Old Missoula

Waite Phillips – Incognito Visitor

Millionaire Philanthropist Leaves After “Traveling Old Trail” Here [1943]

Waite Phillips millionaire oil man and philanthropist, who had been in Missoula and Western Montana on a brief vacation trip, left the city on the North Coast Limited Thursday for the East. Mr. Phillips was a resident of Montana years ago, when he was roughing it, and during his brief stay here, he traveled over some of the trails of his youth in the vicinity of Lothrop and over the Lolo pass. He spent several days at Hotel Florence.

Mr. Phillips presence here was known to few persons, as he moved about quietly and preferred to remain obscure.

Deeds of Mr. Phillips a few years ago attracted wide attention when he made the Boy Scouts of America a gift of $5,000,000, including 127,000 acres of his ranch, “Philamont” in New Mexico and the “Philtower” building in his home town of Tulsa, Okla. Another gift of moment was his $2,500,000 home in Tulsa, which he gave to that city for a museum.

During his recent stay in Missoula he traveled through the Lothrop district with his old friend C. E. Johnson of Missoula, and he made a friendly call on C. H. McLeod, and he met “Tip” O’Neill, Montana oil operator, who makes his home here.

J. P. (Jeff) Whyte, former Darby resident, but now of Seattle, came “back home,” to meet his old friend, Mr. Phillips, during the latter’s stay here. Mr. Phillips and Mr. Whyte made the trip over the Lolo pass, but Mr. Whyte left here Tuesday for Seattle. During the rest of his stay at the hotel, Mr. Phillips preferred to remain incognito.

Mr. Phillips has visited Montana on several occasions. Five years ago he was on a hunting trip in the Fish creek country. About 13 years ago he was here with a party of 18 persons who were on a hunting party in the same district. Mr. Phillips came here first 40 years ago – long before he became an oil operator.

“Yes, I like Missoula and Western Montana – that’s why I come back,” Mr. Phillips said before his departure Thursday.

 

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on November 19, 1943.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/349367524/?terms=waite%2Bphillips

Born in Iowa in 1883, Waite Phillips was an identical twin in a family of 10 children. Two of his older brothers, L. E. and Frank were the founders of Phillips Petroleum Company. These brothers were incredibly successful in the oil business, as also was young Waite, who founded his own business and sold it in 1925, reputedly for $25 million. Waite was also successful in several other Oklahoma businesses including banking and real estate. His legacy involved many extremely generous charitable donations, the largest one a huge ranch to the Boy Scouts of America.

Waite Phillips’ connection to Missoula came when he and his twin brother, Wiate, arrived in the area while still in their teens. They allegedly left home in Iowa at age 16, with the idea of discovering the West. Their travels led to a variety of jobs including lumber mills, railroad camps, a shingle factory, hotels, and messenger boys for Western Union. Their adventure came to a sad conclusion when his twin, Wiate, was stricken with appendicitis and died in Spokane, Washington in 1902.

Although the brothers’ specific activity in Montana was apparently never well documented, public mention of Waite usually occurred after he traveled in the area years later. A Missoulian article in 1928 noted that in the fall of that year he had just concluded a hunting trip in the Fish Creek area, “through the same country over which he crossed many years ago in handling his trap lines.” The area his party hunted was described as “nine miles beyond Lolo Hot Springs” in the vicinity of Cash Creek. Local companions mentioned were J. P. Whyte and Bill Bell as a guide. George Craig was camp cook and Homer McClain “was the wrangler.”

“The party brought in their limit of elk and goats Tuesday night. Mr. Phillips has few acquaintances in Western Montana as he operated here as an obscure trapper when he was a youth. However, when he wants a real outing he returns to the scenes of his old trap lines, and manages to get in and out of Missoula and Western Montana without being known.

“Eight years ago he was through the same district with a party of 18 persons who were on an outing. At that time he concluded the trip and returned East without his presence here becoming known.”

https://www.newspapers.com/image/348705802/?terms=waite%2Bphillips

 

An article in the Okmulgee Daily Times gave the following description of Waite Phillips’ 1920 trip to Montana:[1]

Waite Phillips Gives Big Entertainment

One of His Guests Describes Hunting and Fishing Trip in the Northwest

Wade Phillips, Oklahoma’s biggest oil producer whose chief holdings are [in] Okmulgee county, was host to one of the most enjoyable hunting and fishing parties ever held in the west, according to M. R. Puckett, who was one of Mr. Phillips’ guests on the trip. Here is Puckett’s story of the “expedition”:

“Waite proved he could entertain his friends as well as make a success at the oil business. The trip across the Rockies was one of the finest adventures I ever experienced. There were thirteen Oklahomans in the party. We took five packers, two guides and one fishing tackle man after we started on the mountain trails. There were forty-seven riding horses, pack horses and mules.

“Although the trip was made through a part of the wildest country in the United States, Waite had provided everything for the comfort of his guests. We had everything imaginable to eat with the exception of fresh meats. This we supplemented with fish which we caught. We never lacked for fish and the streams were full and our luck was good.

“The party arrived in Missoula July 3. We started by auto the next morning and came to the mouth of Fish creek that afternoon. Here we met the pack train. We made our camp ten miles up Fish creek that night. Our next stop was at Williams’ camp in the heart of the Rockies and in the midst of a fine virgin forest, 120 miles from the Canadian border. We found one cedar forty-six feet in circumference.

“We then made our way up the south fork of Fish creek and found the fishing excellent, our catches ranging from three-fourths of a pound to two and one-fourth pound in weight. At the Big Divide we made a climb of 2,400 feet in six miles, arriving at a ranger station in the midst of a terrific hail storm. We then took the trail over Blodgett Pass, a height of 12,000 feet, to Hamilton, where the automobiles were waiting to take us back to Missoula.

“While suffering Oklahomans were mopping melting collars on July 15, the Phillips party threw snowballs from Idaho to Montana. Many of the party proved excellent fishermen and few representatives of big game were observed. We were on the move constantly, but the weather was fine, as a rule, and the camps were ideal. Eighty-dollar beds were taken along for the party. Every pleasure proved the party ideally first class.”

Those in the party were Waite Phillips, his wife and daughter, Miss Helen Jane; John Phillips and wife; L. E. Phillips’ two sons, L. E. Jr. and Phillip, and Mrs. M. R. Puckett, all of Bartlesville; Mrs. C. E. Crawley of Tulsa, R. S. King and wife of Dayton, Ohio, and the guides and packers.

 

A very good biography of Waite Phillips can be found at the website for Boy Scouts of America at the following link:

https://www.philmontscoutranch.org/museums/villa/history/