PLEVNA MONTANA-75 YEARS            (FILE 2 of 3)

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Copyright (c) 2001 By Larry Martin 

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Photo Fred and Barbara Bohle

WILHELM AND CAROLINA BUERKLE

Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm Buerkle both immigrated from Neulusdorf, South
Russia. Wilhelm and a brother, Frederick, immigrated in 1913, and
Carolina Krueg arrived in 1914. Their goal in coming to the United
States was to leave politically unsettled Russia and go to a
progressive, free country with the hope of being able to go back to
visit relatives. They were never able to return to their home or see
their parents or relatives again, except for one brother, John
Buerkle, who came to the U.S. A.- in 1952.

Wilhelm and Carolina were married on December 6, 1914, and settled
northwest of Plevna. They joined the German Congregational Church in
Plevna.

After living northwest of Plevna a while, they decided to move to
Vananda, Montana, and homestead on some property north of Vananda.
They loaded all of their belongings, including household furniture,
horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and farm equipment, into train cars.
They proved their claim and put up fences and farm buildings. There
were still stone foundations visible at the homestead site in 1983.

After having drought and rather poor land, they left that homestead
and moved back to south of Plevna and settled on the land belonging to
Mrs. J. Krueg. They then acquired some land north of Plevna, where
they built a farm and lived until 1947, when they retired to the town
of Plevna.

They returned to their homestead several times for a visit, only to
find that all their buildings had been stolen.

During the bad conditions around 1937, Mr. Buerkle and several other
farmers from the locality took themselves and some horses and worked
at the gravel pit 13 miles west of Plevna. They worked three
eight-hour shifts to stockpile gravel, which was used to put on
Highway 12 running west of Plevna.

During that period of time, while the rest of the children were going
to school, Carolina Buerkle and daughter Rosina took care of all the
livestock at home, in addition to the other winter chores.

Wilhelm Buerkle suffered from Parkinson's disease (palsy) and was
disabled from work for more than twenty years.

Carolina Buerkle passed away January 12, 1951, and Wilhelm Buerkle
died February 11, 1960.

They had six children, sixteen grandchildren, and thirty-five great
grandchildren.

Daughter Rosina married Bill Fuchs, and they five north of Plevna.
They had four children: Delores married George Hickman, the parents of
William, Michael, and Kimberly; Mary Ann married Ted Barr, the parents
of Ross, Rose, Ryan, and Rick; Eleanor married Roger Aldinger, the
parents of Theresa, Robin, and Carrie; Roger, married Paula Sieler,
the parents of Jill, Heidi and Kristy.

Son William married Martha Lang. They are living in Arizona. They had
one son, Timothy.

A son, Jacob, died in infancy.

Their fourth child, Fred, married Norma Coons, and they live north of
Plevna. They had three children: Kathleen, married Cyde Leischner, the
parents of Brent and Aaron; Daniel, married Lana Shepherd, the parents
of Brad, Bryan, and Britt; Carol, married Mark Magnesen, who died of
cancer, and later married Mike Larson, the parents of Matthew and
Nathan; and Donald, who married Merri Flor.

Wilhelm and Carolina's fifth child, Arthur, married Betty Ehret, and
they lived north of Plevna. until his death in 1980.

Photo Wilhelm and Caroline Buerkle and Family

Photo THE BVERKLE FAMILY [Front L-R] Arthur, Wilhelm, Carolina, John
[Back] William, Rosina, and Fred

Page 65

They were the parents of two children: Alvin, married Debra Geving,
the parents of Derek; and Eileen, married Donald Rieger, the parents
of Lynn, Lisa, and Leighton.

Son John married Lorene Freier, and they live north of Plevna. They
had five children: Lorin, married Carol Haar, the parents of Jodi,
Ryan, and Joshua; Dale, married Sharon Haar, the parents of Darin,
Scot, Dana, and Stephanie; Vernon, married Patricia Timmerman, the
parents of Sharona and Matthew; Sharold, married Melody Eyre, the
parents of Christa and Michael; and Kevin.

FRIEDRICH AND MAGDALENA BURKLE

Friedrich Burkle was born in Neu Lustdorf, Russia, on December 31,
1889. He was the oldest child in his family. The danger of being
drafted to serve in the Russian Army was the deciding factor in his
desire to leave his family and immigrate to the United States. His
passport is dated July 9, 1914.

Friedrich landed in Baltimore, New York, and then traveled by train to
Eureka, South Dakota. There he worked on farms for board and room in
winter, $30 per month for general farm work in spring and summer, and
$2 per day for pitching bundles into the threshing machine. After he
acquired a team of horses, he got feed for the horses in addition to
the wage. He came to Plevna in 1915 and worked for Andrew Schaefer and
Gottlieb Klukas, but returned to the Dakotas after spending a few
months here.

Magdalena Opp was born in Long Lake, South Dakota, on December 31,
1893. She was the second daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Opp. Mrs.
Karl Hepperle (Elizabeth) was her older sister, and Jacob Opp was her
brother. Their father died of a ruptured appendix when the children
were very young. Their mother later married Adam Kessler from Eureka,
South Dakota. He had a large family, so there were a lot of
stepbrothers and sisters to live with. Later a daughter, Martha (Mrs.
Fred Roesler) was born to the Kesslers, and the Opp children had a
half sister.

Magdalena came by train to visit and help her sister, Mrs. Hepperle,
when Martha was born. She returned to Eureka, working as a maid to
farmers' wives in the area. It was during this time that she met
Friedrich Burkle. They were married on January 15, 1917.

In March of 1917, they moved to East Fork, Montana, to homestead. In
the fall of 1919, after three seasons of drought, the loss of their
bull because the cowboys gave him poisoned oats, and the isolation of
the homestead, they left it and moved their belongings by rail to
Plevna. They rented a farm from Charles Moore, which is now the farm
home of Fred and Norma Buerkle.

In the spring of 1921 they moved to the unimproved Northern Pacific
land they had purchased from Joe Steffes, Sr. in the fall of 1920. The
land is located three miles north and three miles east of Plevna. A
shack was built that served as home until 1928, when the frame house
was built that is still in use today.

It was on this farm that their children, with the exception of Edward,
were born. There was no hospitalization for Mother when the babies
came. She was very grateful to her neighbor, Mrs. Andrew Geving, who
always came to help with the deliveries. She was a wise lady and knew
when a doctor's help was needed.

Two boys and a girl died in infancy. Edward, the only living son, was
born while on the homestead on August 4, 1918. Louise (Mrs. Ernest
Lang) was born on May 22, 1921. On July 4, 1924, Emma (Mrs. Albert
Losing) came to help them celebrate Independence Day. On July 29,
1926, Erna (Mrs. Paul Losing) was born. The last one to join the
family was Alma (Mrs. Ralph Dukart), born on October 13, 1929. Alma
was so very small when she was born that she could be laid in a shoe
box.

The 1930s were hard years for the family. Because they
owned three cows which were not mortgaged, they were denied relief
which they so desperately needed. All of the children attended Clark
School, which was a two-mile walk through all kinds of weather. In the
late 30s, a 32-volt windcharger with a set of batteries was set up to
generate electricity. Also, a windbreak of Chinese elm trees was
planted, some of which are still thriving. REA electricity replaced
the 32-volt power plant in 1953.

The years went by; the children grew up and left home, either for work
or marriage. After his marriage in 1947, Edward continued to live on
the farm with his parents. Three grandchildren had the privilege of
visiting with their grand parents every day, and during these visits
they were able learn the German language.

The Burkles were of the Lutheran faith, and the Opps were Baptist, so
a compromise was reached, and when they attended church they went to
the Congregational Church at Plevna. When the Rev. Albert Stelter came
to serve the Plevna Baptist Church, he visited the family, and because
of his love and interest, they started attending the Baptist Church.
They later became members there, and it was their church home for the
remainder of their lives.

The 1960s should have been retirement years, but Friedrich and
Magdalena sort of semi-retired right on the farm. Dad Burkle died in
his sleep on February 5, 1965, at the age of 75. Mother Burkle lived
with her children for several years before moving into a trailer home
at the farm in the spring of 1968. She lived there until it was
destroyed by fire in August of 1971. After the fire, she moved to
Miles City to live with Alma, the youngest daughter. Magdalena died in
May of 1981, having reached 87 years of age.

The farm is still owned and occupied by Edward and his wife, the
former Jeanette Losing.

Photo THE FRIEDRICH AND MAGDALENA B URKLE FAMILY [Front] Friedrich and
Magdalena [Back] Erna, Emma, Edward, Louise, and Alma

MARY LAUSCH CHARLTON

Mary Lausch Charlton was born November 6, 1880, at Forest City, Iowa.
She came to Montana before 1914 and located north of Plevna.

Mary's parents were Halvor and Gertrude Gunderson. She was a small
child when she moved with her parents
to Minnesota. She grew up there in the country and attended elementary
school on half mile from home. She was confirmed in the Lutheran faith
in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota.

Her father pastured cattle for other people. Most of these cattle were
wild and had very long homs. Mary said she and her brothers and
sisters had to herd the cattle, and while doing this they would ride
them, just to make it a little more interesting. In the winter time,
their neighborhood sport was skiing.

On August 18, 1906, she married James Willard (Bill) Lausch in
Dickinson, North Dakota. Eight children were born to this union:

Gertie Luella married Christ Nordtvedt, and she lives at Ismay,
Montana. Violet Sadie married Leslie Harder, and is now deceased.
Wesley Richard married Claudia Rieger and they live at Alberton,
Montana. Ethel Esther married Patrick Hagel, who is deceased. She
later married Weldon Dunaway, who is now deceased. She lives at
Clovis, California. Alfred Raymond married Hazel Corbitt and lives at
Miles City, Montana. Julia Marie married Walter Smith and resides at
Brighton, Ontario, Canada, and Clearwater, Florida. Robert Eugene
married Ruth Corbitt and resides at Terry, Montana. Mary Elizabeth is
married to William Bohle and lives in Baker, Montana.

Mary and Bill made their home in Beach, North Dakota, where both
Gertie and Violet were born. Eventually, the family moved farther west
to homestead northeast of Plevna, Montana. There Wesley, Ethel and
Raymond were born.

In 1916, they moved to the Joe Keller farm southwest of Ismay, where
Julia was born. In 1917 the family settled in Ismay, where Robert and
Mary were born.

Bill bought a small two-room house that had belonged to Frank Gansley
and moved it to a site on the southeast edge of Ismay along the
Yellowstone trail, where as of this time it is still standing. He
moved it onto a basement and added two more rooms. Later the four
upstairs bedrooms were built on.

In the hard times, the Elliot family with three little boys came to
Ismay. Mrs. Elliot's father, Charlie Clarke, had been a neighbor of
the Lausch family when they lived on the homestead. Because Mr. Elliot
couldn't find work or a place to live, the Lausches let the Elliots
use the two west rooms of their house for quite a while, until Mr.
Elliot found work.

Mary worked for others, wallpapering, painting, house cleaning,
baking, washing, and ironing. She was an Avon dealer for years and
among the extra bonuses she earned was a set of silverware. She had
the Ismay and Mildred territory.

In 1934, Bill was killed on a rock crusher while working on a road
construction crew near the Bradshaw ranch at Locate, Montana. Mary
Lausch then took in children to board and room during the school year.
Those children included Alice and Iris Zabel, Lorraine and Virginia
Hough, George McNanny and Gary Schye.

Mary's closest friend was Cora Askin Pierce. After a hard day's work,
the two women would often ride horseback to the dances, where Mary
would do the calling for the square dancing. The two of them would go
to masquerade dances together, with Mary dressed as a man and Cora as
a lady. They often received the first prize. Mary once went to Twin
Buttes dressed as George Washington. The first prize was again hers.

Cora and Mary used to serve midnight suppers at the dance for 35 cents
a plate. Later the price changed to 50 cents for two sandwiches, two
pieces of cake (one dark and one light), a pickle, and coffee. Charge
for the dance was 75 cents a couple, which was later raised to $1. The
dances started at about eight or eight-thirty in the evening and ended
about three o'clock in the morning. If the people wanted to dance
longer, they passed the hat for the musicians and sometimes continued
dancing until daylight.

In the fall, Mary would harness a team of horses to the buggy, load
all the children and take lunch along on a trip to pick wild plums.
The younger children stayed in the shade of the buggy on a horse
blanket, while the older ones all helped with the picking. They used
to pick many grain sacks full of plums from southwest of where John
Beardsley now lives. The plums were used to make jellies, jams, sauce,
and plum catsup.

