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105 YEARS AGO • JULY 25, 1918

BELKNAP CROPS

RUINED BY HAIL

Many Ranchers Lost Everything in Severe Storm

Roofs Broken Down and Young Chickens and Turkeys Killed

A hail storm that for violence and damage inflicted was the worst in the history of the county visited the neighborhood of Belknap Tuesday evening and in the space of half an hour wiped out all of the small grain and fruit and severely damaged the root crops over a considerable area. Roofs were broken through, young chickens and turkeys killed and the crops which were almost ready to harvest were wiped out as completely as though the German army had marched through the land.

The storm extended on both sides of the river from the Thayer and Breyette ranches as far west as the O.J. Angst place beyond the Blue Slide and none who were in its path escaped. It did not reach a few places to the south of Belknap as its course seemed to tend toward the northwest. The ranches on the north side of the river seemed to be hit the hardest, although a great part of the crops on the south side were destroyed.

M.R. Rutherford lost 75 acres of wheat that he expected to cut the latter part of the week, besides all of his fruit and berries; in fact he will be able to save practically nothing to show for his summer’s work. Rutherford owned a considerable amount of land along the Blue Slide Road, an area that covered from Swamp Creek to Graves Creek and then up along the slopes of Cougar Peak. The family left when it was too hard to manage his large land holdings any longer. He divided the property into three ranches and sold them to three different men. He moved to Missoula. Wm. Breyette does not expect to save anything from his place, and in addition had the roof of his house broken in and lost a number of young turkeys. O.J. Angst was equally hard hit, and considers his entire crop a loss. Angst owned the ranch that now is the Allen Ranch which is approximately 10 miles west of Thompson Falls on the Blue Slide Road.

H.M. Goetz lost his wheat and the balance of his small grain. F.L. Thayer, Vic Sewerd, Ernest and Wm. Butte and others were in the path of the storm and suffered almost as complete damage as the rest.

Those who witnessed the downfall say that many of the hailstones were nearly the size of eggs and that it came so thick and fast that it seemed as if nothing could stand against it. When it had stopped sufficiently so that a person could venture out-of-doors, it is said that the ground was covered to a depth of six inches and throughout the following day it was possible to go and pick up a handful almost anywhere. In some of the gulleys where they had rolled down from the hills, the hailstones are said to have been piled five or six feet deep.

This neighborhood is the only one thus far reported as having suffered any damage although small hailstones have been reported at other places. The Plains valley crops had a good rain, and the crops were helped, rather than hurt. In Thompson Falls about three-quarters of an inch of rain was recorded with but a trace of hail.

30 YEARS AGO • JULY 22, 1993

SPENDS DAY IN CROWBAR HOTEL

A Helena man, Michael David White, was sentenced to one day in jail and a $50 fine when he appeared before Justice of the Peace Robert L. Beitz.

White, 37, was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly being nude in public at the hot springs near Hot Springs.

SPA ROBBER NAPS

IN ACT

Sandy Newman discovered a 14-year-old youth passed out on the floor of the store she and her husband operate, along with the State Liquor Store, in Hot Springs when she opened the front door shortly after 5 a.m. last Friday morning.

After further investigation, Mrs. Newman found the back door of the building had been broken into, and a number of bottles of liquor were missing. She said the intruders had been very selective in what they stole. This is the second break-in within little more than a month. The youth was turned over to authorities, and investigation into his probable accomplices continues.