Article Text
ROY (Continued From Page Two) fire and Mr. Weedell then bought the building where he has since conducted his business until the fall of 1927 when he sold out to Walter Buechner who is now enjoying good patronage at the old stand. To Leo Krahulik, one of our prosperous farmers belongs the distinction of starting the first meat market who shortly after setting up in business sold out to Earl McCauley and Hurley Cox, who put in stock of groceries, but after running for a short time they in turn sold to Mrs. Antonette Kalal, who continued in business at this stand until the year 1922. when Lindsay M. A. Wass bought her stock and has since enjoyed a good patronage there. Art Close had one of the early hardware stores in the building constructed by Mr. Kolar and later sold out to Paul Bischoff and A. A. Johnson and later they sold their building to Robert S. Barbee and moved into the building occupied by P. A. Weedell as a grocery and dry goods store, using one-half of it for their hardware stock. Later Mr. Johnson bought out Mr. Bischoff and added drug stock to the hardware business and he continued at this stand until the spring of 1928, when he bought out the drug business of E. O. Sandbo, who started in the drug business in the building directly next to the First National bank. John Reeble built a commodious and spacious hotel building in the spring of 1914 and ran a house that was always full but in the winter of 1916 it was totally destroyed by fire. This was rebuilt again in the summer of 1917 and was torn down in 1927 and part of the material sold locally. while most of it was shipped by Mr. Reeble to a ranch that he was then improving in Kansas. F. A. Lewis had the first garage building and still owns the building now rented and occupied by Joe Murphy in the repairing of cars and as sales room. Jack Stephens built the first liv. ery and feed stable which is still standing and now owned and run by A. Stendal. The green barn formerly owned and run by Doc White and Ed Johnson was burned down in the summer of 1926 when some boys were playing about the barn with matches. At this time it was owned by W. E. Jones. The building now occupied by Nick's cafe and run by Elmer Thompson, who just recently leased it from Frank Nicholson, the present owner. was formerly run as restaurant by Bill Munger and later owned by Simon Duncan. The Montana Lumber have had their fine yard since the town was started and have always enjoyed a good business here. The Montana Elevator has had their house here for years and in 1924 S. L. Dotson took over the elevator formerly owned by the Farmers Co-operative Elevator, which was driven into bankruptcy. Earl McCauley had run an elevator at Roy for several years, but this well. was destroyed by fire in 1926. Leon M. Bolter of Minneapolis started the Farmers State bank here in 1913 with John M. Heckler as cashier. In February, 1914, he was relieved by F. B. Stevens, who continued in capacity of cashier of this and the First National bank under conversion in 1917 to January 1, 1915, when\he became the and O. Miller, took in president, up the post as ashier During the financial stress of November, 1923, this bank was forced to close its doors temporarily but reopened in February, 1924 under a depositors agreement for three years, paying them per cent interest on deferred deposits All of these were paid off before maturity and the First National bank now is enjoying bet ter patronage and bigger deposits than they have for many years and is real service to the community M. Oster and George Wendt started the Security State bank of Roy in 1917, and during war times enjoyed a good and thriving busi ness, but with the poor crops of 1919 and the deflation of 1921-23 were finally forced to close their doors about January 1925. The lack of space prevents going into detail as to the many other lines of business represented during the early days and up to date, but at the present time there are the following lines of business: The Commonwealth company, general merchandise. W. C. Buechner, general merchandise. Wass Mercantile company, general merchandise. Montana Lumber & Hardware company, lumber and hardware. McCain Johnson Lumber company, hardware. Joe Murphy, auto sales and repairs. E. L. Arney, auto repair. H. L. Halbert, auto sales. John Reis, shoe repair shop. Nick's Cafe, run by Elmer F. Thompson and wife. Raben's Cafe. Mae Halbert, rooming house. Mrs. A. Kalal, meats. Oscar Potterf, meats. William Lane, filling station and cream buying station. G. W. Mead, cream buying station. Montana Elevator company, managed by Reed West. S. L. Dotson company, managed S. L. Dotson. by Continental Oil Station, managed by Fred Corth. Weiloff Oil company, managed by H. L. Halbert. Stendal Transportation, owned by A. Stendal. Golden West Pool, owned by Robert S. Barbee. Roy Drug company, owned by A. A. Johnson. Roy Pool Hall, managed by Robt. Foster. Roy Amusement Parlor, Tom O'Brien and A. W. Scott. Roy Bakery, Mrs. C. L. Baker. Tonsorial Artists, Arch Johnson, C. L. Baker. Postmaster, W. L. Marsh. Oscar Rud, pastor First English Lutheran church. First National bank, officers and directors: F. B. Stevens, N. O. Miller, W. E. Jones, E. P. Minter, E. T Strausburg Roy high school, Herbert Ely, principal; Gladys Martz, assistant. Grade schools: Mrs. R. N. Jensen, sixth, seventh and eighth grades; Mrs. Joe Murphy, fourth and fifth grades; Doris Qualley, first, second and third grades. W. A. Rowland is an efficient and courteous agent for C. M. St. P. & Pacific railway. Roy Community's Rapid Progress and Increasing Yearly Wealth From the watersheds of the Judith mountains and Black Butte, where springs of pure mountain water feed the many creeks which open up into fertile valleys of well grassed meadows and alfalfa fields to the bottoms of the Mussellshell and Missouri rivers there is a vast area approximating 920,000 acres which all tributary territory