The Frost family, consisting of father Ralph, mother Mary (Boxsleighter) and four children: Ralph, Roena, John W. (Wally), and Bernice lived at Black Pine during the boom days. Mary and Ralph were married in 1882 and came west from Iowa in 1888. Mr. Frost was engaged in mining and died at Black Pine in 1893. In 1895, Mary married Blair King who was also a mill and mine man.
To the King marriage was added two more children: June and Rosemary. The Mail on June 3, 1910 stated that Misses June and Tootsie (Rosemary) King of Black Pine were visiting their sister Mrs. J.P. (Bernice) Duffy in Philipsburg.
Blair King, suffered from tuberculosis for five years before his death April 28, 1916. He had changed his occupation to farmer after leaving mining and mill work.
Mary died at her home in north Philipsburg on November 12, 1932. Survivors were all six of her children and was the last surviving member of a family of thirteen children, All, but her, had lived out life in their native state of Iowa. Mary’s funeral was held at the family home with Rev. Earl G. McKnight of the Methodist Church officiating with internment in the Philipsburg cemetery. Her children resided at that time as follows: Ralph L. and J.W. Frost in Philipsburg; Mrs. John (June) McLeod in Mullen, Idaho; Mrs. James Bilbo in San Pedro, California; Mrs. John (Bernice) Duffy in Spokane, Washington and Mrs. T. C. Coburn in Whittier, California.
Mary’s son, Ralph died February 10, 1933 during a visit to his sister, June McLeod in Mullen, Idaho. Ralph was a rancher until his health failed and he had been an invalid for several years. He first lived with his mother and then his sister in Mullen. The funeral was held at his brother John W.’s home in Philipsburg with internment at the Philipsburg cemetery. Pallbearers were: C.E. Kennedy, Jack Guinanne, Jake Polich, Arthur Taylor, Angus McDonald and John McDonald. Survivors were the same as for his mother who died few months earlier.
I believe Roena also went by the name of Edna but I have failed to find any records of her after the 1900 Census when she was six.
John Wallace “Wally” Frost was born in 1885 in Iowa and was only 8 years old when his father died. Wolle, in “Montana Pay Dirt”, quotes Wally as telling her it was not hard to get up a dance in the camp. “All you had to do was go out into the street and holler, ‘Let’s dance’. ” While working at the Bi-Metallic, Wally and Marguerite Steber slipped away from Philipsburg on June 16, 1916 and were married at the Methodist Episcopal parsonage in Anaconda. The newly weds returned to Philipsburg the next day and were “joyously serenaded by several parties of their young friends.” Wally was the second son of Mrs. Blair (Mary) King and the bride was the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Steber. Wally, was a fixture in the Philipsburg community and worked tirelessly as janitor of Granite County High School for at least fifteen years after leaving the mines.. He lived to be 85 and died in 1973.
Another miner, John Whelan lived for fifteen years at Combination. He died suddenly at the age of 70 on June 7, 1905. His friend James Bissett had visited with him over night on Tuesday and left the next morning with Mr. Whelan in his usual health. A few hours later Blair King ( the company’s watchman) stopped by Whelan’s residence to pick a package up that Mr. Whelan had asked him to mail and found him dead. He lived alone and was in charge of E. Christie’s property at Black Pine. The coroner went out and brought the body into Philipsburg, but an autopsy and inquest was deemed unnecessary as death was natural and probably due to heart failure. He had no known family and his estate consisted of $70.00 found on his person; $800 in the bank of T. Weinstein & Co. of Philipsburg; and some mining claims. Funeral services were conducted at the morgue and Philipsburg cemetery by Rev. W.H. Pascoe, with the M.E. Choir assisting with the songs.
According to his obituary Robert A. Hereford was one of the bookkeepers of Black Pine during its’ “Boom Days.” He died on January 15, 1943 at St. Josephs Hospital in Deer Lodge, at the age of 85. Born in Virginia on March 29, 1857, he came to Granite county in 1889. After working at Black Pine, Robert was employed for many years as a telegraph operator. His daughter, Mrs. Mildred Duggan and a sister, both .in Washington D.C. survived him.