Mary used to hitch up four horses strung out (usually one a bronc) and
haul wheat to the Ismay elevator for anyone who needed grain hauled.
It was usually a load of 60 or 70 bushels, which was a triple box. She
rode many horses which were not fully broke in order to do the many
riding chores for her family and neighbors. Mary could handle any kind
of stock as well as any man in the area.

She took several plane trips during her lifetime, which she enjoyed
greatly. Mary went to Smithers, British Columbia, Canada, to visit her
sister, Gertie Douglas, and while she was there, she met Melvin
Charlton. They were married December 5, 1943.

In 1947 they moved to Lake View, Washington, and lived there until
1955, when they came to Ismay. Mel passed away in Ismay on April 27,
1964, from a heart attack. That fall, Mary went back to Canada to be
with her sister, Gertie Douglas, who was ill. The next year she
returned to Ismay following her sister's death, and she lived with the
Christ Nordtvedts.

Mary had 39 grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren, and two great
great grandchildren.

On the occasion of her 86th birthday, a big party was held for Mary.
Friends and relatives -- youth and old -- came to the basement of the
Presbyterian Church in Ismay to share cakes baked by her
granddaughter, Doris Larkins (Violet's daughter from Tacoma,
Washington), a friend, Mrs. Alma Drange, and two made by her daughter,
Gertie. The celebration was begun with a sermon by Rev. John B. Fitz
of Miles City, dedicated to Mary Charlton.

Mary was a member of the Ismay Presbyterian Church and the ladies aid.
She was custodian of the church building for many years. She was also
a member of the Royal Neighbors of America since 1924.

There was another open house celebration held for her 90th birthday,
also at the Presbyterian Church basement. Her children: Gertie
Nordtvedt, Mary Bohle Raymond, and Robert, were assisted by members of
the Royal Neighbors of America Lodge and friends. Mrs. Gertrude Cass
Eycleshymer of Niles, Michigan, came especially for the occasion. Her
father was Frank Cass, a partner of the Hamilton brothers in the
grocery

Photo Mary and James Willard "Bill " Lausch

Page 67

business. Their store was located on the first floor of the Masonic
Temple building. Mrs. Cass was a music teacher and also played the
organ for church services. Gertrude brought with her a newspaper which
had been printed on cloth in Ismay in 1908. Everyone was so pleased
with this bit of history that reprints of it were made for everyone
desiring copies.

Gifts of flowers were again brought by children and grandchildren of
her family, and the birthday cake was a four-tiered one baked by her
daughter, Mary Bohle, and decorated by Mrs. Henry Boble.

Mary Charlton had made many, many quilts and quilt tops for relatives
and friends, in addition to making rugs for her own use and others.
She was well-known for the doughnuts she made by the dishpan full for
different entertainments.

Mary Charlton moved to the Fallon Memorial Nursing Home in 1973, where
she resided until her death on March 28, 1976, at the age of 95. Her
funeral services were held at the Presbyterian Church in Ismay,
Montana. Pallbearers were Ray Shipman, Bill Almy, Marvin Hough, Jack
Fisher, Kenton Stickney and Charles Schumacker. Rev. Don Gordineer
officiated. Bea Judt accompanied Ruth Wang, who sang "Abide with Me"
and "The Old Rugged Cross". Burial was in the Ismay Cemetery.

All of her children, with the exception of Violet, are living.

PETER AND ELIZABETH [KRAUSZ] CHRISTMAN

Peter Christman was born in Odessa, Russia. His mother died when he
was three years old. At the age of 12, Peter was swimming with his
father, when his father accidentally drowned in the Black Sea. Peter
was raised in an orphanage and came to America as a young man.

Elizabeth Krausz was also born in Odessa, Russia. She was a young girl
when she came over to America with two brothers: Mr. and Mrs. Chris
Krausz and Mr. and Mrs. Jake Krausz.

Peter and Elizabeth were married in Nebraska. Three children were
born: Amelie, Albert (married Bertha Delkaer), and Maggie. Then they
moved to Tyndall, South Dakota. Children born there were Louise
(married Rudy Hoenke), Pauline (married John Schuetzle), Alvina
(married Bill Guidice), Clara (married John Schweigert), and Edward
(married Betty Schweigert).

Peter came to Montana in February of 1910, built a home made out of
stone on a hill, and homesteaded eleven miles southwest of Plevna. His
family followed by train to Westmore and then by horse and sled.
Children born in Montana were: Henry (married Lydia Schweigert), Elsie
(married Albert Sieler), and Alma (married Harold Leischner).

Elizabeth died on July 21, 1932, of cancer after a long illness which
put a hardship on the family. She was taken to Bismarck, North
Dakota,, by John Schuetzle for surgery. Henry, Alma, and Peter stayed
on the farm and kept things going. Peter and daughter Alma moved to
Plevna in 1934. Henry stayed on the home place until 1936.

Amehe died at the age of eight. Maggie was twenty-two years old when
she died of scarlet fever. Another son was stillborn and is buried on
the homestead. His grave is marked with an iron cross made by his
father.

Peter died March 17, 1945, and at that time he was living in Miles
City. Edward died in July of 1962, Alvina died December 17, 1971, and
Albert died in April of 1983. Rudy Hoenke, Louise's husband, died in
February of 1949. John Schuetzle, Pauline's husband, died January 3,
1969. Bill Guidice, Alvina's husband, died in May of 1970.

Neighbors all helped each other. Peter had his own home remedies for
helping the sick. Everyone traveled by horse and buggy or walked.

Prayer meetings were held in the homes in place of church. Later a
country church was moved in the neighborhood. The men preached and
read the word of God.

The children were one-fourth mile from school and walked

Photo Peter and Elizabeth Christman

Photo THE CHRISTMAN FAMILY [Back L-R] Alma, Albert, Henry, Elsie [Front]
Pauline, Clara, and Louise

Photo This family picture was taken at the 50th wedding anniversary
celebration of Clara and John Schweigert in November of 1974.
[Standing L-R] Harold Leischner, Henry Christman, Albert Sieler, John
Schwiegert, and Albert Christman. [Seated L-R] Pauline Schuetzle, Alma
Leischner, Lydia Christman, Elsie Sieler, Clara Schweigert, Bertha
Christman, Betty Christman, and Louise Hoenke. [Not shown are Bill and
Alvina Guidice, Edward Christman, Rudy Hoenke, and John Schuetzle. ]

Page 68

each day. Earlier, the older children went to school at J. M.
Steffes' in a log building which is still there.

Times were hard, and there was not much money. Peter was a road
foreman when they were building roads with the use of horses. He did
many odd jobs while living in Plevna. He enjoyed fishing at the
Sandstone Creek.

Albert and Bertha Christman had four children: Alice, Ervin, Danny,
and Margaret.

Louise and Rudy Hoenke had seven children: Florence, Leonard, Pearl,
Morris, Doris, Betty Jean, and Shirley.

Pauline and John Schuetzle had six children: Clarence, Ruth, Herbert,
Thelma, Vernie, and Donald.

Alvina and Bill Guidice had four children: LeRoy (deceased), Harvey,
Delores, and Mary Ann.

Clara and John Schweigert had eight children: Ervin, Eleanor, Johnny
(deceased), Virginia, Gloria, Donald, Kenny, and Carol.

Edward and Betty Christman had one child: Delhias.

Henry and Lydia Christman had four children: Doris, Audrey, Kenneth
(deceased), and Calvin (deceased).

Elsie and Albert Sieler had four children: Marvin, Herbert, Bobby, and
Danny.

Alma and Harold Leischner had two children: Linda and Penny.

Golden anniversaries were celebrated by Albert and Bertha Christman on
January 30, 1973; John and Clara Schweigert in November of 1974; and
Elsie and Albert Sieler on January 3, 1981.

FRANCIS BERNARD DIETZ

Francis Bernard Dietz, better known as Frank Dietz, is presently
Plevna's oldest resident citizen. He has not always lived in Plevna,
but has spent most of his life in Montana and in the Westmore area. He
was born March 7, 1891, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Both of his parents
came to the United States from Germany.

Since he already had a sister and brother-in-law, the Charlie
Chesters, living in the Plevna-Westmore area, Frank decided to also
come west. Since the best course of travel was by railroad, he came on
a lower line and arrived at Butte, Montana, in 1909.

Frank spent the first summer in the Galletin Valley, putting up hay
for a farmer. Having never been on a farm before, this was a new
experience for him. Later that year he went to the railroad ticket
office to buy a ticket to either Ismay, Plevna, or Baker, and was told
there were no such places, so he purchased his ticket to Miles City.
Arriving there, he discovered he could buy a ticket to any one of
those places, so he purchased one to Westmore.

He got off the train in Westmore in the middle of the night. The
section foreman was there to meet the train. Frank asked the foreman
for directions to the town so he could get a hotel room, and he was
told there was only one house in the whole place.

The next morning he received instructions from the section foreman as
to where his sister lived and was told to start out by going between
two sets of hills and keep going. He made his destination all right,
and also made his home with his sister and brother-in-law, the Charlie
Chesters.

While he stayed with his sister's family, Frank had his belongings
shipped to him via the emigrant car. This included four horses, one
milk cow, some chickens, etc. The shipment, from Iowa to Plevna, cost
him $30. Frank remembers a strong effort being made to settle the
area, so the rental on the railroad car was very reasonable.

Because you had to be 21 years of age before you could take up land,
Frank spent the meantime squatting the land he wanted. Squatting meant
you put up some kind of shelter and waited until the land was
announced open for homesteading, and Whoever squatted had fitst chance
for filing.

Frank had one half section, and Mr. Cremer had the other
half. Ted Giesler now farms that whole section. The land fron the
Cremers to several miles east of the townsite was not open for filing,
so people just put their belongings there, built a shack, and squatted
the land.

Once the land had been surveyed, the property which a farmer wished to
own was identified by plowing a furrow around the area. Later, when
you owned the land, fences were put around the property. The posts
which were used for the fences were cut from the cedar forest north of
Plevna. The forest was on Northern Pacific Railroad land, and they
didn't charge for the trees which were cut. The cut posts could be
purchased for about 15 cents each. Some of the posts which were
planted in 1910 are still firmly in the ground today -almost 75 years
later.

The State of Montana reserved two sections of land from every
township. These sections were leased out, and the income
was used to pay the expenses of operating the schools.

When Frank's belongings came in on the emigrant car at Plevna, it was
put on a side track. At that time, the depot was fashioned from a box
car and was attended by Mr. Markwardt, the section superintendent.

There was only one store in the midst of the wide prairie. It was
owned by Mr. Herbert Callin, Plevna's first postmaster. He had a home
located where the Art Leischners now live, near the Community
Cemetery. His acreage consisted of 40 acres and was known as a desert
claim. This meant that all of the other land around had already been
taken up or not yet open for filing.

In those early days of Plevna, there was no water well. The railroad
brought the water in a tank car on the rails. The railroad also
shipped in ice on the rails and stored it in an ice shed. The ice was
packed with sawdust and it lasted for the whole season -- both for the
railroad's use and also generously supplied to the townspeople, as
well.

Heating fuel was plentiful for the early residents of Plevna. Trees
along Sandstone Creek provided all the wood needed, and the lignite
coal beds were available for digging.

Frank Dietz is now 93 years old. He chuckles when he tells the story
of how, during World War I, he was called for the draft. When examined
by the doctors in Washington state, they told him they could not use
him, as he had a bad heart.

Dietz has never been married. He is an avid reader, still raises his
own garden and cans his own vegetables. His total dedication is to the
Catholic Church, and he supports it wholeheartedly.

Photo The Charlie Chester Place

Photo The Charlie Chester Place

Page 69

Photo Homesteaders moving in

Photo Frank Dietz harvesting

Photo Frank Dietz and sisters

Photo Frank Dietz and sisters

Photo Frank Dietz -- age 93

MATHIAS AND KATHERINA EHRET

In the spring of 1912, Matt Ehret, Sr., his wife Katherina (Koch),
sons Edward and Gottlieb, and daughter Magdalena emigrated from
Guldendorf, South Russia, to join Matt Jr., Jacob, and daughter
Wilhelmina Fried, who had settled near Plevna earlier.

The family moved to a homestead on the South Sandstone, where they
lived until Matt's death in 1921.

In the nine years he lived in Fallon County, Matt helped his sons get
established in farms of their own. He also owned one of the first
steam threshing rigs in this area. In Plevna, he helped to establish
the Lutheran Church and Cemetery. Matt was a charter member of the
Farmers' Elevator and the Plevna Creamery.

