HUTTON HOEDOWN: History revived through family reunion
One of Libby’s oldest families reunited last month to celebrate their heritage, share memories and discover how large the Hutton clan has grown since first homesteading in the area over 120 years ago.
Over 120 people gathered in Libby for a weeklong reunion, dubbed the “Hutton Hoedown.” Some folks still live in the area while others traveled from as far as California or Mississippi. Families filed into town during the last week in July and got a chance to fish, pan for gold and share memories of old relatives.
Margie Johnson, granddaughter of the original homesteader, still lives in Libby and spent a year organizing the reunion. Ages of those in attendance ranged from 70s and 80s to only a few years old. Margie is now a great-great-great aunt in the family.
On July 30, family members met at the Riverfront Park Pavilion for a barbecue and live music before the Kootenai River Rodeo. That meeting produced stories of growing up with the Hutton family since they first landed in the valley over a century ago.
“It makes those who never really knew each other want to stay connected,” Margie said.
The Hutton family history in the Kootenai Valley dates back to 1894, when Charles and Christine Hutton moved to Libby. Charles initially worked at the Snowshoe Mine, but was better known for his next career, an educator traveling between the one-room schoolhouses peppered throughout the hills in Northwest Montana. He became Libby’s first school principal in 1899.
Before landing in the area, Charles had previously written several history pieces for newspapers around the state, including the Great Falls Tribune. He had also been a judge in Virginia City before moving to the Kootenai. After a few years mining ore, Charles taught at several rural, one-room schoolhouses, where he was known as a strict but engaging instructor. His tenure as an educator concluded in 1930 after a stint at a schoolhouse near Bull Lake.
During that time, Charles and Christine acquired a 160-acre homestead near Bobtail Creek. Along with educating children through the area, Charles reportedly hauled ore from the Snowshoe mine.
Charles and Christine had six children, including Harold “Happy” Hutton, Margie’s father, who was born in 1890. Happy entered the U.S. Army in 1907 (stories say he lied about his age for an earlier entry into the Army) and he was discharged in 1909. Using the money he earned from the service, Happy purchased the 160-acre homestead from his parents for just over $1,500. Happy worked for the U.S. Forest Serivce, did wood working and farmed to support a growing family.
Happy and his wife Evelyn, a hard-working German woman, had 16 children from 1920 to 1949, when their youngest daughter Margie was born. Six of those children were born at the homestead, the later 10 were born and raised on a ranch Happy and Evelyn acquired near the Kootenai River years after the homestead was torn down. According to an account given by Evelyn in “The Shadow of the Cabinets,” written by the Montana Institute of the Arts Libby Writers Group and published in 1983, the community awarded the Hutton family a pair of wool blankets for having the largest family in the area and each of the children received personal gifts.
By Margie’s estimate, the family born from Happy and Evelyn could have grown to more than 320 today. About 120 people arrived in Libby last month, prompting stories from growing up in the Kootenai area. Some recalled Evelyn’s love for Yahtzee, a traditional family game for the Huttons that has spanned through generations. A few remembered taking their first driver’s lessons on Mineral Avenue, with admittedly less-than-high marks. The memory of Charles still rings in the minds of his living grandchildren. He had a temperament of a teacher until he died in 1944, not allowing children to chew gum in his presence. He would often give candy to his grandchildren who visited, enough candy to bring back for all 16 kids. He once caught a few children eating the candy intended to be shared and that was the end of his sugary handouts.
Each memory shared at the pavilion on July 30 closed with laughter or sighs of nostalgia. Most people left that weekend, to return to their homes where the Hutton family has spread, far and wide from the Kootenai Valley. Margie and her husband returned to their home near Bobtail Creek, a sub-parcel of what remains on the old Hutton homestead.
Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.