Voices from the Past

May 25, 1923

$200 Mile Cost of Wire Fence

A fence constructed of barbed wire and cedar posts stands a farmer $200 a mile. No less authorities than Gene Michaels, stockman of Moorhead, and W.J. Schoeder, manager of the local branch of the Yellowstone Lumber company, assisted us in the calculation.

A spool of barbed wire weighs between 75 and 80 pounds and when strung out measures 80 rods or 1,320 feet. A rod is 5 ½ yards or 16 ½ feet. As there are 5,280 feet to the mile, it takes four spools of barbed wire to the miles for each wire strung. If three wires, the fence takes twelve spools of barbed wire to the mile. Figuring the cost of barbed wire at $5.25 a spool at Broadus, the cost of the wire alone is $63 per mile. The Miles City price for barbed wire is $4.50 per spool and at Arvada the price is $5.25 per 100 pounds. A thousand pounds of wire is used to the mile.

Another big item of expense is the cedar posts that can be figured at 25 cents each. If these posts are set a rod apart there will be 320 of them to the mile, costing $80. The wire and posts together cost $143 to the mile. The life of cedar posts is estimated at twelve years and that of cottonwood posts is half as long. Some farmers substitute cottonwood posts for they are more easily accessible and then are considerably cheaper. Cedar posts have been bought for as low as 11 cents each but each year they are becoming scarcer with a consequent raise in price. Farmers who have installed cottonwood or pine posts discover that they have practiced false economy in the long run for it has taken the same labor and materials to string wire on poor quality posts as on more durable ones and then to have the entire work duplicated within only a few years.

One pound of staples costing 8 cents is required to the 100 pounds of wire, or for a three-wire fence 80 cents to the mile. By actual count there are 77 staples to the pound.

The actual investment then in a mile of three-wire fences with cedar posts set one rod apart is $143.80. A one-wire fence is one-third as much, or $47.60, and a two-wire fence, $95.20. Two-wire fences are made to serve the purpose of enclosing the area but are unsatisfactory. Either they are too high from the ground, permitting cattle and horses to get through from underneath, or not high enough, making it possible for the animals to jump over. If the space is too wide between the two wires the animals try to get through, sometimes successfully, many cattle and horses have received ugly cuts from defective barbed wire fences, sometimes permanently crippling them and sometimes resulting in death.

The above costs of barbed wire fences do not include the farmer’s time in building the fence or what he might access against the cost for freighting the wire to his place. With these and all miscellaneous items added, the cost of a standard fence, that is, one built of cedar posts a rod apart and with three wires, may easily be estimated at $200 a mile. Maintenance of upkeep of a barbed wire fence is no small item of itself for repairs are constantly needed. Even one post down throws the entire stretch of fence out of commission, as does a broken wire.

May 21, 1948

Lightning Hit Horse & Rider

Bill Stuver, Powder River rancher, narrowly escaped death Friday morning when the horse he was riding was struck by lightning and killed. Bill was knocked unconscious by the electric bolt and was pinned under the horse when it fell.

Mrs. Ethel Harris who is working at the Fred Kramlich place next to the Stuver summer range had seen Stuver moving a number of cattle across the range. After seeing the lightning strike she noticed the cattle were meandering around and she could not see Mr. Stuver.

Mrs. Harris investigated and found the horse killed by the lighting and with Bill pinned under the horse and still unconscious. She tried to pull the horse off the inert rancher but finding that an impossibility she was able to drag Stuver out from under the horse. In doing so she pulled him out of his boot which was left under the horse.

Ole Tverberg was passing on the road and he brought word to Broadus of the accident. Sheriff Claude Anderson took Dr. P.P. Halleck out to the Stuver ranch where a hurried examination of the injured man was made. Stuver was loaded into the sheriff’s car and taken to the hospital in Miles City. Mrs. Stuver accompanied her husband to town.

At the hospital it was learned that no bones had been broken but Bill had received bruises on his face and head from the fall from the horse. One eyebrow was singed from the lightning bolt. It was expected that no serious permanent injury will result and that Mr. Stuver will be able to return to his ranch this week.

May 24, 1973

Big Liquor Supply Taken in Robbery

Approximately 20 cases of liquor were taken when the State Liquor Store in Broadus was robbed apparently after the weekend closing hours. Mrs. George Daniels, local liquor store vendor, said the robbery was discovered Monday afternoon when they went to the store with Kenneth Wynn, administrator of the Liquor Control Board, of Helena,

Mr. and Mrs. Daniels met Wynn about 2:00 p.m. Monday after he arrived in Broadus and took him to the store to show him the establishment. Everything in the front end of the store was apparently undisturbed but as they proceeded to the back end of the store, they found a broken window and open door leading to the adjacent barber shop and storage area.

About 20 cases, or more, of liquors and wines which move slower than more popular brands were missing from the storage area, Mrs. Daniels said. Deputy Sheriff Millard LaFlamme investigated the theft and local law is continuing the investigation.

Ordinarily, the theft would not have been discovered until Tuesday morning as regular store days are Tuesday through Saturday with the store closed on Sunday and Monday.

May 21, 1998

Ladies Golf Season Nearing Its End

By Nathan Perleberg

On Friday the eighth, the lady golfers traveled to Miles City. The course was the hardest they had faced all year, but the golfers did extremely well. Despite very tough competition, they still ended the day with good scores. Karen Stanley, the team’s number one golfer all season, had a 100. Amber McCutchan followed with a 111, Emily Perleberg with a 131, Shanna Huckins with a 134, and Jillian Powell finished with a 146.