Laurel outlook. [volume], October 19, 1949, Image 1

About Laurel outlook. [volume] (Laurel, Mont.) 1909-current

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
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LAUREL OUTLOCHr
*V
Official Paper of Yellowstone County
VOLUME 41—NO. 17
LAUREL, MONTANA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1949
FIVE CENTS
UNIS HEAD
Dr. Beane Lectures At Ses
sion Of Club On Crinoids
Found In Iowa
H. Lee Hamlett, principal of
IN orth school and active in Kiwanis
affairs since organization of the
club here, was nominated and
unanimously elected president for
the coming year at the meeting
• of the Laurel Kiwanis club
Wednesday evening. Also elected
were Walter Menello, formerly of
Brooklyn, N. Y., vice president,
and A1 Shaffer, Hugh Sweeney
and Allie Dolven, new members of
the board. Ray Stevens, R. B.
Sturtevant, Dr. E. C. Hall and
Dr. R. J. Rosselot are hold-over
members of the board. J. Willard
Baldwin, president this year, and
Neil Baker, secretary, become
members by virtue of their offices.
The new officers will assume their
duties early in 1950.
Dr. W. A. McCormick, past pres
ident and chairman of the nomin
ating committee appointed a few
weeks ago by President Baldwin,
(Continued on Page Ten)
ASSOCIATION SETS
GIRL SCOOT GOALS
The coming year's work was or
ganized and last year's was re
viewed with pleasure by the Girl
Scout association which met Tues
day evening at 7 at the home of
Mrs. Margaret Huntington. Stand
ing committees, through whom
most of the future work will be
performed, were appointed. They
and their members are:
Executive—Mrs. Alice Hamlett,
president; Mrs. Marie Miller, vice
president; Mrs. Inez Vaughn, sec
retary, and Mrs. Gertrude Bur
dett, treasurer.
Troop Organization—Miss Eliza
beth Cooke, Mrs. Emil Ebersviller,
Mrs. Karl George, Miss Mary
Siarkweather, Miss Marie Tomal
la, Mrs. George Andrew's and Mrs.
Harry Deines.
Program—Mrs. I. A. Leland,
Mrs. Ina Anderson, Miss Vera
Anderson and Mrs. Clara Getz.
Leader Training—Mrs. Roberta
Jackson and Mrs. Florence Berk
land.
Camp—Mrs. Gene Williams,
Mrs. Marshall Huntington, Mrs.
Marie Miller, Mrs. Maxine Baker,
Mrs. Saschia Herman, Mrs. George
Wombolt and Mrs. C. J. Whitfield.*
Finance—Mrs. Frances Stickel
berger, Mrs. Helene Burke, Mrs.
T J. Hartley, Mrs. Herman Sch
neider, Mrs. Grace Foos, Mrs.
Herman Michael, Mrs.
Frank, Mrs. Tom Schessler, Mrs.
Leo Eberhardt, Miss Eileen Hoff
and Mrs. Art Sherrow.
Public Relations — Mrs. Inez
Vaughn, Mrs. John Glantz and
Mrs. Carl Brenden.
Card Index—Mrs. Elsie John
ston and Mrs. Alice Hamlett.
An officially sanctioned drive
for funds for the Laurel Girl
Scouts will be conducted between
Oct. 30 and Nov. 5. The period
is nationally observed Girl Scout
week.
The camp that Laurel and Co
lumbus had together last summer
reviewed in a report submit
Herman |
n.an
was
ted by Mrs. Gene Williams, who
had been the Laurel camp chair
Additional information was
man.
furnished in a letter from Mrs.
Harry Turner, professional direc
tor for the week's outing.
Before adjournment the associa
for Nov.
tion set its next meeting
8 at 7 p. m. at the home of Mrs.
Alice Hamlett.
Commissioners Let
Contracts For Two
Water Improvements
Contracts for furnishing sup
plies and contracting two special
water improvement districts con
tiguous to the city of Billings were
let Wednesday by the Yellowstone
board of county commissioners to
Long Construction company. The
improvement districts are Nos. 112
and 113. Three other bidders sub
mitted proposals for the two dis
tricts.
