Neil Harris was a very old settler in the Valentine area. The Valentine Springs was on his land. Mr. Harris was a sheep rancher and Mrs. Harris worked in the Superintendent of School's office. She gave the Final Examinations to the students in the eighth grade.
  Mr. Harris donated the timber for the Valentine Hall. The neighbors cut the trees, then sawed the logs into rough lumber, right there on the place, then hauled the finished product to Valentine to erect the building. In 1926 Harris was president of the Valentine Club. The couple had a son, Donald, born in 1911. 

  Anthony "Snowball" Hughes and his wife, Mary, was manager of the Horse Shoe Bar Ranch. Snowball came to this area soon after the turn of the century and worked for a number of years as foreman on the P.N. Ranch at the mouth of Judith. He came to Valentine about 1912. He and Mary were wed at Winifred. They ran longhorn cattle and entered rather extensively into the sheep raising business. They often hired quite a few men. Mary taught in many of the local schools. Snowball became ill and was taken to the Lewistown hospital on December 29, 1937. He passed away on February 3, 1938. He had a daughter, Mrs. O.W. Espe of Spokane, Washington, from a previous marriage. Mary later married George Yaeger. She sold the ranch to Ole Fugelstad.

  G. L. Jones, known as "Buffalo Jones", passed away on Thanksgiving Day, 1929 in a Great Falls hospital. He had been working in the mines at Hughesville when he became ill.
  He was a true western pioneer. Before homesteading near Valentine in 1912, he had made three trips up the Missouri River, working as a cabin boy on the river steamers.
  He lived in Valentine for many years and was a "well known" wheat grower in that area.
  He had a son and a daughter both of whom were living in Seattle at the time of his death.

  Vendell and Catheron left Czechoslovakia in 1905 and came to the United States. They moved from Mississippi to Wisconsin and finally came to Montana. They homesteaded west of Valentine, on the Spiroff place.
  They had seven children: Anna, born in 1895; Emily, born in 1898; Mary born in 1900; Margaret born in 1905; Venell born in 1906; and Andrew born in 1908.
  Mary married Ilio Phillips. Anna married Nick Spiroff.

  From the Valentine News -- September 1918 

  Louis Krugler, who has resided on a homestead on Sage Creek for the past four years, died Tuesday afternoon, about one o'clock at the home of James Turner. Mr. Krugler was stricken suddenly Monday forenoon and walked over to the home of Mr. Turner and told Mrs. Turner, who was home at the time, that he expected to die any moment. The Krugler home is about half a mile from Turner's and realizing his condition, he made the trip to summon aid and was barefoot and only half dressed. He remained conscious long enough to give the address of a brother at Bangor, Michigan and a son at Roswell, South Dakota, who have been summoned by telegram.
  Mr. Krugler was a man about 67 years of age and was well liked and respected by all. He was hard working and industrious. Little is known of his past life other than he came here from South Dakota and took up the homestead which he has improved to a high state of cultivation. ^{P. 405}

  Edward and Anna Lambert and family moved from Indiana to Montana about the same time as the Clifford Clark family. Their place was later acquired by Clark. They were about 9 miles southwest of Valentine. They had four children: Edith, Elsie, Clarence, and Hartley.
  Hartley homesteaded about 3 miles east of his parents (T 18N R 25E Sec. 23). He married a Cooper girl from east of the Musselshell River and later moved to that area.
  Edith married Earl Rothrock in Indiana and they moved out here at the same time. They had one son, Claude.
  Elsie married Leonard Marty and later moved to Washington. They had two children: Ann and Merle.
  Clarence went to Washington when his folks died, sometime in the later 20's.

  William E. Lane was one of the earliest settlers in the Valentine area, having come to the area in 1898. He was born on November 6, 1870 in West Plains, Missouri, the son of Peter and Mary E. Lane. He traveled to Butte, Montana in a covered wagon from Missouri in 1892.
  In 1906 he ran the first mail route between Valentine and Edgewater. In 1916 he was awarded the mail contract on the new mail route from Valentine to Roy.
  Blanche May Long was born in 1886 in Woodland, Washington. She was the daughter of Charles and Anna Long who arrived in 1913 in this area. William and Blanche were married in Lewistown in 1912. They had five children: Peter Elwin, born 1916, Homer born 1918, Franklin born 1920 and Nettle born 1922. All were born at Valentine. When Peter was about three years old, he went to the branding corral and got badly burned. He got infection in the burns and died. He is buried in the Roy Cemetery.
  They lived on the homestead for many years before moving into Winnett. In the spring of 1952 William moved back to the homestead alone, and on June 4th of that year he died of a heart attack at his cabin. He is buried in Lewistown.
  Blanche died in 1967 and is buried in Woodland, Washington.

