Part 1

They carved their hopes in stone….

The experiences of Pete Tuss and his countrymen in Lewistown began in the spring of 1898, and they run true to the pattern of the "Bribirci" who found a ready market for their ancient skills in working with stone – skills they had learned from their fathers and grandfathers in their homeland nestled against the rocky slopes of the Dinaric Alpes in Croatia. Since Bribir was located a short distance for Rijeka (Flume), the largest Croatian seaport on the Adriatic, it was possible for her craftsmen to learn about and accept jobs all over the world.

So it was with Pete Tuss. He had worked in Central and Eastern Europe, and in such far-flung places as Buenos Aires, Montreal, and finally, Charleston, South Caroline. All this time, he had kept in contact, by letter, with a friend whose name has long since been forgotten, but who urged him to come to Great Falls, the town at the spectacular cascades of the Missouri which had been prospering sine Paris Gibson platted it in 1883. By 1897, a few Croatians had found their way to Great Falls. Favorably impressed with Montana, its "ideal" climate and employment opportunities, the friend wrote enthusiastically about his new home in Montana. Yielding finally to his many invitations, Pete Tuss arrived in Great Falls in October 1897. In addition to the friend with whom he had corresponded, Tuss also encountered two old country stonemason friends, Peter Drazich and John Plovanich, Sr. He had last seen them in South America.

Shortly after his arrival in Great Falls, Tuss learned that an even better place for an ambitious stonemason was Lewistown, located a hundred miles to the eat. The town was growing and the presence of good building stone in the area sounded promising, for lumber was both scarce and expensive. With his two countrymen, Drazich and Plovanich, Tuss set out for Lewistown at once.

The new arrivals quickly found jobs building a new masonry building, the Hawthorne School. Thereafter, one job followed another, and while working they took every opportunity to become acquainted with their new surroundings. Four years later, Lewistown’s city councilmen provided them with their first large construction contract.

Hawthorne School

As part of a city water and sewer system, officials planned to build, in the fall of 1902, a large steel-lined reservoir. Lewistown’s Montana Hardware Company secured the contract in the spring, but at a special city council meeting on June 14, 1902, A. W. Warr, representing the hardware concern, suggested that money could be saved and utility served if stone and cement construction were used rather than steel. The councilmen agreed, noting that stone would require less cleaning and be cheaper to construct, and announced that bids on the newly approved stone reservoir were open until June 28.

Six different parties bid on the project. Ed Quigley, who initially won the contract, failed to sign it and post the required $2,000 bond, whereupon the council awarded the contract to Pete Tuss, although his bid was high at $4,695. Newly arrived and without sufficient resources, Tuss was unable to post bond but the Croatian’s skills had already impressed local officials. The problem was solved when Charles Lehman and Phil Laux, two local businessmen, provided bond money and William Blackford hastily prepared the legal papers. Now officially sponsored and legally secure, Tuss, with the aid of Drazich and Plovanich, became the contractor the for new reservoir to be made of stone.

"With stone and mortar," headlined the Fergus County Argus in its issue of July 15, 1903, "the appearance of Lewistown will be much changed by the improvements of this year. There are now being put up nine business blocks and buildings and all are going to be a credit to the city."

The Montana Railroad arrived to serve the city in late 1903, and just over two years later, on January 9, 1906, the Fergus County Democrat urged the Great Northern to extend its lines to the town, with a gentle jibe at Empire Building James J. Hill: "We have only to show James Hill that we have the finest town in the West, a town built out of stone, full of enterprising, hustling businessmen, surrounded by the best country under the skies, and he will think several times about cutting us out…."

Hearing of the successes of Pete Tuss and his colleagues, other Croatian stonemasons began coming to Lewistown in increasing numbers. By 1900, Matt Stanich and Matt Z. Tuss, accompanied by their families, had arrived from Great Falls. Vinko Kalafatic, a stonecutter, after having worked in Central and Eastern Europe and South America, cane in 1904, and John F. Plovanic, nephew of John Plovanich, Sr., had already worked in Egypt and South Africa when, in 1907, he received word in Bribir to come to Lewistown. In the same year, Peter Kovacich and George Pipinich, formerly of Bribir, quit their jobs in Anaconda as smelter workers to resume their craft and take up homesteads in Central Montana.

By 1915, the Croatian population had swelled to an estimated one hundred. Strange new names such as Tuss, Plovanich, Drazich, Stanich, Parac, Pipinich, Spoja, Kalafatic, and Miros appeared on the records and, before long, on the voting registers of Lewistown. Because Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Lewistown residents referred to the immigrants as "Austrians."

Regardless of labels, it was the Croatians’ craft which brought them to Lewistown, and their talent was increasingly apparent as structure after structure, all made of native stone, were built.

Although Lewistown officials and businessmen as well as the private sector, recognized their craftsmanship, the Croatians did not escape the prejudices and bitterness experienced by Many European laborers during this period of labor unrest. Some discontent was apparent just below the surface as early as 1902, and although they were generally in agreement with the principles or organized labor and were members of the local union, the men from Bribir found themselves caught up in controversy and, eventually, in a general strike.

Part 2