Two mountain lions a week
Someday there will be millions of dollars worth of silver ore taken from the site of the old Flathead Mine where I was raised. The geologists know it is there but the price is not good enough right now, nor is the science of extraction clean enough to pass muster with the EPA. Did a story in this column last Aug. 26 about the mine and my father's many years up there. Now I've found some things I've never known about that place.
First, please let me digress.
My 1936 third grade teacher in the one-room school at Flathead Mine was Jean O'Connell who before her marriage to rancher, Chuck O'Connell, had the name of the pioneering Hollensteiner family. I loved Jean O'Connell as my teacher and later as a dear friend. Kept in touch until her death a few years back. Will always remember one time in 1959 when I was new at the announcing business and made a glaring error of grammar. "Mrs. O'Connell" had me on the phone in three minutes, "George! You know I learned you better then that."
Jean was involved 36 years ago compiling an oral history project ramrodded by another wonderful lady. Allene Pierce who was County Extension Agent here in the 60s. Larry O'Connell, Jean's son has loaned me those fascinating pioneer stories and I intend to use some here along with giving a copy to the Community College.
Fred Flagg
By Sophie Vergin and Jan Kienas - Smith Valley Homemakers
Fred Flagg was 84 years old March 20, 1968.
He came to the Valley in 1905 and farmed near Nirada on land he homesteaded.
Mr. Flagg liked to hunt and he got 105 mountain lions the first year.
He grubstaked 20 prospectors. One of them, a Mr. Jenson brought him a sample of ore and he had it assayed and it was worth $200 a ton.
There were holes all over the place and they had a hard time finding the place where the sample came from. It was near the surface of the ground.
He built the first Brown's Meadows road to the Flathead mines. Said they took out a carload per day. It was shipped to Butte.
Mr. Ordish built the first two cabins at Flathead mines.
He recalled that Mr. Snoderly was the assayer. They took out $92,000 worth of ore and Snoderly got $105,000 for his work as assayer. (Ed note: Mr. Flagg had some unflattering words here for Mr. Snoderly.)
He could remember when Kila Lake (Smith Lake) was backed up 20 miles to the foot of Marion Hill. They thought it was started by a beaver dam. He recalled the post office at Kila was called Sudan post office.
Mr. and Mrs. Flagg told us of their huckleberry trips up Fisher River. The price was up to 20 cents a gallon in 1920.
They are also rock hounds and she showed us a sample of silver ore taken from the Flathead mines.
When I asked Mr. Flagg how old he was, he said 16. (Unquote-end of interview)
Allow me some notes about Fred Flagg's story. Flagg, Snoderly, and another man or two, did sell their rights to the Flathead Mine but there has always been disagreement about price and who got what. My information is that the Anaconda Mining Company did pay them well, but because of their work and assaying records the ACM knew it was getting a mighty good claim. Anaconda had already owned the mineral rights and let Flagg's group mine on a lease. The ACM took over in 1929 and that is when my dad was brought from Butte as a contract miner to start the first of five tunnels underneath the open pit. "Glory Hole." Where the others had been excavating.
"One hundred five mountain lions the first year?" Maybe Mr. Flagg was kidding those ladies from the Smith Valley Home Makers.
George Ostrom is the news director of KOFI Radio and a Flathead Publishing Group columnist.