The Western news. [volume], August 04, 1949, Image 1

About The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
The Wesïekn News
Devoted to the Development of Libby, and of Lincoln County
Libby, Lincoln County, Montana Thursday, August 4, 1949
Number 12
VOLUME XLIX
Libby Chamber)
Sponsors Many
Good Projects
During the past year activities of
the local Chamber of Commerce
showed a great increase over pre
vious years. This increase was made
possible chiefly by the membership
fees being made larger. The ad
ditional amount received from dues
made the revenue available for
projects müch greater during the
year. That increased activity makes
additional costs may be found in
the fact that the amount spent dur
ing the past year is slightly in ex
cess of the income.
The desire expressed by some
people for further activity by the
Chamber could have been carried
only by having additional in
come. Additional income can only
be obtained in two ways, by a fur
ther increase in membership fees
to those who are members, or by a
greater percent of community mem
bership, particularly that of busi
ness men. Last year as in previous
years only a little over fifty per
cent of the business establishments
in the community were members.
If the Chamber is worth while and
its activities are of benefit to the
community, particularly to business
establishments, it seems that a lar
ger percentage of this group should
become members. Because benefits,
such as they are, are shared alike
by members and non-members.
For the year 1948-1949 member
ship was in three classifications,
$5.00 for individuals, $10.00 for pro
fessional men and small .business
and $25.00 for large business places
or for those of a type benefitting
from Chamber of Commerce work.
For the coming year an additional
classification has been created, that
of the medium sized business at a
membership fee of S17.50. This ad
ditional group it is felt will make
a much better distribution of bene
fits and costs than the plan used
last year. For the drive this year
each business has been placed in a
classification by the board of di
rectors. Those soliciting member-,
on
, . , . ...... , ,
ship will not be authorized to col
lect a fee different than that desig
nated by the directors.
Activities For Year
Activities carried on by the Cham
ber this year and which it is hoped
may be increased next year by ad
ditional membership are as follows:
Meetings with other groups, com
m unities or Organizations—
1. Highway meeting in Kalispell
to help set up Governor's Highway
Advisory Committee.
2. Delegate to Helena meeting of
the Governor's Highway Advisory
Committee.
(Continued on Page Four)
Military Services
For Joe Siefke
Sunday Afternoon
Johannes E. (Joe) Siefke was laid
to rest Sunday afternoon in the Lib
by cemetery with full military hon
ors. The Rev. B. H. Applegate
The Church of God, officiated at the
services held at 2:00 p. m. in the
Gompf Funeral Home. Mrs. Paul
Moody and Mrs. August Johnson
sang two numbers, "In the Garden"
and "Face to Face," with Mrs.
Johnson at the piano.
The full military service was
conducted at the cemetery with
Harper Erdman Post No. 1548
the V. F. W. and Austin Reedv Post
No. 97 of The American Legion in
charge. The pallbearers consisted
of six ex-navy men, Joe having
served during the war in the U. S.
Navy. The pallbearers were, May
nard Carlson, Gçorge Cawlkins, Hal
Shrewsberry, Floyd Peterson, Allen
Van Horn and Mervin Dallwanz.
Out of town relatives present for
the services were: Mr. and Mrs.
Paul O. Siefke, Jr. and family, of
Crescent, Calif., Mr. and Mrs. Pete
Borup and family, Puyallup, Wn.,
and Wm. Walter Hawn, Kettle Falls,
Wn., Paul O. Siefke and Mrs. Borup
are brother and sister of the de
ceased,andMrHawnisan uncle.
No Fires In Forest
Over 10-Day Period
The fire situation on the Koo
tenai Forest has been very quiet for
the past ten days with no new fires
starting since July 23. There are
no fires burning at the present time.
Generally fair weather over the
past week-end and during this week
has been ideal for fishing and camp
ing trips. Forest areas are drying
rapidly again and will present
greater hazard from smokes and
campfires if fair weather continues.
A fire started from one cigarette
or one camp fire can start a con
flagration that would cost the people
of Lincoln County great losses in
resources, opportunities for earning
a livelihood, needed expansion of
home building and general com
munity welfare.
The Forest Service urges that
particular care be given camp fires
and cigarettes to be sure that they
are ou t when left.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Carter spent
a couple of days visiting at the
A* T. Thompson home in Rexfordj
Mr. Thompson is Mrs. Carter's son.
