Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Creating Fiction from history: 1/12/2022

The year was 1918. The Armistice had just been signed and it was Frannie's birthday, her 18th, to be exact.

Frannie, or more correctly, Francoise de Bordeaux, was born in the relatively small community known as Lemonweir Mills, on November the 11th, in the year 1900.

Being one of the very few French inhabitants of that part of the territory, Frannie was proud of her heritage. Less than 150 years earlier, of course, her ancestors had been rousted from these shores. Her family had been among the first to return, roughly 75 years previous.

Unlike the majority of immigrants, rather than sailing into New York Harbor, the de Bordeauxs had entered this fledgling country by way of Canada. Following the Red River of the North, these Frenchies had made their way to Lake Itasca, where they were borne along on the Mighty Mississipp' till they hit the Wisconsin, then finally, the Lemonweir, which split the small village where they settled.

The menfolk had almost immediately begun to labor at the burgeoning new mill, while the women, for the most part, stayed at home though they busied themselves in whatever way they could to supplement the meager incomes of their menfolk.

Growing up in such an environment, Frannie had no choice but to become one of the toughest women in that part of the country. Although the signing of the Armistice coincided with her 18th birthday, when she was photographed at the Studio in nearby New Lisbon, the fighting was to continue for some time.

Unfortunately, poor Frannie would find out, some months later, that she had chosen the correct attire to be photographed in on that fateful day in November. As the shutter snapped, it began to rain...

This column utilizes photos of unknowns provided by the Jefferson Valley Museum to create a possible scenario for the photo. The stories are not historically accurate, for the most part; the authors do research the photos but take liberties for creative purposes.

If you would like to create fiction from history with one of the museum's photos, please contact the Ledger at (406) 287-5301 or email whledger@gmail.com.

 

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