sidney centennial history

BY BENJAMIN L. CLARKEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER

Our first Sidney mysteryphotos were likely taken onesummer around 1907-1909. Inthe first, six men, includingthree soldiers, stand out-doors smiling for the camera.In the second, the young sol-dier and the soldier standingnext to him in the group pho-to are riding the same horse.

All that is written on theback of both photos is “Sid-ney, Mont.”, in the samehand. That is all we knowand why we’d like your helpfiguring out who these menare, and the story behindthese photos. For instance,why is the man at far leftwearing an apron? Are thesesoldiers all brothers homevisiting? Are they somehowconnected to the Lower Yel-

lowstone Irrigation Projectthat was getting startedabout that time?

We are able to determinethe date range partially fromthe uniforms the men arewearing. If you look closelythere are variations in allthree which allow us to deter-mine it was sometime after1905, but before 1916. Thathelps, but is still a pretty biggap of time.

We are able to narrow therange down further becausethese are Real Photo Post-cards. They were very popu-lar in the early 20th centuryand allowed you to take aphoto yourself and send it asa postcard to friends andfamily. Many old rodeo post-cards from Sidney are alsoReal Photo Postcards. Thebacks of these photo post-cards have been carefully

studied by collectors andarchivists, and the backs ofthese two date to 1907-1909.

Now, if you know who thesemen are, or what the occa-sion was for the photos,

please get in touch with theMonDak Heritage Center at406.433.3500, at mdhc@rich-

land.org, or find us on Face-book and tell us there! Wewould love to know!

4A SUNDAY, FEB. 6, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY, MONTANA1911-2011

BY LOUISA BARBERSIDNEY HERALD

Editor’s note: In honor of Sidney’scentennial, the Sidney Herald is run-ning a twice Sidney page focusingon the city’s development throughthe years. Special thanks to theMonDak Heritage Center wheremuch of the information is gathered.

A little more than twocenturies after the greatLewis and Clark expeditioncame through, RichlandCounty still thrives today.Through the years the resi-dents of this harsh, yet won-derfully stunning landscapehave celebrated victories instatehood and incorpora-tion and shared in hard-ships and tragedies.

2011 marks 100 years sinceSidney’s incorporation, atestament made possible bythose who stuck throughfreezing winters and swel-tering summers to pursue alife on the American fron-tier. So here’s to Sidney andanother 100 years.

THE BEGINNINGSome 70 years following

Lewis and Clark in 1880,Richland County’s first fam-ily of William and SarahNewlon settled in whatwould become the town ofNewlon in 1881, about fivemiles southwest of present-day Sidney. At that time,there was an influx of set-tlers that was very little atfirst but had grown. Buffalo

hunting wasprominent,and the Mon-Dak regionwas seen asone of thelast places inthe famedfrontier. Set-tlers came di-rectly fromDenmark,

Norway, Germany and Italy.By the late 1880s, there

had been substantialgrowth in the Lower Yellow-stone Valley. Residents inthe Sidney area traveled toNewlon to drop mail offat the post office, butthey were getting tiredof making those trips.So in 1888, the townspeo-ple submitted a petitionfor a post office underthe name Eureka. Butthat was not to be whenthey were notified acommunity in north-west Montana alreadyclaimed the name.

The man whowas respon-sible for resub-mitting the paper-work, Judge H.L.Otis, would ultimate-ly be credited for namingthe town. Otis was goodfriends with a family by thename of Walters, and he es-pecially took a liking to thecouple’s 6-year-old son, Sid-ney. When he suggested thename for the new post of-fice, no one raised any ob-

jections.Residents of the Lower

Yellowstone Valley in 1889celebrated Montana’s state-hood, and the area contin-ued to grow with new resi-dents. Several area settlersmet in the Sidney School-house in August 1897 to dis-cuss plans for a town hall.Three months later it wascomplete and a dance washeld – the first activity totake place in the log-builtcommunity hall.

At the turn of the century,businesses began to sprout.

The first shopin

Sidneyopened in 1901, a generalstore, and was followed byother businesses like theValley Bank (a change inname would lead to FirstNational Bank in 1908), ho-tel, restaurant, optometrist,photo gallery, stable, thecontroversial saloon, the

Yellowstone MercantileCompany, electric companyand a grain elevator, meantto entice a railroad to Sid-ney. The first Northern Pa-cific train would eventuallypull into Sidney in June1912.

But in January 1911,something dramatic wasabout to take place. Resi-dents of this small commu-nity secretly wanted incor-poration and ultimately sep-aration from Dawson Coun-ty to vie for the county seat.Several Sidney residents

met to discuss fire pro-tection and equipment

but considered in-stead a propos-

al by banker R.S.Nutt to incorpo-

rate. In that meeting,17 voted in favor while

two voted against andone abstained. Withintwo months, a census

reported thepopulation

was at 358, justover the 300

numberneeded to incor-

porate. In late March,upon consideration of

a petition, Dawson Countycommissioners approved,and all that was needed wasvoter approval. The votersapproved the town’s incor-poration 55-1 on April 21,1911.

[email protected]

A lot has changed since theoldest house standing in Sid-ney was built. Even thenamesake ofthe street onwhich it sitshas changedsince thehome’s histo-ry wasrecorded dur-ing Mon-tana’s state-hood centen-nial in 1989.Another cen-tennial is up-on us and it’sonly naturalto reflect onthe witnessesamong us who have seen itall: Sidney’s historic homesand buildings.

According to most, the old-est house still standing start-ed construction in 1895 byDr. Charles L. Stockwell, a lo-cal dentist who came to Sid-ney in 1893. The old lime-stone house is in the north-east part of Sidney on Holly,not far to the north of the oldstone church. Dr. Stockwellserved as Sidney’s secondpostmaster, following Mag-gie Crossen who was com-missioned Oct. 22, 1888. Mrs.Crossen’s family left Sidneyin 1894. Like his predecessor,Dr. Stockwell ran the post of-fice out of his home. So, notonly is the old limestonehouse Sidney’s oldest exist-ing home, but also Sidney’soldest existing post office.

Mary Mercer located thisinformation about the oldstone Stockwell house fromnewspapers at the time:

“April 1895- C. L. Stockwellhas begun to build a stonehouse 16 by 32 feet. July 1895-C.L. Stockwell goes to Willis-ton today for a load of lime.

He has the first story of hisstone house up… 1896- Dr.C.L. Stockwell of Sidney hasput in a new well and isadding a large cellar andkitchen to his residence.1901- C. L. Stockwell resignedas postmaster and went toSan Francisco.” FollowingDr. Stockwell’s departure in1901, the post office wasmoved again.

In 1904, the home was soldto Lossie Dawe so his chil-dren could attend school inSidney. Dawe had home-steaded earlier on BurnsCreek. Dawe’s family lived inthe stone house on Holly dur-ing Sidney’s incorporationin 1911. Dawe also owned theland where the old hospital/old community servicesbuilding stands and SidneyMiddle School stands. Dawedonated the land to the newcity to encourage growthand development. Dawe wasconnected to another post of-fice when the town of Enidwas established and namedfor his daughter.

Wearing many hats inservice to the community isa common part of many ofour pioneer stories. Sidneycomes by its pride of com-munity honestly as so manyof our forebears served andgave continuously, even oper-ating public services fromtheir homes. It’s an examplewe can all admire and emu-late.

During Sidney’s Centenni-al Celebration this summer,the MonDak Heritage Centerplans to host horsedrawntours of Sidney’s historichomes and buildings. Pleasemake plans to attend thissummer!

[email protected]

Building our heritage

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION The oldest house in Sidney in August 1909.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Sidney has grown, steadily and without a boom, from a hamlet...to a hustling, bustling little city. Main street taken Nov. 29, 1908.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Real photo postcards featuring soldiers in slightly different uni-forms. Most likely 1907-1909, but perhaps later. Caption on backreads only: “Sidney, Mont.”

Executive DirectorMonDak HeritageCenter

Benjamin L. Clark

Mystery photos from the MonDak Heritage Center

How Sidney became Sidney

Sidney Waltersin 1949

mailto:[email protected]






Our mystery photo of theDr. J. S. Beagle home was tak-en July 10, 1912. We feel veryconfident about this date be-cause on the back in a con-temporary hand in fadedfountain pen ink is the in-scription “taken July 10,1912.”

If you look closely, notquite all of the stars andstripes décor has been re-moved. One panel of starredmaterial can be seen in anupper floor window. See thecompanion article “BuildingOur

Heritage”about the ear-lier photo tak-en as thehouse wasnearly fin-ished. In thisphoto, howev-er, it looks likethere was yetanother cele-bration at theBeagle home with so manyguests in their summer fin-ery.

Checking the Sidney Her-ald from July 12, 1912:

“Mesdames Varco and Bea-gle were hostesses at acharming afternoon party atthe Beagle home on Wednes-

day afternoon, July 10. Onarrival, the guests were

given pencils and pa-per, and their ability

at writing alphabeti-cal stories was test-ed… The prize wascaptured, however,by Miss LenoreMeisenbach, herstory reading thus:

‘A boy can do

everything finely. Generallyhe is judged kindly. Littlemischiefs need only parents’quiet reconciliation. Soundthrashings usually vouchwickedness. Xylophonesyield zest.’ ”

Miss Meisenbach also pro-vided a vocal solo that after-noon with the “dainty re-freshments.” There was alsoa reading of a story I’d like tosee: “Little Johnnie Visitsthe Dime Museum.”