  William and his wife, Anne Jane "Jenny", came from Albie, Iowa, in 1912 to take up a homestead on Blood Creek about four miles east of Valentine. William and Jenny Lewis traveled by train to Judith Gap Junction which was the end of the line, with their two sons, Ronald aged nine and Bernard aged six, and Mrs. Lewis' father Archie Sinclair.
  There they changed to the Jawbone Line to go to Lewistown. John and Robert Sinclair, Mrs. Lewis' brothers, met them at Lewistown. After a few days rest, the men loaded the Lewis' belongings and supplies in the Sinclair wagon drawn by a four-horse team, and they started off to their new home about eighty miles
east.
  The route went by Gilt Edge to Winnett. The country was rough and hilly, and at one spot on a steep hill the back wheels of the wagon were chained to make a brake. On the other side everyone had to get out and walk up. They stopped to water their horses at a "way" station and ate their "grub". Grub was a word that puzzled Bernard. In Iowa the word meant clearing brush to cultivate the land. He wasn't sure what to expect when his uncle brought out the "grub box", but was happily surprised to find it held lunch for them.
  Their night stop was at Black Butte at the ranch home of "old man" Harding. Bernard said he had never heard the man called anything but "old man" Harding. It was long after dark when they arrived. After they had eaten, they were shown into a lean-to where Mrs. Lewis and the boys were to sleep.
  Shortly after they had gone to their room, Mrs. Harding came in holding a pillow and called it her baby. She frightened the boys, but Mrs. Lewis had been told that the Hardings had lost their only child, a baby girl, and Mrs. Harding had grieved so much that she had lost her mind.
  The family left the next morning. There were no families living between Black Butte and their destination. The trail was across country. At a place called Bear Creek there was a water hole and they stopped to water their horses. It was alkali water and not very good.
  It was long after dark when they arrived at the homestead of John Sinclair. Bernard said the first thing he remembers wanting was a drink of water.
  William staked out a flat spot not far from the homestead of John. He wanted land that looked as much like ^{P. 406} Iowa as possible. To make it legal he had to go back to Lewistown to file.
  Until the Lewis cabin was built on their claim, eight people lived in a room 14 x 18 feet. There were bunktype beds for the adults, but the children slept on the floor. The old stove, used for both cooking and heating had warped lids and smoked every time a fire was built.
  To break the monotony, Bernard and Ronald would often walk across the prairie to see their Uncle Bob and his family. There were many long-horned cattle in the area and no fences and the cattle often started coming towards the boys. They had a big black shepherd dog who was a good heeler, and he kept the animals at a safe distance. Often times they saw big flocks of sage hens, and there were also a lot of range horses. They paid no attention to the boys however.
 Their first winter in Montana was a hard one with lots of snow. The men worked long hours bringing in logs to build a cabin on the Lewis homestead. The cabin was completed on April 8, 1913. There were now three families living on Blood Creek.
  Mrs. Lewis, who was a school teacher, taught the two boys until about 1914. By that time many homesteaders had moved in, so a school house was built on land owned by a man named Long. The first teacher was Pearl Beer.
  William and Jenny Lewis and their family enjoyed their work, their neighbors, their community, and above all "life" in the homestead years.
  William Lewis died in 1930 at his homestead. Jenny Lewis continued to farm the homestead with her sons until about 1936 when she and Bernard moved to a ranch east of Lewistown, known as the Weingart place where she spent the rest of her life.
  Ronald was born in 1903 in Albia, Iowa. He farmed with Bernard, his brother, on the ranch at Valentine for many years. They acquired quite a bit of land as other homesteaders gave up and left for other areas. In 1922 they purchased a new Fordson tractor and later bought a used one, to be able to farm more acres. In the dry 1930's the Lewis Brothers decided to leave Valentine. They leased land in the Snowy Mountains in 1936, but by 1938 after the dry years found that crops no longer matured so near the mountains, Ronald, who by now had married Helen Housel, leased the Housel ranch near Casino Creek.
  Bernard was born in 1906 in Albia. Bernard tells the story of how he saw Montana for the first time. "My first view of Montana country looked to me to be a land of cutbanks, many colored buttes, sage brush and buffalo grass prairies. Valentine was very small and the country didn't look like Iowa. It seemed to me to be very vast and open."
  In 1959, he married Ethel Ferns and they have one daughter, Monica. Bernard and Ethel still reside on a part of the Weingart ranch. In 1976 he sold part of the place and retired from a long and interesting life as a farmer-rancher. Even though he is no longer actively engaged in farming, Bernard retains a lively interest in his former occupation. He is also interested in the history of the area and works to keep alive the heritage passed down by his pioneering parents.

  Clyde Lind lived in the Dovetail area before moving to the Valentine area where he ran horses. He made the Winnett news when he drove a team, hitched to a wagon, through a bank full Buffalo Creek, to get to town. Remembering "the days when he swam artillery horses through the rivers in France," he sent the team into the swollen creek. After swimming downstream several hundred feet, the team, with Clyde and wagon intact, made it ashore. Clyde served with the Horse Brigade in France in WWI.
  He and Mrs. Addie Bevis were married in 1926. They lived in Valentine for many years before moving to the West Coast living there for several years. They returned to Montana and lived in the Cat Creek-Winnett area.

  Three covered wagons pulled by two teams of large draft horses and one team of large mules came down out of the Valentine hills and approached the flat lands. As they approached the flat lands, the occupants saw three men, William Lewis and his two sons, digging post holes. Charley drove the wagon up to them and said, "Hi-ya Bill. So this is the Promised Land. It sure is beautiful grassland."
  This was the arrival of Charley W. and Anne Long in 1913. They had been neighbors of the Lewis and Sinclair families in Iowa. Charley being an accomplished horseman had decided to make the trip by wagon. They came by way of Jordan, crossed the Musselshell River at Mecaha and then came up the '79 Freight Trail to Valentine. Two venturesome young men, David Craft and Charley Major, drove the other wagons.
  Longs picked a homestead close by and built their home just south of Blood Creek. They gave land to build the first school house, which was known as the Long School, Dist. #168. The school was finished just in time for a dance on the eve of St. Patrick's Day in 1914.
  Charley also helped lay out the roads in the area. In 1922-23 Longs sold their homestead and livestock and moved to Winnett where they owned a hotel building ^{P. 407} and a livery stable for many years.
  Charley and Anne had six children: Blanche (Mrs. Wm. Lane), Pearl, Myrtle, Loyde, Maggie and Susan. Loyde was killed in a riding accident when he was in his teens. The girls all married and are living in various Montana communities.
  Charley, Anne and Loyde are all buried in the Winnett Cemetery.

  Kjestine Lund was born in Denmark, in 1890. When she was twenty-one she came with her brother, Peter, to the home of her dad's cousin in Iowa. The cousin helped her find work as a hired girl on farms in Iowa.
  In 1912 she and Peter heard about the free land in Montana, so they left Iowa to come to Montana. They settled in the Valentine area. Peter built a house, and Kjestine stayed with him and did the cooking and washing for six months out of the year. During the other six months, she would work for wages either on the Dengel Ranch near Grass Range, or in a boarding house called Huffman's in Lewistown. Peter fenced Kjestines homestead for her and broke up the required number of acres in exchange for her help.
  After five years when the homestead became her own, Kjestine went to Kansas City and to California to work. She worked as a maid for rich people. She told about the little cap she wore and of eating in the kitchen away from the family.
  When she was about forty-five years old, she went to work as a cook at the Masonic Home in Helena. She retired from that job after twenty years.
  Kjestine loved to travel. She made at least nine trips back to her native Denmark and took side trips to many of the countries of Europe.
  After her retirement, she made her home with her sister Nikoline and brother-in-law, Ray Marr. During this time she resumed her hobby of painting landscapes. She also learned China painting and gave away her plates to her many friends. She enjoyed growing flowers.
  Kjestine remained active until about five months before her death, when it became necessary for her to go to a nursing home. She passed away shortly before her 96th birthday, in 1986. She kept her land until her death. It is now leased by Monte Lund (no relation).

