Geri and I rode the Harley down to my old home town of Wisdom, Montana the 12th and 13th of September in the face of foul weather reports the day before. Although a report of some snow may be possible on the morning of the 13th, it did not materialize.. Even when the thermometer on the handlebar that morning read 28 degrees!
I outfitted my Harley with the proper wiring harness so I could use my new heated gloves. I decided at my age I am through with cold hands although my ears still get a little frosty if I don't prepare properly.(LOL...).
We got out of Missoula about mid-morning of the 12th and stopped in Hamilton for a bite of breakfast at a very nice mom & pop restaurant called A Place to Ponder, then on down the 'smokey' road towards Lost Trail Pass then East towards Wisdom. I was regretting not having taken my fishing pole as I noticed the many anglers along the creeks we passed. That will be for the next trip, however. The smoke from the various forest fires in the area was getting heavier and heavier the closer to the Big Hole Valley we traveled. We stopped at the Big Hole National Battlefield which is just inside the western edge of the valley, and tragically marks the spot where the 7th Calvary and several townsfolk attacked the sleeping Nez Perce' indian encampment the morning of August 9 and 10, 1877 during their failed attempt to escape to Canada. This action, the Battle of the Big Hole, was the largest battle fought between the Nez Percé and U.S. Government forces in the five month conflict known as the Nez Perce War. The park was made a part of Nez Perce National Historical Park in 1992 which consists of 38 separate locations in five different states, following the flight of the Nez Percé tribe from the U.S. Cavalry. We just missed seeing an old friend of mine at the visitor center and in fact did not know she worked there until Geri and I visited with her husband in Wisdom the next day prior to our leaving the area!
I outfitted my Harley with the proper wiring harness so I could use my new heated gloves. I decided at my age I am through with cold hands although my ears still get a little frosty if I don't prepare properly.(LOL...).
We got out of Missoula about mid-morning of the 12th and stopped in Hamilton for a bite of breakfast at a very nice mom & pop restaurant called A Place to Ponder, then on down the 'smokey' road towards Lost Trail Pass then East towards Wisdom. I was regretting not having taken my fishing pole as I noticed the many anglers along the creeks we passed. That will be for the next trip, however. The smoke from the various forest fires in the area was getting heavier and heavier the closer to the Big Hole Valley we traveled. We stopped at the Big Hole National Battlefield which is just inside the western edge of the valley, and tragically marks the spot where the 7th Calvary and several townsfolk attacked the sleeping Nez Perce' indian encampment the morning of August 9 and 10, 1877 during their failed attempt to escape to Canada. This action, the Battle of the Big Hole, was the largest battle fought between the Nez Percé and U.S. Government forces in the five month conflict known as the Nez Perce War. The park was made a part of Nez Perce National Historical Park in 1992 which consists of 38 separate locations in five different states, following the flight of the Nez Percé tribe from the U.S. Cavalry. We just missed seeing an old friend of mine at the visitor center and in fact did not know she worked there until Geri and I visited with her husband in Wisdom the next day prior to our leaving the area!
There was a large camp of fire fighters across the road from the Big Hole Battlefield that was the staging area for the Pattengail Creek, Rat Creek and Rombo Mountain fires.
We rode the remaining 12 miles into Wisdom (population 100!) and stopped first at the Big Hole Crossing restaurant to pick up the key to our little cottage and pay for our overnight stay. The cottage is owned by the lady that also leases the restaurant. The restaurant is in the southeast corner of the building that is also the Wisdom River Gallery. The gallery "showcases a quality selection of Montana art and photography, antiques and collectibles, handcrafted furniture, vintage western fashions for both men and women, and Made-in-Montana native crafts." This used to be the Basin Mercantile owned and operated first by my mothers parents, Don & Grace Anson back in the 1930's and 1940's and actually located across the street from this location in the original Basin Mercantile building. My mother married and her and my father, Leonard Smith bought out the business but kept the in laws on to help run the business. A huge fire that erupted in the kitchen area of the restaurant-bar next to the original store ended burning down that business, a hotel, grocery store and our large building before the townsfolk could bring it under control with dynamite and garden hoses. My parents borrowed the money needed to rebuild and within a couple years had erected this building on a large corner lot that they owned across from the original location. They operated the Basin Mercantile until the mid 1970's when they leased the building to the United States Forest Service until they vacated due to expansion of their facilities south of town. Kay and Daryll Jacobson bought the building from my parents when they relocated to southern Oregon to retire.
Wisdom used to be a lot bigger and at one time was reported to be over 380 population!
