CK Brand

Montana Stockgrowers Association Represented On Quilt
by Angel Wyrwas

The Montana Cattlewomen's mission is to support the livestock industry and its environment by its labor and finances through promotional information, publicity, and education. Long known for their scholarships, conferences, and Ag in Montana Schools program, much of the Cattlewomen's tireless efforts this year have been directed towards promoting the Montana Stockgrowers Association's 125th anniversary celebration slated to take place in Miles City June 11-13. Last fall the Montana Cattlewomen, a nonprofit organization, decided to hold a fundraiser by raffling off a quilt promoting the Montana Stockgrowers Association. The committee discussed finding someone to make the nine square quilt for them. Committee member Wanda Pinnow of Baker, announced the Cattlewomen's plan at the local Baker Cowbelles meeting. Cowbelles and Cattlewomen member and long time quilter, Linda Logsdon also of Baker, offered to make the quilt for the Cattlewoman at less than half her usual price. However, she asked if she might do something more creative with the quilt design. The Cattlewomen never look a gift horse in the mouth and gave Linda the thumbs up as long as it said Montana Stockgrowers Association on it. The quilt was commissioned.

Once Linda finished her design, the work began. The Cattlewomen advertised across the state for ranch owners to have their brand put on the quilt. The quilt contains 90 Montana livestock brands including the two oldest registered brands in the state. These special brands are located in the center of the quilt. Though registration of brands was not legally required until 1911, the CK was registered in 1876 to Conrad Kohrs and his partner and half-brother, John Bielenberg. The Historic Rescource Study cites Kohrs from, "A Veteran's Experience" as stating that the CK brand was first used in 1867 however, almost ten years earlier. Many other brands were registered to the parnership with distinction for purebreds by adding a number. The National Park Service maintains registration of this brand as part of the legacy of the open range cattle industry. Less is known of the Lazy G Hanging K brand. This brand was assigned to Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site and represents Johnny Grant, who first wintered cattle in the Deer Lodge Valley in 1857, and Conrad Kohrs because he ranged cattle over ten million acres in four states and Canada. The brand is significant for the ranch itself commemorates the open range cattle industry, making sure the past is not forgotten.

The entire quilt represents Montana in some fashion. There is silver, gold, and copper in the thread and material. The background in the center is the blue of the Montana sky and the golden of a wheat field. The Montana Stockgrowers Association logo is front and center alongside the unmistakable Montana cowboy. The man in the quilt is clothed in leather and suede fabrics and becomes dimensional with his shirt buttons and metal belt buckle John Logsdon, Linda's husband, bought at a gun show. One might expect the cowboy to look over and say, 'Hey, there!". John helped Linda with the building of the quilt by taking pictures of the brands to transfer to fabric and helping cut them out. "It is an art reading the brands," explained Linda and John, "You have to be educated on how to read them and what they mean to make sure you are getting them right." Linda continued, "Even after we had everything laid out right, after I started sewing, we realized that a couple of them were missing pieces or had gotten flipped around. Then you start again." Linda began the project last December and has well over 250 hours into the finished quilt. Some of the materials were purchased just for the project and some came from Linda's own fabric collection, pieces that complete the quilt but that you wouldn't find in any old fabric store, such as the denim of the cowboy's shirt that sports a red cow skull embroidery pattern. The quilt will be touring the state at different art and quilting shows and other venues until its impending sale in Miles City. "Whoever gets it will be very lucky," said Wanda Pinnow, "The quilt is such a work of art and so representative of the Montana Stockgrowers Association tradition that I could see it being donated to a museum for everyone to enjoy." 1

MCW is selling raffle tickets for Commemorative Brand Quilt - Contact Local Members to purchase raffle tickets

References
1. Montana Cattle Women. Retrieved May 27th 2009 from http://www.montanacattlewomen.org/



The above image was obtained from the following publication: Brand Book of the Montana Stock Growers' Association for 1903. Helena, Mont.: Independent Publishing Co. 1903.

4 Brothers: Deer Lodge Valley and the Sun River Country

As early as 1867, Conrad Kohrs raised stock in the Deer Lodge Valley and the Sun River country with his half brother, John Bielenberg. Kohrs settled in the Deer Lodge Valley in 1862 but soon moved to Virginia City and Bannack, and worked as a butcher. He later managed shops in Deer Lodge, Helena, Blackfoot and Pioneer City, and married Augusta Kruse in 1868. Kohrs was an integral part of the infrastructure for mining and agricultural irrigation, creating the Rock Creek Ditch along with William Irvine and others. The ditch is quite an engineering feat, as the ground that was dug is made up of quartz conglomerate and was nearly impossible to dig. It was reported that even dynamite didn't help to construct the ditch and that the ditch was dug with iron gads, chipping off only small pieces at a time, and whipsawed lumber was utilized for flumes. The water company formed by Kohrs was profitable, as the water was sold to scrip-holders, and the water was sold about four times a year, amounting to $72,000.00 in 1867 (Courchene, 1989:21).