  Lars Lund, born in 1899, youngest brother of Peter Lund, Kjestine Lund and Nikoline Marr came to the United States from Denmark in 1919. His older brother, Kristian, had returned home from World War I. Lars was not needed on the family farm. Kjestine, his sister, was home for a visit, so Lars decided to go back with her to America. At this time, Kjestine was employed in Kansas City, Kansas.
  Lars found employment in a factory. Between factory jobs he came west to visit his sister, Nikoline, and to work for his brother-in-law, Ray Marr, during harvest. At one time, he had decided to go back to Denmark, but a stroke of fate prevented him from doing this. He was robbed of the money he had saved, so he had to stay and work longer in Kansas City.
  After some years of working, he decided to buy some land near Marr's place. He bought a small tract and began farming in 1926.
  In 1929 Miss Nora Kinsella, born in 1903, came from Minot, North Dakota to teach at the Dovetail School. She bearded at Tom Iversons. She met Lars at the Iversons. Helen Wager, the teacher Nora replaced, and Andrew Iverson had just been married. Kjestine and Lars Lund came to visit and brought a cake. Consequently, Lars and Nora were introduced and began keeping company. Nora continued to teach at Dovetail, and in the spring of 1931 she and Lars were married in Lewistown.
  After Nora married Lars, she was not permitted to teach school at the Dovetail school, so she taught the Rice School, on Blood Creek.
  Farming was not very profitable during the 1930's, so Lars sold his farm to Ray Marr in 1939 and resettled at Kinsey, Montana. Nora went to work at the Kinsey School in 1944 and taught there for the next twenty-five years. In 1969, they sold their place at Kinsey and moved to Miles City. Lars passed away in 1976. Nora still lives alone in her house in Miles City.

  Chris Marinoff was born in 1895 in Bulgaria. He and his brother came to homestead in the Valentine country in 1913. His brother returned to Bulgaria. Chris was naturalized in 1920.
  Elsie Boneff and her brother, came from Bulgaria when she was fifteen and met their father in Waterloo, Iowa where he had emigrated several years before.
  Chris Marinoff ordered Elsie as a bride from a mail order catalog. Elsie took a train to Harlowton and Chris met the train. They were married at Harlowton; took the train to Lewistown; then walked out to Chris' homestead near Valentine. Shortly after, she filed on a ^{P. 408} nearby homestead. They moved to Great Falls where Chris worked in the Smelter. They had three children born in Great Falls: Rose Mary who died shortly after birth, Ben, and June. When June was a baby they returned to the homestead
  Elsie's Father, Ben Boneff and brother, Yrdan Boneff, came from Waterloo and filed on adjoining homesteads.
  Chris raised sheep for several years. They moved into the Greyhair's house which had three rooms and two cellars. There were four more children born to the family: Martha, Jim, Joe, and Janie. These babies were all born at the ranch with the help of Mrs. Schoeneche, who was a midwife.
  The children went to a country grade school two and one half miles from their home. Ben, June, Martha, Jim, and Joe went to Winnett High School, and Janie went to Roy High School.
  Chris went to work for the railroad at Winnett in 1946, then transferred to Lewistown where he was hit by a train and killed in 1951.
  Elsie continued to live with her boys on the ranch almost until her death in 1986.
  Ben served four years in the Armed Services during World War II, then returned to the ranch where he, Jim, and Joe still live. None of the boys ever married.
  June lived with her husband, Don Conolly, at Valentine until after Don's death. She now lives in Lewistown. She had four children.
  Martha lived in Great Falls then the Fort Benton area. She has five children.
  Janie lives in Tacoma, Washington, and she had three children.

 Ray Marr was born in Utica, Nebraska to Bill and Laucena Marr. He was one of six boys. He went to grade school in Utica and worked on the family farm.
  In 1912 he came to Montana. His brother, Frank Marr, was already in Montana working as a time keeper for Pick Handle Burke. They decided to take up a homestead. They went to Grass Range, and a man there offered to locate them. After they were located, they went back to Nebraska. In the spring of 1913 they brought in an emigrant car full of machinery and other necessities. Ray remembered that his mother sent a bushel basket of homemade buns with them on the train.
  Nikoline Lund was born in Denmark. She came to Iowa in 1913 to a cousin of her father's. She worked as a hired girl in Iowa for a year. Her brother, Peter Lund, who had a homestead in the Valentine country, wrote to her about homesteading Nikoline and her sister, Kjestine, decided to get a homestead near their brother, Peter. Nikoline came to Montana in 1914. She proved up on a homestead and also worked as a hired girl on the Dengel Ranch and for different people in Lewistown. When she worked on the Dengel Ranch, she had to cook for twenty-four people besides doing the washing for the current school teacher. She soon met Ray Marr, a neighboring homesteader, and they were married in Lewistown on October 23, 1916.
  Ray and Nikoline built a fine ranch on Dovetail. Their ranch included the homesteads of Ray and Frank Marr, Nikoline, and Peter Lund. Monte Lund (no relation) leases Kjestine's homestead.
  The Marrs lived on Dovetail until 1950. At this time they leased their place to Torger Sikveland and moved to a smaller place on Casino Creek, out of Lewistown. They lived there until 1970 when they moved into
Lewistown.
  Ray and Nikoline lived long and active lives. Ray passed away February 28, 1988, four days before his 97th birthday. Nikoline, at age 96, is still living in her home.
  Warren Weaver now lives on the Ray Marr place.

 Sam Marsh and three of his sons, Otto, Raymond and Clifford came from Hankinson, North Dakota to take up homesteads on upper Sage Creek, about 6 miles west of Valentine then in Fergus County. Later in the 20's Petroleum County was formed, taking it in.
  In June of 1912 Sam and Otto came to Lewistown, went out to Sage Creek to look at land. Otto filed on land on the south side of Sage Creek. He went back to North Dakota, got his equipment, drove from Lewistown through Gilt Edge to his homestead and had his shack built and started housekeeping by November 1st, 1912.
  Sam came back in June of 1913 with his equipment and son Clifford. Cliff wasn't old enough to file on land. Sam got land joining Otto's on the west. Their railroad cars were hooked behind the work trains at Lewistown. The rail track was finished to just west of Grass Range. They unloaded out in the country and went northeast to their homestead, about 28 miles.
  The first of April 1914, Raymond came from North Dakota with his belongings in a rail car to Grass Range. He got a half section, a relinquishment, on the north side of Sage Creek, just north of Sam and Otto.
  Several years later Clifford also got a relinquishment to the north, on the north side of the hills close to Southworths. ^{P. 409}
  In December of 1915, Raymond went back to North Dakota; married Viola Caulkins and brought his bride back to the homestead.
  Clifford married a local girl, Opal Jones, on July 30, 1917.
  Otto married Irene Quickenden from Lewistown on August 11,1929.
  The social gatherings in the Sage Creek area were house parties, dances at the Yate's and dances and programs that were held at Valentine, especially after the big community hall was built. There were also activities at the Waverly Church which was just over the hill to the west from the head of Sage Creek.
  The drought and depression of the 30's took its toll. In 1936 Ray Marsh left and went to Chino, California and then to Rosholt, South Dakota, where he farmed until retirement.
  The Delany Ranch runs cattle on Sage Creek now.

