100 Years Ago — Sept 2, 1926.
In the Inga area, Mrs. Lida Walters and Mrs. Inez Hope Ary, both of Big Sandy, were in the vicinity Tuesday. Mrs. Walters had the Inga School, while Mrs. Ary had the Ray School, a reminder of the many small rural schools that once dotted the countryside around Big Sandy.
There was happy family news as well. Mr. and Mrs. Richard McColl welcomed a baby girl on September 2.
Zelda Billie and Elsie Mack had returned Thursday from Willamette, Oregon.
One small advertisement from the week gives us a particularly interesting glimpse into everyday life in 1926. Mrs. Nell O’Malley announced that she was prepared to do “marcelling.” She would be at the McNamara & Marlow store on Saturdays and available at home the remainder of the week. Marcelling, the process of creating deep waves in the hair, was a fashionable hairstyle of the era.
Another advertisement offered an enormous piece of Montana land by modern standards: a 25,000-acre grazing tract for $3 per acre. The property was advertised as having “splendid grass, water, browse and shade,” along with a southern slope that provided early pasture. The listing came from the Blackfoot Land Development Company of Missoula.
It is difficult to read that figure today without doing the arithmetic. At the advertised price, all 25,000 acres would have amounted to $75,000 — a striking snapshot of Montana land values a century ago.
75 Years Ago — Sept 6, 1951
Big Sandy had reason to be proud of Helen Kalanick, a local twirler who appeared in the night show at the Labor Day celebration in Great Falls.
Tuesday morning also brought one of the unmistakable signs of fall: school began for the 1951-52 year.
A total of 249 students had enrolled. Of those, 108 were in the lower grades, 36 were in Junior High School and 105 were enrolled in high school.
For one Big Sandy student, the beginning of the school year meant an opportunity farther from home. George Rice received a scholarship through the Sears Roebuck Scholarship program to attend Montana State College at Bozeman for the 1951-52 year.
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Courtnage became the proud parents of a baby boy born Wednesday, September 5, at a Havre hospital.
The Dick Bush family moved into their newly completed home on Main Street.
And Mr. and Mrs. Earl Weaver were also the proud parents of a baby boy, born Tuesday.
Among the younger generation, little Diane Humphrey was spending the week visiting Sugar Peterson, while Bruce Peterson began high school Tuesday and was staying at the dorm.
These short notices may have seemed ordinary when they appeared in 1951. Seventy-five years later, however, they preserve the milestones that make community history personal — first days of school, scholarships, new homes, new babies and young people beginning the next stage of their lives.
50 Years Ago — Sep 2, 1976
The social columns of September 1976 were filled with visits, family gatherings, college departures and an adventure involving a group of local 4-H members.
Vonnie Cornett spent Friday with her grandparents, Frank and Mae O’Neil. Fred and Mae O’Neil and the girls joined them for a visit that evening.
Florence Ketterling drove out and spent Monday and Tuesday with her sister, Vivian Schroeder, and Vivian’s husband, Gene. The women spent some of their time sewing together.
Tuesday afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Jenkins and Jerry’s sister, Pat, from Canada visited the Jim Allderdices.
On Saturday, members of the 4-H Club started at Husar’s Ridge and rode horseback down to the river, where they spent Saturday night. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Allderdice and Bud Boyce stayed with the group.
Among those making the ride were Shane, Clint, Reece and Lila Lee Ophus; Norma Christopherson; Brenda McCracken; Jamee Moravec; the Husar boys; the Boyces; the Walkers; and the Allderdices.
Mr. and Mrs. Orville Stevens visited the Orval Christoffersons Saturday to see their granddaughter, Tami, before she left for Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
The little Warrick School opened Monday, August 30, with just nine pupils: Randy and Colleen Boyce, Tod and Jim Dumas, Faron Henderson, Cherie and Teasha Walker, and Matthew and Paul States.
That enrollment, nine students in an entire rural school, provides another wonderful snapshot of the small country schools that were still very much a part of life in the Big Sandy area.
Kelly Jenkins left Wednesday for school at Northwestern University in Chicago after spending several days at home with his family. Underdahl’s and Jenkins’ arrived Friday after visiting in Wyoming and Salt Lake City with Kelly’s sister, Jeanine, and her husband, Dan Roadhouse.
25 Years Ago — Sept 5, 2001
By September 2001, school was again underway, but the front pages of The Mountaineer showed that the opening of school also meant the return of Pioneer athletics.
Coach Roy Lackner’s Lady Pioneers rolled through the Big Sandy Invitational Tournament, defeating Turner 112-17Friday night and following that performance with a 73-40 victory over Highwood Saturday.
Coach Scott Chauvet noted that Heart Butte’s size created problems for the young Pioneer squad. After a scoreless first quarter, Heart Butte jumped ahead 8-0 before Skylar Pearson broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run, pulling Big Sandy within two.
The Bear Paw 4-H Club was also busy.
At its August meeting at the Roger Terry home, Vice President Sara Weaver called the meeting to order. Colter Darlington led the American pledge, while Kelly Lanchbury led the 4-H pledge. Mariah Faber presented the treasurer’s report.
The Clover Buds reported on a campout held at the Larry Bitz home, where the youngsters made bird feeders, and members also reported on a horse clinic where they practiced horsemanship patterns.
Gaylen Givens of the Bear Paw 4-H Club won the senior overall showmanship title in the round robin.
Morgan Darlington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dana Darlington of Big Sandy, showed her red-ribbon market beef and also received a blue ribbon in showmanship.
Colter Darlington, also a member of the Bear Paw 4-H Club, was pictured with several of his Clover Bud projects.
Weston Brown won the Preschool through Grade Two division Ring Race, Key Race and Barrel Race.Tenley Keller won the Flag Race in that division. In the Grade Three through Six division, Rebecca Bitz won the Flag Race, while Chelsea Brown won both the Poles and Barrel Race.
Morgan Darlington won the Key Race in her division.
Among the older competitors, Marissa Clark won the Junior High Flag Race and Poles, while Cody Joyce won the Barrel Race and Marissa won the Key Race.
Rachel Anderson won the High School Key Race and Barrel Race, while Laceen Ophus won the Poles and Flag Race.
In the adult division, Frank Mayo won the Flag Race and Barrel Race, while Kelli Pursley won the Poles and Key Race.