The Long bid was $3 per foot
for six-inch cast iron water pipe
for district 112; $4 for eight-inch;
8100 each for six double-gate
valves; $150 each for eight-inch
double-gate valves, and $30 each
for cast iron water boxes.
The concern's proposal for dis
trict 113 was $4 per foot for the
eight-inch main; $150 for an
eight-inch double gate valve, and
eight-inch cast iron valve boxes
a' $30.
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SCIENTISTS AND OIL MEN
HAVE WORKED TOGETHER . ..
In fact, the drilling of America's
first successful oil well 90 years
ago was due largely to one of
the nation's distinguished chemists
of that period, Prof. Benjamin Sil
Oil Industry Celebrates Its
90 Years With Progress Week*
liman, Jr., of Yale college. The
connection between science and the
industry has continued to the pre
sent, with the above refinery at
Laurel as an example. The plant
here is owned and operated by
Farmers Union Central Exchange,
Inc., through its Independent Re
fining company division. Its per
sonnel includes chemists specializ
ing in petroleum and others who
are engineers. The superintendent
is C. A. Cromwell.
Professor Silliman's connection
with the petroleum industry began
in 1854 when two New York law
yers, George H. Bissei and Jona
than Eveleth, skimmed crude oil
from a spring on a farm they had
acquired at Titusville, Pa., which
they believed was valuable. Before
forming a company to produce and
market the liquid they enlisted the
interest of Stillman, who had made
a nation-wide reputation as the
first man to lecture on the use
of chemistry in agriculture.
He agreed to make an analysis
for $1,200. Though his clients
were unable to raise the money
promptly he became so interested
that he proceeded with the work,
and turned in a report in 1855
which said in part:
"It appears to me . . your com
pany has . . a raw material from
which, by simple and not expensive
process, you may manufacture
very valuable products . . Nearly
(Continued on Page Ten)
1
Booster Magazine Of 38 Years Ago Tells
About Laurel's Rich Soil, Many Railroads,
Hopes For Making It Hub Of Apple Raising
While recently going through
some of the many keepsakes and
interesting items collected by her
mother, the late Mrs. Sam Clare,
Mrs. Gerald Scammon of the Byam
community came across a copy of
Marvelous Montana, a magazine
like booster publication that Mrs.
Clare had preserved because of
a write-up it contained about Lau
The date was April 1911.
The editor of the publication pro
duced and distributed from Great
Falls was Sam W. Teagarden.
The Laurel story, one of many
of similar nature concerning towns
throughout the state, was illus
trated with pictures. These were
of the then new Laurel roundhouse
and car shops of the Northern Pa
cific, the Congregational church
South Laurel, the Merchants hotel
(now the Merchants apartment
house at Montana avenue and East
First street), the Laurel State
bank (now the Laird apartments
m.
in
at Third avenue and West
street), the high school building
(now North school) and the Lenox
hotel block at Third avenue and
Standing in
West Main street.
front of the bank was a
wheel open-type automobile, one of
the few then operating in Laurel
and vicinity. The Chappie drug
store, a branch of the the Billings
store, was also in the bank build
ing, and the Bell telephone system
had its exchange upstairs.
The story accompanying the pic
tures said:
Laurel is located in the Southern
part of the state in the center
of the famous Yellowstone valley,
being one of the largest and most
fertile agricultural and horticul
tural sections of the great west.
The irrigated orchard lands are
mines of wealth; the soil is of
fertility; the water for ir
proven
rigation is abundant and cheap
and harvests are a certainty. With
in a radius of 10 miles are 50,000
of irrigated land, watered by
acres
nearly 100 miles of canals,
this case, irrigation means wealth,
for it means the raising of sugar
beets as well as grain, alfalfa, veg
etables and fruit.
Immediately to the south are
In
This is the story of the fish
that didn't get caught and of
the beginning of an era of pro
This is the story of how
gress.
the oil industry was born 90 years
ago.
