Celebrating History: Good news 100 years ago

By Emily Mayer

Due to some technical difficulties at the library, I was not able to copy off all this week’s newspapers from this week 100 years ago. However, the editions I did copy had some good news concerning both the present and the future.

For the present, discussions of reviving a fair for Hill County were planned. This article was in the Aug. 10, 1924, edition of The Havre Daily Promoter.

WELFARE CLUB WILL DISCUSS COUNTY FAIR

The proposed Hill County fair to be held here this fall will be the subject of discussion at the regular meeting of the Men’s Welfare club which meets Tuesday evening at 6:15 in the banquet rooms of the Presbyterian church It is planned to hold an open meeting and give all members the opportunity to express their opinions on the feasibility of holding the fair.

President E. M. Allen yesterday appointed the following feed committee: Jas. G. Holland, chairman, T .W. MacKenzie, Al Cameron T. J. Troy, D. McGougan, W. W. Jones, E. C. Artman, R. C. Timmons, Phil Clack, P. Barrett, and W. E. Wiltner.

Mr. Holland said last night he had arranged a menu which has never before been equaled for tastiness The committee is planning on a large number attending as the meting is of great interest to the club and will provide plenty of eats for all.

R. G. Linebarger, editor of the Daily Promoter, had quite a bit to say about a county fair. This editorial was in the Aug. 10, 1924, paper:

COUNTY FAIR

The holding of a county fair is one of the most important matters yet to be taken care of and one in which all elements should unite. It will return big dividends to merchants on any money invested, to exhibitors on their trouble and labor and to the county itself.

And in the Aug. 12, 1924, Daily Promoter, we find this editorial:

COUNTY FAIR

The Welfare club will take up the subject of a county fair this evening at the regular meeting and it is expected the assistance of that organization will be enlisted in promoting it.

The Development association, the Kiwanis club, the Rotary club, have all gone on record as favoring the holding of a fair in Havre this fall.

In order to make a success of such an institution it is absolutely necessary that there be a united effort on the part of all citizens. If this is secured then the fair is bound to prove a success.

The Welfare club did hold that meeting, and the Daily Promoter announced in a lengthy article in the Aug. 14, 1924, edition that the County of Hill had appropriated $500.00 toward the expenses of holding the Hill County fair in the fall. Donations totaling $1,200.00 had already been raised by the club, so things were looking good for the county fair.

Roads have long been an issue in Hill County and this article published in the Aug. 13, 1924, edition shows the hard work going into creating good roads.

HAVRE DELEGATION LEAVE FOR TRAIL MEETING

E. C. Carruth left this morning by train for Cut Bank where he will attend the Montana Unit meeting of the Western division of the Roosevelt Trail association meeting today and tomorrow. Mr. and Mrs. James G. Holland and Mr. and Mrs. Frank McCarthy left last evening by auto also to attend the meeting.

Carruth, McCarthy and Holland were elected delegates from the Havre unit at a meeting held last Monday evening.

The purpose of the state meeting is to promote better roads in Montana, review the work done the past year on the Roosevelt trail and to encourage travel in the state.

The Good Roads movement had been around since the 1870s, started by bicyclists and expanding to automobiles as time went on. Several states joined in, and Montana formed the Montana Highway Improvement Association. One of those areas was the Roosevelt Trail, also known as the Roosevelt Highway, called U.S. Highway 2 today.

Keep in mind, paved highways were not a thing yet in Montana, the Havre and Hill County area included. So, it was important to have groups helping to maintain the highway and make necessary improvements to the road. Good roads are important to commerce, and in that category is tourism. Havre officials early on knew the positive impacts tourism has on the community, and this editorial was in the Aug. 12, 1924, edition:

OUR TOURIST CAMP

The public tourist camp is proving an unusually good advertisement for Havre. All along the Roosevelt highway people tell tourists to be sure and make the Havre tourist camp and as a result the grounds are crowded every night.

The value of the tourist business to Havre is becoming more and more apparent as the summer advances.

The Tourist Park was located on Havre’s east end along Highway 2, near where Nalivka’s is today. There used to be a wooden sign over the entrance that announced it was Tourist Park. A parking area was accompanied by a patch of land for picnic tables and later playground equipment was added for children. Over time, the Tourist Park came into disuse and when the highway last had its major upgrade about 20 years ago, the parking area was paved over for a parking lot and the sign removed. While the area is no longer used for its original purpose, it does still have a small playground for kids in the area.