Nellie Warren: Her Talents and Hobbies Set the Stage

Nellie had a wide varity of talents and hobbies. She played the piano and organ beautifully. On most Sunday mornings she could be found behind the organ at the Presbyterian Church. She enjoyed gardening around her new home, sometimes helping the elderly Augusta Kohrs plant her ornamental garden at "the Old House." The basement pantry was full of home canned jams, jellies, and pickles. In later years she joined the P.E.O Sisterhood, an organization that promoted and supported educational opportunities for young women. Although these hobbies were important to Nellie, particularly music, her love of learning and all things historic set the stage for her role as curator and preservationist of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch. In later years, when her back prevented her from the more physical activities she enjoyed, Nellie taught herself. She developed a home library, reading extensively to make up for the college education she was not able to pursue. Unlike her husband's books on the American West, Nellie's library included works on Greece and Rome and American revolutionary heroes. Copies of "American Heritage", "Antiquities", "National Geographic", and Time-Life Books were received monthly. The Warrens were members of the Butte Community Concert and Montana Historical Society.
Many of the books on classical history were acquired in support of Nellie's stamp collecting. Soon after she began collecting coins and prints by Western artist George Caitlin. In the end, this collecting became more than a hobby with Nellie amassing a coin collection worth over a $100,000.
Nellie's living room reflected her love of history with new furnishings in the Federalist style. In one corner stood a secretary cabinet with a bronze eagle finial. Above the hearth was a round convex wall mirror with a gilded frame of stars topped with an eagle. After Augusta passed away in 1945, Nellie enjoyed decorating her home with "the Old House" furniture and figurines. When her house was expanded, she included decorative corner cabinets and wall nooks where the collectables could be displayed.