  Franz and Elizabeth Martz and son, Leonard, homesteaded in the Valentine area.
  Franz died on July 15, 1940 (or 1934 or 1932, cemetery information unclear) and burial was in the Moore Cemetery.
  Leonard Martz was born in LeRoy, Minnesota in 1891 and homesteaded in 1913 until being called into the service in World War I.
  He married Elsie Lambert in 1921. They moved to Olympia, Washington where he lived until his death in September or October of 1965.
  They had a son, Merle, and a daughter, Ann Chadwick.

  The Milo Messenger family came to the Valentine area to homestead in 1914. Their homestead was 2 1/2 miles northwest of the Valentine post office. The family consisted of the father, Milo, who was born July 4, 1877 in Elma, Washington; mother, Elsie Jokander, born October 15, 1877 in Stockholm, Sweden, and their children, Russell born April 16, 1903 in Denver, Colorado and Florence born June 2, 1908 in Elma, Washington. Florence was 6 years old when they moved to Montana from Elma.
  Florence writes: I attended the Valentine school all my grade school years. When I was in the first grade, our teacher was Viola Lias (Harris). They were homesteaders in the Welter area. There were 32 youngsters in the school in 1914. Many people got discouraged and moved away, so the school attendance decreased in a few years. I had several teachers there. Some I have forgotten their names. Mrs. Clyde Stephens, Mrs. Sam Conolly and Mrs. Carl Jackson were some teachers that I remember well. Mrs. Jackson was my 8th grade teacher.
The Messengers had cattle and a few head of horses.
  The family got most of their groceries from Roy. The mail man would take their list and bring the groceries to them. "Few people had transportation to go that far. In the fall, when and if, there was grain to haul we would get our staple groceries and then hope we had enough to see us through the winter."
  Mail was brought out by carriers from Roy by horses, then later by cars, three times a week.
  After graduating from the Valentine school, Florence attended high school in Scandia, Kansas for a year and then part of a year in Lewistown. She married Andrew Lewis in 1924, and they lived a mile and a half west of Valentine. The couple had four children. All were born in Lewistown, only one reached adulthood. Helen was born in August of 1926; Donna, November 1936-1947; Edward, January 1935-1938 and Edna, April 1931-1936.
  The drouth and grasshoppers "got to us" in 1937 and the family moved to Washington. Milo had left in 1936, moving to Washington where he died June 28, 1939. Elsie passed away October of 1947. Both are buried in Elma as is Andrew Lewis who died June 28, 1968.
  Russell Franklin married Estella Horachek on October 14, 1925. They had a family of six children: Frances born in February of 1926 in Valentine; Floyd Emery born October 1927 in Lewistown; Alice May born May 1929 in Valentine; Shirley Lee born January 1932 in Valentine; Russell John born May 1934 in Lewistown, and Violet Irene born February 1937 in Elma, Washington.
  Russell passed away in March of 1958 and Estella in March of 1964. They, too, are buried in Elma.

  Ike Messier grew up in the breaks of the Missouri River near the mouth of the Musselshell River. He did homestead in the Valentine area, but did not stay long.
  He met his wife, Ruth Covert, when the stage in which he was traveling stopped at her parents place near Valentine, so passengers could warm up. By that time he was living in Lewistown. They married six weeks after they met and 50 years later, on February 1, 1987 they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in Lewistown.
  Ike's boyhood adventures in the Missouri Breaks were told about in the book, "Ike, Boy of the Breaks", written by his daughter, Roberta Donavon. ^{P. 410}

  Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Minter lived on the Crooked Creek drainage, northwest of Valentine where they raised registered Shorthorn cattle. The Minters had no children. The following article is from the Winnett Times, dated July 15, 1921:

   "Because E. P. Minter's rye crop stands more than six feet high, a neighbor was lost in it at night, and had to be rescued from the jungle by searchers on horseback, says a dispatch at Valentine.
   Minter, who lives on a ranch six miles north of Valentine, has a 200 acre field of rye planted last fall on summer fallow. More than a week ago the rye stood taller than Minter, who stands more than six feet in his soxs.
   One of his neighbors went to call on Minter, and as the rye field stood directly in his path, he decided to cut across it, as he later related, but after making his way for a considerable time, found he was unable to see in any direction. The day being cloudy, he wandered around until dark.
   The following morning, his wife, becoming worried over his absence, started out in search of her husband. Not finding any trace of him at his intended destination of the previous afternoon, she sought the aid of neighbors who found his tracks where he had entered the field, but no trace of where he left it. A few lusty shouts were answered by the lost man within, who was then rescued by men on horse back."

  Joe was born in 1883 in Ballyscanlon, Donezal, Ireland, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Peoples. He came to the United States at the age of 10, settling in North Dakota. He later moved to Canada.
  In the early 20's he moved to Montana, settling in the Valentine area.
  He married Mabel Galloway in 1922. She died in 1935. He married Carrie Hardy in 1938. They later separated. He married Helen Covert Messenger in 1953. They lived on his ranch until 1955 when they retired and moved to Lewistown. Joe died in 1969. He is buried in the Lewistown City Cemetery.

