Entry from Journal #1: July 29, 1930

It was reported to-day.  This is the dryest yr. (drought to vegetation) in 30 yrs. in the U.S.  I haven’t a drop of water, my whole garden is dying for water.  Maud, Tell¹, Fran, Bud, Shirley² & myself were in the Broadwater plunge³ yesterday.

1.  Tell.  “Tell” is short for “Fontella”.  Fontella was the daughter of Mary’s sister, Maud.

2.  Bud, Shirley.  Bud and Shirley Fran’s two oldest children.

3.  Broadwater plunge.  Located a few miles west of Helena, the Broadwater Hotel and Natatorium was built in 1889 by Colonel Charles Broadwater.  Water from four natural hot springs was used to fill the Natatorium pool, which was the largest indoor pool at the time.  In addition to the “plunge”, there were also toboggan slides and observation decks.  Five years after this journal entry, an earthquake severely damaged the Natatorium and it was soon condemned and the hotel was closed down in 1941.  Most of the hotel contents and salvageable architectural details were auctioned off in 1974 and the hotel was subsequently demolished.