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Wisdom, Montana: 1942
April 1942. "Baker's Garage in Wisdom, Montana. Largest town, population 385, in the Big Hole Basin, a trading center ... taken today. Do you have any more information on it? Wisdom MT Google Maps link. Wisdom Great photo. Thanks. The last ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/03/2023 - 1:14pm -

April 1942. "Baker's Garage in Wisdom, Montana. Largest town, population 385, in the Big Hole Basin, a trading center in ranching country." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Superb quality!The quality of this photograph is amazing. It looks like it was taken today. Do you have any more information on it? Wisdom MTGoogle Maps link. WisdomGreat photo. Thanks. The last remaining inhabitants eventually changed the name to "Boredom, Montana." Towns like thisTowns like this are a staple of western North America. In western Canada, their existence was justified by the railway and farmers hauling grain to their local elevators. Later they survived when the highway became the big thing and people stopped for gas or a little food on the road. There's probably a bar that the locals go to. Town's got a school maybe even a high school, and probably more than one church. There's a ball field and, in just about every prairie town in Canada though of course not the USA, a curling rink. In Saskatchewan they used to say that if you lived in a town that lost the school and the curling rink you might as well start looking for a place in Saskatoon or Regina. PennzoilThe Pennzoil logo hasn't changed much: WidsomIt looks like it's on the edge of a river valley? The colors in this shot are indeed amazing. I love the punch of the red gas pumps. [It's west of Butte. - Dave] CalsoWhat does it say on the sign leaning against the wall, underneath "Calso Gasoline"? Is that "Unsurcharged"? No extra fees? ["Unsurpassed." - Dave] Eternal WisdomUnderneath "Unsurpassed" on the Calso sign you have "The California Company" I found a modern picture of this place online: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4494303 Aside from the paved road, this place looks much the same. I don't think they sell Chevron or Mobil at those buildings anymore. Baker's Garage is now Conover's Trading Post. The painted Wisdom has long since faded from the old metal roof. The GarageI was raised and went to school in wisdom and Bakers Garage is not next to Ed Glassey's garage (The building with Wisdom on the top). Baker's Garage was across the street from Glasseys Garage (Looks like maybe they used photoshop to alter the photo) .. I moved to Wisdom in 1959 so if the photo is from 1942 maybe they moved the Building?? [The image, which is part of the Library of Congress photographic archive, has not been altered. It's one of more than 50 pictures of Wisdom taken by John Vachon in April 1942. Things can change a lot in 20 years. - Dave] Baker's Garage in WisdomI am a Wisdom native too. In talking to my dad. Bruce Helming, who is the oldest native still living in Wisdom, it turns out that Anna Lee and Roy Baker did own a shop across the street from the garage that you know as Baker's, which is now the Wisdom Market. It was the Chet Bruns Union 76 Garage back in the old days. Anna Lee was my dad's first cousin. Dad's folks adopted her when her parents died in the 1920s, and she was raised as Anna Lee Helming in Wisdom. My grandparents' (and later Dad's) business, Helming Brothers, bought out Chet Bruns' operation in the 1950s, which is when Anna Lee and Roy moved to the garage that you know now. The buildings shown in the photo were destroyed in the American Legion hall fire. I would guess that was in the early 50s, which is when all of the cemetery records were destroyed. Wisdom had no real fire department until 1961, so when a blaze was raging out of control, it was extinguished by placing dynamite in a loaf of bread and tossing it into the fire. The night the Legion hall and all of these other buildings burned, Dad and his uncle, Clarence Helming, were bringing the fire pumper to the scene. Just as they rounded the corner, "Boom," no more fire (and no more buildings). Gary Helming Helming@juno.com Pictures of Wisdom, MontanaI enjoyed looking at the old pictures of Wisdom and reading the text about them. I grew up near a small town (Gladstone, VA) and have always been kind of partial to them. I love looking at old pictures like these. Thank you for posting them. The Wisdom of YouthThis town holds a place in my heart. I spent most of my youth in Wisdom, from 1975 to 1990. The town hasn't changed a lot since I left, but has gotten smaller. When I started at Wisdom Elementary there were four classrooms. By the time I graduated to high school they were down to three. I hear there is only one class there now. For high school we were bused 65 miles to the Dillon, one of only two high schools in the county. It was an amazing place to grow up. Though everyone knew your business, everyone kept an eye out for you. We had two bars that all the kids hung out in and played pool. There were street dances for the Fourth of July and any other occasion. There were two restaurants, one of which burned down last week. It is hard to describe the life that a kid in a town this small would lead. The concept just doesn't make sense to city folk. But it was an amazing carefree life of swimming under