Myrtle Clark
Myrtle Clark sits with her daughter Florence McElmurry, granddaughter Mary Geer and great-granddaughter Mackinzie Mills. Photo courtesy Kootenai Valley Record.
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Libby woman marks 100 years
Myrtle Clark celebrates birthday on April 12
by Kootenai Valley Record
April 5, 2008
Myrtle Clark of Libby will celebrate her 100th birthday on April 12.
Born in Arnold, Neb., in 1908, Myrtle moved with her family to eastern Montana as a child. In 1920, the family came by train to Valcour, north of Warland in Lincoln County, where Myrtle’s grandfather had a farm.
At that time Warland had its own grocery store, meat market, boarding house and barber shop. A ferry took passengers and vehicles across the Kootenai River; a bridge was constructed later. Myrtle’s father, Charles Hansberry, built a garage – named the T.R. Garage after Theodore Roosevelt – and bought a 1921 Ford pickup, the first car in Warland.
Myrtle married Charles Noble in 1927. He worked as a packer for the Forest Service and later operated a ferry across the Kootenai River for 10 years. Myrtle and Charles had four children: Harvey, Calvin, Ada and Florence. After Charles’ death, Myrtle married Elmer Clark in 1943. They had one daughter, Judy.
Over the years, Myrtle worked at the Libby Creamery, the Libby Hotel, the box factory at the J. Neils Lumber Co. mill, as a cook at the High Note and Jack’s Café, and as a custodian at Central School and Asa Wood School.
Myrtle’s three sisters all lived into their 90s, and her brother lived into his late 80s.
Myrtle was named Lincoln County’s senior citizen of the year in 1989. She currently lives with her son Calvin in Libby and enjoys working puzzles and word find books. In addition to her four surviving children – Calvin Noble, Ada Ferguson, Florence McElmurry and Judy Nelson – she has 30 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great-grandchildren.
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Editor’s Note: See the March 31, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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