Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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What are the memories that warm the heart after the years have swept past? Is it not the simple things? . . . and so it is with the Kientz family. Fifty years ago, the town of Shelby, Mont., was rolling out the red carpet in preparation for the World’s Heavyweight Championship fight between Gibbons and Dempsey. The main road, which is the route of Highway 2 now, was experiencing muddy conditions, so the traffic was rerouted north. The sparsely-traveled Frenchman Creek Road became a bypass road for many travelers en route to the fight and the K...
Religion played an important part in the community life of the homesteaders. The Kienitzes belonged to the Lutheran congregation, which met once monthly at the Gus Pehlke home, beginning in 1916. Members would take turns meeting Pastor A. Jordan at Saco, where he arrived by skidoo. Pastor Jordon was stationed at Chinook and was single at this time. He was silent about possible romantic attachments and his congregation might have been in the dark to this day if it hadn’t been for Mark Wright’s sheepherder’s weekly Chinook newspaper. One Sunda...
One philosophy of the homesteaders was, “Don’t buy it if you can make do with a satisfactory substitute.” Resourcefulness became second nature to these Montana settlers, and the Kienitz family was no exception to the rule. For example: a nearby pit of sand became the source of their house insulation. It proved to be an excellent insulating material for their modest home, keeping it cool during torrid summer days and helping to warm it against the sub-zero temperatures prevalent in northern Montana. Lizzie’s job came next; painting the interio...
Some young men’s thoughts turn to love in the spring, but for Otto Kienitz, during this period of his life, his thoughts centered on the “Land of Opportunity,” which was the vast prairie land of Montana. It was none too soon, as three years before, this territory was thrown open to homesteading and the days of the one-open range were quickly drawing to a close. Anyway you look at it, this planned adventure, from Minnesota to Montana, took the courage of rugged individuals. The succeeding years proved this definitely was the “survival of the...
You will find as you leave the country road and turn onto the winding prairie trail, you are leaving the noisy distractions of modern life behind. The tall toothpick-like sentinels bringing electricity and phone service to the widespread ranches and farms, do not turn into this rustic home on the knoll, a mile to the west. This is entirely by choice, not necessity. Visualize, if you will, an east window framed prettily by flowering plants with the early morning sunlight filtering through the lacy leaves of the Virginia Creeper growing...
Walking into our tiny living room before Christmas had become an annual event for this older couple. They always had a gift in hand, which they presented to Mama, and then they relaxed to chat awhile. The pleasant-looking pair were no strangers to me; I saw them in church every Sunday. But bringing an annual gift to Mama seemed to have special significance. Living during the Great Depression meant making do with only the necessities of life – and that certainly did not include boxed chocolates. Even as a child, I knew that! Only years later d...
Editor's note: In the previous installment of Saco Stories, a character was misidentified as "Richard DePuydt." The actual moniker is simply "Richard," sans the last name (no relation). We apologize for any confusion. It wouldn’t be a regular day riding the range without dropping in at a secluded ranch house. In fact, not pausing for a neighborly greeting, cup of coffee, or whatever would have been a real insult to hospitality in the West. Settlers on the plains of Montana depended greatly on each other, and the virtue of hospitality was a...
According to an old ballad, Saturday night was the loneliest night of the week. Not so for the Circle Diamond cowboys. After their once-a-week bath, either in a creek during the heat of summer days or with a tub full of water heated on the kitchen range, the next step was dressing up in clean attire. With permission of the ranch foreman, they were off on horseback to Malta where they encountered a few girls quite interested in accompanying them to a dance at Wagner, a tiny but lively town west of Malta. After locating the off-duty stagecoach...
The husky homesteader astride his horse realized he would need to pull in for the night. A prairie snowstorm was developing. Snow was coming down fast and furious – stinging the man’s weathered face deep in the sheepskin collar. As anyone familiar with horses realizes, a good horse will keep his bearings and return his rider home in good shape. With the dropping temperatures, the man decided that to continue on was too risky for man or beast. A building was barely visible, but no matter, these were the days when the welcome mat was out 24 hou...
