Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A S P R I N G | 2 0 1 4 1 9 Gal a Homteader in Etern Montana Their living quarters, homestead shacks made from a railroad box car and supplemented with a series of lean-to struc- tures, offered no running water, indoor plumbing, or electricity to deal with harsh, cold, and bitter winds. Coal or wood burning pot-bellied stoves were used for heating and cooking, blocks of ice for refrigeration, and kero- sene lanterns for light. Martha's days were full of dawn to dusk chores. Everything was precious, from rain water captured in barrels for the washing of clothes to the incubat- ing and hatching of baby chicks for future poultry stock. Water, heated on a "Majestic Stove", and sour dough starter formed the mainstay ingredients for pancakes and biscuits. Ice was carved each winter from deep holes in Beaver Creek and carried by sled several miles to storage sheds. This ice cutting was an annual neighbor event with the blocks stored in an ice house dug six to eight feet in the ground and covered with sawdust for insulation. Martha married George Colbo in 1921 and moved to his homestead near the 101 Ranch, 20 miles closer to Baker. They had three children—Carol, John, and Bon- nie. George became a Montana senator in 1934. He died at the age of 46 in 1936 from Typhus-Tularemia, a contagious and infectious disease. After George's death, Martha delegated her daily tasks to her children. Educated as a school teacher, she had a keen sense for numbers and quickly realized that the homestead was destined to fail without a new direction. As a widow, with limited funds for hired help, she started raising sheep. Martha knew there was a good market for wool to be sold for carpets and military uniforms. She researched different breeds and settled on Corriedales, known for their thick, high-quality long staple wool, docile dispositions, long life spans, and ability to survive on the dry open plains. The herd survived and grew; Martha started to acquire nearby half sections from finan- cially troubled farmers. Family tragedy struck in 1938, when at 15, Carol, Martha's oldest child, lost her footing in the current of Boxelder Creek, and fell into a deep hole with a strong undercurrent and drowned, too. Chester Bailey dove in the water to try to rescue her, but Chester drowned, too. Four years later, Martha's son, John Henry, was killed at the age of 16 in an auto accident. Martha didn't recover from the loss of her children but immersed herself into her rigorous workload and daily routine. She increased her sheep herd to several thousand head and continued to acquire surrounding acreages, which she leased to neighboring farmers. At her passing in the mid 1950s, she had amassed more than 7,000 acres of ranch land and farm ground. Her qualities of tenacity, enduring faith and unwaver- ing work ethic serve as a role model of the pioneer- ing spirit. robyn l. erlenbush, a three- generation Montanan, grew up on a cattle and sheep ranch near Baker. Her pas- sions, aside from her active real estate career, include Montana history, writing, photography, gardening, and the study of golf. Robyn is the granddaughter of Martha Haftle Colbo. Er- lenbush can be reached at robyn@eralandmark.com by robyn erlenbush o m e n o f t h e W i n d : Mary and Martha Haftle

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