The Wright district was created in 1917. The first trustees were T. E. Gander, S. C. Webb and E. F. Hill. The first teachers were Josie Hickey and B. A. Hickey. Some of the other teachers were F. A. Anderson, Josephine Sandstrom, Winnie McNeil and Goldie Kilpatrick. It was annexed to #207 in 1928.

  Kelly was born on June 11, 1899 in Holmstrom, Sweden. He grew up in Crooks, S. D. He married Charlotte Estenson on July 27, 1927 in Rock Rapids, Iowa. Holmstroms moved to Roy in 1938 Wendell Walker was the Superintendent of schools that year. Kelly taught History, Algebra, Physics, Geometry and coached. In 1934 Kelly became the Superintendent, a job he held until 1940. He did much to improve the school and the quality of education on very little funding. Holmstroms returned to South Dakota to teach for a few years. In 1948 he returned to Roy and was Superintendent of schools until 1968 Kelly and Charlotte had 3 sons Dean, Richard and Robert. They had a foster daughter, Eulalie. Charlotte's sister and brother, Lillian and Milo Estenson (class of '39), stayed with them and attended school here. A nephew, Leland (Bud) Ramharter (class of '38) also attended school here.
  Charlotte died in 1979. Kelly died February S 1981. Both are buried in Benton Lutheran Cemetery at Crooks, South Dakota. ^{P. 297}

  We settled into the little house across from where postmaster Marsh lived. There was Reynold, Jim, Mom and I. As a family we did our part to maintain our home. On Saturdays the boys carried water from the pump which was a quarter of a mile away. Then they washed clothes in a tub on the wash board. I cleaned house, ironed, helped cook and get meals. Mom would sew, make pies and other special things as well as study and prepare her schoolwork for teaching. Mom was an excellent teacher and disciplinarian.
  I was a junior in high school when we moved to Roy. Reynold and Jim were freshmen. Landon Peterson was our principal and he was wonderful. The kids all loved him. He expected us to study and we did. He had such a sense of humor, yet was firm. The Roy school board didn't hire Mr. Peterson for the coming year, much to our disappointment.
  Wendell Walker was our principal for my senior year.
  I sang in a quartet frequently. A young minister at Roy would take our quartet group in his little roadster (three rode in the rumble seat) and we visited outlying churches and sang for them. I believe Eddie Dunn sang with us part of the time.
  Our family attended the dances at the Bohemian Hen occasionally. We even went to Valentine to a dance.
  After graduation, Marie Bowser Cimrhahl and I headed for Billings to attend Eastern Montana Normal College. We found an apartment and batched and shared expenses. Mom continued to teach at Roy. The boys were juniors by this time. Marie and I would hitch a ride home over the weekends once in awhile. Jim was the brains of the family and always received high grades. A prominent citizen wanted his boy to be at least Salutatorian, and Jim was causing too much competition in the Roy High School for him. Although the other boy was bright, Jim's grades were better and would have aced him out. The only solution was to get Mom and her family out of Roy.
  When Mom's contract at Roy wasn't renewed she contacted Charlie Poster at Brooks. Mom agreed to take a reduction in salary and teach the upper grades for $60 a month if they would hire me as their primary teacher. I would then earn $40 per month. (I seem to recall that Mom made $125 a month at Roy.
  Marie didn't want to attend summer school and so went home. Goldie Kilpatrick contacted me and wanted a place to stay while she went to summer school so I had a new roommate and someone to share expenses. My brother, Fred, who had been living with Grandpa, ^P.298  came west to Billings after he graduated from high school. He drove his little Chevy coupe, which he gave to us. He taught me to drive, after summer school and we drove to Brooks to settle in for school Mom and I taught two years at Brooks.
  The boys went to Lewistown High School. They batched in an apartment through the week and came home on weekends. Jim was only 16 when he graduated. He took a government test and passed; the highest in Montana. He was sent to Washington D. C. He worked ten years in the Government printing office. In 1948 he graduated Phi Beta Cappa from Columbia University and went to work for a computer company in Minneapolis where he remained until retirement. He lives in St. Paul with his wife.
  I met Vernon Kramlich at a New Years Dance at the Brooks Hall, 1934. He had just got paid off after four years in the Navy. It was love at first sight, because we were married July 3, 1934. I had signed a contract to teach the Rogers School at East Fork, about 16 miles from Lewistown. I taught that year, even though I was married. Married women weren't hired to teach in those days Vernon got a job at the Fort Peck Dam.
  Mom taught at Grass Range until she resigned because of ill health. She moved to Kellogg, Idaho with Fred. Fred married Frances Plum of Lewistown. In 1946 Mom married Matt Palmer of Lewistown. He passed away in 1956. Mom passed away in 1983. She is buried in Stratford, Iowa beside Daddy and Reynold.
  Reynold worked on a ranch at Winifred after graduation. In the spring of 1935 he came down with pneumonia and passed away May 1st
  Vernon and I moved to Ellensburgs, Washington and started the 0. K. Rubber Welders. I kept books. We sold in 1957, as arthritis was causing Vernon a lot of problems. I finished my degree in education and taught for 16 years at Walla Walla, WA. Our son was born in 1936 in Seattle and our daughter, Marian in 1948.