So, where is the mystery?We know the house, we knowthe date and we know whathappened. Thanks to the Sid-ney Herald, we even knowthat the sister of SidneyMayor Bud Meisenbach wona prize for an alphabeticacrostic story.

What we don’t know is whothe rest of the women andchildren are. By my count,there are 47 women and fouryoung children. We know afew names from the brief ar-ticle in the newspaper, butnone are actually identifiedin the photo. Does anyoneknow who they are? Can youidentify Mrs. Nutt, Mrs.

LaRue or Mrs. Woodward?What about Mrs. Kelly, Mrs.Isham or the prize winnerand singer Miss Meisenbachwho became Mrs. G. C. Fields

in 1915?

4A SUNDAY, FEB. 20, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIAL1911-2011


Editor’s note: In honor of Sidney’scentennial, the Sidney Herald is run-ning a twice monthly Sidney Centen-nial page focusing on the city’s devel-opment through the years. Specialthanks to the MonDak Heritage Cen-ter where much of the information isgathered.

In April 1911, residents ofthe newly formedcity of Sidneyhad their eyesset beyond be-ing just anothercity in DawsonCounty, whichback then hadbeen thelargestcountyin the na-tion. Theywanted separationand to become the countyseat.

In the next two years, sup-port grew for creating a newcounty and taking Dawson’s

northern townships with it.Sidney was in for a numberof facelifts as several proper-ty owners began to planttrees and grass in prepara-tion to become the countyseat. A committee was ap-pointed to select city parks;that was followed by a yardand garden contest to moti-vate interest from residentsto beautify the city and havea better shot at being select-ed county seat. Lighting,

electrical powerand sewagesystems

came next.On May 16,

1914, the Daw-son County

commis-sioners

held anelection for

all the voterswithin the boundaries of theproposed county. Of the 1,442votes cased, 1,094 approvedformation of Richland Coun-ty; just 48 opposed it. Also de-cided in the election was the

new county seat. Competingagainst three other town-ships for the honor, Sidney’scampaign to beautify the citywould ultimately help it winthe election. Voters approvedSidney with 848 votes while

Lambert took second with425, Enid with 168 andFairview with 119 votes.

There was a challenge,however, to Sidney’s appoint-ment as county seat of thenewly formed Richland

County. In the fall of 1920,Lambert residents offered achallenge, campaigning toget the issue on the ballot.About 1,600 signatures out ofthe approximate 3,000 tax-payers in the county were

collected. But officials woulddiscover that at least 20 per-cent of the signers were nottaxpayers at all, making thepetition invalid.

[email protected]

Dr. John S.Beagle built abeautifulhome insouthwestSidney in1912. The 99-year old, twostory homestill boasts alarge cobble-stone porch,twin cobble-stone chim-neys and oth-er originalfeatures.

This photograph of thehome was taken in the sum-mer of 1912. If you look close-ly, you can just make out a fewstars and stripes decorationsfestooning the pillars of thesecond floor sleeping porchand garlands along the edgeof the roof of the front porch.A small pile of lumber andother materials lay at the rearof the house. We know thehouse was completed by July10, 1912 (see mystery photo).So, this photo could most like-ly date to July 4, 1912.

However, in 1912 there weretwo summer-time holidayscelebrated with patriotic dec-orations. Of course, Indepen-dence Day on July 4, but alsowhat was then known as Dec-oration Day. ince the end ofWorld War I we know this hol-iday as Memorial Day to re-member all who have servedour country. But in 1912, theholiday was still very muchconnected to the memory ofthe Civil War. After all, in 1912there were still many CivilWar veterans still living, even

in Sidney!Another event spurred a

huge celebration that firstweek of July 1912 – the ar-rival of the Northern PacificRailroad, cementing Sidneyas the leading city of the areasoon to carved out as Rich-land County.

Dr. Beagle came to Sidneyfrom Minnesota before 1909and was one of at least threedoctors practicing when Sid-ney incorporated in 1911.Many doctors came and went,but Dr. Beagle was one whostayed until his passing in1959. Dr. Beagle opened his of-fices on the second floor ofthe original Yellowstone Mer-cantile, and established a hos-pital in 1911 where theLalonde Hotel stood, south ofthe Centre Movie Theatre onCentral Avenue. In 1909 hewas joined by his wife, Fan-tine, and after establishing of-fices and a hospital in whichto treat patients, he beganbuilding his home. Dr. andMrs. Beagle were involved innearly everything concernedwith establishing Sidney’smedical, educational, and cul-tural efforts and even thefounding of Richland County.These continuing institutionsstand as a witness with hishome of another Sidney pio-neer sacrificing for the im-provement of our community.

During Sidney’s CentennialCelebration this summer, theMonDak Heritage Centerplans to host horse drawntours of Sidney’s historichomes and buildings. Pleasemake plans to attend the cele-bration this summer!

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION This photo was taken in 1912 of Dr. John S. Beagle’s home.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Sidney campaigning for county seat of newly formed Richland County. Main street looking east from Central Avenue. Two story home isEdgar and Emma Kenoyer’s.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION A charming afternoon partyheld at the Beagle home in1912. Please help identify the47 women and four children.


Benjamin L. Clark

Mystery photo – Name the women at 1912 gathering

Sidney campaigns to become county seat

Dr. John S. Beagle,1910

Building our heritage


4A SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD


Editor’s note: In honor of Sidney’scentennial, the Sidney Herald is run-ning a twice monthly Sidney Centenni-al page focusing on the city’s develop-ment through the years. Special thanksto the MonDak Heritage Center wheremuch of the information is gathered.

BY HARRY LIPSIEASIDNEY HERALD

There was a time whenbaseball was not a thing todo, instead the thing to do. Itwas when businesses closedto catch the game, and farm-ers joined together to formtown teams to representtheir community. It was atthe forefront of the 20th cen-tury, and baseball fever hadcaught on throughout the na-tion.

No area was immune fromthe baseball craze. In fact,even before its incorporationin 1911, Sidney was known asa baseball town. At the time,it was not seen as just anoth-er sport, but as means to en-tertainment and friendship.Ultimately, it became a wayof life for many.

“You either played baseballor you tried to play baseball,”Dean Thogersen said.“That’s just the way it was.”

Town teams ruled the areafor the first 60 years of the20th century as pretty muchevery settlement in the coun-ty put together a squad. Sid-ney squared off againstteams ranging from Elmdale,Cheery Creek, Savage, Gos-sett to Glendive. These con-tests weren’t just a coupleguys playing for giggles, in-stead the games were sourcesof pride for the entire com-munity.

“There was a lot of rivalrythat came with it,”

Thogersen, who was a mem-ber of Sidney teams in thelate 1940s, said. “You didn’twant to come home after los-ing to another town. Every-body took it pretty seriously.”

The history of these teamsgoes back before Sidney be-came a town or had a news-paper. In 1908, the SidneyHerald’s first year of publica-tion, advertisements rootingon the team were common-place on a weekly basis. Atthe time, the quality of atown’s team reflected on thecommunity.

One such example of thatsupport came in 1911 whenSidney cheered on its teamharder than ever. Businessesplastered signs in front oftheir storefronts to cheer onthe hometown boys andclosed the doors on gamedays. Baseball fanatics didtheir best to spread the wordabout the upcoming team’stalent two months before theupcoming season.

So Sidney must have had along history of taking homestate titles as only winnerscould have such a following?Not really, in fact the squadfailed to win a single game inthe prior season. So in 1911,the community made evenmore effort to spread interestabout baseball and its localteam.

“The area really knew howto support their teams,”Thogersen said. “As a kid, Ialways looked up to the play-ers and hoped that someday Icould play. They were our he-roes.”

These teams mostly fea-tured players in their 20s, 30sand into their 40s and 50s.Many of the athletes werefarmers who grew up with

the game. A lot of these play-ers were known for havingnatural athleti-cism and excel-lent fundamen-tals.

“We hadsome highquality base-ball in thearea,”Thogersensaid. “Alot ofthose guyswould comeoff the farmand have their way on thebaseball diamond.”

No matter where it was,contests always drew acrowd. Along with the team,a spirited group of familyand friends on horseback fol-lowed to attend the awaygames. Often it was a longride back if Sidney failed tocome home with a victory.The losses, however, pushedthe community to supportthe team even harder.

One of the reasons for thiswas the popularity of the ma-

jor leagues. Inevidence, an

advertise-ment in theSidney Her-

ald read, “Itwill give every-

one interestedin thenationalgame achance

to wit-ness and sup-

port their hometown boys.”As the years went on, base-

ball was still popular at boththe local and national levels.In the 1940s and 1950s, therewas a rejuvenation in thetown teams as Sunday be-came the day for America’sfavorite game.

“It kind of became a picnicday for the community,”Craig Price, who was a mem-ber of Sidney town and le-gion teams in the late 1950s,said. “All kinds of families

would gather at the ballpark.The city league teams werevery big back then.”

In 1949, former All-StarRogers Hornsby made a visitto town for a camp to workwith players of all ages.Camps and similar eventswere popular ways to pro-mote baseball in the area.

