Voices from the Past

October 19, 1923

Leads Hogs 60 Miles to Market

Powderville is 60 miles from the nearest railroad at Miles City and to haul a herd of 213 hogs that far would have been an undertaking to take all profits, but Tom Barnard solved the problem to nicety by practically leading the swine that distance, getting them to Miles City in excellent condition for shipment from that place to market.

Mr. Barnard, knowing that hogs cannot be driven with any satisfaction, coaxed them along by sending a wagon load of corn ahead. One man drove, another scattered corn along to keep the hogs following, and another kept the stragglers in line, so that the hogs were placed in Miles City at but comparatively small expense and in excellent condition, having made the trip at a leisurely gait, feeding as they went.

John Dunbar and Percy Marston returned to Powderville last Saturday after making the trip to Miles City with the 213 hogs, trailing them the entire distance. Relating their experiences at Powderville they said that with cool weather and full water holes, the hogs will travel as far in a day as cattle and farther than sheep, twelve miles being the average per day, with 14 miles the longest day’s drive.

October 18, 1973

A Giant Squash

A Crop All In Its Own - A 111 lb. squash was grown on the Carl Phillips ranch at Sonnette. It was a volunteer plant, probably a cross between a large variety of squash that their daughter, Gaylene, had grown and one of their own large variety. The squash was on display at Mellor’s IGA store.

Montana Bar Assn. Salutes A.W. Heidel

A.W. Heidel of Broadus was the first lawyer to be saluted by the Montana Bar Association since their new by-laws provided for honorary members. The new by-laws provided that lawyers who have been admitted to practice for over 50 years and are no longer actively practicing law are eligible to become honorary MBA members.

The MBA is saluting their honorary members in their bulletin and the first to be saluted is Heidel. The publication honored him with the following statements:

A member of the Minnesota Bar, A.W. Heidel came to Helena at age 21, was admitted to the Montana Bar, and started an active practice in Helena. At age 23 he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for Montana. A few years later, Heidel opened an office in Great Falls. After another few years, Sam Ford was elected Attorney General and appointed Heidel Assistant Attorney General. In his own words, he continues to tell his story.

“After operating as Assistant Attorney General for a few years, the people down here, which was Custer County then, had me draw a bill creating Powder River County. That was in 1919. The ranchers down there and the ranchers from here who were in the legislature and had me draw the bill creating the county had me start the Powder River County Bank and wanted me to run it. I followed this out and although I had intended to continue to practice law, I found out I had too much on my hands to do both so I stayed with the bank.”

During the following years, he continued to do a certain amount of legal work, and was elected president of the Montana State Bankers Association, appointed a director the Helena Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, and served for 8 years on the Montana Highway Commission. After that time, Heidel began to have health problems and gradually had to give up some of his activities.

Today he refers to himself as being “inactive” and commented that “it is with pleasure that I will become an honorary member of the Montana Bar Association”. He continues as a director in the Powder River County Bank, where his two sons are directors and active officers.

October 15, 1998

Railroad Construction to Begin in Spring, Says TRRC

Construction on the long-proposed Tongue River Railroad - 127 mile long stretch of new railroad line between Miles City and Decker - will begin in the spring of 1999, TRRC spokesman Don Sterhan of Billings told Powder River County Commissioners, Broadus Town Council members, Planning Board members and others at a meeting here last Tuesday afternoon.

On hand for the meeting along with Sherhan, was Doug Walker of TRRC, Commissioners Vic Phillippi and Kyle Butts, Planning Board members Jimmy Collins and Gene Smith, Clerk and Recorder Karen D. Amende, Town Council representatives Lyman Amsden, Dave Day and Harlan Jones, Commissioner Candidates Debi Fleming and Ray Traub, and County Attorney Jeffrey Noble.

Sterhan said that despite ongoing efforts to stop the railroad by the Northern Plains Resource Council and other environmental groups in opposition, and that many ranchers, especially in the lower end of the line remain aligned against it, construction will begin on the Miles City to Ashland stretch early next spring.

The cost of the construction for the 127 mile line - which includes a seven mile spur to reach federal coal reserves in Powder River County - is expected to exceed $300,000,000, Sterhan said. Once complete, he said, the railroad line itself would mean an estimated $2,014,142 in additional property monies to the State of Montana. Powder River County would see an increase in property taxes of $150,676 annually - a 14.4 percent increase over its present taxable valuation - for the seven mile spur alone.

Sterhan said that a work force of between 500 and 600 workers will be needed during the two-year construction phase. More employment opportunities await with the construction and operation of the two new mines.

“As a result of this large capacity investment, the railroad will add significantly to the local tax base and generate additional revenue for the local school districts, county governments, and the State of Montana,” according to an informational brochure put out by TRR.

The railroad, and the proposed two new mines, are necessary for Montana to be able to continue to compete in the Coal Industry and its new demands for a low sulphur, high B.T.U., cleaner burning product, said Sterhan.

(Editor’s Note: The railroad was never built. Long delays, including a rejection from Montana FWP for a proposed easement through a fish hatchery, rejection from Montana DEQ due to flaws in permitting, a change in ownership of the coal company, and further litigation kept the project in the planning stages until 2016, when the Surface Transportation Board finally rejected the request, citing the bankruptcy of Arch Coal.)