Page 89 - Cornelius Hedges Story

For This And Succeeding Generations Gardiner 76

Cornelius Hedges was among those who formed the Montana
Wool Growers Association as a statewide organization in Helena
on November 11, 1895. He, like the other delegates, was elected
at a county meeting the previous month to attend the convention.

He also chaired the committee which drafted the constitution for
the Wool Growers Association on November 12.291

Again in 1897, Hedges was instrumental in further promoting
the sheep industry in Montana. On January 6, 1897, he was one of
a group who approved the formation of the cooperative Montana
Wool Commission Company, which was perhaps the first “wool
pool” organized in the state. Again he was on the committee to draft
the constitution.292

In 1897, when the State Board of Sheep Commissioners was
formed, Judge Hedges became its first Secretary and held the
position until 1906.293

As has been shown, Cornelius was involved in many economic
endeavors, but he never forgot the noble beautiful things of life, and
always conducted his business with ethics beyond reproach.

The Helena Independent paid tribute to Hedges for his high
ideals in this realm:
“The material pursuits which engrossed much of his time in
youth, in middle life, and in old age, never blurred or eclipsed his
appraisement of the beautiful things, never hindered his persistent
devotion to the good of the community, never cooled the ardor
of his charity for others or his zeal to help them. More than wealth
or fame, he prized the high and spiritual things which become
at last the best and most beautiful characteristics of a people as
of an individual and it must be that his name and his deeds will
linger with an almost majestic tenderness in the heart of his
neighbors and in the best and bravest traditions of Montana.”294