According to the best records of
the petroleum industry, a black
smith and well driller named
"Uncle Billy" Smith had planned
to go fishing with his sons on a j
Sunday in August 1859. But that i
j
I
morning they found oil when they
made a cursory examination of
a well they had drilled to a depth |
of 69% feet. The discovery can- j
celled Sunday's fishing expedition j
and marked the beginning of the ;
petroleum industry. I
This week, "Oil Progress Week"
in Laurel and in other communi
ties all over the country, oil men
are re-telling the story of how
"Uncle Billy brought in America's,
and the world's first oil well. They
tell how it was the dereliction of
seme other well drillers that plac
ed "Uncle Billy" in the pages of
history. Or, they explain, maybe
those other well drillers just had
no confidence in the idea that pe
troleum could be found by drilling
a well like those which they drilled
for salt.
A retired railway conûuctor, Col. j
I
Edwin L. Drake had been commis
sioned in 1858 by the Seneca Oil
the Clarke-Fork and Rock creek
valleys with their rich soil and
extensive coal deposits, with Lau
rel as the natural outlet. To the
north is the Lake Basin country
which is rapidly developing into a
fine wheat country by the dry land
method of farming.
Laurel is situated at the new di
vision and transfer point on the
main line of the Northern Pacific
railroad and at the terminals of
the Great Falls branch of the Great
Northern and the Denver and Gulf
line of the Burlington system,
thus completing a system of rail
roads radiating in all directions.
Lines with their junction point at
Laurel and extending to Billings
and Huntley on the east; the fruit
valley and coal valley of Carbon
county on the south; extensive
farming areas to the north and
gold and copper mines of Cook
City on the west.
Laurel has a population of 1,500,
has two public schools, one high
j
church buildings, two banks,
seven hotels, one creamery, water
j and sewer systems under construc
school, one German school, six
. .
electric sub-station, 100,000
horse power available, car shops
and roundhouses employing 250
men.
The following is taken from a
report of the bureau of agricul
ture, labor and industry of the
state of Montana:
"Irrigation is an interesting
chapter of Laurel's prosperity
which can be read from the once
blank page of waste land and sun
baked lands, which now tells in
flaring lines of the farmers' plow
furrow, illustrated by beautiful or
chards and fields of waving grain.
Oats grown in the vicinity weigh
47 pounds to the measured bushel,
or 46 pier cent heavier than the
standard, and there is a certainty'
of a crop every' year, for with irri
gation we have no droughts.
To the eastern farmer who de
pends entirely upon the caprice of
the weather for the proper propor
tion of moisture and sunshine nec
essary' to the growing crops, the
idea of irrigation and the absolute
(Continued on Page Ten)
•»
company to drill for oil at Titus
ville, Pa., near where oil often
appeared on the surface of
streams and pools of water. Never
before had anyone proposed that
oil existed in such fashion under
ground that it could be found and
brought to the surface by drilling
a well.
When Colonel Drake arrived in
Pennsylvania, he decided that he
should hire some of the local ex
j perts who were drilling salt wells.
i A crew ® f three that he employed
j never showed up. There dereliction
I was the chance that made "Uncle
Billy" famous,
| When his drillers didn't report
j for work, Colonel Drake borrowed
j a horse and headed for Pittsburgh
; an d Tarentum, Pa., to talk to
I William A. Smith, a blacksmith
whose reputation as a well driller
was highly spoken of by salt
people- The Colonel hired "Uncle
Billy" on the spot, but was great
chagrined when the driller in
sisted that he could not come to
Titusville before the late spring
°f 1859 he had too many jobs
already lined up in and around
Tarentum, he told the colonel,
Smith arrived as scheduled on
April 9, 1859, and drilling started
i n May. Work progressed slowly,
The drill was down only a few
feet when quicksand was struck.
They drilled through the sand
readily, but when the drill was
withdrawn, the sand filled the hole.
withdrawn, the sand filled the hole.
It was Edwin Drake who came
up with the solution. He sug
gested they push down a heavy
pipe through the quicksand until
rock was struck. Then they could
remove the sand from the pipe
and and continue drilling opera
tions through the pipe. This held
up drilling until financial arrange
ments for the pipe could be made.
