Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra is a Canadian band which formed in 1999, originating from Montreal, Quebec. Variations of the name used on the band's releases include A Silver Mt. Zion, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band with Choir and Thee Silver Mountain Reveries); the group use the shorthand SMZ and their name is most often simplified to Silver Mt. Zion. The group has undergone almost yearly personnel changes, evolving by stages from a mostly instrumental trio at the time of their first recordings into an eight-piece group, and then in 2008 into a strongly vocal quintet.

Silver Mt. Zion's music has been described as "post-rock";[1] Singer and guitarist Efrim Menuck identifies with the punk rock ethos and aesthetic.[2] The band has released seven studio albums and one EP, publishing them through the record label Constellation.

Silver Mt. Zion began as a framework for Efrim Menuck, a guitarist in Montreal-based musical collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor, to develop his knowledge of music theory and music scoring,[3] and to work on musical ideas which didn't fit into the format of his band. Menuck enlisted violinist Sophie Trudeau and bassist Thierry Amar, who were also involved with Godspeed You! Black Emperor.[4] The band made their live debut on March 6, 1999 at Musique Fragile, a performance venue organized by the record label Constellation. They released their debut album, He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms..., a little over a year later on March 27, 2000.

Thompson Falls, Montana

Thompson Falls was named after British explorer, geographer and fur trader David Thompson, who founded a North West Company fur trading post called Saleesh House in 1809. The community is located next to natural waterfalls on the Clark Fork river.[6][7][8] The arrival of the railroad in 1881 brought the first real activity to the area. Two years later, when the gold rush hit nearby Cœur d'Alene, the town grew to accommodate the men going over the Murray Trail to the mines. In 1885 John Russell bought 40 acres (160,000 m2) and plotted the town site.

Thompson Falls is located at 47°35′48″N 115°20′37″W / 47.59667°N 115.34361°W / 47.59667; -115.34361 (47.596587, -115.343730)[9] in the Clark Fork Valley at an elevation of 2,419 feet (737 m).

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 1,313 people, 618 households, and 362 families residing in the city. The population density was 759.0 inhabitants per square mile (293.1/km2). There were 681 housing units at an average density of 393.6 per square mile (152.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.9% White, 0.2% African American, 1.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.

Virginia City, Montana

Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States.[4] In 1961 the town and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District.[5] The population was 190 at the 2010 census.

In May 1863, a group of prospectors were headed toward the Yellowstone River and instead came upon a party of the Crow tribe and was forced to return to Bannack. On May 26, 1863, Bill Fairweather and Henry Edgar discovered gold near Alder Creek.[6] The prospectors could not keep the site a secret and were followed on their return to the gold bearing site. A mining district was set up in order to formulate rules about individual gold claims. On June 16, 1863 under the name of "Verina" the township was formed a mile south of the gold fields. The name was intended to honor Varina Howell Davis, the first and only First Lady of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Verina, although in Union territory, was founded by men whose loyalties were thoroughly Confederate. Upon registration of the name, a Connecticut judge, G. G. Bissell, objected to their choice and recorded it as Virginia City.[7]

Within weeks Virginia City was a boomtown of thousands of prospectors and fortune seekers in the midst of a gold rush. The remote region of the Idaho Territory was without law enforcement or justice system with the exception of miners' courts. In late 1863, the great wealth in the region, lack of a justice system and the insecure means of travel gave rise to serious criminal activity, especially robbery and murder along the trails and roads of the region. Road agents as they became known were ultimately responsible for up to 100 deaths in the region in 1863 and 1864. This resulted in the formation of the Vigilance committee of Alder Gulch and the infamous Montana Vigilantes. Up to 15 road agents were hanged by the vigilantes in December 1863 and January 1864, including the sheriff of Bannack, Montana and alleged leader of the road agent gang, Henry Plummer.[8]

Winifred, Montana

Winifred is a small town in rural north-central Fergus County, Montana, United States, founded in 1913 and providing services for its region's populace. The town population was 208 at the 2010 census.

Winifred was founded in 1913 as the terminus of a newly built branch line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("the Milwaukee Road"). It is popularly believed to have been named after one of the railroad owner's two daughters (the other being Christina, another small town about 15 miles away).

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 208 people, 92 households, and 65 families residing in the town. The population density was 416.0 inhabitants per square mile (160.6/km2). There were 116 housing units at an average density of 232.0 per square mile (89.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 94.7% White, 1.0% African American, 3.4% Native American, 0.5% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population.

