Montana labor news., 1936-09-03
New Cooke City Road
and Park Entrance are
Great Asset 10 Montana
Members of Montana Press AS
ISOLATION Taken For a Trip
Over This Most Marvellous
Scenic Highway.


Scenic Highway.
Montana has a new attraction. It
will have a prominent place among
the many features that promise to
bring millions of tourists to the
Fairgrounds of America in future
years.
The outstanding event of the n
ual meeting of the convention of the
Montana Press Association was the
trip over the new Cooke City High
way and the visit to Yellowstone
National Park.
The convention met in the city of
Red Lodge Thursday, August 10. 1t
held session there Friday with 4
banquet that night at Natalli cafe.
Saturday morning early we started
for the trip to the stop of the
world
1t is just too bad that every news
writer, editor, newspaper man and
newspaper woman in the state of
Montana was not in that party. APP
proximately 100 were but there
should have been 500. Everyone of
us who made that trip for the first
time is nov an enthusiastic booster
for the new highway. To properly
describe it would take columns of
space.
A road almost as smooth as the
top of a billiard table, where cars
could make the ascent in high gear,
passing through a district of unsur-
passed beauty, winding back and
forth in easy grades along the
mountain sides and at times going
around to the opposite slope; stop
ping now and then at vantage points
to view the scene; gazing down on
a score of little lakes sparkling with
their waters of blue; keeping on I'M
til a huge plateau of green broad
ened before us; climaxing at a point
1000 feet above sea level; looking
from here at distant peaks that
pierced the clouds; this is a slight
outline of a trip never to be forgot
ten.
The writer on this ride was the
guest of his old newspaper friend,
o. H. P. Shelley, editor of the Car
bon County News and publisher
now of the Picket-Journal of RED
Lodge. On the way up every min
ute was spent in looking, looking
and still looking with new wonder
as each turn brought a change ir
the kaleidoscope panorama.
AS we rode along Mr. Shelley tolc
me in detail the interesting story o.
the long and finally successful bat.
tie that the little group of Rec
Lodge citizens headed by DR.. Sieg.
friedt, himself and several other;
made before they finally got the
road constructed. The cost may
have run into millions but it GER
tainly was worth all it cost. L
took from 1920 to the present to &c.
it.
From historic Cooke City VIZ
passed into Yellowstone Park anC
at Canyon lodge the delegates wer'
served lunch. We went on then t.
Old Faithful Inn where a business
session was held and the social pro
gram was brought to a climax witt
the dinner dance. Such incidental
as the golf tournament with Jol
Markham regaining the title and thu
bathing beauty contest with all thu
wives and daughters given "firs
place" should not be overlooked.
The Importance of the new Cook
City highway as an entrance to tn
park from eastern Montana wa
impressed upon us as we passed
through the ga,sway and the Of
ficials there furnished the followinI
figures:
Up to August IL this year 1855
cars passed through this gat
carrying 26,392 passengers. Up t
the same date last year there wer'
1857 cars carrying OTTO peopl
through the same entrance. Nearl.
four times as many have gon
through this entrance as did las
year.
At this entrance we met Senate
Gerald Nye of North Dakota an,
Mr.. Shelley had a lengthy visit wit
his old friend. Nye was n of tn
strongest supporters and hackers o
the movement to get the highwa
appropriation.
CHARLES L. STEVENS.