Photo Matthias and Katherine Ehret and daughter Magdalena -- 1919

Page 70

Photo EHRET FAMILY PICTURE
[L-R] Frederick and Magdalena Pinnow, Edward and Louise Ehret, Jacob
and Elizabeth Ehret, Mother Katherine Ehret, Matthias and Mary Ehret,
John and Rica Ehret, Gottlieb and Barbara Bhret, George and Wilhelmina
Fried

EDWARD AND LOUISE EHRET

Ed Ehret came to this country and this area with his parents as a
young man. Upon arriving at Plevna by train, he and Gottlieb walked
out to Jacob Ehret's to get transportation for the rest of the family.

Ed served in the Army during World War 1. He and his wife, Louise,
lived in Plevna, where he was a mail carrier for several years. When
there was too much snow to go by car, he used a team of horses and a
sled to carry the mail, going out one day and back the next.

Lorene Breeze is the adopted daughter of Ed and Louise. She lives in
Missoula.

Ed later served as guard at the prison at Deer Lodge. He then had a
business at Conrad, Belt, and Great Falls. He died in 1976. Louise
still lives in her home in Spokane.

Photo Ed and Louise Ehret

GOTTLLEB AND BARBARA ERRET

Gottlieb Ehret came to Plevna in April of 1912, the 15-year-old son of
Matt Ehret, Sr. Born in Guldendorf, South Russia, he spent his first
nine years in Montana between his father's and brothers' farms,
breaking sod and working. He also learned to read and write the
English language, which was a full-time job which lasted for a
life-time.

In 1921, Gottlieb married Barbara Ochsner of Zeeland, North Dakota,
and they took over the Matt Ehret, Sr. homestead south o Plevna.

On this farm, they raised their nine children: Ervin, Gertrude,
Harold, Morris, Lloyd, Dolores, Ralph, Marvin, and Bobby. In 1946 they
moved to a farm closer to Plevna, since providing educational
opportunities for the family was of prime importance.

Gottlieb and Barbara are remembered for the way they enjoyed people of
all ages, and for their love and support of the Plevna School and its
sports programs. Plevna and its people were very dear to their hearts.

The Ehrets purchased the Weinschrott building in 1944 and ran a cafe
there for two years. They later sold the cafe to the Wm. Winley family
and they purchased the Fred Schuetzle arm just out of Plevna. The
Ehrets lived there until a fire gutted their home, and they purchased
a wide mobile home and lived there until their deaths. Lloyd lives in
the home now.

The Ehrets faced their first real tragedy on March 7, 1965, when their
son, Robert, and friend Robert Wellenstein were killed in a car
accident while they were returning from the Class C basketball
tournament in Miles City.

Gottlieb Ehret died on August 27, 1975, and Barbara Ehret on December
13, 1978.

Photo THE GOTTLLEB AND BARBARA ERRET FAMILY [Front L-R] Ralph, Barbara,
Robert, Gottlieb, Marvin [Back] Delores, Lloyd, Harold, Ervin, Morris,
and Gertrude

JACOB AND ELIZABETH EHRET

When Jacob and Elizabeth Ehret came to the United States in 1909, they
lived a year with the Matt Ehrets at Eureka, South Dakota. Jacob came
to Plevna that fall to make a claim for a homestead. Early in 1910 he
came again by train with livestock, etc. and set things up.

Mrs. Ehret came soon after with the Matt Ehrets to join him at the
homestead four miles south of Plevna, where the William and Floyd
Ehrets now live. Their first house was oneroom, plastered with mud
and straw. Another room was added later. In 1916, carpenters were
hired to build the bigger house. They had four children at the time.

Community life centered around friendship with close neighbors they
were fortunate to have, and around a little country church they
attended about two miles west of there. During the busy seasons in the
fields, they often walked to church so the horses had a day to rest.
When the Emmanuel Congregational Church in Plevna was organized, they
joined it.

Although there was a language barrier, Mrs. Ehret attended a one-day
school in Plevna during early years, with instructions In carmmz, a
big help in preserving food.

The Ehret children all had their elementary education at the Prairie
Park School. One year there were over forty students in eight grades,
with just one teacher.

Mr. and Mrs. Ehret moved to Plevna in 1946. Mrs. Ehret died in 1953,
and Mr. Ehret died in 1957.

Summarizing the Ehret family: Magdalena married Henry Losing and
lives in Plevna. Their children are Carol, Robert, Darrell, and
Sharon. Alvina married Egbert Riggs and lives in Missoula. Their
children are Wilma, Samuel, Violet, William, Robert, and June. Lydia
married Edward Scheuffele and lives in Yakima. Their children are
Charles, Donald, Lillian, and Faith. William married Bertha Hoffman
and lives near Plevna. Their children are Floyd, Barbara, and Kent.
Bertha married Lloyd Leischner and lives in Missoula. Their children
are Allen, Eleanor, Dennis, Marvin, and Colleen. Hilda married Simon
Sieler and lives in Baker. Their sons are Steve and Mark.

Photo Jacob and Elizabeth Bhret and Family

THE MATT EHRET FAMILY

Mr. and Mrs. Matt Ehret and family came to Baker, Montana, in the
spring of 1909 to live on a homestead eight miles southwest of Baker
in an immigrant box car. They brought with them their seed, four
horses, four cows, one brood sow and a little farm machinery.

They built a sod house and a sod barn for their livestock. They had a
neighbor who was a simple man and also a homesteader on the same
section. They exchanged help when they needed to with this man.

When they arrived in Baker, the depot was two box cars. There was a
large livery barn for the freight teams to be fed in and sheltered to
stay overnight in cold weather. The man slept in the hayloft. The
freight wagons came from the Ekalaka country. They hauled wheat and
wool to Wibaux, Montana, and their back haul consisted of groceries
and lumber.

There was a small grocery store in Baker at that time. This country
was a wide open range country. There were no fences -just a few
dug-outs where a few homesteaders had settled. This country was a
cattle, sheep and horse country at the time. Livestock was running at
large --mostly where there were springs and live creeks of water for
the livestock to drink.

The homesteaders moved to eastern Montana after the Milwaukee Railroad
was finshed. People started small businesses in 1910 in Baker and
Plevna. Grain elevators and lumber yards were built and the people
began building homes and bams. They mined their own coal for heat and
dug their own wells for drinking water and for their livestock.

In the spring of 1913, Mr. and Mrs. Ehret bought another homestead
from a homesteader and moved to that place, which is the farm where I
grew up. This place is the "homeplace", where my brothers live now.
Olga and I live on a place which was my Uncle Edward's homestead. My
folks sold their homestead in 1915 to the Henry Huether family.

At that time, there were no doctors in the community. The children in
our family were all delivered by a midwife.

My folks kept buying more land and farming more acres. They -lived off
of eggs and cream money they received for their groceries. Every
homesteader had a shotgun and they used them to get their meat, which
consisted of jackrabbits, wild chickens, and antelope. They raised a
lot of vegetables and potatoes, also. They kept buying more land and
expanding as time went along. Those were tough times. They bought
their first car in 1924, a Model T touring car.

All of our family began working in the fields at the age of ten. We
did all of the farming using horse power.

In 1915, my dad and Henry Huether and George Huether bought a steam
engine and threshing machine to thresh their crops and those of our
neighbors. The grain was hauled to the graneries with wagons from the
threshing machine. In the winter months, this grain was hauled to the
elevators with wagons. There were no roads --just trails.

In 1918, 1 saw my first doctor when the flu epidemic broke out in this
country in the fall. That doctor stayed here in the area. He was known
as Dr. Blakemore.

In 1930, a great depression known as the Hoover Depression hit our
country. Combined with drought arid grasshopers, most of the farmers
went broke.

In 1933, the new president was President Roosevelt, and things started
to slowly improve again in farming and ranching.

Farming and ranching have always been a hard way to make a living
for as long as I can remember. In farming, you have to be a hard
worker and be as efficient as you can be. We did all of our farming
and harvesting with our own help. The same with haying and feeding the
cattle. We kept buying modem haying equipment and operated it with our
own help.

We ran about 225 cows and raised our own replacement heifers every
year. This is about what our pastures and hay supply could take care
of without overgrazing. We bought the best bulls all of the time. We
used to have Herefords, and then we changed to black baldies and
straight black cows. Now we are crossing them with Semmintal bulls.
The reason we are changing is because that is what the feeder buyers
want.

In ranching, you have to produce a product for which there is a top
market. We are now producing feeder calves which weigh about 540
pounds by the 25th of October. These calves are bom from the 20th of
March to the 10th of May. We all enjoy good cattle.

In 1940, my folks retired. They lived in Plevna and part-time on the
ranch. My mother did not like town life, so she lived most of her life
on the ranch.

In 1955, my mother passed away. Within eight months, my father passed
away the same year. My brother and I kept on farming and ranching.
When I got married, we built a new home which is the present place I
live on now. We had one son, Clinton, who grew up on this place.

There were no roads in the Plevna area, so I decided to run for County
Commissioner, and I was elected in 1958. 1 started to build roads and
surface them. These roads are still the same roads I built in my first
term in office.

The Plevna School decided to run buses, and I built roads which were
safe for the buses to travel on. These roads were built during my
first term of office and are still being traveled. In 1976, when I
went out of office, there were no more country schools in the Plevna
area.

In 1976, we went into banking: my brother and I and Gene Wellenstein.
We bought The Bank of Baker, and we enjoyed the banking business very
much. My son, Clinton, is still working in the bank as a loan officer,
and he still enjoys banking.

We are getting older, and we decided to retire, so we sold the bank in
October of 1983. In 1978, we sold most of our ranch holdings to
Clinton Ehret, which he now owns and is known as Ehret Land Company.

We are now planning to build a new home in Baker and

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retire. We want to enjoy life while we are still in good health. We
enjoyed farming and ranching and we still do. This ranch life has been
good to us, and it has helped us to prosper.
--Submitted by Jake H. Ehret

Photo THE MATT EHRET FAMILY [Back L-R] Maggie, John, Matt, Marie, Lydia, Ed
[Front] Jake, Emil, and Erna [Luella is absent; Emma and Berthold were
not born yet.]

WALLACE AND EDITH ETTLES

Wallace and Edith Ettles homesteaded seven miles southwest of Plevna,
Montana in 1910 after their marriage in Mina, South Dakota. Two of
Wallace Ettles brothers, Chauncey and Clyde, had homesteads near by.

Wallace farmed and did custom threshing. They lived on the homestead
until 1923, when they sold out to Ed Sieler. They then moved four
miles west of Baker on the Lane place where they farmed, ran a dairy
and did custom threshing.

In 1934 the family moved to Ellensburg, Washington where Wallace did
trucking and did custom threshing until the combines took over.

They had a large family of twelve children. The children's names were
Lula, Opal, Hazel, Verna, Phyllis, Betty Lou, Harold, Wanda Rae,
Eugene, Duane, Lee, and Darrell. The older children started school in
the Ettles school near their homestead and attended the Tonquin,
Plevna and Baker schools*

Duane was killed in a car accident in 1960 while serving in the Navy
in Florida. Edith passed away in 1961 and Wallace in 1962 at
Ellensburg.

Photo The children of Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey Ettle

Photo Wallace Ettles on drill and Chauncey Ettles on steam engine  1915

Photo Wallace Ettles on threshing machine in 1915

EMILIE FEIOCK

Emilie Feiock moved with her husband, Gust, and two daughters, Irene
and Juanita, to Montana in October of 1928 and settled in the Fertile
Prairie area, a half mile east of the Karl Bertsch farm. Approximately
four years later, her husband died, and she moved to Plevna with her
two girls. They lived in the house now owned by William Fuchs.

Emilie earned her living by painting, wallpapering, and housecleaning
for people of the Plevna area. Martha Roesler usually assisted her.

After the Rev. and Mrs. A. Stelter became the pastor of the Baptist
Church, she walked every Monday morning -- no matter what the weather
--to the parsonage to do a whole day of washing and ironing. She
received 60 cents for the day's labor, which paid for Irene's piano
lesson for that week. Rev. Stelter was Irene's first piano teacher.
The parsonage was located where Betty Schaefer now lives.

Emilie was the hot lunch cook for the Plevna School for a number of
years in the early 40's and was assisted by Mrs. Freeman. They baked a
lot of bread, which created a delightful aroma throughout the whole
school. In the summer, she would raise a big garden, and much of it
was used for the hot lunch program at school.