Roy celebrated its Diamond Jubilee on June 18th and 19th of 1988. In anticipation, a summary of 75 years written by Marie Zahn and Illa Willmore appeared in the June 5, 1988 issue of the Lewistown News Argus. Excerpts follow.

  The promise of free land encouraged people from all walks of life to build this town and community.
  It must be hard for the modern generation to comprehend the hardships of life and slow transportation in 1913, as compared to the present living standards, communication and travel
  Transportation was a slow process, in any form, with horses the most popular method of getting around.
  Jack Stephens came into Roy each day in 1913 to build the Red Livery Barn, the first building, to accommodate the needs of these animals. Horses remain a necessity to this day, for both work and entertainment.
  The people who arrived at Hilger on the train stepped off with many more miles to cover--in the best way they could. Some walked, rode horseback or those with team and wagon or buggy drove the 25 miles to Roy.
  Those who walked could carry very few personal items. Some came in by covered wagon. Imagine traveling a thousand miles in a covered wagon, with a family!
  Working along the way, wagons had to be repaired, often the work animals had to be replaced and bad water, sparse feed and other hardships were encountered.
  Food for the family was hard to provide with no refrigeration and limited space to carry extra food. illness often befell these people as they lived in the harsh environment, as did accidents.
  Once a claim had been selected a house had to be built. Many kinds of structures evolved including the car-roofed tar-papered shack, log cabins if built close to timber: sod houses, large slabs of sod layed up like brick (this required heavy sod that would hold the dirt and was not available at every location) which would form a thick wall -- cool in summer and warm in winter.
  Dug-outs were another type where the dirt was dug from a hillside or bank and the front logged up, the same principle as the modern earth home. Many had dirt floors and the hard packed ground would become fairly dust free when sprinkled with water and swept. Dirt roofs were common and hard-pan ground was best for this purpose as it required a thinner layer because it would crust and shed water more readily without as much weight.
  Cellars were another necessity because of no refrigeration. Some were dug under the house. Others dug regular root cellars which were covered with dirt. These kept supplies cool in summer and would not freeze in winter. Canned goods needed this kind of storage. Ventilation was necessary to keep cellars dry.
  Another need was water. It was possible to dig shallow wells in some locations, while in other parts, alkali water was not usable. Small dams or reservoirs were built with a team and slip-scraper to catch run-off from snow melt and rain. However, these were too small to hold enough water to last through the season.
  Barrels were put under the eaves of roofs to catch rain water, and snow was melted in winter.
  Most homesteaders had to go out and work part time. There was a new railroad to be built through Lewistown on the Great Northern-New Rockford Cutoff and one of the local men, L. M. A. Wass, was a surveyor. Others were laborers on this project
  Grades were built through the mountains east of Lewistown and excavation was done with teams and ^P.299 fresnos which hired a good labor force between 1913 and 1918. Then work stopped due to World War I and never resumed.
  Mining for gold, silver and copper was another source of employment. Skilled and professional people found jobs in town and teachers were in demand for the country schools as well. Men went to the Judith Basin for the fall grain harvest which was another means of earning some extra cash. But 160 or 320 acres were by no means adequate to make a living in this country and so many left for a different way of life.
  It is hard for us today, to look out across the miles of prairie that surround Roy and imagine the countless homestead shacks that once dotted the countryside; one on every 160 or 320 acres
  Or to drive into Roy to a school event or to pick up a few groceries and realize that once Roy had a population of 400 inhabitants and was booming. Dreams of being a part of the hub of an agricultural, mining and on industry brought people from all walks of life.
  There were many small communities surrounding Roy--and all are now gone.
  Farmers with huge tractors and sophisticated equipment are once again turning under the sod and wheat is an all important crop. Along side this newest planting of the land there are countless acres of plowed up land being laid idle under the latest government program, CRP (Conservation Reserve Programs). Where the grass that is supposed to be planted has not yet taken hold, weeds of every description-seeds that have lain idle since the last "Soil Bank" plan, have sprung to life.
  The reservoirs (many worn out) remain, but now deep artesian wells dot the countryside and no longer does man or beast have to rely solely on unpredictable rains for water.
  In Roy, businesses have dwindled down to the post office, Rosalie English, postmaster; a bar, The Legion, managed by Mike Shirey; the Roy Grocery owned and operated by Lois Woodard; and a service station, G & S oil owned by Gary Smith.
  The population of Roy town can be anywhere from 80 to 100, depending a lot on the migration of teachers, miners and their families. The school is there, but there are fewer children to attend. In 1988 there were 14 in high school grades 9 through 12, and four of these were foreign exchange students from Japan and Germany.
  Once in awhile Roy becomes a hive of activity. Basketball has replaced baseball as "the game" and everyone attends; the annual Roy Rodeo (87th in 1988) draws contestants and spectators from all over the state each year; and alumni reunions every five years bring back hosts of those, whose roots are in Roy. Weekend traffic in the summer and fall swells the roadways as fishermen, campers and hunters make their way to the breaks, the Crooked Creek recreation area and along the river-for it is a popular recreation area.
  The railroad, which was primarily responsible for the birth and boom of the area, died in 1970. Cattle are still shipped out from the Roy stockyards, now owned by Bob Fink, Dan Cimrhakl Melvin Rindal Hap Zahn and Wilson Richards, but they are hauled out in large semi-trucks. Other cattle are sold at and hauled from, the ranches to destinations in the 'corn belt' or to the larger markets. Sheep are still important in the agricultural community. Most are smaller farm flocks pastured close to ranch buildings. The Rich Bowsers hire a herder or two-Roy kids needing a summer job--to keep tabs on their herd which runs north of Roy in the summer. The Ted Thompsons, Roy Coulters, Bill Davis', Marty Siroky, Yaegers, Floyd Emerys all have flocks of sheep, but gone are the flocks of thousands of head of sheep.
  And for the most part with better transportation, necessities, entertainment and shopping are done elsewhere-Lewistown, Billings and Great Falls. One thing that has not changed though, among those that remain, is their unshakable belief in tomorrow.

