A Recollection Way back in time a few years before the turn of the last century a contingent of [African American] soldiers garrisoned the little frontier post, Fort Missoula, located near the then little city of Missoula. In those days occasions for celebration were few and far between. Much attention Read More
Victoria Deschamps -Cinderella Girl MISSOULA PARENTS BLAST ROLE OF CINDERELLA So read the headline of the Daily Missoulian on November 29, 1925. Missoula’s Victoria Deschamps was suddenly the “Cinderella Girl” in newspapers across the whole country when a wealthy Alaska miner sought to adopt the 13-year-old high school girl. Her Read More
Death of Mrs. Lannen (1897) An Old Pioneer Woman of Montana Passes Away To-Day at Bearmouth She Enjoyed A Large Acquaintance, Was Known and Loved by Many Will Be Buried at Deer Lodge Saturday Mrs. John Lannen (Bridget Calvin) of Bearmouth died at an early hour this morning after a Read More
Ruby Wong and A Family of Patriots The Ruby Wong family has a prominent history in Missoula and Helena. The iconic Golden Pheasant restaurant, started by Ruby and her partner at the beginning of WW2, lasted for over 50 years and is remembered by thousands of Missoulians, including this writer. Read More
‘Grandma Owens’ Adds a Year To Store of Borrowed Time By John A. Forssen Mrs. Lois Owens had her 84th birthday last week, thus adding another year to her store of borrowed time, probably one of the largest in this part of the country. Mrs. Owens can lay claim to Read More
Part of Broncho In Building West by Anne Hawkins Anne Hawkins Tells of His Importance in An Earlier Day of This Region By Anne Hawkins Along in the ‘80’s when western school ma’ams had to figure out a way to get to and from the little log schoolhouse, the broncho Read More
Cyra McFadden circles back to home base By Ginny Merriam for the Missoulian Crya McFadden grew up in the back seat of a midnight-blue Packard and honed her early reading skills on Burma-Shave signs posted on Western highways. The lure of the road is still with her. “I’m clearly still Read More
Winona Williams Montana’s Past Presented by John A. Forssen Writings on Montana history seem sometimes dedicated to quantity rather than quality; it is fortunate for Missoula County High School and the community, therefore, that a new collection acquired by the school is the cream of the crop. Purchased by the Read More
Plucky Montana Women – 1877 The article below appeared in the New Northwest (Deer Lodge) newspaper on July 27, 1877. Severe Indian hostilities were already reported in Idaho, and Joseph’s Nez Perce people were moving down the Bitter Root valley in Montana, heading for buffalo country. They had avoided soldiers Read More
Missoula Murderess With A Little Pistol – 1st Woman to State Penitentiary (1878) Homicide Felicite Sanchez is in duress vile. She snuffed out the light for a party named Kelly last Friday. She did it with her little pistol, firing three shots, one of which took effect in Kelley’s Read More