She also did much sewing for her own family and others. In 1940,
assisted by Mrs. Jacob Opp, they sewed the first band uniforms, which
consisted of capes of purple and gold for the Plevna School Band. This
was a big project, since the 25 to 30 capes had to be measured and fit
for each student. The students were very pleased and proud at their
first concert. She also did a lot of crochetng and fancy work which
was her pastime.

Page 73

In 1948 she married John Allerdings. Emilie passed away in June of
1962. Daughter Irene married Wilmer Huber and their daughters are
Peggy and Coleen. Juanita married Edward Haar and their children are:
Sharon, Carol, Diane, and Ronald.

Photo Irene, Emilie, and Juanita Feiock

GEORGE FOLLMER

George Follmer was married to Catherine Sauder in Lustdorf, Russia.
Two children were bom to this family, Emma and Louise. The mother died
in 1907 at age 28. The children were small and needed a mother, so
later that year George married Emilia Fuchs, and they had two
children: Otto and Henry.

In 1910, the family emigrated to the United States from Bremin,
Germany, and settled at Plevna, Montana, with their four children.
They stayed with relatives for a few years, then in 1917 they
homesteaded thirteen miles southwest of Plevna.

The first house was a small sod building which later became a chicken
coop. Later they built a bigger sod house made of sod that was plowed
up and cut with space 24" x 24", one block on top of each other--
just as you would with bricks. Mud was
used in between to hold the sod together. The roof was made in the
same manner, with a few pieces of small wood to hold the sod. It was a
three-roomed house, with two bedrooms and a kitchen and living room
all in one. It was finished off with special mud made from dirt and
fine straw and water mixed well so it would make a smooth surface.
This mixture was put on the whole house, on the outside walls and on
the roof. This mixture had to be reapplied almost every year,
depending on how much it rained. The inside also had a smooth finish
and was painted. The floor was of dirt, until later when a painted
wooden floor was added. Each room in the house had from two to three
big windows, about 4'x4'. Each room measured about 20'x18'. All twelve
children were raised in this home. By the time the younger ones were
bom, the older one were married or worked out.

I remember how mother baked 8 to 10 loaves of bread twice a week, and
at least 12 or 13 kuchen every Saturday. By the time Sunday night
came, the kuchen was gone. It was a real treat for all of us.

Since there was no refrigeration or freezer, the bread was kept in a
bread box that held from 8 to 10 loaves. Meat was kept in a granary in
the winter, hanging from the ceiling. Whenever you wanted a steak, you
had to work quite hard to cut or saw off the portion that was needed
for supper. When chicken was being planned for a meal, you would have
to run it down or have the dog catch it for you, butcher it, and eat
it the same day. We rarely had eggs to eat during the winter months,
since the hens wouldn't lay because of the cold. When spring came, the
eggs certainly tasted good, with maybe one egg per person.

The nearest corn field was about 11/2 miles from the house. I remember
going out in a little coaster wagon to get corn to eat.
You would pull the wagon up the hill and sit in it going down the
hill. It was quite hard work on a hot day.

I remember starting out at 4 p.m. to get the milk cows on foot every
day. It would be at least 6 p.m., or sometimes in the dark, before we
got back.

We cooked with a wood and coal range, so wood and coal had to be
carried in every night and stacked in a box in the comer next to the
stove. Kerosene lights had to be filled with kerosene twice a week. In
later years we had a wind charger that was hooked up to a battery, and
electric lights were provided that way. We would always hope for lots
of wind during that time.

We heated the house with a pot-bellied stove which sat in the middle
of the house. It was fun sitting around the stove on the floor at
Christmas time, eating our Christmas goodies, which only came once a
year. It was cozy and warm; lots of time we would fall asleep by the
stove.

We had one clothes closet which held a few clothes. The rest were hung
on a rack or put on the wall and covered with a sheet. We had a wooden
washing machine that had a long handle, and you would push it back and
forth. Washing took all day long. We made our own soap with lye and
lard. In later years, we put in a kitchen sink. The drainage was just
a pipe from the sink that ran outside. The water would run down in a
ditch away from the house. We thought that was pretty modem.

In 1939, mother passed away after a lingering illness. A few years
later, Dad moved into a house in Plevna. He married

Photo THE GEORGE FOLLMER FAMILY [Front L-R] Otto, Bertha, Ida, Amelia, Henry
Back] Richard, Herman, Minnie, George, Emilia, Edward, Rudy

Photo The George Follmer Home

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Catherine Ehlie in 1940. Dad lived in Plevna until he passed away in
1945.

A total of twelve children were born to the Follmers. They are:

Louise, who married Jacob Allerdings. Their children are: Emma, Viola,
Elmer, Elvin, and Raymond.

Emma married Jacob Opp. Their children are: Emil, Richard, Martha,
Ruben, and Loretta.

Henry Follmer married Tillie Huber. They had two sons: Ervin and
Leonard. Henry died in 1962.

Otto FoUmer married Ottilia Klukas. Their children are: Alice, V.
Darlene, Glen, Burnette, and Luanna.

Rudolph Follmer married Rose Moser. They had two children: Darold and
Diann. Rudy died in 1968.

Edward Follmer married Lydia Mattis. Their children are: Jerold,
Betty, and Roger.

Minnie married Luther Midgette. They were the parents of Russell,
Garland, and Gwen. Luther has passed away.

Herman Follmer and his wife Katherine had two sons: Randee and Rickee.

Richard Follmer married Ida Karch. They have one daughter, Ann.

Bertha married Ed McKenna. Their children are Tom and Dale.

Ida married Chris Lang. They have two children: Gary and Linda.

Amelia married Eugene Snyder, and they have two children: Yvonne and
Donald.

OTTO AND OTTILIA FOLLMER

Otto Follmer was born November 21, 1909, to George and Emilia Follmer.
In 1910 I emigrated with my parents to the United States, and we
homesteaded thirteen miles southwest of Plevna, where we had a house
made of sod.

I went to a country school up to the fourth grade, and the rest of the
time I had to help out at home and I worked out.

Ottilia was born at Plevna, Montana, on January 2, 1911, to Gottlieb
and Barbara Klukas. She attended country school through eighth grade.

We were married October 29, 1931, at Plevna, Montana. We lived on the
Ettles place for four years, which was located southwest of Plevna. In
the fall of 1935 we moved five miles north of Plevna, now the Dale
Buerkle place. We lived there for three years.

In the fall of 1941 we moved on the Gottlieb Klukas home place and
lived there until we retired in 1974. We are now making our home in
Baker, Montana.

We were blessed with five children: Alice Jean (living in Seattle,
Washington); V. Darlene Hepperle of Plevna; Glenn Follmer of Plevna;
Burnette Schwiegert (living in Columbus, Montana); Luanna Graf of
Billings. We also have ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

In October of 1981, our children honored us on the occasion of our
Golden Wedding Anniversary, with many friends and relatives attending
a celebration.

EMMANUEL AND CAROLINE FRELER

Our father was born in Nebraska on August 10, 1898, to Jacob and
Katherine (nee Wacker) Freier. They came to Montana in 1909, where
Grandad took up a homestead two miles west of Westmore. There Dad
finished his schooling.

Their nationality being German, of course their interests and friends
were mostly in Plevna, where they were instrumental in organizing the
German Congregational Church. It was there that he met our mother,
Caroline Wenz, daughter of Andrew and Margaret Wenz, who had come to
Montana in 1910 and homesteaded two miles east of Plevna.

Dad told us many interesting and beautiful stories of those

years when the country was being settled. Of course, there were
hardships, too. He told of riding horseback the 16 miles to court
mother and not minding it one bit.

Mother and Dad were married October 7, 1920, in Plevna. Their first
home was on the farm in Westmore for a couple of years, then to a
place two miles east of Plevna. There was another move to a home about
six miles south of Plevna, and then back to Westmore. We lived at
Westmore until Dad sold to the goverment in 1936, and we then moved to
Plevna on a farm five miles east, where the folks lived until they
turned it over to the boys in,1950 and moved to Baker.

Our family consisted of the five oldest children, who were born quite
close together: Ervin in 1921 (he married Violet Bertsch); Edna in
1922 (who married Tom Atkinson); Edmund in 1924 (who married Idella
Kusler); Lorene in 1926 (who married John Buerkle); and Helen in 1927
(who married Maurice Allerdings. We just didn't think we would ever be
fortunate enough to have another baby in the family. But were we ever
surprised when in October of 1936 we had a baby sister! We named her
Agnes Fay, and she married Russell Wiseman. Although we girls had
grown out of the doll stage, we quickly got back into playing baby
doll again! In 1938, we had a baby brother, but he passed away two
days after his birth.

In growing up, our memories are fond ones. As to the material things,
we had very little, but we can surely say we were blessed beyond
measure because of the love so richly bestowed on us by our dear
parents, who had a deep and abiding faith in their God and Savior
Jesus Christ and instilled into us that faith that had sustained them
through all their many years of joys and sorrows.

They were granted the priviledge of being married 55 years before Dad
passed away in October of 1975. Mom died in November of 1981.

We also lost both of our brothers real early in life. Ervin died in
April of 1975 and Edmund died in October of 1976.

Through it all, we praise God for His wonderful love and grace.

--Submitted by the four remaining Freier sisters Edna, Lorene, Helen,
and Agnes

Photo THE FRELER FAMILY [L-R] Caroline, Emanuel holding Agnes, Helen,
Lorene, Ervin, Edna, and Edmund

MY FONDEST MEMORLES OF PLEVNA

I was born just two miles east of town, the second child of Emanuel
and Caroline Freier. We lived there only a short time, then moved two
miles west of Westmore on a small farm

Page 75

Grandpa Freier had homesteaded when he came to Montana in 1909.

Plevna was always our home town, mainly because we attended the German
Congregational Church, and that was the focal point in our lives. Even
though it was 14 miles on scoria roads in a Model "T", we hardly ever
missed a Sunday -unless it was an impossibility. I could write a book
on the many blessings received there in my growing-up years.

Then too, Plevna was also our trade town. It had all the necessary
business places: cream station, bank, grocery stores, hardware,
blacksmith shop, barber shop, ice cream store, and filling stations.

Another highlight was going to our Grandmas' houses. Grandma Wenz
lived on one side of the street, and Grandpa and Grandma Freier on the
other side. How well I remember the good things about being in their
homes! We lost our Grandma Freier when I was still quite young, so I
remember Grandma Wenz the best. What a generous soul she was, even
though she had very little to do with.

The 4th of July celebrations were always something we looked forward
to. Plevna had a good one most every year, with band, parade,
speakers, and of course all the races for everyone. There was even a
women's nail driving contest. Of course, we kids always had to earn
our own spending money by working a few weeks before the 4th. It was
done by picking potatoe bugs or hoeing. The pay was a nickle, or maybe
a dime, depending on what the cream check brought that week.

I recall some of the business places that were in operation when we
went to town: A. E. Hoff Groceries was one. I remember the little
ditty he had on the back of his slip. It went like this: "Be quick to
kick if things go wrong. Be quick to kick and make it strong. To make
things right gives us delight, if we are wrong and you are right."

One day we got to go with Dad when he went to the blacksmith shop,
operated by Geo. P. Susa. We had to stay in the car, of course. It
wasn't long before some town kids came up to the car and got up on the
running board of the Model "T" to see what those "country kids" looked
like, I suppose. Anyway, one of the boys was eating a store-bought
cinnamon roll, and that was the first store-bought cinnamon roll I had
ever seen. I can still remember how good I thought it smelled. A few
years later, this same boy asked my brother Edmund if our mother
always baked homemade bread, as he never had it much. He sure thought
he missed out on something, too!

I also remember Geo. J. Buergis Store, famous for the 1 cent licorice
sticks. On rare occasions, Dad would stop at the ice cream store and
we could get a double dipper.

Yes, those were what are now referred to as the "hard times", but as I
look back, they were also very good times. Everyone was more content
and more concerned for their neighbor. The merchants surely were a
compassionate lot and carried many an honest soul from season to
season.

When the bank closed in Plevna, it left many in dire circumstances.
Our dad had a little money in it. Somehow we

Photo Emanuel Freier

got a "milk cow" from Mr. Himsl, and a good one she was, for sure.
Just a few years ago the Charter paid off some of the capital which
was lost at that time.

Who can forget Karl Hepperle's friendly handshake when you drove up to
his gas pumps, or the red, blue, and green lightbulbs around his
canopy at Christmas time. These are all pleasant childhood memories.

In 1936 Dad sold our farm at Westmore to the government. We moved six
miles east of Plevna, so we now had a local address, where I finished
my growing up. Then I went to work in Baker, where I met and married
Tom Atkinson. Still, on many occasions we come to Plevna, since we
have close family ties: sisters of both Tom and I.