  Francis Anderson was born in Inver Grove; Minnesota and came to Roy as a young man of 21, with Fred Mabee, in 1918 He drove a team and wagon from Beach, North Dakota to Roy.
  He filed on a homestead about five miles north of Roy. For the next twenty some years he farmed in and around the Roy area.
  Florence Stevens (Stueben) was born in Chicago in April of 1893, the daughter of Anton and Emily Stueben. She arrived in Roy in 1917 and came from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She had attended business school and was a bookkeeper and stenographer prior to coming to Roy. She arrived on a Saturday and went to work for McCain and Johnson on Monday morning. Florence was an avid music, baseball and crossword puzzle fan, pieced quilts and enjoyed reading.
  She filed on a homestead on Little Crooked. She sold that relinquishment and filed on a homestead north of Roy and became a neighbor of Francis.
  The neighbors were married on June 20, 1918 in Lewistown.
 Three children were born to the Andersons: Evelyn, Ruth and Jack. All attended grade school in Roy and at Fergus. Evelyn graduated from RHS in 1937.
  The family moved to the Box Elder Ranch in 1928 and then near Fergus in 1930 (on the place where the Jacksons now live).
  Mail and the Lewistown newspaper came from the Roy and Fergus post offices although sometimes it was several days or even a week or more before it was picked ^{P. 300} up. Once in awhile a trip was made to Lewistown, maybe once a month in the summer, less in winter time so most of the family's groceries and supplies were purchased at the stores in Roy or Fergus.
  In May of 1937 they moved to Wisconsin following the severe drought and grasshopper plague of 1936. Evelyn was 16 1/2 and had just graduated from high school.
  Francis passed away in 1969, Florence in 1986 at the age of 98 and their son Jack passed away in 1987.

  Effie Baker was first married to Mr. Morgan and had two children, Roberta and Charles W. Charles became a teacher and taught many Fergus County schools between 1915 and 1935. School records show that he taught Iowa Bench, several schools in the Winifred area, Lewistown, Roy, Danvers, Maiden, Coal Hill and Little Crooked during this twenty-year period.
  Effie married William H. Bell who was a homesteader in the Joslin area: T. 20 N.--R. 24 E, sec 30. When Bells left the homestead, W.R. Dunn moved the house to his homestead and it still stands at this location. Morris Rasmussen was the last occupant. Bells had three children: Wilma, Wilbur and Marion, who were raised in Roy.
  Bells divorced and Effie married Carl Leon Baker, who homesteaded T. 19 N.-R. 23 E, 8ec 31, 32. Carl worked as a bartender at the "Silver Dollar Buffet" in Roy's early days and was a barber.
  Effie Baker ran a bakery and lunch counter; Block 7, lot 14, beside the Roy Drug Store. She owned this establishment from 1927 to 1937.
  Carl Baker and Arch Johnson joined forces in the barber business and were known as Roy's "Tonsorial Artists" and worked together at this trade for quite some time.
  Bakers moved to Seattle, Washington. Carl died of cancer in June, 1938
  Effie Baker died 1 January, 1956 at age 78, in Seattle. Marion was the only member of the family living at that time. 

  R. S. Barbee the son of Jacob Barbee of Kentucky and mother, Melvina West Barbee was born 15 May 1865 at Springfield, Illinois, where he grew to manhood.
  As a young man, Barbee moved to St. Joseph, Missouri, where he married Mary M. Burns, 14 July 1888.  Mary Burns was born at Bethany, Missouri, 6 March 1871. They raised three children and lived in St. Joseph until 1911, when they came to Montana and homesteaded in the Forest Grove section.
  They moved to Roy in 1916 and Mr. Barbee bought the poolhall from A. W. Close and E. F. Cartwright, located in block 6, lots 8 and 9, north of Peder Hanson Mercantile. He later moved across Main Street and operated the "Golden West Billiard Hall" which he sold to John Mayberry. His establishment was strictly a poolhall and sold no hard liquor. He had pool tables card tables and sold tobacco, soft drinks and sundries. His friendly and caring personality made him a respected citizen of Roy for the 21 years he was in business, operating a respectable gathering place in Roy.
  Mrs. Barbee was a nurse and did practical nursing throughout the Roy area. She was on call at any time ministering to the sick and she brought many children into the world. She was a valued person in this community, which was so far from medical doctors and thus is credited for saving many lives.
  Ill health forced Mr. Barbee to retire and sell his business in 1937 and they moved to Lewistown. He died 22 October 1940 at his Lewistown home at age 75.
  Mrs. Barbee passed away at Pendleton, Oregon, 24 December 1954. They are buried at the Lewistown City Cemetery. Survived by two daughters, Olive Clegg of Lewistown (sister-in-law of George Clegg); Marie Stephens, Reno, Nevada and one son, Marvin L. of Santa Rose, California.

