Harmon’s Histories: Family photos tell story of Libby and its hardworking families
By Jim Harmon
Spring allegedly is “just around the corner.” So I’ve been very busy lately going through a treasure trove of old family photos, many of which I don’t remember having ever seen.
I want to finish digitizing these photos soon, for my No. 1 love (landscaping season) is about to arrive.
Oh, a quick clarification: I may not remember seeing the photos, but I’m sure I must have, since my folks were constantly showing us slides and photos from the past. But as kids, we didn’t give a *@#%! about family history – we just wanted to go outside and play.
Anyway, I hope readers (especially in Libby) may enjoy seeing some of these great old photos, which reflect the history of Libby and its logging-past.
My paternal grandfather came to Libby in July of 1919 from Malta, seeking the fresh air of the mountains. (He suffered greatly from what was then known as “grain-asthma.”)
He got a job as a logger, sawyer and saw-sharpener (filer). My grandmother and their two kids, my dad and uncle, joined him a few months later. They then moved from camp to camp between 1919 and 1923.
Here are a few family photos from “Camp No. 2 at Cherry Creek Flats” south of Libby in 1920.
My Dad wrote, “The camp shacks were built on skids in those days so they could be loaded on railroad flat cars and taken to the next camp site, wherever that might be. Dad always tried to go to the new location and pick as nice a spot as he could for our home to be planted.”
Someone thought it would be a great idea to have a pet bear in camp. Bear cubs back then were thought of as friendly, cuddly, trainable creatures.
Today, hikers are advised to arm themselves with whistles, bear spray and more whenever they travel into “the wilderness.” “Wilderness?” What’s that? In the 1950s, we just called it “the woods.”
Finally, in the fall of 1924 my grandparents moved to a house in town on California Avenue, and later, my Dad and his bride moved into a home a block away, on Main Avenue.
As I’ve suggested before, please – if you haven’t yet – write down as much as you can about old family photos and documents. Otherwise, all of that knowledge will be gone when you pass. Keep the history alive!
Jim Harmon is a longtime Missoula news broadcaster, now retired, who writes a weekly history column for Missoula Current. You can contact Jim at fuzzyfossil187@gmail.com. His best-selling book, “The Sneakin’est Man That Ever Was,” a collection of 46 vignettes of Western Montana history, is available at harmonshistories.com.