Winter Edition 2012
THE
Ancient Shell Masks The Sweetgrass Hills along the Montana hi-line hold a treasure from the 1600s
The White Stallion of Lost Creek The 1930s story of a wild horse roaming the Deer Lodge Valley breeding colts with a stamina for racing
St. Moritz of the Rockies “By its own efforts Anaconda becomes‌the St. Moritz of the Rockies in January 1935
The Musical Quist Family Releases a CD The Burger - Know the History?
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Winter 2012 Vol. I No. 4
The West - Old & New is published by Susan Faye Roberts (406) 741-5210 For advertising information or copies of the West email: thewestoldandnew@gmail.com Or write to P.O. Box 10 Hot Springs, MT. 59845
Photograph on this page is of an old barn by Alan Howes Front page photograph by S. F. Roberts
The deadline for the Spring Edition 2013 of the West Old & New will be February 20th.
FEATURE ARTICLES St. Moritz of the West Author Patrick F. Morris shares the story of a winter carnival held in Anaconda, Montana in 1935. Page 4
Ancient Shell Masks Found
in the Sweetgrass Hills In 1993 four Canadian brothers camping in a cave in the Sweetgrass hills come upon ancient masks from the southeastern U.S. that are from the 1600s. Page 5
The White Stallion of Lost Creek Ed Violet tells the story of a mighty white stallion roaming the Deer Lodge Valley in the 1930s. Page 5
News Tidbits from Old Montana Newspapers Territorial news and general news from the world in the Philipsburg Mail from 1887, and stories from the Camas Hot Springs Exchange from 1947. Page 6
CD Revue - House of Quist The Iconic Rob Quist of Western Montana releases a new CD with his family. Page 7
Best Gift EVER, give a subscription of The West Old & New! New and Old History of the Big Sky Country to out-of-state relatives!
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Montana Sculptor Dyna Kuehnle Page 11
The History of Electro-Therapeutics Sandra Sitzmann shares an old history regarding the use of electricity in health practices. Page 8
Taste of Montana Today A hardware store built in 1910 becomes The Biscuit CafĂŠ in Arlee, Montana with homemade pies and everything from scratch. Know the history of the hamburger? And where can you find the best burger ever? Page 9
St. Moritz of the Rockies “By its own efforts Anaconda becomes…the St. Moritz of the Rockies, the gem of the great frost-covered domain of the Northwest…Anaconda is the capital of winter sports and winter fashion.” Montana Standard January 20th, 1935 By S. F. Roberts Nineteen thirty-five was a memorable year for Anaconda, according to author Patrick F. Morris. Morris wrote about an event he considered as exciting as 1894 when Anaconda fought to be the capital of Montana. The smelting town was reeling from the depression and its aftermath when Casper Oimoen, a Norwegian bricklayer moved to Anaconda in 1934. Oimoen had been a national ski jumping champion between the years of 1929 and 1934, and captain of the U.S. Olympic ski jumping team in 1932. Oimoen’s idea was backed by local businessmen and began to take shape. Along with down hill skiing, the idea of cross-country ski races, fancy figure skating, speed skating, professional wrestling, dog-sled racing, a bowling tournament, hockey tournament, and championship curling were proposed. The idea of a grand ball complete with the crowning of a Winter Carnival Queen by the Governor of the state also began to take shape. Local merchants subscribed to underwrite the event and several prominent business men began the process of organizing the event, encouraging all the local fraternal organizations in the town to encourage their state-wide meetings and convention to be held in Anaconda during the event. Even the U.S. government relief agency FERA got involved using funds to build a championship ski jump southwest of town beyond the cemetery in Sheep Gulch. The county recreation department laid out a twelve-mile dog sled route and cross-country ski trails in the valley west of town. To build local support and enthusiasm two contests were begun, the Winter Carnival Queen contest and for men, a beard growing contest. Purchases from local merchants were used as votes for a designated candidate for Queen, open to all females over sixteen. One hundred and twelve candidates signed up. It was decreed that every man in town must stop shaving and let his beard grow. Prizes were to be distributed to the men with the most copious and handsome beards and men who did not want to participate in the contest had to purchase a permit that allowed them to shave. The Montana Standard, Butte’s newspaper, was supportive of the event and began running front page stories every day beginning in January. It made much of the fact that this was Montana’s first major skiing event. The concept of pulling in fraternal organization proved beneficial. The American Legion shifted its district convention from Dillon to Anaconda, scheduling it during the carnival. The AOH, the Rotary and Kiwanis called their special regional meetings in Anaconda for the event and the Butte Chamber of Commerce pledged to enter a team in the dog-sled races. Three Butte hockey teams signed up to play and over forty Butte skaters entered the figure skating contest. Morris points out that Oimoen’s connections with other Norwegian skiers attracted champion jumpers from the United States. On board were Alf Engen, a twenty-five year old past Olympic champion turned pro and his two younger brothers Sverre and Kaare. In addition Einar Fedho, of Salt Lake City, Pedar Falstad, of North Dakota, Swen Ramseid of Anaconda and Martin Berg of Deer Lodge competed. The stars of the figure skating event, according to Morris, were Gordon Thompson and his protégé Betty Davidson, from Banff, Canada. The dog sled races had ten entries from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Illinois. Jumpin’ Joe Savoldi, a former Notre Dame football star, turned professional wrestler, was the main attraction for the wrestling event. The event began on Sunday, January 13th and ran until Sunday, January 20th. Two feet of new snow seven days into January ensured good skiing and low temperatures kept the ice hard on the city common and the other skating competition sites. All the ski-jumping events were exhibition except the