Charlie & Sue

Charlie and Sue. . Charles Argalis Bovey ("Charlie") was born May 1, 1907, in Minneapolis, Minnesota into the comfort and social status provided by his father's position as President to the company which would become General Mills. Charlie, however, would find his greatest joy living modestly amid the time-worn vestiges of Montana's colorful past. , , Rachel Sue Ford was born September 12, 1907 in Great Falls, Montana. The Fords were prominent, prosperous, and widely-respected Montana pioneers. , Charlie met Sue in 1929, when he was a struggling wheat rancher in the Great Falls area. The couple was married in 1933, and began life together in a very small, rough cabin. , , It would be a great partnership which wrote its own success story, and shared the vision of preserving Montana's history. , By 1940, Charlie began his efforts to save some of Montana's historic buildings starting with the Sullivan Saddlery from Fort Benton. The buildings were moved to the fairgrounds at Great Falls, where they were exhibited as "Old Town". , Charlie served in the Montana House of Representatives, from 1947 to 1965, and the Montana State Senate. In 1952, both Charlie and Sue received honorary degrees from Montana State University (Missoula) in recognition for their work to preserve Montana's history. , , Their work was further recognized when Virginia City was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. , Charlie died in Nevada City on June 9, 1978. Sue died on October 7, 1988, as was buried beside Charlie in the Highland Cemetery at Great Falls.