Old Missoula

Charles E. and Edith (Grierson) Johnson – Missoula Pioneers

C. E. (Pop) Johnson, who celebrated his eightieth birthday Wednesday, has spent 60 years of that time in Western Montana, nearly all of it on Missoula’s “Main Street,” as he has been identified with activities of the business district of Missoula throughout most of the time he has been here. Mr. Johnson, who saw Missoula grow up, is young at 80, and has a keen mind on the major events of the city and its growth for the past 60 years since the Northern Pacific came.

In fact Mr. Johnson came here with the railroad – and worked on it for a few years. He was born November 3, 1863, at Paisley, Ontario, but as a young man came West into North Dakota in 1881. “I drove a stage there through the cold and long winter, but that was enough and came on West, finally landing in Missoula June 10, 1883 – and am glad that I came – and that is evidenced by the fact that I remained,” Mr. Johnson said in telling of some of his early experiences.

Mr. Johnson came here with the dining car department of the Northern Pacific. When train service started he became a conductor and worked for the road about seven years. The division then was from Helena to Heron. Later it was extended on to Hope, Idaho, and was the longest division on the railroad – and the toughest in winters. That was before the Butte line was built and when the connection to Butte was from the old Utah Northern to Silver Bow.

Into Livery Business

Back in 1893 Mr. Johnson went into the livery business here, and later built a barn on what is now North Higgins avenue. The old barn stood in the 400 block on the present Higgins avenue, near the site of the present Murray Motor company, a business he operated until about 1908. He sold out to Jim Walker and George Albee. They continued it for the rest of the horse days. Mr. Walker until late months operated a transfer business in Seattle.

After Mr. Johnson sold out he went into the concrete contracting business with the late Mayor W. H. Beacom. After the present Elks temple was built Mr. Johnson became secretary of the Elks, a job that he handled for about 30 years. Two years ago he became ill during the fall and retired as secretary but he has still been active in that fraternal order and one of the familiar figures about the place. Mr. Johnson lives at the Elks, and despite his 80 years said Saturday that he is good for many years.

Saw Mortgage Burned

When the Elks temple was built in 1911 and officially opened on the night of New Year’s eve of 1912 – there was a sizable mortgage on the building. Mr. Johnson as secretary saw to it that the mortgage was whittled down regularly and before his illness resulted in his retirement as secretary, saw the mortgage burned at a special ceremony. That was the culminating feature of his work for the Elks.

Outside the Elks, Mr. Johnson’s nearly 20 years in the livery business were the most interesting of his career. “We had seven or eight hacks – those were the days before automobiles of course. At the barn we had about 60 head of driving horses besides the hack horses. We had 25 or 30 boarding horses of men about town who kept fancy animals. We also had about 25 single buggies, surries and londeaus [landeaus] – four-seated affairs. Then we had some ‘Democrat’ wagons. The latter we would use when a traveling man came along who had three or four trunks and who wanted to go to Frenchtown to sell Joe Marion or somebody else some stuff. We used the latter also in hauling out some of the new settlers to their places.

“Often times we would be called upon to make a trip to Bonner with a traveling man and his outfit. The road then went over the hill and at the foot of it on the Bonner side was a toll gate where the charge was 50 cents to get through.

Toll Gate and Bridges

“After the railroad made a line change between Missoula and Bonner and put the tracks on the north side of the Missoula river the road took out across the Bandmann ranch. Mr. Bandmann used the old railroad bridges and charged toll of 50 cents per vehicle. We used that until fire destroyed one of the bridges and we went back to the old road.”

Mr. Johnson said the alert liveryman in the days when there were horses – and they were used exclusively for conveyances – was on the alert for horses. “I used to buy some from Larabie at Deer Lodge. I would get some from the other horsemen of the country. In later years I used to get horses from the Daly ranch in the Bitter Root after Marcus Daly established his Bitter Root stock farm.

Horses Worth Money

“Cab horses were worth from $200 to $250 a team. Good buggy horses cost from $75 to $300 – and we had some mighty good buggy horses. There was a big demand for driving teams which we hired out to the people of Missoula. In those days the young bucks about town would sport the best we had when they took their girls for buggy rides about town. Many of the young bloods of Missoula in my days of the livery business would have certain horses spoken for days in advance – with of course special buggies that they particularly liked.

“We always had 8 or 10 good saddle horses – for there was a demand for them too – and the saddle horse riders of the early days of Missoula wanted the best too.

“I was always interested in horses and still am – but in my day it was the harness horse that I wanted. I was never specially interested in the gallopers. I have never lost interest in horses or horse races, and am usually at the tracks of Western Montana when there is any good racing.

Reception for Mr. Johnson

Mr. Johnson’s daughter, Mrs. Elmer Stowe, Mr. Stowe and a granddaughter by marriage, Mrs. Thomas E. Campbell, were hosts Wednesday evening at the Johnson home, 215 South Fifth street, east, to about 200 Missoula and Western Montana friends of Mr. Johnson, who dropped in informally to extend greetings to Mr. Johnson on his birthday. Another guest of honor at the occasion was his great-granddaughter, Joan Marie Campbell, aged eight months. The tot’s father, Lieutenant Thomas E. Campbell is in the service and is now stationed at Bethany Beach, Del.

Mr. and Mrs. Stowe and Mrs. Campbell were assisted in entertaining at the reception for Mr. Johnson on his eightieth birthday by Mrs. Ella Stucky, Mrs. Frank Keith, Mrs. H. T. Wilkinson, Mrs. W. C. Lubrecht, Mrs. A. W. Lammers, Mrs. Brenda Wilson, Mrs. A. E. Drew, Mrs. Jack Mudd, Mrs. Ira M. Berger, Mrs. W. L. Murphy, Mrs. Thomas Mulroney, and Miss Isabel Ronan.

 

The above article appeared in the November 7, 1943 Sunday Missoulian.

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Charles Edgar Johnson died in Missoula in 1959. He was 95 years old. He married Edith C. Grierson of Ontario, Canada, in Missoula in 1891. They were parents of three children, Mrs. Roy (Cecile) Campbell, Charline Stowe and Thomas E Johnson. Mrs. Edith Johnson died in Missoula in February of 1936.

The Hell Gate Elks Lodge, No. 383, was chartered in 1898. A Missoulian article states that it was actually started with the installation of officers in 1897. John M. Keith was he first exalted ruler. Other original officers were George E. Boos, F. C. Scheuch, F. C. Webster, D. T. Curran, Joseph M. Dixon, C. A. Barnes, C. E. Woodworth and Tylar B. Thompson.