  Roy's early day barbers were an interesting lot! They were the entrepreneurs of that era during prohibition. As Fred Haney noted in his biography, "When I learned barbering, I didn't realize I'd have to cut hair!" All were real barbers and a couple stuck to making their living at that trade Others ... Well, they supplemented!
 

 John Sharpstein originally homesteaded in the Indian Butte area. He also had a ranch and barbering business in Roy. He was known as a "Whiskey Peddler" and was a friend of the lawman, Burr Hill, who always managed to be away when "Sharpie" brought in his wares!
  The frame house on the old Smith & Laraway Ranch (which the Glen Rindal family lived in for many years) was built by, or for, the Sharpsteins
  There is a Grace Sharpstein listed, presumably a daughter.

Carl Baker was another Roy barber whose sideline was in the booze department. He too, provided spending money for local youth by buying bottles they collected the morning after a dance
  One incident an old timer recalled concerning Carl's sideline was the time Carl refused to sell some 'undercounter' booze to a prospective customer. The customer, hot under the collar, marched across the street to borrow a rifle from Ed Kalal. When Ed questioned him, he said he was "gonna shoot a coyote." So Ed let him have the gun.
 The party marched back across the street and proceeded to pump several bullets into Baker's house which was next to the shop, making things pretty hectic for the Baker family inside. All managed to dodge the bullets and no one was harmed.

  Rudolph Zemanek was listed in the 1914-15 Polk directory as a barber and a land owner.
  Zemanek first opened his "Roy Barber Shop" in the building next to the present Roy Grocery, and soon moved to the new building adjoining the bank. (Wass Merc.) Jack Stephens received the first shave
  He sold his barbering business to A. C. Neyhart in 1916 and with his wife, Minnie moved out to his homestead which was in the Coal Hill area. It is now a part of the Heil ranch. After proving up on the home stead, they moved to Seattle, Washington.

  Last but not least was a fellow who may or may not have been a barber. We do know he was a bootlegger and maybe, when asked, he claimed to be a barber. In any case his story is too good to pass up.
  Pinky came to this area from Chicago. He was reputed to have been the driver of the get-away car for gangsters in Chicago and had turned state's evidence against them when apprehended, so he had to leave there in a hurry. He was shot twice in the head during his flight from Chicago but he made it to Montana where he lived to become one of Roy's most prominent rum-runners.
  Some of the liquor came to Hanover in trunks, by railroad, from Canada. There it was picked up by Pinky and other prominent Roy citizens and brought to Roy. They also had some liquor brought from Canada by truck and occasionally Pinky would hi-jack other rumrunners trucks.
  Pinky was stopped on the road once by two men who asked if they could buy some moonshine.  Pinky sold it to them, then got worried that they might be lawmen, so he went back and robbed them of the moonshine so they wouldn't have any evidence
  Pinky also bought hot furs. It was against the law to trap beavers without a permit, but there was a ready market for them at Pinky's.
  Carl Christensen remembers Pinky, as does Warren Willmore who recalls collecting bottles on the morning after a dance (if he could beat Jess Satterfield to them) and selling them to him. Several boys made spending money selling the bootleg bottles back to Pinky, who was "an ornery old cuss", for 5 cents or 10 cents a piece. He never let the boys inside his establishment; he always met them at the door. And they had to get there early in the morning as he wouldn't buy the bottles after business hours began.
 No one seems to know what his name really was. But then maybe he never told anyone.

  Berthine Tjintland, in 1907, traveled from Stavanger, Norway to Portsmouth, England on the Lusitania and then on to Ellis Island, U.S.A. She could enter America, even though she had had polio and wore heavy leg braces because a brother in Iowa accepted her.
  She worked as a mother's helper in Marshall Town at $3.50 a week. When a group of Iowa farmers organized a homesteader train, she joined.
  She worked as a house girl for the Lehman Store family. They lived on Spring Creek and would fish from the porch. Walter Lehman was the youngest son. She also worked for Frank Stephens' Red Barn Ranch. ^P.302
Simon Duncan was foreman.
  David Berg and a friend, Art Anderson, came to the Red Barn looking for a temporary job. They were from Chicago. At that time freight cars had 'rods' underneath them and more than one young man from the city saw the West by "riding the rods."
  Ranch work was not for Anderson. He went back to Chicago where he worked for Western Electric He put together one of the first radios in Montana -- in 1922.
  My Dad and Mother, Berthine and David, were married on November 25, 1913. They and Simon Duncan leased the hotel in Roy. They called it the European Hotel. Bed and bath were $.25. At one area celebration they served a half a beef. Three meat balls, the size of a soft ball, and the trimmings, including pie and coffee was $.35!
  During dry spells water was heated in an open barrel from an out-of-town well, ten dollars a barrel. The water sloshed out and the barrel would be half empty by the time the wagon got to town.
  My Mother took up her homestead when she was at Stephens'. It was at Badger Basin. Ted Turner owns next to it now. My dad also had a homestead in Badger Basin. My older brother was born in Roy. He was named Arthur Simon. He was in the South Pacific War with MacArthur. We lost him in 1955.
  I, my sister, Isabel and brother, Sidney, were all born in Badger Basin.
  My dad contracted the flu of 1918-19 and died of tuberculosis in Galen in 1934.
  My mother lived in White Sulphur Springs. She died in 1975 from pneumonia.
  Simon Duncan died in Denver, Colorado. How and why he got there, I don't know.
  To say that many homesteaders were "took" by Jim Hill would be an understatement. The first year was a good crop, but that year used up decades of moisture. Eastern Montana as "The Great American Desert" was not far off. Beginning with the second year, homesteaders walked out with their shirt-tails in the ever present wind.
[Jim Hill was president of the Great Northern Railroad and gave free passage to people to come out and homestead)

