Celebrating history: Lots of news about buildings

Emily Mayer

The big question for this week's column is "where do I begin?" There were a lot of columns about buildings in the newspapers this week 100 years ago.  I will start with the Hill County Courthouse as that is one of the major buildings celebrating a century this year, and the drama continues.  This was on the front page of the May 8, 1915 issue of The Hill County Democrat, complete with misspelling and grammatical error:

NEW SITE SELECTED

BY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THIS COUNTY

DECELL'S SITE IS CHOSEN

Vote Is Ordered Upon Location of County High School

The County Commissioners Wednesday selected a new court house site.  This is the third essay at a court house location and it is thought that it will generally please the people of the county, in that it is reasonably close to the depot and will also please the members of the bar, who often have occasion to visit it. for the same reason.

The site determined upon is at First Ave. and Fourth street, a block north from the Devlin school and 300 feet south of Judge Utter site, where the school house which was destroyed by fire stood.

The board also received the petition and favorably considered it asking for an election to vote upon the proposition of a county high school to be located in this city.  At the next meeting of the board the day for election will be set and other matters connected therewith attended to.

A group of people were seeking to construct a county high school, because evidently students living outside the Havre High School district could not attend Havre high, so the county residents wanted their own school for their students. Stay tuned.

The site selected for the Hill County Courthouse was where Havre's first permanent school, the first Washington School, was located. Regular readers of this column might remember it burned in 1912 due to an overheated furnace.  

The Democrat also had several snippets in their editorial page regarding the courthouse:

We don't care a tinker's d-m where they put the new court-house but we want it built and built pretty quick.

We have no objection if they put the new court-house just east of the new Bramble building.  It will be in good company all the while as its nearest neighbor will be Havre's popular newspaper-the Hill County Democrat.

What would be the matter with putting the court-house site out in the Pearson and Shepherd addition to Havre.  Those are pretty good boys and are always on the market for the sale of town lots.  Pass a good thing around while you are at it and boom all the lots.

The Democrat was owned by lawyer J. K. Bramble, who also owned the Bramble building where Holden's Hot Wheels is now located.

Also in the Democrat and The Havre Plaindealer was information on the Commissioner's proceedings, including an itemized list of expenses.  On the courthouse, we find $2,500.00 going to F. F. Bossout for architect's fees and $64.00 to Commissioner Jos. T. Berthelote for work on the courthouse plans.

In other news on buildings between the Democrat and the Plaindealer, the Havre Creamery had a new manager in Harry Tasker who superseded Paul Sohr; the Owl Drug Company had created a refreshment room in the manner of a train car and was offering a contest for entries on what to name it; Mrs. Bovee returned to Havre to offer dancing lessons at the Havre Hotel dining room; the Democrat was boosting Oliver St. Germain and his bricks; Buttrey's had just opened a cleaning and pressing parlor, with Messrs. Kohn and Brown specializing in French dry cleaning; and this article was on the Plaindealer's May 8 front page:

OFFICE BUILDING OF POWER COMPANY

Will Be Started Within a Short Time.

Construction of the new office building to be erected in Havre by the Montana Power company will begin in about ten days, according to Contractor N. T. Lease, who arrived in Havre yesterday from Great Falls and who will have charge of the work.

Material for the new telephone system, what will be the last word in equipment of this kind, is already on hand.  The new system is the central energy type, with eliminates the necessity of ringing to get central, it being only necessary to lift the receiver to get an answer.  The work involved in changing from the present to the new system is extensive, and will involve the expenditure of several thousand dollars.  That the company is willing to meet this great expense is a substantial indication of its confidence in Havre.

This building is located at 321 2nd St, where the Elks Lodge is today.

In other Havre building news, sometimes the news isn't so great. A couple of weeks ago, it was mentioned that Mrs. J. F. Mathews and her young son, John, had taken ill with pneumonia. Little John recovered, but Mrs. Mathews was sent to Sacred Heart Hospital where she passed away. The funeral, however, was held in her home at 124 3rd Street. I wish I had room for the obituary; they simply don't write them like that anymore. Readers may also recall Mrs. Mathews serving sandwiches and beverages to the Havre Fire Department as they battled the burning of the neighboring Washington School back in 1912. She was a well-respected social matron of Havre. That the funeral took place in her home was unusual in Havre.  I rarely come across such entries.  Reverend Christler presided over the service.

In the May 7, 1915 issue of the Hingham Review, we find:

H. W. Wollan is building a five room residence near the Fred Kimpel home.  It will be one and a half stories high and will be of the bungalow style.

Al Petrick is making fast progress in the construction of the Sedivy store building.

And in The Box Elder Valley Press issue from the same date, we find:

Benefit Dance and Social

There will be a dance and box social at the Hagen school house, May 18.  Music will be furnished by Mr. Bovee.  The proceeds will be used to pay the balance of the cost of the school building.  Ladies bring lunch for two and coffee will be served free.  Everybody is cordially invited.