  Ilio Phillips came to Montana and homesteaded in the Valentine area in 1912. Phillip's brother, Vane Cotchoff, also homesteaded in the area where other emigrants from Bulgaria also homesteaded.
  Ilio, or Louis, was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Cotchoff. He received his schooling there and came to the United States in 1907.
  In Bulgaria it was the custom for children to use their dad's first name as their last name.
  Mary Kiska was born in 1900 in Czechoslovakia, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vendell Kiska. She came to the United States in 1905 with her parents. She received her schooling in Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Montana. They came to the area west of Valentine sometime before 1915.
  The couple was married in 1917. They lived on the homestead where they farmed and raised cattle until they retired in 1959 and moved to Lewistown.
  They had four sons: Louis born in 1918, George born in 1919, Eldon born in 1921 and Stanley born in 1929. The boys attended the Long School and graduated from Winnett High School.
  Eldon returned to the ranch after graduation. Stanley married Katherine Christensen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Christensen of Roy. They lived in Billings. He died in 1968.
  George ranched in the area and married Winnie. They later moved to Maine.
  Louis moved to Idaho and ran a seed house. He married and raised a family there.
  Ilio died in 1963. Mary died in 1972. Both are buried in Lewistown.

Vane Phillips was born September 15, 1886 in Macedonia, Greece. He came to the United States in 1906 and returned to Macedonia two years later. He was married in Macedonia but his wife died. He came back to the United States in 1910 and lived in St. Louis, Missouri until 1914. Vane came to Montana and lived and worked around Lewistown until 1917. From 1917 to 1936 he ranched with his brother, Ilio, near Valentine. For several years he operated the Dovetail service station. He was a master stone mason, and the walls of many wells in the area show his handiwork. In later years he worked around Winnett as a carpenter until his retirement. Vane died September 15, 1961 and is buried at Winnett. (Obit: Winnett Times September 21, 1961.) ^{P. 411}

  Aaron Potter was born in 1870. Clara Adams was born in 1876 in Isadore, Missouri. They were married in 1894. In 1913 they homesteaded in the Valentine area. In a 1919 newspaper item there was a report of Potter's great corn crop.
  Aaron and Clara had nine children: Charles born in 1896, Paul born in 1899, Howard born in 1901, Goldie born in 1903, Vesta born in 1906, David born in 1908, Rachel born in 1911, Esther born in 1915, and Harry born in 1918. The children attended schools in Valentine, Roy, and Winnett.
  Aaron Potter died in 1928 and is buried in Los Angeles, California. Clara Potter died in 1966 and is buried at Bellevue, Washington.

Roy Enterprise -- 7, August 1919.

  The T.C. Powers outfit, known locally as the Horseshoe Bar and also the PN outfit, who have operated in this section for many years closed out their holdings recently to Butte parties. They owned 10,000 acres and had about 12,000 acres of state land leased at the mouth of the Judith River, and we understand they have traded this ranch off for hotel property and other income property in Seattle. The deal involves about $260,000.
  Their shipment of five cars of cattle from Roy and a train load from Winifred Saturday closes out all their cattle section, except 200 head of cows and calves that are being held at Lindstrom by George Harrell. These will be sold in a short time and thus will pass another of the old outfits that at one time ran thousands of head on this range.

  Earl F. Rothrock married Edith Lambert and they had one son, Claude. Earl traveled from Indiana with Clifford Clark in an emigrant car in 1913. His wife, Edith, came by way of train with Clifford's wife, Maude, and children.
 The Rothrock and Clark party rode from Hilger to the homestead in a lumber wagon pulled by a span of mules and a team of horses. The train made it's first trip to Roy that day, but Clark didn't think the train would stay on the track so they got off at Hilger. The Rothrocks homesteaded near Valentine.

  Oscar Sandstrom, born in 1907 in Alexandria, Minnesota, was married to Josephine Fritzner, who was born in St. Peters, Minnesota, in 1906. They came to the area in 1915 and lived near Valentine. They left in 1926, moving to Washington state. They had four children: Verna, who died in 1915 at the age of 5, in Minnesota; Clarence who passed away in 1924 at the age of 6 and is buried in Roy; Walter, whose birthplace is listed as Fergus County, was born in 1922 and passed away in 1984. He is buried in Vancouver, Washington. The youngest son, Clayton, was born in Valentine in 1924. He now resides in Washington. 
  Josephine passed away in 1955; Oscar in 1956. Both are buried in Vancouver.

  Amelia "Molly" Schoeneche was a Dutch lady who came from an Oklahoma cotton farm to homestead in the Valentine area in about 1912 or 1913. Her homestead was about a mile north of the homestead of Harlan Bevis. Her husband came out here with her, but she soon divorced him because he beat her. He left the area.
  She had five children. A daughter, Clara Belle Jones, homesteaded to the north (T 21N, R 24E, Sec. 8). There was an older son named Otto. There were three girls listed on the school census; Pauline born in 1901, Theresa born in 1902 and Else born in 1905.
  She was a hard worker, and after living on a cotton farm where the cultivating was done by a mule-drawn plow, and the weeding and picking were done by hand, she was not afraid to do any job that would help provide a living for herself and her children. She would even pull wool from sheep she found dead on the range. She acted as a midwife for several women in the community and baby-sat the children for parents who had to leave for business.
  Later she married James Turner, better known as "Coyote Jimmy". She also drove the mail and stage at times.
  Mrs. Schoeneche returned to Oklahoma when she left Valentine. ^{P. 412}

  Archie Sinclair was born in Tyrone County, Ireland, on February 2, 1847. At the age of 7, he came with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they lived for 3 years before moving on to Monroe County, Iowa.
  Archie served two years in the Army in the Civil War in Company H 1st Cavalry, from which he was honorably discharged in March of 1866.
  On March 5, 1872 he married Hannah Spears. They had ten children; John H., Ann Jane, Mary, William C., Barbara, James R., Robert J., Charles E., Archibald, and Milo.
  Archie had a good stock farm in Iowa, but he said he could take a homestead and give it to his two sons,
John H. and Robert J. He had Veterans Rights that he could use for proving claim patents more quickly. In 1912 Archie traveled to Montana and homesteaded on land that joined his son's, in Valentine. He was a good neighbor and was ready to help in any way that he could. He returned to Iowa after proving up on his homestead.
  Archie died April 26, 1916 in Albia, Iowa. His wife, Hannah, continued to visit her children in Valentine for many years.
  Archibald homesteaded T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 25, John homesteaded T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 35, and Robert homesteaded T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 25.

