A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 113

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970

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In 1901 Mr. Bernard became a resident of Montana, settling first at old De Morrisville, but a year later removing to Kalispell. Here for the two ensuing years he acted as editor and manager of the Inter Lake news- paper, but in 1902 he was again called upon to supervise educational affairs. In 1903 he was made a candidate for a two years' term of service in the same office and was elected by a larger vote than any man in the county had received. It is a rather interesting commentary on political ironies to record that when in 1896 Mr. Bernard was a candidate for the office of county treas- urer, he announced his determination to support William McKinley, with the result that his vote this time was the smallest in the county. Such was the fatal effect, in that locality, of acquiring a "gold-bug" reputation.

Other political honor has come to Mr. Bernard in his being appointed as postmaster for Kalispell. This office he held from 1896 to 1902 inclusive. He has moreover been a true westerner in that he has had farm- ing interests and has enjoyed an interval of farm resi- dence. In November of 1909 he removed to Lincoln county, Montana, and again resumed journalistic enter- prise, for which his education and his political experi- ence had rendered him so capable. The Tobacco Plains Journal in his hands became the Eureka Journal and a very strong local organ it was. As its editor, Mr. Bernard conducted a very strong fight for the assign- ment of the county seat to Eureka, in opposition to the Vol. III-2+

energetic claims of Libby for the same advantageous appointment. It is needless to say that Eureka was successful. At the same election Bernard was a can- didate for the office of state representative and was elected by a majority of one hundred and seventy. After serving one term and also after disposing of his editorial responsibilities, he returned, in IgII, to Kalis- pell. Here he was appointed secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, which office he has continued to hold.

Not only has P. N. Bernard's greatest public ser- vice been performed in Montana, the state of his adop- tion, but in this state he has also chosen his life's com- panion and founded his family. In 1894 he was united in marriage to Miss Grace B. Herrick, at Great Falls, Montana. Mrs. Bernard is a daughter of W. H. Her- rick, and a native of Minnesota. The second genera- tion of the family consists of one son, Wallace H., who was born in Kalispell, on March 10, 1897. The Bernard residence is at 519 Fourth avenue East.

Mr. Bernard's political interest is as keen as ever and his judgment of civic affairs is highly valued by those who know him. It is needless to say that he has always been a Republican of the staunchest sort. He is fraterually affiliated with the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks and is also a popular member of the Kalispell Club. His office is at the Chamber of Commerce, Kalispell.

JOHN G. SCHWARDER was connected with the mercan- tile interests of Valier and adjacent towns for some years in one capacity or another before he was appointed to the position of United States commissioner at Valier. Teton county, Montana, on July 26, 1911, which was fol- lowed by his further appointment on October 28, 1911, as Carey Land Act commissioner for the Valier project. He is eminently qualified to discharge the duties of both positions in a capable manner, and his services thus far have been of an eminently satisfactory nature.

Mr. Schwarder was born on December 9, 1879, and he is the son of William and Elizabeth (Gilmore) Schwarder. The father is a native of New York state, who removed to Michigan in the early seventies, where he was occupied as a stock drover. He located in Cass City, where the subject was born, and there made his home for many years. The wife and mother was a native of Newbury, Ontario, Canada, and she died at the early age of thirty-seven years, her death occurring in 1892. She left six children. She was of Scotch- Irish parentage, while the father was of German an- cestry. The education of John Schwarder was better than that of the average youth, as after receiving a high school education at Cass City, he entered Alma College at Alma, Michigan, where he remained for two years. On leaving school his first position was as a clerk in a general merchandise store. In 1901 he de- termined to come west, and that determination was not affected in the least bv the fact that his means were especially limited; so limited, indeed, that he found it expedient to walk the distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles from the Tobacco plains country to Kalispell, where he secured employment in the lumber woods. He found the work hard and it was a new experience to him, as he had never done work of that variety before. It was his expectation to get work as a bookkeeper when he went there, but failing that, took whatever he could find to do. He took up a home- stead in the district immediately northwest of Kalis- pell, which he commuted, and remained in the vicinity for five years, and during the time he was employed as manager in the store of R. E. Leonard and Western Mercantile Company in the town of Eureka. From there he moved to Stockett and worked as supply man and tintekeeper for the Cotton Wood Coal Company, remaining four years in Stockett, after which he came to Valier in October, 1909. On coming to this place he became interested in the business of Hawthorne &

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Sproat, and he continued to be associated with them until March, 1911. He then entered the real-estate and insurance business, and it was in the same year that he received the two United States appointments which have since then engaged his attention.

