J.V. Puckett started the Dory store and post office which ran from 1915 to 1918. He also carried the mail from Roy to Valentine. The store and post office was just off the north Valentine road which ran about a mile north of the present Valentine road.
  Puckett left in 1921, after going broke; the reason being, according to his grandson, Vernon, was that "he wasn't a very good business man."  

  Dory was also known as Darcy or Puckett school. It was created in 1918 from school district #178 Cimrhakl. The first trustees were Lee Jacobs and J. Asbergee. Some of the teachers were Stella Myers, Agnes Berrigan and Minnie Luton. In 1927 Joe Kosir and Blazej Lelek had their land transferred from 131 and 140 to #17 to make them closer to a school. Dory was attached to Valley View in 1937. It later became part of Roy.

  Frank Bare born April 28, 1878 in Walthill, Nebraska; died February 1958 and is buried in Walthill.
  Emma Madison Bare born January 22, 1884 in Billings, Montana; died June 6, 1965 and is buried in Lewistown, Montana.
  Frank and Emma were married on March 3, 1903. They came to the Central Montana area in 1911 and homesteaded 13 miles east of Roy. Their son, Elmer, was about 8 years old, and daughters, Leona 6 and Violet about 3 years old.
  "When we first homesteaded, we lived in a tent. My brother and I would pick up sagebrush and cow chips and that is what we had for fuel for a short time. We had only a camp stove until our furniture etc. arrived.
  My Dad built a barn with a nice floor in the hay loft and we then moved into it until a small house was built.
  We used to have barn dances and everyone had a good time. The music was an organ and a violin.
  My Mother had triplets a few years after we came to Montana. They were born in Roy. Dr. Jack Stephens delivered them and a lady by the name of Mrs. Norby assisted. Two were stillborn and the other lived only an hour. They were buried out at the homestead.
  My parents left the homestead in the late twenty's, and like most of the others they went broke and had to sell personal belongings and leave, looking for work.
  I was six years old when we came to Montana so I can't remember everything that happened in the early years. I do remember when we landed at Hilger and had to drive to the homestead with a team and wagon. Hilger is where we had to go to buy groceries, etc. until Roy was built and the railroad was completed." Another son, Clarence, was born after they came to Roy but evidently only lived a short while.
  The children attended the Bear Creek, Valley View and Bohemian grade schools and high school in Roy and in Lewistown.
  The summer of 1916 many fine grain crops were realized in the Roy-Valentine area and it was reported in the July 27, 1906 issue of the Lewistown paper (Roy Enterprise) that the County Agriculturist, Carl Peterson stated that Frank Bare "has one of the best pieces of wheat" that he had so far seen.
  Elmer Bare married Laura Larsen, daughter of Chris and Sena Larsen, and they had five children; Mary Jane, Violet, who later married Arthur "Chum" Larson, Dale, Archie and Edward. Leona married Fred "Fritz" Corth (see Fred Corth). Violet married Odith Latham and they moved to Billings. They had one son, Keith Latham. She later married Nile Proffer. A widow, she now resides in Roundup.  

  Joe came to the United States in 1912 from Czechoslovakia at the age of 20. After spending three years in Omaha, he came to Montana and homesteaded about 15 miles east of Roy.
  In 1917 he married Mary Novak. She was raised by Mr. and Mrs. Bert Chaka. Mary was originally from New York.
  They farmed on the homestead until 1937 when they moved to the Fairfield Bench area, where they also farmed.
  Later they moved to Great Falls where Barta was employed at a cement plant.
  He passed away on November 21, 1967. She passed away on December 23, 1978.
  Their only survivor is a niece, Millie Barta Horyna (Mrs. Howard), of Great Falls.  

  Bill Harvey was born in 1885 at Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Frances Gertrude Fees was born in 1888 also at Chippewa Falls. They were married May 3, 1911. They came to Roy in the fall of 1942 and bought the Union Central place. Bill farmed and raised cattle. He also did a lot of trucking of wheat and cattle for people in the community.
  They sold the ranch in 1956 to Don Kalina. Frances died in 1956 and is buried in Shelby, Montana. Their son Don lived with them on the ranch. He graduated from Roy High School in 1949. He married Margaret Spiroff. He ranched with his folks. Don and Margaret had three children while living here; Donny, Rose Ann, and Connie. They bought a place by Lewistown when they left here. There another daughter, Barbara was born. Don and his son Donny both died in a boating accident in 1969, and are buried in Lewistown. Bill Harvey died in 1977, and is buried at Shelby. Bill and Frances had four other children. Francis Dorcas now lives at Sunbrust, Montana; Marion Gay lives in Texas; Harry Harvey died several years ago of cancer, he lived in Washington; Dorothy Harvey married Milton Peterson and they live in Cut Bank, Montana. Petersons ran the Roy Grocery for about a year in 1947.
  Bill Harvey was a brother to Robert S. Harvey. Robert's son, Bob, bought the Gib Distad place and the Frank Southworth place in the early 60's.

  Mr. and Mrs. Harry Johnson were homesteaders in the Dory area, about a mile and a half away from the Frank Southworth homestead.
  Their son, Ernest, was about 3 years of age when tragedy struck. This was in February of 1915.
  The child was playing with a ball and fell into a bucket of boiling water that his mother was using to scrub the floor with. He died two days later.
  Frank Southworth was about 12 years old at the time. He remembered the incident well. His father helped Mr. Johnson make a little casket. Mrs. Southworth lined it with red velvet material she had brought with her from Nebraska.
  Mr. Southworth and Mr. Johnson then took the little boy, in his casket, to Roy to be buried. The grandfather, E.D. Johnson, and August Diamond purchased the land the cemetery is now located on. Little Ernest was the first to be buried there.
 

