DAYS GONE BYE            (FILE 1 of 3)

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Copyright (c) 2001 By Larry Martin 

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HONYOCKERS

by Genevieve Greenlee Leischner

In the cattlemen's perspective, homesteaders were "honyockers", a
degrading cowboy slang word. They viewed dirt farmers as "rubes" and
"hayseeders" who were despoiling the good earth. In its earlier usage,
"honyocker" was a slur that was a corruption of a German expression
meaning "chicken chaser". To some native Montanans, all the newly
arrived farmers were "honyockers". The cattlemen and sheepmen thought
of them as stupid and undesirable. The sheepmen and cattlemen had
settled the area before the homesteaders and they treated the
homesteaders very cruelly. It is said many times the cattlemen and
sheepmen would cut the fences of the homesteaders and chase their
animals through crops and gardens, ruining them, and causing as much
damage as possible. The cattlemen were perhaps jealous and somewhat
greedy when the homesteaders came because of the "free" land, only it
wasn't free. After three years of being a "squatter" the government
surveyed and the homesteaders' claims were filed, making them
"homesteaders" instead of "squatters". However, it took years before
the cattlemen and sheepmen would get along with the homesteaders.

PIONEERING DAYS

by Genevieve Greenlee Leischner

"The promised land" - "Go west, young man, go west". Land was not yet
open for homesteading in 1906, but many people had come west to
"squat" on the land. The railway company laid rails westward through
Montana in 1906 and 1907.  A dam had been constructed below some
springs to form a lake of water so steam locomotives could take on
water, thus the town of Baker was established. The Milwaukee Railroad
finished its line west by 1909 and lands were opened for homestead
filing.

Up until 1909, one took "squatters rights". These pioneers came in
1883, and, after, by covered wagon. The Milwaukee Railroad was
completed through Baker in 1908. The Milwaukee Land Company put on an
intensive campaign to encourage homesteaders to settle on territory
adjacent to the land serviced by the railroads. Homesteading was
highly advertised in all the newspapers and everywhere there were
posters urging people to "GO WEST AND GET FREE LAND" and "FREE
HOMESTEAD LAND IN MONTANA". It was very successful. For the pioneers,
this meant a home of their own! By 1910, the "rush" was really on.

Some of the prospective homesteaders came by passenger coach and
looked over the area. The homesteaders hired a "locator", who would
take them to look for a suitable piece of land, one hopefully with
water. After filing their "rights", they would later bring their
possessions, usually a team of horses, plow, seed, cows, chickens,
lumber, and household furniture, by emigrant car. An emigrant car was
a railroad car you put all your possessions or necessities in to start
a new life in a new country. The men usually rode in the emigrant car
so they could care for their livestock. The women and children would
ride in the passenger cars on the train.

Page 6

The "Locator", for a fee of from $25 to $50, would find the
homesteader a homestead plot. The land was 112 section or 320 acres.
You "proved up" for 3 years. If one couldn't afford a homestead
(claim) shack, one built a "sod house" (soddy or dug-out). The sod
houses were constructed of slabs of turf. If one could afford the
homestead shack, it was usually one 12X14 or 12X16 foot room built of
rough lumber with black tar paper for an outer covering and a flat
roof. It often had nothing more than old newspaper sheets for interior
insulation. These shacks would cost about $100 to $200 to build. The
shacks were frigid in the winter and terribly hot in the summer. Some
of the homesteaders' shacks had sod on the sides to help keep the
house warmer. The soddies and dug-outs had dirt floors.

The early pioneers and homesteaders had a busy life that required
labor from sun-up to dark, from early spring until late autumn. "A man
works from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done." Early
settlers were hospitable and good- hearted , they would loan the
"shirt off their back", if there was a need for it. A cowboy could
stop in, have a hot cup of coffee, water his horse, and be on his way
again. Coffee was in the form of whole coffee beans. You put the beans
in a salt sack and pulverized them with a hammer. The result was a
"good" cup of coffee. Later came the coffee grinder.

Pioneers were a special kind of people. Pioneering is now history and
a thing of the past. Sometimes one was heard saying "in debt up to my
eyebrows." Life on the homesteads had many hardships, but real happy
times, also. Sage hen and wild rabbit often furnished the main meal.
Means of travel was horse and buggy or team and wagon or sled.

Our heritage is rich with hard-fought battles, rich with untold
wealth. Yes! We of Montana have a rich heritage left by our
forefathers and one which our land demands of each of us, so our sons
and daughters may also be proud to be called "Montanans".

Most of the early homesteaders witnessed a territory in the raw
develop into a productive stock and farming country. They endured the
years of depression and two world wars.

Childhood was one of hard work, helping with younger children,
carrying water, wood and coal and helping with other chores.

Most of the roads were cow paths. Later, roads were scorioed or
graveled, but the scorio soon pulverized and blew away. Highways and
the free-ways like we have today were undreamed of.

A prairie fire gave families quite a scare. Many prairie fires were
started by lightning. Firebreaks were made using a hoe and a shovel to
make a trench so wide around the house and barns. When fires struck,
the men would grab a burlap feed sack soaked in water and take off to
where the fire was. Sometimes, fires were accidentally started when
ashes that were still hot were emptied and caught the grass on fire.

Many babies were born without a doctor present, just a mid-wife.
Grandma Lambert delivered many a baby. Many babies died in birth, as
did many mothers. Bernetta (Mrs. G.W.) Sparks was also a mid-wife.

Page 7

Water was a luxury and was very essential. Water was hard to find,
often being carried from a creek. Water was usually hauled by a "stone
boat". A stone boat was built of two poles with boards nailed across
to make a floor to set barrels on. Water from a creek had to be boiled
before it could be used for human consumption. Sometimes, if one was
lucky in digging a well, you could hit water by digging shallow wells,
but most wells were 29 feet deep and sometimes, even at 90 feet, you
had alkali water. Alkali water was unfit or barely fit for human use.
All wells had to be dug by hand in those earlier years. Water was
brought up out of the well via a pulley with an oak bucket. Later,
hand pumps and, still later, windmills were used.

Wells in the early days were used to keep fresh meat, milk and cream.
Later, the ice box came into use. Ice houses were built of logs. Ice
was cut in blocks from creeks and put in layers of straw or sawdust
inside the ice houses. The ice was cut in the winter and the ice
lasted up until July or August. Ice cream, ice tea, and lemonade could
be enjoyed throughout the summer months. Ice houses were also used to
keep food cold. Later, refrigerators came into use.

Early day heating systems consisted of pot bellied stoves Homesteaders
dug their coal from a coal vein (coal mine), oftentimes going many
miles with a team of horses and wagon or sled to mine the coal.
Sometimes it took two days to get a load of coal, the same with wood
from the "cedar" (Juniper) trees. The only coal was lignite and it was
usually wet which made it slow to burn. Chopping wood and carrying
coal was quite a chore; carrying out the ashes wasn't any fun, as
lignite coal has lots of ashes and clinkers. Usually the carrying in
of coal and wood was a chore assigned to one or two of the younger
children. The ashes were carried out by the father or mother, whomever
started the stove. In earlier years, buffalo chips and cow chips
(dried manure droppings) were used to heat with and even cook with.

Candies, kerosene lanterns and kerosene lamps were the only light for
many years. Lamp globes got sooty and had to be cleaned daily. People
were happy when they got rural electricity.

Many times during a blizzard, a ball of twine or rope had been strung
from the house to the barn so one could find their way. Often times
during travel by team of horses with sled or buggy in a blizzard, one
could let go of the reins and let the horses have their heads, and
they could take you home. Horses have a built-in sense of direction.
Rocks or salt bags were warmed and put at your feet to keep you warm.
Buffalo robes covered everyone but the driver.

Root cellars were dug and vegetables and fruit were stored for the
winter months. A trip to town to get supplies was usually in the fall
and you purchased all your supplies for the winter. The staples were
flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, coffee, tea, and soda
crackers if you could afford them.

Sage hen, grouse, prairie chicken, and wild rabbit were much of the
early settler's food supply for meat. There was wild fruit: choke
cherries, wild plums, currants, buffalo berries, June (sarvis or
service) berries and, maybe, wild strawberries.

Page 8

Recreation in the early days was community dances in the family homes
The music consisted mostly of violins and organs in the homes, or
guitars in the school houses. Box socials were popular. In the winter
months whist parties were the main recreation along with skiing, ice
skating, tobogganing and school programs. 4-H and Homemaker clubs
family picnics, and picnics at Medicine Rocks Park were enjoyed. Early
day church and Sunday School were held in the homes and later in the
school houses. Mission Circles were held in homes until churches were
built.

Roundups, in a sense, were entertainment, as were rodeos. Baseball was
a popular game played in teams on Sunday afternoons and on holidays,
such as the Fourth of July. Horseshoe tournaments, branding bees,
threshing bees, barn and house raising and, later County Fairs were
attended by most. In the winter time, girls helped their mothers make
quilts.  There were no sewing machines, so all the sewing was done by
hand. Quilts were backed by bleached flour sacks. The sacks had lots
of black lettering on them so kerosene was rubbed on the lettering and
the sacks were buried in a snowdrift; by spring the sacks were nice
and white. The batting was wool taken off dead sheep, then washed and
carded. The family was warm and snug in the "comfy" homemade quilt
Sometimes, ladies would get together and have a quilting bee to get a
quilt finished in a hurry; otherwise, mother and daughter did the hand
quilting.

In the winter time, we would often be snowed-in for as long as six
weeks, or even longer. We wouldn't get any mail for weeks at a time.
The neighbors were always willing to bring mail, or get or share
groceries if they were able to get to town or the Post office. There
were post offices at Willard, Calumet, and Mackenzie. Later, mail was
hauled by wagon or sled, and, even later, by Model T Ford. Everyone
helped one another in time of need.