to the now thriving little town of Roy. Passing through the homesteading days and then the trying times following the disastrous dry year of 1919-the hard winter of 1920 and then the post war deflation in prices the thrifty farmers who had the courage and for titude to stay on are now beginning to reap the benefits and rewards of the many trying years they spent in work and planning the pursuit of their endeavors to make their places pay. From the mountains the river bottoms there is just about every kind of differences in the amount of available moisture in the annual rainfall that means SO much to those who in the further outlying sections. Yet through adapting their farming methods to the locality in which they "made their bet" with Uncle Sam, even in some of the poorest of these localities there are now farmers or stockmen who have fought their way back and are gathering about them additional earning power and wealth in the stock they have accumulated while making their living and paying off their old debts of some years back. Better farming methods throughout the section about Roy have during the past few years resulted in better yields and more wheat being raised than beretofore, but a wheat failure or low prices for this produce does not pinch down on general prosperity conditions, as where they are dependent upon this wheat game only Here is where the farm diversification program as practised during former years by sheer necessity has balanced the income from these ranches so that failure from one portion of their efforts does not force them to run to the bank or some other place to help carry them over for another year. When wheat fails there are always some cattle to sell or the sheep and wool have brought in something while at all times the cream can and the chickens have kept up the family table. About the mountains and to the territory to the south and east of Roy are to be found some of the finest stock ranches, well stocked with cattle and sheep, while nearly all of them avail themselves of the opportunity to make the best of their time by milking COWS as To the territory to the south and east of Roy wheat farming is practised with better and surer results than in any other section of the Roy country and yet even these farmers have long since learned that to raise chickens, turkeys, a few head of cattle and to milk cows means for them the difference between success and failure their farming efforts. North of Roy is a veritable stockman's paradise where some provision has been made for the watering of their stock and here hundreds of head of cattle and sheep are pastured on a practically free range each year. Here land is dirt cheap and to the north and east are untold possibilities to the man of small means to set up in the stock game if he has the courage to try it and the ambition to work and establish a home The same conditions also prevail in nearly all of the section to the east of Roy and clear to the Mussellshell river while dotted here and there in all of this great area are even now many of the early settlers and homesteaders who have learned through hard knocks that these places could be made to pay through the proper methods of farming. The river bottoms are something else again! To the family who has spent a few years on these bottoms there develops something of a fascination for the whirling and swirling of the river and although they are frequently marooned there for months at time unless they ride out on horseback, and too oftentimes when during flood waters they loose portion of their meadows or their buildings through the continual changing of the channel of the river, yet they cannot be coaxed to leave their habitations. And why should they? Here they can raise everything. With mellow soil, frequently flooded in the spring and almost constantly subirrigated they can always count on a good crop of alfalfa hay and when the sage and willows are once cleared off there is always a splendid growth of blue joint. A new industry has sprung up in these river bottoms during the past few years. With but little knowledge as to how to best handle the growing of alfalfa seed these "river rats," as they are termed by the "dry landers" on the benches, have raised some splendid crops of seed and have learned now that it is one of the best paying crops that they can raise on their land. First's crop of hay from their alfalfa and then the second cutting is let go to seed. Several of these stockmen this year have brought in seed checks ranging from $2,000.00 to $3,000.00 and the seed buyer from Kansas City has pronounced this area as one of the finest seed producing sections that he has visited in the United States. With better knowledge of how to raise this valuable seed crop these farmers and stockmen bid fair to increase this yield from one hundred to two hundred percent during the next two or three years. From the Missouri river section alone this year about $35,000 worth of alfalfa seed was threshed and delivered to market. Through the breaks and cuts of the rough section along the river are found hundreds of head of cattle grazing through the summer months and even out on to the benches for miles they find an unmolested More and more attention is being centered on the of the stockmen living on the river bot toms and each year sees some, new improvements started and new farmers setting up their homes there. In closing this article it can be truthfully said that farm diversification in the Roy section is not a hobby. It is a reality! Here the annual production each year from livestock, wool, cream, butter, eggs, poultry and the feed fed to the livestock exceed by a liberal amount the annual production of wheat. This year with wheat below the mark much of the wheat is still being held on the ranches and because they have something else to turn into money to meet their current obligations many of the farmers here are not (Continued on Page Six)
