Holiday Gift Ideas for Montana History Enthusiasts

I am one of the few people that does not look forward to Black Friday. While I realize that in this economy it is important to make your dollars go as far as they can, I just can't embrace the idea of a shopping frenzy the day after Thanksgiving. For those of you like me, who like to do their shopping at a more leisurely pace I have some suggestions for the Montana History enthusiasts on your list.

The Montana Historical Society offers a good selection of books and other history related gifts, that would be good for family, friends, teachers or gift exchange gifts. Here are some of my favorites:

• Books, those published by the Montana Historical Society Press as well as others. I am proud to say that my book, Montana Disasters: Fires, Floods and Other Catastrophes, is available both in the online catalog, as well as the gift shop at the Montana Historical Society Museum in Helena.
• Montana Historical Society 2012 Calendar. Most of us use our computers and phones as calendars, but this one has photos from the archives. It is more than a calendar it is office decor.
• Vintage Postcards from Montana and several Montana Cities. These would make a great gift exchange gift since they priced within the limits of many exchanges.
• DVDs One of my favorites is Evelyn Cameron: Pictures from a Worthy Life
• Bookmarks and other Stocking Stuffers

To access the Montana Historical Society Online Catalog go to https://app.mt.gov/store/cart?storeID=mhsonline

If you are in Helena, the Museum Gift Shop is located at 225 North Roberts The hours are available at their website http://mhs.mt.gov/

Thanksgiving, Bannack, 1863

Thanksgiving, 1863 was a notable day for some of the citizens of Bannack.  At the boarding house of his sister-in-law, Martha Vail, Henry Plummer hosted the first turkey dinner ever in the mining camp.  A turkey, delivered at the considerable expense of $40, had arrived from Salt Lake City. It was a feast with vegetables and the first butter that some of them had seen since they left the states for the west.

Among the guests were the family of Sidney Edgerton, who would in a few months become the first territorial governor of Montana.  His nephew, Wilber Fisk Sanders, and his family were also guests.  Sanders, too, made a name for himself in the pages of Montana history.  The host, Henry Plummer, did not fare so well.  Within less than six weeks of that famous Thanksgiving dinner, Henry Plummer was hanged by Vigilantes, allegedly for his leadership in a band of road agents.  It is ironic that some of those responsible for his fate were his guests for Thanksgiving dinner.

Cat-Griz Foot Ball Game "The Brawl of the Wild"

Divide Trophy, source Photobucket, Greg Rachac



While I really enjoy watching football, I am not enough of a fan to tough it out at the stadium to watch the 111th Brawl of the Wild, as the MSU Bobcat -UofM Grizzly Game is known.  Kick-off is in just a few minutes and fans and players will have to endure freezing temperatures to see who will possess the Divide Trophy for the next year.

This year the game is particularly important because of the ranking of the two teams, #1Bobcats, #7 Grizzlies. 

The football rivalry between the two schools, began on November 26, 1897 in Bozeman, but it couldn't have been the Cats-Griz rivalry in the old days because originally MSU was the Montana State College of Agriculture and the team was known as the "Aggies".  I don't know when the name changes took place but the one thing that has prevailed over all the years is the fierce rivalry between the two schools.  It is hard to find someone who has lived in Montana for very long, that doesn't have a Bobcat or Grizzly preference.  I wish both teams well, and for those of us enjoying the game in warmth of our homes as well as the loyal fans in the stands, it will be game for the history books.

Chico Hot Springs

The howling winds and the prediction of a snow storm moving in tonight makes me want to leave my desk behind and head to Chico Hot Springs to soak away my aches and pains and forget about the fact that winter seems to be here.  Not only is "Chico" the favorite hangout for relaxing in the hot water, it is a great historical site for those of us who like to mix in a little history with our recreation.  (It doesn't hurt that there is great food available.)

For more information about the history of Chico Hot Springs and to find out about the food and accomodations available visit their website: http://www.chicohotsprings.com/history.html

Chico Hot Springs was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, nearly one hundred years after the hot springs hotel was built.  It's history goes back even further. 