last day. The Western Amateur Ski Association sanctioned the event. Alf and Sverre Engen, as professional skier’s could not participate in the competition, but Alf served as one of the judges. Festivities opened with a masquerade skate party at the city commons, open to the public with prizes for the best costume. Morris states, not surprising, the ski-jumping drew the most attention and public attendance. Sheep Gulch was a ten minute walk from the courthouse and on the first Sunday an estimated crowd of 10,000 people were at the bottom of the jump hill. During the week, at no time were there less than 3,000 people watching the jumpers. Strong winds coming down the gulch during the week caused some problems for the skiers, with a blizzard canceling one ski-jumping event. Tuesday evening the grand ball was held at the Daly Gym. Katherine McCarthy was crowned Carnival Queen by then Montana Governor Cooney. The next night a torchlight parade was held with five full bands from Anaconda and Butte. The Carnival ended on Sunday with temperatures plummeting across the state below zero. Casper Oimoen won the amateur jumping tournament and Einar Fredbo made the longest single jump of 196 feet. The longest jump of the entire week was by Alf Engen of 205 feet. Oimoen was second with one of 202 feet. In other events, the Butte Chamber of Commerce dog team won first place with Anaconda coming in second and Philipsburg third. Swen Ramseid of Anaconda won the 9 mile cross-country skiing race, with Peder Pederson of Missoula in second, and Wallie Westin of Anaconda third. Butte took the most skating awards with Fred Pickel of Anaconda winning the class B Montana speed skating cup. The event held in Anaconda was named after St. Moritz a resort town in the Engadine Valley in Switzerland. The town was named after Saint Maurice, a Coptic Orthodox, and Roman Catholic saint. Pilgrims travelled to Saint Mauritius, the church of the springs, where they drank from the blessed, bubbling waters of the Mauritius springs in the hopes of being healed. In 1519, the Medici pope, Leo X, promised full absolution to anyone making a pilgrimage to the church of the springs. In the 16th century, the first scientific treatises about the St. Moritz mineral springs were written. In 1535, Paracelsus, the great practitioner of nature cures, spent some time in St. Moritz. Although it received some visitors during the summer, the origins of the winter resort only date back to September 1864, when St. Moritz hotel pioneer, Johannes Badrutt, made a wager with four British summer guests: that they should return in winter and if it was not to their liking, he would pay for the cost of their journey from London and back. If they found St. Moritz attractive in winter, he would invite them to stay as his guests for as long as they wished. This marked not only the start of winter tourism in St. Moritz but the start of winter tourism in the whole of the Alps. The first tourist office in Switzerland was established the same year in the town. St. Moritz developed rapidly in the late nineteenth century and the first electric light in Switzerland was installed in 1878 at the Kulm Hotel and the first curling tournament on the continent held in 1880. The first European Ice-Skating Championships were held at St. Moritz in 1882 and first golf tournament in the Alps held in 1889. The first bob run and bob race was held in 1890 and by 1896 St. Moritz became the first town in the Alps to install electric trams and opened the Palace Hotel. In 1906, a horse race was held on snow (1906) and on the frozen lake (1907). The first ski school in Switzerland was established in St. Moritz in 1929. (Information in this paragraph is from Wikipedia). Patrick F. Morris lives in Bethesda, MD. The story of the winter carnival is in his second volume of, “Anaconda, Montana – Copper Smelting Boom Town on the Western Front.” His books can be found on Amazon.com.
John Louis Clarke (1881- 1870) Blackfeet tribesman John Clarke quietly earned an international reputation for his vibrant wood carvings of bears, mountain goats, and other wild animals of the Glacier National Park area. His successes were particularly remarkable because—at the age of two—scarlet fever left him permanently deaf and mute, earning him his Blackfeet name, Cutapuis—“the man who talks not.” Born in Highwood in 1881, John was the grandson of noted Montana fur man Malcolm Clarke and the son of Blackfeet tribesman Horace Clarke. He was educated at the Fort Shaw Indian School and at institutions for the deaf in North 4 The West Old & New Winter 2012
Dakota, Montana, and Wisconsin. Throughout his life, he patiently communicated by writing notes, or by using sign language, or by creating art. John’s artistic abilities emerged at a very early age. In 1913 he returned to East Glacier where he opened a studio from which he operated until his death in 1970. John Clarke quickly became a widely acclaimed, greatly respected member of the reservation community. In 1918 John married Mary “Mamie” Simon. Until her death in 1947, Mamie served as John’s invaluable business partner —handling his scheduling, contracts, promotion, and sales. The couple adopted a daughter, Joyce (Mrs. Irvin Turvey), in 1931. John Clarke is usually considered self-taught, although he attended the Chicago Art Institute for a short time. John became a most prolific artist who worked in oils, watercolors, clays, charcoals, and even crayons. But his real fame developed from his reputation as a wood carver, particularly
using cottonwood. At his height, John was “generally considered the best portrayer of Western wildlife in the world.” Clarke’s works were exhibited in Paris, London, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and throughout Montana. His patrons included John D. Rockefeller, President Warren G. Harding, Louis W. Hill, and Charlie Russell. Some of his more famous pieces include flanking panels at the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, a massive bas-relief at the Montana Historical Society in Helena, and the Philippine-mahogany entrance panels at the Blackfeet Indian Hospital in Browning. The John L. Clarke Western Art Gallery and Memorial Museum opened in East Glacier in 1977. His legacy survives as a worthy inspiration to all Montanans.
