Celebrating history: The travails of Havre in 1916

By Emily Mayer

The winter of 1915-1916 was a brutal one. Blizzards, heavy snowfall and extreme cold temperatures affected lives and commerce throughout the area. Then, the area got a Chinook wind; those warm winds that can bring unseasonably warm temperatures, melt snow and create havoc. In 1916, Havre was still a relatively new town. It had been incorporated in 1893, only a few years after its settlement due in no small part to Jim Hill’s St. Paul-Minneapolis-Manitoba railroad, the precursor to the Great Northern. Floods were known, but the one in 1916 was particularly nasty due to the heavy snowfall that year.

Both the Havre Plaindealer and Hill County Democrat ran articles on their front pages, and not surprisingly places along Bullhook, the creek that drained the area through Havre, were affected the most. One building owned by Angelo Papillo was built over the Bullhook channel and its entire east side caved in. The newly built Yeon building and the Hulfish building also sustained damage due to flooded basements. Residents on the north, east and south sides of Havre found their way to schools and the Havre Hotel to stay until the flood waters receded and cleanup could begin.

As with any natural or man-made disaster, there are always multiple problems, such as power outages. The Democrat reported in its Feb. 19, 1916, issue:

CITY IN DARKNESS

Owing to the lights going out in Havre last night the city was in utter darkness all night. The trouble was caused by a flood at Loma which cut off the current which the Montana Power company obtains from Great Falls. The absence of the electric juice put the moving picture shows out of business for the night and delayed the appearance of the Daily Promoter.

However, progress didn’t stop in Havre. Work continued at the new courthouse, as reported in the Democrat:

ELEVATOR AT THE COURT-HOUSE

The new court-house now has an elevator in use and is being used by the county officials and court attendants at the building. This gives Havre a rather metropolitan appearance as an elevator is rather an unusual think in this neck of the woods. The commissioners were determined to make the Hill County Court House not only the best and most modern one in the State but the most convenient one as well.

Both the Democrat and Plaindealer ran the Commissioners’ Proceedings, and the courthouse was mentioned throughout the report. Numerous payments were made, and it was recorded that the building, plumbing and electrical work were accepted by the Commissioners, and last week’s decision to allow L.K. Devlin and George Dewar’s offices to occupy space meant for the Hill County Attorney was mentioned, as well as Paul V. Banker, county agriculturist, was to use the Farmer’s Room located in the courthouse.

It was a week that contained unfortunate incidents, the flood being just one. There were a couple of dances held at the high school and the owner and editor of the Democrat, J.K. Bramble, had two lengthy rants about the lack of morality of the students and how dancing corrupts those young souls — they are quite the diatribe. Another incident took place about this time 100 years ago, that being the shooting of Mrs. George Coulter and the suicide of the perpetrator, P.L. Conrad. This article ran on the front page of the Plaindealer of the same date:

BODY OF SUICIDE SENT TO FORMER HOME IN VIRGINIA

The body of P. L. Conrad, the Great Northern conductor how on last Saturday shot Mrs. Geo. Coulter, in whose home he a was a boarder, and the turned the gun upon himself, snuffing out his life instantly, left Havre on No. 4 Monday evening for Front Royal, Va., former home of the deceased. An escort of railroad men accompanied the body to the train from the Holland chapel. Accompanying the remains south was Conductor H. B. Atkinson.

The general belief is that Conrad was insane when he did the shooting, and it is known that his mind has been affected as a result of an injury received several years ago. Reports from the Coulter home are to the effect that Conrad’s victim, who was shot through the head, is showing a slight improvement.

The Democrat ran this article:

MRS. COULTER IS BETTER

The many friends of Mrs. Geo. Coulter will be glad to learn that she is rapidly improving and is now on the road to recovery, is entirely out of danger and will soon be able to be out again.

Elizabeth Coulter would recover from her injury, but there is a lot being left out of the newspapers.

According to official reports, Mrs. Coulter was enjoying a cup of coffee with her house maid, who happened to be an African-American woman. Mr. Conrad was a staunch Southerner and made a disparaging comment about African-Americans, to which Mrs. Coulter replied that the woman was her friend, and if Mrs. Coulter wanted to have coffee with her friend she would do so.

Preston Conrad went to his room, retrieved his .38-caliber pistol and did his business. The home is still standing at 637 3rd Ave.

I can’t leave out an entry from my favorite part of the newspapers, that being the Society column in the Plaindealer. There were several parties circulating around St. Valentine’s Day, and here is one of those gatherings:

Entertain Friends.

On Friday evening Mr. and Mrs. Lou Lucke extended charming hospitality to a number of friends and neighbors. The rooms were fragrant with red carnations and ferns and whist was played at three tables. Those invited were: Mr. and Mrs. Archibald, Mr. and Mrs. Langstrom, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Lucke, Mr. and Mrs. Wilkie, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Thackeray and Miss Thackeray.

The Lou Lucke Sr. home is located at 900 3rd Ave.