Books
Dusting Off the Old Ones
Dusting Off the Old Ones was published in 1961 by W. B. Clarke, Miles City, Montana.

INTRODUCTORY

For several years "Dusting Off The Old Ones" appeared as a feature item in the local paper and was recounted over the radio and a great deal of interest was displayed by the public.

At Christmas time in 1961, the author published a major portion of these stories and included a number of pictures relating to some of the events and happenings recounted.

The popularity of the original edition required a second and a third run, both being now exhausted. This publication is the fourth run -- may it continue to provide enjoyable reading.

A FAMILIAR SITE IN SUBZERO WEATHER. THE AUTHOR IN HIS BEAVER OUTFIT.

W. B. CLARKE, 1957

#Chapter
1 The Passing of an Era, From Buffalo Chips to Natural Gas and Electricity
2 A COUPLE OF "FIRSTS" in Miles City History
3 What! -- No Eighth Street?
4 The Street With Two Names
5 More About Miles City's Streets
6 Strevell Street
7 Miles City's First Big Fire
8 Miles City's Postmasters
9 Miles City Dressed Beef Company
10 The Railroad Spur on Leighton Boulevard
11 Edson Street and Middle Avenue
12 Whose Place Is On DeMore's Avenue?
13 The First Conveyance
14 Miles City's Postmasters
15 A Sizable School District
16 Custer County's First Court House
17 Montana's First Telephone Exchange
18 Early Day Custer County Post Offices
19 Miles City High School Graduates
20 The Deadwood Stage Coach
21 The Buffalo Nickel
22 Miles City's First Night Clubs
23 The Tenth Street Bridge
24 The Passing of the E 2
25 Custer County's First Assessment Roll
26 What Building From Old Town Is Still Being Used On Main Street?
27 When Yellowstone County Was Cut Off From Custer
28 The Town Herd
29 The Crow Rock Story
30 The Wool House Fire
31 One of Custer County's Unsolved Murders
32 The Stubtoe State
33 Miles City's Early Autos
34 Later Automobile Dealers
35 Who Owned the First Auto in Miles City?
36 A Few Early Garages
37 "Fill'er Up" -- 1910 Style
38 Jimmy Hanrahan was One of Them
39 Problems of the Early Day Drivers
40 The County That Died "A-Borning"
41 The Long Barn is Gone
42 More Cars we Missed
43 What Happened to the Red Jacket Coal Mine?
44 Two Mayhem Cases in one Term of Court
45 What has Become of the Old Time Country Dance?
46 Bender's Grove
47 Orschel's Band Wagon
48 Miles City's No Man Land
49 How the Yellowstone River Got Its Name
50 The Ismay-Ekalaka Electric Railway
51 Why so Many Counties in Montana!
52 The Original 9 Counties of Montana
53 A Word Picture of Miles City in 1879
54 Two Rows of Trees
55 The Other Row of Trees
56 The Successful Siamese Twins Operation in Miles City.
57 A "Touch and Go" Affair
58 Improvement in our Highways
59 Wibaux Park
60 Annual Breakup
61 Those Graves Near the Terry Bridge
62 First Criminal Case Tried in Custer County
63 Riverside Park
64 The First Entry in the Journal of the District Court in Montana Territory
65 How Cattle Were Marketed Before the Coming of Railroads
66 The Custer County Automobile Club
67 Custer County's First Commercial Truck Garden
68 Early Car License Plates
69 The Toboggan Slide
70 The Big Horn Tunnel
71 Early Auto Proving Grounds
72 The Old Northern Pacific Passenger Depot
73 Artesian Wells
74 An Industry of Yesteryear
75 Early Day Ferry Boat Operations
76 Proposed Northern Pacific Branch to the North
77 Grandmothers' Picnic
78 Aesculus Hippocastanium in Miles City
79 Miles City's First Greenhouse
80 Custer County's First Fair
81 The City Scales
82 Some of Miles City's First Hospitals
83 A Cut-Off That Did Not Materialize
84 A White Cap Message
85 How the Open Range Was Controlled Before the Homesteader Took Over
86 A Range War Episode
87 The First Fish Culture Pond
88 The 10 Mile Race in Miles City
89 Lansing Flat
90 The Platting of North Miles City
91 The City "Eyes" Lansing Flat
92 Condemnation Proceedings Necessary
93 One North Miles City Lot Still in Private Ownership
94 Early Day Cab Drivers
95 No Pavement In Those Days
96 Custer County in 1878
97 Early Day Fire Alarm
98 Miles City's First Paid Fireman
99 Did You Know?
100 Ekalaka
101 The Clarkes in Miles City
102 Miles City's Cigar Factories
103 The First City Mail Carriers
104 The First Rodeo?
105 First Two Story Dwelling in Miles City
106 Badger Fights
107 The Monkey and the Bronc
108 Cahn's Coulee
109 Angel of Mercy
110 Our Undersheriff Holds a News Conference
111 Reporting in 1880
112 A Fantastic Scheme
113 Custer County Organized
114 Duke's Mixture
115 Early Montana History
116 Idaho Helps Montana
117 First Session of State Legislature
118 Election Precincts 1882
119 Miles City's First Union
120 The Dream American Legion Team
121 Casey Defends Himself
122 Casey -- After the Ride
123 Early Montana Happenings
124 Livery Stables in Miles City
125 Origin of Montana Place Names
126 The Naming of the Mizpah
127 The Mizpah is Named
128 Who was Robert Thompson?
129 More Montana Place Names
130 Continuing With Montana Names
131 Where the Rosebud Got Its Name
132 More Names of Montana Places
133 Commissioners' Proceedings 1883
134 More Commissioner Trouble
135 Commissioners' Trials in 1883
136 Montana's Territorial Governors
137 The Vigilante Oath
138 Two Landmarks
139 Two Other Landmarks
140 The Land Office Story
141 The Big Game
142 Early Montana Radio Stations
143 The Year Without a Summer
144 Agricultural College at Miles City
145 The Building on Ramer's Corner
146 Election Bets
147 The Maple Tree Cemetery
148 A Toll Road
149 How Pumpkin Creek Got Its Name
150 The Jumping of Riverside Park
151 The Great Fire of 1883
152 A Visit to Fort Keogh in 1885
153 A Great Horse Country
154 The Remount Depot -- Fort Keogh
155 Seeing Miles City
156 A Business Index
157 Shade Tree Bill's First Christmas
158 Miles City's First Chamber of Commerce
159 Terry -- In the Eighties
160 "Word Picture" of Old Town
161 Social Life in Miles City in the Eighties
162 Early Day Country Dance
163 Miles City's First Football Game
164 Y-TIC-SE-LIM
165 Oh! We're All Right