Street scene Deer Lodge Montana-Photo

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Street scene Deer Lodge Montana-Photo
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Herb Iffrig on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 08:54 am:



A lot to look at.

Herb


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Henrichs on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 09:02 am:

Lots more inside the Towe Ford museum. :<)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chris Brancaccio - Calgary Alberta on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 09:34 am:

Here is a past post on Towe and the museum.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/179374/202018.html?1301804710


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 09:46 am:

Nice picture :-)
Could it be 1918 and a sign of patriotism during war time to hang the flag in the rear of the car? Or perhaps it was 4:th of july and time to gather for a parade?

(We have a special group of US car enthusiasts in Sweden who also tends to drape US flags over their tailgates, but our "raggare" are quite off topic when talking about pictures of Montana history :-) )


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 10:56 am:

First look thought flag was 50 star. ??? But then decided it was pre 48 state flag.

"Sanitary Market" Were they saying some were not? ;^)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 10:57 am:

Main Street at Missouri Avenue, looking north. The fountain is gone, but some of the buildings are still there.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Henry Petrino in Modesto, CA on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 11:08 am:

It's really difficult to get an accurate count on the flag, but it may help to know that only five states were admitted in the 20th century:

OK 1907
NM 1912
AZ 1912
AK 1959
HI 1959

From the look of what I can see, I'd place the photo somewhere during WWI, but I'm guessing.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jeff V on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 11:23 am:

I'ld say the 4th of July. The building with the bunting on the left there has it being strung through an open window so it's obviously only a temporary decoration. Possibly related, that's quite a crowd gathered in the middle of the street farther on down there. I'm guessing that fountain in the middle of the road didn't last too many years after this photo, that's just an accident waiting to happen.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 11:31 am:

The staggered rows of stars indicates 46 star flag. Picture could still be after 1912 if owner was using an old flag.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Stan Howe Helena, Montana on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 11:37 am:

Was, and is, one of the nicest towns in Montana. Good economy, home of Montana State Prison so there were always lots of bars full of good looking women who were there visiting their old man in prison or living there waiting for him to get out; important stop for the Milwaukee Railroad; good farm and ranch country and a lot of steady work at the prison and three other state run institutions nearby. Galen, the TB sanitarium (now the dry out for drunks and druggies); Warm Springs, then called the Insane Asylum-now the State Mental Hospital & the State Game Farm, where they raised Chinese Pheasants and other game birds to turn loose for hunting. People at the Mental Hospital mostly worked there, some prisoners worked there and a few recovering Tuburculosis patients who were nearly ready to go home. (Now, of course, prisoners can't be made to work & the drunks are patients, etc.) There was also a fish hatchery nearby and the prison ranch raised all the meat for the entire institutional system. The prison did the laundry for all the institutions and they made the license plates for the state as well as working on road projects and other construction. The ranch still operates but it is demeaning for prisoners to have to do laundry so it is all sent to Butte to a commercial place now.


The big white building on the left is the Rialto Theater. The showplace of the town, it was bought by a community group who spent no end of money and time restoring it to its former glory. It was nearly complete when it burned inside and they lost everything they had put into it. They started over and have it nearly restored again, a couple million dollars and countless hours of work.

Deer Lodge was and is a wonderful place to live or visit, you don't have to worry about the prisoners, if they escape the first thing they want between them and you is lots of miles. The bars are mostly gone since the environmentalists closed down all the logging and the sawmill shut down, the thousands of pheasants that used to be in big pens beside the road are gone and the economy isn't what it was when the railroad was there but it is still doing OK.

The Montana Automobile Museum is there along with the Frontier Museum, the Doll Museum, The Grant Kohns ranch, the Prison Crafts store and a couple other places. You can't see it all in one day.