  Frank and Karoline Kosir and their family came to the United States in 1911-1912. Frank, his son, Joseph, and daughter, Amalie, came to this country first; followed by the rest of the family in 1912. There were eight children in all; Amalie, Joseph, Edward, Jerry, Anna, Adolph, Caroline and Rosalie.
  Kosir was a native of Moravia, Czechoslovakia, born there in 1867 and Karoline was born in Austria in 1870. Frank was a cabinet maker by trade.
  The Kosirs missed their passage on the Titanic, but took the next ship across. They sailed on the Bremmerhaven; leaving the Port of Bremen, Germany and landing in Baltimore, Maryland five days later. Enroute across the Atlantic they passed by the ice berg that sank the Titanic.
  The family lived in Omaha, Nebraska for two years. When they had saved enough money they came to Roy and homesteaded 160 acres of farm land. Amalie had married in Omaha and did not come to Montana with them.
  Anna picked up the English language very fast and became the interpreter between her father and the real estate people in Roy.
  They built their own home, room by room, and raised cattle and wheat.
  The boys remained in the area; the girls all left.
  Joe married Ida Vasecka. Ida was born in Staples, Minnesota to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Vasecka. She came to Lewistown in the early 1920's with her sister, returning to Minnesota a few years later. Joe and Ida were married on November 9, 1927 in Ogema, Minnesota. Both filed on homesteads, east of Roy, near the homestead of Frank and Karoline.
  Frank passed away at the age of 75 on December 21, 1941 in the mountains around Maiden. He was no longer actively working at the Roy ranch and was staying with his son, Ed, at Maiden. He loved the mountains and was found by his son, Adolph, and good friend, Blazej Lelek, who had come to visit him shortly after he had taken the sheep out to graze on the mountain side.
  Both Frank and Karoline, who passed away February 11 of 1947 at the age of 77, are buried in the Roy Cemetery.
  Edward passed away on August 6, 1964. He is buried in Lewistown. Jerry retired and moved to Arizona where he passed away in the late 1970's. His ashes are scattered over his favorite fishing lake in Arizona.
  Joe, a WWI Navy veteran, passed away suddenly on May 10, 1959 at his ranch, at the age of 66. Ida moved into Roy and lived there until she, too, passed away very suddenly on December 17, 1974 at age 74. Both are buried in Lewistown. Joe and Ida had no children. The Ed Styers now have their place.
  Adolph continued to ranch on the original homestead. A bachelor, he stayed pretty much to himself and wasn't known to visit much except with one or two close friends on occasion. He was found dead in his ranch home in October of 1985. He, too, was cremated and his ashes are scattered over the ranch.
  The only two members of the original family still living are Anna and Caroline. Don Kalina now leases the Kosir place from them.

  Blazej Lelek and Mary Holoubeck were married in 1910. Both were originally from Czechoslovakia. Blazej was a barber before they came to Roy to the homestead in the spring of 1912. Their homestead lay 15 miles east of Roy and 1 mile southeast of the Dory post office and 2 miles east of the Lindstrum post office. Blazej talked about being surprised by Indians several times. At that time they were friendly and did no harm.
  He was a partner in a threshing machine and steam engine along with Charlie Puckett, Swan Johnson, Mike Myers, Frank and Joe Kosir, Grover Beal and John Tuma. Blazej usually hauled the coal and water for the steam engine. Charlie Puckett was the steam engineer and Swan Johnson or Joe Kosier were the thresher operators. There were usually 8 or 10 bundle wagons and 2 grain wagons. Combines replaced the steam thresher about 1938. Their son, Charles, bought the first tractor used on the farm in 1938.
  Blazej and Mary were the parents of four sons: Edward born March 3, 1916; Charles born December 26, 1917, Victor born January 1, 1921 and Ernest born September 2, 1926. The boys attended the Box Elder and Dory grade schools and Roy High School.
  Up until about 1922 most of the groceries and supplies used by the Lelek family were purchased at the Puckett store at Dory. After that they went into Roy for their purchases. A team and wagon were the main method of travel used.
  During World War II Blazej had to do all the farm work by himself as all four boys were in the service from 1940 to 1945. Ed was in the Air Force, Charles in the Army Engineers, Victor in the Navy and Ernest in the Marines. Only Charles was seriously injured during the war.
  Charles came back to the ranch for a year after the service but because of the serious head injury he suffered in the war he could not farm and so moved into Lewistown where he has been associated in the insurance business for many years. He married Ethel Bowen and they have two children: Wayne and Nancy (Wichman).
  Victor also stayed in the Central Montana area. After three years in the Navy he returned to Lewistown. He worked for ten years in a hardware store and then from 1957 until he retired in 1983 he was a Lewistown mail carrier. He and his wife, Barbara "Teddy" had four daughters: Vicki, Linda, Laurie and Janis whom they lost.
  Ernest worked in the oil fields in Wyoming, Colorado and Texas until he retired in 1986. He lives in Colorado City, Texas.
  Edward is deceased and is buried in Silver Springs, Arkansas.
  Mary passed away in Colorado City, Texas where she was visiting in 1974 and is buried there. Blazej died in 1982, at the age of 98, and is buried in Lewistown.
  The Lelek homestead is now owned by Agusta Myers and is leased and farmed by Larry Kalina.

  My father, Joe Pacovsky, took up a homestead about 13 miles east of Roy, or next to what was the post office of Dory. He lied about his age, 20 at the time to qualify as a homesteader. He was lured by brochures put out by Cook and Reynolds Land Co. These were managers of land given to the railroads in the region. They advertised that rainfall was 25" per year, which he compared to Nebraska rainfall of 30" and saw no reason to be afraid of drouth.
  He at first worked on the railroad, which was being laid in Roy. Then he took up a homestead where he thought the railroad would continue. The town to be, Dory, was named after Mrs. Dory Puckett.
  He later sold his homestead to the Pucketts and