A Different World by Dwight Loutzenhiser

I'll try and relate back the way we used to do things as it was a
different world then, than it is today. You'll probably say I'm the
biggest damn liar in Fallon County and maybe in southeastern Montana.

In those days the day started with milking the cows and ended with
milking the cows and that was at daylight and at dark. If we had had
the lights you have today it would probably have been a longer day.
The milking was done at daylight in the morning and at dark as the
flies didn't bother the cows as much and we didn't have the good fly
spray you have today.  You milked cows in those days to have a living.
That was your summer's operating money; it bought the groceries and
what few repairs you needed plus gasoline and oil.

The crop was put in with horses as few people had tractors. We had a
gang plow which was a two bottom plow and was pulled with six head of
horses. With a good day you could make six acres -that was a good
day's work. Then it had to be seeded. That was a slow process, too.
With a ten foot drill and six head of horses you could make 20 acres a
day.

Page 9

Haying was slow, also, as the mowers was only a 5' cut at most and you
had to stop and rest your team about ever round to oil the mower and
lift the collars so the horse's necks would get air and you wouldn't
gall the horse's necks. That made an old horse cranky; he might take a
chunk of the seat of your pants when you bent over to pick up the neck
yoke.  That was the thing on the end of the tongue that put the
pressure on the horses' necks. At that time all the hay was put up
loose and it was pitched over the header barge, then onto the stack,
in most cases. We used ropes and a sling at home to roll it up on the
stack. Unless your folks had a big barn; then it was put in the barn
with slings.

There wasn't many slow days on the farm then. In winter time there was
always cows to feed and barns to clean.  Everything in the barns had
to be fed and the cows milked before breakfast - It was a good thing
we had all the chores as we didn't have any TV to watch. The roads
were poor then so if you went visiting, it was either afoot or with
horses. Usually the car was parked before Christmas and it was March
before it moved again. Some say the winters aren't as bad as they were
then. But, to give you an idea what our roads were like, go west of
Willard to the first cross roads and start south there in the
wintertime with a two wheel drive and see how far you go.

It was a major project to go in the winter time with a car as there
was no head bolt heater and no heated garages.  There was no anti
freeze; most of them old cars had leaky radiators or water pumps. If
your family was going to town when it was below zero, it was up early
in the morning and shake down the old cook stove, and take the hot
ashes up and put them under the crankcase and have several pails of
water heating on the stove while you got the chores done. You took the
water up and poured it in the radiator until it came out hot. Then you
closed the pet cock, filled the radiator and got someone on the crank.
But you took the ashes out from under the crankcase before you
started, so, if it flooded, the raw gas didn't drip down on the ashes.
You might lose the car.... and the shed. Soon after that, the scoop
shovel and baling wire was loaded.  The baling wire was to patch the
broken cross-links in the tire chains. With possibly a neighbor, a
couple from home was off in a cloud of snow. It was never the whole
family as they needed the room on the return to haul the groceries.

From the time you left home about the only time you were in the road
was when you crossed it or to cross a deep creek. Back in those days,
the county very seldom plowed a road: only in the case of sickness or
death. It usually took two to three hours to make the 25 miles to town
and the most of the snow plowing was to get to Willard. The road was
plowed between Baker and Ekalaka. There wasn't much time spent in
town. You stepped lively when you got to town as it was going to be
dark when you got home.

I've been telling you about all the tough times but we had our good
times too. We had a Milk Creek Ball Team. We played over at Adolph
Brandemihl's (that is where Bob Neumann lives now) if there wasn't
anything going on . Then as soon as it got cold we started playing
cards and dancing, cards Friday night and a dance on Saturday night.
Everyone brought cakes and sandwiches and made coffee in a big copper
wash boiler. A lot of the dances were at the Lame Jones school when it
set west of Ted and Meleta Schuetzle's on the south side of Lame
Jones. There was a lot of people in that country at that time.

Page 10

Those people were very good people; they seldom greeted each other
with "Hello". They had to give each other hell over something even if
it was for the weather. I know one time my brother Jack was in town
and run into a neighbor, Ray Everson. We were very good friends and
worked together a lot. But we met in this bar and Ray and Jack started
cussing one another. A lot of the patrons figured they were going to
see a good fight as they were both good sized men.

Art Kuehen used to tell one on my Dad when they were putting up ice on
the John Missner place which is southeast of the Stieg place that used
to be the Charlie Nessler place. Charlie and Dad were usually cussing
each other for some reason, mostly to be cussing. But this day Dad was
a little late and Charlie and some of them was sawing ice when Dad
pulled up that morning. He jumped off the sled and was jawing at
Charlie; he walked out on the slab of ice Charlie had just cut, it
broke and dumped Dad in the pond. Art said it was about thirty below
that morning. They fished Dad out, wrapped him in a horse blanket and
Dad headed for home, wasting no time.

People back in the early time had more time although they done things
the hard way. They neighbored more, there was very few Sundays we
didn't go someplace or have someone over. I can remember going with
the team and wagon to haul coal or fix fence and meeting someone on
the road going the other way. They always had time to stop and chat
awhile or if a neighbor stopped in, you stopped what was going on and
had coffee and visited. People had to have their news as there wasn't
any TV and very little radio

I remember the first radio the folks had. It was quite a thing; when
we tried to tune it in it sounded like a tom cat with his tail stuck
in the screen door. It took three dry cell batteries and a six volt
car battery. If you were conservative it would last a week, then you
either had to charge it or take it to someone to have them charge it.
Some got wind chargers and some had a gas engine driving a generator.
The dry cell would last about a winter. The summers most people were
so busy they didn't have time to listen. Some would have their radio
in the morning while they ate breakfast. I remember working at places
where the people listened to Ma Perkins and another cereal radio show
that came on for 15 minutes at noon. Of course, in the evenings,
Monday through Friday, at 9:00 was Amos and Andy for Pepsident
Toothpaste. In most households that was 15 minutes where the kids were
quiet.

In the early days there was a real livewire out there -Edna Marshall
(Collie). If anything went on she was being blamed for it. I've heard
many stories related to Miss Marshall. One was on a bachelor, Bert
Bruce. Bert's sister had been here visiting him and when she left she
had left some extra clothes. Well, Bert wasn't home the day Edna came
by so Edna's mind went to work. Using some of Bert's sister's clothes
she made a dummy and set it in front of the table that contained the
lamp and where the match box set on a shelf. Then she went out and
caught a chicken and put it in a gunny sack with its head sticking out
a hole. Edna rode on down the road.

Page 11 Well Edna must have had a hunch Bert wouldn't be home until
after dark and she was right. Bert told this on himself. He came in
after dark. With no matches and just enough moonlight, Bert could see
something but couldn't make it out. Every time he tried to get to the
match box the old chicken in the sack would stir. Bert was a little on
the spooky side, anyway. I guess he eventually got things figured out.

It didn't all end there. Edna had done such a good job that Bert took
her dummy and put it in the spare bedroom that his sister used. It
didn't have a door on it. Bert had a curtain over the door. Billy
Seely came along and stopped at the house. Billy was a bachelor who
lived down the road a mile and was a little snoopy. He went in and was
checking Bert's house out and he looked in the spare room and saw the
dummy. So he thought Bert had a woman there. Nobody would have known
only old Billy had to ask Bert who the woman was he had staying with
him.

LAME JONES CREEK by Carol MacKay Dyke

"This creek has one of the fastest elevation declines I have ever
recorded in this area!" remarked one surveyor.

How true this statement is of Lame Jones Creek. Within its first 2
1/2-mile trek, it has washed out newly replaced culverts and rinsed
all the gravel from the built up roads. Lame Jones' source is Jake and
Delbert Schweigert's grain fields at 3370 ft. in section 12-5N-58E; it
runs through state sections 10 & 11, adding tributaries as it flows
through the "Old Jay Honstain" homestead (now Maurice Allerdings'
pasture), past Mary MacKay's and Donald MacKay's homes in section 3.

In section 4, it picks up Horse Shoe Draw as a tributary, travels
past. William MacKay's homestead and then picks up Billy's Draw (named
for Billy Leischner who homesteaded at the top of it) and on into
section 5. In section 5, it cuts through the "Old Huber" place (later
owned by Ted Aldinger and now occupied by the O'Connor Brothers),
crosses into section 1-5N-57E traveling through Tim Bechtold and Ted
Kusler's pastures where it picks up Rattlesnake Creek which flows past
Babe Billingsley's home. It is at this point that the 7Up Butte can be
seen clearly.

In section 3, Lame Jones passes through another pasture of Ted
Kusler's and in section 4 & 5 it travels past Frank Sparks' and Meleta
Schuetzle's homes. In section 6, it meets its "maker". Here, Sam Jones
built his dug-out while he trapped the area, Later, Dan C. Mackay's
nephew, Adam MacLay, homesteaded the place that is now known as the
Cedar Butte Ranch with the O'Connor Brothers operating it. At sections
1-5-5N-56E, Lame Jones shoots through what used to be the Fulton Ranch
(now the Palm Ranch) and at 2822 ft. just south of Harmon's Butte,
dumps its contents into O'Fallon Creek.

Lame Jones Creek is abundant with springs that water livestock and
wildlife. A few beaver and muskrats are still found making their dams
and homes. It is not hard to imagine back to the late 1800's when Sam
Jones, who from unknown circumstances was "Lame" in one leg, Dan C.
Mackay and Tom Segle first set foot in this area as government buffalo
hunters. We know that Dan C.came in from Canada, but the other two's
origin or where the three met up, is unknown. It is known that "Lame"
Jones did the shooting and that Dan C. and Tom could skin and prepare
20 carcasses a piece in one day. Now that had to keep "Old Lame"
pretty busy with his firearm! The three men would stack the carcasses
in piles for the government wagons to come by and pick them up. It
wasn't long before Montana was overrun by buffalo hunters and more and
more people filtered in after 1889, along with their sheep and cattle.

