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.

Sept. 4 – On this day in Montana history in 1805 Lewis and Clark met the Salish at Ross Hole. The meeting was critical to the success of the expedition because they secured a guide and horses to continue on to the Pacific coast. Famous Montana artist Charles Russell commemorated the event with a large mural considered one of his masterpieces above the rostrum in the House Chamber in the state Capitol.   

Sept. 3 – On this day in Montana history in 1894 the first African-American newspaper was published in Montana. “The Colored Citizen” was published in Helena and “Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans.” 

Sept. 2 – On this day in Montana history in 1911 Montana’s congressional delegation sent word back to the state that the federal government had decided to restore a large amount of land near Cut Bank back to public domain making it available for homesteading. The lands were taken off public domain when a small irrigation project was created. The subsequent uproar and economic logjam nearly killed the town local officials complained. “But for our railroad payroll we would have had the deadest town in all Montana,” a Cut Bank  official said.    

Sept. 1 – On this day in Montana history in 1953 newspapers used large headlines to warn “Every Highway will be Passable but Dangerous Over Labor Day.” The public service ad campaign noted that 290 people were being killed and more than 13,600 injured nationally on an average weekend. That number jumped significantly on Labor Day, and newspapers warned “Slow Down! The Life You Save May be Your Own.”