The Bielenberg Brothers include Nick, John and Charles, all half-brothers of Conrad Kohrs. Butchers by trade, they ended up settling in Deer Lodge after arriving at Fort Benton. Their start in Deer Lodge came by invitation from Kohrs, who offered them jobs operating his butcher shops throughout the territory (National Park Service, 2006). Charles H. Bielenberg came to Deer Lodge in 1866 and opened the City Market. He ran that business for many years and married Mary Wilhelm in 1869.

Nick, the most prominent businessman of the three brothers, came to Deer Lodge and married Annie Bogk, who's parents owned and operated the McBurney House in Deer Lodge. Nick bought and sold ranches and butcher shops, and established large livestock and butchering operations that were known throughout the northwest, including a wholesale business that became the Butte Butchering Company. The Beilenbergs and Kohrs became involved in large cattle operations in the 1880s and Nick soon entered into the sheep industry, handling more than 130,000 sheep in one year (Courchene, 1989:48). Nick’s large dwelling, constructed in Deer Lodge in 1883, became the high school, but was removed in 1917 to make room for a larger, more modern building. The residence he constructed later, is currently on the National Register of Historic Places.

In addition to his involvement in the stock and butchering business, Nick served as President of the Champion Mining Company and Vice President of the Deer Lodge Mining and Reduction Company. Along with his son-in-law, W.I. Higgins, he helped build a 12-mile, 50,000 volt transmission line to the B and H Mine, putting it on the map as one of the first mines in the country to operate electrically (Courchene 1989:48). Nick was a delegate to the National Convention in 1892, and as a friend of Theodore Roosevelt, was a delegate to the National Progressive Convention that nominated Roosevelt for President in 1912. His interests at home were diverse. He was one of the founders of the Citizens Water Company where he served as President; he was involved in the construction of the new Hotel Deer Lodge; he was financially involved in the completion of the Deer Lodge Woman's Club House, in which his wife, Annie, was a Charter Member; he was a member of the Masonic Order; and he headed the fight for the area's farmers and ranchers against the powerful Anaconda Copper Mining Company's air-pollution. The suite was known as the famous "Smoke Case" that began in 1905 (Fred J. Bliss vs. The Washoe Copper Company and the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, 1905-1909).

Reference

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet. Retrieved May 26th 2009 from http://montanahistoricalsociety.org/shpo/register/DeerLodgeCBD.pdf

Conrad & Augusta Kohrs' Home in Helena, Montana

Victorian style home built in 1887, 7896 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and carriage house with 2-car garage. Oak, maple and mahogany woodwork from the craftsmen of the past and today. Brick and granite work that you cannot replicate. Grand formal dining, parlors and study-this is truly a fine home. Imagine the conversations and lives of those who called this Victorian Lady home over the years.








Address: 804 Dearborn Avenue, Helena, Montana 59601


THE CONRAD KOHRS HOME, located on Helena's Upper West Side at 804 Dearborn, was originally built in 1887 by Joseph H. Russell. Russell was a Virginia miner who followed the gold rush to California and Virginia City in 1864 and then continued on to Helena, where he mined in Grizzly Gulch. Due to financial misfortune, he lost the house to H.A. D'Acheul who rented it to Conrad Kohrs and his wife Augusta. Mrs. Kohrs loved her rented home so much that her husband bought it for her as an anniversary gift for their 32nd wedding anniversary in 1900. Kohrs came to Montana's Deer Lodge Valley in 1862, also looking for gold. He worked as a butcher in Bannack before opening his own meat shop in Alder Gulch and later owned butcher shops at many Montana mining camps. He managed his businesses well and soon was buying cattle throughout the state in order to meet the demand for beef. In 1866 Kohrs purchased the John H. Grant Ranch near Deer Lodge. The "Cattle King of Montana", as he was later known, was integral in the development of Montana's cattle industry. He brought the first shorthorns from Iowa to Montana in 1871 and introduced Herefords in 1880. Kohrs eventually controlled more than a million acres in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Canada. The Helena mansion Kohrs purchased for his wife is 7,896 square feet, features five bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms, a fantastic kitchen, laundry rooms on two floors, a grand formal dining room, parlors, and a study. Many of the original furnishings are housed at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch in Deer Lodge, which is now a National Historic Site. Over the past 10 years, the current owners have completed extensive updates to all the mechanical systems and restorations to the historical elements of the home. There is also a carriage house that is now used as a garage with living quarters above. Originally the main part of the house consisted of eleven rooms with five rooms in the rear wing for the kitchen, etc. with servants' quarters above. Many of the features in the living and dining room, such as the pocket doors, oak fireplace, woodwork, flooring, brass hardware on the doors and lighting fixtures in the hallway are original. The kitchen has been brought up to modern standards, and will be appreciated by any home chef. In 1911, a bathroom was added through the closet of the master bedroom on the second floor for the visit of Teddy Roosevelt, a friend of Kohrs' from the 1880s when Roosevelt ranched in the Dakota Territory.2 ANASTASIA BURTON


