Historical Fiction
 
George Washington A. Frazier
By Willy
The town of Bozeman, which was established in 1864, was attracting settlers who were moving west in hopes of discovering gold. In 1866, with the help of John Bozeman, George Frazier built and ran the first successful hotel in town. The Frazier’s were friends with many of the town’s finest residents, including John Bozeman and Nelson Story. After John Bozeman’s untimely death in 1867, George Frazier built another, larger hotel, the Frazier House which opened in 1871. Unfortunately, G.W.A. Frazier died three years later of spinal meningitis. His wife, Elmyra, continued to run the hotel and raise her three children. The Frazier House was considered the most respectable hotel in town until it closed in 1920.

Achilles Lamme
By Ryan
Hi! I’m Dr. Achilles Lamme and do I have a story for you.
    It was in 1832 when my mother gave birth to me and she was a beautiful woman in her day. Since my childhood was in the 1800’s I didn’t do much but play with stones and pebbles. When I was older I studied medicine and went to medical school. After medical school I joined the gold rush to California but returned to Missouri to practice medicine and get married. In 1865 I came to Bozeman and opened a mercantile store with Menden Hall. I was doing a pretty good job at my studies when I had to have an operation for my appendicitis. My doctor thought it best for me to take the rest of the school year off. Since I had no school I went to New York and visited my  brother Maurice for two weeks at Columbia University. When I left there I headed towards Minneapolis. On my way I stayed at a hotel. The next day a fire broke out and I suffocated on the smoke. You’re probably thinking what a horrible way to die, but aat least I had a pretty good life so I’m happy.
   

Daniel Elliott Rouse
By Riley Bennet
    Daniel Elliott rouse was born in Michigan on September 30, 1834.
His mother was Hannah Alvord Rouse and his father was Daniel German Rouse. Daniel Rouse and his brother Elisha first came to Virginia City, Montana, to a mining camp in search of gold in 1863. I think they did not find gold because it is said they worked as vigilantes and shot guards at hangings.
    Daniel Rouse became friends with William Beall that year and together they started a ranch in Three Forks in 1864. Their friend, John Bozeman, convinced them that the Gallatin Valley would be the perfect location for a town as it was ripe for agriculture. They agreed and on July 7, 1864, Daniel Rouse and William Beall drafted the actual plans for the town site of Bozeman. The name of Bozeman was given to the town a few months later. It was named the Gallatin County seat three years later in 1867.
    All three men purchased land in what is now the Northern Gallatin Valley. Daniel Rouse surveyed the land for the town. He was also the first man to construct the first building ever built in Bozeman. He was a contractor, a good man and one of the original founders of the city of Bozeman.
    Daniel Rouse died on July 31, 1912 in Bozeman. His death certificate reads, “accidental fall, striking his chest over the heart.” He was 77 years old, which is old for that time. He was buried in Bozeman, Montana, but his grave site has been lost over time. The Gallatin Valley Historical Society does have plans to erect a marker for him in the future. I do not know where it will be.

Leander M. Black
By Olivia
Dear Journal:
I have been in Bozeman since 1869.
Today I went down to the Bozeman Times to see if things were running smoothly. Nothing was. A greasy rag had been hanging out of one of the co-workers pockets, and got caught in the printer. The entire schedule would be thrown off (more than it already had been). I ran to the printer. It had almost stopped trying to work. I turned it off. Ink spilled everywhere. I yelled solemnly, “Get me some oil and some gloves.” When I got my materials and got the rag out of the printer, I asked my assistant to go into town and get some extra mops and buckets to clean up the ink. Then I told them to get started on the printer. About 15 minutes later, my assistant came in gasping “I’m sorry, I don’t have the stuff. There’s a shoot-out on Main Street!”
    “Someone hand me a notebook!” I said. When I got my notebook, I ran to Main Street. Other men were trying to hold back the fighting men. I walked up to a spectator. Then I asked what they were fighting about. She said they were fighting about whether or not we should have freed the slaves. As it turned out, the story was great and we probably wouldn’t have gotten the inside scoop if the printer hadn’t broken down.


Nelson’s Fault
By Natalie
    Ellen Trent Story had come from Kansas.
Her mother and father were Mathew and Frances Trent, and they went up to Bannack on June 14, 1963, and moved to Bozeman. Nelson was a miner, and today he was watching the hanging of George Ives. Ellen got up just before nelson left for the hanging scene. “Rose?” Ellen called, “Come over here and look at this magazine.” “I am coming,” Rose answered. Ellen lived in a gorgeous house with running water and electricity. Ellen heard Rose’s shoes clopping on the polished floor. “What is it?” Rose asked. “I need to buy you a new night gown,” Ellen replied. “Fine,” said Rose. Ellen flipped to a page that had a nice expensive nightgown complete with lace and a frilly fabric on the front. “This one,” Ellen said, “is what you’re going to wear.”
    Ellen shooed the kids off to school. They went to Longfellow school down the street. Ellen went back inside and scooped up Thomas Byron and turned on the Victrola. She sat back and relaxed. Yesterday Mr. Bogert had gotten sick and needed to stay in bed, so Ellen sent her maids over to care for him. But Nelson did not like the fact that Ellen had the maids work for nothing. In fact Mr. Bogert and Nelson were not good friends. “But don’t think about that now,” Ellen told herself. “That’s in the past now. Think about the future.” That’s what you have to do in Montana.
    Ellen heard the doorbell. She carried a tray of cookies to the door, lifted the latch, and welcomed her children in from school. She sat them down in the living room, and ate the plate of cookies on the table. “Now you kids stay here and finish your homework,” Ellen said. “I’ll go finish the housework.” Ellen started the soup to boil on the stove when she heard screaming in the living room. Ellen pushed open the kitchen door and walked into the living room. The first thing she saw was the baby on the floor crying like a maniac. She scooped him up and cradled him in her arms. “Walter Story!” She exclaimed. “How did the baby get on the floor?” Walter looked guilty. “Well, um, I…” “Rose?” Ellen switched her attention to her. “Did you have anything to do with it?” “Well, I pushed Walter,” she admitted. “But Walter pushed me back, and I ran into the baby on the table.” “How dare you!” Walter said. “You promised you wouldn’t tell.” “Well what else could I have done?” Rose yelled back. “Please be quiet,” Ellen shouted over their voices. “You’ll be the ones doing the work if you keep this up!” Ellen sent Walter and Rose upstairs and put Thomas Byron in his crib.
    Ellen went off to bed and leaned her head against the pillow. Suddenly she heard a pounding at the door downstairs. She climbed down the stairs and lifted the latch off the door and swung it open. There was Nelson, along with his friends, smiling with rosy cheeks and noses. “Ellen, fix us a drink,” Nelson said. “We’ll tell you about inside,” they said. Ellen went into the kitchen and found some drinks in the icebox and poured them into glasses, then set them on a tray. “I wonder what he’s got to tell me about?” Ellen asked herself. “I guess I’ll find out.”
    Right when Ellen walked into the living room, Nelson started blabbing right away. She heard how George Ives was being hanged when a group of his friends came and tried to get him down. When Nelson saw what was about to happen, he kicked the box out from under Ives and he was hanged. So now Nelson was famous.
    After Nelson’s friends left, Nelson and Ellen went up to bed. Ellen lay there for a while until she heard Nelson’s breathing slow down into heavy breaths. Ellen stayed awake and thought about her day. After what seemed like an hour, sleep started tugging at her mind. Suddenly she heard a bang at the door. The bang didn’t sound like one of Nelson’s friends knocking, it sounded like someone trying to get in. Ellen pulled back the curtains and looked down. She saw men with weapons and one of them had a big log in his arms and was trying to push the door down. Ellen’s mind raced fast. “If I bring Nelson down they might hurt him, but if I go down….” Ellen ran downstairs to the kitchen and looked in the closet. There she found what she was looking for. Nelson’s gun. Then she took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.
    What she saw first was the log, and what she felt first was the log hitting her stomach. Ellen fell to the floor. She saw a man kicking at the garden she herself had planted! She pointed the gun at his foot. When she pulled the trigger he yelped out in surprise. Ellen remembered an old lady that lived nearby, she could pretend that she was her! Ellen wasn’t that old, but she squeezed up her face so it showed lots of wrinkles. Then she turned to the man she had wounded and screamed (an old woman’s scream of course). The man turned to her in surprise. “Well look,” he said. “It’s only the old woman.” “I’ll bet she’s babysitting the children,” another one said. “Nothing here for now.” Ellen could not believe it. She and her family were safe! Ellen went into the house and up the stairs. “I wonder who those people could have been,” she wondered. “Well, Nelson does have some enemies.” Ellen slid under the covers as quietly as possible. But when she lay down, she fell asleep faster than she ever had before.