Page 12 It was then when Dan C. went to sheep herding. Tom's
relocation is unknown, but "Lame" made himself a dug-out and went to
trapping along the creeks in the area. When the sheep started coming
in, I think it must have been too much for "Lame" so he went south to
Alzada (Stoneville) where he met up with another buffalo hunter and
trapper by the name of Bill Gay. Together, they ran a saloon in that
town and made their "fortune" from the dry cowboys who trailed their
many herds of cattle up from the southern states. It is unknown
whatever became of "Lame" Jones, but his name, along with the Dan C.
brand, are forever implanted on our Montana State map with the Lame
Jones Creek and the 7Up Butt

MILK CREEK By Carol MacKay Dyke

The main channel of Milk Creek starts in section 28-5N-58E on Ray
Bruski's land. It then travels west through sections 29 and 30, and
enters sections 25 and 26 and the upper northeast corner of 27, all of
which are Bob Neumann's pastures. From this point, it cuts through
Darrell Kramlick's pastures in sections 21 and 22.

Milk Creek then flows into the south of section 20 where it travels
through the Palm Ranch (Fulton Ranch) and into section 19. From here
it continues through Palm range in section 24, meets its South Fork in
the northwest corner of section 25 and continues through sections
21,22,23, and 26 of 5N-56E. In the northwest corner of section 28, it
ends its journey to dump into O'Fallon Creek on the Jack O'Connor
place.

The South Fork Milk Creek's source begins on the David Enos place in
section 25-4N-58E, flows northwest to section 26 through Arlee Fried's
place and on into his north pastures, sections 22 and 23. It makes a
zigzag through section 15, barely catching the southwest corner of
section 10 of Tom Stieg's pastures. It then keeps its northwestern
flow through section 32, right past Mary Ketchum's home, cuts through
a small portion of section 31 which is the Palm Ranch and then
reenters Mary's land on section 30. It then enters section 25-5N56E
and again flows on the Palm Ranch where it meets its main branch, Milk
Creek.

In the late 1800's, "Someone" had "milch" cows that grazed along this
creek and, to this day, the name has continued to be "Milk Creek". It
was an odd sight to see these dairy cattle upon the large cattle
baron's land amongst the thousands of beef cattle that roamed the
area. I'll bet quite a few chuckles were heard over the presence of
men and their milch cows !!

Page 13

It was at this same site of the milch cows that Dan C. Mackay bought
the rights to the land in 1887, and, later that year, went into
partnership with Duncan Mackay with sheep they had purchased with
Kenneth McLean. -Dan C. eventually went in for himself and moved to
Lame Jones Creek, while Duncan continued with his sheep on Milk Creek.
Dan S. Mackay, Duncan's brother, came to Montana in 1891 and bought
out Dan C.'s share of the partnership.

In 1890 William Fulton was sent from Illinois to Montana by his
employer, Dan S. Mackay, and, by 1893, Will was able to buy a share of
the sheep on Milk Creek. In 1903, Will and Dan S. formed a partnership
and the large holdings became known as the Fulton-Mackay Ranch. This
was known as the Milk Creek Ranch until Will Fulton and the Mackays
equally split the ranch, Will taking the east half and Mackays owning
the west half. At that time, it was better known as the "Fulton
Ranch".

It is ironic now, in 1990, the name has been rekindled and just up the
creek about four miles, Bruce and Tena Ketchum have introduced their
registered Red Angus cattle on the "Milk Creek Ranch".

A HISTORY OF THE LAME JONES COMMUNITY by Tom Sparks

Lame Jones Creek is situated in southeast Montana in short grass
country. The creek, itself, drains virtually straight west. 
Headwaters are in section 13-5N58E at an elevation of about 3340 feet.
Its flow is northwest for a mile or so, then nearly straight west to
join O'Fallon Creek at a point near the common boundary of sections 5
and 6-5N-56E at an elevation of 2780 feet, a distance of about 17
miles.

The drainage is bounded on the north for the first 6 or 8 miles by
scoria covered hills. Scoria is the red shale used on road surfaces in
the area. The elevation of these hills is 3200 to 3300 feet. On the
south, the common divide with Milk Creek has a higher point of 3527
feet. The sentry, 7 UP Butte, is farthest west at 3487 feet elevation.
These buttes also have scoria tops and the surrounding area falls
quickly from the buttes to form an undulating terrain. Some of the
better soils in the county are located further west in the drainage.
Much of the soil is not conducive to high productivity and is found in
the high erosion category due to its thin topsoil and salinity.

The native plant species are typically short in stature due to the low
precipitation zone from this arid region but the forage is known for
its quality and nutrition. The shrub winterfat maintains its 15%
protein throughout the winter. Nuttall's saltbush and shadscale also
accumulate salt. Common grasses to the region are: western wheatgrass,
green needlegrass, needle and thread grass, blue grama, and little
bluestern on the uplands. Prairie cordgrass, prairie sandreed,
switchgrass, and sedges also occur here. Notable forbs are breadroot
scurfpea (Indian potato - 70% starch), black sampson (known for its
novacainelike qualities), and purple prairie clover (wild tea).
Chokecherry, buffalo berry, juneberry, wild plum, current, and
gooseberry are the wild fruits from native shrubs. Some native juniper
and ponderosa pine dot the hills to the north. Draws support hardwood
ash trees, while the lower areas along the creek have box elder and
cottonwood trees.

Page 14

A diverse plant community has provided excellent habitat for man,
livestock, and wildlife. Wolves and bison were hunted out by 1920.
Antelope and mule deer were scarce until the late 1950's. Red fox were
noted in the area in the early 1950's when coyotes were poisoned
extensively which also allowed jackrabbit and upland gamebirc
populations to recover. Where wolves, bears, elk, and bison were once
present, with proper management now a thriving farm and ranch
community exists.

Here, the history began mainly when the forces of Custer moved
through. The horse camp for General Custer's Seventh Cavalry was five
miles northwest of the community whose history I will briefly try to
relate. The wagon trail that angles up from Belle Fourche can still be
seen in the Lame Jones community. On various hills, arrows, made of
rock, point out the directions while other rocks depict grave sites
for murdered freight wagoners, horsemen and Indians. Also, Indian
"rings" depict camps and chippings show where arrowheads were
"manufactured".

This Lame Jones Creek community was so-named when the first settlers
dubbed this boggy, spring endowed creek after a buffalo hunter and
trapper. "Lame" Jones, as he was called, lived down the creek about
six miles from its beginning for some four to five years before he
passed on in the early 1900's. Jones had a crippled leg due to an
accident and batched in a little old shack. The creek eventually
empties into O'Fallon Creek and then into the Yellowstone River.

Probably one of the first settlers to come into the area was Dan
Mackay. An avid horseman, Dan ran a large horse ranch, headquartered
on Lame Jones Creek in the east-central portion of section 2-5-57.
Dan, who was also known as "Seven-Up Dan" for his 7P brand, was very
hard to get along with. He went to the courthouse and used a method
called "script" to hinder settlers. When "script" was used, it meant
that one man could sign papers making 2 plots of forty acres public
land.

Another peculiar spot on Lame Jones Creek is where Smithy Schaeffer, a
blacksmith, had an abode and shop standing on a high south bluff
overlooking a big spring and waterhole in the northeast corner of
section 3-5-57. "Smithy" made many an article for the community and
among the remnants are some excellently crafted livestock branding
irons.

One problem of Smithy's was his drinking; after a long night or so in
town, he would ride homeward on his pacer, a horse named Tommy Tanner.
Quite often the next day would dawn revealing where Smithy had fallen
off after too much hooch. All around him Tommy Tanner would have
grazed the ground bare. After Smithy passed on, his place was torn
down but the waterhole is still referred to as "The Smithy Hole".

The Homestead Act created a wide frontier for any new adventurers who
might want to come. Among these came Mr. and Mrs. M.G. Berry and
family and their son-in-law, G.W. Sparks. The Sparks family consisted
of George Washington, 19, his wife Bernetta Alma, 17, and one son,
Alfred. They lived the first year with two other families in a one
room shack. That was the winter of 1909-1910. In 1910, a homestead was
taken on the east half of section 10-5-57. That fall the Berry family
came to homestead the west half of that section.

Page 15

By now the people were getting restless and many moved on, their tax
accruement restoring the land to the county. Every place previously
mentioned fell to this fate with the exception of the Sparks-Berry
section.

Other new settlers were Joe Lee, Rube Lambert, Simon Wasnuk, Amos
Lambert, Frank Stout and Bill Stout. The Stouts had two girls who grew
up there and then the whole family moved away. Joe Lee lost his wife
when their eighth child was not quite three weeks old. Then Joe, an
unsettled drunk by trade, and his family moved on.

Now that more people had come and gone, the times had changed and the
"thirties" saw many people leave and new ones take their places.
However, there were still many who did not leave. By now, the Sparkses
had moved to the Berry place. The Wasnuks still lived on their place
although the son, Fred, had taken over.

The Milk Creek Community by Dwight Loutzenhiser

I'm going to try and write a little history on the Milk Creek and Lame
Jones Creek area as I know it or have heard storys about the area and
the people that lived in it. I will start with my folks and work out.
If I miss some of you or your folk, you'll have to forgive me as I
figure at one time or another, there were over a hundred families who
lived in that area.

