P a g e 7 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 Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Co. Early in 1898 a franchise was originally granted to J. E. Swindlehurst for erecting and maintaining a telephone system in Livingston. The right was soon after sold to the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone company, who immediately began its construction. It was completed May 15, 1898, at first only having forty ’phones, while today they number about one hundred, with about one hundred miles of wire traversing Park county. This is one of the longest distanced telephone systems in the world, connecting with all general points of interest, as well as the greater portion of the minor points throughout Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Colorado, with Livingston as its most eastern terminus. Its local manager for the Park county district is J. E. Swindlehurst, with H. Sommers as state superintendent at Helena. East Main Street, Looking North As Park county is known as a paradise for ranchmen, prospectors, tourists and all admirers of the beautiful in nature, it is no less noted as the home for big game. Great numbers of elk, deer and antelope are killed yearly, during their seasons, and confirmed reports state that game will be plentiful for years to come throughout the mountainous country east of the Yellowstone river. -Read More in Next Month’s Issue! Accessed via: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ Yellowstone River and Valley Homer Thomas Homer Thomas was eight years old when he came with his family to Montana Territory from Illinois. It was almost Christmas when Homer wrote a letter to his grandmother. “I am glad you didn’t come with us,” he wrote, “you could not have stood it; [the trip] was mighty hard.” Homer described Virginia City as a poor place where the miners dressed in old, dirty, and ragged clothes. He wished especially for apples and cider, something not found in Montana. Homer’s longing for Illinois comes through as he wrote, “I expect this will be a great country someday, but I don’t care for that, just as soon as I can get enough gold, I bet you I am coming back.” But Homer did not return to Illinois. He followed his father in the milling and feed business and later was a founder of the mining camp of Monarch. But that 1864 Christmas letter to his Grandma, preserved in the Montana Historical Society archives, has a nostalgia unusual for an eight-year-old. “Well, Grandmother,” he wrote toward the end of his letter, “ it is pretty near Christmas time and I do not expect to get many things this year, for it is not like home, because old Santa Claus does not come out here to give children things, because he thinks all the children too smart to come to this old place. Well I can do without any nice toys this year, but I want you to save me some nice things so I can have them when I come back home.” But the years passed and Homer Thomas stayed in Montana. Illinois faded to become a childhood memory. – Ellen Baumler Ellen Baumler was an award-winning author and Montana historian. A master at linking history with modern-day supernatural events, Ellen's true stories have delighted audiences across the state. The legacy she left behind will be felt for generations to come and we are in debt to her for sharing her extensive knowledge of Montana history in such an entertaining manner. To view and purchase Ellen’s books, visit: http:// ellenbaumler.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html
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