Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-01-13

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Il tana's first institution Of high
er education was q log cabin.
" And Prof. Clinton H. Moore
was the instructor Of that first
class, held in the two-room log struc-
ture In Deer Lodge, territory Of Mon
tana, 1878.
1t makes Old Timer pretty sad to
see, here in 1888, his beloved Professor
Moore, now deceased, still taking, true
to character, a back seat in favor Of
relics of some old, half forgotten in
vasion.
High time, he thinks, to concentrate
a little on the glorious past; to review
the lives of the real pioneers whose
deeds are already being forgotten
member their performance are still
alive-or if alive. too indifferent to
have them brought to light.
Take for instance, the proud college
of Montana. Just where-and how
! did it get its start in nfe2 Let's have
Old Timer tell 1t:
Early in 1873 many prominent Deer
Lodge people. parents Of grown and
adolescent children, decided that if
their children were ever to secure the
advantages of an education such as
they themselves enjoyed, without ship
ping said tender offspring away to
eastern colleges, they'd better be stir
:
OF establishing seat of higher learn
ing right there in the home town.
Among these citizens were w. A. Clark,
E. H. Irvine, S. F. Larabie and many,
many others.
These discussed their common prob
lem pro and con. Early in the fall of
1873 they banded themselves into
company whose undertaking was the
raising of sufficient funds to build,
equip and maintain that which was to
be known as the Montana Collegiate
institution. 1t was to be a nonsec-
tartan institution.
All possible donations by subscrip-
ton having been obtained, the women
of Deer Lodge cooked up a scheme Of
swelling the funds by holding a fair.
Not one of your ordinary fairs-No
SRA 3O-day fair!
They persuaded one of the leading
citizens to donate, rent free, his build
ing. which had once been the only
drug store in town. Then they went
at it. hammer and tongs. During every
day of that 30-day fair, from u noon
until IL midnight, anybody could buy
for so cents, meal such as your high
falutin restaurants today couldn't hold
a candle to.
The whole blessed town. as well as
the country for miles around, was can
vassed for donations of food in the
raw materials Tor those coming delec-
table dinners, those sumptuous suppers.
The leading hardware merchant do
mated the finest cookstove in his es-
tablishment together with chairs,
tables, cooking utensils, dishes, cutlery,
etc. The ladies contributed the table
linen, their whole hearted support and
their talent. No better cooks in this
world than those high spirited women
of Deer Lodge. And did they vie with
each other in proving their proves
with skillet and pie pan. Um-umm!
Draw veil over the memory of that
succession of succulent testimonials
of culinary supremacy! From the OPEN
ing hour that fair did a land office
business
The afternoon of the closing day
the managers had an inspiration Well,
maybe it was just a bright idea They'd
auction off every last thing which had
been donated to the enterprise, they'd
wind up with a community dance, but
in the meantime they'd take vote
and ascertain for a certainty Just who
was the most popular of all those So
popular young ladies. The votes to sell
at 10 cents. The prize, so that the for
tunate young person might forever
treasure utilitarian and visible sign