From Rough Neck To Law Enforcer

 

Gus McDonald Photo cropped from "Dirty Dozen" picture from Lou Ann Fessler Sichveland collectiom

Angus “Gus” A. McDonald (4-18-87 to 9-9-1962) was born to John and Louise. He attended the Philipsburg schools and Gus was one of the “Dirty Dozen”. One of the escapades the group was known for was when there was a dance in Drummond and without an easy method to get to the function, they borrowed a railroad car and easily pumped it down the valley to Drummond. Hearing about the missing car, the sheriff (Fred Burke) put out the warning that if the car was not back at the Northern Pacific Depot by morning, the known culprits would be hauled off to jail. The message did not take long to reach the young men and they hitched a horse to the car and pulled it back up the tracks and put it in its rightful place by morning. 

Gus enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 15, 1917, and while on leave according to the Philipsburg Mail, July 12, 1918: “An automobile party comprising Angus McDonald, Frank Fulkerson, Miss Esther Miller and the Misses Viola and Blanche Kneale had a miraculous escape Sunday afternoon when the machine they were driving in overturned just this side of the “Speedway” on the road to Anaconda. …Miss Viola Kneale had an arm broken and was rendered unconscious while the other members of the party were bruised and badly shaken up. Passing autos took them to a hospital in Anaconda where their wounds were attended to. The automobile was said to be going better than 60 miles an hour when it passed a raised culvert, which caused the machine to swerve completely around and struck a bank which caused it to turn over several times, pinning the occupants underneath. Passing autoists released them. Angus McDonald was driving the car which is badly wrecked.” 

Gus was discharged from the service on January 17, 1919. “Gus and his friend William G. Gregovich stood up for each other as witnesses when Gus married Blanche Kneale and Bill married Miss Elsa Brunn… at the parish House of St. Philip’s Catholic Church on December 24, 1920. Blanche was a teacher at Granite and planned to complete the school year… The two grooms would return to mining at Sunrise. .” I do not know when this marriage ended, but she was still Mrs. Angus McDonald, when she attended the funeral of her father, the week of April 9, 1926. 

During prohibition, in December,1922 ”…three stills, several gallons of whiskey and a large quantity of

corn, sugar, and corn meal were confiscated. One alleged moonshiner and one alleged bootlegger were placed in jail and warrants were issued for two other men. Two stills of eighty gallons and sixty gallon capacity were found going full blast in a cabin near Tower, about a mile northeast of Philipsburg, Tuesday afternoon. Five gallons of the finished product was confiscated and twenty four barrels of mash or about 1,200 gallons, destroyed. The operators of the two stills saw the officers coming and ran up the hill through the trees like a pair of frightened jack rabbits and got away, but warrants have been issued for their arrest. According to Sheriff Burks, the roar of the blast furnaces could be heard long before they got to the location of the stills. Both stills were operated by gas burners and pressure tanks. Four burners furnished heat for the eighty gallon still and two for the smaller still. Moonshine whiskey was running from the coils at a rate of five gallons an hour…” Of interest is the fact, none of the alleged moonshiners and bootleggers were named. 

It was almost a year later, the cases came to trial, in Judge George D. Winston’s court and one of the three charged was Gus. His charge was unlawfully manufacturing intoxicating liquor. The following jurors returned a verdict of not guilty: Fred Cyr, Maurice Weaver, George P. Nelson, W.F. Bentz (my Grandfather), Ernest Maehl (Angus’ grandfather), Freeman A. Taylor, Joseph McDougal, Vern A. Carnegie, Julius Swanson, James Mellen, W.A. Griffith and W.E. Metcalf. A poll of this group disclosed that two felt him to be guilty: Swanson and Griffith.

In 1928, apparently deciding to be on the other side of the law, Gus ran for Sheriff of Granite County and won with 742 votes against Nate Burt Sr. Gus continued winning the sheriff election every two years until he: “…quit his job as sheriff and has joined up with Uncle Sam to fight the Jap’s and other axis powers. McDonald joined the Army in Missoula Saturday [February 14th]” according to the March 6, 1942, Mail. 

On January 7, 1941, Gus had married Clarice Superneau and the Granite County Commissioners appointed Clarice to fill the Sheriff vacancy until the end of his term, stated the above paper. Other persons applying for the position were: H.B. Kaiser, Fred Cheeseman, Fred Superneau (who was under sheriff and Clarice’s brother) and Harry C. Herron. The Commissioners felt Clarice would otherwise be left without an income, with Gus leaving in this manner. 

Gus served as president of the Montana Sheriff and Peace Officers Association and won the individual police championship trophy for pistol shooting in Shelby in 1952. He was a member of the Northwest Championship Pistol Team from 1939 until 1942. To this marriage was born two children: Darell Gene on September 29, 1944 and Colette on August 22, 1947. They lived their entire marriage in the original house of Dr. Power and Darrel then lived there until his death in 2021.