The White Stallion Of Lost Creek The tale of a wild horse that traveled the back trails of Lost Creek across the Deer Lodge Valley in the 1930’s By S.F. Roberts In 1999 Womack’s Printing Place in Dillon, Montana printed a sixteen page booklet titled, “The White Stallion of Lost Creek,” by F.E. Violette. F.E. “Ed” Violette was born in Anaconda, Montana and in the beginning of the small booklet stated the reason he wrote the book was because the new people and the those born after 1941 had probably never heard of the White Stallion. According to Violette the stallion first appeared between the hills of Lost Creek to Timber Gulch near Mount Powell in the early 1930s. In 1932, at the age of fourteen, Violette joined a group of boys out to catch wild horses around the Twin Buttes, just north of Lost Creek. The boys took up spots between Lost Creek and Anaconda to herd the wild horses into a corral, and on that day he heard for the first time stories about the white stallion. The horse was described as approximately nine hundred pounds and fourteen and one half hands high with a hammer head. Back in that day there were less fences and the stallion was known to cross Deer Lodge valley and run mares off the Norton ranch. The stallion had been seen driving three mares up the Galen road, and raided Opportunity and the Martin ranch. According to Violette he bred a mare on the Martin ranch that won races in Deer Lodge until she was ten years old. The majority of the small booklet is stories Violette garnered from the numerous cowboys who attempted to catch the stallion. In 1936, he alleges that Kent Rutherford outsmarted the stallion for three or four minutes. Kent came out of the three weeks of work with a bred mare and a sore chest, after the stallion knocked him down and walked on him. Violette broke one of the stallion’s offspring which he says left him with a crooked leg. “The reason I wrote about this was to tell what brains the white stallion had given his offspring and their stamina.” Norman Johnson of Deer Lodge told Violette that before the white stallion’s debut, he had counted five hundred wild horses running the hills to the east of Deer Lodge valley. Violette also documents the demise of the awesome hammer headed horse in late October of 1937. Jace Prosenick was riding his mare in the hills when the stallion attempted to mount the horse with him on it. He shot the stallion. According to Violette, he and several other boys went to find the dead horse. When they found him they propped it up and took pictures of each other riding the dead horse. Violette stated he doubted that any of the pictures had survived. Violette never addresses the idea of where the stallion came from and it is possible that no one knows. He does say that if you are ever in Deer Lodge, you can see a photograph in the Deer Lodge Museum that shows one of the get of the stallion. Violette states that the Hansen Packing Co. cleaned out the hills, but doesn’t give the year. “I still have a can of chili with a horse meat label from the company.” F.E. Violette passed away May 3, 2007 at the age of eighty-eight. In 2000 he published a novel titled, “Tracy Steele, Gunman.” The story is about a young man who’s wounded near the end of the Civil War and journeys across the Southwest as a Buffalo soldier, Texas Ranger, and Deputy Marshall. The book is dedicated to “some of the kindest people” at the Printing Place in Dillon and was published by Nolo Press.
Ella Knowles Haskell (1860 -1911)
Ancient Shell Masks Found in Cave in Sweetgrass Hills In 1993, the four Tolman brothers from southern Alberta, Canada, unearthed two masks in a cave in the Sweetgrass Hills of Montana. The four had gone to the cave for an overnight camping trip. One brother had camped in the cave with a friend a few weeks earlier. It was August, and after arriving the boys unrolled their sleeping bags near the rear of the cave and went off exploring the mountain for a few hours. After supper they were bedding down, and began to suspect that something might be under floor after studying the ceiling of the cave. Many of the rocks overhead had fallen off leaving broken ends. The boys began to inspect the cave floor for the remnants, but it revealed nothing. Curious as to why the missing broken rock pieces were not there, the boys began to dig with their hands to determine the depth of the floor. One brother found an arrowhead, then another brother found one. Excited they continued to dig, amazed that they were not reaching the bottom of the cave floor. Their digging began to reveal a hollow and from it they pulled the first mask. Brother Shayne thought it was a bicycle seat. His brother Tracy said he thought it was a hockey or football shoulder pad. Turning the object over they discovered it had a nose and eyes; they also pulled another one out. The next morning the boys put the masks back in the hollow and covered them up, leaving them where they had been. 5 The West Old & New Winter 2012
The Sweetgrass Hills photographed from the Montana side. The hills are sacred to the Blackfeet Indians. The hills sit on the northern prairie along the Canadian border.
The masks, made of shell are believed to date back to the 1600s, created by Indians living along the south Atlantic coast and the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. At least a hundred similar discoveries have been made throughout North America, most of them in the southeastern United States. Some have even been found in Manitoba. The masks found in the Sweetgrass Hills are 16 centimeters wide and thought to be made from whelk or conch shells. The story of the boy’s find was written up in the Lethbridge Herald in the fall of 1993.
Above a photograph of the masks found by the brothers. The masks are thought to be from the 1600 and from the southeast U.S.
Ella Knowles Haskell was born in Northwood, New Hampshire, in 1860, she schooled at Northwood Seminary and Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. At Bates she was the first woman to receive honors in oratory and composition, and she became one of the school’s first female graduates in 1884. She moved to Helena, Montana Territory, in 1888 for her health. Ella’s strong will and determination led her successfully to lobby the 1889 Territorial Legislature to permit women to practice law in Montana. Then she dedicated herself to reading law in the office of Helena attorney Joseph W. Kinsley. Late in 1889, Ella Knowles became the first woman admitted to the Montana bar—and the fledgling state’s first female notary public. She immediately became a partner in the firm of Kinsley and Knowles. Methodically Ella built a reputation as a attorney committed to fair play, the finer points of law, and courtroom eloquence. In 1892, 22 years before Montana women received the vote, she ran a vigorous campaign as a Populist Party candidate for state attorney general. Ella became the first woman in the nation to run for such an office, earning the nickname of, “the Populists’ silver-tongued orator.” In 1902 Ella divorced and relocated in Butte. There she built a solid, lucrative practice based on the intricacies of Butte mining law. She also became the owner/operator of several local mining properties and participated in the International Mining Congress. In 1906 Ella Haskell was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., where she demonstrated her consummate powers of legal argument and public eloquence. Ella personified Montana’s trend-setting movement for gender equality and courageously broke gender barriers throughout her life.
