We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
The six local men in this July, 1932 "Candidates' Race" were, left to right: Ed Fredlund; Henry D. Hiebert; Jack Baines; Andy Christensen; Knute Hansen and Joe Dolan. The photo was taken July 17, 1932 on the Staff Ranch, about 15 miles southwest of Chinook. All six pictured were among 36 hopefuls who were running for local offices in the 1932 election (the first election in which Franklin Roosevelt was elected President of the United States). The man standing in the background of the runners, between runners number five and six, was not identified in the photo.
This recent photo shows the same area as the one where the six candidate were photographed running their foot race in 1932. The white marks show about where the runners would have been located. As Harry Ramberg commented, there are a lot more trees along Clear Creek in this area when the modern photo was taken than there 90+ years ago.
I received a letter from a lady describing herself as "an of town subscriber" to the Journal. JoAnn (Staff) Stevenson is a Chinook High grad (class of 1959) who grew up on the Staff Ranch south and west of Chinook in the area where Logie, Staff and Clear Creek roads intersect.
The Staff family owns the ranch which is operated by Harry Ramberg, a second-generation cousin of JoAnn's grandfather John Staff. While visiting Harry, he told me, "I've been around this ranch for about 50 years. Started as a 15-year-old boy helping move cows to the north pasture." Harry lives on the ranch and will soon celebrate his 85th birthday.
What prompted JoAnn's letter was a photograph she found of six men running a foot race across an open field. She wrote, "I found this photo (dated July 17, 1932) while exploring a collection of family photos including many carefully labeled by the photographer, Ed Fredlund. JoAnn added, "Perhaps you may be tempted to find the story behind the enclosed photo." I was tempted, JoAnn, and here's some of what I found about that race and racers
The 1932 Candidates' Foot Race was run near Clear Creek
JoAnn suggested I get with Harry Ramberg to see if he could show me where the race actually was held. I met Harry on a sultry day, handed him a copy of the photo of the six runners and without hesitating he said, "I know right where this was and we'll drive out there so you can see it." It was kind of a circuitous route following two tracks that finally took us to Clear Creek. Harry stopped and speculated out loud, "I wonder if the creek will go dry this summer" and drove through the creek on to a large flat area. He said, "This is where a lot of picnics and family gatherings were hosted by the Staff family."
From the other side of the meadow we looked back and could see the banks cut away by earlier creek flooding. Harry said, "The only difference is now there are more trees along the creek than back when the old picture was taken." It was easy to imagine groups of people gathered, picnicking, running keg raises with their horses, and on this particular outing, having six candidates for local office do a foot race.
Thirty-six people ran for Blaine County's elected offices in 1932
Per various issues of the old Chinook Opinion, there were 19 Republicans and 17 Democrats running in the primary election in 1932. Of the six candidates racing in the photo, four were Democrats and two were Republicans. The Opinion did run a story about an ongoing 'rivalry' between the local incumbent Democrats and Democrats seeking to win a local office. Of the six candidates who raced at the Staff Ranch that July afternoon, four were Democrats and two were Republicans. No explanation was given how the six runners were selected. Did they self-select to run, were they invited to race or was some other way of choosing used? Here's a thumbnail sketch of each racer, starting with the runner at the left of the photo and moving to the right:
Ed Fredlund was running as a Republican for the Clerk of Court post. He was unopposed in the primary and won the general election 1496-1488 votes, a victory by eight votes. No stranger to politics, Fredlund was Chinook's Mayor from 1926-28, was Clerk of Court from 1929-1936 and in 1943 was appointed Deputy County Assessor. Fredlund was well known for his photography skills. On the same day he raced he also took a photo of the 'keg racing' on horseback at another part of the same Staff ranch meadow. His photos were all marked with a symbol in white lettering that incorporated his initials.
Henry D. Hiebert was an incumbent Democratic candidate for Justice of the Peace. All I could verify showed Hiebert as an incumbent in the office. The newspapers had no statistics about the voting for that office, suggesting perhaps it was an office filled in off years. Hiebert served the city of Chinook as Mayor and at various times, as Chief of Police and Assistant Chief of the Chinook Fire Department. He was Deputy County Treasurer for a number of years and in 1943 was elected Blaine County Treasurer, the office he held at his death three years in to his term. Hiebert's family immigrated from Crimea in Russia to Nebraska. The family later homesteaded in Blaine County.
Jack Baines was a candidate in the Republican primary for Sheriff and was defeated in the party primary. He was employed by the city as an engineer and police officer. In 1950, Baines "took the oath of office" as Justice of the Peace. Following service in the Canadian military during WWI he married Elsie Batters, a teacher in the local schools and a kindergarten. Known as "Jack" he was regularly sought out by children with a tricycle or wagon that needed fixing.
Andy Christensen was the incumbent candidate for County Assessor (D). He was challenged in the primary but won the nomination for his party. He was unopposed in the general election. One of Chinook's well-known old-time figures, he was Blaine County Assessor for some 20 years. He also formed the first boys' band in Chinook. He was born in Schleswig Germany and died in 1952.
Knute Hansen, of Zurich, was a Democratic candidate in the primary for County Commissioner, District 2. Hansen lost his primary challenge. Born in Haugesund, Norway, July 15, 1890, he came to the United States as a young man and worked on stock ranches in the Bear Paw Mountains. In 1913 he filed on a homestead 13 miles southwest of Harlem and engaged in farming and stock raising until the early 1940s when he retired and moved to Harlem. He was survived by his wife Freda and a son, Kenneth, from a prior marriage.
Joe Dolan, of Lloyd, was also a Democratic primary candidate for County Commissioner, District 2. He won his primary contest and was unopposed in the general election. In that 1932 election Dolan was elected to the first of three consecutive six-year terms as a county commissioner. Dolan was likely best known as the owner and operator of the Lloyd store south of Chinook for 41 years, between 1915 and 1956. Dolan was born in 1874 at Daleville, Quebec. He came to Montana in the spring, of 1899 and homesteaded in the Lloyd community, starting the Lloyd store later.
So, there you have it. How the six political candidates ended up in a foot race is still unexplained. But we have some information about their personal histories and know something of their successes and failures attempting to serve their community.
