Miner's Style Show Attracts Large Crowds; Stunning Gowns Gracefully Shown by Models

The Butte Miner, Butte, 1920-09-24, p.1

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Summary

Front-page Butte Miner lead the morning after the **first night** (Thursday Sep 23 1920) of the Butte Miner's promotional Style Show at the American theater. Pair clipping to the 1920-09-25 second-night coverage already in the archive. Capacity house. Models drilled and gowned to represent "Butte's leading firms." Mr. George Johnson scenic artist; lighting handled by Mr. Paul Rooney and Mr. Hugh Rogers; Mr. Moulton (new director of American theater orchestra) arranged music; **Mrs. Dalley directed and arranged the affair**, composing the bright little verses. "The exhibition started with a midsummer scene, displaying the bathing girls from **Hennessy's and Murphy-Softley's**, and showing the suits, hats and gowns worn from that time until Christmas." (Continues onto page 3.) ARCHIVE SIGNIFICANCE. Front-page Butte Miner lead naming Murphy-Softley alongside Hennessy's as one of "Butte's leading firms" on the first night — six months after the M-S founding, the firm is already positioned in the Hennessy-tier of Butte department-store advertising. This is the actual first-night coverage; the 1920-09-25 clipping I previously processed is the second-night coverage. focus: secondary — Murphy-Softley is one of many firms named, not the headlined subject.

In its time

Narrative

A capacity crowd fills the American theater for the style show staged by The Butte Miner, with models presenting gowns, hats and wraps for Butte's leading firms. Mrs. Dalley directed and arranged the revue and composed verses for it; Mr. Moulton of the American theater orchestra arranged a different musical theme for each model, Mr. George Johnson handled the scenery, and Mr. Paul Rooney and Mr. Hugh Rogers managed the lighting. The exhibition opened with a midsummer scene showing bathing girls from Hennessy's and Murphy-Softley's, moving through styles worn from that season to Christmas.

“An ever-changing whirl of color, dash, style and elegance was presented by the beautifully-gowned young ladies”
“A burst of applause greeted each pretty model as she appeared before the footlights”
“To say that it was a success is but expressing it mildly”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

People

James Joseph "James J." Murphy (b. 1883 Ardgroom; d. 1938 LA)(as printed: Murphy-Softley)
role: store proprietor implied · family confidence: 75 strong
Family confidence aligned with identity confidence 90 on 4 Oct 2026; the reason is in identity_basis.

Also mentioned

Mrs. Dalley · director_arranger_of_style_show
Mr. George Johnson · scenic_artist
Mr. Paul Rooney · lighting
Mr. Hugh Rogers · lighting
Mr. Moulton · american_theater_orchestra_director_arranged_music

Places

Butte, Montana (primary)

Themes

Butte economic life

Story threads

Source type

news_item, business_notice

Related sources

Transcription

transcription: complete · confidence high

# Miner's Style Show Attracts Large Crowds; Stunning Gowns Gracefully Shown by Models *The Butte Miner, Friday, September 24, 1920, p. 1. Front-page lead.* The style show staged by the Butte Miner captivated a capacity house last night at the American theater when a large number of Butte's leading firms were represented by stunning models. An ever-changing whirl of color, dash, style and elegance was presented by the beautifully-gowned young ladies, who had been splendidly drilled, each showing off her particular gown with grace and wonderful ease. To say that it was a success is but expressing it mildly. A burst of applause greeted each pretty model as she appeared before the footlights, displaying her gown to excellent advantage. There were all sorts and varieties of gowns, hats and wraps exhibited and the revue was truly a success. A special feature of the show was the music, especially arranged by Mr. Moulton, the new director of the American theater orchestra, who, with unusual art, provided a different theme for each model. Mr. George Johnson, the well-known scenic artist, added to the effectiveness of the event by the artistic way in which he arranged the scenery. The lighting was perfect, showing each model to the best possible advantage, and was handled by Mr. Paul Rooney and Mr. Hugh Rogers. The success of the whole performance is due to the untiring efforts of Mrs. Dalley, who directed and arranged the affair, composing the bright little verses that added a pleasing touch, and managing in every detail with uncommon skill. The exhibition started with a midsummer scene, displaying the bathing girls from Hennessy'sButte: companies, unions & placesHennessy’sfounded 1886The D. J. Hennessy Mercantile Company, Butte’s leading department store. Its 1898 building at Granite and Main also housed the Anaconda company’s offices on the top floor.More in Key terms → and Murphy-Softley's, and showing the suits, hats and gowns worn from that time until Christmas. *TURN TO PAGE THREE — COLUMN 1.*

Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.