Will Ask For Doe
Season in Fisher
River Drainage
A recommendation for the taking
of 500 antlerless deer during the
regular big game season in a section
of the Fisher River drainage will
be made for this coming deer sea
son. Sportsmen hunting in this sec
tion would be allowed either one
antlerless deer (doe or fawn) or one
buck.
The foregoing decision was made
at a meeting of sportsmen, mem
bers of the Rod & Gun Club and
of the Libby Chamber of Com
merce, called for Tuesday evening
by E. M. Boyes, State Game Com
missioner from this section. A study
of the Fisher River Herd has been
made by Jack Schmautz and Ade
Zajanc of the State's Game Restor
ation Department, who recommend
ed the
son and the number to be taken.
The state men have made check
ups of the herd and brouse condi
tions as reported in the last issue
of The Western
summarized, they found an approx
imate 7,215 to 7,250 deer in the
herd. During the 1948 season o0
whitetail bucks were checked out
of the area, the estimate of the total
legal kill being placed at 100. This
spring in a check-up of deer car
casses in a small locality, 116 dead
deer were found. About 78% of
the winter kill were fawns, and the
winter kill for the area is estimated
by the men at 2,400. Lack of suit
able food is credited for the most
of this loss, that also making it
easier for coyotes to run down and
kill the undernourished deer.
Game studies indicate that a take
of 20% to 25% of a deer herd dur
ing the hunting season is about the
perfect take for a maximum harvest
without reducing the herd's average
size. All these angles of the situa
antlerless deer sea
News. Briefly
(Continued on Page Five)
Eight Baseball
Teams on Prog.
Advance tickets for the Western
Lincoln County Fair and Labor Day
celebration scheduled for September
3 , 4, and 5 will be on sale August
15, Chairman Lloyd Midyett an
nounced this week. Season tickets
which include Sunday and Monday
events, will be sold for $2.50. Single
tickets for each afternoon and even
ing program can be purchased for
75c -
Baseball fans will have a busy
week-end starting Saturday after
noon, Sept. 3rd, when the first of
the eight competing teams contend
for the grand cash prize. Double
headers are scheduled for Saturday
and Sunday afternoons with the
final play-off Monday afternoon.
Single games will be played Satur
day and Sunday evenings.
Plans for the final evening, Mon
day, Sept. 5, include a two hour
home talent show. Grand climax
of the fair will be the public wed
ding immediately after the talent
show. And here are the latest plans
which are being made for the lucky
couple. The bride's gown will be
a gift from the fair board. Local
2581, L & S. W., plan to present
the couple with a $25 cash gift, and
Local 2662, Loggers, will give $10,
Chairman Midyett said. More an
nouncements regarding gifts for the
couple will be given next week.
Other big events will include the
children's sports program sched
uled for Sunday morning and the
Loggers' Sports which will be the
main event Monday morning.
County Agent B. F. Robinson is
in charge of the stock and produce
exhibits.
terested in contributing to these ex
hibits to contact him as soon as pos
sible. Premium books will be out
for general distribution next week.
Another feature of the fair which
will appeal to the younger citizens
is the carnival rides especially pro
vided for the children.
He urges all who are in
AL UITHOF COMPLETES
LARGE BULK PLANT
Another new bulk plant has just
been completed in Libby to add to
the progress of the community. The
new plant which belongs to Al's
Carter Service is just west of the
Great Northern Overpass and is
completely modern in every re
spect.
The distributor, A1 Uithof states
that the station with seven tanks
and a capacity of 118,000 gallons,
will haxe sufficient storage room
devoted to No. 1 fuel oil to supply
the town's demand's through an en
tire winter—even the kind exper
ienced last season.
Mr. Uithof has been engaged in
business in the community for the
past three years, and has confi
dence in the area's future. The an
nouncement of the new station ap
pears on another page in this issue.
LET CONTRACTS FOR NEW
SCHOOL BLDG. SUPPLIES
At a school board meeting which
was held Monday evening and was
continued on Tuesday evening, con
tracts were awarded for the grade
school addition and for the new
auditorium.
