Voices from the Past

August 1, 1924

Likely Market for Cavalry Horses

The possibility of having the government send a buyer here to procure cavalry horses, caused this paper to send a night letter to W.H. Neill at Colorado Springs, Colo., inviting him to take such action, with the assurance that a number of horses meeting requirements could be gathered here if horsemen were given from 30 to 60 days’ notice, in which to gather the horses and break them to riding.

This paper sent the telegram to Mr. Neill, officer in charge of the Remount Purchasing and Breeding Headquarters at Colorado Springs, after reading a letter sent by him to Ben Williams, of Boyes, Mont. This letter was referred to us by Mr. Williams in person and its complete text reads as follows:

“It is understood that the United States Government will very shortly be in the market for cavalry horses. Information is desired as to whether you can furnish this office the approximate number that could be procured in your district, also as to the best method of buying such horses.”

“The class of horse that we will be looking for will be a saddle animal from 15 to 16 hands, weighing from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds; horses with good heads and necks; good shoulders; big-bodied; clean straight legs; from 5 to 8 years old, geldings.”

“The class of horses that we were forced to accept during the World War would not be suitable. These horses must be well-bred and showing a lot of quality. Horses with mixed gaits will not be taken.”

July 29, 1949

Telephone Company Installs Equipment

Installation of equipment by the Mountain States Telephone Co. was completed on Tuesday of this week at the G.D. McMahon store that will eventually mean much improved service to patrons of the telephone company in Broadus.

At the present time there are 8 toll phones here and one at Olive and one at Coalwood, all of which are on the same circuit and if one phone is busy they are all busy. The new equipment is a 2 circuit carrier system and two calls can be completed at the same time under the new system. Phones 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be on one circuit and phones 5, 6, 7, 8, Olive and Coalwood will be on the other circuit. Other equipment being installed at this time is a buzzer system that will indicate a busy line. It is expected that the equipment will be ready for operation in about two weeks.

August 1, 1974

They Know Where to Catch the Big Ones

Andrew Portwine and Gordie Ritts were quite excited over their successful fishing expedition on the Powder River last Thursday. They returned with four big Northern Pike which they caught where Little Powder empties into the Big Powder. They said the water is quite clear and they could see the big lurkers in the deep holes. The pike hit lures they used and the young men came home with a prize catch.

Ritts caught the big one which weighed 14 lbs. 6 oz., Portwine caught the next big one which weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz., and they each caught a smaller one weighing about five pounds or over. The big one was 32 inches long.

Along with the catch, the young men had a captured rattlesnake which they displayed. The Examiner photographer, however, was unwilling to get close enough to take its picture.

August 5, 1999

Softball Marathon Winners Named

Winners of the Softball Marathon, held in conjunction with last weekend’s Todd Harris Memorial Tournament, have been announced.

The rules for the contest were that each team chose three people to represent them: one person over 40 - of which there were many participating, one female, and any other player of their choice. The marathon was a timed event. Rules also included: the first person (any of the three) left the dug-out with a bat, ran to home plate, placed the bat end on home plate, and then their forehead to the bat, circled the bat three times, dropped the bat, ran around the bases crossing home plate, and handed the bat to the next team member who had three balls to pitch to themselves and hit. After the third ball was hit, the third person on the team threw three balls from home to center field, through a ring. If the first ball went through the ring, 30 seconds was subtracted to that team’s time, and 20 seconds for the second ringer and 10 for the third. The fastest total time determined the winner.

In first place were “Pomeranians” team members Cindy Buckner, Barry Emmons and Joel Mathieson, who finished with the fast time of 44.44. They received t-shirts, donated by Marlene McPherson at M-J Designs and Pat and Edith Cunningham and Sylvia Zimmer at Yesterday’s Things/Fabric-To-Fas-hion.

Second place winners were the “Rottweiler’s” with team members Carlene Gaskill, Dan Harrington and Ben Weber finishing with a close time of 48.72 seconds. They received ice cream and juice - compliments of Ray and Teresa Rolfson of R & R Distributors.

In third place, with a time of 50 flat were members of the “Bulldogs” - Lanessa Statzer, Bob Schultz and Jay Badgett. For their efforts, they received two twelve packs of pop from Larry’s IGA.

Fourth place winners were the “Poodles” team members Rhonda Buhmann, Owen Rumph and Nate Perleberg, with a time of 50.18. Prizes included a free drink ticket from J.O. and Jackie Washington at their Big Sky Bar.

The fifth place winners were “Weiners” members Leslie Stradtman, Gary Alderman and Pat Emmons, who finished with a time of 53.26. They were awarded free ice cream cones, from Frank and Sue Danielson at Powder River Lanes and the Grille.

Other competitors in the contest included: “Mutts” members Mary Rumph, Tom Riggs and Ren Gardner; “Labradors” members Carla Bone, Corey Swenson and Kevin Thompson; “Pugs” members Jerry Coulter, Brad Williams and Cammy Andrews; and “Dalmatians” members Erika Barnhart, Emmett Statzer and Bub Gaskill.