I live about 50 miles away.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Larry Smith on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 12:12 pm:

Some day I'd like to visit Deer Lodge. I especially want to see the Towe Museum. There is a '25 roadster there that has the original upholstery and top I want to see. BTW, is Ed's bank in that photo?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gordon Byers - Rangely CO on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 12:24 pm:

Here are a couple of pictures I took inside the Montana Auto Museum at the Old Prison in Deer Lodge.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 12:29 pm:

According to this post: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/275085.html?1331871258 Ed Towe didn't start in the banking buissness until after WW2 when he bought a small country bank in Dupree, South Dakota.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Herb Iffrig on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 12:32 pm:

I was hoping Stan would chime in and have something to say.

Thanks

Herb


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ex trooper on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 12:34 pm:

That looks like Willie Cordes' 1926 coupe with the disc wheels. July 4th 1926 troop


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 01:15 pm:

I was in Deer Lodge Montana for a couple minutes a few years back and it didn't look anything like that. My friend Two Elk Standing is from there.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Harold Schwendeman - Sumner,WA on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 04:09 pm:

I was a Lieutenant with the Milwaukee Road Police Department, stationed at Deer Lodge, MT. from 1972 until the railroad went bankrupt in 1980. I have to add to what Stan said about Deer Lodge being "a wonderful place to live or visit". Best move I ever made was to transfer from Chicago to Deer Lodge when I was offered the Lieutenant's job in Deer Lodge. Obviously, it was a real "culture shock" to go from working as a RR cop in Chicago, to move to Deer Lodge, Montana, but undoubtedly the best move I ever made! What a fine place it was to raise our four boys!

To keep this "Model "T" related, my eldest son's first job when he was a young teenager, was when Ernie Hartley, Edward Towe's son-in-law hired my son to help take care of all those old Fords in the museum. Needless to say, lots of brass to polish. Ernie Hartley and Ed Towe's daughter treated my son Tom very well and I know that Tom enjoyed every minute he worked there.

Chris's post above where he included the link to Edward Towe and the the history of the Towe Ford collection, courtesy of Stan Howe, added to what Stan wrote in this thread, makes a good read ref. Deer Lodge, MT, Edward Towe and the auto collection.

Stan talks about "Ed's mechanic", Louis Rector who lived to be 103, worked on old Fords all his life, even past the age of 100, and what a fine fellow he was. Louis actually "gave" my son Tom a coupe body for the Model A "parts collection" that Tom was working on as a young kid. Louis Rector was a fine old gentleman and probably more responsible for the restoration/preservation of the Model "T's in the original Towe Collection than most people will ever know!

Thanks for posting that fine old photo of "Main Street", Deer Lodge, MT. Herb; it sure brings back a lot of good memories for me. And by the way, I can tell you that nearly all of those larger main buildings shown in that photo are still there, as well as what's left of the Towe collection, and even tho' the collection now includes more than just old Fords (many "T's are still there) it is absolutely a "must see" for anyone traveling anywhere near western Montana.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 04:10 pm:

I see a Schacht high wheel in the museum photo.
The coupe in the old photo is a post-WWI Dodge with disc wheels.
As to the flag, I enlarged the photo as well as my limited computer prowess allowed, and believe it to be a 46 star flag. I can make out two rows shorter than the others. That would make the flag July 4,1907 to July 4,1912. Some people did continue to fly older flags for years after new stars were added. It is considered proper to do so. Although many people consider it more patriotic to only fly newer flags.
Great photos! Thanks all.
Mike, Is your friend Swedish? Just kidding.
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays! W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Hjortnaes, Men Falls, WI on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 08:46 pm:

That looks like Stan behind the Model T on the left. Musta had a day off. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 09:07 pm:

Wayne, do you know him? Actually if you must know he's the keeper of the pipe for his people. It's an extremely important position and involves big medicine. Actually, not only is he the keeper of "the Pipe" he also has a small pipe that he smokes his other medicine in. I guess it's legal to smoke his "other" medicine in Montana if a Doctor decides it's necessary for him.

