1963.... Sidney Herald, 100 years of stories

The city councilmen heard a plan for a truck route in January 1963. The proposed route would allow trucks carrying such products as sugar beets, livestock, hay, feed or articles destined for the railroad or livestock yards to leave the main highway, detour the business and residence section; it would be essentially a "farm to market" road.

Oil activity made headlines in February 1963. Superior Oil stepped up its leasing tempo after the McAlester strike in November. There were 100 lease tracts up for bid, which caused a lot of excitement.

A grand opening celebration was held for the new Danielson Super Value, Fairview, on March 15. Glenn Danielson was the owner. The supermarket was nearly 7,500 square feet and staffed by 14 full- and part-time employees.

An open house for the new city hall was held in April, construction on the building was started in October 1962.

A meeting was held for Ninth Avenue residents where they could gain more information about the route. E.M. Fladmo, a Ninth Avenue homeowner, feared that if the truck route became reality it would destroy the property resale value of homes located on the route.

Billings attorney Robert Lee Kelleher blasted anti-communism groups, like the John Birch Society and Project Alert, in March when he spoke at the Richland County Democratic Central Committee meeting held in Sidney. He accused the extremist organizations of having no positive program against communism. He said these groups aid communists by distracting the American people from the true danger of communism.

Local beet farmers were reminded in April of migrant workers housing standards. In cases where housing was found inadequate or did not meet the Sanitation Reg-109, employers could be denied beet labor. A few of the requirements included a minimum floor area of 280 square feet for two persons and an additional 80 square feet for each additional person; a partition must separate the sleeping room from the dining/kitchen area; stove for cooking and heating, fuel, bed, bedding, utensils, table, chairs, garbage receptacles, vermin protected food storage, provision for removal of garbage and water, was a partial list of migratory housing requirements for the time.

Buyers came from 20 states in May to attend the Lalonde Construction Company auction. Albert Lalonde started the company in 1914 at Bainville along with sons Jay, Bert and Gene, and brother-in-law O'Neil Jones. They built the company into one of the leading road contracting firms in the area. The firm moved to Sidney in 1934 because of the heavy workload in the area. One of the final highway projects the company worked on was the "new" inter-state system east and west of Wibaux.

The big news in June was a storm that caused so much damage the Herald published a special section to document it. Frontier Airlines reported winds ranging from 85 to 90 miles-per-hour on June 21. The storm took down trees, power and telephone poles, and buildings. Repair crews from Miles City and Glendive were called in to help Sidney with the damage, which affected most of the county and Trenton area.

Two-hour parking limits went in effect on some of Sidney's streets in July. The time limits were set from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Sundays and holidays. An issue was limited parking space in the business district. Violators were subject to a $2 parking fine.

August brings the merger between Tractor and Equipment, Sidney, Glasgow and Miles City, and Nash-Davis Company, Billings. J.J. Niehenke purchased the company around 1930 expanding it into one of the leading firms in northeast Montana. The Glasgow office was opened during the Fort Peck Dam years and the Miles City office in the early 1940s. The company specialized in caterpillar and crawler tractors, and all types of heavy earth moving and road building equipment.

The annual Old Settler's Picnic was held at the Moose Hall in September where they discussed the possibility of having a museum in Sidney to preserve relics of historic value. Possible sites for the museum included the Old Stone Church or the old O'Brien Store.

The Herald installed a new (used) press in October. The change in equipment allowed the Herald to print from a roll of newsprint and eight pages at one time. The new press would also enable the paper to print twice a week, which was felt would better serve the customers.

Sidney's new Safeway store held a grand opening on Oct. 14, 1963. The new store featured an in-store bakery and lunch counter.

While thousands gathered in Washington to pay their respects to the slain President John F. Kennedy, memorial services were held on the Richland County Courthouse lawn. Five hundred people gathered to hear eulogies for the late president.

The Sidney Herald announced in December it would publish a territorial centennial edition in June 1964. The publication would include photos and history of the area.

Footnote: Information provided by the MonDak Heritage Center's archives. Previous years can be found on the Herald Web site www.sidneyherald.com/herald_facts