The largest supplying companies
are The Northern School Supply
Co., Hon Bros., John W. Graham,
and Colborn School Supply. It is
hoped that the buildings will be
ready for occupancy by the new
year or soon thereafter.
MAN TREES BEAR CUB; OLD BEAR
TREES MAN; FISHERMAN BREAKS
ROD OVER BRUIN'S BACK
• 4 -
One of the college lads working
during vacation for the J. Neils
Lumber Co., has decided that "he
ain't lost no bears and ain't look
ing for more bears!"
This particular young man was
cruising timber on Bobtail Creek
Thursday of last week when he
heard a crash in the nearby timber,
followed by several succeeding
crashes. He paid little attention to
the noise for in spite of much spot;
lighting and illegal hunting, it is
quite common to see or hear deer
in the woods.
As the woodsman took several
steps forward a small black bear
cub raised up on its hind legs and
after inspecting the student, decided
he didn't like the smell of man, so
let out a miniature but sturdy bawl
and started up a nearby tree. This
would have only amused the young
man had not the cub's mother hur
ried back to see what was wrong.
The old lady evidently decided
that this stranger had mistreated
her young son, so voicing her in
dignation, she headed for the of
fending timber cruiser. The lad
quickly gained a nearby tree and
with the she-bear too close for com
fort, went up the trunk in close to
nothing flat. His pursuer reared up
to her full length on the tree, claw
ing it while she snapped her teeth
and swore in approved bear lan
gauge at the treed human.
It was over an hour before the
three bears (a second cub also show
ing up and taking to a tree) de.
cided to leave the scene and allow
the young man to come down. Our
young friend will have an interest
ing story to tell the gals next winter
at school, and best of all, it needs
but little "blowing up" to furnish
I
1 plenty of thrills.
I And speaking of bear stories, G.
F. Hallstein had an experience last
Friday which he prefaces by stating
no one will believe his tale but it
is true, never-the-less.
The Libby man had gone afishing
up Parmenter Creek and about 4:30
was returning home. He was on
the trail above the gorge below
the old bridge when to his surprise
a large black bear stepped out into
the trail about eight feet ahead of
him, having come up out of the
gorge. The bear stepped sideways
in the path and turned his head
to look the man over.
"He sure gave me a mean look,"
said Hallstein, who added, he was
so scared, he never stopped to
think, but yelled, "Git out of here
you blankity-blank such and such!"
as he raised his fishing rod and hit
the bruin across the back. The bear
decided he had seen enough and
without further formalities, dashed
down the trail like a scared rabbit,
each jump being a little faster than
the one before.
The fisherman regrets striking
bruin so hard—he broke his pole!
Strive to Have
Golf Greens Ready
By September 1
Another work session at the golf
course will be held Tuesday, Aug
ust 9 at 6:30 p. m. It is hoped there
will be another good attendance
present to help get the grounds in
shape for building the greens.
Those who cannot be present at
that time, but can get out some
other evening, are urged to do so,
and pick rocks which will be hauled
away later by a truck.
At last Tuesday evening's work
session a small group picked rocks
and another crew did preliminary
work on the greens. It is hoped
that the balance of the rocks will
be removed in time so that the
greens may be made ready for use
by September 1.
GAMBLE STORE TO
HAVE LARGER QUARTERS
F. J. Simurdak of ' the local
Gamble Store has leased the build
ing belonging to Harry Bevins and
formerly occupied by the Hambur
ger Stand. The building which
joins the Gamble Store is being en
larged and remodeled. When com
pleted the building will be 25 x 102
feet in dimensions. The building
is being done with cement blocks
manufactured by Leo Kyser & As
sociates.
Mr. Simurdak
new building for
furniture. This will give him op
portunity to enlarge this depart
ment and devote additional space
in the present building to the hard
ware and other merchandise. The
two rooms will be connected by a
door midway of the buildings.
plans to use the
floor covering and
Girl Scouts Now
Only $16 To Go
The Girl Scouts are now only
16 dollars from their 500 dollar
goal. These funds give Libby girls
opportunities for character and
knowledge building activities which
are a part of the Girl Scout pro
gram. It includes good times out
doors and in. Moreover the Girl
Scout program promotes citizenship
and service to the community.
Should there be some who have
not yet contributed but want to see
Scouts meet every cent of their
goal, this is the time to contribute.