John Bozeman
By Michael 
    One day, a very terrible day, in 1867, John Bozeman was killed by some Indians. He told me to tell you his story.
    He was about 6’ tall and very handsome, strong, brave, and a very well dressed man. He was born in Georgia in 1835. Then he left his wife and three children to go to California in 1860. He met some people and they said the gold is not in California, its in Montana. So he went to Montana. On his way he met up with another person who was going to Montana too. So they raced to Montana and they tied! When he got there he started a farming community for the miners.
    Then he was on a trip with Tom Cover for a flour business. They were ambushed by some Indians. Tom survived by John died. That was a sad day and a good day. It caused the building of Fort Ellis. Well, that’s all I know about John Bozeman.

Gustavus Cheyenne Doane
By Marco
    Gustavus Doane, the man who knew he had greatness in him had great adventure through Indian raids, explorations, and a lot more.
All of that started in Bozeman, Montana, and it all ended sadly in the same small town.
    Doane’s mind was made up on a military career. At the age of 22 he signed up to be in the Union Army, where he learned all the other things that he used in his other jobs. After the war he married Amelia Link. In 1868 they both headed west to join the U.S. Army.
One of Gustavus’s philosophies was, “It is something to march under the guidance of the star of the empire and feel that might nation follows on your trail.”
    In 1869 he was part of four Calvary companies that came to Fort Ellis. It was a couple miles east of Bozeman.
Fort Ellis was created as memorial to represent John M. Bozeman. Lieutenant Doane was under the Mayor Backer, and was one of 230 soldiers who took part in an attack of the Piegan (a branch of Blackfeet Indians). They killed 90 Piegan women, 50 children, and 33 men, and took about 140 women and children as prisoners. The raid was called the Backer massacre.
    A couple years later when Gustavus applied for Superintendant of Yellowstone, included in his qualifications was that he led “the greatest slaughters of Indians made by the U.S. troops.” He was, however, making his case bigger than it was, as there were several other greater raids.
    During the summer of 1870, Gustavus took part in what was to be the most important part of his career. He was named head military escort for a group of eight civilians to the unmapped Yellowstone region. Several of these men, Nathaniel Langford, Samuel Hauser, General Henry Washburn, and Cornelius Hedges, were big figures in Montana’s history. Doane had a passion for exploration and relished this month-long journey into a land threatened by hostile Indians. Doane’s journey gave him the first scientific knowledge of the unusual phenomena found in Yellowstone.
    By 1874 Doane was laying plans for another expedition, this time to the darkest parts of Africa. In 1871 the imagination of the western world was captured by a British explorer (Stanley’s) journey to Africa to find missionary explorer, Dr. Livingston. Lt. Doane felt that he could solve the great jigsaw puzzle that remained, the location of the Nile River.
    In 1876 all army posts assigned every available soldier to the campaign to round up the Sioux and northern Indians, kill them, and lead them to their own reservations. Doane was in the Montana column of Col. Giggon, and although several events kept him from being with General Custer on the big June 25th massacre at the Little Big Horn, Gustavus was one of the first to arrive and witness the naked and mutilated bodies of 201 soldiers after over 48 hours in the midsummer sun. In 1877 Doane was commanded to intercept, capture and/or destroy the Nez Perce who were resisting appropriation of their most valued properties. He pursued the Indians until Chief Joseph surrendered 30 miles short of the Canadian border.
    In 187 Amelia sued Gustavus for divorce, alleging desertion, abandonment and extreme cruelty. Within three months the 38-year-old Doane had applied for honeymoon leave to marry the 19-year-old woman Mary Lee Hunter, the daughter of John Bozeman’s doctore—A.J. Hunter. The new couple spent the winter in Washington D.C.  In 1880 Doane was give four months leave to command an expedition to the Arctic. But then the boat failed, it wasn’t strong enough. Now a Captain, he returned to the Frontier, moving with Mary from one bleak post to another, participating in 1885 in the last major Indian outbreak in America where he fought Apache Indians in Arizona. He and Mary Lee stood on the platform to watch Geronimo and his band be put on the train to take them to jail in Florida.
    By this time Yellowstone had become a National Park. Visitors filled the craters with sticks and chopped the delicate mineral deposits around geysers with hatchets. The government decided to have military troops protect the park, with an army officer detailed to assist the superintendent. This was the job that Doane wanted, more than anything. But he got his application turned down. Doane was given a six-month leave because he got sick and he returned to Bozeman, where he found that all the days of greatness were over. The Indians were at their reservations and Fort Ellis was abandoned buildings. In 1822 Doane died in Bozeman of a heart attack at the age of 52. Mary Lee never got married again, and for the next 60 years she was a member of the D.A.R., the Montana pioneer society, and the Bozeman Cemetery Board. She lived until 1952, dying at the age of 93.
    Gustavus Cheyenne Doane was one of the best explorers ever, that I know of.

