Voices From The Past

October 6, 1922

Peerless Starts Delivery of Coal

The Peerless coal mine, on Sand Creek five miles west of Broadus, will probably be the sole distributing point this year for coal to Broadus and adjacent communities. The Coyote mine operated last year by Jim Taylor, has caved in and would entail too much labor to get it in workable condition. The Benefield and Cain mines are not in operation this year to any great extent.

At the Peerless mine, operated by James L. Curran and Joe Marengo, has been installed a new set of scales that will register the exact weight of coal instead of resorting to guesswork as heretofore.

Both the county and local school districts have awarded bids for the delivery of Peerless coal and in addition several hundred tons of coal will be purchased and stored away for winter’s use by people residing in Broadus and nearby points.

Within the next week or so, coal hauling will be the favorite exercise on the appearance of a caravan almost any day before the event of wintry weather. Coal at the mine costs $2 a ton and delivered to Broadus will cost $3.50 to $4 a ton, according to the quantity purchased. Two tons of coal fill a double wagon box.

The roadway up the canyon to the mine has been placed in passable condition for automobiles, but teamsters complain that the road from the mouth of the canyon could be considerably improved.

October 3, 1947

Robert McCurdy Will Build Store Building

Robert D. McCurdy who recently announced the establishment of the McCurdy Motor Co., in Broadus, has purchased the two corner lots at the northeast corner or Lincoln Ave. and Holt St. where he will erect a building this fall to house his business. The building will be out of brick and tile construction. McCurdy is the agent in this area for Dodge cars and the Case line of farm machinery. Early this week he took delivery of a new Dodge sedan which he plans to use as a demonstrator. He has also received this week one of the large models of Case tractors.

October 2, 1997

B-1 Crashes in Carter Co.

Ekalaka Eagle 9-25-97—A B-1B bomber on a routine training mission crashed Friday, September 19, in Carter County, killing all four crew members aboard. The crash occurred about 25 miles north of Alzada.

Carter County Sheriff Rusty Jardee said that the sheriff’s office began receiving calls at about 2:40 p.m. from area ranchers who reported a plume of smoke somewhere southeast of Belltower Rock. Some of the reports also mentioned a low flying military aircraft.

Jardee said that he was already en route to the scene when a 911 dispatcher confirmed a downed aircraft some ten minutes later.

Fire departments from Alzada, Camp Crook, and Ekalaka were dispatched to the scene, as well as ambulances from Camp Crook and Ekalaka. As events continued to unfold, law enforcement officers from Carter, Fallon, and Powder River Counties and the Montana Highway Patrol were called to the crash site.

Perhaps the closest witness to the crash was Jim Watts, who was checking a pasture on the Lee Thomas Ranch. Watts said he saw the B-1 as it passed over him, flying south. Then the large airplane made a right hand turn toward the north, around the Finger Buttes, and returned. Watts said that he had looked away for a moment, and when he looked for the aircraft again, he failed to see it. An instant later he saw the explosion.

Watts described the impact like a “whole row of dynamite” which threw first dust into the air then smoke. “It happened so fast, I was astonished,” he commented. He estimates that he was one half to three quarters of a mile from the crash.

Following the crash, Watts returned to the Thomas Ranch, made the 911 call, and returned to the site with Thane Thomas and a spraying rig to fight the fire started by the crash.

The wreckage was scattered over an area estimated to be about one mile long and one half mile wide. Approximately 100 acres of grassland were burned as a result of the crash. The crash site involves two ranches, those of Thomases and Bill and Ruth Rosencranz.

According to those who were first to arrive to the scene, the fire was contained quickly, mostly by local ranchers who, like Watts and Bill Rosencranz, responded quickly.

Once the fire was contained, sheriff’s officers made an immediate search for the crew. Sheriff Jardee indicated that all four of the crew had been found by 4:00 p.m. and that none had survived the crash. This information was relayed to U.S. Air force personnel at Ellsworth AFB, near Rapid City, South Dakota.

With the Air Force notified, Jardee said, the emergency crews secured the site until Air Force investigators arrived. Jardee estimates that the first Air Force contingent arrived at about 6:30 p.m. Since the tragedy, the Air Force has set up a tent city of trained personnel to investigate the crash site. The area was quickly fenced, both to contain the crash site, and to allow landowners the opportunity to continue their livestock operation in the area.

The formal investigation into the crash will take weeks, or even months, according to Air Force spokesmen. The B-1, which was carrying no weapons, disintegrated in the crash. Observers at the scene were awed by the degree of destruction.

Neil Kittelmann, an Ekalaka firefighter and sheriff’s reserve, commented “It’s hard to believe that something that big could be in such small pieces.” Sheriff Jardee suggested that the largest of the debris “could fit into the back of a pickup.” Others have expressed heartfelt sympathy for the families of the four crewmen who were lost. This was an experienced crew, based at Ellsworth, and some had children in the Rapid City school system. A memorial service was conducted Monday for the crew at Ellsworth.

Samuelson Playing Ball in Europe

Shawn Samuelson, former standout Broadus Hawk and U of M Grizzlies basketball star, is playing in the European League this season, on Sweden’s A-1 squad.

Shawn departed for Stockholm with wife Kim and baby son Jared on August 27th, said mom Gaye in a report to the Examiner. Thus far in the season, Shawn’s been averaging around 20 points a game and 15 rebounds a game.

The European League season runs through April 20, with league play-offs following.

Shawn is a 1992 Powder River County District High School graduate, and a 1996 graduate of the University of Montana - Missoula. He was employed in Missoula for the past year, before being offered a spot on Sweden’s top team.