References

1. Windermere Real Estate: Retrieved May 22, 2009 from http://www.windermere.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Listing.ListingDetail&ListingID=34923678

2. Helena Lifestyles: June 2008. Anastasia Burton: Retrieved May 27th 2009 from http://www.helenalifestyles.com/


See Also:

Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
Conrad Kohrs House, 804 Dearborn Avenue, Helena, Lewis and Clark County, MT

The Bielenberg Home @ 801 Milwaukee Avenue.

National Register of Historic Places

The Bielenberg Home @ 801 Milwaukee Avenue, Deer Lodge, Montana

Bielenberg, Nick J., House ** (added 1979 - Building - #79003719)
Also known as The Bielenberg Home
801 Milwaukee Ave., Deer Lodge

Historic Significance: Person, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Unknown
Architectural Style: Bungalow/Craftsman
Historic Person: Bielenberg, Nicholas John
Significant Year: 1910
Area of Significance: Agriculture, Architecture, Exploration/Settlement
Period of Significance: 1900-1924
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Domestic
Historic Sub-function: Secondary Structure, Single Dwelling
Current Function: Domestic
Current Sub-function: Secondary Structure, Single Dwelling

References

National Registry of Historic Places: MONTANA - Powell County. Retrieved on May 20, 2009 from http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/mt/Powell/state.html

William K. Kohrs Memorial Library

National Register of Historic Places

Kohrs, William K., Free Memorial Library (added 1979 - Building - #79001423)
Also known as William K. Kohrs Library
5th St. and Missouri Ave., Deer Lodge

Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Shaffer & Moncrieff, Link & Carter
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
Area of Significance: Architecture, Social History
Period of Significance: 1900-1924
Owner: Local Gov't
Historic Function: Education
Historic Sub-function: Library
Current Function: Education
Current Sub-function: Library

References

National Registry of Historic Places: MONTANA - Powell County. Retrieved on May 20, 2009 from http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/mt/Powell/state.htm

N. J. Bielenberg Mansion, Deer Lodge, MT (1890)

Photograph :Left to Right: Annie Bielenberg and her children Alma, (unknown individual), Augusta (Gussie), Annie and Claude?

Nicholas J Bielenberg built a mansion in 1883 reflective of his acquired wealth; it was described in the newspaper as "Handsomest Dwelling House in Western Montana", "splendid residence" and "Dest Dwelling House in Montana". The mansion that Nick built in 1883-1884 was sold by him in August of 1904 for the High School in Deer Lodge. It was razed in ]917 for the present High School.

Y. M. C. A. Helena, Montana

The 1914 Y.M.C.A building, on the SE corner of Lawrence and Fuller. It was demolished in the 1970s.1

Kohrs was to become identified as a big stock grower, who was to own the famous Johnnie Grant ranch, near what afterwards was to become Deer Lodge, whose blooded cattle and horses were to be known all over the state, and he was also to become instrumental, with his half brother, John Bielenberg, in erecting, 1914, a beautiful building for the Y. M. C. A. in Helena.

The initial gifts of $20,000 and $13,000 which made the building at Helena, Montana, possible were from two old-time cattle men who had never been identified with any particular religious organization, John Bielenberg and Conrad Kohrs. They had made money on the plains. Their daughters were living in .he city and intensely interested in the condition of boys and young men there. Mr. Kohrs had said that he "felt like doing some good with his money before he passed away." These men, used to the hard lives of the plain and familiar with what their cowboys went up against in the city, are very "mellow" than they were dreamed to be towards the youngsters in the city.