“I remember watching himwork with the legion team,”Price said. “He was in his St.Louis jersey and helpingthem with the basic funda-mentals of fielding.”

Hornsby was not the onlybaseball icon to make a stopat one time in Sidney. Leg-endary pitchers SatchelPaige and Virgil Trucks bothhad struck out their share ofbatters in Richland Countywhile traveling with semi-professional teams. Their re-spective teams, the KansasCity Monarchs and theHouse of David, played theSidney town team infundraisers.

“It was a different feelingto play against former majorleague pitchers,” Price said.“I got a bunt single off ofPaige, and it was a great feel-ing.”

Sidney also had an Ameri-can Legion team at this timeas well as a town team. Thelegion team competed in theEastern A with Glendive,Miles City and Billings.

“We always had prettycompetitive teams,” Pricesaid. “But Billings alwayshad excellent squads. Ourteams always played themtough, but couldn’t quite getover that hump.”

As the 1950s came to anend, so did the area’s townteams. There were a numberof factors, but ultimately a

lack of numbers doomed thesquads.

“There were just a lot ofother things to do at thetime,” Thogersen said. “A lotof these other towns werelosing a lot of people andthere just wasn’t enoughbaseball players left.”

Price added, “It seemed asif all of a sudden the teamsjust kind of disappeared. Itwas a shame, but that’s howlife goes sometimes.”

Throughout the next halfof the century, the area hashad several legion teamshave success at the state lev-el. But as other activities andsports have popularized, Sid-ney became less known as abaseball town.

“We have had our fairshare of good baseballteams,” Price, who coachedin the legion program at dif-ferent times in the 1960s,1970s and 1980s, said. Twotimes in Price’s coaching ca-reer his teams placed secondat state. “When I coached, wealways had great kids thatenjoyed to play the game.”

While the days of business-es closing for games are gone,Sidney has its fair share ofbaseball fanatics still here.

“That’s one thing Sidneyhas always had,” Price said.“There are plenty of peoplethat live here that have a nat-ural love of the game.”

More than 100 years re-moved from the beginning ofbaseball in the area, it’s hardto understand how impor-tant the sport was to the com-munity. It was a major part ofthe culture and as Price said,“There’s a reason why it’scalled America’s pastime.”

[email protected]

After marrying in Glen-dive in 1893, William A. andMay Ball came to Sidney in1896, and Curt Ball, theirson, was born in Sidney in1908. By the time of thefuture mayor’s birth, theBalls had set up a livery sta-ble and hotel in the growinglittle town. Curtis remem-bered in a 1989 interviewthat his mother opened theirhome to travelers for noth-ing, but as homesteadingpicked up in the area, shedecided to meet a need andopened the Valley Hotel.

The original Valley Hotelis long gone today, although awonderful old sign stilladvertises it from the cornerof the Cheerio Lounge atMain and Central. The differ-ent buildings that stood onthe site are also gone. Howev-

er, one of the four earliestbuildings owned by the Ballsstill stands, just not in theoriginal location. One small

house wassold andmoved fromthe site nowoccupied byKentuckyFried Chick-en to south-west Sidneyin 1905. AlKelch boughtit from theBalls andmoved thehouse to itspresent loca-tion and hada chimney

built by Bill Combes. Accord-ing to Combes’ daughterGeneva, he was paid a raisin

pie for the task. The homestands today with the sameornate screen door visible inthis photo, taken around1910.

The caption on the back(likely written around 1976)of this photo reads: “IsabelleNorthey is chopping downthe Xmas Tree, I (Ray) amletting her do it, and Iremember the other as aMiss Mitby. She and GanettSims came to teach here.” Iwas curious who Ray was,and discovered one RaymondPetersen owned the housesome time after Al Kelch.The problem was he was tooyoung to be the man in thisphoto. I checked the manyother Ray Petersens (andPetersons!) in the records ofthe MonDak Heritage Centerand found they would all be

too young to be this man.Without a last name, andwithout a city directory ofthat time, it could be very dif-ficult to determine who hewas. I decided to look forIsabelle Northey and foundone Arthur Earl Northey,known to his friends as Ray.He must be the Ray in ourphoto! Isabelle also seems tohave used another namethan the one given her, whichwas Rose. According to the1910 U.S. Census, A.E. “Ray”Northey and his wife, Rose“Isabelle”, lived in Sidney atthe time of the census.Isabelle’s maiden name wasBenoit, of the Benoits ofFairview. A search for teach-ers named Mitby and GanettSims turned up a Sept. 8,1911, Sidney Herald articlelisting teachers: “Miss Mitby,

of LaCrosse, Wis., 5th and6th grades…Miss Simm, ofSpearfish, S.D., primaryroom.”

Such name confusion is anormal, but frustrating hur-dle that can make historicresearch difficult, and whyit’s important to preservefamily records and memo-ries along with officialrecords – especially when

loved ones use names notreflected in official records.

During Sidney’s Centenni-al Celebration this summer,the MonDak Heritage Centerwill host horse drawn toursof Sidney’s historic homesand buildings that are atleast 100 years old. Pleasemake plans to attend the cel-ebration June 24-26!

Building our heritage: Historic homes in Sidney

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Isabelle Northey cuts down a Christmas tree around 1911 in frontof one of the oldest houses in Sidney standing today.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Sidney Moose 1949 baseball team included, front from left, DonNutter, Harold “Dean” Thogersen, Dean Beck and Paul McMorris;back, Bill Mullin, Jeff Green, Alton Thogersen, Lloyd Dooley, GuySeversen and Carl McMorris.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Baseball grounds in Sidney in 1915.


Benjamin L. Clark

For love of the game


4A SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD




In the beginning there wasone station. One radio sta-tion that would become a“flagship” for media in theMonDak region.

KGCX, a longtime staple inSidney and the surroundingarea, began broadcastingover the airwaves some 80years ago. Founded by Ed-ward E. Krebsbach, KGCXwas the first radio station li-censed to First State Bank inVida on Oct. 5, 1926. The sta-tion had a power output ofjust 7.5 watts and operatedon a frequency of 1249 Khz,reaching approximately 5miles.

The radio equipmenthad been purchased for$125 from a local ranch-er and amateur radiooperator and was oper-ated from a back roomof the state bank. Itsschedule was for onehour at noon each day.On Sunday afternoons,the station conducteda talent show foranyone whowanted to per-form over the air. Aschedule that contin-ued until 1929. Whileoperating in Vida, KGCX ex-perimented with an all elec-tronic pickup for playingphonograph records whichwere played by placing themicrophone in front of thephonograph horn. The sta-tion moved to Wolf Point inthe early 1930s.

The stationwould laterhave variousprograms al-ternating be-tween infor-mational seg-ments andmusic. Themost popularprogram wasthe “Ask Your

Neighbor” segment in whichlisteners could call in everymorning to buy or sell prod-ucts, share recipes and com-munity announcements aswell as public service an-nouncements. “I think it wasimportant to the communi-ty,” radio personality andarea historian Arch Ellweinsaid. Country music playedby day; rock and roll bynight. The station becamethe “go-to” for information.“It was really a linchpin inemergency services too,” Ell-wein said.

By 1941, KGCX had movedto Sidney from Wolf

Point as

a full-time com-mercial station. Because itwas during World War II,new material was unavail-able for civilian use, so thebuilding, equipment and an-tenna were lifted and movedexactly as it was to a site 5miles north of Sidney. In1952, a second tower wasadded to the antenna systemto directionalize the output

of the new transmitterwhich was installed, and

the station went to5,000 watts full time

on its 1480 Khz fre-quency reachingabout 100 miles.The station movedits studios fromthe Sucksdorfbuilding on Cen-

tral Avenue to

the site of the CheerioLounge (a bank back then)upstairs. In the ‘50s though,it was moved to the base-ment of the LaLonde Hotelnear Centre Theatre.

Krebsbach was instrumen-tal in establishing other

stations in eastern Mon-tana and western North

Dakota as well as the first TVstation to serve the MonDakregion at KUMV, a stationthat celebrated its 50th an-

niversary a few yearsago.

Ellwein, who joinedKGCX staff in 1975 asa DJ and sports direc-

tor, frequently broadcastedlocal sports. “It was a differ-ent era. Everything was verydifferent,” Ellwein said. “Forone, all employees needed anFCC first-class license as anoperator. Everybody had togo to a federal building andtake tests.” Employees need-ed to “know a little bit”about the engineering aswell as the ability to keeptrack of records, documentwhat went on the air that daywith typewriters and report-ed the news, weather andwhatever else, over the air.The DJs used reel-to-reeltapes and vinyl records toplay music; there were nocomputers and certainly nodigital software, only analog.“It was a lot more hands on,”Ellwein recalled.

After 67 years on the air,KGCX/KGCH closed in Au-gust 1993 and KSDY, which

served the area for a decade,also went dark, leaving Sid-ney and the county withoutany local radio broadcastsfor a few years. Business ad-vertising was split betweenthe Williston, N.D., stationsof KYYZ and KDSR as wasSidney sports. When the sta-tion left, it was unexpected.“You make the assumptionsomething will be there,” Ell-wein said. “Everything’stransient, and I think thatwas a shock.”

Today, Sidney plays host totwo stations, a radio market,Ellwein says, that has be-come more regional. Nowa-

days, most broadcasts originate

from satellite feeds. Operat-ing a radio station requiresonly a few staff members butcontinues to serve the area.

