Our Town 125 and 100 Years Ago: April, Part II

April, Part II

In 1897, April was ending with similarities and some definite differences to events in the current day. Macedonia was being invaded by Grecian insurgents; Theodore Roosevelt was nominated to be assistant secretary of the Navy; the second fastest boat in the world, the torpedo boat No. 3 went 25 knots an hour on its trial voyage; hogs arriving at the Chicago stockyards in March were averaging 8 pounds lighter than February and 16 pounds lighter than the previous year; severe flooding continued in the southeast; and the provincial legislature of British Columbia passed a bill preventing Japanese and Chinese people from being employed in businesses aided by legislative charter rights. The editor of the Zephyr was reporting local news and some very strong opinions. The following is taken as written from the April 16, 23, and 30, 1897 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr.

Editorials: • Rudyard Kipling has gone to Crete for the London Times at a salary of $5,000 a month. What a Bradley-Martin waste of money!

• Why should women wear birds on their hats? Aside from the humane aspect of the case, a bird on a person's headgear is incongruous. It is safe to say no self-respecting bird would alight on the millinery monstrosities of this present Easter season.

• The gamblers of Montana are supposed to have raised a fund to defeat the anti-gambling law and to have hired Toole and Wallace of Helena to do the work. Too bad public sentiment is not allowed to cut the same figure in civil cases as in murder cases.

• All through Illinois people saw an airship floating over them, and last week the folks at Washington, D. C., saw the strange aerial traveler. The Illinois fellows have been accused of seeing airships as a result of a peculiar brand of tanglefoot, but now that it has been seen at the seat of government, sobriety, and prosperity, the accusation must fail.

Home News: J.B. Kendrick shipped ten cars of cattle from Whitehall and eighteen from Willow Creek station to Algiers, Wyoming this week. The stock is for the ranges of that country. Joe Morris' soda fountain is running and is yielding the finest drink ever known for that tired spring feeling. The new time card on the Northern Pacific went into effect on Monday morning. The westbound train leaves Whitehall at 6:20 AM and the eastbound at 11:10 PM. The change enables the stage and post offices to the south to get eastern mail a day earlier. John Powell, of Jefferson Island, who has been seriously ill for several months, is once more on the road to recovery. Superintendent and Mrs. Leyson of the Mayflower were among the out-of-town attendants at the A.O.U.W. ball. Major E. G. Brooke returned Saturday from a horseback trip to Helena. The major says that he always has a splendid time visiting the capital....If the plan of the major could be worked he would have a company of old-timers ride on horseback to Washington in 1901 to see the inauguration of Bryan as president.

A Sad Accident: Harold Husted, a young man who has been living the past winter at the Quinn ranch, was accidentally shot and killed on Friday. He, along with Mr. Giles of this place, was hunting geese along the river and using a boat. Mr. Husted had placed his gun in the boat and in taking it out had pulled it toward him by the barrel the trigger caught in some way and the weapon discharged. The interment took place Sunday afternoon at old Whitehall.

A Coyote Skin Swindler: The Dillon Tribune reports the arrest at Salt Lake by Under Sheriff Smith, of Beaverhead County, of Jas. Fitzer, a man who is charged with swingling several counties of Montana on Coyote skin bounties, by buying hides in other states and bringing them here to receive the bounties. It is stated that he worked Silver Bow and Jefferson counties out of several hundred dollars.

In 1923, April was ending with people starting to drive their vehicles with inflatable tires; the longest national league baseball game between the Phillies and the Dodgers ended in a 5-5 tie after 14 innings while 74,000 were at the opening of Yankee Stadium and a bomb exploded at Comiskey Park in Chicago (home of the Chicago White Sox); Poland annexed central Lithuania; and cannabis was added to the list of prohibited narcotics in Canada with virtually no attention because little was known in Canada about the drug at the time. In our valley, there was school, mining, and business news that kept people more focused on here than on "there." The following articles are based on notes made by Roy Millegan Sr. from the April 19, 26, and May 3, 1923 editions of the Jefferson Valley News. The photo shows WHS students attending a tournament in Manhattan.

Mr. B.T. Young made an exciting discovery this week when he came across his father's old school books from 1836 and 1840. They included a first reader, geography, and civics. He hopes to pass them on to his descendants.

Mr. Manning is encouraging people to let others know that there are at least 45 empty houses on the North Boulder and that the farming is good there and can only get better. This is an excellent opportunity for those who want to go north instead of pushing up the population around here.

Long-time area resident Talbert Thomas Gates passed just a few weeks before his 79th birthday. He was born in Morgan County, Missouri, served under General Lee during the Civil War, and married Mildred Catherine Newkirk in 1867. They came to the Jefferson Valley about 20 years ago and resided about seven miles south of town in Madison County. He is survived by children Mrs. Hattie Dodge and Elton Gates of Butte, Mrs. Willa Date Fairbanks and Mrs. Jennie Miller on the Gates ranch, and Mrs. Minnie Smith of Tonopah, Nevada. We also received word of the passing of Franklin Riggs. He will be interred at Fish Creek. Mr. Riggs was a member of the Scottish Rite and Bagdad Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He was fondly known as "daddy" by his friends. He held many skills from his years on earth including farmer, banker, real estate agent, auctioneer, and politician. He leaves behind his wife Jane and 8 children-Mrs. W.H. Beeman of Billings, Mrs. H.P. Smith of Whitehall, Mrs. Angus McKay of Great Falls, Miss Edna Riggs of Long Beach, and sons Ray, Espa, and Minah of Tacoma, Butte, and Van Nuys.

In local business, there is good and bad news. The yay or nay for a potash plan near Limespur rests on the report from the U.S. Bureau of Mines. An expert we spoke with says it is one of the best deposits he has seen. The Andy Less building has once again been hit by an arsonist, this time using kerosene. The Whitetail Irrigation Company is seeking bids to complete the dam project and 30 miles of canals. Bonds for the project have not been selling well. Mr. S.D. Houghton has a good cow and horse for sale, only $50. Come into the news office if you need directions to the Houghton place.

Want to have a new Ford parked in front of your home? The Whitehall State Bank has an affordable weekly purchase plan for your new jalopy.