  Armin E. "Jess" Bilgrien was born in Iron Ridge Wisconsin; one of nine children born to Herman and Elizabeth Bilgrien. He received his education there and also learned the butcher and cheese making trades.
  In 1916 Jess came to Montana and worked on a ranch in the Big Coulee area near Ryegate for awhile. In Lewistown he worked in a butcher shop. He then returned to Iron Ridge where he enlisted in the Army in May 1918. He was discharged in April 1918. He was a charter member of the Roy American Legion Post #96 and was commander for a number of years. 
  After his discharge he managed a ranch for the Butler family at Christina and later he leased the Blanchard place at Roy. He did custom threshing, bought many horses which he shipped back to Wisconsin, and played baseball for the Roy team in the 20's and 30's. In 1946 he became an investigator for the Price Administration in Helena. From 1948 to 1959 Jess ranched at Dodson.
 Jess bought the Nicholson Hotel and Cafe in Roy. When he returned in 1960 he lived there and rented rooms out, particularly to hunters in the fall and he also had the cafe in operation for a few years. He sold the building to Ron Tucker about 1985.
  In 1960 Jess started the Bohemian Corner Service Station, 8 miles east of Roy. He sold out to Perry and Marge Kalal in 1969 but continued to "help out" at the
gas station. He was a state brand inspector; a job he took over in the early 60's and continued to do until his death.
  Jess never married.
  The last 12 years of his life he spent his winters at Camp Verde, Arizona. He passed away in November of 1986 at his winter home at the age of 91. He is buried at Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield. ^P.303

  Paul and his wife, Esther, came to Montana in 1916 from Minnesota and homesteaded in the Missouri River breaks near Marcott Coulee. In 1924 he went into partnership with A. A. Johnson in the Roy Hardware store. When the store was sold, he rode for the Murray Deaton Cattle Co. for several years.
  Later he purchased the ranch south of Roy, where he raised Hereford cattle, turkeys and did some farming.
  Paul and Esther had three children. Pauline was born in Roy on July 7, 1919; Kenneth was born in Roy on January 27, 1922 and Connie was born in Lewistown, on November 5, 1923.
  Pauline died of diphtheria in April of 1921 and is buried in the Roy Cemetery.
  Esther passed away in March of 1924 and is buried in Stillwater, Minnesota.
  After Esther's death, an aunt and uncle the Osgoods, took three-month-old Connie back to Minnesota and raised her. They brought her back for occasional visits with her father and he would visit her in Minnesota. She resides in St. Paul.
  Kenneth (Buster) lived with his grandparents in Stillwater for a couple of years and then returned to Montana to live. He was accidentally killed by a gunshot wound to the head, while he was out hunting when he was eleven years old. He is buried in Stillwater.
  Paul married Anna Horacek in 1951.
  Anna was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1903, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Horacek. She came to the United States with her family in 1904 and was raised and educated in Timken, Kansas. She came to Roy in 1912.
  Anna had no children of her own, but together she and Paul raised her four nephews, twins, Donald and Daniel David, Dale, and a niece, Linda, the children of her brother John Horacek.
  Anna passed away in October of 1972. Paul passed away in March of 1986 at the age of 97 Both are buried in Lewistown.