“Broadcasting is so muchan identity of a place,” Ell-

wein said. “The audiencemakes the radio station justas the customers make anybusiness.”

[email protected]

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION E.E. Krebsbach, operator and announcer at KGCX in Vida.

History of rockin' n' rollin' radio waves

Arch Ellweinsports director, 1976

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION KGCX building north of Sidney.

Mystery photos


Our mystery photo thisweek is a large, clear photo-graph of what I guess to be amother and father, five chil-dren and their dog. Only ahandwritten note on the backin ballpoint pen (so muchmore modern than the photo):“Found by Lisa.” We’re notsure who Lisa is to ask her ifshe knows anything. So weare left to our own devices tofigure out who these peoplemay be, or maybe who theyare related to.

This photograph is what iscalled a cabinet card. Theseformal portraits were popularat the end of the 1800s and be-came less common as photog-raphy moved into the handsof everyday people with popu-lar snapshot cameras. Histo-rians can sometimes date cab-inet cards by the decorativeborders around the edges. Un-fortunately, some critter got ahold of this one and gnawedthe borders away, fortunatelynot damaging the image itselftoo bad. The depth of clarityand arrangement of the fami-ly makes me think it wasdone by a professional, butthere are no stamps or mark-ings of any kind to help withthe identification.

The father is wearing ashawl-collared vest, whichwas popular before the CivilWar. Other clues in the photosay this was taken much laterthough. Some people have atendency to wear clothingand hair in a similar fashionto the time when theyreached adulthood, so guess-

ing he’s closing in on 50 yearsof age at the time of the pho-to, would put it in the early1900s. But maybe he’s just“old fashioned,” and this islikely a hard-working familywithout a lot for “extras.” Forthe formal portrait, some ofthe children are barefootedand the father shows no signof owning a watch and iswearing what looks to be cor-duroy trousers – a workingman’s fabric in the 1800s.

Teenage girls, however, arerarely “old fashioned.” andluckily we have one in ourphoto. Historians andarchivists like teenage girls inmystery photos: They are stillgrowing and often fashionconscience, two good reasonsto update clothes frequently.And clothing fashionschanged back then just as fre-quently as today – perhapseven more so. Also, if youcouldn’t keep pace with thelatest fashions in clothes, agirl could do so much moreeasily with her hair, as thisyoung lady does with herbangs and hair pulled up andback.

Comparing to known datedphotos from the western U.S.,I feel fairly confident datingthis photo to right around1895-1905, leaning to the earli-er range than the later. Do youknow who they are?

Of course, if you have anyinformation get in touch withus at the museum at [email protected], 406-433-3500or find us on Facebook, whereyou can review all the mys-tery photos, athttp://www.facebook.com/MonDakHeritageCenter.




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Fine health care constant throughout Sidney’s historyEditor’s note: In honor of Sidney’scentennial, the Sidney Herald is run-ning a twice monthly Sidney Centenni-al page focusing on the city’s develop-ment through the years. Special thanksto the MonDak Heritage Center andSidney Health Center where much ofthe information was gathered for thisstory.


No matter if in a town-house or a state-of-the art fa-cility, Sidney has continuous-ly provided health care for itsresidents even before thecity’s incorporation. Despiteseveral changes of locationand name, the health care fa-cilities’ goal of providingquality care and service forits community has never wa-vered.

In the early stages of thearea’s settlement, ill resi-dents were forced to some-how locate a country doctornearby or fend for them-selves.

“It was tough to have a set-tlement back then and nothave a town doctor,” Ben-jamin Clark, Mondak Her-itage Center, said. “Peoplepursued medical care onlywhen they urgently neededit.”

However, in 1906 Sidneywas proud to have a residingdoctor in its community. Dueto his knowledge of the ty-phoid fever, Dr. R. A. Morrillwas appointed to oversee con-struction crews on the LowerYellowstone Irrigation Pro-

ject near Sidney. The diseaseplagued many irrigationworkers at the time and hisarrival in the communityproved to be greatly benefi-cial.

It was just one year laterwhen Sidney became home toits first hospital. The facility,located in the home ofWilliam M. Meadors, becameknown as the Meadors Hospi-tal. The project was an excel-lent example of the impor-tance of women in healthcare in the early 1900s asMeador’s widow, AnetteBettey Meadors, was the solecaretaker for a time.

“There were so manywomen that played a hugerole in health care at thetime,” Leann Pelvit, MonDakHeritage Center, said.

Dr. Morrill along with Dr.John S. Beagle and Dr. RayVacro were the community’sthree physicians in the earlyyears of the facility. After nothaving a medical facility inthe settlement’s first severalyears, Sidney was fortunateto have three qualified doc-tors. These men and severalother physicians at the timecan be considered medical pi-oneers.

“They just worked so hardto give the community healthcare, it could be proud of,”Clark said. “Sidney was trulyblessed to have excellent,skilled physicians in its com-munity.”

While the Meadors Hospi-tal filled a purpose, it was de-termined inadequate for the

growing community, and thesearch began for a secondhospital.

In 1911, Beagle came to ac-quire a six-bed facility namedthe Northey House. It alsoproved to be too small for theincorporated town of Sidney.In an attempt to provide addi-tional services, Beagle reno-vated, remodeled and re-rent-ed the Meadors Hospital. Thebuilding, however, was a wayfor the area to make due untila new hospital was complet-ed, Clark said.

After years ofhard work andfundraising,Beagle with thehelp of hiscousin Dr.F.A. Gowdycame up withthe blueprintfor the com-munity’snewhospital.Located onAlbertaStreet, now 221 Fifth St. S.W.,the facility opened its doorsin 1916. With three floors, theAlberta Street Hospital pro-vided the area with addition-al space and the latest tech-nology to ultimately improvethe MonDak region’s healthcare.

“It was truly the hard workof Dr. Beagle that made it allpossible,” Clark said. “Goingfrom having no doctors tohousing a state-of-the-art hos-pital in 10 years shows thegreat growth Sidney saw at

the time.”Despite two name changes,

the community’s hospital re-mained at the Alberta Streetlocation until 1966. In 1919,the facility was renamed Sid-ney Deaconess Hospital be-fore becoming the Communi-ty Memorial Hospital in 1939.From 1916 to 1927, the hospi-tal was home to a nurse train-ing school.

“It was just so important tothe area,” Clark said.

New ownership of the prop-erty took place in 1946 as theMethodist Episcopal Church

handed overthe buildingto RichlandCounty. Af-

ter the coun-ty’s acquisi-

tion, the hos-pital be-came anon-profit,

non-sec-tarian institu-

tion known as CommunityMemorial Hospital of Rich-land County.

At this time, several majorremodels took place. Even af-ter several renovations, thecounty came to the conclu-sion that building couldn’tkeep up with the growingpopulation of Richland Coun-ty and ever-changing technol-ogy of the 1960s. Thanks tothe fundraising efforts of thecommunity earning $250,000,construction of the new facil-ity began in 1969.

One year later, the hospital

opened its doors at 214 14thAve. S.W. The site has beenhome to Sidney’s medical fa-cilities ever since. The hospi-tal expanded as the yearswent on adding a radiologydepartment and a state-of-the-art emergency room.

“It’s just continued to ex-pand throughout the years,”Clark said. “It has just keptgrowing.”

The final name change tookplace in 1996 as CommunityMemorial Hospital and Rich-land Homes, a 93-bed housingfacility for the elderly, mergedtogether to form the SidneyHealth Center. RichlandHomes became ExtendedCare, a service of SidneyHealth Center. Additionalservices of the facility todayinclude: The Foundation forCommunity Care, Health-Works, Clinic Pharmacy,Mondak Clinic, Duramed,Home Health and Hospiceand the Lodge at Lone TreeCreek.

“It’s always been a priorityto provide quality health careto the residents of easternMontana and the surround-ing area,” Rita Steinbeisser,Sidney Health Center mar-keting and communicationsdirector, said. “We haveworked to provide a broadspectrum of services that iscomplimented by an impres-sive group of medicalproviders and surgical spe-cialists.”

In 2008, a newly construct-ed surgery addition alongwith a remodeled dietary

services area and gift shopopened. Another upgradetook place two years later as arenovation of inpatientrooms on the medical-surgi-cal wing and a larger, relocat-ed intensive care unit wascompleted. Also in 2010, theSidney Health Center brokeground for a $3 million Can-cer Center. Phase one of theproject opened in January of2011 adding radiation therapyto its line of services.

“It’s important to continu-ally evolve,” Steinbeissersaid. “As the community hasgrown, so have we.”

From the beginning ofhealth care in Sidney, the fa-cilities have always beenthere for the town and its sur-rounding communities.Through the years, the hospi-tal’s service area has expand-ed as transportation in-creased. While the SidneyHealth Center primarilyserves Richland County, pa-tients from as far as a 150-mile radius travel to use thefacilities.

“Sidney has always beenseen as a hub for health careby the surrounding commu-nities,” Clark said. “The facil-ities, technology and physi-cians that have been in thearea through the years havealways been cutting edge.”

Since 1907, Sidney has al-ways taken care of its com-munity by providing the areawith extensive health care. Atrend that doesn’t look to goaway anytime soon.

