The MontanaNewspapers.org website features an archive of publications from all over the state going back more than a century. The Mountaineer is one of many newspapers included on the site and is a goldmine for those looking to learn more about our little community. The oldest issue of the paper they have included in their database is from 111 years ago next Wednesday. Out of general interest, I spent some time reading that issue, particularly in light of material I have read about 1911 as an important year in our town’s history. By the end of the year, several new businesses had opened (including the Shamrock Hotel, where I now live) and the town itself had begun to blossom. For context regarding what the town looked like at this time, the front page of the paper that day featured a story about a stagecoach robbery that took place southeast of town near Judith Landing. Next to that, a short article informs the community of a new arrival to town: Mr. Heiberg, who was homesteading out west of town. Incidentally, he came to Big Sandy from Grand Island, Nebraska; which is where my wife and I met for the first time after meeting online.
The story of a stagecoach robbery, which is something more or less right out of a spaghetti western, and a front page news item about a new resident are not what caught my eye in this issue. There was an article entitled: “Making a Live Town a Center of Commerce.” The headline is followed by some additional bold print lines: “A Town Must Experience Some Plucky Work to Grow” and “There is Work For All of Us To Do.” The article is a call to the town to band together and grow our community. “Every day brings with it some improvement. Every new improvement benefits the town.” The article predicts the coming incorporation of Big Sandy into a town and the growth of the local population to over the 1000 mark by 1912. Various resources and opportunities are highlighted in support of the idea that our little community will continue to prosper and expand. A separate article on the other side of the page describes things that the town needs in order to grow further. “A Good Commercial Club” is identified as vital so that businessmen in the community can work together for the betterment of Big Sandy and show the neighboring farmers and ranchers that we could be a thriving town. The optimism on display in the Mountaineer that March 2nd was well founded. The town grew and developed. In the coming decades it produced a rock star, artists, authors, a senator, soldiers, engineers, and countless good people. I don’t believe that those people or things came about as a result of one or two years of work.
Our town is something special because generations of people have been working hard to make it that from the beginning until today. It can continue to be an amazing place if we are willing to work with our neighbors to make it that way. However, it requires all of us play a role in the process. Organizations like Rotary need our support and participation. Businesses like Big Sandy Activities and the Medical Center need high quality people to work shifts caring for folks that can’t care for themselves. Our businesses need our patronage. Big Sandy works because we work. This was as true back on the day of stagecoach robberies as it is today. We each must play our part. In addition, we must encourage and support our neighbors as they work hard to make Big Sandy a great place to live and raise a family.
