Big Sky Blog

Montana Jewish community highlighted in the New York Times:

Though there are few Jews in Montana today, there once were many. The city of Butte had kosher markets, a Jewish mayor, a B’nai B’rith lodge and three synagogues. Helena, the capital city, had Temple Emanu-El, built in 1891 with a seating capacity of 500. There is a Jewish cemetery in Helena, too, with tombstones dating to 1866. But more Jews are buried in Helena than currently live here. And yet, in a minor revival, Montana now has three rabbis, two in Bozeman and one (appropriately) in Whitefish.

You can keep track of the daily doings in the Canadian-$ (C$) by checking Canadian-$ futures.

Since May 1, the C$ has increased 7.72¢ from 84.51¢ to a current quote (as of mid- morning) of 92.23¢.

Since April 1, the C$ has increased 12.75¢ from 79.48¢ to a current quote (as of mid- morning) of 92.23¢.

Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Sports Shooting Association (MSSA) is scheduled to be on the Glen Beck Show this Friday, 3 to 4PM, MDT on the FOX News Channel, to talk about MSSA’s Montana-made guns bill. HB 246 sponsor, Rep. Joel Boniek (R-Livingston) is scheduled to be on the show also.

According to an article today (Thursday, May 7) at JTA.org, “The state (sic) of Montana has its first mikveh.”

The article continues, “The newly built ritual bath (in Bozeman) is serving Jewish residents from Wyoming, Idaho, North and South Dakota, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, in addition to the 2,500-strong Jewish population of Montana, according to Chabad.org.”

The mikveh is located at the Bozeman Chabad House.

Mikveh, or mikvah, (MIK-vuh), Lit. gathering. A ritual bath used for spiritual purification. It is used primarily in conversion rituals and after the period of sexual separation during a woman’s menstrual cycles. The Christian practice of Baptism has its origins in the mikveh.

Here is an interesting bit of news for anyone interested in Montana’s frontier heritage.

The Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame is seeking nominations for its second round of inductions for the 1860-1920 Legacy Awards to honor historical figures who had an impact on Montana’s Western heritage.
[…]
This year’s nominees can be men, women, ranches, stage coach lines, animals and hotels — or anything or anyone who made their mark in the state before 1920, no matter the year of death or closure.

The article mentions that 51 people were selected last year but the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame website doesn’t have any of them listed so I am at a loss at who is in the MCHOF. Hopefully this is something they’ll get online soon.

If you have any ideas of possible people or items listed above that may be worthy in induction be sure to forward your ideas by Nov. 1st.

UPDATE: The ubiquitous Wikipedia has the inductees listed.

Here is an entry from October 1, 1954 by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt about her visit to Billings.

It’s a chatty, but interesting entry. One thing I found interesting; Mrs. Roosevelt lists what she feels makes a hotel comfortable and it seems the Northern fit the bill. Who would have thought washcloths, waste baskets and reading lights would be so important. I guess it just reinforces the belief that it’s the simple things in life we miss the most when they’re gone.

August 17, 1940

Just before midnight, a massive earthquake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale, strikes the area north and west of Yellowstone National Park. A mountain slide wipes out a campground, killing twenty-nine people. The great rock slide blocks the Madison River, forming what is now called Quake Lake.
There is also extensive damage in the Hebgen Lake area.

From Montana Dateline by Ellis Roberts Parry.

August 16, 1940

The Bob Marshall Wilderness Area is established by an act of the United States Congress. This pristine wilderness area comprised of over one million acres in northwestern Montana is named in honor of Bob Marshall, a major advocate for wilderness preservation. Marshall, noted for his hiking exploits where he sometimes walks up to forty miles a day, dies of a heart condition in 1939 at the age of thirty-eight.

August 16, 1963

Lones Wigger Jr., a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, wins the first of his fifty-eight national championships in competitive shooting when he wins the small-bore rifle competition at Camp Perry, Ohio. Wigger, a native of Carter, northeast of Great Falls, is the greatest competitive marksman in American history. He wins Olympic gold medals at Tokyo in 1964 and Munich in 1972.

From Montana Dateline by Ellis Roberts Parry.

August 15, 1865

Conrad Kohrs purchases John Grant’s ranch in the Deer Lodge Valley. The Grant-Kohrs Ranch is now a popular tourist attraction in Deer Lodge, where it serves as a national working-ranch museum.

From Montana Dateline by Ellis Roberts Parry.

August 1, 1867
The first issue of Montana’s first daily newspaper, the Helena Daily Herald, is published.

August 1, 1868
Utilizing newly enacted homestead laws, David Carpenter files for the first homestead entry in Montana Territory at the Helena office.

August 1, 1903
[Former Billings native] Calamity Jane dies from the effects of years of hard living and alcoholism at Camp Terry, South Dakota. She is about fifty-two years old, give or take a year or two. She is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood according to her wishes.

August 1, 1928
The first commercial air flight in Montana begins with service between Great Falls and Salt Lake City.

August 1, 1994
Billings Mustangs right hander Jason Robbins pitches the first perfect game in Pioneer League history as the Mustangs defeat the Medicine Hat Blue Jays 5-0 before three thousand fans at Cobb Field in Billings.

From Montana Dateline by Ellis Roberts Parry.