Thomas W. Cover
By Hailey Buckley
    It all started back on March 31, 1831, Thomas W. Cover was born. He was born under a wandering star in Westminster, Maryland. When he was four years old his family moved from his birthplace to Richland, Ohio. Cover then left Ohio when he was to explore the western territories for almost two years! In 1862 he led a group of 26 men (including Samuel McLean, another man in Montana’s history). Cover spent time as a lumberman in Minnesota before catching a “gold fever,” which reportedly led him into Mexico. “The settlers of Bannack in 1862-3, included those who arrived with Woodman See’s train, September 8, 1862 were…Thomas W. cover…Barney Hughes…” Without going into extraordinary details of the group’s adventures, the men (sans Orr) discovered what was to become one of the richest deposits of gold in America, on May 2, 1863, along the banks of Alder Creek. Several communities soon appeared along the Alder Gulch, and, although Cover maintained his original claim and filed several additional new, he quickly recognized the potential for wealth was not restricted to what could be wasted from the stream banks. ZZZZZZZ. Enough of that boring old history. It’s time here to tell my miraculous story. It alls tarted back on a normal day, where you go to school then go home and do your homework and blah blah blah. But that Tuesday after school instead of going home I—No I don’t think you want to hear it, so that’s all I’m going to tell you, and I hoped you learned something about Thomas W. Cover. –Wait, don’t go. Guess I could tell you the story. But I won’t. Okay, fine I will. Like I was saying, after school on Tuesday instead of going home I found something that looked like an old fashioned telephone booth thing. You know what I’m talking about? Well, anyway, I thought just maybe instead of walking home I could call my mom or my dad to pick me up. As I got in I felt kind of funny, but I still put a quarter in. But it told me I needed some more money. As I searched through my backpack I didn’t find any money, so I said out loud to myself, “I have a bus pass,” and the machine said, “that will work.” So I used that. Then it told me to dial my number in, but I accidentally dialed the wrong number. I dialed 1860, and accidentally pressed an ‘s’ with it, so it looked like this: 1860s. then a green light flashed and I felt weird. Before I knew it I blacked out in the so-called phone booth. When I woke up I was in some old fashioned house with someone hovering over me. I wasn’t very comfortable with a man hovering over me. Oh no! It was Thomas W. Cover and his friend John Bozeman! I thought, “Hey, my class is studying these people. Now is my chance to meet them and see if all the things we are learning are true. Like how he died in—well we haven’t learned that yet. But I could ask him, right? But wait, he hasn’t died yet. But I can still ask him a few things. So I did. Some of my questions he could not answer because it was only 1861 and he was born only 30 years ago. “So you really met Thomas W. Cover and John [I think there is a page missing here]

Had been right beside one. But I can’t remember it. “Wait, don’t you have any more things to tell us?” the group said. “Wait, I do. Do you believe me?” “Yeah, of course.” Once I left the group of people I heard them saying, “I doubt that happened.” But it really is true. Do you believe me?

The Attack of the Pack is Back
on Rosa Beall!
By Ellie
    One night while Rosa Beall was alone with her children, a wolf surrounded her house and tried to get in.
Rosa Beall (pronounced ‘bell’) came to Bozeman on August 1sst, 1864. Rosa became the first white woman to settle in the Gallatin Valley. She had two kids, a five-year-old and a three-year-old by the names of Lola and Minnie. Rosa was married to A.H. van Vlierden. Her marriage eventually broke up. Rosa remarried William Beall in 1868, She lived until 1930, when she was 91 ears old, and was the oldest pioneer in the area. Mrs. Beall was a personal acquaintance of John Bozeman. Rosa was an active member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and she assisted organizing the Pioneer Society of Gallatin County, serving four years as president and several years as historian. To people who came to Bozeman during its first year, William and Rosa Beall were clearly two of the most important people in town. Most of the people in Bozeman today still remember her for the park named after her and her husband. The one wolf turned into a pack of wolves. Rosa was terrified and she panicked. She trembled as she locked the door. She stayed as still as possible. Her teeth chattered and she was frightened. As she went to look through the window, the floor creaked. She moved back slowly, hoping that the wolves didn’t hear her. She listened. Nothing was heard. Rosa peeked through the window. It was empty. Rosa closed her eyes, prayed to God, and opened them. She looked out the window and saw nothing but a tree, two horses and a barn. She sighed gladly. “Whooooo!” she said with a grin on her face.

Nelson Story’s Life
By David
    Nelson Story was born in 1838 and died in 1924.
Between those dates, this is what probably happened.
    Nelson was single until he went to Alder Gulch in 1863. That’s where he met 19-year-old Ellen. She made pies and bread to sell to miners while Nelson operated a store and mined a claim from which he took $40,000 in gold. Three years later the Storys decided to settle in Bozeman. Ellen decided to stay there in 1866 while Nelson went down to Texas to bring 3,000 Longhorns and a wagon train up to Montana. He also had to fight through Indians and outwit the U.S. Army to accomplish this task. And he did.
    Later, Nelson needed water to power his flourmill. He tried to get water from someone else’s river, but got caught. The river was owned by a man named Lindley. Something happened and they hated each other for it. Nelson still needed water, and Lindley still wouldn’t give it to him. So Nelson built a dam to block Lindley’s water and then he could have it. After that they were enemies. They hated each other so much that Nelson once dumped a full bucket of water on Lindley. Nelson got his water from some other guy’s river.
They were so rich from Nelson’s mining, they wanted to build a mansion. The mansion was built in the 1880’s and turned out to be 17 stories high and had 67 rooms. Unfortunately, it got torn down in 1938. They built a new mansion in 1937 for the other Storys. When the younger Storys came home, they had to sit on the door-step until they finished their homework. Nelson died of old age in the Story Mansion. The columns of the old Story mansion were built for the area of all the Story graves.

Sarah Jane Bessey Tracy
By Clair
    Dear whoever finds this letter: I am going to tell you all about my life so that you can understand the history of it all.
    I was born in Illinois in 1851. My husband, William Tracy, was born in 1838 and died in 1908. He arrived in Montana in 1863 and helped in laying out the old town of the Gallatin City, and engaged in mining Virginia City. In 1864-5 he settled on three 40-acre tracts in what is now Bozeman. When the governmental survey of the town was made he preempted these tracts and from then on he handled real estate. He also made substantial money as a wholesale dealer in liquor, grain, feed, and farm equipment. After five years he returned east to marry me when I was 19 years old. My husband was the first one to arrive in the Bozeman area with a wife.
One the day of our arrival in Bozeman, the dining room at the Guy house was packed with men and only three women: Sara Jane, Mrs. Story, and Mrs. Guy.
    My history could make five novels, and I hope it lasts for longer than I do. The stories I could unravel would be amazing, the times and places I have been would certainly tell a mighty tale all by themselves.
    Sincerely, Sarah Jane Bessey Tracy

Walter Teslow
By Bridget
    Howdy, I’m Walter Teslow. I was famous back in my day, but you may not know who I am not that it is 2007.
So, now I’ll tell you a lil ‘bout myself. I took part in inventing the Sweet Company grain elevator. By myself I also invented Swift Feeds and then Misco Feeds. My first elevator, Swift Feeds, was located right next to my home. I married an intelligent woman named Rose Myers, who moved to Bozeman to teach Latin, German and math. So now that ya’ll know that lil ‘bout me, I’ll get to the story I want to tell you.
    It was a cold dawn morning in 1939 as I awoke to a strange smell. I lay there for longer and longer and noticed that the smell was all around me, not just around my bed, and that gave me the final clue to figure out the strange smell was fire. I quickly put on my robe and cracked the window so Rose wouldn’t get engulfed by the smoke, and went outside. I didn’t see anything, but I knew the fire was there so I circled around to the back of the house looking for the fire. That’s when I saw it; my first and only elevator was burning down. I walked to the other side of the elevator to see if the whole thing was in flames. Rose had the same reaction as I, except she just leaned out the window to see the fire and ran outside to find me. Once she found me at the backside of the fire she put her arm around me and said, “We can build another.” In my answer to her I said, “I will, yeah, I will.” After about two months of hardship to rebuild the elevator, Rose and I lived happily ever after.