Times have changed, and old business gave way to new, while some are
not there at all, From what I see today, Plevna is still very
"community minded", and proud that it is still on the map, and even
making headlines in statewide papers. Keep up the community spirit!
--Submitted by Edna (Freier) Atkinson

EDWARD AND LYDIA FRIED

Lydia, the oldest daughter of Matt and Louisa Ehret, was born December
22, 1905, in Odessa, Russia. She came to the United States with her
parents and older brother, John, in 1907. They lived in Artas, South
Dakota, until 1909, when they moved to Montana. They homesteaded
southwest of Baker until 1914, when they moved south of Plevna. Lydia
grew up there and attended the Ehret School.

Lydia married Edward Fried on February 23, 1930. Edward was born May
20, 1897, in Odessa, Russia, to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Fried. He came to
the United States in 1924 and worked for an uncle at Lemmon, South
Dakota. He moved to Montana in 1929, where he lived south of Plevna
and worked for Gottlieb Ehret.

Photo Matt and Louisa Ehret, John [2 years] and Lydia 16 months] This picture
was taken in Russia in 1906

Page 76

During the early years of their marriage, Edward and Lydia lived and
farmed south of Plevna until 1935, when they moved to a farm ten miles
north of Plevna. In 1942 they purchased the George McHoes place, three
miles north of Plevna, where they lived until Edward's death in
September of 1956. Lydia then moved to Baker, where she held various
housekeeping jobs until, because of failing health, she had to retire.
Lydia passed away June 17, 1983.

To their union, three sons were born: Elmer, Leon, and Clarence.

Elmer and Norita Brott were married June 10, 1956. They took over the
family farm in the fall of 1956, where they still reside. They have
three children: Larry, Eileen, and Brett. Larry married Louise
Vincent. They live at Sparks, Nevada, and have two sons. Eileen
married Larry Dahl, and they live in Plevna. Brett will be a 7th
grader at Plevna this fall. Elmer and Norita are both presently
driving school bus for the Plevna Public School.

Leon died as the result of an oil rig accident on October 11, 1958.

Clarence married Bonita Rost on January 8, 1961. They live at Baker
and have two sons: Scott and Cory.

Photo Edward and Lydia Fried Elmer, Clarence, and Leon

GEORGE AND WILHELMINA FRIED

George, the son of George and Christina Fried, was born on January
24, 1891. His wife, Wilhelmina, the daughter of

Photo George and Wilhelmina Fried

Mathias and Kathrina (Koch) Ehret, was born May 6, 1892. Both were
born in Odessa, Russia. They were married in 1910, and in 1911 they
came to the United States, settling in South Dakota. In 1912 they
moved to Montana and located south of Plevna.

This union was blessed with six children: Lillian (who passed away at
age 12 in 1931) and a son, Gottlieb (who died in 1933 at age 22). The
other children are: William, Emil, Tillie, and Ella.

The family lived in a rural area until Mr. Fried died in October 21,
1943. Mrs. Fried then moved to Baker, where she lived until her death
on May 29, 1957. They were members of the Plevna Baptist Church, and
both are buried in the Plevna Community Cemetery.

Photo The George and Wilhelmina Fried Family

JOHN AND CHRISTINE FRIED

John Fried and Christine Wenz were married March 18, 1910, in Plevna,
Montana, with Rev. Brenike officiating at the ceremony.

They homesteaded six miles northeast of Plevna, where their five
children were born. In 1917 they moved to the Andrew Wenz, Sr.
homestead, located three miles east of Plevna. They resided there
until 1941, when they retired and moved into Plevna.

Only the hardiest survived in those homestead days. They had to endure
hard winters in their homestead shacks, without insulation, storm
windows or storm doors. Droughts, hail, and

Photo The John and Christine Fried Family
[Front] Edwin, John, Christine, Emil [Back] Arthur, Martha, and Andrew

Page 77

grasshoppers plagued the crops, with the poor farm prices barely
contributing to anything you were fortunate enough to grow.

THE FUCHS FAMILY

In 1910, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Fuchs, Sr., along with their sons: Dan,
Fredrick, Henry, and Martin, immigrated to the United States from an
area of South Russia near Odessa. They arrived in Baltimore, Maryland.
On the way over, Mary, a daughter of Fredrick Jr. and Magdalina, got
the measles, died, and was buried at sea.

After their arrival, Fred Sr., Henry, and Martin came to Montana and
settled four miles east of Plevna. Their son, Dan, settled in South
Dakota. Fredrick Jr. stayed in Baltimore until their first son,
Daniel, was born shortly after their arrival. He then joined his
father and brothers in Montana.

For a short time, they all lived together. Then Henry moved to a
neighboring parcel of land, Martin continued farming the original
place with his father, and Fredrick Jr. moved 13 miles north of
Plevna, where he bought homesteaders rights and settled there to raise
his family.

The homestead had a one-room shack on it, along with a barn, chicken
coop, and granary made of sod. Living conditions were primitive, with
"rooms" in the shack being divided by curtains. Cardboard boxes from
grocery trips to town were highly prized, as they were flattened and
nailed to the walls to stop or at least slow up the wind which came
through the cracks in the walls.

Four children, Daniel, Emil, Erna, and Wilhelm, lived with their
parents in this shack until 1921, when a new house was built. Wilhelm,
who was seven at the time, remembers hauling lumber from Plevna with a
team and wagon. Three more children were born to the family: Emanuel,
John, and Fred.

The children attended school in the upstairs of their own home, where
their teacher also had a small room for living quarters. Neighboring
children also attended. Education was often interrupted by the
necessary help provided by the children with outside work. Fredrick
would merely call upstairs, and the boys would trade off who would go
to help with the work.

Church played an important part in the family's life. Sometimes they
would go to church as early as two hours before the services would
start in order to enjoy the company of the other members.

After the children grew up, the oldest son and the youngest son became
pastors. The rest of the children took up various vocations. Wilhelm
married Rosina Buerkle in 1937 and remained on the family farm, where
he raised his family of

Photo THE FREDKICK AND MA GDALINA FUCHS FAMILY [Front L-R] Emanuel,
Magdalina, Fredrick, Fred [Back] Daniel, Emil, Erna, Wilhelm, and John

three girls: Delores, Mary, and Eleanor, and one son: William Roger.
Wilhelm and Rosina still reside there, as well as their son, his wife
Paula, and their family.

THE FUCHS FAMILIES

Fred Fuchs, Sr., the father of Henry and Martin, came to the United
States in 1907. Coming to Plevna, they moved four miles east and 3/4
mile north of the old Yellowstone Trail. They all had their own house,
but lived together in the same area. In the 1920s, Henry (my father)
and Grandpa moved south of the old Yellowstone Trail, where they lived
until they retired in 1957.

In 1914, my father married Katie Zimmerman. I was only four months old
when mother went to South Dakota to help her sister sew her wedding
troussau. She became sick while there and passed away. I was then kept
by an aunt until I was three years old.

Dad married Pauline Grentz in 1917 and continued living on the farm
east of Plevna, until they moved to Baker. Simon Sieler now owns and
farms the land.

Times were hard, but we never suffered from hunger. We made our own
saurkraut in wooden barrels and added layers of apples in between. The
apples were very tasty. We also made watermelon pickles in wooden
barrels. We canned all kinds of vegetables, meats, made jams and
jellies from the wild chokecherries, wild plums and buffalo berries,
which were in great abundance.

Butchering began in early winter, progressing from family to family
until everyone had pork sausage, liverwurst, headcheese, and home
cured bacon and hams. My dad always had the job of cleaning the
casings and making the sausage.

Dad also had a threshing machine, and since he enjoyed

Photo Henry and Katie Fuchs [Parents of Olivia]

Page 78

Photo Henry and Pauline Fuchs

Photo Henry and Pauline Fuchs Olivia, Harold, Eugene, and Christine

that kind of work, he threshed for many neighbors. It was a good way
to get to know people.

In 1957, they retired and moved to Baker. Dad died there on April 1, 1970.

The house we lived in on the farm was purchased by G. D. Leischner,
who moved it to Baker. Curtis Huether, a grandson, now owns and lives
in it.

Dad was a charter member of the German Baptist Church in Plevna when
it started in 1917. They celebrated their golden wedding.

The Henry Fuchs children are: Olivia, Christine, Harold, Eugene, and
Leo.
--Submitted by Olivia Huether

A. 0. AND BESSIE GUNDERSON

Andrew Geving and Bessie Gunderson were born in Minnesota and were
married September 1, 1891, at Hayfield, Mm*nesota. To this union, nine
children were born. They came to Plevna in 1910 and homesteaded on a
place six miles northeast of town. Eight children were born in
Minnesota, and their last son, Bennie, was born on the homestead here.

Two of the older boys came here in an emigrant car, accompaning their
machinery and some livestock. They made their home at the homestead
until 1939, then they retired and moved to Baker. When our parents
retired. we purchased the

Land Patent issued to Andrew Geving Miles City 011359	

Page 79

home place and have lived on it ever since. It has always been my
homeplace.

Four brothers and one sister have passed away. They were: Ivor, Sam,
Albert, Bill, and Mabel. My three sisters are still living: Emma,
Gertie, and Mary.

I married Floraine Wilson of Ismay, Montana, on April 17, 1939, and we
have two sons: Craig and Roger. Craig passed away on September 8,
1967. Roger is still living with us.

You may be interested to know that we still have the original
homestead papers signed by President Woodrow Wilson. I still

Photo THE A. 0. AND BESSIE GEVING FAMIL Y (Standing L-R] Ivor,
Emma, Bill, Mabel, Albert, Gertie, Sam [Sitting] Mary, Bessie, Bennie,
and Andrew

Photo Ben and Moraine Geving


have my father's post office box number, whfeh he was assigned when
the post office first had boxes for rent: Box 65.
--Submitted by Mr. and Mrs. Bennie Geving

THE ADAM HEPPERLE FAMILY

Adam Hepperle, third generation removed from Germany. He was born in
Russia to Frederich Hepperle and Margaret Schaefer Hepperle. The
Hepperle family had moved in to the Odessa, Russia, area during the
era of the Czar Alexandria and Catherina rule.

Adam's family included 13 children, of which only four came to the
United States. Particulars of those children who stayed in Russia are
vague. Many perished due to childhood illnesses. Others were dispersed
in the military. Also, families kept their ties and prevented all of
them from coming.

Adam's departure for the United States was preceded by a daughter,
Barbara, having married an American named Albert Alf, came to the
States. Their four children were: Barbara, Karl, Albert, and Henry.
Particulars of Barbara's life are unknown to the author. However,
Karl's life had been shared with the author. Karl, as a young man, had
completed the Academy and felt adventurous.

Yes, the new world had opened up to immigrants. So Karl requested his
share from his dad, Adam. As many times is the case, God's Guiding
Hand leads others ahead to prepare a way, so it was with the eldest
son, Karl. As a young man, he chose to come to the new frontier known
as America.

Karl's actual trip to the U.S. is not totally known. It is believed he
came by ship from the Odessa area to Liverpool, England, then embarked
by ship, arriving at the Ellis Island port of immigration. He then
came west to Eureka, South Dakota, where there was a cousin and an
uncle. Once there, he received employment. Barbara, Karl's sister, was
also in that particular area.

As Karl became established in the Eureka area, the call came to
homestead in Montana. He again chose to adventure to the new frontier.
Homesteads were open in the Plevna, Montana, area, so Karl filed a
homestead claim south of Plevna. His new bride soon followed to find:
no roads, no bridges, and a poor homestead house. It was said that her
first trip to the homestead was made by fording the Sandstone Creek
and getting wet in the process. Handicaps and obstacles were many.
There was no water, no electricity, no phone, no good stoves, and the
fist of nos goes on.

In the meantime, Karl's parents were still in Russia. But Karl had not
forgotten them.

The year 1917 marked a devastating revolution in Russia. Many fives
were lost, and much property destroyed. With this scene behind, Karl's
parents, Adam and stepmother Emma, brothers Albert and Henry,
responded to Karl's request for them to emigrate from Russia. With the
revolution in progress, the decision to leave all their remaining
assets and come to the new world was made easier. Karl purchased the
tickets for his remaining family members to come to the United States.

At that time, Adam, Emma, Albert, and Henry took their remaining
possessions, and through the help of the Red Cross, came to the United
States by ship. They then came to the Plevna area.

