Oct. 9 – On this day in Montana history in 1902 a long column in the Dupuyer Acantha reminds us that few things in entertainment are new. Almost in the same language as Martha Stewart uses, the writer shows the reader how to make a “pretty table fernery” at home. “Make a birch bark box six inches wide, nine inches long,” it begins. “Gather, during a walk through the woods, an armful of ferns selecting perfect ones.” With a few more flourishes and touches– voila – “it’s a good thing” for your table. 

Oct. 8 – On this day in Montana history in 1942 the nation woke up to find that some things in troubled times are worth far more than gold. The national War Production Board and War Manpower Commission announced that about 300 of the nation’s largest gold mines that had produced $209 million dollars in gold the year before were being shut down. The government was paying the expenses to transfer roughly 4,000 miners to jobs in copper, zinc and molybdenum mines, which at the time were far more valuable to the national interest than gold. The order affected hundreds of Montanans, and brought others to the state for the first time.  

Oct. 7 – On this day in Montana history in 1944 Montanans did what they could to help the Russians fight off the might of the Nazi German army that was threatening not only the Soviet Union but nations across the globe. 7,320 pounds of clothing were shipped from Bozeman to Portland where they would be loaded on a ship and sent to Russia. “Share Your Clothes with Russians” resulted in donations of 189 ladies coats, 91 overcoats for men, more than 300 pairs of shoes, and numerous other items ranging from bedding, underclothing, sweaters, shirts and even garments for babies.

Oct. 4 – On this day in Montana history in 1902 a grizzly and fiery train wreck on the Northern Pacific Railroad between Park City and Columbus killed two and injured many others. Passengers had to be cut from smoking cars. The Billings Gazette struck out angrily in the lead paragraph of its story on the crash: “Although nobody could be found who seemed to know, or knowing would tell; the facts when they leak out will probably show that somebody was responsible for the collision.” 

Oct. 3 – On this day in Montana history in 1907 a car owned by legendary Montana sheep rancher Charles Bair set the automobile world record for five-miles at the Helena fairgrounds horse track. The winning time was five minutes and 17 seconds. The car was a steam driven Stanley nicknamed “Whistling Willie.”

Oct. 2 – On this day in Montana history in 1901 Edward Brady was lynched by a vigilante mob in Helena. Brady, who had been in trouble with the law before, had been accused of sexually molesting an adolescent girl two days before the lynching, and she had identified him to authorities. Vigilantes had taken Brady from the jail and hung him from a telephone poll with the order: “Pull Away, Boys!” That same day a County Coroner’s Jury found: “We, the jury find that James E. Brady came to his death at a place called the Haymarket in Helena … between 1:30 and 2:30 at the hands of unknown parties.” Whether it was justice or not, it was swift.

Oct. 1 – On this day in Montana history in 1952 President Harry S. Truman was in Montana to dedicate the $102,900,000 Hungry Horse Dam. Speaking to a capacity crowd at Flathead County High School gymnasium, Truman took the opportunity to attack “power monopolies,” the Republican Party and then Gen. Dwight Eisenhower of standing in the way of public power development. Truman praised Montana Sen. Mike Mansfield for his tireless work in getting the dam built.