Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1939-01-14
By LOIS IRVINE COLLINS

81 # tana's first institution OF mtEn-
er education was 8 log cabin.
And Prof. Clinton III. Moore
was the instructor OF that fires
class, held in the two-Foom log struc-
ture In Deer Lodge, territory Of Mon
tana, 1878.
1t makes Old Timer pretty sad 10
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
simply because few old enough to re-
member their performance are still
alive-or If alive, too Indifferent 70
have them brought to light.
Take for instance, the proud college
of Montana. Just where-and how
did it get its start In hfe2 Let's have
Old Timer tell It:
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
ring their old stumps In the direction
of establishing a seat of higher learn
ing right there in the home town.
Among these citizens we're 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
1878 they banded themselves into a
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 q scheme OF
swelling the funds by holding a fair.
Not one of your ordinary fairs-No
sir-A S0-day fairl
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 1t, hammer and tongs. During every
day of that 30-day fair, from IL 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 we'll as
the country for miles around, was can
vassed for donations of food in the
raw materials for 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-umml
Draw a veil over the memory of that |
succession of succulent testimonials !
Of culinary supremacy! From the open +
ing hour that fair did land office
business.
The afternoon of the closing day
the managers had an inspiration. Well. /
maybe 1t was just bright idea. They'd /
auction off every last thing which had |
been donated to the enterprise, they'd |
wind up with 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 /
1T 10 cents. The prize, so that the for
tunate young person might forever
treasure a unitarian and visible sign
Of her exceeding popularity, was the
most elegant mother of-pearl calling
card case you ever laid eyes on.
Boys and girls, and older ones. too,
don't you forget 1t, were buster than
cranberry merchants all afternoon
-uStling those precious votes. There's
something something about most
popular lady contest. Such a worthy
cause and really, my dear, such an
aonori
The voting, as the hours passed and
closing time approached, grew more
and more animated. You might even
say it got hotter and hotter. In the
last hour the staid, influential citizen
~ were practically burned up with
enthusiasm. That enthusiasm, burning
nerrily all those 30 days, now blazed
I'D like prairie fire famed by 40
nile gale. And 1t swept s. K. Larabie
INTO such an ecstasy that he, banker
ike, having left his roll in his other
vault, borrowed $500 from E. III. Irvine
and capped the climax by casting his
yotes in the final moments Of the con-
est. The canvassed votes, 81 500 worth
If those sweet 10-cent vouchers OF
nigh esteem, gentlemen, deciding once
md for all time Miss Ella Irvine to be
he most popular young lady In all
he fair Deer Lodge countryl
The fair over, the town had to get