Celebrating History: War Stamp Contest winners

By Emily Mayer

The women of Hill County were very busy with war and community efforts. The winners of the War Stamp Contest were announced in the Sept. 14, 1918 edition of The Havre Plaindealer.

HILL COUNTY WINNERS IN WAR STAMP CONTEST

Miss Mary Martin and Mrs. H. B. Elliott won the War Savings Stamp selling contest in Hill county. Miss Martin and Mrs. Elliott each sold more than $2,100 worth of stamps. They will spend all of fair week in Helena and will contest as representatives of Hill county for a prize offered by the state war savings stamp committee. The state contest will take place at the fair grounds and each county in Montana is entered in the contest. The state prize is $500.

The members of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in Hill and Blaine counties combined forces to, among other things, rail against the drink.

HILL AND BLAINE FORM ONE W. C. T. U. DISTRICT

Mrs. C. R. Stranahan, Mrs. E. M. Kennedy, Mrs. J. G. Bonine, Mrs. R. E. Hammond and Miss Laura G. Lovett, state and county officers, attended the W. C. T. U. regular weekly meeting at Chinook, and organized Hill and Blaine counties into one district.

Mrs. Stranahan gave a talk on W. C. T. U. work in general, and the importance of county organization. Mrs. E. M. Kennedy, as county president, spoke on “The Department Work Outlined for the County.

Miss Laura G. Lovett gave a very interesting talk on “Scientific Temperance Instruction,” and her charts made her talk very impressive.

After the meeting the Havre women were delightfully entertained by the Chinook W. C. T. U’s.

The men by no means were ignored in the pages of the Plaindealer. There was a short announcement that younger men who registered for the draft would be the first to “call to colors.” The following article announced Hill County had passed the 3,000 mark for draftees, as well as another fine example of how Havre celebrated 100 years ago.

DRAFT REGISTRATION OVER THREE THOUSAND

With only two precincts missing, the count of the draft registration in Hill county on Thursday, had passed beyond the 3,000 mark. Registration day in Havre passed very quietly with all the saloons and many other places of business closed. The Havre band gave a delightful concert at the corner of 1st street and 3rd avenue, during the evening, at which Mrs. Geo. Guenser sang “Keep the Homes Fires Burning” and registration day events closed with a grand Red Cross benefit dance at the Lyceum hall, the hall and the music being donated to the occasion, Mrs. Guenser’s rendition of the song “Keep the Home Fires Burning” drew many expressions of appreciation. As her beautiful voice rose upon the evening air, the throngs moving along the street were seen to paus and turn back toward whence it came and the applause which followed the song was from an audience duly moved by the singer’s art.

Two pieces of news regarding local boys were also included in the Plaindealer.

HAVRE BOY ADVANCED IN NATIONAL ARMY

Eddie Bell, son of Mrs. Fredia Bickle, who enlisted in the auto department of the quartermaster corps, about three months ago, was last week made a sergeant. He has been stationed at Camp Sam Houston, Texas, but has recently been transferred to New York.

Eddie is a Havre boy, having lived here all his life. He learned the trade of boiler-maker at the local Great Northern shops and afterwards took automobile work in the Havre Commercial auto garage, at which place he was working when he enlisted.

This paragraph was found tucked among other articles on the front page:

Friends of Thomas Furlong will be glad to learn that a card announcing his safe arrival abroad with other troops has been received by his brother-in-law, H. L. Short.

Gone was the Society column, at least for now. However, this article was also printed in the Plaindealer, with the Great War again reaching its hand into the everyday lives of ordinary citizens.

ETHEL L. SPOONER BRIDE OF W. E. RAE

Tuesday afternoon in Great Falls at the Presbyterian parsonage by the Rev. Virgil B. Scott, Miss Ethel L. Spooner and William E. Rae were married. They were accompanied to Great Falls by Mrs. C. B. Koepke, a sister of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. Rae left immediately after the ceremony for Helena to attend the state fair.

Mrs. Rae is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. R. Spooner and has spend most of her life in Montana, coming to Glasgow in 1896 with her parents. Later they came to Havre, where the bride attended school, graduating with honors from the Havre High School. Soon thereafter she accepted a position in the office of the superintendent of the Great Northern and when the division headquarters were established at Wolf Point she was transferred there.

The groom is a native of Minnesota. He was connected with the Great Northern at the Twin Cities and several years ago came to Havre, where he was chief clerk to the superintendent. He was transferred to Wolf Point when the offices were opened there.

Mr. Rae expects to leave in the near future to Fort Benjamin Harrison to become identified with the engineering corps of the army.

The Plaindealer was ramping up for the upcoming fourth Liberty Loan, running a large ad proclaiming in big letters “The Enemy is Watching” with a narrative by Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War. The Havre Branch of Montana Power paid for the ad.

Not to be outdone, local saloon owner Pat Yeon ran a big ad in the Plaindealer, announcing “The war is on-a good chance to get shot cheap,” with beer 5 cents a glass, whiskey 10 cents. Or you could get a quart of Old Style Lager for 25 cents a quart or 15 cents a pint, or locally produced Havre beer for 20 cents a quart or 15 cents a pint. Or you could get Old Blue Ribbon beer for $2 a quart or $6.50 a gallon. Need something with a little more kick? Pat was selling “famous brands” of brandy, gin, rum and scotch at “cut prices” at $6.50, $7.00 and $8.00, depending on your poison. Maybe you don’t like beer or hard liquor. Don’t worry, Pat’s got you covered! Port, Sherry, Angelica, Catawba, etc. were selling for $3 a gallon or 75 cents a quart. But “BUY NOW! Take a bath while the water is hot.” And, you could get these adult beverages at any one of Pat’s six saloons in Havre.