COURTESY | SIDNEY HEALTH CENTERA look at the transformation of Sidney’s health care facilities through the years. Sidney’s first hospital located in the home of William M. Meadors and the newly remodeled Sidney Health Center.

4A SUNDAY, April 3, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIAL

BUILDING OUR HERITAGEBENJAMIN L. CLARK

In the central part of Sid-ney stands a house built in1906 by W.K. Adams, acrossfrom where the Peoples Con-gregational Church oncestood. Walter K. Adams,(W.K. to all who knew him),helped establish and buildthe church that unfortunate-ly burned in 1989. Adamshad to freight all the neededlumber to the site from Mon-dak and Glendive, to buildone of the first wood framehomes in the little townstarting to take root. Therewas no where locally to buylumber yet. The little housegained additions as the cityof Sidney did too. When citywater and sewer services be-

came available, a bathroomand plumbed kitchen wereadded to the little house,growing through the years

to its presentconfigura-tion. Thetwo-storyhouse is visi-ble in manyof Sidney’searliest pho-tos, helpingresearchersorient old im-ages correct-ly since somuch haschanged inthe past 100years.

Adamscame from Faribault, Minn.,following his brother Barton

who came to Sidney to sur-vey for the new Yellowstoneirrigation system. W.K.joined Tom Gardner, also ofFaribault, to establish theFirst National Bank. Thebank grew with the littletown too, and W.K. Adamsbecame one of Sidney’s busi-ness and political leaders.W.K. Adams was one of thevery few men from Sidney tobecome a Dawson Countycommissioner before Rich-land County was carved outfrom the northeast portionof the nation’s largest coun-ty.

W.K. Adams passed awayin 1934, and William and Di-cy Combes bought the housein 1936. The Combes familyarrived in Sidney at aboutthe same time as the Adams

family, in 1906. Bill Combeswas a carpenter, sold furni-ture and also operated a lo-cal mortuary. He also ownedhis own airplane, a rarething in those days! Bill wasknown throughout the stateas a pioneer pilot. Even rar-er was his daughter Esther,who was the first woman inMontana to earn her pilot’slicense, the 22nd nationally.Esther and Earl Vance wenton to establish Vance AirService based in Great Falls.Bill and Earl are picturedhere with one of Earl’s air-planes in Sidney.

Bill and Dicy Combes’ oth-er daughter Geneva Combesinherited the 1906 house, liv-ing there for many years andrecording her memories inthe 1989 book “Our Historic

Homes: 1895-1989” availableat the MonDak HeritageCenter. By the state’s cen-tennial, she had lived therefor over 50 years!

During Sidney’s Centenni-al Celebration this summer,

the MonDak Heritage Cen-ter will host horsedrawntours of Sidney’s historichomes and buildings thatare at least 100 years old.Please make plans to attendthe celebration June 24-26!


COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION In 1906, this home was built by Walter K. Adams and is today oneof the oldest buildings in Sidney.


Benjamin L. Clark



What’s the driving forcebehind building a healthyeconomy? Answer: the localchamber of commerce.

Sidney Chamber of Com-merce and Agriculture cele-brates its 95th anniversarythis year. That’s 95 years ofpromoting business in theYellowstone Valley. “I guessthe main goal from the be-ginning is to promote thetown that you’re living inand looking for growth,” for-mer 1959 chamber presidentHarold Lorenz said.

The chamber can trace itsroots back to April 1908when 16 businessmen fromSidney formed the SidneyCommercial Club. Threeyears later, the club, havinggained more than 50 mem-bers, was actively involvedin getting a railroad, moremail routes and establishinga new county. At a meetingin the Masonic Hall on Feb.28, 1916, the club became theSidney Chamber of Com-merce with S.F. Donaldsonserving as the first presidentof the new organization.

As the years went by, so didthe chamber’s membership.By 1959, the chamber hadabout 200 members. “Busi-nesses were flourishing,”Lorenz noted. “The chamberplays an important role.”During this time, “Agricul-ture” was added to the cham-ber’s name as leaders want-ed to expand membership.“We figured the farmers playan im-

portant role. They bring a lotof talent,” he said. “Agricul-ture is still the number oneindustry in this valley.”

During his year as cham-ber president, Lorenz andothers actively involved inthe organization worked onvarious projects through-out the year including pro-motional work foragricultural proj-ects and education,

bringing industry andpromoting air service

to the small city.Lorenz enjoyed the

rapport between heand fellow businesspeople; his maingoal was to work tobring more indus-try to the commu-nity and assist

businesses. “I

had a re-sponsibility in the communi-ty,” he said. “I think every-one has a responsibility toserve their community.”

Lorenz continued to serveanother three years on thechamber board, providinginput while serving on anumber of committees suchas the airport committee,agriculture committee and

promotional trade commit-tee.

Through the years,Sidney Chamber of Com-

merce and Agriculture hashad several homes. Its officelocation has included thecurrent Stockman Bank

building prior to the1940s; the current FinkDental office location

on Second Street S.E.during the late 1940s to

early 1950s; the Lalond Hotelin the late 1950s; and the cur-rent Sidney Tax Servicebuilding during the late1970s and early 1980s.

Thirty years after Lorenzserved as president, he re-turned as executive vicepresident in 1989. “I still hada spot for the chamber in myheart,” he said, and becausethey needed someone at thetime to fill in the vacant

spot, “it looked like an op-portunity for me to fill in.”At that time, the member-ship had dwindled to 90members because there had-n’t been any leader. Lorenzworked part-time for 20months, building member-ship back up to 250 where itremains today. And it wasduring this time the Paradeof Lights was formed; 29floats were entered the firstyear. Lorenz hasn’t missed aparade yet.

“I always try to play a rolein the community,” Lorenzsaid. “Sidney is home basefor me, and I’ve always re-garded Sidney as a very im-

portant part of my life.”Today, the chamber contin-

ues its mission to “provideleadership by fostering aprogressive economic envi-ronment in support and pro-motion of the business andagriculture community.” Itmaintains a legacy promot-ing a vibrant, thriving com-munity throughout 100 yearsof history. “We’ve been fortu-nate to have a communitylike Sidney,” Lorenz noted.“Sidney’s been one of themost productive areas inMontana compared to otherparts of the state.”

[email protected]

4B SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIALChamber helps with community’s growth

SIDNEY HERALD |JUBILEE BOOK-This picture shows the first board of directors of the Sidney Chamber of Commerce in 1916 when it took place of former Commercial Club. All of these were active businessmen at that time. From left, Harry Ketcham, Sidney Herald; J.A.Loken, Sidney National Bank; E.D. LaRue, The Toggery; Agustus Vaux, Valley Lumber Company; Carl Brattin,attorney; H.E. Meisenbach, real estate and insurance; R.S. Nutt, Yellowstone Bank and Trust; J.I. Turner, Turner Drug; Dr. J.S. Beagle, physician and surgeon; W.K. Adams,First National Bank; Henry O. Turner, Turner Drug; Sam Donalson, First National Bank; Lyle Curtis, Yellowstone National Bank.

Do you know this mystery photo?


This week’s mystery photois another real photo post-card featuring seven womenand a young girl standing out-side. Unfortunately it wasunposted, so we do not havethe benefit of a dated post-mark or message to help.There is also no caption, orother notes written on theback. The stampbox on thereverse, where a stamp wouldgo, can be dated by the com-pany name and style toaround 1908-1914, but thosedates are not very firm.Looking at the women’s cloth-ing and hairstyles, my opin-ion runs to the later end ofthat range, maybe more likely1912-1914. The expression onthe little girl’s face is time-less!

What also intrigues me isthe wooden handle whichseems to divide the groupnearly in half, framing thephoto in an interesting way.It seems to be a shovel stuckin the ground, but the head ofthe tool is out of the frame, soI guess it could be somethingelse, but the angle and place-

ment seems more like a shov-el. Now, why it wasn’t moved,or why the group chose tostand there seems strange.There are other photos of theperiod of groups with a shov-el, and it’s usually a funeral(unlikely here with the brightclothes and smiles) or some-times planting a tree to com-memorate something. Planti-ng a tree (or several) was apopular way to observe begin-nings and ends in our region,down to today, and certainlysomething we can perhapsstart looking forward to asit’s bound to warm up sooneror later. Tree plantings oftentook place when new schoolsopened, or congregationswere dedicated. But, with notree in the photo, our mysterydeepens. It was certainly atime of explosive growth ineastern Montana. What doyou say?

If you have any informa-tion please get in touch withus at the museum [email protected], 406-433-3500 or find us on Facebook,where you can review all themystery photos, athttp://www.facebook.com/MonDakHeritageCenter.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Real photo postcards featuring seven women and a young girl.



http://www.facebook.com/M

EDITOR’S NOTE: In honor of Sid-ney’s centennial, the Sidney Herald isrunning a twice monthly Sidney Cen-tennial page focusing on the city’sdevelopment through the years. Spe-cial thanks to the MonDak HeritageCenter and the Sidney Country Clubwhere much of the information wasgathered for this story.


Sidney is a communitywith a strong athletic tradi-tion and its passion for golfis a prime example. With theopportunity to play the gamethey loved, several local busi-nessmen organized the Sid-ney Golf Club in 1925. Notonly does it still exist on thesame piece of land on thesouthern edge of town, butthe Sidney Country Club istoday the only 18-hole coursein eastern Montana.