The pipe arrived in August, 1859,
and they quickly drove it through
the sand to the rock below.
On that historic August 27, 1859,
the cursory inspection had reveal
ed, just a few feet below the
surface was the black, magic
liquid: petroleum. A new industry
had been bom and a new era
in man's progress begun. "Uncle
Billy" cancelled his plans to go
fishing that day with his sons
James and Samuel, who had helped
drill the well.
The 90 years since that first
well was drilled are significantly
the 90 years of the greatest pro
gress in America. Along with the
discovery of oil fields and the
subsequent development of new
uses for oil products have come
the machine age, the automotive
age, the flying age, the communi
cations age and many modem
marvels unknown less than 90
years ago.
Two From Laurel Are
Named To ROTC Posts
College In Bozeman
Bozeman, Oct. 19. — Eugene E.
Coombs of Laurel has been api
pointed cadet colonel and reserve
officers training corns commander,
and James W. Sherrow of Laurel
has been appointed cadet captain
and commander of squadron B of
the reserve officers training corps
at Montana State college. The ap
pointments were made by Lt. Col.
Leon J. D. Rouge, professor of
military' science and tactics, who
has just completed reorganization
of the ROTC unit here into the
separate branches of the service.
In previous years the ROTC has
been organized as a battalion of
infantry. The unit is now organ
ized as a regiment compmsed of
corps headquarters, an infantry
battalion, an air force group of
five squadrons, the ROTC band
and the Sabrettes, a ladies' drill
team.
J. H. CRUTCHER
i Former Resident Of Laurel
Dies At Daughter's Home
At Scribner, Neb.
Funeral services were held in
the Brader chapel at Fremont,
Neb., Sunday, at 2 p. m. for J.
Harrison Crutcher, 77, who died
Cct. 14 at the home of his son-in
law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs.
Paul E. Bower of Scribner, Neb.,
where he had been visiting since
J August. He had been ill for sev
I eral years of a heart ailment.
A resident of Laurel since 1916,
he was employed until his retire
nient at the Occident elevator. He
was a charter member of Laurel
lodge No. 1152, Loyal Order of
Moose. "
He was born in Wilmore, Ky.,
June 14, 1872, a son of Mr. and
Mrs. John P. Crutcher. In 1904
I
I
The English language, rich as it j
is in its own heritage and long a i
borrower and adapter from others,
much to its ancient and :
sometimes unknown forebearers of ;
ber lands and ages. Dr. Char es
Smith, archeologist at Rocky
Mountain college, Billings, mdi
C ^ e t ° J 1 T aUrel J ? otar b s ] n an,and
address delivered here Tuesday at.
the club s weekly meeting. Deviat
mg from his favorite topic, arche- 1
ology, which he had previously
discussed for the benefit of the [
he was married to Miss May Chris-1
man of Martinsburg, Mo., and re
sided in St. Louis for some time
before leaving for Montana. Thei
of
in
he
family lived on the Huntley pro
ject and then in Bridger before
moving to Laurel.
Surviving besides the widow are
two daughters, Mrs. Bower of
Scribner and Mrs. Val Matross of
Polytechnic: a son, S. W. Crutcher
of Oakland, Calif.; eight grand
children, and several brothers and
sisters residing in Missouri.
Services were conducted by a
Baptist minister, and a soloist
sang "Rock of Ages,
in Ridge cemetery at Fremont.
Burial was
DR. SMITH ORTHS
HISTORY OF WRITING
owes
a
of the transference of thought by
means of writing.
The earliest forms as now
known, dating back some six or
eight thousand years, were of the
order of pictographs in which;city
the writer drew more or less crude
outlines of well-known objects. AI.
though their sequence, or order of
appearance, would convey a gen-:
oral impression of the thought the;
writer intended to convey, they :
were a language of nouns, lacking
ee spoken verb words of action, j
or state, until a later and more in -1
genious writer began including
word pictures conveying the idea
(Continued on Page Two)
WOMAN DISTRICT READ'
A number of Laurel people at
c .,,. nt L annual
t nded the thirty-seventh annual
meeting of Rebekah district 12
in Columbus, Oct. 15, with Still
water lodge No. 125 of Columbus
and Jenny Lind No. 73 of Absaro
kee as hostess lodges.
