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150 years
by Michael Stafford
It was 150 years ago that the first Episcopal services were held in Deer Lodge and it’s been 140 years since St. James’ Church was built. The congregation and building have survived small numbers, financial burdens, fires and variety of changes over the decades. Nonetheless the congregation has continued on and the building continues to stand at the corner of Fourth Street and Cottonwood.
And with the 150th anniversary of the congregation coming up, they’re ready to celebrate and invite the community to join in.
On July 22, the church will commemorate their sesquicentennial with a special service from 2 - 3 p.m. and then an open house and community dinner from 3 - 5 p.m. The Ninth Episcopal Bishop of Montana, the Rt. Rev. Dr. C. Franklin Brookhart Jr. will be at the celebration. All are welcome to attend and the food will include pulled pork, coleslaw, beans, salads and of course a cake to celebrate the anniversary.
“So it will be a meal served for the whole community,” said Mary Ann Fraley, a member of the congregation and one of those helping to organize the anniversary celebration.
Fraley explained that everyone is welcome to come to the church for the special event and be a part of a milestone in the long story of the church and its congregation in this community.
see Church page eight
It was 150 years ago that the first Episcopal services were held in Deer Lodge and it’s been 140 years since St. James’ Church was built. The congregation and building have survived small numbers, financial burdens, fires and variety of changes over the decades. Nonetheless the congregation has continued on and the building continues to stand at the corner of Fourth Street and Cottonwood.
And with the 150th anniversary of the congregation coming up, they’re ready to celebrate and invite the community to join in.
On July 22, the church will commemorate their sesquicentennial with a special service from 2 - 3 p.m. and then an open house and community dinner from 3 - 5 p.m. The Ninth Episcopal Bishop of Montana, the Rt. Rev. Dr. C. Franklin Brookhart Jr. will be at the celebration. All are welcome to attend and the food will include pulled pork, coleslaw, beans, salads and of course a cake to celebrate the anniversary.
“So it will be a meal served for the whole community,” said Mary Ann Fraley, a member of the congregation and one of those helping to organize the anniversary celebration.
Fraley explained that everyone is welcome to come to the church for the special event and be a part of a milestone in the long story of the church and its congregation in this community.
see Church page eight
Rock Creek Lake claims local drowning victimby Michael Stafford
A Deer Lodge man drowned last week in Rock Creek Lake. The preliminary cause is asphyxiation by drowning. That’s according to Powell County Sheriff Scott Howard who confirmed that last Tuesday evening Bradley Eugene Wesson (age 49 of Deer Lodge) lost his life at the lake. “On July 10 at approximately 5:30 the Powell County Sheriff’s Office 911 center received a call,” he said. That call was the report of an elderly man who had drowned. Sheriff Howard said that deputies and an ambulance headed up to Rock Creek Lake and met the party attempting to bring Wesson down in a pick up truck not far from the lake. The ambulance transported the man to the Deer Lodge Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. The Sheriff said that Wesson was with others at the lake and they had been jumping off the dam into the water. It was the last jump before the group decided to head to the shore for a campfire and something to eat. Apparently after they jumped two of the party swam to the shore where they encountered some people on four wheelers who witnessed the jump and told the swimmers that it looked like their companion was having trouble. The drowning victim was floating in the water and the two swam back out and brought him to shore. After he was pronounced dead at the hospital, the coroner transported the body the next day to the crime lab in Missoula for an autopsy. The preliminary finding was that the cause of death was asphyxiation. see Lake page nine |
Attracting visitors for 50 yearsby Michael Stafford
An icon welcoming people to Deer Lodge has just turned half a century old. It’s been there since 1968 and at the time the only tourist attraction it could boast to travelers was the Courthouse Museum. The Interstate wasn’t even complete yet through this area, let alone across Montana. It’s had different designs and is grandfathered in by the Montana Department of Transportation under a “Cultural sign” permit which is no longer offered. It is the billboard north of town and about one mile from the north interchange. When it was erected it was news at the time as other billboards had not been built yet and judging by the permit number for it issued by the state (3 000166) it is likely one of the oldest permitted billboards in Montana that is still in service. “Purpose of the project is to divert tourist traffic through the city from the by-pass around the community” said Chamber president Dale Schaffer in a July 19, 1968 article of the Silver State Post. see Billboard page 13 |
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