 bought 160 acres from John Hultberg, or Holtberg, 2 miles east of Roy in 1917 or 1918. To finance himself he bought a hammer and a square and a saw and became an immediate carpenter and built several buildings in town, as well as some farm buildings.
  He also played a button accordion for dances, either by himself or with Earl Zelenka, Emil Kudzia or Jerry Piskac and this he did until 1929, when the drouth and the depression hit. Then he sold his accordion and didn't get enough money to buy another until after he moved to Bozeman in 1936.
  Grandfather, Anton Piskac, and wife, Katerina, bought out a relinquishment approximately 6 miles east of Roy and settled with son, Jerry, and daughter, Anna, who is my mother, in 1915. They stayed until 1937 and also moved to Bozeman. A son, Charlie Piskac, worked in the Red Elevator until WWI and upon being discharged moved to Nebraska. Jerry Piskac changed his name to Prescott and resided in a nursing home in Bozeman until he died in 1958.
  Pacovsky family statistics: Joe Pacovsky Sr. born March 17, 1891 in Czechoslovakia, died February 22, 1970 in Bozeman, Montana; Anna Piskac Pacovsky born March 22, 1890 in Czechoslovakia, married in 1917, died April of 1970 in Bozeman, Montana; Joe R. Pacovsky born October 14, 1917; Gerald E. Pacovsky born September 30, 1922; Vernon J. Pacovsky born December 18, 1927; all born in Roy, Montana; Patricia Ann Pacovsky (Campbell) born September 8, 1938 in Bozeman, Montana.  

  Mr. and Mrs. Charles Peterson and family came to Montana from Thurston, Nebraska and homesteaded 16 miles east of Roy in 1914. There were a number of families who came on the emigrant train from the same area in Nebraska. Pucketts, Gustafsons, Charles Peterson and family, his brother Frank E. Peterson and family, as well as their mother, Hattie E. Peterson.
  Marie Peterson Limpus was seven years and the oldest of the Charles Peterson children. She remembers
  that when the trail reached Armells, it derailed. Several cars went off the track. Her father borrowed a grey Mare and buggy and drove Mrs. Peterson and the children to Roy to await the train with all their belongings.
  Charles was associated with the Lumber Company and elevator business in Nebraska. He and his brother put up some good buildings on their homesteads and he went to manage the Montana Lumber Company in Roy. Soon after the railroad reached Winifred the Company transferred him there to set up a new business. Lumber was a thriving business during the homesteading years when everyone needed lumber for their homestead shacks.
  The Petersons had three children when they came to Montana: Marie ("Sis"); Chester Alfred ("Sonnie"); Bessie Henrietta ("Toots"); Flavia, another child had died in Nebraska. Charles Alfred, born in Montana; Ernest Frank ("Skees"), born at Roy; Vivian Winifred; Vern Peterson and Gladys, born at Winifred.
  Marie remembered that Grandma Puckett and her father delivered her brother Ernest Frank, when the doctor they had called from Lewistown didn't come.
  Mrs. Martz gave piano lessons to Marie when she got her piano.
  Hattie E. Peterson homesteaded 18, 24, 17 and was Frank and Charles mother. She was a teacher and taught Valley View and Central schools and when the family moved to Winifred, she taught in that area. Brother Frank, Annie and their family stayed on the homesteads when Charles moved to Winifred. Richard Gustafson, who was a close friend, also moved to Winifred and he worked in the lumber business with Charles.
  Gustafsons homesteaded 18, 24, 9 and 15. These places were all close together. Ralph W. Hahm was another neighbor and homesteaded 18, 24, 10. He taught at Valley View. Marie Limpus says that she remembered that he always brought cottage cheese in a jar for his lunch. She said that he didn't do much toward teaching the young children, so they played, but he took an interest in the older pupils.
  When they lived in Roy, a lady and her children, (Mrs. Johnson) came in on the train and was to go to the Valentine section. She had no place to stay, so her father brought them home. The little girl became very ill. She had scarlet fever and in due time all the Peterson children came down with it. They were quarantined and very sick, also missed a lot of school.
  Their grandfather, Alfred W. Peterson and his son Andy came out later and he homesteaded 21, 22 and 23. This was by John Umstead's and after he proved up, went to Roy and ran the livery stable until Charles and family went to Winifred and he went too. John Umstead farmed this place as long as he was living.
  Charles Peterson also sold International Harvester tractors and machinery along with the lumber and hardware business at Winifred. The company furnished him the building material for their home and it is still in use. The trees that they planted are still alive.
  Marie Peterson Limpus was ten years old when she went to Winifred with her family, finished her schooling there and married her childhood sweetheart. They are retired and live in Lewistown, and are both past eighty years.

  Frank E. Peterson, born 3 September 1886 at Ettney, Kansas was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Peterson. Mary Angels Dean, the daughter of James Dean and Sarah Docher Dean, was born 6 March 1894 at Ord, Nebraska. After their marriage they came to Montana from Thurston, Nebraska in 1914 and homesteaded east of Roy at the above location. Four sons and five daughters were born to the Petersons: Charles Edward, Franklin E., Merle E., Grace Loretta (Walling), Evelyn Angela (Jones), Viola Elizabeth (Stulc), Marjorie Lola (Works), Anne (Murray) now deceased and Verle Franklin who died in May of 1932 from tick fever at the age of 19.
  Frank worked for the Fergus County road department for a number of years, building country roads with one of the first gas-powered graders.
  They moved to Lewistown in 1937. Frank died 23 November 1956 at the age of 71. He is interred in the Lewistown City Cemetery.
  Mrs. Peterson went to Paradise, California to live with her children in 1960. She died 6 October 1973 at St. Vincent's Hospital in Billings at the age of 79. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Lewistown.
  Besides their children they were survived by 40 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.  