They arrived in 1921, becoming helpers to Karl in his business
ventures: elevators. They were thankful to be free men. As in all
revolutoins, the loss was great. Although the elder Adam lost all his
property, it does not have a value when life is at stake.

Once in Plevna, Adam built the house on the corner of the school
block. He had incorporated solar water heat with a local shower and
bath rental service.

Albert Hepperle, born on March 9, 1904, in Neufruendental, Russia,
survived the Russian Revolution. Albert was about 17 years old when he
arrived in the United States.

Page 80

Change was great, for their language was Russian, "BunY a Mei PaRusski", and
Deutsch was the only language spoken. As a young man, Albert soon
adapted to the language, learning English well enough so he could
squire his naturalization papers. A new citizen had been made!

In all the years I can remember my father, he loved the freedoms found
in the United States and considered it his new home with a great pride
and joy. Albert quickly learned the American ways. On the 3rd of
October, 1926, he married Louise Bechtold.

For 17 years, Albert worked for brother Karl. At the age of 37, he
purchased the George Buergi Store. Changing occupations at that age
proved to be very interesting.

As a family, Albert and Louise were blessed with four children:
Ernest, died in infancy; Robert, born in 1929; Theodore, born in 1931;
Ella, born in 1938.

As the children grew, they became helpers in the business. For it too
was growing with the war-time economy. The children spent many hours
licking the war-time ration stamps which were a part of every purchase
made.

Gradually, the family grew up, with Robert, the eldest son, going off
to Rochester, New York. Collegeage was approaching for even Ted. Two
years later he labored off to Missoula, Montana, to answer the call of
further education. By this time, Robert had returned to the midwest,
as his school in Rochester moved west, closing their doors in the
eastern city. Robert went to college and earned his degree at Liberty
College, Liberty, Missouri. Ted's plans were changed in his second
year. He

Photo Adam and Emma Hepperle

Photo Louise and Albert Hepperle Children: Robert, Ted, and Ella

received his draft notice and passed.

However, Ted had other ideas, for the Army was not the name of the
game he wanted to play. He joined the Air Force, serving as an
enlisted man for four years.

Apparently, this had some influence on his younger sister, Ella. As
she left high school, she became Donald Wood's Air Force bride,
traveling to the far away lands. During this time, she had five
children: Renee, Vickie, Donny, Jeffrey, and Robert Wood.

As for Ted, he returned and married V. Darlene Follmer. They have two
sons: Milton and Dean Hepperle.

Robert was married to Gertrude Kruger. They have one son, Jason
Hepperle. Robert and his family reside in Morgan Hill, California.

Ted and Darlene currently five in Plevna and operate the family
business. Their son Milton lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Dean
is married to Linda Johnson, and they have one daughter, Deana. They
five in Little Beaver with MDU pumping plant.

This is just a brief summary of the Hepperle families. Other members
may be found written under their own family titles.

Henry Hepperle, the youngest son of Adam, married Magdalene Krug. They
were blessed with six children: Eleanor (who died in her youth),
Burnette, Dolores, Karl, Elaine, and Edith. All are married, with
families of their own.

The Lord has blessed the families throughout the years, giving them
peace and joy.

ARTHUR AND ALMA HEPPERLE

Arthur Hepperle was born to Mr. and Mrs. Karl Hepperle on January 16,
1916, at their home in Plevna, Montana. He grew up in Plevna, attended
grade and high school there, and graduated in 1934.

He played football and basketball while in high school, and

Photo Art and Alma Hepperle

Page 81

with his teammates, under the coaching guidance of Alois Himsl, won
the championship of the District Basketball Tournament in Bozeman in
1933. They also won the championship in Billings in 1934.

After graduating from high school, Art went to Dunwoody Mechanical
School in Minneapolis, returning in 1936 to help out at his dad's
service station. He made many trips to Pontiac, Michigan, and
Minneapolis, Minnesota, to pick up cars, trucks, and tractors.

In July of 1937, Art married his childhood sweetheart, Alma A.
Bechtold, from Baker, Montana. They lived in the former home of Art's
grandparents, Adam Hepperle. The Adam Hepperles had moved to Missoula,
Montana.

Mr. and Mrs. Art Hepperle have three children: Donald Bruno, born
January 1, 1940; Elizabeth Ann, born October 2, 1942; and Beverly
Kathryn, born October 27, 1952. Their children all attended grade and
high school in Plevna, and each went on to college.

The Hepperles moved to Livingston, Montana, and bought the Rainbow
Motel in 1955, selling their home to the Lutheran parish for a
parsonage. The Hepperles returned to Plevna, building a new home east
of town, just out of the city limits, where Mrs. Hepperle lives at the
present time.

In 1966, Mr. and Mrs. Hepperle went into a new venture, the Triangle
Supply Store in Baker with Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Mengel. In 1972, Art had
to have open heart surgery. He had four bypasses and did quite well.
They sold the business in 1978 and did a lot of traveling.

Art was an asset to the Plevna community. He gave to many worthwhile
projects. He helped with Boy Scouts, refereed many basketball games,
and helped to get the city water in and close up the ditches in many
areas.

In his church, Art was youth director, Sunday School teacher, and
church moderator for many years. He was a friend to everyone. He often
commented on how "he never knew a stranger that wasn't soon his
friend". He was a wonderful friend, husband, and father to his family.
We miss him greatly. He went to be with his best friend, Jesus Christ
his Savior, whom he served most of his life, on December 2, 1982.

Photo The Art Hepperle Family

KARL AND ELIZABETH HEPPERLE

Karl Hepperle came to America from Odessa, Russia, in 1,908. He worked
in South Dakota, where he met and married Elizabeth Opp in 1910. That
same year, they came to Montana and homesteaded six miles south of
Plevna.

In 1914 they began building a home in Plevna and also a grain
elevator, hoping to have the elevator finished by the time

the crop should be harvested. In the meantime, Elizabeth stayed on the
farm to help harvest their crop. Late that fall they held an auction
sale and moved into their unfinished home.

In 1915, Karl began handling feed, flour, and salt blocks, as well as
having many farmers bringing grain to the elevator to have it ground
for feed. In 1928 they sold their grain businessand went into the gas,
automobile, and implement business, which Karl managed until his death
on February 11, 1971.

Karl and Elizabeth were charter members of the Baptist Church in
Plevna and retained their membership until their deaths. Karl was on
the first building committee, served as church clerk, trustee, and
Sunday School superintendent. Mrs. Hepperle was active by teaching
Sunday School for many years. They supported their church both
enthusiastically and financially.

Karl was also civicminded and had a keen interest in the welfare of
the town. He served as school trustee for many years and was on the
town council.

Karl and Elizabeth had three children: Martha, Alma, and Arthur.

Martha married Christ Bohlender, and they have one son, Robert. Alma
married John Bechtold, and their children are: Ruth, Ramona, Joan and
Timothy. Arthur married Alma Bechtold, and their children are: Donald,
Elizabeth, and Beverly.

Karl and Elizabeth celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in
January of 1970. Elizabeth passed away on July 21, 1971. Son Arthur
passed away December 2, 1982.


Photo Karl and Elizabeth Hepperle Martha, Alma and Arthur

DELILAS AND EARNEST HERBST

Their parents -- the Herman Korths and the Peter Herbsts were
homesteaders west of Plevna, one section between. The Korths came in
the fall of 1909. The Herbsts arrived in the spring of 1910. In 1918
the Korth Carrington School was established. The school house was
built in the northwest comer of the Korth section, centrally located
for most of the children.

Delilas was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on January 25, 1908,
and was about 20 months old when her folks came to Montana. Earnest
was born November 11, 1909, in Ipswich, South Dakota. He was only six
months old when his parents came to Montana.

When Delilas was eight years old, she started school in Westmore. She
spent a year in Ismay, then attended the Korth-Carrington School,
finishing the eighth grade there. Earnest also went to the
Korth-Carrington School until the Herbsts moved. He went to Plevna one
year and then to

Page 82

Sieler-Steffes School. Earnie also helped his father on the farm. In
the fall of 1924, Dehlas drove a Ford coupe to Plevna to go to high
school. The year 1925 was interrupted with the Korths leaving for
California, and then the death of her father. In December Nannie Korth
and her children returned to Plevna. In January of 1926, Delilas and
Donald went to school in Bowman, North Dakota, for the rest of that
term. That summer, Mrs. Korth and children returned to Plevna. Delilas
finished high school with her classmates in 1928. After Normal School
(college) she taught in Plevna the first two years.

On December 27, 1932, Delilas and Earnest Herbst were married. They
lived on the Herbst farm for several years, and she taught at the
Sieler-Steffes School for a few years. De and Earnie built up across
the road and lived there until 1961. Earnie went to work for his
brother, Joe, so they sold their farm on Pine Creek and moved to
Baker. In the meantime, they bought Donald Korth's share of the Korth
place and still own that, but rent it out.

Robert was born in October of 1938. He stayed with Grandma and Grandpa
Herbst during the week in order to attend grade and high school. Bob
is a 1956 graduate of Plevna. He married Carol Quincer in 1961. She is
a Plevna graduate, also. Earnie and De have three grandchildren:
DeAnna, James, and Brandon.

The Earnie Herbsts celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in
December of 1982. They experienced "good times" and "hard times". Some
years, there was no crop due to drought or hail. Having cattle helped
them through the tough times. They say they have a lot to be thankful
for, having had good health all these years.

PETER AND MARY [THIELEN] HERBST

On March 3, 1909, Peter John Herbst of Ipswich, South Dakota, applied
for a homestead in eastern Montana. Since he was born in Germany, he
had to prove his United States citizenship, and his application was
accepted. In the fall of 1909, he filed a claim and built a small
house of logs which had been hauled from the pines south of what is
now Plevna. He received help from his neighbor, John.Leischner, and
his yoke of oxen.

Peter then returned to Ipswich for the winter to be with his wife,
Mary, and their two sons: Melchoir - 2 1/2 years old, and Earnest - 6
months old, and to continue his barber practice.

Pete told his friends, the Matt Henkels and the William Steffes Sr.,
about his future plans, and in the spring of 1910, the three families
migrated west in two emigrant cars. The Herbsts brought their
household goods, a walking plow, a drag, two horses (Dick and Dude), a
buggy, a cow, and chickens.

The Henkels homesteaded near Westmore and soon established a threshing
business. Mrs. Henkel cooked for the crew. The Wm. Steffes built the
Steffes Hotel in Plevna.

All of this happened about the time that the town of Plevna first came
into being, and Peter was responsible for helping build many of the
first buildings.

On September 26, 1911, Dr. G. A. Lewis of Ismay helped deliver a
daughter, Wilda, at the homestead. On October 22, 1911, Wilda was
baptized by a missionary priest, Father B. Maguire of Miles City, in
Plevna's newest pool hall.

By 1912, the log house had several new additions, and Bill and Kate
Thielen (Pete's sister and Mary's brother) were houseguests until
their own homestead house south of Plevna was completed. At the same
time, Ed Herbst (Pete's brother) visited, and he later filed for his
own homestead south of Plevna and moved there with his wife, Anna.

On the 10th day of February, 1914, a patent was issued to Peter
Herbst, signed by the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson,
verifying the fulfillment of the homestead claim. Now the homestead
was theirs!

On January 3, 1917, another daughter, Margaret, was born

Land Patent for Peter John Herbst

on the homestead, with Dr. Basked from Plevna in attendance. During
the War years, Pete auctioned at many of the sales for farmers whose
sons had been called to the service. He was able to "cry" in both
English and German. After a long day of auctioneering without any
sound systems, his voice would give out, and he would have to suck
lemons to be able to carry on the next day.

At this time, there were no rural schools, and the three

Page 83

Herbst children attended a temporary school until the new
Korth-Carrington school was built in 1918. There were many dances gnd
box socials held at these schools, and Pete would auction the lunch
boxes and play his accordian for dancing.

Pete and Mary were influential in interesting other Herbst-Thielen
relatives to come to Montana to live. In 1917, the Thielen brothers
(Mary's brothers), John and Mike, had moved north of Plevna, followed
by Mary's sister, Margaret and Tony Koll, and later the Fred Thielen
and Niles Kestersons (Mary's sister, Anna).

In 1919, the Herbsts sold the homestead to Peter's sister and husband,
Fred and Kate Brummer, and they moved nine miles south of Plevna,
where on October 9, 1922, Mary Ann was born, followed by a son, Joe,
on November 3, 1926.

Peter and Mary were instrumental in the building of St. Anthony's
Catholic Church. His mother was the first one buried in the new
Catholic cemetery in 1924. Pete helped in moving the bodies of other
Catholic families from the community cemetery.