Preceding the regular business
meeting, a joint session was held
the Odd Fellows. Welcomes
extended to all by Mrs. Helen
ofski, noble grand of Still-1
lodge and Mrs. Minnie Rick
noble grand of Jennp Lind^
Mrs. Ann McFarlane of
man,
lodge.
Zelda lodge of Billings responded,
Various committees were ap
pointed by the district president,
Mrs. Eva Flaskerud of Red Lodge,
on which several members from
Laurel were asked to serve,
the lodges in the district were rep
resented.
The past district presidents were
presented with corsages, a gift
from Mrs. I laskerud.
Members of Zelda lodge present
ed a memorial service.
Mrs. Ann Mcbarlane of Billings
was elected president of the dis
trict for the ensuing year; Mrs.
Louise VanNice of Laurel, vice
president; Mrs. Evelyn Harrison
of Columbus, secretary, and Mrs.
Winnie Rickman, treasurer.
Following a banquet in the par
lors of the First Congregational
church, the group witnessed an
impressive candlelight exemplifica
tion of the degree by Evergreen
(Continued on Page Two)
All
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:
j WITH STANDARD OIL . . . John
Brice of New York City, form
er ^' executive vice president of
j the Carter Oil company, has been
j elected a director of Standard Oil
company (New Jersey), effective
Nov - 1 - A native of Miami, Brice
: graduated from the University of
Texas in 1927 with a geological
'
;
/m
permits and other items of rou
tine nature occupied the attention
the city council Tuesday evening.
u, . . , , , .
Of interest was a letter from the
Chicago Trust company regarding
the purchase of land west of the
city limits as part of a Hood con
measure. Low-lying sections
of the city have been subjected to
periodic summer-ram floods for
several years. Attending the ses
Sion were Mayor Peter Thomson
Aldermen Tubman, Freebury-,
McManus, McCormick, Paul Wold
and Rogers.
Ihe letter of the Chicago Trust
company was referred to the city j
attorney, B. L. Price, who was I
authorized to negotiate with the
j degree, began work as a geologist
J Humble Oil & Refining Co.
of Houston, spent nine years with
Standard of Venezuela and was
vice president and director of Car
ter, with headquarters in Tulsa
from April 1942 until June 1945.
He was then made assistant co
ordinator of producing activities
for Jersey Standard and two years
later became coordinator.
CITY NEGOTIATES FOR
FLOOD CONTROL LAND
Three applications for building
company for purchase of the land.
!A letter was also received from
Bryan Fry regarding an airport.
The clerk, Miss Tillie Hohendorf,
was instructed to reply that the
does not contemplate acquir
ing or constructing an airport at
this time.
the city clerks report for Sep
tomber was received. Resolution
710 for transfer of funds was
adopted. Pennsylvania Salt com
pany submitted a bid for supply
ing chlorine to the city water
plant, which was referred to Paul
Brohaugh, pumper. The clerk was
directed to make application to the
state for a change in water dis
counts.
the city's air compressor, with
operator, was set at $7.50 per
hour.
A charge for rental of
Harold D. Ingraham applied for
renewal of a permit to build a 26
by 36 frame house on lots 9 and
1Ü, block 14, Yellowstone subdi
vis | an - The request was granted,
A* 80 granted was an application
for a permit by Lorenz Ingwersen
to build a 20 by 23-foot addition j
of brick on lots 16 and 17, block j
Laurel Realty subdivision at an ;
approximate cost of $500. ;
George Prill was given permis- I
s * on to build a 26 by 48 frame
I'°' J se with attached garage on lots
j H' an( ^ ' '» 23» Laurel Realty
Second subdivision, at an approxi -,
mate cost of $6,000.
j A n application by H. T. Reiter,
r> » w_ as approved for making a
! second tap on a water main run
i ning east and west on Main street.
j
1
(
Featuring a heavy line, led by
250-pound center Jim Murray, the
Mjleg aty Cowboyg wi)1 i nvade
. , „loO,* rw oi
V > ■
Cowboys will be seeking their
fourth conference win, having
beaten Sidney, Glasgow and Lewis
tewn rather handily.