  John Baptise Levesque Bishop was born at Green Isle, Canada to Levesque and his wife, Mary. He was one of about 21 children. His father remarried when Mary died. There were more remarriages with more children. John Baptise was one of the oldest. He married Mary Desotel in Canada and they came to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He had a farm, worked as a dray man and as a saloon keeper. They had two children, Charles and Ann (who later married LeHart Karau of Roy).
  In 1914 at the age of 68, John Baptise walked from Hilger to Roy with Frank Cimrhakl Sr. and Mr. Dobeus. During the trek, three young men passed them, jeering that they'd never make it. But they continued on and passed the sleeping young men that night arriving at Roy first.
  Charles Bishop, (son) who had gone to Notre Dame school in Chippewa and graduated from business college there was a surveyor and court reporter typing and taking shorthand with skill.
  Charles followed his father to Roy and homesteaded about a mile down Blood Creek from his father's homestead, 3 miles north of Roy.
  Louise Mandeau Bishop followed him the next year in August by train, traveling with Grandma Kalal and Alby Kalal Wass.
  Their son, John Joseph, was born in the homestead shack in 1914 and I, Mary Lucille; arrived 18 months later. Dr. Fahl coming by horse and buggy from Roy, arrived too late and a mid-wife, neighbor Mrs. Phil (P.J.) Montang (Regina) assisted with the birth.
  We always had lots of company, never a day seemed to pass without someone stopping to visit or to share a meal or to spend the night.
  John Joseph went to school in Roy his first year, in 1920. Then as times were bad, we moved to Lewistown in the winters and were enrolled in St. Leo's school for five years.
  Dad worked in various places; as a brick layer at the Junior High School on Main Street, in the creamery and at various odd jobs. Mom took in washing, started a laundry, did housework and worked in a dry cleaning shop. (Fields)
  After grandfather was dragged by a four horse team, he needed help and couldn't stay alone any longer, so we moved back to Roy completely. We were enrolled in the Roy public school.
  Most of the time we walked to school, 1 1/2 miles uphill ^P.304 and 1 1/2 miles downhill. Sometimes we traveled by buggy or wagon. In the winter it was by bob sled with the team plowing through knee high snow. We had a buffalo robe around our legs.
  The school house was a two-story stuccoed building with a fire escape circling chute and a hole in the ground for a gymnasium, auditorium and boiler room.
  Later on we acquired a 1918 Ford touring car and John was allowed to drive us to school. When he graduated in 1934 I batched behind Kalal's meat market with a classmate Vlasta Marie Maruska Vanek.
  I went to business college Polytechnic now Rocky Mountain College in Billings for two years. John also went to Polytechnic for two years
  I was married to Don Walrod that fall and moved to Nashua, near the Fort Peck dam and the shanty towns. Then to Roundup on a sheep ranch and on to Billings. There Don worked for International Harvester as a parts man.
  After his sudden death, I moved back to Roy and put my three school-aged children in Roy schools and married LeRoy Umstead, an old classmate, Don and I had four children and LeRoy and I had five children, nine in all for me. Seven of them graduated from Roy High school and the other two received their GED's and are registered in Roy.
  John Joseph Bishop went to Polytechnic for a few years then went to Washington to work in the new mills and then joined the Marines. He served in several hot spots around the world, until he retired after 20 years in the service and went to college again. He is now retired from the Post Office and he and his wife, Marjorie reside in Chula Vista, California, just north of Tijuana, Mexico. They have no children, I made up for them.
  My two oldest children, Dean and Delores were both born in the same year, Dean in January and Delores in December. Dean Walrod now lives in Hamilton with his wife Cheryl and is retired, because of severe arthritis from the REA. He has three children. Delores Walrod Terpstra lives near Billings. she has four children. Shirley Walrod Lenning also lives in Billings and she has two sons Mitch and Mike. Mike is quite well known on the rodeo circuit. Jim Walrod now lives in Washington and is employed on bridge construction. He has 2 children.
  Mary Lee Umstead Keith resides in Iowa with her husband and three children. Kathy Umstead LaFountain and her sister, Susie LaFountain, are next door neighbors in Billings. Each have two children.
  Patrick Umstead and his wife Marilyn reside in Helena where he works as a file clerk for the Veterans Hospital and raises Chow dogs
  Debbie Umstead married Doug Griffith of Grass Range. Deb is the promoter of several art and craft shows held in Lewistown throughout the year, mainly Art in the Park and the Holiday Show at the Trade Center. All of the sisters are talented artists and involved in Art & Craft shows throughout the state. Dad and Mom are both deceased now; but both lived until their nineties. Charles passed away in July of 1977 at the age of 91 and Louise in April of 1985 at the age of 98. Both are buried in Cavalry Cemetery in Lewistown near Charles' sister, Ann, and her husband, Lee Karau.
  Grandfather John Baptise maintained a home in Chippewa Falls, where grandma Mary lived. She came to Montana occasionally but didn't like it here. Mary passed away in the early 30's and John passed away on the homestead in 1940. He was taken back to Chippewa Falls for burial.

  Waiter Buechner was born at Butternut, Wisconsin. Minnie Schulze was born 20 March, 1885 in Leipzig, Germany and came to America with her parents, Fredrick and Freida Schulze, when she was six years old. They settled at Park Falls, Wisconsin. The Buechners were married at Park Falls, 28 August 1907. They came to Montana in 1914 and homesteaded on Box Elder Creek at the above location. Mrs. Buechner's brothers were also homesteaders and located below them on Box Elder.
  The Buechners built up a good ranch, raised sheep and cattle and resided there for thirteen years.
  Three daughters were born to them: Florence, Helen, and Sarah.
  The fall of 1927 the Buechners sold the ranch to the Frank Sirokys and moved to Roy where they purchased ^P.305 the P.A. Weedell Grocery Store; which they operated until they retired and moved to Idaho in 1948. The two youngest daughters graduated from Roy High school; Helen in the class of 1931 and Sarah, class of 1935. 
  Florence married Jack Fulton. Their daughter Phyllis, is Mrs. Bill Yaeger of Billings.  Florence is deceased. Helen married David Dunn. Both are now deceased. Sarah Buechner Weigel lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Buechners observed their Golden Anniversary at her home, 25 August 1957.
  Mr. Buechner died in April of 1965. Mrs. Buechner passed away in 1974 at the age of 89 years. Both are interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
  Buechners owned the Roy Grocery until 1962 although it had been operated by different ones after they left Roy. Ada Corth clerked in the store for many years. The store was sold to Betty Warneke and Glen Rindal.