News Tidbits from Old Montana Newspapers Territorial News printed in the Philipsburg Mail Newspaper Thursday March 17, 1887 These notes were clipped and condensed from exchanges published within the Territory.
Michael Flynn, of Hell Gate, marketed 4,000 bushels of wheat last week. The cattle losses in the vicinity of Great Falls were estimated at from 90 to 80 percent. It is said that George Samples, of the Judith, has lost 2,500 sheep out of a band of 8, 200. The stage men use toboggans in crossing the Diamond Range between Helena and White Sulphur Springs.
From the Camas Hot Springs Exchange in 1947 - Published by Edna Gannaway
Out of 160 licensed saloons in Silver Bow County, 110 of them are in Butte. The new $500 license bill will probably reduce the number largely.
Roosters Motored to Town for Night Life
The little town of Horse Plains is said to be very lively since the arrival of so many railroad men, engaged in repairing bridges and building breakwater ways to protect the railroad against ice jams and high water. Fergus County pays $2 a week, for keeping its paupers and $9 per week for taking care of its sick and infirm. An indictment was found by the grand jury against Daniel Searles, editor of the Miner, at the instance of Guy X Piatt, of the Inter Mountain, the cause being uncomplimentary “mud throwing.” Editor Piatt was also indicted by the grand jury on the same charge. Both editors are held under $1,500 bail. N.B. Rand, the well-known milk dealer of Helena, was married to Phoebe E. Mitchell on Tuesday evening by Justice English. The couple had been living together a number of years, but through some oversight forgot to be legally joined by a minister or court official.
General News Items and Foreign items taken from Latest Telegraphic Reports, Abbreviated.
The Duchess of Richmond died last week. Bernard, the Coeur d’Alene convict, who is serving an eight year sentence for killing a printer in Murray about a year ago, is continually giving the prison officials trouble at Boise. F.M. Davis, known in the Coeur d’Alene as “Dream Davis,” who found Dream Gulch in a vision, and cleaned our $10,000, has spent all his wealth and committed suicide at Los Angeles, CA. A number of tenants were evicted at Okeough, Ireland, near Carrick. The peasants stoutly resisted and stoned the police. The latter charged on the mob and a youth was badly injured with a rifle. A priest vainly interceded to stop the evictions. A maiden bravely defended her mother’s cottage for twenty minutes.
Front Page Advertisement The Miner’s Hospital in Philipsburg offered locals a subscription of $1.25 a month which entitled them when sick to all the services and privileges of a first-class hospital without further cost.
Classified Ad Warning My wife, having left my bed and board, I will not be responsible for any debts that may be contracted by her. John L. Easton Feb. 10, 1887.
Local News Deer Lodge was considerably exercised over a large ice gorge which had accumulated at the bridge. It was of immense proportions, and the inhabitants of the county seat turned out enmasse to view the curiosity. It was found necessary to shatter the berg with giant powder, which was accordingly done, one charge demolishing it. Tuesday afternoon, in front of Imkamp’s an individual who had imbibed rather too freely of tangle foot, endeavored to impress on the Philipsburg public that he could whip anybody in the burg, and was enlightening the natives as to how he could caramelize the town, when Constable Orton gently persuaded him that he needed rest and seclusion before making the attempt. 6 The West Old & New Winter 2012
Valentine, NEBR – Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Roe parked their pickup on Main Street one evening recently and shortly afterward Buck Junod, who was standing nearby, heard roosters crowing. “But we don’t have any roosters in the pickup,” protested the Roes. Junod made an investigation, however, and found three roosters. They were perched on the drive shaft beneath the car where they had gone to roost and ridden to town with the Roes.
Around The House Put some cologne on cotton and tuck it into your clothing for a delightful scent. Use the cuff’s from dad’s worn out shirts for making shoulder pads. They’re firm and generally give you all the padding you need. In patching underwear, use small cross stitches around the edge of the patch, say experts. This makes for elasticity. To give your dinner party an air of the unusual serve a small scoop of sherbet floating in chilled apple juice. On any small apron sew numerous pockets. Into these slip your toilet articles. Fold the apron and put it in your suitcase. then when you need a freshening up, toilet articles are where you need them.
Photograph by Trevon Baker. From left to right: Rob Quist, Halladay Quist, Guthrie Quist, Patrick McKenna, and Matt Brua.
House of Quist - CD Release Review Homegrown Rock and Roll By Dyna Kuehnle Montana has a new musical treasure from the next generation of the Quist family. House of Quist patriarch Rob Quist has long been a well-known and much loved fixture on the Montana music scene. Now, siblings and songwriters Guthrie (vocals, guitar) and Halladay Quist (vocals, bass guitar) prove that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. The drumming of Patrick McKenna is dynamic throughout, and Matt Brua announces himself as a guitar virtuoso. The CD was recorded over a two-year period at Sweetwater Ranch, the Quist family home, under the guidance of producing legend David DeVore (Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon). Mixed and mastered by Brett Allen of Snow Ghost Studios in Whitefish, this album heralds the emergence of a new force in rock music. The genre-spanning array of tunes melds unforgettable melodies, arena-sized riffs, and shimmering vocal harmonies with confidence and precision. Orchestrated like a rock opera, the arrangement of the album starts slow with “Little Things,” takes it up a notch with the rollicking “Take My Heart” followed by the anthem, “Save the World” and building to a crescendo with the primal “Tarzan (I’m a Man)” which features a complex layering of hand drums and jungle sounds as a lush backdrop to the powerful vocals of lead singer Guthrie Quist. Then, in the stunningly beautiful “She Flies,” we hear a touch of alt-country in Halladay’s golden vocals, with Rob Quist contributing some hot banjo picking amid steel guitar flourishes. This band is one to follow. With such a masterful debut, House of Quist elevates their game to become more than a regional act. The recently released CD is already gaining recognition and airplay with its first class production, sound quality and arrangements. By the time the listeners are delivered to the final tract, “I Remain,” we are transfixed and ready to play the whole CD over again and again. Watch for live performances!