Lester Willson and the Battle of Atlanta
By Arlen
    A gleam of pride spread across General Lester Willson’s face.
He was at the White House, being promoted to Brigadier General by resident Abraham Lincoln himself. He couldn’t think of anything else but how he had managed to get where he was today.
    It all began in New York, 1861. Lester Willson was a modest young man who decided to enlist in the Army. He trained very hard and soon his Regiment, the Sixtieth New York Infantry, was known to be one of the best in the Army.
Three short years later he became the Assistant Adjunct General and served under General Sherman during a time that would prove to be a giant step in his career.
    Ware tore across the South. General Sherman needed more troops in Georgia.
The Sixtieth New York Infantry was sent to march on Atlanta, Georgia. The journey there was long and hard. Some of the younger privates were not sure that they would make it.
    Many days passed as they climbed mountains and hills. Some days were bitter cold with rain and some were scorching hot.
Food was getting short. Many of the soldiers were getting tired and hungry. Yet they pressed on as they listened to the shouts of General Willson to keep moving forward.
    The sun was blazing as they entered the streets of Atlanta. To General Willson’s surprise, his Regiment was the first to enter Atlanta. His men wasted no time unfurlingthe U.S. flag on the top of City Hall. Atlanta was secure for General Sherman’s arrival.
    From Atlanta, General Willson’s Regiment and many other regiments marched toward the sea and the capitol of Georgia, Savannah.
It didn’t take long for Savannah to surrender at the hands of General Sherman.
    Soon after Georgia was secure, President Lincoln honored Lester Willson for his courageous service under General Sherman. A grand ceremony was to take place at the White House.
    Lester’s daydream of the Battle of Atlanta was soon interrupted by the cheers of the crowd, as President Lincoln pinned the gold stars of Brigadier General onto his uniform.
It was the proudest moment of his entire life.

The Adventure of William Tracy told by his Loving Wife, Sarah
By Amber
    It was a dark and windy night when our wagon stopped to camp.
My husband, Mr. William H. Tracy, was putting aside our belongings to make room for us to sleep while I held tight to my coat and pulled it close to my neck.
    “It’s the first day of our journey, and we’ve made it pretty far,” William said.
    He says I will like Bozeman, Montana, but I’m glad he came back for me. That night I couldn’t fall asleep so I wrote in my journal. Here is what I wrote:

September, 29
    I miss my family, but I love William and he wanted to go back to Montana to make bricks and sell wheat and grains.
I see nothing wrong with that. If it gets us money to live on then it is fine with me. I like our adventure though. I’m getting tired. I’ll go to sleep now.

    We finally got to Bozeman a few weeks after September 29th. When we arrived, there was a big dinner party in my honor so William’s friends could meet me.
There were only three women there, but William and I had a great time. I enjoyed meeting his friends.
On the way home he talked about making a flourmill business. I thought it was a good idea, but I thought he should make bricks and help the town.
He did both. It wasn’t a bad idea, but I thought it would be too much work. It wasn’t for William.
    The next morning William went to work.   
    When he came back he said, “I just saw the strangest thing. I saw an Indian coming down Main Street that had an umbrella just like yours. Isn’t that the strangest thing?”
    “About that, that Indian came to the door and wanted to trade. He wouldn’t leave me alone. I traded so he would go away,” I said.
    William started laughing so hard he almost fell out of his chair.
    “William,” I exclaimed in exasperation. “What’s so funny?”
    “I’m sorry, Sarah. It was just so funny to see an Indian parading down Main Street with your only umbrella,” he replied.
    The next month I was pregnant. William and I already thought of a name: Edna Tracy White. Nine months later I had the baby.
    Thirteen years later, William and I went to bed. William couldn’t fall asleep. He went into Edna’s room and snuck her diary and opened it to the date of March 17, 1900. It said:

Dear Diary,
    You are the best birthday present ever. I haven’t had a diary in four years!
I like having a diary because it helps you remember things better and improves your writing skills.
From, Edna Tracy White

    “Huh, I thought she would write about a boy or something. I wonder what Sarah would say about me reading Edna’s journal,” William said.
    Later the next morning, while Edna was at school, we discussed his snooping.
    “I can’t believe you read Edna’s journal,” I said.
    “Yes. I’m sorry,” was the only answer he could think of.
    Edna came home from school in a very good mood. She went up to her room to do her homework.
    “You should go say sorry to your daughter,” I told him.
    “Okay,” he mumbled. “Hey Edna,” he called. “Will you come down here?”
    “Sure dad. I’ll be right down,” she called back to him.
    She came downstairs quickly. While she was walking down the stairs she said, “I had the weirdest day-dream at school today.
I was thinking about my journal that I got for my birthday last week. I felt like someone was reading it. Why did you ask me to come down here?” Edna asked quietly.
    “Um, its dinner-time,” he said.
    “You seem kind of quiet,” she said as we sat down to eat.
    “Well, that’s because I am kind of tired,” he sighed. “Yeah, I’m tired.”
    I gave him a mean scowl across the table, as if to say, “Tell her, or else.”
    “I read your diary,” he blurted guiltily.
    “That’s okay. Its not like I’d write about a boy or something,” she replied easily.
    Our beautiful life here in Bozeman has been a challenge. The winters are hard but beautiful. I miss my family, but I love it here too.
William is a successful businessman and good husband and father. He is an important man in the community, yet he still has time to spend with me.
Our life here is an adventure that I’m proud to experience with such a great man.

