Our Town 125 and 100 Years Ago: July, Part II

125 YEARS AGO - July Part II

July 1897 was a super-hot one. The mid-section of the U.S. was sweltering and there were close to 850 deaths recorded from the heat across the nation. Chicago led the death toll with 87 followed by Cincinnati and St. Louis. Miners were flocking to the Klondike seeking their fortunes after reports of gold nuggets as large as a guinea hen egg. Utah was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Brigham Young and his pioneers in the Great Salt Lake Valley as well as being a new state in the United States. In Western Montana, there were stories of murder, suicide, death, and theft. In Butte, a 3-year-old died after playing with matches and a desperately poor young mother took her life with an overdose of laudanum. The following news items from the Jefferson Valley are taken as written from the July 16, 23, and 30, 1897 issues of the Jefferson Valley Zephyr.

HOME NEWS: William Hurlburt, John Wolverton, W.N. Davidson, F.M. Minier, and Henry Heider were drawn on the trial jury for the term of court that opened at Boulder on Tuesday. Dr. Ben Brooke and Edgar Brooke of Butte were in town on Saturday in consultation with Dr. Davis on the case of Mrs. E.G. Brooke, who is ill with dropsy and also afflicted with a tumor. Quite a number of former residents of Whitehall are engaged at Mammoth on the mill being erected by the Mastodon company. The ball game between the Gaylord and Whitehall nines for a purse did not take place at Whitehall Sunday as was billed. A practice game was played at Gaylord between the two nines with a score of 26 to 14 in favor of Gaylord.

Al Smith, John Moore, and Harold and Edward Fox went to the springs on Sunday; at least they made the start in fine style but when about halfway out the Smith steed ran away, dumping four boys by the wayside. It was the intention to keep the matter strictly secret but contact with prickly pears left unmistakable traces of the mishap on the otherwise smooth faces and the cat was out of the bag in no time after the return to town.

A talking machine show is billed for Monday evening next, under the supervision of C.R. Sandvig, who guarantees that the songs, speeches, etc., are reproduced loud enough so that everyone in an audience of 3,000 people can hear it all. As the program consists of a variety of good selections the show should be entertaining and pleasant.

Yesterday morning Deputy Sheriff Sherlock started to Boulder with a man named Semple, and it is said that the prisoner will be accused of the killing of Reddish, about a year ago at this place. At any rate, Semple will be held for fighting and disorderly conduct until an investigation can be held. Reddish was killed with a club and robbed about a mile east of town, the particulars of which are familiar to all persons in this part, having been printed several times.

Hon. Edward Cardwell has brought suit against Jefferson County for $110 claimed to be due him for building fences along the public highway. The commissioners failed or refused to allow the bill after having agreed to do so, it is alleged.

The hay crops in the Willow Creek, Madison, Summit, South Boulder, and Jefferson Valleys are being harvested and the yield is of good quality. The first cut of alfalfa has been put away.

A miner named O'Leary arrived in Sand Creek Tuesday, acting in a manner to cause doubt as to his sanity. Wednesday, he divested himself of all his clothing and appeared in camp in a startling state of nudity. Residents of Sand Creek caught him and induced him to put on his clothes. He was undoubtedly insane and will be taken to Virginia City.

100 YEARS AGO - July Part II

July 1923 was no less sensational with news headlines. Poncho Villa was killed in Mexico on July 20th; nearly all of the Philippine-born officials of the territorial government of the U.S.-controlled Philippines resigned after an American official was reinstated after being charged with bribery; 1000 members of the KKK defied an order by Kansas Attorney General Griffith prohibiting marching in a parade while wearing a mask; and President Warren G. Harding became the first U. S. President to visit Canada and got sick from food poisoning while returning to the U.S. His condition would deteriorate over the next few days. The following articles are based on notes made by Roy Millegan, Sr. from the July 12 and 19 editions of the Jefferson Valley News. The photo shows work being done on the Whitetail Dam.

There was a most tragic accident at 2:45 PM on the Blackstone spur about three miles east of town. Well-known engineer Thomas Barry, age 60, and three others were killed due to tomfoolery by some young boys. The other deceased are Albert Jacobs of Laurel, age 22; W.J. Bouillard of Seattle, age 26; and Clifford Marney of Butte, age 20. The engine was pulling twelve coaches, an empty refrigerator car, and a second engine. Fireman James Beamer was able to jump to safety before the horrible event occurred. This tragedy happened because young Archie McArthur, 11, decided to show his cousins Francis and Norman Linton, how to throw the switch on the tracks. The boys had been swimming in Pipestone Creek. If Mrs. Leo Kelly had not witnessed the accident, we might not know the truth about what happened.

Young McArthur took a large rock and beat on the lock for the switch. When the boys moved the switch, the lock reengaged. They saw the No. 41 coming but could not get the lock released to switch back to the main line. The boys hid in the bushes and watched the terror they had unleashed. Our county attorney has issued a statement that young McArthur cannot be held for murder. Engineer Barry was born in London, England. His mother died when he was three and he was sent to live with his grandparents in Iowa. At age 14 he took to railroading. Around the age of 25, he intended to move to California but stopped in Livingston where he spent two years before ending up in Whitehall. He piloted the engine over the Ruby Valley branch for 15 years and had been with the NP on the route to Butte for the last year and a half. He leaves behind his wife Teresa. The interment will be in the Whitehall cemetery.

Montana Power has released its new rates for electric power. A residence will now pay 8 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 25 and the next 25 will be reduced to 4 cents. After that, the next 100 KWH will be charged 3 cents, and beyond the 100 a rate of 2 cents.

Roy Walsh and Arthur Hughes have been in court for the murder of Al Johnson at Renova. Hughes has sent his resentment to this newspaper for labeling him a killer since it was Walsh who did the dirty deed. His letter to this establishment concludes with "I never killed or hurt anybody in my life, so lay off." This paper will continue to carry stories about criminals and their crimes. There are too many cases where the criminal is treated like a hero who is about to be decorated with a medal of honor.