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Was it a change in the weather or something else? By September 1896, law and order in the valley seemed to have withered in the summer heat. The rest of the state was not much better. Constable Thomas Coombs of Butte was attacked by five "roughs" and nearly beaten to death when he tried to serve an arrest warrant on one of the men; Mrs. Rose Heimbach of South Butte was thrown in jail for attacking Mrs. Susie Snelling with vitriol after Rose said, "You can have my husband, but first take this,...

Mining was the newsmaker in the Jefferson Valley in late August 1896. Outside of our valley, there was a national debate on backing the dollar with silver; a yacht race on Lake Erie was canceled due to a lack of wind while in the Ohio Valley, the Green oil field sustained over $100,000 in damage from severe wind that knocked over oil derricks and lightning killed livestock and destroyed several barns. The following is taken as written from the August 21 and 28 editions of the Jefferson Valley...

In August 1896, a heatwave was making the nation swelter; Texas was scorching hot with temperatures of 107 to 112 reported. Hundreds of deaths were reported in New York City; Chicago reported 577 deaths in one week and deaths of animals in the city were much higher than humans. Deaths were also reported in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Peoria. In Canada, American money was not welcome. Canadian banks were warning merchants, farmers, and the general public to not accept American money....

Rotary Club President Wayne Peterson presented Pastor Bill Lanes with the latest Wheelchair Award for the Assembly of God Church. This is in appreciation for the use of their fellowship area during the Vitalent blood drives. The Rotary Club began the award program about 18 years ago to recognize individuals, groups, or businesses who voluntarily provide service to our community and valley. The money to fund the $150.00 donation to the Wheelchair Foundation in honor of the recipient is made...

July Part 2 July 1896 offered a lot of storms, locally and across the nation. There was dissent in the Democratic party on who to nominate for President, storms in South Dakota and Nebraska killed livestock and ruined crops, a war in Cuba with Spain was showing heavy losses for the Spanish, and gold reserves here in the U.S. were growing as banks made good on their treasury promises. The following news items are taken from the July 17, 24 and 31, 1896 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr....

In early July 1896, a general election was just months away and backing our dollar with silver was in debate. In Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania more than 40 miners were killed in a cave in. United Confederate Veterans were holding their 6th annual reunion in Richmond, Virginia; the Equal Suffrage Convention was being held in Boise, Idaho; and horseracing was a big draw in Anaconda, Montana. Here in the Jefferson Valley, there were changes in businesses, people getting married, and construction on...

In 1896, just like today, people were looking forward to the official start of summer. Nationally, headlines included the fire that destroyed Hope, Idaho; the first session of the 53rd Congress concluded with only 50 members present and fighting between members from Texas and California; a building collapse in San Francisco kills five. Locally, flooding is a concern. The following are taken as written from the June 19 and 26, 1896 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr. The accompanying photo...

The Whitehall Rotary Club is offering one last chance to order engraved tiles at the historic fishpond in the center of town. There are up to 26 full tiles available for engraving; 4 at the bottom of the wall and the others on the two benches. Orders will be accepted between now and August 1, 2022, or until all tiles are purchased, whichever occurs first. A full tile engraving can be purchased for $125.00 or one-half of a tile for $75.00. Artwork requests will incur an additional fee. Order...

June 1896 in the Jefferson Valley: Whitehall is a growing community, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the official start of summer. But rain is making the rivers rise and threatening cropland. Nationally, there are questions about election results in Oregon, a severe storm in St. Louis has left 120 people missing, our government was calling for stricter surveillance of meat being imported into the U.S., and a cannery is burned to the ground by militants in Astoria, Oregon. The local news items a...

The Jefferson Valley Museum will open for the 2022 season on Saturday, May 28 and will be open for Memorial Day on Monday, May 30. Visitors are welcome between the hours of noon and 4 PM, Tuesday through Sunday through September 15. Special arrangements can be made, with sufficient advance notice, for groups if they need to make their visit in the morning. Museum volunteers provide free tours of the many, varied exhibits including new displays about Clays in Calico pottery and 4-H history in...
What were some of the national headlines in late May 1896? Some are similar to today: Twisters in the mid-west, election irregularities in Alabama, the U.S. House delaying any decisions on immigration measures, people campaigning for seats in Washington, D.C. But here in the Jefferson Valley, people were busy building businesses and agriculture for the next generation. The following are taken as written from the May 22 and 29, 1896 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr. The photo is an ad that appeared in the paper during that time....
One would think that things were a lot different back in 1896, and in many ways they were. But, some things were much like today. In May 1896, headlines included destructive tornadoes in Kansas, a fire in a Colorado town that left at least 2000 people homeless, high-profile murder trials, and trouble in the Middle East. Locally, the Jefferson Valley Zephyr stories reflect, to some extent, the happenings of the country. The following are taken as written (with some content excluded) from the Zephyr. WAS CRUEL MURDER: On Friday, probably, a...

