One of the purchases I made while I was in Montana was a pamphlet called, "The Sunshine Magazine Articles", edited by John M. Carroll. Sunshine Magazine published interviews with Daniel Newell and Charles Windolph back in September 1930. Both Newell and Windolpoh give some interesting insights into the Battle of the Little Big Horn in their interviews. It is a rare look at enlisted men's points of view on what happened.

Newell was with Company M and participated in the valley and timber fights with Reno and later the hilltop fight. He survived the battle and later settled in Sturgis where he worked for many years as a blacksmith. He is buried in the Bear Butte Cemetery in Sturgis.

Windolph was with Benteen's Company H. He was in the scout to the left and also participated in the hilltop fight. He went on to work at the Homestake Mine in Lead, SD. He was the last surviving white participant of the Little Big Horn battle. He died in March of 1950. He is buried at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, South Dakota.

The 7th Cavalry Graves website has been updated with WPA Graves Registration data added for Peter Eixenberger.

Take care.

Montana Mayhem II is over. I survived... barely.

I have the new Montana Mayhem II page up and running. Obviously some names were changed to protect the innocent.

Take care.

Montana Mayhem 2009 is in the history books. I arrived home last night about midnight. I had intended to spend the night in the Black Hills and drive back this morning but EVERYTHING was booked. Oh well.

I left the boys in Hardin and they took off for Billings. They are all flying back home today.

A great time was had by all. I will post a decent and "appropriate" update soon. I have to go through all these photos and get somewhat settled in back here at home.

Take care.

I'm looking forward to my upcoming trip to North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. It will be a blast. I am going with five other guys from all over the United States -- Frank and Max from California, Michael from Washington, Fred from Florida (now moving back to New York City), and Gary from Wisconsin.

We will talk Custer, drink beer, eat, sight-see, buy books, and drink beer. I mentioned the beer drinking twice because it's that important.

Montana Mayhem I - 2007

MM II is two weeks away.

"Lock up your daughter,
lock up your wife,
lock up your back door
and run for your life."
-- AC/DC, TNT

Last weekend I went down to Vermillion, SD to help my son move out of the house he and his roommates are living in and into a different one. His old bedroom was on the second floor. His new bedroom is on the third floor. Furniture + Stairs = One Tired Old Dad. It wasn't that bad and it was great to be able to spend time with him.

Montana Mayhem II is less than three weeks away. Two years of planning is coming down to the final few days. The guys are all flying into Billings on the 17th and 18th. They are driving out to Bismarck on the 19th. It is in Bismarck that I will hook up with them. We will check out Forts Lincoln and Rice as well as other gems around Bismarck. We will then make the trek out to Montana, following the Custer trail as close as we can (via Interstate 94). Then the running around Montana and Wyoming looking at trails, markers, streams, old campsites, and a bunch of other stuff that most people don't understand or care about.

I can't wait.

Take care.

Can someone explain to me what happened to the History Channel? I remember you used to be able to watch shows about history. Now it's junk like Ax Men and Ice Road Truckers. And what is the deal with all the ghost and UFO bullshit? As Homer Simpson is fond of saying, "Booorrrrrring." It's sad when QVC is the best thing on television.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Vermillion, SD. I'm going to help my son move into a different house for the upcoming school year. He will be starting his senior year.

Damn..... I feel old.

In July of 2008, I drove out to the Black Hills to do a little exploring. I wanted to hunt down some of the former residences of 7th Cavalry troopers who lived in the region. In particular I was looking for the former homes of Jan Mollar and Charles Windolph. Mollar lived at 63 Stewart Place in Deadwood. No problem. I pulled in front of the house and snapped a photo.

Former Jan Mollar home at 63 Stewart Place in Deadwood, SD.

Then I drove the short drive up to Lead. Charles Windolph worked at the Homestake Mine. I found two addresses for him while he was in Lead - 5 Old Abe Street and 614 West Main. The West Main address was actually the home of his daughter and her husband, Dr. and Mrs. G. C. Fehliman. Windolph lived here in his later years. It was in this house that Windolph was awarded the Purple Heart for his actions at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, 70 years after the battle, in 1946. It was also where he died on March 11, 1950.

Former Windolph residence at 614 West Main in Lead, SD.

I then drove up the winding roads above Lead to find 5 Old Abe Street. I could not find it. Either the street has been renumbered or the house was simply eaten up by the Homestake Mine. When you get to the end of Old Abe Street you are literally looking down into the open-cut of the mine. My guess is that those properties were purchased by the mine for expansion or safety purposes. Below is a photo from Google Earth that shows the end of the line for Old Abe Street. You can use your mouse to navigate on the photo. If you keep driving up that path in the photo, you come to a dead end. You can look down into the Homestake Mine open-pit.

View Larger Map

History is pretty cool.