Remember When

50 YEARS AGO • OCTOBER 23, 1969

JOE GARRISONS NOTE 60th ANNIVERSARY

Mr. and Mrs. Joe Garrison of Belknap celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Sunday with all five of their living children present and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Joe Garrison and Clara Moen were married Oct. 20, 1909 in Coeur d’Alene City outside of Spokane. They lived in Spokane a few years and then bought in 1915 the land on which they now reside. They cleared and built the house, moving into it in 1917. They have resided there since and he has been active as a rancher his entire life.

The Garrison’s five living children include two sons, James and Charles, and three daughters, Mrs. Stella (Freeman) Fulks, Mrs. Evelyn (Ray) Aldrich Sr. and Mrs. Marian (Walt) Roe, all of Thompson Falls

Joseph C. & Clara Evelyn (Moen) Garrison

From Pioneers and Early Settlers of Thompson Falls, Montana by Ann Miller

Joseph C. ‘Joe’ Garrison was born Sept. 15, 1887 in Hamilton County, Illinois. Clara Evelyn Moen was born Dec. 2, 1888 to Ivor Moen and Karen ‘Carry’ Neilson.

Joe arrived in Belknap Jan. 6, 1906 according to the Sanders County Ledger.

The June 5, 1917 World War I draft card noted the following: Joseph Garrison residing at Belknap, Montana, 28 years of age, farmer working for himself; married with four children; medium height; medium build; brown colored eyes; dark colored hair.

In a story his granddaughter, Lucy (Roe), wrote for her children, I have taken the following out: ‘Great Grandpa Joe lived some of the adventures that others just read about. He was a stagecoach driver in eastern Montana, also a great horse man. I guess “horse trader” describes him best. He and his brother raced horses, often on the street of towns as there were no paving and only board walks if there were any at all. He and his brothers helped to build a racetrack for their hobby only to have it incorporated into the present highway which now runs through Belknap.

After he and Clara Moen were married, they stayed in the Belknap area and soon bought 160 acres that they cleared and farmed over the years. This property now belongs to their grandson and his wife, Bud and Florence Roe.

He still had horses but also raised cattle and hay and a family there. I, (Lucy) can remember coaxing a horse over to a pole fence or a stump so I could get on and ride. No saddle and maybe a halter but seldom a bridle.

Sanders County Ledger, portion found on a scrap of newspaper about 1966 in the Remember When section. The editor had an interesting conversation at the Jayceens’ chicken dinner Saturday noon with Joe Garrison, who is nearing his 80th birthday. Joe, with the help of his wife, ranks as one of the most successful ranchers of the Clark Fork Valley. He recalls he stepped off the train at Belknap 62 years ago in 1905. Fellows nowadays comment that he bought his land when it was cheap.

If you compare per acre prices then with those today, Joe did buy his land cheap. But that’s only part of the story. Those who think he got it cheap don’t recall all the work that went into clearing and developing the land. Most of the Belknap flat was thick with trees when Joe arrived. “The Britton ranch had only three or four acres cleared,” recalls Joe. The same applied for his ranch and most of the other land in the area.

Clara died Dec. 28, 1975 and Joseph died Sept. 30, 1983.

Descendants of the Garrison brothers, Joe, Tom, Gus and Ross that still live in this valley are: Glenn Garrison, Joseph ‘Chubb’ Garrison, his son, Ryan along with Ryan’s sons, Tyler and Cody, Chris McGuigan, Brad McGuigan, Chad Cantrell, Ray Aldrich, Jeff Aldrich, Francie Inman, Carol Baylor, Dolly Burrese, Mona Cox, Mark Reeser, Randy Garrison, Jay Garrison, and there just might be a few more.