  John H. Sinclair was born in 1873 at Albia, Iowa. He grew up in Albia and worked on his father's stock farm.
  Lola Belles was born in 1880 in Blakesburg, Iowa. On October 31, 1900 John and Lola were married. They had three children: Emmett, born in 1901, died in 1905; Isadeen born 1907, and LaVelle born in 1910.
  In 1910 the family came to the Valentine area, where they farmed and raised cattle. When they first settled, they had a one room log cabin built by John and a neighbor. Later when John built a larger log cabin to live in, the smaller one became a chicken house.
  During those first years of homesteading, two trips a year were made into Lewistown to stock up on groceries and supplies. Those trips took 3 days each. Mail was received at Valentine; they either rode horseback or went by team and wagon the 3 1/2 miles to collect it.
  The girls attended Long Grade School and went to high school in Winnett. Isadeen married Arnold Drake. LaVelle married Sakuichi Sakai and she now lives in Kapoau, Hawaii.
  John and Lola moved to the Bitterroot Valley in Western Montana when they left the ranch. John passed away in April of 1959 and Lola in October of 1969. Both are buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Hamilton.

  Robert Sinclair was born in 1886 at Albia, Iowa. He grew up in Albia and worked on his father's stock farm.
  Della Chidester was born in 1888 at Albia, Iowa, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Chidester. She received her schooling at the Albia schools. Robert and Della were married in 1910.
  In 1911, Robert and Della came from Albia to Montana, where they homesteaded four miles southeast of Valentine. Their homestead joined the homestead of Robert's brother, John.
  The Sinclairs were farmers and ranchers throughout their years on the homestead. Robert and Della had five children: Viola born in 1913; Wanda born in 1918; Pat and Mick, the twins, born in 1920; and Robert born in 1928. The children went to the Long School for the grades, and then to Winnett High School.
  Robert and Della enjoyed their homestead days and were well-liked in the community. They especially enjoyed their ranch life, their neighbors and raising their children.
  Robert died at home in 1963 and Della in 1976. Both are buried in the Lewistown City Cemetery.
  Viola has some memories of homestead days to share. "One of the first things I remember was when my sister was born in 1918. Mama brought the new baby home. The influenza was bad and Mama caught it. I was taken to my Aunt Jennie's and stayed all winter. My grandmother Sinclair from Iowa moved in and took care of Mama and the new baby. The baby had to be fed a gruel made out of oatmeal. Mama's doctor was Dr. Freed, a lovely lady, who was known far and wide. She showed my father how to give Mama quinine and whiskey, and told him they could pull Mama through, which they did.
  I remember when everyone had to register all guns, when World War One was going on. My father, and other men his age, had to answer summons to have a physical and be classified to go to the war, but the Armistice was signed before they got back home. They had a big celebration and danced until daylight, then went home, changed their clothes, milked a bunch of cows, before they got any rest. ^{P. 413} 
  In the fall, the men of the area all had cattle roaming the hills to the Missouri River. There were no fences, so the men went on big roundups, which sometimes lasted for a month. The women and children took care of things at home and helped each other. The wolves were so bad the chores had to be done before dark. Lots of times we could see the wolves' eyes shine in the lamp light.
  Mama liked to speak "pieces" and be in the home talent plays. My father played the violin for dances all over the country, playing with Bert Thorsheim, and Jess and Tony Brooks. My Uncle John was the square dance caller."

  While the knockers within and without are taking their digs at Montana in general, we want to tell a story of prosperity, the receipt of which is free to all.
  Five years ago, Rintz Sjaarde settled on 160 acres of land adjoining the townsite of Valentine on the north. He later acquired another 40 acres, making him 200 acres in all. During the past three years Dick has been making money. He came here with a patch on his pants and little money in his pockets. About a week ago, and mind you, right during the worst year ever known in Montana, Dick stated that he is making money, real old hard iron dollars and has no kick coming whatsoever. He said he was selling about $1.25 worth of eggs every day. His cream check averages about $1.25 a day, making $2.50 per day. He expects to thresh between 400 and 500 bushels of wheat. He has 40 acres of corn which is good considering the year and other grain all raised on his own land. He owns 10 head of cattle, 10 head of horses and a few chickens. Two years ago he built a small but comfortable two-story home, he supports his mother and sister, has a good line of farm machinery and is out of debt. His success is no secret. He farms according to dry farming methods and farms it well, takes care of what he raises and saves his money.

  Clarence Spackman (Speckman) was a resident of the Valentine area where he had homesteaded and farmed for 17 years. He was nearly helpless with rheumatism the last several years of his life, but was remembered for always remaining cheerful.
  Spackman was born in 1855 in LaCounts Mills, Pennsylvania. He and his wife came to the area from Bradshaw, Nebraska, where they were married.
  The couple had two children; Maude, who died in infancy and John C. who was living in California at the time of his father's death on December 14, 1931 at the homestead eight miles west of Valentine.

  Clyde E. Stephens was born on January 14, 1870 in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Stephens. He spent his early childhood there. He came, with his parents, to the Ft. Maginnis area in the early 1900's. On December 27, 1907 he married Regina Solleder. Regina was born on September 28, 1881 in McPaul, Iowa.
  They took up a homestead in the Valentine area about 1912, where they lived until the 1930's when they moved to Roy.
  Mrs. Stephens taught school for several years around the area. She was the Clerk of District 122 of Fergus County until it was divided; then she became clerk of the new Valentine-Dovetail District 168.
  Clyde passed away on January 27, 1947 at the age of 77 and Regina on April 19, 1941 at the age of 70. Both are buried in Lewistown.
  The Stephens had five children: Edmond J. was born January 30, 1909 at Gilt Edge. He died December 5, 1976, buried in Lewistown. 
  Harry F. was born November 6, 1910 at Ft. Maginnis.
  Margaret A. was born March 2, 1912 at Ft. Maginnis, a popular teacher; died September 22, 1983 at Lewistown.
  Webb was born January 5, 1915 in Thurman, Iowa where his mother was attending a family reunion. She remained there after his birth and returned to Montana when he was six weeks old.
  Lucille C. was born June 13, 1917 at Valentine.
  The children attended various elementary schools in the area and high school in Roy, Grass Range, and Judith Gap. Webb attended Billings Business College. He married Irene Marsh, daughter of Cliff and Opal Marsh, on December 19, 1940. They moved away from the area in 1941.

