On Friday, May 13, 1910, Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Rayner and son, Lee, set out for Montana from Viroqua, Wisconsin, to settle on homesteads that were filed on in March by Mr. Rayner and daughters, Mary and Kate. In March, the Robert E. (Uncle Bob) Rice had welcomed Mr. Rayner and his daughters with a wonderful dinner that his niece, Nanna Whalen, prepared. Uncle Bob went horseback 7 miles to bring another niece, Georgia Hyde, to see the newcomers. Mr. Rayner found a fellow Odd Fellow in Mr. Rice; and Mr. Rayner's mother (Mahala) was happy to meet Tom Yerby because he was a Mason, she was an Eastern Star and her late husband (Henry Nathaniel) had been a Mason.

The first years were very dry; but Mr. Rayner became U. S. Land Commissioner and later a Justice of Peace to help with his income. The two daughters, Mary and Kate, taught school.

In 1912, Kate Rayner married Ralph Amsden and in 1913 Mary Rayner married Frank Watters, moving into their homestead. Later, in 1918, Lee Rayner and Elizabeth Henning were married. Their homes were about 14 miles north of Broadus at Kingsley. Mrs . H. L. Rayner became Postmaster of Kingsley and held the office and a store for some years.

Frank Watters had a bountiful year in 1915 and also a good year in 1944. The winter of 1919-20 was a terrible one and many cattle died and nothing grew but 300 bushels of wheat.

Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Watters: Mabel, Elmer, George, Earl and Louise. Mabel is married to Mr. George C. Johnston and now lives in Excelsior, Minnesota. Mable has one daughter. Elmer married Lydia Hulford on June 1, 1945. Seven children have been born to them. Times have changed : where Frank' s children walked to a country school, Lydia Watters now drives a school bus into Broadus daily, carrying both their children and those of other families. George Watters married Ruth Ullrich and lived in Helena, Mon tana. He owns the Watters Construction Company. He has four children. George served in World War II . Earl Watters is married and has a family. He was a doctor in Long Beach, California. Louise is married to William Z. Whitehead and is laboratory technician in a Twin Falls, Idaho hospital. They have four children. The oldest son is in the Air Force.

Frank bought more l and and more cattle and the ranch grew . They lived in a log house 14 years and then built a two - story, frame house with basement. At that time, it was considered to be quite a large
home. Elmer, the oldest, bought the Ed Gring place. Mr. Ed Gring was a wonderful carver and many of his carvings are now in homes in Powder River County.

Mr. Gring gave a nice one to Mr. Watters for his new home, and one to the daughter, Mabel, for her room. Mr. Gring became ill, sent the rest of his carvings to his sisters and brothers in Kansas and told everyone he was going by air, also. One day he was gone from his home, leaving letter to several friends and one to tell where to find him. The men who ought him found his ashes where his letter had told
them to look. He had created his own funeral pyre of wood and set fire to it. He had gone "by air" as he had said he would.

Elmer Watters had taken over the ranch in 1947 and has since added the Paul place. He has both cattle and agricultural projects. He is a working member of the Farmers Union. In 1950, Frank and Mary Watters visited their son, Earl, in California. On their way home, Frank and Mary went through Mesa, Arizona; and while working on his car, Frank's heart failed him and he passed away. He was brought back to Broadus for burial.

Mary Watters, his widow, came back to Broadus in 1954 and bought a home there, working as the librarian for the Powder River County Library for many years.