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. They blew up one of two safes in the car and reportedly netted about $40,000. George Frankhauser and Charles McDonald were eventually convicted of the crime, but not before escaping from the Lewis and Clark jail and eventually being recaptured.

Sept. 11 – On this day in Montana history in 1969 Montana’s first and pioneering radiologist Dora Walker died in Great Falls. In 1918 she came to Great Falls and opened the Walker Laboratory “specializing in X-ray, chemistry and pathology.” She also was a leading cancer specialist and founder of a medical program for Cascade County’s poor.

Sept. 10 – On this day in Montana history in 1884 headlines lit up with “The First Fires Started in That Mighty Structure” as the Anaconda Smelter – still a landmark visible for miles on the Interstate – was lit up for the first time. It was hailed as “the most important and extensive smelting enterprise yet known in connection with the mining history of Montana.” The plant manager said in ceremonies at the smelter the furnaces were lit “for the hope that they may never be extinguished.” It is historic evidence that nothing lasts forever.

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 the Absarokee Enterprise was touting tobacco as a major crop for Montana. J.W. Tucker of Worden, who had been a tobacco grower in Kentucky, 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.” His neighbors in the Huntley irrigation project were following his experiments carefully.

Sept. 5 – On this day in Montana history in 1927 famous aviator Charles “Lucky” Lindbergh landed in Butte and into a throng of fans anxious to greet a true American hero. Extra police and soldiers from Fort Missoula handled security and made sure the field was safe and clear for landing. Lindbergh spoke at a sold-out banquet in the evening and thrilled the crowd with stories of barnstorming in Montana in his early days with a lot of his old friends.