Benjamin L. Brush's
Popcorn & Peanut Wagon
Police Shenanigans Lead to Supreme Court Case


PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA KINDRICK
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE IN A NEW WINDOW

Prominent in this c.1912 view of West Sixth Avenue is the curbside popcorn and peanut wagon of Indiana native Benjamin Logan Brush (1867-1944). Not much about Mr. Brush's early life was found, but he came to Montana sometime between 1880 and 1895. His wagon was in operation in Helena by 1908...

Apparently, no permit was granted...



Routinely Fined

Over a period of about five years, Brush would routinely be "fined" by the Chief of Police for violating an ordinance prohibiting the obstruction of a street. Yet the wagon continued in operation, presumably because whomever pocketed the "fines" enjoyed the cash flow. There seems to have been a financial arrangement. Remarkable to me is the amount of $1,700 paid in "fines", for which Brush sued the city in 1913. That amount translates to over $55,000 in 2025 dollars. How much street popcorn and peanuts would you have to sell today in order to pay $55K in (alleged) graft and still stay in business?

 

Pressured to Move

Brush Quits Business, Files Suit

The Offending Wagon
Manufactured by C. Cretors & Co.

COURTESY OF CRETORS

Bush Wins First Suit

 

Case Finally Goes to the Montana Supreme Court
Both Parties Wrong, but City Prevails

Out of the popcorn and peanut business, Benjamin Brush soon moved to Ananconda. He retired from Anaconda Copper as a Washoe smelter foreman, passing away in Missoula on Oct. 1, 1944. In 1922, he wrote this poem...