Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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The fall harvest is nearly done, kids are going back to school, the weather is getting cooler, and an election is on the horizon, with plenty of political discussion taking place. It sounds like today, but these things also happened in our valley in September 1900. If you wanted to know who was registered at the Whitehall Hotel, the paper listed names and where guests were from. Those who made the long journey to Butte were listed as having visited the Smoky City. The news from outside our...
August 1926 was a busy month. With a general election coming up in a few months, numerous articles covered local, state, and national candidates. Jefferson County had 24 polling locations for the primary. Mrs. Ike Pace won the Republican primary for state Senate. There was a tight race between Jennie Houghton and Edith Ahl for Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools, with Edith garnering 32 more votes than Jennie. John May won for Constable, W.H. Tebay for Justice of Peace, and Andy Less for...
The 20th century was not off to a good start in China. Foreign ministers stationed in China were feared dead from a massacre in Peking, although the Chinese government favored a different story. The China situation covered most of the front pages of the August Zephyr editions. The king of Italy was assassinated in Monza, Italy, shortly after handing out prizes for a gymnastic competition. In Alaska, trouble was brewing at Topkuk, 50 miles north of Nome City, between miners and the U.S. military...
One-hundred years ago, the primary election took place in August instead of June. Every edition of the July Jefferson Valley News had plenty of ads and articles about people running for the various offices, and the July 1 edition listed the names of the 392 Whitehall people who were eligible to vote. High temperatures during the last week of June were recorded between 77 and 96. Temperatures in mid-July stayed in the mid- to upper 80s. At the national level, the federal government reported a...
In 1900, our country was just one year shy of its 125th anniversary. Independence Day celebrations were often grand affairs with plenty of patriotic music, speeches, and a sea of U.S. flags waving in a Montana breeze. However, there was also the dirty little business of politics, not much different from the themes we hear today. Page 2 of the July 7, 1900, edition of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr did not hold back anything from the editorial about the "sordid, selfish, unsympathetic, snakey cold...
The June 3, 1926, edition of the Jefferson Valley News began the month with a variety of stories, some of which showed a dark side of humanity. The front page reviewed the details of the murder of Bob Neill by Ed Rollins. Rollins was known in this part of the county and had a record of trouble obeying the law. He finally made a confession to the murder after a week in county jail. A nationally known KKK leader, Reverend Smith, made an appearance in Whitehall, but without the traditional attire....
School's Out!! Those two words never go out of style for children, young adults, and teachers. Back in 1900, it was not all fun and games in the summer. There was plenty of time for fun after the chores were done. For adults, the Jefferson Valley Zephyr covered items of interest from around the world. The Boer War with Great Britain was in the news, and there were sentiments that the U.S. had too much of a hidden alliance with Great Britain. In Cuba, the McKinley appointed person to run the...
Little did people realize in May 1926 that the great depression was just a few years down the road. The front page of the JV News was filled with local, mostly good, news. National and world news were a few pages back in the paper. President Coolidge was greeted by more than 2,000 Boy Scouts during the 16th convention of the scouting national council. A gold rush was growing in Canada; Kilauea was erupting; Lions International was planning a convention in San Francisco; airmail service was...
The Jefferson Valley Museum will open for its 31st season on Saturday, May 23, 2026. Regular hours have been changed. Visitors may enjoy all of the artifact exhibits from 1 PM to 5 PM, Tuesday through Sunday each week. The current season will end at 5 PM on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. The museum will be open on Memorial Day and, if volunteers are available, on July 4th and Labor Day as well. Groups can request a special tour outside of regular hours, provided one or more volunteers are...
Members of the Whitehall Rotary Club were busy on May 12th painting concrete areas on the historic fishpond that sits at the south end of Main Street. All exposed rock was coated with a clear sealer. The club has scheduled a second maintenance day to repaint the eagle that sits on top of the center column, clean the interior, stain all of the wood structure and clean the granite tiles. If the non-chlorinated water supply to the pond can be done before the end of May, fish should arrive by early...
A new century was beginning, and old politics continued. Butte's McDermott Hotel hosted the state Democratic Central Committee meeting. The working class was trying its best to push back against "the grinding force of trusts and monopolies." Strikes were taking place throughout the country. In Montana, freight conductors and freight brakemen blocked all side tracts on the Great Northern Railway. Massachusetts had small strikes among painters, carpenters, and related trades. Automotive-related...
Knowing what has happened in the past, especially 100 or more years ago, has a number of benefits. You have a much better understanding of how much some things have changed, how some things are just repeating again, and whether or not there is really anything to be concerned about now. Take the weather, for instance. In April 1926, temperatures were warm, and moisture was scarce. The first week of the month was cool, averaging a high of 33 degrees and only .14 inches of precipitation. The next...
