Our Town 100 Years Ago: July 1920 Part 2

It is mid-summer. Crops are growing and some are being harvested. School is only weeks away. The weather is hot and dry. Things were pretty much the same 100 years ago and then again they were quite different.

Farmers in Waterloo are harvesting good crops of turnips and peas. Butte is a great market to sell their produce. Waterloo area residents said goodbye to the founder of their community. Tom Walbert has moved to Three Forks and has a business there.

The school has announced annual salaries for the coming year. Principal William J. Lowry will be paid $2400. Teachers' salaries will range from $1125.00 to $1800.00. The school board is selling $15,000 in school bonds. This will help furnish the newly purchased dormitory and fix the furnace there.

In business news, Walter Rickert sold his interest in the Yellowstone Garage to Antoni Bertoglio. This makes Mr. Bertoglio the sole owner of the business. The Whitehall Drug Company has been open for a year now and have just said goodbye to Frank Cantlon who has moved to the big city of Butte. Hustons Billard Parlor is now serving free lunch (they claim the only such offer in the state). You can fill up on hot wieners, rolls and one of their draught beverages.

The Jefferson County Fair Premium list has been announced. Here is a summary of the two pages of items: Horses – Coach, Clydesdales, Shires, Percherons, Belgians, Standard Bred, American Saddlers. Cattle – Shorthorns, Herefords, Holsteins, Jerseys, Registered and Grade. There are four categories for swine and eight for sheep. In the hay and grain you can look for Canadian peas, macaroni wheat, rye, millet, buckwheat, flax, broom corn, pop corn, sugar corn, spelt, rape, and navy beans. The vegetable category includes mangelwurzels and celery. Fruit includes pears, plums, cherries, sand cherries, and grapes.

With nothing much happening in the platted part of Cardwell, the county commissioners will be holding a hearing to close the streets and alleys in the original townsite.

The Old Men's Club met at the home of George Shoemaker for his 77th birthday. There were some interesting stories and predictions shared at the dinner table. One of the old gentlemen, who is a veteran of the Civil War from the Confederacy, told about the war from the Southern perspective. Perhaps the highlight of the evening, though, was the future vision of Mr. Foster who is also known as the Prophet. He sees his fellow old men under a shadow and in another 20 years there will be another world war. Be prepared for all the gold to be gathered up and taken to Jerusalem and all nations going to Palestine to fight for the gold. After this war is over, Satan will be chained up for a thousand years. There evening ended shortly after his predictions so we will have to wait for any visions of Whitehall's future until another birthday is celebrated.