Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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Ever wonder what porters did when they weren't working on the Underground Railroad, helping southern blacks migrate to safer climates in the North? In 1921, the Union persevered and slavery was officially a thing of the past. However, Ohio, as did many of the so-called "border-states," still ran an Underground Railroad of sorts; it had long since emerged into the open air of a newly reunited country. These porters, while their work was not as dangerous as that carried on by the likes of Harriet...
Billy sure loved his rocks! Big ones, small ones, dull ones, shiny ones, light ones, heavy ones; if it caught Billy's eye (not many didn't), it soon found its way into his trusty (or make that "rusty") red companion. Where it went from there depended on how heavy or light, shiny or dull, small or big. The big ones usually became part of some landscaping project. Sometimes it was a fence of whatever size and purpose. Others were simply a marker for some grave, whether it was some poor little...
John James Scanlan, Ph.D.: He liked the sound of that! John James entered this life on April 21st of the year 1894, son of John and Riordan Scanlan, of County Louth, on the East Coast of Ireland. Soon after the birth of their first son, John and Riordan relocated to the American Mid-West, which was still in the process of becoming United. John James, therefore, grew up knowing nary but the wheatfields they were surrounded by when the trouble started brewing across the pond. While the Scanlans we...
Dear Editor, I apologize beforehand for the relative touchiness of the subject at hand. However, here we go again! The most recent school shooting has anti-gun, or at least stricter gun law advocates, in an uproar. I realize we’ve been here before, but guns are not the issue. History tells us stricter regulations or just outright gun bans simply make the average citizen easier prey for those who would unrighteously try to control us. No, the issue, the problem, if you will, is human nature! Society in general plays a part in this drama as w...
Andree de Villiers, of Basque ancestry, was a relative newcomer to this strange new world. She had emerged into the old world of the Biscay region of France, to be exact, in the mountain village of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, on September the 13th of the year 1874. Her parents, Eneko and Amala, had passed away, respectively, when Andree was 2 and 5 years of age. Born Andree Garcia, our heroine was adopted by a fairly wealthy couple living in a quiet little chateau on the outskirts of Paris soon...
Imagine if you will, a lone figure trudging through a barren desert landscape with nothing but miles and miles of seemingly endless seas of sand to keep them company. Obviously, of primary importance to that person would be finding WATER and finding it FAST! The importance of water to the continuation of human life cannot be downplayed. Water is most important to all of life, from the lowliest seedling to the greatest land mammal. This is not so much a response to Rebecca Lawton’s piece from last week’s (May 25, 2022) Ledger as it is eng...
James Robert Bennet III was born into it, one might say! Making a grand entry into this world in late June of 1883, the 23rd, to be precise, Jim-Bob emerged into this life in the local physician's office in little Dorchester, an unincorporated town in Allamakee County, near the Minnesota border. Jim-Bob's parents, James II and Elisha Bennet were among about 50 other inhabitants of the small farming area. James the Second was a pensioner from the Mine, drawing a decent $16 a month. Because of the...
"But I don't want you to go!" Janice had already been bereft of her father; now her mother was getting ready to leave her an actual orphan. Yes, she had plenty of aunts and uncles to live with; in fact, they were much better off than the Stodgsons had ever been, but Janice Louise was not ready to be an orphan! Janice entered this world in the usual way, on March 22nd, 1932. In the little town of Waukon, Dennis and Mary Stodgson had made their own way, away from their respective parents back in...
"I've made my decision, Father! I know you wanted me to stay here where it's safe, but I'm sick and tired of being SAFE!" In actuality, Peter's father simply didn't want his beloved son running off and getting himself killed over across the pond. Though he did want Peter to stay in relatively safe little Waukon and take over the family business. But, that wasn't the point, was it? Right now, John Arthur Hammond's concern was that his little boy would meet his fate on some bloody battlefield in...
The announcements had been sent out! Miss Jane Lippincot, daughter of Joseph and Mary Lippincot of St. Joseph, Missouri was to be wed to Richard Duane Journeyman, son of Everard and Janice Journeyman of St. Louis, Missouri. The date for the blessed event had been set for May 1, 1921. The ceremony was to take place at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France. Joseph and Mary had been looking forward to this day for over 20 years now and it seemed their dreams were soon to come to fruition!...
Harold was not sure what to do; he had never been in this position before. He had just been awarded an honorary Ph.D. by Harvard University. Then, over the past weekend, he met the loveliest lady he had ever had the pleasure to lay his eyes on, much less actually meet. As you may notice from his photograph, Harold was not a spring chicken! He was not too old for love, by any means, but neither was he a young man anymore. Past what might be called his prime, whatever that was supposed to mean,...
The following is part two of the A.B. Paxton story from the February 23rd edition of The Ledger. I was born Eliza Jane Whitfirth in the early morning hours of April 1st, in the Year of our Lord, 1887. My parents were James and Eliza. James was Mulatto and played baseball for Louisville Fall City, one of several teams in the League of Colored Baseball Clubs. My mother was the youngest daughter of one of the oldest families in Kentucky. Of course, they were thoroughbreds (horses). When Eliza met James, he being Colored and she being not only...