My folks was Lewis (Lou) and Irena Loutzenhiser - they come to this
country in 1910 and homesteaded the South Fork of ,Milk Creek (the
west half of section 32-558). They run the Calumet Post Office until
it was closed in 1935 due to not enough mail through the post office.
It was started by Mrs. Hugh, over on North Fork of Milk Creek, on the
east side of the road, just north of the turnoff to the place now
owned by Darrel Kramlick. It was a stone house laid up by Dwight
Brown, a brother of my mother's. When Mrs. Hugh left the area, Emma
Stoner, a Aunt of my mother's, was appointed postmaster After that,
Mrs. Lulu Collins became postmaster. She was my mother's sister. Lulu
and her husband, Earl Collins, left in 1921, 1 think, or close to
that, and went to Ashley, ND, to run a Ford Garage there.

It was then, when Mother was appointed postmaster, that they added a
store for the convenience to the people in the community and bought
eggs and cream and sold some gas and oil. This “store” was only 8 X 12
with the post office in it also. It didn't have a big variety. The
folks discontinued the store in 1932 as people got better cars and
could get a better variety of groceries and do other business, too.
The post office closed in 1935. Postal officials called it
Cancellation.

To the east of us up on the head waters of Milk Creek was Granny
Homes' homestead. She had five children that I knew of.; there was
Pete, Bill, Arthur, Carl, and Mrs. Lee Plummer. Pete lived with his
mother. I can't tell you when they passed away but I think Granny
Homes' place was sold to the government.

Page 16

Bill and Lois Homes lived on the Robinson place on section 28 which
was in the grazing district, but now is BLM land. I believe it's where
the prairie dog town is up there. If you look you can see where the
buildings were. Bill Homes was a World War I Veteran and was sheriff
of Fallon County for several years before he passed away of a heart
attack while fighting a wild land fire.

The Arthur Homeses, I think, had one girl. They lived on the Collins
place awhile. I don't know where they went to.

Carl Homes lived across the road from us to the west. He was a hard
working man. They had three children: Earl, Bobby, and a girl (I don't
recall her name). He done some black smithing on the side. They sold
the place to Ferdie Carlson and moved to Baker in the mid thirties.
Then I think they went back to Iowa or Nebraska.

Mr. and Mrs. Lee Plummer had three boys: Gerald, Donald, Bud, and a
girl who was married to Gib Gregerson. Lee had homesteaded up in there
someplace.

To the southeast up on the divide was the Woodhouse place in section
7-459. 1 think Harry was his name -it's been a long time since I
thought about them people. There was a preacher that lived there
awhile. Then Bill Bergstrom bought the place and it has been sold. I
don't know who has it now. To the east in section 8 was the White
place; they were some relation to Mortons. They left the country
before I was too old and moved down around Lemmon, South Dakota, where
he worked in an elevator, I think.

To the west of the Woodhouse place was Bill Johnson's. His wife was a
good cook and made wonderful pastries and always had a lot of them.
They didn't have any kids and they loved kids so whenever we went
there we got a fill of goodies. Old Bill was a big man - he was over
six four and broad in the shoulders, but he was crippled up with
arthritis. Bill's feet were big, too. I remember one fall Bill had
ordered a pair of shoes and they were a long time coming. Anyway, at a
card party one night someone wanted to know if his shoes had came and
Old Bill said no, but he wasn't going to get them before spring,
anyway. Someone wanted to know why. Bill said they were going to have
to wait 'til spring so they could get outside to build them. Old Bill
had been a street car conductor in some city back east. He had a voice
that carried a long ways. On a good quiet clear morning you could hear
Old Bill going to the coal mine with Bob and Pete, a team he drove.
You could hear him call at Bob and Pete for over a mile.

Jack and Art Severson had a place north of Bill Johnson's. Jack used
to call me 'bum' and pick on me. That got me in trouble one day. I'd
been off playing in the creek and when I come to the house, standing
with his back to me was Jack Severson. So I snuck up to him and
swatted him on the seat of the pants and hollered "Bum, bum" at him.
But when he turned around it wasn't Jack; it was a stranger. I didn't
stop - I headed into the house and under the folks' bed way back in
the corner. I don't remember who he was but he tried to make friends
with me by bribing me out from under the bed with candy. Seversons
left there in twenty-seven or twenty-eight. I remember going to the
auction sale. Pete Hibete cried the action as it was called back then.
One of the Severson's gave me a string of keys, I don't know what ever
happened to them.

Page 17


Now Frank Barbage homesteaded section 14-4-59,,the north half. Frank
was a good neighbor; the folks liked him real well. I guess why I
liked him was that he picked on me all the time and I enjoyed every
minute of it. He used to call me "Peanuts" as, each fall, I always had
a pocket full of peanuts from the big bag the folks had in the store
for Christmas. Frank would trade me snuff for peanuts. He was a real
snuffer -he put it up his nose and sniffed it. They had one girl,
Frances. She married Joe Madler and they had, I believe, one daughter.
They moved up around Kalispell, MT. Frank and his wife parted the
sheets and she married Art Kuehen.

John Messnier lived on the south half of the section Frank Barbage
had. John was a good old scout and full of fun and a wise cracker.
John was a good blacksmith and did a lot of it. He also had a
separator and threshed through that country. John come from the same
country my folks did. His sister was married to my uncle. John's first
wife, Tess, was a wonderful person; she was a sister to Mrs. Bill
Stieg. She passed away of cancer in the late twenties. Then John
married a Jane Cartwright who was a school teacher. They had one girl,
Phebe. After John passed away with cancer in 1935, Jane and Phebe
moved to Dodge Center, Minnesota.

There was some Bobneys that homesteaded south of John's but I was too
small when they left to know anything about them.

To the northwest of Frank's and John's was the Charley Nessler place.
They had three children that I know of. They were about the same age
as us kids. One of the boys was crippled. I don't know if he was born
that way or had an accident. The kids went to Morton school. They
moved out in the 1920's to around Beach, ND.

Joe Lee lived on that place several years; then he moved over on one
of the Stout places. Then Bill Stieg bought the place and moved there
in the late twenties. Bill was a veteran of World War I and had been
in the Battle of the Argon Forest in France. Bill was one of the boys
that got into the mustard gas and had only part of one lung. He got
full disability but Bill wasn't one to set around. He expanded his
farming operation and was one of the biggest farmers in that area when
he passed away. Bill was a good radio repairman back in the tube type
days. Everybody in the area took their radio to Bill to have it fixed.
Bill was well educated and read a lot. He was a good story teller and
Mrs. Stieg was a wonderful person and was a witty as Bill. They had
five children: Betty, Bill, Helen, Arlene, and Arthur. Betty was a
nurse, married a doctor and lives in Oklahoma. Billy married a Boggs
girl from Ekalaka. Helen Louise has passed on. Then there were the
twins, Arlene and Arthur. Arlene married Delane Beach. The Stiegs were
good neighbors, always ready to help anyone who needed it.

In the north half of that section was Art Kuehen. His wife was killed
in a car wreck in about 1930. They had two children:  Willard and
Doris. Art was a good farmer; he had a very well organized place with
everything in its place. It's one of the places the buildings are
still standing. Art was County Commissioner for quite a few years, I
think longer than anyone else. Willard married Gladys Buford, old
Lew's daughter. Her dad lived about six miles

Page 18

south on Spring Creek. She was a niece of Bill Stieg. Gladys and
Willard had two children that I know of. Doris married Lee Seaman who
was a foreman for Montana Dakota Utilities Co. They now live in Miles
City and are retired.

Dale Morton lived north of Art Kuehen on section 10-4-58 and was one
of the squatters in that part of the country. He come in before it was
open to homesteading; he was what they call a squatter. They had a dug
out on the west side of the creek that run up through their land a dug
out for a barn when they first came. They had two boys, Bill and Bob.
Billy married Mary Lyman whose folks lived northwest of their place.
Bob married Enna Kennedy from down around Ekalaka. She was a school
teacher. Dale was a good neighbor. He and Dad played for dances in the
neighborhood. Most of them were for benefit of the school or a
community project After Dale passed away, Mrs. Morton married Dale's
brother George. They had one girl, Ruby, who never married.

There was a Brown that had a homestead to the west of Dale's. I don't
know anything about him as he was gone when I got around.

The next place was on the south side of the creek and that was Phil
Huber's place. He had moved to Plevna and was running the Farmer's
Elevator when I got big enough to remember. Phil was the south
country's taxi service. If you came in to Plevna on the train and no
one was in town from that area, Phil would take you home after work.
Phil and his first wife had a girl named Hazel who was a school
teacher. Phil's first wife passed away and he later married Mrs.
Sandborn from north of Plevna. She had three children.

There was several renters that lived on Phil's place. John Kline had
it rented several years. His one daughter, Violet, became a nurse and
was an officer in the service in WWII. His other daughter, Betty,
married Oliver Bucklin. The last I heard, they lived in Billings,
Montana.

The last one I know of that lived on Phil's place was Leon Wiseman. He
was a WWII boy who tried to be a farmer and went broke. He was related
to the Wiseman's around Baker. They came from Missouri and had a large
family. Leon and Gracie got a divorce and he is down in Mississippi.
Grace remarried and lives in Plevna.

On the north side and to the west was the Dick Olson place, section
35-557. He married one of Rube Lambert's girls, Mary Ellen. I'm not
sure how many children they had as they had moved by the time I got up
that old. She is still living in Washington. Jake Rath bought that
place and he had two boys, Rhiney and Edward, and some girls that I
don't remember. Guess they didn't run so I couldn't chase them so I
didn't get acquainted. Jake was a good neighbor and a hard worker. I
liked the boys, good boys and enjoyable to be around. They married
sisters. Jake had a threshing machine and the boys were mechanically
inclined.

