Aug. 22 – on this day in Montana history in 1874 the Madisonian newspaper in Virginia City offered some tips on how to deal with the heat under a headline “Modern Health Rules.” Perhaps with tongue in cheek one of the guidelines offered was: “Clothes prevent the escape of heat from the body; wear only a loose shirt and drawers.” One never sees photos of early day miners dressed like that – and it’s probably a good thing.

Aug. 21 – On this day in Montana history in 1884 an incident occurred that reminds us that domestic violence has long been a serious problem. A couple identified only as Mr. and Mrs. Westlake got into a family fight in Butte and Mrs. Westlake was knocked off a veranda suffering severe injuries. “Mr. Westlake, unfortunately, was not hurt,” the Weekly Herald reported. Later he tried to take his own life in jail. The headline called it “Domestic Discord.”

Aug. 20 – On this day in Montana history in 1905 Butte was mourning the deaths of 10 people and injuries to more than 20 others after a railroad freight car crashed into a crowded trolley returning from the Columbian Gardens amusement park. Butte reporters wrote that the trolley was crushed into kindling and that many of the faces of the dead could not be recognized. “Men cried out for members of their families from whom they had been separated and mothers begged piteously concerning their children.”

Aug. 19 – On this day in Montana history in 1969 the first McDonald’s opened in Billings noting in an ad it was time to “stop building walls, and start building hamburgers.”  A & W Drive-in was fighting back offering a ham sandwich for 30 cents. Meanwhile actor Dustin Hoffman took time to take a photo on the set of “Little Big Man,” which was being shot in Virginia City and other Montana locations. A low flying plane had halted productions.  

Aug. 18 – On this day in Montana history in 1920 the Silver State Deer Lodge newspaper had a story that portended one of the greatest presidencies in American history. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was the vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, spoke at the Deer Lodge Valley Farmer’s Picnic. The paper noted that Roosevelt was applauded and praised by “all parties” and their voters. Roosevelt’s appeal to the “common man” would make him the nation’s only four term president. 

Aug. 15 – On this day in Montana history in 1953 the first television station in Montana went on the air in Butte. Legendary television pioneer Ed Craney actually put on a test pattern on his KXLF at ten minutes before midnight on Aug. 14 but programming didn’t begin until the next day. The reason he hurried the opening of his station was that KOPR in Butte was in a race to become the first in the state. The Montana Historical Society has a new state-of-the-art studio funded by the Greater Montana Foundation named in honor of Ed Craney.

Aug. 14 – On this day in Montana history in 1908 the railroad town of Taft on the far western edge of the state was consumed in a fire of near biblical proportions. News accounts described the town this way: “Women of the underworld, gamblers etc. flocked to the mushroom railroad town, and it was soon a place of about 1,000 inhabitants.” The town was rebuilt but once again was leveled by fire in 1910.