And to keep this Model T related; he doesn't have one.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 09:19 pm:

Mike G,
There are few things that I envy other people for. Knowing certain types of very special people, however, is one thing that I do sometimes envy others for. I shouldn't, because I have known quite a few very special people myself.
To be "the keeper of the pipe" is a very rare and special connection to history. I have always believed that any special connection to history is very important. I can say, I envy you knowing him.
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays! W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Garrison on Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 09:47 pm:

Wayne, you did a good job of summarizing what I felt when I met him. He was a different kind of character. He was very proud of his position. He actually facilitates the sweat lodge for his people. He offered to let me attend one of his sweat lodge groups but warned me to understand I could possibly die. I had to tell him I thought I'd be better off not attending. He told me some interesting information about his spirituality and explained some about Mother Earth and what it means to be the brother of the elk and made me believe his explanation of his spirituality and what his people believe made much more sense than what we need to call religion. I don't know why 12 hours of talking to him about his spiritual beliefs stuck with me more than over 30 years of catholic teaching.

His pipe was 160 years old and he carried it with him 24/7. Though while he's had it he's gone through several stems, the original bowl is still intact and holding up well. He said the next time we meet we'll share a pipe of Kinnikinnick and honor our friendship.

When I told him of the Ojibwa part of my family he said that 150 years ago we'd be sworn enemies. Phew, sometimes it good to live in this day and age. His father was white and his mother was Native American. They raised him as a white until he was 17 or so years old. They divorced and he moved to the reservation to be with his people. He had to learn how to be Native American. He also tried to talking me into enjoying his other medicine in his little pipe. I had to turn him down. That just didn't seem like a good idea to this old hippie.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - 02:36 am:

Wayne, before I posted my first reply in this thread I found these two pictures supposedly showing 1918 Dodges:
http://ucapusa.com/heritage_dodge.htm

dodge coupe 1 dodge coupe 2
Maybe disc wheels weren't available until later?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dennis Henrichs on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - 03:54 am:

I have fond memories of visiting the Towe museum years ago when I was younger. I was assembling my first T and a neighbor told me to make the trip to Deer Lodge. I went some time before the collection was broken up and sold. I was fortunate to meet Mr. Towe when he was at the museum. What a fine gentleman. I asked if I could crawl under, around and inside some of the Ts. and he said sure. I took a bunch of pics and lots of notes. (like being in a candy store). Mr. Towe told me a lot of the history of many of the cars and where & how he obtained them plus answered a lot of dumb questions I asked. Great man and a loss to the T community. I also remember touring the prison and how cold it was inside parts of it (July if I recall correctly). As Stan said, lots of things to see in the area. The Kohl ranch history is interesting as the owner started out near Virginia City, Mt. in the early days when the vigilantes were active. He left the area for the more peaceful Deer Lodge and bought the ranch. I'm sure Stan knows that history much better than I do. Anyway, don't miss Deer Lodge and environs if you can ever make the visit.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 - 04:07 pm:

Roger K,
I have never had a Dodge. And I am not any level of expert on their history. However I have known a couple dozen people that had '10s and/or '20s Dodge automobiles including one fellow that was trying to have one of every body style available in the year 1925. He had all but one.
I know a fair bit about their history, but I do not know what year the disc wheels first became available from the factory. Several wheel companies offered after-market disc wheels beginning by 1910. Dodge was, I think, the first major selling automobile manufacturer to offer them as a factory option.
I used to find it interesting that when talking to old-timers, that many people thought the wheels on a Dodge were wrong. A lot of people thought that all Dodges had disc wheels. Many others believed that they were all supposed to have wood wheels. I suspect that there was a regional aspect to the issue. I know both were offered by the factory. Probably which was more common in a region depended upon the preference of the local dealer. That is just my speculation.

Roger, It is very nice to see you posting often. I always enjoy reading what you have to add.
Drive carefully, and enjoy the holidays! W2


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