  My grandfather, J.V. Puckett, came to Montana in 1912 and homesteaded fifteen miles east of Roy, Montana on the Roy-Valentine road. He had sold his farm near Fender, Nebraska and was looking for land for himself and his sons.
  In about 1915 he started a store and post office named Dory, Montana. He had a Model T Ford, the only one in the country at that time. He carried the mail from Roy to Valentine. He also bought a new steam engine and a threshing machine and threshed all the way from Fergus to Valentine. Not being a very good business man, he went broke in 1921 and left. He passed away in 1937 in Lewistown.
  I had three uncles, Elvin, Foster and Joy Puckett, and their sister, Maude Puckett Wilson, who came to Montana too. My mother's father, Oscar Nelson, had a homestead next to our place, that my dad bought when grandfather returned to Nebraska. Other members of my mother's family who came to Montana were her brothers, Arthur and Ed Nelson and a sister, Mildred Distad, who was married to Joy Puckett at one time.
  My father, Charles Puckett, homesteaded in 1913 and built a home. My mother, Emily Nelson Puckett, brother, Donald and I came to Hilger, Montana, in the spring of 1914 and went to the homestead by team and wagon. My brother, Harold, was born in Lewistown in 1918. He was lost at sea during World War II when he parachuted from his plane over the Pacific Ocean.
  My dad lost his homestead in 1929 and we bought a place adjoining ours where we lived till I got married to Arlene and I bought dad's share of the ranch in 1953. We lived there till we sold the ranch in 1979 and moved to Billings, Montana. Our children, Frank and Nancy, were born in Lewistown and graduated from Roy High School and from college in 1978. Frank is a Doctor of Optometry and lives in Monument, Colorado. Nancy (Verschoot) and family have a ranch near Lambert, Montana. We have three grandchildren.
  My brother, Donald, was a school teacher at Cut Bank, Montana and passed away in 1954.
  Twelve families from around Thurston, Nebraska had homesteaded in the vicinity of our place. By 1936

  all had left the area and we were the only family that stuck it out. A homestead of 320 acres was not enough for an economical unit and most homesteaders left in 1920. We increased our ranch to about 6,000 acres, which is enough for an economical unit in this dryland country.
 (Vernon was for many years secretary of the Crooked Creek and Indian Butte Grazing Districts, served on the Roy Rural Fire board and was a faithful member and elder of the Roy Presbyterian Church.
  Arlene was instrumental in the formation of the Valley View Home Demonstration Club and served as it's first president. She was a member of the Roy school board for a number of years.)  

  James Foster Puckett passed away in July of 1963 at the VA hospital in Miles City. He was born on November 21, 1891 and raised in Elmwood, Nebraska, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James V. Puckett.
  He came to Montana in 1916 and homesteaded east of Roy. He served in the army in WWI. After returning to the Central Montana area he farmed in the Blind Breed Gulch area east of Lewistown. James also ran the Red Elevator in Roy for several years.
  He married Vera Williams in April of 1949 in Raton, New Mexico. He was a brother of Joy Puckett. He is buried in Lewistown.  

  Rolland Rossiter was a native of York, Nebraska. He was born there on June 28, 1876. Rossiter enlisted in Company A, First Regiment of Nebraska Volunteers at Lincoln, Nebraska in April of 1898. He served during the Spanish American War and Philippine Insurrection. He was discharged on August 23, 1899 at the Praesidio in San Francisco, California when his regiment was mustered out.
  On June 13, 1905 he and Mable Montgomery were married at York. They came to Fergus County and homesteaded east of Roy in 1913 where they lived for the next 21 years. About 1934 they moved to Christina where Mable taught school for four years. They moved to Brooks in 1938 and lived there for the next seven years, where she also taught school. They returned to Roy and lived there for two more years. Mrs. Rossiter taught school at Kachia for several years and also at Roy. They moved to Lewistown to make their home in June of 1947.
  Mable passed away in March of 1948 in Omaha. She was staying there with her sisters, Mrs. F.G. Snyder and Miss Pearl Montgomery.
  After Mable died, Rossiter spent his winters with Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hesler at York, and his summers at Brooks. Rossiter died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Hesler, on February 15, 1950.
  Rossiter was a member of William Meyersick Camp No. 15, Spanish-American War Veterans and the Roy Presbyterian Church.
  Both Mr. and Mrs. Rossiter are buried in Lewistown. There were no children.  

  A modern highway crosses the plains where once only wagon wheels and later the tracks of the early cars wound their way across country; around rocks, sagebrush and deep coulees. The old trails are still there and some are maintained as "country roads"; avoided like the plague when rain once again 'brings to life' that infamous stuff called GUMBO. Some of the roads are even graveled now days. And with the modern 4-wheel drives, nothing is impassable, or at least that's what is generally believed. The gumbo still retains its holding power and many'a owner of a 4 wheel has had to leave his vehicle to the elements until it becomes dry enough to get it out.
  The day of the dawn of motorization seems far behind us, but there are several who can recall the advent of these new "contraptions". They were viewed with skepticism, scorn, awe and admiration. Best of all they provided the material of which legends are made.
  This wonderful scary introduction to the modern day automobiles came into its own, in this area, about 1927.

  In the 30's there were still some who relied totally on horse and buggy to travel. In the 50's a few still did their ranch chores with a team, but by 1960 all had given way to mechanization. Most who homesteaded came by foot, by team and wagon and or by train. There are only a couple of accounts of homesteaders arriving via auto.
  Scattered through out the prairie one can still find a few remains of an old 'tin Lizzie" where it was abandoned. They were temperamental; it was thought that only a man 'could tame her wiles'. They were uncomfortable. The thin, upholstered and unpadded, hard board seats and backs were stiff and unyielding.
  They were FAST! Twenty-five to thirty mile an hour; top speed! There are tales told of these old Model A's speeding through sage brush, rock and rut at unbelievable speeds of 60 mph. Did they have speedometers?
  The rum-runners were the elite of automobile owners. They always drove big, fast cars; Overlands, Packards, Nashes; big touring cars. And they always had elegantly dressed women with them whom they claimed to be their wives.
  Learning to drive, without benefit of even an experienced driver created havoc. How they ever got them out of town and home is one of life's mysteries. But they did, and then began the process of mastering the machine. These things did not respond to Whoa. Marie Zahn recalls watching Joe Bell learning to drive. "The car was delivered to the Wilder Post Office for Joe. It was a Model T touring car. It set there quite awhile before Joe rode up to the post office, on horseback, to look at it.
  Mr. Jones, the mail carrier, was there that day and of course he could drive a car. Joe did not know how to drive, so Mr. Jones proceeded to give him instructions. He told him what everything was for and how to operate it. The gas feed was on the steering wheel and there was a pedal for low gear, a reverse and brake pedal.
  Joe got the car cranked up and going. Only Jones didn't get in with him, he just stood there. Away Joe went. He drove around, at first intent on learning to steer it, but then he couldn't figure out how to stop it.
  He'd come around to where Jones was standing and yell, "How do I stop!"
  Mr. Jones would yell back, but by that time Joe would be out of ear-shot. He would make a circle 'about a good half-mile, up the ridge and back'. This process continued, until Joe ran out of gas." Going down hill in these autos was hazardous enough, and going uphill required skillful navigation. Gas was gravity fed and when the carburetor got higher than the gas tank, no gas was fed to the motor. So -- they would turn around and go up the hill backwards! When one fellow bought a new Model T he solved the backing up problem by building a garage with a door at both ends.
  My husband tells about his mother trying to learn to drive. She loved to go visiting and so decided, one day, she would no longer rely on someone else to take her places, she would drive herself. She got the car backed out of the garage all right, but in stopping she stomped down on the wrong pedal, the reverse, with the result that it zoomed backward and right straight up the granary wall and slid back down. In her excitement she again stomped down on the reverse pedal instead of the brake, with the same results. A few more tries and she gave up driving, for good.
  The drivers of these new vehicles often forgot that they had to watch the road when driving, unlike when driving a team which just kept going right on down the trail. And they often steered in the direction in which they were looking. One old fellow in Roy, liked to look at pretty girls and more than one would have to duck in the nearest doorway for safety's sake.
  Morris Rasmussen's early day vehicle was higher than it was long; so top heavy that he was forever tipping it over.
  One story that has become legend deals, not so much with the mechanics of the auto, but more with the type of humor enjoyed by a bunch of country fellows. It occurred at a dance at the Bohemian Hall.
  Bill had purchased a brand new car of which he was very proud and of course he had to brag it up, somewhat, as every proud owner of a new car does. Whether

