COMMEMORATIVE PIN

1914

1978.08.12

David Hilger, Vice President of the First National Bank of Lewistown and later librarian at the Montana Historical Society, wore this pin while mingling with fellow delegates at the fifth Montana Good Roads Congress in 1914. The year prior, Montana's legislature had established the Montana Highway Commission, providing funding and administration for a centralized roads system in the state. Consequently, while previous conferences focused on the logistics of road building, the main topic of the 1914 gathering was the need for further government expenditure and federal laws to support the construction of good roads. Delegates learned of cost savings and social benefits from "Good Roads Apostles," listened to lectures in support of convict labor for construction, marveled at road-building machinery, and pondered principles of governance, engineering, and business management. This pin, donated to the Montana Historical Society in 1978, illustrates the importance Montanans placed-and still place-on infrastructure.