Sept. 30 -- On this day in Montana history in 1911 young aviator Cromwell Dixon in a Curtiss biplane crossed the main range of the Rocky Mountains for the first time in history. He had left from the fairgrounds in Helena.  

Sept. 29 – On this day in Montana history in Sept. 29 – On this day in Montana history in 1910 the first public performance of what became Montana’s official state song, “Montana,” took place at the Helena Theatre. The song was written by Joseph Howard. The Black Eagle Band of Great Falls was in town to perform at the State Fair, and Howard enlisted the band to perform it in its public debut.

Sept. 28 -- On this day in Montana history in 1954 former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at the Helena Civic Center. She delivered a passionate speech on the importance of the United Nations and her hope for world peace.

Sept. 27 – On this day in Montana history in 1943 central Montana radio KFBB Radio channel 1310 listeners were got to see the voices behind the radio shows they listened to every day. The station took out ads with the photos of more than 100 radio personalities like Cecil B. DeMills and his Lux Radio Theatre at 7 p.m. 

Sept. 26 -- On this day in Montana history in 1910 the first successful public flight in the state of Montana was made at the Montana State Fair Grounds in Helena. Pilot J.C. “Bud” Mars made two successful flights in his Curtis plane.

Sept. 25 – On this day in Montana history in 1886 the first horse drawn street cars made their appearance on Helena’s streets. The event was celebrated with much pomp and circumstance as what would become the state Capital City was growing up. 

Sept. 24 -- Sept. 24 – On this day in Montana history in 1841 Father Pierre Jean DeSmet planted a cross on the banks of what is now the Bitterroot River where he established the historic St. Mary’s Mission. This is the 175^th anniversary of the mission, and the Montana Historical Society is helping celebrate it. 

Sept. 23 – On this day in Montana history in 1954 President Dwight David Eisenhower was in Montana on a three-day airplane tour of the West. More than 30,000 people gathered when he dedicated the U.S. Forest Service Aerial Fire Depot near Missoula.

Sept. 22 – On this day in Montana history in 1927 Sim Roberts died of a heart attack in a Butte hotel. Sims came to Montana in 1878 and quickly earned a reputation as a crack shot, rustler and suspected murderer. Ironically at the end of his life, he had changed his ways and was serving as a deputy U.S. marshal and was in Butte to investigate sock fraud.

Sept. 21 – On this day in Montana history in 1911 land in the “Yahk” Valley was being classified and broken into subdivision for homestead units. The effort was being made to include forested lands as agriculture units for homesteaders to claim.

Sept. 20 – On this day in Montana History in 1942 quotas were established by the War Production Board in Helena for all Montana counties to save kitchen fat. Advertisements appeared across the state urging housewives to “Save Waste Fats for Explosives” for the World Was Two effort. It was said that 3 pounds of fat could provide enough glycerin to make a pound of gunpowder.

Sept. 19 – On this day in Montana history in 1944 the historic Reau Chalet in Butte was in smoldering ruins. Fire destroyed the rustic building and magnificent landscaping of the chalet that had hosted countless social events and housed many dignitaries visiting Montana since it was built in 1885.

Sept. 18 -- Sept. 18 – On this day in Montana history in 1955 the death of Maggie Smith Hathaway, who was one of Montana’s first two women legislators, was reported in Montana. She died in Tacoma, Wash. As a representative from Ravalli County she elected to the Legislature in 1916 and served two more terms.

Sept. 17 – On this day in Montana history in 1881 dare devil Paul Boyton thrilled a large crowd of Montanans gathered along the Yellowstone River when he donned his inflatable Indian rubber suit and floated off down the river. Boyton was known as “The Incredible Floating Man.”

Sept. 16 – On this day in Montana history in 1923 the national Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan chartered The Invisible Realm of Montana. The KKK thrived in Montana during the 1920s largely because of fears created in the state that was already in depression and suffering a dwindling job market.

