By 1904, two known sons of Michael, James and Thomas, appear in the Butte City Directory. James has followed in his father�s footsteps and works the Mountain Con. Younger brother Thomas is a newsie for The Anaconda Standard. Newsboys, or �newsies� were �aggressive entrepreneurs�; fighting each other for customers, oftentimes in front of their prospective customer (Murphy 110).
Years later, my uncle Chuck Lavelle would relate a story to me about the days when he and my father, Dan, were �newsies�. Living at the time with the Whalen�s at 500 W. Broadway, it seems the two boys would sneak out their upstairs window in the very wee hours of Sunday morning to sell copies of The Montana Standard. Their mission was to head a few blocks over to East Mercury and the �cribs� of the red-light district, and do their own kind of soliciting. Chuck related that confronting their neighbor, �Mr. Murphy,� as he left the brothel for home (and eventually Sunday Mass), could prove quite lucrative and profitable!
In 1903, Michael Patrick Lavelle was elected to represent the Fourth ward in the City of Butte. He was to replace Alderman W.C. Bachelor. As the Minutes of the July 23 meeting indicate, a controversy had delayed Michael Patrick�s installation. The Anaconda Standard for Thursday, July 23 reported on the somewhat sedate city council meeting held the evening before. The headline reads: �No Razors in the Air This Meeting.� Patrick Mullins, the mayor, seemed to have little support from his council; as the Standard reported his vetoes received not a single vote of support. And, there was a bit of nepotism going on. The council had appointed the son of the Mayor, John Mullins, as street commissioner; yet, the mayor continually tried to introduce the appointment of a Mr. Grandey to the office of assistant street commissioner. The council balked at this each and every time the Mayor tried to introduce the appointment. They finally got around the Mayor by introducing and passing an ordinance abolishing the office of assistant street commissioner altogether! Thus, the Mayor�s attempt to veto passage of this ordinance failed. Much of the meeting'� minutes are taken up with this nonsense. Then the council reconsidered the election of Michael Patrick Lavelle as alderman of the Fourth ward. The election had occurred at the previous meeting. Alderman Gallagher disputed the candidate�s eligibility, stating that an alderman at the time of election must be a freeholder. The election having been declared void, the council members proceeded to vote once again. Michael Patrick Lavelle was again elected, receiving 12 votes to the 3 garnered by Oscar Stenberg. It was noted that �Mr. Lavelle, it seems, has since qualified to hold the position, and the clerk was instructed to issue him a certificate of election at once.� According to the minutes of the August 19, 1903 meeting, Michael Patrick Lavelle was appointed to the following committees: Ways and Means, Street and Alley, Light, Fire and Water, and the Library Committee. [His obituary from November 11, 1938 hails him as being one of the �solid eleven aldermen� during the Copper wars. What this refers to exactly has still not been determined.]
