| Sources |
- [S4295] Great Falls Tribune, Danford D. McQuiston; obituary; 3 February 1960; Danford D. McQuiston; 18 August 2020.
- [S4297] The Billings Gazette, Melissa D. McQuiston; obituary; 11 January 1984; Mellisa D. McQuiston; 18 August 2020.
- [S2849] Sidney Herald, Fairview history Sweet dreams; Cundiff's soda fountain; special interest; 19 December 2010; 26 January 2011; Debbie Crossland.
Fairview history Sweet dreams; Cundiff’s soda fountain
By Debbie Crossland
Sidney Herald
Published on Sunday, December 19, 2010 7:09 AM MST
The bar and fountain were purchased second hand in the 1920s to create the Ellery Street Cafe.
Wouldn’t it be nice to step back in time and visit one of Fairview’s own soda fountain and ice cream parlor. Imagine stepping inside and the first thing you see was the huge 13” beautiful oak long bar, a 12” long back bar with marble and granite accents, granite and marble top, a huge mirror with ornate carvings and trim. There would also be a large ice box built into the wall filled with pies and goodies, along with the soda fountain and ice cream that was dished up with many flavors of toppings.
Melissa and Rufus Cundiff could not stay long on their homestead because of drought or in later years lots of rain. They moved into Fairview and purchased the William Jackson Ice Cream and Confectionary Parlor. They opened up the parlor and sold coffee for a nickel a cup with as many refills as desired, and neighbors and friends brought dinner in paper bags, bought their coffee and sat down at the tables to a good meal.
Rufus Lee Cundiff was born Dec. 7, 1888, to James Cundiff and Elizabeth Robert Guffey at Somerset, Ky. He was interested in Montana homesteading after talking to his cousin Joe Lee. He filed on his homestead seven miles west of Fairview and built a little one-room house, put a wire fence around the land, and dug a well. Rufus broke up the land, seeded grain, and was the first in the area to plant corn.
Melissa was interested in the great northwest and wanted to see the land, if she didn’t like it she could always go home. She landed in Williston, N.D., bought her trip to Mondak, crossed the river on Bert Chase’s flat boat to Java, and then traveled by stagecoach to Fairview. Melissa “Lissie” paid $250 to two brothers who were tired of this kind of life. She acquired a 10 by 12 shack from this purchase, which she lived in for seven months before she met Rufus. and they were married Sept. 9, 1911.
Rufus sold his 160 acres to Carl Hunter and purchased the same amount north and adjacent to Melissa’s claim. They put the acreage together and had 320 acres to cultivate and pasture land with a stream running through it. If anyone wanted to located a piece of property or people homesteading in that area, they were located from the spot known as “Cundiff Corner” and “Boot Hill.”
Rufus and Melissa had three children. Harry, born in 1917, but only lived three days, James Robert, 1915, and Lena Edith, 1913.
In 1918 The Cundiffs wintered at Sioux Pass where Rufus clerked in the general store owned by Joe Creech and then returned to their homestead to farm. Rufus and Melissa lived on their claim for 10 years. They could no longer afford to live on their land and had to go elsewhere to make a living.
The Auditorium Confectionery had gone up for sale after the death of W.W. Jackson. Jackson and his son Max opened it up in 1913 and served hot and cold drinks along with the best of fruit, confectionery, cigars and tobacco. They advertised that before, after or during the show they would be open and glad to have you drop in.
Rufus served on the city council, planted the first trees in Fairview, and with his tractor helped dig the first water main and install it. He died March 20, 1936, and is buried in the Fairview Cemetery.
Melissa continued to run the café and rooming house until she retired.
She married Danford D. McQuiston in 1957. McQuiston died in 1962 and was buried in Richey.
Lena, Melissa and Rufus’ daughter, married Lawrence Brown, a farmer and stockman from Savage. When he died she lived in Sidney and would come down and help and stay with her mother. She had two children Robert and Ruth.
When Melissa would reminisce, she remembers Rufus saying the horses didn’t like drinking that water out there on the claim because of the oily scum on the top. Now there are oil wells around their claim but not a one on it.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Information compiled from Courage Enough and the Fairview Tribune.
- [S2855] Montana Newspaper, Couple Speak Nuptial Vows at Candlelight Ceremony in Sidney Baptist Church; story; 10 February 1957; Danford McQuiston and Melissa Cundiff; 26 Janaury 2011.
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1892 - 1984 (~ 92 years)
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