Text of the National Register of Historic Places sign at Chico:

Chico Hot Springs (#1 Chico Road)

Generous verandas, period furnishings, and healing waters invite the visitor to experience turn-of-the-century hospitality under the shadow of Emigrant Peak. The hot springs, long appreciated by native peoples, got their commercial start during the territorial period when miners stopped by to bathe and “wash their duds.” In 1876, an inventive settler tapped into the 112 degree water, piping it under his greenhouse to grow vegetables for local residents. A hotel was planned in the 1880s, but in 1892, there were still no facilities and families camped nearby to enjoy the springs. Percie and Bill Knowles inherited the property in 1894. They ran a boardinghouse for miners and, in 1900, built the long-awaited hot springs hotel. Under Knowles’ active promotion, uniformed drivers ferried such guests as Teddy Roosevelt and artist Charlie Russell from the Emigrant depot to the springs. When Bill Knowles died in 1910, Percie and her son Radbourne transformed the luxurious hotel into a respected medical facility. Dr. George A. Townsend joined the staff in 1912 and under his direction, the hospital and healing waters gained renown throughout the northwest. After the 1940s, new owners and new directions included gambling and dude ranching. In 1976, Mike and Eve Art began recapturing the once-famous hotel’s turn-of the-century ambiance. Chico Hot Springs, with its Georgian-inspired architecture and warm Craftsman style interiors, is one of Montana’s best preserved examples of an early-twentieth-century hot springs hotel and health resort.

The Yellowstone Gateway Museum, Bill and Doris Whithorn Collection Online Database http://yellowstone.pastperfect-online.com/00052cgi/mweb.exe?request=ks
has several historic photos of Chico Hot Springs.

A Couple of Resources to Share

This afternoon I was doing some research for the book I am working on and it occurred to me that I should share some of the wonderful resources I was able to access on line. One of them is the Montana Memory Project. If you have never visited that site, you have been missing a great online experience. I was able to search complete texts of several county history books as well as enjoying many photo collections. To get to the home page of the Montana Memory project go to http://www.mtmemory.org/


The other site that I used (for the very first time) is the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. I was looking for background information for one of the locales in my book and my search led me to this site.  It is worth checking out if you are like me, fascinated with place names. http://geonames.usgs.gov/

Veterans Day - Remembering Two Montana Veterans

Today is Veteran’s Day, a day to honor the men and women who have served our country. I think we sometimes forget that it is more than an excuse for a three day weekend, or the Veteran’s day sales we see advertised in newspapers and on the television.

Montana is proud of her Veterans, with Veterans Memorials in many locations. The airport in Three Forks is named for Col. Dean Andrew Pogreba, who grew up in Three Forks, graduated from High School in 1940 and enlisted in the Air Force after graduation. He flew in World War II, the Korean Conflict and was shot down over Vietnam on October 5, 1965. He was a highly decorated pilot who flew more than a hundred missions and Three Forks has never forgotten his sacrifices.

The portion of Montana state highway 78, from Columbus through Absarokee and Roscoe to Red Lodge, was designated by the state legislature as the Donald J. Ruhl medal of honor highway.  Donald J. Ruhl was a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor. He was born in Columbus in 1923 and graduated from High School in Joliet. By throwing himself on top of a grenade at Iwo Jima, he saved two of his fellow marines. Hopefully those driving along that highway today will think about the sacrifice of Donald Ruhl and his family and all of the other veterans who do what they do to protect the freedom that we enjoy every day.

Impending Post Office Closures in Rural Montana

Evening news programs might seem like an unlikely source for Montana history topics but when you think of it, what is news today will be history tomorrow.  For the past few days, KULR First News at Five has been covering some of the smallest of Montana towns that are likely to lose their post offices if the USPS moves forward to cut billions of dollars from their budgets by closing rural post offices.  According to the report, 85 post offices in Montana are on the list of possible closures.  Sarah Gravelee's coverage of the history of Igomar, Ringling, and Martinsdale, and the effect of the impending post office closures on their citizens, brought to mind just how many towns have come and gone since Montana became a state.  In her reports Ms. Gravlee mentioned that the final decision on the closures will likely come in January, I am looking forward to her coverage, no matter which way the decision goes.

None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead

On April 2, 1933, at the age of 89, Elizabeth Bacon Custer suffered a heart attack and died. She had lived a long full of adventure and hardships, living in military housing while her famous husband, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, was off fighting the Native Americans who resisted the idea of being rounded up and taken to the reservations. She was incredibly happy when the two of them could be together, and fearsome when they were apart, until that day in June of 1876 when her worst fear became reality, her Autie had been killed at the battle of the Little Bighorn. She spent the remainder of her life, defending her late husband’s actions.

None Wounded, None Missing, All Dead; the Story of Elizabeth Bacon Custer by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss provides a look at the personal lives of George and Libbie Custer. It could be more aptly called the story of Autie and Libbie Custer, because it not only tells the story of Mrs. Custer, but it shows that there was more to Custer that the horrible disaster of the Little Big Horn. Its pages reveal a man who was a persistent and romantic suitor, a Civil War Veteran who fought with distinction at Bull Run and Gettysburg and earned him the rank of brevet General.

Mrs. Custer’s Last Will and Testament which appears as an Appendix gives an insight to the character of Elizabeth Custer. The book is fast read and I recommend highly to anyone who enjoys biographies.