Winters Were Long and Often Bitterly Cold

 Alvin Eugene “Gene” Miller “made his appearance into the world” in 1936 during an, “… early November blizzard that blew into the Flathead Valley.” His parents were Joe Miller and Mabel Kauffman Miller.

“In the spring of 1939 grandfather Kauffman had bought a place near Condon. My parents and I moved there to take care of the place and raise cattle. It was the Hull homestead, so we always called it the Hull Place.”

Smith Flats School

Gene attended the Smith Flats School from 1941 – 1950.

The log cabin school sat about a half mile from the county road that ran along a small Forest Service landing field. Standing in a forest of virgin ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine and Douglas fir, it housed students in the 1930’s into the early 1950’s.

A short distance from the school down off the plateau ran the Swan River. In springtime the snowmelt would cause the river to cascade over its banks and lick the bottom of the hill just below the school.

The playground was just west of the school. Also west of the school and west of the playground was a barn, as some children rode horses to school. Parents whose children rode horses supplied hay. The horses were watered at the river, tied and fed in the barn during school hours.

The road from the county road to the school came from the east.… Just across the road north of the school stood a log wood shed which valley people would fill with fire wood cut and split to fit the wood stove used to heat the school when needed, especially in the wintertime.

The schoolhouse itself was made of logs…A barrel stove stood near the chimney, along the east side.

About 15 feet southwest of the school stood a cast iron pump over a well. This was the school’s water source and we had to pump vigorously on the handle to draw water from the well.

The year I started the first grade, there were only five students in school… the teacher was Florence Holmes.

We took turns carrying in wood and water. When the weather turned cold we would need to start a fire and melt the ice in the water on top of the stove. When the water was hot, we took it out and poured it over the pump to thaw it so we could pump more water. It always took some time to get the schoolhouse warm so we could start classes, as the woodstove was our only source of heat. Since we had a woodstove, we frequently had soup or hot drinks at lunch.

Our teacher was also the bus driver. She would come around and pick us up in her Dodge sedan and would return us in the evening.

Activities

Christmas was always a big event. We students would sing and put on plays or puppet shows. Everyone in the community would attend. They all brought treats to share. The school was filled to standing room only. After the program, the adults would visit and we kids would run around and fill ourselves with goodies.

Life was primitive in the Swan Valley during these years of the 1940’s. Distance between homes was several miles and the roads were dirt and seldom graded. The traveling speed was about 30 miles per hour. There was only one small store and gas station within 30 miles. It took three hours to drive to the nearest town of Missoula or Kalispell.

Mail was delivered only twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday. There was no electricity or telephone services. All heating was done by wood and light was a candle, a kerosene lamp or lantern that burned white or lantern gas.

Another big community event took place each year in January or February. This was cutting and hauling ice from Holland Lake. Not having electricity, or access to propane gas, most families in the valley had an ice box in the house to keep food cool in the summer. Ice blocks were kept in an icehouse till ready for use in the house. The men would use saws to cut the ice into large blocks. Then with tongs, chains and trucks they would haul the ice blocks out of the lake. These blocks were put on a truck and hauled to ice houses where the ice blocks were buried in sawdust, which kept the ice blocks from melting until late summer time. When the ice in the icebox melted, we would go to the icehouse for more.

Most families had one or two milk cows and chickens to provide milk, cheese, cream, butter and eggs. The icebox in the house would keep them from spoiling.

Day to Day Chores

…When winter set in, there were many chores to be done. In the Swan Valley these years, winters were long and often bitterly cold. Chores included feeding the cattle and horses morning and evening, also milking the cows. After milking the cows, the milk was separated with a separator into skim milk and cream.

We did not get water from a spigot. Water was carried from the creek or the well. We used this water for all our needs, as for drinking, cooking, hand washing and bathing.

Bathing was done once a week in a big metal tub. Usually the water was used by more than one person.

Water was also needed for dishwashing and laundry. For many years, mother washed clothing by hand on a wash board.

The chickens and rabbits also needed water. The cattle and horses could get their water from the creek, if the ice was broken for them.

Other chores were carrying wood for both stoves. This chore was mine as soon as I was old enough to carry wood.

Whenever it snowed there were paths to shovel. These paths went to the outhouse (we had no indoor plumbing), the chicken house, the barn, the woodshed and the well. The biggest job was shoveling the driveway.

On the longer paths as those to the mailbox and bus stop, the snow was just tramped down and we walked over the top. By springtime, these paths were difficult to walk on.