P a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz MEMORIES OF OLD TIMES- July 3, 1893. A Former Montanian Visits the World's Fair and Recalls Other Days. Joseph Treanor, and old-timer of Montana, but now a merchant of La Grace, S.D., wrote to the Inter Mountain under date of June 20. 1893: I was down to the World's fair last week and visited the Montana building and mineral exhibit. It was grand and I was interested. I registered my name as having been a former resident of Montana in 1862, which I was. I and my brother Jim, (since killed by the Indians on Milk river), built the first house in the first town in the now great state of Montana at Bannack City, Oct. 20, 1862. Mr. Reim and Mr. Bean commenced to build their house after we had our logs raised. but uncovered, and completed theirs before we had completed ours, by one or two days. But we had our logs raised first. It is now twenty-eight years since I was in Montana. I was then only a stripling of a boy, in fact the youngest man in the camp the first winter of Bannack. I never saw Helena or Butte. They were built after my time. There are few persons in Montana now who would know me or possibly remember my name. I played the tamborine in the first exhibition of any kind that was ever given in the territory of Montana, in Ault's old building. Bannack, the winter of 1862-'63. Buzz Caven played the fiddle and Mart Bonner the bones and Odell played the banjo. These fellows, if they are living, will remember me. Montana's beautiful building and display at the World's fair have recalled all these memories to me. The exhibits are grand and the buildings fine, in fact the whole display is a credit to Montana and honor to the great exposition. I greatly admired the gold and silver exhibit. In fact I never saw so Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz much gold and silver at one sight in my life. It made me think that everybody in Montana must be rich, probably because I am so poor. Well, I wish the young state good luck, which it deserves, and God bless all its people. If there are any of the old-time boys still in the land of the living and would like to make me feel good, tell them to write to yours etc., Jos. TREANOR, -The Helena Independent, Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/, March 30, 2021. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz
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