Our Town 100 Years Ago: August

The following is as written in August 1895 editions of the Whitehall Zephyr. The accompanying photo is of an advertisement from one of those issues.

Dance at Silver Star. Those who attended say that one of the most enjoyable occasions of the kind ever experienced in the Jefferson valley was the dance at that place last Friday. It was given under the management of J. O. Jordan and George Bonnowitz, and Miss Kate Dulea of Silver Star and Mr. Goodiel of this place furnished the music; T. D. Hind, assisted by – Edwards, did the calling, and everything passed off most enjoyably. A number of young ladies from Butte who had never attended anything but ultra-fashionable balls, were present and are now overwhelmingly in favor of Silver Star dances. There were 42 couples present. About midnight a nice ice cream supper was served in the hall.

J. R. Norville has resigned his position with T. D. Hind & Co., and will take a trip through the valley in the interest of the Zephyr. So, treat him well, not too often, subscribe, pungle, and let the Zephyr blow for you a whole year. Deputy Sheriff Henry S. Sherlock was in town yesterday, as was also Sheriff Haines of Madison county on business connected with the disputed right of way for the Parrot ditch across the Point of Rocks. The genial phiz of Dan Morrison was seen about the streets Tuesday morning. The enlargement of Whitehalls' school facilities has about caused Dan to conclude to build a house here and make Whitehall his home in the near future. You'll make no mistake Dan, if you do that. Dr. Haviland needs no introduction to the residents of the Jefferson valley, as he is already well and favorably known throughout its length and breadth. The hospital and his office is one door west of the Fergus store, and is a little gem. Service in the M. E. church on Sabbath morning at 11 o'clock, and in the evening at 8 o'clock by the pastor, Rev. H. Warman.

What is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. Judge Beatty has recently decided that Northern Pacific lands can not be taxed until patented. That being the case, why should other owners or holders of unpatented lands pay taxes on such property? Throughout the country thousands of homesteads and other claims have been proved up, but no patent issued thereon; should the holder pay taxes on such property? The same may be said of much of the land sold by the Northern Pacific. All occupants or owners (supposed) of unpatented real estate should pay their taxes under protest until it is fully determined whether, as is too often the case, law and courts operate one way for one class of people, and the opposite for another.

The following is rewritten from notes made by Roy Millegan, Sr. from August 1921 editions of the Jefferson Valley News.

Local Business News: The popular McKay and Carmichael store will be even more in favor with local residents after making some very nice improvements. Things have been rearranged on the new shelving and in the new cases to make shopping easier and there is a new rest room for the lady customers. With the 50 by 120-foot full length basement and five store houses, this is now considered to be one of the best department stores in Montana. Mr. Johnson is going to add a coat of bright red paint to the grain elevator on east Railroad Avenue. That will make it even easier to find downtown Whitehall. The Whitehall State Bank is now a safer place to keep your money. They have installed an Anakin Burglar Proof lock system on the vault doors. We have a new business in town. Mrs. Helen Barnes has opened the Elite Millinery and Art store in the Pruett building, two doors north of the Palm. Custom dressmaking will be available.

Even though the county fair has been called off, there will be a Farm Bureau gathering. This will be a joint effort between Jefferson and Madison counties with a home coming and farmer's picnic. The big picnic held at Renova was almost as much fun as the county fair would have been. There were plenty of games and proud winners. Here are the results. Boys sack race, under 10: Willis Davis; under 16: Herschel Davis; Girls sack race, under 10: Phyliss Osborne; under 16: Doris Westphal. Girls egg race, under 14: Lucille Morrow; Men's free-for-all, Bernard Glennan; Ladies newspaper race: Mrs. Theo Bisch; Ladies nail driving, 6 nails in 25 seconds: Mrs. Pearl Lubke; ladies sawing a 2x4 in 17 seconds: Pearl Lubke; Married ladies race: Mrs. H. Fitzhugh; Men's tug-of-war: Nick May and Frank Kountz; and, winners of the mounted wrestling match were W. Winslow, B. Cowdrey, and Charles Metully.

The Whitetail dam project is progressing nicely. Ernie McCall is in charge of the concrete work along with help from Mr. Lepp. They have just finished the core wall of concrete which is a full 12-inches thick. This will be the center of the dam between two earthen mounds that are 20 feet high and 100 feet thick.