Meyer discloses names along old road and importance of mail carrier

The fourth in the series covering the Roads and Trails program presented Aug. 7 by the Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS).

CONDON – Dixie Meyer shared her memories of the roads and trails of the Upper Swan Valley in the early forties and fifties.

She said her dad brought in a team of horses and some saddle horses by way of the Piper Crow Creek trail. The earliest car she remembered her family having was a Model A pickup. She and her two sisters rode in the back on an old oilcloth spread across the truck bed.

Meyer said a couple of times a year they would drive to Polson to get groceries. She recounted one of her fondest memories, "We'd stop at Bigfork and have a hamburger and a milkshake. And man, that was good. That was a big treat!"

According to Meyer, in Polson they would "get staples like kerosene, sugar and salt and just a few necessities. Otherwise, we just lived off the land. We ate lots of venison and we always had a milk cow and some chickens. We had a good living. Daddy caught fish all the time, so we ate lots of fish."

Meyer said sections along the old road picked up unofficial names that the homesteaders could relate to. Shay's Knob was a familiar location. "Whenever anybody got stuck," she said, "they were 'this side of Shay's Knob' or 'the other side of Shay's Knob.'"

Another spot familiar to the locals was Shorty's Hole, named for an unforgettable tragedy. Meyer said, "There was a big deep hole down by Van Lake. Water would come in there and it would freeze up. So anyway [Shorty] came down the hill with his team and the ice broke. His team got killed and he got killed."

Another well-known location around Swan Lake was dubbed Devil's Elbow. According to Meyer, "It was a real sharp corner. There were several different cars that had gone over in there."

Another place with happier memories attached was just called Hill 27. Meyer described it as being "over by Hulett's." She said, "It was a real steep hill and we had lots of sleigh riding parties there. You could sleigh ride down forever. You had to take a big run at it with the cars because it was steep to get up. Horses had a hard time getting up there too."

Meyer also explained the many services performed by the mail carrier in those days. Despite the hazards of the old roads, Meyer said the mail carrier usually came twice a week, though sometimes less frequently in winter. Aside from delivering mail, the carrier would pick up cream at Meyer's house after the cow had been milked. Meyer said her mother earned a little money by selling the cream. She used the money to order a few things they needed but were unable to get otherwise. The mailman would deliver the items.

The mail carrier was also willing to let someone catch a ride with him if they needed to get somewhere.

Meyer said, "The women had a Women's Club. They'd meet once a month. The women that lived farther down, they'd catch the mail [vehicle] up to the meeting. I don't know how they got home."

Summing up, Meyer said, "We had a good life. We didn't know we didn't have any money. We could do what we wanted to do. Go fish or go shoot a deer or go sleigh riding or go hiking. We never did have to worry about bears or lions. We kids, we'd play outside. We could see in the dark. Once a month, in the wintertime especially, they'd have a community gathering. The adults would be in playing cards and everything and we [kids] we'd be running around outside until it was practically daylight. We had lots of fun."