The Locomotives will be but to
redeem themselves with an upset |
rictory over Miles City. Except
for the loss of Bob Pysel, the
squad is in fair shape,
The squad has been able to work
outdoor only once this week. Game
time is at 8 o'clock.
MILES CITY COWBOYS
t« ..rrT .
TO MEET LOCOMOTIVES
MAY SEI RECORD
Cnemployment Increases Too
As More People From Out
and In State Seek Work
Employment totals in Montana
industry again broke all records
in September, for which figures
became available this week, and
kept pace with the record-setting
July and August totals. The fig
(ure for September is 143,000, while
jin August it was 143,300 and in
July 142,900. The previous record
was in October 1948 with 143,100.
The September estimate, issued
jointly by the Montana unemploy
ment compensation commission
and bureau of labor statistics at
Helena, is exactly 1,000 above that
of September a year ago.
The maximum of employment in
all Montana industry exclusive of
agriculture continues to run side
by side with a larger total of
employed persons than in corres
ponding months a year ago.
Growth of the available labor
force, through in-migration as well
as because more youths are enter
ing the labor market than older
people are retiring from it, is re
flected in the joint totals. In Sep
tember the applicants for work
numbered 3,600; in August 3,400.
A year ago the figures were 1,600
and 1,800.
The expectation is that subse
quent figures will show that the
peak was reached this month, Oc
tober. This expectation is credited
to Carroll M. Steward, chairman
of the unemployment compensation
commission. The surmise is that
October will hold about level with
^Ptember figure, but experi
ence of the past records that sea
sonal factors begin to shrink the
total in November. This year,
though, there are two major con
struction projects operating, to
g® a^d^privlte 0 contracts. ^ ?U '
j> rincipaI factors in the Septem
be r increase of employment over
August were in manufacturing,
coal mining retail trade, and in
both 8tate and federa l government
creW s. These last were influenced
largely by expansion of highway
crews and the staffs of reclama
tlon pro j e cts developing within the
state. At the same time contract
un
construction was reduced by about
400 jobs; transportation and utili
t j es employed 200 less than in
August, and a loss of 100 was re
flu ted in finance, insurance and
rea j estate employment,
Employment connected with min
i lur and Droe essin«r of metalic ores
remain^ steïïl in SeTtcmL Is
compared with August. Logging
and i um bering employed 200 more
tban a mon th ago. Both of these
basic Montana industries are real
barometers of the state's employ
ment health, according to Stewart,
and both are recovering from a
season 0 f unfavorable market con
étions.
DISTRICT SELLS TWO
SCHOOLS, TEAGHERAGE
outlying schoolhouses and a teach
e rage Saturday at public auctions
conducted at the properties. At
j tending the sales were about 200
j people.
b. A. Sherrow, Sr., bought the
schoolhouse in the Spring creek
school area. It is located on Sher
School district No. 7 sold two
row ' s land and will be converted
j„j 0 a modern home, Sherrow said
a ft er the sale. E. W. Coombs
b o U ght the Hawthorne teacherage,
which will remain on his land. The
Webster school was purchased by
Mrs. Thelma Berkland, who will
move it and add it to her home a
quarter of a mile distant.
Mrs. Roscoe Shay was appoint
ed Thursday at a meeting of the
Unity Garden club to represent
her fellow members at a conven
tlon Laurel organizations who
would join in entertaining children
at Halloween. The Unitv meeting
v .. as at Mrs j q Mac * e » s hofria
prece<led bv the c { ub » s cust o m ai4
luncheon at 1:30. Members at roll
caII told of garde ns they had vis
ite<i.
"r,.
^ ho Would Entertain
Kids At Halloween
The meeting to be held at the
home of Mrs. H. Larson will have
Mrs. R. J. Rosselot as hostess.
Roll call will be "A True Ghost
Story." Mrs. Jack Goick will
sent a paper.
pre-