Creating Fiction From History: 1/25/2023

You've come a long way, Baby!

At the tender age of 13, not only was Carolina Duggard the first from her family to attend an institute of higher learning, she also might have been one of the youngest female graduates of St. Paul College, a public and community college in St. Paul, Minnesota.

How did this little girl, whom we last saw at the tender age of 4, end up in St. Paul, Minnesota? Well, that's rather a long story; growing up as she did in little Whitehall, Montana, in the 20s and 30s, Carolina knew the Jefferson River Valley as home. However, she became restless in her early teens and, considering her father's background, ran away at the age of 13, returning home only after earning herself a degree in business at the age of 15.

Jim Bob still tinkered in what had been the family business but, settling down as he had with his little family in Whitehall, his official occupation was growing sugar beets for Amalgamated.

In a sense, one might note, he was killing two birds with one stone, sugar being a necessary ingredient in the family business. With this in mind, a young Carolina struck off for the big city, by way of the Big Rail, finally landing in St. Paul, where the accompanying photograph may have been taken the day she began her classes at St. Paul College.

She may have returned to Montana, just over the hill from where she grew up, to put her degree in Business to use in one of the oldest speakeasies in Butte, The Rookwood. Carolina, now known fondly as Lina, returned from time to time to visit her folks down in the Jeff, for Whitehall would always be home to her, though her established residence until the end of her days would be at one of the best speakeasies west of Chicago, under the richest hill on earth.

If you would like to create fiction from history with one of the museum's photos, please contact the Ledger at (406) 287-5301 or email whledger@gmail.com.