  Ben Burnett was a long-time Central Montana resident. He was born, 22 December 1894 the son of Benjamin and Florence Chisholm Burnett at Fredrickshurg, Virginia, where he was schooled. He came to Montana with his parents in 1915 and homesteaded in the Windham area.
  He joined the Army in WWI and after his discharge he returned to Montana and followed the rodeo circuit and rode for cow outfits, also.
  Ben Burnett married Lillie Jakes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Jakes of Byford and Roy, 17 May 1946 at Lovelock, Nevada.
  Ben was employed as a brand inspector for the Montana Livestock Commission. They lived in Billings and Helena, where he was in the State office. He retired in 1960 and they came to Roy to make their home where they purchased the former Fred Wunderlich place. 
  Lillie Burnett took up tailoring while in Billings and developed a successful business. She still works at her trade in her Roy home
  Ben Burnett had a great love of horses and the cowboy life. Ben was a member of the Roy American Legion Post #96. He died at a Billings Hospital, 12 August 1969 and was buried at the Lewistown City Cemetery.

  Herbert Ralph Cameron was born on November 7, 1892 at Howie, Montana, the son of John J. Cameron and Rose Alexia Bryse. He lived with his parents near Kendall on his father's homestead.
  Herb worked on ranches at the PN Ranch; herded sheep in Phillips County; rented a ranch near Moulton where he had cattle, horses and pigs and farmed; and he worked for Chan Cook at the Horse Ranch from 1927 to November of 1929. He then moved to the Finis Vestal place near the Horse Ranch. He also worked for the Horynas, east of Roy, and lived on the Pleskac place before moving to Grass Range. Herb passed away on August 31 1965.
  Herbert and Clara Anita DeVault were married in Hilger on April 15, 1916. Clara moved to Oregon in 1937 when the couple separated.
Esther Noble writes the following about her mother. 

   This dear and gentle lady who is now 98 years old (1988) was born near Mandan, North Dakota on March 22nd, 1895.  Clara was the daughter of Lewis DeVault and Zilphia Skinner one of eleven children. They came from Virginia by covered wagon and settled near Mandan. Clara's sister, Dora died in Dakota of croup and a brother also died as a young child.
  The family moved to Boise, Idaho and eventually by covered wagon to the area near Lewistown, Montana. Her brother, Bill, died as a young man, of appendicitis, and was buried at Lewistown.
  Mom's parents lived near Kendall and later in the Snowy Mountains south of Lewistown. Mom's father  ^P.306  was French and her mother was Dutch and Irish. My Dad used to say the DeVaults were like gypsies because they moved around so much. Mom liked to travel and Dad didn't. After Mom and Dad were married they lived with Dad's parents near Hilger for awhile.
  Before they were married Mom worked for awhile for the Bob Fergus family at their ranch near Armells, Montana. She cooked there and said that if she broke a dish, Mrs. Fergus would charge her for it.
  Two of Mom's favorite things to do were to ride horseback and to play her banjo or guitar and sing. She did have a lovely voice. Mom enjoyed reading detective magazines when she lived in Montana. She could do a good drawing of horses and cowboys. She liked to raise flowers but didn't have water to take care of flowers or a garden until she moved to Oregon.
  Since it wasn't easy to go to Lewistown very often in those days when we children were growing up, Mom would buy material at the general store and look at pictures in Ward's or Sears catalogs and make dresses or whatever we needed, without patterns. The catalogs were also our toilet paper and the old ones always found a home in the outside john. We got along without Kleenex or paper towels.
  Mom didn't like Montana's dry sagebrush and cactus type of terrain very well. After she, my sisters and brothers moved to Oregon she worked at many different jobs. She picked fruit, worked in a cafe, in a plastics plant and in a cannery. She cooked for a rich family in Portland and during the war was a welder at the ship yards. Later she worked in a hospital as a nurse's aide. Mom loved to dance and she and Lin won several trophies for dance competition in various cities. She also loved to travel and took many vacation trips before she fell and broke her hip and was put in a hospital. She later was moved to Camelot Nursing Home in Forest Grove Oregon. She is still there and is unable to walk or talk now.