The Girl Scouts wish to thank
John Myers for his contribution.
the
Miss Nancv Lee Nixon spent Sat
urday in Kalispell.
ti \7sJIaw
I HG I ODOCCO Valley
r* « f . i 3
|-Q|r ^eptemDer ZO
'
Plans are rounding out for the
Tobacco Valley Fair, which this
year will be held on Friday and
Saturday, September 2 and 3. The
Fair books are about completed and
show an attractive list of prizes for
exhibitors.
Horace Hudson, Fair secretary
urges the exhibitors to select and
prepare their exhibits as they be
come mature and ready for harvest.
The amusement program for the
Eighth Annual Tobacco Valley Fair
has not been completed, but Hud
son states it will prove of unusual
interest. Each year sees a steady
growth in interest and attendance
at the event.
Further announcements regarding
the big event will be published dur
ing the month preceding the Fair.
Watch for them._
Suggests Memorial
To Libby Gold Star
Vets of Late War
The following letter was written
by one of the boys from Libby who
"came home'' from the last war,
with almost three years of service
with the U. S. Navy in the Mediter
ranian Ocean and the Far Pacific.
He is working his way through col
lege and plans to practice medicine
as a profession. This summer he is
working with a crew at the J. Neils
Mill in Libby.
Dear Mr. Editor:
World War II was over four long
years ago. Most of us have tried
to rid our thoughts of the peril and
anguish which fell upon us during
that time. Some of us have suc
ceeded.
I do not. indeed, condone that
heartbreak and misery should be
resurrected from their respective
graves—No—. on the other hand, I
urge these things to be forgotten,
that we may gaze ahead and look
to our future.
But there are memories of the
past which we may cherish, there
are memories of the past which we
may use as a guide into the future.
The brain, the mind is not the only
essentially necessary thing in the
process of remembrance, there is an
aesthetic sense called the heart, a
place where memory can rest with
out fear of displacement.
In my heart there is placed a
memory of men raised in this com
munity, men or boys, as the mem
ory permits, who will never see the
snow on our mountains or gaze at
the color of our Kootenai, or hear
the whisper of the wind through the
trees which surround this, their old
haunt.. This memory, for me, of
these lads persists because I know
they will never again see or hear
these things—vou see—they were
buried on foreign soil or were lost
at sea. This memory for them ner
mits me no rest until I lay before
tht people of this community the
Question—shall they be forgotten?
Shall their sufferings, their hard
ships and finally their deaths be
oassed off and forgotten as an un
fortunate occurance of the past war?
In the interests of those men of
Libby who have given their lives
in the past war, I should like to
propose a plan This plan will
cost the people of Libby very little,
for the edifice has already been de
cided upon and the building has
begun. I refer to the gymnasium
being constructed on Libbv school
property. The name of this gvm
could very easily be called the Lib
by Memorial Gymnasium complete
with a gold placque dedicated to
and containing the names of our
war heroes. Simple, not costly, and
our conscience would be at ease.
Think it over friends of Libby, it
is really not too much of an effort
and the satisfaction reaped from
such a venture would be great, im
measurably great.
Sincerely yours,
Norman Cormier
Mrs. Robertson Will
Serve as Co. Supt.
The Board of County Commis
sioners announce the appointment
of Mrs. F. C. Robertson as superin
tendent of public schools effective
September 1, to fill the vacancy
which will be left by the resigna
tion of Mrs. Jessie Fagerberg. who
will teach again in the Libby
schools.
Mrs. Robertson has had manv
years experience in educational
work. After completing high school
she completed a two-year normal
course, graduating from the Wis
consin State Normal School. She
also holds credits from the social
science department of Montana
State University. She has life cer
tificates for teaching in Wisconsin
North Dakota and Montana.
In addition to teaching in the
State Vocational School for girls in
Helena, she has served as county
superintendent of schools in Con
rad, Pondera County. In addition
to much other experience Mrs. Rob
ertson has done substitute teaching
in the Libby schools from the First
grade on through the high s chool.
Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Partlow and
daughter, Merrill, drove to Spo
kane Sunday, returning Monday af
ternoon.
May Receive Mail
Delivery to Homes
Twice Each Day
Libby will have two deliveries a
day of first class mail and papers,
Postmaster Forest DeRosia said yes
terday, if Jess M. Donaldson, Post
master General, approved the rec
ommendation of P. O. Inspector
John H. Ray for postal delivery.
