blackfoot-valley

I did’nt get into high gear writing this story for some time. At least the inter- vening periods and the exigencies of earning a living here did give me a time to get more familiar with the whole area, which I think has contributed to my per- spective on the region. One definite plus: it allowed me time to see and include in this story one fruition of the Meyer companies’ goal of offering natural beef to the public, recently manifested in the adoption of Meyer Natural Angus as the featured meat product in two multi-state restaurant chains, one of them vir- tually blanketing the nation - a fruition that could in time change the industry. My sources range from tramping around the Meyer Ranch to poring over books, either bought outright or consulted in Missoula libraries, to interviews or just informal conversations with some of the local area’s fascinating people in Helmville and on the Ranch. I especially wish to acknowledge the help they most willingly gave me, several inviting me into their homes so I could inter- view them. My first such contact was Eddy Wales, who in 1997 was living on the old Wales Ranch land settled by his forebears, which now includes most of the northern sector of the Meyer Company Ranch. Besides Eddy’s fascinating reminiscences, he gave me leads for other people to talk with, and even took me out one day to a community picnic on Browns Lake where I met Emmett Coughlin among others. Another old-timer I talked with was Sonny Geary, then living in a log house at the edge of Helmville next to the Copper Queen. Sad to report, Eddy and Sonny both died the year after I talked with them, as did Em- mett some time later. That same summer I had a talk with Sue Gravely, originally a Geary, in her home on the west end of Helmville. I wish to thank Sue immensely for so kindly loaning me her precious copy of the book “Powell County: How it all Began”, which became my most valuable single source for the history, develop- ment, and lore of that whole area. Later, Pat Geary generously gave me most of an afternoon in her home just outside Helmville to tell me much of the his- tory of the area as she remembered it. Tom Geary, whom I had originally met when he dropped in for coffee during my talk with Sonny, devoted the better part of a morning on the Geary spread to tell me of his remembrances of earlier times, during part of which he worked on what is now the Meyer Ranch. Like Pat, Peaches Raymond, one of Helmville’s grand and most beloved ladies, invit- ed me into her spotless Helmville home to tell me, in her engaging and informal manner, what she recalled of the area’s history and some of her own experi- ences. Happily, she is still very active at 90 years old and has eleven great- grandchildren in the Helmville area plus two in nearby Lincoln. 5