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 My father Oscar Herman Biegel is also a descendant of Montana pioneers, as the Biegels left Indiana in the late 1800's after owning a butcher shop, and settled south of Harlowton, Montana after acquiring land stemming from the Homestead Act. As all the homesteaders did at this time, they envisioned raising watermelons the size of houses. Of course they found out very quickly this was not going to be the case. The Biegel Family ranched and farmed, and fought hard to make a go of it for many years. However during the Dust Bowl Era they lost everything. All that remains of their years of struggle is the original stone foundation where their homestead once stood on the wind-swept prairie south of Harlowton. The sons of these early Harlowton area pioneers, my grandfather Oscar Sr. Biegel and his brother Art Biegel, then had to quickly reinvent themselves because they had families to care for. They decided to open a bar in Harlowton called "Biegels Bar", which proved to be a success. My grandfather Oscar Sr. and my grandmother Marie (whose family also were early settlers in the Harlowton Area), had two children, Donna Mae and Oscar Jr. They lost their daughter Donna Mae at the age of 5 due to scarlet fever. Oscar Jr. went on to be a high school football star, and then turned down a full ride football scholarship to Notre Dame to instead enlist and fight in the Korean War. Upon his return to Harlowton following the war, he married his high school sweetheart, my mother Doris Jeanne Thibadeau, and became the first of the Biegel Family to ever go to college. He graduated with honors as a pharmacist from the University of Montana and owned a successful pharmacy in Harlowton for over forty years. He was also the mayor of Harlowton for nearly 20 years. My mother and father had five children, all of them graduating from college, with two Doctors of Optometry degrees (myself and my brother), two masters degrees in education and an engineering degree (my three older sisters). Every one of my siblings' children (my nephews and nieces) also graduated from college and are enjoying wonderful careers. My father Oscar died in 1998 at the age of 70 after a long and brave fight with colon cancer, and my mother Doris Jeanne eventually succumbed to post-polio syndrome in 2007 at the age of 80. They are buried beside each other in the Harlowton Cemetery, after living a wonderful and fulfilling life together. My Thoughts... As I look back on the lives of my ancestors, it's obvious that there was no shortage of hardships. But what I find so inspiring is the fact that no matter what adversities they were faced with, they never lost hope. They held on tight and continued to "fight the fight" for a better life, which on many occasion took an incredible amount of bravery, courage and strength... far more than I could ever imagine. I have great admiration and respect for my pioneer ancestors, as well as an immeasurable amount of gratitude for their unwillingness to ever lose hope. My parents, Doris Jeanne Thibadeau Biegel and Oscar Herman Biegel.
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