Sept. 15 -- Sept. 15 – On this day in Montana history in 1910 The Newspaper of Chester published what it called the “Ten New Dry Landers’ Commandments” on its front page.  Among them was “thou shalt plow deep,” “thou shalt summer fallow when rainfall is less than 15 inches,” “thou shalt add organic matter to the soil.” The list ended with “he who obeys these commandments shall reap abundant crops.”

Sept. 14 – On this day in Montana history in 1918 The Butte Miner reported that 40 members of the IWW labor union had been taken from their premises in the middle of the night and thrown into jail. The raids were said to be intended to head off a major strike of miners.

Sept. 13 – On this day in Montana history in 1925 Lake County Sheriff W.R. Kelly reported that a gypsy caravan riding in 5 automobiles instead of horse drawn wagons as had been used before had taken $104 from a Ronan restaurant owner. The sheriff said he headed off the caravan and was able to retrieve the money.

Sept. 12 – On this day in Montana history in 1907 a Great Northern Railroad Oriental Limited express car was held up and robbed near Rexford. Two men who were onboard the train climbed over the tender and forced the engineer to stop the train in the wilderness near Yaak. The robbers netted about $40,000.

Sept. 11 – On this day in Montana history in 1919 President Woodrow Wilson was greeted by 2,000 people as he made a special trains stop on his tour of major Montana cities in support of his proposed peace treaty to end World War One. It included U.S. membership in the proposed League of Nations. The Senate eventually voted down Wilson’s plan.

Sept. 10 -- Sept. 10 – On this day in Montana history in 1884 the Anaconda smelter was lit up for the first time. It stack remains a landmark visible for miles on the Interstate. The plant manager said in ceremonies at the smelter that he hoped “that they may never be extinguished.”

Sept. 9 – On this day in Montana history in 1967 another chapter in the story of the Battle of the Little Big Horn was written when Major Marcus Reno was reburied at the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery near Hardin. He died in 1889 in disgrace -- partially for his then viewed failure to support Custer in the battle. He had been buried in an unmarked grave in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, D.C. 

Sept. 8 – On this day in Montana history in 1908 “Automatic Telephones” were being installed in places across Montana. The phones “render it impossible for anyone but the party you are talking to, to hear what you are saying” advertisements for the service claimed. Sounds like the more things change the more they stay the same.

Sept. 7 – Sept. 7 – On this day in Montana history in 1904 the Havre Herald reported on the success of Labor Day events with 500 working men marching and dozens of floats in the parade. In its reports of major speeches given touting the need to organize labor, W. G. Conrad’s speech on the need to “fight against” the threat of “Orient labor” to American workers was said to have riled up the crowd. Some things never change, it seems.

Sept. 6 -- On this day in Montana history in 1923 J.W. Tucker of Worden, who had been a tobacco grower in Kentucky before moving to Montana, said his experiments in growing tobacco in Montana over several years were successful, and produced “leaves equal to, if not superior, in quality to that grown anywhere else.” 

Sept. 5 – On this day in Montana history in 1959 Edward Kennedy hitched a ride on a friend’s airplane to Havre where Democrats were going to select 20 delegates for the Democratic Convention. He had been assigned by the national party to organize campaigns in 11 western states including Montana. He went on to become the longest serving majority leader in the U.S. Senate.

Sept. 4 – On this day in Montana history in 1955 Brian Schweitzer who was to become Montana’s 23 governor was born in Havre.

Sept, 3 – On this day in Montana history in 1884 the newly renamed “College of Montana” held its first classes in Deer Lodge. Tuition for five months was $25 and “board, washing, fuel, lights” were $6 a week.  It was supported by Copper King W.A. Clark and had the first school of mines in the state.

Sept. 2 – On this day in Montana history in 1866 county officials in Montana Territory were gearing up for the first statewide election that had been called for by Acting Territorial Gov. Thomas Francis Meagher the year before. Elections were to be held on the first Monday of September each year.

Sept. 1 – On this day in Montana history in 1942 E.J. Keeley, executive secretary of the conservation division of the War Production Board announced in Helena that women on the home front could help the WWII war effort if they were blondes or redheads. The Washington Institute of Technology needed their hair for use in bombsites. It had to be at least 22 inches long – and “no peroxide or henna.”