The year was 1915. Louisa Jane had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday. Being the only child of Sir Robert and Dalriadan Flockheart, she, of course, had not celebrated in any ordinary way. No, for this daughter of the Lord and Lady, nothing but an all-out ball would do, complete with orchestral music and dancing. The guests included everyone from the lowest denizens of Waukon to the Chinese ambassador (Viceroy, actually), Li Hung Chang, whom they had shared an ocean voyage with almost 19 yea...
If you haven't had the privilege to meet Heidi Austin yet, you should make it a point to do so next time you see her around town. Heidi Lynn moved to Whitehall in July of 2021 with her husband, Will, and three of their four daughters. Will's parents, Lionel and Karen Austin are longtime Whitehall residents. Heidi's family has been back and forth across the U.S. several times, from Vermont to Colorado and the southeastern U.S., then back to Montana. "Will would joke about me moving to...
Louisa grew up in the best of families. She never knew the darker side of life, for as the only child (a daughter, no less), she had never wanted for anything. Born Louisa Jane Flockheart she emerged into this life on a cold January morning in 1897, the child of arguably the richest couple in Waukon, Iowa. As first-generation Scots, Sir Robert Flockheart and his wife Dalriadan had fled Scotland on the heels of the religious persecution which had festered there for over three centuries. Being of...
Dear Editor, It has recently come to my attention, or rather awareness, that there is a need for a posted crosswalk across from the Town Pump, near the northern end of Whitehall Street. While at the Mint Bar the other night for Pool League, I bumped into an older trucker friend of mine from Canada who apprised me of this issue. He acknowledged that for younger (20s-40s) truckers who must fuel up at the diesel pumps on the east side of Whitehall Street, then run across a usually busy thoroughfare to pay their fuel bill, there is no big problem....
John Schmitt was the newest member of the greatest rival to Al Capone’s organization, the O’Banion gang. Ole Gimpy himself had recruited him, so John Jacob, JJ for short, was feeling pretty good about his new position. The pay was pretty decent, though the work in Goose Island could get rather dicey at times. In fact, dicey was pretty much a daily occurrence for this third-generation Swede. JJ was fresh out of the German military and had seen much action in what is now known as the First World War. Though his Homeland had officially taken a mor...
Dear Editor, It saddens me a letter like this must be written! I realize that I’m not the only one that has noticed this issue and not the only one bothered by it. But dang, people! This issue is most definitely NOT confined to our little town, though certain of the populace of our little town are the main subjects of this short rant. I understand the impetus behind certain businesses in town (honestly, probably the majority of them) closing their restroom facilities to the general public. Several years ago (at most), there were public r...
“What can you tell us about the handsome young man in this old photograph?” As a professional researcher, Robert Lawton had gotten used to being accosted by random passersby with questions such as this. Robert would usually ask them to leave the photograph, their name, and number with him. “I’ll get back to you within a week; two at the very most,” he would say. Under normal circumstances, the new client would receive a call within a week, give or take, upon which they would often be introduce...
Henrietta Asburges was born in Nichols, Iowa, just before the turn of the previous century, on the 15th of April 1899. This small town in South-Eastern Iowa was surrounded by farmsteads. Being of German heritage, even in those early days, the Asburges were looked at with some suspicion when they set up a small farmstead on the outskirts of the farming community. Henrietta, or Retta as she became fondly known, was thus in her 19th year on this Good Earth when War broke out in Europe....
Ella Jean Berry was born October 4, 1905, to Franklin and Rosalind Berry, of Dubuque, Iowa. Both of her parents perished at an early age in a horrible train wreck. This unthinkable tragedy occurred the first day of Spring the year that little Ella turned five. Leaving Ella with her nurse, the Berry's had boarded the Rock Island train which ran from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, on a business/pleasure trip. Unfortunately for Ella, she never saw her parents again, as the train, a combination of two...
Newsflash! The Archduke of Austria had not been kidnapped he had been outright killed. Assassinated! Both the Archduke and his wife Sophie were shot and killed as they traveled through the streets of Sarajevo on the 28th of June, 1914. The Winchesters, as soon as they heard the first inklings of trouble brewing in Europe, had begun to religiously listen to the news programs every night. Even though they received some headlines via The Luxembourg, more often than not, they had already heard the...
Rosie, or more correctly Rosa Lynda Cabellharo, was born April 1, 1927, to Daniel and Felice Cabellharo. Proud to belong to one of the original Mexican families who inhabited the small town of Farmersburg, Iowa, Rosie was now about to turn 15. The Cabellharos were good Roman Catholics; that, coupled with their ethnicity, meant quinceanera! In a nation emerging from the greatest depression ever known, as well as still reeling from Prohibition, Farmersburg was not ready to send any of her sons to...
Dear Editor, Yes, Virginia, federally speaking, cannabis/marijuana is STILL illegal! However, that being said, there are at least 16 states in this Union that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, including our own beloved Montana and (GASP!) Washington, DC, the ONLY truly Federal District in this Union! It should be noted that, even though cannabis has been legalized for medical use in a majority of states, the main reason is that said states have begun to realize how lucrative it is! That being said, I would like to get into the...
John Charles Winchester was born into it, you might say. On a cold November day in 1897 Charlie, as he became known, was the fifth son of Charles and Edith Winchester. Considering the Winchester family's military history, it came as no surprise when Charlie joined the ranks 20 years later after the situation in Europe had heated to the point where someone felt they needed to kidnap a VIP in order to get their way. However, as we're not there quite yet, let's get back to Charlie and how he grew...
