Ellen Baumler's Blog, page 58
January 30, 2012
Virginia City Mansion
On a gently sloping plateau overlooking Alder Gulch, J. S. Rockfellow built the fanciest, most modern home yet constructed in Montana Territory. It was completed in time for his wedding, an affair attended by more than 150 guests in January of 1867. James Knox Polk Miller, who clerked for Rockfellow's grocery business, described the wedding which took place at the home of W. Y. Lovell in Virginia City. Miller observed that the room was very small, the bride very little, and the ceremony very ...
January 27, 2012
Friday Photo
What are you up to this weekend, history buffs? I have a batch of "History on the Go" radio scripts to write, but I'm hoping to find time for a little horseback riding. Nothing this fancy, though...
From Montana Views. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 95-68 A-183. Used by permission.
Horsemen from the M Troop, Sixth Cavalry—considered the U.S. Army's finest trick riders in 1903—perform the pyramid. Top to bottom, left to right, are Pvt. Vessey, unidentified...
From Montana Views. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 95-68 A-183. Used by permission.Horsemen from the M Troop, Sixth Cavalry—considered the U.S. Army's finest trick riders in 1903—perform the pyramid. Top to bottom, left to right, are Pvt. Vessey, unidentified...
January 26, 2012
Extra Extra!
My publisher just sent me a tentative cover for my next book! They decided to use Charlie Russell's Laugh Kills Lonesome. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to critique it in the comments section.
January 25, 2012
Unearthing Chinese History
Distinctly Montana
recently published my article on Montana's Chinese history. Here's a tidbit:
The story of Montana's Chinese pioneers has almost entirely escaped the state's written history. By 1870, Chinese comprised ten percent of Montana's population, but by the mid-1950s, few remained. Their homes and businesses fell victim to urban renewal programs. Time erased their remote mining and railroad camps. Traces of their culture disappeared, and their stories have become the stuff of myth an...
The story of Montana's Chinese pioneers has almost entirely escaped the state's written history. By 1870, Chinese comprised ten percent of Montana's population, but by the mid-1950s, few remained. Their homes and businesses fell victim to urban renewal programs. Time erased their remote mining and railroad camps. Traces of their culture disappeared, and their stories have become the stuff of myth an...
January 23, 2012
Steve Reeves
I hope you all had a lovely weekend, history buffs! Did you celebrate Steve Reeves's birthday on Saturday? He was born here in Montana 86 years ago.
Steve Reeves, the famous body builder of the 1950s, was a native Montanan, born in Glasgow in the mid-1920s. He became famous, winning the titles of Mr. America, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe. His parents met and married in Scobey. When he was only months old, Reeves won Healthiest Baby of Valley County, the first title in a lifetime of awards. In 1...
Steve Reeves, the famous body builder of the 1950s, was a native Montanan, born in Glasgow in the mid-1920s. He became famous, winning the titles of Mr. America, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe. His parents met and married in Scobey. When he was only months old, Reeves won Healthiest Baby of Valley County, the first title in a lifetime of awards. In 1...
January 20, 2012
Stained Glass Artistry
The fifty-nine stained-glass windows in the capital city's St. Helena Cathedral are a rare and irreplaceable collection of imported German art. The firm of F. X. Zettler, whose exquisite "Munich style" glasswork is found in St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican City in Rome, crafted the windows between 1908 and 1926. These windows tell the stories of historical events and recall the middle ages when most could not read. Pictures of Christian teachings served as the "Bible of the Poor." But the exqu...
January 18, 2012
Cats
Exciting news this morning, history buffs! I had a meeting with my publisher last week, and they've accepted my new book! It's tentatively titled "More Montana Moments" and will be a collection of quirky tidbits like I've been posting here. Here's a sneak peek:
When did the first cats come to Montana? Rats came to the trading posts and camps very early, hitching rides in the staples and goods brought for consumption and for trade. Protection of precious supplies from invading pests was critica...
When did the first cats come to Montana? Rats came to the trading posts and camps very early, hitching rides in the staples and goods brought for consumption and for trade. Protection of precious supplies from invading pests was critica...
January 16, 2012
William D. Davis and his Innovative Saddle
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Let's celebrate with a blog post on some of the African American heroes in Montana history—buffalo soldiers.
There were some 5,000 African American Buffalo soldiers who served in the all-black 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. Buffalo soldiers made up about 10% of the total troops who guarded the vast borders of the Western frontier in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. These highly skilled, courageous, and patriotic soldiers ...
There were some 5,000 African American Buffalo soldiers who served in the all-black 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments. Buffalo soldiers made up about 10% of the total troops who guarded the vast borders of the Western frontier in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. These highly skilled, courageous, and patriotic soldiers ...
January 13, 2012
Friday Photo
Happy Friday the 13th! Any misfortunes so far today? If so, look on the bright side and remember that Montana has weathered some pretty tough circumstances, as today's photo goes to show...
From
Montana Views
. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 90-87 42-7. Used by permission.Olga Wold and her stepfather, Norman Wold, stand outside her homestead shack at Marsh, Montana, on December 28, 1912. Photo by Evelyn J. Cameron.
From
Montana Views
. Original in Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 90-87 42-7. Used by permission.Olga Wold and her stepfather, Norman Wold, stand outside her homestead shack at Marsh, Montana, on December 28, 1912. Photo by Evelyn J. Cameron.
January 11, 2012
Missed Christmas
Mrs. Frances Barton won the Glasgow Courier's Christmas Memory Contest in 1959 for a story about her family's missed Christmas. In 1924, Frances, her husband, and their six-month-old son lived in a two-room tarpaper homestead shack in northern Valley County near the Canadian border. Since early December, bad weather had kept the Bartons from making the fourteen-mile trip to the little general store and post office at Genevieve. Their reading material was worn out, their food supplies dwindlin...