They continued to farm, and Pete was always there to help other
farmers sharpen plow shares or to cut their hair. Mary assisted as a
midwife for many births. They both helped prepare bodies for burial
before the days of local morticians.

Photo Peter J. and Mary [Thielen] Herbst April 23, 1907

In 1933, Pete was appointed Postmaster of Plevna by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt on the recommendation of Senator Burton K. Wheeler. This
was an honored position for someone who passed a Civil Service
examination without ever having attended a formal school in the United
States. He was a self-taught person and read history books as others
read novels. Pete was more than generous with his time to accommodate
his patrons in Plevna. He opened the post office days, nights, and
Sundays for those who came to town from outlying distances.

On April 23, 1967, the Herbsts celebrated their 60th wedding
anniversary. Pete died the following fall, followed by Mary in
November of 1970. They are both buried in St. Anthony's Cemetery in
Plevna.

Photo Peter and Mary Herbst  60th Wedding Anniversary With their Children
and Spouses April 23, 1967

THE HIMSL FAMILY

Victor S. Himsl and his wife, Clara, and their three children, Alois,
and the twins Mathias and Theocula, came to Plevna from St. Cloud,
Minnesota, in November of 1913 to establish a bank, lumber yard, and
implement business at the request of John Borgerding, a Minnesota
investor.

Shortly after, the untimely death of Borgerding prompted his heirs to
dispose of all interests except bank holdings in Rygate, Ekalaka, and
Plevna. In 1915 Himsl sold the lumber yard interest to the Carpenter
Webster Lumber Company and the machinery business to 0. E. Anderson.

In 1924 there was a reorganization of the heirs banking interests, and
Himsl took over the First State Bank of Plevna, selling his small
interest in the Ekalaka bank.

The following years were generally a period of pioneering growth in
the Plevna area, with homesteading and sod-busting.

The little bank grew and prospered, being staffed by the faithful,
dependable, and loyal N. M. Wellenstein and Anna Engles, Himsl's
sister-in-law. In due course, the Himsl family grew with the arrival
of Avitus, Rita, Lea, and Bernadette -- all born in Plevna.

Victor Hiirnsl was a man of his time. A robust challenger of pioneer
opportunities with a reckless faith and confidence in people, the
country, and the future, he was aggressive in supporting his church,
his community, and his state. He was an eternal optimist. He was a
bold responder to anyone's need -whether it be a fire, sickness,
death, or community sports. He was an outdoors man who acquired many
hunting trophies and liked roundups -- whether wild horses or rabbits!
He was a great booster for hometown baseball and often wagered
embarrassing amounts, for his loyalty often exceeded good judgment.
This was a common pioneer exercise, to bet on

Page 84

anything: a foot race, a tractor pull, a horse race, or even a
wrestling match. It was a time when the present held only prospects.
He was a life-long Republican and served as State Senator from Fallon
County for 1930-34. Victor died in Missoula following a massive stroke
on December 8, 1943.

In. the late 1920s, the whole area experienced a series of crop
failures. Borrowers couldn't pay their notes, and there was no more
market for eastern Montana bank notes. Although the Plevna Bank
survived the 1929 crunch, it hid to be turned in for liquidation in
1931 when deposits fell to only $58,456.79, with virtually no
collection and no market for bank loans.

Fortunately for the Himsl family, Alois had graduated from college in
1930 and took a job as a teacher in the Plevna High School, giving the
family a means of support. In 1936, Victor, Clara, and the remaining
family members: Rita, Lea, and Bernadette, as well as Grandma Engels
(Clara's mother)_, moved to Missoula, where Clara ran a boarding house
for university students, enabling her to give her daughters a chance
for a higher education. Religion and education had a high priority in
the Himsl household.

Clara died in Missoula following a massive stroke on September 23,
1978.

After the bank closed, Anna Engels, Clara's unmarried sister and
"Nannie" to the Himsl family, became employed as deputy county
treasurer and later was elected county treasurer. She helped the
twins, Mathias, who had obtained a "ride" at St. John's University and
Theocula (Oakie) who had a scholarship at St. Benedict's College,
finish their undergraduate work in 1934. Anna moved to Missoula to
live with her sister. She died there October 20, 1966, the victim of a
stroke.

Avitus (Vedie) enrolled at St. John's, largely on credit, and
graduated in 1938. Rita attended the University of Montana. Lea
graduated from the University and interned at Johns Hopkins and is a
dietician at the Deaconess Hospital in Great Falls. Bernadette is a
registered nurse at Worland, Wyoming.

Alois, after teaching in Plevna and coaching the championship
basketball teams in the 30's, became a longtime newspaper man in
Billings and later in Missoula. He retired in 1973. He died April 12,
1981.

Theocula (Oakie) joined a Benedictine Convent as Sister Clarus,
O.S.B., earned a master's degree from Iowa State, and taught at St.
Benedict's College until retiring at St. Scholastica Convent in St.
Cloud, Minnesota, where she has custodial care for an afflicting loss
of memory.

Mathias (Matt) taught school and was superintendent at Broadus from
1934-45, earned a master's degree from the University of Montana,
became a Kalispell businessman and state legislator for 20 years, and
is currently a state Senator. He is semi-retired in Kalispell.

Avitus (Vedie) graduated from St. John's University, signed

Photo V.S. Himsl [extreme right]
A bountiful hunt of over 20 sage hens

a professional baseball contract with the Detroit Tigers, played with
St. Paul of the American Association until World War II, spent three
years in the navy, and went back to baseball with the St. Louis
Cardinals, then with the Chicago Cub organization, where he is still
employed.

Rita is married to Walter Rowland of Missoula and is a retired
homemaker.

Lea is married to Ted Jupka and is a dietician at the Deaconess
Hospital in Great Falls.

Bernadette is married to Dale Johnson and is a registered nurse in
Worland, Wyoming.

There is a happy postscript on the bank story which is worth telling:
From 1931 on, there were few assets to be converted, and the borrowers
were unable or unwilling to pay off notes' The bank held 320 acres in
the Cabin Creek area as collateral on a note which the banking
department examiners ordered to be charged off. Himsl charged the note
off and took title. Later, when the bank was closed, the department
successfully reclaimed the asset in a court action due to the fact
that there was a low-income gas well on the property.

For 30 years the receivership produced little return. Over the years,
Matt Himsl shared his father's faith that the Cabin Creek asset would
someday produce. He bought up some depositor claims who had despaired,
had the family stockholder interests of 97 percent assigned to him,
and kept watch over the property. When the banking department put the
asset up for sale in 1959, he challenged the Shell Oil Company
offering in a court action, and with the cooperation of Robert Towle,
Superintendent of Banks, successfully had the asset retained by the
banking department. Then he negotiated with Shell Oil and eventually
had two producing wells on the property, with the result that by
November of 1976, royalty earnings had paid off the depositor's
claims, plus interest to a total of 331.7 percent! About $47,000
escheated to the state for coverage of any undelivered claims, and the
asset reverted to Matt Himsl, who in turn has it set up in a trust to
be shared by his brothers and sisters.

It is reported that this is the only bank of record to have made a
full pay out; a pay out made possible only by diligence, perseverence,
cooperation, and good luck! Faith has its rewardl

Submitted by Matt Himsl


Photo V. S. Himsl [left, on horse] and Alois Himsl [right, on horse]

JOHN AND OLIVIA HOWE AND FAMILY

John Leonard Howe was born December 29, 1872, at Weeping Water,
Nebraska. He grew up in Antelope, Nebraska. On May 1, 1898, he married
Olive Adelia Tyler at Willowdale, Nebraska. In the year 1910, John and
his wife and children: Clarence (Friday)- 11, Clifford - 9, Leonard -
4, and Lawrence 2, moved to a homestead on Box Elder near Ekalaka.
Arriving in March, they spent a week in a hotel in Baker, waiting out
a

page 85

blizzard before they could get to Box Elder. Nine other families
traveled to Montana with them on the train. Two of these families, the
Doyles and the Bakers, moved to Plevna also. While they lived on the
homestead, another son, Seibert, was born on November 29, 1910.

On March 29, 1911, John was appointed as Postmaster of Elgin, Montana.
At this time, this area was still part of Custer County, and mail was
shipped in care of the Ekalaka postmaster, and then on to Elgin.

During this period of time, John traveled the area as far away as
Beach, North Dakota, Ollie and Carlyle, Montana, threshing, doing
blacksmith work, and other jobs along with proving up on the
homestead. John was probably one of the first men in this area who had
a steam engine permit and was a steam engine engineer. He also played
the fiddle for dances while Olive played the organ, if one was
available.

In 1914, John heard they needed a blacksmith in Plevna, so he
spent the winter building this blacksmith shop there. In 1915, when
the family moved to Plevna, they stayed in the hotel until their house
was ready. Their first home was south of Livengood's, where the lagoon
is now. They spent about $125 for materials for the house, and about
$225 for approximately three acres of land. Their well was dug with a
post hole auger, a nd it never ran dry. This house was later sold to
Clark, who ran the big livery barn.

John also had a dray line which the older boys took care of. A big
part of the dray business was hauling water to people and to the
restaurant owned by Jack Crow. They sold the dray business to Bert
James in 1916 and he continued to haul water until 1917, when the
first artesian well was drilled.

After the first house was sold, they bought lots closer to town (in
1916) and built another house. This year, a daughter, Arlene, joined
her five brothers in the family home. She died of scarlet fever in
1925.

When the Howes first came to Plevna, Mr. Scott was running the
Columbia elevator. He had a two cylinder Maxwell car he used to take
the kids for rides in. Just to refresh your memory, this is what Jack
Benny used on his radio and TV shows.

Jack Doyle carried the mail from the train depot to the post office
for $30 a month, and also did some water hauling. Mr. Baker had a
harness shop, where Hoke's Body Shop is now.

In 1918, they moved to the Johnny Lambert place south of Plevna, where
Johnny Bechtold now farms. After two years, they moved north of Plevna
and continued to farm. Two foster children, Clara and Albert Oster,
were added to the family. In 1940, they retired and moved back into
Plevna.

John Howe passed away in August of 1941. Olive lived in the family
home until 1961, when she moved to Baker and lived with their son,
Clarence, and his wife Anne. She later lived in the Fallon County Rest
Home until her death in 1971.

The oldest son, Clarence, better known as "Friday'', worked at
Stohler's store, Bob O'Brien's hardware store, ran the butcher shop
for a year or two, and at Buergi's store. He married a local girl,
Valentine Siring, and they had two children: Alyce and James. He
worked for the highway department for 7 or 8 years before following
road construction with McNutt throughout the western U.S. In later
years, Friday and his second wife, Anne Karosick, a gal who came to
Montana to teach school, spent winters with Grandma Howe in Plevna and
later retired in Baker. After Friday's death, Anne moved back to
Eveleth, Minnesota, to be closer to her family. Friday had six
grandchildren.

Son Clifford worked for Bert James, and on the highway between Baker
and Plevna. He married Gladys James, the boss's daughter, on July 25,
1921, in Baker. They lived in Baker a short time, moved back to
Plevna, and then went west to Washington. They have three daughters:
Vivian, Betty, and Barbara; eight grandchildren; and 7 great
grandchildren. For years their vacations have been centered around the
Miles City Bucking Horse Sale and the Fallon County Fair. This year
their plans are for the fair.

Son Leonard was born in Nebraska and was four years old when he moved
to Montana. All but those first four years of his life have been spent
in Fallon County, Montana. He spent his younger years around the
blacksmith shop and carrying water to the local residents, in addition
to going to school. At the age of 13, he was driving an eight horse
team, pulling a road grader on a construction crew. At 14, he worked
for Percy Stevens, road boss, driving his four horse team with a
fresnoe on the road from Plevna to Westmore -- The Old Yellowstone
Trail -and on south to Ismay. The next few years were spent working on
local farms and ranches, breaking horses and whatever else needed
doing. After all his wandering years, he was back in Plevna, working
for a threshing crew, with Mike Thielen as boss, on the George
Griffith place pitching bundles, with Ed Patterson, Heavy Herbst, and
Dan O'Brien. Myrtle Munyon was sent to see when the crew would be
arriving at the Munyon's to take care of their crop. This turned into
a romance, and later marriage in 1928. Their first year was spent
working for Robert Yokley, where they spent from Christmas until the
end of March snowed in. They still had to shovel some snow in the
creek bottoms to get out to go to town. In the spring of '29 they
moved to the Patterson homestead. Along with his own farm work, he
always had other jobs, including helping on the building of the road
west to Miles City.