House of Quist CD is available at www.houseofquist.com and on iTunes
THE OLD PERMA STORE ON HIGHWAY 200 PERMA, MT.
7 The West Old & New Winter 2012
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The History of Electro-Therapeutics
By Sandra Sitzmann
This writer, after 30 plus years as a masseuse is delighted to see that “Essential Massage” has now gone mainstream, and is considered more acceptable as a medical profession than when she first became certified. This writer views her role as a massage therapist to being that of a facilitator, not a healer, nor a” fixer” (you fix me). “Everyone's body is innately capable of repairing itself.” It is possible for all to be a conduit, drawing directly from the pool of universal energy, and transferring it to self or others, like when a person is energized by massage. It is similar to drawing energy from a charged battery and passing it through the circuitry of a facilitator, to be received by someone needing the electromagnetic charge for renewed vitality. Research supports the concept of Essential Massage from ancient to modern times. Chinese medicine is about 5,000 years old. The use of electricity/electrotherapy in medicine is young in comparison. It pre-dates the 1850's, but saw a revival of “renaissance for health” since that date, as noted and recorded in Medicology, by Joseph G. Richardson, M.D. Other medical practitioners, lecturers, and teachers contributed to this amazing edition of “20 books in one volume” with 1432 pages published in 1902. These scholars represented Colleges of Standing in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia. Later versions of electrotherapy included the works of Nikola Tesla, Georges Lakhovsky, John Bedini and others with newer modern equipment. Pioneering physicians from the late 1800's and into the World War II era of the 1940's actually prescribed specific kinds of massage for certain conditions and ailments as a natural way to help individuals. Doctors prescribed, while nurses administered treatments as part of their normal routine. Doctors published medical books that were written in “easy to understand English” so that the ordinary layperson could comprehend how to medically take care of their families. They taught the value of massage, electrotherapy, light therapy, hydrotherapy, herbs and more. This writer has collected a variety of these “antique medical books” and has been intrigued as well as mesmerized by the knowledge, the natural methods implemented, and the unusual equipment that they had produced and used. It appeared to be a common practice that doctors and scientists were trained in what today might be considered rather unusual or not acceptable techniques. They in turn offered public education for the public and built health resorts, spas and clinics. In Modern Medical Counselor, 1943, Hubert Swartout states, “There are some simple procedures and movements that are easy to learn, and there are some fundamental principles underlying their use that everyone should understand. There is scarcely a tissue or organ of the body that cannot be affected by massage, but the effect may not be good unless the treatment is suited to the desired purpose and properly given.” Swartout explains saying, “Massage can hasten the circulation of the blood and the lymph. Muscles must always be in a relaxed state if massage is to have its best effect on blood circulation. Because lymph flow is normally very slow, massage has a relatively greater influence upon lymph circulation than upon blood circulation. Squeezing, rolling and kneading of the muscles and subcutaneous tissues therefore are effective ways to reduce edema and to promote the absorption of fluids beneath the skin. It is because of this effect, however, that massage is liable to be perilous in the case of acute infection –it increases the danger of scattering the germs.” “Any type of massage that reduces the blood supply to the brain and to the spinal cord has a general sedative effect. Comparatively light general massage through either stroking or kneading, avoiding motions that speed the return of the blood to the heart, and ending with gentle stroking of the spine, often produces restful sleep. Stroking or friction of the forehead, scalp, back of the neck, and spine may relieve a nervous or congestive headache. A fatigued muscle will recover more rapidly as a result of moderate stroking or kneading plus rest, than it will from rest alone, as evidenced by the well-known effect of “rubbing down” athletes and race horses.” He cites that, “Massage is useful as a tonic in anemia, convalescence from acute illnesses and surgical operations, and in cases of malnutrition and underweight. It is useful for sedative neurasthenia, insomnia, headache, and muscle or joint pains. It helps to overcome cold extremities due to sluggish circulation, and to reduce edema and joint effusions. It can do much to maintain normal circulation and nutrition in muscles affected by infantile paralysis and paralysis due to other causes, including nerve injuries. It tends to soften or break up scars, adhesions, and fibrous nodules in or about muscles or joints. It helps to restore motion and function after sprains, fractures, and operations on bones, joints, tendons, and nerves, and generally stimulates the overall being of individuals.” Vibrational Massage uses an electro-mechanical apparatus. Large equipment was used in the early days, often in a sun room or a movement room, under the direction of a doctor or health professional. Modern versions of this may include the hand held massager, belt massager, shiatsu back massager, chair/bed massagers, therapy tables, and other similar marketable products, used at home or in a spa environment. Dr. Richard Brocklesby, Reflections of the Power of Music, published in 1749, includes in this book his musical remedies for the excesses of various emotions – particularly fear and excessive sadness. Dr. Raymond Bahr, head of the Coronary Care Unit at Baltimore's St. Agnes Hospital states, “A half hour of music produces the same effect as 10 milligrams of valium.” More recently, there was a study of 18,000 premature babies by a doctor and medical research scientist from the Harvard Medical School. The study proved that the premature infants who were traumatized by “blood draws”, positively responded when lullaby music was played immediately following the blood draw. Greatly elevated respiration, blood pressure and heart rates returned to normal very quickly in those who received the musical treat. It is significant to note that the early pioneers who recommended massage, vibrational massage, and electrotherapy were the “founding fathers” or “forerunners” to the more technically advanced equipment of today that scientists and physicists have developed. In the use of Electrotherapy devices, for