Geri and I got the key for our little cottage and rode the Harley clear across town (5 blocks!) to unload our gear and reconnoiter our haven away from home.... When we arrived we were greeted by a very nicely restored former home of a little girl I used to play with when I was a very young lad. It had a comfy bed, a nicely laid out living room, full kitchen and comfortable bath. After we settled in our land lady, Diane stopped by and after introductions and informing her of my lineage in the town, she proceeded to fill me in on the lives of at least 90% of the current living population of the town! Most of the names she mentioned I remembered! After she left Geri and I decided we would get some gas in the Harley and head south to Jackson and take a dip in their famous hot springs swimming pool and maybe get some dinner before returning. After we got some gas we decided to stop at my old home where I was raised before heading to Jackson. I was in Wisdom on the Harley back in 1996 on an extended trip out from Wisconsin, where I was making my home at the time, and taking note on how the place looked since that time, my heart sunk as the place was deteriorating even more than at that time. The place is actually the 'eye-sore' of the whole town. I had taken several photos of many of the other older log structures of Wisdom back then and now, and my old home that was of standard stud wall construction was just weathering away... Old log structures seem to weather and age with dignity, but not stud wall type structures. When they age and weather they look terrible! There was a small wood chimney fire in this home back in the mid 1980's or so, and the current owners just left the place, complete with closets full of clothes, dishes in cupboards and rubble of all kinds scattered throughout the home. I was able to gain entrance through a broken back window. Looking around inside brought back many memories as I took several photographs inside. In an upstairs room there is still evidence of our family such as some structures my father built, and old wall lamp and I even found a home made toy that I constructed back in my pre-teen years! We had a stairway that led to the two upstairs rooms and it is just as steep as it was back then!
Outside the home the yard was cluttered with old horse drawn mowers, an old Bucyrus Erie drag line without it's Derrick and a huge long mobile home parked in the back yard. The small tin garage next to the house was full of old car engines and an old Hodaka motorcycle. I was surprised to also find inside the house an old ottoman my parents used back in the 1960's, and the original rhubarb patch still had rhubarb there!
Geri was thoughtful enough to pick up a piece of broken window pane and a piece of the roof tile that had blown off as keepsakes of our visit. Sadly, we got on the Harley and left the old place and headed down toward Jackson.
1996 was the last time I traveled the road south of Wisdom, and this trip was just as nostalgic for me. Although the air was thick with smoke from the forest fires in the area, I enjoyed seeing the hayfield's and ranches I knew as a child. We arrived in Jackson after traveling 18 miles and it looked, and indeed, is much smaller than Wisdom. We pulled up to the Jackson Inn and got our swimming suits, then headed inside. There was one fellow behind the bar and we inquired as to the condition of the pool. He said they had completed the weekly draining of the pool the day before and were now in the process of refilling it and that it was not usable!!! We were disappointed, for sure, but I took Geri up to the pool area to look it over anyway. The pool is filled and maintained from the underground hot springs in the area, so the water temperature coming into the pool was 140º!!! The pool was only about 1 foot deep on the deep end. I was surprised to see that the original pool house did not have a ceiling on it as was built originally. The changing rooms were also covered over by wooden walkways. After taking several photos, Geri and I decided we would at least get a meal here in the dining room before heading back to Wisdom. When we inquired as to when the dining room would be open, the fellow there said that they were short handed and that the dining room was not open. He also told us the only other cafe or restaurant in Jackson was closed for the season! Geri and I looked around inside the old Inn then left and got the bike packed with our gear on it and headed back out of town.
We stopped at one of the ranches just outside of Jackson that used to be the Fred Hirschy 'home' ranch. My father and mother were very close to the Hirschy families and served their ranches with many skills and goods that my parents business, The Basin Mercantile offered. Our family owned an International Harvester dealership for over 55 years, and the Hirschy ranches purchased most of their hay harvesting machinery and supplies from us. The patriarch of the family, Fred Hirschy settled in the Bug Hole in 1894, then in 1910 borrowed two hundred dollars to start his own cattle ranch, which he operated until his passing in 1975. I noticed the name of the ranch was changed from 'Fred Hirschy' to the name of one of his sons, 'Dick Hirschy'. We drove down into the ranch from the main road and stopped at the main house. One of the dogs barked his disapproval of our arrival but the several cats out from paid us little heed. No one was home so we wrote a short note and left it on the door, then departed.
We spotted a few head of wild Antelope as we neared Wisdom and stopped to watch and photograph some of them.
We spotted a few head of wild Antelope as we neared Wisdom and stopped to watch and photograph some of them.
We stopped at the Big Hole Crossing restaurant for some dinner of fresh roast beef and potatoes before heading to our little cottage for the evening. We had a pleasant evening and a very restful night in our little cottage. We snuggled for some time on the couch and read a little bit before retiring.
The next morning, the smoky air was replaced with clear blue skies and sunshine! It was about 28º when we got up but surprisingly little frost on the grass, and, NO SNOW! We walked the length of town down to the Big Hole Crossing restaurant for some breakfast and to walk around a bit before leaving Wisdom. After breakfast I went into the art gallery area to find Kay Jacobson, the owner along with her husband. I reintroduced myself to her and also introduced her to Geri. We had a nice little visit and she inquired of me where she might find any older pictures of Wisdom and some more of it's older history. I showed her on her computer a wealth of images of Wisdom in the early 1940's available through the Library of Congress.
Geri and I wandered around the downtown area and back streets before finally packing up and leaving. We rode northeast towards Butte but took the cut across Deep Creek/Mill Creek Road to Anaconda, then up past Georgetown Lake and Highway 10A/1 then up to Philipsburg, where we stopped for a bite to eat and to visit the well known The Sweet Place candy store. We ate a nice lunch at Doe Brothers Soda Fountain, then headed on home to Missoula and arrived safely around 4PM.
(Click on individual images to enlarge them)
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