Distinctly Montana Magazine

26 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 The Grabow was built by German-born entrepreneur Wil- liam Grabow. William did whatever he could to make money. He owned a hotel and restaurant called the Tivoli, dabbled in milling flour and manufacturing bricks, and secured the liquor license for Park County and Yellowstone National Park, as well as the right to sell Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer from his store in the Grand Hotel. Comfortably successful in these ventures, Grabow applied for a loan from PBR to build a new hotel, writing that the "character of the population, including such a vast number of single men working on the railroad and a large number of tour- ists through the summer... makes a lodging house very valuable property... especially valuable if it should be equipped with modern conveniences including baths." The loan was granted, and the hotel erected. William would die tragically during the 1918 Spanish flu ep- idemic, leaving the management of the hotel to his wife, Eliz- abeth, and their sons. Elizabeth, who was warm-hearted and generous even during challenging times, valiantly tried to save the business, when the Depression hit hard. Family stories relate that Elizabeth fed many hungry families in the dining room of the Grabow, free of charge. The hotel was challenged and the Grabows lost it. That loss, writes Elizabeth's granddaughter Pa- tricia, was like "breaking a collective family heart." By the 1980s, the once grand Grabow Hotel was nearly a ruin. Today, it's anything but a ruin; it thrives again. August 2 - 4, 2024 $30 EARLYBIRD PRICING UNTIL JULY 1 • KIDS 12 & UNDER FREE Flower Show • H E L T O N H E A R I N G . C O M • 4 0 6 - 5 8 6 - 0 9 1 4 B O Z E M A N • E N N I S • L I V I N G S T O N Will Helton, Au.D., FAAA, CCC-A American Board of Audiology Certified Doctor of Audiology Kendra Fajardo, Au.D., FAAA, CCC-A American Board of Audiology Certified Doctor of Audiology Katelyn Thompson, Au.D., FAAA American Board of Audiology Certified Doctor of Audiology At Helton Hearing Care, your hearing health and your quality of life are our primary concern! American Board Certified Doctors of Audiology 2022-23 of B E S T M O N TA N A A S V O T E D B Y R E A D E R S O F Y E A R S WO N W I N N E R ! VOTE FOR US WIN $1000 FOR YOUR CHANCE TO

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