Mr. Schwarder is a member of the Valier city council. He was appointed to the first council and elected to the second. He is one of the principal stockholders of the Valier Meat Company and president of the com- pany as well. He is the owner of two hundred and twenty acres of land three miles from the town and he also has large holdings in the Tobacco plains country. Mr. Schwarder is an Independent in his political views, and while he is a dutiful citizen and assumes his full share of the civic burden, is not politically am- bitions and does not give overdue attention to affairs of that nature. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Stockett, Montana, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Valier. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

WILLIAM B. RHODES, lawyer, and prominent in the public life of Kalispell since his earliest identification with the country, was born in Saline county, Missouri, on April 5, 1878. He is the son of John T. and Belle (Norrew) Rhodes, both natives of Marshall, Missouri, in which town they were reared, wedded, and passed their lives. Mr. Rhodes was a farmer and stock raiser of prominence who is now retired from business activ- ities. His wife passed away in 1907 at the age of fifty- three years. They were the parents of eight children, of which number William B. of this sketch was the second born.

In his boyhood days William Rhodes attended the grade schools of his native town, and later he attended the high school of Slater, Missouri, from which he was graduated with the class of 1895. Following his gradua- tion he entered William Jewell College at Liberty, Mis- souri, and was graduated from that reliable old institu- tion in 1899, receiving his degree of B. A. at that time. He then entered the Kansas City (Mo.) Law School, where he spent one year, after which he entered the law offices of R. B. Ruff, under whose able preceptor- ship he completed his studies and was admitted to prac- tice in all courts in the state of Missouri, in 1901. In the autumn of that year Mr. Rhodes removed to Deer Lodge, Montana, where he remained until January, 1903, when he removed to Kalispell. He has been engaged in general practice continuously since that time, with the exception of a three year period during which he filled the office of secretary of the chamber of commerce. In 1906-7-8 Mr. Rhodes was the incumbent of the office of city attorney, an office which he handled with char- acteristic ability, and in which he demonstrated to the public his fitness for a high position in his profession. Mr. Rhodes is at present a member of the Kalispell school board. Fraternally, Mr. Rhodes is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and he is a member of the Kalispell Club, the Chamber of Com- merce and of the county and state bar associations. In his political convictions he is a Democrat, and is an active participant in all affairs affecting the interests of his party.

On December 14, 1911, Mr. Rhodes took a partner, one Mr. P. Murphy, and the firm is now known as Rhodes & Murphy. They conduct a general practice of an ever growing and lucrative nature, and are classed among the younger and more progressive business men of the city.

Mr. Rhodes was united in marriage with Miss Jo- sephine Forse on July 18, 1895. Mrs. Rhodes is a daughter of W. H. Forse, a native of Nebraska. The marriage took place at Everett, Washington. They have become the parents of three children,-Jane, born in 1907; Robert, born in 1910 and Ruth, born in 1911. The

family residence is maintained at 519 Third avenue East.

JOSEPH A. MCDONOUGH. Born at Hinsdale, Massa- chusetts, on June 27, 1878, Joseph A. McDonough grew up in that state, and after completing the course of the public schools, entered Boston University and gradu- ated from its law department in 1899, receiving the first prize for excellence in scholarship, he having at- tained the highest average of any student in his class during the entire course. For a year after receiving his diploma he practiced in Boston, but in 1901 came to Great Falls, and opened up an office here. The legal profession is one which tries out its followers with cer- tainty and it is almost as difficult for an able attorney to remain unnoticed as it is for a poor one to secure or maintain a place of influence in the ranks. Mr. Mc- Donough's training and natural adroitness received prompt recognition in the city. In 1903, he formed a partnership with Geo. H. Stanton, which continued until January 1, 1911. The practice of the firm was of a general nature and Mr. McDonough continues in the same lines now. He has practiced in all the courts and there are not many attorneys in the state who have a larger clientele. His reputation has extended far be- yond the city of Great Falls, and he is retained in im- portant cases throughout this section of the state.