“We have a rich history inthe community,” SidneyCountry Club general man-ager and PGA club profes-sional Jay Frank said. “Tothink that the course is inthe same location as it was 85years ago is really quite re-markable.”

Throughout the years, theSidney Country Club hashad several attributes con-tinue to make it unique. Forexample, since its creation,the club has been a non-prof-it organization.

The intention of GordonStewart and his group thatorganized the clubwas to take awaypower from anyone individual.If the clubwere to closefor any rea-son, the mon-ey was to be in-vested into acharityratherthan begiven to anowner.

Today, any money broughtinto the club is put back intothe course or its entity. Dona-tions and fundraisers havebeen vital to the success ofthe organization through theyears.

“The community has real-ly supported the clubthrough the years,” Franksaid. “The amount of dona-tions we have received isquite incredible. These dona-tions are made by peoplewho don’t want credit, butjust want the course to re-main well kept.”

Not only has the communi-ty helped with financial sup-port to the club, but a senseof volunteerism has alwaysbeen evident. The help ofvolunteers has helped limitthe need of a full-time staffand increased the clubs man-power. For the organization’sfirst 50 years, nearly all of

the course’swork wasdone by vol-unteers.

“That’swhat has kept

the club mov-ing forward

throughtheyears,”Frank

said. “Thegenerosity of volunteers

has assured the completionof several projects. Theircontributions to this organi-zation are immeasurable.”

One feature that makes theorganization is its set up. Nota traditional country club,the course and its restaurantare open to the entire com-munity. Frank likes to thinkof the organization as moreof a golf club that offersmemberships to area pa-trons.

“We are open to the pub-lic,” Frank said. “But wehave several openings for

memberships. It’s our mis-sion to give anyone interest-ed in golf the opportunity toplay.”

While it’s on the samepiece of land, there has beenmajor renovations andchanges made through theyears. The course featuredprimarily sand greens untilthe early 1940s when grassgreens were installed due toenvironmental reasons. Theclubhouse was located hill-side overlooking the courseuntil 1951 when it was movedto its current location on thenortheast side of the prop-erty.

It wasn’t until the 1960sand 1970s until the course be-gan to take shape. This iswhen an irrigation systemcreated green fairways com-pared to the prairie style,and trees were transportedfrom the Lone Tree Creekarea.

“This was a very impor-tant transition to ourcourse,” Frank said. “Therewas a large amount of workdone by the volunteers atthis time to make the clubwhat it is today. Two ofthese volunteers were man-ager Ron Ewing, our firstbookkeeper CharlieConaway and our firstgroundskeeper Will Larson.Their work was instrumen-

tal during that transitionalperiod.”

The next major renovationwas in 2000 as the course ex-panded to 18 holes. This hashelped provide additionalopenings especially duringleague nights and tourna-ment play. The transition hasbeen a successful one so far,Frank said.

“In the golf world, 18-holegolf courses are very highlyregarded,” he said. “So far,it’s been beneficial for theclub in many ways. It’s wentvery well.”

The 6,901-yard course is en-joyable for newcomers andveterans alike. It isrenowned as one of the topcourses in the state. Another

strength of the course is thatit is well maintainedthroughout the year.

With a rich history in thearea, golf has continued tobe one of the most popularsports. A trend that doesn’tlook to change.

“We’re excited about thefuture of the sport,” Franksaid.

4A SUNDAY, MAY 1, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIAL

In southwest Sidney is an-other century survivor builtaround 1904. Like others be-fore it, it has moved. Howev-er, this house has moved notonce, but twice. It startedlife in the town of Mondak.

There are all kinds of sto-ries about the town of Mon-dak, and some of them mayeven be true. One thing forcertain though is this housewas the school in Mondak.When a new school was builtin 1913 to accommodate thegrowing population, thebuilding was converted to asaloon, a hardware store,and even offices for thecounty. By the 1920s, accord-ing to the record written byRalph Chase in the bookCourage Enough, “Mondak

remained aplace to liveonly for thosewho had noother place togo.”

Bert Chase,a formerMondak resi-dent, movedthe school/saloon/hard-ware store/governmentoffice toDore, N.D.,just north ofFairview,

where it served as the localbeer parlor. Mr. Chase movedmany buildings throughoutthe region in these years. Al-though no record seems to

survive of when the build-ing moved to Dore, Mr.Chase started his housemoving business in 1927, soit must have been after thattime.

1927 also marked the end ofthe town of Mondak. It hadbeen devastated by abandon-ment and small firesthroughout the 1920s. In Au-gust 1927 what was left ofthe main part of town wasburned by a prairie firewhich “stared west of townfrom the train carryingSousa’s band to Glendive.”

Some time later in the1930s or ‘40s, Arcade Simardbought the building and Mr.Chase moved it again, thistime to its current locationin Sidney. It was remodeled

into apartments, into a sin-gle family home, and againback into apartments. Thehouse, although more than100 years old, and with aboutas many uses, is still used asa home today.

Like the people of the pio-neer generation, the build-ings too had to become manythings to meet local needs,“wearing many hats,” as itwere. Some of the back-ground for this article canbe found in the 1989 bookOur Historic Homes: 1895-1989, and Courage Enough:MonDak Family Histories,both available at the Mon-Dak Heritage Center.

During Sidney’s Centenni-al Celebration this summer,the MonDak Heritage Cen-

ter will host horse drawntours of Sidney’s historichomes and buildings that

are at least 100 years old.Please make plans to attendthe celebration June 24-26!


COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Originally a schoolhouse in MonDak, this Sidney home was built in1904. The building has had a plethora of uses in its history.


Benjamin L. Clark

SUBMITTEDA modern clubhouse was built for the Sidney Country Club in 1950 where the building sits today. A major remodel of the clubhouse took place in 2004-05.

Golf club continues to play role in Sidney

MEGAN GROTZKE | SIDNEY HERALDA competitor in the Gleason Haralson Open squares up for a putt on hole 18. The Open is a fundrais-ing tournament in honor of Gleason Haralson held in July. Haralson was instrumental in the planningfor the construction of the back nine at the Sidney Country Club.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Editor’s note: In honor of Sidney’scentennial, the Sidney Herald is run-ning a twice monthly Sidney Centen-nial page focusing on the city’sdevelopment through the years. Spe-cial thanks to the MonDak HeritageCenter where much of the informa-tion is gathered.


Believe it or not, Sidneyhas almost 100 years of avia-tion in its history. The city’sflying roots date back to 1915with the first appearance ofan airplane which madepasses just above the streets.

The Sidney Chamber ofCommerce contracted a pi-lot from Kenmare, N.D., OttoW. Simms, to put on a show,taking off and landing at the500 block of Fifth AvenueS.E.

This was the first event ina long and complicated his-tory of flying, a history for-mer pilot and longtimemember of the aviationcommunity Don Rees waswilling to share with theHerald recently.

EARLY DAYSFor the majority of the

first half of the 20th centu-ry, local flyers who flew outof Sidney did so from pas-tureland where today’sReese and Ray’s IGA nowsits but also at the RichlandCounty Fairgrounds. Manyan early Montana pilotsmade appearances in Sidneyto perform the popularbarnstorming activities.

Montana’s best-knownbarnstormer was Sidneyresident Earl Vance, whosewife, also a Sidney native,Esther Combes Vance, wasthe first woman in Montanato earn a commercial pilot’slicense in 1928. Rees’ wife,Roxy, was the first woman toearn

her pilot’s license in Sidneyin 1966.

The Sidney Flying Ser-vice formed in May 1935 byJohnny Worth, Dickinson,N.D., who trained local resi-dents to fly. Then cameWayne Lambertson’s Lam-bertson Flying Service in1945, two years after Rich-land County pur-chased a new site

for an airport sevenmiles northwest of

Sidney wherehangars were built

and planes pur-chased.

And in 1948, aman who local avi-ators highly re-gard, John Burns,took over the flying

service. “He

was kind ofthe father of aviation here,”Rees said. Burns flew inWorld War II and spent timeflying the “Hump” in theChina-Burma Theaterbringing supplies to the Chi-nese who fought the Japan-ese. Burns held his fixedbased operation business atthe airport and was manag-

er until 1970 following a fa-tal plane accident. Cur-

rent fixed base operatorPhil Petrik took over

Burns’ business and hascontinued ever since.

In 1950, the airport movedone more time to its current

location under the ded-icated name of Burns

Field.

HISTORY OF AIRLINERSSidney’s history of airline

service is as bumpy as itsaviation. Through the years,the small city has seen sev-eral carriers, starting withTreasure State Airlines inthe early 1950s, whichserved central to easternMontana. A fare from Sid-ney to Glendive cost $4.08,while a fare to Glasgow was$8.40. Then came a series of

airliners starting withFrontier

Airlines in September 1954;followed by “puddlejumpers” Air West andGolden West; Apache Air-lines; back to Frontier; Big

Sky Airlines in 1979, thefirst to utilize Essential AirService; Great Lakes Air-line, which took over Sep-tember 2008; and finallyGulfstream InternationalAirlines, which coinciden-tally begins service Sunday(today).

