We once lived on Pryor Star Route......undoubtedly, my most favorite home ever! Dad was selling Encyclopedia Brittanica-mostly throughout Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and some lower sections of Western Canada. We had been living in Billings but found we could live much cheaper more rurally. Dad & Mom surprised us with the new thought out plan......living in a large old house stuck out in the prairie about 45-50 miles (as the crow flies) south of Billings, Montana. It was on the Pryor Star Mail Route between Edgar (Carbon County) and Pryor (Big Horn County). It was a grand old house-majestically standing alone and surrounded by shimmering golden wheat fields; about 18 miles east of Edgar-a couple of miles after passing ten mile creek and east of the Phil Cowan spread. You could find us situated near the top of a long sloping hill that continued on to Pryor. We sat on the south side of the dirt county road. The property owner was a man named DeVries, whom lived near Roberts, Montana. He ranched both areas plus had several small herds of Hereford and Angus cattle. I'm not sure exactly what his main concern was as he also dryland farmed in both settings as well-raising mostly drought tolerant duram wheat, oats, and barley. He probably had alfalfa somewhere in his holdings as well. There were several rows of windbreaker trees NW of the house and about three rows of windbreak trees running along the entire West side. It was open grass an acre or so in area around the front (north), and the west and southside of the house. South of the NW windbreak tree rows was a metal tower (about 25 feet high with a small platform)-being the remnant of an old windmill. Straight south a ways from the house was a usable outhouse-painted white (the same as the house)-with a yellow-flowered climbing rosebush, still surviving, clinging to one side. We would use the old outhouse often, when we were outside, even though we had an indoor toilet upstairs in the house. Behind the outhouse was a low-slung dirt-floored building that, apparently, used to be a henhouse. We also had chickens here but skunks and bull snakes were a problem, at times, due to the dirt floor. Just a little west of the henhouse and going a little back towards the house was a little well house (filled with old canning jars) and a cistern that held our drinking water. We had a slow-yielding pump that we ran during the day. (One of my chores was to turn the pump on in the mornings and off at night.) We had to thoroughly clean the cistern (getting down inside it) with clorox before Dad felt it was safe for us to use. We used the old push-type scrub brush brooms and hand scrub brushes to do the job. Then a little SW of the cistern and hen house was a small building that was once used as a garage and workshop at times in the past. There wan't much inside but there was a bit of a loft that I chased a few feral cats into a few times. Then, there was a large farmer's equipment building that Mr. DeVries often harbored an occasional piece of machinery that he needed, at times, when working those sections of his land. Connected to this building was a sizeable corral mostly made up of rough slabwood planks fastened to hefty runners tied by large spike nails to old railroad tie posts. At the rear of this corral was an old covered cattle shelter (that could also store hay (loose or in bales). This was a needed asset as winters in Eastern Montana were quite severe. Behind all of this, running alongside a medium-sized shallow gulch were three rectangular and wooden (empty) corn cribs. Dad was to house homing pigeons in one later on and I started raising a huge number of domestic rabbits (several different breeds) in another. I totally loved this place! Dad was able to rent it for twenty dollars a month.......cheap......cheap......cheap......as Mr. DeVries main concern was to have lodgers in the home, thus protecting it from decay. Of course we had to pay for our own electric and coal. This house was a large two-story structure with a "country " basement. I say "country" basement because all that was down there was a small area with a large cast iron wood cookstove, a large coal-burning boiler-type furnace, a coal storage room and chute leading to the outside, along with a couple other little storage nooks and crannies. That was about all. Their was an interior stairway leading to the kitchen and an outside entrance that consisted simply of concrete steps covered outside by two swinging, lay-down doors that opened up (left and right) allowing a single entrance exposure (when open). I would use this entrance to haul out wash tubs of coal ash in the winter. I also used the woodstove alot, later on, when I would cook up a concoction of rolled barley, oats and molasses for a couple of hogs I was to learn to raise-(but that is another story). There was also a long covered porch on the north (roadside) of the house. I think Francy and I (Jimmy) loved this house the most as she was able to have a horse later and I had my dog, pigs, rabbits, etc. (Over the summer, my cousin-Laurene Currah-stayed with us, and she, being the tom-girl that she was, really liked this house too!) Hunting was always right at our doorway (or upper bedroom window) as our closest neighbor was at least five miles away. Simply PARADISE for a 12 year-old boy! Ivy, my female Beagle, and I were in Heaven! There were two fireplaces-one small corner fireplace in the NE corner of the house-and one large fireplace in the dining-living room connection with a mid-house straight-up oak stairwell leading up to the bedrooms. Having four bedrooms gave everyone (LuAnn Francy, myself, and Mom and Dad) havens of their very own. It wasn't long before my Great Granpa Hicks arrived from Great Falls to join us. He shared my room taking the bottom bunk......I really learned to love that old man. Down the road I will submit a couple of pictures of this great old house in Dads' Memorial Picture gallery for all to see. It sure was wonderful. More stories to come, I hope. Thanks again, Dad, for providing these experiences for your son, daughters, Mom, and other family members. These times were some of the happiest memories of my life.