Sugar Beets

I am sure not many grow sugar beets in this area anymore. However, “back in the day,” there used to be sugar beet dumps at many of the rail depots, as well as dumps at most every side stop, all along the Milk River Valley.

I think that growing sugar beets may have been very labor intensive. I do know that Mexican labor was utilized for thinning and topping beets, but must admit that I cannot visualize that at all. I also think that the Prisoners of War that were housed in facilities at the old Glasgow Airport were used for Ag labor. Where was the closest sugar beet processing facility?

The railroad was a wonderful asset for farmers and ranchers. The Valley Co. Museum has many interesting pictures of area farmers hauling grain with teams and wagons from outlying areas to ship their products. This many times was at least an overnight haul.

It takes very little research to understand why so many communities either built very near, or relocated their community to sit alongside the railroad.