Lutts

Rudolph and Ora

Rudolph Lutts was born on January 11, 1894 in Lena, Illinois to William Wallace Lutts and Bessie Fowler. His family homesteaded in South Dakota, but when their property flooded, he and his two brothers left for Carlyle, Montana. There, he worked as a hired hand on a larger farm, and helped his brothers with theirs. He was deployed during World War I, but returned soon after. On October 17, 1923, he married Ora Stark.

Ora Gulnare Stark Lutts was born November 24th, 1894 in Lyle, Minnesota, to Ernest and Ora Stark. She was the oldest of seven kids, however when her family decided to leave for Montana in 1907, her younger brother Ira went with her father, and she remained in Minnesota with her mother and other siblings. Her father, brother, and five other neighbors that journeyed with them, were the first homesteaders to unload in what was becoming Baker. In 1907, when they reached Ollie, Montana, her father filed a claim for Section 32, Township 10, Range 60. The rest of the family, Ora included, moved in 1908. For the first three months, everyone lived in tents until a shack was built on the property, which they lived in until 1911. She grew up working on the homestead with the rest of her siblings. Though the work was hard and there was much to be done, there was rarely ever any profit. In 1910, Ora established a petition to form a school in the area, where she later taught. She married Rudolph in 1923, and moved to Carlyle with him.

Together, they lived on a ranch by Beaver Creek, where they had several children. They later had to move, because of flooding. They then lived on a property formerly owned by the railroad, where they continued to ranch and raise their family of six. On the ranch, the family bought and sold Hereford cattle to make their living, as farming had even less profit. Ora taught at Ollie, and was an active member in both the Ollie and Baker communities. She wrote many articles in the Baker newspaper, telling about the events in Ollie, as well as for the 4-H club her kids were in, and the Farmer’s Union.

On May 1, 1963, Rudolph passed away after contracting a severe case of encephalitis. He was buried in the Ollie Cemetery. Throughout the following twenty years, Ora stayed active in the community, even when she was put into the nursing home. She passed away on February 3, 1988. She, too, was buried in the Ollie Cemetery.

My name is Ashlyn Lutts. Ora and Rudolph are my great-grandparents. Their only son, Robert, was my grandfather. Robert’s only son by blood is my father, Roy Lutts.