341st Missile Wing LGM-30 Minuteman Missile Launch Sites

The 341st Missile Wing was the first United States Air Force LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM wing. On 15 July 1961, the 341st was reactivated, and a year later, in late July 1962, the first LGM-30A Minuteman I arrived and was placed at the Alpha-9 launch facility. The 10th SMS accepted its final flight on 28 February 1963. Two months later, the 12th SMS became 100 percent combat ready. In July, the 490th SMS became fully operational, giving the 341st SMW responsibility for 150 silos. A fourth squadron, the 564th, a former SM-65D Atlas unit, stood up on 1 April 1966 with the LGM-30F Minuteman II.

Beginning in 1967, all Minuteman I A and B models were replaced by the Minuteman II. The upgrade was completed by June 1969. In 1975, the 564th SMS switched from the Minuteman II to the LGM-30G Minuteman III model.

On 28 September 1991, President Bush ordered all Minuteman IIs off alert status. This order affected three-quarters of the 200 ICBMs stationed at Malmstrom. From 1992 to 1994, the Air Force removed 150 Minuteman II missiles from their silos to comply with the pending START I Treaty. The 10th, 12th and 490th silos were upgraded to receive Minuteman III missiles, joining the 50 Minuteman III missiles already on alert status with the 564th

Three Forks, Montana

Three Forks is a city in Gallatin County, Montana, United States and is located within the watershed valley system of both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers drainage basins — and is historically considered the birthplace or start of the Missouri River. The population was 1,869 at the 2010 census. The city of Three Forks is named so because it lies geographically near the point, in nearby Missouri Headwaters State Park, where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers converge to form the Missouri River — the longest single river in North America, as well as the major portion of the Missouri-Mississippi River System from the headwaters near Three Forks to its discharge into the Gulf of Mexico. Three Forks is part of the Bozeman, MT Micropolitan Statistical Area of approximately 100,000 people and the greater Bozeman demographic area of approximately 125,000 people.

The three rivers, west to east, were named by Meriwether Lewis in late July 1805 for President Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State James Madison, and Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin which was in the times the genesis of a mild controversy and eventually spawned a modern day geographical controversy—in both cases regarding length comparisons between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Today the two confluences are incorporated inside Missouri Headwaters State Park, which is also a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

One consequence of their decision to designate, map and name the Jefferson—the largest— as a separate tributary river, is that today the Mississippi river can arguably be called longer than the Missouri river[4] because extensive re-channelization of the streambed for hydroelectric power projects has shortened the river while the Mississippi Delta has grown lengthening the rival river.

Volborg, Montana

The town consists of an elementary school, post office, store with gas pumps, two homes and a few small outbuildings. The town was founded by Charlie M. Allen and is named for his first wife Theoline (Tillie) Volborg Osmenson Allen. Family tradition has it that Charlie Allen had submitted a listing of names to the US Post Office for the name of the town. That original list was rejected. Trying to find a name that the US Post Office would accept, pondering a good choice while at the dinner table, Tillie reached across the table, took the pencil and form from her husband and wrote in her middle name, Volborg. The US Post Office accepted the name.

Winnett, Montana

Winnett was named for Walter John Winnett, who was born at the Queen's Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Winnett ran away from home as a boy, seeking adventure in "Indian country." His excellent marksmanship abilities helped him get jobs with outfits who were always looking for someone who could keep them in fresh meat. When he was captured by Sioux Indians and later adopted into the tribe, he was given the name Eagle Eyes because of his remarkable shooting skills.

Winnett established a ranch in Montana Territory in 1879 near an active trading post and the Hangman's Tree used by vigilantes in the area. The massive ranch house, which he built in 1900 housed his own family and served as a gathering place for the community. Dances, weddings, funerals, church services, and school were all held here. Billings was the closest town, so Winnett built up a freight line business to haul supplies. Each of his outfits consisted of ten to twenty horses and huge wagons. In 1910 he built a store and petitioned for a post office.[5]

In addition to county government offices, Winnett's businesses and services include a grocery store, two filling stations, a post office, a school system with grades K-12, and two bar-and-grills; the hotel has closed, and the nearest medical facilities are in Lewistown, Montana.

MT

Toston, Montana

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km2), of which 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2) is land and 0.23 square miles (0.6 km2), or 8.35%, is water.[1]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 105 people, 44 households, and 28 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 58.5 people per square mile (22.6/km²). There were 51 housing units at an average density of 28.4 per square mile (11.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.29% White, 0.95% Native American, and 4.76% from two or more races.

There were 44 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97.