Friday Photo: St. Labre

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-220

These nuns served at St. Labre Mission in Ashland, Montana. Left to right: Sisters Gertrude, Barbara, and Monica, Mother Mary of the Angels, sisters Thecla and Hildegarde, Father Vermaat. Photo by L. A. Huffman

Friday Photo: Ashland

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-997

The men of the town of Ashland in Rosebud County turned out to have their photograph taken by L.A. Huffman circa 1910. There appear to be children peeking out the window of the building in the background.

Friday Photo: Road Trip

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-1348

L. A. Huffman took this photo of a car traveling down a dirt road between 1915 and 1920. Note the American Red Cross sign on the back of the vehicle.

Friday Photo: Drying Meat

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-032

This Northern Cheyenne family dried meat in the traditional manner. They sliced it thin, salted it, and hung it on a rack. The meat would have been carefully turned over every day so that it dried evenly. When it was ready to eat, it might have been roasted or boiled with bacon for flavor. L. A. Huffman snapped the photo in 1896.

Friday Photo: Cow Camp

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-576

This image by well-known cowboy photographer L. A. Huffman shows a rare view inside of a ranch cabin, where a cowboy named Slim Ridge relaxes. The LO Ranch kept this cabin for use during roundups. According to the photographer, it was located between Pumpkin Creek and Mizpah.

Friday Photo: Little Pumpkin Creek

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-588

When he photographed these girls from a dryland farm on Little Pumpkin Creek, photographer L.A. Huffman noted that this was how the creek got its name. I hope your preparations for Thanksgiving are just as bountiful.

Friday Photo: Chuck Wagon

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-256

Rodrick "Butch" Munroe prepares to feed the cowboys on the LU Bar cattle roundup in eastern Montana in August 1904. The man on the right is LU foreman Ben Fleming. L. A. Huffman snapped the photo.

Friday Photo: Miles City Horse Race

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-969

The famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale is this weekend. Are you going? You can compare it to this photo, which shows what the Miles City fairgrounds looked like at a horse race around the turn of the twentieth century. Photo by L. A. Huffman.

P.S. Remember this racehorse?
P.P.S. L. A. Huffman is famous for his photos of cowboys on the range.

Friday Photo: Spring Roundup

Happy Friday! Here's an iconic photo of a highly romanticized chapter in Montana history.
 

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 981-460

Photographer L. A. Huffman snapped this photo during the spring roundup near Miles City, probably in the 1890s. He called it "Foreman Telling Off the Men for the Circle," describing the routine to start the day's work.

P.S. Remember this depiction of cowboy life?