SigMT

SiG MT 68 An Alexander Wildy photo of Great Falls High School Under Construction. Note the lack of definition for the streets and the wooden frames surrounding the young trees in this photo of early Great Falls. A Great Falls city street with curbs, sidewalks, and growing trees probably twenty years later. ere he met Georgianna Shurlock, the daughter of a Civil War surgeon. ey married in 1888 and had a daughter, Edda, a year later. Enamored with opportunities in the West, he poured over Northern Pacific Railroad Owner James Hill's stories and promises of development in the "Land of the Shining Mountains." One account indicates that Bird arrived at the site of Jamestown across the Missouri River from the future city of Great Falls by stagecoach in 1882 and set about being part of a crew that tentatively laid out avenues and streets. Another account states that he, his wife, and daughter arrived in 1894 when he was hired by Mayor Paris Gibson to be part of the Great Falls city engineering department. Likely both accounts are correct. In his job he took the information from the surveying done by Rolfe and Vaughn and continued to lay out the streets and boulevards, to plant ash and elm trees, and to set aside land for parks. Looking back on his life, the Great Falls Tribune in 1959 reported that, "Bird saw the city grow up. At first it was a slow growth, from tarpaper shacks to frame buildings and later to brick and steel structures. Paving was finally laid over original wooden blocks." For a newspaper story in 1959 Bird recalled "stage coaches claering through the dusty, young town, the Indian troubles, the very cold winters, and very hot summers." A life-long interest in communications made Suzanne Waring first a college instructor and then a writer. She lives in Great Falls and writes about Montana people and their communities. S MT During the early 20 th century most architects learned their cra by interning with another architect. It is unknown whether Bird received his credentials through an internship or through his studies in college, but he later became a partner in the Bird and Van Teylingen Architectural Firm. Over the years, the two men designed many buildings that are still being used today. ose buildings include the Masonic Temple; Emerson, Washington, Roosevelt and Largent schools; and the Christian Science, St. John's Lutheran, and First Baptist Churches. Bird culminated his architectural career in 1936 at age seventy-six by planning and overseeing the construction of Great Falls High School as well as the Medical Arts Building, along with his partner. e Spanish Flu brought tragedy to the Bird family. Growing to adulthood, the Birds' only child, Edda, married Harold Fisher and had four children. In 1918, she died of the epidemic. Becoming guardians of the children, the Birds made a permanent home for them. Mr. Fisher moved to Portland, Oregon, and the two older children spent some time with their father, but both returned to Great Falls to aend high school. e third grandchild, Evelyn Fisher Baker, remained in Great Falls, and aer Bird's wife's death in 1955, he bought the house at 1426 Fih Avenue North for the Bakers with the agreement that he would live with them until his death. For six years when Richard Bird Baker was growing up, his great grandfather lived with the Baker family. Bird was among five architects who were honored by the Exchange Club on January 22, 1961, for their contributions to the building of a modern city that Great Falls had become. He was a hundred years old at the time. He died on July 13 of that year. e average life expectancy for a male in 1961 was sixty-seven years. All of that walking probably gave Bird an additional thirty years of life to enjoy the streets, boulevards, and trees that he worked hard to establish. Photo Courtesy of History Museum Photo Courtesy of History Museum

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