These deliveries will be made
every morning and afternoon Mon
day through Friday, DeRosia add
ed, with one delivery on Saturday.
A parcel post delivery will he made
every day except Sunday and holi
days. Business deliveries are sched
uled to go out each day before the
residential delivery. .
Parts of town will be out of
bounds for delivery, DeRosia said,
due to lack of improvements such
as sidewalks and house numbers.
Plans include four letter droj
throughout the city. One will 1
located at the depot, one at Lincoln
Boulevard and Mineral, one south
of 9th on Louisiana, and one north
of 9th on either Minnesota or Da
kota.
If Postmaster General Donaldson
approves Ray's recommendation,
postal delivery will be established
by October 1st. Otherwise delivery
will come to Libby early
spring, subject of course to D
son's approval.
The recommendation for postal
delivery, DeRosia said, is based on
the agreement of the city to name
the streets, and have the houses
numbered. Before putting numbers
on their house, DeRosia cautioned,
house owners should consult city or
county officials to be sure of getting
the right number. Approved mail
boxes and door slots must also be
installed, he added.
next
onald
Mrs. E. Nyblom
Dies July 23
Eugenia Antoinette Nyblom (nee
O'Donnell) was born in Saginaw,
Michigan. The family moved to
Midland, Mich- when she was very
young. After teaching school in
Michigan, she came to Montana and
taught at Anaconda and Butte. She
was principal of the Garfield School
in Butte, resigning on her marriage
to A. W. Nyblom July 15th, 1915.
The family resided on a ranch on
Pipe Creek since 1916 although had
Jived in California, Washington and
Butte from time to time.
Death occurred July 23, 1949 at
Rochester, Minn., from a blood clot
of long standing. A month previous
she was in an automobile accident
and had been in the St. Cloud,
Minnesota Sanitarium but was re
covering nicely. Being close to
Rochester, it was decided to go there
for a general checkup but on ar
rival she passed away suddenly. An
autopsy revealed the nature of the
death which had no relation to the
automobile accident.
Burial was from St. Brigid's
Catholic Church at Midland, Mich.,
at 9.00 a. m. July 27th. High Mass
was celebrated and six nephews
acted as pall-bearers. Interment
was in the O'Donnel family plot
where five generations are buried.
Besides her husband and his
daughter, Dorothy, she leaves three
brothers in Billings, a sister, Teresa
O'Donnell, in Butte, and three sis
ters in Michigan.
Troy Pioneer Dies
Tuesday, August 2
Mrs. Edwina E. Stanley, pioneer
of the Troy vicinity passed away
Tuesday morning at the home of
her son, Harry Talmadge at Bull
Lake Mrs. Stanley was born June
27, 1852 and died at the age of 97
years, one month and five days.
The deceased has lived in and
near Troy for the past 47 years. She
is survived by two sons, LeRoy
Talmadge, Libby, and Harry Tal
madge, of Troy. Twelve grand
children and seven great grand
children also survive.
Funeral services will be held Fri
day, August 5, at 2:00 p. m. at the
Gompf Funeral Home in Libby,
with the Rev. W. C. Stearns of
ficiating. Interment will take place
in the Milner Cemetery.
Coeur d'Alene Will
Play Kegers Here
One of Idaho's fastest baseball
teams is scheduled to cross bats this
week-end with the Libby Keglers.
wh«i the hard hitting Coeur d'
Alene club plays here Saturday
evening at 8:00 p. m. and Sunday
afternoon at 2:00 o'clock. These
games will furnish plenty of in
terest, for the visitors have the
reputation of always being good and
The Keglers will be back in form
again after their reverse Sunday at
Thompson Falls.
The Libby Jr. Keglers will play
in Eureka this coming Saturday at
1:00 p. m. and Eureka will return
the game here at Libby the follow
ing Satifrday.
The Keglers took an unex
setback last Sunday when
son Falls batters took the measure
of Libby pitchers knocking
Vignali, George Smith, Don Thomp
son and F. Spencer from the box In
a 13-8 game. Thompson Falls re
quired two pitchers to hold Libby
batters down to the score of eight.
xpected
Thomp
Frit*
Bro. Van Tells
About Lincoln
Co. in Letter
A copy of the Sylvanite Miner
published May 14, 1898 or approxi
mately fifty years ago when this
all Flathead County, was hand
was
ed to us a few weeks ago by Mrs.
