New Beginnings

The Mission Mountains Mercantile, one of the upper Swan Valley's landmarks, was destroyed by a devastating fire nearly two years ago. Owner Len Kobylenski decided to rebuild and a new version of the iconic store has risen from the ashes.

The old Merc was more than just a grocery store. It included a deli, an art gallery, a real estate office and a gas station. Visitors to the area were often amazed to find such a well-stocked store in the middle of nowhere. As a central part of the community, the Merc served as a gathering place where locals would socialize, catch up with their neighbors and hear the latest news.

The store had its beginnings over 70 years ago when Russ and Dolores Conkling bought 40 acres from the Northern Pacific Railroad in July 1947. During the next several years, Conkling, along with local carpenter Reuben Kauffman, built a store, light plant, meat locker and three log cabins that became known as the Buckhorn Camp.

According to Linda Conkling Papke, her father Russ was contracted to run the post office. And in May 1952 he added it to his store.

Russ was told to submit three possible names for the post office. He suggested Rumble Creek, Condon and Buckhorn. The name Condon was selected because the Condon Ranger Station and Condon Creek were located nearby. The stream had been named for an early day prospector and trapper Jim Condon who had built a log cabin near the stream.

Linda and her brother Chuck worked in the store as youngsters.

"We learned to wait on customers at a pretty young age and count change. And I had to help clean the cabins and do laundry, too," Linda explained.

To drum up business at the store, the Conklings often sponsored fishing contests and offered a prize for the biggest catch. One year when they were overrun with porcupines, Russ held a porcupine contest.

"They had to bring in the left hind foot to register that they had killed a porcupine," Linda recalled.

At one time Russ decided to build a lodge at Buckhorn Camp. The hole was dug and the concrete for the foundation and floor was poured. But the lodge was never completed.

Linda recalled that dances were once held on that basement floor. The locals wanted to make the floor slick for shoes to slide easily.

"Somebody told them to pour cornmeal on it – that it would make it slick. Well it certainly did, because it turned into mush. People were falling in it. As a kid I thought that was very funny," Linda said.

Leita Anderson was employed at the Buckhorn Camp in the 1950s working as a clerk in the store, pumping gas for the customers and helping with the post office duties. If the Conklings were gone on a trip to town or on vacation, Leita worked at the store and kept things running until their return. She and her family would sometimes stay in one of the small log cabins that were part of the business. At that time, there was no running water or electricity in the cabins.

According to Leita, Russ would usually make a weekly trip to Missoula to pick up supplies to stock in the store. She didn't recall any delivery of food and supplies to the store.

Sometimes, people would hop a ride to town with Russ. Leita and Helen Van Gieson, both pregnant at the time, would catch a ride with him to town for their doctor checkups. It was generally a three-hour trip one way if the road and weather conditions were decent.

In the late 1960s Linda's husband Jim Papke, a Northern Pacific employee, was in a helicopter when it landed in the parking lot near the gas pumps at the Buckhorn Store.

"The incident made big news in Condon that day," Linda recalled.

After nearly 30 years of ownership, the Conklings sold the Buckhorn Camp to Tom and Dot Himes in November 1976. The Himes family maintained the traditional general store atmosphere.

Visitors to the store would often find the old-timers gathered around the barrel wood stove in the center of the store swapping stories.

Himes' sister-in-law Joyce Himes worked at the Buckhorn Store beginning in 1977 when there was still a hitching post at the store for the local horseback riders to use.

It was a time when everyone knew their neighbors well enough to leave their post office keys in the door of their mailboxes.

"If somebody wanted to leave a message for someone, they just put a note in their mailbox," Joyce explained.

Hauling a homemade trailer, Tom Himes traveled to Missoula once a week to get groceries and supplies. One day as he was driving between Seeley Lake and Condon the trailer came loose and he lost all of the supplies he had just purchased.

"It went flying into the trees – pickles, peanut butter. Not a good day," said Joyce.

A huge 150-pound Malamute named Heija was a fixture at the Buckhorn Store. Local children would often feed Heija jerky, convinced that he would forever be their protector.

During that time Big Bob of Meadow Gold delivered milk and dairy products to the store twice a week. "I remember Big Bob ran over Heija once," Joyce said. Fortunately, the Malamute recovered and lived many more years.

In the winter of 1978, Steve Lamar drove to the Buckhorn Camp to buy a large can of beans to make some chili. His face revealed his surprise at the price of the beans.

Tom asked, "Is it too expensive?"

Lamar replied that it was.

The two went about dickering on the price for the next 10 minutes before settling on a price they both could live with. Afterwards they both laughed, "It was a slow day at the Buckhorn Camp!" Lamar said.