the bridge, ice skating at the pond, nights of kick the can in the Forest Service field, greetings from the town's pet deer and raccoons. If it were possible to have the kind of lifestyle I have now in the city, I would move back to raise my child there in a heartbeat. Having lived near Wisdom for many yearsduring the summer-time, I can almost see the buildings. We haven't lived in Jackson for 20 years but the previous 8 years were spent on the Hairpin Ranch in a line shack about 5 miles past the main ranch, in the middle of nowhere. I loved EVERY minute of it. We traveled to Wisdom for dinner some days or just when the kids wanted to take a ride. It was a short 20 mile drive. Would move back in a New York minute. Early pioneers of the Big HoleI'm looking for any pictures or info of the early Wisdom families prior to 1930. I have an old school picture dated 1914/15 and would love to have someone help identify the children. Both sides of my family, the Elliott's and Scollicks were early settlers there. The old dilapidated log cabin on the south end of the Ruby near Butler Creek is the Scollick homestead and the Elliott log cabin is on Gibbonsville road. I believe my Aunt Eve Scollick might have married a Ferguson in the Wisdom area. There's a picture hanging at the Crossing/Fetties with several people on horses. Anyone that can help identify them as well would be great. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Rural America, WW2)
Hotel Wisdom: 1942
August 1942. "Big Hole Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana. Buildings on the main street of Wisdom, Montana, trading center for the Big Hole Valley. This is cattle ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/03/2023 - 7:48pm -

August 1942. "Big Hole Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana. Buildings on the main street of Wisdom, Montana, trading center for the Big Hole Valley. This is cattle country." Acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information. View full size. Battle Of The Big HoleAs American settlers moved west and justified westward expansion as the nation's Manifest Destiny, the Nez Perce had no alternative except to share their ancestral lands. Eventually, Americans' interest in the land's riches and cultural conflicts between the settlers and the Nez Perce led to a series of bloody battles. One of the many battles, the Battle of the Big Hole in Wisdom, Montana changed the outcome of the Nez Perce War of 1877. Montana: Big Hole National Battlefield Last Saturday night ...Paul Bunyan decided to play horseshoes on Main Street and missed. Rooms to let, 50 centsNo phone no food no pets ... Hotel Wisdom Phone line Horse sneakers! Hotel wisdomDon't walk barefoot on the carpet, and sanitize the remote. Russell Lee and John VachonBoth Russell Lee and John Vachon spent a lot of time in the region in the late 1930s and early '40s. In fall 1942, perhaps they were traveling together, as both have images of Wisdom in the archive. Quoting Mary Murphy (Montana State professor): Vachon drove his Plymouth into Beaverhead County in the spring of 1942 with the assignment of photographing stock raising. After several days, he wrote to FSA Director Roy Stryker that he had found “the purest most undiluted West I've ever seen.” (Source: her presentation) Another interesting tidbit about how Vachon described his drives through the county: From Butte, Montana, in March 1942 he wrote [to his wife Penny] of “regretting a very abject and cowardly performance about 3:00 this afternoon.” Vachon is reproaching himself for fearing to drive the road from Wise River to Wisdom, which is “one lane bumpy full of puddles holes heavy snow and cliff hanging.” It really rankles when the attendant at the Wise River gas station tells him, 'The mail stage makes it every day'.” (Source: Big Sky Journal) LIQWhen the boys leave the bar with snootful, it's forgotten that what goes up must come down. And the nearest hospital is (probably at least) 50 miles away. Measure twice.The carpenter placed the hotel windows symmetrically. The sign painter missed. Wisdom = Having InsuranceIt seems almost unnecessary to ask, doesn't it? (05/21/60) Despite what might seem like daunting odds, Fetty's rebuilt, and seems to still be in business. The hotel, however, seems to have checked out. A tossupWhat's with the horseshoe up on the power lines? The town that Coke forgotThere's a Chesterfield's ad at the liquor store (the largest of the four buildings shown); but I do not see a Drink Coca-Cola sign, usually a standard feature in 1940s main street photos. The distances to the nearest towns in either direction reminds me of the saying -- it's not the end of the world ... but you can see it from there. At some point that horseshoe is going to be an UN-lucky horseshoe for someone. Lean on me1939 Chevrolet Master Deluxe 4-Door Sedan. Makes me wonder how many times the Chevy completed the aforementioned fearsome trek from Wise River to Wisdom. (The Gallery, Russell Lee, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Wisdom's End: 1942
April 1942. "Wisdom, Montana. Edge of the town." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for ... Looks like the edge of town is the town. Wisdom's start and Wisdom's end looks to be about a block long. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/17/2021 - 10:53am -