 it was envy, just plain orneriness or the position of the moon or what, no one knows, but a few men decided to play a prank on Bill.
  While several kept Bill busy describing the qualities of his new car, a couple others slipped out the door and got the vehicle set up on blocks. Their deed done they rejoined the group talking to Bill. Finally one of them suggested that Bill show them how the car worked.
  He gave them the tour; got in, started the motor and beamed at the Oohs and Ahhs, over the smooth running engine. Someone suggested he show them how it would run. Bill obliged and shifted into reverse and gently eased up on the gear shift pedal and fed the gas. NOTHING. The car wouldn't move. The crest fallen owner couldn't understand what was the matter. He tried to get the car to move again. Still nothing.
  One of the helpful bystanders suggested he wasn't giving it enough gas. Bill took his advice and put his foot to the floorboard and as he did the pranksters kicked the blocks out from under the vehicle, with the result that the car shot backwards at an unbelievable speed and wiped out several feet of new fence and wound up out in the surrounding field before the startled driver got it stopped. To his dying day he never did figure out exactly what stuck in that engine! One more story, a mystery, from Harry McDonald. About 1920 a fellow rode into Roy and bought himself a Model T at Joe Murphy's Garage. He paid cash for it and took it out for a little drive. He brought it back a little while later and told Joe about some minor adjustment that needed fixing. He walked off and never came back.
  There it sat -- a brand new two-door coupe. For 40 or more years it sat. Maybe it is still there. No one ever knew who the fellow was, where he came from or what happened to him.  

  To my grandkids at a parade it's, "Look, Grandma, at that shiny car with the funny top", or it could be, "Why do they have that pretty car sitting on the grass in the yard?" To my children, who were born in the 40's, the Model T is of no special significance. The Model T was no longer in use when they were young. It was something people talked about, but wasn't real. The stories told couldn't have been true! But to my generation they are very real. The Model T was a way of life, not to mention the frustration and anxiety the Model T caused the owners. It may not start or it might roll down a hill into a garden if the wheels weren't blocked. When viewing a torn and patched wire gate, of which there were many in those days, one would know that a Model T had run through it a time or two. The reason could be no brakes or the drivers lack of coordination, or of someone forgetting which pedal was the brake.
  To own a Flivver, one of the names for a Model T, with a ruckstell axle was this side of heaven because then you had a low gear with power enough to climb river hills. This meant we didn't have to walk up and down the river hill to go fishing and camping. Somehow it was discovered, how or why I do not know, that this sort of creature could be backed up hills that were impossible to go up forward. But then it took a brave adventurous person to volunteer to ride in reverse with these newly accomplished drivers, who had their share of trouble going forward. Consequently my mother and I walked while my brave brothers rode. The Model T tried to make mechanics out of horsemen and farmers. The horseman, farmer and the Model T were equal as one strived to run it and the other strived to run. Can you imagine the outcome had the Model T been born the big powerful machine of today?
  However, I am glad the Model T, with new paint, has obtained the dignity of a front yard.  

  Baseball was 'the' game in those early years and Roy had one of the top teams in the league. It seems that the first order of business for most of the new towns, springing up all over, was to get a good baseball team put together. Roy's first team was organized in 1914 and was made up of all local fellows. A few of the locale, however, were not only homesteaders but had been semi-pros back east. Russ Hoover who homesteaded in

 the Byford area was one of these excellent players.
  Baseball was serious business and players received a salary. In 1917 it was reported in the Enterprise that J.E. Cox had just "returned from the east on a scouting trip for ball players for the Roy team". Curt Williams, a pitcher, Bud Edmundson, 3rd baseman and C. Eddington, an infielder, were imported from Indiana. (1916) In later years outstanding players were Grant Emery and his brother, Cliff.  

  Early in 1922 I was invited to spend the summer with the Jim Pratt family who lived on the Smith & Laraway farm just west of Roy.
  Mrs. Pratt was going to Saint Louis to care for an aged aunt who was ill. Marguerite Pratt, their daughter, and Walter, their son, would be there also.
  It was a very pleasant summer and we enjoyed it a lot. Of course, there were chores to do; water to carry,
  cows to milk and a large garden to tend.
  One day it was my turn to ride into Roy and get the groceries and mail. I rode my faithful buckskin pony, Joe.
  As I rode on I saw a car coming. It was going faster than most cars went. Also most people that passed waved or greeted you as most were well acquainted.
  This was different. Both men in the car looked just straight ahead and drove. This seemed strange to me so J turned and watched to see where they were going. They just drove to the approach to the Smith & Laraway ranch; backed up and here they came again. Just like before!
  When I got to Roy I tied my horse to the hitching rail across from the grocery store. Mr. P.A. Weedell owned the store then.
  I got my groceries and came out and people were all excited -- shouting and calling to others -- THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK HAD BEEN ROBBED!  

