Superior
Museum wants to ID couple in old photo
By By Emily Thornton - Mineral Independent
Dec 8, 2005, 11:40

Two unidentified pictures from around the time Superior became a town were found recently at Superior Drugs on Mullan Road, said Kay Strombo, local genealogist and president of the Mineral County Historical Society in Superior.

“They were behind an old counter in the basement,” Strombo said.

John Kelly, who has owned the store for three months, said one of the workers found the bits of history when he began remodeling for his new insurance business. He then handed them over to Strombo to see if she knew who they were.
One, a charcoal drawing of a middle-aged woman, is rectangular-shaped and ripped on the side. The other, a black and white photograph of a young couple, is oval-shaped and convex, or is formed, which indicates that it might have gone over some rounded material, she said.

“We want to find out who they are,” said Sue McLees, Mineral County Museum worker. “If we can identify them, then we’ll get them fixed,” she added.

The pictures will remain in storage at the museum until someone claims them and/or identifies them. Anyone with information on the pictures may call Kay Strombo at 822-4626.

“The pictures pre-date the building,” Strombo said of the structure built in 1916. She said the photos were made between 1880 and 1895. Oswald J. Pike, who helped build the store and was the first owner, has one living relative, Grace Pike, who is now in a nursing home and has little memory, Strombo said.

Bill Pike was the second owner, followed by Gary Chambers and currently, Kelly. McLees said they likely fell behind the counter during one of the ownerships and no one bothered to retrieve them. Bill Pike was one of a handful of residents who started the Mineral County Museum in 1976. The museum began in an old railroad car parked behind where the present day jail is located, said McLees.

Strombo, a Superior resident, along with Fritz Nelson and Olive Keilty of St. Regis, and Kathleen Sedoff of Alberton also helped start the museum, which today has thousands of items, included several hundred photographs, some that date back to the 1870s. Strombo said he donated a large collection of photos, many that were originals. Community residents also have either donated photos or loaned pictures to the museum for copying, said Strombo, a curator at the museum, which is located on the corner of Third and Pine and shares the building with the public library and the Mineral County Extensions Office.

Strombo said the museum’s main focus is on John Mullan and the Mullan Road, which was built in 1859. She said the road was upgraded over the years and used until the Yellowstone Trail went through. Strombo noted that the Mullan Road was the first road west of the Mississippi using engineering principles. “He did such a great job the majority of the railroad followed his road,” said Strombo, a 46-year Mineral County resident who lives on Mullan Road West.

The museum, located continuously collects newspaper articles, photos and items of today because they too will someday be part of the county history, she said.
The museum is attempting to get the name St. Regis Pass, south of Lookout Pass, returned to its original name, Sohon Pass, named for Gustavus Sohon, a translator and a cartographer on the original Mullan Expedition.


© Copyright 2005 by MCIC