Something of his energy and ambition may be in- ferred from the list of important enterprises in which he is financially interested, in addition to his chief occu- pation as a busy and successful lawyer. He is a director of the Conrad Banking Co., Union Securities Company, also Metropolitan Furniture Company and The Bee Hive, as well as several other corporations and is also managing director of Merrimac Cattle Company.

His affiliations politically are with the Republican party ; socially he is a member of the Elks lodge, also the Masonic fraternity, in which he is a Shriner. He is also one of the University Club. Unlike many suc- cessful lawyers, he does not figure prominently in poli- tics, but though a Republican in general policy, is yet an independent voter.

Mr. McDonough's parents were both of Irish birth, and were married before coming to America. P. J. McDonough was but twenty at the time, and his wife, Mary McCormack McDonough, still younger. They settled in Rhode Island upon first arriving here, but later moved to Massachusetts. Mr. McDonough be- came interested in a manufacturing business, which he conducted successfully for a number of years, and then retired from active commercial work. He and his wife are now living at Hyde Park, Massachusetts, in which state two of their children also reside. Charles A., the eldest of the family, lives in Boston, where he has a large law practice. One sister, Lillian J. McDonough, also makes her home in that city. The other two daugh- ters both live in Great Falls. These are Miss May C. McDonough, and Mrs. Anna McDonough Coy. Joseph is the fourth in point of age.

It has been declared that the legal profession en- gages the most brilliant intellects of our generation, perhaps' because it is the one in which originality and talent have the freest play. Certainly it numbers in its ranks many of the citizens who represent the flower of our civilization, and who are the powers in the development of our country. In this class is Mr. Mc- Donough, who has made so enviable a record in so brief a time. His is destined to be one of the names long remembered in the history of Montana jurispru- dence, for, at thirty-four, 'he has established a reputa- tion which is statewide, and the opportunities are un- limited for those who are "sufficient for these things."

ALVIN B. LIGHTNER. The father of Alvin B. Light- ner, the subject of this sketch, was Henry E. Lightner, a builder of history as well as of mills and railroads, for

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the progress in building marks the true advance of a civilization much more surely than does its struggles in politics and in wars. The senior Mr. Lightner was' born in the famous little Pennsylvania city of Gettys- burg, where great Americans died for a principle, and the greatest American made of that principle a maxim "The world will long remember" both what they did and what he said there.

It was there in this atmosphere of liberty for the people that Henry E. Lightner first saw the light, on the eleventh of February, 1833. In 1857, he moved to the then new state of Iowa, settling in Keokuk county, where he purchased a large saw mill and supplied lum- ber and ties to the railroad that were building through the young state. A builder and miller by profession he erected some of the important buildings of Keokuk, Iowa, and owned flour mills, coal mines and farming properties in Lee county, Iowa. In 1882, as lowa became thickly settled, he pushed on to Missouri and is now living in Kansas City, a life of peace and plenty in his declining years. His wife, now seventy-four years of age, is still at his side. She was, before her marriage, Miss Henrietta McEveny. They became the parents of eight children, two of whom have preceeded them to the life beyond. The sons are Ralph, Harry and Alvin. Of the three daughters who are now liv- ing, Amy, the oldest is Mrs. Norman Smith of Salt Lake City, Utah; Jessie married Mr. Miles Barrett of Kansas City, Missouri; while Ina, the youngest, still brightens the home of her parents.

