Community Endowment Fund Receives Donation From LeVeque Family Trust

Courtesy Powder River Community Endowment Fund

The Powder River Community Endowment Fund would like to thank the LeVeque family for entrusting us with their wishes of their families' trust. They have chosen to invest their money in the Montana Community Foundation and give out scholarships to those who choose to study the health care field. The scholarships will be available for students residing in Powder River, Custer, and Carter counties. Details will be available closer to graduation dates.

Jenny Pluhar, Eve LeVeque's cousin, has shared the LeVeque's history in Powder River County.

LeVeque Trust: 100 Years in Powder River County

Pierre V., his wife, Mary Pzinski and daughter, Evangeline LeVeque ranched in the Sonnette area for more than 100 years. "Pete" arrived with his father, Pierre N. LeVeque in 1917, but was not old enough to file for a homestead. He and Mary wed in 1922 and filed on a homestead in the Selway area, south of Sonnette about ten miles. They ranched for some thirty years, before purchasing a ranch from the Johnson family, 2 miles north of Sonnette. The new place was much closer to Highway 212 and lower in elevation, thus had somewhat milder winters. Daughter Evangeline joined the family just ten months after her parents married, arriving at only 4.5 pounds, born on the ranch at Selway. Probably a miracle to survive a home birth of such a tiny infant in 1922! Winters were harsh and they were remote. Pete's mother, Victoria, returned to Lead, SD, preferring the "city" life to remote southeastern Montana. Pete's brothers homesteaded in the area as well, but did not stick it out or fall in love with the area as Pete and his father had. Pete's father is buried in the Twin Pines cemetery, south of Sonnette. Aunt Mary and the area women tended the cemetery for years. It is on a hilltop with an amazing view, the tract lined with lilac bushes of all shades. They must have hauled a lot of water to get those lilacs established among the sagebrush. At times, Pete worked away from the ranch, especially as they struggled to keep the ranch during the Depression years, leaving Mary and Eve. I have some of the most loving letters exchanged between them. They were determined to make it work and they were fiercely in love.

Pete was a true steward of the land and absolutely loved living along Pumpkin Creek. I was fortunate to call he and Mary "Great Uncle and Aunt" as Mary was my grandfather's youngest sister. My parents and I spent many weekends on the ranch and I absolutely adored being there. Uncle Pete would walk outside every morning and spread his arms proclaiming "We are so blessed to live in this beautiful place!" He was a pioneer, always pushing and learning new technology. Electricity may not seem like new technology in today's world, but he was a leader in encouraging and educating the neighbors to develop the REA and bring electricity to the ranches. Pete and Mary took great pride in their ranch, striving to have healthy rangelands, excellent livestock, a bountiful garden, and beautiful flowers. He taught me the first range grasses I learned, big bluestem and bluebunch wheatgrass, both signs of extremely healthy and properly grazed rangelands. I have a 40-year career managing ranches and stewarding rangelands. His alfalfa bottoms were legendary and he raised seed alfalfa which helped him pay for the ranch 17 years before the note was due. Aunt Mary was the ultimate homemaker, incredible cook and gardener extraordinaire. Meals around her table were always special, even the everyday lunch. Old photographs abound of community and Catholic picnics in the Sonnette area.

In the early 1950's, Eve joined her parents back at the ranch after graduating from the University of Montana (then known as Montana State!) and time working in Miles City. Her heart was with the ranch and she was ahead of her time.....a woman totally immersed in ranching before it was at all common. To the outsider, it looked like Eve was just like her mom, a caregiver, cook, homemaker. But her real interest was the land and livestock. She was an avid student of anything agricultural and worked alongside her Dad every day. She read every word of my master's thesis on grazing systems and reviewed it all with me.

Pete and Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1972 in Broadus surrounded by family and friends from near and far. 60th wedding anniversary festivities were held at the ranch in 1982. Their love story was legendary. I do not think I ever saw my Uncle Pete leave the house without giving Aunt Mary a quick kiss and telling her how much he loved her. They absolutely cherished each other and their daughter Eve, as well as the rest of us lucky enough to be in their orbit.

As the years wore on, the LeVeque family grew old. With the help of their neighbors, they were all able to stay on the ranch as long as possible. First Uncle Pete, then Aunt Mary and some years later, Eve, all lived at the Powder River Manor. When it became necessary for Uncle Pete to stay there, Aunt Mary had a phone installed in his room so she could tell him "Goodnight" and that she loved him each night. She and Eve went to town to be with him and have lunch at least six days a week. Manor staff noticed that visits were up for other residents as well, with other families noticing that the LeVeque women were coming 62 miles roundtrip daily and figured maybe they should stop by to see their loved ones more often as well! The care there was excellent and brought me great peace of mind. Uncle Pete passed away in 1995, Aunt Mary in 2000. Even in her 90's, Eve had me keep the house on the ranch up "in case she decided to move home or got kicked out of the Manor."

With no heirs to carry on the ranch following the passing of her parents, Eve wanted to make a difference in their beloved community with the fruits of their labor and the bounty from their life along Pumpkin Creek.

She recognized the need for robust rural health care. Implementing a trust that primarily benefits St. David's Catholic Church, Miles Community College and Powder River Community Foundation, she focused the giving on benefiting students with an interest in health care. St. David's was an important part of their lives, whether it was church services in the country or in town, an anniversary, a funeral, or even the baptism of their last god child, my daughter, Logan Elizabeth, in 1994, Eve was determined to do something to benefit St. David's and the parish community. That parish community rallied around me when she passed away in February of 2020, and pulled together a beautiful service, flowers and luncheon with a blizzard bearing down upon the area.

There is no longer anyone named "LeVeque" ranching along Pumpkin Creek, or anywhere in Montana for that matter. No more Hereford cattle bearing the PVL brand. Many residents of Broadus and Powder River County will likely not remember them. Aunt Mary used to say that if you lived long enough, there would not be anyone who knew you left to attend your funeral! But rest assured, they cherished Powder River County and southeastern Montana and have left a lasting legacy that will be felt by many for years to come.

Thank you to everyone in the community for the kindness you have shown me and my family over the years. Powder River County will always remain very special to us.

Jenny Pluhar