example, electricity is produced with the use of generators, batteries, coils, and electrodes that attach or touch the body, or with antennae that do not touch the body, thereby massaging the muscles and tissues superficially or deeply (skin to cellular levels). In electrotherapy, the electricity/electrical energy has been altered from 60 cycles, to very high frequency alternating currents of extremely high voltage and very low volume. Electrotherapy is considered safe and acceptable when used appropriately for plant and animal applications, it is not the common household kind used for electrical appliances power, heating and cooling. In the early years, the most high frequency devices were developed by Tesla, D'Arsonval and Oudin. Keep in mind that these machines had different modifications, and could be different in currents of frequency and intensity. In those days it was acceptable to use for rejuvenation of impaired functions of the body, and now it is considered “bogus medicine” by some of the medical community, as influenced by the pharmaceutical companies. Noble M. Eberhart, M.D., PhD.,D.C.L., in his book, Frequency Manual, from 1911, further differentiates low, medium and high frequencies in application, mainly in regards to the safety when used on individuals' bodies. He states, “An alternating current of 110 volts and 60 cycles is a low frequency current.” Concerning bodily applications - a low frequency application to a muscle will contract the localized muscle, and may be strong enough to be unbearably painful. As the frequency of the current is increased to a medium level, the painfulness decreases, and more than a muscle tends to contract. At a high frequency of 10,000 cycles, these tetanic contractions disappear, and above that frequency there is neither pain nor gross muscular contractions. High frequency is painless, and non-traumatic within proper therapeutic limits.” This is due to the fact that the human body is high frequency, and readily accepts the matching high frequencies without harm. In contrast, certain low frequencies, such as 60 cycles damage our cells, and can electrocute. One perfect example is the electric chair, invented by Thomas Edison. Household 60 cycle circuits can “fry you” when playing with unprotected wiring. “Live power lines” that have fallen to the ground unnoticed due to severe storms can seriously harm or kill anyone coming in contact with them. Any faulty wiring, or over loaded electrical circuits can present similar hazards and fires. Eberhart explains the difference, “To an electrician, a current of only a few hundred alternations per second seems a high frequency current. To the electrotherapeutist, a high frequency current means having a frequency of oscillations figured in hundreds of thousands or even millions per second.” In medical terminology, a high frequency current is at such an extremely high rate of alternations or oscillations that living cells/tissues/organs do not even attempt to contract under each pulse. It simply depends upon the ratio of frequency of alternations to the voltage employed. If the voltage is sufficiently high there will be a definite response in the muscles, as well as a sudden concentration of ions, which requires a higher frequency, and is necessary for health.” Author Franklin B. Gottschalk, in his book, Practical Electro-Therapeutics, published in 1908, stated that every application of static electricity (electrotherapy) to the human body, whether general or local, is accompanied by transformation of electrical energy into some other form of energy, either physical or chemical. Static electricity increases metabolism by mechanical and chemical processes. It causes a contraction of the protoplasm, thus causing a mechanical disturbance of the molecular arrangement, resulting in modification of metabolism and the processes of nutrition. R.V. Pierce, M.D., in The People's Medical Adviser, 1918, supported electrotherapy, as well as the value in purifying the blood. It is useful to produce ozone, to increase the quantity of oxygen, to increase circulation, and to expel poisonous waste. Electrotherapy gives better capacity for work and walking, lessens unhealthy fat, relieves asthma and chronic rheumatism, helps intestinal action to relieve constipation, and helps relieve dizziness, headaches and hardening of the arteries. To be continued in the Spring Issue – the work of Tesla and Lakhovsky in electro-therapeutics. 8 The West Old & New Winter 2012
TASTE OF MONTANA TODAY __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Biscuit Café
An old photograph of the original building that houses the Biscuit Café in Arlee, Montana
The Biscuit Café is located in the small town named after the Salish leader Arlee. In October 1873, he moved a small group of his people from the Bitterroot Valley, which was designated a “conditional reservation” in the 1855 Hellgate Treaty, to the Jocko Agency (later Flathead Indian Agency) located a few miles north of the current town of Arlee. The original building that houses the café was built in 1910 as hardware store. Judy Morton has been running a café there for the last seven years. The first time I entered the establishment I was immediately hungry. Morton was sitting at a table, with a cutting board, chopping up fresh apples for a pie. She says she does all her cooking and baking from scratch and attempts to find organic fresh ingredients, although she admitted sometimes it is hard. Morton was taught by her grandmother, who came to live with her family as a girl when the woman became legally blind. The grandmother taught her how to feel the food. She stated when people ask her for a recipe she is stymied. “I was taught by a woman who never measured anything,
and who would tell me, feel it. Does it feel right?” Morton feels strongly that the Biscuit has become a community meeting place. She is quick to greet people, leaving no one to flounder while she is doing something else; it is obvious her customers are important to her. The building has the original tin ceiling which is in excellent shape. Beneath it are walls and cases filled with interesting things to view. Small areas contain antiques and numerous Montana artisans sell their work. The north wall is covered with old photographs, articles and art. Metal worker Ryan Mapston of Bozeman has his artistic endeavors there, as does Donna Sutton who creates Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, cuddly rabbits, and other creatures all decked out in dresses and bonnets. The café carries native bead work items, silver jewelry, and dream catchers. Morton does catering, weddings, Xmas parties and is willing to deal with numerous kinds of special needs, such a vegan, diabetic, or wheat intolerance. The Biscuit is open at 8 a.m. for breakfast. Stop by on your way thru Arlee for a real treat!