April of 1896 was not much different in weather than today. There was snow and cold; but, a welcome for the moisture that the disparate spring weather was bringing. The following news is taken as written from the April 17 and 24, 1896 editions of the Whitehall Zephyr. The photo is an ad from the April 24, 1896 edition. Probable Great Gold Discovery Near Whitehall: Immense Ledges, Varying from Four to Sixty Feet in Width, Miles in Length. What may materialize into some of the greatest gold...
April 1896 & 1922 Part 1 In April 1896, people were eagerly awaiting the actual start of spring weather. Things in national headlines were not too different than now – murder-suicides, kidnapping plots for a prominent person, political bantering. The Battleship Iowa was launched from the Cramps’ shipyard. The following is local news, as written in the April 3rd and 10th editions of the Whitehall Zephyr. Mining: Another small shipment of ore has been made from the Golden Valley; the last came within a few cents of netting $120 per ton; it is...

The Whitehall Rotary Club presented their latest Wheelchair Award to Bill Pullman in recognition of his many service projects to the community and the valley. These include the film premier that provided financial support to the Jefferson Valley Museum, the new park Main Street Green, and his involvement with the new Gold Junction Presents. A donation was made in Mr. Pullman's honor to The Wheelchair Foundation from money donated by patrons of the Whitehall KFC/A&W. The Foundation then provides...
The annual meeting of the Jefferson Valley Museum will be held on Thursday, April 7th in the Star Theater at 7:00 PM. Doors will open at 6:30 PM. A short business meeting will be conducted before the program starts to update museum members on the current status of the museum and to accept nominations for and vote on two museum board member positions. The program this year will be presented by Ron Hunt and will last about one and a half hours with a short intermission at the mid-point. There will be more than 50 photos of the Waterloo area...
The Whitehall High School class of 1972 is planning to gather for their 50th reunion in Whitehall on the evening of July 23rd at the Jefferson Valley Museum. There is no dinner planned at this time, but there will be refreshments available. For those who cannot make the trip to Whitehall, there will be a Skype session held that evening where out-of-the-area classmates can join in the 50-in-5 session. This session will give class members five minutes to review what they have done over the past 50 years. A Facebook page has been set up to help...

Headlines in March 1896 bear a similarity to what you might read today. There was political unrest, murders, suicides, concerns about grain prices, and a horrific storm in the Pacific Ocean that devastated Fiji. Here in Montana, people were hoping for early spring and a Montana Congressman is hailed for standing up to the president for saying some very disparaging remarks about people out west. The following is taken as written from March 20 and 27, 1896 editions of the Whitehall Zephyr....

Whitehall third graders received new reference books from Rotarians Candace Ahlin and Arlene Weber. The books include a full dictionary and a reference section with information on the states, world countries, the U. S. presidents, the U. S. Constitution, planets, sign language, and more. Dictionaries were also presented to students at Cardwell and Harrison. Whitehall Rotarians have been providing these books to 3rd graders for more than a decade as part of a statewide Rotary program on...

In 1896, winter was refusing to leave as the month of March rolled in. Fruit farmers in Idaho were worried that the extreme cold might have killed their trees. Miners in our valley were putting down their tools of the trade and heading to hotels to try and stay warm. Grover Cleveland, the president of the United States, was not too popular in the west due to his downward-looking attitude toward our people. Here, as written in the Whitehall Zephyr, are some news highlights from the March 6th and...

FEBRUARY Part II In February 1896, New York City was experiencing "the coldest recorded here since the establishment of the Weather Bureau." The East Coast was reporting temperatures as low as -48. Here in Whitehall, people were taking another winter in stride. Montana Governor Rickards and other members of the state capitol commission were in Olympia, Washington to gather information before erecting a new capital complex for our state. The following news items are taken as written from the...

FEBRUARY - PART I In 1896, the Sousa band was a popular feature at concerts and in February 1896 had a lot of Whitehall residents headed to Butte to listen to the Sousa military band concert. The following items are taken as written from the February 7 and 14, 1896 editions of the Whitehall Zephyr. The picture is an advertisement from the February 7th edition. Frenchy Miller recently made a batch of cream-colored soap, and after cutting it into small pieces, placed it in a cheese box near the fr...

January 1896 was starting out cold and snowy but that did not stop people from getting out and about. The following were written in the late January 1896 editions of the Whitehall Zephyr. Died. John Bray, formerly of this place and of the firm of Fox & Bray, died at Red Rock, Montana on Jan. 23d, 1896 of consumption. Mr. Bray was 33 years of age and was well known in this portion of Montana. "Lill" Phillips, a well-known woman throughout the camps of Jefferson Valley, died Wednesday morning,...

There was plenty to celebrate at the beginning of 1896 and 1922 even with winter still keeping people close to the woodstove. Whitehall was rebuilding after a series of serious fires during early 1895 and it had survived the "greatest depression ever known in the United States..." At the start of 1895, there were 20 businesses and professionals in town. At the start of 1896, that had grown to more than 32 and the Zephyr listed details on 60 new buildings in town, all built during the previous...

The Whitehall Food Pantry received two checks on December 14th to help support its efforts to feed local people in need. The Whitehall Rotary Club has been a long-time supporter of the Food Pantry, and the amount donated by the club was matched by Mountain View Real Estate owner and Rotarian Karen Burtch. The Rotary Club currently raises money for community projects through aluminum can recycling and a donation jar at the KFC/A&W. Projects include sending up to two high school students to the...