References

1. HELENA As She Was: Images of Montan's Capital City. Retrieved July 3 2009 from www.lifelikecharm.com/

1932 Conrad Kohrs Memorial Building

St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, Montana.


The beautiful 11th avenue doorway to the Kohrs Memorial wing, now all gone.

In 1932, Mrs. Conrad Kohrs, in memory of her husband, provided more than $100,000.00 for a new surgical wing for St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, Montana.1

Typical of twentieth-century American hospitals, St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena grew as a series of wings and in a combination of styles, but the Mission style dominated the look of the complex until a modernist wing, added in 1957, disrupted the hospital’s architectural harmony. The Conrad Kohrs Memorial wing represented a step in the development of the architecture in Montana, as they revealed the Mission style’s compatibility with other styles, particularly Renaissance Revival architecture. In 1931 New York architect Cass Gilbert, a devotee of Mission architecture, designed a new Mission-style wing endowed by Conrad Kohrs’s widow. It housed a much-needed operating room, obstetrical room, and additional private rooms.2

1. Helena As She Was: Retrieved June 17, 2009 from http://www.helenahistory.org/st_peters_hospital.htm

2. Chacon, Hipolito Rafael. Creating a Mythic Past: Spanish-style Architecture in Montana. Montana The Magazine of Western History, 51 (Autumn 2001), 46-60; Retrieved June 17, 2009 from http://visitmt.com/history/Montana_the_Magazine_of_Western_History/chacon.htm

CLARA EMILY BIELENBERG

CLARA EMILY BIELENBERG

1870-1950

Born: 24 Oct 1870, Deer Lodge, Montana Territory-Died: 23 Jul 1950, Deer Lodge, Powell County, Montana.

CLARA EMILY BIELENBERG, the daughter of CHARLES and MARY (nee WILHELMI) BIELENBERG and the wife of WARREN EUGENE EVANS was a public administrator of Powell County Montana since 1916 and owner operator of the Powell County Abstract Company. She was born and reared in the home in which she made here residence until her death. She attended public schools in Deer Lodge and graduated with a degree in Music from Rowland Hall at Salt Lake City in 1886. She was a member of the Sons and Daughters of Montana pioneers, the American Legion auxiliary, Floral Chapter No. 46, Order of the Eastern Star and a charter member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club (obit)

HARRY KOHRS & RUTH (nee LANE) KOHRS

HARRY KOHRS

Born: 9 May 1904, Davenport, Iowa-Died: 20 Sept, 1960, Rock Island, Ill.

In 1908, Harry's father, Conrad died when Harry was 4 years old. His mother, Anna (nee Mautasch) Kohrs, sister Johanna "Dolly" and Harry lived for many years at 2016 West Fifth Street in Davenport, Iowa. Harry Kohrs, 56, resided at 802 20th Street, Rock Island Illinois died at St. Anthony’s hospital. Born in Davenport, he attended Wentworth Military Academy. He married Ruth C. Lane in Galesburg in 1928. The couple lived in Davenport, before moving to Rock Island 21 years ago. His wife preceded him in death in 1959. Services were at the Runge Chapel in Davenport. Both he and his wife are buried on the "Conrad Kohrs" lot in Oakdale Cemetery, Davenport, Iowa. (obit- Davenport Democrat, Friday 22 Sept 1960).

RUTH (nee LANE) KOHRS

Born: 22 Feb 1904, Davenport, Iowa-Died: 16 Sept, 1959, Rock Island, Ill.

In 1908, her mother died when Ruth was four years old. Ruth Lane’s mother was hit and killed by streetcar in Davenport, Iowa. Harry and Ruth lived at 2621 Redwood Street, Davenport Iowa with their son’s Donald and Richard for a short time.

Bielenberg: the white hill.

Surname: Bielefeld

Recorded in a number of spellings including Bielfeld, Bielefeld, Bilefeld, Bielfeldt and the quite rare Bielfelt, this is a Prussian (German) surname although with some Polish input. It is either locational from a place called "Bilefelt", or topographical from residence by high quality agricultural land or perhaps chalky lands. The derivation in both cases is from the ancient Polish word "byel" meaning good, fair or white, and in a transferred sense, chalky. There are a number of other surnames which have the prefix Biel, and all have much the same meanings. These range from Biel itself, meaning a person with white hair, to Bielenberg, the white hill. This surname would seem to be first recorded in 1545, when one Hermann Bilefelt appears in the registers of the town of Livland, and in 1641 when Christian Bielfeldt was recorded as being a citizen of the city of Lubeck. Other later recordings taken from the surviving church registers of the former state of Prussia include: Johannes Bieldfeld, who married Rosina Calbary at the church of Sankt Marie, Bosseborn, on October 21st 1682, and a century later Anne Gertrudis Bielfelt, who married Henricus Daarle at Sankt Marten Roman Catholic church, Ahlen, Westfalen, on June 15th 1777. 1

