Hi-Line Living: Lonesome wife wanted ...

Arleen Rice for the Havre Daily News

So begins the story of the Simpson Bachelor's Club located some 37 miles North of Havre on the Wildhorse Trail.

The dream of owning your own little piece of ground and filing a claim to homestead called many a young man to the north Havre community. Andrew "Andy" Young was one of those young men, and this is where this tale of the club begins.

Young was born in Abilene, Kansas, in the year 1880. He moved to the Simpson area in 1914 to file a homestead in hopes of making it rich, or at least making a life for himself. He was a carpenter who had done work in San Francisco and traveled quite a bit before he homesteaded in Simpson near the Canadian border northwest of Havre. He served many roles in the community, as a schoolteacher, as he had a formal education, and carpenter, helping build the school on the corner of the Lee Morse Homestead and the Simpson Bachelor's Club.

In a community of sparse population that was two days by wagon, or a long day with a good horse, from Havre, days were lonesome and full of ideas. Winds were as strong as the Simpsons homesteader's will to succeed on their claims. The occasional visitor, or a passing herd of antelope, or deer or a coyote, were watched with intense interest, and company of the humankind was always welcome.

What brings me to write this story is the discovery of an old journal detailing the organization and start of the Simpson Bachelor's Club. My father, Edgar Morse, bought Andy Young's homestead in the late '40s because Young was getting on in age, and having farmed the land for him for a few years he was able to purchase it.

Young's health had deteriorated from getting in a severe car accident in the early '50s and he moved to the Park Hotel for a short while, then the Masonic Home in Helena until his passing in 1958. Most farmers and ranchers still refer to the land they farm by the homesteader's name or people who previously owned it, and that is most certainly true of this half-section of ground we still call "Andy's."

Two years ago, I discovered a small dusty box in the attic of our farm home that contained a few photos, many Masonic books of rules and rituals, and this small journal containing the by-laws and minutes of the Simpson "Bachelor's Club." Its contents revealed information I had never known about, and perhaps the generation before me, knowledge of what was forgotten or buried over time. As with many journals of that era the penmanship is disciplined, and quite precise. I will write just as the words are written in the journal.

Page 1

Stockholders of the Hall at Simpson

Chas Morton - one share - $20.00

Charles Keeling - one share - $20.00

L J Wynne - one share - $20.00

H H Smith - one share - $20.00

F A Shucka - one share - $20.00

A D Young - one share - $20.00

Halcie Stallcop - one share - $20.00

Wm. Larmer - one share - all note

Oran Selby - half-share - $5.00 Cash - $5.00 note

D R. Johnson - one share - $20.00

WJ Hughson - one share - $20.00

Page 2

The Bylaws

In case any of the notes are not paid by anyone of the stockholders the note has to be paid by all the stockholders, or out of the treasury and the $10.00 cash paid is forfeited to stockholders.

In case any of the above holders want to sell out they must sell to the stockholders at par or in other words to the club.

All money must be turned in to the treasurer who shall be elected at first meeting for a term of three months and all members must be notified of meetings by (sic).

Location and name of hall is to be located about 20 rods east of the ¼ stake between Section 17 and Section 8 on Section 17.

Page 3

The name shall be the Bachelor's Club (crossed out) Home of Simpson.

Size of Building

The size of the building shall be 20 feet by 40 feet a 3 inch tamarack floor.

Shall be built of common lumber and roof shingled and walls papered with tar paper.

The capital stock shall consist of $95.00 cash and $115.00 in notes payable in 3 months.

Page 3

Simpson Montana December 26th, 1915

Minutes of the Stockholders of the Bachelor's Home

Meeting was called to order By WJ Hughson. A Motion was made by F. Shucka that A. D. Young should act as secretary - seconded, Motion carried. A motion was made by W J Hughson that John Wynne should act as treasurer, seconded, motion carried.

A Motion was made by J Wynne that F Shucka to act as Chairman seconded Motion carried.

A Motion was made that the chairman should appoint a committee for to conduct each dance, seconded carried.

Mr. Hughson made a motion that all who dance be charge one dollar and those who do not dance be charged fifty cents. Seconded and Carried.

A motion was made that secretary should get all necessary stationery and bill be paid out of treasury, carried.

A motion was made by Hughson that oil fuel wax and all necessaries be bot by committee and charged to the club carried.

Motion made that committee keep an itemized acct of all articles bot and bills be handed to secretary, motion carried.

A motion was made that all books be open to inspection of members, motion carried.

A motion was made the treasurer shall pay out any money on recurring an order signed by chairman and secretary. Motion carried.

A motion was made to accept the By-Laws motion carried.

A motion was made that the meeting date should be March 25, June 25, September 25, and December 25, Motion carried.

A motion was made that $5.00 be charged for rent of hall for all purposes except church services and school entertainments. Motion carried.

A motion was made that the chairman, sec, and treas., shall have authority to rent hall for all purposes. Motion carried.

A motion was made that all transactions made should be placed on record in the minutes of this meeting.