On the west half of the Olson place was Bert Bruce's place. Bert
married Mina Bucklin, a sister of Cally. They didn't have any
children. That place had bad water, it was alkali. It was so bad the
horse tank and ground was white from the alkali. Mary Ketchum as the
place now.

Page 19


Bert loved to play cards, I believe, better than eating and Bert was
well fed. I know of one time at Halloween. The old man Mulkey that
lived south down on Spring Creek (I can't recall his name) stopped at
Bert's on the way home from an auction sale and he loved to play
cards, too. Some of the neighbor kids happened along as Bert and Mr.
Mulkey got in the card game. Anyway, Bert and some of the several
other elders of the community had said at a card party a short time
before that the kids now days didn't have any life and didn't do
things on Halloween like they used to.

Well Mr. Mulkey had bought a bunch of wire and posts at this sale he
had been to. Those kids unloaded this load of wire and posts and
stacked the posts around the truck and then repeated with the wire
around them all. While they were doing this, they could see the men in
the window playing cards. Then they went to the barn and put all the
machinery they could into the barn.

My brother Jack had some excuse to go over to Bert's the next morning
and he helped Bert straighten out the mess and helped Bert cuss the
kids that had done the dirty work. Things was going just fine but it
was such a good joke on Bert that one of the kids talked about it and
who all was in on the deal and it got back to Bert that Jack was one
of the ring leaders.

Bert waited for the next Halloween to get even with Jack. He done our
place up royal. But it was all in the fun of living back then and they
didn't destroy anything.

We are now on the west Plevna road, which, if followed on south, will
take you in to Ekalaka. Where you make the jog in the road before you
get to Mary Ketchum's turn off is where the Calumet Hall set before it
burned down, on the southeast corner of section 33-5-57.

Billy Seese had a homestead across on the south side of Milk Creek. He
had several mail order wives but none of them stayed very long. There
were several different families that lived on the Seese place. One was
Vern Wilmont, a one-armed bachelor who had lost his arm in a corn
chopper. He was a WWII veteran. He broke horses and raised a few
horses. He would break one horse to ride and a colt to lead at the
same time. He'd saddle up the horse he wanted to break to ride and get
a rope on the colt he wanted to break to lead and tie the two together
and turn them loose in the corral with a little hay and the water tank
set partly in the corral. Then he would crawl up on the corral and
watch the fun. After things settled down a little he would go to the
house or over to the neighbors to help them or just visit. Oh, he'd
check on them. By the next morning he had a new saddle horse and a
colt broke to lead. Vern come from down in South Dakota at Pollock;
there was a few that come from down there.

Over the hill south was the Heagman homestead. I don't know anything
about them as they left the country before I got to running. Across
the road and down on Spring Creek was Cliff Hanley's homestead. He was
from down in South Dakota, too. He run horses, cattle, and sheep,
along with farming. His wife was a school teacher and they had five
boys: George, Gene, Clifford, Jack, and Pat. Pat is still on the
place. Cliff was one of the bigger farmers in that country.

Page 20

He was one of the first to have a gas tractor. A lot of country rodeos
was held at Hanleys. It was another place people gathered for
entertainment. The whole family were musical and played for dances.

To the north was Earl Ketchum's They had a big family. There was
Allen, Owen, Gary, Pearle, Cecil, Carrol, Merrill, Stanley, and
Kenneth. They rodE horseback to school; it was over three miles one
way. They was all good kids, easy to get along with but darn hard to
settle if you ever got them on the fight. They were good horsemen,
agile as a cat. They rode big horses and they never got on one
standing still. They weren't big enough to put their toe in the
stirrup standing on the ground so they had to jump for it. When they
made the jump the old horse was headed out on the run. In those days
only old men made a horse stand still to get on.

To the northwest down the creek was Clyde Loutzenhiser's homestead, in
section 30-5-57. He was from down at Rollock, South Dakota. He didn't
last long; he did prove up, then left. He went up around Medicine
Lake, and then they moved out to Idaho.

There was a Farmer John that lived in there someplace I heard them
talk about but I don't know where.

Then there was Mrs. Caton or Mrs. Deniger where Jack O'Connor lives on
section 29-5-56. She was a waspy old character and one hell of a good
horseman, so the folks said; I never saw her work with a horse but I
saw her son, Gene, handle horses and he was good. I heard folks tell
about in WWI the Red Cross had a sale up at Westmore to raise money
for the Red Cross. People donated things they didn't need and the
proceeds went to the Red Cross. Quite a lot of people donated horses
they didn't need. Anyway a bunch of men were trying to get this one
horse in the railroad corral there and the horse was having no part of
it. Mrs. Deniger rode up there and watched a little bit and she told
them to get the hell out of the way, she'd put that so and so in the
corral. They got. And she did it with no problem; rode her big horse
up behind him and shoved him in the corral. Gene married a Billingly
girl and they had a family, boys, I know, but how many, I can't say.
He was a moonshiner back in prohibition days and made some pretty good
stuff. It didn't take a lot to get a buzz on. He lived on the south
half of section 29-5-56. He was a old boy that didn't tell you how
smart he was or how good he was. You heard it from his neighbor and
friends.

Then off to the southwest was Edna Marshall's. She married Dave
Collie. Edna met Dave on top of a load of hay. Dave was working for
old Fulton hauling hay with a team and sled. He was loaded and headed
for the feed ground. The team was following the road and Dave was
laying on top of the hay and boxed off. About then Edna showed up. She
rode up behind and tied her horse to the rack and climbed aboard the
load of hay. Finding Dave asleep was too much of a temptation; she
rolled him off in a snow bank. She had never met Dave, but they ended
up getting married.

They had a good family: there was Mary who married Bud MacKay, one of
those up on the head of Lame Jones. Daisy and Dave were twins. Daisy
married a McNaney and Dave worked for Art Drange for many years.
Vivian was

Page 21

married to Donald Krueger; he was killed in the service, then she
married Ed Celander. She had a couple of girls. Goldie married Frank
Sparks and lives on Lame Jones. Alex, the youngest, married a Bucklin
girl and lives on the old place. They were good people.

There was a Mackenzie that lived down on O'Fallon Creek. They run the
post office and the school there was named Mackenzie. I don't know
much history on that. There is an account of it in the O'Fallon
Flashbacks.

Dan Fulton was a Ham radio operator and, in the wintertime, a neighbor
had a radio that he could pick up the Ham operators on. Dan would talk
to Al Ekest in Baker. He would get some of the news around Baker that
way and he would pass it on to the neighbors.

Bill Proctor had one boy as I recall. They starved out and moved to
Baker where he worked for the Soil Conservation, I believe. Anyway he
checked the Red Butte Dam.

Then there was Allen Aliens. They didn't have any children but they
were good story tellers. I think they were from Missouri. I don't know
where they went to from here.

Caroline and Newt Cochrane had a place on North Milk Creek. Caroline
lived there for awhile before marrying Charlie Burns. Their daughters
were Mabel and Toddy. I remember going down there for a Fourth of July
Picnic in the late twenties or early thirties. Then Charley Burns
moved down there in the middle thirties. He run some sheep. We put up
hay for Charley in '36 on the Lyman place.

And east of the Burns place was a half section we called the Black
place. On the south fork of the branch was the Earl Collins place. It
was the north 1/2 of section 28-5-57. There was a big barn there. Most
years, before they started to put in hay they would have a dance in
the barn. I've seen the bottom of the barn full of saddle horses and
many tied to the fence outside. They usually danced until daylight and
then everyone got ready to go home. This was the interesting time of
the whole dance as it was the time of killing all the old soldiers
(bottles of alcohol). No one rode the gentle old plug or the kids'
horses. That would be insulting so if they gave the old pony his head
and flanked him, they could get a few jumps out of the old pony. Then
there was Freddie Wasnuk who was like a cat. He'd sidle up to someone
on a green pony and talk to them and the next thing he was up behind
him with his heels in the old pony's flanks. There was some good
rodeos after a dance. The Collinses didn't have any children. Lulu
Collins was an aunt of mine, mother's sister. The government bought
the place up in the thirties. The barn was destroyed by a tornado in
1938.

In section 28-5-57. on the south half was the Mary Bucklin place. She
was a school teacher and taught several schools in the area. She was
from Pollock, SD. After she proved up on the place she went back to
Pollock where she had a hotel and her son run the place. Callie was
married to a Jones girl from down at Pollock. Callie was a handyman,
he could fix most anything. They ran cattle and some sheep. Callie and
Ada had four children, two boys and two girls. The oldest, Jessie Mae,
married Raymond Fost and had two daughters. Oliver (Pat) married Betty
Kline. They live around Billings, Montana. Lois is married to Alex
Collie and had one son; Alex Jr. They live on section 32-5-56, the old
David Collie place. Roy, I don't know where he is or what he ended up
doing. I think he is in Wyoming.

Page 22

Callie was a good neighbor and could do almost anything. Callie and
some of the neighbors branded together and had a shearing crew. I've
heard them tell about shearing up on Cabin Creek and down at the
dipping place on Milk Creek east of the Palm Ranch. Callie had a few
sheep as did Howly, Brandemihl, Lyman, Collie, Cochran, and Sparks.
Most of those who had sheep and some others worked on the crew.

Across the road was the Milk Creek School. It was built in about 1928.
It was about half way between Bucklin and Collins.  There are signs of
the basement still showing there. There used to be a path going
northwest where the Brandemihl boys walked or skied to school and the
same way to the southeast where the Rath children came and went from
school. There was a lot of dances and card parties held there and ...
a lot of children attended school there.

To the north of the Collins place was the Ray Lyman place on north
Milk Creek. Ray and Mrs. Lyman had these children:  Mary married Bill
Morton and they live in Helena, Montana. Richard and Jack I haven't
seen since the thirties. Ruth Lyman had the land on the north side of
the creek. Across the road was Mary Lyman and then there was the Hugh
place on across the east side (it was a stone house).