T.Byron Story
By Bryan
          Thomas sat back in his arm chair what spanish Joe
had just told him was tremendous.  He could not believe it.     
     T.Byron Story has having lunch with his mother, Ellen ,  Story and his father, Nelson Story,with Ellen’s silver tea set. 
All of the sudden a gunshot sounded followed by another. 
Nelson gave such a start
it shook his spectacles right off him.” what in the world was that” he said as
he picked up the spectacles that had fallen. T.B. was up in a flash.
    He was telling five of the ranch hands to check out what was going on. “Take Sandow. He’s a mighty fine dog.”  They quickly mounted up on their  horses and rode off.
While they were gone T.Byron wrote in his journal .  Nelson read the newspaper and smoked his French Briar pipe and Ellen knitted quietly.
    Then Nelson said, “Honey there’s an opera coming up “Mozart's The magic flute” the one T.B. is playing in the intermission with his band.” Sounds great “ said Ellen.  Then the sound of hoofs began to sound,and T.B. stood up. He walked to the door opened it, and greeted the ranch hands. Sandow, his dog,ran forward to greet him.  They all came I and T.B. sat in an armchair as the ranch hands began their story.  what happened was John Bozeman was on a trip with thomas Coover when the Blackfeet disguised as friendly Crow came.  They talked.  Then they attacked Bozeman.  Coover was hit in the arm, but he escaped.
    Nelson remarked,” Bury him on the hill where he was killed, and Ellen and I will go to town to get the mason.  We will get a gravestone and coffin made.  We’ll buy tickets for the opera.  Thomas, you stay here, do your cores , and practice your baritone for the opera.  You’ll be playing in the intermission with your band.  T.B. hitched up the horses to the carriage and saw his mother and father off.  Then he went to his most trusted ranch hand Spanish Joe.  Joe had dark black hair and a stiff curled mustache.  ‘after T.B. had told him to go check the murder scene, he went to his room and took out his baritone and his music book and began to practice.  He decided to go outside, because his inkwell almost spilled as a result of the sound.  Once outside he set up his stand and played the whole book which took him an hour.  Joe came back.  T.B. was reading the newspaper, but Joe wasn’t the only one.  He had Coover with him.  Coover told the same story the ranch hands had.  He told that they say to John’s would and took him back to town.  this time when Joe came back, T.B. just finished an entry in his journal.  When Joe came in, he shut the door and pulled down all the blinds to tell his tale.  What really happened was the Blackfeet came and stole two horses.  They left Coover who was jealous of Bozeman.  So he shot Bozeman and then he shot himself in the arm to make it look as though he was shot by natives.  After his story, Joe left.  Thomas sat back in his armchair.  What Spanish Joe had just told him was tremendous.  He could not believe it.  When his parents came home he did not tell them what really happened.
    Three days later they went to the opera.  They were dressed nicely especially TB, because he was  going to perform  The opera was great.  TB loved playing in front of so many   people.  A few weeks later he was woken by his father in the early morning and told that the family mill was on fire.  A few days later he met the new publisher for The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Jefferson jones, and they became great friends.
    Years later, Thomas moved to California.  There he stayed for two years.  He became very ill, and the doctor said he would soon die.  Jones as with him on  his deathbed, and it was then that he told of Coover and Bozeman.  A few minutes later he died.  When Jones returned he spread the word and soon it was everywhere. Billy Frazier disagreed with this story, because he said that he heard some people talking about somebody being paid to kill Bozeman.  Jones still knows what he heard, and that’s that.       
The End
                   
Marie Blackmore
By Nancy Rich

Sweat clouding my vision; I stared up at the light brown ceiling. I took deep but hoarse breaths. I did not know if I would survive.
Emma laid another wet cloth on my forehead. I thought about my life as I lay up at the small tan couch.
    I had come to Bozeman from England. I lived in a beautiful house with everything I ever wanted. I had jewelry and cloths and other delicacies.
 But I really wanted to go to the west. I really, really wanted to see wildlife. I wanted to go to Yellowstone with my husband. I came to Bozeman with my husband; Lord Blackmore. I was going to go on an expedition (with my husband) to Yellowstone. My husband had gone to Yellowstone three times before. Oh how I wanted to go to Yellowstone. Finally my husband agreed.
    The west is extremely fun yet rowdy place. On the way to Yellowstone, I saw a black bear cub it was adorable. I was not allowed to go near it for my husband said that since it was just a baby there would be a mother bear close by.
One day I had come across a dear carcass. I thought that it might have been killed by Native Americans. That scared me into thinking that there were Native Americans close by. Lord Blackmore cleared that idea up right away. He said that they would not leave a rotting carcass to attract wolves. I pondered if it could have been a bear like the cute one I saw that killed the poor animal. When I had first come to the west I was extremely scared of Native Americans.  There were terrible rumors back home about them. The one who made me think otherwise about them was Emma Wilson.  She was from Vermont then moved to Bozeman. She is a wonderful musician. She has a piano and would play for the Native Americans. They just sat there listening to the beautiful music. She said at times that they would make small peak holes on the fogy window and watch her play through the small peak holes. Emma is so kind I adore her.
 On Monday I started feeling dizzy and my head hurt.  Emma told me to lie down and relax.  On Tuesday I had a temperature and was feeling drowsy. The next day I was extremely sick with an unknown sickness. Sweat clouding my vision; I stared up at the light brown ceiling. I took deep but hoarse breaths. I did not know if I would survive. Emma laid another wet cloth on my forehead. I closed my eyes one last time and drifted into a never ending sleep.
Lord Blackmore grieved for his wife a long while. The couple agreed that if they died they would be buried where they died. Lord Blackmore bought five acres for his wife’s grave. He later dedicated it to the city of Bozeman to use as a cemetery, which is now sunset hills cemetery. Mount Blackmore was named after lord and Lady Blackmore.
    Lady Blackmore is an extraordinary woman who lived a wonderful life.

Lu Sing
By Evan

The wind blew gently as a small crowd gathered.there was not a noise, it was as quiet as a grave yard.A hanging platform was set up in a jail yard in Bozeman.
It was set up for Lu Sing.  Sweat dripped down his face like a water fall.  He walked on t the platform slowly.  Lu took big breaths.  The rope around his neck felt like snake about to strangle.  ”This would not have happened if it weren’t for Tom Sing,”he thought to himself,”see the story is Lu Sing was a San Francisco man and he sailed from China to San Francisco.  He was told there was great gold.  By the time Lu got there,every nugget was dug up.  Lu was very sad and was going to go home when he met a woman that changed his life.  They soon married eachother.  Lu sing loved her....until he figured out she was cheating on him with Tom Sing.  Lu Sing was heart broken.  Anger over grew him.  He chased his wife’s lover all the way to Montana to shoot him in the streets of Bozeman.  “Lu was charged for murder of Tom Sing.  Lu Sing was put behind bars.  Invitations were sent to the towns people to advertise the hanging.  Not many people showed up.  Lu Sing thought it over.  His last words were “I am sorry,”.  A Tear fell down his cheek.  He was hung on April 20th 1906.

McDonald Family
By Nolan
When the Civil War ended, some of the freed slaves went to the west from the south. Richard and Mary McDonld left St. Joseph Missouri.
There were many other families with them. They brought alone wooden cookware and a walking stick, all carved by Richard McDonld. They did not have a lot of money, just a little box that had all their money in it. Mrs.McDonld had a picture of her mother and camphor oil. It was their only medicine, a sad thing is that Mrs. McDonld was taken away from her mother when she was just a kid. The picture was the only thing she had left of her mother. Of course the trip was not easy. When the trip began 3 kids died. In 1967 Mr. McDonald died.

