Did you know multiple famous people have wandered our streets over time? We hear a lot about some, such as Charlie Russell and Mary Fields. But what about Robert Atkinson or well-known Steamboat Williams, just to name a few? So, let’s wander down another path of history.
We have a park named Atkinson Park. So who was Atkinson? J. Robert Atkinson was born sighted in Galt, Missouri. At the age of 16 he dropped out of school and came to the Cascade area where he worked as a cowboy. While packing his gun one day for travel a 6-shooter accidentally went off, shooting Robert in the face. His doctors removed his eyes, which they felt were injured beyond recovery, to prevent infection and save his life.
Robert began to rebuild his life and resume his education by learning forms of reading for the blind including Braille. He soon found there was little published in Braille. Frustrated, Robert began to experiment and created a method of two-sided Braille printing, the Braille Press system, that is used today for printing. He founded the Universal Braille Press in 1919 and the National Braille Institute, located in California. Atkinson spent the next 40 years working to improve the lives of the blind through innovation, advocacy and practical support.
Fifty-one years after the gunshot accident, he and a friend, screenwriter Edwin J. Westrate, wrote a book about his life, ‘Beacon in the Night’. Atkinson died in Los Angeles in 1964. In 1967Robert’s widow had a park in Cascade built in his honor and the town named the park for Atkinson. As a youth Robert Atkinson was a fearless bronco buster and a dependable range rider. He never lost his love of horses and continued to ride after losing his sight. Thus the statue of Robert riding his favorite horse was erected in the park. Robert was inducted into the Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field in 2002.
Steamboat Williams (Rees Gephardt Williams) was a talented young Cascade baseball player. Born in Cascade, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was 5 ft. 11 in. and weighed 170 pounds.
Around 1910 18-year-old Rees began playing baseball for a team made up of the neighboring ranches against the Cascade town team, but soon transferred to the Cascade town team. He made the 16-mile horseback ride twice a day for 35 cents pay. One of the most passionate supporters of the Cascade ball team was Mary Fields.
Rees became a Major League Baseball player in 1914 and 1916 for the St. Louis Cardinals. When he debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1914, pitcher Rees “Steamboat” Williams became the first of only 10 men born and raised in the state of Montana to play Major League Baseball. In 1916, Williams led the National League in games finished. Williams’s major league record of 6-8 is dwarfed by his minor league achievements. He appeared in 305 minor league games, earning at least 116 victories over eight seasons. “Steamboat Williams was an arm-for-hire in the competitive semi-pro leagues so popular in Minnesota until at least 1924”. His last game appears to be October 1, 1916 with Stillwater in the Friendly Valley league.
He died June 29, 1979 in Deer River, MN and is buried at Olivet Cemetery in Deer River, Minnesota. His mother, Anna, died in 1929, and is buried along with her husband Frank at Hillside Cemetery north of Cascade.
Augustus Wedsworth was born on October 1, 1842, in Dupage County, Illinois, the son of Elijah and Sarah Wedsworth. School was cut short when 9 year old Augustus began work on a farm to help support his family. His first wages reached $3 per month. He continued farm work until 1862, when he enlisted for service in Company F, 100TH Illinois Infantry. He then served three years in the Cumberland Army until the end of the war.
In 1866 Augustus came to Montana and was hired to care for the stock of Oliver & House’s stage line between Virginia City and Helena at the Mountain station, forty-five miles from Helena. Eventually, he purchased his own team and engaged in freighting from Helena to various mining camps. In due course he took up mining for a short time. In 1875 he engaged in the dairy business at Lepley Creek. In 1879 he moved to Chestnut Valley, where he began cattle raising with around sixty head. In 1881 he took up a homestead claim of 140 acres. He eventually purchased more acres, and came to own several ranches. He was considered one of the solid and substantial men of Chestnut Valley and one of the leading stock-raisers of Cascade County.
After his retirement Augustus gradually disposed of his ranch holdings and invested his money along industrial and commercial lines. At the time of his death, he was President of the Cascade Milling and Elevator Company; Vice President of the Cascade Mercantile Company and Director of First State Bank.
In January of 1915 the will of Augustus Wedsworth provided for the establishment and maintenance of a public library in the Town of Cascade and erecting a gymnasium. A gymnasium was erected and has been used as a basketball court, theatre, and rec and meeting hall.
The first public library in Cascade was established as a project of the Work projects Administration in September 1936 and was opened in the basement of the Old Stockmen’s Bank Building. Due to Augustus’s insistence that the community needed a splendid library to foster education and reading, the library was provided permanent support. In February of 1937 the Town’s library was moved to Wedsworth Hall.
The generosity of a few made an enormous impact on our community leaving us richer and more inviting. We may be a small town but we have been privileged to know and rub elbows with some pretty fantastic people.
“A man sent his friend a cryptic Christmas card. It said: A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. The recipient puzzled over it for a few days, finally gave up and wrote asking for an explanation. The next day he received the explanation in an email: “No L.”
When my niece was a student, her class of six-year-olds sang “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” at a Christmas concert. The line “God and sinners reconciled” was tricky one for the age group. One little boy, with a voice that completely drowned out the rest of the choir, happily belted out, “God and sinners dressed in style!” by Jessie Robertson.
Don’t forget to own a bit of Cascade’s history. Mary Field’s DVD brings a touch of history into your living room. Contact Karen Matteson (468-2671 ext. 127) at the school’s library for your very own copy.