30 Years Ago

Thursday, January, 1990

Black Hills Pack temporarily closed

Eastern Montana cattle shippers will miss seeing that familiar “BHP” as buyers on their sales invoices from nearby South Dakota sales yard, with the recent closure of Black Hills Packing Company. They will also, no doubt, miss the competitive bidding, of BHP in slaughter cattle sales.

Management of Black Hills Pack said the plant is on the market. “Our sincere wish is that something can be consummated and this facility can be acquired as a satellite plant for an existing cow slaughter operation, and we’ll be back in business, aggressively buying cattle.”

The closure is blamed on a local shortage of slaughter animals and the competition of larger slaughter plants, as well present economy where taxes crowd out smaller businesses.

Black Hills Pack has been rated as one of the finer examples of packers in the mid-west. It also cooperated closely with Fort Keogh in various livestock experiments, “even though the necessary steps slowed operations and added costs,” it is said.

No injuries in storm-related truck upset

There were no injuries to the driver when a Midwest Coast Transport, eastbound, and carrying over 20 tons of potatoes went off the road about nine miles west of Broadus on Highway 212 in late evening of December 20, according to investigating officer Deputy Sheriff John Robinson.

He said the driver was blinded by snow thrown up when he met a truck, and overestimated the width of the road. “He drifted off the edge and the truck upset and laid over on its side, but the potatoes were sealed in and no doors were sprung,” Robinson reported.

Therefore the tasty tubers remained untouched by frost until the following day.

“The company notified the sheriff’s office to spread the word to residents to help themselves to whatever they could use, and it was surprising how many people came just to load and haul potatoes to points of storage, where they later passed them out by request – they just stored them everywhere in frost free places,” Robinson reported.

Wreckers righted the transport the following day and the driver was able to travel to a repair point, or so Robinson assumed, as he drove the truck away from the site of the accident.

Most everyone who picked up potatoes for themselves also got some for other family members and for neighbors, passing them around as stocking stuffers, in thankfulness that the driver was uninjured, and enjoying the opportunity to play Santa – without cost.