Easter came a little later back in April 1900. By the 15 th of April that year, plenty of news had crossed the pages of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr. Iran (Persia back then) made the front page after the shah took a $6,000,000 loan from the Muscovites, which bumped Great Britain out of the race to control commerce in the country. Donations were being sought to help feed starving people in India – a one-dollar donation could feed a person for two months. The British government was said to be r...
The annual meeting of the Jefferson Valley Museum is scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd, at the Star Theatre. A short business meeting to review the past year and nominate board members whose terms are expiring will start at 6:45 PM, with the program following at 7 PM. This year, a different approach to presenting the program will be used. While past programs have featured a single speaker, or sometimes a pair, this year, a talk show format will be used. The “show” From the Whitetail to Waterloo will feature interviews with nine pioneer wom...
The annual meeting of the Jefferson Valley Museum is scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd, at the Star Theatre. A short business meeting to review the past year and nominate board members whose terms are expiring will start at 6:45 PM, with the program following at 7 PM. This year, a different approach to presenting the program will be used. While past programs have featured a single speaker, or sometimes a pair, this year a talkshow format will be used. The "show" From the Whitetail to Waterloo...
One might think that March 2026 has been unusually dry and warm, but people were likely thinking the same thing back in March 1926. Through March 23rd of that year, only .15 inches of moisture was recorded (much like February), and temperatures ranged from the mid-40s to the mid-60s. The valley had not seen a temperature below zero for more than 450 days. Headlines from the front pages in March included the Whitehall basketball team placing fifth in the district tournament held here in town; Fra...
Change a few names, a date, and headlines from 1900, and they could be reused today. War, political discord, well-known people dying, and someone wrongfully charged with a crime. All of these were topics on the front pages of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr back in March 1900. All of the following articles are taken as written from those March issues, with some editing for length. A summary of some front-page headlines: Colorado Politicians Now See "Where They are At," and Party Lines are Again...
February 1926 started out with a record of 405 days since the last below-zero temperature, and the record grew well into the month, with 427 days noted on February 23rd. Total precipitation was less than 0.10 inches. The will of the late Copper King W.A. Clark was making the front page, as were the three women claiming to be his daughters and heirs to his 50-million-dollar estate. The U.S. Senate voted our country into the World Court, with strong reservations, and acceptance to the court could...
One hundred and twenty-six years ago, our little town's growing pains were slowly transforming Whitehall from a wild west railroad town into a respectable place to live and visit. The world was changing. Queen Victoria was in the news even in the Jefferson Valley Zephyr. Meat packers in the U.S. have a contract to supply 3,000,000 pounds of beef for the British army, and likely a better quality than was given to our own troops in recent years. President McKinley changed his position on the...
Whitehall Elementary third-graders had a busy day on February 5th. In the morning, they were presented with their dictionary/reference books from the Whitehall Rotary Club. Rotary has been providing these books to third graders at Whitehall, Cardwell, and Harrison for more than 15 years. Besides words, students can read about the 50 states, the continents, clouds, presidents, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, sign language, and a number of science topics. In the afternoon,...
It can be easy to believe that what is happening now has never happened before, but the past has a way of repeating. Weather is no exception. The year 1925 and into the start of 1926 is an example. The Jefferson Valley did not see a low temperature below zero for 399 days as of January 26, 1926. December 1925 was warm enough for farmers to still be threshing the last of their crops. Precipitation was scarce through December and January. The following news items are taken from the January 1926...
January 1900. The 1800s have slipped into the past and a new century is dawning, but politics and other noteworthy news did not change much when 18 turned over to 19. On the national scene, there was a rift in the Republican party on who would be McKinley's running mate. The Japanese appeared to be preparing for war with Russia. India was facing a major drought and widespread plague. Civil marriages were now allowed in the Philippines which finally gave protestants and non-Christians the right...
December 1925. Another year was ending; a quarter of a century almost completed. Christmas was a big deal around the world, even if most front-page news did not reflect it. There was plenty of positive news that might have been considered early Christmas presents. L.P. Yates, a farmer from Fishtail, Montana, in Stillwater County, was crowned the winner at the International Grain and Hay show in Chicago for his Marquis wheat. Many other Montana farmers won top honors for their Durum wheat....
One hundred twenty-six years ago, Whitehall was still an adolescent community searching for a path to maturity. You could find most of what you needed locally, and the school was expanding as more families moved here. The railroad provided the opportunity to travel faster to other parts of the state and country in a little more comfort than by wagon or horse, especially in the cold month of December. The front page of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr brought news from outside of our relatively peacef...
Jefferson Fresh Foods is the latest recipient of the Whitehall Rotary Club's Wheelchair Award for community service. Rotarians Terry Ross and Arlene Weber made the presentation. Chad Collins and Rhiannon Ross were recognized for their many, often unnoticed, contributions to our community. When the Rotary Club held its free Splash Day this last summer at the community pool, the ice cream ordered for an ice cream social in memory of Vic Miller was donated. Another example of their giving is...