Alvin B. Lightner born at Keokuk, Iowa, February II, 1863, obtained his early education in the district schools of that state. In Kansas City he secured his first employment as office boy for the Eureka Show Case Company, remaining with them for one year. He next served an apprenticeship of two years and a half with the W. A. Mount Candy Company of the same city. At the end of that time, he had thoroughly learned the business and was ready to start out for himself. Before settling down, however, he very much desired to see something of the country in which he lived and, knowing that his trade would more than pay his way anywhere, he first went to San Francisco where he obtained employment as foreman for the Rotger Candy Company. After two years' residence in Frisco he went to Sacramento, remaining there for about six months as an employee of a retail candy company. In 1888 he went to Seattle with the intention of establishing a candy factory at that point. When he arrived in the city, no empty rooms of any description were to be had, so nothing daunted, he opened his factory in a tent. After six months he decided that even Seattle, with all her noise and bustle, was not the city of his dreams. Next he tried Tacoma under circumstances similar. Tired of the coast, with its wet winters and insufficient - quarters, he retraced his steps as far as Pueblo, Colo- rado, where he paused by the way to accept a position as foreman with the Connelly Rood Candy Company. After another year, he returned to his Kansas City home and started to work for Loos Brothers, then the largest candy manufacturers of the west. With this firm he remained for two years-a long time for Mr. Lightner in those days. It then appealed to him to open a business of his own in the suburb of Argentine. Selling out three years later, he decided to see the south and became foreman of the National Biscuit Company in Memphis, Tennessee. Within two years that com- pany cut the candy-making department from their Mem- phis branch and sent Mr. Lightner to Nashville to as- sume control of the confectionary section there. In about the same length of time the department was closed in the Nashville branch also, and he was again transfered. ' This was Mr. Lightner's last move, as he was sent to Helena in 1902. Here he found, at last, the city that he hoped to make his home. For eight years he managed the candy business for this branch

of the National Biscuit Company and closed up affairs for them when they discontinued, selling the fixtures and machinery. So much did Helena appeal to him that he decided to here invest his earnings in a factory of his own, rather than go for the company to some other location. Hence he built in 1910 both a home and factory in the city of his choice. Already the business is steadily growing. He has cut out the retail depart- ment entirely, selling only to dealers many of whom send from distant parts of the state to purchase from him. In addition to his property in Helena, Mr. Light- ner is the owner of considerable real estate in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mrs. Lightner was Miss Zena M. Jordan of Butte county, California. She assumed the former name in March of 1888. They became the parents of one child, who was_not permitted to remain with them in the earthly home.

In his political views, Mr. Lightner is a Progressive Republican. He is also, like the true sons of Montana in his love for the line and the rod.

JAMES P. AND JOHN J. GRAINEY. The city of Helena, Montana, does not number among her citizenship any more valuable young business men than James P. and John J. Grainey, proprietors of the Helena Stamp Works. This thriving and progressive business con- cern was organized by James P. and John J. Grainey as the Helena Stamp Works in 1907, following their purchase of the stamp business of Gordon Card. Since their acquiring the new business it has made phenomenal progress, although the first year of its life was marked by many harassing difficulties which might have been sufficient to discourage less valiant and determined men than these. The present time, however, finds them in a most happy condition, due principally to the wise man- agement on the part of the brothers, and the careful executive ability brought to bear by each in his par- ticular branch of the business.

James P. Grainey was born in Toronto, Canada, on March 16, 1878. He is the son of John and Mary Ann (McGuire) Grainey, the father being born in Cook, Ireland, in 1851 and the mother in Woodchurch, On- tario, on August 14, 1852. The father came to Canada as a young man and settled in Toronto where he engaged in the express and coal business, and there died in 1912. The mother is now a resident of Helena, making her home with her sons. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Grainey, as follows: Dennis J., who came to Montana in 1897 and was associated with his brothers in the restaurant business in Helena at the time of his death; James P .; John J .; Thomas, who died young; and Francis Grainey, a Christian Brother of the La- Salle order, now professor at Blantyre Industrial School at Toronto, Canada, and known as Brother Oswald. The parents of Mrs. Grainey, Owen and Katherine (O'Boyle) McGuire, were early residents of Ontario, where they passed their lives and died and were buried.