A Special Friendship
By Rachel
    As Julia Martin walked out of her house on 419 South Grand and started walking through the snow on the sidewalk, she wondered how she would like the new member of P.E.O.  As soon as Julia got there she sloshed through the snow and peered through the foggy old window.  When she looked inside she saw Lora Brown, Jane Sunderland and all of the other PEO members, but then she saw a brand new face.   Julia walked inside and everybody said hi except the new face.  Julia walked over and introduced herself very nicely “Hello my name is Julia Martin welcome to PEO.”  Julia could tell that the new lady was really shy.  “Thank you” she said “my name is Monica Shouse” she said trembling and turning red.  As soon as the meeting started Julia sat right next to Monica and explained what she was expected to do.                   
Pretty soon the meeting was finished and everybody had gone back to their nice, cozy homes except Julia and Monica.  They stayed behind to catch up on some things about each other.  Julia asked Monica “how do you like it here in Bozeman?” Monica replied and said, “I like it very much” she said.  Soon Julia was getting ready to leave when Monica stopped her and said “I believe my house is on the way to your house may I walk with you if you don’t mind?”.  Julia turned back around and said, “of course you can walk with me”.  A few minutes later Monica got all of her stuff ready to go and Julia opened the door.  As she did they both felt a huge gust of cold wind blow against their faces.  As they walked down the icy steps Julia had a horrible fall.  Julia slipped under herself and fell on her arm and her papers went flying everywhere and blew away very fast.  Monica helped Julia up from the cold and icy ground and they both started walking toward Monica’s house.                Monica opened the door and said, “please come in and have a nice warm cup of tea”.  As they both got settled in on the couch with their tea they started a nice conversation with each other.  “Well I live on 419 South Grand and I was a graduate of Gallatin County High School in 1902”Julia said.  “That is very interesting” Monica said. “Do you have a job,” Julia asked very curiously.  “Well I don’t have a job right now.  I am only in P.E.O. but my husband Greg has a job making and designing boxes”.  Both Julia and Monica had a great evening talking to each other.  About 8:00 that night Julia’s arm was feeling much better so she decided to go home.  So Julia and Monica said goodbye to each other and Julia walked out into the blustery and frosty wind and started walking up the street    The next morning Julia awoke to a beautiful sun shining through her curtain.  She swung herself out of bed and headed down to the kitchen to make some coffee.  As she was pouring her coffee she looked out the window and saw the beautiful blue sky and sun.  After Julia drank all of her coffee and had a relaxing morning she decided she needed to go a walk on a pretty day like this.  She put on her nice, cozy, warm jacket and slipped on her boots and set out on a morning walk.  While she was walking up the sidewalk she thought about dropping in on Monica to see how she was doing this morning.  In a few minutes Julia was at Monica’s front step and she knocked on the door.  The she saw an unfamiliar face come to the door.  It was a man’s face, “Hi I’m Julia Martin a friend of Monica’s you must be Greg Shouse”.  “Yes I am, please come inside” Greg said very nicely.  “Monica, your friend Julia is here to say hi” Greg yelled upstairs.  Monica came rushing down the stairs as fast as she could to say hi.  Monica seemed very happy and pleased to see Julia.  “Julia do you want to go for a walk in the park on such a fine day like this?”  Julia felt very honored so Julia said “yes I would love to go to the park on this lovely day.”  So in a few minutes both of the ladies were ready to go outside in the chilly air.  Monica quickly said goodbye to her husband and scooted out the door.
    While they were walking down the street in the direction of Bohart Park Monica told Julia that she had a yellow lab named Clancy and wondered if Julia had any pets.  Julia replied, “no I live by myself.”  Soon they got to the park and sat on a bench under a tree and started to talk about some of the rules and expectations for P.E.O.  Julia told Monica that the motto for P.E.O. is “to educate a girl is to educate a mother; to educate a mother is to educate a nation.”  Monica was very interested to hear this and liked it very much and thanked Julia for sharing it with her.  After a long and interesting conversation they started heading home walking fairly fast because a huge storm hit as they were leaving.  Once they each reached their own houses they quickly ran inside to get warm.  Monica covered up with a nice warm blanket and made a cup of tea while Julia was doing the exact same thing at her house. 
    At the next P.E.O. meeting Julia and Monica sat next to each other again as usual and waited for the meeting to begin.  Julia leaned over to Monica and whispered “I forgot to tell you at every P.E.O. meeting there is a program given by one of the members.  The member can present a special skill or talk about anything they would like.  I am going to present the program today and talk about my life.”  After the ladies were finished with the meeting the President said “it’s time for the program and I am pleased to present Julia Martin.”  Julia began her program by saying “I was born in 1884 and lived on South Black.  My parents were pioneer residents of the Gallatin Valley.  My father was a rancher as well as a banker.”  She continued her interesting story by saying “in 1903 I worked with church groups for many years and as you all know I became a member of the P.E.O. sisterhood in 1923.  I went to college at Lasall Junior College for two years.  I currently live at 419 South Black.”  When Julia was finished with her program she and Monica said goodbye and each of them walked home.  When Julia got settled in she thought to herself what a close friend and special friend Monica had become to her.
    In the morning when Julia woke up she did not feel well.  She felt very weak and unable to move.  Later that morning she continued to feel poorly and was so tired that she stayed home all day in bed.  For two weeks her health continued to worsen.  Monica decided to pay her friend a visit and rang Julia’s doorbell.  Julia’s doctor answered the door and Monica came dashing in as fast as lightning to Julia’s bedside.  “What’s going on with you?”  Monica asked.  “I’m dying, my time has come and I can’t go on.”  Julia replied.  “You can’t do this Julia!  I care so much about you.”  Monica said about to burst into tears.  By the time Monica started crying her heart out Julia was gone.  Two days after Julia’s death her funeral was held at her home and her burial was in Sunset Hills Cemetery.  Years after Julia Martin’s death a street on the Montana State University campus was named after her called “Julia Martin Drive” in remembrance of her.

Langohr Family History
By Hadley Marshall
Margaret Miller was born in Buttersville, Indiana, August 12, 1870. Margaret’s mom, her two sisters her brother and she came to Montana in 1872, by train to Corinne, Utah after that they took an ox team to Virginia City then came to Montana. In 1872 Margaret probably wore a baby skirt which cost about 35 cents each.  A sacaue, (blouse) which for a baby costs about 18 to 58 cents.  Also booties for a baby would cost about 15 cents.
After Margaret got to Montana, she married Mr. Don Langohr, September 9th, 1891. Don joined his father in the floral business in 1922.  Don and his father became part of the Florists Telegraph Delivery.  A while after that, they opened a downtown flower shop.  It was located on 19 East Main Street.  The eastern section of Main Street is where the store, Hartman Mockel was located.
Don began his fifty years as the Main Street merchant.  It seemed wise to be on Main Street because other ideas for building were being planned for 315 South Tracy.  Granddad Langohr passed away after a long lingering illness in 1935 at the age of 74.  He died from complications in surgery, but had been working up to two weeks before he died.  The children did not know what their parents were going through.  Don was appointed to the draft board and his business partner Roy Johnston was called upon, so Don had to resign and work alone in the shop. 
The flower business was pretty good in the summer even during the war. Mrs. Margaret M. Langohr died early in February 1928. We still remember the Langohr family to this day and they still operate a flower shop called Langohr’s Flowerland on 1100 South Tracy in Bozeman. 