A first hand story as told by F.B. Stevens who was cashier at the First National Bank of Roy and was the man who was robbed at gun point. His account, as follows, was printed in the Montana Banker, July 10, 1922.

  Cashier F. B. Stevens of the First National Bank of Roy, who was the only one present when the bank was entered and robbed of approximately $2,500 in cash and Liberty bonds on June 13th, sent, on request of the Montana Banker, the following personal account of the robbery and the exciting chase which followed, resulting in the capture of the two men suspected, who are now in jail awaiting trial.
  "At about four o'clock I was alone in the bank, our assistant, Lynn C. Van Zandt, having stepped out on the street, when a man entered the front door, and walked straight down the lobby to my office in the rear. Upon looking around from my desk, I found myself covered with a gun and commanded to "put 'em up." "By a wave of his gun the robber indicated that he wanted me to go into the front room, which I did, and then turned around and faced him as he stood in the doorway between the two rooms. This was fortunate as he seemed to find it necessary to talk in order to make me understand exactly what was wanted, and it was partly by his voice which is out of the ordinary that I was able to identify him when captured.
  "When I had faced around to the wall the second man appeared, and I suppose it was he who gathered up the money while the first man kept me covered with his gun. It took them but a very short time, probably two minutes

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 to gather up the money and then one of them went out the back door where their car was standing with the motor running, while the other locked me in the vault.
  "In probably less than one or two minutes a couple of citizens who saw the robbers drive away, came in and threw the bolts. These two citizens came along the street just as the second man was coming out the back door with his face still covered. It took them a few seconds to comprehend that something might be wrong, and upon finding the front door locked with the shade still up they ran around to the back.
  "Upon getting out of the vault I ran down the street, stopping at the pool hall to give the alarm, and then to a hardware store where I asked them to prepare guns and ammunition while I went for a car. I took E.O. Sandbo's car, it being the fastest car in town and with Grover Beal, William Olson, farmers, and A. L. McCain, a hardware merchant, was soon on their trail.
  "We followed them toward Grass Range and overtook them in about 20 miles. We shot once at a distance of about one half mile and they disappeared over a hill. We expected an ambush and were just about to stop and get out of the car when we saw a cloud of dust come up over the hill to the left, and thinking they had gone on started up again, and as we went over the top of the hill, discovered them waiting for us to the right at a distance of about 100 yards.
  "They shot McCain as he was getting out of the car. Beal got one shot when I discovered that McCain was hit and it looked so serious that I held up my hands in surrender. They allowed us to go and after getting over the hill where we had an opportunity to examine more care fully into McCain's wound decided it was not safe from his standpoint to linger. It looked as though he would surely bleed to death before we could get him into Grass Range, a distance of eight miles.
  "Shortly after getting into Grass Range the sheriff and two deputies arrived and with them we started out again, taking up the trail where we left it about an hour before. By that time a considerable number of cars were out and we worked all night without getting a trace except as we were able to track the car.
  "We knew exactly the imprint of each tire and the next day were able to trace it nearly into Winnett, arriving at Winnett we soon had the car, which we were able to identify by a bullet hole clear through from the rear and which they had attempted to camouflage, and also by numerous heads of rye gathered when they left one main road to get over onto another.
  "It developed that they arrived in Winnett at about 9:30 in the evening of the day they robbed us. The owner of the car is Chas. Jarrett, proprietor of a 'soft drink' establishment. We soon had under suspicion two others, 'Tex' Jackson, living 18 miles east of Winnett, and a man by the name of Spellman, employed in the oil fields.
  "Two of the deputy sheriffs, two Winnett citizens and myself went after Jackson, while another car went after Spellman. We arrived at Jackson's house after dark during a heavy rain storm and he was taken by surprise and captured without a fight.
  "My identification of him as the man who first entered the bank is positive, and he is the man arrested some thing like a year ago charged with holding up the Melstone Bank. He escaped trial in that case for lack of evidence. Spellman was held for a few days and released after proving his innocence, and after we obtained conclusive evidence that Jarrett and Jackson were both in Roy on that day.
  "They were given a preliminary hearing last Saturday at which time they pleaded not guilty and their bonds fixed at $15,000 each, which they have been unable to raise up to this time.
  "This is about the whole story to date. I will say, however, that while Mr. McCain's wound is serious and he will probably be in the hospital all summer, it now seems that he will come out of it in good shape and will probably have the use of his right arm, which it was at first feared he might lose. The bullet entered the right side, ranging up through the shoulder and out the top of his shoulder. His arm is broken from falling out of the car, but the shoulder joint not hurt as bad as at first thought.
  "I wish to say that the county attorney and everyone connected with the sheriffs office are doing excellent work on the case in the way of collecting evidence, and I believe that there is a very good chance of obtaining a conviction.
  "It is interesting to note that Jarrett furnished cash bail for Jackson when he was arrested in connection with the Melstone job." (The money from the robbery was never recovered.)

  Rodeo has always been a big part of the lives of those in Central Montana and the area surrounding Roy Valentine and Fergus has produced some outstanding cowboys over the years. The early celebrations usually had a rodeo of sorts--mostly bucking contests and wild cow milking or riding contests. Many times the arena was of the human kind. People and autos or buckboards formed a circle; several cowboys would hold the horse and assist the rider (who usually had a few under his belt to 'loosen' him up, or make him braver) to mount; they'd let go and the cowboy would be on his own--till either he quit or the animal quit.
  Following are some excerpts from rodeo doings:

     1926 -- The Roy Community Business Club announced that they were planning for a rodeo the latter part of July or first part of August, however it never materialized.

