100 Years Ago — Oct 21, 1926.
The livestock industry was bustling, with 47 railroad cars of cattle shipped Tuesday to markets in St. Paul and Chicago. Among those shipping cattle were N.C. McNamara, Harry Green, Bob Green, Frank Bell and Peter Sonksen. The substantial shipment reflected the importance of ranching to the local economy and the connections between Montana producers and eastern livestock markets.
There was news from the business district as well. The Fashion Barber Shop had relocated to the Campbell building. After considerable painting and improvements, the shop was described as a very attractive establishment.
Travel and family visits filled the social columns. Claude C. Mills departed Tuesday evening for Des Moines, Iowa, to visit his parents. Miss Nettie Siebrasse left for Los Angeles, California, with a stop in Great Falls. John Jorgensen traveled to Great Falls on Sunday, expecting to spend the winter there.
Mrs. Henry Mudd and her infant daughter departed Tuesday for Conrad to visit relatives. Mesdames Newhall, Porter, Eccles and O’Malley visited Havre Wednesday. Mr. and Mrs. Kulbeck and Mr. and Mrs. Jack Place of Havre attended the Rifle Club Saturday evening, while Misses Louise and Bessie Carroll left Thursday morning for Chicago.
Sports were part of the week’s activities, too. Lyman Hayes of Havre served as referee for the football games held the previous Saturday.
And with Halloween approaching, residents were reminded of the Halloween party and box social scheduled for Friday, October 29, at the community hall.
75 Years Ago — Oct 18, 1951
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50 Years Ago — Oct 21, 1976
The undefeated Pioneers, champions of the Northern Division and Montana’s top-ranked Class B football team, were preparing for one of their biggest challenges of the season. They would host Eastern Division champion Fairview in the first interdivisional playoff game.
Birthday celebrations were also filling the social calendar. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold O’Neil and Jim, Mr. and Mrs. Marlyn Cornett and Vonnie, Mr. and Mrs. Frank O’Neil, and Mrs. Loetta Welty were supper guests of the Gene Welty family to help Leslie celebrate her birthday.
Jamie Fry celebrated his sixth birthday with a gathering of young friends, including Cody Pavlovick, Kelly Rutledge, Sophia Williams, Debbie Pribyl, Jason Sluggett and Dana Gasvoda. The children enjoyed playing together before Jamie opened his gifts and everyone shared birthday cake and ice cream. Family members and mothers joined in the celebration.
The senior citizens also enjoyed a special occasion. Approximately 30 attended the quarterly birthday party on October 19, honoring those with birthdays in July, August and September. Tom Deutschman, Pearl Ophus, Mabel and Violet Hergenrider were credited with baking cakes. Pinochle, bridge and bingo provided the afternoon’s entertainment.
Other news included the return of the Laniks from Tacoma, Washington, following several weeks of visiting relatives.
A public hearing was announced for October 28 at Loma’s Community Hall concerning a proposed highway construction project south of the Marias River. The project was described as beginning near the north end of the recently constructed U.S. Highway 87 bridge and extending approximately 3½ miles north toward the bench south of Loma.
Richard Magda traveled to Big Sandy to obtain a pressure pump for the family well, while George Bleha enjoyed watching ballgames with Huffman on Sunday.
25 Years Ago —Oct 17, 2001
The 10th annual Chouteau County Health Fair drew an impressive response, with more than 650 people preregistering for blood screening tests. That represented an increase of more than 100 participants over the previous year.
The first health fair, held in 1983, had drawn just 240 participants. By 2001, the event had grown into a major countywide health initiative.
Participants received a blood profile consisting of more than 32 tests, valued by organizers at over $400. With more than 650 participants, the newspaper estimated the combined savings at nearly $230,000.
The success of the event depended heavily upon volunteer efforts. Wendy Brandt, a laboratory technician at Missouri River Medical Center, and Del Simon, a laboratory technician at Big Sandy Medical Center, were recognized for their assistance. Volunteers from the Fort Benton Memorial Ambulance Service also helped with the blood draws.
A remarkable piece of Big Sandy history was preparing to find a new home.
A 1934 Chevrolet truck, which had not run for more than 30 years, had been brought back to operating condition by Clete Ophus of Ophus Auction Service.
The truck carried lettering on its door identifying the Oscar Nygard Coal Mine of Big Sandy, preserving a connection to an earlier chapter of the community’s business history.
Big Sandy residents were preparing for a communitywide Make a Difference Day on October 27, with dozens of projects designed to improve the town and help neighbors.
The Bear Paw 4-H Club proudly displayed its accomplishments in the window of Courtnage and Sons.
The exhibit featured trophies, awards and honors earned by members and the club at the 2001 Chouteau County Fair.
With deer season opening, local hunters and landowners were noticing a troubling decline in whitetail deer populations.
According to a state Fish and Game biologist quoted in The Mountaineer, the losses were associated with a disease commonly called blue tongue. The article explained that the disease was transmitted by insects and could become particularly severe during warm, dry fall conditions when an early hard freeze had not reduced insect populations.
George Baldik of Harlem, his daughter Barbara and a friend from Great Falls accompanied Emily Brown to Big Fork to visit Frank and Jean Baldik.
Angus and Ruth Merrill traveled to Colville, Washington, on October 11 to spend several days visiting relatives.
Emily Brown also accompanied Leona Sorenson and Margaret Grubb to Big Fork, where they visited Hazel Balazic and her daughter Linda. Leona’s daughter Bonnie came from Helena, and the family enjoyed dinner together before returning home.
Lynn, Sadie, Mariah and Suzie Faber accompanied Betty Silvan to Great Falls on October 18. Libby and Jamie Fry were in Havre, where Jamie was celebrating a birthday.
Linda Rutledge spent the weekend in Bozeman, where Karl was attending college. Many local residents also attended a telephone meeting in Havre.
The Nosin’ column shared news of Ruth Pegar and Lynn and Jarold Schmidt enjoying a fall foliage trip to Washington.
The travelers visited Lindsay at Washington State University and Lareina at Eastern Washington University, staying with Lareina and Evan Dorence in Cheney.
They also visited Hall and Annie Ophus near Spokane and stopped to see Phyllis and Doug Gagner in Missoula on both legs of their journey. Scott and Anthony Pegar joined them during one of the visits.