Lumber Bot 161.25

Lumber 12.40

Lumber 1.50

Lumber .75

Lumber 3.80

Lumber 3.95

Nails 15# .68

Hinges and Lock .25

Motion was made that no lean could be placed on hall until above notes were paid.

Motion to adjourn carried A.D. Young secretary

This is the last entry in this journal, so it left a lot to the imagination. Being very curious where this hall could have been constructed, I immediately went to the ownership maps from the homestead days and called North Havre residents to see if they remembered the building. Our wonderful neighbor and friend, Don Greytak, was intrigued, too, and he started putting together the mystery as well. Since the legal description in the by-laws was somewhat incomplete, Don Graytak had to rule out location by township.

We were able to determine the original building site was built on Section 17 of Township 36 North Range 12 East. The land was originally owned by Chas M Morton and it sat at the north end of that half-section. Many of the founding members of the Simpson Bachelor's home lived in close proximity to the building. The land is currently farmed by Bill and Patty Greytak and owned by two heirs that live out of state. The building, however, made a move long before they started farming there.

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Fitch, moving to the Simpson area in 1914, especially Mrs. Fitch, saw a need for a local store, and started the Simpson store in the Simpson Bachelor's Club building, to serve the community. In 1918, it was moved a half-mile east and two miles to the north closer to the main road, and the store was run by Mr. McDougall where he started to operate the post office and Simpson Store. Falling on hard times, Mr. McDougall had to give up the store sometime in 1920 and turned over the running of the store again to the Fitches. In 1920 Mr. and Mrs. Fitch started again to operate the store and post office.

Mr. Fitch passed away in 1933, and Mrs. Fitch operated the store until 1959 when she retired. She was retired at the age of 72 by the postmaster general, and she turned the postal job over to Kate Whaley in 1949. She operated the store for an additional 10 years. She moved to town in 1959 and passed away in 1962. The old Simpson Store was closed, and Mrs. Whaley opened a new store at her yard a couple more miles to the north on the Wildhorse Road.

I was in the building many times because it stood as a landmark for the Simpson community. It was very close to our farm. In the '70s it caught on fire and burned down, suspected to be due to a passing hitchhiker who probably started a fire in the stove to keep warm while camping out overnight.

I remember the tamarack floors very well, as referenced in the original journal, and the large wood stove at the back of the building. I have a photo of my oldest sister and mom and grandmother and Mrs. Fitch's grandson taken inside the building. She was affectionately called "Grandma Fitch" by most of the community for her welcoming heart and spirit.

I found this part of the Simpson history quite intriguing because I had never heard anyone speak of its original beginning as a bachelor's dance hall before. I'm sure that the generation that hads passed on maybe had some memories of it at one time, but those memories are long gone because it only was in use for three years as a dance hall, from approximately 1915 to 1917.

Reflecting about how lonesome it must have been for the homesteaders, it is no wonder they sought to get together for social gatherings to pass the long days on the prairie. I found it interesting that one of the meeting dates was scheduled for Christmas, a time to gather, and share fellowship of neighbors and friends.

My grandfather homesteaded and filed his claim in 1910 and was married to my grandmother by the time this club was started, but how I want to ask him if he ever went to a dance there. Guess that will be a question I can ask him when I meet him in Heaven, for the first time, God willing.

His post card he sent my grandmother, after arriving to his homestead and writing to let my grandmother know he was still alive, is my prized possession of Morse history, The postcard reads "Lonesome Wife Wanted" in hopes she would agree to move to Havre and become his wife and that is exactly what happened. The message reads, "Dear friend will drop you a card and let you know I am in the land of living, suppose you are still in Minot. Have been to my claim and am on my way back. Your friend Lee Morse."

They married in the Havre Hotel and spent their honeymoon sleeping under a wagon headed to Simpson. He passed in 1926 and she continued to farm with her six children.

I suspect the motivation of these original founders of the Simpson Bachelor's Club or Home was to hope some eligible gal would show up at a dance and they could pass their bachelor status on to a new member. I recognize some of the names on the list and know that is what happened. They have family history, which shows they were married with children, in the book, "In the Years Gone By," I have referenced for information and that my mother helped write.

Certainly, we are in trying times as well, but my mother went through the polio epidemic, having a classmate contract the disease as well as her sister in the Simpson community. The only recommendation from the doctor at the time was to rub my aunt in with kerosene every night and wrap her legs tightly, which my grandparents did. She did not become disabled due to the polio, like their classmate, but I can only imagine the fear and pain that caused.

My aunt is 93 and my mom is 91 years old. Social isolation was not a welcomed thing usually in the homestead era, as it is not really welcomed in 2020.

We need to keep our thoughts in perspective, with electricity, television, smart phones, we are really so lucky.

Or are we.

Probably what we are all yearning for is a visit from the neighbor, or a gathering of friends at a country dance hall. May the imagination of your minds take you for a spin on the dance floor, and the hope for simpler times give you solace. Stay healthy and safe, my friends, and I hope you enjoy this little piece of Hill County's history.