April 1942. "Wisdom, Montana. Edge of the town." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Looks like the edge of townis the town. Wisdom's startand Wisdom's end looks to be about a block long. Yellowstone coach remains?It looks like an old Yellowstone coach resting in pieces to the left of the gas station. Waitin'For the vintage vehicle experts here on Shorpy to ID these two muddy pickups, seemingly a matched pair. Home, home on the rangeOn April 22, while here in Wisdom, John Vachon wrote to his wife: "I've got to come back here again. I want to live here and raise my children here. It keeps growing and growing. If I stayed 2 weeks I wouldn't even leave to go home and pack up. I'd just send for you." Just East Of WisdomJust east of Wisdom is where I believe this picture was taken. The topography of Odell mountain can be seen on this snip-it from Google Earth. AmusementsWhen I look at many of these small town photos I'm struck by how little there is in the way of entertainment for the people who live there. We're surrounded now by all sorts of things and have the prosperity to be entertained inside and outside the home. For these folks, money was so very tight and even if you had some maybe a beer and song from the jukebox were your options (or make your own music). A very different expectation about leisure. (The Gallery, Frontier Life, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Small Towns)
War News: 1942
April 1942. "Wisdom, Montana. The Ansons visit their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Len ... might be a gas or electric heater, very useful in Montana. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Small Towns, WW2) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/19/2021 - 11:12am -

April 1942. "Wisdom, Montana. The Ansons visit their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Len Smith." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Month by Month With VachonBased on the last several posts, John Vachon apparently spent the winter and spring of 1942 touring the upper Midwest, sending back windswept snow scenes so chilling I shivered, and social suffocation scenes like this one that make me want to go out and walk down to the local tavern to escape. Coupled with the coy, on-the-road self portraits you've shown us before, I'm starting to regard him as a mythical, Everyman sort of character straight out of Kerouac. Can't wait to see where he's headed next. Doolittle Raid, James Doolittle and co-pilot Richard Cole"War Information" in action. The headline has it: this was the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, the first U.S. air strike on Japan. The low-level daylight attack killed 50, injured about 400, and did minimal physical damage; but the psychological effect was great on both sides--witness that headline. The last survivor of the crew, co-pilot Richard E. Cole, died at 103 on April 9, 2019. In the photo below, pilot Lt. Col. James Doolittle is second, Lt. Cole fourth from left. Sassy lookin'Ceramic cat. I sense tension in the roomMr. Anson is unhappy about something, and is searching for just the right words to convey his thoughts to Mr. Smith. Meanwhile, Mr. Smith is pretending to be absorbed in his magazine as he awaits the complaint. Doolittle RaidI'll get my comment in before the rush - I'm sure most Shorpy faithful know who and how Tokyo was bombed a mere four months after the war started. Pretty much the first bright spot for the US in WWII to offset the litany of setbacks, retreats and surrenders. Couldn't Mom have a chair?Instead of making her sit on a tuffet? Even a kitchen chair would have been more comfortable. And she's still wearing an apron from doing the dishes! [That's not Mom. - Dave] I wouldn't call it "news"The Time magazine issue Mr. Smith is reading is dated March 9, 1942. [I wouldn't call it Time, either. - Dave] Questionable framingMr Vachon probably regretted capturing so much of the top of the room at the expense of the lower parts where the people live. I'm curious what that blurry thing is in the right foreground -- thought for a while it might be an accordion, which would certainly liven things up. These people don't appear to be the big smokers that so many folks in Shorpy pix are -- there's maybe an ashtray on the desk, but it looks like it's used for something else. Life MagazineThe issue is dated March 9, 1942 Let there be LightMust be a dark room. Five lamps! And that's just one corner of the room. Near the windows. Strategic Outcome of the RaidIt was the Doolittle Raid that convinced the Japanese military leadership to increase their Pacific defensive zone - hence the attack on Midway Island in June of 1942. That disaster was the turning point in the Pacific war and marked the outward boundary of the Japanese conquests in WWII. What is that apparatus?Is that an accordion or an organ in the lower right? A surfeitof lamps! Family of readers.On the far right, we see glimpses of the daughter, who appears to be going through the mail. What a bunch of readers they all are. The radio was probably also on. Mom being forced to sit on the tuffet seems harsh though. [Daughter is in the middle. Mrs. Anson is at far right. - Dave] The Front Page Had to do a double take. After looking at the object on the desk and thinking it was some kind of streamline mouse, I finally figured out that it's a blotter. For when you're writing letters at that lovely desk. Also doesn't look to me as if sis is wearing her apron from doing dishes looks more like she's getting ready to cook dinner because i do believe that is a handwritten recipe book in her lap. ["Sis"? That's Len's wife. - Dave] My dad often called my sisters quote 'sis'; I even had a cousin Sis. Blurry heater?The blurry object in the right foreground might be a gas or electric heater, very useful in Montana. (The Gallery, John Vachon, Small Towns, WW2)