1927-- JULY FOURTH ROY RODEO

Roy town goes all-out for a big celebration. The town gets a thorough cleaning, board walks repaired and a rodeo ground prepared for the big event. There is much enthusiasm by all the business men. Roy Hanson and George Hamilton are the rodeo promoters.
  Roy Hanson from Crooked Creek has a good string of bucking stock and George Hamilton is experienced in managing rodeos as he put on the rodeo at Sprague, Washington and Dog Pound, Canada. Top hands, such as Harry Dundom, Lynn

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 Phillips, Jim Kipp and Ted Putro will be on hand to put on a top-notch show. The Killham boys from Dovetail; Ted Allen, Lewistown; Clarence Saunders of Musselshell; Bill Swears, Hilger; and Ray Carr of Christina are more of the cowboys that will be appearing at this wild west show.
  Judge E. E. Cheadle, well known orator, will address the crowd. A cowboy parade will go through the town and travel to the rodeo grounds, starting at 12:30 PM. John Kaaro, our local auctioneer will be the announcer and MC. Walter Haney is the town Marshall.
  There will be bronc riding, surcingle riding (bareback bronc and steer riding); bulldogging; wild horse race; wild cow milking; roping maverick race (roping a calf and branding it) and horse races. An ad read "No Freak Saddles Allowed".
  Shorty Negard, Jack Milbourne, Johnny Wright, Joe DeSilva and the Killham boys are entered in the circingle riding events.
  Concessions and picnic areas are provided as well as Frank Nickolson is barbecuing beef to be served by the plate or in buns.
  A baseball game is scheduled between the Lewistown Creamery boys and the local team, following the rodeo. A dance will be held at the special pavilion, as the final event of the festivities.
  All the citizens of Valley View, Auburn, Staff, Dovetail, Macaha, Little Crooked, Wilder, Valentine and Fergus are planning to attend.
  A report in the paper states that the Fourth at Roy was a big success and there was an overflow crowd of between five and six thousand people in attendance. It was also a beautiful day.
  Jim Kipp and Lynn Phillips were a couple of the top riders that day. Lynn was known as an outstanding all around ranch cowboy -- "broke horses and ran wild horses in the breaks; Lynn would ride any kind of horse."

  Cowboy's bucking contest: $50., 20., 10.; best bucking horse, $5.; bareback riding, $5. (mount money); steer riding, $2. each; calf roping, $15. and 5.; maverick race, one calf or $15.; 1/4 mile horse race, $20, and 10.; pony race, $10. and Ladies race, $10.
  Baseball game following the rodeo; Flatwillow vs. Valentine. Bowery dance.
  Unique feature: bulldogging from a Ford automobile.
  Bob Covert and Roland Mathews, in charge. Roy Hanson's bucking string.
  August 22, 1927: Newspaper reports that Clyde Trepp wins bucking contest (well known mechanic at Messier's Garage.)

  A two day rodeo sponsored by Harry Dundom, general manager; James Dundom, secretary and treasurer and Sam Sherman, arena director.
  Bronc busting, steer riding, bulldogging, wild cow milking, and fancy riding, along with horse races. $700, prize money, to be awarded.
  The Harvest Festival will have fine exhibits of grain, grasses, vegetables, sewing and cooking.

  July 4th, 1929

  Dick Fergus placed 2nd in the bucking contest and 1st in bareback at a Gilt Edge Rodeo.
  During the 1930's--Albert LaFountain was the top saddle bronc rider from Central Montana.

The Valentine Rodeo was a big success. An election rally was held after the rodeo.

   Roy Rodeo put on by Albert LaFountain. Top moneys went to Johnnie Johnson, Miles City, first in bronc riding; Francis LaFountain, Bareback; Lew McMillan, calf roping and Irvin Smith, cow milking.

   Free barbecue. Event: bronc riding, steer riding, pony race, horse race, relay race, wild cow milking and calf roping.
  Baseball game: Roy vs. Winnett CCC outfits. Dance. Viewing the Valentine Dam, recently completed by the WPA. 

  In the 40's the Komarek Brothers, Speed and George, were promoters for several rodeos.

   June 22, 1941--Komarek Bro's producers of a Roy rodeo; Larry Jordan arena director. A big parade was held. 
   Alma Rindal (Satterfield) was rodeo queen. In the bucking contest Albert LaFountain was 1st, Don Doney,  3rd. Calf roping: Speed Komarek, 2nd, Francis LaFountain, 3rd. Cow milking; Don Doney 1st with Larry Jordan doing the roping, Francis LaFountain 2nd. Larry Jordan won the Stock Horse Show.
   In 1944 the winning team ropers at a Melville rodeo were Larry Jordan and Speed Komarek. 
  July 1947--Ed Styer was the producer of the 4th and 5th of July Rodeo held at the Jackson arena. Larry Jordan was 1st in calf roping; Sonny Smith 2nd. 
   July 3rd & 4th, 1948--George Komarek promoter for the Jackson arena rodeo.
  1949--George Komarek won the 'all around cowboy' title for the 4th of July rodeo that he promoted in Lewistown. He won the calf roping. Dorm Jackson was 4th. Speed Komarek and Wade Buffington won the team roping; Sonny Smith and Jack Stevens were 2nd.

   Sunday June 29, 1952 was the first annual Roy rodeo. It was on April 20th of that year that several community members met and organized the Roy Rodeo Club. In the two months between April and June the action was about as fast paced as the rodeo itself. During that time the rodeo arena was built on land donated by Olaf Rindal. Volunteers traveled to the nearby mountains and cut the posts and poles for the project.
   Ed Styer was elected as first chairman of the board, Charlie Phillips 48the secretary and Clay Smith the treasurer.
  Rose Rindal was appointed to get an auxiliary started and to work out details on a dinner and a dance that was held following the first rodeo.
  George Komarek drew up the arena plans and as was reported in a June 1952 issue of the Lewistown paper:

"The date of the Roy Rodeo is not far away, Sunday, June 29th. The arena has been completed and plans are being made to entertain a large crowd at the first rodeo to be held in it.
  "The rodeo club hopes to make it an annual event and the arena has been built in such a way as to provide a quick moving, well managed affair."