NEW TERMINALRees, as manager of the

Sidney-Richland MunicipalAirport, designed and con-tracted a new terminal inthe late 1970s to take theplace of a rundown shed.The airport was entitled tofunds by ADAP (Airport De-velopment Assistance Pro-gram) funds, which camefrom gas tax on aviation fuelto land acquisition and run-way construction. The ter-minal itself was built onlywith local property taxes.The airport authority wasformed during this time as ataxing entity and made iteasy to work with govern-ment agencies. “Becomingan airport authority imme-diately made acquisition ofthese funds much easier,”Rees said.

The airport received anupgrade in its runways tomeet FAA regulations. Theterminal was complete in1982 for $237,000. “I enjoyedit,” Rees said, giving creditto the countless others whowere involved, “like thesigns. I personally made thesigns.”

ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICEIt’s been said that without

the Essential Air Serviceprogram, air service wouldvanish. In the 1970s, interestformed among city andcounty leaders, pilots andaviation enthusiasts tobring EAS to Sidney andother small, rural communi-ties in eastern Montana.The program subsidizes fed-eral dollars to airlines forservices. Rees, an airportmanager at the time, andothers began a gruelingprocess to get the federalprogram in Sidney. “It was along, hard process,” Rees re-calls. He and others testifiedin Washington D.C. and

traveled to Helena to pleadtheir case. “It is an absolutenecessity to us,” Rees said,because without it, the areawould be isolated. Sidneyand six other small airportswon the battle in 1979 withBig Sky Airlines utilizingEAS.

LEGACY OF FLYINGToday, the Sidney commu-

nity enjoys a full range ofaviation services from com-mercial and private pilotingto its fixed based operations.Phil Petrik is the longestrunning FBO in Sidney withservices such as scheduledair freight, fuel, charterflights and flight school toname a few. “You really gotto have a desire and a love offlying to be out here and dowhat I do,” Petrik said.“We’ve done a lot out here inSidney.” The area recentlyenjoyed an air show thatbrought several big-name pi-lots to Sidney, featuring theCanadian Snow Birds,Peach Air Service in Minot,N.D., and Petrik.

These days, Essential AirService is on the choppingblock every federal legisla-tive session, and if it goes, itis widely believed Sidneywill be in a world of hurt.Even an airport is some-thing to marvel at. “Itmeans a lot,” Rees said. “It’sextremely important, andit’s not even just the airservice in here. We wouldn’thave jet air ambulance if wedidn’t have a jet qualifiedrunway.”

[email protected]

4A SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIAL

Community has history of flying

COURTESY MONDAK HERITAGE CENTERThe first appearance of an airplane in Sidney was in September 1915 by a Kenmare, N.D., pilot, Otto W. Simms, who flew at 5 p.m. It was the first event in Sidney’s 96years of aviation history.

COURTESTY MONTANA AND THE SKYEsther Combes Vance, a Sidneynative, was the first woman toearn a commercial pilot’s licensein Montana.

‘It (Essential Air Service)is an absolute necessity

to us.’

Don ReesFormer pilot

BusinessSIDNEY HERALD �SUNDA Y, MAY 15, 2011 9A

BY BILL VANDER WEELESIDNEY HERALD

Blue Rock Products Com-pany, Sidney, announces thepromotion of one longtimeemployee and the addition ofa Sidney native to a leader-ship position.

Jill Hill is the company’snew controller. Hill, who hasbeen with the business for 25years, took on the duties atthe start of 2011.

She has previously heldthe positions of bookkeeperand executive assistant.

Karen Olson Beenken,Blue Rock’s executive vicepresident, explains the con-troller position’s duties in-clude accounts receivables,the insurance programs andinventory. “She takes care ofthe in and outflow of moneyin the company,” OlsonBeenken said.

Hill is a graduate ofNashua High School andearned a degree in businessadministration from RockyMountain College.

She and her husband,Doug, have two daughters –Tori and Tessa. Her chil-dren’s interests includedance, speech and dramaand theatre.

She is the president of theNortheastern Arts Network

and is vice president of theboard for the Montana Per-forming Arts Consortium.

Lonnie Swigart, mean-while, returns to his home-town to serve as Blue Rock’ssales center manager. Hepreviously held the positionas assistant sales centermanager at the Miles Citysales center for five years.

Swigart said it was impor-tant for him and his wife,BreAnne (Basta), a Savagenative, to return to RichlandCounty to raise their threeboys Layne, 11, Tucker, 8,and Brody, 1.

Swigart also teases that hewanted his boys to play ath-letics for the Sidney Eaglesand not for the Miles CityCowboys.

Swigart is a 1991 graduateof Sidney High Schoolwhere he was a member ofstate champion footballteams. He earned a degree inag business at MontanaState University in Boze-man.

His hobbies include offici-ating basketball and “goingto the lake often.” He also en-joys watching his childrencompete in football and bas-ketball.

[email protected]

Blue Rock Products officials announce changes in staff

BILL VANDER WEELE | SIDNEY HERALDLonnie Swigart is the sales center manager, and Jill Hill is the controller at Blue Rock Products.

Nick Lonski, an EdwardJones financial advisor inSidney, qualified for thefirm’s inaugural 2011 Finan-cial Advisor Leaders Confer-ence.

This conference was creat-ed to recognize financial ad-visors who are among theleaders in the financial serv-ices firm. The conference al-

so will provide additionaltraining to help them servemore individual investors intheir communities.

Lonski was one of only 290financial advisors out of thefirm’s more than 10,000 whoqualified.

The 2011 conference will beheld in May at the firm’sheadquarters in St. Louis,

Mo.“Qualifying for this confer-

ence shows a tremendousamount of discipline, com-mitment and work ethic,”says John Rahal, an EdwardJones partner responsiblefor Financial Advisor Train-ing and host of the confer-ence.

Lonski qualifies for Edward Jones conferenceAfter introducing new leg-

islation to hold the world’slargest energy giants ac-countable to American tax-payers, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester,D-Mont., is calling for an endto the $4 billion in “taxpayerhandouts” that allow the na-tion’s top “Big Oil” execu-tives to pull in billions inprofit every year.

America’s five largest oilgiants receive more than $4billion in taxpayer-fundedsubsidies every year. Thesame companies recently re-ported profits of $4 billionevery week.

Under the bill Testercosponsored, every dollarsaved by ending oil subsidiesand closing tax loopholes

will be used to cut the nation-al debt.

“This legislation will re-store responsibility and ac-countability to the oil indus-try and fairness to all taxpay-ers—while encouragingmore domestic energy pro-duction here in America,”Tester said. “And just as im-portantly, it will help paydown our national debt.”

The Close Big Oil TaxLoopholes Act includes aspecific provision written byTester to close a loopholethat currently allows big oilcompanies to write off for-eign royalty payments as tax-es. The loophole allows oilcompanies to avoid payingtaxes in the U.S. while subsi-

dizing foreign jobs and for-eign oil production.

“This bill has nothing to dowith Conoco’s or Exxon’sability to operate U.S. re-fineries or put Americans towork,” Tester said. “It haseverything to do with hold-ing their top-level executivesaccountable to all Americantaxpayers as they rake in bil-lions in dollars in profitsevery year. It’s the rightthing to do”

Tester, who has repeatedlycalled for more investmentin responsible drilling inMontana’s Bakken Field,noted that eliminating tax-payer handouts will not re-sult in higher gas prices.

Tester plan ends subsidies to Big Oil executives

4A SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIALCrestwood Inn enjoys 30 plus years in communityEditor’s note: In honor of Sid-ney’s centennial, the Sidney Heraldis running a twice monthly SidneyCentennial page focusing on thecity’s development through theyears. Special thanks to CrestwoodInn where much of the informationwas gathered for this story.


In 1975, a project in Sid-ney began with the intentto increase living opportu-nities for senior citizens,handicapped or disabled inthe area. Despite a rockystart, Crestwood Inn wascompleted in 1979 and hasprovided a stable home formany through the years.

“It’s a wonderful place,”Vern Roland, originalchairman of the board,said at the Crestwood Inn’scelebration of 30 years heldin 2009. “I was alwaysproud of it.”

It was the vision Rolandand the rest of the originalboard had when they sawthere was a need in thecommunity for a similarcomplex. A private non-profit group that owned theInn raised funds for theconstruction.

“The hard work and vi-sion of the people responsi-ble for the complex wasquite remark-able,” PaulGroshart,Crestwood Innexecutive di-rector, said.“If itweren’t forthat, therewould be ahugeneed inthe com-munity rightnow.”

The 72-unit complexfaced its share of chal-lenges early on as therewere many vacancies and a

change of ownership in1981. Despite obstacles, the

complex isnow 32 years

old and hascontinuedto provide

occupants aplace to call

home.“The

needhas in-creased

in thepast several

years,” Groshart said. “Atthe time of construction,the investors weren’t ex-pecting the oil boom to endso quickly.”

In 2001, the RichlandHousing Authority, a non-profit organization basedin Sidney, became the own-er of the Inn. In that time,the amount of vacancies atthe Inn have dropped sig-nificantly. Just 10 yearsago, nearly half of theunits were vacant com-pared to just two vacanciestoday.

“As the area continues togrow, the need continues togrow for community hous-ing like this,” Groshartsaid.

