Ellen Baumler's Blog, page 59
January 9, 2012
Chicago Joe
What are you up to this week, history buffs? Tomorrow I'll be presenting a fun and informative program: "Helena on the Light Side," a humorous view of the city's past including Helena's love affair with the hangman's tree, its bawdy ladies, and its earthquake-resilient citizens. Details in Friday's Independent Record here or call Patti Shearer 202-1766.
And speaking of Helena's past...
Josephine "Chicago Joe" Hensley was one of Helena's several well-known madams. Her infamous Coliseum Theater i...
And speaking of Helena's past...
Josephine "Chicago Joe" Hensley was one of Helena's several well-known madams. Her infamous Coliseum Theater i...
January 6, 2012
Friday Photo
Happy Friday! Here's a gem from the Historical Society's collection. Just look at that outfit! That sled! Did you ever have one like it?
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives catalog PAc 89-119 #52. Used by permission.Thelma Riley of Dillon, Montana, takes a break from sledding to pose for this 1905 picture by an unidentified photographer.
Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives catalog PAc 89-119 #52. Used by permission.Thelma Riley of Dillon, Montana, takes a break from sledding to pose for this 1905 picture by an unidentified photographer.
January 4, 2012
Stagecoach Mary
Stagecoach Mary Fields, a colorful character familiar to early-day residents of Cascade, packed a Smith and Wesson, smoked cigars, weighed two hundred pounds, and stood six feet tall. Cowboy artist Charlie Russell sketched her, and actor Gary Cooper wrote about her fondly for Ebony magazine in 1959 (reprinted here). Fields, born a slave in Tennessee, made her way to Ohio where she befriended the Ursuline sisters in Toledo. Mother Superior Amadeus Dunn and Fields became good friends. In 1884, ...
January 2, 2012
Cooke City
Happy New Year, history buffs! I hope your holiday celebrations were as memorable as Mrs. Ingeborg Reeb's.
Some years ago, eighty-eight-year-old Mrs. Ingeborg Reeb recalled life in the camp at Cooke City where her husband was a silver miner. She fondly remembered that even in the coldest, deepest winter, parties were frequent. Miners would come by the Reebs' place and each would take one of the Reebs' eight children under his arm—with legs dangling out the back—and head for the designated salo...
Some years ago, eighty-eight-year-old Mrs. Ingeborg Reeb recalled life in the camp at Cooke City where her husband was a silver miner. She fondly remembered that even in the coldest, deepest winter, parties were frequent. Miners would come by the Reebs' place and each would take one of the Reebs' eight children under his arm—with legs dangling out the back—and head for the designated salo...
January 1, 2012
Mining Camp New Year's
Martha Edgerton Plassman wrote in 1926 about early New Year's celebrations in Montana and how they evolved as times changed. On New Year's Day at Bannack in 1863, fourteen-year-old Martha and two other young girls set out to keep the custom of visiting. There were few women in the mining camp, and no proper houses to call upon, and so the three stopped at George Chrisman's cabin, then moved down the street to Thompson and Swift's general store. Inside they found Henry Plummer—later hanged by ...
December 30, 2011
New Year's Folklore and Traditions
On New Year's Eve in 1921, the Columbus News published a list of superstitions and customs pertaining to this holiday. Montana is such a melting pot that customs, superstitions, and traditions came from all over the world. Here is a synopsis of some of those. Quiet clear weather on New Year's Eve means the year will be prosperous. But if the wind blows, it is a sign of pestilence. It is lucky to rise early on New Year's Day, but if you wash clothes on the first day of the New Year, you will w...
December 28, 2011
New Year's in 1913
One of the greatest New Year's celebrations Montana has ever seen took place at Luther Hall in Great Falls in 1913. Nearly 1,000 people ushered in the New Year at the Electricians Ball hosted by the Electricians Union. The party went on for two nights on New Year's Eve and New Year's night. There was a matinee of silent films sandwiched in between for those who did not care for dancing, but wanted to experience the most lavish decorations Great Falls had ever seen. Following a "rose garden" t...
December 26, 2011
Books
The day after Christmas marks an uptick in the number of eBooks sold, as everyone who unwrapped an eReader yesterday fills it today. So maybe this announcement is fitting for the day: Montana Moments is now available as an eBook from most major retailers! (Nook and Kindle users can download it here.) Isn't is amazing how easy it is to access books? We've come a long way, as today's post goes to show.
Early Montana pioneer Granville Stuart tells a story that proves his insatiable love of readin...
Early Montana pioneer Granville Stuart tells a story that proves his insatiable love of readin...
December 23, 2011
Logging Camp Christmas
Logging camps sprang up in western Montana in the late nineteenth century to support a huge demand for timber to fuel Montana's mines and smelters. Lumberjacks from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, France, and many other places made the camps international melting pots. In 1899, a reporter for the Anaconda Standard wrote a wonderful description of Christmas in the logging camps. He wrote that a cast off circular saw hung outside the door of every camp cookhouse. When dinner was ready, the cook bange...
December 21, 2011
Christmas at the Rio
In December of 1935, Helena was still suffering from the Great Depression and the devastation of the recent October earthquakes. The series of temblors left many families in dire need, camping out in their yards for weeks as winter cold set in. Thanksgiving passed with more earthquakes, more terror for the community. Children especially felt the uncertainty of these very bad times. But with the start of the holiday season, people got into the spirit, stores realized good profits, and things b...
