Our Town 125 and 100 Years ago: May, Part II

May, Part II

As of now, the Kentucky Derby was a big event in 1897. Typhoon II won the 23rd running followed by Ornament. Second place received a tidy sum of $700. A San Francisco millionaire made the front page for his arrest after spitting on the floor of a streetcar. A 12-year-old boy died in Waco, Texas when a severe wind, rain, and hailstorm blew several buildings from their foundations and damaged many others. In Asotin, Washington, a cloudburst sent a wall of water down into the valley that killed stock, wrecked houses, and washed out bridges and orchards. Whitehall was brimming with business spurred by the growing mining and tourist industries. The following is taken as written in the May 21 and 28, 1897 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr.

HOME NEWS: To the Mayflower district for $1.50. Stage every day. Quite a number from Whitehall attended the dancing party at the Mayflower mine on Saturday evening. All report a good time and speak in warm terms of the hospitality shown by the Mayflower people. The Zink Brothers are reported to have encountered a three-foot lead of $57 ore in a tunnel claim in the Cardwell district. Joe Noble was thrown from his horse on Friday and sustained injuries that placed him on crutches for a few days.

John S. Moore, who was the first to climb the big Gaylord stack and who painted the ladder, was in town on Sunday. He says the climb is not a very hazardous task, but one is inclined to take his word, rather than try it. The first excursion train of the season was run last Sunday from Butte to Sappington, with reduced fares to all local points being the incentive. The train carried 140 people from Butte, 125 of whom stopped at Pipestone. The railroad boys say that Conductor Johnson, who was running the Pony train last winter, has inaugurated a new style at dances-that of taking a nap between the parts of a square dance. It is stated that the fashion started at Livingston.

Operetta Presented with Great Success by Pupils of the Public School. The operetta, "The Jolly Farmers," included in its cast of characters A.J. Holloway, W.B. Morris, S.D. Houghton, Will McClatchy, Sherman Tuttle, Irving Richards, and Bertie Haskins. The music included solos, duets, quartettes, and choruses given with good effect and well received by the large audience in attendance.

The will of the late Charles Quinn, of Butte, leaves the bulk of his property to his brother Barnard Quinn. Many relatives, among them Michael Quinn, of Whitehall, receive $5 each.

Ranchmen on the South Boulder were watching with much interest the experiment of underground wooden pipes for irrigation purposes that is being tried by Isaac Westmoreland. During the past winter Mr. Westmoreland made three-fourths of a mile of piping, 7x7 inches square inside, of 1¼ inch fir. The top of the pipe will be two feet underground. Mr. Westmoreland believes that the fir will last much longer underground than above and that the strength of the pipe to carry the water at a total of sixty feet fall is not to be doubted.

By May 1923, technology and superstition were changing the world. At noon on May 15th, 81 different radio frequencies began broadcasting. Before that, only three frequencies had been heard. Amelia Earhart became only the 16th woman to receive a pilot's license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. George J. Gould, an American railroad executive, and financier, died in France of a fever just months after visiting the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt. The Kentucky Derby was won by Zev, owned by Sinclair Oil founder, Harry Sinclair. Germany was experiencing runaway inflation (a Mark was worth just 1/50,000 of a U. S. dollar), and James Arness, best known as Marshall Dillon in Gunsmoke, was born in Minneapolis on May 26th. In Whitehall, the class of 1923 was celebrating the beginning of life after the classroom. Beula Akin (in the photo) was one of those graduates. The following articles are based on notes made by Roy Millegan, Sr. from the May 17, 24, and 31, 1923 editions of the Jefferson Valley News.

Whitehall is preparing to welcome an influx of tourists who motor through our valley. The Pace-Wood Development Company has donated two sections of land for the purpose of establishing a tourist park. This will extend the city park along Legion Avenue between the street and the Northern Pacific property. One section is 90 x 200 feet and the second measures 50 x 370 feet. To the west, the park will stop at Ab Schmidts' nursery and the eastern boundary will be the road leading to D. A. Morrison's home. Mr. Justus at the sugar beet factory site has donated a small building that will be moved to the new park. There will be 40 tourist lots each measuring 15 x 42 feet and the town is planning to install 250 feet of piping to be connected to the sewer line. Plans are also in the works to build brick and concrete ovens for cooking.

While nearly everyone agrees that the new fire alarm will be a great benefit, some are worried that sounding the alarm will send horses on an unplanned run through our streets. Once the alarm is installed on the tower in the park, it will be tested twice each day, once at noon and again at 9 PM to remind youngsters of the curfew. One of the telephone operators will be responsible for sounding the alarm at the appropriate times.

Cardwell students celebrated the end of the school year and the first class to graduate from their now fully accredited 4-year high school. The graduates are Pearl Lubke, Josephine Kyle, Gladys Ryan, and Hildred Taylor. Local attorney Ike Pace provided the commencement speech. Principal Orr handed out the diplomas and Miss Miller gave an entertaining piano solo. Here in Whitehall, the Junior Prom was highlighted with a Japanese theme featuring dainty blues and grays mellowed by pink cherry blossoms and Japanese lanterns.

OBITUARIES: Charles Bedford Wade was born in Piedmont on January 19, 1899, and passed away in Three Forks on May 12th. He has been in that town for the past 10 years.

George Clark has passed away in Twin Bridges. He came to Whitehall from Nebraska in October of 1896 and was engaged in mining and farming as well as working as a mason here for a number of years. About two years ago he had a mining claim in the Silver Star area.

Emory Smales, well-known by residents as the porter at the Palm Hotel for more than a decade, has passed away and will be buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Butte. He lived in Whitehall for around 21 years and worked on a number of local ranches. Mr. Smales was born in the mining section of Colorado and was for the last year of his life unable to enjoy his daily existence.