She was an accomplished musician and taught piano for several years in Harlowton. I have a recital program from the 1930s; one of her students was Jeanne Poirier. In 1949, she traveled to Florence, Italy, for advanced piano studies.
Her father was the person who started calling her "Biddy." Somehow it stuck, at least for our family. She was a kind and loving grandmother. She passed away in 1976.
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Not sure if I can comment on your blog, but I'll try. Aunt Biddie was glamorous and was so nice. She came to visit my grandparents at the ranch now and then. She was beautiful; so very classy by our ranch standards. On our side of the family, she was a legend because of her huge job at the Hotel and because of her piano playing. My grandmother talked about "Bid" a lot. They were young brides together on the ranch and that bond lasted until the end of their lives. I remember going to the Northern once and seein her working. To me, she seemed very powerful there. I wish that I could know her now and ask her questions. She was ahead of her time.
Thanks John for the history lesson of our beloved grandmother. I was only 13 when she died but have fond memories of time spent with Biddy.
Thanks, Aurie, for your comment. Biddy worked at the Rainbow Hotel in Great Falls, most of the time as assistant manager. (She also worked at the Northern, but that time was before my memory.) Because of her position at the Rainbow, we got free tickets for rides at the State Fair. In addition, Connie & Jan & I all got jobs in the restaurant at the Rainbow. She played piano in the restaurant every Sunday (with Esther Hathaway on the organ).
One of my favorite memories about Bid is this. Every Saturday, I was dropped off at the YMCA for my swimming lesson. From there, I walked a few blocks to Bid's apartment; the purpose was to practice my piano lesson with her. She was not my piano teacher, but my mentor once a week.
Biddy was the nicest, kindest, most gentle person I knew ... except for that practice hour every Saturday. She did not accept imperfection on the piano. Although I groused about it at the time, her help was a big benefit to me.
Love these stories about Bid. My favorite memory would be the 25 cent sundaes she would treat the family to at the Dairy Queen on Saturday nights. The one memory that sticks out is very powerful. A friend and I ran away from home. We made it to the bus station and had our tickets purchased before we were busted by our dads. We were in 6th grade. The next time I saw Bid all she said was that she "was very disappointed in me". That devastated me and I worked very hard at never disappointing her again!!
She is missed!!
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