Off the Trail: Encounters With Montana's Weird and Wild History
Ednor Therriault is a writer, musician and graphic designer. His first book, Montana Curiosities, was published by Globe Pequot Press in 2010. He’s currently finishing up his first novel, a comic crime romp laced with rock and roll history. For five years, Ednor has written a humor column, “Bob Wire Has a Point (It’s Under His Cowboy Hat),” for NewWest.net. A collection of his best columns is in the works, and Ednor’s writing can frequently be seen in the Missoula Independent and other area publications.
His Bob Wire persona has taken on a life of its own. Bob's unique brand of country-tinged roots rock—dubbed “Maximum Honky Tonk”—has been featured on three CDs of original music. Bob Wire has been playing shows both solo and with his award-winning band for more than 15 years, and he was voted Missoula's Entertainer of the Year in 2007.
Ednor Therriault moderates this discussion of odd encounters with Montana history.
What historical treasures have you found off the beaten path? Far-flung folk festivals...mini museums...sites of curious, cultural significance...? Tell us about your favorite, funky brushes with history around the state.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Anderson on -
Elkhorn to Great Falls to Nevada City - Charlie Hoffman's Barber Shop
Charles "Charlie" W. Hoffmann was the Elkhorn’s barber, arriving around 1870, shortly after his naturalization in San Francisco. His shop was across the road from Fraternity Hall (built in the early 1880's), close to the Elkhorn Trading Company. A picture of him in his shop shows him as a confident proprietor - starched white shirt beneath a black vest, elbow resting comfortably on the striped apron which lay over the back of a red, plush barber's chair.
Elizabeth Hoffmann was a beauty. She played the piano. Charlie was eight years her senior, not uncommon in a time when it was prudent for men in a mining community to establish respectability before they took on "responsibilities." Elizabeth died in 1917, at the age of 66. Charlie died in 1925, at the age of 82. So, the graves which lie side-by-side at Elkhorn Cemetery must have been his idea.
Charlie likely never met Charles Bovey. Bovey’s father ran the Royal Mill flour mill at Great Falls. When the owners of the Sullivan Saddlery building in Ft. Benton decided to get rid of it, Bovey bought it, and moved it to the fairgrounds at Great Falls, to a site they'd call "Old Town." His interest in acquisition and restoration of old buildings continued, and in 1959, he acquired Charlie's barber shop and the nearby Elkhorn Trading Company building. He moved them to "Old Town." Wooden markers on empty lots at Elkhorn note the location of the community's former landmarks.By 1959, the folks at the fairgrounds in Great Falls decided they needed the space occupied by Old Town. By then, Bovey had started work on Nevada City, west of Virginia City. There were 12 buildings remaining at the site of that former town. Charles Bovey decided to move the "Old Town" buildings there, including Charlie's barbershop.
Ellen Rae Thiel sings the praises of the gooseberries found near the site of Charlie's barbershop in Elkhorn. Don't know if they owe it to Charlie's barber shop or the nearby saloons.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Anderson on
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Pony -
Pony, MT, situated at the base of the Tobacco Root mountains, is named for a guy known either as Tecumseh Smith or Smith McCumpsey, but known in those parts as “Pony,” because he was such a runt.
In June, 1866, a Pony resident by the name of Hanson went to fetch a midwife to aid his wife in childbirth. It was a 17-mile trip. While away, a blizzard struck - June, mind you. His wife gave birth, alone, crawling through a drafty cabin to the fireplace to get hot water. When Hanson arrived the next morning with the midwife, his wife handed him his daughter.
“Pony” McCumpsey found gold in the fall of 1867, but was forced out by winter. He returned the following spring. Word spread quickly. Placer mining died out for a few years, until George Moreland struck gold in the middle of a wild strawberry patch, and miners stampeded back.
The first stamp mill was built in 1877. Its owner, James Mallory was killed while carrying timbers across some ice. By the end of the year, Pony had a population approaching 1,000, a post office, 3 hotels, 3 saloons, 3 stores, 2 blacksmiths, 2 livery stables and a sawmill.
By 1880, Pony’s population had dwindled to a few hundred. William W. Morris and Henry Elling, two guys who made their fortunes in Virginia City, bought the Keystone, Boss Tweed, Willow Creek, Ned and Strawberry claims. They erected a stamp mill whose rubble-stone walls still stand. The mill crushed the gold-bearing quartz into bits, which were then smelted further up the valley at Wickes (north of Boulder).Another Pony resident William Beck accidentally shot his nephew while working a mine three miles above Pony. He sent for Dr. Harvey Foster Smith about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The doctor brought the victim back to Pony and telegraphed a Bozeman surgeon, Dr. Blair, to come as quickly as possible. In the meantime, Smith wired his sister’s house and installed electric lights so that Dr. Blair, who drove the 65 miles to operate, could see to perform his surgery.
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Permalink Reply by Ken Egan on -
At the Montana Folk Festival in Butte, I was lucky enough to catch Ellen Baumler's telling of ghost stories around the campfire. Ellen manages to share a lot of history through the medium of haunting tales. The attached photo captures the moment--is that a ghostly apparition obscuring the photo?
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ellenbaumlerghost.jpg, 167 KB
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Permalink Reply by Ednor Therriault on -
Wow, you never know! Ellen is well-regarded as one of the foremost authorities on Montana's paranormal-flavored history. She has several books out, and I imagine she's somewhat of a celebrity among the spectre set as well. Maybe she draws a crowd of souls we can't see!
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Permalink Reply by Ken Egan on
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Went camping on the Rocky Mountain Front this weekend and got up close and personal with Ear Mountain, made famous by one A. B. Guthrie Jr. and The Big Sky. For this fan of Montana literature, it was a thrilling moment. See the attached photo.
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Permalink Reply by Ednor Therriault on
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Nice! I love it when I'm able to make connections like that too. There's an excellent display on A.B. Guthrie Jr. in the Old Trail Museum in Choteau.
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Permalink Reply by Ednor Therriault on
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I was in Helena last Saturday, eating lunch with my family at Bert and Ernies. We were directly on the line of the Helena sightseeing train, and it came by several times in an hour. I rode it once two years ago, and I found it to be a great source of off-the-books history about Montana's Capital. Lots of great stories, and interesting facts about people and places you thought you already knew everything about.
Has anyone else ridden the train around Helena? We'd love to hear some of your experiences.
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Permalink Reply by Ednor Therriault on
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Okay, has anyone ever ridden a train? Ever? Anywhere?
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