On up the creek was the Archie Marshall place. They came in before it
was up for homesteading so they squatted on their land. They had two
girls and a boy. The girls were Iris and Mabel, the boy was Earl.
Archie had a steam engine and a threshing machine. They went the same
way as a lot of us. The dry weather and depression made us move on to
where we could make a living.

On up the creek was Adolph Brandemihl. They had a big house and the
welcome mat was always out. Mrs. Brandemihl was Bill Stout's daughter.
They had three boys. Chester was a good carpenter, Billy was a nurse,
and Kenneth. The were all outdoor boys and loved hunting and outdoor
sports. There were two girls. Lorna was adopted, one of Joe Lee's
daughters, and Marion. Bob Neumann has the place now.

South of Adolph's was the Emma Stoner place on section 26-5-57. She
had the Calumet Post Office. She was an aunt to Mrs.  Collins, Mary
Bucklin, and Irena Loutzenhiser. To the east was a railroad section
which Walt Mangold bought and farmed for several years.

Next going east up North Milk Creek was the Hank Sees place. They had
a boy and Mrs. Hank Sees was a midwife for many women in that country.
Walt Mangold lived on the placer for several years.

The next place up the creek was the Gunder Everson place. There was
some dances held there. It was a big house that sold to the
government. Billy MacKay bought it and moved it to his place up on
Lame Jones Creek. The Eversons had five children: Ted, Ray, Clarence,
Francis, and Mae. Ray farmed the place for years and had two children
Russell and Philip. Russell was killed in an accident with a horse up
around Miles City.

Page 23

To the northeast in section 20-5-58 was a man, named Mac McClain. I
don't know anything about him, but the folks leased the place from
him. From time before I can remember we used the building for a hay
camp. We cut the wild hay on it for horse hay and used it for winter
pasture. Mac or his estate sold it to Emil Veroy and Ferdie Carlson
got it from Veroy.

The other half of the section 20-558 was homesteaded by Herman Lee. He
never lived there that I can remember. He was a brother of Joe Lee and
was married to a Stout girl. They had one boy, Leo, a very nice boy
who was well-liked in the community. They left this country around
1938 or 1938.

The north was the Pratt section. I don't know anything about them only
that the folks rented it. I think he bought it as it was a railroad
section. The Pratt section was sold to the government.

To the east was the Robinson place and Bill and Lois Homes lived
there. They had no children. They later moved to Baker.  Bill was a WW
I veteran and served as a Deputy Sheriff and later Sheriff.

To the southwest was the Joe Lee homestead. There was a large family
of them and after Joe's wife passed away the kids were adopted by
several of the people in the country. Joe and Herman were brothers.

Over at the four corners (East Plevna Road and Willard Road) was the
Julius Bessert place in the southwest corner of section 18-5-58. On
the southeast was where the Red Hill School set to start with. It was
moved up to the northwest corner of the four corner intersection.
Several families lived on the Bessert place. Some were Rumblehearts
and Walt Marigolds. I'm sure there were others.

In the intersection's. northeast corner of section 8-5-58 was the A.D.
Smith place. He homesteaded the place. The old house, I'm told, was
built out of oak shipped in from Wisconsin. A.D. moved to Baker and
worked for the County Road crew awhile. This is where the folks come
to get their mail when the mail route started.

One of the people who lived on the A.D. Smith place was Johnny
Quinzer, then Henry Follmer bought the place. Henry's boy, Leonard,
inherited the place and he sold it to O'Connors.

East of the A.D. Smith corner was the Joe Votruba homestead. They
eventually moved west of Baker.

Art Linden built up a place on a school section south of the Willard
road after Anderson sold the place to the government in the thirties.
Art was a big old likable Swede, a mason by trade, and willing to help
his neighbors. He discovered coal on the Anderson place while digging
a well. It was a good mine and had a lot of water. The water is still
used to water cattle in the government pasture.

The Wichy Westrope place is where the steel quonset sat on the south
side of the road near the red hills to the

Page 24

south. His boys were both jockeys and both made it to the top in the
jockey world. One was killed in a race track accident in California, I
think.

Gregor Gregerson had the place at the very head of Lame Jones Creek on
section 4-5-58. Going west of Willard, it's on the first road north,
up against the red hills where the road turned west. He had a large
family. I knew some of the boys. Glen was a WW I veteran and stayed on
the farm and had a place west of Billy MacKay's. Emmett worked for MDU
as a driller and tool pusher. There was Gib, Harry, Kenneth, and Ray.
All were good boys and great story tellers.

The Gregerson school was west of Gregor's place. I heard one teacher
from the east tell about how the kids, especially the boys, would ride
their horses like Indians.

On the north side of the creek west of the Gregerson School was where
Jay Honstain lived. He had a big family and had a hard time making it.
Things just didn't jell for him but he sure turned out a good bunch of
kids.

On section 12, there was a set of buildings, a nice house and barn.
but I don't know who homesteaded it. The Gregerson boys lived on it.

Old Billy MacKay, a very fine Scotch man and a good neighbor, was next
on Lame Jones Creek. He had a big barn on his place in which there
were dances held. Billy loved to visit and was a fair vet and a good
one back in those days. Billy had a good family.

I've got to say a little about Bill MacKay as he was a man in a man's
world. I knew Bill for a long time and visited with him a lot. I never
heard him ever say a cuss word. Bill partied once in a while but I
never saw him cot off his feet and he was up and working the next
morning at his usual time and he went all day. I don't think Billy
ever missed a St. Patrick's day in Baker as long as he lived.  Billy
was a very honorable man. If all men were a s good as Billy, it would
be a great world.

Glen Gregerson had a quarter section in 4-5-58, west of Billy MacKay
which was mostly just a shack. Glen was a bachelor and a good story
teller. I always enjoyed visiting with Glen.

To the northwest of Billy MacKay was Billy Leischner. He starved out
in the early thirties.

Harry Freeman was northwest of Billy MacKay's on section 32-6-58.
Harry was a good man, a good blacksmith but he had trouble with John
Barley Corn. Harry and Mrs. Freeman also lived on the old Lobdell
place. After they lost the place they moved in to Plevna where Harry
passed away.

Harry had three girls. Hazel worked for the folks for several summers.
Hattie married Otto Hoenke. The third daughter married Billy (Ike)
Ollrog. Here is the Billy Ike story that was related to me from down
in the Ekalaka country. When Billy was a kid he worked for Ike Stowe.
Stowe was a freighter in them days. When people got to talking about
Billy, they couldn't think of Ollrog, so they would say it was Billy
that worked for Ike. Eventually it came about to be Billy Ike.

The Lobdell place was on Lame Jones where it crossed the East Plevna
road on section 5-5-58. They were part Indian and from what some of
the old timers said raised some good horses. Johnny Huber lived on-the
place a while. Then Harry Freeman and Aldingers bought it.

Page 25

On the west side of the East Plevna road in section 6-5-58 on Lame
Jones was what we called the Nell Adams place. I guess I can't blame
anyone for not living there as I helped take several dens of skunks
out from under that house and it didn't smell like roses when we left.

There was a Leischner who lived on the old Seven-Up Ranch. He was
quite handy. He had a ride he made out of an old wind mill tower he
had set out on beams. It went around and was driven by his old car. I
think he moved up to Kinsey on a farm.

I don't know who homesteaded the places on Lame Jones north of Amos
Greenlee and Doc Foster. Kusler,, eventually lived on the one place
Somewhere in there, I was told as a kid that there was a dam there.

On down the creek was what we called Johnny's Hole. According to
stories, there was no bottom and the water was real cold so we didn't
go swimming in it.

Then there was the Drews place. I didn't know anything about them.

Art Hoenke lived on the north side of Lame Jones just east of the West
Plevna road.

On the Willard road from A.D. Smith's to the West Plevna road on
section 12-5-57, Homer Foster lived on the north side. He and Sally
didn't have any children. Homer had been a dentist in Ohio. If it
hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have had any teeth. These kids that
holler about going to a dentist today would have really screamed and
called it child abuse then. There was no block or deadening when he
drilled. He used a treadle drill and I don't think it was the
sharpest. He used a rubber hose to keep the cavity dry. He didn't have
a dental chair, he used a kitchen chair. Then to think I cleaned the
barn and stacked hay to have him fill my teeth. Dr. and Mrs. Foster
fed good and he didn't work you too hard.

You didn't go to the hay field; you went to the meadow and you didn't
put the horse in the barn, cows went in the barn.  Horses went in the
stable, he babied his horses and fed them better than anyone else in
the county. They got the best hay and grain three times a day, whether
they tightened a tug or not. They were standing by the stable door
waiting for their gallon of oats morning, noon, and night.

Amos Greenlee had the north half of that section. He lived north of
Doc's. Amos wasn't a big man but he was all man and one of the
toughest men I knew. I never saw Amos with a cap on until the last
couple years of his life. I've hauled coal though when it was damn
cold. I'd have a sheepskin and a cap with ear flaps and I'd be wrapped
up and Amos would be out feeding cattle in a cap. They had three
children. Harold never married. Vernon married Pearl Sparks and lived
on the place until he passed away. Both Pearl and Vernon are gone.
Gene married Izzy Leischner. Amos was a good neighbor and a good hand
at most anything.

Page 26

Colonel (G.W.) Sparks live northeast of the 4 corners to the south of
the Hoenke place. Theirs was a large family -8 children. Colonel had a
coal mine up the creek toward 7 Up Butte. It was on the Fred Hartman
place.

Fred Hartman's place was north of 7 Up Butte. He was a lawyer and well
educated but he had trouble with John Barley Corn.