With laundry facilities,24-hour security, social ac-tivities and bus service,residents have all they need

under one roof. Providing asafe and friendly environ-ment, the future looks

bright for Crestwood Inn.“We look forward to con-

tinuing to provide stability

at Crestwood Inn in the fu-ture,” Paul Groshart.

Do you know this mystery photo?BY BENJAMIN L. CLARKEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER

This week’s mystery photois another real photo post-card, this time featuring ahappy boy and some impres-sive potatoes. Unfortunately,it was unposted so we do nothave the benefit of a datedpostmark or message tohelp. There is a note on theback “Taken about 1915” inballpoint pen, so the note ismuch more recent than thephoto, and there is no evi-dence of how this date wasderived. It may be someone’sbest guess. The stampboxon the reverse, where astamp would go, can be dat-ed by the company nameand style to 1908-1921. Toobroad to be very helpful. It isa rather particular brand ofphotographic postcard pa-per, however, and we have afew other photo postcards ofthis brand which are posi-tively dated 1910-1912 andtaken in Sidney. 1915 is pret-ty good, but 1909-1913 may bebetter.

One clue is that the photowas taken in a professionalstudio. You can just see thepainted backdrop in thebackground, and the qualityof light is also entirely toopurposeful to be outdoors.One of the truly wonderfulthings about real photo post-cards is that anyone couldcreate them, making themcheap and simple to use.Professional photographersused them too, and would of-ten print many, sometimeshundreds, of the same im-age to sell. According to theU.S. Postal Service, almost 1billion postcards were sentin 1913. That’s 10 postcardsfor every person in the Unit-ed States that year alone! Ithink this is what this imageis: a professional image tosell locally. Americans weresending and receiving a lotof postcards, and your local

photographer’s studio wasone place to buy them. Thisimage is also a subtle bit ofpositive propaganda to en-courage farmers and set-tlers to come to Sidney fol-lowing the completion of theirrigation project in 1909.

At the MonDak, we’reworking on a list of photog-raphers, when they were ac-tive, and the location oftheir studio, etc. Before 1915there was a man who operat-ed a studio named ChesterA. Pickering that we knowvery little about. All weknow for certain is Mr. Pick-

ering sold out to William F.(Will) Peters in 1915, who es-tablished Peters Studio atthat time and which he oper-ated until his retirement in1946. Could this be from Pe-ters Studio, or his predeces-sor Mr. Pickering?

If you have any informa-tion, please get in touchwith the museum [email protected], 406-433-3500, or find us on Facebook,where you can review all themystery photos athttp://www.facebook.com/MonDakHeritageCenter.

COURTESY | MONDAK HERITAGE CENTER COLLECTION Real photo postcards featuring a boy and very large potatoes.

SUBMITTEDThe groundbreaking of Crestwood Inn in 1975.

FILEConstruction of Crestwood Inn in 1978.

4A SUNDAY, JUNE 19, 2011 SIDNEY HERALD

SIDNEY CENTENNIAL


Sidney’s long history of ed-ucation dates back to morethan a century ago, to 1884,when Annette Meadors firstopened a school in her homesoutheast of Sidney. The firststudents who attended, ac-cording to Courage Enough,a book of history on Rich-land County, were John, Orraand Thompson Kemmis Jr.;John Meadors; Daniel Gibbsand Walter Mack.

It wouldn’t be until threeyears later, 1887, that the firstschool building, a log cabinbuilt on what is now thesouth line of the truck routeon 14th Street S.E. was con-structed; it would be the firstof many schoolhouses tocome. Thompson Kemmistaught school with the someassistance. Teachers werehard to come by back then,paid

just $50 in a month; studentsnumbered from 10 to 20 at atime.

“During that period, theschool boards struggled tokeep the flame of educationalive under difficult primi-tive conditions,” according to

“Our Jubilee,” a historybook published for Sid-

ney’s 50th anniversaryin 1961. The log cabin

was occupied until1902 when the Rev.P.F. Blake’s bid for$1,000 was acceptedto construct a two-room building onSouth Lincoln Av-

enue. But six

years later, in 1908, yet anoth-er larger schoolhouse had tobe constructed for $4,000 onthe present site of Central El-ementary dueto Sidney’sgrowth, andSidney be-came a three-teacher sys-tem. By theend of 1908,enrollmentreached 125students.

School con-tinued, and in 1910, Sidneyhad hired its first superin-tendent, Joseph H. Nevins,who gradually established ahigh school curriculum be-

ginning with the five fresh-men his first year and addingmore later.

Probably one of the high-lights of Sidney’s educationhistory came on the morningof Dec. 9, 1912, when theschool burned to the ground.“Mr. Bush, the janitor,” theSidney Herald reported, “hadstarted a fire early in themorning and gone to hisbreakfast; and during his ab-sence, Guy Miller, who re-sides in the first dwelling tothe east of the schoolhouse,saw smoke pouring from thebasement windows.” Millernotified the neighbors, butthere was nothing they coulddo. The building was insuredfor $3,000 and the contents for$500.

“The origin of the fire wasundoubtedly a defective flue(chimney) which on two for-mer occasions has causedconsiderable trouble, al-though the exact cause willnever be known,” the Heraldreported.

With the schoolhouse de-stroyed, class was held forthe rest of the year inchurches and other buildingsin town. A temporary schoolbuilding was put in placeduring the 1913-1914 schoolyear.

1914 was an especially ban-ner year; having been part ofDawson County, Sidney’sSchoold District 5 celebrated

the change to Richland

County. That year the schooldistrict had attained suffi-cient population with fiveschool board members.

1915 brought the opening ofa new school, now Central El-ementary, which served as el-ementary andhigh schooluntil 1936when the pres-ent SidneyMiddle Schoolwas built forthe highschool. Sid-ney’s firstgradu-atingclass was in1916. Today’shigh school, built in 1961, sitsnot too far from whereMeador’s first classes wereheld. West Side ElementarySchool was built three yearsafter the high school to ac-commodate a growing num-ber of students at Central.

TEACHING CAREERLongtime Sidney teacher

Anna Mathieu taught morethan 20 years at Central Ele-mentary in the 1940s andagain in the 1960s until re-tirement in the 1980s. Math-ieu, who will celebrate her90th birthday come Septem-ber, began teaching second-graders atCentral Ele-mentary in1946. She con-tinued until1950, whenshe took leaveto raise a fam-ily of herown; she re-turned to theclassroom in 1967. “I thinkthere was an empty position.That year Mrs. Romo wasteaching in a differentgrade,” she recalled.

Back then enrollment wasalways interesting to see atthe beginning of the schoolyear. “We (teachers) checkedto see how many studentswere in the rooms to see whohad the largest enrollment,”Mathieu said. “Our superin-tendent really tried to keepthe rooms equal in atten-dance, so we wanted toknow.”

The elementary classeshad some 20 students each,she noted.

Mathieu retired in 1984. “Itwas time,” she said. She hadspent almost her entire ca-reer in Sidney. Why? “Thiswas our home.” At retire-ment, the teachers held a par-ty on a Sunday afternoon,“which was a surprise andwell attended,” Mathieu said.

Back when she was teaching,the classroom was much dif-ferent. Students didn’t havecell phones; there were chalkboards, not smart boards;and teachers kept theirrecords in books rather than

on computers.“It was a dif-

ferent ageback then,”

she said. Butwhat did re-main the samewas the well-

educat-ed, dedi-cated,quality

of teachers sheworked with.

Mathieu said her studentsnever fought, they listened totheir teacher and “were wellmannered.” Today, manyyears later, she still runs intoher former students. “I wish Iwould’ve kept a log of all thestudents I had,” she said. “Ishould have thought of that.”Her daughter, Nancy Ross,Denver, Colo., notes that hermother’s students say howgood of a teacher she was.She and other retired Sidneyteachers meet every thirdWednesday of the month.

SCHOOLING CONTINUES“Basically, it really ties

back to the overall philoso-phy of the district,” SidneySuperintendent of SchoolsDaniel Farr said. Stimulateintellectual growth and cu-riosity, provide fundamentalcareer concepts and skills,develop sensitivity to indi-viduality and group differ-ences and develop an appre-ciation for cultural diversity.

“I think, overall, Sidney’sdone a great job over thedecades,” Farr said. The peo-ple of Sidney have alwaysworked to achieve the besteducational services possi-ble. Their schools have un-dergone recent upgrades in-cluding new gyms, educa-tional equipment, a new li-brary, and improved build-ings using oil and gas rev-enue.

“I think our biggest chal-lenge is going to be to helpstudents, especially in ruralareas, understand the worldof competition they will en-ter into,” Farr said, notingSidney’s teachers strive togive students a chance to un-derstand the world aroundthem on a global scale. “Wehave students all over theworld right now.” A changeperhaps no one could imag-ine a century ago when Sid-ney was just coming into itsown.

COURTESY MONDAK HERITAGE CENTERThere have always been places for Sidney students to attend school, from a teacher’s home to the current brick buildings, even in tough times. The photo above shows Sidney students outside a buildingused for school in 1913 after the other building burned down in 1912.

Going to school: Sidney has long history of educating youngsters

COURTESY MONDAK HERITAGE CENTERSidney residents saw their school building burn to the groundthe morning of Dec. 9, 1912.

COURTESY MONDAK HERITAGE CENTERThe first school building in Sidney built in 1887, known asthe Kemmis School, was a log cabin.

Nevins

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