Our Town 100 Years Ago...November Part I

NOVEMBER PART I

November 1896 was significant with the presidential election being fought between McKinley and Bryan. McKinley was declared the winner. The battleship Texas sunk in the Brooklyn Navy yard, sitting about five feet below the water line. The court case in the news was the United States versus American Bell Telephone Company. A decision in favor of the government would open the telephone to public use. Here in the Jefferson Valley, the Zephyr's November issue was the last by popular owner/editor/news staff Mr. H. M. Wentworth. The following items are taken as written in the November 6 and 13 editions of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr.

Zephyrettes and Personals: Chris Wade met with what might have been a serious accident yesterday afternoon. He was one of the principals of a wrestling match and having thrown his opponent was soon to raise up when one of the horses in the barn took part in the play and one blow put Chris to "sleep." A bruised head was the extent of the injuries. Dr. Haviland has a fine St. Bernard dog which was presented to him by J. Stark, of Twin Bridges. The Doctor has had a neat house erected for his dogship where he can be found on the lookout. Taxes will become delinquent on the first Monday in December.

President Cleveland has issued a proclamation designating Thursday, November 26th as Thanksgiving day. The election of McKinley was followed by a blizzard in this section. What will hit us next? Jack Hill, the courteous floor-walker in Frank Robson's livery parlors, came within 112 votes of being elected constable of this precinct, his opponent, Harry Dobbins, receiving 113.

Tom Hind has put an improvement in his store which none other can boast of-that is heating it by means of furnaces from the basement. The large sales room is now one of the most comfortable to be found in the country.

Building, Etc. Although snow has been already flying, and the weather cold and stormy considerable building and other improvements are going on in Whitehall, no less than four commodious dwelling houses are now under construction. Messrs. T. T. Black and Edwin Cooley, of South Boulder, have purchased five acres of land east of the town, of Noble & Wyeth, and will devote it to vegetables and small fruit products, a line in which both excel. Mr. Cooley will build in the spring, but Mr. Black will probably retain his home near the schoolhouse.

Good Bye. To the businessmen of Whitehall, I return thanks for their unabated patronage and interest in the welfare of the Zephyr, and I can sincerely say that I have never made a change from one place to another that was accompanied by regrets, until now. The people of Montana, especially in the vicinity of Whitehall, where are so many of the old-timers, are notoriously broad-gauge, honest, kindly-hearted people, and if the populations of other portions of this republic were composed of such men and women as populate the Rocky Mountain region, the world would be the better for it; feeling this in my heart, and knowing it from experience, now that I am about to leave, I can not help expressing the sentiment. J. M. Wentworth Nov. 6, 1896

1922 was coming to an end in some big ways. In early November, Howard Carter discovered the intact tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt, the BBC began daily radio broadcasts from the 2LO transmitter at Marconi House, Pope Pius XI called on the Belgian people to the unit, and NYC welcomed the premier of George M. Cohan's musical "Little Nellie Kelly." Things might have seemed smaller in Whitehall and the valley, but they were important to the people who lived here. The following news items are reproduced from notes made by Roy Millegan, Sr. from the November 9 and 16, 1922 editions of the Jefferson Valley News. The photo is of a WHS football practice on the dirt field south of the tracks. Notice the stack in the background.

Election counts are in and we are happy to report several local office results. Our county attorney will be Howard A. Johnson; the county surveyor is C. D. Flaherty and Andy Less will remain as the county coroner.

The high school boys did very well in their last game, winning 24 to 6 over Twin Bridges. This helps make up for the 6 to 0 loss to Bozeman. Several WHS graduates are pursuing further education at their chosen universities. James McDonald, Jr. is attending Gonzaga and is a fullback for the college football team. Jesse Painter, Clark Pace, and Joseph Cline are all attending Northwestern.

Cardwell has a new rural mail carrier. Mr. Bill Knuckey will be delivering mail to the North Boulder, the Hollow, and south to Summit Basin.

Guy George of Loomont is doing well with his farming venture. He has lumber coming in this week for the construction of a new cow barn. Apparently, C. C. Myers is not doing as well as he is selling his entire dairy herd.

We were saddened to hear of the death of Peter Wilson from Cavern. He was tragically killed by a train at the Cardwell crossing while attempting to haul wheat to the storage silos. Mr. Wilson was 67 and came to the Jefferson Valley about 15 years ago. He was a farmhand for E. C. Woodward and a veteran of the Spanish-American War. He will be buried in the Whitehall Cemetery.