By Elise
Edna Tracy's Diary in 1900
Unknown AuthorDear Diary, March 17th 3:45 PM         
You are the best birthday present I have ever had! I also got a new nightgown, but I get stuff like that all the time.
Your cover is such a beautiful reddish color, and it has yellowish pages.
My mom says that she kept a diary but not for very long. I wonder if this was hers.         
Edna Tracy
Dear Diary, March 25th 2:30 PM           
I think that my dad read my first entree, because he has been sneaking around at night. So I have decided to hide you.
 I have been looking for places all day and decided to hide you in a secret compartment in my little desk.          
 Edna Tracy
Dear Diary, April 1st 4:10 PM           
I must write quickly because I have so many fools to play.
 My brothers and I, Frank and Albert, always love to play tricks on the rest of the household and we just can't wait for it!!!          
  Edna Tracy
Dear Diary, May 30th 10:30 PM       
   I can't sleep so I decided to write in you I don't know what about but this may be one of my last because I am starting school and will not be able to record as much so I am putting you away in my drawer.
Good Bye for now Diary
Edna Tracy EpilogueEdna Tracy later on graduated from Gallatin Count High School and also graduated from Montana State College in 1908 with a degree in chemistry.
She then taught at schools in Pony and Virginia City. On August 22,1914 Edna was married to John J. White and they lived in Bozeman. John died in 1943.
Edna moved to Hillcrest in 1966 and died there in 1982. She was then buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery.
  
Emma Weeks is Coming Today
By Dani
“Emma Weeks is coming today”, exclaimed General Lester Willson to his friend Henry a wounded soldier who was sitting next to him waiting for Emma too.”
Why are you always babbling on about Emma Weeks and her amazing talent, it seems like she has you brainwashed or something”, said Henry annoyingly.” I do not know but the first time I saw her standing in the parlor with Mary A Cory, both of them sopping wet something clicked in my mind”. Henry was astonished Lester had never said anything this astounding in the last two years he had known him. Just as Lester was about to say something even more astounding Emma Weeks walked through the door and welcomed everybody “ Hello Lester, Henry how are you feeling.” “very well thank you and how are you Emma” said Henry waiting for Lester to say something. Emma broke the awkward silence that was going on for about two minutes by saying to Lester “it looks like rain”. Henry burst out laughing“ what did I do something” asked Emma looking embarrassed “ oh nothing “ said Henry who looked like he still needed to laugh Lester just stood there and gawked at Emma. Henry who did not want Lester to miss his chance to talk to Emma said “ Lester weren’t you saying to me earlier that you had something to say to Emma” “ oh oh yah um Emma I was wondering if you wanted to a do something a sometime” stuttered Lester, “sure” said Emma more joyful than expected “but right now I have to sing and do my job but how about tomorrow night at 6:00 at the opera house” Lester was speechless so Henry answered for him afraid that Lester would lose his chance said” I’m sure he would love too” “ great” said Emma “see you tomorrow night” “yeah” said Lester softly “see you tonight”. That night Lester was ecstatic. It seemed like he was bouncing off the walls. His neighbors were so annoyed that they went and knocked on his door about three times until he calmed down and went to bed. The next morning when Lester came to work he was even more ecstatic than the other day. He could not even sit still for two minutes. When Emma Weeks was in the parlor Lester just about fainted but Emma went straight to work so Lester and Henry did not get a chance to talk to Emma.
   Later that night Lester walked into the opera house his palms were sweating. As he stepped into the door of the opera house he saw Emma right away, waiting to see the right person. As soon as she saw him she smiled at him.  Emma was just as excited as Lester she could not believe that Lester asked her to do something with him and she said yes! Lester was a general and she was just a person who came in twice a week to sing to wounded soldiers. As soon as she saw Lester at the opera house she waved, she could tell that he was as nervous as she was. They sat together in the front row side by side, staring at the opera performance and occasionally glancing at each other and smiling. After the opera was over both Lester and Emma were too speechless to say anything. So they just said goodbye and left. The next day Lester saw Emma in the store by Main Street. After that they just kept running into each other. Finally Lester told Emma said to Emma “would you like to go see the Blackmore family, Lady Blackmore has been begging me to bring you over” “OK” said Emma. So later that day Lester took Emma to the Blackmores house, Lady Blackmore was so excited to see Emma and right in the middle of Emma and Mrs.Blackmores little chat Lester suggested that they all go out to an opera so they could get to know each other. Soon after the night they all went to the opera, Mary Blackmore and Emma Weeks became the best of friends. One day when Mary went over for tea she asked Emma” why she has not been seeing Lester, he seemed so in love with her”, Emma told her that Lester was on a business trip to visit his family and they had been seeing each other and that Lester had proposed”! Mary was speechless “WHAT” Mary yelled “you waited this long to tell me”! “He proposed to me in the mail, one day I get letter from Lester and it says” “Will you marry me? Love Lester. “Did you say yes” asked Mary “yes” Emma said quietly, blushing as she said it.” When is the wedding” asked Mary ecstatically, “I don’t know, I just got the letter yesterday.
  While Mary and Emma were talking about Emma and Lesters wedding Lester was worrying about how this was going to work out. Furrowing his eyebrows Lester was working out a plan in his mind silently not moving. He had the idea that he would build a house on Main Street for Emma and him and surprise her by bringing her over blindfolded. The house would be completely filled with all the things from her house and his, Lester might even get a piano to give Emma as a wedding present. She would be so surprised. Right away Lester called the wood company and asked for wood he would start building right away! ”But wait, what if Emma sees me when I am still building the house I will be doomed” thought Lester, “no she will not see me I will tell her to stay with Mary so she will be too busy to notice that I will be so busy.  

Four months later
“The house is finished just in time,” said Lester “it sure is beautiful” said Henry looking at it. The house had lots of windows and you could clearly see the piano sitting in the window. Lester had to tell Emma about the piano but she did not find out about the house. “We better go if we want to make it to the wedding on time” said Henry “OK” said Lester taking one last glance at the house before turning away. Henrys words echoed in Lesters mind “it sure is beautiful” “it sure is” said Lester to himself “it sure is.”

Nelson Story
By Connor Ault
       Nelson Story’s story began in 1883 in Meigs, Ohio. He was raised on a farm in his early years in southern Ohio.
       Nelson had a plan to go to Montana, raise $40,000 in gold, while his wife Ellen Trent sold breads and pies. Once he had the gold, he went to Texas and bought 3,000 longhorns, and in time it would be remembered as a incredible journey. When he had returned he was to become Montana’s first millionaire.
        Story like everyone had flaws, you could rarely find a person besides his 4 children and wife that he could agree with.
          This man would not cope with others; it was his way or his way. All in all he was an incredible man with great interest and strength, who will be remembered forever.