George Pike.
The whole paper is of interest
because of its time of publication
but one article in particular will in
trigue the attention of those who
knew Presiding Elder Van Orsdel
(Brother Van). It contains a reprint
from an article which he had writ
ten for the Christian Advocate con
cerning a trip he had made into
this section in April of 1898. (The
article):
Presiding Elder Van Orsdel. of
Butte, who visited this section early
in April with Rev. Eastland of
Troy, has written an interesting ac
count of his trip for the Montana
Christian Advocate, from which we
take the following.
Taking a freight train at Bonners
Ferry about 11 o'clock p. m., we
arrived at Troy at 4:00 a. m. Bro.
J. T. Lewis had made arrangements
for two saddle horses, on which we
were to go to Sylvanite, a new min
ing camp about twenty miles north.
The horses were the property of
Messrs. More and Swesey, and
proved to be the finest riding horses
we had used in the mountains in
an experience of twenty-five years.
The road goes through a moun
tainous country, part of the way
heavily timbered Ten miles out
we came to Lake Kilbrennan, where
we were hospitably entertained by
Messers. Johnson That morning
they had caught a large number of
mountain trout, which were pre
pared and relished at the noon hour.
About two miles of the way the
snow was from two to three feet
deep, and rapidly thawing, which
made it quite difficult traveling.
The new bridge over the Yaak,
which was just completed, is a fine
structure. The river is a source of
great curiosity, because of its swift
ness and continuous rapids. We ar
rived at Sylvanite about 6 o'clock
and were very much surprised to
find that a great majority of the
buildings were frame in place of
logs, which had greeted our eyes so
often at mining camps on the fron
tier.
There are two quartz mills in op
eration. One is the Goldflint, hav
ing twenty stamps, and the Key
stone, which has ten stamps. There
is a sawmill in operation, which
turns out an abundance of fine lum
ber. We consider it a good outlook
for a new town.
We w'ere royally entertained at
hotel. Mrs. Doran kindly
the Doran
(Continued on Page Four)
Miss Inez Ratekin
Presents Pupils
In Piano Recital
Eight students of Miss Inez Rate
kin appeared in a recital Thursday
night of last week at the home of
their teacher. The playing of all
the pupils showed the ability of
their instructor to inspire in them
the. determination to do hard work.
Those taking part in the recital
were Andrea Agather. Gail Guern
sey, Bruce Switzer, Eleanor Jewell,
Alice May Martin. Barbara Rice,
Barbara Rawlings and Merrill Part
low. Merrill Partlow was given the
honor of playing the last three num
bers. Miss Ratekin appeared in
piano duets with Andrea Agather,
Gail Guernsey, Eleanor Jewell, and
Alice May Martin.
Following the recital refresh
ments were served the young play
ers and the guests._
Five Hundred See
Ghosts Friday Eve
Five hundred baseball lovers
turned out to watch the Colored
Ghosts in action last Friday even
ing when that noted team played
the Libby All-Stars softball team
here. The black and tan team
seemed to have pretty good control
throughout the game, the score be
ing 3 to 0.
The Ghosts put on a show which
pleased the big crowd. A big kick
was gotten out of Red Strickland
trick ball pitcher whose wind-ups
and delivery were unpredictable.
The inning of shadow ball again in
trigued the grandstand, highly a
musing the spectators.
The Libby Battery
and Don Stanley,
consisted of Popeye Smith and Red
Strickland, while Two Ton Pom
Pom Favor furnished the heckling
on the sidelines and was the catch
er for the shadow ball. The visitors
carried 11 men on their team.
was Bud Peck
Ghost batte rv
MR. AND MRS. F. BATEMAN
CELEBRATE GOLDEN WEDDING
Mr. and Mrs. Frank E. Bateman
will celebrate their Golden Wed
ding Anniversary this Sunday, Aug
ust 7 th.
Open house will be held for Mr.
and Mrs. Bateman at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. John Knudson from
five p. m. until nine.
They will be happy to greet their
friends at this time.