The Burger By S.F. Roberts In the middle of rural Montana, tucked into a small valley west of the Continental Divide is Fergies Pub and Grill. Created in 2007 in a Main Street space known for years as the Pioneer Bar, the pub recrafting food and libations in the new west. Joe and Charlie Ferguson left the bright lights of Las Vegas for the quiet of Hot Springs, Montana to open an establishment hence unknown to these parts. The small town’s reputation as a homesteading community and home of the healing waters on the Flathead Indian Reservation had never had a pub. The new establishment began serving up micro-brews, Guinness Stout, and a year later food. The menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner items. One of the most popular is pizza, made on crusts created in-house along with their delicious hamburger buns. The Fergies five dollar burger is one of the best for price and taste. The business is open six days a week from 11:30 a.m. - 11:00 on Sundays. The Pub features an open microphone night on Fridays hosted by musician Jon Dobson. The establishment is closed on Wednesdays. The hamburger in Montana can be either beef or bison, but it originally derives from Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, from which many people immigrated to the United States. The hamburger was first created in America around 1890. Its origins are claimed by numerous parties. One of the earliest claims comes from Charlie Nagreen, “Hamburger Charlie” when in 1885, he sold a meatball between two slices of bread at the Seymour Fair. Nagreen was fifteen when he reportedly made sandwiches so that customers could eat while walking. According to White Castle, Otto Kuase was the inventor of the hamburger. In 1891 he created a beef patty cooked in butter, topped with a fried egg. German sailors would later drop the fried egg. Another claim of invention attributes Oscar Weber Bilby of having invented the hamburger in 1891. The family of Oscar claims the first-known hamburger on a bun was served on Grandpa Oscar's farm using a yeast bun on the Fourth of July. Another claim from 1885 comes from Frank and Charles Menches who claims to have sold a ground beef sandwich at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York. During the fair, they ran out of pork sausage for their sandwiches and substituted beef. Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas claims to have invented the hamburger. According to oral histories, in the 1880s, he opened a lunch counter in Athens and served a 'burger' of fried ground beef patties with mustard and Bermuda onion between two slices of bread; with a pickle on the side. The claim is that in 1904, Davis and his wife Ciddy ran a sandwich stand at the St. Louis World's Fair. Louis Lassen also is claimed to have invented the hamburger. Lassen operated Louis' Lunch in New 9 The West Old & New Winter 2012
A current photograph of the Biscuit Café.
Haven, Connecticut since 1895, but it wasn't until one day in 1900 that a customer ordered a quick meal and Louis was out of steaks. Taking ground beef trimmings, Louis made a patty and grilled it, putting it between two slices of toast. The Library of Congress credits Louis Lassen of Louis' Lunch, a small lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut, for selling the first hamburger and steak sandwich in the U.S. in 1895. White Castle in Wichita, Kansas due to widely prevalent anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during World War I, alternatively named hamburgers Salisbury steak. Following the war, hamburgers became unpopular until the White Castle restaurant chain marketed and sold large numbers of small 2.5-inch square hamburgers, known as sliders. They started to punch five holes in each patty, which help them cook evenly and eliminated the need to flip the burger. White Castle began in 1995 selling frozen hamburgers in convenience stores and vending machines. In 1940 McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California, opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald. They introduced the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The McDonald brothers began franchising in 1953. A hamburger with two patties is called a "double decker" A hamburger smothered in red or green chile is called a slopper. A patty melt consists of a patty, sautéed onions and cheese between two slices of rye bread. The sandwich is then buttered and fried. A slider is a very small square hamburger patty sprinkled with diced onions and served on an equally small bun. The name originated aboard U.S. Navy ships, due of the way greasy burgers slid across the galley grill while the ship pitched and rolled. In Alberta, Canada a "kubie burger" is made with a kubasa. In Minnesota, a "Juicy Lucy", is a hamburger having cheese surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty.
Check Out some of the comments from Fergie’s Facebook Page! Best bacon cheeseburgers ever!! D.D.McNew (Facebook) Best vegetarian bean burger! So delicious ;-) L.E. (Facebook)
Stop by and see for yourself, and try their Burgers, Pizzas or why not get extravagant and try the fabulous Chicken Fried Steak
9 The West Old & New Winter 2012
Animal Stories from the Little Bitterroot Valley The Louis Vacura family homesteaded in 1910 on Cottonwood Creek. They had a little sheep dog, which helped with the stock. If there was to be chicken for dinner you could point to the one you wanted to kill, and the dog would get it, and put his paws and nose over it holding it until someone came to get it. Depostsie was a bachelor living up Wilks Gulch who had a white bull dog. The dog hauled all Joe’s wood in and filled the wood box for him one stick at a time. Herds of wild buffalo were a constant threat in certain places on the reservation. One day Essie Jackson took her children for a walk to the neighbors to borrow an old setting hen. They were on their way home when a herd of about 60 buffalo descended on them at full speed. Essie grabbed the baby from the carriage and they ran; the poor red hen squawking all the way to their hideout in some bushes. From the nearby main homestead, one of the brothers could see the threatened danger and jumping on his horse he rushed out shooting his gun in the air. The buffalo were slowed up by a fence and they pawed the ground, stirring up a great dust and then departed. One can only wonder if the hen laid any eggs after that incident. Around this same time, there was a contrary buffalo bull holding up the Jackson’s forcing Essie and kids to stay inside. Then the bull wouldn’t let Ed milk the cow, so he went out with his loaded twenty-two to scare him off. The shot accidently killed the buffalo and Ed was afraid he was in serious trouble with Charlie Allard, so instead of trying to butcher and eat the buffalo, he began to dig a grave. At dusk a horse and rider came in giving Ed a terrible fright, but it turned out to be friend, Bill Medcalf. Together the men worked half the night burying the buffalo bull, and in hard clay and rocks it wasn’t an easy task. Bill Medcalf kept this secret for many years, almost to his death.