Double Duty: 1942
April 1942. "Wisdom, Beaverhead County, Montana. Accommodations at the Wisdom Hotel." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/26/2021 - 1:02pm -

April 1942. "Wisdom, Beaverhead County, Montana. Accommodations at the Wisdom Hotel." Acetate negative by John Vachon for the Office of War Information. View full size. Two things rarely seen these daysCatalogs and outhouses. Sears stopped producing its general catalog in 1993. It's a long, long way to necessaryYears ago I learned a German word. It is one of those complex German words that has a nuanced meaning involving a stressful situation, the distance from point A to point B and a toilet. Fahrfumpoopen. Just a word from an experienced user. While waiting to finish, tear out a generous number of catalog pages and give them a good rubbing up. Much more satisfying than straight from the book. Ya gotta love the Google Books search engineIssue 134 of the Montgomery Ward catalog (1941), Page 412. https://books.google.com/books?id=uWhQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA412&dq=sun+valley+pl... No thanks!A hotel with an outhouse? And a shared outhouse at that? Umm ... maybe I don't want a time travel machine. Thank GoodnessFor the camera angle ... I've used facilities like this in my younger days, and the combination of visual and olfactory assaults were a bit much. No No, not the glossy pagesWhen I was a kid we were the only ones with a septic tank and flush toilet. My great-grandparents who lived behind us and my grandfather across the road had outhouses and used old telephone directories and the soft pages from Sears and Roebuck catalogs. When those were gone then the misery of the glossy pages began. Re: Ya gotta love the Google Books search engineLooks like they kept the Sears catalog to use for actually buying things and the Monkey Wards catalog for ... oh well. Two cowpunchers walked into a bar...On April 22, 1942, John Vachon wrote from Wisdom to his wife: "Last night 2 soused cowpunchers had a real slugging knocking down rolling on the floor fight in the joint next door ... After a few minutes I ran and got my camera, and when I came back they were buying each other drinks and lighting cigarettes. They wouldn't fight again for the camera." From the book, "John Vachon's America." Careful!The seat appears smooth so splinters may not be an issue but watch out for those gaps in the board. They are just waiting to pinch someone. Slick paper?That's rough. Deluxe OuthouseTravel through British Columbia and you will find that most Rest Stops on the highways feature modern concrete pit toilets and a few picnic tables. Regional parks in the Vancouver area also have outhouses; there is one just 1 km. from where I live. On Lopez Island in Washington State there is this amazing pit toilet. From the outside it is a plain wood building, but when you open the door you are greeted with a spotless interior - including fresh lilacs. Best title ever?Certainly right up there!! Additionally, it looks like the wall covering was used once or twice as emergency TP -- that couldn't have been pleasant. (The Gallery, Bizarre, John Vachon, Small Towns)
Star Garage: 1942
April 1942. "Missoula, Montana. Garage." More curbside gas pumps! Medium format acetate negative by ... in Missoula? Not so much. Again? Pearls of wisdom almost every photo. Isn't anyone else commenting? Really Dave. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/18/2022 - 12:43am -

April 1942. "Missoula, Montana. Garage." More curbside gas pumps! Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Concrete MixerMade by Jaeger in the foreground. These were powered by stationary hit and miss engines. I have the engine sans mixer in a 3.5 horse size. The one that would be in this one was likely smaller. More like a 1.5, or 2.5 engine. Jaeger bought their engines from Hercules, which were made in Evansville, In. Still there, kind ofI found the building today, but not as I expected to. On the wall of a downtown gym, forever memorialized in paint. SolidThat's a honey of a building with a lot of impressive decorative brickwork. I'm loving the fleur de lis blooming on either side of the main title. The arches are divine. IncognitoThis article says the nondescript building at 149 W. Front has been many things: Star Garage, restaurant, Star Garage Disco, and offices. It lost its second story (why?!?) in a 1970 remuddle, when it was converted from garage to restaurant, and then lost all but one arch when it was converted to offices. BrutalUsually I favor saving and restoring old buildings. In the case of what they have done with the Star Garage there in Missoula? Not so much. Again?Pearls of wisdom almost every photo. Isn't anyone else commenting? Really Dave. [Well, there's you, and all these other people. - Dave] PrescienceAn early WWW. (The Gallery, Gas Stations, John Vachon, Small Towns)
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