 Charles was a widower and had one daughter. He sold his land and stock to J.B. Bowser in 1917. He was a brother to James and Joseph Sullinger.
  Joseph P. Sullinger homesteaded in this area also. (T. 18N, R 25E, Sec. 26).
^{P. 414}

  James came to Fergus County in 1880. He lived on the north fork of McDonald Creek for many years. Around 1916 he homesteaded on Sage Creek, north of his brother Charles. He raised sheep. He married Myrtle Bowman (T 18N, R 25E, Sec. 27, 28) in 1895. They had six children. Edward was born in 1900. He homesteaded T 18N, R 25E, Sec. 27. He later went to Spokane, Washington. Edith, born 1903, married a Tindall and lived in Lewistown. Vance, born 1904, moved to Seattle, Washington. Glenn, born 1909, worked the homestead with his Dad until they sold out and moved to Lewistown. He joined his brothers in Washington. Lillian married George Allen. After his death in 1916, she married Ted Brooks and lived at Valentine for awhile before moving to Lewistown. They had one daughter. Effie Ellen married Lon Turner and lived west of Grass Range.
  Myrtle was born August 13, 1879 in Coffeyville, Kansas. She came to Fergus County in 1887 with her parents. After James' death on May 7, 1928, she married William Kiefer in 1939. Myrtle died June 18, 1944. Both she and James are buried in Lewistown.

  The Tilletts came to the Valentine area in the early 1900's from South Dakota. Three children were listed in the Valentine-Dovetail school census for 1919. The children were; Freda and Beulah (twins) born April 19, 1909 in Redfield, South Dakota and Gerald, born in 1911.
  Beulah (Mrs. George Fairbairn) passed away on January 15, 1989 in Lewistown. Among her survivors were listed two sisters: Freda M. Shaw of Lewistown and Irene VanWeerdhuizen of Lynden, Washington and two brothers: Gerald Tillett of Turner, Oregon and Henry Tillett of Dallas, Oregon.

  Henry and Elvira came to Valentine from Redfield, South Dakota in 1913. After proving up, they moved into Winnett where he worked on the railroad section. Henry died in 1922. Elvira died in 1930. Both are buried in Winnett.
They had two sons: C. E. Tillett and James Tillett. Henry was a brother to Cecil.

  William J. Trimble was born in 1885 at Jefferson City, Missouri. Della Mead was born in 1892 in Nebraska. She was the daughter of George and Ida Mead who homesteaded on Sage Creek. Meads ran a creamery in Roy in 1928-29.
  Trimbles came to Montana in 1914 and picked a homestead in the Valentine area. They raised grain, hay and cattle. Bill carried the mail from Valentine to Roy for many years. They stayed on the homestead until they retired and moved to Lewistown. They sold their ranch to Merlin and Ruth Busenbark. William died in 1973 and Della died in 1980. They are both buried at Sunset Memorial Gardens at Lewistown.
  They had three children: Grace born in 1915, Eva born in 1916 and George born in 1919. These children attended the Valentine school and Roy and Fergus Co. high schools.
  Grace taught at Valentine in 1934-36. In 1936 she married Fred Hill. They moved away from the area in 1937. They have 2 children, Karen and James. and Fred now live in Big Fork, Mt. Eva became a Registered nurse, married Mr. Rolen and lives in California. George lives in Big Fork, Montana next door to Grace. ^{P. 415}

  James Turner, well known as "Coyote Jimmy", lived with his wife about five miles southwest of Valentine. He was called "Coyote Jimmy" because he ran trap lines to catch coyotes all along the mail route and several other areas. James was the mail carrier in the early days. Mail came twice a week from Edgewater, later known as the Forbes Leslie Ranch.
  James married Amelia Schoeneche who also drove the mail stage part of the time. He left here and went to Jordon to retire about 1933.

  Dr. George M. White filed on a claim in Montana, 28 September 1913. Dr. George and Tressa Johnson White and their two boys, Walter and George Jr. left Wood River, Nebraska for Montana on 12 February 1914, arriving in Lewistown on 14 February 1914. Doctor and Durwood Johnson went on the stock cars, while E.D. Johnson, his wife Isabelle; Toots Johnson, wife of Harry Johnson and little son Ernest, along with daughters Florence, Josephine, Mary and Leona (Johnson) Cauley and son Bruce followed on the train.
  Florence, Toots, and Ernest Johnson and Tressa White and sons Welter and George Jr. went out to the claim 4 March 1914, after a hectic trip on a 8-tier wagon box from which Tressa was thrown when the wagon wheel dropped into a broken culvert. Tressa and George Jr. were dumped into the water and mud hole. They were picked up and taken into the Hanson Mercantile at Roy and cleaned up and cared for. Tressa was almost ready to deliver a baby. They were taken to the claim the next day by Dr. Blank.
  Martha Annabelle White was born in the Schlecter homestead shack on 10 April 1914, near Valentine. Dr. G. M. White was the attending physician and Florence Johnson, the nurse. Whites moved into their sod house on their claim 22 April 1914, Valentine.
  Dr. George White and E.D. Johnson (father-in-law) went into the livery business in Roy, Montana, 16 July 1914 when they took over the Green Barn, 21 July 1914. Dr. George was a horse lover and enjoyed the association with the barn.
  Tressa was trampled by a blind sorrel mare on 28 September 1915. Dr. White and Dr. Batton came out to the homestead the next day by car. It stalled 3 miles from the homestead and they had to get a team of buckskin mules to pull them all to Roy, where Tressa laid for three weeks recuperating.
  Ernest Daniel Johnson Jr., son of Harry and Toots, was born 9 May 1912 in Wood River, Nebraska. He died 4 February 1915 from burns received when he fell backwards into a boiler of boiling water that his mother had just taken off the stove to cool so that she could scrub the floor. The two-year-old child climbed on a chair to reach a ball on a high shelf, lost his balance, and fell backward from the chair into the hot water. Since there was no cemetery in Roy yet, Grandpa E. D. Johnson and August Diamond, owner of the furniture store, pooled their finances to buy the land that became the Roy Cemetery. Neighbor and old-time-friend, Charles Southworth Sr. built the little casket and Mrs. Southworth lined it with red flannel and young Frank dug the grave.
  The rough life of homesteading did not appeal to Mrs. White so the Whites leased 6 acres west of Roy, and moved their shack onto it in October of 1915. Walter started school in November 1915 with Ruth Lonergan, his first teacher, grade 1. Dr. White went to Helena, Montana and took the Montana State Dental Board Exams. He opened his Roy office and hung out his shingle, lot 12, block 3, corner of First Avenue West and Main. He continued his practice, supplementing it with one week of service at Winnett, a week at Winifred, and being at his Roy office the week between.
  The E. D. Johnsons moved to the Horse Ranch where they were employed. Dr. White was a man of many talents. He cared for animals as well as people, delivered many babies, mended horse harness, as well as bloody noses and other ailments. He was an artist, a musician -- playing E Flat Alto Saxophone in the Roy Band, played violin, piano, did engineering, was a story teller and confidante of others troubles.
  Mrs. White taught the second and third grades in Roy the year of 1920-21.
  February 11, 1921, Dr. White opened offices in the Empire Bank Building in Lewistown, and after school ended, Mrs. White and the children followed to make their home in Lewistown, where they resided until the time of their deaths. Dr. G. M. White passed away 9 November 1953. Mrs. Tressa White passed away 15 September 1974.
  Johnson family members: Ernest Daniel Johnson died in Missoula, Montana, 1934 and is buried there. Isabelle Hall Johnson died in Tillamook, Oregon, 1941 and was buried in Tillamook (Grandparents). Harry Montgomery died in Grand Island, Nebraska, 1944. Juanita Toots Clark Johnson died in Grand Island, Nebraska, 1945. Durwood Hall Johnson died in Grand Island, Nebraska, 1960. Florence Johnson married F.C. "Scoop" Marshall and she died in San Diego, California and is buried there. Josephine Johnson died in Tillamook, Oregon. Mary Johnson Bynum is still living in ^{P. 416} Vallejo, California.
  Dr. G. M. and Tressa White's children: Dr. Welter E. White is a retired surgeon, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. George Mathew White, Jr., lives in Ronan, Montana. Annabelle White Thorny lives in Lewistown, Montana.
  Some little quips worth mentioning!
  Ralph Jenson came to Dr. White's office suffering with a terrible toothache. Doc asked, "How are we going to do this, scientifically or religiously?" Ralph asked, "Which is the cheapest?" The tooth was extracted with no further questions!
  Annabelle told that once a cowboy came to their home with an excruciating toothache. The Doctor was not home and he begged Mrs. White to pull the tooth. She did!! This little lady was able to do this unbelievable task under these extreme circumstances.

