Montana farmer-stockman. [volume], February 15, 1950, Image 1

About Montana farmer-stockman. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1947-1993

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
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—Montana Farmer-Stockman Phote
By JERRY LESTER
TAKE A LOOK at your today's mail. It
may have the postmarks of a good many
glamorous far away places, but at this time
of the year it's a safe bet that the real ex
citement of the journey came in the last
miles to your home with your rural mail
carrier.
This story tells a few of the highlights in
the day's work of one mailman on one of
the hundreds of rural routes that serve
farm and ranch families in Montana and
Wyoming.
All of these rural mailmen have a tough
winter job but the Millegan route in Cas
cade county probably rates among the
worst winter time rural mail routes in
the state.
Snowbound Area
Twelve of the 50 farm families on the
route depend on Norman Carlson, their star
route carrier, for communication with the
world outside of their snowbound ranching
area. These 12 families on the upper end of
the Millegan route have no phones and
snowtime travel is done on horseback. The
roads in the area drift in again as soon as
they are plowed out.
And sometimes this thread of communi
cation by way of the rural mail carrier be
comes really important. Carlson recalls the
time last winter when, on one hard fought
trip through deep snow drifts, he was told
about a sick farm woman who would have
to be taken to Great Falls for medical care.
By the time he returned to town, the area
was really snowbound. He contacted the
Cascade county road maintenance crews,
and with a large track type tractor with
bulldozer blade mounted on the front lead
ing the way, they headed out after the
woman.
120 Miles in Two Days
The 120-mile round trip to Millegan,
where Carlson left the mail and they met
the car with the sick farm woman, took two
days and a night. The snow drifted so fast
that it was necessary to plow snow both
MONTANA AND NORTHERN WYOMING
ways. The ranchers
bound for 20 days last winter. Carlson flew
over the area three times and dropped mail
to the ranches but couldn't land to pick it up.
Much of the way, the bulldozer plowed
across country over fields and range land—
wherever the snow looked lightest. This is
standard procedure in the area, says Carl
son, explaining that when the road fills up
with drifts he often takes to the fields with
his truck. Even on the usually passable low
er part of the route, the snow was banked up
as high as the car on both sides of the road
in a good many stretches.
Six Days a Week
Carlson is a star route carrier, which
means he has to deliver mail to the 50 farm
families on the Millegan route three times
a week. With two routes (Eden and Mille
gan), he is on the road six days a week, in
cluding holidays.
Daily mail service is given to farmers on
regular RED routes. Carriers on these
routes are salaried civil service employees
who deliver the mail every day except Sun
days and holidays.
The star route carrier works on a contract
basis and furnishes his own truck. His con
tract calls for him to go only as far on his
route as possible with the truck. Knowing
the importance of the mail to the ranchers,
Carlson and his fellow carriers over the
state usually go farther than this basic re
quirement, however,
Carlson made it with his truck one day re
cently to the 6,000-foot high ridge overlook
ing Millegan. Then he carried the mail
four miles on foot through the snow drifts to
the boxes and back in 30 below weather.
He keeps two horses at a ranch house within
about 10 miles of Millegan and often rides
the mail from there if he has time, and if
he gets this far.
Air Service, Too
The airplane trips of last winter were an
other extra service to the people on this
part of the route. Many other rural carriers
" :
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Carlson, Milligan star route carrier, Cae
cade county, watches Rancher Albert Young take
his first look at the latest issue of Montana Farmer
Stockman. Of the 50 farm families on his route.
Carlson says he delivers a copy of Montana Farmer
Stockman to all but two or three, and these are new
people in the community.
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Here's what the road on Carlson's Millegan route
looked like when it was opened following a snow
bound period of 20 days last winter for the 12 ranch
ers on the upper end of the route. The drifts were
14 feet deep in some places.
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As you might expect, in • country where winter
travel is hard if not impossible, there are several
schools on the Millegan route, and Norm has a good
time loading up his young helpers who carry the
mail back to the teacher.
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Here is the end of the line a good many days when
the snow has drifted. The road on to Millegan and
the 12 ranch families on the upper end of the mail
route goes over the hill just above the mail box in
this picture. It's 10 miles of snow drifts to the first
ranch house and another 10 or so to Millegan.