A Special Montana Dog By S.F. Roberts Many Montanans’ have had a special dog, Jake was one of mine. A large black furry German Sheppard cross. If Jake had been a child he would have been deemed a “problem child.” I always believed that he should have had a job, any job, to keep him from coming up with ideas. In the spring of 2001, one year old Jake brought me a newspaper at six o’clock in the morning on my birthday. He’d been out on his usual walk about in the small rural town I lived in and I guess, decided to bring home a carefully wrapped present. He had never brought me a newspaper before, so I assumed it was a special event. Soon, however, Jake began bringing home all sorts of things, not into the house mind you, but strewn all over the lawn. I found in no particular order: one tennis shoe, someone’s rubber boot, a cooler lid, a plastic cast cat that meowed, and an assortment of gloves, but never a pair. The list grew with the pile in the garage that began to take over the counter near the door. I began to feel paranoid, fearing running into people on the street with one shoe or one glove, until one day I had to confront the issue head on. My neighbor knocked on my door, and asked if I had seen a plastic cast cat that meowed. I turned bright red and went to the garage to retrieve it, also returning a red gardening clog that I suspected might also belonged to her. Spring progressed and with it some of Jake’s collection of delectable items began to surface in the backyard. My scrubby brown lawn was strewn with remnants of falls hunting season. It included several long leg bones, bits of spines with dried flesh attached and a couple of skulls. I ignored it figuring I’d be cleaning it all up when the weather evened itself out. Then an ad appeared in the local newspaper. Someone was missing a special deer skull and lore and behold after a walk through I found it laying in my yard in all its glory. I was raised in Montana and have partaken of many native animals, but I do not hunt and you will not find dead animals as ornaments on my living room walls. But someone who had great things in store for a deer skull and was looking for it. A reward was offered in the amount of fifty dollars. I was tempted by the idea of dinner out, but my guilty conscience deemed that the skull, now a bit mauled should be moved to the empty lot across the street. I could still see it a day later out my bedroom window and my daughter, the actual owner of Jake the dog, with several friends returned the skull reward free. I would like to report that Jake was forever a changed dog after this incident, but he was not. In fact, not long afterwards I heard him barking outside in the early morning before dawn and ran out to call him in, only to find myself running up the hill in my pajamas towards home, a skunk behind me and Jake behind the skunk. Not long after that Jake for some unknown reason decided to climb the hood of my neighbor’s “new” bright red car. Don’t ask me why a dog would do something like that, I have no clue, but I had to fork over eighty dollars to take care of the scratches. And it was to the same woman who owned the plastic cast cat. Need I say she didn’t much care for my dog. One of the last incidents involving Jake sits in my desk drawer in a file labeled, “The Case of the Dead Poodle.” It gives the detailed facts of how I saved Jake from the jaws of the law. For years I think it was the fact that I let Jake walk me several times a day, that kept him out of more trouble. One morning I made the mistake of taking Jake for a walk with a cup of coffee in hand. I was about to take a sip after looking at the bright blue sky expanding in the morning light when I found myself face down in wet grass. Jake had seen a feral cat and decided to bolt after it. Hence forth I always gave him my undying attention when we walked. He remains in my memory as a loving if not energetic animal.
Sculpture and Installation Artist Dyna Kuehnle By S. F. Roberts I was out for breakfast the first time I encountered one of sculptor Dyna Kuehnle’s works. The object was placed on a shelf, and looked soft like a dish cloth or lace doily, but when I touched it I discovered for all its fluidity it was made from metal. That kind of paradox for an art patron is an immediate experience especially with the known texture of ordinary objects. Dyna currently lives in Hot Springs, Montana. After 10 years in Whitefish as a ski bum and mural painter, Dyna decided to go back to school. She completed her BFA at the College of Creative Studies (UCSB) in 1989. She continued studying at Montana State in Bozeman in 1993 and in 1997 received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Montana, Missoula. “At first I was interested in the technical aspects of seeing how far I could push the metal. Later I began to place the cast objects in context, and to think about the things we “cast off.”
“Vessel” 2008
Her thesis show was a room-size installation, “Trailer Trash (and oysters while they last).” It was a real trailer set up in a room with environmental accoutrements, and inside it every day objects cast in bronze. “I fell in love with molten metal many years ago and began to experiment with non-traditional ways of casting.” Dyna told me she was in the studio working at a potter’s wheel, throwing an earthen pot, when she noted a group of people outside the window pouring molten metal. “I was so enthralled I abandoned the clay and walked outside to see what was going on.” She was hooked. At UCSB in California Dyna studied and assisted sculptors Ann Hamilton and Colin Gray. She worked in the foundry at the community college from 1986 – 1990, and from 1995-1997 she supervised the U of M foundry. Her work has been exhibited regionally and nationally, with solo shows at the MAM, Beale Park in Bozeman, and the former Birnbaum Gallery. She participated in group shows at the Gallery of Visual Arts at the U of M, the Salt Mine group, the Dana Gallery, and the MAM. She was the recipient of a Percent-for-Art Grant in 2001 and did an installation at Warm Springs State Hospital. Her work has been collected by private individuals including Ted Turner, and the United Church of Christ for which she created a fourteen foot bronze cross.
“Contain” 2011
“In the last few years, I have witnessed tremendous loss of people and places, my own and others. I was forced to leave my home of fifteen years and to divest much of my collection of rusty wonders and rotting wood. My current work is smaller, more sparing in the use of bronze, and more about grief and secrets, as so many are losing and have lost so much.”
Below left the “Empty Purse” cast bronze and found objects. Bottom right is “Palliate” an installation with medicine cabinet and contents of bronze and found objects. The medicine cabinet came from St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula when it was being torn down. The photo was taken by Chris Autio
“Hold” 2012
“A cast bronze piece embodies the concept of a discarded object being made permanent, and calls into question the weight of our possessions.”
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