CollectionThis family headed into the Bearpaw Mountains in 1915 to pick service berries. You can see two containers full next to their tent. Click the photo for a bigger version. Alta Deem, photographer
P.S. What are service berries, anyway?
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, Farms and Farming CollectionThis family headed into the Bearpaw Mountains in 1915 to pick service berries. You can see two containers full next to their tent. Click the photo for a bigger version. Alta Deem, photographerP.S. What are service berries, anyway?
