Distinctly Montana Magazine

78 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 - 2 0 2 6 a bond election to build a new school at the cost of $26,000. The bond elec- tion passed 99 to 3, and the brick building that became the center of the commu- nity was named first Haw- thorne Elementary School, and later Fannie B. Collins Elementary School after the woman who was first a teacher and then principal of the school from 1909 to 1942. In addition to the school, the Blessed Sacra- ment Catholic Church was also a center that tied the community together. The parents also wanted to learn English, and the school was often used for English as a Second Language classes in the eve- nings. "My parents were determined to learn English because their work put them out in the public," said Patti Peressini Ker- cher, "but my Italian grandparents spoke only a few words of English." A famous person from Black Eagle was George Montgomery Letz. He first lived near Brady, Montana, on a ranch. His family moved to Black Eagle in 1927 when he was eleven years old. At the age of twenty-one, 6'3", handsome, and skilled as a horse- man, George Montgomery went to Hollywood where Western movies were being produced in abundance; he became first a stunt man, next an actor, and finally a director. He was mar- ried to Dinah Shore, the popular pop vocalist, for nearly twen- ty years. He was also known for designing houses and became skilled in both woodwork and sculpting. An annual event early on in Black Eagle was the processing of the grapes into wine. The men would check on railroad cars that came in loaded with Zin- fandel grapes. They bought as much as a ton once they deemed a load of grapes was sweet enough. Next someone, usually boys, would get into barrels of grapes and mash them by stomping the grapes with bare feet. The juice would be drawn off to make wine and grappa, a brandy-like spirit made from the skins, seeds, and stems left over from making wine. Prohibition didn't seem to be a hindrance in Black Eagle. The first generation gained from their parents a deep, abid- ing love for this country. In the windows of Black Eagle homes during World War II, service flags were displayed. Around 140 sons and daughters from this small community of 1,500 individ- uals served in the armed services. After the Tenth Street Bridge was finished in 1920, Black Eagle started blending with Great Falls. People could drive over the bridge to do their shopping. In 1980 the smelter was shut down and the stack blown up. For a time, gloom loomed over Black Eagle. When the Anaconda Company gave Black Eagle the Anaconda Community Center for $10.00, the Black Eagle Cascade County Water & Sewer District for a $1.00, and the nine-hole Anaconda golf course and the land to add another nine holes to the Great Falls Park and Recreation Department, the community of Black Dinah Shore, singer, and George Montgomery (Letz), movie star, when they were visiting the Letz family in Black Eagle. Courtesy of the community book In the Shadow of the Big Stack. ROBERT RATH KATHLEEN RATH

• Cover