Simon Wasnuk lived on the Amos Lambert place just west of the West
Plevna road. They were a German family. Simon had a good coal mine to
the northeast of the place. This was a large family, as it was your
family, my family kicking our family kind of thing. But they were good
folks.

Freddy Wasnuk lived on the Lambert place after Simon. Freddy was a
good old boy, full of fun.

Loren Lowe lived on the Lambert place for a short time.

Frank Sparks lives on the Lambert place now. He and Goldie has made a
good go of it. They are hard working people and have improved range
conditions.

There was Fred Maier who started the place where Ted and Meleta
Schuetzle lived. He had a family but he starved out in the thirties.
He was quite an inventor; he built a big header box that, along with
the header, was pulled with a tractor. They built a heading stack in
this barge. After they topped it out, they would open the back doors
and, with a cable under the stack, the barge would tilt down and they
could pull away with the barge leaving the stack standing. Several of
these showed up after Fred build that first one.

Rube Lambert was on west of the Plevna road on the north side of Lame
Jones on down the creek. He was before my time.  I've heard the folks
talk about the Lamberts. I knew Bill Lambert -he had a boy, Leonard,
about my age. When I was a kid Herman Lee lived on the first place and
Bill Stout lived on the place Carl Rabe had.

On the road north of Frank Sparkses that goes west, that first creek
in section 32-6-57 were the Frank and Bill Stout places. I don't know
which was which. I don't know if Frank was ever married as I don't
recall of ever seeing him. Bill and Mrs. Stout had two daughters. Lois
married Adolph Brandemihl and the other daughter was married to Herman
Lee.

Over where the cemetery is on section 6-5-57, was the Ray Morrison
place. Mrs. Morrison raised canaries. I was there once with my Aunt
Lulu. I was quite taken with the birds. There were a lot of canaries
and they were all singing. I thought it sure was pretty.

Down to the southwest on section 6-5-57 was Adam MacLays. Adam wasn't
a big show man; he lived within his means. I don't know what Adam and
Nell was worth but I guess it was a pretty penny. Adam and Nell didn't
have any children; she had a boy from a former marriage. I don't
remember his real name - I knew him by Cook. He was a tough boy. I
don't know of any one ever knocking old Cooky out. Adam was a good
stockman. He had good livestock and he was one of the last in that
country to go to tractors.

Page 27

In section 8-5-57 was the A.C. Michelson place. I don't know if he
homesteaded or not but they lived there for years. Mrs.  Michelson was
a really nice looking woman. Mike had a store in Plevna that he sold
to George Burge. They also had a house there in Plevna.

Miss Lamb was a school teacher and became county superintendent. My
brother thought she was a great teacher. She could say more words in
less time than anyone I know. She married Ray Sutton and claimed it
was a good thing Ray was hard of hearing; otherwise she'd had his ears
talked off. Ray had two girls Mobil and Marion. I don't remember the
man Marion married (I don't think he was from around here). Mobil
married Elude McCloud, they had a boy named Donald. They moved to Wood
burn, Oregon.

Allen Ed lens lived west of Sutton, I can't tell you where. They
didn't have any children that I know of. They were both good story
tellers and card players. Where they lived there wasn't any water.
They hauled water for the household use. I was there in the wintertime
and they were melting snow for their livestock.

Well, I'm sure there are people that I've missed. It's been sixty
years since I rode that country and it's hard to keep up with everyone
coming and going.

I have to say something else. One day I was sitting around with a
bunch of people and one guy said, "those people down in the Lame Jones
area are a different bunch of people; funny in a way they're all right
but they are different from us." Well, that got me to wonering why
they thought we were different. I got to thinking back a ways about
the people that are there and the old ones. We were all so poor that
the people on welfare, government relief and SPA all look rich. A lot
of those people were so poor that they couldn't borrow any money on
their land so they couldn't lose it. Like some guy said: We were so
poor that, if overcoats for an elephant were selling for a nickel, we
could not buy a jacket for an ant.

We were so hard up that we didn't have the money to buy a three cent
postage stamp to write to the loan company to see if we could borrow
five dollars to last us to the next cream check. If it hadn't been for
them cream checks we'd have all starved to death.

Therefore, we all connived and lived on jack rabbit to survive. We
were so poor after 1938, Mother thought she was benefiting us by
pulling out. She probably was because we would have run out of jack
rabbit before spring. It isn't a disgrace, you people made it; I had
to quit it to make it.

You guys are darn tough people. You didn't see new cars in the
depression. The only one who drove a half way decent looking car was
Bill Stieg. If it hadn't been for his pension, he wouldn't have had
that. He'd a been down there scratching with the chickens with the
rest of us.

You people were darn proud people -you stayed and battled and did
without and it was darn hard livin.

Page 28

Upper Lame Jones by Babe MacKay Billingsley

The south portion of section 13-558 was homesteaded by Mr. Alex
Bergdoll (Bergwell) and Woods T. Westrope later bought it . They built
a 1pretty nice shanty', not like the one room shacks that other
neighbors had. "Woodsy" had one daughter, Charlotte, and two sons who
were top notch jockeys in California. Young Woodsy and Jacky were both
killed on the track while racing.

In the west portion of section 12-558, Axel W. Lindquist homesteaded.
He was a bachelor, a large stocky Norwegian and always clean shaven.
He had a team and would haul water from MacKays. In later years, while
mining coal north of his place, he was found dead. Kenneth Gregerson
later lived there. A lone windmill and a few scraps of metal is all
that remains.

Mr. William Moscrip had the east portion of section 12-5-58. He came
in from South Dakota, was married to Eva (Messner) and they had one
son, Edward. They were pretty well-to-do as Mrs Moscrip drove around
in one of those fancy horse drawn buggies. They didn't stay very long
for they didn't make very good farmers. Both section 13 and 12 Bre now
owned by the Delbert Schweigert family.

The south portion of section 14 Charlie and Jenny Anderson
homesteaded. Jenny was a huge huskywoman. They had four children,
Warner Hazel, Walter and Mary Jane. They all attended Gregerson
School. One day, while at school, the kids were sliding on an ice
puddle and Mary Jane fell and broke off one of her front teeth. It was
dangling from its nerve and was very painful. When Charlie and Jenny
left, Charlie's brother, Enoch, tried farming, but gave it up and
moved back to Sweden. Then Art Linden, a nephew of Jenny's, and his
family resided there. Art built many of the barns in the community and
his wife, Lena, was a school teacher. They left in 1952 and only
depressions in the ground mark where the buildings once were. It later
became USA land and Donald MacKay presently has lease on it.

In section 10, the south portion, the Wilson family lived. They had
one daughter, Helen. She went to the Gregerson School and walked over
"The Carlson Buttes" to school. She was the same age as Florence
Gregerson, a good two years older than Babe and Meleta Schuetzle.
Steve Bruski now owns this section. The north portion of section 10
was homesteaded by a Mr. Carlson. He had his sod shanty just over the
Lame Jones Creek bank, south of the Gregerson school house. Jay and
Mamie Honstain later lived here for a short while. Only a depression
where an old well was still remains. This is now state land leased by
Donald MacKay.

Back up to the south portion of section 2 was Gregor and Georgina
Gregerson. Gregor was born of Norwegian parents who immigrated to the
USA in the early 1800's. Seven of Gregor and Georgina's 10 children
were born in Minnesota before coming to Montana. They were: Glen,
Selma, Georgiana, Gilbert, Emmett, Harry and Leaphy. Florence and
Kenneth were born on the homestead and Ray was born in Baker. Most
attended Gregerson School. Gregor bought the homestead land for $50.00
from a Doctor in Minnesota who had filed on it earlier. Glen retained
the homestead

Page 29

until his death and his spinster sister, Georgiana, was his house
keeper. A lone barn is all that remains there. Delbert Schweigert and
family now own the land.

In the NE portion of section 3, Otto Hoenke homesteaded. He went to
WWI and didn't come back to complete the claim. He sold it to Jay and
Mamie (Cain) Honstain. The SE portion of section 3 was where the
Gregerson school last sat. It was moved from William MacKay's place in
section 4 and then to section 10 to here. It was originally built by
William MacKay's father-in-law, Al Honstain, A.D. Smith and Lone Star
Company. Shelley, Carol and Donald MacKay were the last pupils to
attend with Mr. Melvin Knight as teacher.

In the SE corner of the NW portion of section 3, Art and Rose Hoenke
lived and this is where Meleta (Hoenke) Schuetzle and Mary "Babe"
(MacKay) Billingsley became best friends. After Hoenkes moved, L.K.
Northrop lived there and his son Russell attended Gregerson school.
Then Jay and Mamie Honstain lived there with their family. This is now
state land leased by Allerdings.

The SW portion of section 3 was used by Lame Jones. His shanty was on
the south side of the creek which was named for him.. He lived next to
Spring #1, the first good spring on the creek. This is where most of
the neighbors to the east came to get their water with a team of
horses, a stone boat and big barrels. It still runs a good stream of
really cold water. **(I remember as a kid we would play in the water
at the spring and my legs would just ache from the coldness of it, so
we had more of a tendency to play down stream further where it was
warmer water and had that good old black mud-note from C.Dyke**)
Later, his buffalo hunting partner, Dan MacKay laid claim to it and
Spring #2 (in the NE corner of the SE portion of section 4), Spring #3
(in SW corner of the NW portion of section 4) and Spring #4 (in NW
corner of the NE portion of section 6). These 4 spring holdings were
later sold to one of his hired hands, William MacKay, for $1.00 a
piece and a handshake. Gregersons used to run a few head of cattle in
section 10 and they would come and water at the spring. Mrs. Wm.
(Marie) MacKay suggested to William that they charge for the use of
the water. If ever William MacKay got mad, that was the time. Mary
MacKay (Mrs. Bud MacKay) and son, Donald MacKay, Wm. MacKay's
grandson, now own this land.