Last name origin & meaning:
German: habitational name from a place named Bielenberg, near Glückstadt in Schleswig-Holstein. 2


References

1. The Internet Surname Database :haring Family History. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Bielefeld

2.Family Education. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/bielenberg

CLAUDE BIELENBERG & FATHER, NICK

CLAUDE NICHOLAS BIELENBERG

1887-1955

Pictured above left to right, Claude and his father, Nick Bielenberg at Rock Creek Lake, Montana, 1924

"Much of Kohrs's energy in 1867 went toward development of the Rock Creek Ditch Company, which involved digging the water ditch from the vicinity of Rock Creek Lake west of the ranch down towards the valley floor where the water could be sold for use in placer mining."

Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Montana, USA

Description
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Montana, USA. This engraving shows the ranch around 1880. Caption: Residence of Conrad Kohrs, Deer Lodge, Montana. Kohrs & Bielenberg, Breeders of Short-Horn and Hereford Cattle, Thoroughbred Clydesdale, Perchemon-Norman and Coach Horses

Source
Leeson, M. A. (Michael A.): History of Montana, 1739-1885. Chicago: Warner, Beers and Co., 1885, page 555 - online at the University of Montana http://content.lib.umt.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/subscrip&CISOPTR=7568&REC=1&CISOSHOW=6923

Date
1885

Author
unknown engraver, published without a name.

Surname: Kohrs

Surname: Kohrs

This famous German surname and original personal name of the pre 7th century, is recorded in over one hundred spellings throughout Europe and Scandanavia. These include the basic forms of Conrad (Medieval German and post medieval English and French), Konrad, Kohrt, Kordt, Kunrad, Kuhndert, Kuhnt, and Kurth found mainly in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, to Koenraad (Czech), Kondrat (Russia), Corradi (Italian), Cunradi (Tuscany), Korlat (Hungary), diminutives such as Kienzle, Kunc, Kunz, Kuntz, Kunzel, Zunzelman, and patronymics Kurten, Coners, Conerding, Conradsen, Coenraets, and Kondratovich, and many, many, more. The origination is the ancient compound given name 'Kuoni-rad', which loosely translates as 'brave counsel', and is one of a very large group of similar Germanic names from about fifteen hundred years ago that include Albert, Frederick, and Willhelm. All have similar meanings associated with strength (of both mind and body), victory and courage. It may be that all relate to 'wishful thinking' or hope for the future, as the development of these names coincided with a period of total chaos and seemingly endless war and invasion throughout Europe, following the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. The name has been recorded since time immemorial, and the first of what might loosely be called a hereditary surname recording, may be that of Conrad Conradi, (Conrad, the son of Little Conrad), in the charters of the German town of Elsabe in the year 1297, with Rudolf Kunzelman or Cunzelman being recorded in Ulm, Switzerland, in 1337. 1

Reference

1. The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved May 3, 2009 from http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=kohrs

BIELENBERG/GEHRMANN/KOHRS Dwellings

To view the interactive map, visit the following link: Bielenberg/Gehrmann/Kohrs Dwellings (Davenport, Iowa)

To view the most recent interactive map, developed on July 5, 2009 visit the following link:Bielenberg/Gehrmann/Kohrs Dwellings (Davenport, Iowa)


To view an interactive map of the historic buildings of Davenport, Iowa , visit the following link: Historic sites (Davenport, Iowa)

DOWN at Frick's Bar

Photo of Frick's Bar

Article below is from the Quad Cities Times Posted: Friday, February 11, 2005 12:00 am | By: Bill Wundram

… And a guy who hid 2 shots in the men's room

DOWN at Frick's Bar, the vintage neon sign in the front window at 1402 W. 3rd St. still says, "Good Beer, Served Properly." The air is redolent with the sweet smell of beer in what's claimed as Davenport's oldest-running bar. It is a saloon of memories, of hog butchers who elbowed the bar with politicians, and a little man who always hid two shots of whiskey in the men's room. Frick's is thought to be 130 years old — no one can say for certain — and the only thing new is the owner, Bret Dalton, who has just bought the place. He stands, smiling behind the shiny bar, which has a network of deep round dents. It is a mystery how they got there. Dalton bought the saloon — which is as historic as any church, landmark or old house in the city — as a fluke. "I saw this ad in the QUAD-CITY TIMES about a tavern for sale in downtown Davenport. I was interested, thinking I'd buy out my competition," says Bret, who owns Dalton's, a popular downtown watering hole and restaurant. "I was surprised to find the place was Frick's, a dozen blocks from downtown."

