The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1922-09-01

western Montana a group of modern
pioneers are conquering wilderness
and building a new miniature Amerl-
can commonwealth, and the commun-
ity is an interesting one, both be-
cause of the work in hand and of the
character of the men and women VINO
are doing it. If a visitor entering
the valley wishes to get the why's and
wherefores of the matter, he VIII De
told something like this:
Twelve years ago virgin forests
of fat yellow pine covered this re-
gion. In 1910 a disastrous forest
fire swept through it. Then the Ana
conda company sent the lumberjacks
in to salvage what was left of the
timber, after which it threw fifty or
sixty thousand acres open to settle
ment.
Settlers began coming in eight
years ago. Since then about 250
families have settled in the valley.
They have established homes and
cleared large areas. Working toge-
Their they have achieved recognition
as producers of the best seed pota-
toes for the spud barons of the va
kima valley of Washington. Almost
from the first they have been mar
heting dairy and other products UNI
der the cooperative system evolved
by the orange growers of Southern
California Their strawberry beds,
vegetable gardens and fields of clio
yer and alfalfa flourish where there
-,
ago. Roads have replaced deer
trails and a graded and graveled
highway equal to any other in the
state has been constructed, with
bridges, at cost of 100000, as fed
eral aid project. There are tele-
phones, automobiles, bathtubs and
other appurtenances of civilization,
such as our grandfathers never knew.
''More than that, these people have
developed a community spirit. They
help one another. Theirs is the only
pioneer community in the country
probably with access to high school
to which boy or girl can go carry
ing couple of hams or a bag of po-
tatoes to exchange for board and
lodging at the rate of S11 per month.
Certainly it is the only one in Amer
lea with a Russian bath establish
ment.
The Work of Dan and Dinty
1.-THE people have their boy and
girl Scout organizations and three
years ago, at their community house
1T Alger, they entertained the return
ng soldiers three days straight at a
cost Of $1,000. 1t produced a deficit
Tor the first time in the treasury Of
he marketing association, which |
financed the notable affair. But
what did anybody care! The boys.
he Grand Army and the Spanish war
Jeterans all had a good time.
.'Now did the old pioneers have a
ougher job than this, or get better
1t is a purely hypothetical question
lnless one sees the thing for him
elf. Hence the suggestion, spend
wo days there, between little rail-
Dad station called Belknap, beyond |
he county seat, Thompson Falls, and
Joxon, just east of Idaho line. The
ourist passing through catches only
leeting glimpses of a logged-off
landscape, dotted with dwellings and
'arns grouped about evergreen sap
ings or aiders and willows that es-
aped the flames of 1910 and were
pared by the woodsmen. Stumps
till abound in the meadows, while
he SCARED skeletons of burned for
st giants stand here and there sill
starkly against the sky.
The more intimate, Interesting
hings, which reveal the heart of a
nan or of community, escape him
ntirely. He misses, for instance, a
Meeting with Harry Cullom, form
r division field chief of the United
tates land office, who holds the hon
r of having been Pioneer No. 1, and
busy now with the affairs of the
ewly formed seed potato association.
Re can not see the water wheel with
hitch Edward Gage expects to lift
-ater from the C1ark's Fork to irri-
ate river bank field of alfalfa.
here is no chance of him personally
} estimate the qualities of Mrs. ,
yano Laney's ice cream which is ia
lous as far as Spokane. Nor does :
e hear of Dan and Dinty, or of Miss
1adys Brown, who quit her job as
ounty school superintendent to go
ito war work, and returned to live
n a homestead far up on Swamp G
eek, or of the girl who contracted q
, raise 100 bags of spuds this sum- +
er to pay her board at the high ,
,hool next year.
But he can not tarry more than a S
ny without coming into contact with