In section 4 in the SW corner of the southeast portion is where D.
Hogarty and his wife, Bertha, homesteaded. William MacKay sold this
land to them in trade for Jay Honstain's North Section (NE corner of
Section 4). Clifford, Virginia and Elinore attended Gregerson School
Some of the local people Clifford worked for were Adam MacLay and Dan
Mackay of the Lame Jones area. Glen Gregerson later owned the land,
then Leonard Follmer and now Pine Ridge Ranch, Inc. (Jim O'Conner's
boys) presently own it.

The SW quarter of section 4 was owned by Glen Gregerson; he had a
shanty located there and farmed the land. One of the Smith boys who
lived to the west and was about 16 years old the the time encouraged
Bud MacKay and Harold Greenlee who were around 9 years old, to help
steal some of Glen's snoose and canned peaches. Glen discovered the
loss and reported it to William MacKay. Harold Greenlee had his hide
tanned by his father, it is unknown the Smith boy's

Page 30

punishment. William MacKay went to town and bought another snoose and
the replacement cans of peaches and gave them to Bud to return'to Glen
who was plowing out in his field and to apologize that he would never
do that again. Babe and Ella watched their brother go from behind the
barn. Bud would go a ways and sit down, go some more and sit until
finally Glen saw him coming and stopped his tractor. The apology must
have been accepted, for Glen took Bud for a few trips around the field
on his tractor.

The north portion and SE portion of section 4, except for Hogarty's
40, was owned by William MacKay and he homesteaded this part. He built
his home next to spring #2 where the water was so cold, they kept all
their dairy products in a wood box where the water ran. It later
became real boggy, so was filled in and a well drilled. This land was
divided between William's children.

In section 32-6-58, Art and Mrs. Lobdell homesteaded the southeast
portion. Mrs. Lobdell delivered many of the neighboring children.
Lobdells and Hogartys were related, one set were siblings. In the
north half section 32 was Harry and Susie Freeman. He drank a lot.
They had four girls. Hattie (Mrs. Otto Hoenke) was the most kind
mother a child could have. Lillian became Mrs. Billy "Ike" Ollrog.
Hazel was to marry Ted Koenig and, 2 weeks before, ran off and married
Alfred Sandborn. It was said that Ted had a terrible temper. The
fourth daughter, May, died at age 17. This land was later owned by Ted
Aldinger and then Leonard Follmer and is presently owned by the Pine
Ridge Ranch, Inc. (Jim O'Connor's sons).

Section 33, the south half and northwest corner was filed on by
William "Billy" Leischner and the drainage that comes from the north
out of section 33 into Lame Jones Creek is still today called "Billy's
Draw". To the east of his homestead was Billy Mahaney. This is now USA
land and all of William MacKay's surviving children have an interest
in it.

To the north in section 28 was Joe Mahaney's place and these buttes
are named the "Mahaney Hills". Joe's homestead set more so on the Pine
Creek drainage. Anna Mae (MacKay) Wang now owns this land. To the
northwest on the other side of the Mahaney Hills lived a Mr.
Sylvester. He had a couple of horses for a team.. His place had a
shallow water well and his shanty was a dug out. He later moved down
by Harry Freemans.

West of him in section 29, still in the Pine Creek drainage, were Art
Honstain's and Whiskey Mark Jones' homesteads.  Whiskey Jones lived
with the William MacKays for a few years.

In the northeast corner of section 5 was the Reinholtz place. They and
Freemans were related. In section 5, the northwest corner was Ted
Allerding's place.

Section 8 was the Henry Follmer place and prior to that had been A.D.
Smith's.

The north portion of section 17 was 01' Lady Hood's place. She almost
starved and froze to death one winter.

In section 18, the north portion was the Julius Bessert place. He left
this to Leonard Follmer for $1.00. All of these sections are presently
owned and leased by the Pine Ridge Ranch, Inc. (Jim O'Connor's sons).

Page 31

Section 20, the' northern portion, was homesteaded by Herman Lee. He
was married and had children. The north 1/4 and east 1/4 is owned by
Mary Billingsley and Shelley Dean.

In section 6 not far from Spring #4, Mike Molstad filed homestead. A
little west and south was Ol'Nell Cook's place, right along the Lame
Jones creek. Nell later married Adam MacLay, Dar Mackay's nephew and
William MacKay's best friend.

On the same drainage, south of the main Lame Jones Creek but in
section 1-5-57, was Johnny Kid Lambert's homestead. An old barn marked
the place until recent years when it fell down and the boards were
reused. The Hidden Water Ranch (Tim Bechtold) owns this land.

Mackenzie Post Office By Goldie Sparks

The Mackenzie Post Office was begun in 1912 by Johnnie Mackenzie and
folded up in 1943. Postmasters after Johnnie were Harold LaBree, Chris
Flynn, and Dan Fulton. Emmett Jordan and his wife from Ismay drove for
several years, then Hunter Heigh, Berdette Askins, Raymond Lausch, Ray
Shipman, Keith Rugg, and now Bruce Domer. M rs. Johnnie Mackenzie
taught school.

There was always good mail service and the post master was always
helpful. One day it was -45' with a northwestern wind and Alex and I
left home on horseback for school. They got to the Mackenzie Post
Office and Chris Flynn wouldn't let them go on to school. They stayed
at the post office until 3 o'clock or so and then headed home. They
met their Dad who hadn't realized it was so cold.

Teachers were Melvina Sparks and Mary Lyman who stayed at the
Mackenzie Post Office and then rode to school. The other teachers
boarded at Fulton's. There was an owl's nest in an old tree by the
Post Office which the kids watched each year for nestlings.

TRY AGAIN SEWING 4-H CLUB by Nancy Greenlee Curry

In 1939, the communities of Lame Jones, Milk Creek, and MacKenzie were
involved in a sewing club. Those members and their officers were
Goldie and Vivian Collie, Genevieve Greenleepresident, Clara
Hoenke-secretary treasurer, Carol Ketchum, Nellie MacKay reporter,
Carol Rabe-vice president, Mary Sparks- recreation leader, Betty Mae
and Helen Louise Stieg. Pearl Sparks was the primary leader assisted
by Pearle Ketchum. On July 20, there was a 4-H dance. Six members
attended 4-H Camp. Members answered roll call at one meeting by
whistling a tune. A health program was held July 27, 1939.

Page 32

THE LAME JONES SCHOOL by Tom Sparks

In 1911, Rube Lambert started freighting lumber from Ekalaka up to his
home on Lame Jones Creek. The need had been established for a school
and Rube, with five children, was ready to build. The location was on
the north side of the creek in the southwest corner of section 4-5-57.
After the county superintendent had inspected it and the charter board
members were elected, a teacher was hired and education ensued ' The
charter board members were Rube Lambert, M.G. Berry, and Frank Stout.

About 1923, the community decided a larger schoolhouse was needed. At
this time a new building was built in the northwest corner of section
95-57. The old house was moved down and used as an addition to Mrs.
Hatton's home. This building still exists today as a portion of the R.
Rabe estate. The new building was later known to have the largest
enrollment in the county. A well was eventually drilled. Due to its
northern slope location, the house was quite chilly in winter.

The building was soon deemed illlocated and was moved in 1950 to a
hill in the northwest corner of section 15-5-57, where it still stands
today. The 1966-1967 school term was the last year classes were held
in the building. Terminal members of the school board were Mrs. Ted
Schuetzle, -clerk, Stanley Ketchum, Frank Sparks, and Robert F.
Neumann. The last teachers were Mrs. Billington, Mrs. Lena Linden,
Mrs. Dorothy Ashley, Mr. Bill Loehding, Mrs. Roth (from near Fort
Meade, SD) and Mrs. Esther Naes.

MEMORIES OF THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL By Charles H. Abrams

Out behind the schoolhouse they stood, Two silent sentinels for the
general good.  One for girls and one for boys, woe to him who broke
the rule; Such was the law of the country school.

And each little boy with pressure to relieve, Aimed for the highest
mark he could achieve. And each little fellow be he short or tall,
Left his highest mark on the inside wall.  And in the course of time
it became rather rank I suppose it actually stank.

A teacher said at the end of one day, "Girls are excused, you may go
on your way." "Boys in your seats you gotta stay." And with a scowl
upon her face "The condition of that outhouse is a disgrace, And such
terrible things gonna befall If you don't dry that inside wall".

And we were scared full half to death Hardly dared to draw our breath.
And each little fellow pale and white Showed the fear of this terrible
plight.

Then one little kid kinda grinned at me; And another whispered "Golly
Gee".  And then to show we were good little boys, We all tiptoed out
without making a noise.  Memories still remain with a gray old man Of
the country school and the backhouse can.

GREGERSON SCHOOL District 37

The first pupils to attend Gregerson School were May and Ralph Smith,
Ella Honstain, and Harold and Art Lobdell.  Lumber hauled by team and
wagon from Baker became a school building on section 10-5-58, district
28. Al Honstain, A.D. Smith and Lone Star worked to complete the
carpentry before the school term of 1912.

Page 34

Mamie Cain taught in the early years of the school and married Jay
Honstain, Al Honstain's son. Later she returned to teaching at the
Gregerson School and remained there for five years. Nellie MacKay was
a teacher for a short period.

When the school closed its doors, it rested in the southeast corner of
section 3-5-58. Arthur "Bud" MacKay, a former pupil, was on the school
board when this last school in the district closed. Students were
Carol, Donald, and Shelley MacKay. The building was sold and moved to
the Richard Opp farm, where it became a shop. Bud MacKay purchased the
red horse barn and it was moved to his home and became a cake shed,
where it is still painted red to this day.

Page 35