• The Roy Basketball team in 1920 -- Backrow: Russel Whitmore, Frank Southworth, Earl Rose, Cecil Warner, Herbert Dunn, Front row: Sylvia Pickard Leah Marsh, Mae Potterf, Wilma Marsh, Ruth Potterf. The photo was taken in front of Diamond's Furniture and Undertaking business.
• Glee Club 1922 in front of the high school. L. to R.  front row: Unknown, Leona Bare, Mary Brownlee, Helen Hanson, Unknown, Unknown. Back Row: Unknown, Dutch Hamilton, Leonard Dunn, Herb Dunn, August Diamond.
• Junior Class of Roy High School, 1938. L. to R.: Back row: Vic Lelek, Charles Lee Willis, Charles Koliha, Jay Plumb, Mr. Hagerty. Front row: Florence Housel, Irene Christiensen, Annie Komarek, Margaret Umstead, Anne Tenant and Elsie Miller.
• The 1934 girls basketball team pose with the first trophy won for Roy. In the back row are Elizabeth Daniels, Ava Kauth (Zahn) and Sarah Buechner, Front row: Lucille Bishop (Umstead), Eva Trimble, Adelphia Koliha (Naylor), K.H. Holmstrom coach.The Roy High School Band about 1941. In the forground, in the white blouses are the majorettes, from L. to R.: Pearl Jakes, Donna Larson, and Margaret Adams. In the background, L. to R.: Mr. Spranger, Alma Rindal, Shirley Corth, Jim Bowser, Katherine Fogle, Monte Lund (just barely visible), Ruby Potterf, John Maruska, Ann Heil, Don Kalina and Robert Willis.
• 1989--Roy students bury a time capsule to be dug up in the year 2013, the 100th anniversary of the town.
• The Roy High School in 1955. Back Row L. to R.: Mrs. Beattle, Frankie Siroky, Bobby McFarland, June Wright, Lucille Rindal, Betty Phillips, Jean Lettengarver, Tom Siroky and Jim Murphy. Middle Row: Betty Komarek, Judy Cimrhakl, Wanda Emery, Bev McNulty, Kay Woods, Delores Walrod, Margie Zahn, Shirley Walrod Jean Komarek, Alta Styer and Blaine Komarek. Front row: Supt. Hatfield, Dan Cimrhakl, Port Woods, Sid Johnson, Jack Styer, Dean Walrod, Ted Siroky, Dan Dotson, Ted Distad, Gene Wright, Tom Gilbert and Mr. Beatty.
• Grades 7 through 12, 1988. L. to R. back row: Alice Green, Math; Nora Montgomery, Science; Mark Anderson, History; Larry Lewis, Industrial Arts; Arlis Bidwell, English; Hiro Asamura, Karsten Frankfurth, Earl Smith, C.W. Kananen, Chris Yeager, Chad Rindal, George Maruska; Betty Maruska, Home Economics,; Butch Zieske, Guidance; and Gib McKinnley, Supt. Middle row: Brook Zieske, Paul Kalal, Jason Strunk, Billy Pierce, Toni Smith, Tucker Montgomery, Krystal Montgomery, and Rosie English. Front Row: Kazuyo, Mikami, Sakurako, Hayakawa, Dawn Harrell,, Heather Gilbertson, Anna Sotile, Misty Willmore, Lalita Byrne, Kathy Kalina, and Jamie Strunk. Other school personnel not pictured are: Berna Jean Niemi, who has been the school clerk and secretary since 1978,: Wendi Siroki, assistant clerk and secretary; Ruth Otto and Clara Siroky, cooks; Bill Pierce and Laurie Harrell, custodians; Vicki Willmore and Deanna Robbins, bus drivers; and school board members, Glen Rindal, board chairman; Larry Kalina, Rich Bowser, Dave Gar and Mark Robbins.
• L. to R. Earl Smith, Larry Lewis, Jay Henderson, In 1981 Richard Dengel introduced computers to the Roy school. He taught a course for the high school students. He also offered  a course for adult education. Several in the community took the course in the evenings. The picture above is from 1987 and shows two students with their teacher, Mr. Larry Lewis, studying a course offered from a hookup to Bozeman. The computer has expanded the educational horizon.
• Roy Elementary School 1988 Grades K-6. Back row: L. to R.: Wendi Flower, Kindergarten Aide, Linda Nelson, 5th and 6th grades; Hallie Willmore, Crystal Martin, Shannon Nelson, Roxie Willmore, Paulette Komarek, Heather Nelson, Melody Montgomery, Misty Peters Janice Heiser, 3rd and 4th grades: Myrna Gilbertson, 1st, 2nd and kindergarten. Middle row: Trisha Byrne, Jennifer Pearce, Michell Byrne, Zeke Walker, Tommy Shields, Shawn Komarek, Stacey Gar, Shawn Nelson, Loren Bowser, Travis Nelson, John Cheeseman, Joe Rassmusen, Jesse Olson and Sammi Stecher, Front row: Heidi Kalina, Toni Zieske, Amber Willmore, Holly Peters, Adam Heisinger, Heather Hamilton, Tommy Malmend, Ed Kalal, Kari Zieske, James Shirey and Brian Nelson.
• L. to R. :Gardener, Laura Wright, Gardener, Charles Wright, Jennie Wright, Mildred Gander, John Wright. 
• Roy --1916
• Roy--1989
• The European Hotel and The Silver Dollar Buffet
• Ed Kalal and Jess Bilgren stand in front of the Roy Liquor Store which Ed ran, in the front part of his home for many years. Jess bought Ed's home, after Ed gave up the liquor store, and lived in it until his passing.
• Baptise Bishop, Louise Bishop holding grandson, Dean Walrod, John J. Bishop. Seated: Ann (Bishop) Karau and Lucille (Bishop-Walrod) Umstead. 
• Ben and Lizzie Burnett for his unique drawings and sculptures. He created some very clever Christmas Cards for his friends.
• Clara Cameron