September 11

1935 – Plain colored autos

“HELENA – Half of the Montana Highway Patrol car fleet will no
longer be ‘all white’ but will be painted a common color. Assistant
Patrol Supervisor Walter Beck said today.

“The only distinguishing signs under the new color system will
be on the doors, the state seal and the patrol emblem.

“Officials said the plan to make some of the patrol cars more
everyday in appearance is intended to snare the motorists who drive
carefully and lawfully when a white car is in sight, but who become
careless, reckless and dangerous when no car with distinguishing
color is on the road.”

1952 – Local Christmas decorations OK’d by
chamber

“Plans for the Christmas decorations of Main Street to consist
of permanent fixtures in the form of electric-lighted Santa Clause
heads, varied light stringers across the street as well as cedar
festooning, as outlined yesterday by Joe Hansford, chairman of the
Bozeman Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas decorations committee, were
approved by directors at a luncheon meeting at the Hotel
Baxter.

“The decorations will cost $3,000, Hansford said. Because of
unfavorable publicity regarding last year’s decorations, the
directors voted the chamber should accept donations of any sums
from the public, who wish to better Bozeman’s Christmas appearance.
…

“As the electric-lighted stringers and festooning will require
wall hooks on each side of the street, the decorations committee
decided to proceed during the next few weeks in making
installations in buildings, after agreement with property owners,
to handle the proposed decorations.”

1968 – Life in Montana

“It’s campaign time again and Billings gas station attendant Bob
Markovich and his 14-year-old son, Nick, either place much interest
in politics or have plenty of business moxy.

“Nick designed a sign and his father has it posted by the pumps
at his gasoline station on First Avenue North.

“It reads: ‘Our gas is like Nixon, it keeps running, running,
running, running.’

—-

“What do you suppose Mrs. George Nelson of Billings told her
husband when he finally caught up with her?

“The Nelsons were traveling when George called the Missoula
sheriff’s office from Superior to say his wife drove off without
him.

“But George is one of those ‘good guys’ even if he doesn’t wear
a white hat.

“He said she must have thought he was asleep in the back
seat.

—-

“Ingenuity department:

“The Town Pump on Russell Street in Missoula is a self-service
gas station where you put coins into a slot to get your
gasoline.

“There is an opening in which you can place dollar bills.

“Missoula police received a report that someone was gluing two
bills together, letting the first pass into the machine to get a
dollar’s worth of gas, and pulling it back out.

“The gas station reported it lost $205 worth of gas in two
weeks.”

For more snapshots from the, Chronicle’s history, visit
Rachel Hergett’s Time Frame Blog at
www.dailychronicle.com/100/timeframe.

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