Fred Fielding Willson
By Margot
    I bet you’ve heard of the famous architect, Fred Willson.  Well, now’s your chance to hear a once in a lifetime story about my adventure with Fred Willson.  I was walking along on Main Street in the summer when I saw a fortune teller shop.  I didn’t believe in the superstitious world or anything like that, but  went in any ways just to get a good laugh!  When I stepped into the building a cold chill ran down my spine, and it kind of creeped me out. I shook it off and kept walking.  When I got to the end of the hall I found the fortune teller.  I said. “Hi!”, and all of a sudden here was an ear piercing scream.  It wasn’t from the fortune teller. It was from everyone around the world when they found out that Fred Willson was dead.  When the ear piercing scream went through my ears a scene flashed through my eyes.  I was in a hospital.  I looked over, and there was a calendar. It was Sunday, and I looked to my left.  There was Fred Willson in a hospital bed asleep.  I realized that I had studied Fred Willson.  The story said that he had been driven to the hospital and died Monday!  So that means that if I wanted to, I could do something with him for a day until he was to die tomorrow!  Even if this was the wrong thing to do I did it anyway.  I went over to him and woke him up. 
    When he woke up, he said,”What, what happened?  Where am I?  Who are you?”
    I replied, “Well you are severely ill, and your family drove you here to the hospital.  My name’s Margot Diffendaffer, and I was wondering if I could go on an adventure with you?”
    Then he said, “But I thought you said I was severely ill.”
    “Well, I could put you in a wheel chair, and you would be good!” 
    Fred stopped talking then and closed his eyes and after a few moments reopened them.  “OK!”  So I got him into a wheelchair, and we went to the park.  He talked about his family and how his parents were pioneers.  He was at the pioneer reunion and was a banquet speaker. (That had been fun.)  I told him about the story I had read about him and how he had a distinguished record and was well known all over the Pacific Northwest.  Then we talked about all of the buildings he had designed like the Boys YMCA,  the  Baxter Hotel, the Gallatin County Courthouse, the Ellen theater, Longfellow School, Irving School, HawthorneSchool, Emerson School, and the Gallatin High School .  He also built some buildings at MSU like Herrick Hall and the heating plant.  Then I told him about how I went to church at First Presbyterian.  I told him that I went to Longfellow School.  He was amazed at how much of his work was still standing. 
    After that he said, “Well, I should probably get back to the hospital.”
    I replied, “Yeah!” and then remembered that I didn’t know how to get out of there.  So I asked him, “Do you have a fortune teller around here?”
    Fred returned, “Yes, just down the street.  Do you want me to walk down with you?”
    So I said, “Sure.”  When we found the fortuneteller shop I went in with Fred and said, “Hi,” again.  There was the ear piercing scream, and I was back to the same day.  It was the same time.  So when I turned to leave, there was Fred Willson, wide eyed looking up at me!  I took him home and told my mom.  We went and checked out the town.  We went to the carnival, and Fred drove a car!  Then it got pretty late so he went to the fortuneteller shop and said,”Hi,” and just like that he was gone. But now you get to hear about my wonderful story.  I told you my story was a once in a lifetime chance.
 
My Friend, Samuel Lewis
By Gabriel Gordon
    This is a story about my friend, Samuel Lewis.  Samuel grew up in a poor family in Haiti.  He played his harmonica to earn money to go to America.  Finally, when he was twelve he had earned enough money to take a boat to America.  He took a cargo ship and had to sleep on the deck shivering.  The journey took a week.  It was a long and cold journey for Samuel, but he thought it was the right decision.  He arrived in New Orleans one rainy morning.  He spent his little money on provisions, for he planned to go to the gold fields in California.
    He got rides on passing wagons and walked.  It took three months for him to reach the gold fields.  That is where we met each other.  We shared a tent and mined gold together.  Samuel was really good at saving his money.  I was not, however.  One time we got trapped in a tunnel and almost died, but  we got rescued just before we were about to suffocate.  Samuel saved up so much money working in the gold mines that he had enough to go traveling in Europe and the West Indies.
    I heard that he saw many extraordinary things while traveling.  He saw the Eiffel Tower, the Arc De Triomphe, and the Alps.  I wish I could have gone with him, but I did not have enough money to do so.  Samuel was considered a rich man, because not many people had enough money to travel then. He traveled for two years and then went to the mining camps in Montana and Idaho.
    I was working at the mining camps in Montana and Idaho as well.  We worked in the same mine for a time.  Then he became a barber and opened a shop in Idaho. He soon got bored with Idaho and permanently established himself in Bozeman, Montana.  He opened a barbershop on Main Street and got very good business.  The  barbershop was called The Tonsorial Parlor.  Samuel took very good c are of it and kept it in pristine condition.
    He was well liked and very popular in Bozeman.  Samuel was in newspaper articles and magazines.  He was one of the best  barbers around.  Samuel was also a leader of Bozeman’s small black community.  He later decided to be both a barber and a real estate agent.
    I helped him build a house at 308 South Bozeman Avenue.  It took a long time before it was finished.  There was a lot of timber around at the time so it was easy to get the timber for the house. He married Mrs. Bruce.  They lived in the house for a long time before Samuel decided to add on to his house.
    When Samuel died in 1886, I was very sad.  His funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners, and one of his pallbearers was Mayor Frank L. Benepe. The Avant- Courier eulogized him, in part, as being “very much of a white man.  He was white in his entire makeup- physically, socially, intellectually, morally.”  (I thought that was a strange way to pay him a compliment).  All of us in Bozeman greatly miss him.

John Bogert’s Turn of Events
By Molly
Lila Bogert rushed to the door of 315 Grand Street. “ Good Luck, John!
Do well!” We waved good- bye and I hopped in a horse and buggy carriage. “ Courthouse, please.” I announced to Fred Willson, the driver.
   “ Will do.” Fred answered, and he drove off in the direction of the courthouse.
     I took my seat in the front of the room. The judge stepped out. “ Citizens of Bozeman,” he announced, “ here are our runners for mayor. Please vote!” My heart pounded in my chest. There was a good sized group before us, some of them voting for me! I could not believe I was sitting here. Running for mayor! After a few minutes of sitting, the judge took the results. He announced, “ Citizens, someday  this town will be big. Someday we will have what we need to be one city. Our first mayor of Bozeman is... he took the result to the other judges. We waited in pure agony. Two minutes passed. Three... finally, a response: “The first mayor of Bozeman is... Mr. John V. Bogert!” I couldn’t believe my ears! Me! It couldn’t be! But somehow, by a miracle, it was.
    i jumped up and bowed, shook hands with the judges, and, after a while of celebrating, found Fred Willson in the crowd. “ Congats, young man! i say we get home and tell your sister!” So we did just that.
    Lila laughed when I told her. “ You’re joking, aren’t you?” I shook my head, burning with pride. She screamed. “ John! Mr. Willson! Oh, my good heavens!
      We celebrated that night by inviting our friends over for rum and cake.  All of us had a fine time, and I only wished that John Bozeman could have been there with us. When the night finally ended, I clambered into bed, swelling with happiness. The next morning I’d be working at the courthouse. With that in mind, sleeping was impossible. I picked up pen and paper and began a letter to my parents:


   Dear Mother and Father,
 You won’t believe what has happened since Lila and I have bought our house.
I was voted mayor! I feel so incredibly grand.
We hope you are well. Love you. 
 Sincerely,  
John Bogert

   First Mayor of Bozeman
By Molly Claire Hamilton
          That night I dreamt of how I’d seen Lila on the train, how we’d suffered through those 8 days on the train to Bozeman.
    We had loved our little hotel, Lewis’. John M. Bozeman had been such a help. He was the one who had sold us our house, I reminded myself.
      Then, he had to go on that trip... and never came back to greet us. How my sister mourned for him! I remembered Fred Willson at John’s funeral, and how we had made friends of each other. I remember the day we bought our house- and the most vivid memory in my mind- how I became the first mayor of Bozeman.