According to reports following the first rodeo, it was a "success". A total of 95 cowboys vied for $1,000 in prizes and 2,000 spectators were on hand to cheer them on.
  In 1952 the stock was brought in off the range. Larry Jordan, Jim Phillips and George Komarek each provided

 15 head of bucking horses and cattle were provided by Jess Satterfield, Ed Styer and Olaf Rindal.
  In 1988 Roy held its 36th annual rodeo in conjunction with the 75th birthday celebration of the founding of Roy, and it was, as all have been, a roaring success.
  June 1954--At the 3rd annual Roy Rodeo; outstanding performers were Jim Phillips, bareback; Mickey Styer won the cloverleaf race, Marie Zahn was 2nd, Alta Styer 3rd and Helen Jordan was 4th. All Roy cowgirls. Bob Harvey won the calf roping. Jack Styer placed 2nd in the kids calf roping.
  There are several others who have made a name for themselves in the world of Rodeo a couple became professionals.
  Larry Ed Jordan became one of the top bronc riders on the Professional Cowboys Rodeo circuit for several years. He later was a promoter for high school rodeo and was publisher of a rodeo magazine. Billy Phillips also became a professional saddle bronc rider and rode the PCRA circuit for several years.
  Jim Murphy was one of the best saddle bronc and bull riders to come out of the Roy country. He was the Northern Montana Rodeo Assoc. champion several times. "He had the ability to ride the toughest horse and win." Jim's son, Danny, was becoming a tough competitor in the bull riding, before his death in 1980 at the age of 16.
  Glen Hough was an outstanding team roper and along with his partner, Phil Luman, was State Champion for several years.
  Joe Finn was an excellent roper and John Rife was described as "a hell of a good bronc rider." Jack Wood won the first belt buckle the Roy Rodeo ever gave in saddle bronc riding. He and John Rife had a 'ride-off for the buckle.
  Lewis Harrell was an outstanding high school saddle bronc and bull rider. Jim and Charlie Phillips and Ralph Rindal were all excellent bareback riders. All three of these fellows participated in the first National High School Rodeo which was held in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Tommy Fox was another excellent bareback, saddle bronc and bull rider.
  Ed Styer was an outstanding horse breaker of roping horses and pick-up horses and a top rodeo pick-up man. Bud Norskog and Jess Satterfield were also top pick-up men and worked most of the local rodeos.
  Women rodeo performers to be remembered are Mickey Styer, reining horses, rodeo queen and timer; Betty Blair Steels, barrel racer and roper who is still competing and winning; Marie Zahn, barrel racer and timer; and Alma Satterfield, Kay Yuill Jackson, Helen Jordan, Ann Smith, Bev Knerr and Carol Sluggett for their special skills as rodeo queens, top cowgirls as well as timers at rodeos.
  There are several up and coming young cowboys that are making a name for themselves: Jess and Jerry Knerr winning team ropers; Larry Sluggett who is a top high school bull rider; and the Rindal brothers: Harley, Casey and Tyler. Harley was tops in cow cutting and was YRA team roping champion. Casey qualified for the National High School Rodeo finals for 4 years in a row; as a steer wrestler, team roper and calf roper. He and Tyler were the state team roping champions in 1988.

• Christmas Eve day at the Dory School in 1930. Stella Myers was the teacher. Students were from left to right: Donald Myers, Charlie Lelek, Harold Puckett and Victor Lelek.
   

• The old Kosir homestead where Adolf lived until his death in 1985.
   

• Joe and Ida Kosir
   

• The Lelek family in 1924 at their homestead. From the left: Charles, Blazej, Mary and Edward with Victor in front.
   

• Threshing scene at the Lelek farm in 1927.
   

• On the Puckett homestead in 1916. Note the root cellar at the right, a must on all homesteads, where food was kept and where families found refuge during summer wind storms, if needed. L. to R. in the picture are: Charles and Emily Puckett, Mildred Nelson Puckett (Distad), Vernon and Donald Puckett and Oscar Nelson, Emily and Mildreds father.
   

• The Puckett Store and Post Office at Dory in 191 7. Dory lay 15 miles east of Roy on the Valentine Road. In the doorway ate Adolph Rosier, as a youngster, and J.V. Puckett. On the wagon are Joy and Mildred Puckett.
   

• An early day "Luxury" touring car.
   

• Mart and Curley Willmore and son's, Warren and Bob with Model T pick-up.Tom Hutton pulling a surveyor and his vehicle out from the Missouri River bottoms
   

• The fellow never thought about how he was going to get out when he went down the "trail': This was in the days before roads and it was over rock and sage and ruts he traveled enroute down the hill.
   

• Identified in the picture are, back row, on the left: Curt Williams and Jimmy O'Toole. L.M.A. Wass is at the far right. Dan Cochrane the manager is the fellow in the center front. Other players on this 1914 team were Earl McCauley, Clyde Story, Bill More, John Cox, Hurley Cox and Walter Cox.
   

• Winnie Rife on the horse she rode to Roy the day of the bank robbery. A former; student of Winnie's, Ralph Horachek, remembers that his teacher was so tiny that the students had to assist her in getting on her horse as she couldn't reach the stirrups.
  A part of the crowd at one of the popular Mobridge rodeos promoted by George Komarek during the 60's.

• 
  Joe "Speed" Komarek aboard "Blue Skies". Speed has the distinction of being the only man in the state of Montana that ever rode "Old Blue': Old Blue was one of a string of 63 horses that Joe Finley put together for Gene Autry, Henry Knight and Evert Colbum, the top producers of PCRA rodeos in the early 40's. The horses were 'tried out' the day before a PCRA rodeo by three men: Speed, Bob Olsen and Albert Vermandel. Julia Jackson Snyder recalls that Speed rode eleven in an hour! This photo was taken in 1944. Speed was the Central Montana Champion Bronc rider for 5 years during the 40's.
   

• A rodeo at Byford on July 4, 1917. Rodeo was held on the open prairie without benefit of an arena or chutes. Rider is George Casteel. The pick-up man is Milton Phillips.