BROOKS, TED, TONY, JESS AND HOBART-- The Brooks brothers lived 6 miles southwest of Valentine near Sage Creek. Ted was the only one to get married. He married Lillian Sullinger Allen. They had one daughter. Tony and Jess died in Lewistown. The brothers served in World War I.

BUNNELL, WALTER E.- T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 15. Welter owned the Valentine Cash Store. He sold it to Riggs Bros. in September of 1917. Welter and his wife Rosa had one daughter, Flora, born in 1903.

DOBNER, THOMAS HARRY-- T 18N, R 27E, Sec. 9. Harry was taken ill with pleurisy while working at Ross Fork in 1916 and came home to recover. They had a small daughter that died of measles. In 1922 Mrs. Dobner died of childbirth and the flu. The child died also.

HAYFIELD, NICHOLAS AND ALFRED- T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 32. Nick was one of the early bronc riders. Men would "pass the hat" to gather enough money to get Nick to ride a bronc for them. Nick married May Gallagher and they had a family of four children. They left Valentine in 1928 or 1929 and moved to Idaho.
  Alfred, a bachelor, moved to Gilt Edge around 1920. The men were brothers. 

KAIMILOFF, C. G.-- On January 18, 1917, Kaimiloff sold the stock of goods, building and good will of the general mercantile business to Riggs Brothers and Carlson composed of W P., H.R. and O.L. Riggs and Arthur J. Carlson. They conducted the business under the name of Valentine Mercantile Company. O.L. Riggs was in charge of the store. 

JORGENSON, ANDERS (Chris)-- T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 19, 30. Chris was a bachelor who homesteaded in the Valentine area. He was a sheepherder for Neil Harris. He raised chickens and sold eggs. He sold out about 1947 and moved to Lewistown, where he died.

LUNN, OLE-- T 18N, R 26E, Sec. 4 & 9. Ole and his wife Carrie had a daughter Elizabeth, born in 1911. He homesteaded north of Valentine, next to Jerry Lashat. Ole ran a blacksmith shop in Valentine.

MORRISON, J.V.- also known as "Ham", lived on the Crooked Creek-Blood Creek Divide, about seven miles northwest of Valentine. Through the Montgomery Ward ads J.V. ordered a wife. She left him the day after their wedding dance at Valentine. He told everyone that he married her on Friday, August 13th, lived 13 days with her, gave her $10 and told her to leave!

PETTERSON, ALFRED AND ANNA (Peterson, Al)-- of Valentine were buying cream in the area as most people owned a few cows and a separator so it looked as though there was a need for a "real" cream station to be set up in Valentine, 1919. He had a store and was postmaster at Valentine. They had 2 sons: Vernon born December 31, 1903 and Andrew born December 18, 1905.

RAWLINS, FRANK-- lived 3 miles north of Valentine. In October of 1920 it was reported that he had raised some huge watermelons, six of them weighed 150 pounds. He had a big spring on his place where people would water livestock.

RUTLEDGE, J.W.-- homesteaded near the mouth of Hay Coulee and took a soldiers scrip. He sold to Bill Albright then moved east of Valentine to Rutledge Springs where he had a store.

TIMMERMAN, WALTER EDWARD-- T 20N, R 26E, Sec. 33 and 34. Welter was born near Walls Walla, Washington on December 31, 1892. He was in the Navy during WWI and was discharged in 1918. He learned that a veteran was eligible to apply for homestead land so he came to the Valentine area and picked out a place on Crooked Creek. He proved up on his land and then returned to Richland, Washington where he was postmaster of the town. He worked around Portland, Oregon for awhile before moving to California where he went to work for the United States Immigration Service as a border patrolman. After retirement he returned to Portland where he resided until his death in 1977. His homestead was left to his sister, Blanche Timmerman.

YATES, JAMES AND MILDRED-- T 18N, R 25E, Sec. 29 and 30. The Yates came from Canada and homesteaded on the old South Valentine road, southwest of Valentine near Clifford Clarks. The Yates had three children: Teddy, Mildred and Myrtle. Mrs. Yates died of influenza on December 27, 1918. She is buried in Roy. The family returned to Canada after they had proved up on the homestead.

ZECK, HERMAN-- T 18N, R 25E, Sec. 13. Mr. Zeck, a bachelor, was born on July 31, 1877 in Germany and came to Montana in 1910. Before homesteading, one mile west of Valentine, he was a hardrock miner at Butte. He left the area in 1950 and moved to Lewistown where he died December 26, 1956. He is buried in the Lewistown City Cemetery.

• Bill and Delia [Trimble] on their 50th anniversary in 1963