Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1860 to Martin and Lucia Greenheck, August was the fourth child and first son, with two brothers born after him. Research fails to find any history of Gus (or his business partner Al Rupp) before arriving in Montana in 1891, where he became investor and businessman and rancher of Granite County for thirty-five years.
Gus and Al Rupp had a butcher shop in Granite prior to the 1893 silver crash and moved their business down to Philipsburg according to notices in the Citizen Call and Philipsburg Mail on August 10, 1893. The next article I found stated that Gus had a meat market in Drummond and advertised in the May 21, 1896 Mail.
Then an article in the April 29, 1898 Mail stated: “Gus Greenheck is contemplating the erection on his ranch below town a cold storage and slaughtering plant. His intention is to go into the wholesale butcher business. Bert Barr is in Mr. Greenheck’ s employ.” They must have continued in the butcher store business because in November and December 1910 they posted a notice in the Mail that they were going to begin the year 1911 on a cash only basis in their butcher shop.
August was elected director of the Merchant and Miner’s Bank July 20, 1893 to replace Angus McIntyre and was re-elected on January 10, 1894. At that time A.A. McDonald, M.E.H. Gannon and L.C. Degenhart were also bank officers. He was a delegate to the Democratic Convention in 1900.
Gus and Al Rupp kept busy buying cattle and sheep in their co-partnership that was published in 1896 and according to news articles was still in operation during 1912.
He married Mary Teresa Dooley, daughter of Annie (Milroy) 
Annie Dooley Milroy
and the late Mike Dooley on April 16, 1896 at the Cathedral in Helena.
The Citizen Call May 26, 1897 announced when their son Roy was born “Mr. and Mrs. Gus Greenheck are rejoicing over the arrival at their home Monday [May 24] morning of a bouncing baby boy. Gus is doing as well as could be expected.” They added to their family two daughters: Augusta (Gussie) in November 3, 1898 and Lucille (Lucy) June 2, 1900. They were living in a house in Philipsburg in 1901.
In 1907 Gus bought the William Schuh ranch on Trout Creek. The Greenheck family made their home there until he retired a few years before his death. Obviously, Gus was heavily invested in real land as the published list of current taxes owed for personal property in the January 24, 1908 Mail, stated, “Greenheck, August, 283 lots on Church Hill.” Some of this land was basically donated by Gus for the erection of the Granite County High School in 1910. The newspaper articles in April state the building site (numerous lots on Church Hill) was practically donated with the sum being slightly over $100. The building was completed in 1912 and when condemned and put up for sale,, daughter-in-law Lois Greenheck told the school board this could not be sold. Her knowledge was the land could only be used for a school. She was ignored and the property was bought by Joe Johnson and became his museum.
Gus died in the Murray Hospital in Butte from complications of diabetes on March 28, 1926. Gus was living in Philipsburg since retiring. His son Roy had continued running the ranch. Gus walked down town on March 25 and back home then was found in a semi-conscious state by Roy that afternoon. He was taken to the Stephens Hotel where a doctor diagnosed him as suffering from a mild stroke. Dr. E.C. Rhodes was called from Butte and on the next day he was removed to the Murray Hospital in Butte, where he died two days later. His death certificate states “chronic Myocarditis-Coma; contributing factor Diabetes. Survivors were: his wife Mary; son Roy; daughters, Miss Augusta (Gussie) of Columbia Falls, Montana and Miss Lucille (Lucy) of Idaho Falls, Idaho; brothers: J.F. and Stephen Greenheck and a sister Agnes all of Fond du Luc, Wisconsin.
The funeral was held at St. Philip’s Catholic Church on March 31 with the Rev. M.J. Bourke, officiating. Pallbearers were: Albert Rupp, H.O. Flickenger, M.E. Edwards, Frank Winninghoff, John J. Orr and Erick V. Johnson. He was buried in the Philipsburg cemetery and his wife Mary (Dooley) was buried alongside of him when she died at Idaho Falls, Idaho on September 30, 1948.
Greenheck taxes for the year Gus died were listed: as the estate in care of Roy $243.88; Roy, Lucie and Gussie paid $277.72, and their N.P. Railroad Land was assessed $184.06, according to The Mail, January 20, 1928.
After August Greenheck’s death, Mary and daughter’s Miss Gussie and Miss Lucy spent the summer at her brother’s T.L. and J.J. Dooley at Hall. Son, Roy had married Lois Michel on November 18, 1922 at the Presbyterian Manse with Rev. William R. Scott officiating. Lois was the daughter of Justus “Irvin” and Mary Josephine Seaman Michel. The Michel family moved to Philipsburg the prior summer to make their home on the Spence Ranch, in the upper valley. “Mr. Greenheck fears that friends will repay him for a charivari party he pulled off on a friend several years ago, so is keeping a horse saddled to head for the hills if he hears any sounds around the ranch,” stated an article accompanying the marriage announcement.
Lucille married Bryan Ellsworth a business man of Idaho Falls in Butte on May 31, 1927. She had graduated from the Philipsburg Schools then attended the University of Wisconsin. Prior to her marriage Lucy had been teaching school in Idaho, according to the wedding announcement. Lucy died February 11, 1980.
A news article stated that Gussie had married Harold E. Mitchell at St. Anthony, Idaho on May 20, 1927. They kept their marriage a secret for over a month according to the July 1, 1927 Mail. (Probably because teachers at that time were not allowed to be married.) According to the announcement, Gussie had graduated from Philipsburg schools and attended the University of Montana and University of Wyoming before teaching English and Dramatics in more than one Idaho school. Mr. Mitchell was a graduate of the University of Idaho and engaged in business in St. Anthony, Idaho. Gussie died on May 25, 1982.
Roy had been active in running the ranch and carried on after his father died. By 1945, tiring of the rigors of ranching Roy and George “Doy” Winninghoff worked out a real-estate sell and exchange deal. The Greenheck family left the ranch to the Winninghoff’s and moved into the Winninghoff house on Sansome.
I am not certain what employment Roy had before he was elected Granite County Assessor in 1950. Roy served in that position, except for a few weeks when he resigned the position to accept the Postmaster appointment in December of 1956. The position had been vacated by Allen McKenzie. The very day of his appointment Roy resigned the position and a week later was returned to the Assessor office. His postmaster resignation stated that the populace was very upset over his resignation and he realized the postmaster position would be too rigorous for his health. On the week of January 11, 1957 John “Pete” Winninghoff was appointed Acting Postmaster.
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To the marriage of Roy and Lois, three children were born: Joy Jean, Judy Fay and Robert Roy. Joy Jean graduated from Granite County High School and later married Ted Kocher in 1957. They are divorced and she continues to live in Helena.
Judy Fay received her teaching degree from Western Montana College and then in 1963 (On Valentine’s Day) married her Valentine, Cliff Reed We lost her March 8, 2021 when she succumbed to injuries from a motor vehicle accident, in Greeley, Colorado. Survivors are her husband; three children: Karyl Elaine Smith, Christi Jo Knight and Jarrod Lee Reed; and three grandchildren: Rebecca Jean Smith, Kaitlin Elizabeth Knight and Brian Howell Knight and her siblings Joy and Robert.
Robert Roy graduated from Granite County High School and went on to complete his Medical Degree. He married Dorothy White in 1967 and to this marriage was born four children.
Roy was in poor health for a couple of years and died at the age of sixty-two at his home on January 27, 1960 and was buried in the Philipsburg Cemetery after services at St. Philip’s Catholic Church.
Lois continued an active social life in Philipsburg until her death in 1997 and is buried next to Roy in the Philipsburg Cemetery.
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