Aronson, J. Hugo (John Hugo), 1891-1978

J. Hugo Aronson was born in Gallstad, Sweden on September 1, 1891, a son of Aron Johanson (1856-1927), a tenant farmer, and Rika Ryding Johannsen (1857-1940). The Johannsens had five children: Anna, Karl, Julia, John Hugo, and Erik Johannsen Aronson. Anna Aronson married Karl Skold and the couple had three children: Gunnar, Karin, and Allan. Julia Aronson Joseffson had two sons. Sven Johanson was also a nephew of J. Hugo Aronson. J. Hugo Aronson was educated in the public schools of Gallstad, Sweden. He left school at the age of 14 to work. Hugo came to the United States from Sweden in 1911, penniless, except for the 25 dollar immigration fee required. His brothers and sisters remained residents of Sweden. After working at various jobs through thirty-eight states, Hugo arrived in Columbus, Montana in 1914. While working for Frank Young in Columbus he got the nickname "The Galloping Swede." In 1915 Hugo filed for a 320-acre homestead in Elk Basin. On December 8, 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Billings and served as a private with the 20th Engineers in France. On June 3, 1919, while in France with the American Expeditionary Forces, Aronson married Matilda Langane, who was in charge of the French-American Red Cross group and had been one of premier Georges Clemenceau's secretaries. He was honorably discharged on July 17, 1919, as a private first class at Hoboken, New Jersey.

Aronson returned to Columbus with his wife and rented a farm which he operated while working in the oil fields at Elk Basin, Wyoming. In January 1923, Hugo went to Sunburst, Montana where he was a tool dresser, or driller's helper, for a drilling company. In 1924, another rig-builder, Roy Berrey, and Hugo became partners in the Sunburst Construction Company. It was a profitable business but only after a year Roy decided to sell Hugo out. Hugo then operated his own rig-building outfit under his own name and started advertising as "The Galloping Swede." Matilda was the bookkeeper. He added a trucking business to the rig-building company, and at the time Hugo was the largest rig-builder in Montana. When oil was discovered in Kevin-Sunburst fields in Montana, Hugo built the first building in Oilmont. In 1928 he founded Gallop City near Conrad. It was the largest of the oil-fields camps, a community which boasted 500 inhabitants. Hugo and Matilda Aronson traveled to Sweden and France to visit family in 1924. That same year, they traveled to Glacier National Park and Waterton. They also visited California, Nevada, and Utah. Matilda died in Paris, France in 1936 of cancer.

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