James P. Grainey was educated in the public schools of Toronto and following his graduation from the high school or academy, established himself in a picture- frame business. The business did not appeal to his in- clinations on closer acquaintance, and in 1902 he sold out and came to Montana, where he opened up a restaurant three days after his arrival in Helena at 60 South Main street. For six years the Grainey brothers continued successfully to conduct that business. In the meantime they bought out the stock of Gordon Card who had con- ducted a rubber stamp and seal business, which later developed into the Helena Stamp Works, one of the exclusive businesses of the state. The rapid increase of the husiness necessitated the entire attention of the brothers and as a result, they sold the restaurant busi- ness to devote their entire attention to the Helena Stamp Works. In 1912 they added a full line of sta- tionery and supplies, as well as a line of leather goods

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and novelties, and the present thriving business is the tangible result of their combined energy and executive ability, judiciously applied in the management of their affairs.

When John Grainey left school he was apprenticed to the printer's trade, on the Catholic Register at Tor- onto, which he thoroughly mastered in the course of his apprenticeship and at its close was identified for four years with the Bryant Press Company of Toronto. It was after the close of his experience with the latter named firm that he came to Montana, and he and his brother have been connected with various enterprises in Helena since that time. John Grainey is one of the most popular and well known young men in Helena to- day. He is at present the treasurer of the local lodge of the Knights of Columbus of which he is an ardent member, and a director in the Carrol Club. -

James P. Grainey, like his brother, is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and has served that order as treasurer of its local lodge. He is secretary and treas- urer of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and is a member of the Carrol Club of Helena.

On October II, 1911, James Grainey was married to Miss Rose A. Kelly at Walkerville, Montana; she is a daughter of Jeremiah and Ann (Sullivan) Kelly, pio- neer residents of Butte, who are still residents of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Grainey have one son, John Jere- miah Grainey, born August 3, 1912.

FRANK W. DRAKE. Frank W. Drake was born in Hennepin, Illinois, on the fifteenth day of July, 1871. His father, William Drake, a native of Putnam county, that state, a Civil war veteran and an Illinois farmer, lived on the old homestead until his death in 1904. He rushed to his country's service at the first call for vol- unteers and saw three years' service in the Eagle Bri- gade, Company H, of the Forty-seventh Illinois Regi- ment. Mrs. Drake, who before her marriage was Eliza- beth Thomas, became the mother of nine children, of whom Frank W. is the second in age. Her useful life came to an end in her Illinois home in 1890.

Her son Frank left the Hennepin schools at the age of fifteen that he might be of assistance to his father in the work on the farm. Some years later he pro- cured a piece of land which he cultivated for himself until 1896. Becoming interested in the talk of ore in Montana he left for Clinton, of that state, where he met with some little success in the mines of the vicinity. In July of 1902 he took up his residence in Helena. The third day after his arrival in the capital city, he purchased the Grand Pacific Hotel, acquiring the prop- erty on which it was located sometime during the en- suing year. The Grand Pacific was even in these days the "Big" hotel of Helena, having been established there in 1889. Mr. Drake proved himself an excellent landlord, conducting a thriving business even in the old building. In the summer of 1911 he caused the old structure to be entirely torn away and replaced by a fifty room house modern in every particular, well furnished and equipped. At this time the name was changed to "Hotel Drake." Its location, just opposite the Union Railway Station, is most convenient for the traveling public and Mr. Drake is known as one of the popular hosts of the west. He is a Republican, but one of those rare ones who is content to listen to the discussions of others-of those who are able to devote more time and thought to the subject than he.

Much of the success which Mr. Drake has attained in his business is due not more to his own ability than to the clever management and excellent judgment of his good wife. Maude Bacon Drake. Mr. and Mrs. Drake were married in Missoula, Montana, on the ninth day of March 1901. Mrs. Drake is the daughter of Ambrose and Susan Bacon, prosperous farmers of Illinois. She was born on a farm three miles from Putnam, in January of 1870. Her father, Mr. Bacon,

died in April of her ninth year. Three little daughters and one son have come into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Drake. Elizabeth, the oldest of the girls was born in 1902, on the seventeenth of August, while her sister, Mary, was born the third day of June, 1904. Frances Dorothy, the baby girl, was born November 2, 1905, and the only son, Frank B., January 6, 1908. All of the children were born in their Helena home.

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A history of Montana, Volume III, Part 113

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883- Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 970

Author: Sanders, Helen Fitzgerald, 1883-
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 970