On July 29, 1942, Leonard turned over what he thought was a white
stone, and discovered it wasn't a stone at all -- but the top of a
skull. Authorities were called, and upon much more digging, a complete
Indian skeleton was uncovered, along with arrowheads, skinning stones,
and other tools. Dr. Sam Weeks took the skeleton to examine to see if
he could decide what had killed him, after all this time. It was
turned over to the museum in Ekalaka, where it still is, as far as we
know.

In the fall of '42, Leonard and Myrtle moved to Baker, and he worked
for the soil conservation in the summer and the Ford

Photo John and Olive Howe

Page 86

garage in the winter months. In 1945, he bought machinery and started
his own dirt moving business, L. W. Howe and Sons, building dams,
dikes, and later developing springs for most of the farms and ranches
in Fallon and Carter County. He did a lot of work in Custer, Rosebud
and Wibaux Counties, also. In 1978, he sold out and retired. Leonard
still resides in Baker with his wife of 56 years. There were eight
children born of this marriage, four of whom still live in the Baker
area. They have 21 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Oldest son William Kenneth was born on the farm in 1929. He worked
with his father, spent time in the Air Force, and presently lives in
Spokane, Washington, with his wife, the forrmer Esther Neary. They
have two daughters: Teri (in the Navy in California), Connie and her
daughter, and one son, Kenneth, his wife and son, who all reside in
the Spokane area.

A daughter, Elsie, was born in Ismay, in 1931, and died a short time
later.

Daughter Jessie was born in Plevna in 1934, went to teacher's college
in Spearfish, South Dakota, taught school at Prairie Park School,
south of Plevna, and married Jerry Neary. She has a married daughter,
Cindy, living in Gillette, Wyoming, and a son, Pat, who lives in
California after four years in the Navy.

Son Frank was born in Baker in 1936. He remained in Baker, working
with his dad in the dirt business until his death in 1975. He married
Karen Michel and they had a daughter, Sherrie, who lives in Casper
with her daughter, and three sons: William (presently a senior in
Baker High School) and the twins, Tom and Tim (who are in the sixth
grade).

Daughter Dorothy was born in Plevna in 1940. The usual after school
and Saturday jobs. . . She married Bernell Pfeifle, and they lived in
Baker and owned the Dahlman Motel and Green Acres before moving to
Dillon, Montana, where they owned a construction business. They
returned to Baker, again owning Green Acres, and built BoiseCascade
homes. They have three children: Randall, who works in the oil field
and lives in Sidney; Rhonda, living in Sidney; and Robert, presently a
senior in Baker High.

Daughter Mary was born in Baker in 1941. She married Richard Dietz and
has three sons: Jeffrey in Casper, Wyoming, Michael and Gary, living
in Roosevelt, Utah, working in the oilfield. A second marriage to
Steven Tate gave her another son, Douglas, who is presently a freshman
at Baker High. After spending 15 years in the Casper and Gillette,
Wyoming, area, she is back in Baker.

Ben and Betty, the twins, were born in Baker mi 1946. Ben lives in
California with his second wife, Patti. He has three daughters: Wendy,
married with one son; Brenda, a sophomore in high school; and Morgan,
three years old. Ben works for Chevron Oil Company as an engineer on
off-shore drilling.

Betty married Terry Stroud, lived in Oklahoma, and then

Photo The John Howe Family in front of their new home [before 19151
[L-R] Clarence, John, Clifford, Lawrence, Siebert, Olive, Leonard

moved back to Montana. She has two children: Brandon, a junior, and
Hally, a freshman. After many years in Glendive, they moved to
Franktown, Colorado, where they now live.

Son Lawrence followed road construction all over the western United
States. He married Grace Ludwig, John's daughter. They have two
children: Grace (Patty) of Missoula, and Lawrence (Larry) of
Stevensville. Grace taught in Plevna for many years. Both kids are
Plevna graduates. They have six grandchildren. They later moved to
Phoenix, where Lawrence died, and Grace still lives there.

Son Seibert stayed at home and helped with the farm until 1931, when
he and Alvina Bohle, Henry's daughter, were married. They lived in the
Westmore community. They have five children: Leonard of Tacoma, Donald
of Billings, Jerry of Casper, Wyoming, Audrey of Lambert, and Stanton
of Helena. They have 14 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Siebert died in January of 1964. Alvina married Robert Morton in 1965.

Writing down this history of the Howe family as told to us by Leonard,
has been great fun. I'm sure we've missed some of the high points,
because we were too busy listening and forgot to write!

--Mary Tate and Jessie Neary

THE HOENKES

Mr. and Mrs. David Hoenke were early settlers in and around Plevna.
They had eight children:

Arthur farmed in Plevna. He married Rose Kochel and they later moved
to Frenctown, Montana.

Otto married Harriet Freeman. They farmed southeast of Plevna and
later retired to Baker.

Ida married a Kochel, who died, and she later married Otto Leischner.
They lived in Plevna many years and finally moved to Miles City,
Montana.

Alma married Curtis Davis and they lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Rudolph married Louise Christman and they farmed for a while and then
started Hoenke Trucking Service. Later they owned the hotel, which
Louise still occupies.

Adeena married Carl Rabe. They farmed and ranched in the Lames Jones
community south of Plevna. She moved to Baker with her son, Ronald,
after Carl passed away.

Helen married John Koenig and they lived in Plevna several

Photo THE DAVID AND MARY HOENKE FAMILY [Back L-R] Rudolph, Ida Leischner,
Otto, Arthur, Alma Davis [Front] Adeena Rabe, David, Garhardt, Mary
[mother], and Helen "Fanny" Koenig

Page 87

years. They moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota, where she became a
secretary.

Garhardt never married. He worked in and around Plevna for many years.
Later he moved to Baker, where he still resides. He is the only one
living out of that immediate family.

Art Hoenke and his wife Rose were the parents of Meleta Schuetzle,
Lenora Leischner, Clara Reynolds, and twin boys Edmund and Edwin.

Ida's children were Rosaline Blair, Viola Studer, Irene Wilson, and
Raymond (Dutch) Kochel. She also had Orin and Alvin Leischner.

Alma and Curtiss Davis were the parents of Donald and Alice Bassett.

Otto and Hattie had Delores Wiseman, Arnold (Bud) and Gloria Duneman.

Rudy and Louise had Florence Quenzer, Leonard, Pearl Shephard, Morris,
Doris Frost, Betty Jean Hayes, and Shirley Hamby.

Adeena and Carl Rabe had Melvin, Carol Reed, Delbert, Ronald and Joann
Pierce.

Helen (Fannie) and John Koenig had Gwendolyn Hansen and Joyce Olson.

RUDOLPH AND LOUISE HOENKE

Rudolph Hoenke and Louise Hoenke were united in marriage on March 28,
1923, by the Lutheran pastor, who at that time was A. L. Heine.

When Dad and his folks arrived in Plevna, they stopped at the hardware
store, and that's where Mother met her future husband. At that time,
John Weinschrott owned the store.

Mother made her own wedding dress. The attendants at the wedding were:
Carl Rabe, Albert Krausz, Adeena Hoenke, and Alvina Christman. After
their wedding on mother's folk's place, which was eleven miles
southwest of Plevna, they moved to a farm east of Plevna, which was
known as the O'Brien place.

Times were hard, so Dad would ride his horse to Plevna on Monday and
work on the road between Baker and Miles City. On Friday nights, he
would ride home again. During this time, their first child, Florence,
was born.

They moved into Plevna and ran the St. Charles Hotel and Dining Room.
After their second child, Leonard, was born, they kept the hotel but
let the two Stern sisters run the Dining Room. One of the sisters
later became Mrs. Mickey O'Brien.

Then they moved to Baker, where my father worked at the Carbon Plant,
and my mother worked at Grainer's Cafe. Their third child, Pearl, was
born in Baker.

They moved back to Plevna, where another son, Morris, was

Photo Rudolph Hoenke and Louise Christman Wedding March 28, 1923

born. They also had another daughter, Doris, who was born on the Getz
place.

My father would hook up his horses and come to town to work for the
WPA during the depression. Later on, they moved back into Plevna and
my father started into the trucking business in 1935. His first truck
was a 1929 Chevy. He was known to everyone as Rudy or R. E. He was the
construction supervisor for the swimming pool which is still in Plevna
at this time. He hauled the gravel and sand and a group of men mixed
all the cement by hand.

Two more little girls, Betty Jean and Shirley, were born. My parents
bought the Buerge apartment house in 1940, fixed it up, and raised
their family there.

Dad served for many years on the school board. He was still trucking
and had a mail route at the time of his passing away on

Photo Rudy and Louise Hoenke on their 25th anniversary - 1948

Photo The Rudolph and Louise Hoenke Family
[Back L-R] Florence, Leonard, Morris, Pearl [Front] Betty Jean,
Luoise, Shirley, and Doris

Page 88

February 23, 1949. Several weeks before, he had hauled some cattle
and a cow kicked him in the chest, causing a blood clot to form which
took his life.

To this union, seven healthy children were born. all of whom are
living: Florence Quenzer of Baker, married to Albert Quenzer; Leonard
Hoenke of Plevna, married to Ruth Young; Pearl Shepherd of Washington,
married to Bud Shepherd; Morris Hoenke of Plevna, married to Delphine
Fost; Doris Frost of Fallon, married to Keith Frost; Betty Jean Hayes
of Denver, Colorado, married to Jess Hayes, Jr.; Shirley Hamby of
Billings, married to John Hamby.

Mother, at this time, has 21 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren.
My father only lived to see three of this grandchildren. They were
Florence's children: Bev Anderson, Floyd Quenzer, and Gerald Quenzer.
Those he did not see are: Leonard's family: David, Randy, and Roxie;
Pearl's family: Doreen, Reene, Lucille, and Lana; Morris' family: Mike
and Janice; Doris' family: Tana, Cindy, and Jeff; Betty Jean's family:
Debbie, Diane, Dorinda, and Donna; and Shirley's family: Karen,
Sharon, and Jana.

My mother and dad were always very active in their church. Mother is
still active in church, attending services each week. She helps make
quilts which are sent overseas, and she goes to Ladies Aid, which she
has been active in for many years. Their church has always meant a lot
to them.

EDWARD AND ELIZABETH HOFFMAN

Edward Hoffman came to the Plevna area in 1914, from South Dakota. He
worked as a laborer in the area until 1917, when he went to North
Dakota. In 1918, he went from there into the U.S. Army and served in
Germany during World War I. He returned home in April of 1919 and
later that year returned to the Plevna area again.

On December 26, 1919, he and Elizabeth Schopp were married at her
parents' home north of Plevna. They settled down north of Plevna,
where they raised their big family. Their children are: Frieda (Mrs.
George Gunderson) of Baker; Rose (Mrs. Ernest Christman) of Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho; Bertha (Mrs. Wm. Ehret) of Plevna; Viola (Mrs. James
Kratchvil) of

Photo The Hoffman Home

Pompey's Pillar, Montana; Ida (Mrs. Virgil Higgins) of Hettinger,
North Dakota; Jacob, deceased; Elmer of Worden, Montana; Clarence of
Los Angeles, Califomia: and Mary Ann (Mrs. Del Borer) of Miles City,
Montana.

Edward and Elizabeth were prvileged to celebrate their Golden Wedding
Anniversary in 1969. Ed died in August of 1976 while living at Worden,
Montana.

Photo The Ed Hoffman Family

Photo Stacking grain in 1940

Photo Elizabeth Hoffman on the header barge

Page 89

THE HOKES

Harry H. Hoke, the first. was born at Gratz, Pennsylvania, in 1879. he
moved from Trevorton, Pennsylvania, in 1912 to Westmore, Montana, and
homesteaded there. He brought with him his two sons: Earl and Forrest
(Bud). Harry's parents, Hiram and Mary Hoke, later moved to the
Westmore area, also. They both died in 1916 and are buried in the
Westmore Cemetery.

Forrest returned to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he worked as a
newspaper man. He married Arleen, and they have two children: Judy and
Raymond.

Earl spent his early days with his father, then went to bronc riding
throughout Montana, the Dakotas, the Eastern States, and southern
states. He met his first wife, Agnes, who was from Newark, New Jersey,
and who was a trick rider on the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show.
They had two children: Robert and Harry. Earl settled in the Plevna
and Westmore area, where he farmed, trapped, and laid rip rap for
county and state bridges. He later moved to Forsyth and worked there
as an auto body man. Then he went to Gooding, Idaho, also as an auto
body man.