Missoula County

Remember when you could drive Montana roads and highways with no need to look at the speedometer? Well, that’s not entirely true. There was that thing called “reasonable and prudent,” but my interpretation of the phrase might not be your interpretation. Who was to say what it meant?

“I hereby certify that Philip Henry, age 6, and Ila Arnold, age 4, have this day applied for permission to marry, and have paid a fee of 26 cents.” A call was placed to the “bride’s mother, Mrs. Carl Arnold, on Cooper Street, who picked up the young couple straight away.

One hundred years later, while much has changed, there is still, all across our country, a “strong personal prejudice and dissatisfaction with social and political matters.” Here’s hoping we can learn from the past. Let’s resolve to make 2026 a year of cooperation and splendid community spirit. Happy New Year!

Here’s how the Missoula Sentinel newspaper described things on December 25, 1925: “Christmas was unmarred by accident or disorder ... the ideal weather called many people out of doors. Streams were sought by fishermen, camera enthusiasts took pictures of joyous events, and friends exchanged holiday greetings throughout the day.”

Back in the 1920s, dancing to the music of a live band or orchestra was hugely popular across the country and here in western Montana. The Elks Club and the Florence Hotel in Missoula featured large ballrooms, and in the summertime, couples enjoyed the great outdoor dance pavilion at Greenough Park.

With the end of the year rapidly approaching, Missoula County is working to shore up a number of development projects and set the stage for a new planning board.

Travel with us, back in time, to the early spring of 1925, when a sordid love triangle in the small community of Plains, Montana generated headlines across the country.

The housewife would feed the fabric onto the roller and close the top. Then she would use a series of knobs on the handle to press the fabric against the electric-powered roller and rotate the cylinder.

The local Missoula news of October 30, 1889 gives us an interesting snapshot into the commerce and society of our small, but growing town (growing, thanks to the arrival of the railroad a couple of years earlier). Let’s take a glimpse at the local and area doings.

It was the day before Halloween, October 30, 1908, and Major Sylvester of the Washington D.C. Police was fed up! He ordered his officers to “repress hilarious gaiety!”