Probably, it is the narrowest barroom in the Quad-Cities. The space from bar to wall is 15 feet, and the place is 75 feet long, Bret says. As it always has been, Frick's is still a social gathering place for the west end of Davenport. It has been that way since the Frick family took over in 1888. It was a bar before that, doing back to the mid-1870s. The mosaic front entry still bears the name Frick. Generations ago, working men crossed that mosaic, carrying their quart pails to be filled with beer to be taken home. They'd smear grease around the rim to cut down on foam and get more beer. Through prohibition and depression, wars and peace, the old corner tap has hung on like a dog to its bone. It survived prohibition by selling ice cream, near beer and root beer. Who is to say that the beer wasn't spiked with grain alcohol in cars parked outside on West 3rd, where the trolley cars rattled along the brick street. Since taking over, Dalton has made few changes. He has painted the ceiling, and done other sprucing up, but the place still lingers with a built-in essence of cigarette and cigar smoke. There's no way to squeeze the barroom scent from a knotty pine wall. That pine stretch has a long shelf, about a yard wide, a congenial place for stand-up drinkers to debate the Cubs' trade of Sammy Sosa. Thankfully, the original mirrors have been returned to the back bar. That is an admirable move, because a mirror is a good place to stare at life, if at nothing but yourself, on a lonely afternoon.

Long ago, in the Frick family days, the hog butchers from Kohrs Packing Co. would stop by after work for boilermakers (a shot and a beer), and Oscar Mayer employees are still patrons. Ed Frick, one of the finest mayors to ever run the fair city of Davenport, presided over political decisions in front of that mirrored back bar that still is embellished with Tiffany style tulips. After the death of Mayor Ed Frick, his son Ross took after. When Ross died, it passed on to others in the family for a spell. There are so many stories about Frick's, in the brick building that began life as a bakery. Searching through musty drawers, the new owner has found such items as a baseball betting sheet, likely from the 1920s, when each league had only eight teams. The place for depositing bets was listed as a health facility at 220 Harrison St. In so many words, a bettor could say he was "going to the hospital" as an excuse for wagering. Then, there was the gent who would come to the bar with his wife. It was always a respectable place for women. In advance, he would call the bartender to put two shots of whiskey for him in the men's rest room before he arrived. He kept ducking in there to take a snort. His wife never knew. One night, some other guy went in the restroom and drank his drinks.
Ed Frick often told that story, repeating, "I never saw a guy so mad."

Reference

Quad Cities Times:… And a guy who hid 2 shots in the men's room. Retrieved 01 May 2009 from http://www.qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/bill-wundram/article_1a3bfb77-1326-5e79-aeeb-cdd02e665460.html

Another stay at the Hog Hotel’

Photo of Kohrs Packing Plant (Davenport, Iowa) 1910

Quoted from the Quad Cities Times:Mailbag full of memories..........

Oscar Mayer’s old hog containment building, known as the “Hog Hotel,” continues to generate comments from readers. David Odean of Davenport, a project engineer at the plant for more than 30 years, adds some helpful facts to our column about the most visible portion of the hog slaughtering operation: “The hog hotel, three-fourths of which still stands today as the maintenance center, was built by Oscar Mayer in 1965. It was built to house 10,000 hogs, a day’s kill in the 1960s. Oscar Mayer demolished over 30 slaughtering-related buildings between 1985 and 1992. And of the 35 or so buildings that make up the complex today, only seven were original Kohrs buildings. The original hog hotel, built by Kohrs in the 1920s, was one of the 30 buildings demolished by Oscar Mayer in about 1988.”

Reference.

Quad Cities Times:Mailbag full of memories. Retrieved 01 May 2009 from http://www.qctimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/john-willard/article_7392b1a6-b871-523a-9e70-5bff7a88eae6.html

Gehrmann's on Horseback

Front yard of Grant Kohrs Ranch House, (Deer Lodge, Montana) with Will and Harry Gehrmann on horses, circa 1904.

Source: Grant Kohrs Ranch NHS Archives