Voices from the Past

July 18, 1924

No One Claimed Moonshine at Coalwood Celebration

At the Coalwood celebration, Sheriff L.R. Warren discovered a pint flask of moonshine in a truck near the dance floor about 2:30 o'clock Saturday morning. The officer pursued his search until in an old beer case used as a chuck box he found two more bottles containing the same brand of liquor. In all there was about a pint and a half of "moon". Taking the bottles and their contents to the dance floor the sheriff invited the owner to come forward and claim the property but no one responded, so he poured the liquor onto the ground.

The sheriff's suspicions were aroused by seeing men make trips to the truck so he decided to conduct a personal investigation. Some man saw his approach and beat a hasty retreat with the sheriff pursuing on foot until the guilty party found his way into the crowd of dancers and escaped. There were not shots fired for fear of injuring innocent parties. The sheriff went back to the truck and discovered the fiery thirst quencher. The owner of the truck, Ferd Henning, disclaimed any knowledge of the "moon" being in his truck and didn't know the owner of dispenser of the stuff. The supply of "moon" was destroyed and in that respect the celebration had ended.

July 15, 1949

New Service Station at McCurdy Motor Co.

Bob McCurdy, proprietor of the McCurdy Motor Company, this week signed a contract with the Continental Oil Company to handle their products in Broadus. The company will install two gasoline pumps at his place of business at the northeast corner of Lincoln Ave. and Holt St., and underground gasoline storage. It is expected that the installation will be made this week and that the new service station will be in operation by next week. Mr. McCurdy asks interested parties to inquire of him concerning Continental's Touraide if they are planning a trip in the near future. Continental credit cards are also available, Mr. McCurdy said.

Levi Howes Has Big Beef Herd

For the second year in succession Levi S. Howes, Otter Creek rancher, has more cattle listed on the assessment list that any other rancher in Powder River County. His 1949 assessment shows 1,140 head. The 1948 assessment was 1,200 head. P. A. Reitz, Little Powder River rancher, had the second largest number of cattle on the 1949 assessment roll with 807. In 1948 Mr. Reitz was in fifth place with 719 head.

E. Lee Wilson had the third largest number of cattle on the assessment list with 714, last year the Cache Creek cattleman was in seventh place with 195 head of cattle on the list. Thompson & Nefsy who bought out the Henry Sawtell ranch a year ago, have the fourth largest herd of cattle on the list with 710 head. Last year Mr. Sawtell had the second largest herd with 1,175 head.

Other ranchers with large herds of cattle on the assessment list include Fred Yonkee of Sayle 664, Joe Snoddy of Three Bar Creek 656, D. L. Perry of Otter Creek 612, B.M.R. Knudson, Sonnette 603, Glen Russell, Bay Horse 548, H.H. Gay, Moorhead 517, Perry Hanson, Ashland 483, Burlay & Choate, Stacey 476, C.D. & Julian Terrett, Brandenberg 457, J.A. Williams, Trustee, Broadus 452, Mary F. Hill, Powderville 432, George Leitner, Moorhead 425, Chas. H. Thex, Otter 425.

J.O. Washington, Poker Jim Creek sheepman, has more sheep on the assessment list for 1949 than any other sheepman in the county with 1,875. He had the fourth largest band of sheep in 1948 with 1,551. Otis Nisley with 1,845 head has the second largest band of sheep on the 1949 assessment list. Last year he was in first place with 2,640 head.

Other sheep owners with the larger bands are J.E. Garr, Quietus 1,500, Grace Johnson, Powderville 1,300, Manly Moore, Powderville 1,250, Howard Vannett 1,030, Orvie Hough 820, Robert Ormeshar 800.

July 18, 1974

Group Investigates Rest Home Possibility

A group of area women met with the county commissioners to learn procedures to follow to get the possibility of building a rest home before the voters. The group included Mrs. Verlin Popp, Mrs. Betty Smith, Mrs. Francis Taylor, Mrs. Wayne Wetherelt, Mrs. Charlie Emmons, Mrs. Willis Tipton and Mrs. Walter Ferguson.

They were informed that they must circulate a petition to such effect and have it signed by a certain percent of the registered voters. The committee has investigated the need of a rest home in the area and now till investigate the funding of other rest homes and the cost of operation.

The committee became enthused over the project when they realized the dire need for a facility where patients can be close to home. They said there are now at least 16 Powder River County residents residing in rest homes in other areas.

The group plans to meet again soon to put together their statistics and formulate future plans. They also plan to visit two rest homes in Miles City today to obtain needed information.

July 22, 1999

Brownie and Junior Girl Scout News

By Liz Riter

All the girls have been nagging, I mean asking, to go camping this summer, so in January the decision was made to go to Timbercrest. We spent most of the meetings this spring learning camping skills such as first aid and safety, using the buddy system, having a weather (clothing) relay, learning cooking skills, using a pocket knife, learning to build a campfire, having a bedroll relay, making "sit-upons", and reading trail signs. Hopefully this would prepare girls and adults for our camping experiences.

We gathered and stuffed, I mean packed everything into two large vehicles on June 22. The Junior Girl Scouts who went were Danielle Buhmann, Koreena Greslin, and Valerie Riter. The Brownies were Alex Lancaster, Kim Reaves, Amanda Riter, Diamond Shipp, Oakley Thoeny, and Kayla Traub. We stopped at the Pictograph Caves, south of Billings, for a sack lunch and to run off some energy, I mean, an educational tour. We continued on to Timbercrest which is located west of Red Lodge, MT. The setting was beautiful and mountainous. We stayed in rustic cabins with a main lodge for meals and activities. The camp director had a very busy and fun-filled program planned for us. We learned more first aid, cooked s'mores and sang songs around a campfire, went on hikes, learned more about flag ceremonies, and cooked lunch over a campfire. We made many different kinds of crafts, some using things we found in nature, and somehow found room in the vehicles to bring them home.

Most of the girls and adults met the challenge of joining the Polar Bear Club. To do this we had to "take the plunge" in Jelly Bean Lake at 6:30 a.m. It was pretty brisk and then these crazy people, I mean, girls and women, received a certificate and made an exclusive polar bear necklace.